Son Gohan and Trunks: Another Road - Android Saga Act III (Chapter 1)
Lapis, assumedly 20 something. Age 782 December 9th - Earth 12:15 P.M. Pepper Town
The streets still offered no natural light, the only light in the air were the neon from buildings on the streets as rain drizzled down the sidewalks and seeped into the haphazard concrete and grassland mishmash of Pepper Town.
"-Only a spoonful! So he takes out a comically large spoon and-"
"Lapis?"
"Whassup?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Hah-Hah-Hah!" Lapis fell over himself, slapping his knee and coercing a laugh out of his sister as well in the process.
"You're so braindead it's unreal."
The pair let out the finality of their giggles until something caught the eye of the brother through the window of a beat down barbershop. The red and white sign stained yellow still spinning.
"No. Way."
"What..?"
"Yo…"
"What!?"
"Look." Lapis reassured, turning his sister around by the shoulder and pointing right at them.
"Oh. My. God."
"I know!"
The neon lights of the streets lingered on their orange jackets. A bright almost yellow colour, the same as the turtle style gi Son Goku, Krillin, and Yamcha wore. The collar and cuffs were a sharp black, a deep insignia marking the turtle school on the back and a logo detailing 'Capsule Corp'. on the left shoulder. Both Trunks and Gohan wore the same jacket, matching but with their own take on the same outfit.
Gohan brandished a white muscle tee that looked to have his large chest break out from it at any moment while Trunks opted for a loose black tank top that hung low, showing off his own development from a timid boy to what was clearly closer to a man. Last time he was here, he was smaller than both of the androids. Not anymore. Trunks wore white pants with the Capsule Corp. logo while Gohan wore black. They both finished the attire with blue converse style sneakers at the bottom. And of course:
Shcwingg~
Oolong and Puar disguised as deep black aviators.
"Is that~ Son Gohan?"
"I think…" Lazuli cheesed, pausing for effect. "... It is."
"Son of Son Goku?"
They stood with stoicism, letting the rain fall all around them as they stared down with the androids. Korin walked out from behind the pair and set his staff on the uneven street, whiskers twitching nonstop.
"My heart." Lapis claimed with a smile as he clutched at his chest dramatically. "You came all the way down to Pepper Town just to meet up with us!?"
"Meet up with you?"
Gohan looked down at Korin, then shifted his focus to Trunks.
"No. I want to kill you."
Lapis couldn't hold it any longer, the cheesiest, widest smile formed on his face from his words as Lazuli pushed her hair behind her ear, frowning and furrowing her brow at the trio.
"So hotshot. You want to run back your defeat at the hands of the cyborgs?"
"Cyborgs? I thought you guys were androids."
"Nah. That's a misnomer. An android is an artificial human made purely of electronics. A cyborg is a human who is cybernetically enhanced. You hearin' this, Sis? They tryna' drop the hard a on us."
Lapis' elbow jab coerced Lazuli out of her demeanor and back into a jokey mood.
"Culturally insensitive."
"Facts." Lapis replied with a laugh.
"Oh. Sorry."
"Don't apologise to these Mongrels, Trunks."
"Right."
Lapis let out a few more dumb chuckles from the stomach before putting his hand out as a stopsign.
"Who's he? You brought your pet for moral support or something? Like what the fuck is this?"
Korin glared back up at the male cyborg and furrowed his green brow before licking his paw a single time. He just shook his head and let out a few more nervous laughs before straightening up.
"Hmn-Hmm!" He cleared his throat and took his sister's approach, turning his smile upside down.
"..."
"We're not gonna take it easy on you This time."
Gohan swallowed nervously in response.
"We have no reason to entertain this fun anymore. This is your last chance, Gohan. Better not waste it."
"Because we're going All Out." Lazuli chimed in with a solemn cadence, chilling the two men and three animals frozen stiff to cardboard cutouts of their previous stances.
Trunks let it show, his shades shimmering down as he shot a glance at his best friend, his frightened eyes clear to see.
Zzzzt~ Kakkzzkkzzzztt!
Arcs of electricity sparked and jived around their beings, rubble and loose water floated up into the air as the neon shop signs faded in and out. Trunks shuddered as they gathered their energy. In one swift moment, Korin knocked out his knees, pulling the boy's attention to him.
"Focus. You got this."
Trunks let out a wavering breath and nodded.
Gohan, Trunks, Korin, Oolong, and Puar VS The Cyborgs Lapis & Lazuli
Mission Statement: Don't Die.
"If you wanna run~" Lapis prodded as he brought his arms out in a diplomatic gesture.
"Then Run!" Lazuli shouted as she pounced off the ground, blowing back the leftovers on the concrete and barreled towards their location.
Wsst~POKK!
Lazuli raised a brow as her lead left elbow left much to be longed for, stopped short by the green cat's staff. Wind bellowed out in every direction, blowing the windows out of the already run down shops nearby. Trunks rushed in low, raising his guard as he filed in behind Korin and rounded the outside to flank.
Slashh!
Lazuli backed up and widened her stance as she tore away from Korin's brown hammer-like instrument. Water and debris splashed up as a result.
Da-DUMNN!
"Not bad, Gohan!" Lapis yelled as the two met in the middle, Gohan blocking the man's lunging left hand with his own left arm. The son of Son Goku slid back against the street, rocky chunks flying up and spraying all around them.
Lapis noticed too late as Gohan shifted his stance from a guard to a grapple, manhandling his left shoulder with both hands before he could retract his left arm. Gohan brought it low and slammed the mightiest left knee he could conjure.
"Shit~" Gohan thought during the brief moment before impact. "I guess we'll just have to adjust our gameplan!"
THUMM!
The blow rocked the earth, sending a palatable shockwave rippling across the strip mall, the raining water around them stalling and forced to change trajectory. Gohan kept a lid on the offence and laid in another before Lapis could stop him, forcing his palms underneath on the third attempt.
"Stop~ Cappin'!"
FSHUUU! Skwerrrrr~
The ground shifted as Gohan's right foot caught the pavement awkwardly. As the Half-Saiyan reeled from the denial Lapis lined up a killer right boot aimed straight at the face. Just in the nick of time Gohan dodged with a low roll to the left side. During the maneuver he hyped up a ki blast in his off hand and sent it.
Bvyui~Smatt-BOMM!
Smoke cleared and a lamppost fell in the distance after Lapis slapped it out of the air. With his position compromised he was unable to procure a solid guard and the cyborg leaped high into the air, coming down with a superman punch to end his career. Gohan weaved the fist but Lapis' momentum was another thing altogether, the cyborg able to perform a pseudo tackle into the barber shop, flinging him into the back wall mirrors in an athletic tumble.
Krshhhhhh!
Trunks and Korin ran laps around Lazuli, trying to fake or distract with their movement patterns.
"Hyah!" She screamed, landing a brutal lunging knee that was almost akin to a slide.
Korin flew off into the distance, recovering with a flourish of flight. Trunks raised his hands as Lazuli turned her focus to him. His spirits high, his eyes lit aflame, Trunks and the cyborg maintained eye contact that didn't even last a second but felt like a lifetime.
FuFuFwuScuSuuScuSwuFuFwuScuSwuFwuFuSuuSwuFwuFuSwuFuuFuFwu~
They threw and threw, Trunks able to get out of the way of several attacks in a row.
"Ragh!" She shouted with vitriol. "Stop! Dodging!"
Trunks' head movement was something else, Lazuli wasn't even all that close with each strike. The son of Bulma surveyed the battlefield and noticed Korin running back in to cover.
"Okay~" He mused, hyping himself up. He dropped his guard totally, letting his arms go limp.
"Ragh!"
With a few more calculated dodges, Trunks bought enough time for:
Fsht!
"Uh~" Lazuli let out dumbly as her right leg caved inward, the green cat's sizable staff having knocked out her footing.
Trunks saw his moment and capitalised, big time, leaning in low and coming through with an absolute banger of a low upper, right at the jaw with his left hand. Lazuli wasn't knocked off her feet but on her feet, forcing her to stumble backwards and trip over the cat in the process as Korin rolled through with a flair.
"HAHHHH!" Gohan yelled with fervor as he fought back every inch, locking fists with Lapis until he forced him out of the establishment with a left haymaker.
WHAMM! KONKONKONN!
Lapis tumbled onto the ground and caught his footing, readying for his lashback before:
"Now's our chance." Gohan let escape as he took out the device in his pocket. He threw the cartridge into the air, Lapis and Lazuli in the middle of the street as Gohan took out the controller, pressing the big red button and causing the neon light show in the street to dampen before totally dissipating. The flash stirred something in the cyborgs before the reality set in.
"Sis!"
"You can't see either!?"
"Nope! Analogue! Use your senses!"
"Right!"
Gohan gave them no room, rushing back in before anyone else.
THMM!
"Gohan!" Trunks yelped as the brother slammed in a backfist under the Half-Saiyan's chin.
Lapis' eyes showed warpy grey static before he closed them and went to town with what looked like infrared sensors.
Remember, they are enhanced humans. Not totally artificial. An EMP would only take out their enhancements not their actual skills. They can use Ki Sensing just like any other living organism that has practiced such a technique. This only served to reinforce the fact that they need to take this fight seriously.
Lapis laid in shot after shot, walking him right back towards the strip mall before Gohan snuck in a forceful parry with his left hand, knocking aside Lapis' right.
"You're starting to piss me off!" Lapis shouted back as he realigned his right arm, looking to come right back through with a firm elbow to the teeth.
"Oolong!"
"Moment of truth!" The sunglasses yelled as smoke popped into existence and a shield spawned over Gohan's face.
KLANGG!
"I knew it!" Lapis shouted as Gohan stomped the ground.
THUMM!
The entire city street uplifted at Gohan's fervorous engagement of his stance. Buildings were thrown into disarray, rocks flew up and the raining water stopped on a dime. With the extra time bought by Oolong's block Gohan's right arm sparked with ki and he landed a furious right hand to the gut.
"HRAGGHHHHH!" Gohan yelled like a beast, Korin looked over and saw visions of a golden ape as his fist sent Lapis off crashing through multiple buildings.
WHAMM! KroshKroshKrrrockle~
Krishh!
Lapis broke out of the debris in no time, filinging all the rocks aside like they were mere playthings.
"Sis!"
Lazuli's ears perked up as she attempted to fight back Korin and Trunks.
"We're not crazy! Those sunglasses they wear Are lifeforms!"
Fsht! Bom!
"Gah!" Puar squealed as Lazuli womanhandled the now no-longer-sunglasses.
Crackle~
"Puar!" Trunks shouted as Lazuli drew back her left fist.
Fuushh!
Korin acrobatically flipped to the outside and locked her fist with the hammer grip of his staff, pulling apart her offence. Trunks dashed in deep and charged a blazing yellow sphere of ki before letting it rip and sending out a palatable yellow geyser in front of him. It was less of a beam and more of an explosive set off from his palm aimed at the midsection.
"Heahh!" He shouted as the yellow flare erupted and grinded Lazuli's feet across the dusty wet concrete.
KA-KOMM! Skfffffffffff~
Lazuli tightened her grip around the blue cat, forcing another meowing squeak to usher forth.
"Oolong! You gotta go!"
"Shit~" He let out as he:
Bom! Fyuuuu!
Transformed into a rocket and shot towards the others.
Fsht!
"Not so fast!" Lazuli shouted as Korin postured over and over again with his quick and hard to pin down dashes. Trunks shot from behind, performing a pseudo uppercut with his right hand to try and make the cyborg drop his blue cat companion.
Wsst!
"Not quite~" Trunks let out through grit teeth as Lazuli shifted her stance to accommodate her attackers from both sides.
FYOOOO~
"You want some a me, huh!?" Oolong shouted as he transformed again and broke out into a roll off the air.
Bom! BVYUU!
"Whoa!" Oolong yelped as he fell onto his ass and the sister shot a ki blast just above him.
BOMM!
"Missed me!" Oolong laughed back before he was bombarded with debris from above. "Oh shi-"
WHAMM!
A huge concrete structural beam fell right onto his crown, forcing blood to the surface and dizzy eyes to mark his face.
"Sis!" Lapis shouted as he rushed in to her aid, Trunks still trying to steal back Puar.
"HRAGHHH!"
THOKK!
Gohan yelled and cut him off at the pass with a thunderous roundhouse kick.
SwushWshFshtWsst!
The brother caught the lip of a building nearby and pounced like a cat to recover as Gohan did the same, saving ki and using the crammed alleyways to keep up with Lapis' movement. Gohan leaped up into the air but was stopped right in his tracks by another lead elbow from the black haired adversary.
THLAMM! KRSHHH!
Gohan shot right through the glass of a decrepit office building, tumbling through wet chairs and moldy desks half eaten by mites and other critters that ran amok.
"I'm coming!"
"Masenko!" Trunks shouted as he postured up, laying both hands over each other and raising them to the sky, pointing them at Lapis as he barreled towards their location.
BVYUUU! BOMM!
Lapis weaved through the air like a circus performer and landed on Trunks' guard with a left knee, forcing up the damp structure of the city in the process. The son of Bulma's hands were already stained red from one attack as Lapis threw punch after punch to back him away from his sister. Korin danced and danced around Lazuli's attacks before he finally stole back Puar using a series of frontflips, snatching his tail up with the back end of his wooden staff.
Puar laid flat on the rained cement. Blood trickled from his little cat cheeks and he tried but failed to stand.
KshhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHH~
The rain picked up.
KOMM!
And thunder struck just behind the two as they stared at each other. Lazuli brushed back her wet platinum blonde locks, eyes still closed as she maintained frame. Oolong stood up and waltzed over to their location before being totally ignored in favor of the green cat. Korin's body seemed to be a little too small and a little too low to the ground for Lazuli to land.
"Get~ back here!" She screamed like a banshee as she went to town.
Korin finally saw his opportunity, trading shot for shot as he landed a haymaker hook with the flat part of his staff, forcing blood to spill from her lips as she landed a hook of her own with her left hand, the pair sliding across the ground and forcing up chunks of black asphalt.
"Ragh!" Lazuli shouted one more time as she blasted forward.
Korin ducked right under with an electric slide like he was the lead guitarist at a concert, tucking the back end of his staff between her waist and her jeans before he spun in a violent tornado and launched her towards the heavens.
Wsst! Thnn~SwuWuWu~Fuuuush!
Korin pointed his staff towards the grey clouds up above and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"SHENRON'S LIGHTNING!"
An ethereal beam of yellow shot down right at Lazuli's location. Lime green arcs of electricity reverberated off the cylindrical force as the sister shielded herself with an orb. The strike cracked her guard and forced her right down to the cement with a thunderous boom, blowing ferocious gales out every direction as she tried her hardest to maintain a guard against the attack. Her defence continued to crack and crack until it simply couldn't hold it anymore and the clouds rocked another time, forcing multiple thunderclaps to boom out. Oolong, Korin, and Puar covered their ears as just listening to the strike was painful enough.
Korin's staff arced with its own blues, yellows, and green sparks of static as it vibrated uncontrollably. The clouds moaned and groaned as the heavenly beam just went on and on, Lazuli shouting right back at the sky with her own guttural groans of disagreement. Korin's brow furrowed and his whiskers twitched as he held the line, the previously contained sparks on his staff now started to jump and pull his green fur every which way with their charged nature. Oolong walked forward.
"Oh my god…" Is all he could say as Korin took a kneel and continued the assault.
"Trunks!" Gohan shouted from above as he broke out of the building and jumped onto the scene.
The son of Bulma backed up with more clean head movement, Lapis too having trouble pinning down the teen.
"Damn!" Lapis let out through grit teeth as Son Gohan touched down to back up his best friend.
They corralled on both sides, throwing blows from every angle as they harassed the brother with controlled and concise compacts. Lapis couldn't keep a lid on it for long until he decided:
"Fuck it!"
He sent out his arms in both directions, yellow flares gathered in both of his palms.
"PARRY!" Gohan shouted with great volume as the beams shot out.
VYUUU~Werrrnntt~
Trunks caught the beam right before it made contact with his chest, almost like a weighted exercise ball that seemed impossible to lift. His orange jacket blew back wildly, his hair somehow staying intact in the bun as he let out strange grunts to keep the blast managed.
"HRAGHHHH!" Gohan shouted as he lifted the blast up like a clean overhead pressing motion. "Come on, Trunks!"
Trunks shifted his focus, holding onto the beam with just his left and instead parried at the source with his right, scraping the ki off using his palm wishing it away with a slap. Lazuli's eyes widened as the pair focused up.
"SHENRON'S LIGHTNING!"
The ground rumbled, forcing the three of them to get ahold of themselves. Lapis sharpened up first, landing a backfist on Trunks' adam's apple.
"Guhawh~" Trunks let out with a coarse breath, slippery slobber flailing out of his mouth unintentionally as Gohan stomped forward and grabbed onto Lapis' orange ascot, tearing it off as he landed a potent headbutt against the back of the cyborg's head.
DMM!
Gohan was starting to get mad.
His viens rose to the surface and his sky blue eye ran bloodshot as the cyborg stumbled around the rocks haphazardly. Gohan shot forward with the assuredness and forcefulness of a hitman as he iron gripped the man's right ankle, scrunching up Lapis' green sock before he turned on a dime and slammed him face first onto the road.
Wsst-THOKK!
Trunks widened his eyes as he fell onto the pavement clutching at his throat, the cyborgs bled like humans but they didn't seem to make any noise, no matter how hard they were hit. Blood flew out of Lapis' mouth as Gohan ragdolled him from the slam and charged up a big boot.
THMM!
Gohan's right foot rocketed the cyborg toward the heavenly beam and he fell right in, landing above his sister before he conjured his own green energy shield. Lazuli hiked her left knee up and stalled out Lapis on it before spreading out her own wingspan and giving her second attempt at a guard, adding to her brother's green orb in the process.
Vyuuu~ZNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN! Fwuffffffffffffffff~
Rocks lifted up as the rain shot out every angle, torrential winds forced into existence by the monstrous beam striking them down. Gohan let out a few breaths and furrowed his brow at what looked like a cylindrical helping hand from God himself. His eye widened and he shot a curious glance at Korin holding steadfast against the current.
"He's had That-" Gohan rumintated as he looked up at the ebony clouds mostly storming, some parting. "-in his back pocket the whole time? What the fu-"
KA-KOOOMMMMM! FWOOOOOOOOSHHHHHH~
One last bolt rocked the yellow green fusion and rubble exploded towards the pair. Trunks fell to a knee and Gohan backhanded uprooted concrete out of the way with several smacks and parries. Brown smoke and slimy dust filled the air as the last throes of the ultimate beam ushered in a sizable quake that felled buildings. Rats, raccoons, pests, insects, whatever. All manner of creatures started to flee from their makeshift abodes as the empty cityscape of Pepper Town shook violently in one last hurrah as the beam slimmed and then ultimately dissipated.
The last moments of yellow and green entered their twilight as Oolong stood tall and put a hand on the green cat's shoulder.
"You did it… I can't believe you had it in you."
"Heh~" Is all Korin could respond with, shaky breaths stealing his ability to converse over and over again as he attempted to protest with a single index claw.
"What? You trying to say you didn't do a good enough job or somethin'? Nonsense! This is big win for the animal community I tell you… what..?"
The smoke cleared, two blacked silhouettes stood out before the rain pelted down again, separating the truth from fiction. The cyborgs stood side by side. Brows furrowed in anger. Lapis opened his eyes and scoffed.
"Yup." There were no whites of his eyes nor irises. It was like two little TV screens that had been hit a bit too hard from the front, glitchy and spazzing reds, greens, and blues marked his eye sockets.
"..." Lazuli took off her gloves, revealing the pale skin underneath before she also shed her beat up black vest. Her skin steamed like a sauna, clearly separate from her brother's being under the beam for much longer. Blood and black oil leaked out of her nose, ears, and eyes as she let out a scoff, pissed at having to wipe it away.
Snnnt! Tingtingting~
The white pearls around her neck had to go too as she wormed her jaw around with a cruel grimace and vengeful billowing of her nostrils. Lapis took off his black tee which wasn't so much as tee as it was loose and ripped black fabric tucked in at the belt line. No ascot no overshirt, just a soaked white long sleeve and wet blue jeans.
Kssssssssssssssssss~
The rain still washed down the streets, minor flooding occurring but the previous heavy downpour no longer continued. Lapis and Lazuli eyed their adversaries as their adversaries did the same. The difference between them only being their numbers, and their breath. Korin still sucked in as much as he could through his wet cat nose and Oolong breathed out harshly with wide eyes.
"You've got to be joking." Oolong lamented, almost falling over.
Gohan shook his head, angry due to one faint shot of hope and two undeniable shots of being correct.
"Tcheh." Gohan scoffed as he wiped his face of scuffs, mud, and dried blood.
Trunks stood up tall and filed in next to the son of Son Goku. He let out a few heavy breaths of his own.
"Sis."
"Hmm?"
"They could win."
"Yup."
"If we give them an inch, they'll take a mile."
"Agreed." She answered solemnly as the wind blew around the leftover dirt and various chunks of black rocks.
"It's not like we weren't trying."
"Nope." She interjected quickly. "I was Definitely trying to kill that punk with the purple hair. His split ends were pissing me off."
"Hah~" He let a laugh escape him before continuing. "But I don't think we've ever Really let it all hang out."
"I don't think so either. Why would we?"
"No one's given us a reason."
"Exactly."
Ksssssssssssssuuuu~
The rain was about the same, but the sheer gale the wind came with turned the water into splattering little bombs.
"So?"
"... W the ones that matter in that order."
Upon Lazuli's statement, the pair edged back to back, staring their dead set TV eyes at Gohan.
"Ready?"
"Lets."
As the pair conversed, Korin finally got his breath back and put his own paw on Oolong's shoulder.
"Oolong."
"What?" He questioned, clearly spooked.
"You have... to help the others. I can~ I wasted all my energy on that attack to see if I could slow em' down but it just didn't work out. Forget me and help out Gohan."
Just as Korin replied, Oolong shifted his focus back to the pair and:
"Ready?"
"Lets."
Da-DUMNN! FSHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
The air clapped in a sonic boom that floored all the animals as the cyborgs blasted towards Gohan's location. The Half-Saiyan widened his eye as the pair flew in with a reckless abandon. Lazuli went all in, flying kick overhead as the son of Son Goku barely ducked it. Lapis landed and skidded along the broken road as he wound back his fist.
"HRAGHH!" Gohan shouted as he pivoted into a banger of a roundhouse.
WHUMM!
Lapis blocked it like nothing and slammed in a right overhand as punishment, bending him over as Trunks covered the back, hands up and bouncy like a boxer. Lazuli tore through the air and presented a left elbow lunge that Trunks tightened his guard for.
Fwuu~
The rain struck Trunks' face in disbelief as the sister jived around Trunks in a ballerina twirl and landed clean on Gohan's temple with a right chop.
"Eugh~" Gohan grunted out unhealthily, forced to walk the line to his right side before his face was cradled by a left roundhouse on the opposite side provided by Lapis.
Gohan made eye contact with the static abyss in Lapis' eyes before fighting back with a guttural roar.
"ERAGHHHHHHHHH!"
The primal orangutan wail was followed by a hooking left hand that was less of a fist or a chop so much as it was just jamming the side of his index and thumb into the cyborg's cheek. Following through, Gohan sent a right backfist with his off hand towards the sister. Lazuli ducked and the Half-Saiyan used that moment to break through.
"They want Me HUH!?" Gohan roared to himself as he dashed out into another street, fallen buildings and loose trash stirring in the wet winds.
"COME AND GET IT!"
Gohan's shout signalled to Oolong one thing.
"Puar!"
The little blue cat bled and covered himself in the under an awning that didn't do a very good job.
"What are you doing!?"
"I'm scared~"
Oolong's pink furry fist shook and he grabbed Puar's fur.
"You think I ain't scared!?"
"No~"
"Then hurry up and get your ass out there!"
"I… can't~"
"Yes you can!"
"We're not fighters."
The upper layer of the folded over cement fell down in a booming echo just behind them, spilling more water into the hideaway alcove.
"So!?"
Puar finally took his blue paws away from his eyes.
"They're getting their gooses Cooked out there, Puar! We ain't no heroes but being a porker who fought is better than being a porker who let himself get turned into bacon for free."
"..."
"Come on!"
"..."
Kshhhhhhhh~
"Come on!"
"..."
"The next best thing to The Great Lord Yamcha is out there, Puar! Are you gonna let his son die too!?"
Puar's dot eyes lit up.
"You had your chance, Gohan!"
"No running now!" Lapis shouted in tandem.
Gohan juked and jived through the streets, through the grass, through the parking lots, through alleyways, hard faking both of them with a hairpin 180.
Fshuuu~
"Damn!" Lazuli shouted as Gohan doubled back.
In an instant they both endeavored to clear the distance.
WHAMM!
A double fake, Gohan turned right back into another 180, this time counter hitting Lazuli's flight with a mean right turnaround elbow, tailspinning her onto the concrete. Lapis stopped his flight and the wind burst like squealing tires as they made eye contact and his blue sneakers met the upheaved pavement.
"You're pissing me off!"
Gohan grounded his stance as Lapis came in and brought up both hands, drawing the piece from his holster.
KLAMM! KLAMM! KLAMM!
"A gun?" Gohan thought as Lapis fired a big beam his way. "That's not gonna~"
Wsst!
As Lapis covered Gohan's vision with the yellow bolt he threw the pistol up against a building and it misfired in response.
KLAMM!
"Behind?" Gohan assumed, turning his head towards the pistol fire as Lapis lunged headlong into his own ki blast.
"..."
"Damn!"
The Cyborgs ki is masked. Undetectable. The only thing detectable about it is when fired. Gohan could accurately assess a being fired the ki moments earlier but there is no tell for anything beyond that. Gohan does not possess Scanning, a ki ability in which you use to ki to sonar for all life forms in the area, not just assess for ki. The Cyborgs unfortunately do however.
Under the cover of the blast, and combined with Gohan's delayed reaction, Lapis snuck under the Half-Saiyan's arm and attained the flank.
Whapp! Cronckle~
"Gah!" Gohan shouted out as Lapis put a chokehold on his left wrist, the bones crunching up from the impenetrable grip.
Time slowed to a crawl as Lazuli barred the path to entry with a wide wingspan like a peacock as Trunks pulled through, standing face to face with the unknowable static eyes of the blue screen.
Da-Dmm.
After kicking out Gohan's knees Lapis wound his right hand back for a knife edge jab, ki arcing around his knuckles for good measure.
Taptp.
"Where are you looking?"
"..!"
The brother turned around only to see Son Gohan's frame a second time with his ethereal Ki Sensing.
"Mongrel."
The infrared vision told of all reds and one blue spark over Gohan's right eye as he abandoned his hold on the first and looked to interrupt the strike of the second.
Bom!
Lapis whiffed clean over the mismatch in heights as Oolong pushed Gohan to his feet.
"Go! Go!"
Puar struggled as he brought out his cat claws and grabbed the Half-Saiyan by his black collar, lifting him up into the air. Lapis furrowed his brow and tightened his fist as Oolong stood with stoicism in the middle of the alley.
"That all you got!?"
"..."
"Too afraid of the porker to make a move!?"
Lapis shifted his gaze towards Trunks and shook his head, zooming right past The Pig with a juking zig zag.
"Hey!" Oolong shouted as Lapis and Lazuli rushed Trunks simultaneously. "Crap~"
Wsst!
Trunks dodged clean with a low folded dip but his time was up, the pair focused their movements and started wailing on the son of Bulma. Right hand to the cheek, left foot the stomach, left upper, right overhand, knee to the gut. The pair walked back Trunks until Oolong interrupted with a flyby punch of his own, forcing Lazuli to sidle to the side as Lapis continued pressure.
"You wanna die?"
The rain continued as the popping static of the cyborg's eye freaked out The Pig.
"Hell no! I ain't dyin'!"
"Then you chose the wrong battle little piggie."
In no time, blood spilled from Oolong's mouth as he lifted off his feet from Lazuli's left knee hike. She cupped her hands and looked to finish the job with a sideways double axe handle but Korin blocked for him just in time, the wooden staff creaked and moaned as the flat half stopped the blow and pushed him across the cracked pavement.
"You! You ruined my pearls you little green bastard!"
Korin walked to the side slowly, licking his green paw, whiskers twitching a single time.
"You're pissing me off! Say something!"
Oolong fell to the ground and struggled to get up as Korin bounced, jumped, and leaped from hold to hold, sneaking hits in wherever.
FsstWushFwsh! WHAMM!
"RRRRR~" Lapis let out through grit teeth as she stumbled forward, Korin's heavy hammer knocking her in the back of the head.
Korin spun his staff as she dashed back in with murderous intent, slamming in a left hook at the staff and breaking it in two, forcing the hammer-like wood to flare out wildly before catching on one of the balconies of a parking garage's second floor. The green cat's eyes finally showed as he endeavored to use the thin piece of wood left to guard from her thunderous hands.
"Ragh! Ragh! Ragh!" She screamed like a beast before Korin rolled through her legs. She lined up a ki blast and Korin noticed just in time, swatting it away with his tail and forcing a building into submission as a result.
During the green cat's maneuver she dashed back in deep, Oolong trying to cover but to no avail, she sniped his angle and thrust in a deep palm strike, forcing out a gusty wind and knocking him back to the wet cement. With her glitchy eyes set, she reared back a high elbow, Korin barely blocking it with his paws before she shifted gears and grabbed his fur from the front with her off hand. Korin squirmed and wiggled but she lifted him high as lightning struck mightily from behind. She slammed Korin's little body into the concrete before mud stomping him.
I can't look. Who would do that to an animal?
Korin's body stopped and his whiskers twitched a final time.
KA-KOOOMMMMMMMM!
The thunder reverberated throughout Pepper Town as she stood up tall, blood on her face not her own. Eyes like broken television sets, peering out and illuminating the would-be daytime halted by blacked clouds.
THrrrrROCKK!
Lapis field goaled a car towards Trunks' direction, dodged out of the way with a low scamper as he yelled.
"You're doing way better than you should be, amigo! You should be proud of yourself! Even if you are gonna die!"
Gohan caught his breath and surveyed the battlefield. He spared a glance at Oolong squaring off against the sister and another at his brother.
"Puar~"
"..?"
"Drop me off right above that one."
Puar flew his little cat body as fast as could be before Gohan broke free of his chains, jumping out of his ally's cat paws and plummeting down towards the street with righteous flight. Lapis noticed just in time rolling out of the way as Son Gohan touched the Earth and forced an uprooting of the concrete, the whole street shifting from his weight.
Fshuu~THUUUUUUMMM!
"The more the merrier!" Lapis shouted back before blasting Gohan into a rusted semi truck with a stepping side kick.
WHAMM! Krrrrrrongggee~
Trunks rushed in from behind, raising his hands and trying to dodge Lapis' attacks.
THOKK!
He couldn't.
"You ain't got the stamina!"
Lapis was right, all of Trunks' dodging efforts were for naught. He couldn't predict the shots accurately anymore and the damage started to pile on. Trunks balled his fists tight as the cyborg laid in a brutal ki blast that sent him skittering across the grassy dirt of the road. Trunks didn't have a block for it, the searing yellow plasma burnt his chest and abs to cinders and his black tank top opened up big time. He grit his teeth and blood squelched through as he fell to a knee and Lapis cracked his neck, undoing the belt tying his pistol holster.
"I'm~" Trunks spoke.
Lapis didn't let him finish, dashing right towards with efficiency.
Trunks raised his fist but stopped short as Gohan came out of the metalworks, missing by a hair as Lapis crouched low. Gohan landed on a car and sent it packing, right through the window of a beat up shopping centre.
WHONKK! Krshhh~
Gohan and Trunks tightened their stances and went at it.
KA-KOOOMMMMMMMM!
The pair laid in pressure as the thunder clapped. Lapis parried both of their attempts and lined up two elbow strikes simultaneously. Trunks fell over, letting out an unhealthy sounding gasp as Gohan's eye ran even more bloodshot.
"You've got a lot in you, don't you, Gohan!?"
Fshuu~WHAMM!
Gohan stepped right around Lapis left hand and judo threw him on the ground for good measure.
Ksss~
The rain finally stopped, the clouds starting to part and light started to dot the mishmashed streets. Lazuli looked over at Oolong who just fell to his ass.
"Shit~" He thought.
Lazuli just laughed, pointing at him with her dainty looking hand.
"You're pathetic. I can tell you're not even going to fight me. There's no point anyway. Pig." She taunted, brushing her hair behind her ear.
Puar tucked himself away on the rooftop of a building, gazing down at the battlefield, shuddering. Lazuli filed in behind her brother as the son of Son Goku sent out a pulse of Ki Sensing.
"..."
And he didn't like what he got.
The cyborgs rushed, overlaying their positioning, Gohan tried to look for the right angle but nothing. Lapis covered the left and Lazuli the right. The son of Son Goku faked again, fooling the cyborgs a third time as he dashed down the street.
"Come On! How does he do this~ Every Time!?" Lapis shouted with frustration as he chased him down. "Sis! Pin him!"
Lazuli teleported in front of him almost, flaring out her wingspan as Gohan stopped on a dime.
"Nuh-Uh!" Lapis yelled as he cut off the back angle and slammed in a right roundhouse.
THLAMM!
"Gaghh~" Gohan yelled as he fell forward. Lazuli caught the rebound and sent him back.
Lapis' knife hand charged with electricity as he commanded:
"Grab him!"
You couldn't even call Trunks conscious. He looked at the battle blearily and didn't comprehend the nature of the oil painting happening in front of him in real time.
Lazuli grabbed hold of Gohan's forearms tight, the veins drawing to the surface, stains marking them as Lazuli cut off the blood flow harshly.
"You're history!" Lapis shouted as he looked to jam the knife edge where it was supposed to go last time.
Gohan freaked out, screamed bloody murder and used ki to burst wildly, turning topsy turvy and narrowly avoiding disembowelment, but not permanent disfigurement.
SLINGGG! Zzzzt!
"A-HAGHHHH!" Gohan cried as he broke free of the hold but lost his footing, falling right down onto the wet concrete.
Lazuli blinked a few times as she still held onto his left arm. A grin formed on her face as Gohan's forehead showed a murderous blue vein.
"Kkkkkuhh~" He squeaked out as he eyed the horrendously bleeding wound and new orifice.
"Hah-Hah-Hah!"
"Tsss-Hah-Hyah-Hyah!"
During the pair's laughing fit, Gohan took in a deep and shaky breath as he conjured a searing hot aura in his right hand, steam coming off of it.
Ksshhuahhh~
"Nnnghh!" Gohan blurted out as the red hot substance forced the bleeding wound closed.
"Damn." Lazuli let out as she dropped the arm.
"He's a fighter."
"Stand up, bro, I gotchu'." Lazuli remarked as she grabbed hold of his orange coat and stood the Half-Saiyan to his feet. His blue eye glared with murderous intent as she patted off his chest and took off the red-stained jacket. "Gotta shed this, you're a little dirty."
"Fix the hair too." Lapis smiled, running his fingers along the top before standing back a ways.
"There." Lazuli laughed out as she joined her brother on the front side, miming taking a picture with her hands. "Rule number one."
Gohan let out steady breaths as he stood with the left half of his white tee splattered with blood.
"Hah-Hah-Hah!"
"You're pretty handsome, Gohan. If the circumstances were different. I could see myself let-"
"TMI! I'm going to bed."
"Tsss~" Lazuli snickered as Gohan stared back, gathering as much breath as he could, having trouble just standing upright.
Lapis and Lazuli finally returned to their joking disposition, having stolen the lead back.
"I would say that the rain is a perfect backdrop to your demise but…"
"You guys kinda fought a little too hard. Rain rain went away." She stated, shifting her gaze to the changing clouds overhead.
"Facts."
"..."
"Any last words?"
"Son Gohan?" Lazuli chimed in, laughing a bit as the clouds parted more and more.
Oolong gripped his fist tightly as he sent a Ki Sensing pulse of his own, finding and barreling towards Puar's location himself. The pair just stared at each other for a long time, Oolong on the air while Puar hid behind the top lodge. Gohan didn't answer for a while, just recuperating and trying his best to ignore the numb yet spicy feeling in his used-to-be left arm.
"Huhhhn~ Hehh~ Huhhhn~ Hehh~"
"It's okay, take your time."
"Tsss~he-heh."
Gohan balled his only fist as tight as could be, glaring back at them as electricity started to spark around his frame.
"Maybe you'll win, kill me just like the rest. But you can't destroy what I really am. I am the answer for all living things that cry out for peace, I am the protector of the innocent, I am truth. I am the will of all the people on this planet that deserve to live."
"I AM SON GOHAN!"
Lapis and Lazuli shot duck lips at each other as red sparks enveloped Son Gohan's frame.
"Oh shit. He's hyping himself up."
Lapis just about died laughing as Gohan angered.
"Not one death will go unaccounted for!"
"NOT! ONE!"
His black hair stuck up tall and his eye grew an even brighter and more vibrant blue as he roared. The ground shifted and broke under his weight. The crescendo ended with a bombastic golden lightshow as his hair glistened in its own golden hue.
"He's lost it."
"Let's put him out of his misery."
Son Gohan VS The Cyborgs Lapis & Lazuli
Mission Statement: Grasp the torch.
The golden hue pushed back against the cyborgs' flight path but it did not dissuade them all the same. The pair crashed into him with a calculated effort. Throwing punch after punch as some how some way, Gohan managed to see into the future, with one arm, handling both adversaries' pressure at the same time. It sure wasn't effortless but the son of Son Goku's agility was on another level, he managed to slip past and parry all of the cyborgs' linear attempts to tie him down using one arm and head movement.
THMMDMMDMMWHMMTUMM!
He clashed with the cyborgs five time exactly, right forearm against Lazuli's, left knee hiked up to block Lapis' right shin, right palm to stall Lazuli's knee lift, spinning backhand to halt Lapis' pressure and force him away and then a final fifth action, catching Lazuli's left gut check with his palm once more. He roared again and sent the sister flying with a potent Kiai thrust, forcing her to tumble across the already beat up street, staining her white shirt as he turned his attention to the brother.
As he tussled with the male cyborg, Gohan shot glances at his right side, throwing up a veritable swarm of ki orbs into the air, a scatter shot. They then stalled and on Gohan's command:
WHAMM!
The son of Son Goku threw a ferocious right knee at Lapis' block and guided the projectiles with a chopping motion of his right arm. Lazuli brought her arms out wide and an ethereal green shield with scanlines covered her frame as Gohan got to work. She grit her teeth and ran through explosion after explosion of dusty smoke just before Gohan forced her away with a meaty counterhit, a spinning back thrust kick of legends.
"HRAGHHHHH!" Gohan roared like a demon, his steely sky blue eye drawing tron lines as he sent Lazuli back down the street with a thunderous boot.
KONKONNKONNWHONNKONNKRHONN!
The hit was so legendary it thrust Lazuli through countless buildings, knocking over the structural integrity of the entire town on the right side.
Lapis clocked him one but Gohan just tanked it on the mouth, red blood drawing to the surface of his lip as he turned around and went at him in a frenzy. They both parried and sent blow after blow at each other before Gohan propped himself up on Lapis' wet shirt with his left knee and grabbed the brother's wrist tightly.
"HRAGGHHHHHH!" It didn't sound like a man, not at all.
KZzzzzztt! Slplllatttt!
A halfway mix of electronics, sparks, blood, oil, and real muscle sprayed out under the sunshine as it started to really filter in. It was as if the catalyst for change was the open air, Lapis' eyes finally worked as intended and he locked Gohan in a staredown as the Half-Saiyan prodded with his own cruel joke.
"..!"
"Got your arm." Gohan relayed as he threw the leftover piece of cybernetic human equipment onto the wet asphalt.
Gohan banged him with a dominant overhand and went right back the other way with a backfist, walking him across the street with blows that ripped out shockwaves and earthquakes. He leaned back and sent the brother flying with a left boot to the face, clapping the wind and forcing an epic sonic boom into existence as he flew past the bent over skyscrapers of Pepper Town. Electricity sparked and jumped around before plummeting into the grass and concrete as Gohan hyped up his jump.
Zzzzt~ THUUMMMMM!
Gohan flew so fast he rounded the backside of Lapis before he could break free of the momentum he carried into the aether, wide eyes as Gohan shouted as loud as he could.
"Trunks!"
The son of Bulma finally stirred, his consciousness a smoothie of blurry images coaxed into action by a familiar booming voice.
"Get your scrawny little ass up!"
"RIGHT! NOW!"
WHAMM!
Son Gohan bent Lapis at the nape, a snap reverberating as he was plunged back into the thick of it, another sonic boom ringing out into the air as red sparks lined Trunks' frame this time.
Sparking! Widely regarded as the best of The Three Truths. Both Gohan and Trunks are in it right now. Usually a Super Saiyan is born when they Spark! for the first time and possess enough S-Cells to transform. The fact that Gohan even has enough S-Cells as a half blood is completely absurd and is like a 1 in a 1,000,000,000 occurrence.
Trunks got to his feet, the gale kicked up from Lapis' plummeting towards his location sending his orange jacket everywhere as he yelled to keep it his own and landed a whopping right hand, forcing Lapis back onto his feet in a one-two whiplash, blood still bleeding and circuits still sparking.
WHAMM!
Lapis' feet caught the gravel from Trunks' blow and he spun out wildly, the momentum now going the other direction across the street. Son Gohan brought up his arms and landed down like a mechsuit airdrop, right on the cyborg's location.
Ta-TOOOOOOOOMM! Krrrrrrocklee~
The earth shook and uprooted, there wasn't much more street left, just wet grass, black rocks, and mud as Son Gohan started going ham, landing as many blows as he could with as little time necessary between each volley. Trunks took in as many full breaths as he could before dashing across the city, his full sprint kicking up dirt and wet dust as he cleared it like a professional. Gohan hit Lapis just hard enough to keep him out of range as Trunks filed in, slid into position, leaned as parallel to the ground as he could get, and slammed in a world's best left uppercut as he roared:
"Gohan!"
THUMPP! WHAMM!
Son Gohan knocked his head off, literally, the set up upper propping the Half-Saiyan's own full commit attack and separating him at the neck. The head flew across the street at blinding speed before it stopped at Lazuli's feet. Her eyes glitched and buzzed into reality, the full ethereal blue able to finally see.
Tuntun~tunn~
With halted breath, she gazed down at the lifeless head of her brother and tears filled her eyes. She caressed his cold wet cheekbones with her dainty and stained hands. She hyperventilated, eyes almost looking through Lapis rather than at him. His blood, his spark, his oil, all spilled out on the wet pavement as light winds rolled back in and the sun shined. Her hands shook and her tears fell onto Lapis' face. Son Gohan and Trunks stood stunned, taking in steady breaths to recuperate as the 'heartless monster' wailed and groaned in pain as she clutched her chest.
"Hey Sis, what would you be if life actually mattered?"
"I was thinking about being a park ranger or something. Ya know? Rescue the little critters? Killing a person is one thing, but an animal? That's fucked up."
"I'm glad I have you here with me. This shit would really suck without you."
Zzzt! Zzzzzzz! ZzkzzzZZkk!
A violent crimson thunderstorm lined her frame as she growled with the intonation of a beast.
"I'LL KILL YOU~" Her coarse and squeaky voice bellowed out as she cleared the sizable distance between her and the two sons in an instant. Gohan's golden hair shortened into its normalcy as he shot wide eyes at the cornered animal.
All Trunks could do was watch as he was smacked away with a ferocious slap, redding his face and sending him packing through several rusted vehicles. She reared back her elbow and used the momentum of her attack against Trunks to bring it back around. Gohan blocked just in time. The Half-Saiyan simply couldn't keep a lid on it as she went crazy, laying in shot after shot as Gohan barely prevented himself from being knocked on his ass.
"Hragghh!" Gohan shouted as he fought back with a right hand.
Oolong and Puar had settled on the street, looking on from behind a dumpster as their ace missed clean.
"Shit!" Gohan thought to himself as Lazuli stepped coldly to the outside. "I whiffed!"
Lazuli eyed the arm like a hawk, cradling his wrist delicately delicately with her right hand before sending it, a left palm strike to the elbow causing a sizable snap to play out to all who were close enough to hear it.
"Kkkkkuhh~" Gohan let out in a lame whimper as tears gathered in his right eye and his arm bent the wrong way, immediately stained with blues and purples.
Puar put his paws over his dot eyes as Oolong grit his teeth, tightening his fists as much as they could go. Gohan backed up, almost falling onto his knees as Trunks flew in from behind a building. He went for it, grabbing her platinum blonde hair and pulling it to force her rage on him, ripping it out with a ferocious tug.
FUUSHH! WsstFshtWsst!
It worked.
"I've gotta go!"
"Oolong!" Puar cried as The Pig abandoned ship and ran towards the son of Son Goku.
Trunks' red sparks seemed to counteract Lazuli's as he finally got his edge back, forcing her attention and then subsequently dodging all of it with boxer-like head movement. Gohan almost fell over again before:
Bom!
Oolong turned himself into tight bandages and:
SnappapPopp!
"Gnnn!" Gohan shouted through grit teeth as Oolong locked him back into position. His big white eyes staring back at the Half-Saiyan with vitriol.
"Hey!"
Oolong's shout drew Gohan's ire and he stared back down at the wraps with a malice.
"Goku'd neva' complain so don't start now!"
Trunks dodged Lazuli's hits with the grace of a dancer as they uprooted street after street. A wispy white aura wrapping around the harsh red lightning caressing his body.
"He ever lose an arm and an eye?"
"Well… no, but that doesn't matta'! Are you gonna let his legacy end here!?"
"..."
Gohan shifted his focus back to the battle at hand, Trunks' red sparks dimming into nothing before Lazuli finally landed the shot, sending him through the rocks and mud. Gohan walked forward with something to prove, half limping, half falling over himself.
"There's a reason it's called Martial Arts, it's because even if you manage to kill us, these techniques will live on forever in beautiful temple tapestries and dojo scrolls. There i-"
Tien's words fused with Gohan's thoughts and he let out another roar of the Oozaru as he hyped himself up, using the last of his anger as fuel.
"There is no end for us!"
"NO! END!" He sounded less like a man and more like a chokey teenager screaming out the lyrics to a song he felt in his soul.
The golden gift gave him back his stamina and he shot forward like a bullet, pulling apart any remains of what you could call a street before he clashed with Lazuli's forearm.
THUUUUUUUMMM!
The pair threw and threw, shot after shot as their battle echoed throughout the town, any remaining building on its last legs had their legs swept under the power of these two.
"Why I always gotta be the one bendin' ova' backwards?" Oolong said to himself as bruises started to formulate from Gohan's blocks.
Son Gohan finally found the route, grabbing Lazuli's wrist this time as he screamed his throat sore and hyped up a left knee to the gut.
THOKK!
He grunted and spun around, throwing the cyborg behind him in a stunning arc as he raised his hand high and shouted to the heavens:
"MASENKO~HAA!"
Lazuli got her shit together, the last flutters of her red aura dissipating as she flared her arms out wide.
"Not Fast Enough!" She shouted, the yellow beam making contact with her shield as Trunks yelled from behind.
"Puar!"
The little blue cat was finally coerced into action as he saw the purple haired man jump into action, leaping into the sky like a superhero. Puar flew as fast as he could to meet up with Trunks' epic leap. The son of Yamcha covered the sun and Lazuli glanced at her back with wide eyes.
Bom!
The firework smoke cleared and Trunks grabbed hold of the shiny scimitar, a bandit's blade. The orange hilt felt right in Trunks' hand. The orange tassels on the end swung with grace as Trunks' purple mane broke free of the chain his hair tie had on it, his frame fully eclipsing the solar body.
Slash~Slash~Slash-Slash~~Slash!
The sword carved right through her shield, her white tee, her bra, and her thick electronically enhanced skin. He finished the engagement by presenting the blade to the sky and pointing an open palm at his foe. A calculated yet forceful gust of wind blew the cyborg right back on target, into the yellow aether.
Pa-POKK! Swuuuuuu~
"Now's ya chance!" Oolong cried, eyes injected with hope. "Blow that bitch to kingdom come!"
The ground rocked under the weight of Son Gohan as he let loose everything.
Everything.
"Not enough energy!" Lazuli yelled as she tried and failed to conjure another energy barrier, the beam taking her. "That fucking cat~"
DMM! VSHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
The yellow laser shot into the sky, parting the clouds and rocketing into outer space, piercing the veil of the infinity. Lazuli couldn't move, no shield to conjure. Her body shimmered in the golden glow and her clothes, her hair, everything burned to cinders.
"Sorry Lapis. I guess I just couldn't do it without you~" Were her last thoughts, whispers on the wind as the great beam carried her out of existence.
The final throes of the beam bulged and pulsed as Son Gohan let out the last of his own choky screams, the cyborgs were no more it seemed. The Half-Saiyan fell to his knees, and then into unconsciousness shortly after, his golden hair shifting back to the regular black tone. Oolong's eyes widened at the revelation, still stuck to the boy's only arm left. Trunks landed with short breath, trying to gather as much as he could, pulling his long purple locks away from his face.
Bom!
The son of Bulma stood there for a long time as Puar sat on his muddied jacket. With a pained but determined sigh, Trunks walked the line as the sun shined brightly on the city. He looked down at the broken body before him, shaking his head at the sight. Puar covered his dot eyes with his paws just like before as the son of his previous lord picked up the corpse.
"I'm sorry, Korin."
"..."
"..."
Trunks held the cat close to his chest as he walked back over to his best friend.
Bom!
Oolong transformed again into a taller version of himself, picking up Gohan and throwing him over his shoulder.
"I got this one, Trunks."
"Thanks."
The three conscious people left all spared a few modest glances at each other.
"You guys did awesome."
"Hey!" Oolong shouted back. "We woulda' neva' did so good if you two and Korin didn't do most a tha work."
Trunks let out a few pity laughs before he gazed back down at the matted green fur.
"..."
"..."
"It's just a shitty situation. He came here willing to die, Trunks… we all did."
Trunks let his eyes wander the beat up city, glass, grass, mud, stone, bent metal.
"I know."
"..."
"I'm gonna go bury him."
"..."
"Can you go with Oolong, Puar?"
"..?"
"Drop Gohan off at mom's or~ Chi-Chi's?"
"You don't want us to go with you?"
"..."
"..."
"You guys can come if you want but…"
"Nah. Puar, do him a favour and come with me. Trunks needs some time alone, he's just too polite ta say it."
"Bye, Trunks." Puar cooed as he floated away from him and towards The Pig.
Oolong saluted as did Puar before they took to the skies and left the premises.
"Thanks, Korin."
It was unsightly. Not a pretty death. Little cat bones stuck out and pierced the fur like it was a beanie baby or a toy, not a living being.
Trunks, 18 years old. Age 782 December 9th Earth - 1:15 P.M. The Sacred Land
Hidden away by dense forests and shrubs, native people with beautiful feathers, ritualistic tribal garb, artisan warpaints, tan skin and long black hair watched in awe as a man with modern clothes, bruises and blood walked into the forest with a body in his hand.
A man stood tall above all the rest, his hair in a long regal braid, his massive chest exposed and adorned by a necklace of three sharp teeth. Another man appeared from just behind him, hand on his bow before deciding against it, a sharp crimson band around his head with a feather attached at the top. The gathering of the villagers halted altogether as the purple haired man walked into the town square and subsequently passed it. They all bent a knee at the behest of the biggest man in the village, the one with the necklace. After a moment of silence, Trunks spoke.
"I hope I cause no disrespect by coming here." The son of Bulma started with as he stared out into the crowd. "But my friend is… no longer with us."
The villagers all kneeled with deep stoicism and respect before standing to their feet.
"The Hermit."
"The Hermit."
"Do you know where I can bury him?"
The large man stepped forward and led Trunks along with his hand. The son of Bulma looked around at the trees, the animals, the small huts, the fires, the totem poles, the rituals, the flowers, the shrubs, the scriptures before they came across a large pooling fountain that gushed down several steps, two giant weathered statues of the cat as it led into a sanctuary. Trunks waited at the front as the man stopped.
"..."
"..."
"Go on." The man commanded.
"But what about you? The villagers?"
"It is not our place to enter Hermit Spring."
"..."
"Go on."
The man placed a reassuring hand on Trunks' jacket firmly before ushering him through. Surreal blues and lively greens dotted the landscape as lily pads floated by. Crevices, hot steam vents, waterfalls, and ponds, water of all kinds, cold as ice, lukewarm and boiling all coexisted in the magic of the cave. Wet drippy echoes punctuated the open area as Trunks made his way along the winding path. He took careful steps so as not to dampen his starting to dry shoes any further. The adrenaline started to drag and pain finally started to set in as he let out grunts, billowing breaths and sighs as he deliberated around the smooth sparkling stone of the brilliant cave. The place was massive, chunks of shiny stone, rock walls, marbleline structures. Trunks gazed in awe of the place's majesty as he finally reached the end of the cave.
A fantastic warm glow finally washed over Trunks casted away the cool air previously known to him from just moments ago. The stone had turned to grass and Trunks walked up the stairs with a careful deliberation, each step seeming to be a challenge in their own right, his veins drawing to the surface and his charred abs not providing the most comfort up the elevation. The warm light cast a theatre shine on a small bed of water and beautiful pink lotuses. As Trunks neared the flowers a sharp sound cut the air.
Wsht!
A blue demon appeared before him, blue skin, single sharp horn on his forehead as regal black hair flowed back behind him and navy blue lord robes adorned his frame. Blue fire cast in his hands as he locked eyes with the beaten and battered man. He refused to touch the ground, hovering in stasis as he scanned Trunks' being. The son of Bulma let him look, choosing to say nothing and absorb the remarkably clean and tasteful air around him. The being gasped, finally taking in the reality, closing in on Trunks and taking Korin off his hands. The being said nothing, only caressing the green cat as he placed it on the flowerbed. The golden sheen enveloped Korin's frame before he disappeared and another brilliant pink bud shimmered into existence in the bouquet on the water.
The demon backed away and put his arm around Trunks. He had nothing to say either, the pair just stood and watched as Korin's form dissipated completely under the heavenly light and put their arms around one another. Trunks didn't breathe any harder but it was as if a being from beyond him pulled at his eyes and forced water to drain from it. He didn't wipe them away, letting the tears blur his vision in the golden glow.