Disclaimer- I don't own DBZ, but it would make a good birthday present. This chapter is dedicated to my friend Garth Manheim who committed suicide this summer.
"May your days be extraordinary"- Garth Louis Manheim
It is also dedicated to LindaN, a good person, a great writer and a good friend.
A/N- This will become gloomy and bloody in the next couple chapters, people of light constitutions don't read.
Gohan cried, heaving sobs that racked his body with pain, he gently held his mother's mutilated body. He had been out that day on errands, now she was dead, and it was his fault. Why hadn't he been there? The sobs began to rip his lungs, and he laughed bitterly, his soul was rent asunder and floating in sorrow. He trembled gently, and looked at his mother's face, the terror in her eyes and sense of pure fear from her dead features was unbearable. Gohan trembled again, but this time from hate so pure it was venomous.
The serpent beast in him clamored for release, well he'd give it release. He rose up with his mother's bloody and broken body. And he cried out before flying of to Bulma's house, ignoring the fact that his hair was now a brilliant blond. Sometimes grief and sorrow can overwhelm the senses to the point you can become oblivious to even the most awesome changes.
Vegeta's head shot up at that, the sudden burst of power. It was magnificent… And a potential challenge. Vegeta snorted, it was Gohan. Kakarot was right, the boy does have it. Vegeta smiled, he'd been spoiling for a good fight, and a physical one that is, Bulma and he shouted it out daily, which was almost as fun as the sex… Damn, if she'd been a Sayaijn… He stopped that thought; if she'd been a Sayaijn she would probably be dead right now. Then Vegeta's mind caught up with him.
Gohan only ever transcended his current power level if he was mad enough to. That meant something drastic had happened. Vegeta reached out with his mind, casting telepathically for the boy's mental state.
RAGE… HATE… MUST KILL… BLOOD- ANGER! Vegeta was knocked flat by the thoughts in Gohan's head. They weren't even coherent, just blunt lust for blood. Then Vegeta realized something else, Gohan had gone Super Sayaijn. Finally, but what could be so impacting to make the brat transform? His question was soon answered.
Piccolo felt Gohan's rage immediately. It only took a second for him to figure out that something must have happened to Chichi to elicit such a response. Despite the fact the bitch doesn't deserve him. Piccolo chided himself for the thought and stopped, he could think whatever the hell he wanted to. He realized he was already halfway to where he felt Gohan's ki was before he made the mental decision to see what was up.
Vegeta had seen carnage on such a large scale, inflicted it a number of times, and so Chichi's grossly distorted face and ripped body didn't make him sick. What made him sick was that the strokes were done with physician like precision, so that she was butchered quickly and effectively, while she was still alive. He traced the jagged wounds in his mind, seeing the cruel paths they wound around the inert bleeding body.
Gohan couldn't see any of this. All he could see was black. His vision had narrowed, tinged all around with black rage. He would do worse than kill whoever had done this. He would kill them, revive them, and kill them again. Over and over if necessary. Then he'd let his dad torment them in the afterlife. Suddenly, in the midst of his grief and rage, he wanted his father.
"Daddy." He choked out. Then he collapsed with his tears over his mother's bloody broken body.
"GOHAN! CHICHI! DAMN IT LET ME GO!" Goku screamed. King Yemma grunted and strained. And then Goku summoned up enough power to knock the giant lord of the Crossways off of him. If he'd been thinking clearly he would have seen that him breaking the rules of death would cause chaos and confusion on level never before seen. But all he wanted was to rescue his son…
"Goku stop." He suddenly found himself with stopped flat. He struggled against the invisible bonds that held him. They wouldn't give. The panic and urge to help made him go SSJ. But the mysterious bonds held. Goku started screaming, flecks of spittle flying from his mouth. His eyes vanished in a surge of power and became glowing white orbs, his arms and legs filled with ki, his body immersed in it. But the bonds still held.
A pity, Kaioshin thought. He would've let Goku go if his conscience was his only guide, but certain rules had to be maintained. If Chichi's spirit would just hurry up and come up here they could calm him down.
Krillin was the next one to die. Along with Roshi and Oolong. Yamucha came up to the CC, his eyes dead and his gaze lifeless. He hated Vegeta, but he had no other refuge. Vegeta even managed to restrain himself when Yamucha collapsed crying into Bulma's arms. Gohan became withdrawn, his small face creased with constant pain. Only Piccolo and Vegeta remained aloof and unaffected. Vegeta had seen so much pain and suffering in his life that it no longer held any significance to him. Piccolo was just Piccolo, an unmovable force.
One day Vegeta decided he'd had enough; the atmosphere around CC was unbearable. There were reports starting to straggle in that mysterious forces were killing large numbers of people in rural areas. Soon they learned that a day prior to Chichi's death a small city had been destroyed on one of the many islands in the area. But for now Vegeta had had enough.
After flying for some time he stopped, he looked around him, the scenery seemed so familiar… Than it clicked, this was where he first fought Kakarot. A sudden surge of emotion made him week-kneed, Kakarot. Rival, ally, friend… Damn you Kakarot. The familiar thought came hard this time, harder than ever before. He angrily screamed himself into SSJ. His hair flared back and spiked apart. His body bugled with power, suffused with ki; this was his element, this sense of power. He was a warrior, was born as a warrior, would live and die as a warrior.
"Yes, especially the dying part."
"Vegeta just powered up, and he's fighting!" Piccolo leapt to his feet. Gohan stared blankly at Piccolo, what did it mean? Piccolo was talking and obviously upset.
"Gohan, he's probably fighting the people that killed your mother." Piccolo needed to wake the boy, tact couldn't be used now. If those people attacked Vegeta they would be confident or stupid, either way Vegeta would need help, to stop or to flee.
Gohan blinked, and then it set in. His rage boiled and then went cold. Blind all consuming hatred is an awesome force, but nothing can compare to calm rage, the ice-cold determination to kill with a calculated detachedness inherent in it. And now Gohan was consumed. He blasted off, his senses leading him straight to Vegeta. Piccolo left a second later followed by Yamucha. Bulma sighed and held Trunks to her, praying for her lover and her friends. Trunks began to cry, as if in premonition of what would happen.
"Who are you?" Vegeta growled, the black haired one had attacked first, the two were trading blows, trying to gauge each other's strength. But Vegeta could sense no ki. Not even Kakarot could lower his ki while fighting.
"Oh Vegeta, don't you mean what are we?" The two laughed, calm horrible laughs, the kind of laugh someone gives when they find only shallow amusement, and there was no cheer in the laugh. Vegeta had heard that sort of laugh before, from King Kold. Frieza had delighted in his sadism, but Kold was more dangerous. Torture from Kold was elegant as it was exquisite, pain without borders. It made Frieza's fear tactics seem crude and clumsy.
Vegeta growled as he struck the man. "Tell me before I blast you from the sky." With that he increased his strength a little, putting more force behind another punch sending the android cart wheeling backwards.
"Well Vegeta, I'm 18 and that is my brother 17, we're androids sent to kill Goku by Dr. Gero. But instead we killed Gero and now we get to play with earth as a giant toy!" She sighed then and placed her hands on her hips. "Maybe then I can finally get some better outfits."
"Yeah? Well maybe you'll-" Vegeta never got to finish that comment, 17 barreled up and smacked Vegeta so hard he saw stars and felt his jaw crack. Shit! He screamed at himself. But then before 17 could strike again a furious Gohan hit the android.
Gohan was berserk; he wasn't even bothering to coordinate his attacks. He bit and clawed along with exuding ki from his eyes and mouth. The pure ferocity of the attack was enough to make 17 look fearful even as his body was beaten. 18 looked concerned but was then hit by a Makkankosappo and a Fist of the Wolf from Piccolo and Yamucha respectively. She growled in anger and whirled to slam Piccolo into the ground.
17 finally tired of letting Gohan rip him to pieces and smacked him hard enough to send blood flying from the boy's mouth. But Gohan didn't even feel it he was so far gone in his anger. And then Vegeta beset 17. The android started to panic, the boy was fighting with impossible strength and Vegeta was using coldly calculated blows that were becoming more and more dangerous. They overpowered him enough that he was worrying about his ability to continue. And then 18 was there. Within seconds Vegeta felt pain blossom like a cruel rose in his stomach and Gohan was knocked viciously unconscious.
"Well that was refreshing, much more exiting than the old man or that woman." 17 murmured. 18 looked at him.
"Oh that shirt is in tatters, we should get you something else." She pursed her lips and Vegeta growled. She cast Vegeta a look, admiring his strong arms and physique in general. 17 gave him a disdainful look.
"Oh don't even think it sis-"
"Why, cuz you want to claim him for you?" Vegeta's eyebrows shot up at that. 17 growled fierily under his breath.
"Damn it sis I am not gay." 18 shrugged.
"Most guys that have fashion sense are- how should I say this in today's polite society, heterosexually challenged?" She said archly. Vegeta couldn't believe they were having this conversation. He tried to stand but only double over from the pain. Then Piccolo was holding him and Gohan as he blasted away. Yamucha flew alongside them, his short-cropped hair rustling slightly on his head. Vegeta couldn't believe how humiliating this was.
Then he felt energy, stupendous energy, and it was laced with Yamucha…
"FINAL STRIKE!" Yamucha screamed, his power bellowing forth from his body, his very being going into the blast. The ki was fantastic, gigantic globes of energy with so much power they detonated with enough force to alter the orbit of earth. Death energy on this scale was awesome. Yamucha had lived a full life, but it wasn't due to end then. But he had given himself over completely, acknowledged his faults and found himself. And sacrificed what he had found. And that gave it meaning, which in turn gave it power. And then Vegeta blacked out as the ki hit them.
"Oh Vegeta." That voice, that beautiful voice, so strong and so sad…
:Bulma?:
"Oh Vegeta you're awake!" Piccolo looked at the woman, what was she talking about? Vegeta hadn't said anything. It had been several days since Yamucha's sacrifice. The mystery beings hadn't attacked since then, so it was obvious they were dead. They had discovered that Tien and Choutzou had been killed as well. Piccolo sighed, Gohan had taken all this the worst. His heart went out to the boy. And as for Vegeta… The injury had been much more serious than they had thought and the senzu beans hadn't ripened yet. Luckily they had a new batch right now.
"Vegeta, eat this." Bulma gently slid the bean between his lips and moved his jaw. As he swallowed reflexively he felt energy rush through his limbs. Suddenly he was sitting upright and his mouth was latched onto Bulma's. He frantically pushed his tongue into her mouth, tasting her and smelling her. Bulma submitted readily and the two began to explore the fierce passionate love.
"Riiiight, well I'll just leave you two alone then." And Piccolo left the room, the disruption unnoticed by the two who were franticly celebrating the fact they were alive and had won.
Fate is not only cruel, it's unmerciful.