Gohan prepared to attack. The sunrise had begun, and in its orange glow, Gohan's aura shone like living fire. Mordrig's scales gleamed.

"I actually had to lower my power level to become a Saiyan," he hissed. "This form may give you a better hint of my true power." He lunged at Gohan, swinging with his tail. Gohan ducked and kicked him hard in the back. As his body flew upward from the blow, Gohan suddenly appeared above him, doubled-up fists above his head, and swung down, slicing through air as Mordrig disappeared.

Without warning, Gohan was knocked aside by a ki blast, and launched one of his own in its direction, but Mordrig was no longer there. He appeared behind Gohan with a flying kick. Gohan twisted out of the way and rammed his elbow into Mordrig's face, then punching him in the stomach, sending him crashing to the ground. The next instant Mordrig was up again, clashing with Gohan in a flurry of punches, kicks, and blocks that Takira could barely follow.

"So this is your brother, the pacifist?" she asked Goten wryly. "Not bad."

"Don't let his attitude fool you. He's probably the strongest being here."

"I hope so, Goten. I really do." She sighed. "Isn't there anything we can do to help?"

"It'll be better if we stay out of the way and don't distract him. Fights like this are really meant to be one-on-one."

"So we stand here and do nothing?"

"We stand here and make sure we're ready to jump in if he needs us. Trust me, you'll know it if he does." Takira said nothing, tensely watching the fight. Twice Mordrig had almost sunk his teeth into Gohan. If he managed to gain Gohan's power, the odds would tip heavily in his favor. Takira shuddered at the thought.

On the other side of the crater, Trunks and Yamcha, too, were waiting.

"I don't like the looks of this, Trunks. Gohan should have finished him off by now."

"He's stronger than he looks," muttered Trunks. He felt humiliated that Gohan had felt the need to step in. Trunks sighed and looked across at Goten and Takira, who were both standing in readiness. The skin on Takira's left arm was an angry red, nearly charred in places. Trunks winced in spite of himself; the pain must be excruciating, yet Takira showed little sign of it. His train of thought was interrupted by Yamcha.

"Trunks, this may not be the time or place, but I have to ask: what were you and Vegira--I mean Mordrig--talking about back at Capsule Corp.? Something about Takira, Vegeta--and a child?" Try as he might, Yamcha couldn't fit the pieces of the story together.

"It's a long story," Trunks said, "but to give you the bare facts: Takira used to be a Saiyan. She lived with Vegeta on Freiza's ship, and left when she learned she was to bear his child. She and the child--Vegira--later set out to find Vegeta, but instead were killed by Mordrig. Takira's soul traveled here to the body she has now, and from Vegira, Mordrig got the abilities of a Saiyan and all of Vegira's knowledge, mostly of his father."

"So he came to get Vegeta's power."

"Yes."

"Only to find Takira, a stump-tailed boulder and a slew of half-Saiyans instead, but he's going to try anyway?"

"Yes."

"Man," said Yamcha, "How did Earth end up the ultimate target for deranged psychopaths?" Trunk smiled faintly.

"Considering one of the first was my father and Bulma's husband, you may want to watch how you phrase that question."

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

A bone-chilling scream brought their attention back to the fight. Gohan had Mordrig by the wrists and was trying to push him away. The Rykal's teeth were buried in Gohan's shoulder. Mordrig bit down, attempting to tear off the arm. Immediately Trunks and Goten were on the pair, trying to separate them while avoiding Mordrig's furious attempts to knock them away. Takira and Yamcha hung back, looking for an opening.

Mordrig's tail snaked around Goten's neck, and Trunks drew his sword to sever the tail. Reading his intent, Mordrig flung Goten into him, sending both flying. Suddenly Mordrig felt cold steel against his throat and froze. Takira clung to his back, her wakazishi held tightly against the scaly neck.

"Let him go," she rasped. Mordrig let out a breath and relaxed as though releasing Gohan. The pressure on his throat let up the slightest bit, and he used the opportunity. In an explosion of ki, Takira was thrown from his back, but not before her sword cut a deep gash in his shoulder. Involuntarily he opened his mouth in a scream and Gohan shot away, landing at the edge of the crater.

Takira slammed into the ground with stunning force, tearing up the earth as her wakazishi went flying. For a moment all was still, and Mordrig began to think he'd truly killed her once and for all. Then came a groan from the sodden heap on the ground and Mordrig snarled. This had gone far enough. He lifted a hand to blast her apart, then at the last moment whirled and aimed it at the warrior who flew at him, sword lifted. The blast caught Trunks full in the chest and he was forced back nearly to the ground before he deflected it. Undaunted, he launched himself at Mordrig again. He'd finish this monster if he could, but even if he failed, he'd have bought his friends some time.

Goten flew over to Takira, who had managed to pull herself into a sitting position. The damaged skin of her arm had ripped open when she'd hit the ground, and was now bleeding heavily. Takira untied the sweatshirt from her waist and tore a strip from the bottom, winding it around her arm.

"I wondered why you wore that," Goten commented.

"Well, it--ow!--sure as hell isn't for 'style'," Takira grunted, tugging at the makeshift bandage. "Goten, you're going to have to tie this for me. Make it tight." Goten pulled it into a tentative knot, stopping when he saw Takira flinch. She looked at him angrily.

"I said tight, damn it!" she shouted.

"I didn't want to hurt you--"

"Goten!" She grabbed him by the chin and forced him to look her in the eye. "It's more or less a given that whatever you do is going to hurt. At least have the decency to do it right!" Goten, clenching his teeth, did as she asked, jerking the bandage tight. Takira bit back her scream as he hurriedly tied it off.

"How's that?" he asked. With agony etched on her face, Takira flexed her arm experimentally. The bandage held in place though a red stain had begun to spread across the fabric.

"Well done," she said, "Now let's get back there before Trunks gets--what the hell?" Goten looked up to see what confused her. Gohan was back in the fight, good as new, using both arms as though he'd never been injured. On the sidelines, Yamcha dropped a small drawstring bag, his expression grim.

"The last Senzu seed," Takira murmured. "Gohan had better be careful; next time he gets hurt he won't heal so fast."

*****

Gohan was frustrated. This being was not so powerful as others he'd fought, yet defeating him seemed a near-impossibility. He was always just a little too fast, just a little too crafty--Gohan had strength, but Mordrig held the fighting knowledge of many a warrior race. He was never without a move, never had to repeat a particular attack--he was impossible to anticipate. Also a problem was the fact that Gohan couldn't get in too close to him. If Gohan could only get his hands around the Rykal's neck, he was sure the battle would end then and there. The trouble was getting in close enough without Mordrig taking a chunk out of him and gaining his power. He had come far too close to losing both his arm and the battle when Mordrig bit him. He couldn't risk it happening again. There were no more Senzu seeds to revitalize him.

Another standoff. Trunks and Gohan hovered in front of Mordrig. Blood still dripped down Mordrig's chest from the slash Takira had dealt him, but he didn't seem to notice. He eyed the two warriors before him; neither seemed like they would attack until he did, and he was not so eager to jump back into the action. There were still those other two plus Takira to deal with. He grinned. Well, why not deal with them now?

Before any of them could react, he sent a focused blast to Yamcha, who was simply not fast enough to dodge. It pierced his chest, flinging him backward. A strange young woman had appeared and now knelt at his side examining the wound carefully. A small hole had been drilled cleanly through Yamcha's chest, up near his shoulder. Pan's face tightened. If it had cut through a lung--at Goten's shout her head snapped up and she saw the ugly lizard aiming at her. Gohan knocked him aside and the three in the sky began to fight again. Pan saw Goten across the enormous crater, waving frantically.

"Pan! Get Yamcha out of here now! Go!" The panic in his voice spurred her on as she managed, with difficulty, to lift the groaning Yamcha. She took off, praying that her departure would go unnoticed.

Mordrig spun, tail out, and Gohan and Trunks were momentarily knocked away. Mordrig caught sight of that new girl, leaving with the human. The man was of no consequence and probably dying anyway, but the girl was one too many for him to deal with. He fired a ki blast, and whirled back to face Trunks and Gohan.

Pan looked over her shoulder and saw it heading for her. She couldn't block it if she wanted to, it was too large, and Yamcha weighed her down too much to move far enough out of its path. It was almost upon her when Goten appeared in front of it, arms extended before him.

"Kamehameha!" he roared, and energy exploded all around him as Mordrig's blast struck. Pan was thrown forward, barely managing to keep her grip on Yamcha. She flew as fast as she could. With her burden she couldn't fight. She had to get out of there quickly. She dared not pause to look back.

Goten lay on his back in the dirt, wheezing. It felt like every bone in his body had broken. At least Pan had gotten away. He smiled in spite of the pain; Pan must have managed to sneak out of the house when Chichi and Videl weren't watching. They would be furious. Another wave of pain washed over him, and Goten choked back a groan. No doubt about it, he was through fighting for this one. All he could do now was have faith in Gohan and Trunks, and hope that Mordrig didn't notice that he was still alive. He shut his eyes wearily.

Gohan hadn't seen; he'd attacked the moment Mordrig had aimed for Pan, and now needed all his concentration focused on the fight. He caught Mordrig's tail and tried to swing him by it, but Mordrig shot out a clawed foot and raked across Gohan's face. Gohan fell back, releasing the tail, and summoning all his strength, Mordrig blasted Gohan out of the sky. He plummeted earthward, smacking forcefully into a boulder. He didn't seem to be moving, either unconscious or dead. Blood spread across the rock.

"No!" Trunks screamed, lunging forward. In an instant Mordrig's tail was cut off. Trunks raised his sword again, aiming for the throat. Mordrig blocked instinctively, saving his neck at the expense of his arm. With a hoarse cry, he regenerated both, swerving out of the path of Trunks' blade and catching Trunks in the back, knocking him down. He flew up at Modrig again, but instead of dodging, the Rykal charged in to meet him, ramming his clawed fist into Trunks' stomach, easily tearing through cloth and flesh. Trunks could only gasp, eyes wide, as his sword slipped from his grasp to clatter to the ground below. He heard Takira scream and it confirmed what he felt.

Mordrig held the pose for a moment, savoring the feel of the youth's blood coursing over his arm, then flung his body to the bottom of the crater. He landed and walked towards the writhing half-Saiyan, a gleeful smile on his face. At last! This is why he'd come.

"Stop where you are!" Mordrig froze. It was a voice he had only heard before in his nightmares, when all his victims arose and killed him; but those were merely dreams! The ground beneath his feet began to tremble, then shake. This was no dream.

This was Takira.

At the edge of the crater he saw her, knees bent in a half-crouch, a whirlwind whipping her now-silvered hair. Her eyes had turned that same pale color. In the sepulchral tone she spoke again:

"No more."