Gohan nuzzled his face into Blair's violet hair as they snuggled together on his bed, breathing in her scent like a hungry addict.
The first light of dawn peeked through the window above them, a reminder that neither of them had slept.
Not being able to see Blair for so many months had taken its toll on Gohan's physical and mental states; not only was he sleep deprived and covered in twice as many cuts, but the loneliness he had felt deep within him was never more clear than it was now that he had her back. Back for now, anyway.
It wasn't that Gohan disliked solitude; in fact, he preferred it. But loneliness was different. It was the reason he went to the city – to be surrounded by people without having to interact.
He knew these feelings should disturb him. To feel so strongly addicted to this woman as though she were heroin, left unable to function for months without her…in truth, it was disgusting and unhealthy. And Gohan knew this wasn't normal or at all good for him. But as he inhaled her vanilla scent, running his fingers through her vividly colored hair, all he could feel was a center of relaxation fluttering in his chest.
Once Blair had come into his life, he didn't just have a silent city companion; he had someone to talk to, to share things with, to feel beside him at all times. She, in the simplest sense, made him feel almost normal, in such an abnormal way. And after having a taste of something wonderful only to have it ripped away for so long, Gohan knew he would be lost if Blair were to be taken away from him again.
Something had to be done about Vegeta.
"Mab…" He whispered into her hair. He knew she was awake, breathing softly into him, her head against his chest with her perfect hand splayed across his heart.
"Mmm, sweetness?" The honey in her voice flowed like a gentle stream.
Gohan felt his heart almost stop at the sound of his nickname, hoping she couldn't notice. "We need to go back to Capsule Corp."
Blair sat up in his bed, her green eyes sparkling with confusion. "What? Why, love?" She reached out and brushed a lock of his dark hair out of his face. "If you're worried about that man telling anyone about you…don't be, sweetness. I'll give him what he wants." Her lips curled into a small smile. "I just needed to see you first, that's all."
Gohan sat up as well, sitting cross-legged across from her on the bed. "What does he want though, Mab?" He asked with concern, fearful of the Saiyan prince's intentions.
Blair pressed her lips tightly and tensed up. "He wants immortalit."
Gohan blinked a few times, letting the words sink in. "You mean…"
"He wants us to latch."
Gohan felt like the air had been knocked out of him. "No." He shook his head furiously. "No, Blair, you can't do that. Promise me you won't." Neither of them can be trusted with that much power…no one can…
Blair smiled sadly. "You know I have to, love," she replied softly. "He has us under his thumb, and I can't let the witch community find out where I am. They'll have my head." She placed a hand on top of Gohan's. "Besides, it won't last for long."
Gohan glanced down at his hand, the pale skin feeling as though it were on fire under her touch. "What do you mean?" He asked quietly.
I mean, I'm just going to kill him afterwards."
"WHAT?!" Gohan screamed, before quickly covering his mouth with his hand so he wouldn't wake his mother or Goten. He eyed Blair angrily, fury brewing knotting his stomach. He dropped his voice to a low hiss. "What the fuck do you mean kill him?
Blair let out a deep sigh. "I knew you would react this way," she said softly. "And I'm sorry. I know I promised you I would stop after Baba…but I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Really, what other way out is there?" Her green eyes flashed with an innocence that made Gohan's stomach hurl.
Gohan shook his head again. "Mab…" Please no please don't do this
"Listen, love," Blair squeezed his hand in hers, looking deep into his eyes. "I'm not the bad one here. He's the one blackmailing us. He wants to hurt me, to hurt you. I'm not the kind of girl to stand by when someone crosses me." Her eyes narrowed into emerald slits. "You should have learned that the night I came to your window, sweetness. I didn't let you off the hook for calling me names and telling me to leave, did I?"
Gohan felt his skin crawl at the memory of Blair that night, naked and on top of him, ripping his shirt and biting into his lips…
"Besides…" Her pink lips spread into a sickeningly sweet smile. "I may as well quit lying to myself. I'm a sucker for a nice strong being. Absorbing them is my drug of choice, and I've been needing a fix."
Piccolo flew at full speed up to Kami's Lookout. He landed on the pristine white surface and raced into the temple.
"DENDE…!" He shouted, frantically scanning the room for Earth's guardian. A small hand tugged at his cape, and the Namekian pivoted around to find Dende standing behind him. The little alien's forehead was creased with worry and his eyes were round with fear.
"Piccolo…" The small guardian whispered. "You're here."
Piccolo's features tightened. "Dende, the threat…"
"So you feel it too," Dende finished. Piccolo nodded grimly.
"It's coming."
Deep in the Dormideous Sector of the universe, an evil lurked and terrorized the beings of galaxies in all directions. The Hera-seijin Bojack and his team of Galaxy Soldiers were relentless in their genocidal tendencies, destroying everything in sight without hesitation.
"Master, when do you plan on heading to that pathetic planet?" A female soldier called Zangya questioned the man in charge. The blood of her countless victims was splattered into her fiery orange hair and dripping down her teal skin. A cruel smile stretched from one of her pointed ears to the other.
Bojack, the man she had addressed as 'master,' turned his head around towards Zangya, an evil smirk sketched into his broad facial features. "Soon, my lovelies," the gypsy-pirate cackled to his group of henchmen. "Ever since we escaped that damn star and I felt the energy radiating from that puny little planet, it's all I've thought about…"
Bojack turned fully, his teal skin bathed in blood and the wind blowing wildly at his orange mane of hair, revealing the gruesome scars carved into his face.
In his fist he held the decapitated head of a small alien child, his fingers twisted into the hair and the tiny facial features forming a permanent look of terror.
"I suppose almost four years of training is enough," Bojack's grin widened. "I think it's about time this so-called 'Earth' got a taste of Bojack and the Galaxy Soldiers, don't you think?"
Gohan turned his messenger back upside down and dumped out the contents onto his bed. The disarray of paper, pencils, and books fell into a messy heap on his black covers.
"Get in," he mumbled over to Blair as he thrust the empty bag at her. He stepped over to his nightstand and reached into the drawer, snatching up his collection of small razors that ranged from rusted to shiny silver.
Blair sat on the edge of Gohan's bed, watching his swift movements with growing confusion. "Sweetness, what's all this?" She questioned him, twiddling her perfect hands nervously. "I know you're upset with me– "
"No, I'm not," Gohan turned his head to eye her firmly, his mouth a straight line. "I'm not upset at all, Blair. There's nothing to be upset about."
Blair shook her head, perplexed. "But you were so angry when I told you what we needed to do, I just thought–"
"There's nothing to be upset about because we're not going to kill anyone!" Gohan cut her off again, raising his voice in a way that surprised even himself. "If Vegeta wants to blackmail us, let the old fucker do what he wants. I'm done playing by his rules." He stuffed the handful of razors into the pocket of his black hoodie, the sharp edges leaving light scratches on his pale hands.
Blair's pink lips curled into a small smile. "Looks like you've gotten more assertive over the months, sweetness," she replied softly. "But still. If we don't do something about that man, he'll tell everyone about your scars and reveal my location to the witch community." She knitted her eyebrows, Vegeta's words haunting her mind. "We can't have that, love."
Gohan nodded. "I know, Mab. But we can't let him control us forever, either. And I'm not about to kill someone's husband and father, and neither are you."
Blair leaned forward. "So, what are you suggesting then?"
"We're fessing up. You're going to tell him that you refuse to latch, and we're going to deal with whatever he dishes out at us."
Blair's green eyes grew wide, fear brewing in their emerald depths. "You can't mean that," she stood up off the bed and stormed over to the teen. "I don't want to die and I don't want you to die, either. It's either kill or be killed and better him than us!"
Gohan tilted his head back slightly. Blair may have been older than him, may have been a few inches taller than him, but the intensity in his eyes outmatched hers. "It's time you had some faith in me, Blair," he demanded back at her. "You said you wanted a protector, well, here I am. Let me fight for you. Whether its witches or Vegeta or whatever, I'm up for it. I can do this." His words held only a tint of pleading in them, but more than that he spoke from a fire of determination he hadn't felt within himself since he was a young child.
Blair's face crumpled. "But love…we could lose everything…"
"Trust me," Gohan whispered softly, keeping their eyes locked as he slipped his hand into hers, surprised by his own confidence. "I'm done hiding. Done letting him win. Losing you helped me realize that. I'm tired of being a fucking failure and I'm not going to fail you. Just give me a chance to prove myself."
Blair's eyes glistened with tears. "…Why are you doing all of this, sweetness?" She asked quietly. "Why are you choosing me over a man you've known almost your whole life?"
Gohan gave her a small half-smile. "Because you're like me, Mab," he replied, gripping her hand tighter. "You have the power to latch with people, take their life and strength, become as strong as you want…yet all you want is to be wanted for your company. For someone to want to be around you because they actually like you, and not just for what you can do." His voice almost cracked at the final words. He thought of all the people in his life, surrounding him and praising him when he was fighting enemies or showing abnormal intellect, claiming to care so much. Yet he always found himself alone with his razors. "That's why you came to me. That's why I'm going to be your protector. You're like me, Mab."
She glanced down at their entwined hands, and felt a slight tremble in Gohan's body. It was barely noticeable, but she knew. He was scared, too.
"You're not a failure, love," Blair whispered softly. She glanced back up at him. "It's not that I don't believe in you. You have the strongest ki I've ever felt. It's just…the witch community is full of powerful beings, and that Saiyan prince is ruthless when it comes to fighting." She recalled the countless times he had struck her over the months. "How do you know you can do this?"
Gohan's pouty lips formed a rare grin, and his eyes lit up with an enthusiasm Blair didn't recognize. "Because you haven't seen me at Super Saiyan 2," his voice was saturated with an unashamed cockiness he hadn't allowed himself to feel since the aftermath of the Cell games. "And when I'm in that state, I'm kind of fucking psycho."
Vegeta pushed the button to open the Gravity Chamber doors, scanning the room for the little black cat.
"Witch?" He called out mockingly. "I've been up and down the halls of this damn building looking for you. This is the last damn place you could be. If you don't come out now, so help me…" He growled curse words to himself as he realized she was nowhere to be found.
Fucking ki-less bitch. The prince stormed away from the chamber and towards the Capsule Corp entrance, preparing to take off towards the Son house.
That whore doesn't know the trouble she just got herself and her boy toy into.
Gohan crept down the stairs with Blair the cat secured in his messenger bag. Just as he rounded the corner to the living room, he froze when he saw his mother sitting at the couch. She was leaning over the coffee table, papers scattered about as she fumbled through them.
"…Mom?" Gohan called out. His voice sounded awkward as it reverberated through the silent room. Chichi gasped and quickly turned her head around, surprised to find her eldest son staring back at her.
"Gohan?" It sounded more like a question than a welcoming.
"Why are you up so early? It's barely daylight," the teen asked. He had to admit; he felt slightly annoyed by her presence. This was supposed to be his time to leave the house unnoticed; not be forced into interaction by the fact that another person was in the room.
Chichi pressed her lips together, turning back to her papers. "I've been talking to Bulma more lately, Gohan," she started, not daring to face her son. "She told me you've been working with her once a week at Capsule Corp, and that you catch on very well. She even admitted that she thinks you may be smarter than her when she was your age."
Gohan felt his eyes begin to dart around awkwardly as he fidgeted around. "Well, yeah…" he responded in an aggravated tone. "I, uh…figured if she's letting me use the Gravity Chamber with Vegeta every week I should…y'know…help her out." It's totally not because I feel bad that I crashed her building when escaping with a most-likely-psycho witch.
Chichi nodded, still not turning to look at him. "Well, I was thinking," she picked up a pamphlet lying in the mess of papers. "If you're showing such promising intelligence, that I should finally take matters into my own hands and enroll you in high school." Her shoulders tensed at the final statement as she awaited her son's reaction.
Gohan blinked a few times as her words sunk in. "…Excuse me?" He managed to force out as he felt anger brewing inside him. "You're fucking joking, right?"
Chichi finally glared back at her son, fire flickering in her brown eyes. "Young man, you will not use that language when speaking to me!" She shouted, her voice echoing through the small house. She stormed up from the couch and got right in Gohan's face, staring her son down. "I am your mother and its high goddamn time you stop all this depressing nonsense and act like a normal child! I did not raise you to become some freak who hides away in an attic and treats his family and friends like they don't exist!"
"Oh, so now you're going to stand there and act like you give a shit?" Gohan shot back, not withholding any venom in his voice. "Well, fuck you, I'm tired of your tight lipped stares and backhanded comments! You're just like everyone else; if it isn't obsessing over how strong I can be, its beating me on the head with textbooks! It's never about what I want and it never has been!"
"Son Gohan, you will stop this right now!" Chichi shouted, her voice becoming hoarse. "You don't sleep, you don't eat, you dress like a goddamn dead man, you push me and poor Goten away when all we want to do is talk to you, and…" She trailed off, her eyes moving down to her son's exposed collarbone. "…Gohan, what is that?"
Oh, shit.
Gohan's throat tightened. He had forgotten to check himself in the bathroom mirror before coming down, hadn't he? Breathing heavily, he glanced down where his mother was looking, and noticed the messenger bag slung around his shoulder had dragged down the corner of his black hoodie, exposing just enough pale skin to reveal a long, red scar along his collarbone.
Silence settled in between the two Son family members. It didn't matter that Chichi knew Gohan trained with Vegeta every week; this wasn't an abstract wound from fist-fighting or ki-blasting. This was a perfectly straight, fully intentional, angry red line across the boy's pale skin, and both mother and son knew there was no denying where the scar had come from.
"Gohan…" Chichi's eyes glassed over with tears. Her face crumpled and she pressed her tired hands to her temples. "Oh, Gohan, I should have known…" She whimpered out.
Gohan grit his teeth and clenched his fists. "It's nothing, stop being dramatic," he mumbled. "And get out of the way, I'm leaving." He tried moving past only for her to grab a handful of his hoodie, holding him back as she glared into his eyes.
"I'm sending you to a mental hospital, Gohan," she demanded, the tears coating her eyes allowing a small fire to shine beneath them. "You're not well and you haven't been well since your father died. I've been ignoring it for far too long. You need serious help that me or anyone else just can't seem to give you."
Gohan pushed her hand away and twisted his features into an ugly scowl. "Get your hands off of me. I said it was nothing so leave me the fuck alone and quit choosing inconvenient times to pretend like you give a shit about me."
Sweetness, you shouldn't talk to your mother like that… Gohan ignored the honeysweet voice penetrating his thoughts and let fury take over instead. "You're not fucking sending me to some school full of people who will without a doubt hate me and make fun of me, just like you do when you gossip about me on the phone. So take that pamphlet and shove it up your ass."
As he spat out the final words, he felt a sharp sting across his face as his mother struck him, her long nails scratching his pale skin.
Silence embraced the room once more as what had just happened sunk in. Even Blair kept quiet and motionless from inside the messenger bag. Gohan bared his teeth and forced back any tears he felt forming.
He easily could have avoided it. It's wasn't like some feeble slap from a human woman caused any sort of pain to a Saiyan child.
But goddamn, it hurt when it came from your only parent.
"Gohan…" Chichi's voice cracked.
"No," Gohan squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. "Stop."
"Gohan, I'm sorry," tears rolled down Chichi's cheeks as she tried to place a comforting hand on her teenage son's shoulder, only for him to jerk away from her. "You're so smart and you're so much better than all this, you deserve so much better than you give yourself, Gohan, I just want you to be normal and have friends and have a future and for your life to quit revolving around what your father made of it…"
She continued rambling on, her words going in one of Gohan's ears and out the other. He cut her off by glaring deep into her brown eyes. He let his blue technicolor orbs reveal, unrestrained, all the demons that swam within their watery depths. Let the hate and anger and pain all float to the surface, and felt a pang on delight in the darkest part of himself when his poor mother flinched back at the sight.
"Fuck you," his monotone voice spit the words out like rattlesnake venom, and he calmly stepped over to the door and slammed it shut behind him.
Chichi crumpled to a heap on the floor, just as little Goten cracked his door open and stepped into the living room, woken up by all the commotion and rubbing his eyes with his tiny fists.
"Ma…?" The toddler called out, carefully approaching his mother, who was sobbing with her face hidden in her hands. "Mommy, why you crying? Do you have a booboo?"
Chichi looked up, her face covered in tears, and pulled her little boy close to her chest. "No, sweetie," she cried into his spikey Goku-esque hair. "Big brother and I just had a little fight, and mommy is very sad." She tried with all her strength to sound reassuring, though she knew her appearance gave her emotions away, even to a child as young as Goten.
Goten wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tight. "I sorry, mommy," he nuzzled his face into her bosom. "Go'an and I will make you smile all pretty again." He pulled away and flashed her a classic Son grin.
Chichi gave the boy a watery smile and nodded. "I'm sure, sweetie, I'm sure. I love you so much." She pulled him into another hug.
Outside, Gohan found a soft patch of dirt near the house and dug the toe of his combat boot into the earth. Once he had formed a small hole in the ground, he reached into his hoodie pocket and pulled out the collection of razors he had taken from his drawer. He threw them all in, kicking the dirt back over them.
Sweetness?
"Just burying the past, Mab," he mumbled down at his bag. "Anyway, we gotta get going. Vegeta's bound to have noticed that you're missing by now."
With that, the teen flew up into the sky and shot away from the Son house at full speed, his thoughts so preoccupied with facing the Saiyan prince that he didn't even notice the group of massive ki's arriving at the doorstep just moments after his departure.
Piccolo's pointy ears perked up as his senses flared off the radar with extraordinary amounts of terrifying ki's.
"Dende…are you sensing this as well?" Piccolo growled through his bared teeth.
"Y-Yes, Piccolo…" Dende stammered. He glanced up fearfully at the taller Namekian. "Piccolo, I've never dealt with anything of this magnitude before…I know Goku asked me to be Earth's guardian, but there's at least five threats here right now and I don't know if I'm built for this task–"
"Not now, Dende!" Piccolo barked at the little alien. Dende flinched at the harshness of his tone. "This is no time to doubt yourself! We need to figure out what the hell these beings are and get Gohan and Vegeta to–"
Now it was Piccolo's turn to cut off. At the mention of Gohan, he realized the five ki's were moving vastly down to Earth…
…and straight toward the Son house.
"FUCK!" The Namekian screamed as he raced out of the temple, jumping off the edge of the Lookout and bursting at full speed down to the ground towards Gohan's house.
"Piccolo, wait!" Dende called out, running out onto the Lookout as fast as his little legs could take him. But it was no use. Piccolo was gone.
This is not good…. this is not good at all….
Goten toddled over to the coffee table and grabbed a tissue from the blue box sitting atop the scattered papers. He held it out to Chichi, who glanced up at her little boy, tears still sparkling in her brown eyes.
"Thank you, sweetie," Chichi forced a watery smile for the sake of her youngest son. She was about to pull him in for another hug, when suddenly a loud banging came from the front door.
"Little pigs, little pigs, let me in!" Called a deep, threatening voice as a large fist pounded on the door, nearly busting through.
Chichi gasped and snatched Goten's arm, pulling him close to her chest. Her body trembled as she peered up from the ground just enough to peek out the window beside the front door.
She could make out a few different strange men with teal skin and enormous muscles, all with evil smirks on their face. She couldn't tell but she was sure one of them was a female, judging from the long hair and delicate facial features.
"Mommy, who that?" Goten's brown eyes were full of naivety, not understanding the man's threatening tone.
"Shhh, honey, just stay quiet…" Chichi shushed him. She listened as the man pounded harder, knocking the door off one of its hinges.
"Open up, or I can easily blow this door down! I'm giving you a chance to be polite and welcome your guests inside for tea!" The man mocked from behind the door, his minions cackling along from the outside.
"Mommy?" Goten whimpered. He sounded frightened now as he watched their door split from the hinges.
"Shh, be quiet," Chichi hissed down at the toddler, crouching behind the couch and holding him tight against her bosom. They're going to get in…whoever they are, they're going to get in…oh, Goku, I need you….
She had to make a decision, fast.
Determination fired up in her as she kept low and raced towards the hall closet. She opened the door and pushed Goten inside as the little boy turned and glanced up at her with fear in his round orbs.
"Mommy, where you going?" He tugged on the sleeve of her dress with his tiny hand as she tried to pull away.
Chichi couldn't keep the tears falling from her eyes as she tried to comfort her child. "Goten, sweetie, whatever you hear, whatever happens, you don't come out of here, okay?"
"Mommy, I'm scared, don't leave!" Fat tears began rolling down his round cheeks and onto his bright orange gi. "Please, mommy!"
Chichi leaned forward and pressed a harsh kiss to the little demi-Saiyan's forehead before yanking her sleeve from his hand and pulling away. "Be good, sweetie, Mama loves you." With that, she slammed the door behind her. She ran into the kitchen, pulling a chair into the hallway and pressing it up against the closet door knob, hoping Goten would understand not to burst through even though she knew he could. Damn Saiyans…
"Last chance, little pigs!"
Roughly wiping her face free of any tears, Chichi took a deep breath and straightened her back, stepping over to the broken door and yanking on it with both hands. It took all her strength to pull the broken wood free, and as she did it simply fell onto the floor of their living room.
She glared up at a seven-foot-tall man with teal skin and bright orange hair, scars carved deep into his face. Behind him stood four more creatures of the same kind, though none quite as frightening as him.
Forcing a faux fire of fury into her brown eyes, Chichi placed her hands on her hips. "Well, you could have just been patient and waited for me to answer the door, rather than knock it down, you idiots!" The small woman forced her old spunkiness into her voice, knowing it would get the men riled up. From behind the main culprit, she could see the female minion shoot her a dirty look.
"Ho ho ho, we've got a little firecracker!" The teal man cackled. "Say, earth woman, I've been feeling an awful lot of power coming from this house since I arrived. Pray tell me, I'm sure it's not you who possesses such strength?"
Chichi tensed her muscles to keep her body from trembling with fear, careful not to avert her gaze anywhere except shooting daggers at the man. Gohan…
"Afraid not, you old dog," She retorted, spitting her words at him. "Guess you broke my door down for nothing. I would love to hear how you're going to pay to fix it!"
She knew she sounded like an obnoxious idiot. She knew this was going to get her killed, or at least seriously injured. But anything was worth keeping these monster's attention on her and away from her children.
The man's face hardened as he concentrated his senses. "Well, fuck me, I suppose you're right. It seems we just missed him, fellas," he called out to the group behind him, who all let out aggravated sighs.
"Come on, Bojack, you said the strong being was here!" One of the henchmen whined.
"Don't tell me we came all this way for nothing!"
"I don't feel like running around this boring planet looking for it!"
As the rest of the men whined, the female minion was growing increasingly annoyed. "Shut up, all of you!" She shouted out. She turned back to Chichi, her eyes narrowing and an evil grin spreading across her face as her voice grew low and sultry. "Clearly she's lying. Maybe we can persuade this pasty little bitch to tell us where to find what we're looking for, hmmm, Bojack?" She glanced up the man, purring her words like a kitten.
Bojack's muscular body rumbled with laughter. "But of course, Zangya! Marvelous idea!" He jerked his head towards two of his henchmen, who nodded and rushed to either side of Chichi. The human woman cried out as they each took one of her arms and dragged her outside, restraining her where she stood.
"Now, earth woman," Bojack cooed down to her. "Don't tell me lies. I'm no fool. I can feel another little power inside your house like a sitting duck, waiting for me to snap its neck."
Chichi bared her teeth and hocked up phlegm in her throat, spitting it right into the man's eye.
Everyone seemed to freeze in the moment. Bojack took in a deep breath, wiping the spit from his eye with one finger, and quickly backhanded Chichi across the face. His strong force against her weak human nature caused more damage than normal; her cheekbone smashed in her face and several blood-coated teeth flew out of her mouth at the impact.
"Hmmf," Bojack grunted. "It doesn't matter. The little shit inside your home is pretty strong, but nothing like what we're after."
Oh, god, Gohan, please don't come back…
A cruel grin spread across Bojack's face as he saw fear forming in the woman's eyes. Thick blood drooled down her chin, her mouth hanging open to reveal the empty spaces where teeth should be and the left side of her face welling up a dark purple from the harsh bruising.
"Maybe we can beat the location of our little treasure out of you?"
Gohan landed in front of Capsule Corp just in time to see Vegeta storming out of the entrance. The man's features were twisted in anger as he caught the demi-Saiyan walking towards him.
"Where the fuck is she?" He came up to the teen and shouted in his face. Gohan remained calm and expressionless under the man's glare. "I know you have her, you little shit. If you both know what's good for you, you'll hand her over this instant!"
"Fine," Gohan replied coolly. "Blair, get out of the bag."
The little black cat hopped out of Gohan's messenger bag, looking up at him with perplexed green eyes. Sweetness…?
"Just trust me," he spoke down to the creature, not caring what Vegeta thought of it. "Turn into your human form."
The cat dissipated into wisps of purple smoke and grew into the beautiful form of Blair the Witch, clad in one of her black dresses.
Vegeta glared hatefully at the woman. "You've done it now, witch bitch," he growled at her. "Give me what I want this second or you and the brat can kiss your precious secrets goodbye."
Gohan couldn't stop the smirk from spreading across his face. "Go ahead, fucker," he mocked Vegeta. "I don't care anymore." My mom already knows everything; what more can you do to me?"
"Wipe that cocky grin of your face, you disrespectful brat!" Vegeta shouted as he attempted to punch the teen in the jaw, only for Gohan to easily duck out of the way, his grin growing wider as he watched the Saiyan stumble forward as he missed his target.
Vegeta's temple was throbbing now, his growing anger evident in his bloodshot eyes. "You may be okay with everyone knowing that you're a self-mutilating freak, but that doesn't mean I can't still send this bitch to be burned at the stake!" He jabbed a finger over at Blair, who frowned at the man. "Now is she going to give me what I want, or do I need to get some fucking shots ready to celebrate her death?"
Blair glanced over at Gohan, her eyes pleading with him to give her guidance on what to do next. Gohan gave her a confident smile before turning back to the prince.
"Why don't you ask her?" He responded, crossing his arms. From his peripheral vision, he could see a quick flash of betrayal in Blair's eyes. He reached over and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"You can do this," he whispered. "Stand up to him. I need to go see Bulma, but I'll be keeping tabs on his ki to make sure he doesn't hurt you."
"WHAT?!" Blair hissed back, her eyebrows knitting with worry. "You're just going to leave me alone with him?!"
"Mab!" Gohan gripped her shoulders in his hands. "I said it was time to stop hiding. I meant that for me and for you. I know I'm putting you on the spot here, but you can do this. I'm going to protect you, but you have to work with me and stop hiding in the shadows from those damn witches!"
Blair bit her lip, glancing down at the ground in deep thought. "…You said you'll be keeping tabs on his ki? What if he transforms before you have a chance to come back?
"I saw your power when you fought Baba," Gohan replied reassuringly, trying hard to force the image of Baba's slaughtered corpse from his mind. "You knocked both me and Vegeta down without even trying. If you can do that, I have every confidence that you could put up a fight even if he went Super." The teen turned his attention to Vegeta. "Which, I'm sure he won't transform at all, considering he's right in front of Capsule Corp where the entire press will see that Bulma Briefs is harboring some alien madman?" He flashed another smirk at the Saiyan prince, who was tinting red with anger. "Wouldn't want to get your wife thrown in prison, would you, Vegeta?"
Gohan didn't want to bring Bulma into this. With all the fame surrounding her, he knew it was risky to threaten her good name, especially considering he was gambling with Vegeta's temper. But he had to make sure Blair would stay safe while he went inside. She needs to quit hiding and start fighting!
The Saiyan shoved Gohan out of the way to get to Blair. "You wanna talk, then let's talk, witch bitch," he growled in her face. Blair shot a small smile over at Gohan, knowing his threat had worked.
"You can do this, Mab," he sent her back a genuine smile. "Remember, I'm keeping tabs. I'll only be gone a few minutes." With that, he turned and stepped inside the blue walls of Capsule Corp.
Vegeta stared down Blair, who merely stood gazing at the ground.
"Well, what do you have to say, woman?" The prince grunted, trying to calm himself for Bulma's sake. He would never admit it out loud, but Gohan's threat of exposing their true extraterrestrial nature had him worried for his wife. "I'm done fighting with you, and I'm sure as hell not going to hold my patience if you and Dracula Junior start some fucking rebellion against me. You can either latch or die. Your pick." He waved a hand casually in the air, as though the mention of her death were nothing major.
Blair twiddled her thumbs, stuck in her thoughts. No more hiding…Gohan said from now on, we're fighting…
…. Couldn't hurt to toy with the little prince, though, could it?
Blair pressed her lips tightly together before they spread into a wide and wicked pink smile, and she lifted her head to glare at Vegeta with narrowed green daggers.
"Don't think you have me in a snare, Saiyan prince," her honeysweet voice was coated with malevolence. "I'll never be any puppet of yours. All you've done from the moment you stole me away was help me out." She let out a small laugh as Vegeta cocked an eyebrow at her.
"Why the sudden change in character? You've gone from shaking in your fur to smiling like a fucking psycho," Vegeta sneered, crossing his arms. "And you must be really fucking psycho if you think I've been helping you out, bitch. How the hell is you coming to me quietly a part of any plan of yours?"
Blair quickly thought his words over, trying to see how she could turn the situation in her favor. Perhaps I should look more confident? Shifting her weight on one leg, she placed her perfect hands on her slender hips and shot the man a cocky, sexy half-smile. "Well…for one, I got to know my way quite well around your humble abode over the months. Two, I saw first-hand just where you stand in strength with my lovely little half-Saiyan. And three," her grin grew wider as she flashed her perfect teeth at the man, proud of the plan she had devised in just a few short moments. "Losing me made Gohan realize just how much he wants me."
Vegeta's muscles tensed and he narrowed his black eyes at the witch. "Pray tell, woman, just what do you mean by that?"
Blair's pretty wind-chime voice rang out as she laughed. "I mean, Saiyan prince, that although Gohan was angry with me for killing Baba, he's now aimed that anger towards you for taking me! And I have every confidence that he will do anything to protect me from you, from the witch community, from anything." She crossed her own arms and held her head high. "And a reliable protector is precisely what I wanted from the very beginning."
Vegeta stared at the woman for a moment longer, before bursting into laughter himself. "Ho ho, witch! Who would have thought you just wanted that cocky son of a bitch wrapped around your finger?" He flashed her his own version of a wicked grin. "Nevertheless, the brat may be strong, but he would be nothing against me and an army of witches. So you can take your threats on your hands and knees and swallow them."
Blair pouted at the man's vulgarity. "Oh, I know that. But I also know for a fact that you won't go telling that witch community anything about little old me."
Vegeta sneered. "And why the fuck not?"
He really doesn't know what I'm capable of… Blair giggled lightly, slowly stepping towards the prince as she spoke in a low, menacing tone:
"Because, Saiyan prince, I know your home like the back of my teeny tiny paw. I know where your sleep with your pretty wife at night, her lovely throat just waiting for my claws to slash it open while she dreams. I know where your little boy sleeps, and I adore the thought of creeping into his room at night, twisting his tiny head round and round until his little neck snaps over and over again before it finally just…pops! right off his shoulders. And you, Saiyan prince? I know that if you truly want to latch with me, I could easily have my Gohan beat you into a weakened pulp, where I'll snag a chance to cut your belly open with my bare nails and drag your intestines out, inch by inch, until I feel all your sexy Saiyan ki flow into me while you watch…"
Vegeta stood silently, growing increasingly disturbed by the witch's words. His eyes grew wide and his lips twisted into a disgusted scowl as he listened while Blair described in detail the horrific things she would do to him and his family should he alert the witch community of her whereabouts.
And he knew, when it came to Bulma and Trunks, he could do nothing so long as she had Gohan on her side. He felt a rare pang of caution for the young demi-Saiyan.
"Witch…" Vegeta growled out. "Just what in the actual fuck are you doing with Gohan?"
Blair gazed deep into Vegeta's eyes, her green emeralds shining more than ever. "Like I've been saying, dear, I want a protector, not another short-lived latch. My little sweetness was a perfect fit. We both want to be wanted for our company, not our power." She smiled sweetly at the thought of Gohan as she repeated his words from earlier. "I don't know what it is about him, but there's no one I'd rather have by my side."
"Besides," she winked at the prince. "I can trust that he'll never leave me. After all, I am one hell of an addiction."
It didn't take Gohan long to find Bulma once he entered Capsule Corp; she was working on a project alone in the tech room. Keeping his senses on Vegeta's ki to ensure he wasn't hurting Blair, the teen walked over to where the blue-haired woman sat and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Oh!" Bulma cried out as she turned around, surprised to see the gothic teenager's blue eyes burning into her. Despite his grim countenance, she grinned widely and hugged her favorite demi-Saiyan tightly. "Gohan! What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you until the end of the week!"
Gohan pursed his lips and gently pushed Bulma back off of him, locking eyes with her and speaking in a firm tone. "Why did you tell my mom to enroll me in high school?"
Bulma frowned at the teenager's sour tone. "I didn't Gohan," she shook her head. "When we talked last, I mentioned how well you've been doing here at Capsule Corp and she came up with the idea herself."
"But you encouraged it?"
The woman shrugged her shoulders as she let out a big sigh. "I should have guessed you would react this way…jeez, kid," she rolled her eyes up at the ceiling. "Why are you so reluctant to be a normal teenager, Gohan? You have the looks of a movie star and the brain of Einstein; you could be anything you want to be, yet you choose to dress like a delinquent and keep yourself locked up in an attic."
Gohan averted his eyes and grimaced at her compliments, not trusting them. "Sounds like you actually believe all the gossip that bitch spews out to you," he mumbled, not intending for her to hear.
But she had. Bulma gasped at the boy angrily. "Gohan! How could you speak about your mother that way?" She closed her eyes, shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers. "And what, are you trying to say that you don't sit up in your room all day? Because we both know that would be a lie."
Gohan tensed up and remained silent.
"Thought so, kid."
Gohan scowled down at the ground as he thought of his mother. "She doesn't care about what I want," he finally retorted. "She talks shit about me and only wants me to go to school because she loves making me miserable." Like how I made her entire life miserable when I killed her husband.
Bulma glanced down at the boy, sadness filling her gaze. "Gohan, honey, that's not what Chichi is trying to do," she placed a comforting hand on the teenager's shoulder, which caused him to flinch. "I…know she's not the best parent. She doesn't know how to communicate without yelling; hell, she never has. But she's trying, Gohan. I can promise you that she tries." She bit her lip and paused for a moment before continuing in a lower tone. "And you can admit that you're not the easiest son to get along with, either, can't you?"
Gohan lifted his head and glared up at the woman. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Well, for one, you seriously need to learn to control your language when speaking to adults," Bulma barked down at him, placing her hands on her hips. "You were always such a good kid, Gohan; what on earth happened to you?" She quickly bit her tongue, realizing she had inadvertently ventured into dangerous territory.
Gohan froze and hardened his features, clenching his fists tightly as he tried to stop his body from trembling with rage. Everyone knows what the fuck happened.
"Never mind that," Bulma waved her hands in front of her defensively. "What I mean, Gohan, is that you can't place all the blame on your mother."
Gohan growled lowly before crossing his arms and staring back down at the ground. "…She wants to send me to a mental institution."
"…What? Why?"
Gohan held his tongue. The wings on his back burned like fire.
Bulma watched the teenager for a moment before realizing he wasn't going to answer. She sighed deeply and wrapped her arms around the boy in a tight hug.
"I'll talk to her, Gohan," she spoke quietly, trying to calm him. "I promise. I'll make sure she doesn't send you away." She pulled away and gently lifted Gohan's chin until their eyes met once more. "But, you have to promise me that you'll apologize and make up with her, okay?"
Gohan narrowed his eyes. "Apologize for what?"
"For everything, Gohan. One being that attitude."
Gohan thought for a moment, studying the concerned look in Bulma's eyes. He really did value her opinion; he always had. Bulma was more of a mother to him than his own mom had ever been.
Still…maybe I have been a little harsh on mom…
"Come on, Gohan," Bulma pleaded with the teen. "Can't you at least admit that she deserves some sort of effort from you to connect with her?"
Gohan gripped his hoodie and bit his lip, sinking into himself. He thought of all the frozen dinners she left in the fridge for him. How she let him change rooms to the attic when he knew she dreaded the idea. The fact that she never intruded on his privacy when she easily could. How she had let him bring Mab in without a second thought.
Goddamn it…
"…Okay," he responded finally. "Okay. If you make sure she doesn't send me away, I can apologize to her. I will when I get home."
Bulma smiled, proud of the boy she had watched grow up throughout the years. "I'm glad, Gohan," she beamed at him. "And I promise I'll call her tonight. I would love to hear that you two are getting along better, okay?"
Gohan nodded, trying to swallow his pride at the thought of the conversation with his mother that was bound to be awkward as hell.
Quit being a pansy, he mentally scolded himself. He frowned as he thought of his earlier behavior and the way he had spoken to her. You know you were an ass; just suck it up and apologize. She deserves it.
Yeah…mom really deserves it.
Chichi was utterly beaten down.
The two henchmen still had her by the arms, while a third had taken a place behind her, his fist twisted into her hair that had fallen free of the neat bun she always styled it in. He kept her facing straight towards Bojack as he pounded into her again and again.
"That's right, make sure she watches, Bujin," Bojack cackled as he easily broke Chichi's jaw, cutting off her screams. "Oops, hope that doesn't stop her from being able to tell us where our prize is!"
Chichi couldn't even cough anymore; she could only drool out blood to keep from choking. "Hnnnn," She muttered from deep in her throat, spitting out more streams of blood. "Nnnnoo…"
Bojack frowned. "Come now, woman, I'm not even trying. I'm having to hold back everything just to keep from killing you with one hit, and you're still not talking!" He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Perhaps we need to step it up?"
With that, he grabbed a fistful of her dress from around her chest, ripping the fabric clean off her body in a single motion. She stood there naked as the man gestured for Zangya to take his place.
"Maybe she's more cordial with other ladies?" He suggested in a humorous tone, and Zangya beamed at the thought of taking over.
"I think that sounds reasonable," Zangya giggled as she stood before the human woman, cracking her knuckles to begin.
Chichi trembled before the teal female. She had always been a modest woman; so traditional and conservative, wanting to raise her boys to be the same way. Standing naked before all these cruel, vicious men as this woman mocked her, she felt stripped of any dignity she had left.
Zangya came up to Chichi's face, spitting into the woman's eye and watching it drip down her bloodied face, knowing she was unable to wipe it away or retaliate. "That was for Bojack," she growled quietly, and snatched up a fistful of Chichi's silky black hair.
"Pretty hair…" she cooed, before ripping it violently from the woman's scalp, the entire bundle tearing out all at once as Chichi gurgled a scream in pain. Zangya tossed the bloodied black locks to the dirt, smiling as the skin dangled from the bald patch on the woman's head.
Chichi opened her one eye that wasn't swollen over, using any fire she had left in her to look her murderers in the eyes. All for my kids…it's all for my kids…
Zangya pulled her fist back, preparing to strike Chichi in the face, when suddenly Bojack snatched her arm and stopped her.
"Wait," he grunted, turning his head to stare off into the distance. "What the hell is that?"
The other villains all perked their ears and gasped in unison.
"There's a powerful ki headed this way!" Zangya cried out.
"Wonderful! Is it the one we came here for?" Kugo smiled widely.
"No…it's nowhere near what I sensed before, but it's still strong enough to interfere with our search," Bojack frowned as the others all groaned in annoyance by the news. He pondered what to do about the situation, before finally, he grinned and turned back to Zangya.
"Zangya, dear, you've shown quite the improvement during our training over the years," the man complimented her. "Why don't you do the honors of snapping the neck of whatever pest is headed over here?"
The teal woman's face lit up as she smiled wickedly from ear to pointed ear. "Yes, Bojack! Anything for you, master!" She winked an eye at her leader before jumping up into the sky and racing off towards the ki they had felt.
"Hnggnnnn," Chichi gurgled out as blood spat out between her lips. Please, oh god, please don't be one of our friends…
Bojack frowned as he turned back to the naked human woman restrained by his henchmen. "I've grown quite impatient with you," he spoke in a bored tone. He smirked as he turned his gaze to the Son house behind her.
"Perhaps I should shift my attention to whatever little shit is hiding in your puny home?"
Piccolo was flying full speed towards the Son house, and he had almost reached his destination when suddenly a flash of bright teal knocked him to the ground in a single blow.
Crashing into the earth, Piccolo coughed and squinted his eyes through the dust gathering around him, trying to find the culprit who had attacked him.
He was shocked to find a teal alien-like woman with fiery hair and pleasant facial features floating towards him out of the debris.
"Urrrgh…who the hell are you?" He grunted to the woman as he lifted an arm to shield his eyes from the gathering dust, struggling to lift his battered body from the ground where he had crashed.
"Hmmm, what's this? Another alien? How suitable…," the teal female cackled as she narrowed her eyes at the Namekian. "So you're the ki we felt, huh? Well, let's see what you've got!" She raised her fists up to eye level and smirked at the green alien.
Piccolo gritted his teeth and stared out in the direction towards the Son house. Gohan…
The Namekian shifted his attention back to Zangya and stood up, pressing two fingers to his forehead.
"I don't have time for you, woman…" He focused his energy and prepared his attack.
Gohan thanked Bulma for taking the time to talk to him, reminding her to call his mom that night to ensure she wouldn't send him away. Stepping outside Capsule Corp, he found Blair grinning in Vegeta's face while the Saiyan prince wore a look of disturbance.
"You guys finished here?" Gohan called out, and both turned to him. Blair smiled sweetly as she ran up to hug the teen.
"Thank you, love," she whispered into his ear. "You were right. I stood up for myself and now I'm sure that man won't be threatening me with the witch community anymore!" She pulled away and beamed at the boy.
Gohan smiled back before sending a cocky smirk in Vegeta's direction. "Guess you aren't so tough now, huh, your highness?"
Vegeta glared back at the teen with a serious glint in his eyes. "Gohan…" he started, for once addressing the boy by his actual name. "I don't think you know as much about that witch bitch as you think you do."
Gohan was about to retort when his senses rang off like wildfire with enormous amounts of ki.
"…What the fuck?!"
Vegeta saw the alarmed look on the teen's face and concentrated his own senses, shocked by the extraordinary power levels in the distance. These aren't just ordinary ki's…these are outworldly beings…
"Shit…I knew Kakarot's idiotic decision to stay dead wasn't going to keep this pathetic planet safe…" The prince growled to himself, clenching his fists.
Gohan could feel his body tremble uncontrollably as he realized just where the mysterious beings were located: The Son house.
Goten…Mom…! He had been so focused on keeping tabs on Vegeta's ki that he hadn't even realized it till now.
"Sweetness?" Blair's smile faded and she knitted her brows with worry, sensing the ki's herself. "Love, what is all this? Who's at your house?"
"I need to go…I need to go now!" Gohan sprinted off and jumped into the air, blasting at full speed towards his home.
"Wait!" Blair called out, but it was no use. Gohan was long gone within seconds.
Vegeta grunted behind her. "Well, witch bitch, aren't you going to hop on your broomstick and fly after your boy toy?"
Blair shot him emerald daggers "Quit being an ass," she spat at him. She turned back, staring off into the distance where Gohan had flown off. "I don't know how to fly…I can only levitate…"
"Ever thought it might be because you don't have any fucking ki?" Vegeta burst into laughter. "Funny, huh…just moments ago you were talking a big game, yet the second that brat comes around, you're suddenly sweet as a kitten." The prince hardened his features. "I'll ask you again, woman. Just what in the actual fuck are you doing with that kid?"
Blair didn't avert her gaze from where Gohan had flown off. Without turning back to Vegeta, her lips curled into a small smile as she replied softly with one word:
"Protector."
In a wisp of purple smoke, she dissipated into the form of a green-eyed raven. Stretching her wings, she flew off after her savior, leaving the prince of Saiyans behind with his thoughts.
"Perhaps I should shift my attention to whatever little shit is hiding in your puny home?"
Chichi felt her heart stop at Bojack's words. Goten!
"Hggh…no…please…" Blood drooled out of her mouth and gurgled in her throat as she pleaded with the Hera-seijin. She struggled against the henchmen who restrained her where she stood.
Bojack grinned at her reaction. "You don't like that, do you, earth woman?" He chuckled as he slowly flew up into the air, floating over the Son house. "Well, you should have thought of that before you chose not to answer me…"
Reaching out his arm and facing his palm to the small home, he prepared a neon green ki blast.
Chichi watched in horror as the man aimed the blast at her home. The house her and Goku lived in. The house her children grew up in.
The house her baby boy Goten was sitting in right now, locked away in a closet, waiting for her to come back.
"Please…!" She spat out streams of black blood, trying to scream without use of her jaw and missing several teeth. "Guuugh…please, don't…"
"What was that?" Bojack called down to her mockingly. "Did you say you wanted to tell me where that powerful being we're looking for is? Or did you say you wanted to watch your pathetic home and whoever is in it burn to the ground?"
Tears slipped down Chichi's bruised cheeks, stinging the wounds. I can't…I can't choose between my own children…
Gohan. Smart, handsome, misunderstood Gohan. The little boy who held the pressure of the world on his shoulders ever since he was only four-years-old. The boy who saved the world from Cell. The young teenager who helped raise his baby brother when he still needed a father himself, when all he wanted was to hide away with his pain in solitude. Her Gohan.
And Goten. Sweet, precious little Goten. The only light the Son family had to cling onto when Goku died. The happy, cheerful, orange-clad toddler who never failed to bring a smile to everyone's face…even the sulking Gohan.
Chichi felt her shoulders slump forward, her body giving in when all her spirit wanted to do was keep fighting. Bido and Kugo gripped her arms tighter to keep her from falling over. Behind her, Bujin released the remnants of her hair, standing off to the side out of range from the potential blast Bojack was preparing.
"Last chance, earth woman!"
Chichi quivered as sobs escaped her swollen eyes. "Can't…hnnngh…I can't…"
"…Very well then. Say goodbye!"
Bojack raised his arm up towards the sky, charging his blast to full power, and threw it full force down towards the Son house…
…and as the attack hit, the little dome-shaped home disintegrated in a burst of flames, a deafening explosion echoing over the mountains. The hungry flames left nothing behind but debris and scattered pieces of broken wood, the wind fanning them over the vast land.
Chichi, though her back was turned to the house, listened as the home she raised her family in went up in smoke and flames. She squeezed her swollen eyes shut and screamed out into the open field, her broken jaw hanging open and blood spilling out of her mouth and all over her naked body. Her legs gave out and the men restraining her were the only force keeping her from crashing face-first into the dirt.
Bojack flew down to the ground, standing before the hysterical woman with a smug grin on his scarred face. "See what happens when you don't just tell the truth, earth woman?" He cooed down at her. "Now whatever little powerhouse was hiding away in your home is cooked along with it! See what you've made me do, woman?"
Chichi's screams grew louder at the indirect mention of Goten.
Her little Goten. Her three-year-old baby boy who had hugged her as she cried and fetched her a tissue not even an hour ago…gone. Burned to a crisp along with her and Goku's humble home.
My fault…all my fault…I couldn't protect them…I'm not Goku…
Bojack frowned at the disturbing scene before him; the once pretty, naked human with blood pouring out all over her bare skin, her hair ripped from her scalp on one side of her head, the missing teeth, the broken jaw, the swollen eyes squeezing out an endless stream of tears. Her body was slumped forward, and he could see that the fair skin on her back was burned from the heat of the explosion behind her. Her wails rang out across the vast land before them.
"Disgusting," Bojack grimaced down at the woman. "Disgusting and pathetic."
Bujin stood off to the side, his hands clasped over his pointed ears. "Please, master! Just shut that earthling up before we're all deaf!" He called out over Chichi's incoherent cries.
Bojack chuckled lightly and cracked his knuckles. "I suppose you're right, Bido. Bujin, Kugo: lift her up, boys. This imbecile has wasted enough of my time."
Chichi's arms nearly snapped underneath the force of the two Hera-seijins forcing her body into an erect position. She looked up at the teal man with her injured eyes, tears no longer slipping out of them and stinging her cheeks. She had no tears left.
Whimpering, Chichi watched as Bojack clenched his fist and brought his arm back, a maniacal grin on his face…
"MOM!"
Gohan…!
It was her last thought before Bojack thrust his giant fist forward into her stomach, tearing right through her fragile human shell until his arm came out clean on the other side of her body.
"MOM!"
Gohan screamed out as he saw a small group of teal creatures surrounding his mother. His stomach knotted as he noticed she was naked and covered in blood, her hair ripped from her scalp, her jaw hanging off….
Mom…oh Kami no, mom…
He burst at full speed down to the ground, crashing to a landing on his feet and sprinting forward.
Please…
He watched the teal man pull his fist back.
No no no no no no
Running faster, he saw the man's fist come forward, making impact with his poor mother's fragile body.
Mom please no mom
His heart nearly burst from lack of oxygen as he saw the man's arm come out on the other side of her body, her spine shattering out into fragments, blood and intestines pouring out at her legs.
M…o….m….
Gohan fell hard to his knees, his head spinning and throbbing as the echoes of his mother's final screams pounded around his head like a loose bullet trapped inside his skull.
Her limp body fell in a bloodied heap of lifeless flesh and guts to the dirt below. The men beside her cackled down at the corpse along with their master.
His mother's corpse.
Mom…my mom…
Gohan's mind flashed with images he couldn't control. His skin burned and his muscles tensed involuntarily.
Goku pressing two fingers to his forehead. Goku disappearing from Earth. Goku dying in another world. Goku dying because of Gohan because of fucking Gohan
The teen began shaking with rage and baring his teeth.
"Fuck you."
His last words to his own mother. He looked over at her dead, naked body, bleeding endlessly into the earth.
"Fuck you."
Gohan's black gothy hair bristled as air began to swirl around him, picking up dirt and debris along with it.
"Hey, Bojack, who is that kid?"
The teal men were now facing him. The large man with fiery orange hair narrowed his eyes and stepped towards Gohan, a concentrated countenance on his harsh features as he studied the horror-struck boy on his knees, his black hair swooshing over his technicolor eyes like a fluttering curtain.
Suddenly, a wicked grin spread across the man's face.
"It's him, boys!" He called back to the others. "Ho ho, I can feel it! Who would have thought this whole time, we've been searching for a goddamn teenager! Ahh, life is full of surprises!"
Bojack drew closer to the teen, chuckling low in his throat. "What took you so long, kid?" He mocked the boy, who seemed frozen. "I've been searching for you for years. Ever since I felt your amazing ki from planets away all those years ago…" The Hera-seijin crossed his arms and grinned over at the growling teenager. "For all my patience, would you do me the honors of fighting me, and letting me snap your skinny neck once I'm finished with you?" The henchmen behind him all cackled in unison.
Gohan began hyperventilating with rage, baring his teeth as his skin felt like it was bursting into flames. Finally rising to a standing position, he struggled to stop his shaking body from tumbling over. His skin was boiling now, and he lifted his hoodie up over his head and threw it to the ground, unable to withstand the intense burning he felt. The t-shirt he wore underneath did nothing to cover the angry red scars that crisscrossed his arms. He snapped his head up and shot daggers at the man with his bloodshot blue orbs.
Bojack cocked an eyebrow at the boy, impressed by his untamed appearance. "Guess this apple fell far from the tree…" Bojack laughed heartily. "Your bitch mother couldn't stop barking, yet all you do is hiss, strip, and growl…haahaaa…."
Gohan clenched his fists until the veins popped on his pale skin and his nails dug into his palms until trickles of blood formed.
"So tell me, kid," Bojack continued. "What took you so long? Did it really take me killing your idiot mother and blasting your home for you to show the fuck up?"
Blasting my…?
Gohan glanced over beside him.
How could I have not seen…
He had been so horrified by the grisly sight of his mother's corpse, he hadn't noticed his home.
Or what used to be his home.
The destroyed remains of the Son house rested in flames and smoke, the wind fanning out burning shreds of remnants towards Gohan, swirling into the whirlwind of air around him like a cruel ring of fire.
Goten…
He thought of his little brother. Goten clinging to his sleeve as they walked through the city. Goten sleeping soundly as Gohan tucked him into bed. Goten being born without a father all because he had a bastard of a sibling, yet the infant wrapped in a blue blanket still smiling and giggling with glee up at his big brother the second he was in his arms.
The happy child in his mind burned and melted away into flames, just as the boy had in real life.
Never again…no mom…no Goten…no Goku…. all gone…
Bojack narrowed his eyes once more and paused in his steps, speaking in a quieter, more menacing tone. "I've been wanting to meet you for a long time, young earthling…tell me, boy of extraordinary power levels – what is your name?"
Mom…Goku…. Goten….
—Snap
"Everything Dies" — Type O Negative
If I recall correctly I don't think Dende can sense ki's but I let him for this story.