A/N: And nearly 27,000 words later (phew) you have a new chapter! Wow I am sincerely apologetic that I havent been able to update this story for nearly 2 months! My aim was that I want to AT LEAST get one chapter out every month. The last chapter was so huge I needed a break from it haha and then May and June have been such busy months for me! Lots of things going on with work and family life, looking at applying for a masters programme (cuz i am crazy) and Ive done some writing in between. It has taken me ages to get this whole battle sequence with lots of twists and turns that I was coming up with as I wrote too so it as become much longer than expected! The next chapter is where even MORE sparks will fly, I absolutely 1000% promise you those of you that are waiting for a certain something *cough cough nudge nudge wink wink* will not be disappointed (i hope!) I want to get my pacing right with this story, however I dont want to rush it either, I needed to build my characters and scenarios so that when things happen there is such a huge reasoning behind it and it will make it even MORE spectacular.

So yes I really really hope you enjoy every inch of this chapter. It took me so long and I have really worked hard on it to deliver the best quality as I possibly could to you fantastic readers! Big shout out to my fabulous friends Chosen To Die, Nyx and KeynoRoyal for keeping me sane and all of your support! Lotsa love for this chapter, and it is all dedicated to you three, as well as you wonderful readers! Thanks for all your amazing love, support and reviews! :) Keep smiling and enjoying!

ES x

Chapter Twenty-Two

Where Demons Hide

xxxx

The Sacred Realm of The Kais, The Sacred Temple, Universe Ten - A few minutes earlier

"…so I bust in, BOOM! Chuck a dragonball right at that smug bastard's face, we all surround him and then Gohan says - "

"It's time to confess your sins," Gohan finished, as Makhai bounced on his tiptoes with unbridled glee.

"YES! That sounds so badass!" He swooned, shaking his head in awe, "How do you come up with this stuff?"

The young Destroyer shrugged, failing to hide the smile that tugged at his lips, "I dunno, don't you think that it's a bit too showy?"

"Not at all!" His best friend implored, "If anything I'd say that you could go a little bit further, maybe end it with a swear word. How about this? 'It's time to confess your sins motherf-!'"

"Enough!" Kratos growled, causing the pair to look towards him, "We've wasted enough time on this nonsense! Who cares what you say to him? The point is that we need to apprehend that menace before he can cause any more damage to the cosmos!"

"How dare you," Makhai spouted, amber eyes narrowing at the taller teen, "Gohan worked really hard on coming up with that line - "

"It doesn't matter!" He shrieked, as the others sighed hopelessly. Arguments like this were a regular occurrence on missions after all.

"Of course it matters Kratos!" The ginger-haired Guardian scoffed, folding his arms across his chest in defiance, "Deimos said that he wanted dramatics didn't he? We've got to stick to the script. We'd look like right idiots if we fluffed up our lines - "

"It's not a bloody performance! This very well may end up as being a fight for the fate of the universe!"

"Exactly," argued Makhai, seemingly oblivious to the large vein visibly pulsating in his comrade's temple, "Which is why Gohan and I are taking it very seriously. Though I wouldn't expect you to understand. Honestly, it's a wonder how you ever managed to become such a notable soldier when you were alive, I bet you bored your opponents to death before you even got chance to throw a punch."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Kratos roared, as Gohan, Alala and Eris snorted not so subtly, trying and failing to hide their laughter behind their hands.

Bia and Deimos however, did not look so amused.

"Can we just hurry up and expose this wretch?" Deimos drawled, rolling his eyes as Bia gave her friends a disapproving stare, "I'd like to get this mission over with sooner rather than later."

"Yeah only 'cause you're still half plastered," Makhai muttered.

"It was your fault!"

"As much as I'd love to see the two of you gang up on this idiot," Eris interrupted, stepping in between the pair, and ignoring Makhai's subsequent comment ("Kinky!"), "Deimos is right, let's get a move on before Zamasu gets fed up of waiting and decides to level the scared temple whilst we're still in it!"

"Fine whatever," he huffed, tossing Gohan the 'kick me' sign that he had made earlier, "It's show time Radium-223."

"I meant to ask you earlier," Alala quirked, as the halfling tucked the parchment into the pocket of his garb, "Why Radium-223?"

"It's a radioactive isotope," The teenager smirked smugly, rather proud of the codename he had come up with, "It destroys cells. Get it? Because I destroyed Cell? Cool, huh?"

"Yeah that and he was fed up of being called Sergeant Sparkles for years on end, remember?" Makhai jested, as the others snickered at his expense.

Gohan glared back at him in annoyance, "Just get into position already."

The Sacred Meadow, The Sacred Realm of The Kais, Universe Ten - The present

"And now, it's time for you to confess your sins."

A tense silence drifted over the sacred realm as the young Destroyer's words hung in the air. Zamasu's right eye twitched, glaring daggers at the halfling as Makhai fanned himself in the background.

"Chills," he breathed out in adoration, "Literal chills."

"Oh spare me," Eris drawled, rolling her eyes at his display.

"Shh!" he hissed, "You're ruining the moment!"

"Yeah I've got to admit, it didn't sound as cool as it did earlier," mustered Alala sheepishly, still poised in a flawless fighting stance.

Gohan whipped his head towards them, looking rather hurt, "I-It didn't?"

"Of course it did!" Makhai gushed, intervening quickly, "Don't listen to these amateurs! Keep going, you've got this champ."

The young saiyan smiled back gratefully, as Zamasu spluttered in utter bewilderment, "What are you imbeciles talking about?!"

"You know Deimos," Makhai continued, observing the destruction around him and ignoring the flabbergasted Kai, the crater still smoking from where the Super Dragonball had landed and the ground around it completely upheaved, "This plan of yours has actually worked out really well, we should get you drunk more often."

"Shove it!"

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP YOU CRETINS!" Zamasu spat, positively seething at their ignorance, "How dare you! How DARE you besmirch these sacred grounds with your lowly - !"

"I'd choose your next words carefully, Zamasu," Gohan interrupted boldly, causing the apprentice to look towards him with venom in his eyes, "And you're in no position to be barking out orders, especially with all the damning evidence we've found against you. Or did you forget about those little scribblings that you've got holed up in the sacred temple? Come now, don't be shy, why don't you enlighten us?"

"You," he growled, taking a dangerous step towards the halfling, "This is all your doing you revolting creature - !"

"Zamasu!"

The junior deity turned suddenly at his master's call, his anger dissipating as swiftly as it had come, regarding Gowasu almost curiously.

"Zamasu, explain yourself at once!" The Supreme Kai of the Tenth spouted hotly, his eyes wide and frantic, his garb singed and dirt laden. His fellow Kai and Kibito poised themselves beside him in support, frowning deeply at the apprentice. "What in great galaxies are you doing with the divine wishing orbs? A-are you hiding them here? I don't understand -!"

Though he was cut short, by his student's subsequent laughter, cruel and cold, so much so it seemed to freeze Gowasu's words in the air.

"There is a lot that you appear not to understand, Master," Zamasu said with a sadistic smirk, "Though I suppose that you would have learned about my further studies soon enough. Alas a little earlier than I had planned, no thanks to these miserable interlopers."

Gohan's jaw clenched tightly, though his stance remained unwavering as he stood before the Kai - ready should the evil deity make any sudden moves.

"F-Further studies?" Gowasu asked, a mixture of shock and confusion evident upon his pale features.

The apprentice Kai chuckled darkly, a ghost of a sneer upon his lips, "Why yes, for you see there are a lot of things that you have failed to teach me, things that I believe require paramount attention in order for the cosmos to thrive. Ancient books within the temple walls can only provide me with limited knowledge. But it is no matter, for I have learned all the same of the injustices of the universe that need correcting, of the atrocities that plague the cosmos and of the beings that hinder the rebirth of paradise."

The older Kai's eyes widened in horror, his mouth hanging open as Zamasu continued.

"Oh don't look so unnerved," he said, smirk ever widening, "After all, you have always taught me to strive for knowledge wherever possible. I am simply honouring your teachings, Master Gowasu."

"B-but at what cost?" he asked in a stunned whisper, his voice raspy and tight against the thick tension in the air, stumbling over his words.

"Cost?" Zamasu quirked, "There is no cost as I see it. The eradication of the multiverse is an admirable and worthy sacrifice, imperative to bring about the dawn of another. An endless age that can never be tainted, one universe with only noble Gods of purity and splendour left to rule it."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Gowasu gasped, horrified, as Lord Beerus failed to stifle an angered growl beside him. "How could a Kai commit such malfeasance?!"

"That is hardly the word I would use," he replied in amusement, "For what is so nefarious about cleansing mortal blight and restoring the beauty of creation?"

"Your views are unspeakable," Shin stated finally, unable to contain his anger, "Is that how you justify helping such a wicked being such as Perses? Draining power from the Gods themselves before you murder them? Is creating a new, unbalanced universe how you justify your unholy actions?!"

Zamasu stared, his steely eyes narrowing at the purple-skinned Kai, "Your puny, narrow-minded brain couldn't even comprehend the paradise that Perses and I will strive to build."

"Perses?!" Gowasu spluttered, he looked as though he was about to faint, his breathing coming up short, "Zamasu, see reason, surely you cannot be serious about setting that monster free?!"

"We had a hunch that this brat was conspiring with Perses since we first met at Grand Zeno's palace," Lord Beerus informed him, before Zamasu could answer, "I'm sorry you had to find out like this Kai, but it appears as though you were too blinded by his insufferable slobbering to notice his true intentions, and that he was using dark magic to drain my power and feed it to Perses. Correct me if I'm wrong footboy. Though I'm just itching to know why you are collecting the Super Dragonballs, much less how you managed to infiltrate the sixth and seventh universes without my brother and I noticing."

"Perses and I share the same ideals, and the sacred wishing orbs are but a stepping stone on the path towards achieving our ultimate goal," Zamasu informed them with a grin that was borderline sadistic, "Majin sorcery can only take us so far after all, though I must say that it has done a fine service in draining your life energy Beerus. It is only a matter of time before your body begins to succumb to the abyss, and as you know, there is no coming back from that."

The Destroyer grit his teeth, the misuse of his proper title solidifying the Kai's disrespect, "You think you can best me, you little -!"

"Zamasu, this isn't right!" Gowasu cried, watery eyes pleading with his student, "How could you?! How could you collude with Perses? The great taboo that forced six whole universes to the brink of their extinction?! And after everything I've taught you. I dread to think what The Grand Minister would say if he found that six of the seven divine wishing orbs were being concealed in the tenth's sacred realm. Don't you realise that the Super Dragonballs are only meant for use by the Gods under dire circumstances, such a thing is sacred -!"

"Quell your ramblings old man," the junior deity spat viciously, "I have not committed any crimes for these are dire circumstances indeed. I cannot stand idly by and watch whilst the cosmos turns to ruin, crawling with the unjust. It is all for the greater good."

"Perses has already used the Dragonballs once before his imprisonment," Shin interjected hotly, "What else could you possibly wish for if he has already been granted a deity's lifespan by the eternal Dragon God? Power? Immortality? The eradication of all twelve universes?!"

The sinister being ginned wickedly, "Oh my dear idiotic Kai, you are so naive. The Divine Dragon may be the ultimate Maker of Dreams, though once again you fail to see the bigger picture as we do. Power will transcend into greatness, and continue long after the reckoning. The Divine Dragon is but a pawn in fashioning this great vessel."

"A vessel?" The Supreme Kai of the Seventh blinked, though the look in his eyes gave away to his fear, "For what?"

"For something far more beautiful than what this pestilent cosmos deserves," He smirked, "And once we have achieved this, we will maintain order by wiping out everything that you have ever known. The Gods will die, the Angels will go out of commission and the rest will be condemned to oblivion, wishing orbs and all, so that not one being in existence will be able to use their power again."

There was a small sound that escaped the silence that followed, as Whis grasped onto his staff more tightly, his features calm yet stern.

"Oh yeah?" Gohan snarled suddenly, breaking through the tension. His fingers twitched and curled inwards, his hands balling up into fists, small bolts of electricity jolting around his knuckles as his temper began to rise, "Not if I can stop you."

"How foolish," said Zamasu, his eyes glinting with mirth, "Don't you realise that even if you fight against us that you are only prolonging the inevitable? For you cannot stop what is about to come. The apocalypse is nigh, and you will perish as you were, your so called bravery misplaced and more so unworthy of the divinity that you so selfishly seek."

"Watch your tongue - !" Alala growled, aiming her sharp arrow point towards the Kai's head in warning.

"Stand down Alala," the young saiyan said in a commanding tone, holding up a hand in a dismissive signal as he addressed Zamasu once more, his emerald eyes hardening, "He can believe what he wants. Though you're even more stupid than you look Zamasu, if you think that you can get away with running your mouth like that when we've got you surrounded."

"So self-assured," the green-skinned God taunted, "It'll be your downfall Son Gohan."

"What's that?" Gohan called mockingly, "I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of you being a hypocritical prick."

Makhai snorted next to him, stifling a laugh, as Zamasu's lip curled into a snarl, opening his mouth to retort when Gowasu's voice cut across the decimated planes once more.

"Zamasu please!" He cried desperately, though, his pleas were lost on his student, "It doesn't have to be this way! It is not too late to right these wrongs! We can find the last wishing orb, reinforce Perses' bonds and put this whole mess behind us - !"

"I think not," Lord Beerus stated harshly, glaring out the Kai, "Zamasu will stand trial before the Divine Council for his actions, and serve punishment accordingly. If he tries to run, myself or Lord Gohan will seek to Destroy him."

Gowasu's lip trembled, though he remained silent, staring out at his apprentice almost longingly.

"Even if you manage to Destroy me, our plan will still come into fruition," Zamasu said vindictively, no fear of extinction evident upon his collected features, "Perses and I share the same goal, and I have aided him accordingly. We shall not fail. Our cause is true and divine, our cause is justice."

Makhai scoffed, "That was almost poetic if you weren't such a raging pair of fucking psychopaths."

"MAKHAI!" Kratos roared in warning, just as a razor sharp blade of Ki cut through the air and hurtled towards him.

"Yikes!" The ginger-haired Guardian yelped, swiftly jumping into the air out of harms way as a long, stretching shockwave of energy swiped directly under his legs.

Gohan breathed out a sigh of relief before glaring daggers at Zamasu, whose right forearm was engulfed with a light purple energy blade. Had it been anyone else but the quick-footed Makhai caught off guard like that, the teenager was certain that they would have been cut in half.

"You will be the first sacrifice towards the new world for your cheek," the corrupted apprentice spoke viciously, raising the blazing arm up once more and taking a step towards the boy, "And I promise that it'll be slow and painful."

Makhai's auburn eyebrows knitted together, his features suddenly serious, slipping into his fighting stance instantaneously, Gohan and the other members of The Supreme Guard quickly following suit.

"Zamasu, stop this at once!" Gowasu called out again, his strangled cry reaching their ears, "Stand down! You are no match for all of them!"

The sound of his master's constant pleas seemed to push the amoral menace over the edge, as he whirled around positively screeched, "SILENCE!"

And then it happened before any one could blink.

The dark torrent of midnight energy erupted from Zamasu's palm, pulsating with a devastatingly murderous amount of power, it careened straight towards the Gods standing on the edge of the decimated meadow, where it exploded in a calamitous display of blackened smoke and violet light.

KA-BOOM!

The Supreme Guard gasped, as Zamasu smirked with delight. Though his victory was short lived, as the smoke began to dissipate, and Gowasu and his entourage were left completely unharmed. The former had fallen to the ground out of shock, blinking up at the golden haired teenager standing before him.

For there, amongst the black clouds and falling debris - was Gohan. His emerald eyes inured like steel as he unashamedly burned with rage. The golden glow of his super saiyan two form - the fastest and more agile out of his three transformations - hummed over the meadow, the dazzling light reflecting in gigantic orange orb of the Super Dragonball, along with the ones still hanging in the atmosphere, bathing the entire realm in a bright hue of yellow light. Lightening bolts clashed and rippled over his muscular frame, a stubborn bang of hair wavering over his eyes in defiance, as if daring the ever devilish Zamasu to just try and take another shot.

The young saiyan could feel both Whis and Lord Beerus watching him intently. He knew full well that his superiors could have intercepted the oncoming blast with ease just as he had, though he wasn't about to let Zamasu get off the hook so easily. Oh yes, for all the crimes he had committed thus far, as well as dishonouring him and taking a swipe at his best friend, Gohan would be the one to take the evil bastard down. If he wouldn't submit to a trial before the Gods willingly, then the halfling certainly had no problem in eliminating him from existence. Though he knew that the destruction of Gods, junior or otherwise was not to be taken lightly, and as such was frowned upon if carried out without sufficient trial.

All that mattered now though was that he had to apprehend him, and fast.

He gritted his teeth irritably, as Zamasu's mocking laughter reached his ears once more, "There's no need for impatience my Lord, you will get your turn soon enough."

"Why don't we go right now? Just you and me," the teenager glowered, "Unless you're too scared that is."

"Zamasu…," Gowasu whispered behind him, speaking as though the corrupted deity could hear him. The Supreme Kai was clearly struggling with himself, still reeling from the shock of his student's attack, as he was helped shakily to his feet by Shin and Kibito. "No… for the Gods sake, he'll kill you if you indulge him."

"Are you done pleading with him, Supreme Kai?" Gohan asked coldly, his authority ringing true as the yellow-skinned God nearly jumped right out of his skin, "'Cause I'd like to get to fighting now."

Though the young Destroyer did not wait for an answer, kicking off from the ground and launching himself at Zamasu like a speeding bullet taking to the air, leaving a speechless Gowasu in the dust.

CLASH!

Their fists connected, blowing the ground away from them in a shower of falling mud and grass, that quickly crumbled to ash from the sheer output of power that was being thrown around. The Supreme Guard jumped away from them quickly, firing themselves high up into the soft yellow sky that was quickly darkening from the effects of battle, the sizzling hot Ki threatening to change the weather.

"Yeah get him Gohan!" Makhai hollered from above, as the halfling's boot connected harshly with the Kai's jaw, snapping his head back on impact, "You're a real man now!"

"MAKHAI!" The teen roared, parrying Zamasu's subsequent barrage of fists as the junior Kai quickly recovered from his attack - much to his annoyance, "Shut up will you?!"

The ginger-haired Lethien held up his hands his defence, as the rest of the Guard looked between the two boys in confusion.

Gohan sighed in exasperation, though before he could scold his best friend further for his tactlessness, he was met with a sickening blow to his gut - curtesy of his opponent's knee. The teenager coughed up up a wad of blood and saliva, his anger building even more so before he jolted his head forwards, meeting Zamasu's skull with a crippling head-butt and following up with a golden ball of Ki to his chest.

The apprentice Kai was knocked backwards through the air, speeding across the sacred planes before he managed to catch himself. He snarled angrily, a trail of sticky purple blood now pouring from the centre of his temple. It made him look even more twisted, as the droplets trailed down his nose to his lips, where he licked them clean. His garb was torn and singed, exposing his well-toned torso that had a sizzling, purplish burn etched upon the once pristine green skin. His cold, calculated stare regarded the golden-haired Destroyer from a distance, the four star Super Dragonball resting between them in the middle of the meadow.

"You miscreant," he seethed, "You dare to defile the face of a God!"

"Oh I dare," the young saiyan glared, another lighting bolt snapping at the air like an angry cobra as it intermingled with pulsating aura, "And I'm about do to a whole lot more."

Zamasu quickly crossed his arms in front of his face, as Gohan attacked. Though the punch was so powerful that it easily smashed through the Kai's guard, clocking him straight in the chin and sending him flying backwards until he careened to a halt. But the halfling did not give the wicked fiend time to recover, as he was already upon him, parrying his swinging fists with ease before following up with a sickening bombardment of kicks and punches.

The Junior Destroyer's speed was seemingly unrivalled, as Zamasu was indeed too slow to block most of his attacks, the vicious onslaught pushing him back. Seething with contempt, the young Kai allowed a roar to escape his chest, pushing his unholy Ki even higher before releasing it in an explosive wave that sent a shock of energy rippling over the sacred meadow.

Though to Zamasu's surprise, it all but blew the half-breed back all but a few paces, before he was upon him once more. Ducking under a deadly right hook, the Kai forged another Ki blade within his right palm - rife with negative energy that assaulted the young saiyan's senses.

Emerald eyes sparking in the purplish glow, Gohan caught the oncoming spear quickly in between both of his palms, just as Zamasu brought the blade swiping downwards towards his head. The teenager grit his teeth, the Kai's energy so full of murderous intent that it gripped at his senses, the freezing cold nearly taking his breath away. He growled, low in his throat as they were locked in a stalemate in midair - with Zamasu forcing more bloodthirsty power into the blade, causing it to grow largely in size, and he was forced to push back to stop it from slicing his head off.

"You think that you're so brave, it's almost touching," Zamasu chuckled darkly, the blood still dripping from the deep gash in his forehead, "Though I suppose that I should commend your perseverance in the face of your annihilation."

"You talk way too much," The young Destroyer snarled, a bead of sweat tickling down his brow as he struggled against the blade, this skin prickling unpleasantly as the heat positively radiated from it in searing hot waves. Shit, just how strong was this nutter?! "Don't you ever shut up?!"

The Kai grinned maliciously, pouring even more of his strength into the attack, his muscular arms bulging, his ceremonial garb ripping from the seams, "Funny, I could say the same thing about you boy."

"At least what I'm saying isn't batshit mental - gah!" He paused, forcing Zamasu's deadly arm slightly upwards, his muscles screaming in protest, "Y-You talk as though you're going to destroy everything for some noble cause, when r-really i-it's genocide!"

"Ha!" Zamasu barked, though he was now sweating profusely against the halfling's grip, he was struggling just as much as Gohan was, high winds suddenly picking up around them as they both fought for dominance, "And you'd know all about that, now wouldn't you?"

Gohan's jaw clenched, his eyes darkening as he continued, "Tell me, just how many races have you brought to extinction? How many planets have you eliminated? How many solar systems have you wiped out because you believed that your cause was just?"

The teenager staggered for only a moment, before he shouted fiercely, spit flying into his opponents face, "Fuck you! I had reason!"

"Reason?" Zamasu probed, the blade unrelenting, "Destroyers do not see reason. Just the same way as mortals are too blinded by greed and corruption to realise their mistakes. You and your kind only serve to fuel this brutality, this stain on Creation. So why is it fair for you to pass judgement? Why is it that those born in filth are gifted with the task of cleansing it, when the children of the ancient Gods, born from the Tree of Worlds by which they planted, are fated to do nothing but watch this injustice occur?"

"It's not cleansing!" Gohan snapped with venom on his tongue, his arms beginning to tremble, "It's balance!"

"And what is so balanced about a never ending cycle of violence of death?" The apprentice Kai quirked, "Once the mortals destroy, you destroy, thus fuelling this eternal spinning wheel of corruption. Mortals and Gods alike fear you, and fear sparks sin and rebellion, it fuels obliteration. You Lord Gohan, embrace it and embody it. And just like the fear you create, you bring about judgement and death."

"Y-You're wrong!" The halfling spat, though he was desperately trying to ignore the seizing feeling of guilt that clutched at his hearts strings, tearing at his insides.

Flashes of terrified screams echoed in his mind, springing up from his memory banks like wild fires that refused to be put out. They were the screams of the ones that he tried to forget, the ones who had disappeared into oblivion right before his eyes when he didn't have another choice, their screams dying with them as they were wiped from existence forever, as he dealt the final judgement that went even beyond King Yemma and The Otherworld. Souls that would never pass on, as he brought forth the power that was fuelled by his own guilt and fear, the negative emotions that he only greeted all to readily when he was about to deliver death. Or a fate worse than, even.

Zamasu caught the flicker of guilt in his eyes, which only spurred his taunts further, "You speak of my so called crimes, but what you have done is far worse."

Gohan snapped.

With an unrestrained roar, the teenager surged with power, his hair growing longer and reaching his ankles as he transformed back into the third level of super saiyan. The enormous winds whipped around them as his golden aura increased tenfold before it steadily turned a vibrant shade of violet, unable to contain the sudden rush of rage that threatened to engulf him.

The spike in crippling strength caused the Ki blade to splinter and shatter, before Gohan forcibly kicked Zamasu's arm away from his head and backhanded him across the sky with an unrelenting BOOM!

The young saiyan panted as Zamasu took time to recover, his teeth bared in a snarl and the purple aura of Destruction licking at his muscular frame, his dirt-laden blue garb wavering in the air, as he allowed the raging power of the Gods to take over. The negative emotions barrelling through his mind too powerful to stifle any longer. He stared down at the Kai now floating in the air across from him with hatred in his eyes.

Zamasu all but smirked at his display.

"Ah, the famous temper that I've heard so much about," he observed almost gleefully, "I wondered how long it was going to take to see it in it's true fruition."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Gohan growled, "Though if you keep this up then you just might get to."

Though to his further enragement, Zamasu looked amused rather than unnerved, a sadistic smile forming on his lips, "Oh I am counting it. Oh yes, Perses and I know a great deal about you and your hidden powers, Son Gohan. I thought it only proper to find out more about this new Junior Destroyer of the seventh universe when I was searching for the last of the Dragonballs. For I knew that you would no doubt be the first challenge that we would come to face. What I learned a few years ago wasn't that impressive by all accounts, you were just a boy then, only but a few months into your training as a Destroyer. I sought council from the great story-teller and librarian of your universe, Master Zuno, who told me some very interesting facts about you."

"Wow, I'm flattered and creeped out," the teenager quipped, still glaring daggers at the Kai, "It sounds as though I'm going to have to get a restraining order."

The Kai's eye twitched in irritation, before his cruel laughter once again echoed over the planes, "As brazen as ever. It's no wonder that you were condemned to die, both in this timeline and the other."

Gohan frowned, he could see The Supreme Guard floating a ways off out of the corner of his eye, watching the exchange intently, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about an alternate universe of course, one where you were never supposed to become a challenger to our cause. One where your path never set you on the journey towards divinity. Instead, you were supposed to die at the age of twenty-three, by the hands of mortal made destroyers who would lay waste to your home world. But no, that fate was avoided, changed, by a manipulation of the time stream caused by another lowly mortal of your world."

The teenager's eyes widened, he was right after all. Gohan knew all too well of the dreadful fate that his so called future counterpart had been dealt in Future Trunks' doomed world - the time that should have been. He and the rest of the Z-Fighters had all perished by the hands of Doctor Gero's creations, leaving Trunks as the Earth's sole protector. As a boy, it had made the young saiyan all the more determined to put an end to the reign of the androids and save his friends and family all those years ago. But why was Zamasu of all people interested in that? It hadn't effected his universe after all.

His resolve wavered for but a moment, as Zamasu leered, "It's a pity that you do not practice what you preach, half-breed. If anything, it is your mortal friends that threaten the cosmical balance. Tales of Dragonballs, resurrection and time travel - it is a abomination. And yet you further this disgrace by besmirching the sacrilege of the Gods and freeing the Z-Sword where every deity before you could not. Why you I wonder? And you wield the ancient blade like a prize, thus proving your mortal arrogance. So tell me, before I smite you for your crimes Destroyer, where is the relic?"

"You're even more cracked than I thought if you think that I'm going to tell you," he shot back, "The Z-Sword chose me, it doesn't belong to you or any other nutcase in the multiverse. And even if you did manage to get your filthy hands on it, you wouldn't be able to lift it!"

He observed him for a moment, before his cold words reached his ears once more, "It does not belong to you, you wretched fool. You know that you were not meant to be. You know that you should have died a most painful and brutal death and watch your dunghill of world fall to ruin from the afterlife! Yet here you stand, a manifestation of the sheer hubris of mortals, a product of corruption who should never have been given the chance to obtain the divinity that you are so unfit to wield. And when I have corrected your existence then I will seek to right the rest of this cosmos, starting with your unworthy, diabolical Earth."

"I'm fed up of your preaching Zamasu," The halfling mustered snidely, he could feel the searing heat of his fury rippling under his skin, just begging to be unleashed even further, "And if you think that I'm just going to lay down and take your distorted ramblings as gospel then you're surely mistaken. I will never let you unleash chaos upon this realm, or any other."

Zamasu smiled unnervingly, "You speak of chaos as though it is the end of everything. Though in reality it a stepping stone to victory, allowing our goal to develop and grow like a babe in the womb. Chaos is but a precursor to the rebirth of greatness."

"You really are a fucking headcase aren't you?" Gohan deadpanned, prompting the wicked God to smirk, the crazed grin spreading widely over his bloodied features.

"Maybe so to an insignificant mortal mind, but all that will not matter once the beauty of the new world comes to light."

The teenager clenched his fists, a fierce determination in his emerald eyes, "You won't win. I won't let you slaughter hundreds of billions of innocents just for your sick goal."

"Oh," Zamasu quirked, "And are you going to stop me?"

Gohan did not reply, instead he responded by firing himself towards his opponent, the intermingled power of destruction and super saiyan three surging through his veins like hot lightening, sizzling over his entire body in electrifying waves. His fury fuelled his rapid spike in Ki as Zamasu readied himself, his stance strong and unwavering in the air, when suddenly the halfling phased out.

The junior Kai blinked rapidly in alarm, whirling around behind him before he was met with a fierce kick straight to the face.

The resounding CRACK informed Gohan that his opponent's nose was quite obviously broken, the forthcoming blood spurting outwards and hitting his cheek. Though he ignored Zamasu's rasping cry of pain, and followed up in his attack, viciously striking his torso in a plethora of crippling blows that quaked the very earth beneath them. Finishing off with a fast knee to his solar plexus - that made the Kai double over in agony, the young saiyan brought his fists together and smashed them into the back of his enemy's skull, sending the Kai crashing towards the ground.

Gohan was dominating Zamasu, that was clear to see, phasing out once more and meeting the deity just before he hit the ground, his outstretched boot colliding with his ribs, fracturing them on impact. Zamasu twisted painfully and rolled, finally hitting the dusty ground and skidding to a halt, upheaving a long line of dirt and debris in the process.

The young saiyan landed before the fallen apprentice with a brutal stare, as he continued to cough up copious amounts of blood and phlegm. Though to Gohan's agitation, his coughing fit quickly turned to laughter - even despite his injures, the dust clouds settling around them.

"Hurry up and bring him in boy!" Lord Beerus shouted suddenly from the sidelines, "Or will I be forced to get my hands dirty too?"

Still seething, and struggling to curb his anger, the halfling held up his right hand in an open palm, fingers pointing towards the sky with his thumb turned slightly inwards. He concentrated a small amount of Destruction energy into the centre of his outstretched palm, causing it to swirl with purple particles in warning.

"Give it up Zamasu," The young Destroyer stated venomously, a dark look encompassing his features, looking like the very essence of an intimidating God of Destruction, the purple hue of his aura almost eclipsing them, "It's over."

"Oh no," Zamasu chuckled again, the sinister tone rippling over the sacred realm, "This is just the beginning."

"What the -?!" The teenager gasped, as a sudden surge of dark Ki assaulted his senses. Though it did not appear to be emitting from the corrupted Kai. Instead, the warped energy seemed to be coming from right behind -

BAM!

Gohan winced in pain, unprepared for the sudden devastating strike to his temple, his head reeling as it was thrust harshly to the side. His aura of Destruction dissipated completely as he recoiled, his vision blurred for but a moment, as he was knocked straight into the world eclipsing wishing orb with a sickening CLANG!

He snarled, his eyebrow had split completely open, causing a spillage of crimson blood to ooze over his reddening cheek. Though his eyes widened in disbelief, when he caught sight of what, or rather who had just hit him.

"What the fuck was that for Kratos?!" Makhai yelled from above, "Gohan almost had the git! I swear that enormous ego of yours is just a big shield for the amount of EMPTY SPACE behind it! Now is NOT the time to be a diva!"

Though it appeared that Kratos wasn't privy to the boy's outburst, as instead his steely blue-eyed gaze was fixed completely on the wounded half-saiyan. The hardened warrior was breathing heavily as Gohan managed to peel himself off of the Dragonball. Though it was evident that his breathlessness wasn't due to exhaustion, but from the sheer amount of crippling power that coursed unnaturally through his entire being. Kratos' large muscles were bulging even more so than ever, and Gohan could see the thick veins pulsating underneath the taught skin that strained over them. His teeth were bared, gnashing together as a growl escaped his heaving chest.

The young saiyan couldn't help but gulp, as the crazed Guardian's crimson aura suddenly burst to life around his frame, crackling with dark bolts of electricity as he started to drift towards him. And as he drew closer, his gaze honed in on the strange tattoo that had somehow appeared on his forehead.

"This is the last time you will swipe the glory from underneath my feet," Kratos leered dangerously.

"Kratos what the hell are you doing?!" Makhai cried again, "Just let Gohan have this one will you?Stop being a damned princess and get your stupid thickheaded arse back here!"

"Um Makhai?" Alala gulped beside him with Bia, the pair staring wide eyed at the air across from them, "Something's not right."

"I'll say! Kratos' obsession with defeating Gohan has gotten a little too unhealthy in my opinion, honestly it's a wonder I haven't caught him stabbing a Gohan-shaped voodoo doll in the dead of night or something," the ginger-haired teen griped, tearing his gaze away from Kratos when she didn't reply and frowning at the terror-stricken look on her face, "…what?"

The violet-skinned girl all but outstretched her arm, pointing towards the two figures floating before them, both pulsating with dark energy, teeth bared just like Kratos in a manic expression, their ceremonial cloaks whipping about them as their colourful aura's glowed with a staggering influx of negative power.

"Oh shi -!"

"Now what will you do, Destroyer?" Zamasu called mockingly, struggling back to his feet as Gohan caught sight of Eris and Deimos above him, both with the matching symbol of dark sorcery upon their foreheads - the sign of the ancient Majin. "Majin possession latches on to a persons deepest impurities after all, and it appears as though this is rife with some of your friends."

The halfling growled, balling up his fists in anger as he looked towards Kratos who hovered before him, as though awaiting his next command.

"Using mortal magic to aid you, Zamasu?" he spat reproachfully, "Isn't that a bit 'beneath' you?"

"Once again your arrogance never ceases to amaze me," the Kai sneered, "Majin magic is just as ancient as the Gods themselves. Until my ancestors foolishly allowed mortals to abuse this power and make it their own. In time, the mortals turned it dark and corrupted for their own selfish gain, hence why the Kai's have an aversion to such magic. But you see, there has not been a Kai for many millennia with the strength and mental prowess to master it, until now. For you see, there is no other Kai like me."

"You can say that again," Gohan muttered dryly, as the sound of Kratos' haggard breathing continued to fill the air.

Even though his eyes were glazed over, the teenager could still depict the murderous intent within them. Kratos may have been granted a pass to The Grand Kai's planet when he had died, unlike Eris and Deimos who were condemned to HFIL for all the atrocities they had committed when they were alive, but he was still an incredibly prideful and somewhat jealous person.

Although Kratos had mellowed out considerably in the time that Gohan had known him - which was saying a hell of a lot by all accounts, it was clear that Zamasu had taken advantage of that fact, given what he had learned about Majin magic from Videl. After all, the wizard who had released Majin Buu had latched onto his father's damning emotions of grief and regret and managed warped it into evil intentions. Perhaps the wicked Kai had managed to do a similar thing with Kratos and his envy and pride.

He winced slightly, looking towards Eris and Deimos who had surrounded Makhai, Alala and Bia, forcing them into a back to back huddle. As much as he loved them, they weren't exactly the most saintly out of the group, and there was no doubt that Zamasu had extorted the evil that still lurked deep within the depths of their hearts for all it was worth.

"Oh don't look so worried!" The sadistic apprentice spouted again in delight, nursing his broken ribs with a bloodied hand and relishing in the tortured look that graced the halfling's features, "I am merely giving you a chance to redeem yourself! So why not do the cosmos a service and wipe this corrupted filth from existence?"

"You bastard!" The young saiyan seethed, hatred burning in his eyes, "Change them back! Change them back right NOW!"

"I'm afraid that it isn't as simple as that," The Kai replied with a devilish smirk, "The counter curse is extremely complex. Your only hope now is to snap them out of their possession or destroy them."

"I will never hurt my friends," he replied forcibly, prompting another chortle of laughter to escape the junior deity.

"Then I suppose they'll just kill you instead," He retorted up at him with a smug smile, his eyes slowly drifting to his halo and back again, "Or should I say wipe your pathetic soul from existence."

As if on cue, they attacked. Gohan yelped, catching Kratos' swinging fist right out of the air, struggling against his grasp as his crimson aura radiated like a impregnable heat against his skin. The larger teen snarled, spit flying as he pushed against his grasp, finally drawing his fist back before attacking again.

"Kratos stop this!" he yelled, blocking another punch and leaping out of the way of another, "Snap out of it! I don't want to hurt you!"

"I wouldn't worry about him," Zamasu told him wickedly, "I'd be more worried about yourself if I were you!"

Gohan growled, shouting back to him, "You'll be worried in a minute when I shove my foot up your - ARGH!"

The teen saiyan cried out, as Kratos' muscular leg swung towards him, prompting him to duck and allow the deadly strike to sing right over his head. He could hear the shouts of Makhai, Alala and Bia further away across the darkened yellow skies, trying desperately to crane his neck to check on them as he attempted to dodge Majin Kratos' onslaught.

"You hurt ME?!" the possessed teen seethed, managing to grab a hold of the long golden spikes of hair atop his head as he was suddenly distracted by another cry of agony across the sky.

Gohan winced in pain as his head was forcibly dragged upwards to meet the warrior's gaze, though before he could speak, Kratos cut across him.

"I've had enough of your disrespect," he spoke lowly, though the strain in his voice was harsh on his ears, "You have bested me on every turn, every challenge, snatching up every victory oh so nobly when you don't deserve it. Do you hear me?! You don't deserve to be the next Destroyer! I should be the one to succeed Lord Beerus, not you!"

SLAM!

The young saiyan had no choice but to grit his teeth to avoid biting off his tongue as Kratos slammed his forehead into his. He was seeing stars, as the tainted teen continued to smash their skulls together in rapid succession, warm blood already spilling into his eyes.

"You're too young!" SLAM! "Too inexperienced!" WHACK! "Too arrogant!" WHAM! "STUPID- !"

This was maddening, Gohan thought begrudgingly. He was supposed to be fighting Zamasu, not Kratos. And although he really didn't want to hurt his friend, his attack was certainly smarting, and pissing him off even more so. With an internal sigh, he relented, bringing up his knee and ramming it into the big brute's stomach, prompting him to let go immediately and clutch at his midsection in a screeching howl of pain.

The young Destroyer wiped his bloodied face on the hem of his tattered garb, his skull stinging as he stared down at his injured comrade, "I really don't want to have to fight you mate, but if you pull that shit again then next time I'll make sure that I aim a little closer to the crotch."

Kratos glared back, straightening up as he recovered a little more swiftly than Gohan had expected. The older teen's teeth glinted in a manic smile, blood trailing down his mouth, unnerving him slightly.

Then, without warning, a low rumble came from the ground below, causing the Gohan to tear his gaze away from his opponent, just in time to see several deadly spikes of enforced rock erupt from beneath the meadow and fire towards him.

"EEP!"

Further across the sky, Makhai, Alala and Bia were locked in a similar state of raucous battle, forced back by their twisted comrades as they were torn between not hurting their friends and not being wiped from existence themselves.

"Deimos! Stop this at once!" Bia cried, her golden hair flying about her as she blocked the teen's oncoming blow with her forearm, wincing slightly as she managed to push him off, "We're your friends! You don't want to attack us!"

Though her pleas fell on deaf ears, as the green-skinned hellion followed up in his attack, snarling and spitting as he fired a series of lethal blasts towards her. The blonde beauty countered readily, encasing herself in a silver shield so that the energy balls seeped right into it. It glowed before it shattered, silver particles of light lifting into the atmosphere, and Bia was once again ducking and diving out of the way of Majin Deimos' barbarous fists.

"It's no use Bia!" Makhai called back to her, dodging a disc-shaped Ki attack that whizzed past his head, careening off into the distance where it sliced the peak off a far-away mountain with ease, sending a landslide of rock crumbling down into the valley below, "They aren't listening - OOF!"

The Lethien yelped, as he was met with an uppercut to the gut - curtesy of Majin Eris, before he managed to quickly kick her away from him, "Ouch, and they sure pack a punch! They aren't messing around!"

"Exactly," Alala griped, as the ash-haired Eris recovered in no time and made a beeline towards her, "We need to - argh - fight back seriously!"

She growled, doing just that, phasing out and slamming her fist into the girl's jaw. Though the dark princess did not cry out in pain, instead she all but grinned manically, phasing out and grabbing Alala from behind in a full nelson, before bending her form over backwards, her knee driving deeply in between her shoulder blades and causing her spine to strain and creak from the force. The violet-skinned youngster cried out in agony, the high pitched sound echoing over the sacred planes.

"Alala!" Bia and Makhai chorused, racing towards them just as Alala let out a shockwave of explosive energy, causing Eris to finally release her, knocking her back several feet. Though once again the red-skinned girl appeared completely unharmed, slingshotting back towards them with murderous fury in her eyes.

Using his superior speed, Makhai phased in front of Alala, his fist clashing with Eris' and rocking the air around them. He smirked as the girl glared arduously back at him, her muscles and veins bulging with tainted power before she drew back once more and swiped her leg towards him.

He flipped himself over her, wincing as her boot slammed into his spine from behind, though swiftly regained his senses and charged back towards the manic Majin as her energy continued to grow, her dark aura licking wildly at the air like flames.

BOOM!

The air surged from the force of their combined might, sending a myriad of black and silver lightening bolts rippling across the atmosphere as the pair clashed in midair. Majin Eris was unrelenting, every attack precise and crippling, slowly beginning to match Makhai's speed as the dark curse continued to feed her strength.

"You know Eris," Makhai panted as he managed to pull away from her onslaught for but a moment, wiping a trail of blood away from his chin, "I knew that you liked it rough, but this is just getting ridiculous."

"Insolent peasant," the dark princess mustered through gritted teeth, "I will make you rue the day that you did this to me!"

The mischievous teen quirked an eyebrow, "Didn't realise that we were using pet names now."

"SILENCE!" She roared, her hands balled up into fists, sparking with deadly power as a fierce wind picked up around her frame, the impending storm positively raging within the depths of her eyes, "I'll make you pay dearly! I will slaughter you for making me soft!"

"Funny that, 'cause you seem to make me the exact opposite."

"CURSE YOU!" Eris bellowed, her enraged screams intermingling with the high winds. Another cascade of lightening bolts jolted around them, before a twister of blackened energy engulfed her completely. The entire Sacred Realm of The Kais shook from the tornado that swept the meadow, unfurling in a devastating tunnel of destruction, and causing the untainted members of the Guard to gape in horror.

"Damn it!" Alala roared from where she was now caught up with fighting Majin Deimos, booting the ex-hellion in the ribs and sending him crashing back down to the ground, "We have to stop her before she destroys the entire realm!"

"It's awful," said Bia, golden eyes growing in concern as Deimos got back to his feet, a broken white rib painfully sticking out of the gash in his side. Though he seemed unaffected by the damaging blow that his comrade had just dealt him, his aura bursting to life around his enhanced muscular frame before he kicked off from the ground and came speeding towards them once more. "They won't stay down - !"

She was caught off guard, as her ankle was caught in a vice grip by the bewitched boy, swinging her around before sending her careening through the air. She crashed into Makhai with a sickening THUD, skulls clashing together and causing their heads to spin.

"You know, something tells me that Deimos is holding a grudge against me for that headache," the ginger teen spouted angrily over the roaring winds, rubbing the sore spot on his head and prompting Bia to sigh. The twister had now completely ripped through the scared temple, shards of glass and ancient stone intermingling with the column of clouds and dark, electrifying Ki.

"We should have listened to him when he was speaking of his ailment a few minutes ago," she said bitterly, surveying the devastation before her, the skies growing as black as night, "It wasn't from his hangover at all, Zamasu was most likely entering his mind."

"That bastard," Makhai spat, punching his fist into his open palm, "He's messed with the wrong Guardians."

"I'll say," Alala called angrily, blasting the irate Deimos away from her once more, "The only way we can stop it is to incarcerate Zamasu. I'll go after Kratos and distract him to give Gohan enough time to take him down. You two stay here."

Bia nodded, "I'll try and calm Eris by feeding her positive thoughts. Makhai, you take Deimos, you only seem to anger Eris further."

"Same old, same old," The boy sighed, before gathering a hot amber Ki ball in the centre of his palm, giving it a fierce throw and hitting Deimos square in the face, "ALALA, NOW!"

Majin Deimos recoiled, coughing and spluttering from the attack, until he turned furiously, now focussed on Makhai. Nodding at her friend, the dark-haired girl made her escape, bow and arrow poised in her grasp as Bia hurtled towards the rampaging tornado in a swirl of silver Ki.

Alala twisted in midair, and took deadly aim several feet below her.

Gohan yelped, narrowly avoiding the razor-sharp rocks that blew the hair back from his face and flipping himself over another. He whirled around quickly, as even longer, more jagged spikes rapidly hurtled towards him, diving and dodging out of the way of Kratos' devastating attack. The Majin's energy flooded his senses, so much so that it felt as though his mind was drowning from the sheer amount of power he was bringing forth.

But it was warped, twisted, and even though the evil magic had given the warrior a significant boost in strength, something just didn't feel right about it. He could feel it radiating from Deimos and Eris too, whose Ki's he could sense clashing with the others. And worst of all, they continued to grow.

The skies were growing even darker from the force and heat of energy colliding with one another. The screams and shouts of his friends - possessed or otherwise, intermingled with the howling tempest that had grown even more catastrophic since Majin Eris had released her tornado-like attack.

This was not looking good.

Majin Kratos roared with manic laughter, his crimson aura blazing, his arms outstretched as he continued to manipulate the world around him. And as Gohan dived under another rampaging spike of death that came screaming towards him, he caught sight of Zamasu below, hovering a few feet off of the ground, a satisfied smirk upon his lips.

The teenager snarled vexingly. He needed to put an end to it, and fast. Now if he could only get away from Kratos and - !

"OI GOHAN! HEADS UP!"

He whipped around just in time, as one of Alala's fierce arrows cut through the air from above. It soared straight past his ear, in between a twin pair of jagged spikes that were already headed towards him. The sharp point tore into Kratos' left shoulder, bursting out of the other side in a cascade of blood and sinew.

The large brute cried out in rage and agony, grasping onto his wounded and broken shoulder, dozens of jagged spikes of rock crumbled in midair, falling quickly to the ground as his concentration was suddenly lost. Kratos glared up at the girl as she shot another lethal arrow towards him, this time the keen head driving straight through his knee cap, causing him to drop several feet in the air, blood gushing from the wound as he roared in pain.

"Alala what - ?!" Gohan gaped at his friend, who was already loading up her bow, her wild black hair wavering about her in the untamed wind of her aura.

She was just as bruised and bloodied as he was, though she flashed him a small smile all the same, "Hurry up and take care of Zamasu, I'll handle Kratos."

"I-I-," he started, as another fierce growl escaped their possessed comrade, ripping the arrows right out of his bleeding wounds and firing himself back towards them, "Bloody hell, they're resilient."

"They'll keep getting up," Alala told him, her features becoming serious, "It's the dark magic. They could tear their body to shreds and the curse will keep them going until there is nothing left."

His eyes widened, a shiver running down his spine. He could not let that happen to his friends. Once the magic wore off - if it ever did - they could all die anyway. And seen as like him, they were already dead… well… he really didn't want to think about it.

"I don't want to hurt him more than I have to," she continued, her bow quivering as she drew back on the taut string, "So you'd better be quick!"

Although he'd rather help out his friend instead leaving her to tackle Zamasu, he knew what was at stake. Brushing off his feelings of loyalty, the young saiyan quickly came to his senses and powered up. He did so fiercely, rapidly. His golden aura now raging against the unrelenting winds as he shot towards Zamasu like a speeding bullet - no holds barred.

Cupping his hands to his side, Gohan charged up his attack as he catapulted through the air. The blue glow of the Kamehameha Wave already building in his palms as he quickly closed in on Zamasu, who blinked in shock at his rapidly approaching form.

The vibrant mixture of blue and gold light reflected in his panicked eyes, and the teenager knew that the wicked Kai was starting to feel the fear and desperation that he had bestowed upon his poor master moments earlier. Especially when he hopelessly shot an enormous power ball towards the halfling, missing him by inches.

"HA!" The young Destroyer cried, as the sonorous sphere of black, electrifying energy flew off into the distance behind him, "Was that supposed to hit me?! Looks like you're getting rusty already 'oh mighty' Zamasu!"

The Kai all but seethed at his mockery, as the teen towered above him, the Kamehameha swirling with a devastating amount of power, "KA - MEH - HAAAA - MEHHHHHH - !"

And just as Gohan was about to release the blast that would surely put an end to this madness, he felt a sharp tug at his navel, his entire body becoming completely rigid, the blue orb dissipating completely within his palms as his legs and arms were thrown backwards by invisible restraints.

Spreadeagled in the sky, he twisted and struggled, only to find that he couldn't move an inch. He gaped in shock and bewilderment. He was paralysed!

"What the - ?!" He started, emerald eyes widening as he caught sight of Majin Deimos hovering in front of him, recognising his Psycho Thread technique almost instantly. It wasn't all too often that the teen had seen him use it, only in severely dire circumstances. Deimos even deeming the technique cowardly at one point, for it quickly drained an opponents energy in the most painful of ways, making for an all too easy defeat. It also cut the ex-hellion's power in half the more he used it, though Gohan supposed that it didn't really matter seen as the power of this Majin tainted Deimos was seemingly limitless.

And just as he had thought it, a cascade of white hot needles penetrated his skin. Stabbing brutally at his muscles and tendons and causing him to bite the inside of his cheek, the metallic taste of blood hitting his tongue as he fought the urge to scream. He felt his transformation begin to waver, his long golden hair slowly retreating back to its usual length before fading completely to black. His energy gone.

He felt incredibly sick, his worn onyx eyes looking about him in alarm as he could no longer sense his friends fighting. He was enraged, when he caught sight of an broken and injured Makhai and Bia, suspended by their wrists in midair by a warped Eris. The twister had now come to a complete halt, leaving the planes silent and still, though completely in ruins. The red-skinned princess threw her bloodied comrades to the ground, where they hit the mud with an audible THUD.

They groaned heavily from the impact, and Gohan couldn't help but feel a little relieved from that, a sign that they were still breathing to some degree. He let out another snarl, as their crumpled forms were shortly joined by the battered body of Alala, curtesy of Kratos, who chucked the near unconscious girl on top of Bia before joining both Eris and Deimos in the sky.

Majin Deimos smirked maliciously, his palms outstretched as he smirked back at the halfling, who failed to muster the strength to fight his control any longer. He felt so unbearably weak.

"You almost had me, Destroyer," Zamasu jested, "Almost. But you see you and your so called 'Guardians' are no match for my divine majesty. And as the magic of the Majin eats away at their souls, they ultimately get stronger. Every hit that you land seeps into the atmosphere around you, and they soak the majority of it up for themselves, only strengthening them and making them more resilient. The curse all but recognises pain and turns it into power. Power that thanks to Deimos' technique, you no longer have access to whilst he still has a hold of you. And I will sit back and watch whilst your comrade drains every last drop, and rejoice as you fade away into nothingness."

"B-BASTARD! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Makhai cried suddenly, the boy getting shakily getting to his feet, as Bia and Alala woozily prised themselves out of the crater they had landed in.

The apprentice Kai chuckled darkly, his eyes averting to the boy for but a moment before he locked his gaze with Gohan's once more, "It seems as though I may just have to slaughter them first after all. All the more to make you suffer."

The teenager opened his mouth to retort, struggling against his invisible restraints and desperately attempting to bring forth his power once more, when a loud, barbarous bellow cut across the meadow.

"ENOUGH!"

His eyes widened in shock, as did Zamasu's and everyone else's present, as none other than Lord Beerus had decided to step into the fray. He had appeared before the Kai so fast that he had nearly missed it, grabbing hold of the evil deity's throat and hoisting him above his head. The beetle black eyes of the Destroyer bore directly into Zamasu's, as his long claws sunk into the flesh of his neck, drawing blood.

The Kai choked and spluttered, hands clawing and scratching at the wrist that held him in a vice grip - a vain attempt to get the cat-like God to release him. The Majins power wavered slightly, and Gohan was thankfully able to break out of the painful bonds that held him, blowing Deimos back with an explosive wave of Ki.

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?!" He couldn't help but yell, drawing his predecessor's angered scowl for but a moment, "We've all been getting our arses kicked out here and now you decide to help?!"

"Mind your tone with me boy!" Lord Beerus snapped angrily, before explaining himself, "I wanted to give you the chance to prove yourself. It seems as though I was wrong to assume that you could handle this pathetic worm on your own. If anything, you should be grateful that I allowed you to continue this charade for so long."

"Grateful?!" the young saiyan squawked, hardly believing his ears, "You've got to be JOKING!"

"Seems to me that you should stop making a habit of being so careless," he shot back, "And finish the job when I tell you to instead of letting that damned temper of yours get in the way of doing as you are told!"

The teenager clamped his mouth shut, as Whis sighed from across the fields, "He does have a point, Gohan."

"And now, to get rid of this treacherous filth," Lord Beerus scorned, eyeing the choking Kai in his grasp, "I have no doubt that The Grand Minister will take our word for it when we inform him of your misdeeds today, and insist that there was no other option but to Destroy you without trial. So, before you face oblivion, do you have any last words, Kai?"

Zamasu all but gagged in response, his lips steadily growing blue, his grip on the higher deity's grasp loosening.

"I thought so," the Destroyer stated, no remorse given as his features stood stoic, bringing up his remaining hand in an open palm, fingers pointed towards the sky, the devastating power of destruction just beyond the tip of his tongue.

A small sob was heard in the distance from Gowasu, just as a swirl of purple particles began to glow around Lord Beerus' claws.

"HAK - SNNNNOOOOORRRRRREEEEEE!"

Gohan blinked. Then blinked again. Hardly believing what he had just witnessed.

They were at the end. They were going to win. Lord Beerus was all but a syllable away from sealing their victory when his head suddenly lulled forwards, eyes closed peacefully as he let out an enormous snore that echoed over the planet. It appeared as though the realm itself had been stunned into silence, as the great Destroyer of Universe Seven had promptly fallen to sleep.

Right in the middle of destroying Zamasu.

Whether the wicked Kai was behind it or not didn't matter, for it was incredibly poor timing. Especially seen as Lord Beerus' hands relaxed in the midst of his slumber, and Zamasu had managed to wriggle free of his deadly grasp, disappearing completely out of sight in a flash of blinding light.

And then, chaos erupted.

It broke through the sudden stillness, as the Majin tainted Kratos, Eris and Deimos charged towards them once more. Gohan quickly burst into the second level of super saiyan, his energy now returned, lighting bolts rippling over his golden aura just as he managed to instinctively duck underneath Kratos' oncoming fist, grabbing it roughly and flipping the brute over his shoulder.

"PLAN C! PLAN C!" Makhai cried desperately, parrying a dark Ki blast that Majin Eris had sent his way before kicking her brutally across the jaw.

"What happened to plan B?!" Bia spouted, dodging out of the way of a knife hand from Majin Deimos and kneeing him in the sternum.

"This was plan B! Remember?!" Alala shot back, helping out her comrade by ramming her fists into the boy's skull, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Wait! Is there even a plan C?!" Makhai yelled, unleashing rapid fire on his opponent and blowing her into a nearby cliff.

"What do YOU think?!" Gohan seethed, his forearm clashing with Majin Kratos' oncoming shin and dodging out of the way of a stray blast that escaped the fray.

"Right then," his best friend puffed, a determined look crossing his features before he grabbed the belt on his gi trousers, "There's only one thing for it!"

"Not every fight has to end with you mooning someone, Makhai!" The young saiyan roared, delivering a spinning kick to the side of Kratos' head and causing him to recoil.

"It's a good distraction!" He argued.

"I swear to Zalama, if I see ONE arse cheek, then I'll Destroy you along with Zamasu!"

"Alright, alright!" the boy squeaked, tightening his sash back up again, "Yikes, no need for the gone-forever threat."

He rolled his eyes in exasperation, driving Kratos back with a well-aimed Masenko, the dark sky lighting up from the swirl of yellow energy. Damn it, what the hell where they going to do?! Better yet, where was Zamasu?!

There appeared to be no sign of him, and it was incredibly difficult to signal out the Kai's corrupted Ki what with the sheer amount of negative energy battering against his senses. He looked down quickly, his emerald gaze darting across the planes to see a troubled looking Whis beside Lord Beerus, levitating his sleeping form above him.

Then suddenly, there was an ungodly, strangled cry that reached his ears, it cut through the air like a scythe, for there was no other cry like it, and one all too familiar to him.

A cry of death.

Gohan gasped, horrified, as Gowasu dropped to his knees over by where the Kais had been worriedly watching the battle take place. The God choked, gurgling as river of dark purple blood cascaded out of his mouth.

Behind him, was Zamasu. He smirked triumphantly, withdrawing the razor-sharp Ki blade from his master's back, prompting even more blood to spurt from the gaping slash at the centre of his chest cavity.

"NO!" Shin and Kibito cried out in both terror and anguish, as Gowasu's eyes rolled into the back of his skull, his pupils turning completely white. It was as though it was all happening in slow-motion, as The Supreme Kai of Universe Ten fell forwards like a puppet whose strings had been cut. And he hit the ground face down in a puddle of his own blood.

Dead.

The horror crawled up his throat and lodged there, as the young saiyan stared disbelievingly at the scene before him. His blood boiled over, as Zamasu stood and laughed, kicking Gowasu's motionless body with his boot before he turned his attention to a shaking Shin and Kibito, raising a hand as a fatal Ki blast swirled within his palm.

"NO! SUPREME KAI! LOOK OUT!" Gohan roared, his golden aura billowing around him as he raced to intercept the blast.

THWACK!

He was cut short, as Majin Kratos sprang out of nowhere, barrelling into him and close-lining him out of the air. The halfling scrapped and snarled, embedding his fingernails into the brute's already wounded shoulder in an desperate attempt to prise out of his grasp. They span widely through the pitch black sky as Gohan viciously fought to overpower him.

With a blazing kick to the groin, the young saiyan then drove a sharp elbow into his larynx, subsequently causing his crazed comrade to screech out in agony - clutching at both his crotch and his throat, choking as though he was about to spew. Gohan payed him no heed, spiralling madly across the atmosphere and resuming his desperate path towards Zamasu.

Though to his relief, Whis had beat him to it, blocking the murderous blast that had already escaped the wicked Kai's palm in the ensuing chaos. Zamasu glared back at the Angel, who had quickly conjured a transparent, lime-coloured shield around the Kais from across the planes, saving both Shin and Kibito from being wiped out.

"It's like I said," Zamasu sneered, his cold gaze drifting towards the Kais once more as the dust settled, "You're only prolonging the inevitable. I wouldn't hang around if I were you."

"YOU BASTARD!" Gohan bellowed, charging towards the corrupted God in a swirl of golden, crackling energy.

Alas, his attempt was in vain.

"KAI KAI!" Zamasu cried, directing once last smirk towards the Junior Destroyer, before he teleported away in a flash of brilliant white light.

Gohan stumbled, skidding to a halt and kicking up a shower of dirt around him, landing just as he disappeared and missing the villainous Kai by milliseconds. Though there was no time to ponder just where he had disappeared to, as his vision was suddenly assaulted by several more flashes of blinding light that shook the ground around them. And one by one, the Super Dragonballs disappeared in the same manner as Zamasu.

"SHIT!" Makhai spat, racing towards the last gigantic wishing orb before it vanished in a spectacular glow, and unable to sense nor detect any sign of the apprentice Kai, "Where the hell did he go?!"

The young saiyan couldn't find the will to speak, a horrible feeling of dread encompassing him. That was, until several groans echoed around them.

"Ugh, what in seven hells happened?" Eris mustered weakly, Makhai immediately rushing to her side in order to steady her before she fell out of the air. Though surprisingly, she didn't push him away, "Where's Zamasu?"

"Yeah, and why do I feel as though I've just drank twenty more of those blasted Earth shots and then been hit with a sledgehammer?" Deimos growled, holding his head before gasping at half of his ribcage sticking out of the hole in his side, "And who the HELL had the audacity to break my ribs?!"

"It's a long story," said Alala breathlessly, her garb just as torn and bloodied as the rest of them, though she was relieved that the Majin symbol had disappeared completely from her friends foreheads, "But Zamasu used Majin magic to put the three of you under some sort of power fuelled mind control. You attacked all of us."

Their eyes widened with a mixture of disbelief and anger, that was until Bia cut across them -

"Kratos, are you alright?" she asked worriedly, "You've been awfully quiet."

The warrior nodded stiffly from where he was kneeling on the ground, his hands resting in between his thighs, pain still evident in his watery eyes. He even looked a little green.

"Ah, I get it," Makhai observed wisely, "He's still recovering from Gohan kicking him in the nuts."

"It was YOU?!" Kratos gaped, whirling around to face the teen in question, his voice at least an octave higher than usual.

"Well, I did warn you," The halfling told him, folding his arms across his chest before he frowned in thought, "Although you probably don't remember… my bad."

"YOUR BAD?!" He shrieked, his tone reaching a new pitch entirely, "What in the blazes compelled you to strike me there?!"

"I was trying to save The Supreme Kai!" He argued hotly, his emotions running wild, "You were in my way! It was the only thing that I could think of that could stop you! Desperate times called for desperate measures!"

"Desperate times indeed, I'll remember that one during our next spar," Kratos growled lowly, before realisation kicked in, "Wait, The Supreme Kai?! What happened to -?!"

He stopped short, his blue eyes widening in horror and disbelief at the sight before them. The group of teens turned, to see The Supreme Kai kneeling before Gowasu's body, his garb soaking up the blood that pooled around the deceased, muttering a quiet prayer as he gently closed his deadened eyes. Kibito looked on forlornly, his head bowed in respect as he watched his master.

Whis stood next to them, a sleeping Lord Beerus levitating in the air above him - who was oblivious to the horrors that had just taken place. The Angel had a stern look upon his features, his eyebrows knitted together as Gohan approached.

"Whis," the young saiyan started tentatively, prompting the Gods to look towards him, "Is he -?"

He knew the answer of course, but he didn't want to believe it. Though, it was Shin who answered for him, steadily getting to his feet.

"I'm afraid so, Lord Gohan," he mustered solemnly, drawing in a shaky breath, "Gowasu is dead, and in turn so Lord Rumush, the God of Destruction for Universe Ten."

The sacred planes grew eerily silent once more, as the reality hit them full force. Zamasu had won, and thus his and Perses' plans had already begun, starting with the Gods of the tenth universe. Gohan clenched his fists, sizzling with contempt. He had already failed.

"No doubt that the tenth universe will soon be plunged into the chaos that our enemies so desperately seek," Shin sighed hopelessly, voicing the teenager's thoughts and shaking his head, "Murdering a Kai, I ask you. To what lengths will they go?"

"I should have just Destroyed him," Gohan spouted boldly to no one in particular, his fists trembling, "I should have finished him when I had the chance."

"No, you shouldn't have," Whis stated suddenly, causing the halfling to look towards him in surprise, "You would have been reprimanded yourself if you had Destroyed Zamasu without sufficient proof. Lord Beerus is of higher ranking than you Gohan, therefore if he had taken the fall - which I highly suspect he would of - it would have softened the blow. However, with Gowasu's death and subsequently Lord Rumush, we now have all the proof of Zamasu's bloodlust we need to Destroy him without order. For he has committed such a great act of high treason."

"But that doesn't matter!" The teenager said hotly, frustrated by his mentor's words, "Zamasu escaped anyway! It's worth nothing!"

"Maybe not this time," The Angel said knowingly, confusing him even more so, "Tell me Gohan, are you ready to try again?"

"Wha - ?"

Whis smiled, "I can turn back time, remember?"

Gohan's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Of course! The Temporal Do-over!

His mentor had the ability to rewind time, without creating an alternate universe. Granted, the amount of times he had used the technique were few and far between, for manipulating the time stream was incredibly messy business indeed. Whis had only used it if he or Lord Beerus had Destroyed something that they weren't supposed to, for example when his predecessor had let out an enormous sneeze whilst travelling in The Warp a few years back, accidentally Destroying three solar systems in the East Galaxy. Or another time, when Gohan had ran into the temple and crashed into Lord Beerus' precious aquarium and sent all the fish spewing out of the enormous hole in the tank.

"But as you recall my boy, it has its limitations," his mentor continued, "I can only rewind the stream of time by three minutes in total, after that I'm afraid that I won't be able to do it for quite a long while."

"Hang on a tick!" blurted Makhai, "You can rewind time?! How come none of us knew?"

"Master Whis doesn't have to inform any of us about his techniques!" Kratos glowered, "Now be quiet! We're wasting time here!"

The ginger-haired Guardian scoffed, "You're just sour because Whis couldn't have gone back earlier and stopped Gohan from kicking you in the - "

"Will we go back to being possessed again?" Eris interrupted, cutting across the bickering duo, Makhai's arm still holding her supportively by the waist.

"I'm afraid so," said The Supreme Kai, "Though once we have apprehended Zamasu, we will get him to break the enchantment. I am positive that he was bluffing about not being able to undo it in order to fuel Lord Gohan's anger."

"That vile fiend," Deimos growled, "I can't believe that he managed to control me like that."

"Are you ready, Gohan?" asked Whis, his aqua eyes surveying him intently.

The young Destroyer nodded, now more determined than ever to set this right, as his mentor spoke again, "I think you know what you have to do."

The blue-skinned deity raised his staff, tapping it on the dusty ground in rapid succession - one, two, three.

It was as though everything froze around them, coming to an abrupt halt, the colours marred and jumbled together before being sucked back out again. The Sacred Realm of The Kais whizzed around them in a blur of black and white. It was incredibly similar to watching his life flash before his eyes, albeit in reverse and only with recent events.

He felt a little dizzy, as he was quickly flung back across the planes, his senses impaired by the rewind, as though someone had shut off all notion of feeling. He saw a flash of blinding light around him, as the colossal Super Dragonballs reappeared, dotted around the realm as though they had never vanished in the first place. He watched unblinkingly, as the Majin versions of his friends started to attack the others in reverse, he saw Gowasu spring back up - very much alive again, and saw Zamasu reappear and then disappear once more.

That was his cue.

Gohan flung his right arm outwards, summoning the relic with all of his might as the colour started to reappear, as though someone was inking a colourful canvas. The small patches of grass that had managed to escape the heat of battle started to turn emerald, the dark sky remained, though the orange of the divine wishing orbs now stood out brightly against the velvet backdrop, and a cascade of dust and debris hit him straight in the face as the fighting resumed.

Where he could not previously hear, sounds started to drift back towards him, growing louder and louder with each passing second. His limbs began to move on their own, he felt his lips twisting in anger as his own voice reached his ears before he could wrap his head around what he was saying.

" - ONE arse cheek, then I'll Destroy you along with Zamasu!"

His eyes widened, the natural flow of time had resumed it seemed. And it was with a crippling realisation of fear and panic did he realise just how close they were cutting it.

"Alright, alright!" Makhai squeaked, tightening his sash back up again, "Yikes, no need for the gone-forever threat - "

His best friend stopped short, his mouth hanging open in shock as he was experiencing the same strange feeling of being dropped back in time as Gohan was.

A split second of understanding drifted between the two boys, as the young saiyan gave Makhai a firm nod before kicking off from the ground in a blaze of electrifying Ki. Still in the second level of super saiyan, the wind whistled past his ears as he shot towards the Kais, powering up to gather even more speed - his golden aura now resembling a blazing inferno.

Knowing what was coming before it happened, he shot a powerful Ki ball towards the oncoming titan that was Kratos. Unprepared, the blast struck the Majin hard in the torso, the force of which sent him soaring backwards into a mountain range, colliding with each rocky crevice he met. Though the halfling did not turn his head to watch the rubble erupt behind him. Instead, he pushed on. An ear-piercing whistling sound reaching his ears, his fingers twitching in anticipation as they continued to stretch towards the horizon.

"LET ME AT HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!" An all too familiar voice sounded, one that only the young Destroyer could hear.

And then, he spotted Zamasu reappear behind an unsuspecting Gowasu, just as he grasped the strong hilt of the sword -

CLANG!

The air sizzled, popped and surged around them, the wind erupting from the collision of the two blades, blowing back the remains of grass at their feet and ripping them from their roots.

Gohan panted as he stood in between Gowasu and his attacker, the legendary Z-Sword singing with the satisfying clang that rang in their ears. Shin and Kibito smiled widely back at him, overjoyed that the plan had worked. Gowasu looked positively dumfounded, tumbling onto his backside as he scrambled away from the clash, a hand clutching at his chest out of shock.

The young saiyan smirked, as Zamasu's eyes widened in both amazement and vexation, the Ki-blade shattering around his palm instantaneously, the high-pitched sound just on the edge of hearing. The might of the relic all too powerful to be rivalled.

"H-How did you - ?!" The young Kai spluttered, his gaze raking across the ancient sword in his grasp.

"Yes! ALRIGHT Gohan!" Makhai shouted from a ways off, ducking another hit from Eris and punching Deimos in the nose, the pair both still Majin, though their moves now predicted thanks to Whis' time manipulation, "I knew you could do it! That git isn't going to murder any one else whilst we're still here! How'd you like that one Zamasu?! Yeah I thought so! So why don't you stick that measly Ki blade right up your ungodly - !"

"W-What did he say?" Gowasu stammered, looking between the two junior deities, "Zamasu, you were really going to kill me?!"

Zamasu snarled, as Whis interrupted curtly, "Why yes Supreme Kai. In fact, a little under three minutes ago, you died by your apprentice's hand. And he almost got away with it too, if it weren't for Lord Gohan here."

"Of course," the Kai in question spat vindictively, his arm coming to rest by his side, as Gowasu was helped to his feet by Kibito, "Your Angel used that nifty time reversal technique of his. I should have foreseen it, Perses had already informed me of your power to manipulate time many years ago."

"It's like I said before, Zamasu," Gohan spouted in warning, the sharp edge of the Z-Sword now dangerously pointing at the Kai's neck, "Give it up, it's over. But before I Destroy you, I want you to turn my friends back to normal."

Zamasu sneered, before a wicked grin spread across his lips, causing Gohan to frown. He chuckled darkly, his laughter steadily becoming more crazed and manic before it turned into an all out cackle, echoing across the planes. It seemed to rise even above the battle still waging on between the Guard behind him, the cries of misplaced delight ringing over the clashing of fists.

The cruel tone was enough to send a shiver up his spine, though the young saiyan refused to allow the deceitful God to get under his skin again. Instead, he hardened his stare, forcing the point of the Z-Sword further into his adams apple and causing him to choke, cutting off his laughter abruptly as a trickle of blood seeped from the small cut he had made.

"You meddling fool," Zamasu rasped, still smirking through the pain, "If only you h-hadn't of rewound time, then y-you would have known what was c-coming."

Gohan bristled with anger, "What are you blathering on about?! Turn my friends back right now before I slice your fucking head off!"

Though the apprentice seemed to take amusement in his threat, grinning madly back at him through the pain he was inflicting, pressing the relic even deeper against his reddening skin, "Ah, your friends… I-I wonder, w-where do you think all the p-power that has escaped them has g-gone to Destroyer? A-Are you so - choke - b-blinded by your own arrogance t-that you c-cannot see what is happening right - scoff - b-before you? The n-negative energy h-has not only been fuelling them - gulp choke - i-it has b-been escaping t-them, and it will f-feed unto m-me!"

"You've got about five seconds to explain what the hell you're on about or else -!"

Zamasu choked and laughed, the noise high pitched and raspy, "I-I'm afraid you d-don't have that l-long, t-this world w-will burn, and the g-great u-utopia will rise from the ashes!"

Then Gohan felt it. The sudden, terrifying swell of mind boggling power that slammed onto his senses with an overwhelming amount of negative energy. The culprit - an enormous sizzling Ki ball that sped over the horizon towards them, the dark sphere eerily similar to the one that Zamasu had attempted to hit him with earlier.

'HA!' He had cried, remembering how the sonorous sphere of electrifying dark energy flew off into the distance behind him, 'Was that supposed to hit me? Looks like you're getting rusty already 'oh mighty' Zamasu!'

'I wouldn't hang around if I were you.'

His eyes widened. Oh bugger.

Though before he could even think about leaping out of harms way, did he realise that Zamasu didn't seem at all phased by the rampaging sphere of death was headed right for them. Instead, he smiled, almost in contentment, confusing the halfling even more so.

Especially when the blast crashed into the Kai's back, engulfing his body in a crippling dark aura. The force knocked Gohan back a few feet, sword away from the Kai's throat, watching with horror as Zamasu was completely eclipsed by the attack.

The young saiyan was left stunned. Had the Kai completely lost the plot?! Accidentally taking the full force of the blast that was intended for him?!

"GOHAN MOVE!"

He jumped, as his mentor's usually calm and collected voice shouted his command across the field. Whis had obviously understood what Zamasu was up to before he had, as the teenager failed to see the urgency of the situation. Though it only took a split second longer for the realisation to sink in, as where he was expecting an unrelenting BOOM of detonation - was there none.

Instead, the evil Kai's laughter cut through the air, the spherical blast not only engulfing him but seeping into his very form. He surged with raw power, deep purple lightening bolts rippling across his frame as his Ki sky-rocketed.

Then slowly, a wisp of paler, purple smoke started to exude from the aura, except, it wasn't smoke at all. The wisps unfurled and shot up like a shining beacon of light that dispersed the blackened clouds, before it warped and twisted in a magnificent display, shaping into a colossal bird that engulfed the upper atmosphere, just as large as the Super Dragonballs that reflected its immense light.

It was exactly how Zamasu had described, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Its large, feathered wings sprung outwards, as though hugging the entire realm so that its occupants could behold its beauty. Because that was exactly what it was, so elegant and refined that it was purely a sight to behold. Though, despite its ethereal nature, the power behind it was utterly catastrophic.

Gohan could feel it, the bubbling well of toxic might that lay just beyond the surface of what ever the hell this thing was. And worst of all, he thought, as the monstrous bird's dazzling reflection glinted in the blade of the Z-Sword in his palm, Zamasu was all too ready to utilise it.

"BEHOLD ABSOLUTE LIGHTENING!" The Kai roared to heavens unknown, "THERE ARE NO DO-OVERS NOW, BOY!"

And just like that, a titanic bellow escaped the spirit's beak, almost like a roar as it released a storm of purple lightening in a series of brutal shockwaves. The ground shook beneath their feet, the Kais crying out in alarm as valleys split apart and mountains crumbled to dust around them.

"AND NOW, TO REAP THE LAND! CLEANSING IT OF ALL THAT IS IMPURE!"

BOOM! SIZZLE! SCREECH! POP! BANG!

Wave after wave of deathly spears rocked the atmosphere, as Zamasu mercilessly scorched the earth. Thick columns of smoke and ash exploded all around them as the realm erupted, a cacophony of sonic booms battering against their eardrums. The Majin magic finally wore off the possessed, the diabolical Kai now turning his attention towards obliterating the realm.

Kratos, Eris and Deimos hit the ground from where they had been previously fighting, bloodied and broken from their comrades onslaught. They looked up at the sky, similarly horrified by what they saw, their senses suddenly springing back to them full force as they regained their memory.

"What the HELL did you do?!" Kratos roared, snapping Gohan out of his stunned gaze as the boy's irate yells reached his ears. "You were supposed go back and apprehend him! THIS IS WORSE!"

"Gotta say," said Makhai, side stepping quickly as a torrent of lava erupted from the earth beside him, "As much as you're my brother from another mother, and I side with you on pretty much everything… WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK GOHAN?!"

"It wasn't my fault!" He protested hotly, the planet quickly falling apart around them.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," the Lethien sighed, looking up at Zamasu who had risen up into the sky along with the phoenix of doom, his arms outstretched and his eyes closed, as if relishing in the destruction around him, "There is no way that you can predict that nutcase, he's officially gone off the deep end."

Zamasu's manic screeches of laughter echoed in his ears over the cataclysmic booms that quaked the realm. The young saiyan clenched his jaw, enraged that he hadn't been able to stop this bedlam from happening. It seemed as though no matter what they did, Zamasu was always one step ahead of them.

Lost in his own thoughts, and covered in the filth of battle with sweat rolling down his brow, his tattered garb blowing around him in the hurricane-like winds, he failed to hear The Supreme Kai call out to him to leave. Instead, as The Supreme Guard raced towards the huddle of Kais, joining Whis and a still sleeping Lord Beerus, Gohan glared up at the gloating deity in the sky, a jolt of silver electricity cascading over his eyes.

A snapping, snarling corkscrew of anger unfurled within him. There was no way he was going to let Zamasu escape.

With a ferocious roar, the young Destroyer brought all of his power flooding forth, his crackling golden aura swiftly turning a vibrant shade of violet, the energy of Destruction pressurising the hot air around him. Gohan kicked off from the ground without another moment to lose, the sacred world already dying a most gruesome death. He ignored the shrieks from his friends and superiors, who had sensed his power flip into overdrive without warning, before he catapulted up towards the atmosphere in a blur of dazzling violet and gold.

"LORD GOHAN, NO!" He heard Shin and Kibito cry distantly, along with the poke at the back of his mind that he was certain was Whis attempting to stop him too.

Though his senses were dulled, numbed even, as all he could focus on that moment was the ruinous Ki of Zamasu. His laughter continued to grate on his every nerve, assaulting his eardrums as a flurry of sizzling lightening bolts surged across his entire body. Speeding forwards, the evil deity all but watched his rapidly approaching form with scornful eyes, seemingly unfazed as to the halfling's might against his own.

That was, until the young saiyan brought up the hilt of the Z-Sword above his head, his muscular arms rippling with power, as he bellowed with all his fury, bringing down the blade in one mighty swing - !

KA-BOOM!

A loud, thunderous boom clamoured across the atmosphere, resonating though the entire realm as the ancient relic collided with the humongous phoenix. It warped, trembling as though in pain as the elegant sight quickly became mutilated and deformed.

"I-Impossible," Zamasu whispered disbelievingly, his eyes hardening with anger as the blade swiped right through the creature's centre.

Though just before the skull split completely in two, a last roar of defiance escaped its beak, the violent efflux of devastating Absolute Lightening striking the young Destroyer straight in the chest.

ZAAAAAP!

Gohan yowled in agony as the lethal beam struck. It felt as though pure electricity was burning right through him, the unrelenting voltage stabbing at every inch of him like a thousand white hot knives.

It was the worst pain that he had ever felt in all of his existence.

It was so intense, unyielding, that he momentarily forgot where he was. He felt as though his head was about to split open from how much it hurt, and all he could hear were blood curdling screams that he was certain were his own. His vision faded and turned to black, much like how it had when he had died, except white spots started to appear before his eyes as the rest of his hearing slowly came back into focus.

A bombardment of yelling and screeching echoed around him, and through the haze that slowly gifted his sight back to him, he spotted a shower of broken particles belonging to the now shattered bird. The spell of energy dispersed across the planes, now engulfed in flames and bubbling lava.

He was falling, he realised, his transformation having left him completely. His limbs were heavy like lead, though somehow he still managed to keep a loose grip on the Z-Sword, vaguely remembering Whis' warning through the mist of his agony. His entire body twitched and jolted from the aftershock, prickles of electricity still stabbing through him.

Just then, a torrent of blinding light obscured his vision, and a faint tug at the back of his neck told him that someone had grasped onto what was left of his ceremonial garb. He briefly wondered where Zamasu had gotten to, panic rising within him as he attempted to fight against his brain that was muggy like sludge.

He managed to open his eyelids a little more, still twitching with pain, and it was with a heavy heart did he clap eyes on the corrupted apprentice just before he teleported away, the shadow of the Super Dragonballs leaving with him.

Though the young saiyan couldn't help but notice, with a small feeling of satisfaction, that Zamasu looked more than infuriated that he had managed to survive such a deadly attack.

"S-Screw you Zamasu," Gohan slurred weakly, even though the evil deity had long gone. He felt as though he was floating in midair, "I'm s'more d-durable than y-you thoughts…"

"Oh for the love of -," he heard a gruff voice muster in annoyance, "Can someone just heal this idiot already?"

"Allow me, Kratos," came a voice that sounded much like Kibito, though he seemed rather shaken, "The young Lord is quite obviously suffering from a brain injury."

Makhai snorted beside him, "You can say that again."

"It may be a concussion, if he's hallucinating like this," said Kibito more firmly, "Though I daresay it could be from the blood loss also. There is a lot of internal bleeding, it's a wonder as to how he managed to survive that…"

More chatter surrounded him, though he could no longer hear what they were saying, as a familiar WHOOOOSH hummed around him, and a sudden warmth radiated right through him, heating up his entire being almost pleasantly. The rigid tension still holding onto his muscles relaxed, the pain subsiding almost instantly. He breathed deeply, savouring the relief and allowing his senses to flood back to him, opening his onyx eyes and drinking in his surroundings -

"WHAT THE BLOODY FUCKING BUMBLING HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!" Makhai positively roared, his face mere inches from his own.

The young saiyan frowned, quickly realising that they were travelling inside The Warp, numerous galaxies and stars whizzing past them in a myriad of swirling colour. He spotted Whis at the helm, with Lord Beerus still sleeping soundly next to him. The Supreme Kai was giving him a concerned stare from beside a trembling Gowasu, whilst Kibito knelt before him, withdrawing his healing hands now that he was quite obviously awake.

Gohan blinked rapidly from where he lay on his back with the members of The Supreme Guard surrounding him. Although they were all fully healed like he was now, they were still covered in blood and dirt, grabs sticky with sweat, torn and very much singed.

Looking down, he found that he was most likely the worst of all of them, his own cloak pretty much non-existent, his gi trousers torn with large burn holes exposing parts of his bloodied and muddy legs. The Z-Sword still rested in his palm, dusty and covered in ash from battle. He could feel the caked dryness of blood on his face from where his eyebrow had split open. To his dismay, it had gushed out further and already dried onto his muscular chest, making it look as though someone had butchered him. Though it was both red and purple, a combination of his own blood along with Zamasu's, and his hands were also rife with it. Speaking of -

"Where's Zamasu?" he asked firmly, his features contorting into a deep frown, as his best friend scoffed, still quite obviously seething.

"Zamasu?!" He cried, "You're seriously worrying about that git when you nearly got yourself wiped from existence?!"

His eyes widened, "Wait, what?"

"You heard me!" Makhai spouted, "Are you deliberately thick or something?! You went after that massive pigeon and got hit dead in the heart by a thunderbolt right before the realm exploded and Zamasu pissed off on his jollies to who knows where with the Dragonballs!"

"Shit!" Gohan spat, sitting up fully and balling up his fists in anger, "I can't believe that he escaped! We've got to go back there and find out where he's -!"

"Hello?!" The ginger-haired teen pressed, rapping his knuckles sharply on his head in rapid succession, as though trying to knock some sense into him, "Did you not hear me?! The entire realm exploded! There is no going back there! That, and your soul almost got completely kicked off the face of reality, so why don't you chill the F out for a moment 'Mister suicide squad'!?"

"But I - !"

"Makhai is quite right Gohan," Whis cut across him wisely, as the teenager tried to protest.

"He is?"

"I am?"

"Indeed," The Angel spoke up, his eyes averting to him momentarily before he focussed ahead, directing The Warp in its path, "What did I tell you not so long ago about your recklessness? That it could indeed result in your end should you not think things through. Now, I know that you were angry, quite rightly so, but almost killing yourself for the second time would not do well for you or the cosmos as it stands."

"I'm sorry," Gohan mumbled quietly, his shoulders slumping as he felt the others staring, "But I just needed to do something. I couldn't just let Zamasu escape, but I suppose it didn't matter any way."

"I understand your feelings my boy, but sometimes it is best to do nothing," Whis said sternly, his head cocking towards him once more as he made his point known quite firmly, "Indeed, it is unfortunate that Zamasu managed to escape along with the Divine wishing orbs, but there is no use in getting yourself wiped from existence Gohan. I haven't seen anything quite like that attack of Zamasu's in all my years, you're lucky that I intervened when I did. Goodness knows what would have happened if Lord Beerus had seen you charge into that, he would have had kittens!"

"Eh?" Makhai mused, his brow furrowed in confusion, "I thought Lord Beerus was a bloke?"

"It's a turn of phrase Makhai," Whis sighed, as the others rolled their eyes, "Either way, he would have been very upset."

"Wait, you intervened?" asked Gohan in bewilderment, "Then why did you bother saving me instead of stopping Zamasu - not that I'm not grateful mind you." He added with a second thought, as his mentor gave him a sober look.

"I saved you as per my duty Gohan," he informed him curtly, "Had I gone after Zamasu - which goes against my own code as an Angel, we would have lost you. I am merely bound to the Destroyers world, my role is solely to guide, assist and train Lord Beerus, which also extends to you. Hence why I am guiding you to defeat this plague of evil that threatens existence instead of taking them out myself. The most important thing at that time was getting you out safely, had I not then I would have failed you and my duty."

"I-I didn't mean to act so recklessly," The young Destroyer mustered sheepishly, prompting his mentor to give him a small smile of reassurance.

"You must make sure that you remember your training," he said, turning away from him once more, "You do not want to make another mistake like that, next time I might not be there to save you."

"What even was that thing that hit me anyway?" Gohan started, he was still sizzling with anger. He couldn't believe that Zamasu had bested him, it was incredibly difficult to accept their defeat. A sickening well of guilt swirled within him at the thought of the corrupted Kai's escape, the fact that he already had six of seven Super Dragonballs made it even worse.

"Yeah it was pretty wicked," said Alala, "He managed to destroy the entire realm!"

"A spectacular display by all accounts," said Shin, though his expression was grim, "Not unlike the spirit bomb utilised by the lower Kais, except Zamasu draw on the negative energy that exuded from the Majin curse, subsequently warping it into something even more terrifying and powerful. Zamasu is exceedingly clever. That hidden blast must have been hanging around the atmosphere somewhere, I'm not entirely sure just how he managed to conceal it, unless he used an enchantment on it like he did the Dragonballs."

"Bastard," Gohan growled, looking towards Shin and Gowasu - the latter still pale and trembling, "I should have intercepted that attack instead of letting it fly off like that. I'm so sorry Supreme Kai sir, your realm shouldn't have had to pay the price for my miscalculation."

"Not at all Lord Gohan," Gowasu mustered, the corners of his mouth twitching into a half smile despite the destruction of his sacred realm and the loss of his student, "Even though Zamasu escaped, I have you to thank for my life, and keeping the tenth universe in balance - for now at least. For what it's worth, I will convince Lord Rumush to join in your cause to apprehend Perses, and now Zamasu too. It is obvious to me now more than ever that each universe must work together in order to overcome this threat. If it wouldn't be so bold of me to ask, but please forgive me for not noticing my student's corruption sooner."

The teenager was shocked, not quite knowing what to say. Luckily, Whis was able to answer for him, "Not at all, Supreme Kai. You couldn't have known. Now, I daresay that a trip to The Grand Minister is required before we try and create another real for you to reside in, and no doubt you will need some protection also. I expect we will have to ask for another sacred time ring also, they have most likely been destroyed."

Gohan wasn't really listening, lost in his own damning thoughts as Gowasu looked relieved by the Angel's words, and bowed his head in thanks as Whis continued, "We will teleport to The Omni-King's palace as soon as we reach our universe and tuck Lord Beerus up in bed."

"An excellent plan Whis," Shin agreed, turning to The Supreme Guard, "In the meantime, I want all of you to be on high alert. Should you catch any wind of Zamasu then you will put out a distress signal from your communicators."

They nodded, determination in their eyes as Whis spoke again, "Should the distress call sound then you will all report to The Sacred Realm of The Kais immediately, including you Gohan. The quicker we apprehend Zamasu the better. Now Kibito, would you be so kind as to teleport Lord Gohan back to Earth? We have just crossed over the boundary to the seventh universe."

Kibito bowed respectfully, moving over to the young Destroyer in question and allowed him to place a hand on his shoulder. Though just as Gohan prepared himself to be squeezed through reality and hurled across the universe, his mentor gave him one more piece of advice before he departed.

"Oh and Gohan?"

"Yes sir?" He quirked, as the Angel's eyes bore into his.

"Remember, my boy, there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity."

Makhai snorted, "You can say that again."

Kibito left just as swiftly as they had landed, giving him a rather hurried bow before he disappeared back to the Kai's sacred realm. And what with such a mess left to clean up, Gohan didn't blame him from leaving so abruptly.

He sighed, his mind left reeling once more as he stared out at the starlit sky that blanketed the Eastern mountains. They had teleported straight to the same spot that he had left, directly outside of his parent's home. It was late, and the tantalising smell of his mother's cooking wafted pleasantly towards his nostrils, intermingling with the fresh pine that blew from the small summer breeze sweeping through the dark trees of the forest.

The Earth had no idea. No idea of the catastrophic events that had just transpired. The calming stillness of the air left unaffected by another universe's plight, which would no doubt soon exude unto them. It was almost surreal, the fact that way out in the sticks of the North Galaxy, the Earthlings had no clue to the fact that the entire cosmos now hung in the balance far beyond what he could control, and similarly his family and friends didn't know of the weight of responsibility that rested upon his shoulders.

He had tucked Z back into his scabbard, not just because he wished to conceal it, but mainly because he wished to be left alone right now. And try not to think of the disappointment that lingered in both the Gods and his friends eyes because he couldn't put an end to Zamasu like he should have, and instead almost got himself wiped from existence in the process.

Yet alas, it didn't look as though he was going to get any alone time any time soon.

He breathed deeply, the scent of roast boar causing his mouth to water. It was a comforting smell by all accounts, and just what he needed after what had just transpired. His stomach grumbled in protest, as he watched the slow column of steam rising from the chimney of the humble cottage. The warm light from the kitchen and dining room radiated over the dark grass towards his feet, indicating where his family resided, along with the strong Ki's of the Z-Fighters.

They must have all been invited back to the Son cottage for dinner after training, he realised, and his chest gave a funny but not unpleasant jolt at the thought of seeing Videl again, especially considering what had transpired between them in the last twenty-four hours.

However, looking down at his tattered and dirt laden attire that was drenched in a mixture of his own and Zamasu's blood, he would rather not greet her or anyone else like this. Especially not his mother. From what he could remember, she used to shriek if he had all but grazed his knee, she would be utterly beside herself if she saw him in such a sorry state.

He griped to himself in annoyance, he really should have asked Kibito to change his clothes into something more respectable before he teleported away.

Luckily, no one had looked out of the window and spotted him quite yet, they must be all too wrapped up in their own conversations to notice his Ki flicker into existence outside. With that in mind, Gohan further warped his Ki and lowered it to the size of a door mouse before creeping in through the front door.

He tiptoed through the hallway, closing the door as quietly as he could, the Z-Fighter's muffled voices reaching his ears. He trod carefully, making sure that he didn't trail too much mud and blood over the carpet as he went.

The voices were getting louder as he approached the dining room, and to his dismay he found that the door had been left open, giving the occupants a full view of the very staircase that Gohan needed to use in order to sneakily use the shower before they noticed he was here. It wasn't as though they weren't accustomed to the gruesome reality of battle after all, far from it. But the young halfling would much rather avoid all of the questioning right now. He would rather not admit his failings to them either.

He sighed begrudgingly to himself, crouching low and peaking around the doorway to make sure that everyone was distracted before he could make a run for it.

Though he couldn't help but smile at the scene before him, as the sound of scraping cutlery intermingled with the jovial chatter that echoed around the kitchen. It seemed his mother had gotten the emergency chairs and long table out in order to accommodate everyone, the great feast before them causing his stomach to whine once more.

It appeared as though all of the Earth's protectors had turned out for the training session that afternoon, a few sporting bandages and bruises here and there, but laughing heartily all the same. The old gang, Tien, Yamcha, Piccolo, Krillin, Vegeta and of course his father were all there, along with newer faces such as Eighteen, Videl, and Trunks, Goten and Marron. The Z-Fighters seemed to be ever growing, and appeared to be closer than ever before.

His gaze was immediately drawn to Videl, whose hair was piled hair into a messy bun atop her head, a pair of random chopsticks holding it in place with a few raven strands dropping down to frame her heart-shaped face. He felt his chest swell with warmth at the sight of her, making him feel a little better already. She looked a little worn out, her right bicep bound by bandages and a plaster upon her cheek. She wore orange gi trousers and a tight black tank top, her feet bare as she sat cross legged on the chair, smacking Goten's hands away with a laugh as he attempted to steal one of her roast potatoes.

From this angle, he could see Bee lying under the table, his tail wagging happily as Trunks stealthily fed him the vegetables he didn't want. Eighteen quickly defused the situation with a stern look in the boy's direction, who all but smiled sheepishly before popping a sprout rather reluctantly into his mouth. Little Marron giggled from where she sat opposite him, obediently eating all of her vegetables much to her mothers satisfaction.

There was a short gasp that erupted from somewhere near Videl. Vegeta must have said something sarcastic to her from across the table, as she quickly bit back with a retort of her own, causing the saiyan prince's face to burn red with anger and Krillin and Yamcha to let out a resounding chorus of 'oooooooh!'

His father let out a bark of laughter whilst Tien and Piccolo rolled their eyes at the display. Goku slapped Vegeta hard on the back in camaraderie from his place next to him, causing the man to growl in his direction. Gohan watched as his mother glided between them as she made her way around the table with a basket of bread in her hands, quelling the bickering that was soon to erupt between the two Saiyan men. Chi-Chi smiled widely as her cooking was complimented by Yamcha and Eighteen, before asking if anyone cared for more carrots or gravy, which was readily accepted by the majority.

They all looked so happy, so carefree - and there was no way that Gohan was going to ruin the moment. Granted, he may talk to Piccolo about the state of cosmical chaos that they had been plunged into later, but for now all he wanted to do was take a steaming hot shower and wolf down some of his mother's wonderful cooking before his father and Vegeta ate it all.

As the warriors of Earth became further distracted by more food headed their way, the young saiyan ducked and rolled across the doorway with great success. Performing a little victory dance to himself as his presence remained undetected, Gohan stealthily put one foot on the first step of the staircase and -

CRRRRRREAK!

His heart sank, as at once the occupants of the dining room turned to face him with flabbergasted expressions. Their jaws dropped at the sight of the deceased halfling, his ceremonial garb practically hanging off him in tatters, dried blood caking one side of his face and trailing down his muscular torso, forearms and hands, the thick crimson and violet stains contrasting brilliantly with what remained of his white gi trousers. His little duck and roll technique had indeed splattered mud all over the carpet and walls, his long ebony hair still frazzled and sticking out in odd directions from where Zamasu's monster bird had electrocuted him. He grasped onto the bannister tightly, his halo shining brightly in the dim light of the hallway, looking very much like a deer in headlights.

Caught, red handed - no pun intended.

Gohan inwardly sighed in annoyance, had his father not fixed that BLASTED step yet?! Though he had no time to contemplate his father's reluctance towards house maintenance as his mother's subsequent scream threatened to shatter the window panes.

"OH MY KAMI!" Chi-Chi shrieked, hurtling towards him as the Z-Fighters winced at the sheer volume, "Gohan darling, what happened to you?! YOU'RE HURT! My goodness! My poor baby!"

"Mum, I'm not - !" The teenager started to protest, as his mother yanked him off the staircase and hauled him into the dining room.

"Where does it hurt?! Here, let Mummy help -!" She insisted, kicking poor Krillin out of his seat so hard that he practically flew across the room. Though the worried woman paid no mind to the man's yelp of pain, and instead encouraged him to sit, her delicate fingers brushing through his frazzled hair and coming to rest as she grasped his face in both of her hands, her watery eyes surveying him before she snapped back at his father, "GOKU! What are you doing?! DON'T JUST SIT THERE! GET OFF THAT SAIYAN BACKSIDE OF YOURS AND HELP HIM! GO AND GET ME SOME BANDAGES - ANTISEPTIC - A SENZU - !"

Goku quickly got over his shock, scrambling to his feet at his wife's irate command and making to find the equipment she required when Gohan finally managed to get a word in edgeways.

"Dad stop! I'm fine!" He implored, before gazing back at his mother, "Mum, I'm fine, honest! I'm not even hurt! I mean, I was but now I'm all healed up! See?"

The ox-princess blinked rapidly in bewilderment, as the halfling flashed her a toothy smile, "B-But your covered in blood! How did -?"

"Well," Gohan started awkwardly, all eyes upon him, "I sort of got into a fight…"

Vegeta scoffed, "That much is obvious, brat."

"Please don't tell me it was Perses," Piccolo interjected seriously from where he leaned up the wall, causing the warriors eyes to widen in horror.

"No," the young saiyan said, a dark look encompassing him, taking the bloodied Z-Sword out of his scabbard so that he could lean back more comfortably in his chair, "It was Zamasu."

"Zamasu?" Vegeta said snidely, "You got beat up by that idiot Kai?"

"Oi! He's eons stronger than our universes Kai!" Gohan shot back, his hands clenching into fists as he rested the ancient relic in between his legs, "Like you wouldn't believe."

"So, did you defeat him kiddo?" Krillin asked, the glimmer of hope in his eyes dissipating as the halfling gave him a glum look.

The young saying looked around at his family and friends, who were all staring at him with expectant eyes. Catching Videl's concerned gaze from where she had stood abruptly at the sight of his battered appearance, he sighed in defeat, and began to explain the events that had transpired, though managed to refrain from letting on the fact that he was a Destroyer.

When he had finished, he couldn't help but notice how the Z-Fighters were giving him a mixture of concerned and forlorn expressions. Especially his father, whose obsidian eyes had hardened considerably when he had informed him of Zamasu's realm destroying technique. He almost looked angry.

"What?" The teenager quirked, confused by the man's sudden serious expression.

"Gohan, I don't think that I have to tell you just how stupid that move you pulled was," said Goku, his tone low and dangerous, "You and I both know that if you die once already dead then you'll be wiped from existence for good, and no wish-granting dragon can bring you back from that."

Videl gasped suddenly, as his mother squeezed his shoulders in both comfort and desperation. Though Gohan all but frowned back at his father, "Yeah I know Dad, and I already got chewed out by my mentor for it too. But I couldn't just stand there and do nothing!"

"You have to be careful Gohan!" His father spouted, his voice rising suddenly, catching the halfling off guard, "You won't be able to save anyone if you start acting so carelessly! I -!"

"I get what you're saying Dad," Gohan cut across him, a little annoyed, "But I don't need to be scolded like a kid. I know what I did was rash, but it was all for nothing because Zamasu escaped anyway! I tried to stop him my mentor's way, and it still didn't work. I had to give it one more shot, what would you have done?!"

"I would have had more sense!" Goku argued, as the teenager spluttered, though he couldn't help but notice the despair in his eyes, "That shot could have been your last!"

"Well it wasn't!" He protested hotly, "I'm fine!"

"That's not the point Gohan!" His father shouted, "You might not have been, and none of us would have known! You could have been lost forever!"

"He's got a point you know," piped up Z, causing the halfling to whirl around angrily - without thinking.

"And you can shut up as well!"

"Er Gohan?" mustered Krillin, as the room was plunged into an awkward silence at the sight of the teen talking to an inanimate object, "Are you... shouting at your sword?"

"No."

"Yes."

"Look," Gohan continued, brushing a hand through his spikey ebony hair in an attempt to calm down, "I know I messed up, and I'm sorry. But I was so close. Then that bastard caught me off guard, I-I should have stopped him."

Chi-Chi gave his shoulder another reassuring squeeze, as his father sighed, a little ashamed of his outburst, "I'm sorry too son. I know that you're old enough to make your own mistakes, but I just don't like seeing you hurt."

He gave the saiyan a small smile, "Ah it wasn't that bad. Kibito said that most of my bleeding was internal, and that's where blood is supposed to be, right?"

Piccolo rolled his eyes, as a small titter of dark laughter escaped them.

Another wave of guilt crashed into him as the laughter subsided, and suddenly the young halfling found himself unable to look any of them in the eye, "I just wish that I had got him when I had the chance. And now no one knows where he is, and with the Super Dragonballs, who knows how long it is until Perses escapes. It's one huge mess."

"Wait, so these 'Super' Dragonballs?" Yamcha asked, recounting the young Destroyer's story, "Are they like ultra Dragonballs or something?"

"Sort of," Gohan began to explain, "They're actually Divine wishing orbs, and instead of being spread across planets they are spread across universes, the sixth and seventh to be precise. They can grant any wish without limitations, unlike Shenron and Porunga, and can take centuries if not millennia to collect. They are gigantic in size too, as big as planets."

"As big as planets?!" His father spluttered in disbelief, "Woah that's crazy! And you said that Zamasu has taken them?"

"Well six out of seven yeah," the teen saiyan griped, "Which basically means that we're screwed."

"Don't think like that Gohan," Videl said suddenly, causing them to look towards her, "It's not hopeless! So what if Zamasu has six Dragonballs? All we have to do is find the last one and hide it from him. That way, he won't be able to make whatever horrid wish he and Perses are dreaming up, right?!"

Gohan sighed hopelessly, putting his head in his hands, "That's a great idea Videl, really. But finding the last Super Dragonball is going to be a lot harder than finding them on Earth or Namek. It's like I said, they are spread across universes, it probably took Zamasu the whole one thousand years that Perses has been imprisoned to find six of them, and I have no idea where to start."

"Er hello? Earth to Wonder Boy," she replied with a playful roll of her eyes, moving closer towards him and pulling his hands away from his face, "Aren't you forgetting that we have Bulma. And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't she create not one, but two dragonball radars? If she can do that then I'm certain that she can create another one, even one that's universal! All we have to do is find the last one, and we've got instant transmission and teleportation on our side!"

His jaw dropped, standing up and grasping her hands with his own, forgetting where they were for just a moment, "T-That's a great idea! Videl, you're amazing!"

"You're not the only one whose smart," she winked back, causing him to blush, their fingers still intwined together.

"Hem hem."

They jumped apart quickly, as Piccolo cleared his throat. The two teenagers had become so lost in each others eyes that they had failed to realise that the entire brood of Earth's protectors were staring at them with raised eyebrows and knowing smirks.

Gohan's cheeks seemed to grow several shades darker as he caught sight of Krillin and Yamcha's identical wolfish grins, and swiftly continued, purposely not looking Videl in the eye, "S-So, um, do you really think that Bulma can do it?"

"Of course she can, brat," Vegeta snorted, clearly unimpressed by the teens small yet obvious display of affection, "This is MY Bulma we're talking about. Her brain is clearly superior compared to the rest of the pathetic humans on this primitive planet."

"Yeah my mum's the best!" Trunks exclaimed from where he was sat next to Goten, his blue eyes wide in excitement, "I bet she'll be able to make it in no time Gohan, and then you can get a one up on those bad guys before you destroy them!"

He cringed a little at the boy's choice of words, though smiled back at him all the same, "Thanks squirt, that'll be a big help."

"I'll have Dende start looking in the sanctuary for any clues as to where this Super Dragonball might be," said Piccolo firmly, "Judging by its size and power, it could emit a more powerful signal than what we're used to. He and Mister Popo might be able to pin point the area where it might be residing if it is in this universe."

"And I'll ask King Kai!" His father smiled brightly, "He might be able to speak to the other lower Kais and see if they've gotten a whiff of an enormous dragonball in their galaxies! Don't you worry son, it's not all bad yet."

"Thanks everyone," said Gohan, feeling a little more at ease as his father ruffled his hair affectionately, "But if you don't mind, whilst you're all doing that, I'm going for a much needed shower - "

"Oh no you don't!" His mother shrieked before he stepped back over the threshold, "You've already made a mess in the hallway, and trudged the majority of blood, mud and Kami knows what else in here. You've got another thing coming if you think you're going to bloody up my bathroom mister!"

The teenager sighed, she did have a point after all, "Alright, I'll just use the tub outside - "

"Sorry son," Goku stopped him in his tracks, "I used it earlier and haven't emptied the dirty water yet. It'll take a while to heat back up again, why don't you use the spring?"

The young saiyan inwardly groaned, he really couldn't be bothered with flying over the mountain and using the hot spring that resided there, but alas, the battle filth was making him feel incredibly itchy and his skin was thick with blood and grime. Still, he reasoned, the sooner he was clean then the sooner he could fill his stomach with his mother's delicious cooking - that, and at least he could have some peace without being scolded and having to lie through his teeth for a while.

With a quick wave, Gohan took off out of the back door and leapt into the night air. It was pleasantly cool against his skin, the stars twinkling above him as he flew the familiar path towards the dark cave at the base of Mount Paozu. It was rather convenient, having a hot spring situated less than a mile away from his old home, and as a young boy he would come here often - mainly because he used the cave as a hiding place for his pet dragon.

But as he landed at the waterfall that shielded the cave from intruders, he found that much like himself, Icarus had moved on from this place also, for no sign of the purple dragon remained. He briefly wondered just where he had gone to as he set about stripping himself of his ruined clothes, banishing Z to his safe place and washing the majority of blood and dirt off in the waterfall. Perhaps Icarus had left the Eastern Mountains altogether when he realised that his old master wasn't coming back, and even though it saddened Gohan, he would have liked to have thought that maybe he was still living out there somewhere, eating his favourite fish and had maybe even met another special dragon and had little dragon babies with her or something.

The remains of war were swept away by the harsh torrent of cold water that roared around him, his long hair sticking flat to his head and muscular back. He wrinkled his nose slightly, as the water turned crimson at the base of his bare feet, noticing that the wound that Lord Beerus had bestowed in his side a week ago had already begun to scar over due to him being forced to have it heal naturally.

Satisfied that the water was running clear again, and that no more blood and dirt remained, Gohan decided to take a dip in the hot spring and relax much like he did when he was alive on Earth. Following his old routine, the halfling quickly gathered some firewood from the surrounding forest, and piled it up in the middle of the cave. An amber glow chased away the darkness and his shadow cast on the ancient stone walls as he lit it with a small Ki blast from his palm. The spring was situated in the middle of the cave floor, with small columns of unfurling steam rising from the crystal clear water. It wasn't as deep as he had remembered, his feet now comfortably able to touch the floor of the spring without his head and shoulders sinking underneath.

Gohan sighed gratefully as he lowered himself into the depths, resting his head back against the rock at the waters edge. The soothing warmth of the natural spring lapped pleasantly at his aching muscles, providing him with some relief and causing his entire body to relax. It was nice, listening to the slow drip of condensation that trickled from the cave ceiling along with the sounds of the sleeping forest outside and the roar of the waterfall. The air was hot and musty but not unpleasant as the fire crackled some feet away. He could even depict the stars twinkling from the small opening of the cave where the waterfall did not quite reach, bathing the foot of the mountain in a soft silver light.

The cave was nicely secluded, and as far as he knew only his family, friends and a small handful of very brave travellers knew about it, for there was not many who would dare to venture too far into the forests of the East. The East was full of danger and mystery, and part of the reason why Gohan had enjoyed growing up there so much - save a few run ins with a sabre-toothed tiger that liked to steal his hat on occasion.

He liked the tales and folk-lore the best. Especially the one about this cave in particular, which his grandfather had bestowed upon him many years ago. Gohan loved Grandpa Ox, and it was strange to hear old stories told by his mother and father about when he was a crazed and much feared King long before his birth. Looking at him now, the Ox-King was full of wisdom, kindness and an abundance of stories that was rife with any doting grandfather. And though there were many tales that were shared between them, the one about the ancient cave had always struck young Gohan so profoundly - for he could not find any scientific reason why there would be a hot spring in Mount Paozu, there were no volcanos or radioactive elements around here as far as he knew. So by that reasoning, it made the folk-tale even more believable.

According to Grandpa Ox, many centuries ago, a lowly traveller came to the East in search of the lost treasures of old. Although he was young and alone, he was as strong as an Ox - thereby earning this as his name - as sharp and as cunning as a serpent and as brave as a lion. He fought through the harsh Eastern lands, climbed mountains as high as the clouds, and defeated the great monsters that once plagued the dark forests. Soon enough, he met an elderly warlock who lived in a hut not far from these parts, who commended the young man on his cunning and bravery.

The warlock offered him food and shelter, and learned of his quest. Though sadly, the old warlock was not what he seemed. He was evil and corrupt, and wished to take the treasures for himself, in turn making a wish upon the treasures to return his youth and thus his power, and plunge the world into darkness. Knowing that the traveller would surely stop him, he took advantage of his kindness, and bestowed a curse upon him so that he was left without his sight. For without it, he would never be able to find the treasures that he would use for the good of his people, using his wish to feed his village through the harsh winter.

Blinded, the warlock stabbed him through the chest - missing his heart by inches, and left him to die as he set upon the young man's journey himself. Wounded and dying, the traveller managed to stumble from the hut, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. For days he stumbled through the forest, praying to the ancient Gods that he would be able to heal. He was weak, hungry, and thirsty with the dagger still sticking painfully out of his chest, when his keen ears heard the unmistakable sound of trickling water. He used the last of his strength to cut through the harsh branches of the forest, following the sound with his ears alone for he could not see.

He stumbled upon a waterfall that shrouded a dark cave, though before he could reach it he slipped on the bed of rocks and fell into the deep lagoon. Thinking that his days were numbered, he cast his thoughts back to his starving village, praying that his death would not be in vain and that somehow they would make it through the coming months without him. He could feel his lungs filling with water, but just before he slipped into unconsciousness, he felt a pair of warm, delicate hands wrap around his middle and pull him from the lake bed.

When the traveller awoke, he realised that he could see. He was lying in a body of water in the spring, the dagger had disappeared from his chest although the wound was still bleeding freely and incredibly painful, as were his bones and muscles from his numerous days of travel.

The first thought he had was that he was in the realm above, and that he was dead, when a voice rang around the cave. The voice belonged to a young woman, the Goddess of the Lagoon. Striking beautiful, with fair skin, violet eyes and hair made from waterlilies, she told him that she had seen the goodness in his heart and sought to help him, for he was the only one that could stop the evil warlock that threatened the world.

To further prove her prowess, the cold spring he was lying naked within suddenly warmed with her power. It soothed and healed all of his wounds, and as the days went by and the Goddess continued to nurse and care for him, he quickly fell in love with her. He was certain that she had fallen in love with him too, as she gave him the strength to vanquish the evil that had swept through the province in the weeks that he had been gone.

With the enemy finally defeated, the traveller was hailed a hero and King of the mountain of fire, and through his glory he managed to obtain all the money he needed in order to feed his village for years to come. Though before he returned to his home, the young man sought out the cave again, in order to thank the Goddess for giving him all the love and strength he needed, and in turn ask her to come back to the village with him and become his wife.

Alas, when he returned to the cave victorious, the Goddess was gone. He called out to her until the stars were high and the sun had long since left the Earth, but the only thing that remained of her was the steaming water that she had used to give him strength. And the traveller, heartbroken, returned back to his village, wondering if the Goddess had even existed in the first place.

The story had a rather depressing ending by all accounts, and was pretty gruesome in parts, but Gohan had always liked it, and would even wonder if he would ever catch a glimpse of the Goddess of the Lagoon if he hung around long enough. But now the halfling was older and wiser, and knew that no such Goddess existed, sadly, despite what his grandfather had claimed was the true story of the start of the monarchy in the Ox-Kingdom, and that the lowly traveller was indeed his great ancestor. But alas, Gohan now knew all too well of the divine entities that watched over the cosmos, the ones in this universe personally, what with being one himself.

The young saiyan sighed again, closing his eyes and sinking lower into the water so that his lips touched the warm surface. What he wouldn't give to be living in a world of fairytales right now. He could pretend that this whole Zamasu palaver wasn't even happening, and that Perses could just disappear out of his mind just like the Lagoon Goddess had disappeared from his supposed ancestor's sight.

A spark of Ki suddenly illuminated his senses, causing his eyes to snap open as he almost jumped right out of his skin. For a moment there he almost thought that the fabled Goddess had just appeared right in front of him, as a slender shadow cascaded over the stone walls. He breathed out a sigh of relief, when he managed to get a hold of himself and identify who the energy belonged to, just as the girl stepped into the humid warmth of the cave.

"There you are," Videl grinned triumphantly, the soft amber glow lighting up the delicate beauty of her features, "It took me forever to find this place, it really is tucked away, huh?"

"Well, y-yeah," Gohan mustered rather dumbly, shrinking away from her a little as he realised just how clear the spring water was, his face heating up considerably.

It wasn't as though she hadn't seen everything before - last night and this morning was more than enough for her to get a good look in, but the young saiyan wasn't quite used to being starkers in front of a girl quite yet, the whole thing still very new and exciting. And Videl, with her stunning looks and witty, flirtatious banter certainly didn't help his nervous demeanour.

"So?" She asked, a playful look in her gorgeous sapphire eyes.

The young Destroyer blinked, "So what?"

"Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Gohan gulped, his mouth suddenly running dry as she raised an eyebrow, "W-well, I uh - "

Though the Satan girl didn't bother giving him time to answer, grabbing the hem of her tank top and pulling said garment, along with her sports bra, right over her head and tossing it aside, exposing her creamy white skin and causing the young saiyan's jaw to drop.

"V-Videl!" He hissed, coming to his senses somewhat, "What are you doing?!"

She snorted, pulling the chopsticks from her bun and allowing her long raven tresses to spill over her shoulders, "Don't tell me that the man who saved the world is scared of a naked girl of all things?"

Gohan scowled, as the girl continued, lowering her voice in what was - in his opinion - a terrible impression of his own, "'Ooh look at me, I'm Son Gohan and I blasted Cell into smithereens but I'm scared of Videl's boobies -' EEK!"

She squealed, laughing heartily as a cascade of water engulfed her, curtesy of Gohan, who was grinning victoriously, though his cheeks were still burning crimson as he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Real mature," Videl scoffed, rolling her eyes playfully, before she pulled off her now sopping wet gi trousers and knickers and jumped into the spring.

The water rocked as it hit the halfling in the face, though he couldn't help but smile as he wiped the wetness from his eyes.

"Anyone could come back here you know," he told her, as she swam over to him, her dark hair sticking to her face much like his. "Or have you forgotten about our friends and my parents who are literally over the mountain?"

"Oh do calm down Gohan," she replied, running her hands over his neck and shoulders, causing him to shudder as her nakedness brushed against his under the water, "No one in their right mind is going to come looking for us, unless they want to get an eyeful."

He laughed, before he found that his lips were occupied by Videl's. Even if anyone did think of coming to look for the teenagers, he hoped that his father would throw them off the scent. Thoughts of his family quickly dissipated however, as he grasped her waist tightly, his breath hitching as her breast pressed against his torso, his skin prickling with goosebumps as the water suddenly grew several degrees hotter. Their tongues clashed together, almost expertly now as they had quickly become accustomed to one another. Her kiss was electric, mesmerising, his entire body sizzling with heat. It resonated through his entire being and filled up his heart in the most tantalising of ways, especially when she let out a soft moan of appreciation into his mouth.

Though to Gohan's disappointment, Videl had to pull away for a breath of much needed oxygen. She panted, her hands resting upon his chest as he leaned forwards and kissed her forehead, relishing in her wondrous presence as the warm water lapped between them.

"Are you okay?" she asked him.

He frowned in confusion, "Yeah, why?"

Her head snapped up suddenly, eyes boring into his, "You know, lying isn't a good look on you, Gohan."

The young saiyan winced at that, though he tried not to let it show, brushing it off before the guilt threatened to creep in once more, "It's nothing, I -"

He stopped short, as Videl's disbelieving stare made him give in, "I suppose I'm just worried, obviously. I failed. I failed from stopping Zamasu and now he's probably chumming it up with Perses thinking of a faster way to annihilate everyone. And I - "

"You're worried about Earth?" She asked again, cutting across him.

Gohan bit his lip, he had already told them that Earth would most likely be one of the first on the hit list. It was for their own good, at least they could prepare if anything should go awry. However, the young Destroyer had informed the Z-Fighters that there was no way in HFIL that he would allow it to come to that, and as soon as he had managed to figure out the Super Saiyan God prophecy with Shenron's help, then maybe he would stand a better chance at defeating Zamasu before he even set his sights upon the Earth. Though as Vegeta had quite rightly pointed out at the time, summoning the Eternal Dragon was still three weeks away, and Perses could have already escaped by then. Still, the halfling was certain that Zamasu wouldn't dare to show up on Earth whilst he was still on it.

Videl sighed when he didn't answer, the expression on his face told her all she needed to hear, "You're going to go prematurely grey with all this worrying. We'll be fine, we'll train hard and beat whatever those evil Gods throw at us. Look, I know that you're the saviour of Earth, but we beat Majin Buu without you, didn't we? Have a little faith."

He smiled back at her, "It's not like I don't have faith in all of you, but what if I'm not there, what if Perses manages to escape and Destroy me and I - "

He was stopped short, by the girl placing a wet finger over his lips, "You can't think like that. It's not helping any. The best thing that you can do right now is stop thinking about what might happen and prepare for what is happening now. You could train with us and help us get stronger, and find that damned dragonball before Zamasu has a chance to put his filthy hands all over it!"

Moving her hand away, he kissed her, long and deep, running his fingers over her cheek and cupping her jaw. She sighed into the kiss as he took her breath away, suddenly left reeling as he pulled back.

"You know," he spoke quietly, still caressing her jaw, "I wish that I could just shrink you down and keep you in my pocket so that you can give me pep talks and motivational speeches whenever I get sad."

"That's cute," she told him, before mulling it over, "… I think. Though it could be seen as a little creepy Gohan, kidnapping a girl and keeping her in your pocket like that."

"Who said I'd be kidnapping you?" he quirked playfully, kissing her again and mumbling against her lips, "You'd come willingly."

Videl giggled, her lips moving sweetly against his before he spoke again, "I don't even think I'd have bother to shrink you actually, now that I think about it. You're already so tiny …. and angry."

She shoved him off harshly, glaring daggers at the halfling before splashing some water in his face.

Gohan sighed mockingly, the warm water dripping from his chin, "See what I mean?!"

The Satan girl huffed, though she failed to hide her amused smile, "Yeah and maybe I could tell you not to go around throwing yourself into killing attacks and almost getting yourself wiped from existence."

He pouted, puppy eyes growing wide, "Are you going to tell me off too?"

"Nah, I'll let you off this time," she told him, "You already got a rather big bollocking from your dad, he didn't seem best pleased. Though we did have a guess that something dodgy was going on when the Z-Sword went crashing out of the house. It gave your mum a good fright when it put a hole through your bedroom wall and flew through the kitchen, it nearly took Yamcha's head off!"

Gohan smiled sheepishly, as she gave him a curious look, "Just out of curiosity, how long do you stay dead for any way? It seems a bit weird for a God to stay dead, and you said something earlier about Perses wishing for a deities lifespan…"

"Well, the rules are that I'll continue to stay dead until my predecessor dies and because I'll be taking over I'll be granted a deities lifespan," the young saiyan explained, "Which is like being back to life except that I'll maintain my prime and never age, living for millions if not billions of years. But because I'll live so long I'll get super tired, and sleep for decades and sometimes centuries at a time, all to maintain a balance in the universe. My successor will be chosen eventually and then I'll help to train them and then… well, that's it really."

"Wow, that's a lot to take in," Videl blinked, before frowning in thought, "So when I die…"

"Videl," he pressed quite urgently for her to stop, he really didn't want her to finish that sentence, he didn't want to think about Videl as anything but was she was now. Living. Living and breathing as she floated naked and beautiful in the warm spring of water before him.

Her frowned deepened considerably, "What? It happens to all of us eventually. You'd know that better than any one."

"I suppose…"

"Hang on a sec then," she continued, "So when I pass on, will I get to see you in The Otherworld? What's the rules on that? You said you're not allowed to be with a mortal to a certain extent, but does it count if I'm dead?"

Gohan paused, his mouth fell open a little, "I-I'm not sure really. You're still technically mortal, but you're not in the mortal world per say. Huh, I'll have to look up on that…"

Videl nodded, somewhat sadly, her fingertips reaching up and brushing his cheek, the movement sending droplets of water trailing from her wrist to her elbow.

"Well," she said, sapphire eyes glinting in the starlight that escaped the entrance of the cave, "I suppose that there's some hope at least."

He was stunned, as realisation dawned on him. What on earth was she saying? Surely she didn't mean - ? She couldn't …

"Videl listen," he said, catching her hand, "I don't want you to wait for me."

Her eyes widened, "W-what?"

"You have your whole life ahead of you," Gohan insisted, his onyx eyes burning with determination, though the hurt was evident from within the iris', "You could have anyone and they would be so damned lucky to have you. I-I don't want you to spend your life waiting for some dead guy who won't have time to see you when you do eventually… you know… because he'll be too busy either sleeping or doing God stuff to spend any real time with you, as much… as much as he wants to and as much as it'll hurt not to see you."

"But I -" she tried to protest, but the halfling cut across her defiantly.

"No Videl, please," he said stubbornly, "I'll never forgive myself if you waste your life for me. You're… you're going to meet someone - " He cut short to take a breath, closing his eyes as he forced himself to ignore the sudden ache that filled his chest. Gods, it hurt just to think about Videl being with any one else but him, it was like taking a knife to the heart. "You're going to meet someone that deserves to be with you. Someone who will love and cherish you, and have time to be there for you in all of your happiest and darkest moments. You're going to be the best detective that Orange Star City has ever seen. You can do whatever the HFIL you want and no one can tell you otherwise. You can win tournaments, save the world, get married and have a family if you want to. You can grow old and watch your grandchildren become just as amazing as you are. It's something that I can never have Videl, something that I died for so that other people could have. And you are going to savour every moment, live every moment to its fullest because you… you're the light that this world needs. You're my light, and when all of this is over, when I have to leave, I'll watch your light grow until its fucking blinding. And it'll never be so if you wait for me."

A veil of silence encompassed them, the cave walls ringing in the wake of Gohan's speech. He held her face in both of his hands now, his onyx eyes watering with emotion as he stared into hers.

And then, she let out a shaky breath and said, "But what if I want to wait? W-What if you're wrong and the only time that my light shines is when I'm with you."

The teenager sniffed, shaking his head at her obvious defiance as a chuckle escaped his lips, the tears in his eyes dissipating slowly, "You're so stubborn, do you know that?"

"Right back at you," she smiled, drawing him to her lips once more.

They pulled away after a while, and Gohan sighed almost longingly, "You're like the most stubborn person that I've ever met, Videl. And you know what? It's just one of the things that I love about you."

He caught the small hitch to her breath, and looked down at her as she spoke, rather tentatively. "Be careful with that word, wonder boy."

He frowned, "What word?"

"Don't play stupid," Videl stated firmly, though she tried to keep her tone playful, "You know what word I mean. And if you really want me to move on when you've disappeared then you… you can't say it. If you do then it'll make all of this too real."

He swallowed thickly. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her so badly. The feeling was already woven into his soul, and it hurt him so much not to say those three words that would no doubt bind them both together if he uttered them. But of course, the future Detective Satan was right, he shouldn't, and she shouldn't either. Even though they knew that they were both lying to each other. But at this point, Gohan figured, what was one more lie?

"Can I say 'like like' then?" He asked devilishly, pushing away his damning thoughts, "I mean it's more than 'like' and I'm not technically saying it…?"

Videl rolled her eyes at his charming smile, "Fine, whatever."

"I 'like like' you Videl," he spouted lovingly, like the besotted teenager he was, nuzzling his nose with hers and causing her to laugh, the tension dispersing into the humid fog of steam around them, "I mean really 'like like'. I've never 'liked liked' any one before, Gods you're just so 'like-likeable', I mean I -!"

"Alright, alright!" She interrupted, her lips curled in annoyance though she was still quite clearly amused, "You can stop now."

Gohan pouted, "But I've not finished!"

Videl snorted with laughter at his wounded features, "Alright fine. But you're only going to end up boring yourself if you keep at it like this."

"Not possible," he scoffed, kissing her on the lips before continuing, "I 'like like' how breathtakingly beautiful you are, how you look at me when you're annoyed, how your eyes light up when you're fighting. I 'like like' how you feel, Gods I could just 'like like' the hell out of you right now -"

She shivered, even in the hot spring, as he smoothed his hands over her curves and captured her lips slowly and softly, drawing her closer towards him, their naked skin smooth and soft in the cleansing water.

"You know," Videl spouted after they had pulled apart, her fingers twirling around the wet hair at the base of his neck, "I 'like-like' you too."

"Y-You do?" he asked, feeling rather flushed now after their small snogging session. One of her toned, smooth legs had now found its way wrapped around his hip, backing him against the rock. The heat of the water felt as though it was at boiling point right now.

"Hmm, mmm," she said seductively, her sapphire eyes twinkling in delight as she brought her voice to a whisper, reaching up on her tiptoes, her lips tickling his ear, "Especially when you bend me over and shove your big -"

"VIDEL!" He squawked, beyond embarrassed as her subsequent cackles rang out over the cavernous walls.

The young saiyan scowled, as the Satan girl continued to laugh at the flabbergasted look he had given her. Though soon enough, he couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"I 'like like' how you blush so easily," she told him, kissing him again with an apologetic smile, "It's too cute for words."

"I am not cute!" He protested, causing her to smirk.

"I 'like like' how you think that."

Gohan sighed, hopelessly giving in to her teasing, there really was no going back for him now, "And I 'like like' how utterly vulgar you are, even if you only do it to tease me."

Videl gave him a look that both frightened and intrigued him, raising an eyebrow towards him.

"You thought that was vulgar?" She stated, before her lips curled into a wicked grin, "Oh wonder boy, you haven't seen nothing yet."

He frowned in confusion, as with that the girl inhaled a deep breath before disappearing under the water, "What are you - ?" Oh…

The sentence died on his tongue, as his entire body tingled with pleasure, unable to stop the gasping moan that suddenly tumbled from his lips. He rested the back of his head against the rocky bed, holding onto a chunky jagged piece of rock as his knees threatened to buckle underneath him. She had literally made him weak at the knees, as the new sensation rippled through him in shockwaves of desire.

Gohan shut his eyes tightly, as the she-devil below the water continued to drive him absolutely wild. He briefly pondered just how long she could hold her breath for, until his mind began to cloud with lust and his brain threatened to completely stop functioning.

Videl certainly knew how to take his mind off of the cosmos' impending doom by all accounts. Although, he reasoned, before all notion of logical thought was lost to the abyss, his fingers grasping onto the girl's long wet locks underneath the water as he let out another shaky breath - that she really wasn't making it easy to forget about her.

20th June, 2019.

A/N: And we end this chapter with a cheeky bit of sexy time! I hope you enjoyed it. I know Gohan did! (HA!) Seriously though I apologise for the lateness of the chapter, and I hope that it was really worth the wait! I am in the throws of the next chapter which I will reveal the title of, seen as you've all been so kindly patient! It is... Chapter Twenty-Three - Achievement Unlocked: Divinity. I hope you look forward to that! I know I am! Especially the drama! hehe! ES x

Reviews:

ericsofly2: thank you very much!

Magnanimous Architect: hopefully the next chapter will prove to be better with pacing onwards, I have taken a lot of time in the build up I know but once everything is set in stone itll be faster from here on out!

Naite-Laef : eek! thank you that really means a lot! I hope youve enjoyed this chapter! xD

romanovascap : thanks so much! Im excited for SSG too! I cant wait, hope you liked the chapter!

Aaron Leach : thanks!

Knightwing20042 : thank you! Im trying not to stretch this out longer than needed. your doctor strange made me laugh! Sorry, I just had to use it! hehe

sitrukpc: thank you so much for your review! Ive actually had this question a lot, and Videl will NOT become a guide or anything divine, sorry to say. however, please do stay tuned to see how it will unfold, i am super excited for it!

dspendragon125 : thanks so much! It means the world truly!

: zamasu, like perses, is a master manipulator, and as you can see from this chapter majin magic is super duper powerful, so really zamasu pulled the wool over everyones eyes in this. Plus beerus and champa arent exactly the most observant of gods after all! As for SSG stay tuned!

Pie 555: haha thank you! Goku and Chi-Chi are HUGE gohan and videl shippers, I want to capture this even more so later on haha. Also yes with Makhai and butt jokes! I REALLY sincerely hoped you liked Makhai in this chapter. He is so fun to write!

Ushindeshi: thanks!

Robthekiwi121: thank you :)!

DeathReaper1011: thank you!

HalfbreedSayian : thanks so much!

Iwik : haha yay I love it when people quote things! I loved that line im really glad you did do! And yes to Gohan and Videl chemistry. I couldnt resist putting a little cave scene in here ;) they are so naughty! bad destoryer, bad! Really happy you liked Goku walking in on Gohan and Videl too! haha. oooh your questions, what do you think now after this chapter? are you any closer to figuring out what perses wished for? or have I just confused you more? :P

Leafeon12: thank you! hope you enjoyed the chapter and the rest of the fight!

o- Nyx -o: YAS GIRL! Im so excited to talk to you and hear your thoughts on this one!

MadmanJrs: thanks for your review! The whole prophecy thing... hmm.. well like whis says, prophecies can change with the people that they are about Gohan isnt quite yet an official deity but hes not exactly mortal at this point either. even so maybe if the oracle read the prophecy again, maybe it changed slightly? :P something to think about! really hope you liked the gohan and videl tidbits here, especially at the end :P :O haha yes Gowasu being impressed by Gohan, I think all the gods would be to be fair, its been a while since they saw a prodigy such as him and so young too. Gowasu is rather simple too, he just likes to sit in his garden and drink tea bless him, he cant deal with all this drama! I feel as though he is the embodiment of british in super hahah

FireEmblemMaster101: there is SO much Gohan and Videl naughtiness. They are teens after all and there is such an enormous amount of love and chemistry between them! yes thank you! Glad you liked the code names, more of Gohan and Makhai shenanigans to come! When I thought of the whole Goku giving Gohan the talk, i kind of imagined chichi forcing him into it too 'like gohan is getting older you need to tell him things youll be spending a year with him alone after all etc' and i think goku would be a little nervous about it too cuz lets be real here, he probably got 'the talk' from roshi and still learned nothing until chichi had to tell him stuff on his wedding night lmao and yes even though Zamasu is certainly a main villian, I wanted to get him exposed before the main event of Perses. hope it works well. as always thanks so much for your review! :)

ToughChicken: wow thank you so much for such an amazing review! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter :)

SSJ Green Gohan: Gohan will achieve divinity, as for Goku and Vegeta... wait and see!

X3runner : oh ho ho! wait and see my good friend ;) but yes lots of fast physical development between gohan and videl. they havent got much time together after all so they are certainly using their time well :) id like to think that both Gohan and Zamasu are much stronger here than Goku and Zamasu's fight in super. Zamasu was pushed to use his full strength by Gohan, who is significally stronger than Goku at this point. hidden potential crossed with training under whis and lord beerus for eight years as well as energy of destruction.

GannicusG13 : thank you! I loved DBZ abridged, that quote just totally fit there I couldnt resist!

Declan Campbell : ooooo I am thinking that this fight didnt plan out as what you thought. But Zamasu will get whats coming to him eventually ;) not much between Goten and Gohan in this chapter, but there will be more coming up I promise!

fated1990: thanks so much! I really wanted to get Gohan's saiyaman persona into this story somewhere without him actually being saiyaman! Glad you enjoyed and yay thanks for watching my amv! :)

Marbbles123: thank you! hope you enjoyed the fight! and Goku's cuteness. xD

jomama25: eek thank you! :)

x2leoj : maybeeeee

Thundrfox: wow thank you so so much for your review. I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I am really grateful for your review and your support, I'm really in awe by your kind words. Thank you.

Hercule Satan: sorry Herc.

Beta117 : LOVE movies!

dx-1118: thanks so much! I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter as much as you did the last!

Hek'UnnSkipper : thanks for your review. Whis didnt notice Gohan and Videl's loving moment as he was waiting for Perses. There is a lot going on in the universe/cosmos right now, and Whis doesnt keep tabs on the junior GoD alllllll the time. it was kind of a coincidence that he saw them kissing the first time. He does trust Gohan not to do anything tooo stupid like break the rules and fall in love with a mortal after all... oh dear. hope you enjoyed chapter 22!

Archie: thanks! yes absolutely, Gohan certainly struggles with himself here! Perses and Zamasu do have valid opinions on the multiverse, and Gohan is starting to realise that he has committed a fair few 'sins' on the way!.

Erin: thank you so much for your review! I hope you liked this chapter as much! :) Ah yes! Im a midwife too! haha I absolutely agree with you with peoples lack of knowledge of reproduction, especially in fanfiction it really makes me cringe. Its a great job but very demanding, especailly when trying to write a fanfiction hahaha I cant beleive that you were reading this in disneyland! holy hell! thank you! I do feel bad though interrupting your holiday hahah

Whynot1993: thank you! hope the wait was worth it!

RabbitMelody: yesssss! get beat zamasu! he will get it beaten more I promise.

DragonCrusader: thanks!

Vegetasniece: wow seriously thank you so much for your kind review! Glad you enjoyed all of the chapters, and really hope this one was worth the wait too! :) I see what youre saying about Gohans hair! there is certainly a reason for this is will become clearer later on! I also get about the quotes, I have tried to tone it down in this chapter as I want my work to remain orignial :P hope it shows!

tacktician: ooooh a Black arc? I wish I could say but I cant!

Empyrean Asura : can confirm, author IS british! And yeah I caught onto the disdain, didnt realise it was the wrong one lol my bad! thanks for pointing it out, I will use the correct spelling in future :)

Frb Tkz: ahhh thank you!

KialDeyung: I LOOK INTO YOUR EYES AND THE SKIES THE LIMIT!

Heseltine : thanks so much! hope you enjoyed the battle!

KODIE A TRUE SUPER SAIYAN: thank you thank you thank you! hope the wait was worth it!

JdbsjakfbskXbcb : hope the wait was worth it!

romeroFan : ahhh you were SO CLOSE to guessing! hahaha thanks for your review! I would love to write an alternate 8 year gap along with majin buu one day, when I have time haha but I will strive to finish this story first! :)