Beauty and the Beast
By Sniffles & Freewater
Disclaimers : Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball GT's story line and characters are copyrighted to Akira Toriyama and the various companies who produced the anime and merchandise. "Beauty and the Beast" belongs to Mme de Villeneuve (who created the original story) and to Mme de Richemont (who shortened it to create the version everybody know nowadays). This work of fanfiction was produced exclusively for entertainment purpose ; no money exchanged hands nor was any other kind of material profit made from this.
Category : Romance, Fairy Tale, Disney's Parody, Humor, Sappy, Alternate-Universe, OOC & Shonen Ai.
Pairing(s) : Gh/MTr
Rating : PG - 13
Spoilers : None that I can think of, unless you've never watched Dragon Ball or read/watched Beauty and the Beast.
Summary : DBZ version of Beauty and the Beast.
Notes : The first three chapters were written by Sniffles but she lost interest in the fic. The others chapters are written by Freewater who kindly took over the fic with Sniffles's approval.
Beast played by : Gohan
Gaston played by : Mr. Satan a.k.a Hercule
Lefou played by : Krillin
Belle played by : Mirai Trunks (just because he's cuter and GT Trunks couldn't make the audition. )
Maurice played by : Vegeta heheheheheh
Phillipe played by : Phillipe
Archive : Ask my permission first.
Feedback : Of course! Comments and criticisms always received with extreme happiness!!!! ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Chapter Twenty Four: The Last Petal
Trunks was practically in tears as he felt the confined hands of his father work on the ropes that were holding his own behind his back from where they knelt. But he fought his hardest to keep them at bay, knowing that if he were to become frantic then he wouldn't be able to stop, and that would not help out the situation one bit. He was rewarded for his efforts with only slight shaking and the occasional sob.
It was all his fault. Hercule knew about Gohan, and because of him he was off to find his castle with the rest of the mob of angry villagers to attack and kill him.
Gohan had no warning that they were coming either. And while he was strong, fast and agile, how was he supposed to fight off roughly two hundred angry and fearful people, half of which would be carrying guns and wanted nothing more than to see his head on a platter?
He could vaguely hear his father cursing behind him and he fumbled with the tight knot, but he could only hear him by just barely anymore. All he could think of was that if they didn't get out of there soon, Gohan would die, and Hercule would hang his head up on the wall for Trunks to see everyday after he forced him to marry him.
He couldn't suppress the miserable shudder that worked its way up his spine at the horrible thought.
"Don't worry boy," Vegeta said, sensing his discomfort and hoping to try and ease his mind while he still worked on freeing him from the ropes. "We'll get out of this. You won't marry that fucking oaf as long as I have anything to say about it." He snarled.
Trunks shook his head. "I-I'm not worried about me, I-I want to try and help Gohan." He choked, feeling the dam he'd built behind his eyes suddenly break as his tears began to hotly stream down his cheeks.
Vegeta didn't say anything to that, instead, he simply nodded his head in understanding, even though he knew Trunks wouldn't see it.
He had no clue what had happened over the winter months while his son was at that castle, but whatever it was, it was something big enough to make his boy deathly afraid for the well being of the creature who lived there.
Vegeta decided it best to simply trust him and ask questions later. He knew his son well enough to know that he knew what he was doing anyway.
It was barely an hour since they had both been thrown and locked into the cellar, but that was still an hour of time wasted. And while Vegeta got increasingly angered that he couldn't undo the damn knot that tied his boy's wrists, Trunks became increasingly nervous that they wouldn't get out and make it back to the castle in time.
In fact, just as his stomach was actually beginning to hurt from the nervous butterflies flying around, Vegeta finally managed to loosen his bonds. "Finally!" He breathed, untying the ropes as Trunks quickly brought his hands forward, massaging his sore wrists for only a few seconds before turning around to start working on his father's binds. Which were, for some reason, easier to get off.
They both stood up, instantly going for the cellar door just to find, to their disappointment, that it was locked up tight.
Knowing that there had to be something jammed against it since Hercule didn't posses the key to lock it the proper way, they both began a frantic search for any large enough to ram the door with. And after twenty minutes of searching through the vast space of junk and other weird inventions that his father came up with, just to come up with nothing, Trunks was just about ready to break.
"DAMMIT!!" The teen roared with a stamp of his foot, instantly getting his father's attention with the outburst. "We're never going to get out of here!" He cried hopelessly, fighting the urge to fall to his knees and weep uncontrollably with how helpless he felt.
Vegeta quickly approached him, wrapping his arms around his shaking form while trying to shush him. "It'll be alright, we'll escape." He said as soothingly as he possibly could, while at the same time in the back of his mind, not really believing his own words.
Just before Trunks could say anything back to that, a thundering loud crash could be heard at the cellar door, causing the ground beneath them to shake before whipping their heads over to see what had done it. And they were both shocked to see that an actual hole had been blown open and nearly the entire wall was missing!
"What the fuck?" Vegeta mumbled, slowly letting his boy go to go and inspect the damage. He was just a little stunned to see his wood cutting invention amongst the wreckage, and hanging from a small piece of springing metal, was a smiling Goten.
"You guys gotta try that ride!" He chirped.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Chi-Chi ran as fast as a tea pot with no legs could run, all the way down the hall and towards her master's room to give him the bad news. She'd long ago run out of breath, but she still refused to stop. The others were counting on her to warn Gohan of the approaching mob while they prepared for battle, and there was no way in hell she was about to stop for a breather.
Goten was missing, but for the moment, until she could complete her mission first, the most she could hope for was that he was hiding away with the other children.
After making it all the way down the gloomy hallway that led to her master's bedroom, Chi-Chi didn't even bother knock before she pushed open the door and peered inside the dark space.
"M-master? Master?!" She cried out urgently, hearing her voice echo in the room that was now empty of most of its trash.
For a split second, she thought to her dismay that maybe he wasn't there, but just before she could turn around and leave to search another area of the castle for him, a gruff voice answered her from the dark. "Leave me alone."
Chi-Chi squinted her eyes a bit, and could see to her delight that he was on the other side of the room, and so, she braved a few steps into the room, opening up the door just enough to let some small amount of light in.
"Sir, you should know that the castle is under attack." She said nervously. "There looks to be nearly one or two hundred people out there, all of which seem armed."
Gohan's ears perked up when he heard that, finding it a little hard to believe since no one had known how to even get to the castle for many years. But still, he listened, turning back to sadly face the glass case which contained his dying rose.
It was drooping, had lost most of its beautiful glow, and had only one petal left. Hanging on by what appeared to be a very thin thread, but still hanging.
Gohan knew better than to hope that at that point, he might still have the chance of becoming human again, because it obviously wasn't going to happen. No matter how many times he out loud claimed to love the lavender haired teen who had left him when no one else was listening to his pathetic rambling, he wasn't loved in return.
He was going to stay the way he was, but he still had his subjects to think about. At least for now.
"Gather whatever weapons you can, and make sure everyone is in their proper positions." He ordered.
Even though he wasn't facing her, Chi-Chi nodded. "It's already done sire," She explained. "But there is something else you must know."
Gohan sighed miserably. What could be worse than having the one you love leave you? "What is it?" He asked without any particular interest.
"The one who is leading them... he has the mirror."
Gohan's eyes instantly went wide, now knowing what was worse.
Having the one you love betray you.
Trunks... handed the mirror over to an angry mob? So that was how they found the castle.
'No, that can't be it. He wouldn't do that.' He thought frantically. Perhaps Trunks was out there with them, being forced to show them the way. Yes, that had to be it.
"Is Trunks the one with the mirror?" He asked, not knowing what to hope for as he waited for his answer.
Chi-Chi's head dropped. "No sire, the man with the mirror is much larger, and looks nothing like him at all." She explained. "He's not out there with them."
Gohan felt his heart sink at her words. He just didn't understand it. Why would Trunks show them how to use the mirror, and then hand it over? He thought that the boy was developing feelings for him, so why would he do such a thing?
'No.' Gohan thought sadly. 'It was all just a trick. He pretended to like me so I would show pity on him and let him go.' He thought, tormented by the simple idea of it. But it was the only thing he could think of that made any sense. After all, why would Trunks want to be his friend after what he did to his father, and then after locking him up for three days in the cold?
He should have known that the boy wouldn't want anything to do with him. And he was a fool to ever think that Trunks might ever come to love him. The mob outside was probably for his revenge. For hurting both him and his father the way he did.
Sadly, Gohan found that he was getting nothing that he didn't already deserve.
"Master? Are you coming?" Chi-Chi asked, snapping him out of his tortured thoughts.
He didn't turn to face her, he just shook his head and whispered a single word. "No."
If this was his punishment for all the horrible things he'd ever done, then he could care less if they came or not. He just wasn't going to be there to fight them off.
The servants knew how to handle themselves, so he wasn't too worried about them. But the fact remained that they would stay the way they were for all eternity because of his selfishness and greed, and with Trunks gone, hating him even, he saw no point in fighting for his own life.
He just didn't see the point to anything anymore.
Chi-Chi, not knowing what to make of her master's strange behavior, simply turned around and left him alone to his thoughts. He was her prince after all, and she could not argue with his wishes.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
The angry mob of villagers were all quick to cut down the largest, strongest tree they could find, quickly cutting off the branches and shaping it into a battering ram to break into the castle with.
So far they had broken through the front gate, but for some reason were all having a bit more trouble with the wooden doors.
Hercule scowled deeply when their next attempt on the doors failed. "AGAIN!" He shouted to the crowd of people holding the large tree, who all took ten steps back before running at the doors again. And once again, to his complete and furious anger, the doors did not break open for them.
Hercule took another quick look into the sparkling mirror, seeing red as he watched the Beast sulk in front of a large window, looking out at the dark scenery. He scowled at him, knowing why the creature appeared to be so saddened. It was because it was thinking about his Belle! And that was something he was not about to tolerate!
He'd gone on for too long, and had tried too hard to gain her affections just to miss out on his chance because some thing that wasn't even human had developed an attraction for her! The simple fact that Belle would prefer that ugly thing over him was inexcusable!
He would punish them both for daring to insult him like that! He would punish Belle by killing her Beast, and he would punish the Beast by making his death a slow one for even daring to gaze upon what was not his!
And by the end of it all, no one would care that he would be forcing Belle into marrying him. He would be a hero! He would save the village from the wrath of that monster, and he would save Belle from the spell that the horrible Beast had cast on her. And it was that simple.
Finally, after much effort and manpower, all of which Hercule did nothing to help with, the thick wooden doors to the Beast's castle had been broken open.
Hercule smirked as the villagers dropped the battering ram, each man peering uncertainly inside the dark space, hesitant to enter now that they had the chance.
Hercule rolled his eyes at their cowardice and took a step forward. But then, he suddenly stopped, a chill running up his spine as a gust of cool wind blew at him.
It seemed so much more quiet in that dark space than what it should have been. And that made the possibilities of what could be lurking inside all the more frightening.
"Krillin! Get your ass over here now!" He bellowed behind him.
The sound of small feet scurrying towards him could be heard before the small, bald man made his presence known to him. "What is it?" He asked, looking up at him.
Herculed smirked down at him evilly, a look that the bald man did not trust at all, but before he could turn on his heal and make a run for it, he felt himself being picked up by the scruff of his neck before being carelessly thrown inside the castle. Letting out a wail of terror as he landed.
"Do you see anything in there?!" Hercule called when the screaming finally stopped.
Krillin only needed a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, but when they did, he was most relieved to see that there was no monster hungrily awaiting for him in the dark. Just a many piles of furniture, bookshelves and other pieces of assorted junk laying here and there.
Smiling brightly at his own foolishness, he called back to him, inwardly promising revenge for scaring him like that later. "It's all clear!" He called back.
The villagers all gave happy shouts before carelessly entering the dark space, their many torches lighting up the large room for them to see all the things that were simply left aside on the floor.
Why would a Beast have so much stuff?
Hercule smirked at the greed of the villagers as they all went to inspect the many things that were laying about. Candlestick holders, globes of the world, magnificent wooden chests, dressers, grandfather clocks. And the list just went on.
"Take whatever you want men," He called to them. "Just leave the Beast to me!" He growled pridefully. Not that it mattered to them, because in all honesty, it was an order that they were all glad to hear, especially since none of them really wanted to go up against that horrible monster anyway.
But then, without warning, a loud cry was emitted from somewhere among the pile of junk lying around, and it was then that the whole room seemed to come to life as the chairs, coat hangers and other assorted objects suddenly sprang up and started attacking the villagers.
Hercule, not knowing what was happening, quickly dived into a dark corner where he hoped he would go unnoticed, and watched with wide eyes as all the villagers either screamed and ran away, or fought bravely just to get beaten and thrown out.
"Witch craft." He mumbled in shock, still watching the scene before him in disbelief.
It took him only a moment to realize that if he didn't move, those things out there would notice him before giving him the same treatment as the other villagers. So Hercule quickly whipped his head around, looking for a way to escape unnoticed and unharmed.
What he found, off on the other side of the room, was a staircase.
Seeing that the living objects were now blocking the front door to prevent any escape, he knew that had to be his only way out. And so he took it. Running for that staircase like a bat our of hell, jumping over the unconscious villagers without offering them any help, and dodging any objects that came flying at him.
There was no way he was going to get caught and kicked out, especially not since he was the one to organize this whole thing to begin with.
Once he made it to the stairs, now out of breath and panting heavily, Hercule chanced a glance behind him to see to his delight that none of those strange objects had noticed him, and he smirked before climbing the stairs.
'No wonder Belle was so confused, this place is cursed.' He thought to himself once he'd made it into the dark second floor hallway. Stopping to catch his breath once he noticed that there was nothing around that could hurt him.
'Gotta work fast.' He thought, quickly pulling the mirror out from his tunic. "Where is the Beast?!" He demanded of it. And with a bright, flashing light, it gave him the directions he needed to navigate his way around the castle and to the top floor.
Hercule smirked evilly, putting the mirror away before getting his bow and arrows ready before he stalked to where the Beast awaited him.
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Trunks urged Phillipe on faster, pushing the poor horse to go quicker and quicker, taking every shortcut he could remember from the last time he traveled from the castle.
They were going to get there in record time, but because of the added weight from his father, who had Goten held securely in his top coat pocket, they seemed to be just too slow.
Trunks bit his bottom lip as he steered his tired horse over the shallow area of the river, saving them another four hours of travel in the long run, but they were still going too slow!! Hercule was already there by now! He just knew it! And with another half an hour of riding left before they finally made it to the castle, he was quickly losing hope that he would make it there in time.
He didn't know what he could do against the mob of villagers, but perhaps if he was there, he could work out a deal of some kind with Hercule. He didn't know what he could offer aside from himself, but at that point he was willing to do anything it took to get them to leave Gohan alone.
He just couldn't let them kill him!
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Gohan could vaguely hear, in the back of his mind, the door to his dark and lifeless room slowly creaking open. But he didn't bother turning his head to get a look at the intruder until a small stream of light from the hallway touched his face.
Tilting his head to the side, he caught a glimpse of some ugly human with an afro and mustache. 'Must be one of the villagers.' He thought, thinking nothing of the bow and arrow in his hands, pointing directly at him as he turned away from him with a whimper of sadness.
If he was to die, then he would die. He didn't have the will to live as a monster anymore, especially with Trunks gone.
He just wanted to fade away.
It was then that a searing hot pain shot through the back of his shoulder, making him roar out loud enough for the entire castle to hear him as the agony spread through his whole body.
He reached behind him to rip out the arrow that he knew was there, but before he could he was tackled through the window, shattering the glass and imbedding the arrow further into his back before it snapped in half. So now he couldn't pull it out.
His thick fur protected him against the glass shards, but he could still feel the rain pouring onto him and quickly soaking him to the bone.
Strange, he hadn't even noticed that it started to rain.
Hercule laughed menacingly. One arrow and it was already down! 'Killing this monster should be easier than I thought.' He thought with a chuckle before jumping out onto the balcony and into the thick rain. If he was going to kill it then he wanted some fun first.
Roughly, and as hard as he could, Hercule kicked Gohan in the side, turning him over since he refused to put up a fight. "Get up!" He ordered cruelly, but Gohan simply lay there, forcing himself not to move as he was painfully kicked in the face, moving him closer to the ledge of the balcony. "Get up!!" Hercule spat, quickly losing his patience.
Once again, Gohan didn't move. His shoulder throbbed with hot pain and so did his face and side. The only small comfort he had being the cold rain that poured into his wounds, but he still refused to fight back. If this was his way out, then he would take it. No matter what pain he had to endure before hand.
'Hurry up and kill me.' He thought miserably, still trying not to pay any attention to the oaf in front of him as he was beaten. Constantly telling himself not to defend himself as the hunter with the afro mercilessly punched him in the face, over and over again.
Hercule, not liking that the monster before him wasn't putting up a fight, let out a roar of anger before getting to his feet and storming away a few steps. Running a hand through his soaked hair in complete confusion.
He just didn't get it! This monster should be trying to tear him apart! Why wasn't he fighting back?!
Not that he wanted to be torn apart mind you, it would just make a great story to tell the other villagers about how he braved the ferocious Beast and came out with barely a scratch.
"Hn, damn thing's too kind and gentle to fight back!" He snapped to no one in particular, not thinking that Gohan would be able to understand what he was saying anyway since he didn't get up when he commanded him to earlier. How Belle could prefer this pathetic thing over him was simply mind boggling!
Hercule sighed, moving over to a stone gargoyle statue that was hanging off the ledge before breaking it off, deciding that it would make a good club. "I guess I'll just have to make something up when I get back with your head." He grumbled as he approached where Gohan still lay.
'Whatever, just kill me.' Gohan thought in silent response, watching with blank eyes as the hunter above him raised the club over his head, as if trying to work up the strength he needed in order to crush his skull.
There was a loud crackle of thunder and bright lightning that outlined Hercule's frame and made the insane look on his face almost scary. But what really got Gohan's attention, was the small and yet strangely familiar cry he heard echoing from down bellow, causing his ears to perk up just a little.
He tried to quickly think of why that voice would be so familiar, and when the answer presented itself, his eyes went wide.
'It can't be...'
Hercule brought down the club as fast and as hard as he could, but Gohan was much faster when he rolled himself out of harms way of the blow, quickly getting to his feet as he looked down into the castle courtyard for the source of the sound.
His heart leapt when he saw the source of his undying affections. Standing there beside his horse that his father sat upon and looking up at him. His face looking worrisome and afraid before he screamed. "NO, HERCULE DON'T!!!"
Gohan's eyes widened as he quickly dodged out of the way of an attack that Hercule tried to do when he wasn't looking, and he scowled at him. 'That coward!' He thought, enraged that the man couldn't even have the decency to fight him fairly.
"Don't you dare even look at her!" Hercule roared, taking another swing at him, but missing again, much to his fury as Gohan jumped down to one of the lower levels of the castle, Hercule hot on his heals as he followed. "She's mine! Mine and only mine!" He roared insanely, and it was then that a memory in the back of Gohan's mind suddenly seemed to click.
This was the man who wanted his Trunks. And now he was here on his property trying to get rid of him so he could take him! 'HELL NO!!'
Hercule took another swing at him, but Gohan reached his paw out and caught the club in mid air, holding it in place as the fool before him went wide eyed at the amount of strength he truly possessed. Feeling a great wave of protectiveness wash over him with the idea that this man was trying to steal Trunks away from him.
Inwardly, Gohan was smirking, very much liking the astonished look on his face before he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him to the other side of the balcony where he slid a bit caused by the wet rain before he stopped.
Gohan didn't know why Trunks was back, he was so confused as to what was actually going on, but all that he cared about was that he actually was back! He came back and that was all that mattered. And if this Hercule person thought that he was going to take him away from him again then he had another thing coming!
Seeing that he was in trouble, Hercule tried to pull out his bow and arrows to attack with, but Gohan was quick to run forward and snatch them from his grasp, snapping them in half as if they were mere twigs.
Gohan had the sudden urge to hurt the man before him. Make him suffer and scream out in pain for daring to call Trunks his! For daring to come into his castle and attack him and his servants! Who did he think he was?!
Grabbing him by his throat, he ignored his pathetic struggling as he marched over to the edge of the balcony and held him over the ledge, as if getting ready to drop him.
"N-no, pl-please don't! D-don't hurt me!" Hercule begged, clawing at his arms in an attempt to grab hold of something. Deadly afraid of plummeting to his death while at the same time wondering how the tables had turned so suddenly. "I-I'll do anything you want! Anything!" He cried desperately.
Gohan did not drop him, but he did not let him go either. He was far too lost in his own little world at the moment. The world where he would have dropped him without a second thought to his life or the consequences. The world where he was still cruel enough to let the old and sick stay outside in the cold any day of the week before heading on his way as if nothing had happened.
And then, suddenly, Trunks was there. Bandaging his wounds from the wolves, spending time with him in the garden, teaching him how to feed the birds without scaring them, reading to him, listening to him and not gazing upon him with fear in his heart, but rather a bright smile on his face. Banishing the savage side to his heart with the lightest of touches.
The scowl on Gohan's face softened into a look of total shock, the rain falling from the sky softening as well into simple dripping, as if the world was just as shocked as he was. He was hardly able to believe that he nearly reverted back to his old ways in the time span of only three minutes.
'No, that's not me anymore.' He thought, slowly backing away from the ledge, hardly able to believe himself for doing what he did.
He almost... killed a man. After all those years being stuck as a monster, the punishment he'd earned for his cold hearted ways was nearly not enough to get the message through to his brain that he wasn't made of the things that could do that anymore.
Granted, he'd never killed before, but that didn't excuse the fact that he let his temper resurface to the point where he almost did.
And the most horrific thing about it, was the unknown thought of how Trunks would see him if he did drop him.
Instead of letting him fall to his death, Gohan roughly threw him to the floor, snarling at him menacingly in the hopes of scaring him. "Get. Out." He sneered, watching the shocked look on his face in amusement since he was unaware that he could even speak.
Hercule dumbly nodded his head, shaking in fear before him, and Gohan found that, that was enough. The man was afraid, and he would leave, that was all he wanted.
"Gohan?!" Trunks called.
Gohan whipped his head up in the direction of the most beautiful voice in the world, finding that the owner was standing on the balcony to his room. Leaning over the rail and looking down at him with a mixture of emotions on his face.
Gohan melted at the sight of him, love filling his system with the knowledge that he came back. For him! Trunks came back to try and help him, he just knew it! How could he have been foolish enough to think otherwise?
"Trunks." He breathed, loving how the name flowed easily off his tongue and out of his mouth as he went and climbed up the roof to meet him.
Trunks smiled down at him brightly, overjoyed that he'd gotten there in time and that Gohan was okay. He reached his hand out for him to take once he got close enough, and felt a wave of heat rush over his entire body when he took his hand into his much larger paw.
Gohan, keeping himself steady by keeping one paw on the railing, cupped Trunks' face with the other, being careful not to hurt him with his claws as he ran his fingers though his silky hair. And to his delight, Trunks put his hand over his paw affectionately, still smiling brightly as he gazed at him with his big blue eyes.
"You came back." He whispered, almost in disbelief as he gazed into his eyes.
Somehow, even when the dark storm clouds were still out, things just seemed a little brighter when he was there with him.
Trunks opened his mouth to say something, but the sudden loud and echoing roar that Gohan gave off stopped him.
It had completely caught him off guard, and he was afraid for a split second that he was actually roaring at him. But when he noticed the look of pain and agony in his wide open and shocked eyes, he knew what it was, and Trunks felt the horror of a lifetime.
"GOHAN!!"
Hercule grinned victoriously from where he was when he heard the Beast's anguished scream, hanging on the roof just below the creature, and yet close enough to stab him in the side with his twelve inch hunting knife.
Knowing that he'd pierced some vital organs, and that the creature would surely die, he gave the blade one more quick jerk to insure as much pain as possible, listening with a sick satisfaction as the monster cried out again before he pulled the knife out.
But then something unexpected happened.
The monster began to fall backwards. Just enough to make Hercule loose his grip on the slippery wet roof as he waved his arms around frantically, trying to desperately claw onto the roof to get his balance back.
Trunks grabbed onto Gohan's cloak and held on as tightly as possible as he put all of his weight into preventing him from falling and pulling him over the balcony rail. Using all the strength he could find and more as he actually broke out in a sweat with how heavy he was. Ignoring Hercule's terrified scream as he fell and disappeared into the abyss of the forest below when he finally got him safely on the other side of the rail.
Chi-Chi, Yamcha and Piccolo quickly ran into their master's room, having heard the loud wail and gone to investigate. What they found stopped them in their tracks, and they could do nothing but watch as Trunks gently lay Gohan down on his back on the cement floor of the balcony, kneeling down on the other side of him.
Trunks gently rested his hand on the area where he knew Gohan had been stabbed, and when he brought his hand back up, just to see it soaked in blood, he felt physically sick to his stomach.
Tears clouding his vision as he ripped off his own cloak and placed it over the bleeding wound. Gohan's raspy breathing becoming hitched in pain at the act when he added a little pressure, but it had to be done.
For the second time, Gohan brought his paw up to cup Trunks' face, wanting to look at him while he had the chance since he felt his eyelids becoming heavy.
"You... You came back." He rasped, feeling the pain in his side becoming hot as his blood soaked through Trunks' thin cloak and formed into a puddle on the floor.
"Of course I came back!" Trunks replied, heartbroken that Gohan would even think he would leave him to defend his castle all by himself. "I-I couldn't let them..." He shook his head. "This is all my fault! I should have gotten here sooner." He cried, tears soaking his cheeks as he watched Gohan simply fight to breath and keep his eyes open.
It just wasn't fair! How could this have happened?! He got there in time, but because of him Gohan wasn't paying attention to his attacker and he was wounded for it! If he'd gotten there sooner then he could have done something! Headed Hercule off! Talked him out of it! Something!
"M-maybe... it's better... it's better this way..." Gohan choked, removing his paw since his arm was getting rather heavy, finding it more and more painful to even utter the simplest of words.
He loved Trunks, he really did. And it was killing him seeing the tears in his eyes that he held for him. Tears that shouldn't even be there.
In a way, he was happy, because those tears proved that while Trunks may not love him in return, he at least cared about him. But the fact remained that they were never supposed to even meet. He forced Trunks to stay with him, and if he were to die, then he would be free to go home and never have to worry about his well being ever again. And Gohan would be free from his curse as well.
Trunks sobbed, pulling himself closer to his face as he spoke. "N-no, Gohan don't say that." He cried, caressing his face and running his fingers through the soft fur as he planted kisses on both of his cheeks and forehead. His tears dripping onto his cheeks and becoming absorbed by the hair. "You're-you're going to be okay now, a-and everything's going to be fine." He sobbed, not really believing his own words and hating himself for it.
Using all the strength he could, Gohan lifted his paw again, wanting to feel Trunks' smooth skin in his hand. Trunks could deny it all he liked, but Gohan knew he was going to die.
If only he could tell him that he loved him, just once, but to do that would make their last moments together awful and awkward, and he didn't want that. "At-at least... I got to see you... one last time..." He breathed, feeling Trunks holding his paw in both of his hands as he hid his face in it.
Gohan forced his eyes open wide one last time, getting a good look at the lavender haired teen before him, knowing that it was the last look he was ever going to get as he felt his breath leave him and his eyes slowly shut.
Trunks could feel the muscles in Gohan's arm relaxing as his paw slowly dropped from his grip and fall next to him. Laying there limply, his hands feeling cold and empty without it.
More tears clouded Trunks' vision at the sight of him. Laying there, and unmoving. He shook his head in denial though, refusing to believe that someone as strong as Gohan could be killed.
"G-Gohan?" He asked, his voice coming out in a tiny squeak.
He got no answer, and his heart clenched.
Reaching out, he gently shook his shoulder, as if willing him to wake up from a deep sleep. "Gohan?" He asked again, more determination in his voice.
When he did not answer, or move, or even breathe, Trunks knew that he was gone. And he began to sob uncontrollably as his head slowly dropped onto Gohan's unmoving chest. Hugging him tight as he shook and cried on his body.
"No, no, n-no!" He sobbed as he held onto him. Feeling as if his heart had just been brutally ripped from his chest as he lay there with him. Willing away the whole thing with his sobs, wishing to just wake up in his bedroom in the castle to find that everything had been nothing more than a nightmare. And that he and Gohan were going to go outside that day to feed the birds and play with the animals before coming in to sit together by the fire in the library.
Just like always.
Trunks opened his tearing eyes, and found to his ultimate disappointment that it was no nightmare, and Gohan still lay dead beneath him.
He sobbed again, more tears streaming down his cheeks. "I love you." He whispered softly, still clinging to his body and hoping that Gohan could hear him from wherever he went.
The rose then died, and the last petal fell.
To Be Continued.................................
There should only be about one more chapter to go after this, hope everyone enjoyed it! Please be kind and review! Thank you!!