Yo!
Happy Halloween, guys. Hope this gives you something to do, those stuck with watching the door for trick-or-treaters. I usually try to avoid A/N in the middle of the story, but in two instances I *had* to comment ^^ Sorry if it takes away at all. I just felt the need to note some things, and felt the force of the comment would be pulled away if I simply referenced to the bottom of the page. Anyways, 'nough chat, on to the story!
Disclaimer: I no own! If I did, I'd have a lot more to do than answer the door on Halloween. *sigh*
Last time…
"So you named him Goten…?"
"Huh? Wha-"
"I will do as you ask. All I can say is… I'm sorry…"
"What're you doing!? Let Goku go! They're killing Gohan!"
"You think Kakkarot's feeling any better than you, standing up there watching his son being tortured? For some reason none of us know?" He glanced at Shin, obviously struggling to control his own independent nature. "Hopefully the Supreme Kai will supply a grand reason."
All he felt was… numb. His mind had drawn a blank; his nerves had stopped functioning. All he could feel, all he could hear, was his heart beating a cruel tattoo against his eardrums as cold sweat rolled down his face.
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Kokuhaku: Chapter 10
Occult
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"We have met
the enemy and it is us."
-Walt Kelly
"Goku!" Videl's cries gained no response as she raced to the arena. Tears stung threateningly at her eyes, but she fought back the sensation, continuing her hurried walk.
"Isn't that Videl down there? She knows Son Goku?" Erasa's eyes widened as she stared down.
"Yea, why not?" Sharpener replied, not even bothering to glance over at his blonde companion.
Videl arrived at her friend's side, chest heaving as she slowed her run; she hadn't realized it, but she had been holding her breath the whole time. Now she regretted it. "Goku, I'm so sorry! I tried to help but Vegeta, he-"
The teenager girl's voice broke off abruptly as the Saiyan stood shakily; Shin had appeared at their side, expression drawn. "I must go- I have to follow them."
Kabito, Krillin, Vegeta, and Piccolo had appeared as well, expressions intermingling; some were unfazed, some shocked, some simply aggravated. Vegeta was the one to step forward first, snatching the Kai's collar. "Tell us what's going on, Kai. What the hell is Kakkarot's dead gaki doing here?"
Shin carefully removed the Saiyan's grip, who strangely gave up no fight. "If you will follow me, I will tell you. I must go now, or else I will lose them." With that, the Kai took off, disappearing over the rim of the arena. Kabito followed suit without a word.
Growling his displeasure, Vegeta did something most out of character. He looked to his inferior. "Kakkarot?"
Although still quite pale, the Saiyan swallowed, nodding. "Let's find out what's going on around here."
All four had just begun to hover into the air when a certain female made her presence known with a shout of, "Hold on!"
Placing her hands on her hips, she glared at the quartet of departing warriors. "Where do you think you're going? I'm coming too!"
Krillin was the one to make an attempt at placating the girl. "Videl, I don't think this is s-"
The human balked as Satan's daughter interrupted once more. "I deserve to know what the hell is going on too, you know!"
"Videl." Even the fiery human was surprised by the gravity of Goku's voice. "This could be dangerous; you saw what just happened. I can't let anything happen to you."
The teen thought for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Instead, she just looked to the ground in embarrassment at her outburst. She hadn't even though of how Goku might feel at the moment.
"I promise I'll tell you everything, ok?" Goku smiled lightly, a little of his usual happiness returning.
Videl gave a slightly frustrated stare in return. "You'd better. Don't get blown up, ok? Any of you. Except Vegeta, of course."
Krillin grinned, relieved by the lightened atmosphere. "We'll try! Oh, Videl, tell 18 where I'm going please? She'd be so mad if I skipped out on her…"
"What am I, your slave now?" The girl teased, despite the concern that was nagging at the back of her mind.
Goku took off without a word, flanked by Vegeta and Piccolo. Krillin gave a final wave, disappearing after the others.
"What's our plan?" Krillin muttered once they had skirted the rim of the arena.
Goku continued to stare forward, seeking out the forms of the pair he obviously felt. However, he did reply, "We'll just have to wing it."
"Don't we always?" The human replied dryly, all too concerned about the situation at hand.
Vegeta smirked at Krillin's discomfort. At least the human realized he was out of place.
All 4 picked up the pace, soon leveling with the Kai and his companion. Shin kept his eyes forward as he began. "We are following those three because they are returning to the one person who will begin the destruction of this planet."
"Why haven't we heard anything of this?" Vegeta snapped irritably.
"Because he had no idea that there was anyone on this planet of a decent power level. Not that he would be interested in any of you, anyways."
"And who is this 'he?'" Goku interrupted.
Shin took each question with stride, eyes forward the entire time, locked on the figures in the far, far distance. "'He' is the wizard Babidi. Perhaps I should start at the beginning…" Before any could interrupt, he went on, "Long ago, there was a terror in the universe named Majin Buu. This was a creature created, and controlled by, the wizard Bibidi. He destroyed planets, and later 4 of the Supreme Kai, including the Kai who looked over us all. I was the only one left… But Bibidi was forced to contain Buu, tired from controlling him. With Buu safely away, we destroyed Bibidi, and considered it done."
"Buu… He was left on this planet, wasn't he?" Vegeta surmised.
"Yes," Shin replied gravely.
Piccolo fell back to toss a glance at the short Saiyan. "What made you assume that? He could've brought it with him."
"This planet seems to be a magnet for every annoyingly strong and deadly evil creature in this universe. It wasn't hard to figure out," the Saiyan Prince replied dryly.
The Supreme Kai gave a warning cough and, regaining both warriors' attention, continued. "What we did not realize was that Bibidi had a son. And that son has been planning this little revival for quite awhile."
Goku spoke for the first time in a long while, voice level. "What are they doing with my son?"
At this, Shin shot the Saiyan a sharp glare. "The first thing you must understand is that there is very little possibility that that is actually your son. The North Kai alerted me to a rising group of warriors which seemed suspicious in his quadrant. At the mention of the appearance of the symbol for Majin- an M, like you saw on Spopovitch and Yamu's forehead- I decided to investigate. From what I learned, Babidi had been far from well-known, and pretty much ignored by the galaxy. However, one day, he appeared at a tournament with a new fighter that no one had ever seen before- a 14-year-old half-Saiyan. No one knew who he was, but he dominated the arena, and thus began Babidi's rise to a reputation that even the Kais couldn't ignore."
"But that- that had to be Gohan. He sounded, looked, hell, he even stood just like he used to- but older, of course. It isn't impossible that Babidi revived him!" Goku contradicted.
"Goku, let me guess, your son was exactly like you?"
The Saiyan was slightly taken aback at this question. "I… I guess, but not exactly…"
Piccolo interrupted gruffly. "The Gohan I knew was a warrior in his own, but unlike his father, he wasn't made for the battlefield. He hated to fight, when it came down to it."
Krillin nodded in agreement. "Gohan was just like Goku that way, he'd never harm anyone that didn't deserve it…"
"This Gohan has killed hundreds upon hundreds of slaves. He has bathed each arena from here to the South Quadrant in the blood of innocents." Shin snapped coldly. (A/N: And that, my dear readers, is how to verbally slap the Z fighters.)
Goku stopped in mid-flight.
After a moment of shocked numbness, he shook his head to dislodge muddled thoughts, shooting after the group again. Even then, he was finding it difficult to breathe correctly.
Shin continued on, eyes on the horizon once more. "Obviously you understand. That is not your Gohan. I watched him one day- he was a murderer, through and through, killing each and every warrior in the ring without mercy."
"I can't believe Gohan would…" Krillin muttered dazedly.
"Aren't you listening to me at all?" Shin snapped. "That isn't Gohan. It may be just a shadow. Whatever it is, you mustn't hold back against him. He is a powerful enemy, as you saw."
"Why did they do that? Drain his ki? His own allies?" Vegeta had kept a straight head through it all, concise and to the point as always.
Shin was relieved at this. At least someone was listening. "They have been collecting the energy necessary to revive Buu here and there over the years. That energy that Yamu is carrying is the final dosage necessary to revive the monster… I believe Babidi was just showing off at the tournament. He knew I was on to him, I was stupid enough to confront him that day in the arena…" The Kai's eyes narrowed once more. "Our mission is to get that ki before Buu is revived, and destroy Babidi and his men."
"Men? As in 'more than one?'" Krillin inquired worriedly.
"Last time I checked, Babidi was controlling that teenage boy, the demon king Dabura, and several men. Of course, that was many years ago. He obviously acquired Yamu and Spopovitch along the way."
"Demon… king? Are you sure we can beat this guy?"
"Dabura is a worry, yes, but that half-breed is more of a concern. He is far more powerful than the demon king. And Babidi himself is weak, until it comes to his magic."
"We're here." Goku stated in an eerily calm voice, gaining varying looks of slightly disconcerted looks from his three allies.
"It is your choice to remain at this point. If you do not wish to fight, then I suggest you leave…"
Krillin immediately began to back up. "Well, you guys seem to…"
"Duck." Piccolo ordered calmly, snatching the back of the human's shirt as the group dived behind the rim of the rocks below, peeking down.
"There, that's Babidi!" Shin whispered quietly, voice made harsh by his low tone. "The warrior there is Dabura."
Yamu and Spopovitch approached their master with zombie-like steps, gently laying down the limp Gohan and glowing energy container like offerings before stepping back.
Dabura glanced down at the unconscious demi-Saiyan, and Goku was surprised to see a look of pleasure briefly flicker across the demon's face.
Piccolo leaned closer, trying his best to hear the conversation. To his pleasure, it reached his ears. "We have done it, sir, and I don't believe we were followed; you should've seen the look on the opponent's face when we drained him," Yamu spoke with a dark grin.
Babidi's eyes narrowed. "The point was for someone to follow you. But you're too idiotic to realize they did."
All 6, concealed in the hills, gave an involuntary jolt as the wizard glanced right at them.
Smiling, the short creature continued, "Take him inside, Pui Pui. Now, Spopovitch, Yamu, for your reward…"
He nodded towards Dabura, who gave a smile befitting of his demonic name.
The pair never had a chance to run away.
"Those bastards! They destroy their own allies!" Krillin hissed in anger. Vegeta nodded in agreement.
Goku continued to stare, silent, gauging.
"Dabura, go weed out the weak ones. Oh, but leave the Kai for me."
Piccolo immediately stood, eyes wide as he cried, "They know we're here!"
All 6 were on guard immediately, ready to attack.
Dabura moved faster than they had imagined, and before Goku could land a kick, the demon had turned Kabito to dust. Working fast, he quickly spat at Krillin and Piccolo, gaining a look of disgust from both.
That was before they were turned to stone.
Shin, Vegeta, and Goku stood alone.
Dabura balanced on a rock regally, smirking. "My master awaits you." With that, he had spun on his heel and disappeared into the spaceship before they could exhale.
Goku glanced balefully at his petrified friends. "Krillin…"
"Let's go." Vegeta stated coldly, taking towards the ship. Uncertain, Shin followed; the younger Saiyan lingered a moment before taking the same path.
~*~
"You think your dad's gonna be ok?" Goten inquired worriedly, stuck on the bottom of their 'Mighty Mask' once more.
"Yea, dunno about your's, though. He's so weak compared to…"
"Hey! That's not true! Veggie's never beaten Dad!" Goten protested, pin wheeling his arms and successfully toppling his friend. The young half-Saiyan grumbled loudly at the boy before regaining his place on his shoulders.
But he still had to get the last word. "Did too."
"Trunks!"
A loud thud rang from the rim of the arena, gaining looks of curiosity from spectators below.
"Goten, stop doing that!"
~*~
"They are heading inside, sir." Dabura reported calmly, looking all the world like a loyal manservant.
Babidi smiled. "Good. Now I can test these earthlings; maybe I can control a whole Saiyan trio. The entire universe would tremble!" (A/N: Insert lame, annoying evil cackle here.)
The demon king seemed slightly annoyed at this. "Sir, certainly you won't need that demi-Saiyan and his friends when you have Majin Buu?"
"Still jealous that my half-breed is stronger than the all-powerful demon king?"
"Hn…"
"Speak of the devil." Babidi smirked at his own joke as the mentioned demi-Saiyan appeared in the doorway, posture straight as always, eyes dull with indifference.
Sighing, the wizard lazily flapped a hand. "Alright, enough of that dull bovine look. C'mon, Okiri."
At first, the transformation was only visible in the 18-year-old's charcoal eyes; they switched from that dull, glossy appearance to a glittering, cold animosity in mere seconds. Gohan's frown then increased; his glare landed full-force on his "master."
"There we go. Much better. Now then, I have a question for you. Just how strong are these Saiyans? Should I have a little fun first, or just kill them straight off?"
Gohan's glare grew in ferocity. Babidi knew damn well that he hadn't spoken in nearly 5 years.
Dabura, however, was still frustrated by the teenager's cold silence. He drove a fist into the demi-Saiyan's stomach as he barked, "Reply when he asks!"
Gohan punched right back, unaffected by the demon's punch. He did, however, have an affect on his attacker; Dabura pulled back, winded. One hand held his injured abdomen.
Okiri couldn't help a slight smirk. ((I still have an advantage.))
Dabura coughed, and for a moment considered spitting at the demi-Saiyan. Babidi beat him to the punch. "Don't even think about it, Dabura. You'll probably miss, and I like the floor when it's not your damned ugly gray stone."
Okiri smirked again.
Wiping his mouth, the demon straightened, scowling. "That brat's more trouble than he's worth. All he does is screw things up, sire! We should let Buu kill him the moment we revive him." With that said, he commenced a glaring contest with his adversary. Okiri stared right back, still smirking.
"Enough, Dabura. Now Okiri, are you going to answer my question, or do you want me to find out myself?"
((Go ahead, get your men killed,)) Okiri thought, but he said nothing. His smirk had dissolved.
"Alright then. We'll have to test them, then. Bring out Pui Pui."
(('Bout damn time we got rid of that bastard…))
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Finis Chapter
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Kinda abrupt, no? Sorry. I didn't want to go much farther. Besides, I gave you the nice verbal slap, didn't I? *hehehe* I was mean to poor Goku this chapter. I'll make up for it next chapter. No… wait… I won't ^^; Nevermind that, then,
Wow. Just watched Movie 8 for the first time. Gohan got beat up a lot. Hung on a wall… twice… and used for a punching bag! I kind of didn't get when this movie occurred, though. Gohan had the haircut and looks of post-Spirit and Time Room, but Goku was alive, so that meant it was pre-Cell Games, but neither Goku nor Gohan were Super Saiyan, and they were Super Saiyan the entire time before Cell Games. Also, Goku and Gohan wouldn't be lounging about and just jump off to some new planet Vegeta. They wouldn't leave Earth alone with Cell! So when is it? It can't be before Spirit and Time- Gohan's too old. And he couldn't go Super Saiyan. *And* they were too busy with androids. It can't be after Cell Games- Goku's alive. It's the great mystery of the DBZ world.
I can't wait to see Movie 9, though (although I'm not sure when this occurs, either; didn't Trunks leave right after? But it's more feasible than Broly). All Gohan ^^ I wanna see, I wanna see! Anyone know when the dubbed version comes out? Can't seem to find out anywhere.
I was going to get into a Goku rant. I don't recall what about, though. Other than I found my favorite scene in the manga (so far)! When Goku stands up from being ill (heart virus, androids, Roshi's island, ya know?), he looks so… cool. Calm. Intelligent. Totally different from the anime, where to me, he seemed air-headed. In this he resembles Bardock, totally sure of what to do and not the least bit perturbed. He just looks so *different* and it's great!
Well, now for el reviews!
KMX- Yea, I knew that. I just always see Sheik as male-ish. That's why she has the binds on her chest, right? To make her look male? I draw her as practice, so I noticed that ^^ Hmm… one of those guesses on how Gohan became a Majin was right. Which one, I wonder *hehehe* No, I think everyone has a natural animosity towards Supreme Kai. Maybe it's just a natural thing. But he never did get all of his training and *was* kind of shoved into his job, so I feel kinda sorry for him. It's like promoting a rookie to president and then leaving him to himself with no advisors but the clueless Kabito. Sorry, Goten and Trunks made an appearance last chapter, but I kinda forgot about them. I tried to think of a way to fit them in, but kinda forgot later ^^; Sorry! They'll play major roles later. Trunks even gets to get into a wrestling match! Go Trunks! Lol, Kouhaku? Niftiness. Thanks for the compliment ^^
Shea Loner- Cool ^^ The thing that occurred in the "Look into the Future" will most likely come into play in a few months if I keep updating regularly *crosses fingers*
DBZ Chick1- I did? Coolness ^^ Yep, bad Shin, he didn't put his detective skills to their greatest extent.
SSJ5Tigger- Nooo!!! Don't do it Milly! Thankfully my dog can't reach the keyboard unless I pick him up *hehe* Yay! Peace out to you too!
Aleandra Alyra Sarienna- Liked the new chappie ^^ Another story? o.O I dunno if I could handle that…. Let's finish Kokuhaku first. If it helps, it's going to be three parts long…? Ah! Muses! They can be scary things. Believe me, I was cracking up for a *long* time after that review ^^ I'm easily entertained. You'll find out how the Majins caught Gohan *evil laugh* Fahrenheit 451 rocks! Mwahaha! I updated, I updated ^^;
Simba-rulz- Yep, he is ^^ I updated!
Alex Ultra- I don't update quick, so I'd say the first one, Regis. As Shin explained, Babidi was making a show of it because he's an evil (insert word here) and he felt like flaunting his control over Gohan. Babidi can be patient when he wants to. The fact that he's been planning this for so long proves as much- it took him 7 years to carry Gohan to this point, after all. We'll have to find out just what state Gohan's in, won't we? Actually, that was a good guess at the quote. Not on the target, but good. ^^ Words aren't kind to me early in the morning. Thank goodness I have math to wake me up first period. Like your signature.
Adrienne D- Wow, when I saw this review… *whistles* I couldn't believe it! I loved reading this, too. Okie dokies, onto the review (*still so happy that she got such a long review*) Familiaris Peregrinus does sound like a bird, doesn't it? Lol ^^ Latin can be funny sometimes. This story seems to be all about contrasts. Saiyans, humans, good, evil, koku, haku, etc., etc…
Yay ^^ I'm glad you didn't mind my creative liberty. I can't stand fillers. I may *have* to explain stuff later, like in various Goten and Trunks adventures, but for the moment I felt no need to elongate the scene. Tweaking is the author's greatest tool ^^ I think I did mess up that announcer bit. Sorry. I may take it out later. Now that I think about it, it didn't make sense at all o.O I'll fix it, when I can get around to it. I'm trying to get part *1* up right now. God forbid part 2. Geez… I thought the height thing was kind of strange. I have noticed for awhile that shorter people are a little head-strong. Krillin was always fired up in Dragonball, and Vegeta is the *personification* of hard-headed in DBZ. I imagine Goku would notice something like that. As Chelsee once stated in one of her essays, Goku may not understand some things, but he knows fighting like the back of his hand. He knows an assaulter's strengths and weaknesses before anyone knows they're under attack. Another interesting part about him, and another reason I tend to like him ^^ As you've noticed, I try my best to build up Goku's character in Kokuhaku. Later I'll do the same with Goten. Yes, I do imagine everyone in DB world speaks the same language, as it seems a semi-close-knit world. It makes perfect sense as a theory. I actually changed the part about Goten ^^ At first he just went straight to it, but I really have been musing that Gohan would linger about that a lot, being his little brother and all. And as I said, I will develop Goten later. So I just wanted to start the process here. LOL ^^ I'm glad my suspense worked. I was afraid it would flop. I'm no master of these things- I fear most when I get to fights. I actually don't think I'll have a direct *fight* fight in this one, just short spars, except for a small wrestling match that Trunks conducts and a big climatic match at the end. Chi-chi always faints. It's guaranteed ^^ As Shin explained, there was no need to paralyze Gohan. You nailed it right on. The quote doesn't actually pertain exactly to the chapter itself, but to the story itself. A hint was in this chapter, actually. Hope you did well in band- seems a lot of people I know are in that. Astrozazel, you… geez ^^; I have actually read Fahrenheit 451 several times. It's an annual thing for me. Fall, pick up Fahrenheit 451 and start going! I'll look out for Martian Chronicles. Any Ray Bradbury book is probably fantastic ^^ The guy's a genius! Thankies for the *fantastic* review. I hope I answered well enough. *glances at reply* wow…. This has to be my longest reply yet!
Silver Warrior- *sheepish grin* Thanks. Yep, poor Gohan, a puppet. I think he'd probably prefer being a spirit in otherworld to serving Babidi, though o.O
Whew. Owch. That took awhile ^^ Thanks for reviews! I can't *believe* I've got 85 on this fic. I never dreamed ^^ And to think, Serendipity so far along, and so few reviews. I don't really mind though. I do think this fic just stands head and shoulders above Serendipity. I refuse to ditch either of them, though- the exciting parts are yet to come! I look forward to posting next chapter, and hope you enjoyed this one ^^