Hello there people of the world! Can you believe that the untold series is finally coming to an end (I know I can't!)?!

I have been writing these stories for a whole year and a half and I would like to thank each and every reader who has stuck out with me from the beginning. You guys helped me grow from an uncertain writer to a confident one, and I thank you for that! But you don't have to worry, I will never stop writing. I have a few more story ideas with Gohan as the main character, so I hope I am on your Author Alert subscription, so you could be kept posted!

And if you ever see a real publication of mine on the shelves, buy it! :D hahaha

I got quite a few new subscribers and followers these last two weeks, so thank you to you all!

Thanks to Angelina McCarthy (Previously known as Janice Mae… You changed your name aaaaaaaah! :D), Kaosmoshpit (always supplying me with epic music that will compliment my story!), Zalkari Ament (new reader! :D), Pond-Centurion (my most dramatic reviewer of the year! :) *loooved it*), talking lollipop (I want to eat your name! :p) and ScStaff (even though you didn't review the last chapter yet, I know you must be swamped at work! It would be cruel not to mention my loyal corrector in my last chapter hahaha! *Thanks for always keeping a sharp eye out!)

I hope you enjoy this last chapter and don't you dare to forget to submit an epic emotional and lengthy review! I expect a review from each and every one of those who read the whole book! *I'm watching you!* XD :D

*happy reading!

CHAPTER 31: COUNT ON ME

Every person, no matter his or her background, has a shadow that looms over them. In my case however, the shadow was particularly large. Born as the only son of Earth's greatest hero, I knew from an early age whose shoes I was going to have to fill… The shoes of my father. The shoes of a protector.

I never could have imagined to what extent though; and not in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be the initiator of a war… If you had told me that when I was a few years younger, I would have probably laughed in your face. But sadly that was my reality now.

In a literal sense, the shadow of a person who resembled me greatly, loomed above me. I noticed Vaughan looking at him too as he drifted down to our fray. He raised an eyebrow at my doppelganger, and I noticed the slightest fragment of a smile twitching at his lip. I was surprised to see the Dark Lord step back, giving my lookalike some space to land. I gasped and coughed as he removed his boot from my chest, allowing air to fill my lungs.

Isn't he one of the bad guys? My fused self, questioned with worry.

I don't know.

"Nice to see you again Vaughan." My doppelganger greeted sarcastically, throwing a nod my way. Even the boy's voice sounded like mine.

"If you didn't interrupt my fight, I would have said the same." Vaughan retorted. Despite his hostile tone, he was smiling.

The boy chuckled. "Of course you would have." His words were lined with sarcasm.

I flinched when cold fingers wrapped themselves around my arms, but I refrained from fighting it when I realized that they were pulling me up to my feet.

"Thanks." I muttered a quick word of gratitude at him, not daring to meet his gaze as I felt quite ashamed that he had to save me from my predicament. Not that I needed saving to begin with, but still. It hurt to speak, and even so more to breathe. Numerous ribs have been broken and managed to poke at my lungs now.

"Sure." He replied smugly.

"How am I supposed to tell which is which?" Vaughan teased as his eyes shifted from the one to the other.

"That is your problem grandfather." My doppelganger interrupted and turned to me. He started talking, but I didn't hear a word of it, I saw his mouth move and the gestures made, but no words accompanied them. My mind was stuck on what he had said.

Grandfather?

How many relatives does Vaughan have?! My inner self screeched so loudly that I flinched.

They do seem to pop out everywhere. I agreed.

Yeah no kidding; he can't be trusted then.

I bit my lip as I pondered. I wouldn't go that far; Reynard is also his relative remember. I reasoned.

Yeah true, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be wary about him.

Noted.

My attention was snapped back to reality when strong hands gripped my shoulders, shaking me very lightly. I notice his eyes, the mirror-image of my eyes, boring into mine.

"Gohan. You are a spectacular fighter, and very, very good at what you do, but you've been fighting the entire day, and your body needs rest." He stated quite calmly; the only part of our conversation I actually heard. I was so baffled by his request that I only stared open-mouthed at him, gaping like a fish, shocked that he would say such a thing.

Vaughan laughed, it was a ghastly cackle. "Are you seriously suggesting a resting break in a war son?" He directed to the boy.

"I am." He said fiercely. "Have you seen the condition he is in?" He asked and pointed to me. "It's cruel, even for you, to fight him while injured."

I frowned. "I am flattered that you concern yourself over me, but I am very capable of taking care of myself." My Saiyan pride overflowed in my being as I spoke. "If you think that I call a few broken ribs and bruises 'seriously injured' you have another thing coming. I have fought through much worse and I am planning on finishing this fight." My hungry-for-battle eyes fell on Vaughan, and he smiled at me.

"Don't be stupid." The boy shot back with irritation in his voice. "You have people to live for, and yet you want to die."

"I am fighting for them." I seethed through clenched teeth. This guy was really starting to annoy me. First he insulted my pride and now my loyalty.

"But yet you were planning on letting yourself die just a few moments ago."

I stared at him angrily.

He pointed to his head with a smile plastered on his lips. "I know everything about you remember?" He taunted.

"Who are you?" I asked bluntly, sick of his crap.

He just smiled. "Your guardian angel." I heard Vaughan chuckling behind me.

"Fine Guardian Angel, if you really want to help, go see if my friends are doing okay."

He growled. "I don't have to do anything you say."

I smiled. "I'm glad you said that, because neither do I." I got into a flawless fighting stance. I resisted the urge to cringe as I crouched down, my ribs moaned in protest.

"Don't say I never tried to do something good for you, Saiyan." He spat venomously before blasting into the sky.

"Well, that was interesting." Vaughan retorted in a bored tone.

"I don't know about you, but I have talked enough in this war." I stated and raised my fists as I charged the Dark Lord.

"Let's dance." Vaughan agreed with a smirk.

He delivered the first blow, but I easily levelled it. He shot me a peculiar smug look as we stayed in that position with our fists locked. I smiled and he returned the gesture.

"Sorry about this son, I know it is all in bad spirit, but I am not quite finished talking yet." He stated.

Vaughan stood hovering over me with an ugly scowl on his face. His dead, black eyes were filled with rage as he stood there, face to face with the only being alive with the power to kill him.

I frowned, pulling back. "What do you mean?"

As soon as I finished my sentence all my senses vanished. I panicked as I realised what he was doing, and I was too unprepared and overwhelmed by Vaughan's intensity of the technique, that I couldn't remember what Reynard taught me to do in such a situation.

After what seemed like hours, I stopped struggling and let the horrible sensation overtake me. I was soon rewarded my senses back, but it was too late; I was already losing consciousness fast.

"Raphael, you can come out now." That was the last thing I heard before I completely fell into darkness.

Wake up you mongrel!

I was snapped back into reality when a vulgar growl of a voice entered my mind out of nowhere.

Was that you? I directed to my inner self.

No.

Then who..?

It's me you idiot. The voice growl again.

Let me guess, Raphael.

Took you long enough. He sneered.

I will end...

Just shut up and listen. He ordered. Go and execute that plan of yours; it will work. I will keep my grandfather busy in the meantime.

What do you know about my plan?

He growled impatiently. I can read your thoughts idiot; I was an incarnation in your mind for years, I know what goes on in there. You're wasting time, just go.

I don't trust you.

You don't have to.

Every fibre in my being told me "NO!" he shouldn't be trusted. He was the villain I had spent chasing after most of my career as a protector and there was no way to supress that feeling of utter disgust that filled my body only as the thought of Raphael manifested in my mind.

There is no way I am… I started but cursed as the sensation of being teleported surrounded my entire being. The next thing I knew I was standing in the Dark Realm. That ass seriously just teleported me over here?! I couldn't believe it. That was low, even for Raphael. Just as I was about to teleport back to Earth, Raphael's voice appeared in my mind yet again.

Just do what you came here to do.

Anger flashed through my body. I didn't come here, you moved me here against my will. I am coming back; you are clearly planning something.

Yeah… He agreed, surprising me. The destruction of my grandfather. So grow yourself some balls and just get it done.

Fine; just don't screw me over.

I was not surprised to see that the Dark Realm was as empty as one of my mother's bowls after a meal attended by three Saiyans. Vaughan needed all his resources in the war itself. I cannot believe that I am putting my trust in Raphael, but the sooner I finish up here, the sooner I can get back there.

What are you going to do?

I am going to blow the realm up; it will diminish a fair amount of Vaughan's powers, because he channels it from here, drawing it.

I started powering up, channelling as much energy as I could without weakening me too much; I still had to beat Vaughan after this. I unconsciously began to power up to my maximum; a strong silver fire burned around me fiercely as I released more and more energy. As I did, my body continued to float higher and higher into the air.

Soon my screams of power became louder and louder to force out as the air was becoming thinner. Power continued to flow from me, more and more, tearing up the ground several miles below me.

The wind kicked up around me and tore about with the intense power of a tyrannous typhoon. Lighting shot from my body and shattered boulders and mountains alike on the ground. Rubble flew up and surrounded me, spinning around me at higher and higher speeds before being thrown away as if bullets from a revolver.

I let out another pain-filled yell as more and more power was surging through my body. It was hurting me, causing my muscles to expand to sizes they were never meant to reach. A bright golden glow surrounded my body, blinding everything for miles around. I continued to pour power though my body as I flew higher into the air, until I was as close to space as I could go before flying into the vast abyss.

With a final scream of pain I flew into space and released my power. I held my breath as the astronomical energy blast quickly headed down to the core of the realm. The energy dug its way through the crust of the realm. The ground beneath me was scorched and broken as earthquakes shook the surrounding area for miles.

The Dark Realm was soon to be no more…

(Raphael's POV)

When you are little, you are afraid of the dark because of the monsters that are under the bed. When you get older, the monsters are different. Self-doubt. Loneliness. Regret; all of which flowed through my body at this moment as I stared at my grandfather. Though you may be older and wiser, you still find yourself afraid of the dark...

There were holes punched into the darkness, glimmering dots of light against shadow. I closed my eyes, trying to calm my own ragged breathing. There was a coppery taste in my mouth, like blood, and I could tell that I was lying on a cold metal surface drowned with blood and that the blood was seeping through my clothes and into my skin.

I counted backward from one hundred inside my head until my breathing slowed. Then I opened my eyes again. The darkness was still there, but it had resolved itself into familiar night sky punctuated by stars. I was on a road, flat on my back in the shadow of South City's Bridge, which loomed above me like a grey mountain of metal and stone.

I groaned and lifted myself onto my elbows — then froze as I became aware of another shadow, this one recognizably Vaughan's, leaning over me. "That was a nasty knock to the head you got." The voice that haunted my nightmares said coolly. "How do you feel?"

I sat up and immediately regretted it as my stomach lurched. If I'd eaten anything in the past ten hours, I was fairly sure I would have thrown it up. As it was, the sour taste of bile flooded my mouth. "I feel like hell." I scowled at him. "That was a cheap shot you took."

"Good." Vaughan chirped. "That's what I wanted to hear." He leaned back against the railing, looking up at the night sky. There was grey in his silvery white hair; I had never noticed it before and here I thought I knew everything there was to know about this vile man.

I stared at him, not saying anything. I wasn't sure what to say to the man to be honest. I was glad when he spoke first.

"I am quite curious as to how you managed to possess that Saiyan without him noticing it…"

My lips twitched up in a crooked smile. "I can't take all the credit." I replied arrogantly. "I had some help."

"Babidi." He guessed in a voice of distaste.

I nodded. "I knew the brat was planning to kill me." I admitted. "And I was suspicious of Reynard from the beginning, so I ordered the wizard to link me with the Saiyan." Vaughan was listening intently, and his guard was completely let down. This would be a perfect moment to strike, but somehow that seemed… Cold.

"When he killed me, we exchanged blood, and the spell was heightened." I continued. "I was just expecting to serve as a conscience in the boy's head; I was surprised when I found that it was more."

He nodded at my explanation, seeming deep in thought. Yet another perfect moment to strike.

"This is a war." Vaughan stated the obvious. "The only question is, what side will you fight on?"

"I thought we were all on the same side." I retorted sarcastically and folded my arms over my chest.

He chuckled. "If only it could be. Don't you understand that if I felt that the Magisterial Guard had my best interests of this world at heart, if I thought they were doing the best job they possibly could— why would I fight them? What reason would I have?"

Power. I thought disgustedly, but said nothing. I was no longer sure what to say, much less what to believe.

"If the Guard goes on as they are," Vaughan said, "their weakness will show and I will attack," he shook his head slowly with a grim smile on his lips, "and the Guard, distracted by their endless courting of the degenerate races, will be in no condition to fight me off. I will attack and destroy and there will be nothing left."

The degenerate races – he is talking about the half-bloods. Every member of Magisterial's current Guard, except for Reynard, is a half-breed. Grandfather considered them as wildcards – not being in control of themselves and a disgrace to the world. Magisterial didn't think so though. The words carried an uncomfortable familiarity; they recalled my childhood to me, in a way that was not entirely unpleasant. When I thought of my grandfather and of the Dark Realm, it was always the same blurred memory of hot sunshine burning down on the green lawns in front of our mansion, and of a big, dark, broad-shouldered figure leaning down to lift me off the grass and carry me inside. I must have been very young then, and I had never forgotten it, not the way the grass had smelled—green and bright and newly cut—or the way the sun had turned my grandfather's hair to a white halo, nor the feeling of being carried. Of being safe.

"Gohan," I said with some difficulty. "Gohan is a degenerate—"

"Gohan is different." He interrupted swiftly. "He was only an Earthling once." Vaughan's tone was flat and final. "This isn't about specific members of the Magisterial Guard, Raphael. This is about the survival of every living creature in this world." He sighed. "The Protectors were chosen above us for a reason." He clenched his fists, seeming to have difficulty speaking about this topic. "They are the best of this world, and are meant to save it. They are the closest thing that exists in this world to saviours —and they use that power to save this world from destruction, whatever the cost to us."

I leaned my elbows on the railing. It was cold here: The icy wind cut through my clothes, and the tips of my fingers were numb. But in my mind, I saw green hills and blue water and the honey-coloured stones of the family manor house.

"In the old tale," he went on, "Satan said to Adam and Eve 'You shall be as gods' when he tempted them into sin. And they were cast out of the garden because of it."

I gasped. "You were a Magisterial Protector once."

There was a pause before Vaughan laughed. "I was the master of the Guard I'll have you know; Magisterial was once a pupil of mine."

My mouth fell open. Magisterial never seemed to mention that. "And let me guess, the power went to your head." I said after I regained my composure.

He smiled grimly. "I believe every living being in the universe is born as pure, it is the world who stains them and adds on to the evil entity that resides in each of us. I was a mere victim of the world."

I fought a bitter grimace. "The world was a victim of you!" I spat and he chuckled.

"That too." He smiled at me, I cringed at the gesture of glee; it didn't suit him. "See, that's what I need you for, Raphael. You keep me from the sin of pride."

"There are all sorts of sins."

"Indeed, and there isn't a one that's not enjoyable."

I straightened up and turned to face my grandfather. "You didn't answer my question about the demons. How can you justify summoning them, associating with them? Do you plan to send them against the Guard as well?"

"Of course I do." He replied swiftly without hesitation, without a moment's pause to consider whether it might be wise to reveal his plans to someone who might share them with his enemies. "The Guard won't yield to reason, only to force." He continued. "After I have deemed victorious in this little war, I will send them to Magisterial's realm, where they will crumble the system; nothing will be left, that I assure you of."

Nothing could have shaken me more than to realize how sure my grandfather was of success.

"They will serve me as tools, do whatever I demand. They will have no choice. And when I am done with them, I will command them to destroy themselves, and they will do it." His voice was emotionless.

I was gripping the railing so hard that my fingers had begun to ache. "You can't slaughter every Protector who opposes you. That's murder."

"I won't necessarily have to. When the Guard sees the power arrayed against them, they'll surrender. They're not suicidal. And there are those among them who support me." There was no arrogance in Vaughan's voice, only a calm certainty. "They will step forward when the time comes."

"I think you're underestimating the Guard." I tried to make my voice steady. "I don't think you understand how much they hate you."

"Hate is nothing when weighed against survival." Vaughan's hand went to his belt, where the hilt of his sword gleamed dully. "But don't take my word for it. I told you there was something I wanted to show you. Here it is."

He drew the sword from its sheath and held it out to me. My eyes widened as I gaped at the weapon. I had seen Sword of Might once before in the Realm of Thanos, hanging on the wall in the pavilion of the Speaking Stars. And I had seen the hilt of it protruding from Vaughan's shoulder sheath, but I'd never really examined it up close. The Protector's Sword. It was a dark, heavy silver, glimmering with a dull sheen. Light seemed to move over and through it, as if it were made of water. In its hilt bloomed a fiery rose of light...

I spoke through my dry mouth. "Very nice."

His lips curved up in a smile. "I thought you would like it." He admired. "It can be yours if you re-join my forces."

I arched an eyebrow. "You think a weapon is enough to make me turn?"

He nodded. "I would rarely call such a majestic sword a weapon; it is one of a kind."

"Exactly my point." I reasoned, letting go of the railings and letting my arms fall next to my sides. "You are way too selfish to give me such a powerful relic."

He grinned arrogantly. "I never said you could keep it my dear boy."

I folded my arms over my chest. "That's what I thought." I sighed. "You can keep your toy grandfather."

He pouted, seeming disappointed. "As you wish, just know that such an opportunity will not show itself to you again soon."

I shrugged it off. "I can live with it."

He nodded. "So I guess if you aren't with me you are against me?"

My face didn't portray any form of emotion. "I guess that is true."

He shook his head slowly, looking grim. He sighed heavily. "I don't want to, but you are leaving me with no choice Raphael." He raised his arm toward me and I could see the remnants of an energy attack starting to form in his palm.

Panic filled my being but I didn't show it. Come on Gohan, hurry it up. Why was he taking so long in the first place? I have bought him a fair amount of time, and he still wasn't finished?!

"Do what you must." I replied nonchalantly, masking my internal panic.

He raised an eyebrow. "Not going to fight for your life?"

I shook my head.

He scoffed. "That is not how I raised you son."

"Maybe I don't want to be like how you brought me up to be."

He frowned and I saw the brief flicker of anger cross on his features. "So be it." He retorted in disgust and forced more energy in his palm. I let out an exclaim of happiness when he sank to the ground, sucking back his energy as he clutched his head with both hands. His agonised screams were music to my ears.

"Took you long enough Saiyan." I scolded the young hybrid when he arrived on the scene.

He shot me a certain look. "It is difficult to destroy dark energy with pure goodness."

"WHAT did you do?!" Vaughan's head snapped up but he was still writhing in pain.

"Oh, nothing." Gohan replied innocently. "I just oblivirated your realm."

A look of horror paused on Vaughan's face. "It can't be destroyed!"

Gohan chuckled. "Tell that to the debris floated over the spot where your realm used to be."

"I think it would be best to put a 'for sale' sign up, such a gaping hole of emptiness will only uglify the neighbourhood, don't you think gramps?" I joined in the tease.

A yell erupted out of Vaughan's throat as he rose to his feet. I turned to Gohan and Gohan turned to me, we both had concerned expressions on our faces.

Something had sucked the warmth right out of the atmosphere. Icy air lashed at my face as the Dark Lord reached out and grabbed me. He wasn't being particularly careful with me, and I heard Gohan call out at me. My knee slammed against a pipe as he turned a corner, sending a shock wave of pain up my leg. I cried out and heard his hissing laughter above my head. Then it released me and I was falling. Twisting in the air, I tried to get my hands and knees under me before I hit the ground. It almost worked. I struck the floor with a jarring impact and rolled to the side, stunned.

I was lying on a hard metal surface, in semi-darkness. My whole body felt like one big bruise.

"Raphael?" A whispered voice called out. I rolled onto my side, wincing. A shadow knelt beside me. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw the lean, muscular figure, wild-haired, dark brown eyed boy next to me. No ki-signal emitted from his body, and I realized that he was trying to hide himself from Vaughan for now.

Gohan.

I sat up, ignoring the screaming pain in my back. I stared at the other boy, then wildly around the room. Vaughan was nowhere to be seen.

"I want you to warn the others and get them out of here." He said in a very soft whisper.

I frowned. "You don't have to fight him alone Saiyan."

"Yes I do." He was starting to sound impatient. "My full attention won't be at my fight with all of my friends still here."

"You know I can't enter Magisterial's realm."

"Ask Reynard." He instructed. "He will know what to do."

"But…"

"Please." He begged; it was the first time I have ever heard him beg for anything.

I nodded and he smiled, getting up and helping me to my feet too.

I turned to fly away, and had barely lunged into the air before he called on me again.

"Raphael?"

"What?" My voice was filled with annoyance.

"Thank you." His words hung in the air, sort of like an afterimage, after he was gone. I bit my lip as a strange flutter-feeling filled my heart.

"No problem."

(Gohan's POV)

Soaked through and half-frozen, I collapsed onto the roof of a building, water streaming from my hair and clothes. I stared up at the cloudy night sky, gasping in breaths. It had been no easy task to disintegrate the Dark Realm without going full out kamikaze and it had taken quite out of me.

Above me a head appeared, silhouetted against the sky. It was Vaughan, having reached the top of the building. He clambered laboriously onto the railing and dropped down onto the other side of it. He looked down at me with venom in his stare.

I got to my feet. I was shivering. It was cold outside, colder than it had been before —and my jacket was gone. I had given it to Videl.

Without losing Vaughan's gaze, I gripped the Z-sword and yanked it out of its sheath around my hip; quickly I flung the sword at the Dark Lord. It struck his bony rib cage and stuck there. He barely seemed to notice; he only kept moving, inexorable as death. The air around him stank of death and graveyards. It pulled out and raised the sword in a clawed hand—

"Thank you, but I already have one." He said as he threw my weapon back to me. I effortlessly caught it by its hilt and watched as he pulled his own sword out of his belt, it was much bigger than mine.

A grey shadow cut the darkness in front of me, a shadow that moved with a whirling, precise, and deadly motion. The downward swing of the Z-sword met with the grinding screech of metal on metal; the shadowy figure thrust the sword back at me, stabbing upward with the other hand with a swiftness that my eyes could barely follow.

In response, I assumed an en garde position. Vaughan appraised me, unhappy to see that I knew what I was doing.

I heard my friends gasp as they perceived the melee first-hand.

I felt frantic; what were they still doing here.

"Rey?" My voice wondered. Where did he come from?

"What . . .?" He called back, confirming my nightmare.

"Get out of here!" I screamed, terrified for my friend and wished that he would do as I wanted and needed him to. His aura was concealed, so Vaughan would not be aware of his presence yet.

"Don't you get it?" My voice was little more than a whisper, but it rose with each word. "This isn't your fight! He'll kill you."

"No way, man." He brushed off as if it was nothing. "We don't leave friends behind, remember?"

Vaughan smiled, advancing with the cool ease of a natural predator. "Listen to this Grace… The kid's finally found some friends to sacrifice." His trademark smirk in place, he grinned at me. He roughly took hold of my neck, keeping me frozen in the air as he got a good look at my eyes, hair, and skin. While he wasn't gentle, there was a definite air of curiosity about him as he looked me over. He laughed shortly, meeting me gaze for gaze.

"Reynard, take them to Magisterial's!" I barked. "I am not going to ask again."

Detecting the strain in my voice, Reynard finally listened. He shot me a pained look before he disappeared along with all of my other loved ones. A feeling of relief flushed though my entire being and a more focussed look flashed on my brows.

"It's a shame you had to send them away." He truly sounded disappointed. "They seemed like great company."

"Shut it!" I yelled.

He chuckled. "Just look who is giving the orders now." Vaughan attacked. We stood in one place, trading feints, thrusts and parries with lightning speed, almost impossible to follow. I had no trouble matching Vaughan.

A direct hit - and I coiled even more tightly with anger.

I exploded. My sword sliced the air and shot forward, aiming for his mid-section. His hand shot out and a spiral of fire was sent towards me, causing me to jump to the side, thus ruining my shot. I scowled. I hovered a bit off the ground, my heart beating into a steady rhythm. I flew higher until I was above him and then did a downwards thrust as quickly as I could, except he moved a second before the sword would've hit him.

I landed on the ground and thrust the sword forward, barely missing his left ear. Vaughan sent a wave of fire my way and I did a parry, a blocking move. I should've jumped, though, because now the fire would just hit me in the face. Too late now. I braced myself as the fire hit the sword. The whole sword started to glow red with heat and the hilt scarred my skin. As an instinct I let it go, and my sword fell towards the river below.

Vaughan thrust his sword toward me, I had no way of blocking it, and so it left a gash in my side. I stumbled but smirked at Vaughan as he slowly regained his stance.

"No weapon, and nowhere to go." He taunted as he swung his sword majestically around him.

I found my mind racing to what my father had always taught me.

Used correctly, almost anything could be a weapon. I moved slowly toward the figure, my eyes taking in the various details around him—a strut I could catch hold of and swing from, kicking out with my feet; an exposed bit of broken metal I could throw my opponent against, puncturing their spine. All these thoughts went through my head in a split second, the single split second before the figure turned and rushed toward me. I tried to leap for the piece of broken metal near me, but my timing was way off.

Vaughan's body, surprisingly not his sword, slammed into me and I was sent plummeting down the bridge to the river below…

The first thing I was aware of was that it was freezing cold. The second was that I couldn't breathe. I tried to suck in air and my body spasmed. I sat upright, expelling dirty river water from my lungs in a bitter flood that made me gag and choke.

Finally I could breathe, though my lungs felt like they were on fire. Gasping, I looked around, searching for Vaughan. I was sitting on a corrugated metal platform—no, it was the back of a truck. A pickup truck, floating in the middle of the river. My hair and clothes were streaming with cold water. And Vaughan was sitting opposite me, regarding me with grey cat-like eyes that glowed in the dark.

Vaughan turned toward me, sword in hand, and I saw him smile. The sword seemed to flick in his grasp, and then something hit me—it was like being knocked over by a wave, thrown down and then lifted against your will and tossed through the air. I rolled across the floor of the truck, helpless to stop myself, until I struck the icy water with bruising force. I crumpled at the base of the river, gasping with breathlessness and pain.

I opened my eyes, only to see the Z-sword glowing at the base of the waterbed. I reached out for it and like a magnetic pull, the sword found its way to me, but as soon as my hand was clasped over its hilt, an explosion occurred all around me, and I was sent back into the air.

As I washed up on the shore I struggled to raise myself onto my elbows. My mouth was full of blood. The world swayed around me and I wondered how hard he'd hit me head and if I was going to pass out. I willed myself to stay conscious.

"Gohan!" Vaughan called happily. "There you are my dear boy." I looked up to meet his voice, and gasped in horror as I saw a young man in his grasp; he held him by the neck. Without another word, Vaughan pointed his sword at the human and sent a spiralling fireball at him.

"No!" I yelled.

The man, clothed in torn rags, screamed desperately for mercy, but the intense flames swallowed his voice and engulfed his body. He was in too much pain to think properly. The smoke from the fire entered into his mind, and the man knew it was hopeless.

"Stop it!"

My cries for help was futile, and in the next few minutes the young earthling was burned to a crisp. His ashes drifted west, carried by the wind.

I hit my fist on the ground. How many times had I been in a situation like this?

They'd taken advantage of my inability to let people suffer too many times. I should have learned long ago that trying to get human civilians involved rarely ever paid off, and more often than not it ended in tragedy.

I had a bitter taste in my mouth as the smell of the man's own defeat lingered in the air. Once more, I powered up to my most ultimate state. I would not lose without a fight.

(Videl's POV)

I was horror-struck as I watched the fight going on from the realm of the Kai's. Most of the fight had been invisible to me, only seeing and hearing all the explosions and some of the movements high in the sky, but after the auburn-haired female alliance of the Dark Lord had joined the fight, things had gotten worse for Gohan.

I barely recognised my own boyfriend with his silver hair and crimson eyes in, what Vegeta called, the most elite transformation in the Saiyan race.

I had clearly seen his attempt at fighting back, but they were simply too strong and fast, even for him.

They had begun beating him around, not giving him any rest at all. They had obviously been holding back the majority of their power when they were fighting.

"No... This is not happening, he can't lose! He's Gohan damn it!" Sharpner suddenly cursed. Without even turning around, I knew that he was standing on my other side, a terrorized look on the jock's face. Half of his face was also covered in dried blood; creating the illusion of a beard on his lower face. A long healed scar ran from his forehead to his cheek too. I sighed softly; this was going to be hard to explain at school.

As I turned my attention back to the crystal ball I saw the broad-shouldered Dark Lord kicking Gohan back towards that… that… that foul auburn-haired bitch.

Something inside me snapped. I couldn't just sit still anymore. Without thinking I ran away from the crystal ball, running a lot faster than I had actually thought possible with all my current injuries, but I didn't care. Gohan was going to die unless someone helped him.

I was vaguely aware of Sharpner calling my name. As I ran further and further, the breathing behind me told me that Sharpner was in hot pursuit of me.

"Videl stop!" He called, but I ignored him, I really needed to find Reynard so he could teleport me back to earth. The next thing I knew I solidly crashed in a wall. I fell backwards, landing on my butt. My vision was blurry, and I saw from the corner of my eye Sharpner laying a few metres from me, panting heavily while clutching his right knee.

"Oh my." I looked up and realised that the wall was in fact a person. He had a very attractive face and his skin was a silky lavender, I didn't have to touch it to know that he would be soft. He was clothed in what could be subscribed as a colourful clown-suit. His top was tight fitting while his white stainless pants poofed out from his legs. His hair shot out from his head in soft string, resembling the style we on earth would call a Mohawk.

He cleared his throat and I realised that he held a hand out toward me.

I grabbed it uncertainly and he pulled me up. His hands were very soft, as sheep's wool, and I knew that he was very strong. Power that I could not explain emitted from his body. As I stood on my feet I noticed how short he was.

"What seems to be the problem?" He asked in a musical voice.

"Uh, do you know the teleport technique?" I asked bluntly.

He rose an eyebrow. "Instantaneous movement?" He inquired and I nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"I want you to teleport me to earth." He stared at me for a few seconds with a baffled expression. "Please." I added.

"Don't!" Sharpner warned. "She's suicidal." I glared at my friend and he swallowed the rest of his sentence.

"Most certainly not!" The lavender-skinned man exclaimed passionately. "You will only be a nuisance if you go there. Gohan doesn't need your help. He is an exceptional fighter."

"You know Gohan?" I asked, not really surprised. Gohan seemed to know everyone around here.

He smiled. "Of course I do; we were comrades for years I'll have you know."

I nodded. "Then you must know that he is in trouble now." My eyes were pleading. "Please, he's losing."

"You are mistaken." He said in a stern voice of authority that made me flinch. "It might not look as if Gohan has the upper hand at the moment, but believe me, when he is pushed into a corner with no way out, he will unleash all his dormant powers and kill Vaughan without batting an eye." He shot me a look that made me feel inferior. "If I were you, I would have more faith in my friend."

A laughing sound came from behind him. "That's not his friend Shin, that's his smooching partner." My eyes focussed on a familiar looking little dragon dressed in a black suit. He made kissing sounds to emphasize his point.

"You are Gohan's mate?" Shin asked me with big surprised eyes, before I could snap at the little dragon.

I frowned at his strangeness. "I'm his girlfriend yeah." I answered, not liking the way 'mate' sounded. "Is there something wrong with that?" I asked, immediately on the defence.

Shin scratched the back of his head uncomfortably. "Not at all; I'm just surprised he chose a weakling as yourself."

My mouth fell open but Sharpner was the first to speak.

"Videl is no weakling!" He defended my honour. "She is the daughter of Hercule, and I am sure she is the strongest human in the world!"

"You are Hercules's daughter?" Shin shot me a look of surprise. "I wasn't aware he had children." He turned to the dragon. "Did you know Draco?"

He shrugged. "As far as I know I though her father was this loser afro-man with terrible clothing sense; I saw them arguing once on earth."

I looked down, feeling slightly ashamed, but rose my head once I replied. "That is my father yes; his name is Hercule, not Hercules."

Shin nodded. "I see." He looked me over. "You are rather strong for an Earthling female though; for a race that can't usually sustain much energy."

"Gee thanks."

"You're welcome." He replied pleased, not detecting my sarcasm.

"So are we just going to stand here awkwardly, or are we going to watch Gohan kick some evil butt?!" Draco exclaimed, making a few lame kicks and punches in the air.

"Fine." I replied against my will and walked with them back to the others.

"Welcome back." Gohan's father chirped as he saw me. He wife was resting on his lap, unconscious, and Gomih was sitting next to him and Piccolo next to her. I decided to sit on the other side of Goku; Sharpner plopped down next to me. "Are you alright?" He asked compassionately and I just nodded, not daring to speak. Sharpner held my hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. I smiled at him before turning my full attention back to the glowing orb again.

A building exploded and the two evil entities made light balls rain down at Gohan. One thing was for sure: those light balls, despite what my father always said, were no second-rate magician trick. They were real and could cause damage equal to, or maybe even superior to, a nuclear explosion.

"Wow, this is more dramatic than days of our lives!" Draco said out of the blue with a chuckle. "Am I right?" He got no feedback at his attempt to lighten the mood. He received a death stare from me.

"Tough crowd." He muttered and I rolled my eyes.

"Everybody is just a little stressed out monkey-man." Reynard's voice appeared out of nowhere and he plopped down next to Draco.

"Where have you been?" A beautiful girl with blond hair and grey eyes that resembled the moon, asked with a frown.

He turned to her. "Searched for survivors Luna." An expression of grief rested on his face. "I only found one young child on the top of one of the buildings." His eyes shifted to mine. "I relocated him with your father."

I nodded. "That's good."

"Did you see Erasa at Hercule's too?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she's worried about you guys." He smiled. "I brought them with me."

Sharpner's eyes widened. "Where are they now?"

"King Kai's planet."

"Why didn't you bring them here?!"

"This is holy ground, the dirty human species are not supposed to be here." I replied bitterly.

"Not quite." Shin said slowly, as if not trying to anger me some more. "They don't know a thing about Ki and magic, but you do, that's why you are here and they aren't. They aren't allowed on either realm because of their ignorance."

My eyes jolted back to the crystal screen as I heard a loud bang noise. Everyone was quite as a building started crumbling; a horror-stricken expression flashed across Gohan's face when the building crashing down on top of him. I clutched my stomach in shock, looking at the location where Gohan was last when he was shattered away.

Warm drops of tears rolled down my cheeks involuntarily. Before I could stop myself, before I could even stop to think that I would normally never do anything like it, my voice was shouting as hard as it could. I had seen the projectile and there was no mistaking it now.

"NOOOOOO! GOHAN!"

But Gohan could not answer my cries. He did not emerge from the raging explosions, like I had expected. There was no movement at all. Instead, the two smirking Dark entities kept throwing more and more energy balls, causing the explosion to get bigger and bigger as it built up in volume.

But it was the sudden and bright light that appeared overhead that really caught my attention. Grace had her hands raised above her head and hovering in her palms was a very large ball of pure black, radiating as much as the sun did. Sheer instinct told me to run, as fast and far as I could, and I wasn't even there in the fight.

Before I could take another breath, Grace threw her hands forward, ordering the ball to descend. To attack and destroy everything that was in its path. In a second that seemed to last for an hour, I saw the black miniature sun descend towards the rubble where Gohan was buried. My mouth was wide open in a cry that I couldn't hear.

And then it made contact.

My heart stopped.

An unbearable pain spread through my entire body and I felt numb.

Instantly the crystal ball went completely white as Earth was covered in the immediate explosion.

(Gohan's POV)

I can honestly say that I have never been in so much pain in my life. It felt as if every bone in my body shattered at the impact of Grace's attack. At some parts of my body, my clothing burned into my skin, and the rest of my body was covered in third-degree burns and blisters. My entire upper body was now bare, bruised and bloody.

I laid there, at least fifteen metres underground. At least the cool soil was kind of soothing for my skin; scratchy but soothing. I panicked as I opened my eyes, I was concealed in complete darkness; a darkness deeper than anything I have every experiences. It was darker while my eyes were open as when it was when I shut them as tightly as I could. I felt a heavy sinking feeling in my left leg, no pain from the knee down, and that worried me. There was a low ringing sound in my ears and spots in my vision of black. The searing pain in my head alerted me that I might have a concussion too, but I knew that I had to get out of here quickly, before those two wreak havoc someplace else too.

I had barely been able to put up an energy barrier to reduce the damage from Grace's attack; otherwise I would have died for sure.

I tried to move but it wasn't very successful. There was at least several tons of debris pressing down on me, preventing me from movement and from catching my breath. Even with my strength as a Super Saiyan four, I wouldn't be able to lift all of this on my own, not while in the condition I was currently in.

Instantaneous movement would be futile too; if I teleport all this debris will join me and then I could be crush to a pulp.

I grunted as another surge of agonising pain flared up from all over my body. I was no stranger to pain, having fought more than my fair share in deadly battles, but the pain that I was feeling now was more than enough to make me wish that I could visit Dende right then are there.

Finally, after a massive effort, I managed to raise some of the pressure on my chest. With at least some area to move, my lungs instantly absorbed as much air as they could in this confined area. I coughed automatically and a large amount of sand and other dirt invaded my mouth along with the new supply of oxygen.

My eyes lit up. If I can't teleport out of here myself, why don't I teleport all the objects surrounding me, someplace else?

I placed my hands, palms up on the large chunk of debris threatening to crush me from above. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the only location that could come to mind. The realm of the Kai's.

"Sorry Shin, you are going to kill me." I whispered under my breath right before I implemented the technique, and sure enough all the weight lifted off my chest and I was rewarded with the kind embrace of the moonlight once again. I couldn't help but smile as I lay there, totally exposed.

"You never cease to amaze me kid." I heard Vaughan's voice one the ridge of the hole I was buried in.

"I never cease to amaze myself." I panted.

He chuckled. "I must admit, this was the most exhilarating battle I have ever fought in my life, but as all good things, this must come to an end."

I took in a sharp breath as I lifted myself up in a sitting-position. Everything hurt. My worst fear was confirmed when I looked down at my legs, or should I say leg. Damn…

Vaughan crouched down into a fighting stance as a smirk appeared on his face. "Vengeance is sweet!" He laughed as he stared evilly at me. "Yes, you will die for what your ancestors did dear Gohan." He was trapped in another fit of unnecessary laughter.

"Don't count on it." I snapped. I crouched down into my own fighting stance as I stared straight back at the evil menace. I was a little off balance; I had to use my Ki to stabilize myself.

This is it. My war will end now. The sword is of no significance right now. I have that power within me. I just need to bring it out.

He whistled, looking down at my leg. "Would you look at that?" He admired and I growled.

"I don't need it." I grunted. "I can beat you without it."

He chuckled. "Now I am going to feel bad." He turned to his right hand lady. "Grace, you can step down. I will defeat the Saiyan on my own."

Grace seemed disappointed, but nevertheless, she stood back. "As you wish sire."

An eternity seemed to pass before Vaughan finally launched himself forward in a wave of negative energy. His body radiated black as his features became indistinguishable.

I also launched forward, and just as Vaughan generated the blackness around his body, I generated a golden glow that filled my entire being. For some reason it was suddenly a lot easier to tap into my boundless power. It was almost like my body became a spirit bomb, only a lot more potent. I had a feeling that my inner self had something to do with this.

As I flew forward I couldn't help but feel happy. 'Why do I feel so happy?' I wondered as I drew nearer and nearer to my evil opponent. 'There is so much at stake in this war of mine. I was chosen and I didn't like it one bit, I still don't. I was forced to fight him. Fighting for dear life is all I've known since I was four. I don't even know how I'm going to kill him completely, and yet, I'm happy. But how and why?' My confusion raged on as my fist finally clashed with Vaughan's own.

A shockwave of black mingled with gold surged through the barren landscape as we were locked in a stalemate. Time itself stood still as the greatest powers in all of existence clashed one last time.

This would be the final battle in my war.

Furious winds raged through the war-zone as our powers collided in forces previously unknown to the universe. The war was probably sensed all over the universe; I remember Magisterial telling me that my battle with Cell was sensed across the universe; this battles' would certainly be even more intense. The earth suffered damage as the collisions became greater still.

I descended to the ground where I stood calmly and looked up at my enemy in the sky. I concentrated on my powers. I focussed like never before and my positive energy grew.

Rocks and debris lifted from the ground as I manipulated the very gravity that surrounded me. My power soared to a level beyond belief and the gravity field extended to the horizon. That's how great my energy had become; my power affected everything as far as the eye could see. And in that moment I felt invincible. I knew that I could do what no one else had done before.

Kill Vaughan.

He must have sensed what I was up to, because he started to charge energy too. I charged my energy as quickly as I could, but it was not quick enough. My eyes widened when I felt the devastatingly strong energy ball heading down to earth. I ploughed the energy I had summoned for my Kamehameha, even though it was not complete, into the ball, but it swallowed it instead of colliding with it.

In another attempt I shot my hands up in the air and caught the purple blast effortlessly in my hands. The blow was so strong that it made the whole earth shift down in its orbit. The blast was as big as the planet, if not bigger. I clenched my teeth and shot some of my energy into my hands.

My eyes followed his movement; he stepped closer to his energy attack and my eyes widened in horror as I saw him charging more energy into it. The pressure of the energy increased and I felt how I was being pushed deeper into earth.

Reaching deep inside of me, I channelled all the energy-reserves I still had left. I uttered a yell as I piled more energy upon my fourth Super Saiyan transformation, and finally I felt like I had enough power to end this all, and I had to act fast, because my energy was burning out quickly.

Emotions began to take over my mind and body. Rage, despair, sadness, confusion, loss, fright and many other feelings I couldn't place a name to, filled me and fought for supremacy. I was lost in the oceans of my own emotions, and unconsciously began to power up to my maximum.

Do you have any energy to spare? I desperately asked my fused self.

You know that if I power up to destroy the Ki-bonds, that I could make your head explode.

I growled. My grip on the energy attack was starting to slip. I grit on my teeth as I sank deeper into the crust of the planet.

We don't have much other options. I said impatiently. I am slipping fast.

The risk is too big.

This risk is big! I snapped. The energy can detonate any minute.

Fine! He yelled. Just don't come running to me when this fails.

Hurry up. I urge as I got pushed deeper into the earth.

With a scream of pain, my inner self released his power. A strange sensation filled my head at first, but then it started to hurt, hurt really bad. I felt how it started to eat away at my mind, trying to devour me until there was nothing left of me. But then the moment passed and I felt more energised as ever.

I let out another yell as I summoned power to perform my instantaneous movement technique, taking the blast with me as I teleported to the sky.

Vaughan's eyes grew big in shock as he followed my movement. "Impossible…" He breathed as I slung the massive energy straight towards him.

Vaughan on the other hand, was not as lucky. There was no way that he would be able to dodge this blow, and he knew it.

He muttered something under his breath as he stared at the demise heading for him. "Staring ahead, into the dark abyss. Helplessly you suck in your breath. Your body frozen in fear. And the floor boards start to crack. Moaning and whimpering beneath you, you fall... And fall... And fall... Is there someplace glowing in the distance? Just wait and see."

Dead silence.

I just killed death.

I lay frozen in place, horror and disbelief rolling off of me in waves. Scarcely believing my eyes, I scrutinized the landscape in shock, not wanting to believe that such destruction could exist on one tiny planet. The shattered remains of a once great civilization lay scattered and ruined upon the dusty ground, chunks of stone from toppled skyscrapers littered all around me. Not a single building still stood fully erect, some half toppled, still others having nothing left of them except for splintered wood and demolished possessions.

The smell of death in the air was a thick miasma. I had to force myself not to gag or turn away. Tucked away on my never safe little planet Earth, I had never seen destruction as horrible as this. Even during the fight with Cell, I hadn't witnessed such complete death before.

Dead cities.

Dead people.

Dead planets.

Dead.

Dead.

Dead.

Everything dead….

Suddenly, something caught my attention, and my eyes widened in sorrow when I saw what it was. With trembling bloody hands, I picked up a child's teddy bear from the ground, half burned and broken beyond repair. This had been held by a child once, comforted and hugged. Did that child miss this little thing? Were they even around to miss it?

Chills ran up and down my spine as I held the simple little toy in my hand, a cold sweat breaking out upon my brow. I hardly even felt the gentle hand on my shoulder, hardly even noticed when Rey knelt down beside me and gripped my chin in his hand. My mind was far away, focused on the people who had once lived and the child who would never come.

(Reynard's POV)

Everyone was in a state of panic on the realm of the Kai's, especially Videl, since the crystal ball short-circuited after a huge surge of power. We were blind to what was happening on Earth, and by the looks of the barren wasteland which was a tropical paradise beforehand, things weren't looking good.

I could surprisingly not locate Gohan, not Vaughan's Ki. It left an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I was shocked when I finally found Gohan. I barely recognised him. If he weren't moving, I would have mistaken him for one of the many corpses I have seen this past few days. I flew down and struggled to find a place to land where I wouldn't step on one of the dead persons.

He was covered in blood; there wasn't a part of his being that wasn't soaked in the red liquid. I frowned; what was he holding? As I walked closer I noticed a teddy bear in his grasp. I stared desperately at the blood on his face, his chest, his torso – there is so much blood everywhere that I could hardly recognise him underneath it all; it stuck to him like a second skin.

"Gohan?" I called, softly at first, but then again in a louder tone. He didn't respond at his name. I walked closer, my shoe completely drenched in blood by now, as if I had stepped in a puddle of mud.

I sank down to my knees, getting down to his level and placed my hand very gently on his shoulder. He didn't seem to notice that too.

"Gohan?" I tried again, but his gaze stayed fixed on the stuffed toy in his hands.

I gingerly placed my fingers on his chin as I turned my friends' head to face me. I looked into his eyes, the darkest of onyx meeting the brightest of grey. His pupils were dilated and a blank expression resided on his face, as if he had no emotion.

The boy was in shock, and with good reason. The wreckage around them had been no surprise to me, unfortunately, but it had to be a huge blow for someone as gentle-hearted as Gohan.

Growing up with my father and grandfather, both notorious destroyers of worlds, I had been trained to fight and see things as this from the day I was born, my very first conscious memory was one of ruin and death. I was forced to grow hardened, not that I didn't feel compassion, it just didn't affect me as much.

It had to be far different for my best friend. Very ironic for a Saiyan to be this soft, but he was part human after all. Even though he was also exposed to malice from a young age, he had never seen such a gruesome image in his short life.

I should have known this would happen from the start, but it had slipped my mind. Careless idiot, I chastised myself. I should have mentally prepared him for everything he was going to have to witness. As unfortunate as it was, Gohan simply had to learn to handle these things, whether he liked it or not; as protector he will definitely see worse in his future. The sooner he did, the better it would be for him.

But Gohan was a strong kid, no man, nobody who went through as much as he did deserved to still be classified as a child.

"Gohan." I murmured, giving the young demi-Saiyan a little shake. Damn, now he was trembling. Damn it all, I should have prepared him for this!

"GOHAN!" I shouted, finally succeeding in getting his attention. The young warrior's eyes shot wide and turned his bewildered eyes to me. They were wide with uncertainty, and something far too close to panic for my liking. He dropped the stuffed animal, and it made a slushing sound as it fell into the ankle deep sea of blood.

He stared up at my melancholy expression and he automatically assumed the worst. "They are all dead, aren't they?" His voice was foreign to me, he sounded broken and defeated like a young child.

I tried to smile, I know it must not have seemed convincing, but I kept at it. "No they are not dead silly." I replied in as light a tone as I could muster. "I teleported them to Magisterial's realm when you guys fired that energies." I dramatically wiped the sweat off my forehead. "You should have yelled 'head's up' or something," I joked. ", I barely got out in the nick of time."

"So they are safe." He said, more to himself than to me.

"Of course they are."

He nodded, the motion was heart-breaking. "And Videl?" He asked softly. "Her injuries were very extensive."

I smiled, this time more sincere. "Draco took care of her; she's fine."

"That's good." He replied, mildly relief the only emotion he has spilt so far.

"You killed Grace too by the way." I stated happily. "And all the other idiots of Vaughan's army." My smiled broadened. "I am glad to report that Vaughan is no more."

"He's not dead Rey."

"What?"

"He is not dead." He repeated.

"Where is he?!"

He pointed a shaking finger to the west. My eyes widened when I saw my grandfather a few metres away, laying between some corpses. If it weren't for his silver hair, I would not have recognised him.

I walked over to his side and poked him and kicked him a few times too. "He looks dead to me bro." My face was all smiles.

"They always do." He said and I frowned. I wasn't even sure what that meant.

"So finished him off!" I exclaimed.

"You do it."

I frowned. "If you think I am going to steal your credit for his defeat after all you have gone through, you're a little more bonkers than I thought." I smiled as I rose to my feet. "Come on."

He looked down and just shook his head. "I can't." He murmured almost inaudibly. "He's too far away."

I heaved a heavy sigh. I straightened my spine and steeled myself, new determination rising within me. I had vowed to myself after the clash on the realm a few years back that I was going to be a better friend and damn it, I was going to do it if it killed me.

"Listen to me dude. Look at me, really look! Focus!" I shouted, not quite succeeding at calm. I saw the struggle on Gohan's face, but at least he made an effort to look interested. That was something, and as much as I could hope for at this point.

"What did you expect? That I would just leave you behind and allow you to die with the planet?!" I uttered in a firm but soft voice.

"Rey, you don't understand, I really can't." He replied, the longest sentence he had spoken so far.

I sighed, placing my hand on his shoulder. "You can!" I exclaimed. "It is simply the way of things. We may not always like it, but it is inevitable. I won't sugar coat it for you bro. This may be your first time seeing ruin and death this complete, but it is far from the last. As harsh as this may sound, you have to learn to handle such things. I know you aren't used to this, of course I know that! But you are a protector damn it, and as such you have no choice but to be prepared for destruction, even when it is caused by your own hand." I said what I should have told him about much sooner, dragging my free hand through my damp hair.

Gohan said nothing, he just stared up at me with big eyes.

I took a breath and scowled inwardly. Damn, I hated doing this. "But, I should have better prepared you for it." I forced myself to say, feeling my muscles tense up, hoping that it would make the feeling of guilt deep in my stomach go away.

"I should have better prepared myself." He finally uttered. His face was still too pale for my taste, but his voice wasn't quite as shaky anymore. Good. This boy was a fighter, no doubt about it. I felt my mouth curve up into a smirk. Of course he was! He was an elite protector!

"Good, now that that is settled, let's go!" I started to turn away, planning to jump into the sky, but Gohan's soft voice stopped me in my tracks.

"What?" I didn't quite catch what he had said. I turned around to see that he still hadn't gotten up. A feeling of anger swelled up in my being; I didn't know Gohan like this. He was strong and wouldn't allow anything to get him under, yet he was giving up, not even having the decency to get up and finish his fight.

I stomped over to him, supressing the feeling of disgust as I trudged through the thick sludge-like blood path over to Gohan.

"Everyone is counting on you Gohan." I said angrily. "You cannot just give up like this!" I nearly shouted. "Even if I have to pick you up and drag you out of here myself, I…"

I saw Gohan flinch. "REYNARD SHUT UP!" He interrupted and I cringed at the venom in his tone. At least he didn't sound dead anymore. "I CAN'T, I LITERALLY CAN'T STAND UP! JUST GET IT IN YOUR HEAD." He continued to lash out at me.

"Why didn't you just say so?" I asked calmly. His leg was probably broken. "I'll take you to be healed." I held my arm out toward him but he just stared at it, refusing my help.

"It will do no good."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh for goodness sake!" I exclaimed and secured my hands under his arms as I pulled him up. He thrashed against my grip but I managed to get him to his feet. As soon as I let go he fell to the side, and I just barely caught him before he could fall on his face.

"What is with you?" I asked very concerned. I bowed down to pick him up, carefully grazing my hand on his legs as I tried to find a grip that wouldn't be as painful.

"Rey, don't." He sounded very weak and queasy.

I chuckled. "Don't tell me you are feeling uncomfortable being so close to me?" I cringed as my hand touched something moist and meaty.

"Rey…" He breathed again.

I looked down and my eyes widened. "Gohan, where is your other leg?" I asked, feeling very nauseous.

"I tried to tell you." His face seemed to be drained of even more blood as he spoke. "I have lost a lot of blood."

"Gohan you are not going to die." I said, feeling as if I were in a trance. I tried to convince myself more than I tried to convince him. Magisterial said that if he dies now, because he fused with a dead person, he is technically dead… So then he will cease to exist completely, and I cannot have that.

He frowned at me. "Who said anything about dying?" He punched me and I realised how much he had weakened. There was probably not a grain of energy left in his body, and a simple energy attack to kill Vaughan will kill him…

I forced a chuckle as I placed his arm around my shoulder. "I guess I am a bad friend." I admitted and used all my weight to gently pick him up. His face paled even more and he made gagging sounds in between the pained grunts. "But this bad friend brought you a healing potion."

He waved his hand to me, rejecting it. "I'll drink it after I kill him."

"Gohan, please." I said softly. "Forget your Saiyan pride for a second.

He smiled weakly at me. "It's part of me Rey." I helped him hop over to Vaughan's body and stopped as we looked over him. Gohan rose his hand to Vaughan and summoned some energy. He might not have realized it, but it was barely enough to kill a rat with.

I placed my hand on his side and pressed some of my Ki into his body. He was so out of it that he didn't even realise. The energy intensified and soon it was enough to form a huge ball in his palm. He fired it and Vaughan's body was completely consumed by it. When the smoke ceased his body was disintegrated into nothingness.

"Nice job bro." I complimented, feeling really proud.

"I killed him." He said softly before fainting in my arms.

(Gohan's POV)

Time is a funny thing really. Not funny as in laughable, but funny as in strange. The barriers it represents were broken long ago when Trunks came from the future. Those barriers were shattered even further when Bardock first gained control over his visions over the future. It was something that could not be fully understood, but I knew it wasn't something to be toyed with.

Years have passed since the war that affected each of our lives in some way, and since then, Earth have been at peace with the world. The most life-threatening situation that might have occurred in the three years since the war, had to be Sharpner's haircut. He tried to grow it out two years ago, but he gave up long before reaching the adventurous man's ponytail he was hoping to achieve. Instead of gentle bouncing waves, he got lank clumps that brushed his cheeks and made him fidget like a puppy with fleas. In the end it irritated him enough that he took shears and shaved his head near-bald, at least in the places he could reach. Then he sulked when we showed him a mirror. We hid him from the public for months after that.

One good thing came from that though; Lime enrolled at Orange Star High and took a liking in Sharpner. The feeling was mutual, and the two of them are still together till this day.

Hah-hah – that was one for the memory books.

I think word got out that warriors from the gem of the Northern quadrant managed to destroy the Dark Lord, and they were too afraid to set foot on our planet's soil now. I didn't have a problem with that at all.

Raphael showed up once too, back in his own body. I didn't ask how he got it back, but I presumed Babidi had something to do with it. He came to inform me that I needn't chase after him anymore. He opened his own fighting academy where he plans on teaching the arts of being a protector to children. I admired him for that.

Reynard didn't like it though. He checked in on me at a weekly basis, wanting to make sure that his cousin hasn't tried anything funny yet. I think it is just an excuse to visit me; even though he denies it, he misses me terribly. He even volunteered to come live in my mind once; he wanted to ask Babidi to link us like he linked Raphael and me at one point. I have never said 'no' so many consequent times in my life before… I did however accompany him on many protector missions however. It was in my blood and nothing gave me more meaning.

My mind was completely mine now though… I didn't feel the presence of my fused self anymore. Sometimes I though I sensed a glimmer of him inside of me, but it was scarce. I think he might have burned himself out, trying to break the Ki-bonds at that last minute. I frequently found myself missing his company.

Everything on Earth seemed to relax; everyone that is except for Vegeta. He kept at his vigorous training day by day by day, not in case of another attack on our home, but because his new mission was to overpower me instead of my father. He tried very hard, but only managed to reach the third transformation. Dad never surpassed it too; he was more intent now to make up for lost times. My mother was thrilled.

Everything went back to normal very quickly. Within three days after the war, we were at school again, but to be fair, no one, except those who actually fought in the war, had any memory of it. To them it was as if nothing had ever happen. But because Erasa was on King Kai's realm when we made the wish, her memory was not erased. Ha-ha... Erasa's memory was not erased. We were forced to tell her about everything that happened, and she ignored us for an entire day because we robbed her of the chance to go shopping for camouflage outfits so she could fight alongside us without being seen…

It is actually sad how quickly time seems to fly by. We were already in our senior year in high school, and matriculation is only a few months away. Sometimes I found myself wishing that life had a rewind button, but the only rewind option we as people have, is in our memories. I know that all my great memories will comfort me during the many challenges I know I will face as an adult.

Before we know it, life will slow down and we will be advising our grandchildren and younger adults. At least that is another few years away.

Life will always be a book in progress, each chapter carefully written and coloured with the spices of life! My war was now a mere memory. And as we sat there, I knew that new memories would be created in the years to come. I could see more happiness than hardships in our futures.

"Earth to Gohan!"

I shook my head from side to side, getting out of my trance. "Yeah?"

Videl pressed the back of her head against my chest as she looked up at me. She smiled softly and it was the most beautiful sight that I have ever seen. Her violet eyes sparkled with happiness and her rosy cheeks made me want to smile too. She had grown her hair too, but unlike Sharpner's attempt, this was a success. It fell to her shoulders in a black river, and complemented the angles of her heart-shaped face beautifully.

"What were you thinking about?" She asked sweetly.

I returned with a smile. "Everything."

She pouted and scooted her leg up to her chest, also concealing it in the shade of the giant apple tree. "Everything is a broad subject."

I chuckled and absentmindedly stared at my prosthetic leg. It took a while to get used to, but now it feels like the most normal thing in the world. "Knowing the future… Knowing what will happen. It goes against the basic principles of life, you know?"

She punched me jokingly. "Don't tell that to fortune-tellers, they might just kill you." She teased and I smiled.

"It supposed to be unpredictable." I said in thought. "We are not supposed to know what will happen to us. What's the point in living if we do?"

She tilted her head as she stared at me with admiration. "No surprises, good or bad?" She challenged.

"But I'd rather take the bad with the good than have nothing new to live for. It's like a spoiler posted on the internet, read at your own risk." I answered flawlessly and she smiled.

"You're wise above your years." She complimented. Videl smiled up at me as she leaned even closer to me. She was happily resting in my arms. We were just sitting there, enjoying each other's company and the simple things in life. A gentle breeze swooped by as the sun was slowly making its descent.

Grassy plains stretched forever in front of us. It was so incredibly peaceful. I treasured every moment of it. Come to think of it, this was the first peace I had known since I was five. The peace was only now starting to settle in on my state of mind and I was going to cherish both the peace and the violet-eyed beauty in my arms.

"You're zoning out again." Videl stated without even looking at me; her eyes were still closed. She knew me so well.

"I was just thinking about how much I love you, and that I am never going to let you go." I said softly while giving her a loving smile and hugging her lightly.

She returned the smile and merely said, "Good…"