Stumbling into the wall of the crater, the female Saiyan lay against it for a moment, panting for breath, before stumbling forward and hitting Gohan in the face with a haymaker. When the demi-Saiyan was flung back by the punch, trailing blood and sweat, the female warrior cocked her left hand and fired off a barrage of high-speed jabs. "Dai Konran!" Punches then flew towards Gohan at an incredible speed, threatening to pummel him into submission.
But the Saiyan, reacting fast, covered up with a guard and began weaving his head from side-to-side. Keeping his movements compact, the hero was easily able to dodge the woman's rapid fire punches, charging his way forward while avoiding punch after punch. Sandra, stunned to see her opponent avoid her barrage so easily, fell into a retreat while continuing to fire off attacks. However, despite her best efforts, she was unable to stop Gohan from slipping right into her defensive circle and nailing her in the side with a liver blow. The crunch of his knuckles landing against her ribs doubled the woman over and had her spit up blood.
Taking advantage of her state, Gohan began landing hooks and punches on his opponent without mercy, battering her about with heavy attacks. To end his combo, he then stepped in with a right hook, only to get nailed in the gut by a body shot from Sandra. She then proceeded to nail him with more haymakers, before being stopped by Gohan hitting her in the ribs with a roundhouse kick, sending both fighters backpedaling from one another.
Managing to stop himself from falling over, the badly swollen Gohan took a deep breath before bringing his hands up and stepping forward. The moment his leg hit the ground, his knee nearly buckled, causing him to wince. "Damn it! My legs are nearly dead! I can't kick anymore!" Shaking his head, he then rushed forward and, diverting the rest of his energy to his upper body, began to weave about in a figure of eight. "This will be the last attack! I'm taking her down right here and now!"
Sandra, also pushing forward, brought her arms up and fired off a series of sharp jabs at her opponent. Watching him duck and weave between them, she then attempted to throw a kick, but couldn't bring her leg up any higher than a step. "My legs have shut down! Alright! I'll finish this with my fists!" She then fired off a right straight, only to see Gohan disappear from her line of sight. Recoiling in shock, she then looked down and saw that her foe was weaving his upper body from side to side at high speed, leaving multiple after images as his head followed a figure of eight motion. "W-What the-?"
"That's the…" Videl whispered, recognizing her boyfriend's technique.
"I saw this used once in a documentary… so I know it will work!" Gohan shouted in his head, picking up speed as he closed in on his shocked opponent. "Dempsey Roll!"
Watching her adversary edge closer and closer at a terrifying speed, Sandra was then forced to lean back to avoid the blur of his punch zooming passed her, causing her to take a step back. After hearing the whoosh of his blow miss her by a hair, the female then felt her heart start to race, and a grin slowly pulled across her lips. "So, this is what it's come down to? You want to take my life by sacrificing yours with one last, desperate attack?" Her head turning in the direction Gohan had swung himself, the Saiyan Empress's pupils dilated as a beastly expression of excitement suddenly appeared on her face. "Alright then… if it's a brawl you want… IT'S A BRAWL YOU'LL GET!" Twisting towards her opponent, Sandra cocked back her right fist and lunged at him with her signature punch. "You think I'll fall for such a simple technique?! I'll just telegraph your movement and match a counter to your punch! Sorry, stallion, but I'm going to split your skull open with my powerful right! SENKOOOOOO!" She then let her attack fly.
Seeing the woman fire off her counter and seeing her crush turning into it with a hook, Zangya's eyes widened in horror, "GOHAN! LOOK OUT!"
Spotting the attack without being warned, Gohan gritted his teeth and hit the brakes. His feet screeching across the ground as he sharply reversed his momentum, the demi-Saiyan was able to slow himself down enough to avoid the punch. Feeling the full weight of her right shoot passed him with a blast of wind, the Z-fighter ducked right under it, throwing his body to his opponent's right.
The act of doing so caused a series of loud tears to echo out across the square, as every muscle in Gohan's calf ripped from the pressure.
Realizing she'd missed, Sandra spun around in alarm, "He dodged it?"
"Ignore it! Keep going! Keep going!" Gohan shouted in his head, spinning back around and coming back up at his opponent from her blind spot, whom he saw turn back to face him in kind. His left fist held out, the boy snarled as he threw himself at his opponent. "EAT THIS!"
"My fist will hit you first!" Sandra screamed out, copying his motion and swinging back at him with her left.
All of a sudden, a sickening crack rang out across the city as both Sandra and Gohan struck each other at the exact same time, their head's jerking back with sweat clouding the air above them. Everyone cringed and groaned, as the sight of the pair's fists impacting one another looked gruesome and painful. However, this was not the end of it.
Twisting his body back around, a stunned and bleeding Gohan growled and swung back in with his right. "I've worked too hard for this! I CAN'T LOSE HERE!" he screamed, flying right back at his opponent with another wide hook.
Sandra, also bleeding heavily from the mouth, spun around and swung in with a hook of her own. "If this is your last stand against a fellow Saiyan Elite… I'LL TAKE YOU HEAD OOOOOOOOOONN!"With a yell of her own, she unleashed the mother of all hooks upon her target.
What followed from that point onwards was thunderclap after thunderclap as Gohan and Sandra began hitting each other over and over again, with every one of their attacks hitting at the exact same time. Following the same side-to-side motion, the pair continued slamming punches into their target, desperately trying to knock the other one down while at the same time stay conscious. However, as blood started to splatter across the ground and their respective visions started to blur, it became clear that this battle was soon coming to its end.
By the time their battle had reached this stage, the crowds in Satan City were soon joined by King Koku and his entourage. When they made their way to the front, they were able to watch as Gohan and Sandra attacked one another with their last spurt of energy.
Even Hercule Satan had arrived on the scene, but everyone was so caught up in the battle taking place that they didn't notice the Champ skulking about in the crowd in his gi.
"My gosh…" the bearded martial arts champion whispered, seeing blood cloud the air from the two Saiyans striking each other simultaneously.
Gohan, blood pouring down his even more swollen face, spun in with another hook, a cry of desperation leaving his clenched jaw, "Just a little more… just a little bit more… and I WILL WIN!"
"I won't lose!" Sandra also cried in her head, "I WON'T LOSE TO ANOTHER SAIYAN!"
As the two Saiyans continued to hammer each other with side-to-side hooks, the crowd gripped their metaphorical seats and started to chant, Gohan and Sandra's names echoing over the city and egging the two one. Quickly attaching themselves to the audience's collective cries of support, the Z-fighters also started to shout in encouragement.
"Gohan!" Krillin hollered. "Go for it!"
"Don't give up!" Choutzu shouted.
"You can do it, buddy!" Yamcha yelled.
"Beat her, Gohan!" Bulma cried out.
"Don't let her win!" Trunks called.
"Big brother!" Goten shouted.
"You're almost there!" Zangya shouted. "Gohan!"
"GO GOHAN!" Erasa screamed alongside Sharpener, Touya, Yukie and Sena.
"DO IT, GOHAAAAAN!" Videl screamed, tears flying out of her eyes as she did so. "WIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"
After another thunderclap from their hooks landing rang out, Gohan and Sandra spun around one last time, their green eyes burning with determination and their jaws clenched for the final hit.
"THIS IS IT!" Gohan bellowed in his head.
"THIS MATCH IS MINE!" Sandra cried, her left fist uncorking for a full swing.
But then, just when Sandra's arm was extending, the woman suddenly felt her left calf jerk backwards as her ankle gave out, momentarily stopping her momentum. Feeling the tug in her leg muscles caused a shocked look to appear on the woman's face, a split millisecond before the clap of Gohan's fist slammed across her face and knocked her head back with a blast of sweat and blood.
Maya, tears hanging at the corners of her eyes, reeled forward in horror, "SANDRAAAAAAA!"
Concussed by the hit, Sandra began to drop the ground like a rock, watching her blackening world fly passed her and the people up on the crater staring down at her. Hearing the cry of her best friend above the white noise filling her ears, the Empress looked up during her fall. When she did, she saw Maya, Kure, Mobi and Cal all standing on the cliff, all staring down at her in fear, concern, and desperation.
All of a sudden, the female Saiyan was bombarded by flashes of her past. Images from her childhood and young life filled her eyes, showing her the time she spent with Maya on that prehistoric planet, their life in the apartment, their first meeting with Kure and her race, their war against King Cold's brother Emperor Blizzard, their time spent as slaves in the gladiator pits, and their time spent on Corvus. Within those visions, she saw the smiling faces of all the people they'd saved and all the people they'd made friends with, all of whom were looking up at her with both hope and joy.
"I… I am…" In that moment a surge of energy rushed through the warrior's body, causing her half-lidded eyes to widen. "THE SAIYAN SANDRA!" Throwing her foot back, she was able to stop herself from falling and spun around, dropping her arms and standing as straight as she could.
A split second later, the crack of a gunshot rang out as Gohan, screaming at the top of his lungs, drove his last hook across Sandra's face. His fist impacted the woman's face with such force it split the ground beneath them, warped her head, and lifted her off her feet, sending her flying across the crater in a cloud of blood and sweat.
The moment his finishing blow landed was the moment every single person in the crowd was silenced, as they watched Sandra's body crumple to the floor like a pile of bricks.
When Gohan finally saw his opponent slide to a stop, on her back and staring up at the sky, the young man gasped for breath before, inhaling deeply, he threw his arms to his sides and screamed up to the heavens. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" His voice echoing into the distance, the teen staggered backwards, blood dripping down his face and onto the floor. Continuing to stare up at the sky, the completely exhausted and drained Super Saiyan warrior figured this battle was good and done.
But when a series of gasps and murmurs rang out, drawing his gaze back down to the ground, his eyes widened in disbelief as he saw his opponent, still in Super Saiyan form, glaring back at him with a swollen left cheek and blood filling her hair. As he and the rest of the crowd gawked at the miraculously standing Sandra, they saw her raise her fists and take a stance, sending a cold chill down Gohan's back.
"I… I could've sworn I knocked her out," the boy gasped, feeling his body shake and tremble fearfully under the woman's gaze. "My energy is all gone. I don't have anything left." All she would need to do was tap him and he would fall over. Only sheer willpower and adrenaline was keeping him from collapsing under his own weight.
For a moment the demi-Saiyan had no idea what to do. He was at a complete loss. But then, when he saw Sandra shuffle forward, her boots smearing her blood over the ground, the Z-fighter from Earth gritted his teeth and raised his hands.
"To the end," he whispered, remembering the words the two of them had shared with one another.
Seeing Sandra cock back her right fist prompted Gohan into action. With a mighty battle cry, he rushed forward. However, just as he was feet from engaging his opponent one last time, a couple of shadows suddenly darted down from the crater and jumped in his way, stopping him before he could make another step. All of a sudden, a pair of familiar cries rang out.
"GOHAN!" Zangya shouted, her arms wrapping around the boy's waist and holding the teen in place.
"STOP!" Hercule yelled, holding the boy's arm and stopping him from throwing a punch.
Surprised, Gohan looked down at the people who'd stopped him. When he saw their faces staring back at him, along with Maya who'd also leapt down to intercept him, the three interlopers then turned to where Sandra was standing. The demi-Saiyan followed their stunned and wide-eyed gazes, expecting to see one of his friends to have leapt in front of his opponent as well.
It came as a surprise to both him and everyone else when they saw Sandra standing there, still in Super Saiyan form, frozen in mid-punch.
Pulling out of his own attack, he felt Hercule and Maya release him, while Zangya held onto him, keeping him from toppling over. In the meantime, the Champ, amidst the stunned clamor of the crowd, slowly approached the frozen Sandra. Leaning towards her, the big man with the afro raised his hand and waved it a couple of times in front of her face.
Nothing.
"She's unconscious," Hercule said, loud enough for everyone to hear.
As the Z-fighters and crowd murmured amongst each other, Zangya blinked as she stared at the stationary Sandra, her fist halfway extended in her signature counter. "But… she's still a Super Saiyan," she said, noticing her hair was still blonde. It was almost like someone had taken a snapshot of her and posted her on the ground right in front of them.
She was frozen in time, unconsciously still fighting a battle inside her head.
As Gohan exhaustedly leant against his friend, Maya, staring at Sandra's bruised and bleeding form, stuck where she was, quickly realized what'd happened. Placing both hands over her mouth, the dark-skinned female Saiyan then started to sob, tears flowing from her eyes as she stared into her friend's eyes.
"She heard us," Maya whispered, feeling Gohan, Zangya and Hercule look at her. "Even though she was knocked out, her body responded to the cries and cheers of her friends… and everyone she'd saved." Sniffling, she then brought her hand up in an attempt to cover up her whimpering. "She wasn't just fighting for herself… she was fighting for all of us."
When he saw Maya start to weep into her hands, Gohan, not knowing what else to do, reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. When he felt the female Saiyan respond and saw the other Z-fighters slide down the crater to join them, he then looked up and allowed himself to relax. The moment his Super Saiyan transformation faded, he then spoke in a hoarse and tired voice.
"It's over…"
He'd won.