The city lay in ruins around them, a broken carcass of twisted steel and crumbling stone. Fires burned unchecked, black smoke rising into the red-stained sky. Trunks wiped the sweat from his forehead as his eyes followed the clash of golden light and silver streaks across the battlefield.
Gohan and Android 18 tore through the remains of a skyscraper, the impact of their blows rattling the ground beneath Trunks' boots. The shockwaves split asphalt, flung rubble like shrapnel, and silenced what little life still dared to crawl through the wasteland.
Trunks was able to defeat Android 17 earlier because he fought recklessly. He slipped from his guard numerous times to engage in pointless chatter.
Unlike 17, 18 didn't fight with arrogance. Her attacks were calculated, precise, merciless. She fought like a predator that knew every weak spot in her prey. Yet, Gohan, battle-worn, was stronger. His aura crackled brighter with every exchange, his movements sharper, more deliberate.
Trunks could see it clearly: Gohan was holding back no longer.
Gohan caught 18's wrist mid-strike and twisted, hurling her into the side of a collapsed tower. The concrete shuddered under the force as the android exploded back out, dust cloud trailing her like wings.
"You're fast," 18 spat, her tone icy, unbothered despite the cracks forming along her synthetic skin. "But speed won't save you forever. You'll burn out like the rest."
"I've burned out a thousand times already," Gohan answered, his voice low but edged with fury. "And I'll keep burning if it means I can stop you."
"If you keep burning yourself, you won't be able to keep fighting me," said Android 18.
"Fight you?!" questioned Gohan. "Nah, I'm going to kill you," said Gohan with a dangerous smile on his face.
The clash resumed. Ki bursts lit the battlefield, painting shadows against fire and ruin. Gohan weaved through her assault with pinpoint control, slipping into her guard and striking hard: a knee to her gut, an elbow across her jaw, a hammerfist that sent her spiraling. Each hit reverberated like thunder, his golden aura flaring hotter as he pressed the attack.
Trunks watched, his fists tightening. Gohan was winning, yes—but Android 18 wasn't crumbling. She absorbed punishment with terrifying resilience, her cold blue eyes never wavering.
That was when instinct struck him.
He surged forward, aura flaring like a comet. His boots cracked the pavement as he launched himself at her blindside, the timing so seamless it was as if Gohan had expected it.
The fight shifted instantly.
Trunks swung first, his punch clipping 18 across the cheek. She snarled, twisting to counter, but Gohan was already there—his knee driving into her ribs before she could fully react. Her body snapped sideways, straight into Trunks' waiting fist. He pummeled her forward, then Gohan struck again, chaining blow after blow with brutal rhythm.
{A/N: imagine Itadori and Nanami vs Mahito}
It was relentless, coordinated savagery.
The two Saiyans pressed her like predators hunting in perfect sync, their strikes overlapping in a barrage that left no escape. Trunks would strike low, forcing her guard to drop, only for Gohan to slam an overhead kick into her skull. When she tried to rise, Gohan would shove her into Trunks' spinning elbow. The ground shook with every hit, the air ringing with the sounds of bone-crushing impacts and the android's defiant grunts.
For the first time, 18 was overwhelmed.
"This… this is nothing!" she growled, teeth bared as she staggered.
But Trunks didn't give her time to breathe. He darted around, his propulsion kicking up rubble, and slammed a punch square into her chest. The impact cracked her synthetic plating, forcing her body back toward Gohan.
"Gohan—!" Trunks shouted.
"I'm ready!"
Gohan raised his hands high, his aura blazing brighter than the fires around them. The golden energy condensed into his palms, swirling violently before he thrust it forward.
"MASENKO… HA!!!"
The beam screamed across the battlefield, a torrent of blazing ki swallowing Android 18 whole. She roared, her own aura flaring as she activated her shield. A dome of pale blue energy wrapped around her, trembling violently under the pressure of Gohan's attack.
The earth cracked and split beneath them, molten stone bubbling up from the force.
Trunks narrowed his eyes. He could see it—18 wasn't trying to push Gohan back. She was waiting him out. Betting that his energy would bleed away before hers did.
"Not this time…" Trunks whispered.
He leapt to the side, charging his fingers with razor-thin lines of piercing ki. The air vibrated with its deadly resonance. He took aim, his voice echoing across the ruins.
"Special… Beam… CANNON!!!"
The spiraling lance of ki tore through the air, striking her shield from the side. For a single heartbeat, the world seemed to freeze. Then the shield shattered, breaking apart like fragile glass.
The beam didn't stop. It punched clean through Android 18's skull, the shriek of tearing metal echoing as her body snapped back.
"NO—!" she screamed, but the word never finished.
Gohan's Masenko surged forward, swallowing her whole. Her body was vaporized in the golden blaze, consumed in an explosion of light and heat that lit up the dead city like a second sun.
The battlefield fell silent.
Dust rolled through the broken streets. Fires crackled in the distance. And in the heart of it, only two golden warriors remained standing, their auras dimming as they let out heavy, weary breaths.
Trunks lowered his arms, his chest heaving. He turned to Gohan, his expression torn between triumph and horror. "We… we did it."
Gohan didn't answer right away. He stared at the scorched crater where Android 18 had once stood, his eyes hard, haunted. Finally, he let out a long exhale, the faintest shadow of relief crossing his face.
"For now," he said quietly. "But the fight isn't over."
And as the smoke cleared, Trunks felt it too—that looming presence on the horizon. The one he hadn't forgotten. The one still lurking.
He could feel the ki signature fleeing.
Cell.