Gohan's aura continued to flare.

"Trunks, Tapion, get out of here..." He said.

"But Gohan, you can't handle it alone!" Trunks said.

"What makes you think we can handle it together...!?" Gohan asked.

"I'm trying to buy you two time... Unless one of you has a better idea, I'm left with no other options." He said.

Tapion and Trunks remained silent...

'How did it fail this time...? How did it fail Minotia...!?' Tapion thought.

...

Gohan flew on ahead, charging towards Hirudegarn.

In response, Hirudegarn threw two massive punches!

They both missed, barely.

Gohan wounded up his foot and threw a kick at Hirudegarn!

However, Hirudegarn turned into a phantom at that very moment, and the attack missed.

He turned to smoke and pretty much disappeared.

Gohan looked around, trying to find him...

But the smoke flew above him, and Hirudegarn was tangible once more.

"GROAAR!"

Gohan looked up at a falling Hirudegarn...

WHAM!

He got punched straight down, and his aura died.

CRASH!

Hirudegarn landed with a loud crash as well...

Gohan stood on all fours, struggling to get back up...

"Just one hit... and he's already knocked the wind out of me...!" He muttered.

Gohan managed to get to his feet and turned to face Hirudegarn.

'Damn it...!' Gohan thought.

He made his aura flare, and suddenly...

He ascended, making his aura bigger, jagged, and surrounded with lightning!

He flew at Hirudegarn again.

And again, Hirudegarn threw a few punches at Gohan, and they missed again.

Gohan threw a punch at Hirudegarn's veiny forehead, but Hirudegarn became intangible again.

The smoke flew behind Gohan...

And Gohan threw a turnaround kick at Hirudegarn!

Again, Hirudegarn was intangible.

The smoke flew everywhere...

'I can't track his movements... He can't be hit...!?' Gohan thought.

Then, suddenly...

Hirudegarn grabbed Gohan and trapped him in his fist!

Shit.

Then, he tightly squeezed...

But Gohan made his aura flare.

It didn't break Hirudegarn's grip, but it prevented him from popping Gohan's head off.

He grunted a lot trying to break free...

But it wasn't possible...

Then, suddenly...

"FINISH BUSTER!"

BAKOOM!

Hirudegarn's arm was on fire, and was forced to let Gohan go.

Gohan acted instantly, flying away to recover as much as possible...

Hirudegarn looked behind him and saw Trunks floating there with his arms crossed and down.

"Why didn't you run yet... You're alive, so get out of here already...!" Gohan muttered.

"Hey, ugly!" Trunks shouted.

Hirudegarn decided to give him the respect he wanted and listened.

"I was having a nice day until some flat-footed mutated behemoth stepped on my house! You're gonna regret this, you freak!" Trunks yelled.

"He's stupid, but he has guts..." Gohan muttered.

Trunks made his white aura flare.

"All the way to the grave!" He yelled, flying at Hirudegarn.

Trunks let out a war cry as he charged at Hirudegarn-

WHACK!

Hirudegarn simply swatted Trunks away...

He was sent flying towards Capsule Corp., and...

CRASH!

He fell into the warehouse and the ceiling crumbled on top of him.

"Trunks... Even Tapion is just standing there...!" Gohan said.

Hirudegarn started breathing fire!

The flames were so powerful that they melted buildings in an instant...

Every building hit was forced to crumble.

Gohan cupped his hands together at his side...

"Kamehameha!"

Hirudegarn stopped his fire breathing immediately, and turned to smoke...

The blast went off into the distance.

Gohan looked all around him to find his enemy...

But Hirudegarn was nowhere to be found...

Well, Gohan realized Hirudegarn actually retreated backwards.

...And now Hirudegarn is running towards Gohan at top speed.

"GROAAAR!"

Each step made the ground crumble beneath him...

'Alright... Keep coming...' Gohan thought.

Hirudegarn got really close, and got ready to get Gohan into a giant bear hug!

"Now!" Gohan shouted, teleporting away.

Hirudegarn missed and fell over.

CRASH!

Gohan appeared above him...

"Now's my chance!" He said, cupping his hands together again.

"HAAA!"

The blue blast was fired at the fallen giant, and...

BAKOOM!

A direct hit!

'Did it work...?' Gohan thought, panting.

Once the smoke cleared up...

Hirudegarn wasn't moving...

In fact, he looked completely... brown.

"He's still vulnerable...!" Gohan muttered.

He cupped his hands at his side and fired yet another blast.

BOOM!

...It didn't seem to have any effect...

Until the spot he hit started glowing green.

It cracked...

No, something was emerging from Hirudegarn...!

'Oh, no.' Gohan thought.

It looked like it had wings...

Hirudegarn was shedding its cocoon.

He was evolving...!

Once Hirudegarn stopped glowing green, his true colors began to show.

And his brown wings were fully grown...

Now he had horns AND wings...

Oh, and on top of that...

He's powered up even more.

"Not good... Not good at all...!" Gohan muttered.

Hirudegarn roared to the skies...

"GROAAAAARRAAAR!"

That alone caused broken concrete to rise and fly into the sky.

"I thought it couldn't get any worse." Gohan muttered.

Then, at that moment...

A helicopter was coming into the area.

"People are actually this stupid..." Gohan muttered.

A white helicopter with a "7 NEWS" logo on it...

Hirudegarn paid no mind to the helicopter, and leapt off of the ground.

Without even flapping his wings, he was able to fly.

Gohan was a little too distracted with the helicopter...

Hirudegarn threw a flying punch at Gohan!

BAM!

Gohan was sent flying into another building...

CRASH!

If that wasn't enough, the building began to crumble...

The place shattered to pieces and fell right on top of him...

Hirudegarn wasn't done with that.

"GROAAAR!"

He breathed fire at the fallen building!

His evolution didn't just change his appearance, but it also changed his attacks...

The fire he breathes can explode now.

BAKOOM!

The area was just covered in smoke and fire...

"GROAAAR!"

Back to the rubble at Capsule Corp....

Trunks finally got himself up...

He pushed some rubble off him.

"Ow..." He muttered.

"Why is Gohan's power level nearly gone...?" He muttered.

Trunks stumbled his way out of the warehouse, and looked at what Hirudegarn evolved to...

"You're kidding..." He said.

Trunks fell to his knees...

"What the hell are we supposed to do now...?" He asked.

Back to the flaming rubble Gohan is buried under...

His right hand stuck out from the crushed rocks.

It tried it's hardest to find another thing to grab onto...

Once Gohan grabbed another rock, he pulled himself out...

He was no longer a Super Saiyan, and...

That revealed something painful and heartbreaking.

His arm was blown off... again.

'Not again...!' Gohan thought.

His goals for becoming a scholar were ruined...

Gohan breathed heavily, trying to deal with the trauma of losing an arm.

The blood seemed to clot on it's own...

The fire helped to stop the bleeding.

Gohan used his arm to barely get himself on all threes...

"Now it explodes...!? If it had hit any closer..." He muttered.

Hirudegarn stood still, looking at Gohan...

"A-Any resistance is useless..." Gohan muttered.

He coughed a bit of blood onto the rubble.

"It's over... This is the end. Earth will perish..." He muttered.

Somehow, in some way, Gohan mustered up the strength to squat on his feet...

With his hand as support, though.

He managed to stand on his two feet, still trying to catch his breath.

He looked up at Hirudegarn, who-

"GROAAAR!"

"B-But... I can't... let Earth be destroyed... I can't...!" Gohan muttered.

He tried stepping forward...

Gohan stumbled from side to side with terrible balance...

It looks like he has some fight left in him.

"We must find a way... before it destroys... the entire planet..."

Gohan lost balance...

He fell over...

And collapsed.

Gohan's body had no energy...

The blood loss was too much...

He was very close to blacking out.

And once he'd black out...

Life's over.

'I... I'm not dying...' Gohan thought, getting back on all threes.

This was murder on almost every part of his body...

'Fluttershy and the others... I can't let them down...!' He thought.

This was practically victory for Hirudegarn.

Nobody was there to stop him.

Hoi cackled loudly.

"Yes! Crush our enemies beneath your feet!" He commanded.

Hirudegarn roared, and went in for the kill.

He stepped closer to Gohan, shaking the city with each step...

Then, suddenly...

The music was playing.

Hirudegarn was forced to stop.

Through all the destruction...

Tapion played the ocarina.

'It's our final hope...' He thought.

The music kept playing...

Trunks got to his feet...

"Tapion...?" He asked.

Gohan was able to look up to see Tapion playing on a building.

The music was needles in Hirudegarn's ears...

GROAAAR!"

"Idiot!" Hoi shouted.

"After a thousand years, you would think he'd learn to play a different tune!" He yelled.

Hirudegarn faced Tapion, who wasn't far away.

In fact, he was standing right on the building beside him.

Tapion continued playing.

Hirudegarn breathed fire at Tapion!

BAKOOM!

The building was incinerated...

But the ocarina formed a barrier around Tapion and protected him!

Trunks smiled...

"We have a chance!" He shouted.

"What!?" Hoi shouted.

Gohan chuckled...

"Heheh... Oh, ho... It hurts to laugh..." He muttered...

Then he collapsed to the floor, muffling his chuckles.

'I didn't have to do any of this...' He thought.

Tapion continued to fly in the air, playing the tune...

Hirudegarn stepped back in fear...

But Tapion flew closer and closer.

"A hero... He did come to save the planet...!" Trunks said.

'...For too long, you've fed on the misery of others. You stole from me everything precious and dear... But no more. It ends now.' Tapion thought.

"GROAAAR!"

Hirudegarn roared in pain...

Then, he was breaking apart!

He turned to smoke and returned to Tapion...

"Impossible...!" Hoi muttered.

Hirudegarn's body gradually disintegrated and was confined to Tapion once more...

The last of Hirudegarn was contained, and...

Tapion stopped playing.

He fell to the ground, tired and hurt...

Absorbing Hirudegarn wasn't an easy task.

He gently landed on the street...

Trunks was there to deliver the fanfare, despite his injuries.

"That was awesome...!" He said, getting closer to Tapion.

"You did it...! We won!" He said.

Tapion managed to get himself into a kneeling position...

And he instantly took his sword out.

Then, he pointed the handle at Trunks.

"Trunks... There isn't much time left...! Quick, strike my heart...!" Tapion said, through pained grunts.

"W-Wha...?" Trunks asked.

"I can't hold him much longer...!" Tapion said.

"Y-You don't know what you're saying...!" Trunks said.

"Do you want to see everyone you care about die!?" Tapion shouted.

Trunks shook his head, whimpering...

Tears formed at his eyes...

"B-But... you're my friend..." He sobbed.

"I know, Trunks... I know it's not fair to ask you. But there's no other way... I don't want to destroy you!" Tapion said.

Trunks started crying...

"I know death seems cruel, but I welcome this blade." Tapion said.

"Just like your friend, Gohan... He was willing to risk his own life for this planet. And now I must do what must be done... Help me." He said.

Trunks fought the tears as hard as he could, but they rolled down his cheeks...

The clouds got even darker.

Reluctantly, Trunks grabbed the handle.

Tapion smiled...

"Yes..." He muttered.

Trunks held the sword with two hands...

"Thank you, Trunks... It was an honor to know you, my brother..." Tapion said.

Trunks stared at the blade, trying to savor the last moments until he decided it was time.

He held the blade over his head...

"NO!"

Hoi jumped after Trunks, hoping to reach him in time!

"Get away from him!" He shouted.

He was getting really close...

"Trunks... Now! Through my heart!" Tapion shouted.

Trunks brought the sword to his shoulders and aimed at Tapion's heart...

He closed his eyes forcefully and cried.

"I'm sorry it had to end like this..." Trunks sobbed.

Then...

"I'M SORRY!"

Trunks pierced Tapion's heart!

Tapion recoiled and instantly coughed blood.

The sword went through him completely, staining the weapon with his blood.

Trunks opened his teary eyes..

"No...!" Hoi muttered, stopping.

He stopped on the ground not too far from them.

A smoke version Hirudegarn emerged from Tapion screaming...

"GROAAAAAAAAR!"

Then, it emerged into the sky, and...

"H-He's dead... Yes..." Tapion said, smiling through the pain.

Blood ran down from his mouth.

Trunks sobbed even harder...

"Trunks..." Tapion muttered.

Trunks intently listened through his sobs.

Tapion grabbed the handle of the sword.

"AAAAGH!"

He pulled it out completely!

Blood gushed out from his wound...

His back and chest were soaked in blood...

Holding the sword in one hand, he grabbed the sheath and pulled it off his back...

"Tapion... What are you doing...!?" Trunks sobbed.

With the little strength Tapion had left, he lifted the sword and sheath to Trunks.

"I... I want you... to have this... Please... My final gift to you..." Tapion sputtered.

He bowed his head down...

Trunks slowly took the sword and the sheath...

"Trunks..." Tapion muttered.

"Thanks... for... everything..."

Tapion collapsed onto the ground, his blood forming a tiny puddle around him.

He's in the Other World now.

Hoi witnessed all of that, and just stood still.

Thunder roared.

It started to rain.

It instantly poured.

Trunks sniffled as more silent tears ran down his face.

"Tapion... Why'd you have to leave me...? It's not fair..." He sobbed.

The rain was really starting to hit hard.

"You became my best friend... You became important to me...! This isn't fair..." He sobbed, dropping the sword and sheath to the ground.

Trunks got down on his knees and moved Tapion so that he could see him.

Tapion's eyes were open yet lifeless.

Trunks's friend. Dead.

All thanks to Hoi...

"T-Tapion... Tapion...!" Trunks sobbed.

"TAAAPIOOOOOON!"

"HRAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Trunks screamed to the skies, clenching his fists hard!

So hard that he made his palms bleed.

Trunks screamed even more, his yellow aura flaring...

He stood up to continue his scream...

His rage reached it's peak.

He wanted vengeance.

He wanted justice.

And with an explosion of aura...!

"HAAAAAAAAGH!"

Trunks's hair flew up, and his eyes went completely blank.

He turned into a Super Saiyan!

His pupils returned as cyan orbs in his eyes!

The entire city shook at his transformation!

Then, Trunks angrily got on his knees...

And smashed the ground with his bare fists!

CRASH!

The ground beneath him cracked immensely.

Hoi fell over onto his rear...

He never felt so petrified before...

After the ground stopped shaking, Trunks looked to his side and saw Hoi...

"You...!"

Trunks grabbed the sword and locked his eyes on Hoi.

"I'm going to kill you!" He yelled.

Hoi finally did the sensible thing and got up.

He started running away as fast as he could.

Trunks leapt up and towards Hoi!

He held the sword with both hands over his head...

"DIE!"

With the roar of death, Trunks jumped down and sliced Hoi from behind!

Hoi simply stopped.

His body was cut in two...

But it looked like it was still intact.

Blood gushed from the wound and covered Hoi's clothes...

Trunks grunted angrily...

He grew impatient....

So, he started slicing Hoi up some more!

"HAAAAAGH!"

He sliced up, down, diagonally-

Trunks slammed the blade against Hoi's flesh so hard that the flesh itself started flying and spinning...

After turning Hoi into cubes...

Trunks took one hand off the sword and aimed his palm under the other arm...

"HAAAAA!"

He fired a powerful yellow blast to destroy every last bit of Hoi!

The rain kept pouring...

Trunks dropped the sword to the ground, and let out another roar of anger!

"HAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

His aura flared again, cracking the ground beneath him.

He cried, but the aura took his tears away as soon as they appeared...

In the end, the battle was won...

Victory came at the cost of a hero's life...

And an arm.

Tapion and Gohan's arm will be dearly missed...

Next Chapter: A Strange Dream... Fluttershy's Mission to Find Gohan! Come Back, Gohan! Estimated time remaining: 13 Minutes