Gohan faced Sedu, a burning passion caged within him. It had all come down to this. His energy was drained from his beatings, but his will carried him. Sedu's power was limitless, his ki drawn from an infinite well inside him. Gohan stuck out his hands, his fingers flared. He moved them in a mesmerizing manner, with tongues of ki branching off and waving. His entire body swarmed with greenish-gold sparks of electricity. He concentrated as hard as he could on Sedu's ki, who remained still, taken aback by Gohan's apparent stupidity. He ran forward and hit Gohan with his right hook that sent him sprawling. Still, he kept his hands directed at Sedu. Sedu punched Gohan again, who winced but didn't drop his arms. Sedu kicked Gohan straight in the chest, and Gohan dropped his arms slightly as he struggled to remain conscious. Sedu grinned, and attacked Gohan again. This time, he didn't stop.

Goku was struggling over the barren land that had once been West City. Ahead he could sense Sedu's incredible ki, as well as Gohan's, which was slowly weakening. He weaved around the many craters in the ground, maintaining his focus on the fight ahead.

"Damn, this is hopeless!" he shouted in frustration. "I have to spare a little energy, just to get there quicker!" He raised his arm and placed two fingers on his forehead. Focusing on the battling ki's, he teleported to the battle. He arrived on an outcrop of stone, his appearance unnoticed by either combatant. Looking down into the canyon he saw Gohan surrounded by the strange aura, gesturing towards the terrifying Sedu. Goku noticed the same sort of aura shimmering around Sedu's massive frame, though the beast appeared not to notice. The monster was playfully beating Gohan, who was bruising and bleeding more and more with every strike. But Gohan was not relenting with his strange technique.

"How can you be surviving this?" screamed Sedu.

"I will not die!" stammered Gohan.""Until you are vanquished!"

"Don't lie!" shrieked Sedu as his kneed Gohan’s ribs.

Ignoring the blood spouting from his mouth and nose, Gohan struggled to hold his concentration on every particle of Sedu's ki, clutching it with his own. He could feel Sedu's blows wear him down, erode away at his body and ki. Nothing could make him stop now. His mind had vanished, common sense destroyed. He truly was a beast, and his power could kill them both.

On his lookout, high above Earth, Dende looked down on the gruesome scene using his magnificent sight. He sighed as Gohan was pummelled ruthlessly, and Goku was too injured to help. He would have sent Piccolo to help, but he never returned from training with Gohan and Dende had no clue as to where he was. He stepped away from the ledge, and crossed the blissful grounds of his palace. He gazed fondly at the trees as he passed, the green of the leaves reminding him of his home world. He entered the main building and walked to its center. A spiral staircase twisted into the high rafters, and Dende climbed them. At the top, he found himself on the roof of the building, in a small chamber with glassless windows. In the center was a pedestal, and under a glass dome sat the remains of a tiny statue, which was broken into thousands of shards of stone. Using his telekinesis, Dende reassembled the statue, and it returned to its rightful form as the Dragon. Using his strange brand of magic, he enchanted the dragon, bringing it to life. It circled its little home, and as it did so it glowed, its power being restored to the Dragon balls. Dende watched it, and prayed for Gohan to win.

Gohan was a mess. His right eye was swollen shut, and his left was covered in blood that flowed from a cut on his forehead. His mouth ached, and his bottom jaw didn't align with his top. Every muscle in his body felt extremely heavy, and many of them were bruised and damaged. Sedu refused to cease his assault, and he remained charged full of energy. In his now limited consciousness, he never noticed the gold and green energy that surrounded Gohan and himself, and its growing ever brighter.

Goku looked down on the sad scene below him. He wanted to help, but he had almost no energy, nothing to power any attacks. He looked at Gohan, who was a bloodied heap that miraculously stood on two feet. His uniform was torn, with only fragments of the top remaining. The orange was deep and reddish, coloured by the absorption of the wearer's blood.

"I must stop him..." grumbled Goku through clenched teeth. "I have to help!" As he looked down at Gohan, memories flashed across his mind. Gohan as a little boy, kidnapped by Raditz, and showing his great potential. Gohan on Namek, witnessing him become a Super Saiyan. Training and playing on Earth, not knowing the extent of the terrors the Androids would impose. As these visions visited Goku, a great force swelled inside him. He couldn't contain it. He stood up and screamed, power bursting outwards in a vicious aura. Bits of gold flickered in it, and then it expanded even more and turned gold. Goku had become a Super Saiyan, and was at full power. The energy came from within him, and he had managed to transform.

Sedu turned and saw Goku standing on a piece of rock that jutted from the cliff. Much of the stone around him was destroyed by his energy.

"So, you are still alive. I knew I hadn't finished you." He bashed Gohan away, and then jumped into flight. He charged straight for Goku and pulled back his arm, preparing a punch. He threw it, but it stopped inches from Goku's face.

"What... what is this?" he shrieked. The golden energy enveloped him, disabling his movement. Every bit of his ki was under Gohan's control. Gohan's own energy drained as he manipulated Sedu, forming a cross shape with his body. Pulling Sedu towards him, Gohan announced his intentions.

"Sedu, if I had enough ki, believe me, I would tear you to shreds. However, since I lack a significant amount of energy, there is one option." Gohan brought Sedu to the ground. Their eyes locked in a gaze that seemed to last eternity.

"Now... The Mafuba!"

The name hit Goku like a punch to the gut. The Mafuba, a move devised by the Great Master Mutaito, a move so powerful it killed the user.

"Gohan! Don't do it!" shouted Goku, his eyes watering. His little boy was going to sacrifice his life to save the planet, something Goku once did so nobody else would have to.

"The move I used to contain you was called the Makifu, the Demon Energy Seal. Now you will be locked away and killed with ease."

Gohan moved his arms in a wide arc over his head. He did it twice more, and by the third time the ki around Sedu began to swirl, and it carried him in its current. His figure warped with the energy, and he was almost unrecognizable.

"Where are you going to seal him?!" asked Goku, who was filled with shame that his son was reduced to doing this instead of himself.

"The only place strong enough to contain him!" replied Gohan. He shifted his arms, moving them so they extended straight off the shoulders, away from each other. The green and gold energy followed, and the huge current of magic collided with Gohan, draining into his body and carrying Sedu with it. Gohan screamed in agony as Sedu's body and soul were sealed into himself. Veins rose up on his body as he shuddered, he could feel the evil lurking within him. Seconds passed, and the Mafuba's terrible price arrived. Gohan turned white, he stopped moving and he fell to his knees. From there he fell forward onto the rocky earth, and into the shallow stream.

Goku leapt down from his perch and landed by his son's side. He knelt beside him and lifted his head. As he held his son in a final embrace, he felt a small movement. Goku checked Gohan's pulse. It was there, but it felt slow and forced. Goku knew Gohan had a chance to survive, though he didn't know how that was possible. He rested him over his shoulder, and rose into the dark sky. Looking around the ruins of West City, Goku saw a faint orange glimmer, right in front of the still standing Capsule Corporation. Goku knew it was the Dragon Balls. He knew Dende must have repaired them. And he knew they could fix the damage caused by the terrible saiyan, and restore harmony.