Chapter Fifteen: Come What May

As Gohan struggled to keep the two bodies supported in the air with him, he found his wound to much more serious then he originally thought. Pain was rushing over him in blinding white waves. In the moments where the waves had driven his face under the point of air, Gohan found his mind spinning in the memories of his family. Then the memories turned to the young boy on his back. The savior of this timeline had just been speared through with a deadly spurt of energy. He had very little chance to survive. With all the sensu beans gone, Gohan couldn't see how Trunks would be able to make it.

Tears rolled down his crimson cheeks with the pounding rain drops that were dragging him down. Lighting forked through the air illuminating the trio as Gohan continued his death defying toil towards home. Or what was his home here. Gohan's home wasn't here. His home didn't exist in this timeline. He didn't exist…

Lost in his thoughts, Gohan didn't see he was heading strait for a huge beaten down tower. Another wave of pain washed over him driving him deeper into his thoughts of pain. He could still see Trunks' body land against the ground over and over with that startled expression on his face. The expression of someone who thought they knew someone but found they were wrong…

"GOHAN!!! LOOK OUT!" A voice screamed out beside him.

Gohan jolted awake to the sound of his name. To his name. Not to the name of his brother. But who could have known that? Gohan flipped backwards so that his feet collided against the building, instead his head, flipping himself backwards and away from danger. But in his last amount of energy he found himself falling below the last wave of pain. His breath escaped him for the final time launching him into gravity's cruel grip. He could barely make out the solid ground falling up at him before the blackness overtook him… pulling him into the nonexistent form he felt he was… alone.

Pan gripped the back of the falling boy's fighting gi just in time. With both boys under each arm, she landed carefully on the soggy ground. She lay them out on the ground taking a breather from the moments' panic. As she sat down on the earth next to the sleeping form of Gohan, she smiled a dark smile. She wiped the damp bangs out of her eyes with the back of her filthy hands.

His reaction to the name she had shouted was all the proof she had needed. This boy, that had been holding in all his suffering and anger, was a younger form of her dear departed father. It didn't surprise her that this child could have been her father. He was everything that she had remembered.

Pan had always wanted to hate her father for leaving her alone in the darkness of her childhood but as she stared at the muddy child next to her, she realized that he was alone too. Pan reached out a hesitant hand a pushed back Gohan's bangs soothingly with her gentle hands. She smiled as the tears poured rapidly from her amber eyes… Her arms wrapped lovingly about the father that she had only remember in her darkest memories. He was always there when she really needed him, wasn't he?

Bulma rushed to the door at the sound of the feet colliding with the stone door step, as a habit since Trunks started his fighting career with Gohan. In one rapid moment, she swung the door open prepared to meet a devastating sight. Most of her worst fears where on the other side of the piece of wood. Bulma rushed Pan in the house without any questions to ask at the moment of alarm. Both boys were in critical condition… but one was closer to death than the other was.

Trunks' eyes fluttered open with the pain of his head and shoulder throbbing to the max. His voice was shot judging to the fact that he could not cry out in pain. His mother was at his bedside loyally and began rubbing down his red cheeks with cold water at the sign of him awaking.

"You sure are lucky that Pan had woken up when she did," Bulma smiled softly. "She transported you all quite quickly I must say."

"P-pan?" Trunks coughed regain a bit of his old tone. "But…She was o-out like a rock… W-Where's Go-ten?"

"He's fine," Bulma said with a bit of struggle in her voice. "You just need to concentrate on recovery now. So get some rest."

Trunks knew better than to argue with his mother when he was feeling so weak and tired. His eyes slowly lowered as he drifted his mind into a state of healing. But his ears were still open to the sounds about him as his brain etched out what was happening about him.

"He asleep?" Pan asked as she reenter the room with the two cups of tea for the wearily females.

"Yes," Bulma muttered softly.

"How's Goten doing?" Pan asked.

Trunks noticed a bit of struggle with her words there as if she knew him by a different name. Was she still on that whole Goku hype? Curious, Trunk erected his whole concentration back on the two girls as they talked.

"Not so good," Bulma sighed. "He would have been just fine if he hadn't tried so hard to transport both you and Trunks here."

Pan said, "But will be make it?"

There was a long silence between the two as it sounded as if Pan had taken a deep sip from her cup fearful of the answer. Bulma's voice cracked when she answered the young girl.

"His injuries are so severe with all the pressure he put himself through… He lost so much blood. I don't think he will survive the night. Not even Goku could survive what happened to him. We can only pray from him now…"

"I understand," Pan said darkly.

Trunks found himself falling into the darkness of his mind as a numbing sensation shot through him. His thoughts jumbled about those last words that Pan had spoken. She understood. How could she? How could she possible understand the loss of Goten? Trunks found himself slipping off the verge of sanity as he imaged his new best friend dying slowly as the hours ticked away from his life.

As soon as Trunks was sure both Bulma and Pan had left the room, Trunks pressed himself up from the comforts of his bed. His shoulder speared with an uncertain agony as he dragged himself from bed. With a whole lot of pain pressing in on him from all sides, Trunks trudged out of his room and around all the rooms in the house, looking for his best friend. Finally in the room across him his, he found the place where Goten lay. His chest had been bandaged up and his dying body had been cleaned from the mud and grime by Trunks' mother no doubt. Trunks drew himself onto his knees next to Goten's beside placing his head on his arms that were rested on the soft bed sheets.

"This is always how it goes," Trunks muttered softly. "Just when I get close to someone, they end up like you."

Goten's face remained neutral in the low moonlight that was pouring sadly from the small window. His chest heaved up and down in it's slow fight for oxygen.

"Why?" Trunks asked softly as if expecting to get an answer from the dying child. "You barely knew me? Why would you die for me?"

Trunk buried his face in his arms as the tears began to flow.

"You where always so cheerful."

Trunks could see the images of Goten's smiling face flashing through his memories. The recurring memories of the few days he had known the innocent child. He jumped when he felt something rub against his legs. His eyes fell down upon the deeply saddened eyes of the golden retriever.

"You gonna stay here with Goten too, Gohan?" Trunks sniffed to the puppy beside him.

Gohan let out a small whimper as it climbed up onto the bed and cuddled next to Goten's sleeping form. Trunks remained there the whole night crying himself to sleep…

Trunks woke up in the morning to find the bed empty and the sheets removed. Trunks' dog had disappeared leaving Trunks all alone in the small room as the morning light shown down upon his violet hair. A small group of sliver tears, illuminated by the rising sun, trailed down Trunks' cheeks as he stared at the beautiful sapphire sky deepen with the rising orb of light warming the dying nights' wet tears that had been left on the fading world.

He found himself clutching the bed's mattress with his strong grip as he stared longingly at the sky he felt he had never looked upon before. His heart ripped into pieces as he felt another soul depart from his dismal life. Trunks lowered his gaze and smirked softly as his face darkened back to the way he was before Goten appeared.

"Take good care of him, Gohan."

"What's that?"

Trunks turned about to see what he thought was an angel standing in the doorway of the room. Goten stood their fully dressed in one of Trunk's outfits again with a small smile drawn upon his face. He seemed to be carrying in the new sheets for the bed.

"What's wrong, Trunks?" Gohan asked curiously. "Looks like you've seen a ghost."

Without saying a word, Trunks leapt up and wrapped his arms tightly about the confused boy. Gohan dropped the sheets and cried out in pain,
"I haven't completely healed yet, Trunks! Ow!"

"So I made a miscalculation," Bulma muttered apprehensively as they sat about the dinner table later that day. "I don't know where though. Most people would say it was a miracle if I still believed in those…"

She rubbed her temples in thought as she examined over the charts of her diagnostic again before she shut the folder and let out a deep sigh,
"Goten's a lot more powerful than I thought."

"Not nearly enough," Gohan sighed as he rubbed his poor chest in spite of the pain. "I couldn't get Trunks off for a long time after he hugged me."

"Once a wimp," Pan said thoughtfully as she chewed on her mouthful of rice. "Always a wimp."

"I resent that," Gohan scowled.

"I thought you were dead," Trunks muttered returning back to his annoying yet normal mood. "It's not my fault everyone made it seem like he was dead."

Suddenly Trunks' mind retraced back into the night before. He stared at Gohan for a few minutes before he announced, "I'm going to take Gohan for a walk."

Trunks watched Gohan's face carefully but he got no reaction at all to that name. Trunks shook his head figuring it had to be just a dream again.

"Okay!" Bulma said cheerfully handing Trunks a rope to use as a leash and a small dirt shovel. "Be careful. And use the pooper scooper."

Trunks made a disgusted face but took the tools and the dog outside. Gohan watched Trunks go until he was out of sight from the house. Trunks was catching on. And was getting harder to focus on his new name…

"I'm gonna go take a walk too," Gohan announced putting his bowl down and heading out the door.

Pan looked from Bulma's darkened face to Gohan's form in the window as he ran out of sight. Pan gripped Gohan's still half full bowl in her hands as her expression turned to shock.

"Amazing that he left half his food here. Oh well, more for me," Pan smirked ducking the rest into her bowl.

To Be Continued…
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