The first attack caught Denatu by surprise, nearly knocking him over. He saw the two Roc standing shoulder to shoulder, arms extended, preparing to strike again. Denatu forced his body to solidify enough that he could turn some ki toward a counterattack. He launched a fair-sized sphere, intended mainly to buy time, but it struck Azher with enough force to bowl him over. Too weak to rise, he cursed silently.

'Damn it, he wasn't even trying. If I'd had my full power to begin with we might have stood a chance, but even this vulnerable he's more than a match for us. Shit!' Azher cringed, waiting for Denatu's final blow, but none came. Denatu was otherwise occupied.

Dolmit charged, dodging a half-hearted attack and plunging his fist into Denatu's shifting form. Dolmit cried out in surprise as his arm sank up to the elbow in the viscous shape-shifter. He felt Denatu's power rise sharply and pulled away, yanking his arm from the suddenly-hardening flesh. A newly-formed tail slammed into Dolmit's shoulder, flinging him away. Denatu roared, the sound reverberating from the trees and the shaking ground beneath their feet. Abruptly he went still, and the fighters were given their first good look at their new opponent.

Dolmit blinked, straining his eyes as he struggled to focus; there was simply nothing to define the creature that stood before him. The dark, vaguely humanoid shape seemed to swell and contract constantly, oozing. Denatu lashed out with a heavy tail and in an instant it was ten feet longer. Just as quickly it pulled back to its original length and settled to the ground. The blackened face was somehow familiar and featureless at the same time. Shades of yellow and red swirled in Denatu's eyes as he laughed at Dolmit's stunned expression.

"Waited just a little too long, didn't you?" he rumbled. "Now you see the ultimate power of the shape-shifters. I am every race and none; I am each of the strongest fighters in the galaxy, without their weaknesses. To fight me is to stand against an army. I can do anything, be anything--I cannot be defeated.

"Even to kill you is a waste of my time and skills, but you have chosen to interfere, and for that you must die." He pointed an accusing finger; Dolmit watched in horror as the tip began to glow. He panicked and bolted, leaping aside as Denatu released the blast. Dolmit whirled with a ki-charged fist, launching one last desperate attack. Denatu's derisive laugh cut off abruptly as Trugeta's flying kick landed squarely between his shoulderblades.

His speeding body obliterated several trees and a boulder before he caught himself, landing on his feet with a force that opened a crater beneath him. He jumped lightly to the lip of the crater. Trugeta stood barely twenty paces from him, for once without his overconfident smirk, feet braced and hand clenched at his sides. Denatu chuckled.

"I hope you weren't expecting that to hurt me."

"Not at all. I just wanted to get your undivided attention, and it seemed the most effective way to get through to you."

"Well, it was effective, if unsophisticated. Now that you have my attention, what did you want?"

"The same thing you do," Trugeta growled. "This battle ends and it ends here and now. No more tricks, not more stalling no more distractions. What do you say?"

"An excellent idea. I suppose it is my turn to lead off?" Trugeta spread one hand and the ground beneath Denatu exploded; he lunged aside to avoid the flying debris, glaring at Trugeta. The fusion smiled grimly.

"I don't stand upon ceremony, Denatu. This isn't a tournament; it's a high-stakes game, and I play to win."

"No rules?"

"No rules." Denatu leered.

"Good." The amorphous darkness surged forward, and Trugeta pulled back, struggling to focus on the constantly changing shape. He swung and struck nothing; suddenly the blackness condensed behind him and struck him in the back. Fighting the pain, he whirled and grabbed for what had hit him, but it dissolved in his hands.

'Shit! It's like fighting a cloud--and I can't see him well enough to land a punch. Time for a new strategy--' Trugeta shot upwards, with Denatu in hot pursuit. Still speeding away, Trugeta turned and launched a volley of ki spheres at Denatu, one after the other in quick succession, forming a circle which directed Denatu to its center. With a clear target, Trugeta put a Big Bang attack to use, and had the immense satisfaction of seeing it strike the blurry mass below him.

'Ha, so he is solid, it just takes timing and precision to hit him.' Before Denatu had a chance to recover, Trugeta unleashed two more powerful attacks, his smile broadening as each hit its mark. Arcing away in a loop, Trugeta looked back to see his opponent hanging limply in the air, dripping. Trugeta was about to move in and finish him when Denatu curled into a ball, an incandescent aura forming briefly around him, then quieting. Suddenly revitalized, he turned and bellowed at Trugeta.

"Fool! I can heal myself of any injury you inflict; it's just another form of regeneration to me now. What's more, you may be interested to know that there's Saiyan blood in here, too. Each of your attacks serves to strengthen me. The hard you strike, the harder I can strike back. Allow me to demonstrate…" Even as he released the attack, Trugeta was gone. Denatu felt something graze his shoulder and leaped aside hastily.

'Damn it, that was too close. I don't know how he can pinpoint my location, but that was no lucky shot.' He turned and suddenly found himself face-to-face with Trugeta, who fanned his hands across his eyes.

"Taiyo-ken!" Suddenly Denatu could see nothing but light, searing his eyes. He doubled over screaming, pressing half-formed hands to his face, then bolted aside as Trugeta's attack roared by him.

'He thinks he can stop me to get a clear shot; as if I'd be foolish enough to sit still even for a moment.' Sensing ki to his left, Denatu dodged right and forward, only to swerve again as he felt Trugeta reappear near him. In the flurry of action and re-action, Denatu lost his spatial sense entirely--until he inadvertently flung himself into the ground, boring a deep hole.

Trugeta hovered overhead, charging a Final Flash to fire down the opening. Before he had a chance to let it go, the ground beneath him ruptured, crumbled, then exploded, an amorphous patch of darkness rising with the debris. The blow came out of nowhere, striking Trugeta in the stomach, sending him down, skidding backward along the ground. He came to a halt in a crouched position, on his knees, clutching his stomach and retching. Denatu appeared in front of him.

"Well, now," he murmured smoothly, "It seems you've run out of tricks. It's been fun, warrior, but it's time to die." Trugeta heaved to his feet, still glowing with energy. The Final Flash was ready, but it was slow enough for Denatu to dodge easily.

'Unless I've got a hold on him. If I can just grab him, there will be no escape: for him or for me.' Steeling himself, Trugeta prepared to lunge forward--then stopped. 'What in the hell?' Quickly he fired a small blast at Denatu's feet, doing surprisingly little damage.

Denatu had not so much as flinched. He gave Trugeta a disgusted look.

"Exactly what the hell was the purpose of that?" Trugeta broke into an evil grin.

"Distraction." The wakazishi whistled through the air, burying itself at the juncture of shoulder and neck. Malak grunted and shoved the blade further, but abruptly it stuck. He'd barely managed to release the blade when the darkness struck him, catapulting him into the air. Turning to face him, Denatu chuckled and raised and open palm, just as Trugeta's hands fell on his neck.

"Final Flash!" Pure distilled agony ripped through the shape-shifter. In an instant, his blood boiled over, frothing as his flesh burned away. No time for last words or thoughts; his scream cut off as his larynx disintegrated. A few patches of tar-like blackness spattered the ground where Trugeta stood, panting, feet braced so hard they'd burrowed nearly a foot into the soil. He relaxed slowly, in tiny fractions, as the pure adrenaline began to settle. With a shaky sigh, he retrieved Takira's wakazishi--'Still intact?'--and flew to the spot where Gohan and Takira lay, Gohan muttering groggily, Takira eerily silent.

Arrested by the sudden twisting feeling in his gut, Trugeta dropped the sword, stumbling back as the transformation ended, tearing him apart. Father and son stared at each other, separate once more, still more connected than they'd ever been. As Trugeta they'd had a glimpse into each other's minds; each emerged with a deeper understanding of what they'd thought they'd known. Vegeta broke the silence first.

"Thank you."

"And you, otousan." Vegeta seemed to be struggling with something.

"Trunks--"

"No. Don't speak. There is nothing that needs be said."

"Then you already know." Trunks' expression softened.

"Yes. So do you. That is what matters."

"What now?"

"I return to Earth, and you--"

"To Hell." Trunks winced guiltily, but Vegeta didn't appear upset. Hell was something he could face now.