(Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.)
Chapter 3: Familiar Faces Among these Places
The young boy had healed up somewhat, but he desperately missed his tail; apparently, he had gotten attached to it. He dared not to look behind him since he didn't want to break down from it no longer there and the circumstances that led to it being taken. A sigh erupted from Gohan's mouth as he withdrew himself from the bed of grass that he usually slept in.
He couldn't sleep, so he wandered around, just like usual now. The limp was almost gone, even though it hadn't really been that long since he first met those two monsters. He debated on how long it has been, concluding that it had only been three days, four for the absolute maximum. Gohan had analyzed their movements in an attempt to add it to his own fighting, but he didn't know what his fighting style was, yet anything should help him.
He had begun to meditate, only because it was relaxing, helped him think, and something he randomly remembered someone doing next to him constantly, so he sat down near the river to meditate. He cleared his head, and he stayed like that for quite awhile. In fact, when his eyes fluttered open, it was light out. He shielded them with a hand to judge the sun's position. It was almost directly overhead.
He didn't know what that meant normally, but he understood that he had wasted a lot of time. He needed to get stronger and better if he wanted to lend a hand for those people. He was ecstatic that the monsters had not attacked anyone since their encounter, but he knew that the calm wouldn't last. He picked himself up and contemplated about everything he had learned from his attempt at getting stronger.
First of all, his memories were coming back, well more faces showed up, such as a bald man with a third eye, a man with a deep scowl that chilled Gohan more than he'd like to admit, who wore some sort of armor, and there was a woman with black hair up in a bun, smile settled on her face. Gohan hoped it was his mother. The woman had seemed very happy about something.
Gohan glanced up at the sky again with a faint smile. The smile instantly disappeared as he sensed the people's energy dying. He balled his fists, and he sprinted toward the area. He wouldn't let them kill those innocent people! A flash of a man with a determined face hit him, making him abruptly halt.
He saw the crazy spiky hairdo, and he watched the man raise up a fist and grin. The blue and orange of the man's clothing were glowing brightly until the point that they hid the man. Gohan shook his head and focused. He had tried to fly like that one person from before, and he actually had hovered over the ground, but that was all he could accomplish.
He couldn't get up anymore than that yet, so he pushed his body to reach the disaster he undoubtedly would run into. He reached the city where those monsters were, and he skidded along the streets, making a beeline toward the flickering energies. It was necessary that he picked up his pace. He darted into an open area that seemed unmarked by the monsters, and he saw the people running and screaming, going into the direction that he had come from. He swirled around the stampede of people, making his way against the crowd.
A man yelled at him, telling him to run. The man stopped when Gohan continued on his way. The boy's dark eyes were wary, but firm. Gohan would have ushered the man out of the way, but out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a bright light approaching. He whipped himself around and placed his hands over his head, hoping this plan of his worked.
His hands lay on top of one another, and he shouted out to the others. "Get out of here!" He imagined his own energy, locating it from the center of his body and bringing it out of his palm. He noticed the light was getting closer- the energy blast, his brain finally came up with what it was called. He tried to concentrate, but the blast headed straight for him, and he couldn't stop the fears from surfacing.
At the last second, he turned around to cover as many people as he could. The blast struck him in the back, causing him to bite back a scream. There were enough screams already. As the smoke began to clear, another blast whizzed across the sky to Gohan's right, aimed for the citizens heading for the other way. Gohan headed straight toward the monsters, only pausing when another blast destroyed the people; everything went airborne, excluding Gohan. Gohan glanced down at his tightly clenched hands, anger coursing through him.
He searched for any survivors, attempting to sense any of their energies, but unfortunately, he found none. Also, it just happened that the blonde and black-haired monsters had no energies, which Gohan found peculiar somewhat. A masculine voice froze him in his spot, "Hey, it's the little kid with the tail- or should I say, without the tail."
Gohan clenched his jaw and glared at the ground. He wished he could sense their energies, but if they didn't have energies, what were they? Were they simply bad-natured all together, or were they not even humans at all? He wasn't sure which idea he drifted toward because he could tell the two were approaching.
His eyes traveled up to meet up with the black eyes of the other boy. He shifted into a wide stance, arms up. "Ready for round two, monster?" His voice remained calm and even, despite the dread that rose up in his throat.
The other boy turned to the blonde with a wicked look. Without saying anything, the girl shrugged and stepped back. Now, Gohan was trying to hold back the shakes of his shoulders, eventually succeeding. He ignored his brain's pleas to run. He didn't even blink, and the other boy struck him in the face, and he rolled along the ground.
Reaching his feet, he got ready again, dashing forward at the gesturing older male before him. He aimed a punch for the other's head with an expressive yell, but instead of just using just his hands, his leg shot up. His heel connected with the other's jaw and sent him backward a bit. The accomplishment went unnoticed by the youngest as his rage took over and called the shots.
Wildly, he used all of his energy, barely touching the other, who definitely had no problem beating the crap out of the small boy. A soft yell escaped Gohan's mouth when the other had disappeared, reappearing only to whip Gohan with the back of his hand. He fell through a window of a store, which the whole thing ended up coming down on him.
The other boy followed without hesitance, and before Gohan could right himself, a kick knocked the wind out of him. Another foot collided with his chest once more. Gohan gasped out in painful wheezes as he shot through the air. He had to stop himself before he hit- and he smashed into something that could have been a wall, now it was mere rubble. He pushed off a large piece and rose to his feet, legs and body sagging a bit.
His eyes darted across the sky, but he couldn't pinpoint where the other was until the blonde's voice sounded from behind him. "Let me help you." Her one hand snatched Gohan, while the other was drawn back. "Oops."
Gohan grew really puzzled, his face obviously showed the emotion. "'Oops,'" echoed Gohan, who discovered her reason for saying that too late. He was dropped by the hand, and the other flashed out, flinging Gohan through the air once again. Gohan spun as he felt a kick to his side, and he landed on his chest. His breath left him, and he couldn't breathe another time.
He turned onto his back, chest heaving and his right hand hovering over it.
"Oh man, he's almost finished." Gohan knew far too well already that this was all just a game to the other boy- both of them actually. They didn't care who died, who was miserable, who was hurt; they just wanted to be entertained. They hated the human race, and once again, Gohan was at a complete loss as to why.
"You're fun's over, 17. Just get rid of him already."
"Alright, calm down."
A light came from the other's palm, which was aimed directly at Gohan, and he doubted he could take a hit at this range and walk- or limp- away from it. He saw an opportunity, and he launched himself toward the other, knocking him down by accidentally head-butting him. A memory surfaced, displaying a young Gohan, surprisingly dressed in the same attire that he was currently in, smashing through some type of armor and knocking the person over, as well.
Gohan jumped to his feet and targeted the blonde, focusing his energy beneath him, and his feet lifted off the ground, and he glared at the blonde, who just observed with a disinterested face. Gohan propelled himself forward, dropping to the ground moments later. He had been distracted. By what, though, was the question. His head maneuvered around to look for the distraction.
A fist invaded his view, and his head whipped back, followed by the rest of his body. Something exploded next to his person, pushing him toward the ground even faster and further along it after that. The pavement, broken pieces of the city, and more rubble slowed him down at the expense of some of his skin.
He hissed a breath through his teeth, eyelids threatening to cover his view. He couldn't give up, something deep and forgotten had told him that he couldn't. He worked his mouth, a warm liquid flowing out of it, and he figured he'd say it was saliva, definitely nothing else. A random fact came up, something about enzymes in saliva that broke down carbohydrates, beginning a process known as digestion.
He furrowed his brow at his mind's outburst. Now wasn't the time for useless information! He willed himself to sit up, studying the approaching figures. His brain kept up with the nonessential facts; unable to stop it, Gohan did his best to focus on the objective at hand. Pictures of complicated math problems sprung into his mind, and he almost screamed in exasperation, but he blinked at the next set of information. There was something he could use! He made it onto his feet, remaining low to the ground. He waited for the right time, hand steady on a rock, three seconds, two, one. NOW! He darted forward, taking out the older boy's feet, sending him to the ground, and Gohan jumped up into the air and threw the rock as hard as he could manage.
Just like he predicted, the blonde moved her head, so the object missed her, but not the thing behind her. A grin hit Gohan's face, and after she looked behind herself, Gohan rushed toward the other boy- was 17 his name?- and cupped his hands together. He had wanted to hit 17, but got the ground instead. It would have been okay, except the blonde was before him again.
He must have forgot to calculate their speed, and now, she was the one with the smug expression. Her right hand struck Gohan sideways into the object that was supposed to have gone off before the blonde had left the spot that Gohan currently found himself in. Well, he was supposed to make 17 try to blast him or make one himself and hit it.
The it he meant was the gas leaking out of the hole in it. The blonde lifted her hands up, and they began to glow brightly. Oh, no, was Gohan's only thoughts as the blast was fired and came at him. Upon the connection between the gas and the blast, the whole thing combusted in flames and erupted, and Gohan was caught within the inferno.
He couldn't see, but the two others had rose up to the sky and extended their hands down, letting out a barrage of blasts at the flames and the boy trapped within them. They witnessed the loud expressive screams rise, and then they faded. The two didn't stop their attack until a few more minutes, and until the fire was only in patches on the ground. They located the boy's body, which appeared to be moving.
"You gotta be kidding me," muttered the blonde when the two reached ground level and once more they went over to the tailless kid. The body was convulsing, becoming more dramatic when tiny arms stretched out to prop up the twitching body. "Stop fooling around, 17."
Gohan didn't acknowledge the fact that they were just messing around with him, which was probably a good thing. If he did, he most likely wouldn't have the courage to do what he did next. He flew toward the other boy, fist outstretched and connecting with the other boy's cheek, and he flipped up into the air, almost triumphant, but not quite. He stared them down, since he was above them in the air.
He quite liked being higher than them, but with a start, he realized that they could fly too, and they both flashed at him. He didn't stand a chance, especially in his condition. In a matter of milliseconds he found himself back on the ground, rocks somehow on top of him from his impact. His eyes were shut as his breath hitched in his throat.
He couldn't breath again, yet he couldn't roll himself over all the way, only making it to his side. Something touched the ground; Gohan heard it, and he was filled with horror. He had to get up, but he was still twitching. He pushed against the ground with his face, one eye opened, while the other firmly closed.
He was about to raise his head, but he was prevented by a foot. Muffled voices reached his ears, and he groaned, unable to even keep one of his eyes open anymore. The foot slipped off his head, and he barely heard 17 and the blonde shuffle around on their feet.
The two were talking, and another voice joined in, making Gohan's hand twitch and reach out to grab hold of a heavy piece of rock and lift himself up. He didn't want this person to end up dead either. He wasn't going to allow it. He could no longer hear voices, just a sound that resembled wind by his ear. His dark eyes took forever to get a glimpse at the newcomer, and he pinched his brows together.
This person looked familiar, but Gohan couldn't place him, and Gohan wouldn't get a chance to think about it. His body crumbled to the ground, back on his side facing away from the fight, and without his permission, his body shut down.
He had passed out.
. . . .
The teen had reached the ground, and he immediately noticed the bloody form off to the side. He couldn't take it. The Androids had absolutely no respect, even for the dead! His eyes flickered back to the form, and he realized something. It was still moving.
The bloody form was living, and he double checked. Yes, alive, but barely, and oddly, he could have sworn he knew that energy signature. He pushed it off to gain the Androids' attention, so he called out to them. "Androids! Why don't you pick on someone else for a change?" He quickly ascended to super saiyan and glared. "You always kill, and now I'm going to take you out for good!"
"Is that a joke, kid?" Android 18 cocked a brow in his direction.
"Yeah, last time I checked, you didn't stand a chance." Android 17 glanced sideways at his sister with a smirk. "I call him this time."
"Hmph, whatever." She would have continued, but the bloody body from before held her attention. "He has got to be more fun than this one."
"Oh c'mon, 18, he lasted awhile, even after that explosion that he tried to set off on you."
The female crossed her arms, not commenting on the subject, and she used her foot to lift up the bloody body's head. When her face contorted into one of disgust, she dropped the head, wiping the blood on the hat that still remained on the boy's head.
17 watched the interaction between his sister and the child. Clearly, the child was dead, or at least close to it. He bet that she wished to leave, now that 17 was hogging all of the fighting, but what he didn't know was that she was going to cut in after a few minutes. 17 turned toward the super saiyan, who locked his pale green eyes on the child.
The teen felt as if he knew this person, but that was impossible. The ones that he truly knew was his mother and his master, Gohan… This child just felt so dang familiar. He replayed people that he had met, starting at the beginning of his life- at least when he remembered to know them- and making his way to the ones he currently met. He hesitated when he studying the form again. It couldn't be, could it?
A whisper escaped his lips, "Gohan?" No, Gohan was dead, but then why did addressing this stranger as Gohan feel right? His fingers closed, hands in fists now. And Gohan was much other, and taller than that! He focused on the energy, which was almost nonexistent now. Why does it feel like Gohan then?
It didn't matter, all he wanted was to get that kid out of there, even if he could never be his mentor. The kid needed help, and he appeared to be running out of time! The teen didn't let the Androids react as he dodged around the side of 17 and collided with 18 to force her out of the way. He grabbed hold of the boy and ran off to wait for a clean getaway. He traveled on foot as swiftly as he dared.
He made sure not to look at the immobile bundle in his arms. Please, Mom, be ready when I get there.
. . . .
Gohan felt trapped; he was suffocating. He tried to scream, but he couldn't even hear it. He couldn't find the strength to move, and it was so dark, and so cold at that. He searched for a light in the darkness; seeing it in the distance, he approached it cautiously. When he got close enough, he saw two figures near it, and Gohan backed away.
He turned and dashed back toward the black, glancing over his shoulder.
"Hey look sis, tailless boy."
"Let's just end him."
"HELP, HELP US, ANYONE, PLEASE, SOMEONE DO SOMETHING- ANYTHING, DON'T LEAVE, SOMEONE, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO," screams filled Gohan's head, followed only by explosions and silence. He looked back as he heard two voices ask, "Where are you going now?" The two voices laughed in sync with one another. The voices blended together, and Gohan rushed away from them.
Their laughter followed him as if they were right next to him; he heard their taunts- he heard everything. He continued his run even if he was light-headed and ready to just surrender. The screams started up again, and he clenched his hands over his head. "Gohan," a whisper intruded through the screams. "My baby, come back home…"
"This is my son, Gohan." Another louder voice, yet still soft and welcoming, rose over the screams. The voice was shattered when another voice broke through.
"Gohan! Attack NOW!"
"GOKUUUU! HELP ME!" A horror-stricken voice found its place right after. An explosion erupted directly after, and Gohan screamed out- once again his voice didn't reach out to his own ears, just everyone else's. His feet stumbled along the darkness just as yet another voice hissed out.
"Pathetic, brat."
Gohan shook his head, and he tripped over something that immediately disappeared after he tripped on it. "Run," the darkness seemed to whisper out to the scared boy. He gazed over his shoulder, and his eyes widened even more. The screaming intensified, pleading with him to return back, to save them, to not let them die. They didn't want to perish; they didn't want to have to face this.
Gohan's hands grew cold as he stood there, eyeing the approaching wall of flames. He clenched his eyes closed when the wall grew closer, and… He couldn't do it! He ran the other way, all the while hearing the voices telling him to come back, wanting him to face it. They needed him; Gohan could sense it. He just couldn't do it. He was too afraid, so he left the fire behind and kept going. He turned over his shoulder another time and regretted it. The fire was gone, but the two monsters were there again, nearly three yards away and closing in.
They moved together, side-by-side, and in unison they smirked. "We hope your not leaving so soon." The two voices were together again. They stopped together and drew up their hands at the same time. "Think your way out of this," snarled the duo, and a sound signaled the combined blasts zooming toward him.
Gohan increased his speed, desperately searching for something to save him. His mind went blank. Save him… Save him… Those two words resonated off the hidden walls, and he smacked face-first into one of those supposed walls.
Save.. him... Save him.. Save HIM, SAVE HIM SAVEHIMSAVEHIM! Save them, Gohan gritted his teeth as he repeated the last part. Save them, and he would. He whipped himself around, facing the blast head on, opening his arms wide. "I won't stand by and let you hurt them- I won't let you hurt any of them." He glanced toward the wall that was behind him, only to find a crowd of cowering people there.
He looked back at the blast heading his way, and he embraced it as he came. He wouldn't let them die because he was too scared. The bright light surrounded him completely, and it started to peal away at his clothes and skin. He twirled in the air as he allowed the light to take him with it across the darkness.
Soon he met with another darkness, but this one was different. He wasn't met with accusing voices or tortuous laughter. It was just silence, and he wasn't so sure that he liked the silence very much either. Luckily, he heard a faint sound to his right. It beeped at him. Beep… Beep… Beep…
He gently pried his eyes open and looked to see a ceiling above him. He heard a small commotion to his left. Turning his head a fraction of an inch, he was met with two pairs of similar blue eyes. His eyes wavered, but the two pairs of eyes seemed to brighten, and both of the blue-eyed people migrated closer to him.
"Gohan," the woman said, relief evident in her voice. "Thought we lost you there, kid."
Gohan was about to ask how she knew his name, but when he really looked at her, another woman took her place, blue hair changing along with the outfits she wore, and the woman that stood before him appeared at last. The other one stepped forward. "Mother, I swear I thought he-"
"Trunks, you should be apologizing to Gohan, you're the one that brought him here."
The young boy face went blank when the teen- Trunks- bowed his head, and said. "I'm sorry, Gohan. I didn't know you were in the time machine. If I did, I'd never…" His voice trailed off, eyes filled with an emotion that Gohan couldn't place.
Gohan furrowed his brow in confusion from the look and whatever a "time machine" was, and they seemed to interpret the look differently than what he wanted to portray because the woman hurriedly picked up the conversation. "Don't worry though, you'll be-"
Gohan gasped out as he sat up in a hurry, and the two immediately placed him back down.
"Don't push yourself, you need to rest," the woman gently scolded. "You definitely need a good week of rest."
Gohan shook his head, despite the pounding that came from the shake. "I… I…" He attempted to form the words.
"No need for thank yous, Gohan. You're always welcomed here." The woman added.
Trunks gave him a smile, which he didn't return. In fact, he frowned and tried again. "I…" He swallowed. "Not to be mean, miss, but who… are you exactly?"
The woman laughed. "Oh don't kid, Gohan. You must recognize me from somewhere. Who do I look like?" She turned to the side in a mock pose, hoping for some sort of smile or exclamation of recognition. The boy was smart after all. Chi Chi definitely wanted to make sure of that.
Gohan observed the woman before him. He did recognize her, but didn't at the same time. He glanced at his sheet-covered feet. "I'm sorry, I do not know you… I don't recognize either of you." He bit the inside of his cheek and closed his eyes. He didn't wish to see their reactions. After some time, the woman's soft voice spoke up.
"Did you hit your head at all?"
Gohan's eyes opened, and his eyes landed on the opposite wall. "When I came here…" He wasn't sure if he should tell them anything. A shaky breath followed as he moved to see the two others in the room. They were not judging, neither were they very threatening. They seemed to genuinely care about him, so he finished. "I couldn't remember anything- not people or where I even lived. I tried to find them, only finding a place that was familiar, but I never found anyone or anything other than that." He averted his eyes halfway through his short speech.
Trunks and his mother shared a look. His mother started to speak. "Well, you can stay here for as long as you want."
Trunks nodded his head and said. "And you'll regain your memories before you know it." He smiled at the boy, who fidgeted somewhat. Trunks obviously didn't know that his mother was worried about the fact that Gohan hasn't regained his memory yet, and the lack of familiar things were not helping, and that she also had no clue what the boy had been through already.
"Ah- Uhm, thank you." The young boy shifted his face up with a small smile. He knew he had made the right choice in telling them. He opened his mouth to thank them yet again, but he fell asleep before the words could come out.
Joined without nightmares, he slept, rather peacefully- or a drug induced peaceful one in the very least.
(Next Time: There's Still Good in this Future
Gohan hangs around Bulma and Trunks for a bit. The story gets a little better around Chapter 5 or so, at least in my opinion. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. Stay tuned for the next one will ya readers?)
Cruzerblade: Thanks for the support on the story. Sorry for the small interaction between the three of them; you probably wished it was longer.
