anon: Haha… I somewhat agree with you for Gohan beating John up. That would be funny! Gohan doesn't seem to really like John, does he?
peanut butter: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy it! Did I make the marriage telling too obvious?
petites sorcieres: True, he is taking it pretty well (at least so far). Sometimes I have to feel sorry for him, but then I remember that I'm the one writing this fanfiction. And let's just say that Gohan is going to have a hard time finding the answers he wants, especially when his other self won't tell him.
Chapter 14: Discovered
Gohan sat crouched down on the floor, trying to stop the tears from flowing. He had no idea why he should be upset; maybe it was because he felt betrayed. Betrayed by his father who left him, betrayed by his mother who was betraying his father, betrayed by Piccolo who wouldn't leave the idea of a voice in his head alone…
He groaned slightly when he felt a sharp pain in his right side. He felt his hand clutch at it, instantly knowing it was the Lotus.
Can't you make it stop? He tried asking his other self, but got no reply. He felt like his other self was trying to reply to him, but couldn't. He was then distracted by his mother's voice coming from the other side of door.
"Gohan, please open the door," Chi-Chi pleaded, already knowing that it was locked, "you're not allowed to lock it."
"I don't care," he replied, hoping that his mother wouldn't actually have the strength to knock the door down.
"Gohan, you need to stop being so selfish. You need to think of Goten for once. He needs a father," his mother said, but then Gohan felt the strangely familiar Ki outside the door.
"Gohan, open the door," Piccolo demanded harshly. Gohan shook his head, not really caring what his mentor was saying right then.
The next moment, the door was in pieces, Gohan trying frantically to get away from the sharp pieces of wood and his mentor. He opened his window and jumped out, trying to fly away; but he got no more than a few feet before he was roughly shoved to the ground.
He turned around and glared at Piccolo, who was now currently lowering down towards the ground.
"What was that for?" he demanded, all the while feeling a sickening feeling in his side.
"Gohan, you need to calm down," Piccolo said and Gohan sensed a wave of caution and fear spread through his mentor's Ki.
"I am calm," he said as he stood up, knowing that he was lying. As soon as he was standing, he felt his Ki start to jerk upwards, so he sat down again. Gohan was starting to feel sick again as he sat on the ground.
He suddenly sensed two more Kis coming at full speed towards where they were; his mind instantly identifying them as Future Trunks and Vegeta.
What do they want? He thought with worry, not really wanting everyone to suddenly appear at once. One look at Vegeta told Gohan that the Saiyan Prince was seething. Future Trunks, on the other hand, was looking quite worried and surprised.
But why? He thought, I'm fine.
Future Trunks looked like he was going to say something, but Piccolo shook his head, silencing the older Super Saiyan.
Gohan looked between the three people that were apparently having a silent conversation; feeling very confused in the process. He felt like he should have someone to talk to, so he tried to contact his other self again.
Hello? Are you there? He asked, expecting to get an answer, but felt very confused when he didn't get one.
What is going on? Why can't I talk to him? He thought, but stopped when he saw Piccolo look over at him with a strange expression on the Namekian's face. Gohan quickly changed his gaze to look at the ground, feeling an uncomfortable feeling spread through him.
"Gohan, power down," Piccolo commanded, the sound of his mentor speaking making Gohan bring his gaze back to them.
Power down? He thought with confusion. He looked over at the river that was near them and saw his Super Saiyan form reflected in the water. He brought his gaze back to his mentor's, trying to still his increasing power level; but he found that the more he tried to stop it, the more it increased.
"I can't," he whispered, trying to stay calm and keep the fear out of his voice, but failing in both. He looked back around at Future Trunks and saw that the older Saiyan looked as if he was thinking hard on something.
But on what? Gohan thought as he stared at his friend. He suddenly felt a pain in his side before closing his eyes, the scene before him not something he wanted to see. He saw a rugged and torn land, with almost no people.
Where is everybody? He thought as he looked around, but then he grew tense as he sensed two familiar things in the distance. He looked in the direction and saw Android's 17 and 18.
How are they still alive? Daddy and the others destroyed them, Gohan thought but then stopped. He was being led by someone; running away from what he guessed was the Androids. He tried to get a look at who was leading him away, but the pain in his side just increased when he tried.
I need to know, he thought as he felt a shiver run through him. He looked up at the figure leading him, seeing an orange Gi and black hair.
Daddy? Gohan thought with a bit of joy, but then he realized something, No, it's not daddy. This person is different.
Before he could get a better look at the figure, the pain in his side became too much for him to handle; making him let it all out in one giant burst before the image faded and he fell to the ground.
When he was somewhat conscious again, he figured it had only been a few moments. He heard a voice talking to him, but he couldn't recognize it.
"Hey Gohan, wake up," the voice said and Gohan automatically assumed it was his other self.
"What happened?" he asked while trying to open his eyes, but he felt too weak to do so.
"Your Ki kind of exploded," the answer came clearer this time, "what were you trying to do? Blow up the house?"
"No, but you said that would sometimes happen," he answered as he felt some of his strength returning.
"I said what?" the voice asked, sounding confused. This also confused Gohan since he remembered his other self telling him that piece of information.
"You said that if my emotions get too out of control, that the Lotus would react to it and…" he started but then stopped when he heard another voice in his head.
Stop it! You're telling them everything! He recognized his other self's voice, but then felt confused at who he had been talking to. He opened his eyes and saw the ground in front of him. He sat up from where he was lying down and saw Piccolo, Vegeta, Future Trunks, and the rest of the Z Fighters.
"Um Gohan, what did I say about your Ki and a flower?" Future Trunks was asking with a confused look on his face. Gohan felt his face heat up with embarrassment.
"Um, nothing," he said while trying to back away, but instead ended up running into Krillin. He quickly tried to stand up but his legs apparently didn't want to start working again, so he started to fall towards the ground again. He felt someone catch him and looked up into Piccolo's face.
"Gohan, who were you talking to?" Piccolo asked him, making an uncomfortable feeling start to sit in his stomach. He tried to get away from his mentor by standing up, but he didn't have the strength and collapsed to his knees, already feeling weaker than he had before.
"No one," he stated, trying to make it convincing, but he knew that the moment it came out of his mouth that his statement was already a lie.
"Were you talking in your sleep again?" Future Trunks asked, reminding Gohan of the moment earlier in the day.
"I guess so…" he started but then stopped, not failing to notice Piccolo's eyes narrow a bit. He quickly averted his gaze, staring at the ground in front of him.
"Gohan," his mentor started again, "who were you talking to?"
"Why does that matter?" he demanded, suddenly starting to feel angry, "it was just a dream!"
"If it was a dream though, you had to be talking to someone," Future Trunks stated uncertainly; Gohan then noticed that the older Saiyan whispered something to the rest of the group, all of them dispersing except Future Trunks, Piccolo, Vegeta, and himself.
Gohan stayed silent, not really wanting to talk about anything at that moment, but his mentor had other ideas.
"Who was it Gohan?" Piccolo repeated again with a bit more force this time. Gohan clenched his fists slightly as he felt his power level rise again. The hurt he felt with it combined with his already weakened state helped him a bit.
"Why does it matter?" he shouted as he stood up, this time backing away and towards the river.
"Because something is wrong, Gohan!" Piccolo stated back forcefully, making Gohan feel even worse.
"Nothing is wrong," he said silently, his power level suddenly lowering, making him realize just how exhausted he was. His Ki dropped until he was in base form; the suddenly drop making Gohan sit back down on the floor.
Future Trunks glanced over at Piccolo for a moment before coming over and helping Gohan stand up, a concerned look in the older Saiyan's eyes.
"You don't need to tell us now if you don't want to," Future Trunks said quietly but was interrupted by Piccolo.
"He needs to tell us," the Namekian said, making Future Trunks look down at Gohan, who was wishing he was invisible.
"Could you tell us?" Future Trunks asked, trying to be patient with how the situation was going wrong. Gohan looked up at him for a moment before answering.
"I wasn't talking to anyone…" he started but was startled by what he heard next.
Not you two, his other self's voice rang through his head clearer this time, but Gohan could detect a lot of anger beneath those words.
Why didn't you answer me before? Gohan asked, trying to sort everything through his mind.
Because you blocked me out, his other self stated and Gohan could have sworn that the other Saiyan was rolling his eyes at him.
What do you mean? I didn't block you out; he started but then stopped when he heard Future Trunks talking to him.
"Um Gohan?" the lavender haired Saiyan asked.
"Yeah?" Gohan said while looking up at his friend, trying to push away the angry feeling that was coming from his other self.
"Why does it sound like there are two of you?" Future Trunks asked, making Gohan look up at him with surprise.
"What do you mean?" he asked, freaking out a bit, although he stopped when his other self interrupted him.
Ok Trunks, I don't really have anything against you… his other self said, but then the voice seemed angry again, but I would appreciate it if you would just let everyone else get their butts out of here!
Gohan cringed slightly at the angry tone his other self was using. He looked back up at Future Trunks to see that he had a confused and startled look on his face.
"Um Gohan, did you say that?" Future Trunks asked while Gohan shook his head.
"So that's who you have been talking to…" Piccolo started but Gohan heard the voice again and realized that it was echoing outside of his head.
Well yeah! Are you really that dumb? Seriously, this is why you couldn't stop me from leaving in the first place! Not you, not Goku, only… his other self ranted a bit before becoming silent; Gohan feeling a wave of sadness and regret coming from his other self.
"Only…?" Gohan started, trying to get his other self to finish the sentence, but Piccolo cut in.
"Why aren't you calling Goku 'daddy'?" his mentor asked, apparently talking to the voice.
"Hey…" Gohan started, feeling a bit embarrassed that his mentor would bring it up. Piccolo looked at him for a moment.
"Relax Gohan, you've been calling Goku that for a long time; you still call him that," his mentor said, but now Gohan was feeling a wave of anger from both his other self and himself.
"And why do you have to bring him up?" Gohan shouted, trying to get away from the now surprised Trunks, but failing when Piccolo gave the future Saiyan a look.
I agree! Both of them are just a bunch of...! His other self started angrily, but Gohan cut him off.
"Don't finish what you were going to say!" he shouted, already knowing what terror would have unfolded with what his other self was going to scorn his friends with. Gohan then cringed slightly at the pain the Lotus was now giving him.
"Gohan, are you…?" Future Trunks asked in a concerned voice, but Gohan chose the opportunity to get away from his grasp. He kneeled down on the ground and clutched at his side, feeling the sickening feeling again.
"Not helping…" he managed to get out between his now heavy breathing. Right then, he felt like he just wanted to get away from everything, but the pain in his side was starting to become too much.
He tried to stand up and walk back into the house, but quickly sat back down again when his vision started to turn white; making him see something else. Two images formed together as he saw the ground in front of him and then saw it break away, feeling the solid ground but seeing it crumble.
He coughed slightly as his vision returned to normal, realizing that Future Trunks was starting to pick him up. He tried to struggle and say something, but he felt too weak.
"Get him inside," he managed to hear Piccolo say through his now hazy vision, "he can explain later."
Gohan didn't concentrate on what happened next; he was only aware of something soft underneath him and his fading strength, making his vision now turn a peaceful black.
I'm really sorry that this was a bit delayed. I had to get my teeth pulled the other day so I am still a bit drowsy from that. I just realized that I do a lot of cliffhangers, huh? Well, I hope you enjoyed and please review!
-AnimeWolfGirl9