Contradicting Mission

Part 37

They couldn't have traveled more than half a mile through the Tahch-jin fortress before Joru Le'Armont slowed his pace, then finally stopped, leaning against the wall, a hand over his stomach, his eyes wrinkled at the corners.

Pausing, looking over his shoulder, Son Gohan looked back at him, his concern showing only through a single finger, sliding anxiously over the furry tail curled tightly around his waist, smoothing down the fur, "Joru-san?" He kept his face void of emotion, knowing that somewhere close to the surface of his mind was his berzerker mode, embodiment of the unfriendly voice. He didn't trust himself to display any emotion at all, for fear it become a stepping stone to his uncontrollable Saiya-jin side. He wouldn't even allow his tail to twitch, even though it meant keeping it so tightly wound that it was difficult to breath.

The Tahch-jin made a sound in his throat, as though he were about to say something, before he cut it off abruptly as his tall body stooped over, eyes wide, and he vomited, one elbow against the tiled wall for support. Gohan turned away, studying the tiles beneath his feet and trying not to hear the gagging or splattering sounds behind him. Far away, perhaps it was just echoing through the chi he felt, he heard the sounds of battle. He wanted to fight, too.

He closed his eyes and tried to recite to himself mentally the first two hundred pages of his trigonometry book his mother had given him two months ago, which he'd converted to memory the first week of owning it. Though every exact word and every detail of every picture in the book, the color of the pages, the font the text was written in, everything came to mind clearly and quickly, it did little to help him calm down. It just made him want to have the book in his hands so he could tear it into little pieces.

He was still the machine of destruction.

When Joru stood up again, he said quietly, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth, "I have a weak stomach." He moved away from the mess he had made and stood abreast the boy, giving the signal that they could continue, "Stress makes me sort of ill."

Gohan said nothing. Concentrating whatever rationality he had toward keeping track of Sunow's chi, all the while keeping an extra 'eye' out behind them in case an attack should come (was he really hoping an attack would come?); whatever mentality he had left was going into keeping himself from asking Le'Armont if he wouldn't mind stopping for a few rounds of rapid battle.

"Where are we going?" Joru asked, and, though he knew he was, by far, the Saiya-jin's senior, he felt as though he were asking one of his elders a stupid question. It was just the other-wordliness of this particular boy.

"We're going to find a friend of mine," Gohan answered after a moment of silence, "He should be at you Tahch-jins' main control room."

For a while, there was only the sound of their feet echoing down the hall as Joru allowed this to sink in, realizing that indeed they were heading in that direction... But surely Son Gohan had not been in the fortress enough times to know where the control room was... Or did he? Frightened by the silence and feeling as though he were being squeezed or that maybe he would have to throw up again Joru inquired, "You know where the control room is?"

"No."

"Then how do you know where-"

The boy's eyelids seem to be growing heavy, for his eyes were nearly closed as he said, "My friend is there."

The answer perplexed Joru for only half a second before he recalled his own hypothosis. Son Gohan can feel chi. Joru put a thumb and forefinger to his chin in thought, his forehead wrinkling, So he must be able to conceal his chi as well. This is an amazing discovery, indeed...

The Saiya-jin boy must have mistaken the perplexed look on Joru's face for offence, for, into the silence, he said, "I'm sorry." His head was cast down, hiding most of the bruises on his face, "I've been difficult for everyone lately. I'm just... I'm just a little high-strung right now. Please have patience with me, I can't seem to do or say anything right anymore." He looked away, then, for even with his head cast down he saw that, by the way the Tahch-jin placed his feet, Le'Armong at least had some fighting experiance...

Through the air, Joru was picking up the confusing panorama of emotions radiating off of the boy. There was lots of anger and frustration, the Tahch-jin recognized, and confusion, lots of that, too. Hesitation, determination, and, mixed in, the crushing feeling to just give it all up. Odd how there was very little fear.

He noticed that the boy had quickened his pace a little bit, walking slightly ahead of Joru than beside him. Le'Armont, so much taller than the child, felt a heavy feeling in his heart as he saw, looking down, that each step Son Gohan took seemed strained; his head hanging low, as though he were sustaining a great weight upon him.

"Son Gohan? What are you doing here?" Joru asked at length, "What are you doing on this planet? Everything about you just doesn't belong here."

As if to run from the question, the boy walked even faster, causing the Tahch-jin to broaden his strides to keep up. When he did answer, it was in a voice even quieter than usual, "I have to make sure this planet does not get destroyed. If I don't, my own planet will be destroyed as well."

Joru's face twisted, "But surely you know that the Aeesu-jin aren't really helping the Saiya-jin. You're too clever to think that this planet has any intention of doing anything for the Saiya-jin besides enslaving them. Son Gohan, the Aeesu-jin people are killing your people, not aiding them."

"I know. I wasn't meaning it like that. The Saiya-jin people... will be destroyed by the Aeesu-jin some day." Every word became lighter, until he ended it in a whisper, and after he was done speaking the boy gave a small shiver.

Joru watched Gohan from behind for a while, having caught the way the boy spoke of the Saiya-jin race as if at a distance, saying "the Saiya-jin people" rather than "my people", the words coming out naturally, insinuating that he did not consciously think of himself as a Saiya-jin. It was curious. "Who are your people? What planet do you come from?" He asked.

He waited quite a while before he realized the boy was not going to answer.

Hesitantly, afraid of what he might sense through his fingers, but becoming aware of a strangely parental feeling toward the peculiar, mysterious child, the Tahch-jin, his long fingers shaking, placed a comforting hand upon Son's shoulder. Joru hadn't known what he thought would happen, whether the boy would relax a little or maybe flinch slightly or tell him tartly not to touch him, ever again...

He hadn't expected Son to jump as though he'd been electrified and just as instantly throw himself away from the contact, his back flat against the wall, hands splayed against the wall at his sides, eyes wide, as though he expected Joru to attack him, the hairs on the tail around his waist stood on end.

Startled by the sudden movement himself, Joru jumped as well, his hands raised, palms facing out to show that he was unarmed, crying out, nervously pacing from one foot to another, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I was just, well you looked so miserable; I felt bad and..."

Though Gohan noted closely his every move, guardedly watching as Joru put weight on one foot than another, he managed to wave a hand in a mock-dismissive way, "No, no, I'm sorry." He shook his head as though trying to clear something from it, "I'm... having difficulty controlling myself right now. Too much fighting, can't get myself to relax." He pushed away from the wall and made his eyes face forward, down the hall, toward Sunow's chi, away from Le'Armont, "It's alright, now, though, I think. Come on."

They didn't get much farther, however, before Gohan stopped yet again, this time to look over his shoulder, eyes squinted, mouth partially open, and look down the empty hall, which rounded a corner and vanished out of sight. Inside, his body felt a hot flush of both fear and anticipation as he said, "They're coming."

Joru, startled, asked, "Who are you talking about?" He hoped the boy was referring to allies.

Saiya-jin blood boiling, his breath coming out loudly through his teeth, Gohan's whisper was more of a hiss as he said, "Everyone." His thin lips were skewing into a small, nervous smile, unsure if he should be happy or not. His body said he should, but his intellect was telling him to run, run, run, while his Saiya-jin instincts were answering with a 'hell, no!'

A sweat of fear broke out alone the edge of Joru's hair, down to the base of his neck, beading on the fur at his temples. He squinted down the hall, trying to see a trace of movement, but it was not a matter of mere sight.

"Joru-san," Gohan's voice was utterly different now, a sharp, commanding bark, as he decided to roll over and let his Saiya-jin side take over his inner council for a while, "Keep going on ahead. Go to the main computer and help my friend there. He's an Aeesu-jin, this tall," he held up a hand, though his eyes never left the hall behind him, "His name is Sunow. He'll tell you what he needs."

"But-" Joru felt himself wanting to cave under the suddenly powerful voice of the boy, hesitating only because he was afraid of being alone.

"Go." Then the quiet voice returned as he said, "Please. I'm going to hold them off, but I need Sunow-san to finish as soon as possible or else we're all dead."

Joru Le'Armont, brother of Henning Le'Armont, Tahch-jin, stood tall, squared his shoulders, nodded his head and, keeping the fear out of his voice, said, "Okay. Count on me."

And as he turned and ran down the hall, leaving Son Gohan behind him, he felt a queer sense of pride; the Saiya-jin boy was depending on him, trusting him. Unlike with Henning, he did not feel as though he were nothing but a piece of baggage. He was necessary, required for success, needed. He felt important. A part of Son Gohan's team.

He kept himself at a steady sprint, his long legs pumping, his arms swinging back and forth at his sides, his head lowered to avoid wind resistance. After five minutes of such running and he'd reached the main control room, mildly surprised to find the door torn open, but not letting himself hesitate now that he had arrived. Boldly, he marched inside, jaw set, chest out.

Hunkered over the computer was a very small Aeesu-jin, green in skin, and really quite young by Aeesu-jin standards.

His voice lacking a bit of his conviction, Joru asked, "Are you Sunow?"

The Aeesu-jin must have been deeply imersed in his task, for he jumped at the sound of the Tahch-jin's voice, spinning his body around, stubby tail coiling up behind him like a scorpion, ready to strike at the slightest move, "Who are you?"

Joru made sure to keep his posture entirly loose, not expressing an inch of either offence or defense, his arms limp at his sides, though he felt quite intimidated, and he said, "My name is Joru Le'Armont. I'm a Tahch-jin... traitor to my brother Henning. Son Gohan... the Saiya-jin boy... sent me to help you. You need codes, right? This is my computer, I can show you how to do whatever you need."

The Aeesu-jin seemed wary, but Joru could feel through the air his desperation, "Alright, then, Joru-san. Yes, I need help."

"You won't regret this, Sunow-san," Jorus aid, relaxing, feeling as though he had just passed the initiation test. He was really part of Son Gohan's team now. And he was scared as hell. But also proud.

The Aeesu-jin and the Tahch-jin leaned over the computer, talking in quick, low whispers.

They're coming, Gohan m'boy.

"Yeah...," he said out loud in agreement. Le'Armont was gone. He was alone.

That's how he wanted it right now.

He turned his body slightly, so that his left shoulder faced down the hall, toward the mass of enemies surging toward him, his right shoulder facing the other way, in the direction Joru had gone. His feet were braced against the ground, his body low. He began to gather his chi, as he extended both hands forward, toward the threat he knew would soon round the corner, touching at the wrists, the fingers of his right hand facing the ceiling.

"Ka...," his chi continued to steadily rise, like the tide of the raging ocean. He gathered his hands to his right hip, cupping them together as all his chi channeled between them. He felt it's warmth against his palms. Controlled but raw. His power. The lighting in the room darkened as the halogen lights above him exploded, now lit only by the blue energy enveloping him.

"... Me...," he narrowed his eyes, splitting his concentration between building his chi and feeling the rolling, battling Aeesu-jin powers coming toward him. Coming toward their death. He saw clearly in his minds eye the face of his father, not gentle, but fierce, defiant, fearless. Excited. Full of life and danger. The face of his father in the heat of battle. And this time, his father was not calling him a coward. Unbeknownst to Gohan, he was grinning in a way very different from his usual shy smile. His body lowered even more, his toes separating in his boots to better hug the ground.

Well, let them come.

Garlic and Freeza, outclassed, unable to find Bojack, and, even if they were able to find him, expecting no protection from him, did their best to get out of the abrupt war that had suddenly overtaken them. Running down the hall, unknowingly in the direction Son Gohan had gone, Garlic was only aware they were inevitably heading toward Sunow's chi, not much farther ahead. They didn't have to look back to know that the battle was following along behind them, stray chi blasts exploding at their heels; Garlic's cowl was torn to ribbons. The searing hot chi was nearly melting his mind within his skull, so high it was, so many incredibly large chi's.

He had never felt true panic before.

He did not like it.

There were no halls perpendicular to the one they were in, no where to go but forward. The gremlin was having a hard time keeping up with his Aeesu-jin companion. What little chi he had, he was pouring into his short legs, wishing off and on that he could transform into his large, powerful body, with the higher chi and, more importantly, the longer legs, so escape could be easier.

For a moment he half-stumbled and the first line of fighting Aeesu-jin closed in around him, until one of their powerful, thick tails slammed into him -- it would have been a fatal wound, were he not immortal, he noted with pains -- and was sent hurdling forward with such momentum that he caught up with Freeza again, a bit too stunned to catch his footing, hit the ground, rolled a few hundred feet, then pulled his legs under him to continue running again.

"That hurt?" Freeza asked, not really concerned but, in his state of fleeing panic, must have felt mildly hysterical. He found it amusing.

"Yes." Garlic said tartly, putting even more power into his retreat, "It did."

It was then that Garlic felt, not far up ahead, the rising chi of Son Gohan. Rolling and building, it was also centering into a single point, concentrating into a lethal dose that meant only one thing. He didn't have time to think more than 'At least the kid's still alive...' before he recognized the pattern in the boy's focusing power.

The kid was preparing to release one hell of a blast.

"We should get out of this hall," Garlic yelled to his Aeesu-jin companion, who was getting ahead of him again.

Freeza looked back at him and shouted back, "You think so?!" And as he looked back he saw that, behind Garlic, the battle was getting closer to them again. It was just meters from Garlic's sprinting back.

"No, I mean now!" The gremlin returned, "Or we're all going to burn!"

The raw terror in his voice gave Freeza one option.

He threw his body as hard as he could to the left, against the wall, with enough force to hurdle himself through the tiles and into a small, unlit room.

Garlic followed closely behind him through the hole in the wall, in so desperate a hurry that he landed on his shoulder and rolled, coming to a stop on his hands and knees, breathing hard as he realized just how exhausted he was from the exertion of running fast enough to keep up with Freeza.

Looking over his shoulder, Garlic saw that the battling Aeesu-jin failed to see either him or Freeza in the darkness of the room they had broken into, too busy were they with their own opponents to look for new ones.

Freeza got to his feet, brushing dust off his arms, whipping his tail to rid it of remaining bits of tile. His delicate mouth was open in unhidden surprise as he realized they might just have escaped, after all.

He dared to give a large sigh.

Garlic rose, too concerned with the power the gaki was gathering a few leagues up the hall to feel relief.

All of Gohan's senses were tuned to the approaching battle, now perhaps just meters away, around the corner, out of sight for now, but approaching.

"... Ha...," piercing electric blue light was growing between his slightly curled hands.

Reflecting off the tiles at the corner of the hall, Gohan could make out the flashes of explosions; his Saiya-jin ears picked up the cries of battle, mortal screams of the dying, triumphant crows of the victorious; he smelled intense anger and fear and the oppressive scent of blood and carnage; he tasted electricity in the air. Most of all, he felt the raging chi, the kind that only flares up when the situation is of life or death.

It was an amazing battle that was coming towards him, and his Saiya-jin instincts were pleased by the prospect. He did not move, however; he was too busy completing his concentration of chi, gathered between his palms, cupped at his right hip in the old technique his father had taught him, warm against his fingers, it's florescent sapphire too bright to look directly at. In his excitement, his let the tightness of his tail loosen, it slipped down his hips, brushed his thighs before cracking to life, arching behind him to better stabilize his stance.

"...Me...,"

He was waiting. Waiting to see the whites of their eyes. Eager, but his human side kept him restrained from attacking now, halfcocked.

Then, they came.

Rolling around the corner like a roaring tide of the sea, they were so thickly packed together, fighting, killing, dying, their midst alight with exploding, burning, lethal chi, that it was impossible to see more than a few yards deep into them; impossible to see any of their faces, the air was thick with smoke and ash and the horrible smell of blood.

They were moving faster than Gohan had anticipated, now that they were in sight. Flooding toward him, the force of their chi plastering his hair to his forehead, his tail extended straight behind him.

Now!

"HAAA!!" He threw his hands forward, and from him flowed forth power, raw, overwhelming power, melting the walls to glass as it burned past them, plunging into the middle of the battling Aeesu-jin and instantly obliterating them, reducing their bodies to char on contact, burning deeper and deeper into their midst, the battalions unaware they had been hit before they were already dead.

Gohan cocked his hands slightly, steering the blast to continue down through the army of fighters rather than detonate against the far wall, and as the blast blazed around the corner, out of sight, the boy's ears picked up the screams as his own personal chi continued killing and burning a destructive path.

His face settled back into one of neutrality as he stood, dropping out of his braced position, his hands tapping pensively at his hips, his tail swinging one way, then the other.

A huge explosion rocked the Underground as his Kamehameha finally exploded somewhere farther down the all, a blast of hot air ripping past Gohan, followed by a second shock wave, then a third, the final one being the most powerful, carrying large chunks of debris and shards of broken tile.

Though he wasn't particularly strained, Gohan discovered he was breathing heavily. Too heavily. Hyperventilating. His face remained blank, though his mouth was open, gulping in deep breaths of air, which he exhaled heavily. His shoulders and chest rose and fell. His mind was a little empty, every thought cut short before it could be finished. He wasn't allowing himself to think. Wasn't allowing himself to think. Couldn't allow himself to think.

How many was that?! How many Aeesu-jin had I just...

His Saiya-jin side had stepped back, now that it'd had its way, leaving his human side to deal with the aftermath.

Breathing in and out, he heard the rapid pace of his heart, a loud 'b-bum, b-bum, b-bum' against his rib cage.

He was suddenly overcome by a strong wave of vertigo, as spots crept over his vision, his stomach churned, and he lurched over. His body was trying to vomit. He had nothing in his stomach to throw up, however, and his heaves were dry, rasping, so very painful, every muscle in his pathetically thin form straining, squeezing inside of him. His arms wrapped around his caved stomach.

Far down the hall, he could still hear the distant sounds of battle. He hadn't killed them all with that one blast. Maybe caused them to pause momentarily, but they wouldn't stop their fighting for anything.

He stood up again. And he began walking down the hall, toward the noises of war, reverberating down the ruined hall, hunks of heat-warped rock and tile falling from the ceiling. He continued to keep his face blank, his eyes focused on nothing. His pace quickened. He still heard his pulse in his ears, though he also heard the echo of the Aeesu-jin's voices, screaming as his blast enveloped them. B-bum, b-bum, b-bum.

He began running toward the battle.

He wanted to think this over.

But instead he was going to fight.

To be continued...