(Many miles away)
Lying at the bottom of an enormous smoking crater that had been made in the middle of what were once considered prized farmlands, two bodies could be seen. One was standing upright, bathed in a golden aura with a bioelectric field of electricity crackling up and down his body. The other was that of a girl with fiery orange hair, lying sprawled out at the base of the pit, with her plug suit close to tatters and a massive burn mark engraved into her stomach.
With Gohan still on his feet and looking down at the battered and defenseless girl, the victor of their little skirmish was made all too clear.
During his battle, the demi-Saiyan had received quite an extensive bit of damage. On top of the bruises and cuts covering him, his orange and blue gi was also heavily damaged. He had a hole in his right pants leg and was missing the entire bottom left section of it. His orange top was practically gone, leaving him with only the blue undershirt. He also had blood running down his face and from the corners of his mouth. Needless to say, looking battle-damaged and bathed in the glow of his Super Saiyan 2 form, he looked almost exactly like his father did in his battle against Frieza when he first transformed.
Kana on the other hand, had taken it the worst. Not only had the glow in her hair faded, but her face was just as bruised as Gohan's, including a swollen cheek and eye, had blood running out of almost every orifice, and her body was burnt all over. While the leg and arm portions of her suit had survived somewhat, an entire front part of her plug suit had been disintegrated by the short-range blast to her gut. She could only be grateful that at least the chest and pelvis areas of the suit had remained intact. But this left her entire belly and stomach exposed, and not only did she have severe, black burns around the part where she'd been hit, but her abdominals were cut up as well.
And that wasn't even the worst of the damage…
Gohan frowned, "It's over. You're done."
Choking up blood so that it splattered across her front, the girl gazed up at her opponent, who continued to glare down at her, seemingly without pity. "Y-Yeah. I know." Cringing from the bolts of pain shooting through her, Kana tried to form fists in the dirt, but failed miserably. She didn't even have the strength to move. "Man. You got me real good back there. Using the satellite to conceal your movements… I have to admit… I never saw that one coming."
The Super Saiyan 2 allowed his aura to fade, but stayed in his transformed state as he stared down at his defeated opponent, who continued to cough up more bodily fluids. He then spared her a smile, "You were so focused on looking ahead of you that you didn't notice me flying through the debris to get you from behind. It's kind of hard to keep track of your target when you're seeing double, isn't it."
"Heh… yeah… I guess it is," Kana said in a weak voice before falling into a coughing fit once again. More blood leaking out of the corner of her mouth, the girl looked up to see the boy give her a more serious stare. Upon recognizing the fury etched in his eyes and fierceness in his gaze, she knew that she'd reached the end of the line. "I've never… ever fought against a warrior as skilled and as powerful as you… even after all my years of traveling. It's clear to me now that you are… without a doubt… the protector of this world."
Gohan nodded, "Like I said; my father entrusted me with the earth. After he died, he told me to watch over the planet and to protect everyone on it… especially the ones that I love."
"Even if it means… killing?" Kana asked, looking up at the boy firmly.
This question didn't even give Gohan pause, "If I have to."
"Then… I suppose this is where I finally… hang up my suit," the alien invader murmured weakly, another cough causing her to spit blood out. Her breathing coming out in heavy drags, the girl spent the next few moments in pain before looking up at the serious boy once more. "It was bound to happen eventually. After all these years of traveling… and challenging people to fights, I was bound to meet my match sooner or later. I never thought it would be at the hands of someone like you." Gazing painfully at the demi-Saiyan, Kana felt tears well up in her eyes as the pain and thought of dying finally got to her. The girl clenched her teeth and shut her eyes, wanting to block out these thoughts but finding it impossible, "I… It's just… there was so much more I wanted to do… so much more I wanted to see. I never… even had a chance… to really live…" She never even found someone to settle down with. All her years spent traversing the universe and she never even thought about finding someone to share her time with.
It didn't matter now though. After all the fuss she'd caused on this planet, she wouldn't be surprised if Gohan blasted her right then and there.
Looking upon the girl's face, Gohan saw the pain reflected clearly in her eyes; a sadness that gripped her entirely as her world started to fade around her. Though she was an incredibly tough girl and was an exceptionally powerful warrior, Kana didn't possess the cold, unforgiving demeanor of one. Normally, in his ascended state, when battling against a foe who had nothing but evil intent and cruelty swelling in their heart, the young fighter wouldn't have shown a hint of pity or restraint as he drove them into the ground. It was a lesson he'd learned well after his battle with Cell and a trait that came with his Saiyan-side, one that he was learning to control.
However, when he saw the defeat reflected on the face of his current opponent, who was not only a cheerful, kind and considerate individual, who cherished life above everything else and viewed it as something precious and needed to be protected, struck a chord in the boy that immediately suppressed the fierce tendencies within him. The kind heart that he held came to surface and his once serious expression softened, replaced by surprise while he stared down at the girl lying at the bottom of the crater.
Sobbing a little, Kana looked up at the young man through shimmering, tear-strung eyes and looked into his softened gaze, "If it means anything… I… really had fun today, Gohan… thank you…"
Eyes narrowing at what she planned to be her last words, the still transformed boy then looked over his shoulder to see his friends land behind him. Seeing Vegeta, Trunks, Piccolo and Zangya were alive and well, as well as Krillin, who was still cradling an unconscious Android 18# in his arms, Gohan then looked back at Kana to see her beam at him.
After a few more seconds of thought, the demi-Saiyan then made a decision and threw a look at his mentor, the Namekian flinching at its intensity.
"Wait here." Powering up, the boy suddenly shot up into the sky and disappeared over the horizon with a sonic boom.
The Z-fighters standing in the crater looked in the direction the boy had vanished in confusion, stunned by his ridiculous burst of speed. For the next minute they waited there, either looking over the horizon or turning to stare down at the thoroughly beaten Kana. When they saw her gaze up at them, half-dead with bags under her eyes and blood leaking out of her mouth, a couple of the warriors there immediately felt pity for her.
But while Trunks and Krillin came off as the most forgiving of the group, the only ones who viewed the girl with any sort of caution or seriousness were Vegeta, Piccolo and Zangya. Hell, the former of the three even contemplated putting the teen out of her misery.
However, after a couple minutes of awkward silence, another sonic boom and the sensation of Gohan's returning presence drew their gazes back over the horizon, where they saw the Super Saiyan 2 return and promptly land in the crater. It was when he walked past them that the group noticed he was carrying a familiar brown bag in his hand and, after squatting down next to the fallen Kana, he fished out a Senzu bean and slipped it into her mouth.
"G-Gohan," Krillin exclaimed in surprise.
Recognizing the stuff the child had returned with, Vegeta immediately stepped forward, "What do you think you're doing, brat?!"
The transformed youngster, despite the supposed fierce nature brought on by his ascended Saiyan state, gave the girl a warm smile as his eyes softened to that of his normal self, "Here. Chew and swallow."
Doing as instructed, Kana bit down on the bean in her mouth and began to grind it between her teeth. Making sure that it was mashed up nice and good, the girl then tentatively swallowed and allowed whatever it was she'd eaten to take its affect.
At first believing it was a drug meant to end her suffering quickly and quietly, Kana then suddenly felt the burning sensation stretching across her body vanish like the wind and a surge of energy rush through her. Then, as if hit by an electric shock, the girl's eyes widened and she sat bolt upright. The sight of her sitting up so quickly had Zangya step back a little in surprise.
Confounded by her sudden recovery, Kana quickly began scanning her body. Testing her hands and patting herself down, checking for any bruises and busted limbs, the girl was quickly shocked when she discovered… nothing. Not a scrape, cut, bruise or burn mark remained. Even the severe scorch tattoo ground into her gut had healed over, with the dry skin peeling away to reveal new, flawless skin underneath.
Overwhelmed, Kana looked up at Gohan, who smiled back at her, "W-What did… you do? What was that thing you gave me?"
"Something you may not have where you come from," the boy replied cheerfully while standing up. "It's called a Senzu bean." He then wasted no time in heading over to Krillin, where he pulled another of the medicinal miracles out and placing it in his open hand.
"Remarkable," Kana exclaimed, checking herself once more before looking up and seeing her former opponent give out more beans to the others. Even though Vegeta frowned upon having to take one, he accepted it either way and bit the metaphorical bullet. "Fruits that can heal the sick and treat the wounded. This planet certainly is the most amazing in the entire cosmos."
Gohan chuckled and turned back to the teenager, slipping the bag into his belt and gazing at her kindly. "Well… I'm not sure about other fruits and vegetables, but Senzu beans definitely get the job done. Only one person on this planet knows how to grow them… and coming across these particular beans in the wild is next to impossible."
Chuckling, Kana gave him an understanding nod, "I see. Well, I'll be sure to document this for later study."
While Kana engaged in conversation with Gohan and the others stood back, Krillin took a moment to crouch down and feed Eighteen the bean. Gently encouraging her to swallow it, the bald fighter waited patiently for it to take effect and watched as her eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Hey. You alright?" Krillin asked in a quiet voice.
"Uh. Yeah. I'm okay." Groaning and massaging the bridge of her nose, the young woman looked up to see who was leaning over her and watched her vision slowly clear, "W-What happened?"
Smiling in relief, Krillin grinned at the beautiful android as she regained her bearings, "Well… it's a bit of a long tale. I'll tell yah about it later."
A little bit surprised to find the short fighter standing over her, the blonde android gave a momentarily hard look and quickly stood up. Turning her back on the other Z-fighters standing around her so as to hide her flustered expression, her actions, despite their subtlety, failed to miss the notice of the ever watchful Zangya.
Smiling at the sight and feeling her strength return to her thanks to the bean, the blue-skinned woman then stood by quietly, watching as Gohan made his peace with the girl that was formerly their enemy. It was during which time the alien woman once again found herself completely baffled by the character of the demi-Saiyan. "First he saves me, then he spares me, and now, not only does he show mercy to an opponent, he also helps her and treats me as well." Her glare narrowed in frustration when she saw the boy chuckle and massage his scalp through his spiky blonde hair. "Geez. What is up with this brat?"No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't figure him out.