                             Dragon Ball Hazard

                                     by

                        Hung (Animeaddiction) Nguyen

Disclaimer: Why do I even bother to disclaim? The readers know that I'm not
making any money from writing this.

< >: Thoughts

                              The Fourth Night

                    Trunks Vs. Ifurita! Place Your Bets!

As the dark clouds over the sea continued to gather above the waters, a
thick mist rolled out and blanketed the surface of the waves. Obscured from
sight, the Forbidden Island; where the Demon-God Ifurita slumbered, awaited
for its first visitors in countless centuries.

"The Forbidden Island... the place where the terrible Demon-God Ifurita had
been sealed away during the times of the Holy Wars. Its location is known
only to the Great Priestesses of Mount Muldoon. Only we three... we three
alone know of where the horror slumbers."

Shayla-Shayla gazed toward the horizon as she stood stoically at the bow of
the cruiser. "How could the Bugrom have known where the Forbidden Island
is?"

"Enough with the stupid monologue, Shayla. No one knows the answer to that."
Afra remarked as she took a sip of tea. "You're certainly not smart enough
to figure that out."

This got the Fire Priestess' temper to steaming as she turned around and
glared at her colleague. "Oh is that it? Are you calling me stupid? Why
don't you call me stupid to my face?" The jewel on her headband flared.

"Why don't you calm down until we get there? It isn't going to do us much
good if you get mad now. You might set the ship on fire." Trunks commented
as he once again thought that this trip was taking too long. Though he was
not required to wear his Fatora disguise at the moment, he was still
restricted from using his full powers because of his companions. For now, he
would have to rely only on his strength, speed, martial arts skills and the
sword that was now strapped to his back. Powers such as flying, ki blasts
and especially transforming into a Super-Saiyan, were not to be used unless
there was no other way.

Shayla then glared at Trunks with her temper now starting to boil. "Oh? Is
that it? Do you think that I'm stupid too?"

Trunks returned her glare and restrained himself from shutting her up the
same way as he did to that bully when he was eight. "No. I didn't say that
you were stupid. But getting mad isn't exactly the smartest thing right
now."

"What would you know you cross-dressing pervert!"

Trunks took a deep breath before giving Shayla a glare that would have
melted steel. "Listen here! I've had just about enough of the pervert
cracks! My name is not pervert, freak, weasel or QUEEN! It's Trunks!" The
young Saiyan was just about ready to draw his sword and run the redhead
through when Miz broke the tension.

"Will both of you stop fighting?! We've got more important things to worry
about! Don't you realize that the awakening of Ifurita could mean the end of
El Hazard?" She then gave a wink and blew a kiss at Mr. Fujisawa, who was
currently imbibing a cup of wine.

The history teacher could only shrug as he agreed. "Yes... it's getting
serious."

Shayla then turned her back to Trunks in a huff, while the teen decided to
sit down beside Nanami, who happened to be playing with Ura.

"Say Miss Afra, I was wondering about something." Nanami said.

"Yes?"
"Remember how Mr. Fujisawa gained his super-powers when he came here? Do you
think I got a special power to see through the illusions of the Phantom
Tribe?"

"Yes, I think you may be right."
Nanami became excited as she gushed about her new ability. "Did you hear
that? I'm a super-girl!" She then glanced at Trunks. "So what exactly is
your super-ability? Was that thing you did at Arliman some kind of
super-speed?"

Shayla became very uncomfortable at the memory of herself being held naked
in his arms. Though she did think back to that time on Mount Muldoon and how
Trunks had dispatched those Bugrom.

"Er... well..." Trunks stammered as he attempted to respond. Fortunately,
Mr. Fujisawa inadvertently covered for him.

"Trunks got super-strength like I did, but I guess that whatever made us
both stronger also made him faster. It may be because he doesn't drink."
"Speaking of which, I think you've had enough, sensei." Trunks said as he
gestured to the bottle of wine.

"He's right. We'll need both of you and your super-powers." Allielle agreed.
"You'd better stop drinking Mr. Teacher."

Fujisawa groaned after downing his final cup and put it aside. "It's not as
easy as you'd think."

----------

Some time before Turnks' group had set out...

Gallus nodded after being informed of Kiria's failure and death. "Nahato,
come forth."

"Yes, my lord." From out of the shadows, a small Phantom Boy appeared to
kneel in front of his ruler's throne.

"I have been told that Kiria is now gone and that the Bugrom are in search
of the Demon-God Ifurita."
Nahato nodded. "Yes, but since they are just bugs, I imagine that they will
fail."
"Indeed. " Gallus agreed as he stood up and walked toward his servant.
"However, it might be in our best interests if the Bugrom were to succeed...
with a little unseen help."

The boy nodded as Gallus held his cheek in his hand.

"Such a good child." Gallus commented as he leaned toward Nahato's face.

----------

The cruiser arrived at the Forbidden Island in the late afternoon. As the
priestesses, Trunks, Namai, Fujisawa and Allielle disembarked, they all
looked around the area for any sign of the Bugrom. However, it seemed that
the information about the giant insects coming to the island was false as
there was not a soul around the dark and foreboding landscape.

"All right, so where are they?" Afra asked as she surveyed the place.

"Hmpf! Looks like we came here for nothing! There's no Bugrom here!" Shayla
remarked.

Trunks' battle senses were on the alert as he scanned for any sign of his
rival Jinnai, for Nanami's brother was now allied with the Bugrom. Though
Jinnai and those Bugrom had very low power level ratings, the half-Saiyan
was certain that he could sense a whole army of them, if he focused hard
with his ability to detect the energy levels of others. However, he had to
make certain. He then decided to use another device that he had brought with
him from Earth besides his supply of capsules. He took out the capsule which
contained his duffel bag and pressed the top of it.

The three Priestesses noticed it and Afra asked, "What is that thing that
Trunks has in his hand?"
Allielle nodded as she recognized it. "Oh! It's another one of those
wonderful capsules!"

"Capsules?" Miz asked.

Allielle nodded as she explained. "It's from that Earth place that they come
from. They're some kind of magical devices that let them carry a lot of
things or large items easily."
Nanami nodded as she added., "Oh! That's right! I forgot that Trunks' family
owns the Capsule Corp."

The Saiyan tossed the capsule off to one side.

BOM!

In a puff of smoke, the capsule exploded and released its cargo, causing the
three Priestess to gasp in amazement. Trunks kneeled down and unzipped his
duffle bag. He then took out a small device and fitted it over his right
ear. A small glass window swung over his eye as he pressed the side button,
activating the device.

"Trunks, what is that thing?" Nanami asked.

Trunks shrugged as he answered without even thinking. "It's one of my Dad's
old Scouters. He picked up a few when he went out in space to look for Goku.
It'll let me scope out this entire island and..." He suddenly stopped as he
turned to face a high ridge. A readout flashed on the visuals. "There! The
Bugrom are over there!"

As if on cue, some maniacal laughter was heard as a huge, winged ship
appeared from behind the ridge. The craft looked like some gigantic
cockroach and flew on wasp-like wings that flapped furiously to keep it
aloft. On its deck was Jinnai and his six Bugrom cronies, Groucho, Harpo,
Cheeko, Zeppo, Gummo and Margaret.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA! My, my, what a wonderful guided tour!"

Trunks gritted his teeth as his body tensed up while placing one hand on the
hilt of his sword.

"What are you talking about? What guided tour?!" Shayla demanded.

Jinnai sneered at the group while answering in a sarcastic and pompous tone.
"Oh, and I thought that it was common knowledge that only the Priestesses of
Mount Muldoon knew the whereabouts of the Forbidden Island. It was a simple
matter to leak out rumors that we knew where it was. Then all I had to do
was to let my network of spies keep a close watch on you. You swallowed the
bait and we just followed your little tugboat to this place."

"Dear god! What have we done?!" Afra gasped.

At this point, Groucho slammed a fist into his palm in comprehension, which
made Jinnai very upset.

"What?! You mean you just NOW got the plan?!"

Nanami could feel nothing but disgust for her sibling. "I guess it figures
that my brother would be nothing but a rat, no matter what world he's on!"

Jinnai turned in surprise and saw his sister. "Nanami? What the...? Hey,
aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"I always knew that you were a liar, a cheat and a snitch, but this time
you've gone too far! You're acting like some kind of crazy, weirdo freak!"

"CRAZY WEIRDO FREAK?! YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

"I will not! Only a crazy weirdo freak with no friends would hang out with a
bunch of icky bugs!"

At this point, Miz asked a question. "You know, what puzzles me is how they
were ever able to communicate in the first place."
"I think I know." Allielle replied. "He came from Earth like the rest of
them. Maybe the power he gained was the ability to speak with the Bugrom."

"Yeah, it figures that if my brother were to get any ability, it would be
something as gross as that."

Shayla growled as she began powering up. "Even though you've found this
place, that still doesn't mean that you've won!"
Jinnai gave off another laugh. "On the contrary, I am just minutes away from
becoming the supreme ruler of El Hazard! Once I command the power of the
Demon-God Ifurita, then nothing will be able to stop me!" He then chuckled
as he gazed at Trunks. "Not even my eternal rival, Trunks!"

Trunks gave Jinnai a glare as he drew his sword. "I thought that you were
just some third-rate jerk with plans of grandeur, but now you've totally
lost it, Jinnai. I didn't want to hurt you, but it looks like I'm going to
have POUND some sense into you."
"You think that little sword is a match for my Bugrom forces?"
"It did pretty well on Mount Muldoon."
"Not this time! This time I WILL WIN!"
"Yeah? You and WHAT ARMY?"

"Funny you should ask that. Behold!" The power-mad high school student
gestured with a wave of his arm at the sea behind them. The group gasped in
shock as they saw five, large ships laden with Bugrom fast approaching the
island. "You and those harpies are the main reason why I invited the entire
Bugrom Marine Corps. WA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

At this point, Trunks' rage hit the boiling point. All he had wanted was to
go home, and this jerk just kept on annoying him like an irritating roach,
no matter how many times he stomped him. Jinnai still called him his eternal
rival, even though Trunks wanted nothing to do with him. Nanami's brother
was like Mr. Satan; always shooting off his mouth. Just when he thought he
had seen the last of him, Jinnai would pop up and cause him more headaches.
Now he was going to try and release a terrible weapon and force his will
over everyone, just as he did with the students of Shinnanome High.

<That's it! I've had it! I don't CARE anymore! I'm going to shut Jinnai's
mouth once and for all! I'm going to kick his butt into another dimension!>

Jinnai continued to laugh hysterically as he jeered at his helpless rival.
"I've got you now, Trunks! There's no escape and there's not a THING you can
do about it!"

"Wrong." Trunks growled as he sheathed his sword.

Jinnai continued to laugh. "So are you giving up Trunks? I would say that
would be the wisest strategy. At last you see that you are no match for me
and are ready to bow down to my superiority!"
Trunks' gaze never left Jinnai's as he took a wide-legged stance. "Jinnai,
you may think that you're some conquering general, but you made one serious
mistake!"

"Oh, and what might that be?" Katushiko taunted.

"As my father had taught me, in any battle, you should always know your
enemy. You've made some big assumptions about me. Very wrong assumptions.
Now I'm going to let you in on a little secret."
The others could only watch as Trunks tensed up.

"You're about to find out what it's like when a Saiyan gets really ticked
off!"

At that instant, Trunks' aura exploded like a miniature supernova, nearly
blinding all those present. He didn't transform into a Super-Saiyan, but the
power he began radiating made the nearby ground shake and small rocks
floated up as his energy poured out. Soon the entire island was rocking and
rolling, making even the surrounding waters vibrate and ripple. Large waves
radiated out, making the Burgom ships rock about like plastic tub toys.

The Three Priestesses could only back away in awe at the sight. The power he
was emitting made their own seem trifling. Shayla-Shayla was especially
impressed as she stared at him with new respect and something else as well.
Nanami gasped in absolute shock. This was the same quiet and gentle Trunks
that she saw at school every day? Mr. Fujisawa couldn't believe what he was
seeing and was certain that he was drunk.

However, this was no alcohol-induced vision. The Scouter that Trunks was
wearing started registering his power level as it continued to rise. Thirty
thousand... forty thousand... sixty thousand... eighty thousand... one
hundred seventeen thousand... one hundred forty thousand... one hundred
sixty-three thousand... At this point, Trunks could take on the entire Ginyu
Force without breaking a sweat, if they were still alive today. Though he
had not been training as hard as his father lately, he had enough power to
destroy a city without trying or reduce mountains into mole hills. When he
transformed into a Super-Saiyan, Trunks became a walking nuclear war.

Jinnai shook with fear and disbelief as he pointed at his rival. "H-H-How
are you doing that?! What the HELL are you?!"

Trunks grinned as he continued to let his power level rise. "Actually, I'm
just getting warmed up!"

All the others gasped in shock. Trunks was just getting warmed up?!

Soon, the Scouter was blinking its warning lights, saying that it was about
to overload. When it read his power level had reached two hundred and fifty
thousand, the son of Vegita relented and let his energy level off and drop.
The ground shuddered to a halt and rocks dropped, as the island settled back
down.

Jinnai was still trembling as he stuttered. "W-W-W-Who... what the HELL kind
of monster are you?!"

Trunks snorted as he replied. "Monster? I'm no monster. The monster here is
you, Jinnai. You were a monster back at school and you became an even bigger
monster when you came to El Hazard! Well, I'm going to put an end to your
schemes and evil, once and for all!"

There was another collective gasp as Trunks suddenly rocketed up into the
sky and stopped to hover high above the island. He turned to see the Bugrom
Navy coming closer to the island and cupped his hands together while
bringing them down to one side of his waist.

Nanami and the others stared in amazement. Not one of them could believe it.

"What the...? Trunks can fly too?!" Jinnai's sister became even more
impressed.

"How is he doing that?!" Afra couldn't understand how a person could be held
aloft without any support. She had not sensed any manipulation of the wind
which usually carried her into the air.

Up above, Trunks focused his energy as he decided to use his friend Goten's
attack. He had learned it during their childhood sparring. Down below, the
three Priestesses and the others could hear Trunk's voice as he called out
the technique.

"KAME... HAME... HA!"

He thrust out his palms and let loose with a massive blue-white beam of
energy that lit up the darkening sky and lanced down toward the Bugrom
armada. All five ships and their crews went up in a huge explosion and a
column of water when the attack struck home. The aftershocks of the impact
went out for miles around and those on the island were knocked off their
feet.

"Whoa!" Shayla-Shayla exclaimed as she saw what was left of the Bugrom
fleet. "Afra! He just made your Big Sucker Gas Slash look like nothing!"

"I hate that name! It's my move! I want to name it!"

Trunks nodded as he flew back down to land in front of a now terrified
Jinnai and his Bugrom followers.

Trunks pointed a finger at him. "Like I said before Jinnai, you and WHAT
army?"

Jinnai felt as if he was about to have a heart attack. "W-W-Who are you?!
WHAT ARE YOU?!"
Trunks took a deep breath, then proudly said, "I am Trunks... Son of
Vegita... Prince of all Saiyans! And I'm your worst nightmare!"

"Saiyans?" Nanami repeated with confusion.

"He's a... prince?" Shayla-Shayla gasped. That pervert was royalty?

"Trunks much better than Fatora!" Ura cried out.

Trunks then held up a hand with palm facing upward. He focused his energy
and a large, flat circle of light appeared above it. He then hurled it at
the craft Jinnai was standing on.

"DESTRUCTO DISC!"

The deadly attack that had been created by Krillin lanced toward the huge
Bugrom craft and sliced it into two halves. The top half went flying off,
while the bottom half came crashing to the ground. This caused Jinnai and
the Bugrom to tumble down to the ground. The now panicked Bugrom general
hopped onto Groucho's back and ordered him to make a run for the shrine
where the Demon-God slept. He desperately hoped that Ifurita was as powerful
as the legends said. Hopefully she was more powerful than Trunks. If not,
then Jinnai's ambition to become the ruler of El Hazard would come to a
crashing halt.

"Soldiers! Attack!" Jinnai cried out as he and his entourage made a
strategic withdrawal to find the Demon-God. In other words, they ran for
their lives!

Trunks was about to blur after them, when hordes of Bugrom suddenly popped
out from behind rock formations and blocked his path. Apparently, Jinnai had
already landed several dozens of platoons and some had managed to swim
toward the island after their ships had been blown up. They began converging
on the Saiyan, hoping to overwhelm him by sheer numbers. However, they would
only buy Jinnai few minutes at the most against an enraged Saiyan who wasn't
holding back any more.

"Nice odds." Trunks commented. "Let me even things out!" He then held up
both arms and crossed them in front of his face while focusing his power.

Nanami and the others had thought they had seen it all after seeing Trunks
annihilate five ships and slice a Bugrom transport in half, but they were
shocked anew as the half-Saiyan suddenly made two copies of himself, using
Tien's Multi-Form Technique. Apparently, he had learned more than just the
Solar Flare from the three-eyed warrior.

"What the...?!" Shayla gasped. Her sister priestesses were too stunned to
even speak.

"I must have drank too much, 'cause I'm seeing triple!" Fujisawa exclaimed.

The three Trunks burst into action as they drew their swords and charged at
their foes. Each Trunks started blurring in and out of the ranks of the
Bugrom, slicing the giant insects to ribbons as they cut a path toward the
shrine of the Demon-God.

At this point, the Priestesses found themselves feeling left out as the
Saiyan warrior systematically whittled down the enemy. This feeling didn't
last long as more Bugrom appeared from the other side and started attacking
them. Shalya instantly had her Lamp of Fire drawn and powered up, releasing
white-hot streams of flames at her at her attackers. Afra clicked the Lamp
of Wind onto her belt and stirred up gusts of air around her. She then
released a blast of high-pressure air at her foes, knocking them down like
tenpins. Miz kissed the ring on her finger and raised it to the heavens,
commanding the clouds above to rain down on her foes with hard water
droplets and hail.

Near the cruiser, Nanami, Allielle, Mr. Fujisawa and Ura backed away as more
Bugrom started coming closer.

"Sensei, I think it's your turn!" Nanami cried out as they found themselves
surrounded by Bugrom.

"Grrrrrrrr.....!" The history teacher began psyching himself up, but then
groaned in pain as he held his head that was now throbbing from the huge
migraine that just came about. "Ow! I guess that was too much!"

Allielle frowned with Nanami. "Well, everyone told you to stop drinking!"

The girls screamed as the Bugrom charged, but in an instant, three blurring
forms passed through the insects and several flashes of silver were seen. A
moment later, the Bugrom landed in pieces as the three Trunks appeared
before the group. They looked at each other and nodded before two of them
merged back into the third and Trunks became one person again.

"Are you all right?" Trunks asked Nanami as he sheathed his sword.

"H-H-How did you...?!" Nanami stammered.

"No time to explain now." Trunks said as Ura decided to wrap her body around
her new master and give him added protection. Though he didn't really need
it, he appreciated the gesture all the same. "This battle is taking too long
and Jinnai's going to awaken the Demon-God if we don't hurry!"

"He's right!" Afra called out as she dispatched another group of Bugrom and
then addressed Shayla. "Shayla! We'll hold the Bugrom off here! Go with the
others and stop that Jinnai person from awakening Ifurita!"

Shayla nodded as she began running toward the shrine, frying any Bugrom who
got in her way. Trunks grabbed Nanami and Mr. Fujisawa in his arms and took
off into the air to follow the Fire Priestess. A minute later, Trunks and
his passengers landed behind Shayla as she stood before a door that was
built into a mountainside. She touched a globe that was embedded into the
stone. It glowed briefly, then the door slid open to allow them entry.

Time was running out...

----------

On Earth...

"Here we are." Bulma said as she handed the new Scouters to Vegita, Goten
and Gohan. "According to what Dende had told me, the Dragon Balls will be
active within two days. These Scouters have been adapted to seek them out,
like my old Dragon Ball Radar."
"Hmmm." Vegita took the device without so much as a thank you, (but that's
just the way he is), and fitted it over his right eye and ear. He switched
it on and trained it on Gohan and his brother. He frowned as it read their
current power levels, which were considerably less since the Cell Games and
the Maja Buu incident. <Hmpf! What has become of the mighty Saiyan Race?
This era of peace is making them soft! >
Gohan had more or less retired from fighting after marrying Videl and
becoming a father. He was now wearing glasses and had become the scholar
that Chi Chi had always wanted him to be. As for Gohan, like Trunks, had
become less interested in fighting and was discovering the fairer sex.
Though both of Goku's kids were able to become Super-Saiyans, they weren't
as strong nor as eager for battle as they were back in their younger days.

Though Vegita wasn't quite the war-mongering, planet-devastating space
conqueror of the past, he still maintained a strict training regimen and
constantly strived to improve himself. There was no doubt in his mind that
he was now stronger than Gohan was when he beat Cell, especially since
Goku's eldest boy spent more of his time reading than fighting. The only
person who could give him a good challenge was of course, Kakarot.

Vegita sighed as he looked over the horizon at the setting sun. In two days
he would have his son back, but then what? Trunks had been so much like him
when he was younger; eager for a challenge and ready to fight. He had
achieved Super-Saiyan status at age eight! However, growing up in these
peaceful times had made him lean toward his mother's ways. Bulma was already
grooming him to take over the Capsule Corp. His son... the warrior turned
businessman. How could such enormous potential go to waste?

Though he did care for his offspring, (he just has a very hard time showing
it), the Prince of the Saiyans wondered just what Trunks was going to do
with his life. Was he just going to go like Kakarot's boys and consider his
heritage as some kind of extra? At times, Vegita suspected that Trunks and
his daughter Bra didn't care at all about their Saiyan bloodlines, or the
fact that they were of the Royal Family and considered the cream of their
race.

All right, the history of the Saiyans wasn't something to brag about or be
very proud of. After all, the planet Vegita had been home to both the
Saiyans and the Tuffles. That is, until the full moon, (which only occurred
every eight years or so), appeared and transformed the Saiyans into those
gigantic space-apes. It didn't take the Saiyans long to annihilate the
Tuffles after that. Then the warriors took to the stars, but not as
explorers, but as mercenaries and planet pirates. The technology that they
had gained through their alliance to Frieza allowed them to wreak havoc
throughout the cosmos, spreading fear and destruction far and wide. Very few
Saiyans ever regretted their actions as their thirst for combat increased
with every generation, striving to find greater challenges and laying waste
to uncounted civilizations.

However, despite their great strength and powers, the Saiyans were still
slaves to an even greater force... Frieza. And their pride and indomitable
wills eventually led them to revolt against the yoke placed upon them by the
tyrant. This had been a doomed rebellion from the start, and the Saiyans
paid for their crimes when Frieza destroyed their home planet and everyone
on it. Save for only a few survivors, the Saiyans were virtually extinct.

It was ironic that Frieza would eventually meet his end at the hands of a
Saiyan. Correction, at the hands of TWO Saiyans. Though Vegita had been
disappointed that he had not delivered the final blow, he had still been
satisfied after Kakarot beat the living daylights out of him and then an
alternate future version of Trunks came and tore Frieza apart. Vegita
considered that version of his son as a true Saiyan warrior!

Now why couldn't his own son be like him? As soon as Vegita asked himself
that question, he knew the answer. It was because Future Trunks had grown up
in a world of conflict, in which just survival was a constant battle. He had
to keep fighting, in order to keep on going. Not his Trunks. He grew up in a
world that had very little conflict. The dangers of the Androids, Cell, the
Ginyu Force, Frieza and Maja Buu were long gone. There was a bit of
competition between Tunks and others who had Saiyan blood, but it was not
enough to truly bring out his son's true potential. Trunks' father always
had Kakarot to keep his skills up and improve, but Trunks did not have
anyone. Not even sparring with Goten was sufficient, especially since
Gohan's brother had become girl-crazy and spent less time with his friend.

Vegita sighed again as he wished for something to get his boy to be serious
again; not only about his training, but also realize that despite his
uneasiness about his heritage, it was a part of him and he should accept it.

----------

The Forbidden Island...

"Damn these blasted tunnels!" Jinnai growled as he and his Bugrom wandered
about in the catacombs beneath the shrine. "I'm getting really sick of this
idiotic maze!"
A few hundred yards away, Shayla led Trunks and the others through the
winding passageways. "Hurry! Under no circumstances should that nut get a
hold of Ifurita's Power Key Staff! Whoever awakens the Demon-God will be its
master!"

"The Key Staff Power what?!" Fujisawa panted as he ran.

Shayla-Shayla then caught sight of the Bugrom and ignited her powers, which
gave her a limited flight ability and an increase in speed. Jinnai and his
followers stopped short and backed away in fear as they saw the Fire
Priestess block their path.

"These catacombs had a lot of places to hide, but not from Shayla-Shayla!"
The redhead grinned as she began advancing on them.

Jinnai eeped as he tried to get his Bugrom to fight her. "Well, what are you
waiting for?! Kick her ass!"

Harpo gave a pathetic whine and shook his head.

"Come on! Harpo, attack!"

The Bugrom still didn't budge.

"Cheeko! You can do it!"

The large insect then made some sounds that sounded like French.
"Excusez-moi. Apres-vous!" He then pushed Jinnai forward.

"I didn't teach you cowardice!"

Shayla-Shayla prepared to fry them all while commenting, "They only learn
the hard way."

Trunks drew his sword and began advancing from behind them as Mr. Fujisawa,
Allielle and Nanami stood by. Jinnai became even more panicked as he found
himself between a rock and a hard place. Then, salvation came in the form
of... a tidal wave?

Shayla-Shayla, Trunks and Mr. Fujisawa all looked in the direction of a side
tunnel in which they suddenly heard a loud rushing noise that sounded like
water. They all gasped as they saw a huge wave of water come rushing toward
them. There was no time to move as they all became swamped and sunk down to
the floor of the cavern. Trunks instinctively held his breath, but something
didn't feel quite right. He didn't feel... wet. At that moment, he heard
Nanami's voice.

"Hey! What are you guys doing?"

Trunks looked up and saw Nanami standing by as plain as day and not even
noticing that she was under fifty feet of water. Then suddenly, all the
water disappeared as they all found themselves in a dry and deserted cave.

"What the...?! What happened? Where'd all the water go?" Trunks asked as he,
Shayla and Masamichi got up.

"What water?" Nanami asked with confusion.

At that moment, Shayla got a suspicion as she looked around and tossed a
small burst of flame to another side tunnel. The cavern lit up as a small
figure emerged from it.

"Oh how cute! A little Phantom Tribe boy!" Nanami exclaimed.

"There's nothing cute about him!" Shayla growled as she glared at Nahato. "A
worm is still a worm!"

Nahato smirked as he sneered at the Fire Priestess. "A worm? Why Shayla..."
"So you know my name eh?" The hot-tempered priestess remarked as she powered
up. "Then you must also know of my power!"

She ignited her flames and charged at him, but just as she reached him, he
vanished from sight. Unable to stop her momentum in time, Shayla crashed
into a nearby wall, causing the roof of the cavern to collapse.

"Nanami! Look out!" Trunks shouted as he suddenly appeared beside her and
pushed her out of the way. A huge block of stone came crashing down on top
of him, driving him through the floor and into the caverns below.

"Trunks!"

----------

Jinnai was still wandering around when he and his followers heard some loud
crashing noises behind them. Whey they saw that the tunnel was collapsing
behind them, they hightailed it to escape being crushed.

----------

Trunks groaned as he pushed aside at he huge slab that had pinned him down
after causing him to fall into the lower levels of the catacombs. He then
began brushing off the dust on his jacket. Miraculously, his Scouter had
survived without any damage.

On his chest, Ura softened up her body after hardening to protect Trunks
from the fall. "Hey Trunks! Bones okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks Ura." The fall wouldn't have caused more than a few
bruises to him, but he appreciated Ura's help all the same. Although, he
began wishing that he was wearing his father's old Saiyan armor.

He then looked over to one side and saw that there was a bright light
emanating from a funnel. He also sensed something else. Something that
seemed... familiar.

He followed the tunnel to its end, which came to large open area. He then
saw an enormous doorway and something else that was familiar. Above the
portal was a large symbol that looked like an eye.

<Hey! Didn't I see that image before? >

The young half-Saiyan made his way cautiously toward his destiny.

----------

"Trunks! Where are you?!" Nanami cried out as she, Allielle, her history
teacher and Shayla traveled through along a rocky pathway toward the
Demon-God's resting place. "I can't believe that you led us into such a
dangerous place!" Jinnai's sister complained.

"I'll live with it!" Shayla replied offhandedly.

"What's the matter with you?!" Nanami cried out. "Aren't you even worried
about Trunks?! He maybe hurt or dying down here!"

Shayla gave Nanami an irritated look. "Are we talking about a guy who blew
up five ships, sliced a Bugrom transport in half, split into triplets and
who happens NOT to be your boyfriend?"

Nanami's cheeks reddened at the insinuation. "I told you! We've haven't
gotten that far yet!"

"THIS ISN'T A DAMNED RECESS! GO FIND THE DEMON!!" Fujisawa shouted to end
the bickering.

----------

Trunks gasped as he entered the Demon-God's chamber and saw something...
someone resting in a shallow pit at the center of the room. The bottom of
the depression glowed with an multicolored luminescence, which made it look
as if the Demon-God was resting on a bed of light. However, it was not what
she was sleeping on that caught Trunks' attention. It was the Demon-God
herself... Ifurita.

"It's... her!" The son of Vegita gasped as he gazed upon her. Though her
clothes were not tattered and her skin was a light violet, there was no
mistaking her. The girl who had sent him to El Hazard was none other than
the Demon-God Ifurita.

Trunks knelt down to get a closer look at her and noted that a strange staff
was hovering above her. The staff was about a little over five feet in
length with two crystal globes imbedded into it. The top of the Power Key
Staff looked like some strange, blunt axe-head. Tentatively, Trunks reached
out and grasped the Power Key Staff between the two globes. He felt a slight
static shock, but ignored the sensation as he firmly took hold of the
instrument and rose to his feet. As the staff became vertical, Ifurita's
body also rose until it stood on its feet. However, the Demon-God continued
to slumber and was as stiff as a statue as Trunks continued to gaze upon
her.

It was at that moment that he heard a large roar from behind. He quickly
dropped the staff and unsheathed his sword as he whirled about. From out of
the main entrance, a huge, lizard that looked like an iguana came out and
began spouting fire at him. Trunks immediately jumped out of the way and
then charged at the beast.

----------

Jinnai was as surprised as his Bugrom when he came to the Demon-God's
resting place and saw his rival battling... nothing. Trunks seemed to be
swinging his sword at air, while darting about like a dragonfly. He then
caught sight of Ifurita standing alone and her Power Key Staff lying nearby.
Not one to miss such a grand opportunity, he ran over to her and quickly
swept up the staff. He then looked over his new weapon, then lifted one of
her coattails, revealing the access port at the small of her back.

"Ooh yes! And all you have to do is wind her up! Time to wake up, time to
energize my deadly little bunny Demon!"

He pointed the other end of the staff, fitting it into the access port. When
the mechanism clicked into place, Jinnai gleefully began counting as he
turned the staff like a key.

"One... two... three... four..."

As he continued winding, electrical bolts began shooting about the room,
heralding the awakening of the most terrible weapon since the Eye of God.

----------

Trunks couldn't understand it. He had delivered enough slashes to reduce the
beast into cold cuts, but his sword just simply passed through it as if it
was a ghost.
<Or maybe... because it's not real! >

He then began searching around the room and his senses began to pick up a
power reading. When he looked at a darkened corner, his Scouter beeped and
indicated that someone was there. He then shot out with a ki blast, causing
the area to explode. A small figure tumbled into sight.

"You again!?" Trunks cried out as he saw Nahato stand up and smirk at him.

The Phantom boy's grin became even more pronounced as he pointed to where
Jinnai was before vanishing from view.

Trunks glanced over and gasped as he saw Jinnai, just as he finished
counting...

"... nine... TEN!"

"NO!" Trunks dived down but it was too late. The Demon-God had awakened as
Ifurita opened her eyes.

----------

Out on the shore of the island, Miz and Afra were just polishing off the
last of the Bugrom forces when they suddenly felt a chill and felt the
enormous surge of energy being emitted from the shrine.

"No! It can't be!" Miz exclaimed.

"They've awakened... Ifurita!" Afra gasped.

----------

Trunks landed in front of Ifurita as she began looking around.

"Ifurita! It's me! Trunks!"

The Demon-God gazed at him for a long time before replying. "I don't know
you."

"What?! What do you mean? It's me, Trunks! From the high school? You're the
one who sent me to El Hazard! You sent us all!"

Ifurita turned to Jinnai and said, "I obey only the master of the Power Key
Staff."

Jinnai laughed as he held out the staff. "That's right Trunks! Go find your
own Demon-God!"
"I obey only the master of the Power Key Staff." Ifurita repeated.

Jinnai snorted as he gave his first command. "Well, as the master of the
Power Key Staff, my first order is for you to destroy him!"

Ifurita then turned to him and held out her hand. "Give me the Power Key
Staff."

"What?! No, it's mine!" Jinnai grasped the staff with both hands. However,
Ifurita simply pulled it out of his hands and swung it around so that the
pointed end was aimed at Trunks' face.

Ura hissed as Trunks tried once again to get through to her. "Don't remember
me at all? I'm Trunks!"

Energy began to spark at the end of the staff as Ifurita prepared to fire.

"That it! Right in the face!" Jinnai gloated.

At that moment, the high ceiling above them exploded as several figures
dropped down to the floor.

"Look out! She's awake!" Trunks called out.

Shayla-Shayla gritted her teeth when she saw Ifurita, "Shit! We're too
late!" Behind her, Mr. Fujisawa, with Nanami and Alielle in his arms, landed
behind her.

Ifurita turned around to gaze at the newcomers.

"You're going back to sleep!" The Fire Priestess held up a fist and ignited
her flames. "And if you give me any trouble, I've got a knockout pill
that'll help!"

"I recognize your battle technique." Ifurita said coolly, "Northern Capital,
isn't it?"

"Get ready to die!" Shayla shouted as she formed her fire-wings and leapt
high. She used the wall behind her to rebound herself toward her foe.

"Too bad. Merely a novice." The Demon-God commented as she too formed her
own fire wings and lifted off into the air.

Trunks gasped as his Scouter rated the two power levels. Currently, Shayla
was emitting her energies at full strength, which was at five thousand.
Ifurita however, not only duplicated her powers, but was emitting them at
twenty-two thousand. And the young Saiyan could tell that Ifurita wasn't
using anywhere near her full capabilities. Shayla-Shayla was clearly
outmatched!

"Shayla! Look out!"

Too late. When the two fire-users collided, it was Shayla who was knocked
back as the room was lit up from the collision. The Fire Priestess screamed
in pain as her flames were snuffed out like a candle's and she plummeted
toward the floor.

Trunks reacted in an instant, blurring from view and reappearing high in the
air, catching Shayla in his arms before blurring again into sight on the
floor of the chamber.

Shayla groaned as she looked up and saw the face of her savior. She once
again found herself in the same position as she was in Arliman, but this
time, she wasn't at all mad.

"Trunks... I... you saved..."

"LOOK OUT!" Trunks yelled as he tossed Shayla to one side, just as Ifurita
landed before them, aimed her staff at him and fired a blue-white energy
bolt. The blast caught Trunks directly in the chest, or rather it caught Ura
in the chest, knocking them both back.

The cat screamed in agony as she released her hold on Trunks and writhed on
the floor, clutching at her burning belly.

"OW! OW! OW! OW!"

Trunks kept on flying backward until he slammed into the wall behind him,
making a slight depression in the stone.
Shayla looked up from where she had landed. "No... Ura failed... oh Trunks!"
She was too much in pain and her fire powers were too weak at the moment for
her to be of any help.

Trunks groaned as he pulled himself out of the depression and got into a
fighting stance. His chest was slightly aching. Even when Ura hardened to
protect him the blast had felt as if he had been kicked by a super-powered
mule. However, he was still raring to go as Jinnai laughed maniacally at his
pain.

"That's it, Ifurita! Kill him!"

"Trunks!" Nanami cried out as she feared that he was about to die.

Ifutrita's eyes showed nothing but coldness as she fired off another bolt.
This time however, it was she who got the surprise as Trunks focused his
concentration and raised an open palm. The attack was neatly deflected off
his hand to explode to his right.

The Demon-God paused for a moment as she reevaluated the situation.
Obviously, her opponent was more skilled than the Fire Priestess. Therefore,
more power was required to destroy him. In an instant, she began firing off
a rapid volley of beams, each with more power than the last.

Trunks however, wasn't that easy to beat as he used that one hand to block
each incoming shot. He noted that the intensity of the beams was steadily
increasing with each shot, but he simply intercepted each one. He was soon
surrounded in a thick cloud of dust as the blasts continued to ricochet off
his palm.

Nanami, Mr. Fujisawa and Allielle could only gape in disbelief as Ifurita
continued to shoot at her target. For one full minute, the barrage
continued, but Trunks stood firm. The room however, took a serious beating
as the deflected shots blasted large holes in the walls and ceilings.
Jinnai's laughter increased as he marveled at his new weapon and the
destruction she was causing.

"WA HA HA HA HA HA! My new weapon is unbeatable! And my rival Trunks is
now... huh?"

The self-proclaimed ruler of El Hazard was struck dumb when Ifurita ceased
firing and the cloud cleared, revealing Trunks with his palm still held out.
He was unharmed as he lowered his arm and continued to gaze at Ifurita. It
seemed that history had repeated itself. Trunks had duplicated what Goku had
done with Frieza all those years ago.

"What the...?! One hand?!" Jinnai said in total disbelief.

The Demon-God lowered her staff slightly as she took in this new
development. "Impressive. You deflected all my attacks. I am not familiar
with your battle technique. "
"Are you ready to listen now?" Trunks asked in a firm tone.

"I obey only the master of the staff and he has commanded me to destroy
you." She said without emotion as she once again aimed her staff at him.
"You are strong, but even you can't block this!" In less than a heartbeat, a
huge globe of white energy appeared at end of her weapon and launched itself
at Trunks. Trunks had to brace himself with his hands held out as the attack
struck hard. He was driven back and slammed into the wall again, this time
he was engulfed in a large explosion, causing half of the chamber to
collapse in on itself.

"Oh no! Trunks!" Nanami screamed as she and the others thought that he had
perished. Shayla-Shayla could only shook her head in shock as she saw the
one who had saved her go up in a huge explosion.

"WA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! At last my eternal rival has been reduced to a
cinder! El Hazard is mine!"

"Not quite."

Jinnai stopped in his tirade when he heard the voice and gaped at the huge
hole. "N-N-NO! IT CAN'T BE! IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

Allielle and the others gasped as they saw someone emerge from the rubble. A
large mass of stone was tossed aside as easily as one would hurl a pebble.
Trunks walked back into the chamber with a look of determination on his
face. The Scouter he had been wearing, fell apart and clattered to the
ground in pieces, but the Saiyan didn't need it now. He had pretty good idea
of what Ifurita was capable of and it looked as if he would have to use his
ace-in-the-hole.

"I had been hoping that it wouldn't come to this." Trunks said with some
reluctance as he took a wide-legged stance with his arms held out and fists
clenched.

Ifurita tensed as she prepared to counter whatever attack Trunks would make.

"You're very powerful, Ifurita... but let's see if a Demon-God can stand up
to a Super-Saiyan!"

The son of Vegita let off a yell as he powered up his energy to the utmost
degree. Mr. Fujisawa, Nanami, Allielle, Ura, Shayla-Shayla and especially
Jinnai were in a state of total shock as they witnessed the transformation
to the legendary warrior of the Saiyans.

Trunks' aura changed from its usual color to that of pure gold as his body
became a bit more muscular and robust. His hair became more alive as it
stood up on end and shifted from light purple to a brilliant blonde.
However, the most intriguing change was his eyes as they shifted from a
foamy blue, to a radiant emerald green. If he still had his Scouter, it
would have exploded from overloading.

"Totally wild! Trunks has blonde hair!" Nanami exclaimed.

Now, Ifurita had to take this new development into account as she gazed upon
the transformed Trunks and felt the raw power he was now radiating. In the
distant recesses of her memory she could see an image of herself battling a
person such as this who had glowed with golden fire.

Shayla-Shayla let off a choked whisper as she remembered back to the old
legends of the Holy Wars. One such legend spoke of someone who had fought
the dreaded Demon-God and had sealed her away. He had been heralded as the
champion of El Hazard. She also recalled the prophesy that concerned the Eye
of God, the Shadow Nation and...

"The Golden Champion." She said in a breathless whisper.

Jinnai was the first to snap out of his stupor as he shook his head and
shouted. "If you think changing your hair color is going to beat me, then
think again! Ifurita! Destroy him!"

The Demon-God reacted without a second thought and fired. Trunks however,
was much faster as a Super-Saiyan and easily dodged the beam. In less than
an instant, he had grasped the staff and pulled it off to one side as he
prepared to let loose with a blast with his other hand at point-blank range.
However, Ifurita was still holding onto her end and that's when Trunks
discovered that he had indeed gained a new ability when he came to El
Hazard.

Both he and Ifurita suddenly became paralyzed as their minds began to
mingle. A strange energy coursed between the two of them as Trunks saw
images of ancient El Hazard during the Holy Wars. He observed images of mass
destruction, death, suffering and pain as the warring sides fought to
annihilate one another. He saw the Eye of God, still under construction like
the Death Star in Return of the Jedi. And through all the chaos and madness,
he saw Ifurita, battling it out with someone who had golden hair, green
eyes... and a tail. He couldn't make out the face but he knew who that
person was...

<Was he... a Saiyan?! >

Everyone else who were witnessing this wondered just what was going on as
Demon-God and Super-Saiyan shared memories. Then as suddenly as it began, it
stopped as Trunks released his hold on the Power Key Staff.

Ifurita leapt back and held her head. She trembled as she glared at Trunks
who was looking down at his hand.

"That was weird."
"Who are you? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Ifurita then went into a rage and began
firing.

Trunks took off into the air as soon as she started attacking and began
returning fire with ki blasts. Ifurita dodged those shots as she too became
airborne.

Mr. Fujisawa saw that the rest of the chamber was about to collapse under
the combined barrages. Fortunately, he was sober enough to once again use
his super-powers. He quickly swept up Nanami, Allielle, Ura and
Shayla-Shayla into his arms and began running as the roof collapsed.

Jinnai was still raving as he relished in the destruction. "WA HA HA HA HA
HA! My new weapon is magnificent! Kill them! Destroy them all!"

However, he too had to run for safety as a huge slab of stone crashed in
front of him.

The Shrine of the Demon-God shuddered as Ifurita and Trunks continued to
battle it out.

----------

Outside, Afra and Miz were still wondering what was going on, when the top
of the Shrine exploded and something rocketed upward in a beam of light.

"The Demon-God has been released!" Miz exclaimed.

An instant later a second beam of light, this one of gold, also shot up
after the first one.

"What is that?!" Afra asked, then noticed that a wall of the shrine was
being blown out. A huge slab was moved out of the way and Mr. Fujisawa
staggered out into the daylight. Miz instantly ran over to him as she sat
down to rest.

"Mr. Fujisawa! Are you all right?"
The history teacher gave her a whimsical smile. "I'm... alive."

"Thank goodness." Miz sighed. "If you had died then the whole ceremony would
have been ruined."
"Huh?"

Nanami and Allielle then emerged from the hole, with Allielle carrying Ura.
Behind them was Shayla.

"Shayla! Just what is going on?!" Afra demanded as she ran up to her
colleague.

"Ifurita has been... awakened." Shayla replied as she gazed up at the sky.

"I know that!" Afra then pointed up to the two figures in the sky as they
darted about and fired at each other. "Now tell me just who or what is that!
And where's Trunks?"

"That... is... Trunks." Shayla replied breathlessly.

"WHAT?!" Miz and Afra exclaimed together.

Shayla nodded as she began reciting the prophesy. "When the Eye of God
Blinks, and the pathway to the sky opens up, and the shadow nation becomes
one..."
Afra became pale as she stared at the golden figure that was fighting
Ifurita. She then finished the rest of the prophesy. "And the Golden
Champion shall return to save us all."

-----------

High above, Trunks was getting quite a workout as he and Ifurita continued
to mix it up. Trunks was now slashing away with his sword, but Ifurita
proved to be quite proficient with handling her staff. Every stab, every
swing, and every slash was blocked and countered. Energy blasts were thrown
back and forth. The young Saiyan tried to get in close for some
hand-to-hand, but his opponent proved to be just as good at evasion as she
was at attacking.

Furthermore, though Trunks possessed enough power as a Super-Saiyan to
destroy the world, he was lacking in one key element; experience. With no
real reason to continue training hard, Trunks wasn't fully up to dealing
with an opponent that had battled with thousands of opponents and could
adapt to any attack or technique. In a way, Ifurita was El Hazard's version
of Cell. The young Super-Saiyan was finding it difficult to keep up with her
and a few blows were landing.

The two sped toward each other again, releasing energy bolts as they
charged. However, when Trunks tried another slash, Ifurita blocked with her
staff and lashed out with a kick, slamming her foot hard into his gut. This
caused him to release his grip on his sword, causing it to fall toward the
ground below. Before Trunks could recover, Ifurita swung her staff again,
this time catching the young Saiyan in the head, stunning him. Trunks
managed to stay aloft as his opponent floated back a bit and hovered.

"Very impressive. You possess great power." Ifurita commented as she
continued to hover. "Only one other has been able to last this long against
me. You have the same powers as he did when I was sealed up in that shrine."

"W-What?!" Trunks shook his head to clear it as the images he had received
from her came back to him. "Y-Y-You mean that person I saw was a...
Super-Saiyan?! Like me?"

"No." Ifurita flatly responded. "You are not like him. You are not the
Golden Champion. You are merely a novice compared to him. And I had learned
much from that battle since then." At that moment, Ifurita's power
skyrocketed as she suddenly glowed with the same golden aura that Trunks was
emitting.

The son of Vegita was caught off-guard as his adversary blurred and appeared
in front of him. With one savage blow of her staff, she slammed him down and
fired a huge blast after him. The huge beam hit him squarely on the back and
drove him toward the ground at tremendous speed. Trunks hit the island like
a falling meteor and was engulfed in the explosion of the impact. She
continued to fire additional blasts after the first one and the island
shook, as Shayla and the others dove for cover. When the light of the
explosions had finally died down, there was nothing left but a huge, smoking
crater. In its center lay Trunks... unmoving.

High above, with unfeeling eyes, Ifurita nodded at her handiwork and decided
that the time had come for her to depart. She then sped off over the horizon
and was soon flying over a heavily-populated area of El Hazard. With one
causal blast, she obliterated the entire sector, leaving nothing but
devastation as she flew onward toward Bugrom territory and her new master.

Back at the Forbidden Island, the others were running toward the spot where
Trunks had fallen. Shayla and Nanami reached Trunks first.

"Trunks!" Nnami kneeled down beside the battered Saiyan and became relieved
as she heard him moan, signifying that he was still alive.

"He's still alive! I never even got a chance to thank him!" Shayla said as
she too knelt down.

This got Nanami a bit irritated as she glared at Shayla. The Fire Priestess
glared back at her.

Behind them, Afra and the rest could only gaze at the stranger from another
world with awe.

"Amazing! He survived that?!" Miz exclaimed.

Afra looked at Trunks and then noted that his hair began to revert back to
its normal color. "Just like the legends say. He truly is... the Golden
Champion. But, it looks like even he couldn't stop Ifurita this time."

Trunks however, heard none of this as he lay in pain. In his mind, he began
recall memories of his early childhood, when he was training for the World
Martial Arts Tournament. He saw himself as an eight-year-old, training hard
in the Gravity Room. Then he heard Vegita's voice as he remembered something
that he had told his son during that time.

Flashback...

"Even in times of peace, a true Saiyan warrior must train and be prepared.
It our way to always seek out new challenges. Only by overcoming those
challenges do we become masters of our future. Never forget that Saiyan
blood flows through your veins and that you carry with you the pride of our
race. It is your heritage!"

End of flashback...

Never had those words rung truer than now. His lack of interest in
maintaining his training now came back to him with very serious
consequences. Trunks then said in a sad, faltering voice to himself. "I'm...
sorry, Father. I... failed."

At that moment, darkness claimed him as he slipped into unconsciousness.

End of the Fourth Night

Author's Notes

Well, I know that a lot of you were thinking that Trunks should have won
hands down, but what would be the point, right? As I had mentioned in
previous chapters, Trunks hadn't been training as hard since the Maja Buu
incident. So of course, he wasn't prepared to go up against an opponent of
Cell's caliber. I do have something special planned for the later chapters
and the climax, so don't worry about this minor upset. In any case, after
watching the El Hazard videos, I kind of got to thinking that Ifurita was
like Cell, and you can remember how much trouble he caused for the Z
fighters. Trunks is going to have work hard to win against her and you can
bet that the final battle will be a doozy!

As for the other questions that were raised in this chapter, they will be
answered, rest assured. Next chapter will be Trunks Vs Ifurita, Round 2 and
a few more surprises. Next on Dragon Ball Hazard, the Fifth Night: The
Legend of the Golden Champion.
