So, for everyone who has read this far, you will realize that this thing has grown much larger then anticipated. It wasn't my intent, but it happens.
So… enjoy the next chapter of DarKu. If you like it, I am glad! If not? I am always open to constructive comments! And to the commenter, who after one chapter had guessed how this was going to go? You are a genius, and you where totally right. Also yay this sucker keeps growing.
Without further ado, enjoy!
All the best
Kit
Rising gods
Sometimes, in the waning golden sunlight, Gohan would fell the draw of something, something he had never known before. Something that pulled at him, calling to him from with in and without. An urge to reach beyond the stars he knew. It always faded, leaving Gohan feeling empty and alone.
At night he would dream of an unfathomable well of power, so vast its tide tried to swallow him whole. One the nights it became too much for the young half sayan, he would wake and quietly retreat to the roof of his home to meditate; basking in the power of his family helped him focus to reach back to what called to him.
He never found it.
This time, as the elder Kai placed his hand on the forehead of the bowed sayan, that tide broke over him. Washing him anew in its passing. He felt almost complete. The surge that came from his power being unlocked gave him clarity and no small amount of relief as he finally reached what he had been looking for.
Once, as a small child, he traveled to a planet far away.
Again, as a teen, he stood in the path of destruction.
Now, as an adult he stood again in the face of something that he never wanted to see.
Now he matched fists with his father. Shadows stretched below the clashing titans, as the setting sun lit the two men in its almost crimson glare. Faster and faster. Harder and harder they pushed at each other. Determined not to be the first one to break, not to be the one to fall. The only difference stood in the drive. Goku needed the fight, Gohan had to fight. And the difference was harsh in the waning light.
As they pulled back, Whis floated between them.
"now, children, I understand that you are having fun. But I need to speak with Gohan once more. There is one thing missing from you getting to the fight that you actually want." Goku's energy rippled in frustration.
"what now?" his feelings where obvious in his voice "I have what I wanted. And now me to stop? What gives?"
"He isn't complete. He lacks one thing that you do not."
Vegita blasted forward. A streak of pure intent bent on holding him for as long as he had to.
"Aww, Princy wants to play!" a manic grin twisted Goku's normally friendly face. "Fine, lets play. But you won't like the prize." His voice took on a sing song tone as he began to really stretch and bounce in place.
"It doesn't matter. Just like it didn't matter when I stood against literal destruction for my wife, just like when I died for my son, just like my attempts to atone for the past. The end isn't what matters, now I get to punch you in the Face! Idiot!"
"Bring it!"
Two warriors floated facing one another; relics of a time before now. Two men who had grown and learned and become like gods. Now pitted against each other in a mockery of when they first met. One as a hero, one as a villain.
"It doesn't matter, best buddy? Hmm, does this matter then?" he flung a weak Ki ball at Bulma. Piccolo was faster, knocking it down with a grunt of singed pain. Vegita had to trust the ones behind him and press his attack in an attempt to gain ground. It became a game. How many times can he push Goku to keep him from attacking the others. It baffled the Sayan Prince, how Goku could be fighting so well and so strongly for so Long. He was a beast normally, but this was going hard.
Piccolo dumped his weighted gear, Krillin floated up to provide more cover, Tien formed his signature move, Yamcha moved until he was in front of Chi Chi, Bulma and Videl; all of them where determined to not let a single blast through.
Still too many blasts came close.
"It's a good thing Piccolo is so fast, right Geets?"
"Mm Lucky swat from the sweating monk."
"THAT one was close! What do you think? Can I do better."
Vegita felt his rage increase with every comment and snip of Ki.
"Damnit you idiot! Your fight is with me!"
XXX XXX
The distant flashes of Ki and rumbles of impact where beautiful in a violent way, but it was not the only thing for the gathered members of the Z fighters to watch.
Gohan's silhouette hung in the air. Cross-legged in a meditation pose he was hovering just below eye level of the contemplative Angel. His eyes where closed as he searched inside himself for what he was missing. Whis finally reached out a hand and placed it on the shoulder of the young man.
"Gohan, I can do this for you, right now. I can unlock what you lack. Help you become complete. I will even give enough power to summon the dragon again to make everyone forget what your father did. But you must promise me something in return."
"what do you want from me?" no hesitation in the reply. Not foolish, this one. Whis smiled at the thought.
"My request is simple. You Must remember this. All of this. So, when Berus or, god forbid, Zeno returns YOU will come forth as a warrior. And You will fight if it is required."
"And if I lose?"
"You die." Simple and serous, Whis delivered his reply with no hesitation.
"And if I win?" this question was asked quietly, the voice brittle. As though the asker already knew the answer.
"I might require your services, after you die. But we will cross that bridge when – if – we come to it." Gohan's sigh was a soundless puff of air. The two men had drifted apart as they spoke. Now eyes met and in them Whis saw resolve.
"Ok. I'll do it. Show me what I need." He beckoned Gohan closer and raise his staff. The smile on his lips didn't reach his eyes.
XXX XXX
Vegita knew he was being pressed back. The minutes since gohan had been pulled from the fight stretched on into an eternity. Each one dripping like cold molasses in an hourglass. Every inch Goku took, Vegita made him work for. Every stray Ki blast that drifted over the waiting Z-Fighters was a struggle. Goku might be winning, but Vegita was determined not to lose.
The manic Idiot was beginning to slow as well. Each strike becoming more deliberate, each blast more pointed. Now, the things that slipped by the Sayan Prince did not land anywhere near the watchers as it was obvious that Goku wasn't aiming for them anymore. No, every bit of his focus was being held quite firmly by his friend and rival.
"Why Vegita?" no more honeyed words here. Just a desperate whining. "Why couldn't you give me this before? Why hold back? Why did I have to do this?"
"Because I didn't want to KILL YOU before now."
"Oh, that's why. Now you want me dead again. Cool. I should have just done that. This was a lot of work." Vegita felt his eye twitch
"Work?" he was Hoarse from rage and battle. "you did this for a fight? Put my wife and children in danger, threatened the entire earth and you GRAND-DAUGTER, for a bit of work up and a fight?"
"When you say it like that, it sounds bad." The glint of chaos and battle lust shone in Goku's eyes. "you've done the same thing, would have done the same thing again if you hadn't gone soft." Vegita's inarticulate scream of rage was met with calm focus and a very familiar stance.
"DIE!"
"Ka Me Ha Me-HA!" the resulting explosion left a cloud of dust and the ringing scream of Bulma as she realized that Vegita hadn't had time to block the onslaught. Goku however remained calm, unsurprised by what drifted out of the smoke.
Gohan's eyes where sharp, lit from with in by something Goku couldn't describe. His left arm was faintly smoking from the impact, undamaged. On his body was not the orange he had worn for so many years, but something he had kept hidden. A deep rich color that stood out against the white hair and teal tipped powers. Over his heart shone a new mark. Purple fabric marked with the symbol of the demon school rested on the young Sayan. This was a new man.