Disclaimer: Dragon Ball Z, its characters and likenesses, are all own by Akira Toriyama and the creators of the animated series. The song The Noose is written and produced by Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel. The characters and song are being used for my amusement and are not being written for money purposes.
* * *
The Noose
A short song fiction by ShaggyDiz
* * *
For the life of me, I thought that I had actually died. There was a bright light more like a bright ball of energy and then it exploded.
I thought, for a moment, that I found myself in heaven. The sky was purple: something that I didn't think heaven would have. There were fields of grass and trees and clouds and everything else that would make someone think that they had died.
I didn't have a halo though, and neither did the two individuals standing in front of me.
So glad to see you well
Overcome and completely silent now
Without himself
You cast your demons out
The being known as Kibito pulled Gohan up from his resting spot on the grass. Slowly, the half-Saiyan looked around, coming to realize that he wasn't in heaven.
This is the planet of the Kais, the short Supreme Kai said, reading his mind and giving the confused teen an answer to the unasked question.
All he could do was nod, still in awe of his surroundings. There was small talk happening between the two beings, and soon it involved him. He didn't pay much attention to what was being said, even from his own lips. He was still trying to grasp that, while he wasn't dead, everyone else thought he was.
Basic logic told him that, if he originally had that train of thought, so did everyone else left on Earth.
Buu is too strong I doubt even my father would defeat him.
He soon found himself flying. When that had happened, he didn't know. He also noted a new set of clothes on him. Again, he was clueless.
His mind wasn't with him. It was elsewhere.
I wonder what she's thinking
And not to pull your halo down
Around your neck and tug you off your cloud
He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead.
HE CAN'T BE DEAD!
Her mind screamed those words over and over again as she sat up in the temple on the Lookout. Everyone that opted to look at her knew where she was at: sitting in the window, with her legs hanging off the side and her head looking up towards the heavens.
Everyone thought she was remembering how good of a guy Gohan was.
Half of her thoughts were running over that. The other half wondered why she hated him so much right now.
She understood his obligations to this planet. He was an insanely powerful good guy who protected the planet from insanely powerful bad guys. She read enough fantasy novels to know what that entails. Most of the time, none of them ended up like this though, where the bad guy killed the good guy.
She never expected it to happen to the one person she had developed feelings for over the past amount of time.
But I'm more than just a little curious
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends to the dead
To the dead
She didn't know how much time had gone by though between them. They met. She thought he was a dork. She didn't like the fact he was Saiyaman (an even bigger dork) and the Gold Fighter. Well it was more because he had lied to her.
She hated that the most.
She never expected to fall in love with him.
I can't believe I never got to tell him
She let out a short laugh. She knew what she sounded like. She knew what it was going to sound like too.
Well, Gohan I know how much you care about me, and you know how much I care about you
She laughed again. Her eyes never left the sky though.
Only her tears fell that day.
Recall the deeds as if
They're all someone else's
Atrocious stories
Slash.
Slash.
Parry.
Parry.
Thrust.
Thrust.
The tune carried on in his head and in his hands. The sword – Z-Sword, as they had called it – was so damned heavy, yet so damned fluid in motion too.
He didn't understand how that happened. It just did.
Poetry in motion, he seemed to recall then.
Must protect Videl
He had listened to the helpful comments of the beings standing off to the side, and even to some of the conversation about him. It went right by him though. He concentrated on one thing, and one thing alone.
To get better.
Must protect Videl
Slash. Parry. Thrust.
Poetry in motion.
Somewhere along the way, he let out a little laugh. He didn't know if it was from when his dad showed up, or if it was from before, when he tinkered over some of the morbid thoughts from the day.
It was always entertaining, in some sense, to have a morbid thought once in a while. It kept him grounded to whatever sense of reality he was in. Happy thoughts only got someone so far. Especially when death was right around the corner.
He laughed again. He didn't know he could be that corny.
Must protect Videl
Now you stand reborn before us all
So glad to see you well
Well I sort of expected this to happen
Videl stood in the covered path of the temple, looking out and seeing a transformed Majin Buu standing there, picking a fight with anyone and everyone that wanted to fight. She didn't understand how it happened, or why it happened, or why the creature was there right now, but she just had to believe it.
Her very concept of reality had been annihilated and reconstructed in one day.
I should just go and fight him get it over with
Her thoughts had continued along the same morose path that it did from the day before, almost to the point where she had wanted to just jump off of the Lookout and fall down, ending everything there and heading up to heaven to finally be with Gohan.
She couldn't though. It wouldn't be right to just commit suicide.
She still had a life here. Erasa, Sharpener her father these people around her they had all welcomed her amongst them, even though she had just met them all yesterday at the tournament. She still had her life as a volunteer crime fighter, though that wasn't much good when they were the last ones on the planet.
Forget fighting him now he just killed everyone left on the planet.
And not to pull your halo down
Around your neck and tug you to the ground
She wondered how anyone here could stand up against him. Goku, Vegeta Gohan they were gone, leaving a pair of boys, not even ten. Ten! They were the only ones left to stand up to Majin Buu. And even though they were strong together as Gotenks, there was still the lingering doubt that they had nothing left to stand up to the pink being.
Hopeless
I wish Gohan were here he'd make it better he'd make it so much better
She ignored everything happening around her. She had heard Piccolo's plea of time, and Buu's agitation, and she had followed everyone into the depths of the Lookout, though she really had no concept of where they were, and where she was in general.
And even as the world ended around her when Majin Buu escaped the dimension known as the Room of Spirit and Time, she was still lost, though this time, she smiled.
Her wish had been granted. Time to start looking for Gohan.
But I'm more than just a little curious
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends to the dead
To the dead
Finally I'm done.
He stood up, stretching his tired limbs, letting the blood flow back into them. He had been in a state of meditation for over twenty-five hours, and, couple that with the five hours of standing still and the half a day of training with the Z-Sword, Gohan had not been asleep for nearly two days.
He still wouldn't get any either, not that he was planning on getting some anyway. He was informed that he would be going back to Earth. He smiled at the plan.
I would be able to finally see her again.
He didn't let his thoughts known though. How foolish, they would all say to him, going back to Earth to protect one, frail human.
That one, frail human is the one I want to be with for the rest of my life.
It's what he had come to realize during his time on the Kai planet. During his sword swinging madness and his appendage tiring sitting period, he had gone over a whole lot of things in his mind.
The main one was his feelings for Videl.
With your halo slipping down
Your halo slipping
Your halo slipping down
Your halo slipping down
Your halo slipping down (But I'm more than just a little curious
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends)
It was what he would say to her after this whole ordeal was over. He would find her, protect her, and crush Buu. He doubted that the pink monster would be a challenge to him now, with this upgrade in power. He had become the strongest once again.
Stop no need to get cocky this isn't Cell
He turned towards his father, hugging him before he left. It would be the last time that he would see his father until he died.
For real this time
This time, he didn't tune out the conversation before him. It was his father he was talking to. His life giver his inner conscience
Good luck Gohan.
Thanks. I'll see you around.
Reluctantly, he let go of his father, stepping away and giving one final wave before standing next to Kibito.
I'm ready.
The tall assistant nodded, and in less than two seconds, they disappeared from the Kai planet.
Videl I'm coming
Your halo slipping down (But I'm more than just a little curious
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends)
Your halo slipping down (But I'm more than just a little curious
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends)
Your halo slipping down (But I'm more than just a little curious
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends)
Ten hours.
She had been searching for ten hours, and in those ten hours, she had gotten no closer to finding Gohan. She didn't plan on giving up though, not when she had all of eternity to search for him.
Heaven is a big place I'll find him someday
She had been searching with Bulma for about two hours before coming upon Chichi. From there, they resumed their search, staying within shouting distance of each other just incase any of them found anyone else.
No one.
Videl came to a rest on top of a hill, looking out over the large expanse of heaven. Slowly, she brought her eyes up to the yellow-clouded sky, slowly beginning to wonder if she would ever see Gohan again.
I know I will I know I will
She kept repeating that line again and again, not caring if anyone looked over at her and saw her acting strangely. She had reached a point sometime ago where she had stopped caring about other people's thoughts. The only ones that mattered were of Gohan.
It was then that she came across a previously unknown thought.
What if Gohan never died?
Her eyes never left the sky as she pondered over the possibilities of Gohan still being alive. Buu could have fought him and left him alone after hurting him.
Being left for dead for over thirty hours though? That doesn't make sense
She remembered the little god-like being Shin. He could have done something that kept Gohan alive. She smiled. For the first time since she left Gohan to let him fight Buu, she smiled happily. It was pleasing, and much better than those dark, death-dealing thoughts she had earlier.
Videl stood up, with a whole new surge of energy reinvigorating her. Maybe he was dead, or maybe he was still alive. She would always look for him though, until she went back to Earth, or until she finally saw him as an old man many, many years from now.
I'll wait for you
Hey Videl! Come on! We're not getting anywhere with you sitting there! She turned to look at Chichi, who was at the bottom of the hill with Bulma, swinging her arms wildly.
I'm coming! Before she went down the hill, she took one final look at the sky.
Videl smiled, ever so briefly, before sliding down the hill.
I will find you one day Gohan
Your halo slipping down
Your halo slipping down to choke you now
Ende.
* * *
Notes: eh I wanted to write something, and with the lack of inspiration I have for the multitude of projects I have on the hard drive (and my lack of inspiration for trying stories for other anime series), I decided to try a good old angst-y song fiction.
As for the song choice, I just needed something that could help convey the feeling of death to an extent. Not the most angst-y song, but it fitted my need. Besides, I'm one to listen to the whole album instead of just the one song on the album (this is track number three on A Perfect Circle's latest album, by the way track number two is Weak and Powerless, the first radio track I avoided it for various reasons).
No pre-reader for this story. All mistakes are my being.
The Noose
A short song fiction by ShaggyDiz
* * *
I thought, for a moment, that I found myself in heaven. The sky was purple: something that I didn't think heaven would have. There were fields of grass and trees and clouds and everything else that would make someone think that they had died.
I didn't have a halo though, and neither did the two individuals standing in front of me.
Overcome and completely silent now
Without himself
You cast your demons out
The being known as Kibito pulled Gohan up from his resting spot on the grass. Slowly, the half-Saiyan looked around, coming to realize that he wasn't in heaven.
This is the planet of the Kais, the short Supreme Kai said, reading his mind and giving the confused teen an answer to the unasked question.
All he could do was nod, still in awe of his surroundings. There was small talk happening between the two beings, and soon it involved him. He didn't pay much attention to what was being said, even from his own lips. He was still trying to grasp that, while he wasn't dead, everyone else thought he was.
Basic logic told him that, if he originally had that train of thought, so did everyone else left on Earth.
Buu is too strong I doubt even my father would defeat him.
He soon found himself flying. When that had happened, he didn't know. He also noted a new set of clothes on him. Again, he was clueless.
His mind wasn't with him. It was elsewhere.
I wonder what she's thinking
Around your neck and tug you off your cloud
He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead. He can't be dead.
HE CAN'T BE DEAD!
Her mind screamed those words over and over again as she sat up in the temple on the Lookout. Everyone that opted to look at her knew where she was at: sitting in the window, with her legs hanging off the side and her head looking up towards the heavens.
Everyone thought she was remembering how good of a guy Gohan was.
Half of her thoughts were running over that. The other half wondered why she hated him so much right now.
She understood his obligations to this planet. He was an insanely powerful good guy who protected the planet from insanely powerful bad guys. She read enough fantasy novels to know what that entails. Most of the time, none of them ended up like this though, where the bad guy killed the good guy.
She never expected it to happen to the one person she had developed feelings for over the past amount of time.
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends to the dead
To the dead
She didn't know how much time had gone by though between them. They met. She thought he was a dork. She didn't like the fact he was Saiyaman (an even bigger dork) and the Gold Fighter. Well it was more because he had lied to her.
She hated that the most.
She never expected to fall in love with him.
I can't believe I never got to tell him
She let out a short laugh. She knew what she sounded like. She knew what it was going to sound like too.
Well, Gohan I know how much you care about me, and you know how much I care about you
She laughed again. Her eyes never left the sky though.
Only her tears fell that day.
They're all someone else's
Atrocious stories
Slash.
Slash.
Parry.
Parry.
Thrust.
Thrust.
The tune carried on in his head and in his hands. The sword – Z-Sword, as they had called it – was so damned heavy, yet so damned fluid in motion too.
He didn't understand how that happened. It just did.
Poetry in motion, he seemed to recall then.
Must protect Videl
He had listened to the helpful comments of the beings standing off to the side, and even to some of the conversation about him. It went right by him though. He concentrated on one thing, and one thing alone.
To get better.
Must protect Videl
Slash. Parry. Thrust.
Poetry in motion.
Somewhere along the way, he let out a little laugh. He didn't know if it was from when his dad showed up, or if it was from before, when he tinkered over some of the morbid thoughts from the day.
It was always entertaining, in some sense, to have a morbid thought once in a while. It kept him grounded to whatever sense of reality he was in. Happy thoughts only got someone so far. Especially when death was right around the corner.
He laughed again. He didn't know he could be that corny.
Must protect Videl
So glad to see you well
Well I sort of expected this to happen
Videl stood in the covered path of the temple, looking out and seeing a transformed Majin Buu standing there, picking a fight with anyone and everyone that wanted to fight. She didn't understand how it happened, or why it happened, or why the creature was there right now, but she just had to believe it.
Her very concept of reality had been annihilated and reconstructed in one day.
I should just go and fight him get it over with
Her thoughts had continued along the same morose path that it did from the day before, almost to the point where she had wanted to just jump off of the Lookout and fall down, ending everything there and heading up to heaven to finally be with Gohan.
She couldn't though. It wouldn't be right to just commit suicide.
She still had a life here. Erasa, Sharpener her father these people around her they had all welcomed her amongst them, even though she had just met them all yesterday at the tournament. She still had her life as a volunteer crime fighter, though that wasn't much good when they were the last ones on the planet.
Forget fighting him now he just killed everyone left on the planet.
Around your neck and tug you to the ground
She wondered how anyone here could stand up against him. Goku, Vegeta Gohan they were gone, leaving a pair of boys, not even ten. Ten! They were the only ones left to stand up to Majin Buu. And even though they were strong together as Gotenks, there was still the lingering doubt that they had nothing left to stand up to the pink being.
Hopeless
I wish Gohan were here he'd make it better he'd make it so much better
She ignored everything happening around her. She had heard Piccolo's plea of time, and Buu's agitation, and she had followed everyone into the depths of the Lookout, though she really had no concept of where they were, and where she was in general.
And even as the world ended around her when Majin Buu escaped the dimension known as the Room of Spirit and Time, she was still lost, though this time, she smiled.
Her wish had been granted. Time to start looking for Gohan.
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends to the dead
To the dead
Finally I'm done.
He stood up, stretching his tired limbs, letting the blood flow back into them. He had been in a state of meditation for over twenty-five hours, and, couple that with the five hours of standing still and the half a day of training with the Z-Sword, Gohan had not been asleep for nearly two days.
He still wouldn't get any either, not that he was planning on getting some anyway. He was informed that he would be going back to Earth. He smiled at the plan.
I would be able to finally see her again.
He didn't let his thoughts known though. How foolish, they would all say to him, going back to Earth to protect one, frail human.
That one, frail human is the one I want to be with for the rest of my life.
It's what he had come to realize during his time on the Kai planet. During his sword swinging madness and his appendage tiring sitting period, he had gone over a whole lot of things in his mind.
The main one was his feelings for Videl.
Your halo slipping
Your halo slipping down
Your halo slipping down
Your halo slipping down (But I'm more than just a little curious
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends)
It was what he would say to her after this whole ordeal was over. He would find her, protect her, and crush Buu. He doubted that the pink monster would be a challenge to him now, with this upgrade in power. He had become the strongest once again.
Stop no need to get cocky this isn't Cell
He turned towards his father, hugging him before he left. It would be the last time that he would see his father until he died.
For real this time
This time, he didn't tune out the conversation before him. It was his father he was talking to. His life giver his inner conscience
Good luck Gohan.
Thanks. I'll see you around.
Reluctantly, he let go of his father, stepping away and giving one final wave before standing next to Kibito.
I'm ready.
The tall assistant nodded, and in less than two seconds, they disappeared from the Kai planet.
Videl I'm coming
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends)
Your halo slipping down (But I'm more than just a little curious
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends)
Your halo slipping down (But I'm more than just a little curious
How you're planning to go about
Making your amends)
Ten hours.
She had been searching for ten hours, and in those ten hours, she had gotten no closer to finding Gohan. She didn't plan on giving up though, not when she had all of eternity to search for him.
Heaven is a big place I'll find him someday
She had been searching with Bulma for about two hours before coming upon Chichi. From there, they resumed their search, staying within shouting distance of each other just incase any of them found anyone else.
No one.
Videl came to a rest on top of a hill, looking out over the large expanse of heaven. Slowly, she brought her eyes up to the yellow-clouded sky, slowly beginning to wonder if she would ever see Gohan again.
I know I will I know I will
She kept repeating that line again and again, not caring if anyone looked over at her and saw her acting strangely. She had reached a point sometime ago where she had stopped caring about other people's thoughts. The only ones that mattered were of Gohan.
It was then that she came across a previously unknown thought.
What if Gohan never died?
Her eyes never left the sky as she pondered over the possibilities of Gohan still being alive. Buu could have fought him and left him alone after hurting him.
Being left for dead for over thirty hours though? That doesn't make sense
She remembered the little god-like being Shin. He could have done something that kept Gohan alive. She smiled. For the first time since she left Gohan to let him fight Buu, she smiled happily. It was pleasing, and much better than those dark, death-dealing thoughts she had earlier.
Videl stood up, with a whole new surge of energy reinvigorating her. Maybe he was dead, or maybe he was still alive. She would always look for him though, until she went back to Earth, or until she finally saw him as an old man many, many years from now.
I'll wait for you
Hey Videl! Come on! We're not getting anywhere with you sitting there! She turned to look at Chichi, who was at the bottom of the hill with Bulma, swinging her arms wildly.
I'm coming! Before she went down the hill, she took one final look at the sky.
Videl smiled, ever so briefly, before sliding down the hill.
I will find you one day Gohan
Your halo slipping down to choke you now
Ende.
As for the song choice, I just needed something that could help convey the feeling of death to an extent. Not the most angst-y song, but it fitted my need. Besides, I'm one to listen to the whole album instead of just the one song on the album (this is track number three on A Perfect Circle's latest album, by the way track number two is Weak and Powerless, the first radio track I avoided it for various reasons).
No pre-reader for this story. All mistakes are my being.