heyyyyits me again!sorry for being so late, you see, I got a new phone and not everything transferred (f in the chats for my 200 images of trunks) including the 1500 words I had started writing on this chapter so I had to start over, which was difficult and rather annoying.anyway, this chapter is quite a tear-jerker, I hope its impactful!let me know what you think in the reviews
There was a ringing in his ears. The sound pierced through his skull, which ached; though he didn't know why. Slowly opening his heavy eyelids, the boy stared up into the dark clouds, the rumble of thunder bringing him to his senses. Rain began to pour from the sky, the noise of it making his headache worse, and he could also feel that his clothes were already soaked as he stood.
"Gohan?" There was no sign of him.
"Oh, no!" He gasped aloud, catching sight of the debris below.
"Darn it, Gohan! Why'd you have to go alone?!" He exclaimed, as if he could hear him.
Mirai dashed down from the cliff, towards the city, the billowing smoke clouding his vision more so than the rain. Landing on the ground, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had been here before. There was a sudden feeling that everything was wrong. He feared the worst, so he ran into the streets, but then felt like maybe he was going too slow, because it seemed like he was hardly covering any ground. His legs seemed to be weirdly heavy, but perhaps that was the rain weighing him down.
The teenager called out the name of his best friend and master. His heart thudded louder and louder when still no response was given, even when he yelled at the top of his lungs. Mirai went further, searching for Gohan, who was most likely injured.
He tried to focus and sense his energy, he could just about make out the faint aura of Gohan; his ki was fading rapidly. The rain was relentless, and the wind incredibly harsh as he made his way to him. He was certain the ringing in his ears got more severe, everything in his body telling him that there was something wrong.
Then his eyes laid upon him.
There was silence, empty yet deafening. Rain and tears streamed down his cheeks as he realised he was too late.
"Gohan..." Mirai walked up to him. The red light of a broken street lamp or car kept flashing, but all Mirai could focus on was the crimson blood pouring into the puddle below his master's body.
"Oh no! No!" As much as he denied it, it was real.
He went closer.
"Gohan...why'd you have to do it?" He desperately asked.
"Why'd you have to leave me?! It's not fair!" He was so childish, even in that moment. Things were never fair.
Mirai was right in front of him now, his fists tightly clenched as he inspected the bloody mess that remained of him.
"Oh, gosh, no! What did they do to you Gohan?!" He wished he would wake up. He'd give anything for that, any sign that he was alive.
"You were my best friend...you were everything to me... everything!"
His voice cracked as he said it and he was certain he could feel his heart shatter into a million pieces.
"This just isn't fair!" He knelt down and lifted Gohan's head from the puddle, hugging it to his chest.
Mirai let go, knowing he was not going to wake up. He had never felt this kind of pain before, and it soon turned to anger. With a ferocious roar, his hair began to stand on end and a deep power surged from within him. He saw the gold aura, and knew that this was what Gohan had meant, but before it became a reality, laughter could be heard.
It was a cruel mocking sound, and one that was painfully familiar. There was a flash of lightning, and the red glow of the broken city lights to follow; revealing to him those monsters who stood atop a broken building, staring down at him with those cold, dead blue eyes, the iciness of them almost enough to make him freeze up completely.
"Bravo!" 18 slowly clapped, a malicious smirk on her face. "And we always thought Blondie was good at being all dramatic and heroic...ugh, disgusting." 18 pushed a wet strand of hair behind her ear. The two were absolutely drenched and partly damaged from battle, but it was nothing compared to what Gohan had to endure.
"Ah, yes...what a guy! Blondie was always a fun one..." 17 went on, adding salt to the wound.
"Shame though...his act got stale...oh, well, it was fun while it lasted, and we all had a good time. Didn't we, Blondie?" He cruelly hopped down, and placed his sneaker on Gohan's head.
"You...you monsters!" Mirai's fists shook with anger, but his arms and legs were stiff, and he could barely move them.
"You don't even know my master's name!" His teeth were gritted, but still, he could hardly move a muscle.
"Of course I do! It's...uh...Goku. Jr?"
18 laughed again, joining her brother as they stood around Gohan's corpse.
"See, this is why humans are disgusting...so much blood, it gets everywhere, look it's all over me!" She scoffed, glancing down at her torn outfit.
"Yeah, but at least their bones make cool noises!" 17 put pressure on Gohan's remaining arm, making it snap, the satisfying sound making the cyborg grin.
"Stop it!" Mirai commanded them, even though he knew it was pointless.
Surprisingly, 17 turned away from Gohan and taunted the boy, "Or what?"
Mirai had no idea what to say to that, he just looked down at his shoes, hating himself for being so cowardly and weak.
"Kid, Blondie, who was eligible for handicapped parking, fought better than you did against us. If you wanna end up like him, then by all means, fight us." 17 warned him.
'I have to be strong!' Trunks told himself. 'I have to do this...for Gohan!'
His fists flew forward, but he was far too slow. 17 effortlessly dodged him, kicking the boy down to the ground.
"You really want to do this?" 17 sneered, and gave him another chance.
"There are easier ways of suicide, you know." 18 remarked as she came over, making Mirai remember just how outclassed he was. He had two enemies to face, and both were stronger than him.
The teen got up and tried once again.
Launching for 18 this time, he managed to catch her off guard, landing a solid blow, forcing her back into a pile of rubble.
"You little brat!" She growled, dusting herself off. "It's like you have a death wish!"
Mirai ignored her words, only focusing on what he was going to do when she inevitably attacked back, but he had made a fatal error:
He left himself open to attack by 17, who took the opportunity, ensuring the boy would get the message this time as he fell face first, bashing his nose against the concrete.
It was broken, for sure, but the steady flow of blood from his left nostril trailing into his mouth would not deter him.
"17, it's my turn this time!" 18 scolded her brother for being so selfish. 17 agreed to back down for the time being, something that Mirai saw as beneficial; he knew the androids were so in sync with each other, so fighting both at once required a lot more effort.
18 fired a blast at him, which he was able to dodge, something he thought Gohan would be proud of, seeing as it was something he always struggled with. Unfortunately, the thought of his fallen master and the sinking feeling of grief weighing down on his chest distracted him from battle, meaning he didn't notice 18, who had rapidly moved and appeared right in front of his face.
Startled, he stepped back, losing his balance, and fell once again, hitting his head, but he didn't let himself lose consciousness. Mirai felt incredibly dizzy as he scrambled to his feet.
"Jeez, you're so annoyingly persistent...can't you just stay down? It would make things a whole lot easier." 18's sassy tone reminded him about how little the androids cared about anything, it was always a joke to them, a cruel game that only they could win.
Filled with rage, just as before, he launched towards 18, and for a moment it seemed like he had gained the upper hand, but she chuckled at her own prank, and he felt like a fool for believing for a single second that he was stronger than them. 18 punched him in the gut, making him cough up blood.
Mirai was on his knees, unable to look up at them, his hands partly submerged in the puddle beneath him.
"Just accept it, kid. You were never good enough...and you'll never be good enough." 18's words were sharp, cutting away at what was left of him.
17 held a blast up to him, 18 following suit. This was the last moment of his life and he never even got to say goodbye, but at least he would see Gohan again.
"Why did Blondie ever train you in the first place? It's not like you're worth anything." Mirai had nothing left to say as 17 essentially said what he had been thinking for a while.
"You should have just killed yourself while you had the chance...don't act like you haven't thought about it." Mirai quietly sobbed as he felt the balls of ki heat his skin from afar.
"Poor, little Trunks...all alone, with no-one to save you." 18 mocked him, crushing his hand beneath her boot but he didn't even cry out in pain. There were no tears left to cry and no pain left to feel.
They laughed again and then there was the sound of the blast firing towards them then,
Darkness.
"Trunks...wake up!" There was a faint, familiar voice calling out to him. Lifting his heavy eyelids, he saw him; his saviour.
"No...I can't be dead!" Mirai exclaimed, though his voice was weary.
"Dead? Who said you were dead?"
Mirai smiled, tears in his eyes.
"Gohan..."
"That's my name...don't wear it out." A warm smile spread across his master's face as he extended his hand out to his best friend and student.
Mirai grabbed onto him and flung himself into Gohan's arms, ignoring all the questions burning in his mind. They hugged each other tight for a solid minute, and even through the thick tears in Mirai's eyes, he could see the beautiful reflections of the crystals in the cave shining down on them in a kaleidoscope of colours, reminding him of when he was very young and Gohan would come over and make blanket forts with him, and in the centre of it they had a lamp that glowed in various colours as Gohan read books to him, providing an escape from the horrors of the world beyond the safety of home.
Gohan had to let go, reminding Mirai that they didn't have time for this.
"C'mon, I need to give a senzu bean to your girlfriend!" Gohan said, half-teasing.
"M-my girlfriend?!" He could feel his cheeks burning, then he remembered that Gohan had no clue Pan was his daughter from another timeline, but before he could explain it all, he had tons of questions himself.
"Wait, Gohan, how are you-" Mirai stopped him in his tracks.
"Alive?" Gohan smirked, interrupting him. "Well...I'm not exactly sure...you see, I just woke up in this strange place...it was like a palace." The son of Goku rubbed his face, piecing things together.
"Oh, yeah! There was a woman-"
"Was her name Naife?" Mirai hoped his question would perhaps jog his memory.
"No...it was something like...'Towa'?" Gohan folded his arms, doing his best to explain the events that had transpired.
"Anyway...they were demons, I'm guessing, since they were from a place called the Demon Realm...oh, and speaking of demons, don't worry. I took care of the ones that tried to kill you and that girl." Gohan mentioned it as if it was no big deal, making Mirai feel inferior.
"Then what?" He put his full attention into his words.
"They were saying things like how they wanted to make the Demon Realm strong...about how the androids and I, would help them...they even gave me my arm back somehow!"
Mirai gasped, then Gohan informed him about something even more sinister, "They had us brainwashed...I remembered being full of this dark energy...it was unlike anything I had ever felt before!"
"How did you escape?" Mirai was full of fear upon hearing this. Not only were those mechanical menaces alive, but they were even stronger!
"I heard your name being mentioned when this guy who looked like Frieza came through that portal and it brought me back to my senses. I was able to break free, and for some reason I felt drawn to one portal...luckily it led me to you." Gohan grinned at him, clearly just as happy to see Mirai as his student was to see him
Mirai didn't understand how any of this was possible but it didn't matter to him. What mattered was that Gohan was here with him, alive.
"When I got here, I could sense your energy, as well as the same evil energy as those demons. I knew they were after you, so I rushed over and took care of them-"
"You can go Super Saiyan, right?!" Mirai cut in again, hoping the answer was yes.
"No...but some of that demon energy is still within me, so I'm strong enough to fight them off!" Gohan cracked his knuckles, always ready to face the next challenge as Mirai stared at him, his eyes sparkling in the light; full of awe at how Gohan had practically cheated death.
"You're the best, Gohan!" He praised him, and Gohan just laughed it off, then began heading towards the cave exit, telling Mirai that he had left the girl there.
"Gohan..." Mirai began, wanting to tell him everything, about Pan, Goten and his other self, as well as what had happened that day in the rain, but a strange feeling of apprehension came over him so instead he asked,
"Aren't you gonna ask how I'm here?"
"Huh? Oh, jeez, I got so caught up in talking about me...maybe we should talk about it after I give a bean to the girl." Gohan went onwards and Mirai followed, hating that he wasn't brave enough to tell Gohan himself about everything.
Gohan inserted the senzu into Pan's mouth and helped her to eat it, tilting her head up. After a moment, she gradually began to wake.
"D-Daddy?" She weakly spoke and Gohan was visibly confused. Taking a good look at him, it was clear to Pan that this was indeed her father, even with the differences, he still had the same kind smile.
Gohan raised an eyebrow upon seeing the way the girl stared at him, and neither said a word until Mirai cleared his throat, breaking the silence.
"Gohan...this is Pan...she's your daughter."
"Nice to meet you...Dad." She reached out to grab his hand. Gohan helped her up but still blinked, puzzled at what was going on, the same way Mirai was earlier.
"My...daughter?! But Videl-"
"Woah, you knew my mom in this world too?!" Pan was eager to know this new, cooler version of her father.
"Yeah...but, she..." His voice trailed off and there was another silence, but even without the words they understood.
"Well...Pan is from an alternate timeline...it's a little further on than ours...but it has a more happy ending."
"Who's to say ours doesn't have a happy ending too?" Gohan saw the sadness in Mirai's sapphire eyes and ruffled his hair, making the teen blush when he remembered Pan was watching, with a faint smile on her face.
"Oh, yeah, and there's also-" Pan began and Goten arrived with Trunks, just on cue.
Goten at first didn't spot Gohan, he was about to ask the two what happened, but as soon as he opened his mouth he stopped, his jaw dropping, the same as Trunks.
"Y-you're-" Goten stuttered.
"Gohan..." Trunks finished his sentence for him, both in awe of him, he was so cool, could he really be the Gohan they knew?
"So...you're from another world too?" Gohan gazed at Trunks, a proud look on his face in that bittersweet moment. He then turned to Goten, not knowing what to say.
"I'm Goten..." He managed to say. "I'm your little brother..." He nervously chuckled and it was clear to Mirai when he saw Gohan's expression how much pain he was hiding behind those shiny eyes of his at the thought of his father, the memories flooding back when seeing Goten's familiar face.
"Right...well, I'm glad to meet you all! Uh, maybe we should clear things up later once we find somewhere to camp..."
Trunks informed him of the ship, so they all decided to make their way there. As they went, flying rather high as the sun began to set over them, revealing many twinkling stars overhead, which made Mirai think of the cave, Gohan told the others the same things he had told Mirai. Goten made sure Gohan was caught up on everything too, and whilst there were many things left unsaid, they were aware that it was not the time to idly chatter about their lives, no, they had a mission to compete.
The group finally reached a safe place, away from any signs of civilization or danger, though no-one knew if there was any, apart from the demons, of course. None of them had spotted the rift that they arrived from and Gohan couldn't locate it either, despite being the one who had entered it after them.
Trunks released the ship from its capsule, and the Demi-Saiyans enjoyed a meal together, as strange as it was. Goten had only eaten dinner with his older brother around a week ago, but now everything had been turned upside down, all from his wishes.
"So, what do you two work as?" Gohan aimed to make conversation as he sat comfortably around the small fire like the others.
Trunks proudly stated that he was the CEO of Capsule Corp and Gohan congratulated him, saying how wonderful that must be.
"I'm so happy for you, Trunks! Though...I never saw you as a man of business...what about you, Goten?"
Goten suddenly felt so small, more so than he usually did around his brother.
"Goten's kind of a deadbeat, he just works in the factory of Capsule Corp, like a nobody but for a while he was unemployed, and I mean a while, like Grandma was so angry-"
Pan went on, talking very fast to make her uncle seem like a loser.
"Pan!" Her father chastised her. "You shouldn't be so rude to your uncle."
The girl quickly shut up, her arms folded petulantly. Pan hated being told what to do.
"No matter what...I'm just so happy that you can live in peace...I know that after we make things right, I can make my world a peaceful place too!" Gohan spurred them on, making them all feel able to take on the challenges ahead.
It was most definitely a happy reunion, especially for Mirai and Gohan. They decided they should take shifts in sleeping in case of any danger and Gohan opted to go first and to take the majority of the hours alone. The others felt bad for leaving him, but they did offer, to which he politely declined.
The team slept outside by the fire, since they were running out of space in the ship and it was a pleasant night; just warm enough to be comfortable whilst still having a cool breeze. They all said goodnight and were fast asleep, apart from Mirai who still felt like he couldn't sleep, which angered him. It wasn't like he was in any sort of danger now, not with Gohan around, but there was still something wrong.
The boy shuffled, trying to get comfy in the cosy sleeping bag from the ship, alerting Gohan, who knew he was awake.
"Trunks, are you ok?" He asked, keeping his voice down.
"Yeah...I'm fine." Mirai lied, but even he knew it was not enough to fool his best friend.
"Trunks...what have we said about lying?" He spoke rather condescendingly, still viewing Mirai as a child.
"Gohan...it's just-" Mirai stopped, trying to gather his thoughts and put them into words, a task that was easy in theory but not in practice.
"You can tell me." Gohan reassured him.
"That day in the rain...I found you, and-" Mirai burst into tears, hating that he just wasn't enough.
"I know...I know..." Gohan held him, trying not to cry.
"Why did you go alone?! You knew it was suicide-" Mirai demanded an answer.
"I knew that even if I died, it would still have made a difference to our future..." Gohan tilted his head up to the night sky.
"I knew that if you saw me dead, it would make you become a Super Saiyan-"
Mirai cried harder, "But now I can't! You sacrificed yourself for nothing!"
"None of us can-" Gohan tried to calm him down.
"Goten can!" Mirai argued.
"Trunks, I couldn't have let you come! If you would have died, I-"
"It's because I'm weak, isn't it?" Mirai's bold statement almost silenced him.
"I-"
"Isn't it?!" Mirai was desperate, yet he was still only hearing what he wanted.
"Trunks, I'm really sorry you had to go through that, but-"
"But what? It wasn't that bad? I didn't see everyone die, so that makes it fine!" Mirai was just firing at him, trying to project his pain somewhere.
"Trunks, keep your voice down!" He ordered the teen. "You're letting your emotions get the better of you, you knew I didn't mean-" Gohan once again tried to be the voice of reason.
"Didn't mean to leave me all alone a-and frightened?!" He was just putting words into his mouth.
"You don't understand-"
"No! You don't understand!" Mirai snapped. "You don't understand...I am always in that place, in the rain, every time I close my eyes. All I can see is those horrible red lights...and your blood mixing with the water in the puddle...and all I can feel is scared and alone and hopeless!" The teenager's words echoed and resounded, leaving a moment of silence between them.
"Trunks, please...I know it's really hard for you right now...and maybe you won't understand why I did what I did right now..." Gohan wiped the tears off his student's face.
"But...it's ok now, since we're both alive, right?"
After a moment of thinking, Mirai nodded.
"Now, go to sleep...if there's one person that needs sleep out of all of us, it's you."
Mirai was still upset, but at least he had gotten things off his chest and Gohan was able to comfort him. Sure, he didn't get the exact answers he wanted, nor did he expect himself to react in such a way, but in a sense, he did feel a little better and was just thankful his master was around.
Drifting off to sleep, a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long while, he hoped to have no more nightmares and that tomorrow, they'd be another step closer to peace.