Disclaimer: ALL DBZ characters are owned by and copyright to Akira Toriyama (any other characters in this story are my own :)

Well here it is, the chapter you have been waiting for! - the conclusion to the cliff-hanger of chapter 5 :P hehe

Chapter Six

As if on some predestined cue the clouds gathered in a slow rumble, encircling and dimming the sun in what was only minutes ago a beautiful summer sky. The air became charged with the fury of a storm making the hairs on Trunks' arms stand on end. A slow wind had begun to drift through the buildings, whistling through the shattered glass of broken windows. His lip trembled as he darted his eyes all around him. The laughter continued with maniacal pleasure at the scene unfolding. Trunks couldn't think; panic and disbelief pulsed though his veins – his head pleading to run, his legs refusing and saying stay. His breathing was deep yet rapid. Think, think…stay calm…this can't be real…not again…I can't do this again! In that one thought he regained his composure and backed up a couple of steps, clenched his fists and gritted his teeth; he became ready for the fight. The sky broke with a clap of thunder and lightening blazed creating an eerie luminance on the structures surrounding him. Caging him. Swiftly he turned, making sure he had his back covered, looking for the opponent that would come forth. Just then the rain began to fall and every ounce of strength that Trunks had built up followed in descent when he saw what now lay at his feet.

He closed his eyes and swallowed hard, trying to steady his breathing. No…oh please no. As he opened them and once again looked down at the floor his tears began to fall. His heart thumped painfully in his chest as he simply stood and stared, tears flowing and blending into the rainfall. His stomach lurched and he fell weakly to his knees with a cold splash. The laughter continued around him but Trunks no longer heard it. Tremulous with deep-rooted emotional pain he cautiously extended his arm and tenderly placed his hand on the body that lay face down in the puddle before him. His voice a rasped croak he managed to emit one word, "G...Gohan-San?…"

Trunks shivered and silently wept as he knelt next to the dead body of Gohan in the ruined Metroplex, once again feeling as he did three years prior upon finding his best friend dead by the hands of the Androids. The scene was once again replaying. The laughter faded and was replaced by the sound of damp footsteps making their way towards him. Trunks' fear quickly turned to anger. The footsteps stopped and Trunks rose to his feet; eyes wide with hateful madness, fists clenched so tight that blood streamed along his knuckles.

"Well isn't this touching?" came the patronising tone of Juunana-Gou.

"I know I can't remember when I found watching something so much fun," mocked Juuhachi-Gou

Trunks, glare remaining constant and head hung low, turned round to face the two abominations as they ridiculed his pain. His fears. Juuhachi-Gou slowly began to saunter towards him, "poor Trunks. Always wanting to be the big man, save everyone. Always ends up being the weak burden and lets people die…"

"ENOUGH!" he barked, swinging a right-hook for her head. She dodged with ease and her usual incredible speed. Appearing behind him she continued her taunt, "Still using those 'direct attacks' too," she turned to face Juuhachi-Gou, "I guess some things never change." Flicking her hair aside in her standard cocky manner she sauntered back to Juunana-Gou's side. The standoff had begun and Trunks was the first to attack, powering up in a blinding flash of golden electricity and rage and then charging at the twins. He flew to where they stood with immense speed and they slipped to either side of him with ease. He tracked their movement and flung his arms wide to either side, releasing a torrent of energy blast at them both. It struck them like an inferno yet when the blast subsided and the dust cloud cleared Trunks could see them both stood still, arms folded and smirking. Neither of them showed evidence of even the tiniest scratch from his blast. Even their clothes were perfectly in tact. Then moving as one split entity they flew towards him. He sped upwards and they followed with equal speed. Flipping his body over mid-flight so that he faced them head on, Trunks released two more blasts at them but again they continued unscathed. The fact that they wore arrogant smirks just added to Trunks frustration. Nothing he threw at them seemed to harm them in any way. Whatever tactics he used against them just did not work. It was then that he felt Juunana-Gou behind him a fraction too late as the androids clamped fists drove into the back of his head, hurtling him towards the floor where Juuhachi-Gou waited to launch the second blow; the base of his skull throbbed but Trunks mentally pushed it aside. Just before contact Trunks managed to alter his fall trajectory so that he slipped by her at the last second and countered with a back-kick that connected with her spine and sent her speeding into a derelict building with a sickening crack of brick and mortar. But again she emerged unmarked and still smirking.

Trunks was now blindly staring madness in the eye as he continued his fight with the already dead mechanical siblings around the deceased body of his best friend. His breathing was fiercely rapid and his eyes wide and violent. Every punch was thrown with a growl or a battle cry, every block stopped with grim determination. He had even forgotten that it was still raining as the lightening flashed in his eyes and fluctuated around his body in Super-Saiyajin fury. His vest and trousers were in tatters from being thrown through buildings and his face and arms were bleeding and bruised. Juunana-Gou and Juuhachi-Gou still showed no signs of battle damage and continued relentlessly releasing kick after punch after searing blast, delighting in their battle and laughing wildly in a manner that mirror Trunks' slipping madness. He could have almost joined their mirth if he allowed his mind to fall so far. They had been fighting for an hour straight now and his body was becoming fatigued. Abruptly the twins looked at each other with wide smirks then disappeared into one of the buildings. Trunks knew that was a bad sign as it meant he could not see what move they were planning to do or when they were going to do it. He took the moment to hover and regroup his thoughts, bringing his hands to cover his face and rub his eyes, the rain rinsing the blood from his cuts. This is…I mean, something is not…I…I… "Arrrgggghhhh!!!" he clutched his head in rage and his energy aura increased as he powered up some more.

"STOP THIS MADNESS TRUNKS!"

A voice? Whose voice? Trunks was stopped mid mad-cry and glared blankly towards the floor in the direction of the voice, then his eyes went wide. There stood beneath him was Gohan and Trunks' face twitched in confusion. "Gohan-San?" Gohan stared towards Trunks with a fierce, but sincere, expression, "This isn't real! Think about it!" But as Gohan cried his plea Juunana-Gou and Juuhachi-Gou erupted from the building towards Trunks, their eyes protruding and white with wild grins plastered to their faces. Their blows connected as if they were real but Trunks had become torn with confusion. His initial anger and fear had blinded him from realising that none of this could possibly be real. He had already been through Gohans death and he had already killed the artificial humans. The realisation dawned in his face and he stared at the fearsome faces that battled before him. "No…" The word escaped as hushed and thoughtful. "NO!" he repeated with intensity and then used his focus of rational thought to blast one final time before him. The blast subsided and they were gone. Now no-one stood in the rundown Metroplex except for himself and the ghost of Gohan. He floated back down to the ground and stood next to the ethereal form of his deceased best friend – his idol and mentor - still trying to make sense of what just occurred. The rain began to subside and Trunks turned to face his friend, "What just happened?"

"It was 'it'," replied Gohan with a stern face, glancing off into the distance. Trunks mirrored his gaze and they stood watching the horizon as they continued their conversation. "Can you be a little less cryptic please? I have heard this before…I want to know what 'it' is! Does 'it' have a name?"

" 'It' is a new entity forming in the Otherworld. So far it has no name but I guess eventually it will give itself one. We are still trying to deduce what it is but what we can gather so far from the four Kaiô and from our own observances is that it came into being from all the anger, hate and sadness that came with the souls of the dead caused by the artificial humans. The people they killed died in such horrific and fearful ways that their very souls became tormented and they carried it with them into the afterlife." His words were slow and his tone distant and sad. "So far we have gathered that 'It' has been sending minor apparitions of itself out into the Earth to gather fear – it's food source – as it cannot fully manifest itself yet. It only exists in Otherworld for the moment but we fear that when it has fed enough then it will come into being as a solid creature born of the fear, hate and sadness it has thrived on and then step into this realm and destroy the Earth. It sees it as the cause of it's suffering." Gohan paused and sighed, his halo glistening in the breaking rays of the sun causing parts of his visage to temporarily disappear, only to return and him to once again seem solid. Trunks looked at him, "So it was using your death to feed from my fear and anger?" He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, "So now how do I fight it?"

"We are preparing to fight it on the Otherworld but it is slowly beginning to destroy that realm too, feeding on souls and converting some to its instruments of fear on Earth by having them torment their families. If it takes corporeal form then it can be killed, but by then it may be too late for…" his words trailed off and he snapped his head round quickly, "No!"

"Gohan what is it?" ventured Trunks. Gohan turned back to face him, features panic-stricken, "It's going for Bulma! GO!!" But Trunks did not plan on pausing and had already set off in wild flight at the mention of his mother's name.