Son Gohan The Destroyer

by EmeraldSaiyan

Death greets Gohan at the end of the Cell Games, yet instead of passing on to the Otherworld, Whis takes an interest in the young half-saiyan's incredible power and decides to train him as Lord Beerus' successor. With the balance of the universe at stake, Gohan accepts the deity's offer. (AU)

24. Fledgling

A/N:Hello lovely readers! Firstly, I wanted to thank you all for being so wonderfully patient in waiting for this chapter. It's been a while since I have been able to sit and work on this story. August was an incredibly busy month for me, had a lot of family issues, parents in and out of hospital, work, baby showers, hen parties and my wedding anniversary. Lots going on but I am super happy that I've been able to get this next instalment of Gohan's journey out to you. Writing takes a lot of time once I am in the flow, and I enjoy it immensely as it is a real breather away from the real world! I hope the longer chapters are suiting people especially with sometimes being over a month (or 2 yikes!) between chapters. I am also starting my Masters degree next week as well as working 30hours a week so I will continue to be busy with life.

I tell you all of this because I don't want you to worry that the story has died if you don't see an update in a while! I have EVERY intention on finishing this story. The ending has been planned for months, and the majority of the chapters are planned or in the process of planning. I must say that this is turning out to be a much bigger story than I originally intended, but in all honesty its great because Im having so much fun writing it and have made best friends for life through doing so.

I also want to take the time to THANK YOU all so much for all the give you gave me. I cannot believe that this story has over 1500 followers and is currently the 2nd rated Gohan fanfic on this site in terms of following. JUST WOW. You guys are incredible and warm my heart every day! I am really looking forward to the next few chapters. I really hope you enjoy this one and that it was worth the wait!

And now, let the Battle of Gods begin! :)

ES x

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Chapter Twenty-Four

Fledgling

xxxx

South Pacific Ocean, Planet Earth

The air was hot and heavy, scorching the very atoms around them. It was as though the oxygen itself had caught alight, shuddering with so much heat that a distinct buzzing sound rang around them. The pressure was palpable, like a fine sheath of tough material that wrapped around every part of them, constricting their chests and forcing the breath from the depths of their lungs, making it incredibly difficult to breathe.

Though whether it was due to the sheer magnitude of power emitting from this new form, or from the shock of the deceased halfling becoming an actual God right before their eyes, Piccolo didn't know, for he couldn't exactly sense just what was happening. Granted, he had experienced a similar feeling of utter amazement like this before, for the kid never did cease to surprise him.

Of course, he'd had his moments ever since he had first kidnapped - ahem - borrowed him without permission. Whether it was from the blinding moments of incredible power, or how the little brat and managed to worm his way into his blackened heart and latch on for dear life, no matter how much he had protested. Indeed, Gohan's actions could be described as unpredictable, unprecedented even, especially for such a young age.

Piccolo frowned, as the pressure amongst them intensified, and the teenager's booming tone lingered in the air. The dangerous challenge in his eyes was all too familiar, the fire flickering deep within the crimson iris' - and not just from the reflection of his flaming aura. It was a look that took him back to a very poignant battle, one where he had stood to the sidelines like this before, the boy's name tumbling from his lips in both awe and fear for he did not yet know what had become of his beloved student, his first friend.

He had been too distracted, locked in a stale mate with one of Cell's sinister offspring, protecting not only himself but a mortally wounded Goku. And then he had felt it before he heard it - and that was saying a lot considering his superior Namekian hearing, the lid bursting off of the kid's power like it had done so many times before. But instead of bubbling and spewing over, it flooded. A primal howl of rage and agony escaped the young boy, enough to prompt goosebumps to explode on his skin as he could all but watch Gohan's power erupt. Emerald eyes as hard as steel, golden spikes of hair wild and untameable in the crackling aura that shrouded his small yet muscular body, drying the hot tears that had fallen onto his bruised and bloodied cheeks, the lasting sign of the gentle, innocent child - gone.

The damn had broken, and for Cell, the gates of hell had opened.

Piccolo remembered that battle all too well, for it had been on a constant replay in his mind over the past eight years. Could he have done more? To help? To stop it all from happening? To save Gohan from his untimely death? The strong Namekian wasn't so sure, though he couldn't help but blame himself and similarly lash out at Goku at any given opportunity for this whole mess. But alas, Goku may have sent his son to his death, but not one of them had intervened to stop it.

But looking at Gohan now, about to face off against a God of Destruction, the sound of his blazing aura battering against his eardrums, looking more like a man than he ever had done before, Piccolo couldn't help but wonder if it was all for the best. No matter how much his heart had ached for that cheeky smile, how much his fingers yearned to ruffle through those thick black locks of hair, or how much he had missed that boisterous laughter - and dare he say those Kami forsaken hugs he used to force upon him.

No, Piccolo thought, mentally shaking himself. It didn't matter just how grown up and powerful Gohan had become, there was no denying the hurt - the longing and emptiness that lingered in those crimson eyes. And how could that be for the better?

His eyes averted to Videl, whose awestruck gaze had never once left the young saiyan who stood boldly before her, shielding her from the blast, the dust settling around them. She couldn't tear her eyes away, even when her father had frantically rushed over to see if she was alright.

It was obvious that the ritual had taken a lot out of her, her cheeks devoid of colour and beads of cold sweat trailing down her brow. She was strong yes, but nowhere near the same level as the saiyans. Having that kind of power flooding through her veins must have been impossible to comprehend, much less control, even if it was emitting from something that had barely begun to develop inside her womb.

In truth, Piccolo was worried, Lord Beerus' words echoing like alarm bells in his mind. If Gohan's offence was punishable by Divine Law, that couldn't mean anything good for either teen, nor the unborn child that they had created.

Stupid kid, he thought. Once again the boy had thrown all notion of caution to the wind, thinking with his heart and not with his brain. And knowing Gohan the way he did, he would only go and blame himself for this predicament, and most likely already was.

The halfling would take the fall without question, he knew that. Though what that might be wasn't yet clear. He held on to the hope that Lord Beerus would keep his word and ask this 'Divine Council' to soften the blow of his punishment - he was just a kid after all, and kids made mistakes, even ones that were training to become Gods.

The Angel Whis seemed rather fond of Gohan by all accounts, Piccolo had observed, and so might vouch for him. The Gods needed the boy more than he did them at this point it seemed, so he was confident that his punishment wouldn't be too horrific.

Videl and the baby on the other hand…

Either way, however it was going to turn out, the child was a part of Gohan and therefore a part of him. He had even grown tolerable of Videl over the past year, her daring spark of fierceness and kind heart reminding him all too well of his stubborn ex-pupil. And Piccolo wasn't going to just stand aside and let any of them get hurt.

He hoped the kid knew that he had his back at least, he thought, eyes averting to the now red-headed teen once more. He prayed that he knew that he always would, no matter what happened. The rest of his friends and family too, even if they were too lost and confused by all that was happening right now.

Piccolo knew that it was hard for them, for he had been struggling to comprehend it himself. It was difficult for the Z-Gang to make the connection to the man that Gohan was now to the child who was lost eight years ago. And how could it be? How could it be that that same little boy, who had been so full of love and wonder, be capable of committing mass genocide? Guilty of massacring entire civilisations? End entire worlds and wipe souls from the very planes of existence?

Though he had said it before, and he would say it again - Gohan was not a fighter like his father, any of them even. He didn't thirst for battle and mayhem like Goku or Vegeta, even though he had half-saiyan blood. He didn't enjoy the feeling of his fists vibrating on contact, the screams of his enemy in his ears, the strain of his heart as it fought to beat right out of his chest. Not when he was in control of himself, at least.

He didn't have the same aching need to get stronger just because he could, or because he wanted to be the best. Gohan instead had a strong sense of duty above all else, and fought because the world - universe needed him to. He had stepped up where no one else could when he was just a little boy, and had similarly done so again because it was expected of him.

And how could he think otherwise? The expectation had been instilled within him since he was a young boy. To get stronger, smarter, and to protect the ones he loved at all cost. Even if that cost was to himself, and to his own morals.

That wasn't to say that he didn't like fighting altogether. He was part saiyan after all, and both his mother and father, his grandfather and even his namesake Son Gohan the First were all martial artists. He had grown up around fighters, so much so that it had become a natural instinct to him. It was something that had connected the Z-Gang together many years before the boy was born, and Gohan took to training with them like a duck to water. He liked to spar for fun, train and learn new techniques, his avid brain soaking up the knowledge of the world and stories of the warriors that bore him like a sponge.

The difference, however, didn't become noticeable until they were training for the androids arrival. Piccolo had spent nearly every day for the past three years with Gohan and Goku at Mount Paozu, sparring high above the dense forest and the towering snow capped peaks that stretched for miles over the horizon. Though they did not just limit themselves to the East, training in various climates all over the world, amidst scorching deserts and the freezing arctic, trying to push themselves day after day in order to escape the horrific fate that had befallen their future.

Twilight had fallen once more, the end of another arduous day closing in. The blue sky had turned into a light, dusky purple and pale stars were sliding into place above them. The whisper of leaves and the movement of the forest animals hushed to all but a quiet whisper. The air was still and shadowy, the sound of the crackling fire pit filling the clearing that they had retreated to.

They needed to head back shortly, before Chi-Chi was at her wits end with them again. Still, he would rather they be reprimanded for being a little late for dinner than bring Gohan back in the sorry state he was in - he didn't want his sensitive hearing to be assaulted by her unrelenting shrieking, again. He'd endured enough of it for a life time over the last twelve months thank you very much.

Though Piccolo had realised that listening to the headstrong woman's ranting would be unavoidable, inevitable even, for they still had two whole years of training to go. The last year had gone by quickly - too quickly in his opinion, the incoming threat of the android attack dangerously looming over their heads. It was concerning, as although they had achieved a lot more power since embarking on their rigorous training schedule, he wasn't sure that even another two years of it was going to be enough. From what Trunks had told them, these evil creations of Dr Gero's were on a whole other level to any other evil that they had faced before.

Goku knew this too, he could see it in his eyes. The fire that burned within those obsidian orbs, fuelled even further by the fact that his future self had succumbed to a fatal heart virus before he even had a chance to face off against the mechanical monsters. Luckily, he had been given the life-saving medication that had made the journey back through time, and his ex-rivals determination had continued to push both of their powers to even greater heights. Piccolo had to admit that despite the annoying goofball that the man could be, he made an excellent sparring partner.

There was no time for breaks, or for fun, and their youngest companion was feeling the brunt of it. Hunched over with his shoulders shaking, and his small frame encompassed by the blanket he had wrapped around him, Gohan sat on a rotting fallen log next to the camp fire. He was as close as he could possibly get without burning himself, his teeth chattering as he continued to shiver.

"Here son," Goku said with a wry smile, getting up from where he had been rummaging through his rucksack and thrusting a thermos flask into the boy's quivering hands, "Drink up. You're lucky your mum thinks of everything and made us some hot chocolate! Though I didn't think you'd get snowed under like that!"

Gohan smiled gratefully, which was rather difficult to do so what with his chattering teeth, nursing the warmth that radiated into his palms before screwing off the lid and taking an enormous gulp.

"Woah, slow down!" Goku started with wide eyes, "It's - !"

"Blegh!" He cried suddenly, sticking out his tongue that was now burning a bright red.

"… hot," the man finished, stifling a giggle and giving the boy a pointed frown, "serves you right for being greedy."

The halfling pouted, his tongue still sticking outwards in pain and prompting his father to laugh.

Piccolo rolled his eyes, though failed to hide the amusement that graced his lips in a small smile. They had been training in the vast Northern mountains all afternoon, amongst the deep snow and unrelenting sleet, the arctic temperatures threatening to freeze the blood solid in their veins. Such a harsh terrain had been suggested by Piccolo, a stark contrast to the warmth of the late May sun that had graced the Eastern province over the last few weeks, the summer months already upon them.

He was a firm believer in old fashioned training methods much like Goku was, even if the earth-raised saiyan had utilised the gravity simulator for all it was worth whilst on the way to Planet Namek to help in the aid against the tyrannous Frieza. Of course, everyone had their own methods of getting stronger, and Vegeta had jumped at the chance to hog the gravity chamber that Bulma's father had constructed. It was impossible to ignore how much his Ki fluctuated under the intense gravity, they could sense it all the way over from Capsule Corporation - where he was currently dwelling.

Each to their own, Piccolo thought. Though weighted clothing, harsh weather, meditation and savage brawls was the method he stood by, and it had worked for him so far. It was the same method that he had bestowed upon his young student when they had been training for the Saiyan invasion.

It was odd for Goku at the start of this venture, for he had never even trained with his son, Chi-Chi being all too strict with the boy in that regard. Though steadily, he had become accustomed to the way that Gohan fought, which was much like his old rival's - ironically.

But as the months went on Gohan was starting to learn from his father also, slowly enhancing his own power and developing his form which interestingly enough was made up of a patchwork of familiar styles. Piccolo had noticed that he had picked a few things up from Krillin and even Vegeta whilst on Namek - particularly after one rather nasty gut punch he had dealt his father. Oh yes, that one was all down to Vegeta.

Still, it wasn't enough, Piccolo knew that. According to the future son of the saiyan prince, Gohan had been the only one of them left standing against these monsters, but after thirteen years of war, they had slaughtered him too. He refused to let that happen. He wouldn't let Gohan die alone on an empty world, devoid of all hope and happiness. He would make sure that he survived, and in order to do so they needed to train him as much as possible, for as long as they were able.

Goku went with his suggestion of training in the arctic without question that morning, giving him a curious look until an unspoken understanding had drifted between them. They had trained for hours, both ganging up on the boy in an attempt to bring more of his power to the surface. They needed more to work with, more to train and mould into something that would keep him alive should they fall victim to the androids onslaught.

Granted, Gohan got angry and frustrated - and he and Goku knew all too well how rage was a certain booster to his power, allowing him to tap into that dormant vastness that welled deep within him. But just like all the other times, it was fleeting, gone with the moment, and similarly left him wide open soon after - winding up with his face planted in the thick snow.

It was disappointing. Though the stubborn child had insisted that they keep going, despite the fact that he was bruised and bloodied, frostbite nipping at his toes and fingertips. His nose was bright red, standing out in contrast against his pale features that were sharpened in determination, practically bellowing at his mentor and father to 'come at him with everything they had.'

He may have regretted his sudden boldness, as all it had attributed to was an avalanche that had buried him under heaps and heaps of snow, prompting a quick rescue that the halfling wasn't all too thrilled about.

He was acting far too grown up for his own good, Piccolo had observed, as the kid had whined much like a stroppy teenager about his father fussing over him when they had pulled him from under several feet of snow - clearly embarrassed by the whole affair.

Gohan had turned eight years old a little over a week ago, his scruffy black hair growing even longer and right down to his shoulder blades, but he had yet to grow much taller. His mother had insisted on trimming the thick locks that were starting to resemble a mane, but after the whole bowl-cut incident the child had managed to avoid the woman at all costs when she was armed with a pair of scissors.

His reaction to being rescued had unsettled Goku slightly, and Piccolo had seen it. Gohan certainly wasn't that little cry baby who had relished in his parents' excessive pampering anymore. Training with the Namekian had hardened him, the conflict with the Saiyans had lit a fire in his belly, but Namek… well, Namek had changed him.

Piccolo watched with an observant gaze, arms folded across his chest as the boy shifted uncomfortably on the log opposite, cradling the warm flask to his chest as the roar of amber flames danced between them. Despite his father's giggles, the child's features didn't perk up at all, in fact they became rather solemn.

Something was clearly bothering him. Gohan had always had a habit of wearing his heart on his sleeve after all.

"What's wrong kiddo?" Goku asked, blinking in the growing dusk and giving him a cheery smile, "I was only teasing, you know."

"I-It's not that," the young boy replied, still shivering a little and wrapping the blanket tighter around him so that his whole body was nearly engulfed by it. The back of his heels knocking against the log in a gentle motion.

"Huh?" The man pressed again, "Then what's the matter? It's not like you to not be cheered up by your mum's special cocoa."

Gohan didn't look up as his father sat down next to him, concern marring the saiyan's features as the halfling hung his head, almost in shame, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Goku repeated, bewildered by the child's defeated demeanour, "What on Kami's great Earth for?"

"For holding you back today," said Gohan glumly, his dark eyes watching the steam rise from the flask in his small hands, "Both of you. I-I should be stronger."

His father opened his mouth to reply, when Piccolo cut across him quite abruptly, "Yes you should."

Both Sons looked towards him in surprise, and he could already see the frustrated tears in the young boy's eyes as he continued, "You should be stronger Gohan, but that thought shouldn't hinder you. Instead, it should fuel you to reach new heights. Dragging yourself down won't do you any favours. Telling yourself that you have to get stronger and that you have to win isn't training, kid. It's pointless. You need to face reality and do the real work. Find what motivates you, the drive that'll push you forwards to beyond your restraints, only then will you have a shot at surviving the androids."

The boy flinched at his sudden, gruff tone, though Goku shook his head, "Aw come off it Piccolo, Gohan's been working really hard and - "

"You're too soft on him, Goku," the strong Namekian told him forcibly, "And the more time you spend pandering to him only holds him back."

The full-bloodied saiyan snapped his mouth shut, a frown gracing his features as Gohan started tentatively, "He's right Dad."

"What?" He exclaimed, whirling around to face his only child, "Gohan - "

"Piccolo is right," he repeated, "The only way that I'll get stronger is to accept the reality that our world might end up like that boy from the future said it would. Knowing what might happen has got to be enough to drive me to push my power further, right Mister Piccolo?"

He smirked, "In a way. Though you can't be certain that will happen now, the future may have already changed with your father's heart medication. And uncertainty isn't enough."

Gohan thought for a moment, biting his lip before looking up at his elders, "Well, what makes you two want to get stronger?"

Goku blinked, a little taken aback as Piccolo paused, "Well, er, I suppose for me, it's wanting to see how far I can push myself. Each opponent I face drives me even further towards a goal that I haven't quite realised yet. I know it sounds a bit odd, but it's like it's engrained in me. Maybe it's from my saiyan blood I don't know, but when I became a super saiyan back on Planet Namek a lot of things started to make sense. I want to keep on fighting for as long as I can, getting stronger and stronger to see just how far I can go. And if I can keep the Earth, you and your mum safe whilst doing so then that's good enough for me!"

He finished with a smile, and Gohan took a second to allow his reasoning to sink in, turning to the Namekian over the fire pit.

"It's simple," he said gruffly, before he could ask, "And it goes beyond just defending the planet. I want to surpass my own limitations. If the world dies then there is no point is there? I also want to finally be able to defeat your father in battle."

Goku laughed, "Ha, that's a good one Piccolo."

He scowled, as Gohan giggled before composing himself, sitting up a little straighter, "Well they sound like good motivators. But I don't think I want to get stronger just for myself, I want to get stronger to help people."

"Oh really?" Goku pressed knowingly, smiling, "How so?"

"I want to make sure that I can defend myself so that I don't slow you all down, and that you won't have to save me any more. I want to be able to defend those who can't protect themselves," the young saiyan stated boldly, "A-And I'll make sure that our future changes! I won't let any androids hurt us or anyone else!"

Piccolo shared a look with Goku, the fireflies drifting between them as the amber glow of the furnace reflected in the young halfling's deep onyx eyes.

"Now you're getting it," said Piccolo, giving him a small nod of approval, "Make sure you apply it to training tomorrow. I don't want to be dragging your sorry behind out of another mountain again."

Instead of pouting like earlier, Gohan grinned, setting down his cocoa and leaping on top of the log, the blanket still wrapped around his shoulders so that it much resembled a cape that billowed in the slight summer breeze.

"No way! I'm not going to lose tomorrow Piccolo! You'll see!" He exclaimed, hands in a strong stance upon his hips, exposing his tattered purple gi, "I'll show you! I'll get stronger! And I'll… I-I'll go super saiyan! … You know, eventually…"

Goku and Piccolo chuckled, as the boy said the last of his sentence rather sheepishly, heat rising to his cheeks as he realised that he had openly professed his goal to the entire forest.

"One step at a time mister superhero," Goku chortled teasingly, tugging at the makeshift cape and causing Gohan to laugh, "You'll come into your own power soon enough, and leave your old man in the dust, believe me."

"You're not old Daddy," the boy said brightly, sitting himself down and snuggling up to his father, burying his messy head in his chest.

"I don't know, it feels like it some days," he sighed, looking down at him with a smile that was almost saddened, strong fingers ruffling the long black locks that refused to be tamed.

Piccolo stayed silent. He felt the man's yearning. Gohan had certainly grown up a lot since Namek.

The halfling quirked an eyebrow, confused by the sudden gesture, "You're so weird sometimes."

"Oi!" Goku spluttered, though failed to hide his amusement, fingers running away from his hair and instead tickling him in between the ribs, causing tears to spring back into Gohan's eyes as he fought to contain his squeals, "Since when did you get so cheeky?!"

The boy gasped for air, shrieks of laughter echoing over the darkening forest, "D-Dad! S-Stop! Ahhhh!"

"Don't dish it out if you can't take it back, Gohan!" He barked back, their boisterous glee grating on Piccolo's nerves and causing him to roll his eyes.

After a couple of minutes of raucous fumbling, in which the youngster was far outmatched, Goku caught him in a bearhug, his hair even more dishevelled than before. Grinning madly, he pulled Gohan to him, the young saiyan's breathing steadily returning to normal, his head now resting in his father's lap.

"I-I'll - pant - get y-you - pant - next - pant - t-time," Gohan griped, finally giving in and allowing the man to throw the discarded blanket back over him.

"Yeah, yeah," said Goku playfully, watching with mirth as the boy failed to stifle the enormous yawn that escaped his lips, "We'll see kiddo."

Gohan yawned again, his eyes heavy as his body had now fully accustomed to the warmth, the blissful heat from the fire and the rigorous day of training finally weighing on him. His eyelids fluttered, snuggling further into his father's torn gi trousers, burying his nose in the orange fabric and breathing in the scent that had always seemed to comfort him.

"Tomorrow, I-I'll be better," he mustered sleepily, unable to fight the sandman any longer, falling into his dreams.

The earth-raised saiyan laughed quietly, brushing a stray bang from his son's face as his Ki lulled and calmed in his slumber, "I've got no doubt about that, my little super saiyan."

The two warriors sat in a comfortable silence for a while, the crackle of wood reaching their ears as the fire slowly reduced the logs and twigs to ash. Their shadows cast over the trees now, the purplish sky growing darker with every passing second, the stars twinkling above them. The sky was beautifully clear, as though the vastness of space was hanging right over them.

"Do you really think I'm too soft on him?"

Goku's words caught him off guard as he looked towards him, the saiyan's large hand resting on the child's hair, his light snores drifting into the air.

"During training," He scoffed, swiftly moving the conversation along, he wouldn't dare to admit to his ex-rival that he had spent many a night in the same position as him, allowing the kid to cuddle up to him like that, "He gave you a lot of openings today that you didn't take because you saw your son instead of an opponent. You're not helping him Goku, he's not going to learn like that."

He chuckled darkly, that infectious smile of his spreading across his lips all the same, "Yeah, you're probably right. But he's still just a kid."

"A kid with a hell of a lot of potential, you know that," said Piccolo, "You said it yourself just now."

The saiyan sighed, "He's just growing up so fast, you know?"

He swallowed, "I do."

"What he said earlier," he continued, shaking the hair out of his eyes, "When he said about wanting to protect everyone, those who couldn't defend themselves. He sounded so… mature, smart even."

Piccolo snorted, "Of course he did. He certainly didn't inherit your brains, Goku."

"Hey!" He protested, a deep scowl upon his features as the green-skinned warrior smirked back.

Though he faltered, as Goku sighed heavily once more, his gaze drifting to the young boy who rested his head on his thigh, his features looking so innocent in the dim light of the campfire, "I just hope we can change this, this future for him. What Trunks told me, about Gohan in the future, it sounded so horrific. I don't want my Gohan to go through that."

He cleared his throat, attempting to ignore the sudden dryness on his tongue, "We'll make sure he doesn't have to go through that Goku. We'll arm him with all the tools he'll need. All he needs to do is believe in himself."

"Yeah, you're right, as always," The fellow Z-Fighter smiled back at him, obsidian eyes full of emotion, "I believe in him, I really do Piccolo. He'll be stronger than all of us one day."

He couldn't help but allow the sides of his lips to twitch slightly upwards at his words, pride for his student swelling within him. The kid was always full of surprises, after all.

"I know Goku," he said, "I know."

And he continued to believe it, even though it had nearly killed him to watch Gohan throw down the cape he had gifted to him all those years ago, the white weighted shoulder pads hitting the hard earth of the cliff top and sending chalky dust clouds into the air. The harsh thump of the impact filling in the gap where his heart had skipped a nervous beat. His back, stronger and more muscular since he had exited the Time Chamber, turned towards them as he beheld his ultimate challenge.

Emerald eyes fierce, holding the same determination he had seen two years prior, when he had jumped atop the rotting log beside the campfire. And with them, he stared death straight in the face in the form of a gloating Cell, head on and no holds barred. Unleashing his power into the high winds that stretched all across the devastated landscape. The power that indeed proved to surpass them all.

He believed it. Even when he had screamed at Goku for throwing the eleven year old to the wolves, the boy's agonising screams penetrating his heart in a cascade of sonic booms that threatened to break it apart. He had convinced himself that Gohan was too scared, too scared to unleash his full potential because he had not found the trigger that he had suggested he find back in the forest clearing.

But he was wrong, in a way. Because he had found it. He just had to believe.

It was why the young halfling was so different to himself, to his father or any of the others, who fought for the skill and glory of fighting, relished in the mayhem of getting stronger and facing battle after battle, sometimes just for the thrill of it. No, because Gohan, at his core, was a protector. A protector was the very essence of what he stood for, and the root of all that he was. Those who would help others and fight for what is right will receive his aid, and those who would spread meaningless hurt will receive his ire. And that sense of duty and fury is what fuelled him, drove him forwards and pushed him to heights that none of them had ever thought possible, even for Gohan.

And so, despite what the others thought, and even what the halfling thought of himself, Piccolo knew that the boy had not changed. Of course there were differences, and how could there not be? He had grown considerably, both in body and in spirit. Though the roots of what made Gohan the person he was, was still there, no matter how coarse and knotted, and even though the flowers that bloomed on the surface looked a little different to what they had been expecting to find.

Piccolo didn't necessarily like the thought of his former student running around the universe and ending countless lives with a flick of his wrist, but he understood the need. And similarly the purpose of maintaining a balance in the universe, that by Destroying those who would threaten it, he was saving billions upon billions of others.

It was a difficult concept to grasp, and he could almost sense the conflict that barrelled within the Z-Gang's minds, particularly Goku's.

Looking over to the warrior in question, Piccolo found that much like everyone else, he was watching the young Destroyer with unwavering eyes. Standing next to Goten and Chichi, his jaw was tightly set, beads of sweat intermingling with the salt water that dripped onto the wooden deck from his drenched and tattered clothes. His features looked still and focussed, though he was quite obviously drained from the ritual, and the battle that waged within his obsidian orbs was too unmistakable to miss. Struggling with himself.

Even though their relationship had become strained since Gohan had died, Piccolo still knew how to read Goku like a book. The battle between his warring morals was far from over, though through the pain and heartbreak that he felt from hearing that his son had become a God of Destruction in training, he couldn't help but notice the pride and admiration that he held for the boy as he stood boldly in between them and the dangerous deity.

There was only but a spark of disappointment. Disappointment in the teen for keeping such a monumental piece of information from him, and a worrying thought that made the earth-raised saiyan wonder just why he hadn't been able to tell him of all people. There was anticipation for the oncoming fight, but also fear. Fear for the halfling who had taken the entire universe upon his shoulders, fear for the boy who had been forced to become a man far too early.

The tense, quaking tremor of realisation that his nineteen year old son was going to become a father, a father that would most likely never get to meet his child due to his impending departure. And when he was gone, what was left for them? Their friends, their family? Were they going to return to the broken fragmented mess just like before? Go on pretending that everything was okay? Was the part of Gohan left behind inside of Videl going to help mould them back together? Heal the hurt that lingered in their hearts? Or would the unborn child be taken from them too? A child that should never had been.

At that moment, sensing the mounting trepidation from Goku as he poked around in his mind, Piccolo felt that same shudder of unease shoot up his spine too. Even if it was for just a fleeting moment.

"Shall we?" Lord Beerus smirked, inclining his head above them before lifting off from wooden deck and into the cloudless sky.

Gohan merely nodded in response, his crimson eyes glinting with purpose. It happened very fast, but the ever perceptive Namekian caught it, the slight glance that the young saiyan aimed towards Videl. His gaze lingering for but a moment, performing a quick sweep of her body to make sure that she remained unharmed before he dug his heels into the ground and launched himself into the air after the Destroyer.

Everyone waited with bated breath. Would they catch a glimpse of the beast that Cell had ripped right out of him in that fateful battle? Just like the one they had seen replayed in Whis' sceptre? For it was clear to them now more than ever after watching it, that what the deities had spoken of was sound in its truth.

The wild untapped power that had simmered deep within the boy certainly had the makings of a God of Destruction, because thats what it did - the beast - it destroyed. But they had to remember that he was still their Gohan, the one that loved fiercely and ferociously protected. The one that strived to do the right thing at all costs. And Piccolo had no qualms in helping the others remember that fact.

"This is… strange," he heard Krillin muster, blinking the sun out of his eyes as he followed the two Destroyer's movements, "Apart from the hair and eyes, and that weird glow, it's like Gohan hasn't changed at all!"

"I was expecting him to bulk up like a super saiyan," Tien said in agreement, "But he looks leaner somehow."

"Yeah, I can't even sense his presence at all!" Exclaimed Yamcha, still in disbelief.

Master Roshi hummed lowly, his sunglasses reflecting the image of the newly born Super Saiyan God as he accelerated into the air above them, "It's the pressure we're feeling. It's so heavy that it's making it difficult to breathe. I'm certain that's Gohan's strength. This form must be more powerful than we could even imagine, if we could actually sense it."

Vegeta let out a short noise of irritation, as Goku turned to the wise old man in confusion. Though before he could open his mouth, did Dende cut across him.

"Master Roshi is right," he puffed, he seemed to be struggling with the thick, hot air a lot more than the rest of them, "It's divine energy, mortals can't sense it at all. I'm of a much lower rank than Lord Beerus and Gohan, so it's still quite difficult for me. All I can feel is something… almighty."

"And that is exactly how it should be," Whis quipped suddenly, as they struggled to take in the information, "It is how divine energy works. Ordinary mortals such as yourselves cannot sense divine power, much less comprehend it."

"Wait," Goku blinked, shaking his head in amazement, "So that means that Gohan is - "

"A God in the literal sense," the Angel finished for him, a small smile playing on his lips, "I'm sure that you had sensed a change in his Ki before when he first came back to Earth and revealed himself, though you may not have known what it was exactly because of your mortality. He has obtained only an incredibly small fraction of divinity in his training with me and thus joined the ranks of the celestial in the process. This however, is on a whole new level entirely. He may not be quite on the same tier as Lord Beerus and the Kais just yet, but who knows what will happen at this point."

"Though it is just as well," Whis continued, his aqua eyes surveying them before settling on Videl, "He is still a junior deity and not yet come into his full potential. Let us hope that the Divine Council see it this way and his punishment won't be too arduous."

The Satan girl looked down, tearing her gaze away abruptly, her cheeks red with both anger and shame.

The tension between them seemed to grow even more so, as Piccolo felt a sudden shift beside him and Vegeta came and stood next to him, dark eyes locking with his for a fleeting moment before casting them up towards the sky. The Namekian warrior gave him a firm nod of understanding, forcing his own apprehension back down his throat.

"D-Do you think he's got enough power Goku? Can he beat him?" Chi-Chi asked her husband worriedly, clutching Goten's hand tight. The young boy was still scowling up at his older brother, a dark look about him.

"We'll see," Goku replied quietly, never once looking down, his eyes fixed towards his eldest son.

Piccolo couldn't help but silently agree with his old rival. It was time. And now, they would truly see what Gohan The Destroyer was truly capable of. The fate of Lord Beerus' anger, as well as his own retribution resting with him.

---

He felt light and airy, the wind brushing delicately over his glowing skin as he glided through the now clear blue sky. He felt strangely calm, his muscles relaxed though eyes focused, his billowing flame-like aura dissipating as he came to a halt just as Lord Beerus did.

He could sense them all watching him from the cruiser several feet below, though refrained from looking back. Crimson iris' glinting in the still dazzling sunlight as he beheld his predecessor before him. The God of Destruction appeared rather pleased by the transformation, a wry smirk playing on his lips. Though Gohan couldn't help but wonder if it would be enough, he had never faced off against Lord Beerus like this before, the mystery of what this new power could do sent waves of trepidation rushing through his veins.

"Now for the real test," the cat-like God stated, beetle black eyes raking over his form, "Let us see if your little makeover has actually made you worth fighting."

The young saiyan floated across from him wordlessly, eyes hard as the Destroyer spoke again, a dark chuckle escaping him.

"I'm ready when you are, great Super Saiyan God."

"As long as you keep your word," Gohan said boldly, causing Lord Beerus' smirk to spread even wider, his hands crossed behind his back.

"Very well," he replied, "I'll do my best, though I can't make any promises. I can't speak for the Divine Council or what might be in store for you."

"I don't care about what happens to me," the halfling spoke lowly, as the deity scoffed, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"You'd do well to," he told him, "Carelessness is what has gotten you into this predicament, boy."

They stared each other down, the only sound that of the sloshing waves and the steadily creaking ship. The air sizzled and popped between them, the call of a seagull echoing in the distance, as Gohan faintly heard Krillin gulp - "You know, I've got a bad feeling about this."

Though there was no time to ponder the outcome of the fight any further, as the young Destroyer balled up his fists, bringing what he could muster of his new power to the surface. A loud barbarous roar escaped his chest, thundering over the ocean as swirl of amber, crimson and gold whipped around his frame, blowing back the long reddish hair away from his face.

Lord Beerus stood stoic, his stance unwavering as he remained unaffected by the torrent of wind that raged around them. And didn't even blink when the teenager shot towards him - faster than lightening - drawing back a blazing fist that was engulfed in a fiery aura, before it collided with his own outstretched palm, sending a rip-roaring shockwave booming across the sky.

"HOLY - !" Yamcha cried, as an aftershock barrelled towards the sea, rocking the ship as the waves upheaved around them, parts of the wooden deck splintering apart beneath their feet and sending bits of broken bark flying up into the air.

The mere connection of the Destroyers fists sent tremors through their bones, as the Z-Gang skidded with a loud yelp, grasping onto the railings of the cruiser for dear life as it continued to sway in motion - save Whis, who appeared completely unfazed by the commotion.

Though just as they managed to recover, did another bone-quaking shockwave send them crashing to their knees once more. Gohan had phased out, managing to rip his fist away from his superior and reappear behind him, making to drive a sharp kick straight into Lord Beerus' spine. Though the deity was too fast, and parried the teenager's shin before following up with a devastating punch to the gut.

Gohan doubled over in pain, though swiftly regained his composure, gritting his teeth in frustration and blocking the God's oncoming knife-hand before landing his own strike to his stomach. Lord Beerus chuckled darkly, as the teenager attempted to follow up in his attack, wrenching his fist away from the deity's torso and bringing his hands together above his head.

But to the young saiyan's disdain, his blow never connected. Instead, his opponent knocked his fists out of the air with a flying kick straight to the face, sending the teen hurtling across the sky.

He careened to a halt, his aura bursting around him as he propelled himself back towards his predecessor and engaged him in a rapid succession of kicks and punches that were so fast that the majority of their audience nearly missed it. Fists, elbows, shins and knees clashed together and sent the hot air around them shuddering with shockwave after shockwave. Each blow that connected growing more vicious and desperate as the fight continued.

Divine energy appeared to filter out of them as they fought, lightening bolts of silver and gold jolting around their frames as they collided in midair. Gohan's eyes were narrowed in determination, though his frustration was growing evident for it was painstakingly clear that so far the battle of Gods was all too one sided, his superior backhanding him back through the clouds with undeniable ease once more.

He skidded to a stop, panting slightly and wiping a trail of crimson blood from his cheek, dark red eyes glaring back at the God of Destruction. Even with the sudden boost from this new power, Lord Beerus' attacks certainly still smarted. Though that didn't stop the smirk that crept across his lips.

Lord Beerus quirked an eyebrow, drifting before him and folding his arms across his chest. He appeared intrigued.

The short break in their onslaught gave the halfling little respite, as at once he charged back towards the awaiting deity, firing a hot blast of Ki from his open palm that prompted Lord Beerus to scoff at the feint attack and bat it away. Gohan phased out suddenly, reappearing once again behind the God and drawing back his arm before it was swiftly grabbed out of the air by his opponent.

The teenager yelped as he was thrust forwards by his elbow, the wind whistling in his ears as his predecessor tossed him right over his shoulder. Spinning around as quickly as he could, Gohan had no choice but to cross his arms up in front of his face as Lord Beerus was on the assault.

His fist smashed easily through the halfling's guard in a crippling hit, clocking him straight in the chin and causing his head to snap backwards from the force of impact. Gohan snarled, shaking the hair out of his eyes as he recovered, leaping out of the way of another one of Lord Beerus' oncoming blows, though to his surprise, he found that he was managing to block and dodge a lot better against the divine being than before.

The air around them surged with power, as Gohan phased out of the way of his opponent's strikes that were becoming faster and more deadly as the fray continued, giving the teen only a split millisecond to move out of harms way.

He was starting to understand it, this power that was flooding every part of him. It wasn't all too dissimilar to the super saiyan transformations in the fact that his body was slowly becoming accustomed to this higher state of altered hearing, feeling, seeing, moving. The stark difference being that the power buzzing within him wasn't entirely his own, and that was certainly taking some getting used to.

It was like stepping into a new suit that wasn't quite tailored, like a young boy sneaking into his parents wardrobe and trying on his father's training gi, giggling lightly when the large orange shirt fell over his shoulders, the hem reaching his small feet. It was like struggling not to buckle under the pressure of intense gravity, coupled with an overwhelming feeling to prove ones worth, a desperate need to gain control. It was alien almost, as the halfling ducked underneath the deity's swinging fist that came soaring towards his head, as despite the power that seemed to be waging its own war underneath the surface of his hot skin, did a blanket of serenity engulf him, keeping the parts of the puzzle all together and allowing him to maintain his focus. His own energy accepting of it, slowly learning and adjusting as he fought.

Lord Beerus was relentless, as always. Fists clashed and collided once more, sending a cascade of sonic booms rippling over the atmosphere, blowing the clouds back from the force. Shockwaves hit the seabed hundreds of feet below the water, sending the ocean spray high into the air and drenching the flabbergasted onlookers on the cruise-liner - that struggled to stay afloat in the wake of their skirmish.

He attempted to dodge a deadly blow to the temple, but even though he was quicker, it still wasn't enough, as the Destroyer shortly followed up with a devastating flick to the forehead which caused the younger deity to spiral out of control and back towards the awaiting waters. Gohan cried out in agony, his temple throbbing in pain as he distinctly heard an abrupt shout of alarm escape his family and friends back on the ship.

To their relief, the halfling managed to catch himself before he hit the thrashing waves, his hot skin cooling down considerably as droplets of salty water scattered over his frame. With no time to recuperate, Lord Beerus was upon him again, backing him up against the water with no means of escape.

Though this time, Gohan was ready. A deep snarl rumbled within his chest as he blocked another oncoming kick from the Destroyer with the edge of his forearm, the force of which sent another tidal wave erupting from the ocean surface. The howl of winds that followed intermingled with the Destroyer's subsequent cry of shock, as the teenager drew back his fist and delivered a powerful uppercut to his jaw.

To everyone's awe, including Gohan's, Lord Beerus was fired back through the air, bursting through the clouds so that they dispersed even further over the atmosphere. But the young saiyan's small victory was short lived, as the God shortly came to a stop, his dark eyes surveying the teen who flew up towards him once more. He may have been unharmed, but the counter attack had certainly taken him aback.

Floating across from the Destroyer, Gohan watched his lips twitch upwards, "Not bad. Not bad at all."

The young saiyan raised an eyebrow towards him, was he actually impressed?

"Don't get cocky boy, it'll take a lot more than that for me to break a sweat," Lord Beerus scoffed at the small spark of triumph that appeared in his crimson eyes, "Though I must ask you this, how does it feel becoming a God?"

"Honestly?" He mustered, looking down at his glowing hands once more, his sonorous voice echoing over the sky, "It's incredible. But it'll take some getting used to."

"Indeed," the Destroyer observed calmly, "It is only natural that you're in awe, and you are quite right in saying that it'll take time to fathom what you can truly achieve with this form. I'm sure that you've already noticed that you have only just begun to scratch the surface of this power."

The tension grew suddenly, and then all at once. Thick and palpable in the air, straining against the two Destroyers like an invisible force holding them back and just begging to let them loose.

"I think that qualifies as enough for a quick warm up," said Lord Beerus, his smirk unwavering before his divine Ki skyrocketed and he shot towards the halfling like a speeding bullet.

Gohan quickly sprang into action, parring the God's oncoming fist and attempting to land a vicious elbow strike straight to his predecessors skull. His hit was blocked by Lord Beerus' claws that slashed into the flesh of his arm, drawing fresh red blood that trickled from the deep jagged cuts.

The teenager snarled, booting the Destroyer away from him before they violently clashed again in midair. The sound of knuckles on bone ricocheted around them as the pair simultaneously punched each other across the jaw, following up with a succession of savage blows to the chest and stomach, one after another, quaking and upturning the vast well of water below them.

Gohan attempted to ignore that his bones where quivering from the force of Lord Beerus' ferocious hits, ripping his arm away from a deadly vice-grip he had gotten caught in and kneeing the God hard in the sternum. It appeared that the cat-like deity was getting impatient as he surged forwards once more, their heated fists colliding, fingers now intwined as they grappled one another in mid-air.

Hanging high above the Princess Bulma, the pair were locked in a stalemate. The young Destroyer was struggling under his opponent's iron grasp, his sharp claws painfully digging into the flesh in the backs of his hands. Gohan growled, low in his throat, his fiery aura bursting around him as he pushed his Ki even higher.

Lord Beerus' eyes held a mild amount of surprise, but it was gone with the moment. The atoms hissed and crackled around them, as the God of Destruction's own purple energy ignited around him, licking harshly at the air like an unguarded flame. His sharp teeth were bared, and Gohan couldn't help but conclude with a hopeful satisfaction that the Destroyer was actually putting effort into the fight at hand.

With that spurring thought, the young saiyan smirked, bringing up his leg in one swift motion and kicking Lord Beerus straight in the chin, breaking their struggle in an instant and causing him to let go. Gohan winced slightly, his wounded knuckles stinging, before he fired himself back towards his predecessor, who was already waiting for the fight to resume.

"Yeah! Get him Gohan! You're so cool!" Trunks cheered, causing the awestricken gang to look towards him, tearing their eyes away from the battle unfolding high above their heads. Though the boy's words of encouragement fell on deaf ears, as the two deities disappeared from view once, the resounding tremors the only indication that the battle was still going strong.

"Trunks?" Bulma spoke tentatively, her knuckles white from where she was still grasping tightly onto the rungs of the ship for want of not toppling over again, "What can you see?"

The blue-haired heiress, like the rest of the non-fighters of the group, would have been totally clueless as to the status of the fight were it not for the warriors of Earth filling them in. Though it was safe to say at this point that even the more experienced fighters were verging on struggling to follow the battle, the conflict steadily beginning to reach heights of speed that they had never seen before.

"H-He's actually doing it," Vegeta mustered, although his voice was quiet, as though he was trying to convince himself that what he was witnessing wasn't the product of some crazy dream, "He's really going up against Lord Beerus… and holding his own."

"Well, so far," A voice chuckled, drawing the groups attention. The Angel had not spoken a word since the fight had begun, his celestial gaze following the divine duo without any signs of difficultly.

"Allow me," Whis chuckled, eyeing their craning necks as another sonic boom crippled the air around them, "That looks like a neck cramp just waiting to happen."

At once, the deity tapped his staff, allowing for a hologram of the fight to materialise before their eyes. A soft green glow encompassed the frame, illuminating the wooden decking beneath their feet.

"Oh yes, this is quite an interesting development," Whis hummed again, just as the deceased teen struck the God of Destruction in the sternum, before he was forced to block another attack just as quickly, "Gohan is utilising this new form rather well by all accounts. He's barely been able to land a hit on Lord Beerus before now, this Super Saiyan God transformation certainly is promising."

Goku's eyes widened, "Wait, he's fought Lord Beerus before?"

"But of course, how else do you think he got so strong?" The Angel chuckled, smiling brightly at the earth-raised saiyan, "It is like I said before, Gohan's power and potential has been there long before he came to us, and has continued to grow. And Lord Beerus is exceptionally good at pushing him."

The others stared, a sense of realisation encompassing them as Whis sighed suddenly in despair, watching as Lord Beerus phased out and reappeared with Gohan, the teenager's ponytail in hand, kneeing him cruelly in the gut.

"Although," he sighed disapprovingly as the halfling retaliated by ruthlessly biting the end of the Destroyer's tail, "I do wish that they retained at least some dignity and didn't fight so dirty."

High above them, Gohan pulled back as he was abruptly set free, his scalp stinging as tears formed in his eyes.

"Did you have to pull my hair?!" He snarled, rubbing the sore spot on his head.

"You bit me, you little brat!" Lord Beerus shrieked, nursing his tail that had noticeable bite marks in the flesh.

"You pulled my hair!" He argued, glaring back at his predecessor.

"You BIT my TAIL!"

"Because you pulled my HAIR!"

"THAT'S IT!" He bellowed, before giving the teen an evil grin, "It's bath time for you, boy!"

Gohan blinked, "Wait, wha - ?"

BOOM!

It happened so fast, that he only realised that he was essentially drowning when his lungs were beginning to fill with salty sea water. A fountain of waves spewed high into the air as he was plunged into the ocean by a fearsome blow, the sea bed rocked as his back painfully hit the ocean floor, cracking it apart on impact.

Lord Beerus cackled, as the young saiyan quickly came to his senses, bringing his Ki forth and firing himself upwards. Coughing and spluttering as he broke back through the icy surface, he shot daggers at the gloating God, sopping wet as salt water dripped unforgivingly from his sodden swimming shorts.

"Bath time, really?" He griped haughtily, shaking his wet hair out of his eyes as Lord Beerus continued to smirk.

"Fight like a child, and I'll treat you like one," he shot back, "Now come at me, brat. Don't make me put you in a time out."

Now Gohan was angry, sparking his aura back around himself and flinging headlong towards the awaiting deity with a thunderous roar.

CLASH! THWACK! BOOM!

The succession of blows that followed were fuelled by the sudden surge of fury that erupted within the teen. Lord Beerus bared his teeth as he caught his rampaging fists out of the air once more, though Gohan couldn't tell whether he was angry or actually smiling at the display, though he didn't get chance to contemplate it any further, as he had no choice but to block the Destroyer's boot that came swinging far too close to his head, threatening to tear it right off of his shoulders.

He yelped, as he was pushed back suddenly by a gust of Ki that escaped his predecessors palm, barrelling into his chest and nearly knocking the wind right out of him.

Again, Lord Beerus paused in his assault, and grinned wickedly.

"You're different to the Junior Destroyer I've fought before, I'll give you that," he told him, confusing the halfling somewhat, "You're getting better at seeing my punches coming."

"Now," Lord Beerus continued, "Let's give your blocking a more… stringent test. Tell me young Lord, can you block this attack?"

Gohan's eyes widened, as he suddenly phased out, moving so incredibly fast that if he wasn't on high alert then he would have bet his existence that the striking blow that followed would have ripped right through his torso and straight out through the other side.

A resounding gasp sounded from the ship below, as the teenager shuddered underneath the force of Lord Beerus' attack, both of his palms gripping tightly onto the clawed fist that was inches away from his abdomen. His muscles groaned in protest, his arms quaking as he tried to force the God back, his teeth bared in a frustrated snarl.

"Good! Good!" Lord Beerus chortled in a delight that was borderline sadistic, pushing even more of his mighty power into his fist, "Now you're getting it! That was quite impressive, I must - !"

BOOM!

Now it was the Destroyer's turn to be taken aback, as Gohan managed to wrench himself free of the impasse, bringing up his leg and cracking Lord Beerus across the skull.

"Woah! What a hit!" Yamcha cried in both pride and disbelief as the hologram depicted Lord Beerus spiralling though the air from the sheer force of the teenager's assault.

Whis smiled at the flabbergasted look on the groups faces, "Yes, it appears that the longer this battle goes on, the more used to this new power Gohan becomes. Things are getting interesting."

The Angel looked towards the image protruding out of his sceptre, as Lord Beerus let out a bark of dark laughter, materialising in front of the halfling and prompting the youngster to block another lethal strike to his side, "Ah yes, Lord Beerus is finding this test quite suitable."

"A test?" Piccolo asked, a deep frown upon his features, "You're saying that he's training him as he goes?"

"Quite right Piccolo," said Whis, "Though this situation is rather new for the both of them. They have never fought like this before. Alas, they do have to be mindful that they don't take it too far."

There was no denying the ominous feeling that drifted between them, nor the slight furrow to the blue-skinned deity's brow.

"What do you mean?" Goku quirked boldly, causing the Angel to give him a cheery smile - almost too cheery.

"Oh it's nothing!" He implored happily, "I'm about seventy-three percent certain that all will be well!"

"Seventy-three percent?!" Yamcha cried, "That's a bit specific isn't it?! What the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, it may be a slight miscalculation," said Whis, "I'm sure all will be fine as long as young Gohan remains quite careful."

The Z-Gang shared a look behind his back, until Krillin mustered, "Yeah, um, I don't know if you've noticed by now, but the words 'quite careful' aren't exactly in Gohan's vocabulary."

An unrestrained bellow cut off the Angel's reply, as a dazzling ball of crackling energy began to swell from Lord Beerus' fingertip. Gohan could feel the crippling amount of power within it, his pupils retreating in the harsh light.

"You've stopped my fists," Lord Beerus glowered, the golden sphere dancing on the end of his finger, swirling and pulsating with heat, blowing a torrent of winds around them, the promise of a challenge lingering on his tongue, "Now, how will you stop this?"

He fired.

He fired before Gohan could even so much as blink, the Ki ball towering high above him and casting an enormous shadow upon the ocean surface below. It was so big that it encompassed the horizon like a rising sun, setting alight to the sky as it barrelled towards him.

He growled with a fierce determination as the blast slammed into him, his biceps shaking as he thrust his hands forwards in order to catch the rapidly approaching sphere. It was clear that Lord Beerus wasn't joking about Destroying the Earth, for the halfling new that if a blast of that much power touched the planet's core then there was no hope for its survival.

He snarled, gritting his teeth as a bead of sweat trickled down his brow. The heat from the deadly sphere was impregnable, and he could barely hear the screams and shouts of the Z-Gang over the roaring cyclone that encircled him. A plethora of lightening bolts slithered and thrashed wildly across the steadily darkening sky, as Gohan pushed even more of his Godly energy to the surface.

He was mildly surprised that he could bring out even more of this new power, climbing higher and higher, his flame-like aura building with a heat and intensity that resembled the swirling blast of devastation in his grasp. His skin prickled and burned, sending rapid signals of alarm rushing to his brain, but the young saiyan ignored it, unleashing an almighty howl as his veins surged with raw power.

A brilliant blue hue erupted from his palms, clattering into the core of the sphere which caused it to swell and pulsate, when suddenly it overloaded. Gohan let it go completely, sending the swirling ball of gold and blue high into the atmosphere and out towards space, far away from the Earth.

There was a blinding flash of light that illuminated the entire planet but a moment later, followed by a cataclysmic KA-BOOM! The Earth shuddered from the force, though thankfully was out of any immediate danger, coming to rest just as a cascade of falling debris soared overhead.

The young Destroyer cringed at the sight, a sinking feeling of realisation hitting the pit of his stomach, "Oops."

"Ah, and there goes Mars," Lord Beerus observed, as another flurry of broken rocks flew overhead, missing the Earth by inches, burning up just beyond the ozone, "Impressive. Though you've got an even longer way to go than I first thought if you go around blowing up planets that you didn't intend to."

"I didn't mean to throw it that far!" Gohan protested hotly, his cheeks burning in embarrassment, "I'm just… still getting used to this power… is all."

"Clearly," The deity sniffed, "It's no matter, we can always get The Supreme Kai to create another before we leave. That is, if you manage to beat me and keep your precious solar system intact."

The teenager's eyes narrowed dangerously at his mockery, "I will not let you Destroy anything on this Earth, or in this solar system at all, for that matter."

"Oh really?" Lord Beerus mustered devilishly, "Well it turns out that you've already failed on that part. I'm more surprised that you haven't already noticed."

Panic struck him first, then confusion, as the deity proceeded to look him up and down, his nose wrinkling in disgust. Gohan frowned, wondering just what in the world he was talking about, the Earth was still intact after all.

And that's when he felt it. The breeze.

Looking down, the halfling yelped in horror, his cheeks resembling the same colour as his hair as he hurriedly made to cover himself with his hands. He was mortified, realising that the heat from Lord Beerus' attack must have burnt his flimsy swimming shorts right off of him. Utterly vaporised.

The God in question rolled his eyes, as Gohan groaned in despair, painstakingly aware that he had subsequently flashed the entire cruise ship.

Reluctantly averting his eyes towards them, he depicted both Piccolo and Whis hopelessly holding their heads in their hands in despair, whilst the likes of Krillin and Yamcha struggled to contain their mirth. His poor mother simply did not know where to look whilst his father all but giggled nervously. He couldn't even face the rest of the gang.

Thankfully, Whis promptly came to his aid, clearing his throat as he addressed the occupants of the cruiser, "Excuse me for a moment, everyone."

In a flash, the Angel materialised in front of the young Destroyer and with quick wave of his staff did Gohan feel the comforting weight of his ceremonial garb wrap around him.

"T-Thanks Whis," he mustered, breathing out a sigh of relief now that he was fully clothed, though his cheeks were still blazing bright crimson.

"You're welcome," his mentor said with a small smile, "Though the next time you fight Lord Beerus, please try to wear something a little more durable."

Gohan had never wanted the ground to swallow him up whole so much before, as he watched Whis teleport back to the ship. Composing himself, the young saiyan focussed his attention on his opponent, his eyes now fierce. It was time to get serious.

And it was a good job too, as if he hadn't torn his gaze away from the cruiser at that moment, he may have noticed Bulma, Eighteen, Launch and Bulma's mother staring at Videl with raised eyebrows and wicked grins.

"What?" Videl asked warily, feeling the women's eyes upon her.

"Oh it's nothing," Mrs Briefs implored sweetly, tapping her affectionately on the shoulder as Bulma started to giggle like a school girl, "It's just that - well… good for you, dear."

A bone-quaking yell of might cut through the Satan girl's flustered response, as the pressure they had come to associate with Gohan's Godly power struck their senses. His roar was wholesome and powerful, creating a pulsating wave of energy as his aura swirled around him like a twister before settling down again, his crimson stare hard and dangerous.

"Touched a nerve have I, boy?" Lord Beerus mocked, "Or are you just throwing your toys out of the pram in light of your embarrassment?"

The teenager didn't reply. Instead, he phased out, driving a spinning kick to the God's face, grazing his cheekbone and drawing blood. He quickly followed up in his attack with a crippling gut punch, causing the Destroyer to double over, saliva spewing from his snarling lips. His shoulders hunched forwards as he grasped tightly at his midsection, his features marred with anger as he whirled around to deliver a well-aimed backhand to the halfling's skull when he was promptly sprayed directly in the face with what appeared to be… water?!

Gohan grinned devilishly, as he grasped the spray bottle he had materialised in his hand, watching with triumph as the water dribbled down Lord Beerus' snout.

"No! Bad kitty!" The young Destroyer scolded, spraying the God again as he attempted to swipe the offending bottle out of his palm. "Stop it, or else no more sardines for you!"

"Why you little - !" Lord Beerus spat, "I HATE it when you do that - blegh!"

His smirk widened, unleashed even more of the spray before banishing the bottle back to his safe place, phasing out whilst he was distracted by the water invading his pupils, whipping around and grabbing him in a strong headlock.

Lord Beerus growled, infuriated by Gohan's trickery as his smirk remained unwavering, "I've been waiting years to get you back for this."

FLICK!

He howled with rage, as the halfling used his thumb and forefinger to deliver a devastating flick to his forehead. A sharp elbow strike to the ribs caused the teen to let go, winded as he was flung backwards and off of the Destroyer. Though Gohan couldn't help but chuckle with satisfaction, as he noticed the throbbing red mark evident right between Lord Beerus' eyes.

"Oh you're going to get it now," The God of Destruction spoke lowly, as dark clouds began to encircle them both, painting the sky above them, "The preliminary tests are over. Now the real battle of Gods begins."

"Bring it on, Lord Beerus," he goaded, "I've been itching to go all out."

"Is that so?" he quirked, as Gohan nodded with a more daring confidence.

A trembling wave of suspense drifted between them, before the teenager rushed forwards, his energy climbing to new heights as the hot Ki ignited the air. The dark clouds dispersed, revealing the clear blue sky in all its glory, though it was marred with a spiderweb of lightening bolts that cracked and surged with power as the fighters clashed once again.

CRACK! BOOM! SMASH!

The furious amber fire surrounding Gohan's frame flickered in the high winds they created, frenzied auras dancing around each other, connecting blows sending tremors back towards the Earth, until the force of their fight sent Gohan tumbling away from his opponent, spinning to a halt.

"I've got another present for you," Lord Beerus taunted, floating above him, his index finger raised towards the atmosphere.

"How generous," the halfling spat sarcastically, a wad of blood and saliva spewing forth from his lips as he did so, another golden sphere of death building right above his head, glowing in his reddish eyes.

Though the Destroyer ignored his jibe, grinning from ear to ear. "Think carefully now," he told him, "This orb is too heavy to just toss aside like the last."

"Shit!" Gohan swore, as Lord Beerus proceeded to chuck the offending blast right at him.

His predecessor was right, as the teenager had no choice but to catch the sphere out of the air like he did the last, though this time, the density was unrelenting. He similarly had no clue as to how Lord Beerus had managed to develop an attack like that, or that it was even possible. Still, he didn't have time to ponder, all he did know was that there was no way he would be able to deflect it up into the atmosphere - what if it crashed into the sun of all things?! That could not end well.

Thinking quickly, the young saiyan grappled the orb with both hands, pushing his own energy into it in order to quash it down. To both his and Lord Beerus' surprise, the orb grew smaller and smaller as Gohan's divine aura intensified. The winds began to roar and wane, as the teenager squeezed and squeezed, condensing it down so much so that it now fit into the palm of his hand.

Then, it detonated in a blaze of lightening and golden particles, leaving nothing put a smoking hue of dust and clouds in front of him.

Lord Beerus' mouth fell open, though the movement only slight and short lasting. He quickly recovered as Gohan panted, his arms trembling from the strain. And, to the God's confusion, the Junior Destroyer actually chuckled.

"Something you find amusing?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

Gohan shook his head, "It's just as I thought. You're not even close to using your full power."

His predecessor snorted, "What gave it away?"

The young halfling gave him a pointed look, causing the Destroyer to let out a bark of laughter. After all, if he had been actually trying, the Earth would have already gone 'bye-bye' minutes ago.

"Apologies," said Lord Beerus, "I just didn't want you to tire so early, especially when we've not seen the full potential of this form. But now that you're beginning to understand how to use it, why don't we step it up a notch?"

He didn't have time to react, as the deity knocked him out of the sky with a sizzling energy blast. His garb and body were instantly charcoaled, his skin burning and muscle fibres screaming in alarm. Gohan cried out in pain, as Lord Beerus continued to knock him around like a volley ball.

What the hell?! Gohan thought in both shock and horror, as he was struck with a crippling hammer fist to the skull.

Seeing stars, he barely managed to make out the God's beetle black eyes gleaming at him with malice, his subsequent yowl of agony muffled by the Destroyer's hand over his face, sharp claws sinking into his cheeks and forehead as he blasted him at point blank range.

They propelled through the air, back towards the awaiting ocean as the wind rushed past his ears with an audible squeal. He felt helpless, utterly helpless as his body continued to smoulder from the rapid blasts that successively penetrated his entire being. It felt as though he was being cooked from the inside out, as Lord Beerus unleashed his power, the fingers embedded into his skull already surging with another heated energy attack.

"COME ON!" He roared, "Show me something worthy of a God!"

He couldn't move. His arms and legs completely paralysed. But in amongst the agony that fled through his nervous system, a fleeting thought entered his mind, that maybe Lord Beerus himself was the perpetrator of such a callous and incapacitating move. Though dwelling on it wasn't making the situation better by any means, as they shot towards a deserted island way in the distance.

A forest of tropical trees wavered in the windstorm they were creating, exotic birds frantically scarpering away from their branches before the forest was completely ripped apart from its roots. The ocean parted like the red sea, sky-reaching waves either side of them as they pelted through the air.

"Pathetic! Are you really going to let me slam you into the ground without a real fight, BOY?!"

Gohan scrunched up his eyes, preparing himself for the horrific impact to come, Lord Beerus' murderous shriek echoing in his ears -

KA-BOOM!

A sonic boom detonated as the Destroyers collided harshly with the ground. A tidal wave of soil, sea and charcoaled trees engulfed him amidst the dome of vibrant violet light that shone out against the backdrop of the Earth.

The ground split apart from the force of impact - and erupted.

White hot torrents of lava upheaved from the sea bed and exploded into the air. The ocean bubbled and popped, the salty water now tainted with molten rock and crimson heat.

"GOHAN!" The cries of Piccolo and the others were lost on him, as the light began to dwindle, revealing the once bountiful island - lifeless, a deadened wasteland engulfed by fire and flame from the eruption. A deep, spiralling crater was unearthed at its centre, with Gohan lying unmoving at the bottom.

"My my," said Whis with an audible sigh, "What a commotion those two make."

"G-Goku do something!" Chi-Chi sobbed, grasping onto her husband's bicep as a giant plume of blackened smoke unfurled in the distance, "Help him!"

The hurt in the saiyan's obsidian eyes was evident. "I-I wish I could Chi," he told her gently, though he was quite obviously struggling with that fact, "But I'm all out of energy, the ritual completely drained me. I-I doubt that I'd be much use to him anyway."

The ox-princess let out a shaky breath, attempting to gulp down the fear that rose like bile in her throat. Piccolo snarled, throwing off his turban in one swift movement, catching the attention of the others as the weighted cloth sank into the already damaged deck.

"Well I'm not out of energy," the Namekian stated boldly, his eyes hardening in determination, "And I'm not about to let Gohan go at this alone."

"Piccolo -," Goku started, half warning, half out of concern, when he was cut short by Whis suddenly appearing before them.

"You will not intervene," he said, his cheery demeanour no longer present, his stance unwavering, "I know this must be difficult for you to watch, but I implore you to stand down. You do not stand a chance against Lord Beerus, and I will not be held responsible for what he does to you should you dare try to interrupt this fight."

Piccolo glared back, as the Angel surveyed him closely. It was - unnerving.

"Besides Piccolo, you should have a little more faith in your former pupil," he said, the whimsical smile back full force, "After all, you were the first one to make him realise his potential."

"What was that?!" He seethed. He didn't care just who this Angel was, a higher being, a deity, or that he could quite possibly kill him with the tip of his little finger. No one mocked him.

"Oh, I think you know what I'm talking about," said Whis, unfazed by his reaction, a gleam to his eyes that he couldn't quite place - when it happened.

A ghost of a voice echoed from within the depths of his mind, fleeting and gone with the moment.

B-But I'm afraid Mister Piccolo!

Hn, you'll laugh at your fears when you find out who you really are.

Piccolo blinked, as Whis continued to smile knowingly. Did he just - ?! Did he just enter his mind? Force a memory forwards that he had long locked deep within himself?

But how?

The Namekian warrior had always taken pride in the fact that his mind was like a impenetrable fortress… and yet… this being had broken down its walls as if it were nothing.

He stood down. Reluctantly. Clenching his jaw tight as the Angel turned back around with a nod of approval and looked back towards the hologram in the centre of the deck. His eyes locked with Goku's momentarily, a silent understanding drifting between them. And he hoped, how he hoped that Whis could feel their frustration and anger burning into the back of his head.

---

Lord Beerus hummed disapprovingly, his brown boots tapping on the desolate ground before him, prompting the halfling to warily open his eyes, peering up at the deity through the amber dust clouds that encircled them, fiery embers of ash filtering through the air.

"It's a good thing that you managed to escape at the last moment, or else you'd be nothing but a pile of ashes," he informed the teen, "And we'd be back to square one, without a Junior Destroyer."

Gohan coughed up a mouthful of crimson blood, clutching painfully at his broken ribs from where he lay on his side, his body aching considerably. The God of Destruction sneered, as he griped, "Y-You don't scare me, Lord Beerus. Y-You and I both know that y-you w-wouldn't have wiped me from existence."

He scoffed in annoyance, "Maybe so, but you would have been gravely injured. Even more so than you are now."

With that he kicked him over with a nudge of his foot, causing the young saiyan to bite the inside of his cheek for want of not giving the God the satisfaction of letting out another cry of pain. He lay heavily on his back, his long red hair fanned out around him, dirty and dust laden like the rest of his attire.

"What a bore," Lord Beerus growled, grasping his scruffy mane with clawed fingers and raising his head up to meet his intimidating eyes, "I'm half asleep now."

He raised his other fist to deliver an agonising blow to his face, but Gohan still had his reflexes, the jarring punch bouncing off his forearms that he quickly brought up in front of his head, causing Lord Beerus' anger to rise even further, attempting to smash through his guard again.

"You despicable boy, you BORE me!" He snapped, spit flying from his snarling mouth, "Is this how you dare to face your true opponents?!"

The teenager said nothing, too busy trying to ignore the vice grip that the God had on his hair, and pushing even more of his energy into his guard.

"Make no mistake!" Lord Beerus roared, pulling him up to his height, his eyes stinging relentlessly, he could have sworn that the deity was trying to scalp him, "You are fighting for your SURVIVAL, brat! Do you really think that Perses will be so forgiving?!"

His words were merciless, taunting, and the young saiyan was desperately trying to keep a firm lid on his anger. He scrunched his eyes tightly shut, as iron fists connected with his forearms, again, again and again, bruising the flesh and creating a sickening mosaic of slashes with his claws, accompanying the blood that already had started to pool at his feet.

"Whis was wrong," He spat savagely, drawing back his fist ready for another hit, "He was wrong about you, if this is all the promise you show!"

No, Gohan thought. The words cutting through him like a knife. He had to do this! Especially after disappointing everyone, especially after sacrificing - everything. But he was struggling to even think straight. It was incredibly difficult to summon his inner strength what with everything hurting already, not to mention Lord Beerus' unforgiving onslaught and the God screeching in his ears.

"What a waste of time! Maybe you should just go back to Earth and live out the rest of your miserable existence with that bastard child of yours until Perses dooms us all! Or do you not wish to save them like you claim?!"

Now that touched a nerve.

A surge of fury ignited within him as he grabbed the Destroyer's oncoming fist, suddenly grinding it to a stop and snapped his head forwards, meeting his attacker head on with a sickening CRACK.

Lord Beerus howled, his hands flying to his skull and a string of tears welling in his eyes. The halfling followed up quickly, curling himself up onto his back to drive more power into his boots that embedded into the God's chest and kicking him harshly away from him. The Destroyer was flung through the air at an incredible speed, allowing Gohan to scramble to his feet, panting as he did so, watching with awaiting eyes as Lord Beerus skidded to a halt above him.

"HEAD-BUTTING?!" He guffawed in a blind fury, hands placed on his hips as he scolded the teen from up high, "HEAD-BUTTING IS FOR STREET FIGHTS! NOT A BATTLE OF GODS!"

"Says the one who keeps pulling my hair!" Gohan shot back, frowning up at him, "And besides, it worked didn't it?!"

"What a childish response," the Destroyer huffed, "That, and it didn't even hurt."

"Liar!"

"Be quiet boy!" He snapped angrily, before his lips curled into an ominous smirk, "Though at least you've proven to me that there's some fight left in you yet."

The young saiyan scowled, as Lord Beerus mustered dangerously, "It's just a pity that this level of power you're displaying doesn't have any affect on me at all."

He blinked, he really didn't like that sudden glint in his eyes -

WHAM!

Gohan yelped, as without warning, Lord Beerus disappeared, and he was met with a brutal kick to the spine from behind, sending him cannonballing into the air, past the blackened clouds of smoke and volcanic debris and out towards the ozone layer. He sped past the atmosphere, careening to a halt only when the vast array of galaxies and stars were above him, the entire planet slowly turning on its axis below his feet.

The broken fragments of Planet Mars drifted silently before him, reflecting his deep crimson eyes. He was now fully aware that he was very far away from the Z-Gang. And all the more so, he really didn't want them seeing him getting his arse kicked more than they had to - unless Whis had managed to display the fight to them in high definition, of which he begrudging realised was a huge possibility.

There was a small noise behind him, a displacement of particles, which caused him to whirl around, his gaze narrowing in annoyance when he realised it was Lord Beerus. The deity appeared to be ignoring him altogether, casually tossing a palm-sized ball of destruction energy in his palm before throwing it upwards and nudging it on the tip of his nose, kicking it with the edge of his boot, flicking it with his tail -

"What the hell?!" He exclaimed sharply, awaiting an explanation as to why the deity had just lobbed him into space, getting even more irritated when he continued to ignore him, seemingly enjoying his game far too much to care.

"Oi! Stop mocking me!" Gohan pressed again, this time more loudly, causing the God to look towards him, the glowing orb of Destruction swirling in his palm.

He snickered darkly at the menacing look the teen was giving him, "I told you that you were boring me, didn't I? Good grief. All this space to work with and you haven't even tried to attack me yet. Do I have to provoke you even more?"

The halfling's gaze hardened, as Lord Beerus continued, "We all know that emotions fuel your power, Gohan. Tell me, will you seriously push me to Destroy your precious Earth prematurely without you having sufficiently fought for it?"

"Don't -," He started, yet the Destroyer cut across him just as quickly, the violet glimmer of the Hakai reflecting in his dark eyes.

"You will only have yourself to blame."

A vibrant hue of violet light lit up the vastness of dark space around them, intermingling with the mass of colourful galaxies lightyears away, as the orb in Lord Beerus' palm floated upwards, joining the dozens - no hundreds of blasts of Destruction that took aim towards the Earth.

"I thought that you were going to take this seriously," Lord Beerus said pointedly, the purplish glow lighting up his figure like the celestial being that he was, "Do not disappoint me."

Gohan started forwards just as the blasts were let loose. He whipped around faster than lightening, his fiery red hair trailing behind him as he blew them away with sharp, precise beams of his own Ki that erupted from his palms.

A cacophony of explosions rocked the Earth's surface as the orbs were extinguished, and the young saiyan could only imagine what the unsuspecting Earthlings below must be thinking as he unleashed another wave of energy that lit up one side of the planet. He only hoped that they weren't panicking too much - and that Bulma could come up with some elaborate excuse of space-weaponry testing or something as an explanation as to why the whole world was shaking.

To the young saiyan's annoyance, with every blast that he destroyed, it would be replaced by dozens more, multiplying at an alarming rate. Gohan knew that the outcome would be gruesome if one of those orbs hit. Though he was already beginning to sweat from the excursion, phasing in and out, snuffing out the fatal orbs as quickly as he could before they managed to get dangerously close to the Earth's atmosphere.

Lord Beerus was watching him intently, the intensity of his stare growing more calculated as another explosion rocked the space around them. Good. He's learning.

"I'm still waiting!" He spouted, as another string of purple blasts ignited and smouldered in the upper atmosphere, "Show me the true power of a Super Saiyan God!"

To his delight, the teenager's temper rose, his deep red eyes glinting with rage as he whirled around to face him, cupping his hands to his bleeding side in an all too familiar pose. "FINE!"

Divine power swept around his frame, sparking violently and causing his flaming aura to build exponentially -

"KAMEHAMEHAAAAAAAA!" Gohan roared, his deep voice booming across space as the signature attack of the Turtle School burst from his palms, wiping out the remaining orbs of Destruction in a cataclysmic display of raw power.

The long tunnel of light blasted straight through the solar system, scorching the deep vastness in its path, lighting up billions of stars and narrowly avoiding any planetary clashes. The vibrant glow died down, as the young Destroyer let his arms come to rest, still glaring fiercely at the God before him.

Lord Beerus' lips twitched, "Looks like you're not quite done yet."

"That's right," Gohan glowered, his fiery red hair much resembling the glow from the hot sun in the distance, "And I won't be until I've managed to match you fist for fist. It's the only way I can stop you from hurting everyone I care about."

"That's the spirit!" He laughed, "Although it takes much more than spirit to become my successor, Gohan."

"Oh I know," the halfling said confidently, "Which is why I aim to master this form, and go even further beyond it."

Lord Beerus raised an eyebrow, although it was clear he was relishing in the challenge his junior brought, "Strong words as always. Though I must admit, I'm curious to see if there's some bark to your bite."

CLASH!

The pressure and heat intensified tenfold, as their fists struck with an unrelenting force of divine energy. The sudden colliding impetus of the Destroyers sending a monumental shockwave battering across the solar system, its propulsion sending a noticeable shudder through to the young saiyan's core.

Gohan's long cloak blew back in the fierce aftershock, struggling to maintain his offensive form as Lord Beerus continued to push forwards, his deep purple aura spilling out of him and lighting up the void around them - before he attacked, forcing the teen to block his relentless blows and sparsely dodge out of the way of another, before he launched himself towards the deity once more.

Blinding flickers of their red and purple auras could be seen in bursts of light high above the Earth's atmosphere, dancing around each other as they continued to meet head on, drawn like moths to a flame - the entire solar system quivering from the combined strength of their Godly might.

"Ah," mustered Whis knowingly back at the cruise ship, small splinters of debris from the broken decking had started to lift into the air, the ground beneath them vibrating, "It appears as though they have finally taken this brawl to the next level."

"What?" Tien spoke suddenly, snapping his three eyes towards him in shock, "You're telling us that they weren't even fighting seriously before now?!"

"Correct," the Angel chuckled warmly, "In fact, they were just testing out the waters so to speak."

At his words, an electrical charge surged around them, making the entire Earth tremble and forcing the gang to dig their heels into the ground, steadying themselves as another quaking rush of energy bombarded the planet.

"Eek!" Bulma squeaked, grasping onto Vegeta tightly, "What's happening?!"

"Hm," said Whis, "Their impacts are creating energy waves like how earthquakes cause tsunamis. These waves gain strength the further they travel. If they're not careful, the consequences will be most dire."

"What do you mean?" Krillin gulped, hoisting Marron onto his hip and holding her protectively to his strong chest.

The celestial being's features suddenly became serious, "It is common knowledge amongst higher beings that when two Destroyers engage in combat, it can rip entire universes apart. But it's like I said, Gohan is not a fully fledged Destroyer so the circumstances aren't hugely consequential. Be that as it may, we are certainly not out of the danger zone."

"Hang on a minute!" Videl demanded hotly, her sapphire eyes wide and frantic, tearing her gaze away from where she had been diligently watching the fight unfold, "You're saying that if Gohan and Lord Beerus keep hammering each other like that then the whole universe could explode?!"

"I daresay it would be inevitable as they continue to channel more strength with each blow," he sighed, causing the girl to pale, "The damage will and is increasing exponentially as each shockwave ripples across the universe, thus creating a chain reaction of destruction. Galaxies will explode like strings of firecrackers. All the planets, the Kais, even Gohan and Lord Beerus could be lost until nothing remains but an empty void."

The Angel's brow furrowed in thought, "It is true they have never fought like this before…"

Catching them staring at him in horror, Whis flashed them a cheery smile, "But it's no matter! I can stop them if needed."

"Wicked," Goten and Trunks gasped, their eyes wide with boyish wonder in light of the hazardous situation.

"It is not wicked OR cool, boys!" Bulma growled, before rounding on Whis, "Oi mister know-it-all, just how many of those galaxy destroying shockwaves can the universe withstand before it blows to smithereens?!"

"Now that's a good question…," Whis said thoughtfully, scratching his chin with his hand, "At full power I'd say about, three?"

"THREE?!" The Z-Gang chorused hotly, though the deity nonchalantly waved off their concerns.

"Do not trifle yourself Earthlings," he smiled, "I am certain that if they were causing too much devastation then The Supreme Kai would already be blowing up the communication waves of the celestial in a blind panic - "

BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP!

As if on cue, the gem on his sceptre flashed in a rapid alarming red. Whis sighed, tapping the long staff so that the hologram of Gohan and Lord Beerus' vicious battle dissipated, and in its place materialised the frantic features of The Supreme Kai.

He appeared rather flustered, his cheeks puffing outwards and a sheen of sweat evident on his brow. But that wasn't all that was off putting about the Kai's demeanour, as the occupants of the deck couldn't help but notice the fluffy pink towel that was wrapped around his head like a turban, nor the other that he held tightly around his small body.

"Good afternoon Supreme Kai!" Whis greeted pleasantly, clearly unfazed by the Creation God's startling attire, "To what may I owe the -?"

"WHIS!" Shin cried madly, "What in Zalama's holy name is going on down there?! I - !"

He stopped short, his face glowing bright red when he realised that he had a much larger audience than he expected.

"O-Oh!" He spluttered, locking eyes with the bewildered Z-Fighters and clearing his throat, attempting to quell his outburst, "H-Hello Son Goku and friends. Good to see you again."

"I see that you've noticed Lord Beerus and Lord Gohan's fight," said Whis, not giving the warriors a chance to offer their own greetings.

"Noticed?!" The Supreme Kai shrieked, his towel dropping a little out of shock and forcing him to hoist it back up underneath his chin, "How could I not notice?! I've had the lower Kais hounding me telepathically whilst I was in the middle of a bubble bath! Devastating shockwaves have been reported all across the universe! You've GOT to call them off before they - !"

"Poppycock," Whis chirped, "They have not Destroyed anything that infringes the universal balance just yet. Although… the Milky Way Galaxy is in need of a new Planet Mars."

"MARS?!" He blundered, "What happened to Mars?!"

"Ah, you see," The Angel mustered rather tentatively, "Lord Gohan had a bit of an accident."

"DID HE SLIP?!"

"Why yes! How did you know that?" He chuckled, shaking his head as the bamboozled Kai let out a strangled noise of despair, "Oh do calm down Supreme Kai, you give our young Junior Destroyer little credit. I'm sure that he'll figure it out soon enough."

KA-BOOM!

Another rip-roaring shockwave clattered towards the Earth at that moment, sending the Z-Gang crashing to their knees from the omnipotent force. A splinter of lightening bolts threatened to split open the sky, that rapidly turned from a deep blue to pitch black in a matter of seconds. A howl of extreme winds battered against the hull of the ship, as gigantic waves thrashed around them.

The ensuing chaos appeared to stretch right across the universe and past dimensions as The Supreme Kai, along with an onlooking Kibito went tumbling to the ground with a loud screech, the transmission cutting off abruptly, leaving nothing but a fuzzy screen in its wake.

Whis pursed his lips as the flummoxed gang helped pick one other off of the floor, "Oh dear."

---

His bones groaned with a nauseating ache, as another electrifying tremor of destructive energy rippled from the connection of his and Lord Beerus' fists. This time, a glaring flash of white light escaped the fray, the force of their collision so great that they were blown apart, silvery wisps of divine Ki rippling across the galaxy and out into the rest of the universe.

The brightness pulsated and grew exponentially, a cluster of meteorites evaporating like dust as it hit. The young saiyan screamed, his muscles bulging as he threw another fast strike towards Lord Beerus' head, which was quickly countered by his own. Their combined might swelled and filtered outwards in another ruinous wave, and Gohan could just feel the universe begin to buckle from the pressure.

WHAM!

Another hit detonated the space surrounding them, and the Earth below them convulsed, as Gohan gritted his teeth in concentration, the shockwave pouring out of them as he stopped Lord Beerus' knee from driving into his chest.

The young saiyan flipped himself over, using the deity's outstretched limb to propel himself backwards, the galaxy waning as though it was screaming in objection. Lord Beerus smirked, their power rising again as the teenager sling-shotted himself back towards his opponent in a swirl of amber and gold.

And the universe braced itself for the impending shockwave that would no doubt cripple it beyond repair.

One more. Just one more -

BOOM!

"Ha! It worked!" Gohan grinned, as no such tremor spewed forth, only the sound that of their clashing fists ringing around them.

There was a flicker of surprise within Lord Beerus' eyes, as he too realised that the earth-shattering divine energy was no longer leaking out of them. He was caught off-guard even, as the young Destroyer gave him no time to retort, delivering a nasty punch straight to the gut before blasting him away with a golden ball of hot Ki.

The God of Destruction came speeding to a stop, blinking rapidly in the dim glow of the blueish world that remained safe and intact, circling slowly beneath their feet.

"Clever," he observed, "You managed to neutralise the attack."

"It took me a while to figure out how to do it," said Gohan with a slight shrug to his shoulders, "This amount of divine energy is really difficult to contain, but I think I've got a firmer grasp on it. Now I can go all out."

"Hn," Lord Beerus grunted, "And here was me thinking that you were just getting carried away, as usual."

"Are you admitting that you were wrong?" he teased, causing the God to scoff in annoyance.

"As if," he said snidely, "I'm just pointing out the fact that maybe you're not as entirely thick skulled as you present yourself."

Gohan scowled, as he continued, "Though I must say that I'm intrigued. You said that only now you can go all out? What have I told you about holding back on me, brat?"

The teenager couldn't help but chuckle, even in spite of his predecessor's murderous tone, "I told you that I wasn't used to this power. I didn't want to blow up the whole solar system."

"Oh this is panning out just nicely," Lord Beerus laughed, clearly amused by the fact, "This is exactly how my dream was foretold. But… I can sense something is bothering you. You seem, disappointed?"

He frowned at the Destroyer's words, feeling vulnerable all of a sudden. He didn't like it. He never did, especially when those older, wiser or more powerful could read him like an open book.

"Actually, now that you mention it, yeah something is bothering me," he replied, deciding it was better to admit it than to skirt around the subject. Lord Beerus wouldn't take too kindly to that after all.

"Well, out will it it boy," the deity demanded, sharp eyes surveying him, "What's the matter? Is this divine Ki not enough for you? Does achieving the level of Gods not measure up to your 'standards'?"

"That's not it," Gohan said firmly, before letting out a sigh, "I suppose that it's what it took to achieve it. I didn't reach this level of power on my own. I mean, do you really think that I could have done it alone? Like, just through training?"

"Perhaps," said Lord Beerus, his gaze softening slightly, "But probably not this quickly."

"Yeah," the teenager said dejectedly, "And that's what frustrates me. I mean it's great and all, don't get me wrong. I just, I-I don't feel worthy."

A flash of a smile graced the God's features for a split second, and it happened so fast that Gohan missed it completely.

"Maybe so," Lord Beerus mustered, arms folded across his chest, "But think of it as a stepping stone to something more, something that you can build on with your own abilities and power."

The halfling looked up, as his opponent took a stronger stance. "Now stop dawdling," he told him gruffly, "I want you to come at me with everything you've got. No more holding back, unless you want to see this world destroyed!"

Challenge accepted. As Gohan reached deep within himself, drawing his power back to the surface in a spiral of fiery energy and leapt at the Destroyer.

His fist slammed into his cheek, sending a spray of spit and blood flying, though the teen had no choice but to recoil as Lord Beerus was once again on the onslaught, his limbs burring in motion as he made to inflict significant damage to the halfling. Gohan snarled, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth as an elbow crashed into his skull and caused him to nearly bite his tongue off.

He spat back to the Earth below, as Lord Beerus clotheslined him out of the air. The young saiyan grappled him off with a great amount of difficulty, fingers sinking into the Destroyer's shoulder before he booted him away with a painful kick to the side, blowing him further backwards by a sharp gust of sizzling Ki that escaped his rampaging aura.

Lord Beerus bared up in anger, his own energy rippling with static as he charged, meeting the halfling blow for blow, a series of sonic booms rattling the air. Though incredibly, with each clash the shockwaves continued to be neutralised, owing to Gohan's firmer handle on keeping his new powers in check.

"A valiant effort Gohan, but enough is enough!" Lord Beerus roared, smashing his knee into his skull and punting him across the atmosphere so hard that it nearly ripped a hole in the ozone layer. The clanging boom that followed almost blew apart his eardrums.

The teenager's aura dwindled slightly as he grasped onto his aching ribs that he was certain were completely shattered by now, a sticky warm patch of blood welling beneath his garb. And Lord Beerus noticed.

"All out indeed!" His predecessor continued to taunt, shouting over the Earth, as the halfling struggled back to full height. That last blow really hurt! "If you truly understood the extent of your divine power then you wouldn't be taking this fight so lightly. Such a pity when the fate of your world is at stake!"

Gohan panted, wincing as he looked down and inspected the crimson liquid that coated his hand. Damn it, and he thought that he was just starting to get a one up on Lord Beerus!

And just did the thought enter his mind, did a swell of negative energy strike his senses. He looked up, his red eyes widening as a gigantic ball of Destruction erupted from the end of Lord Beerus' finger. The familiar devastation, the all encompassing feeling of dread and death swirled above him, a fate that - as Lord Beerus quite rightly put it, would be in store for the Earth if he didn't stop it.

Oh COME ON! Just how many effing death balls was he going to throw at him today?!

The Hakai sparked and whirred in motion, sizzling with murderous intent as it grew high above him, threatening to eclipse the world. But Gohan stood his ground, balling up his bloodied fists and thrusting them outwards as the giant violet blast hurtled towards him.

BAMF! SIZZLE! CRACK!

He clenched his jaw as it connected, a harsh growl rumbling within his chest as he desperately tried to push the sphere back, his arms straining from the force.

It rippled and sizzled with raw, destructive might, as Lord Beerus' cruel laughter cut through the air. The pressure was overwhelming, and Gohan knew that there was no way he would be able to muster enough power to cancel out the blast with his own Hakai, for it was far less developed than his elder's. The cat-like God had realised this too, it seemed, grinning madly as he held out his clawed palm, a secondary wave of Ki bursting from his fingers and causing the teen to buckle - the disastrous orb rapidly approaching the Earth.

No! He wouldn't let him! Gohan thought arduously, his aura flaring wildly around him as his forearms shook.

And for the first time in a very very long time, Lord Beerus looked stunned. As the young saiyan actually started to push back, a feral howl erupting from his throat as the thunderous sphere of death was steadily making its way back towards him.

"What the - ?" The God of Destruction snarled, unleashing more of his energy into the blast.

"N-No way!" The teenager puffed, still straining under the crushing pressure, but maintaining his strong stance, "There's no w-way that I'm going to give up!"

"Your resilience is admirable," Lord Beerus surmised, "But let's end this already. There is nothing more tiresome than a stalemate!"

He failed to stop the scream that flew from his lips, as the orb pulsated with a debilitating force that threatened to flatten him completely. His senses were assaulted with the staggering might of the Destroyer, and he was forced to squeeze his eyes tightly shut for want of not being blinded by the intense flash of light that followed. It was utterly electrifying, as dark purple bolts of lightening shot out of the sphere and grappled with his arms, stabbing at his tendons and causing his nerve endings to burn in agony.

He could feel the amount of divine energy increasing once more, unable to stop it flooding out of him as he stumbled in midair, attempting to immobilise the approaching blast with all of his might. The pressure squeezed tightly at his senses, the dense matter that was steadily building around him not unlike that of a collapsing star, and if that exploded then it really would be the end of everything.

They couldn't risk another shockwave, damn it! The halfling thought bitterly, panic rising in his belly as he felt the distortions in the air, silvery wisps of energy escaping the Hakai in his grasp. They flooded back towards the Earth, and if Gohan were able to open his eyes then he was certain that he would be able to see the entire planet heaving from the amount of power being slammed into it.

But he didn't know what was the best measure to take. At this level of density the best thing he could manage was to limit the resounding shockwave to this solar system and a few of its closest neighbours.

He swore under his breath, creaking open his eyelids slightly in the blinding light to see the Earth swirling with a barrage of blackened clouds and clashing purple lightening bolts. This did not look good.

If there was any doubt in his mind that Lord Beerus was just bluffing on Destroying the entire solar system then it had completely gone to HFIL. Of course, it was no skin off his nose if the Earth and its surrounding kin met a most dismal end, all the Milky Way had appeared to have done was cause him trouble thus far. And if Videl and… the baby were wiped out with it, then it would be a lot less to worry about for the God of Destruction.

He could not let that happen.

A pair of beautiful sapphire eyes drifted into his mind as Gohan let out another yowl of frustration and rage, grappling with the gigantic orb as the heat bristled against his skin. But alas, no matter how much he tried, it was useless. And he was unable to stop it from pressing forwards, pushing his Ki underneath him in order to steady himself, wisps of sparking divinity flooding outwards as it went.

How the hell could he stop such a devastating concentration of divine energy?! With the power to Destroy the universe with its subsequent explosion?!

More jagged, robust daggers of lightening stabbed at the vastness of space around him, the entire universe roaring in his ears, along with the startling rumble of the Earth, as though it was going to split apart at any given moment. The violet light grew and grew, the end near, closing in, when -

It stopped.

"W-What the - ?!" Gohan blinked, gobsmacked. He panted from the exertion, sweat rolling down his brow as he looked frantically about him.

He didn't understand. The Hakai had completely disappeared, the staggering light gone. All of space was calm and quiet, the Earth below spinning naturally on its axis, serene blue skies and waters, gentle fluffy white clouds waving back at them - as if nothing had even happened.

His eyes boggled, staring in amazement at the Destroyer across the globe, who all but grinned wryly back. They were still here, everything was. And suddenly, it was all too clear.

"What did you do?" The teenager asked blindly, his crimson eyes still adjusting to the dim light now that the imposing orb had disappeared.

"I neutralised the energy that had built up between us," Lord Beerus explained in a bored manner, elaborating before he could even begin to ask him why he would do such a thing when he had been threatening mass destruction all along, "So that we can finally finish this battle on a clean slate."

"B-But where did it go?!" He blundered, still in awe and raked with confusion, "The Hakai? All that divine Ki?!"

"Not your concern," the deity waved him off, "Though you may learn in time if you grow strong enough. It is a complicated technique that requires a one hundred percent power-up."

Gohan's mouth fell open in shock, dumfounded, though a bubble of laugher made its way up his chest, escaping his throat before he could stop himself.

"And just what is so funny?" Lord Beerus quipped, as the young saiyan shook his head in an attempt to compose himself.

"It's nothing," he told him, giving him a wry smile, though a dark look lingered in his eyes, "It's just that you were having a go at me earlier for holding back, and you're doing it too. I can't believe that we nearly destroyed the whole galaxy with that last attack and you were still holding back."

The God stared back silently, as he continued, "You barely managed to defeat Perses at one hundred percent. And here's me barely hanging on against you when your power is already being drained by Zamasu."

Lord Beerus scoffed at his words, the reminder of the corrupted Kai's misdeeds still far too raw, "Don't sully your progress, boy. You have come a long way."

"But will it be enough, Lord Beerus?"

His long ears twitched as he regarded him for a moment, a rare sincerity to his gaze, "It's difficult to tell right now, but Whis seems to have a hell of a lot of faith in you."

Gohan blinked up at him, as he said, "It's amazing what we can do when the fate of our home is at stake, Gohan."

He quirked an eyebrow, as for a moment Lord Beerus looked as though he was reminiscing about something, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"So what do you say?" He asked him, a sudden, sinister look in his eyes that replaced the haunted memories lost within, forcing the teenager to quickly take up his guard. "Let us finally conclude this fight at one hundred percent power, no holding back. And I'll know if you do."

The halfling gaped. What?! Didn't he just tell him that he was barely hanging -

BAM!

He yelled in both surprise and pain, as he shot over to the other side of the Earth with a gruesome kick to the stomach, crashing unceremoniously into a meteorite that exploded on impact.

Dazed, as he tried to fight his way out of the ensuing dust and rubble, he heard Lord Beerus call out, "One hundred percent! Am I clear?!"

With his aura blazing, Gohan attacked. Bursting through the dust clouds and skimming over the Earth's atmosphere, hitting the fully fledged deity head on with a striking blow to the sternum, the resounding crack of knuckles on bone quaking the atoms in the blackened void. Their fists clashed even more violently now, like two titans locked in a ruthless brawl, threatening to shift the very planets that surrounded them.

The startling view of the glorious myriad of galaxies where lost on them, as they fought to overpower the other, and Gohan had no qualms in channeling his Godly energy into every fibre of his being. It was much safer now that the build up of pressurised Ki had disappeared, though the young saiyan didn't know for how much longer it would stay like that, as Lord Beerus cracked him under the chin with a forceful uppercut, causing his aura to flicker.

Though there was no reason to hold back, as long as he managed to end the fight quickly for want of the divine Ki not dangerously building up again should he struggle to control it - which wasn't the most comforting of thoughts by all accounts.

"Let's face it!" Lord Beerus cried, effortlessly catching the teenager's oncoming boot in his palm before backhanding him across the air with a loud BOOM! "Your time is up!"

Gohan seethed, wiping the blood away from his bruised lip, his flame-like aura flickering, dying down ever so slightly. He noticed it, but he refused to believe that his power was suddenly wavering.

"Listen, there's nothing to be ashamed of," the God sighed begrudgingly, "Again and again you've surpassed your limits in this fight and reached heights that no saiyan mortal should, much less a half-breed. Even one training to become a Destroyer."

He ducked and dived easily out of the way of the teen's powerful strikes that he continued to unleash upon him in rapid succession. But to Gohan's horror, it felt as though he was actually slowing down.

What gives?! He growled to himself, as Lord Beerus leered.

"Perhaps gunning for one hundred percent was a mistake, and incredibly premature to think that you would be able to handle such," he chastised, "For now, this amount of divinity you hold is borrowed and I believe that you must harness it until it becomes your own. Do you understand?"

SWIPE!

Lord Beerus quickly stopped his shin that was mere centimetres away from his temple, stopping the young Destroyer in his tracks as he sighed in annoyance, "And because you have not mastered it, you are running out of fuel. Face it boy, it is over."

"No it's NOT!" Gohan yelled, ripping his leg away from him and flipping himself over, kneeing him with a sickening blow to the spine and causing him to double over, "I won't lose!"

And just as the halfling made to follow up in his attack, bringing up his fists to smash the deity in the back of the skull - did the lights snuff out.

His aura faltered, the power of the Super Saiyan God leaving him completely, and in its place left golden hair and emerald green eyes, standing out clearly amongst the vastness of space.

---

"I can sense Gohan again!" Trunks gasped suddenly, as a feeling of dread encompassed the onlookers.

"Same here, son," said Vegeta, dark eyes searching the atmosphere above them, now free of the apocalypse that had threatened to engulf them moments ago.

"This isn't good," said Piccolo, "If we can sense him again, then -"

"Indeed," Whis mustered thoughtfully, as the unmistakable glow of the super saiyan radiated towards the Earth from up high. His sceptre had been long forgotten about, given the poor reception in the wake of the Destroyers clash, "It appears that the transformation has a time limit based on the amount of power that it exerts, much like the original Super Saiyan God in Shenron's tale."

Goku's eyes widened, panic gripping at his resolve, "But if that's true, then - "

"H-He's lost," Videl whispered beside him, her father smoothing her shoulders in comfort, her sapphire gaze reflecting the golden light above.

The Angel observed her for a moment, "Not yet."

---

"As stubborn as ever!" Lord Beerus glowered, knocking away the halfling's swinging fists and sending him flying with a swift, yet painful, jab to the chest, "You really think that you can still win? You're nothing but a regular super saiyan!"

"Huh?" Gohan mustered, looking down at himself in shock, his eyes widening as he stared at his calloused hands that were encased in a glowing golden aura rather than the fiery amber and crimson light, "Since when?"

The deity gave him an incredulous stare, "You seriously didn't notice?"

"That's strange," the teenager blinked, clenching and unclenching his fists as though he was going to find some kind of explanation beneath his fingertips, "I-I don't feel any different at all! What's going on?"

"How the hell should I know, boy?" Lord Beerus snorted, prompting the halfling to roll his eyes in exasperation.

"Well I don't know do I? This is your premonition after all."

"Enough of your cheek!" He snapped, before frowning in thought, "Hmm, it appears as though your body has learned from the experience of the power of the Super Saiyan God somehow, even though the energy is gone. Yes, yes, that must be it. Merely allowing that power to feed into you was enough to push you past your previous limitations. In a sense, the reddish appearance is gone but the power is apart of you now, the strength burning in you like a flame."

Gohan stared, still trying to come to terms with the fact that the borrowed power had somehow fused with his own, as Lord Beerus smirked.

"It is exactly what we need," he told him, "Though it would no doubt be better if your body retained the divinity, but you'll get there eventually. What do you make of it?"

"I really don't know," he said honestly, "I don't feel any different than I did before. But, I suppose that I can figure all that out later, all that matters now is that I can still try and beat you."

"Ugh, you're still delusional it seems, and sadly I don't think any celestial dragon in the cosmos can fix that," the God sighed hopelessly, before giving him a fearsome stare, "Fine then, if you want to do this the hard way, then give me what's left of that power. ALL OF IT!"

The young Destroyer didn't need to be told twice. And, reaching into the deepest pit of his Ki did he bring it forth, pushing past the boundaries with an almighty scream.

"HAAAAAAAA!"

An abundance of lightening bolts sprang to life around him, thrashing across his frame in rapid succession as he reached the second level, quickly shattering its restraints and breaking into the third. Long, golden locks of hair grew past the back of his knees as his eyebrows disappeared, and his hard emerald eyes glinted with venomous charge.

But the teenager refused to stop there, he had to give Lord Beerus everything. Which he did. Diving headlong into the negative emotional storm that remained quashed within him and forcing it outwards in a vibrant burst of violet energy. The aura of Destruction whipped around him, cloaking his golden hair in darkness, much like the way the damning feelings of guilt and longing eclipsed his heart.

The Hakai he created was stronger, more torturous than ever before as he found himself imagining the anger and disappointment that had exuded from his loved ones back on the ship, their vacant stares of sorrow that he had been the cause of. That, and the crippling ache in his heart when he thought of Videl and the unborn child within her.

KA-BOOM!

The sheer strength of Gohan's peak blew Lord Beerus back a few feet, the building pulsating energy causing him to raise a curious eyebrow before unleashing his own destructive aura that whipped about him in a similar swirl of violet fire and a bellowing cry. The Hakai surged between the Destroyers, encompassing them and lighting up the dark void of space. The mass influx of their combined power filtering all across the universe.

"BRACE YOURSELF, BOY!" The God of Destruction roared.

"BRING IT!" Gohan shouted, slipping into an offensive stance before allowing a rush of Ki to propel him towards his opponent, Lord Beerus quickly following suit.

SMASH!

A sonic boom clamoured across the upper atmosphere as the impact of their fists dissipated the Earth's swirling clouds in the northern hemisphere. The young saiyan ignored the quiver of his knuckles against the cantankerous God's, before he unleashed a bombardment of uppercuts to his stomach. Bringing up his leg to punt the deity away, providing him with some distance and unleashing a white hot Masenko from his palms - which was instantly Destroyed by Lord Beerus, much to his chargin.

They collided again as the remnants golden particles settled from where the blast had been extinguished, this time more desperately - at least on Gohan's part. He winced, the breath falling from his lips as all the air was forcibly expelled from his lungs, curtesy of Lord Beerus' cracking shin to his chest. Growling with malice, the halfling retaliated with another blazing fist, before his opponent thwacked him away as though he was merely swatting a pesky fly.

"Not good enough!" Lord Beerus hollered, as Gohan shook his golden hair out of his eyes, his forehead glistening with sweat, "Where is all that power we thought burned like a flame inside of you?! Don't tell me that it's all that easy to snuff out?!"

"KA - MEH - HA - MEH - !" The teenager began to chant, cupping his hands to his side in retort. He was broken and bleeding, half of his ribcage left shattered and deep cuts marring his arms. His ceremonial garb was charred and torn, exposing even more bruises and gashes that littered is body.

Lord Beerus' attire was in a similar state of disarray, though he was nowhere near as wounded. And he seemed to take great pride in the fact, as he watched the swirl of bright blue energy grow rapidly in the halfling's hands, his lips curled in a gloating manner before he phased out, reappearing with his fist embedded in the teenager's gut, forcing the Kamehameha Wave to snuff out completely before he even had a chance to fire.

Gohan choked on his own blood as his bones shuddered from the force of impact, doubling over before he struck the dastardly deity hard in the back of the neck and smashed his knee right into his snout. Lord Beerus snarled as he stumbled back, recovering quickly and delivering a fast spinning kick to the halfling's side, causing him to yowl in pain as he was sent spiralling though the air. Though to the Destroyer's annoyance, he was still standing.

"Damn it, why don't you just give up you annoying brat?!" He spat, as the teen saiyan panted, a small yet determined smile gracing his features.

"It's like you said Lord Beerus," said Gohan, his long golden hair quivering in the breeze he created with his purple aura, "My world is at stake, along with everyone I care about. I can't let you win that easily. And as long as I'm still standing, I can still fight!"

Stubborn creature, the mighty Destroyer observed, before a deep snarl spewed from his lips, "Is that so? Then what are you waiting for? Put it all in one attack if you must. Though I doubt it'll make a difference."

Something sparked within the teen, something deep rooted and incredibly powerful. And even though the divine power that he had previously exuded was supposedly gone, something else took over completely. Gohan roared from within the depths of his own might, a rippling cascade of lightening bolts snapping and crackling at his frame - his Ki spiking and slamming against an invisible wall inside of himself, threatening to break through.

Lord Beerus raised an eyebrow, as his long ears blew back from the force, when it began to dwindle suddenly, as though the power was being drawn into something else entirely. He smirked in delight, as a vibrant crimson light started to build rapidly beyond the stars, igniting the blackness and causing the atoms around them to quake with anticipation.

"Oh?" The God of Destruction said to himself with a twisted grin, the attack the boy was summoning striking him with a sense of thrilling familiarity, "It looks as though I'll have to use more than my fists to stop this one."

A mighty cyclone threatened engulfed them, as a rabid, gut wrenching force erupted and with it came the rapture. The point of the gigantic arrow burst through the dark space-dust that had started to form around it, swirling with an unrelenting amount of deadly crimson Ki. It was so large that it eclipsed at least a quarter of the planet that was bathed in its blood red light below them, and it rose from behind Gohan as he roared, his aura dwindling, reverting back to the first level of super saiyan as his his energy poured into the world-ending attack.

Lord Beerus was ready, another searing ball of Hakai bursting from his palm as he raised it high above his head and bellowed, "THIS IS THE END!"

A jarring spark of vexing energy mounted between them, and then -

"MASS EXTINCTION!" Gohan's rasping cry resonated through the entire galaxy, as the massive arrow fired straight towards the awaiting God. It sizzled and crackled with apocalyptic might, its fiery tail lighting up the stars as it went.

The attacks connected as Lord Beerus let go of his own blast, the impact causing the entire universe to groan with the force that threatened to gnaw away at the threads of reality. Violet met crimson in a flash of rippling lightening bolts as they slammed into one another, and for a moment did the teenager think that the arrow was about to pierce the orb of Destruction and actually extinguish it, when it was overwhelmed by it completely.

The split second of hope that swelled in his chest suddenly vanished, as the combined blast doubled, tripled, quadrupled in size. It shook with the potent force of red and purple energy, churning and hissing with both a divine and equally as deadly of a presence.

It was colossal. So big that it was grew just as large as the Earth that it was quickly hurtling towards at nigh incredible speeds.

Gohan failed to stop himself from letting out a rather vulgar swear word, his emerald eyes dancing in the devastating light that towered over the entire planet - and him. Though it could not be heard over the curdling scream of atoms that began to pop and evaporate into nothingness. Clusters of meteorites and the debris left over from Mars' grim fate crumbled into the abyss, eradicating instantly from the sheer heat and pressure that oozed from the cosmic mass. The calamitous winds eradicating everything in its path.

The orb convulsed uncontrollably, crimson daggers of lightening stabbing manically at its edges as though it was trying to tear it apart. As if his and Lord Beerus' blasts were still at war with each other beneath the surface.

The teenager swallowed hard. Well, there was only one thing for it.

With an unrestrained roar, Gohan flung his arms forwards, resuming the same pose that he had tried minutes earlier when he had vainly attempted to put a stop to another one of his predecessor's deadly blasts. Except this time, this one was intermingled with his own annihilative power, and was as big as a planet that was about to collide with the one behind him.

It seemed hopeless, he griped bitterly, grinding his teeth together as his muscle fibres jerked painfully under the staggering strength of the combined attack. But the halfling was all kinds of stubborn, and wasn't about to give up just yet!

"Come on now, Gohan!" He heard Lord Beerus shout over the roar of the mighty winds, the Destroyer God not even making an effort to push the blast forwards, "We both know that you're at your limit!"

"SHUT UP!" Gohan spat back, frantically grasping for more power within himself. Power that he just couldn't seem to find. Power that - was rapidly slipping away.

And no sooner did the words leave his lips, did he drop out of his transformation totally. His hair and eyes reverted back to black. His aura, that had already begun to flicker between violet and gold as he struggled to keep a firm hold of his energy - dissipated.

His entire body was shaking, the disastrous orb reaching the edge of the planet, the young halfling barely holding it back.

Damn it! He growled inwardly with frustration, he shouldn't have used the Mass Extinction! It had drained the very last of his power! And now, it was floating before him in a raging torrent of impending doom before him, about to connect with the Earth and wipe it from existence.

Lord Beerus had won.

He howled in both anger and misery, intermingling with the wail of his home world as it began to teeter and quake. As if it were already mourning its own destruction. He could feel the skin from his hands melting off, his fingers raw as they trembled under the baneful force. It quickly eclipsed him, swallowing him completely as it continued on its lethal path, the sizzling heat ripping at his clothes and flesh, and it felt like a thousand white hot knives were stabbing at every part of him.

"Keep pushing."

Gohan snapped open his eyes that had previously been scrunched up in agony. The sound of an incredibly familiar voice reverberating through him as though it was emitting right out of his chest.

"Keep pushing, son. I know you can do it."

It was his father! He realised in a mixture of shock, relief and confusion. But was he really speaking to him? It didn't feel like it, for there appeared to be no telepathic connection in his mind. Not that he could concentrate fully, what with the abundance of deadly Ki stabbing at his insides.

"Damn it boy! Don't give up now! Is that all the power you have?!"

Another voice, but it wasn't his father's. It sounded like… Vegeta?! And the source seemed to be coming from the very core of his being, as though their voices were somehow woven into his soul.

He no longer felt pain, his arms coming to rest by his side, even though the thrash and crash of the pestilent orb continued to bombard him. An odd sense of serenity overcoming him, even though he knew what was at stake.

"You can do it, Gohan! Your power is amazing!"

"Are you going to let Mum and Dad just die?!"

The voices kept coming, each one strikingly familiar to him, filling up his chest and constricting the valves in his useless heart as though trying to make it beat. To come… alive.

"Please, stay with me."

Videl…

And then, a soft whimper reached his ears, catching him off guard somewhat until he recognised it as a cry. The unmistakable sound of new life -

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The Super Saiyan God burst back into existence at that very moment, his hair and eyes glowing a vibrant shade of red. It was blinding, all consuming, as Gohan let out a primal scream so loud and unrestrained that it nearly tore apart the heavens in the next dimension.

He was flooded by a gargantuan amount of divine energy, that swirled and encircled him like the rampaging furnace deep within his iris'. The beast unleashed as the young Destroyer bellowed with a massive blaze of fury. Though it was unclear whether or not he noticed that his Godly powers had returned to him in bucket loads, as he was desperate and determined, pulling back a raging fist in the only way he could think of in the midst of the tidal wave of destruction that surrounded him.

KA-BOOOOOOOM!

His frenzied strike connected with the nucleus of the orb, the crux of which detonated with such a catastrophic amount of power that it was a wonder that the whole galaxy didn't vanish along with it.

The space around them went completely white, shrouding the Earth for a split second before everything came back into focus. Golden particles of divine energy dispersed into the air, as a unfurling string of silence spread across the universe.

Gohan gasped, his ears still ringing from the aftershock of the explosion as he floated uselessly above the blue hue of the Earth's atmosphere. His head lulled, barely managing to keep his onyx eyes open, his long ebony hair frazzled and dishevelled from the aftermath, long since fallen out of its messy ponytail. He was completely spent.

Across from him, Lord Beerus' jaw was already on the ground, before he quickly managed to compose himself, shaking his head as he did so. Well I'll be damned, it looks like telling him that I was going to use my maximum power really did work to draw out his inner strengths.

A rasping cough from the teenager shook him out of his thoughts, blood spilling from the Junior Destroyer's lips, "I-I stopped you."

"Hn, in a way," Lord Beerus stated, floating over to the broken boy who strained to look at him. He was in a lot of pain. "It appears that the God you summoned was a patchwork frame of the power of five saiyans stitched together. And from that, what you've created incidentally is perhaps even better that I could have prophesied. A divine level in fact. It is more than obvious to me now that this is something that you can build upon. Simply stunning to be able to withstand a great amount of my own power, even with the likes of that cowardice Zamasu draining my might and feeding it to Perses."

The God of Destruction observed him carefully. "In that last moment, you summoned that strength again from absorbing that power," he chuckled, giving him a rare half smile, "You're a true prodigy, Gohan. I see now what Whis has been blundering on about for all these years."

A choked laugh escaped the halfling, "N-Now you choose to g-give me a c-compliment?!"

Lord Beerus snorted, "It's the first time you've earned one, brat."

Another spell of silence drifted between them, as Gohan managed to open his eyes fully, the dark orbs boring into his, "A-Are you still g-going to Destroy the Earth?"

He paused, "You've fought well, kid."

With that, he passed out, his breath leaving him, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. What was left of his Ki no longer able to keep him afloat as he tumbled back towards the Earth.

"Oh no GOHAN!" Goku cried as Chi-Chi screamed, spotting the teenager bursting through the clouds, the air dispersing, his speed increasing rapidly, dangerously as he went.

The Z-Gang gasped at the mutilated state he was in as he fell, the warriors of Earth readying themselves to catch him when Whis stepped in front of them. With a quick flourish of his staff, Gohan slowed down just as he reached the ship, his back colliding with the soft bouncy platform that had suddenly materialised on the wooden deck.

"GOHAN!" Chi-Chi cried, bolting towards the fallen boy and skidding to her knees as the others raced to his aid.

"Stand back everyone, all is well," Whis chimed, the gem of his sceptre glowing as he swiftly waved it over Gohan's broken body.

In an instant, the young saiyan sat up, blinking the sun out of his eyes as he stared down at his body that was completely healed, though his garb remained in bloodied tatters.

"W-Whis?" He spouted, spotting his mentor firstly, hovering over him, "What happened?"

"You lost that's what happened," Lord Beerus said sharply, landing before him and causing the gang to warily back away, "Rather spectacularly too."

Gohan clenched his fists in anger, readying himself for another fight when the Destroyer yawned loudly, "Now come on, let's go home. There's still much work to be done if we are going to stand any chance of defeating Perses should he escape."

He was floored, what was Lord Beerus saying?

"Oh?" Whis quipped brightly, as if reading his thoughts, "Are you not going to follow through with your promise and Destroy the Earth, my Lord? A Destroyer must always rain his integrity after all, isn't that what you've been telling Gohan?"

"Shut up!" The cat-like God snarled back, "I already told you that I don't want to deal with that stupid brat's whining until my inevitable death so I've changed my mind! Now let's go!"

Whis gave his Lord a look that was almost teasing, but Gohan wasn't paying much attention to the Destroyer's ranting, as the reality that his family and friends were safe from his wrath was almost too startling to process. He had changed his mind, something that was completely unheard of.

But the relief he felt was shortly eclipsed by the rush of agony that stuck him in the chest, threatening to knock him right off his feet. He looked towards his family and friends, who were slowly coming to terms with the fact that they weren't suddenly none existing. Their own panic alleviating, but was replaced by something else entirely.

"Are you even listening to me, boy?!" Lord Beerus shouted towards him, "I said let's go!"

"P-Please, just… j-just give me a minute," he responded quietly, his eyes locking with those striking sapphire ones that shone out from the crowd.

Following his gaze, the Destroyer practically squawked, "Absolutely not! You've caused enough trouble for yourself here - something that we will discuss the consequences of on the way home, along with a strict lecture on how to think with your head and less with your damned - !"

Gohan ignored him, and everyone else for that matter. Slipping off of the bouncy platform and walking past the others, heading straight for Videl.

"Vi -," he started, making to grasp the hands that had held him so many times, but to his grief, she pulled away.

"Don't," she told him in defiance, though her words trembled, "Don't, Gohan."

"Videl please," he tried again, stepping closer towards her, uncaring that all eyes were upon them, "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry. I-I didn't mean to lie, and n-now you're…"

He stopped short, his breath heaving, he was fumbling now, "I-I just don't know h-how to make it better. I'm so sorry, I didn't have a choice - "

"Yes you did!" She spat suddenly, nostrils flaring as her voice rose, "There is always a choice Gohan, and you made yours! Just like how you chose to become a-a Destroyer!"

He swallowed thickly, her words stung. Even more so than Lord Beerus' punches. It was evident that she was hurting just as much as he was, though she was trying desperately not to let it show.

"I-I'm not asking you to understand," said Gohan, his fingers reaching for hers once more, longing to feel her touch, "But you knew, you always knew that I had to leave."

"I know nothing about you!" Videl spouted hotly, unable to hold back any longer, the tears spilling from her eyes. Words were flying from her lips before she could even comprehend what she was saying. Though she saw how much those words killed him, the agony she had caused within those haunted onyx eyes too unmistakable to miss.

"You know that I love you," the halfling stated boldly, he could feel the ache burning behind his eyes. And faintly, he could have sworn that he had heard his mother gasp. "And I know that you love me."

She stared back at him, tears still coursing down her flustered cheeks, her long raven hair wavering in the fresh salty breeze.

Slowly and tentatively, he managed to entwine the fingers of her left hand with his, longing to kiss her. Aching to chase her tears away. Wishing nothing more than to rewind the passage of time, retreat back to the confines of her bedroom, underneath the cotton sheets and fall back into her embrace, in where nothing else mattered but just the two of them, the world around them falling away so that only they remained. Where there were no monsters to fight or duties to uphold. Where he could pretend that he could be something better than these broken parts, something better than the fragmented mess that he kept locked deep within himself. Relishing in the fact that this wonderful, amazing girl actually wanted someone like him, when he could give her ten thousand reasons not to.

Yet in reality, it was just a sad invention that he just couldn't let go of. Because here, back on Earth, despite the sacrifices he had made to maintain peace in the universe, he had seen everything he had secretly wanted - everything he wished he'd had. And when it was right there in front of him, he couldn't help but pretend that it was true. Wishing that it was true in the sense that he could live some kind of normalcy, and that his family and friends actually accepted him for what he was.

It wasn't all for entirely selfish reasons, for he could see that they needed to believe it to. That despite being dead, that he was doing okay, doing something that every one of them would be proud of. And how could he deny them otherwise? For he could see it in the way his mother's eyes lit up when he told her of all the things he had learned, or how his father would puff out his chest as he marvelled in the strengths that he had achieved.

How could he deny them, when his dreams were haunted by the horrified stares of the Z-Fighters on the edge of that cliff face years ago. When his father and Piccolo had screamed at him to finish the fight with Cell, and he had refused, preferring instead to bring the vile fiend even more suffering than was sorely needed. Revealing the worst of him that had struggled to be contained time and time again when he lost control. He didn't want them to see it. His mistakes. Not again.

And then there was Videl, unknowingly kissing the wounds that he had kept hidden from the rest of the universe. The disasters in his soul now nothing but cracks that she had poured her love into.

Except now, they had reopened. His wounds exposed for everyone to see.

"Please Vi," Gohan said again, his dark eyes pleading with her, "Don't let us end like this."

There was a beat of silence as she regarded him, struggling with herself, before she pulled her hand away and uttered, "J-Just go."

What?! What was she saying?! The young saiyan panicked, her words hitting him like a sickening punch to the gut, her warmth leaving him altogether. Surely she didn't mean it. Surely she didn't actually want him to - ?!

"V-Vi -"

"LEAVE!" She screeched, her clattering scream penetrating through his chest as a rebel wave thrashed unforgivingly against the hull of the ship, causing the cruiser to creak and rock from the force.

The salty spray intermingled with the thick tension in the air, as Gohan felt his heart shatter. It was like a jagged sphere of solid ice had stabbed right through it, confining it to oblivion so that nothing but dust remained.

His mouth ran try, his tongue heavy and twisted. He couldn't speak, as though the girl's venomous tone had just wrenched his voice box from his throat and stamped that out too. Videl's beautiful eyes, that used to gaze at him with love and longing, were blurred by more tears of anger and hatred. There was a spark of desperation that lingered within their sorrowful depths - a loss, as though her light that overshadowed all of the darkness in his world had been snuffed out.

He had done this.

He stumbled slightly as he backed away, as though he was being pushed by some invisible force. He felt as though his legs were about to buckle underneath him, as Videl's arduous cry continued to ring in his ears.

He found himself almost bumping into his superiors, no longer able to see the girl's despairing gaze as she allowed herself to be pulled into her father's protective embrace, burying her head into his chest as he stroked her hair in a vain attempt to soothe her. Gohan locked eyes with Mister Satan, whose gaze softened ever so slightly before he tore it away again, turning to focus on comforting his daughter.

The young Destroyer sucked in a shaky breath, attempting to force himself to look at his friends and family one last time. Feeling so unbelievably lost that he couldn't even process the fact that the longing in their eyes much resembled his own. For all he could see was more disappointment and anger.

All he ever did was run away, after all. Just like he had done eight long years ago.

"I-I'm sorry," was all he was able to muster, his voice barely a whisper as he heard Whis sigh heavily beside him.

The familiar tap of the sceptre reached his ears, along with the sound of hurried footsteps that suddenly raced towards him. "Gohan WAIT!"

But his mother's desperate cries were lost on him, as the white glow of The Warp gathered around him and he shot into the atmosphere along with Whis and Lord Beerus, hurtling far away from the Earth, and Videl - forever.

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7th September, 2019.

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A/N: I'm not crying, You're crying.

I am so SO excited for the next chapter you guys! This was pretty heavy handed with battle but I really hope you enjoyed it. Also, Im sure you can tell by now that I get a lot of inspo from musicals...

ES x

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Reviews:

MadmanJrs : Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the swaps and changes. I didnt think it would make sense for Bulma and Vegeta to be the main slapping/beating on Beerus. This is Gohan's story so having his family involved I thought would make a lot more impact. And yay for Pan! Oh these parallels! Its great to see that youre picking up on it xD thank you for your review, hope you liked this chapter!

Joker555888: SSG not permanent as you can see, but I did a very similar take with Goku. Gohan's SSG is MUCH stronger though. And he builds on it a lot differently to how Goku and Vegeta do ;)

pr0dz : Ha yes! Goten and Gohan confrontation is a must!

Naite-Laef: thank you so much :) im glad you liked the emotion! I felt so bad for Gohan writing it as well! When Jaco revealed everything I felt awful for writing it like that! Poor Gohan! Hope you enjoyed the feels in this chapter too! the fact that you tell me that you drop everything to read my story is so amazing. bless you!

hawkeyestratos1996: not sure if ive answered this question before? but no im not including SSJ4. I am following the Super transformations.

o- Nyx -o: YAAAAAAAAY!

Aaron Leach: thank you!

Pie 555: ah! the FEELS! Yes I could totally see a civil war between piccolo vegeta and the others! yikes! they get it though, and really, the others do too. but it just took a bit longer for them to get over it. Yes Goten and Gohan have a long way to go before there are cuddles involved! sob! Videl is really emotional right now. She follows her original character in the fact that she despises being lied to or kept in the dark. But I really am trying to get across that Videl is struggling at the mo. I mean, shes a 19 year old girl, just found out that shes pregnant by a dead guy whose got to leave IMMEDIATELY but also who has wiped countless lives from existance. Thats a lot to process. So I can understand her anger/frustration here, even though it is misplaced. Poor Gohan, his heart is broken :( and Goku is very self righteous like vegeta said. Goku still sees his little boy that struggled to unleash his power when they were all getting beat up by mini Cells, not this man who Jaco describes as murdering entire planets cuz he feels like it. ya know? really hoped you liked this chapter and thanks for the review as always! :)

KeynoRules : teehee glad you enjoyed it! Glad you pointed out the Hercule anger haha. Hope youre well! and hope you enjoyed the chapter! Yes totally agree with Goten not quite understanding, hes only a kid after all and this supposedly 'amazing' older brother burst into his life and took over - in his eyes.

777torn777: thanks so much! Yes I agree they should have done more with Goten in the series. But he will become more prominent here ;)

reeseisthatbeast : he kicked his ass to an extent! xD

ashlovesdbz : glad you loved it! Damn it Jaco! yes Videl being pregnant makes everything so much more complicated now!

devilzxknight86: im sure Gohan felt the same way!

keyblademeister88: thank you very much! glad you liked the Raditz flashback. I thought that it was a defining moment in DBZ for Gohan. Certainly something that would catch Whis' eye. I liked the idea that he would have been watching Gohan for a while.

Hek'UnnSkipper: thanks for the review! Im sure you liked the outcome of the fight given your last review! haha. really appreciate you coming back to this especially when youre not a fan of the pairing! thank you :)

Patachu : agreed! your reveiw made me chuckle!

: very true, like beerus said in this chapter, it would take time for gohan to reach the form on his own!oh and the punishment is a comin!

ericsofly2: thank you very much!

diction135 : YESSS you got it with the goading! Beerus knows exactly just what buttons of Gohan's to push!

SSJViper: WOW! Thank you so much for that wonderful review! It made me feel all fuzzy inside! IT WILL CONTINUE!

RabbitMelody : hehe yes Goten is getting a lot of stick right now! But he will have his redemption :) as will every one else and there will be a much further exploration as to everyones feelings in upcoming chapters. hope you enjoyed chapter 24!

Urazz: technically ;)

Midfield Maestro: not that easy im afraid!

Whynot: SUSPENSE! glad you enjoyed it! xD

romanovascap: yes Gohan needs to have the God Ki 100%. at this point it wouldnt make sense for it to be anyone else but him, mainly cuz hes the one training to become the god and also the main focus. Everyone will have their moments to shine I promise you that! :) glad you enjoyed!

Iwik: hehe! glad you liked the party pooper line! its actually what whis says to vegeta in the original! there is a lot of dialogue I plucked within these last couple of chapters with some of my own changes. It is very similar to the plot in the case of the SSG transformation in that regard so it had to be done! BLOODY JACO! I know, i dislike him so much in this story right now hahaha. Yes everyone is struggling to come to terms with the fact that gohan refrained from telling them the truth, the fact of what he is and what that means, and also that he needs to leave again. its a lot to process, but i will explore moreon this the next few chappys! Glad you liked ballsy chichi! YES she is like a LIONESS when it comes to her babies! LOVE HER! I hate when people give her so much stick. she is such a badass! Goten is incredibly different. Ive seen a few fics when gohan comes back and he is basically the same person, but i think that being a little kid and an only child and people talking about your dead bro all your life for him to suddenly come back into it is very jarring! so happy you enjoyed the humour! eager to see what you thought of this chapter! :)

TheRangerBoy: haha too easy!

fated1990: yay glad you like the supreme guard so much! thank you! :) you will see more of them next chapter ;) there is a lot of relationship fixing to go. But first it certainly has to break before it can be fixed. Poor Gohan.

DD: REDEMPTION!

Vegetasniece: thank you so much! really glad you enjoyed it :)

Marbbles123 :YAY! Thank you so much for the kind words! Yes Goten deffo has Goku vibes, standing up for what is right, but his relationship with his big bro is so awful that it even shocks Goku and Chi-Chi a little! Oh I cant wait for upcoming chapters! Glad you liked the reveal and idiotic Jaco! And yes you got it, Goku was more hurt by the fact that Gohan couldnt tell him! so sad! Gohan is really really not having a good day... especially by the end of this chapter! really hope you enjoyed it! your review made me so happy! thank you!

Declan Campbell: Goten is so angry right now, its very hard to process for the kid!

FireEmblemMaster101: Thanks for your review! and absoloutely agree with all of your points! Gohan is in some real trouble now with a pregnant Videl. Cannot wait to share the next chapter with you!

super mystic gohan: thanks so much for your review, glad youre enjoying the journey!

kd940 : thank you!

BladeKnightmare: sorry, Videl is not going to become a goddess/angel/live with Gohan. It would be way too easy, and rules are rules! One GoD for each universe.

X3runner: Agreed, I want SSG to remain substantial, just like SSJ. I dont want it to become a crutch or a 'go to' you know? It needs to be prominent, which is why ive tried to work so much out in this chapter and explain it much like the show. I dont think im gonna go down the heros or xenoverse route, mainly cuz ive got enough characters to work with and dont think they'll fit at this point! im glad you enjoyed the chapter!

dx-1118: thank you so much for your review! and yes glad you got the Chi-Chi slap! I could see it totally happening in the original! so happy you enjoyed it!

ARandomGuest : ahhh thank you so much! your reveiw made me BEAM!

Knightwing20042: haha thank you! sometimes I wish I could get one and finish writing it. but im having so much fun doing it I dont thin kid know what to do with myself when its finished!

Wiggly: thank you very much! I understand your concerns into Gohan focussing on videl and Pan now, but as you can see from this chapter, Gohan has gotta go back to his duty! there will be heartbreak oh yes, but the main focus of this story i aim to be honed in on Gohan's fight, not only with Perses and Zamasu, but with himself and his growth. Videl and Pan just fit into the mix very nicely!

Liltye504 : Nope sorry, Gohan gotta do his duty! But you'll have to find out what happens in later chapters! :)

x2leoj : thank you so much, glad you liked the emotion! yes, beerus ended Gohan very well haha

Zaraki6 chapter 1: I like the cannon pairing of Gohan/Videl so yep :)

Entropic Horizon : at this point I felt that a lot of it they were stunned for, and didnt know the words to say. I didnt want it to turn out into an all out argument, so Ive focussed with Goku's feelings on this chapter and will continue to explore it as we go on :) There was a lot to throw at you readers at once I felt which is why I wrote it the way I did :)

Guest : yaaaay 1000 reveiws thank you for the love!

jrayeni: wow thank you so much you made my whole month! and im so glad that you liked the dramatics of the transformation, I tried to follow the show as closely as possible, just because I needed to keep the 'base' so to speak of the ritual exactly the same for every saiyan, which can be built upon later. and doy! the magenta I think was a typo. SSG Gohan hair is red!

Thomas-The-TMC : why thank you!

chris2828 :haha! o dear, Goten is really getting some hate!

Phenexgrave: thank you so much, thats very kind of you to say so!

antipodean: aww thank you! wow you had a lot to catch up on since december! haha thanks for your review, hope you keep coming back!

mubaarik4858: thank you so much! and no problem at all with the long reveiws! thank you for sharing your ideas! I have a lot in mind with upcoming battles so stay tuned :)

zarkan : thanks!

tacktician: very true with the prophecies peicing it all together. But Beerus and Whis are peeved because it is against the law, if there werent laws then there would be a TON of demi-gods running around the universe and that could only spell trouble.

Kalpatru: i think you may have missed the concept of Gohans character here... but no worries. this story isnt for everyone (y)

romeroFan: wow thank you so much for the wonderful words! really happy you enjoyed the chapter and hope you continue to do so! Videl is very headstrong must like Gohan, and like Goku she is hurt that he kept the truth from her. but she is frantic and angry and just found out that she is preggo by a dead dude so theres a lot of emotion here, so a lot of the things she is saying, she doesnt necessarily mean. but still, it still really hurts poor Gohan. :(yes chichi! glad you liked her reaction too! Ooh and as for zamasu's whereabouts... I cant reveal, but that is an extremely good guess! Its not it, but it is good! As for Perses, its not the void that is helping him, but Gohan and the gang are in store for something much MUCH worse! and yes to the second review, Gohan wouldnt have acheived this form without having Pan! At least not quick enough!

Visionless1: wow! thank you so much for your review! that is so amazing and heartwarming to read! I would absolutely LOVE and be honoured to read your story, it sounds amazing! And a brilliant take on Gohan! Also so interesting because itll be entirely based on your imagination. I would be humbled to read it! :)

midgetman18: dont worry it lives on!

Erin: thanks so much for your review of both chapters! really glad you enjoyed it and similarly LOL'd at Jaco! Yess to the characters being exposed with their clothes! LITERALLY ;) I hoped you enjoyed that part! teehee. and yamcha's nice line too, I really like to think of Krillin and Yamcha as Gohan's proud uncles, whilst Vegeta is just the one that is both annoyed and exasperated by him. Glad you enjoyed the previous fight scene. Im sorry you didnt enjoy the lagoon at the end of chapter 22 - I really wanted to show that Gohan and Videl couldnt keep their hands off each other so yes you are right there! But also it was more to focus on the fact that Gohan wants to tell her that he loves her but she begs him not to say - which makes it more prominent in THIS chapter as it is the first time he tells her that he loves her :( OH THE FEELS. but yes also fan service, mostly for my dirty mind, so yes you could argue it was a bit of both haha! Also, not sure what you mean by kalpatru? I may be being silly, it is late whilst I am replying to this haha

JAIMOL : thank you !

JdbsjakfbskXbcb : please see authors note! (y)

Guest : atm I dont plan on a sequeal. but bonus chapters are always in the mix!

Guest chapter 14: thanks for your review! yes as you go on through the story you will see the reasoning for Gohan not telling them. And also, the mother son vibes are wholesome when you get to it dont worry! :)