Gohan vs Dabura

Dabura stepped from the elevator, the impact resounding through emptiness. Though he looked the same, Gohan sensed that something within the man had changed. Dabura smirked, glaring at Gohan and ignoring the others. The moment the Saiyan and the Demon Lord locked eyes, Gohan's rage began to stir; the devil's smugness only added more fuel to the fire.

"I'm impressed," Dabura said. "To think mere mortals could make it this far into the gauntlet. No matter, your journey ends here; you must face me."

Vegeta scoffed, "So he sent out his number one guy already. Babidi must be scared."

"Enough with the idle talk," said Dabura. "Let's get this over with. I'll take all of you on at once."

"No!" Gohan commanded. "It's my turn to fight. Besides, I still need to repay you for what you did to Piccolo and Krillin. I'm assuming the only way to break the spell is to kill you, so that's what I'm gonna do. Though I wish we had a better place to fight."

"Your wish is my command," he heard the wizard's voice say. There was a flash of violets and blues as Babidi transported them to another planet. The terrain was like the desert mountains seen on Earth but the sky shared the same hue as a pomegranate. 

A gust of air burst from Gohan's nostrils. "That's more like it."

"Gohan, please be careful-" the Supreme Kai told him.

"How many times do Vegeta and I have to tell you that we aren't doormats? Shut up and watch. I'll make this guy wish he never came to Earth." 

Dabura still wore his smirk as Gohan flew toward him with a reeled-back fist. Dabura swiftly lept toward the clouds, his cape fluttering behind him. 

"Too slow!" Dabura raised his hand before flinging it downward as if he'd just thrown a ki blast; yet, to the untrained eye, it was nothing more than a performative gesture. However, Gohan could see past the facade, dodging sideways. Wind pressure, as sharp as a blade's edge, cut through the air beside the Saiyan before it chopped down a mountain behind him and sliced the ocean beneath it in half.

Gohan's eyes bore witness to the destruction left behind by the invisible ki blast and then he glared at the Demon Lord once more. Gohan flashed and disappeared; for a moment, Dabura, Vegeta, and Shin had assumed Gohan decided to turn tail. A second later, Dabura could sense energy swelling from beneath the ocean's waves. His eyelids lowered and he could see golden energy gleaming from under the surface; though this wasn't the gleam of the Super Saiyan, it was the radiant light from Gohan's Masenko attack.

The golden beam blasted through the ocean and rocketed toward Dabura. The demon grunted humorously, thinking how preposterous it was that the Saiyan would reduce himself to such trickery, a failed trick at that. 

Just as Dabura was ready to dodge the attack, Gohan appeared above him.

"What!" Dabura couldn't react to dodge the Saiyan and his ki attack. Gohan's foot slammed into the demon's midsection, folding him over before he clasped both fists together and hammered Dabura into his Masenko beam.

Dabura bellowed as he was sandwiched between fists and physical ki energy. Gohan roared, veins popping out of his forehead and arms, as his fist sent Dabura through the Masenko, shattering the ki, and sending the Demon Lord barrelling into roaring ocean waves. 

From above, Gohan watched the crashing ocean settle. His brow lowered; he was certain that Dabura was still alive. In fact, he was hoping for it. He wasn't done with him yet.

The water began to tremble and Dabura burst from beneath the surface. He carried boulders behind him using ki and threw them at the Saiyan. Before Gohan could respond, he was caught in a shower of meteors, blocking his face with his arms and hands. One of the boulders struck him, spiraling him into a desert mountain. 

Dabura was breathing heavily, floating in the air as he watched the dust dispel from the sight of impact. He knew the Saiyan wasn't dead, but part of him had hoped he was. However, the moment he saw the infamous golden glow from within the settling smoke, his heart sank. 

This time, the golden gleam was none other than the aura of a Super Saiyan. Once the dust faded, he saw Gohan stepping toward him, his golden strands fluttering in the breeze as he stared daggers at the demon. Midway through a step, Gohan's body disappeared and reappeared behind Dabura. The Demon Lord's eyes widened just before Gohan's elbow collided with his ear with such force, that Dabura flew faster than a bullet across the desert. 

As if he were playing kickball with himself, Gohan teleported to Dabura and kicked him back to where they started. Dabura gathered himself in the air before rushing toward the Saiyan. His body flashed; he was about to teleport elsewhere on the battlefield. The moment his body faded and disappeared, Gohan predicted his movements, his fist connected with his long jaw and Dabura crashed into yet another mountain.

Gohan stomped toward the demon, trembling the planet. "Is that all you got, Dabura? Don't tell me that's all the strength you can muster up." 

Dabura peeled himself from the sand, watching as the Saiyan, who looked like a demon in his eyes, slowly approached.

"As you wish…" Dabura's body began to crackle as blue bolts of electricity enveloped his body. Gohan couldn't help but smirk; if Dabura still had more in the tank, he'd still have an outlet for his rage.

Dabura opened his mouth and his throat began to gleam like melting metal before a massive ball of flames shot between his lips. Gohan's body disappeared just before the flames could hit him. Once more, he appeared beside Dabura and threw a punch. However, this time, Dabura's fist connected with his, sending a ring of pressure outward that nearly toppled mountains.

Gohan and Dabura shared glances before they started mirroring each other's attacks. Fists, elbows, knees, shins, and feet collided at speeds faster than light. They were near equal, but by the smallest margin, Gohan was faster. Before Gohan's speed could make a difference, Dabura's body became intangible, allowing Gohan's body to pass through. 

As Gohan's body was midway through a kick, Dabura hit Gohan with a point-blank blast of Demon Ki, throwing the Saiyan backward through the sand until he fell into the ocean and sunk to the bottom.

Vegeta was trembling with anger as he watched. "And that's what seven years of wasted potential gets you! He's fighting purely on instinct but his combat skill is sloppy. If I was the one out there, Dabura's head would be on a pike by now! Kakarot's son is pathetic."

Dabura glanced at Vegeta and then at the ripple left behind by Gohan's body. That ripple began to swirl and a whirlpool formed atop the surface. It was like a typhoon, electricity crackling between crashing waves before the ocean exploded and the Super Saiyan reappeared. 

The falling water emulated rain, pouring down on the Super Saiyan as he removed his tattered, lime green gi, revealing the skin-tight black suit he wore beneath it. His body was generating electricity and the aura around him had expanded. Dabura could hardly tell the difference by just looking at the Saiyan, but he could sense that he had ascended beyond that of a Super Saiyan and he was right.

Gohan had entered the state of a Super Saiyan two. He'd heard Vegeta's words and he was ready to show him what pathetic truly meant. 

Dabura blinked; once his eyes opened, Gohan's fist connected with his nose. Dabura summoned a sword and desperately swung it at the Saiyan. Each slash similarly created slices of ki energy to Dabura's other attack, but none of them connected, they only sliced through the clouds in the distance.

What did connect was Gohan's fist to Dabura's midsection, caving in the Demon Lord's body. Dabura hunched over and Gohan's knee collided with his chin. Before Dabura's body could reach the clouds, Gohan caught him by the cape and threw him back to the ground, creating a building-sized crater.

Dabura, lying flat on his back, opened his eyes to see a blue sun beaming down on him.

"Kame… Hame…" he heard Gohan yell. Immediately, he realized that this light wasn't from any sun.

It was from Son Gohan. 

"Ha!" Gohan yelled as ki shot from his palms. Vegeta and Shin observed from a distance, watching the Kamehameha wave envelop the Demon Lord. When the light show ended, Gohan landed in front of the weakened Dabura, wielding the Demon Lord's sword.

"You're lucky I didn't train for the last seven years," Gohan said, eyeing Vegeta. The prince, his arms folded, glared at Kakarot's son without uttering a word.

"'Cause if I was, you'd be dead in an instant." Gohan placed the blade's edge at Dabura's throat, drawing blood. "Maybe that would've been better for you. Getting smashed like a grape in seconds would've probably hurt less. Regardless, I'm going to kill you and your master and go back to my life!"

"You mortals… No, you Earthlings… You're monsters," Dabura said weakly.

"No, not all Earthlings are monsters. Just me. Guys like you, Babidi and Cell are what created it. And I'm tired of it. Leave my world alone." Gohan lifted the sword above his head, ready to end the Demon Lord where he lay.

"Master, send me back!" Dabura yelled.

Before his blade could pierce his heart, he was transported safely back to Babidi, and the others were returned to the ship. 

"How miserable," Babidi mumbled. "That boy nearly killed you, had I not stepped in.

"No, I did not call you back in fear of my own death. I have a plan. The other one with black hair… there is wretchedness in his heart. We can use him…"

Babidi looked into his crystal ball, watching as Vegeta grabbed Gohan by the collar of his shirt.

"You imbecile! You're too soft, just like Kakarot!" 

"Watch your mouth Vegeta! How was I supposed to know Babidi was going to save him at the last minute?"

"It wouldn't have mattered if you finished him off sooner! Just like I said, you're nothing but wasted potential. Seven years have gone to waste just for you to be the weakest one in the room!"

"Me? I was stronger than you when I was eleven years old. Don't you remember who beat Cell while you stood on the sidelines, trembling in your boots!? Speaking of Cell, that's rich that you of all people are telling me about finishing someone off! You're the one who let Cell transform in the first place!" Gohan dug his finger into Vegeta's chest.

"My dad is dead because of you! If you didn't let him transform to feed your stupid ego, Cell would have never transformed, the Cell games would've never happened, and my dad wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself for nothing!"

"Don't pin this all on me boy, your father was also part of the collective who allowed him to transform. Kakarot's death was nothing more than his own fault. If you want to point fingers, blame yourself! Kakarot would've lived if you stopped the whiny baby act sooner and fought Cell yourself! You come from a warrior race yet your first instinct is to be a crybaby and a coward!" Vegeta returned the favor and pressed his finger into Gohan's chest.

"I was eleven years old! I never had a childhood! From age four, I was already thrust into war with you so-called warriors, starting with Raditz, the bald one, and then you! And then Frieza…"

"I was four years old when I conquered my first planet, boy! Age has nothing to do with it. Face the facts, you're a coward."

"Just because I don't like fighting doesn't mean I'm a coward. I'm tired of fighting! I've been fighting evil guys like you my whole life!"

"Tired of fighting? That smile on your face while you fought Dabura says otherwise."

"It was a product of that warrior blood you pride us Saiyans on having. I'll admit it, when I'm in the fight and I feel my blood pumping, it feels great. That's not because I enjoy it, it's because of the genetics I'm cursed with…"

Shin stepped between the two Saiyans. "Can you two stop fighting already? We have other things to worry about! There are innocent lives at stake! If Buu gets revived, billions of lives will be lost!"

Vegeta scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. The strong prevail and the weak perish. What else is new? That's the way any world works."

From within his lair, Babidi began to cackle. "Yes! You're right! That one, there! He has plenty of wretchedness within his heart, such that he will be our new pawn!"

"It is just as I said, Master Babidi," Dabura added.

"Wonderful job, Dabura. He's quite the rare find!" Babidi placed his hands on the crystal ball, which showed an image of Vegeta. He then began pouring energy into it, bellowing as he did so,

Vegeta started pulling at his own hair, screaming in agony as his brain started pulsating against his skull. "I'm being attacked! Something is…" Vegeta continued to roar; meanwhile, Shin was trembling where he stood.

"Vegeta! Fight it!" he yelled.

"What's happening to Vegeta?" Gohan asked.

"He's taking over his body! He wants to use him like a vessel. The same as he did to Dabura! His heart isn't pure and Babidi knows that!" Shin approached Vegeta cautiously. "You aren't that man you once were Vegeta! You're a better man now, just fight it!"

Vegeta turned into a Super Saiyan, his screams began to cause the ship to tremble. 

"Vegeta! Fight it! You're stronger than that!" Gohan told him, covering his eyes as the energy emanating from Vegeta blew him backward.

A chill crawled down the spines of both Shin and Gohan as they felt Vegeta begin to change. His power was growing exponentially; it was unlike anything either of them had encountered before.

The screaming stopped and Vegeta was seen hunched on the floor, his breaths harsh. Gohan stepped toward him, but Shin stopped him.

"It's too late."

Vegeta started to laugh, his muscles bulging in a similar fashion to Spopovich during the tournament. With a grin etched across his face, Vegeta glared at Gohan and Shin, showing the M-shaped mark on his forehead. 

"Vegeta..." Gohan mumbled.

The room flashed and the trio was transported elsewhere. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves centerstage at the World Martial Arts Tournament.

"Well…" Vegeta muttered. "Looks like we have ourselves an exhibition match."

Vegeta could hear Babidi's voice inside of his head. "Vegeta, my pawn! Kill all of your friends. As your new master, you must obey!"

"Silence. The only one that matters here is Kakarot's son." Vegeta aimed his palm at Gohan before releasing an incredible beam of energy. Gohan blocked it with his hands, but the strength of the beam was overwhelming and broke through Gohan's guard. Without thinking, Gohan avoided the blast and it flew directly into the crowd, obliterating that entire section of the arena and killing hundreds of civilians in an instant. 

"No!" Gohan yelled. His body began to tremble as fury and grief stirred within him. "Vegeta… you monster. How could you? All of those innocent people…"

"It's just as I said, Gohan. The strong prevail and the weak perish. It's just the way the world works."