Darkness, an all consuming void. Emptiness, the felling in my heart.
How did this happen? Is it loneliness, or am I finally breaking down? I
am...afraid, what if I'm wrong. What if there is no weakness in my enemy,
what if I'm just making things worse? Maybe it would be best if I just
gave up now. What about Gohan, I still owe him for helping me become human
and finding love. Krillian I miss you so much. Is that what this is now,
revenge? No, I cannot focus on the past They have destroyed everything
that was now I must focus on the future. We are almost defeated, everyone
is looking to me for hope. But...what can I possibly do against an
enemy that is so powerful our greatest warriors best efforts didn't
even last a few minutes combined? What makes me so special, is it because
I can talk to Angels? Are they even Angels, maybe the Demons are just trying
to get to just, give us a false sense of hope before they crush us all
together. Dose that mean I should just give up, that all my efforts were
in vain. NO! I won't give up, I can't give up! Even if it's useless I must
keep fighting with every last ounce of strength I have, my soul would never
be at peace otherwise. Am I planing to die? After all this is over no matter
how it turns out the chances of me surviving are small. But this isn't
about me, I have to do this for the world and for my friends, those I've
lost and any that survived. Gohan-kun, he's the key to all this. If what
the Angel said was true then he somehow has the power to defeat them. So
where do I come in? She said he could receive the power, how? Am I supposed
to channel it to him or is there some other way? I don't understand any
of this but I'm supposed to be the one with all the answers. I have to
see her again; the Angel is the only one who can help find out what my
purpose is. I guess now's as good a time as any to try it.
'Jouten-sama, onegi...I need help. I don't know what to do or how I'm supposed to fit into all this. What is my purpose. Why does Gohan-kun need me? Please answer me, I'm so confused...afraid...alone, help me please.'
"There's no reason to be afraid Juuhachi-gou, you're doing fine."
"Who's there?"
"Open your eyes silly, you can't see with em' closed you know!"
"Nani?"
Until then I hadn't even realized that my eyes were closed, or that
I had been crying. It was the middle of the night or so I seemed ever since
I came to this place I haven't had any way to tell how much time had passed.
There was no telling if I had been laying here in the dark for moments
or days, my own perception had become so twisted by exhaustion but I could
not stay asleep. There was something nagging at the back of my mind I just
couldn't figure out. I had hoped that maybe if I tried to figure it out
I could find at least some peace, but every question that I came close
to answering simply brought up a dozen more in it's place. So I
chose to follow the one path that had any chance of guaranteed answers,
I opened my eyes.
White everything was white. every direction I looked shone with almost blindingly pure light.
"This place is just like where I met the first Angel."
"Hai, that's because it is."
I was finally able to place the position of my speaker to my left and only slightly out of my range of vision. I turned to meet it and was stunned by the vision, which stood before me.
"Masaka! Goku-san?"
"I guess this is a little weird, huh?" He said before instinctively
placing one hand on the back of his head in classic Son style. "Well I
guess you're probably wondering why I'm here, Jouten-sama didn't think
that you would have believed what I have to tell you
had it come from anyone else so..."
"If this is so important then why did Jouten-sama send you and not Krillian?"
"Um... well, all things considered he didn't exactly fell comfortable
coming to you like this, but he wants you to know he still
loves you, and he hopes to see you again just not anytime soon
if you know what I mean."
"I still don't understand, what's going on, why am I so important,
and how am I supposed to help
Gohan-kun?"
"Whoa, one thing at a time okay. This is a dream; well sorta I mean most dreams don't have people talking to you from beyond, although I do remember this one time right after Gohan was born I had a dream with a pretty lady in it and she told me he was really important and strong so I had to train him good. I was so disappointed when Chichi told me she wouldn't let Gohan be a fighter, I guess that's really changed now huh?"
"Is there a point to all this?" It wasn't that I was angry with him but if there was one thing I had learned since the Demons arrival it was that time with loved ones was precious, but knowledge of the Demons weaknesses was priceless.
"Eh? Oh sorry, got a little carried away, ne? As to what's going on the Earth, as I'm sure you've noticed, it has always been in the middle of a lot of fights. Apparently it always has been, and it's only just recently that there has been any natives strong enough to defend it."
"So what's so special about this old dirtball, and why wasn't it destroyed before we started protecting it?"
"Well this is where it gets a bit more complicated, you see there are two beings, Jouten-sama and Akuma. Now Jouten-sama is a being of pure good and the creator of all things, I suppose you could call Him the highest Kaio. Akuma used to be one of Jouten's most powerful and trusted servants, that is until he tried to overthrow Jouten. He had gathered all the Angels who were loyal to him and attacked Jouten's High Palace head on. They failed, and as punishment were banished to Hell. However Akuma and his followers, now called Demons were still very strong and eventually some of the sneakier ones found ways out into the mortal plane. The first planet they found was Earth, it was a beautiful pure world and its inhabitants were weak. They also found that humans had great amount of magical energy within them that they themselves could not harness. Enough in fact that it could open a permanent passage between Earth and Hell and release their master. So they spread out across the Earth into every great empire, city, and village and made themselves appear as gods to the people. Once the humans were afraid and began to worship them the Demons gained great power over them including the ability to take magic from a devout believer. They were very close to realizing their dream when Jouten-sama discovered them. They didn't stand a chance, they were barely a handful of Demons and Jouten-sama sent His entire army. Many humans died protecting their gods and in the midst of the chaos some Demons even managed to slip away. They traveled as far as they could in their exhausted state and eventually ended up on the planet Makyo and made it their new base. They knew better than to try to enslave the Makyo-jins as they had the humans knowing it was what had caught Jouten's attention in the first place. So instead they chose to live with the people even breed with them. Over a few thousand years the human-like Makyo-jins became twisted and hateful, the original Demons' story had become part of their history and they wanted revenge. Their anger was fuelled further when Jouten-sama found out about their existence and tried to stamp them out. Unfortunately when they escaped Earth they took with them a few humans, when they arrived they put them in a magic stasis and used them as hostages. When Jouten-sama learned that there were still some innocents on the world so He knew His pure heart would not allow him to destroy it in entirety and their defenses were to advanced for any other sort of attack. They sent any army to Earth under the command of Garlic. He had thought that if he could become Kami by force then he would be able to harness enough power to free Akuma. When he failed the Makyo-jins were furious. When Garlic jr. came forward and declared that he could fulfil his father's plan with less warriors and better results. He was hailed as a great hero, however he too failed in his mission. When his people discovered this they were beyond rage, they took all the resources their world had, even those being used to protect it from Jouten-sama, and devoted them to making transports ship for their soldiers so they could at last conquer Earth. They also took the information they gained from both the father and son's failures and discovered that a pure magical assault would be unstoppable. So they made for Earth at full speed taking with them their human hostages for protection. With all Makyo-sei's defenses gone those left behind were vulnerable enough to be destroyed in one blast by Gohan when Garlic jr. returned from the Dead Zone. That is why they cling so tightly to this world, it is their last chance at victory over goodness and freeing their master."
"Why did they allow Garlic jr. to come to Earth, the only reason he had any chance the second time was because Makyo-sei was so close to Earth he could draw power from it. If they had sent one of their more powerful warriors they would have won."
"The only reason you think the Demons occupying Earth now are stronger is because of their magical abilities. Physically they are just as weak as he was, if not more so. Also the power didn't come from the planet but the immortal Demons who still resided there after escaping Jouten's forces on Earth."
"Now I know Gohan-kun fought Garlic jr. both times, but what's any of this got to do with me?"
"Gohan's strong but he can't take on an entire world full of Demons on his own, that's why he needs you. He is the only one who has the power to destroy them once and for all, but he needs you to help him focus and develop these powers."
"Why him, why me?"
"Because he was the one who destroyed Makyo-sei he received a great blessing from Jouten-sama. He has been given the gift of magic, not just to have it everyone has a little in them, but to actually be able to control and focus it. That is something that no mortal of non-Demonic lineage has ever had."
"And I'm supposed to help him control it, I don't really see what I can do."
"You are also gifted, your body allows for your spirit to be gone for extended periods of time without shutting down. This allows you to not only communicate with Jouten-sama and His Angels, but actually be with them in spirit. Instead of just hearing them you can see and feel them, a distinct advantage when it becomes time for them to show you how to train Gohan."
"Okay, I think I understand now, but why doesn't Jouten-sama just send a few Angels down here and destroy the Demons like that, it seems a lot easier if you ask me."
"Many innocent would be caught in the crossfire just like last time, and besides Jouten-sama is a lot like a father he wants his children to be able to take care of themselves. He will not interfere directly, but he will show you how to win on your own."
"So when do I start learning how to train Gohan-kun?"
"Right now if you're ready."
"Hai."
"Alright, good luck to both of you, and tell Gohan everyone sends their love. Well everyone but Vegeta when I asked him if there was anything he wanted to say, he just muttered a bunch of weird Saya-go I'm no expert but it sounded kinna rude. Anyway there's not much time before you have to return to your body and there's a lot to learn, ja ne."
And with that he was gone and I was alone. At least for a few seconds, then I felt a presence behind me.
"It's you again."
The beautiful Angel smiled at me and in her gentle voice announced
"It is time."