Watching from afar, within the dark walls of Doale's former castle, Buu
watched the battle between Cell, Doale, the General and Gohan unfold. The
General had proved to be useless after all. His fighting skills were
exceptional and he had a major advantage over his opponents as far as size
was concerned. Yet, he somehow managed to lose to Doale.
Buu slammed his fist into the stone walls in frustration, feeling them crack beneath his pink knuckles. The young Emperor was capable of holding his own against someone twice his size. He would be a valuable ally in their cause, but Cell had to have him imprisoned. It was no wonder he now sided with the Z Soldiers. Buu punched the wall again, harder this time making a clean hold right through the stone. Damn that Cell, he cursed under his breath. At least he was dead now, just another useless bug that needed to be crushed.
Buu's thoughts drifted from the death of Cell, to his murderer. Buu had been waiting a long time to see it himself, and finally at that moment, triggered by what Cell did to Gohan, the true power of Emperor Doale came through and incinirated Cell. And it was that power Buu craved for - the power of the Firebird. All this time, the Z Soldiers believed he was the reincarnation of Goken. Buu mocked their stupidity. Son Goken, or at least, what he'd heard of the boy from the Firebird, had unlimited power at his disposal. But he was emotionally weak and could never have accomplished what Emperor Doale had. Murdering one's own parents, taking their fortune and ruthlessly slaughtering millions of innocent people was something only someone with an evil heart could do, someone who deserved a place in hell. And who better a candidate to be reincarnated into someone like that than the Firebird?
* * *
Rain assaulted the ground, turning soil into mud. Gohan and Doale stood facing each other, each of them with soaked hair and clothes recently singed from an apparent fire. The windswept grass licked at their feet, while the remains of the Son residence stood behind them. The upper levels were charred black but the lower level seemed untouched by the previous fire. Small tongues of flame flickered every so often, but the rain slowly drowned them out.
"You were wrong," Doale said weakly. "I'm not your re-incarnated brother. I'm ... something else."
Gohan was too stunned to say anything logical. All along, he'd been so sure Doale was Goken. But that proved to be wrong in the end. He wasn't Goken ... rather, he was - "You're the Firebird." Gohan's voice wasn't filled so much with disappointment than hatred. He looked Doale straight in the eye, opening his mouth to say another hateful statement. It looked as if he was about to scream but then, no sound came out and his face crumpled. Salty tears squeezed out the corners of his eyes and mixed with the water droplets, running down his face in rivulets. "You're the goddamned Firebird... get the hell away from me and my family."
The words pierced Doale through and through, unable to understand where all this anger came from. Gohan's statements hurt, and he was confused as to why he was saying this. Why do they hurt? Doale never cared much for the Son family anyway. Oh shut up! His own consciousness scolded him. You know very well you care about Chichi and the others. Since you came here, you've been unable to harm them. So why would he be the Firebird? Doale's own instinct and logic were at war with each other, and he couldn't come up with an answer for Gohan, who now stood a few feet away, looking as if he was going to murder him.
He was saved by the interruption of a sudden flash of light, and the familiar forms of Chichi and Piccolo appeared on both sides of Gohan. They immediately shielded themselves from the pouring rain, holding Gohan by the arms at the same time.
"It's pouring out here," Chichi said, her composure strangely calm. "We can talk about this somewhere else."
"Mom, you have no idea what's going on," Gohan said, never removing his cold gaze from Doale's direction.
Chichi held Gohan's chin and turned his face to face her's. "I know exactly what's going on," she said surely. "We saw it all from Kamisama's palace. And I'm telling you now to come with us - both of you."
She turned to face Doale. He looked back at her, not with defiance, but a certain fear; the fear of being rejected. Chichi approached Doale, wrapped her soft arms around his shoulders and embraced him in a hug, planting a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Goken or not, you are my son." She saw the puzzled look form on Doale's face. Chichi smiled and said, "back at your palace, you could've easily killed us. Yet, you didn't. Goten told me about your meeting in the forest, and how you saved his life from your own forces. He also told me how you jumped in front of Gohan when Buu was about to shoot him with a ki blast. If those aren't acts of love, I don't know what is."
"Do you have any idea who he is, Mom?!" Gohan said, raising his voice. "He's the Firebird!!"
"He is Emperor Doale!" Chichi shouted back defiantly. "The Firebird died fourteen years ago."
"But..." Gohan began to protest.
But Chichi would hear none of it. "Weren't you the one who told me Goken got a second chance at life?" she asked, challenging Gohan. "To start over from scratch with a new life and a new identity? That's exactly what the Firebird has done too. His new life as Emperor Doale is a fresh start and right now, he is fighting alongside us and is turning his life around for the sake of good! Gohan, YOU were the one who helped to bring out his good side and now you're rejecting him based on his past life?"
"I..."
She still refused to let him continue. "Doale and the Firebird may share the same soul, but they are two completely seperate identities. You cannot judge a person on the basis of another. That's exactly what you're doing."
Doale gently removed Chichi's hands from his shoulders. "I'm sorry, but Gohan's right. I may be a completely different person than the Firebird was, but I can't escape the responsibility of what I did behind a new face. It's useless to be fighting alongside the Z Soldiers. Now that they know the truth about me, they'd never accept me. I'd be fighting a useless cause for acceptance among the others. It would be easier to go back to my empire. Now that Cell is dead and that I've discovered this new power, I can easily overthrow Buu."
"Doale, no!" Chichi protested. "You know now that is the path of darkness. Why would you want to return to that after you've experienced better?!"
"Have I?" he asked, looking at Gohan. Chichi didn't have enough time to come up with an answer when Doale took off with a violent burst of energy. A moment later, he was a mere speck in the sky, heading for the desert to the east, to the palace of the Dark Empire.
Buu slammed his fist into the stone walls in frustration, feeling them crack beneath his pink knuckles. The young Emperor was capable of holding his own against someone twice his size. He would be a valuable ally in their cause, but Cell had to have him imprisoned. It was no wonder he now sided with the Z Soldiers. Buu punched the wall again, harder this time making a clean hold right through the stone. Damn that Cell, he cursed under his breath. At least he was dead now, just another useless bug that needed to be crushed.
Buu's thoughts drifted from the death of Cell, to his murderer. Buu had been waiting a long time to see it himself, and finally at that moment, triggered by what Cell did to Gohan, the true power of Emperor Doale came through and incinirated Cell. And it was that power Buu craved for - the power of the Firebird. All this time, the Z Soldiers believed he was the reincarnation of Goken. Buu mocked their stupidity. Son Goken, or at least, what he'd heard of the boy from the Firebird, had unlimited power at his disposal. But he was emotionally weak and could never have accomplished what Emperor Doale had. Murdering one's own parents, taking their fortune and ruthlessly slaughtering millions of innocent people was something only someone with an evil heart could do, someone who deserved a place in hell. And who better a candidate to be reincarnated into someone like that than the Firebird?
* * *
Rain assaulted the ground, turning soil into mud. Gohan and Doale stood facing each other, each of them with soaked hair and clothes recently singed from an apparent fire. The windswept grass licked at their feet, while the remains of the Son residence stood behind them. The upper levels were charred black but the lower level seemed untouched by the previous fire. Small tongues of flame flickered every so often, but the rain slowly drowned them out.
"You were wrong," Doale said weakly. "I'm not your re-incarnated brother. I'm ... something else."
Gohan was too stunned to say anything logical. All along, he'd been so sure Doale was Goken. But that proved to be wrong in the end. He wasn't Goken ... rather, he was - "You're the Firebird." Gohan's voice wasn't filled so much with disappointment than hatred. He looked Doale straight in the eye, opening his mouth to say another hateful statement. It looked as if he was about to scream but then, no sound came out and his face crumpled. Salty tears squeezed out the corners of his eyes and mixed with the water droplets, running down his face in rivulets. "You're the goddamned Firebird... get the hell away from me and my family."
The words pierced Doale through and through, unable to understand where all this anger came from. Gohan's statements hurt, and he was confused as to why he was saying this. Why do they hurt? Doale never cared much for the Son family anyway. Oh shut up! His own consciousness scolded him. You know very well you care about Chichi and the others. Since you came here, you've been unable to harm them. So why would he be the Firebird? Doale's own instinct and logic were at war with each other, and he couldn't come up with an answer for Gohan, who now stood a few feet away, looking as if he was going to murder him.
He was saved by the interruption of a sudden flash of light, and the familiar forms of Chichi and Piccolo appeared on both sides of Gohan. They immediately shielded themselves from the pouring rain, holding Gohan by the arms at the same time.
"It's pouring out here," Chichi said, her composure strangely calm. "We can talk about this somewhere else."
"Mom, you have no idea what's going on," Gohan said, never removing his cold gaze from Doale's direction.
Chichi held Gohan's chin and turned his face to face her's. "I know exactly what's going on," she said surely. "We saw it all from Kamisama's palace. And I'm telling you now to come with us - both of you."
She turned to face Doale. He looked back at her, not with defiance, but a certain fear; the fear of being rejected. Chichi approached Doale, wrapped her soft arms around his shoulders and embraced him in a hug, planting a gentle kiss on his forehead. "Goken or not, you are my son." She saw the puzzled look form on Doale's face. Chichi smiled and said, "back at your palace, you could've easily killed us. Yet, you didn't. Goten told me about your meeting in the forest, and how you saved his life from your own forces. He also told me how you jumped in front of Gohan when Buu was about to shoot him with a ki blast. If those aren't acts of love, I don't know what is."
"Do you have any idea who he is, Mom?!" Gohan said, raising his voice. "He's the Firebird!!"
"He is Emperor Doale!" Chichi shouted back defiantly. "The Firebird died fourteen years ago."
"But..." Gohan began to protest.
But Chichi would hear none of it. "Weren't you the one who told me Goken got a second chance at life?" she asked, challenging Gohan. "To start over from scratch with a new life and a new identity? That's exactly what the Firebird has done too. His new life as Emperor Doale is a fresh start and right now, he is fighting alongside us and is turning his life around for the sake of good! Gohan, YOU were the one who helped to bring out his good side and now you're rejecting him based on his past life?"
"I..."
She still refused to let him continue. "Doale and the Firebird may share the same soul, but they are two completely seperate identities. You cannot judge a person on the basis of another. That's exactly what you're doing."
Doale gently removed Chichi's hands from his shoulders. "I'm sorry, but Gohan's right. I may be a completely different person than the Firebird was, but I can't escape the responsibility of what I did behind a new face. It's useless to be fighting alongside the Z Soldiers. Now that they know the truth about me, they'd never accept me. I'd be fighting a useless cause for acceptance among the others. It would be easier to go back to my empire. Now that Cell is dead and that I've discovered this new power, I can easily overthrow Buu."
"Doale, no!" Chichi protested. "You know now that is the path of darkness. Why would you want to return to that after you've experienced better?!"
"Have I?" he asked, looking at Gohan. Chichi didn't have enough time to come up with an answer when Doale took off with a violent burst of energy. A moment later, he was a mere speck in the sky, heading for the desert to the east, to the palace of the Dark Empire.