Fanfic by Cloud/Narlan, or however you know me as on what website.
Sailor Moon©Naoko Takeuchi
Dragonball Z©Akira Toriyama
Thew, writing that last chapter was a toughie. Enjoy this one, too! :)
Chapter 11
The Truth
It was quite a miracle, Gohan thought, that in this weird detention room, Professor Tom led him to the archive Setsuna was talking about. Sure, it wasn't the ideal place for an archive, because of all the spiders and dust everywhere, but it was it.
Without hesitation, he took seventeen books off the shelf, and began to speed-read them. He read about ten pages a minute, but he understood every page's detail, and realized all those hours reading pays off. Hotaru put on her reading glasses and followed by taking three books, and began to search through them.
About all of the books were covered in dust, as if they weren't touched for years in this depressing room. They both had to wipe off the dust with their hands before they could even open the book to a single page.
"This is unbelievable. This one tells us all about their attempt to take Crystal Tokyo." Hotaru pointed out from one journal to Gohan as she read it out loud:
The Noire's attempt on capturing the Moon Kingdom of our very own moon was perhaps the most notable of their actions, primarily because it was their only failure by their beast, The Behemoth. As I watched from the ship's telepathic room from millions of miles away, the beast enclosed its entire self around the moon, ready to consume the whole sphere.
But then I saw the beautiful Neo-Queen Serenity, holding the object known as the Silver Crystal high above her head. The beast slowly moved away from the moon, weakening him slowly. Ultimately, though, the Silver Crystal takes away the wielder's life energy, too, and I witnessed her die slowly in the arms of her beloved one, King Endymion of the Earth.
Although the rest of the Noire army was forced to fall back by such an amazing power, the beast was not defeated once and for all. The Noire was in precisely two years of hiatus from this failure, working to recover from a severely crippled empire. It was a time of grief and exile in these two long years. Many of those who refused to fight were executed, by being fed to the Behemoth itself. It was simply the most inhumane kind of torture I've ever seen. There were carcasses everywhere within this ship in every corner. I was in a nightmare for two whole years of my life.
"Wow," Gohan said as he finished reading the passage, "But you have to see this one, too." He flipped a page back on the journal he was reading, and placed it in front of Hotaru to read:
It's finally the year the King Xexet decides to return in his reign of terror. Once again, I see more and more worlds fall to the Noire's limitless powers. I just couldn't stand it anymore... This beast had to be stopped. I knew if the Behemoth were defeated, the Noire Empire would cease to exist forever. While continuing my duties as the strategist and physician of the empire court, I secretly kept my studies on the beast to myself.
I still find it unimaginable how the beautiful and powerful Serenity couldn't kill the beast once and for all. My studies show if the Silver Crystal had unleashed its full potential, depending on the weilder, it may destroy our entire galaxy. How durable is the Behemoth to survive such a blow is what I spent hours of research doing.
The Behemoth is nigh-invinsible. It travels thousands of times faster than the speed of light, has the strength to crush planets and stars, and can manipulate its size to as large as the sun back home. I've seen this monster crush galaxies with its power, and blacken the light of hundreds of stars. It can take the shape of almost anything, the most fearsome being a three-headed dragon. All those I've known who stood in its way were slaughtered and swallowed by the beast. It only grew stronger after every warrior it consumed… I couldn't imagine how powerful he would become if he succeeded in taken the powerful Silver Crystal.
It took me but one year to discover something brilliant based on a bit of dust from the Silver Crystal on the beast's hide. The Behemoth couldn't be killed by the Crystal alone. It required a second shard to the sword, the power of destruction. There are few in the universe which possess such strength. If this force were combined with the power of the Crystal, the beast would be put to rest forever. But no, I believe there is one more shard needed, something to link and bond the two forces together.
"A force of destruction, hm?" Gohan said and scratched his chin.
"Chibiusa has the Silver Crystal," Hotaru said as she closed the book, "As for the destruction half, maybe..." She closed her eyes in deep thought. Gohan looked around in confusion, then back at her.
"What about it?" Gohan asked.
Hotaru looked at him with her beautiful eyes wide-open, "I know exactly what he's talking about. Sailor Moon is really our princess, Serenity. Only one of her fellow guardians could possess the power of destruction. That one guardian, she is..." She suddenly stopped when the room began shaking violently. Hotaru shut her eyes and hugged Gohan tightly. "Wh-what was that?" She asked and shuddered.
Gohan closed his eyes for a moment and tried to sense what was happening. He held Hotaru softly, as she seemed worried of what was going on right now. Slowly, his enhanced Saiyan senses spread across the room, up into the library, and into the rest of the building and beyond the campus, where he could feel and hear everything, now. There, right outside the campus, a sudden surge of powerful ki energy! He suddenly gasped and widened his eyes, and held her tightly.
"The school is being attacked... By two..." Gohan paused for a moment and began to grow nervous. How are these two with extremely powerful energy attacking this school? Their energy could possibly destroy the whole planet if it could. "Wait a minute... I just might know who they are." Gohan clenched his fist and picked up Hotaru in his arms.
Suddenly, the bookshelves began to move. Gohan jumped in surprise and turned around. A rather blinding light suddenly flashed at the two.
"Get in." A mysterious voice said from the light. Gohan and Hotaru opened their eyes a little, and saw Professor Tom holding a lantern in his hands, "Sorry, but we must keep the entire building as dark as possible."
"But what's going on?" Gohan asked.
"I told you two to get inside this elevator." Professor Tom demanded.
He did what he asked. Still carrying Hotaru, with her feeling a little weak, dashed inside the strange-looking elevator. It looked old and rusted, and was made of scrap metal. Again, Gohan thought, what's something like this doing in a school? It moved slowly upward, but then horizontal.
Hotaru laid her head against Gohan's shoulder, feeling tired and frightened. He looked down at her for a moment and she was shivering a little. Suddenly her eyes opened, and she looked over to Professor Tom.
"You know something about what's going on, do you?" Hotaru said. She wrapped her arm around Gohan as she got down to stand.
"What? Of course not. We're being attacked by terrorists, isn't it obvious?" Professor Tom said grimly.
"No, we're not. I saw what was out there. I felt what was out there, and those were NOT terrorists. I felt no weapons, either. How could two people cause that much destruction with their bare hands? You're lying." Gohan said furiously.
"Enough! Will you shut up now, Gohan?" Professor Tom snapped at him. Hotaru suddenly hid behind Gohan's shoulder. They then saw the Professor sigh softly and looked down, "I'm sorry..."
Hotaru looked back at him, and began to stare at him with her eyes wide open. Gohan looked over his shoulder at her, then back at Professor Tom.
"I did lie to you both..." He looked up, "All this time after so many years here at this school, I had to hide it for so long. But I can no longer keep it a secret, from my own daughter."
Hotaru gasped and suddenly shed a tear, and hugged Gohan's arm tightly.
"D-do you mean? Daddy?" Hotaru said faintly.
Gohan looked into her eyes for a moment. There was an image of a man, tall with white hair just like Professor Tom, only much younger. He looked at the professor again, then back to Hotaru. She and the professor were staring at each other blankly, and Hotaru began to cry slowly. She ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him, and he embraced her back. Hotaru cried softly in his arms.
"Daddy, I knew it was you... Every time I saw you around the school this past year, I couldn't help but think you were my daddy... Why? Why do you look much older? Why did you have to keep it all a secret from me?" Hotaru grieved.
He kissed her on the forehead, "I loved you, Hotaru. I couldn't let you fall into the hands of those filthy Noire tyrants..." He looked up to the both of them, "And yes, I am the one who went on board the ship. I wrote all of those journals, and... I was the one who ordered the Neru to attack you from weeks ago."
"You what?" Gohan roared and clenched his fist, "How could you? Especially to your own daughter." He took a step towards him with an angry look on his face, "Not to mention how many people you've killed by just sending that horde at us. I'll make you pay, Professor Tom."
"Gohan please, don't!" Hotaru turned around and hugged Gohan, trying to calm him down.
"That's Professor Tomoe to you, Gohan." He looked down again, "And I'm sorry I did it. I knew that the Neru would be no match for a saiyan like you. I witnessed your strength when you fought the monster Cell last year, and I felt you would be the one to protect my daughter and her friend."
Gohan removed the expression from his face, and calmed down. He folded one arm around Hotaru, and she laid her head against him.
"Then tell us why you did it. Why did you work for the people who destroyed your world, the Noire Empire?" Gohan asked.
(Flashback)
"The moment before Hotaru and Chibiusa fled here with the Dragonballs, I was kidnapped by a squad of their elite guard. I was the one who sent her off with Sailor Pluto, in order to keep her powers out of reach by those tyrants. Meanwhile, for five whole years, I made a partnership with them. They destroyed our world, and I hoped somehow with my studies I could find a way, a weakness, so we could defeat them and put their evil deeds to rest." Professor Tomoe said as he fixed his glasses.
"But if it was only last year you came here? Why do you look older, daddy?" Hotaru asked.
"The Behemoth has the power to travel through time. I've been with them for a total of five years, and here in Gohan's world for ten. While they were unable to trace the Dragonballs' movement, I, with the help of Sailor Pluto, found the precise location of where they went, and that's here. But I came here too soon, because of all the travels through time the Noire had done. I made myself at home here and became the dean of the biggest school in Japan. Ten years after my arrival here, Hotaru and Chibiusa found their way into this world. The first time I saw her as a librarian, I was already broken to pieces to know she was alive. Only a few months after, Gohan arrived. The savior of this world from the android attacks in my school, I just felt he might stand a chance in saving Hotaru and the whole Earth…"
Gohan and Hotaru both stared at him now as he told the story.
"I just couldn't take it anymore… I couldn't bare betraying you both secretly. If I had told you two who I really was and what I'm doing before, the Noire would've came after us, immediately. Only a few days ago I decided I would finally drop all my work and dedication to the Noire. I would've waited longer for more hope to arrive, but I decided to do what had to be done sooner."
The elevator then stopped, and opened. The three walked out and found themselves, oddly, in the other library on the opposite end of the school.
"Daddy…" Hotaru said.
"Yes, my dear?" Professor Tomoe said to her.
"I love you, and I forgive you." She hugged him again, tighter.
"Hotaru…" He shed a tear and hugged her, back.
Gohan looked around the auditorium, and noticed there was an enormous window. The moonlight outside shined brightly that night, and there was silence, too. He felt more sympathy for Professor Tomoe now that he knew he was only trying to protect his father. Looking outside the window again, suddenly a pinkish flash appeared in the sky, a beam of energy! It crashed through the window and into the bookshelves, incinerating everything it touched. Half the room was already on fire, and the bookshelves were falling.
Gohan turned around to Hotaru and Professor Tomoe, then back out the window and saw another beam coming straight at them. He jumped right in front of it, and with a swift motion of his hand, he deflected it another direction away from them. Eventually several beams were headed into that room. Gohan braced himself and began to move all around the room stopping the beams.
"They're back! You two, get out of here right now!" Professor Tomoe yelled and let go of Hotaru.
"Daddy, no, not without you!" Hotaru said as she grasped her father's arm.
"WATCH OUT!" Gohan blurted. Unable to stop that one beam from passing him, went straight towards Hotaru and Professor Tomoe!
Professor Tomoe took action and tossed Hotaru behind him, away from the beam and the fire. The deadly beam pierced right through Professor Tomoe's chest, barely missing Hotaru! Hotaru and Gohan both went silent as they witnessed his agony. He collapsed to the ground in deep pain, with blood dripping out of his mouth slowly.
"Daddy!" Hotaru went into tears and kneeled over to her father. She embraced him tightly around his neck. Gohan ran through the fire over to where Hotaru and her father were, and watched sadly at the professor dying in his daughter's arms.
"Professor Tomoe… You can't… I shouldn't have let them do this to you!" Gohan's eyes began to twitch and he became agonized.
"G-Gohan…" Professor Tomoe said weakly, "The rest of this fight is in your hands, now… But please, promise me one thing… Please protect my daughter…" He turned to Hotaru.
Gohan nodded at him, "I will, professor."
"Just leave me here to burn, I will be fine…" He said to Gohan again, "Hotaru… Be strong." Professor Tomoe stroked his daughter's cheek, wiped away her tears and laid back down.
Another beam suddenly went in between Hotaru and Professor Tomoe's body. Gohan clenched his fist and turned around. There was a short, bald figure with a tail floating in the air, with purple spots all over his body. The smoke made it hard to see him, but then it began to clear. It was, Cell, an old nemesis of his. Gohan carried Hotaru in his arms and angrily flew over to him, floating the air about twenty feet in front of him.
"I should've expected you would be here protecting that girl and her foolish father." Cell said in his deep voice.
"I can't believe how cruel you are. Professor Tomoe didn't deserve to die." Gohan said furiously.
"Hahaha! So you found out his real name, hm? Looks like we were right that the mad scientist would betray us sometime, and so he did by helping you and your little girlfriend there." Cell said and grinned evily.
Hotaru suddenly began to feel weak again, and laid her head against Gohan's chest.
"Don't you dare talk about Hotaru or her father that way. I won't let him die in vain, you hear me?" Gohan roared.
"Why don't you meet us at the other end of this building, Gohan? Frieza is waiting there, too. Hehehe…" Cell said and chuckled evily as he flew away over the school.
Gohan looked behind him and noticed the burning school collapsing to the ground. He stared at the fire depressingly and landed slowly on the ground, laying a now asleep Hotaru on the grass.
"I'm sorry, Hotaru. I will avenge your dad, I promise." Gohan stood up and closed his eyes, and placed his hand over his heart. She lost her dad just like he lost his own father, Goku. He wanted to tell her what he felt, because they were both the same now.
Gohan clenched his fist and dug his feet into the ground, and began to power up. He battle cried angrily as his power level increased and the yellowish aura surrounded him. His hair turned yellow once again, and he became the Super Saiyan once more.
