Won the Battle, Losing the War
Disclaimers: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or any of the characters. If I did Great Sayaman wouldn't exist. Yes. ~bows to her applauses~
Author's Note: Dumb Fan Fiction.net has delayed me for awhile because I supposedly broke one of their guidelines. I still don't have a freakin' clue to what I did. Hopefully you can all forgive me. I really wanted to write more and now I will. Just pray for more free days for me.
Creasing the lettering of the old stone tile for the millionth time, Gohan still couldn't find out how to get to this creature they were being warned from.
Goku was slightly falling under the affects of his childish features and had begun foolishly calling out for the dragon.
Vegeta stood in the corner of the room being no help what so ever. But Gohan had to admit, it was a surprise that he had even enough kindness to spare Goku from some pain for at least a while. Course he could also be laying off the naive Sayian due to the bitter glances Gohan sent sharply his way. Lately, Gohan had found Vegeta was being a lot less cold toward him.
* Is that his show of affection?* Gohan thought darkly to himself as he glared at the foreboding sign inscribed into the tablet, * Does he have some sort of respect to me now? I know he treats his own son along the same lines. But why now? Why now would he care at all?*
"Don't sit there all day, Gohan." Vegeta hissed using the proper terminology for the boy, "You are the only one still containing their real selves at the moment so hurry it up."
Gohan cast a suspicious glance at Vegeta. But he didn't exactly doubt that Vegeta was acting more like his child form. They were probably every much identical.
Gohan let out a pained sigh. * Only Vegeta would know the difference in himself. I just hope it doesn't evolve lack of self control.* Gohan glanced over just as Vegeta twitched to Goku's shrieking call for the Shenlong.
"Dad." Gohan said calmly hoping to draw the child's attention.
Goku spun around a big grin wrapped about his face. His eyes seemed to gaze through Gohan as if he wasn't even there, which was not like Goku at all. Panic seemed to burn it's way up through Gohan's stomach. Was Goku gone too?
"Hai? Who are you?" Goku asked scratching his head.
Gohan cast a pleading look at Vegeta who was smirking slightly at how easily Goku had fallen into the clutches of the spell.
"Vegeta, please help me."
Vegeta rolled his eyes uncaringly as he leaned against the wall. He let out a small sigh and shook his head,
"Sorry, gaki. I can't help you out this time." Vegeta smiled as he thumbed his chin, "Besides, Kakarot is rather adorably innocent this way."
Goku sent glaring daggers over in Vegeta's direction at the referee of being dubbed as adorable. Yes, little boys hated being labeled in that way. Gohan could almost hear the words that must have spun in that vigorous child mind of his. * Cute. Blech. I'm not cute. I'm a fighter. So…what's cute?*
As if to answer his thoughts, Goku's face scrunched up as if he was trying to figure out the meaning to the word cute. I guess the only thing his mind could tell him was that he didn't like it.
"Dad." Gohan said desperately gripping onto his father's shoulders, "Do you remember me? Do you recognize my face, my voice?"
Goku took in the boy's features but Gohan could see in his eyes that Goku still hadn't the faintest idea of who was talking to him. He made a weak smile trying to comfort Gohan slightly. He placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder and cocked his head to one side,
"You look upset."
Gohan pulled away disgusted with himself. *Kami, how baka can you be. Just because your dad doesn't recognize you, you throw a fit.* He turned away from his father his face burning with embarrassment and frustration. He squatted back down by the tile trying to hid the tears that were rolling down his tinted pink cheeks * How could Dad fall into the spell? How come he can't distinguish me anymore. He's my father. And he's Goku! *
Vegeta cast a weary glance in Gohan's direction. He was crying. *Lord, not now. Darn that child to the brinks of heck for falling though his emotions too. I can't believe both of them can't contain themselves. And they are supposed to be the saviors of Goten and the earth. Kami, I would rather put the boy's life in the hands of Marron if it was children that had to get anything done.*
Rising from his stubbornness not to help, Vegeta walked up to Gohan kicking sand in the boy's face.
Gohan flinched, grabbing his eyes in reflex, trying to rid of the bits of grain. He scratched at his eye lids almost drawling blood with his haste to rid the burning sand. He glared up at Vegeta, his dark eyes watering as rage cascaded over them,
"What
was that for?"
"You are letting your
emotions get the best of you, Gohan." Vegeta hissed glaring over at Goku as he
spoke, "It's gonna be harder for you then anyone else to contain yourself. You
have so much emotion trapped within yourself at your age, it's going to try to
break you. We are all falling apart, Gohan. But you more then anyone, has to
stay together."
Gohan stared at Vegeta unblinking as his tears still tumbled down his cheeks,
"You're right." Gohan whispered, "This is the same way I felt after the Cell games. That everyone had forgot me."
"Good boy." Vegeta hissed his eyes still strangely on Goku, "Just hold onto that thought. That was the Cell games. This is now. You aren't 12. You are 18. Remember that and you will be fine, okay? So stop crying. You're wasting energy."
"Okay." Gohan nodded wiping away his tears, "What about you? Are you having troubles?"
Vegeta's eyes narrowed slightly but Gohan wasn't sure if it was because of what he was asking or if it was because Goku had started going around calling for Nimbus.
"More then you can imagine." Vegeta said darkly after a moment.
Goku didn't know what those two strange people were talking about but he found a beautiful picture of a dragon on the wall. Tracing it's body with his finger, Goku smiled. * Looks just like what Oolong said Shenlong looked like. * A flash entered Goku's confused mind of a huge dragon spurting up from the depths of seven orange balls and then a strange tingling feeling. A boy was at his side…that boy.
"Gohan! Lookie! A dragon!" Goku said the name just popping out.
Gohan and Vegeta both turned looking slightly surprised that Goku could have remembered that name. His face was glowing with a strange light as he stared at the picture.
"It's the Great Shenlong."
As soon as those words were uttered, the floor opened up beneath them hurling them into the seemingly endless pit. Both Gohan and Vegeta caught themselves easily in the air as Goku landed sharply on his rump against the hard granite floor.
"Ow! My tail!" Goku cried clasping both hands over his rump.
Gohan and Vegeta both landed near Goku staring ahead as if in a mystified way. And what was ahead made Goku quickly turn away. A rotting corpse.
Gohan let out a small cry and whimpered under the spasms of dying self control that was seeping from his grasp. He clung tightly to Vegeta's words trying not to break loose.
Vegeta just looked away catching a glimpse of Goku's horrified face. He paled slightly and in a small chocked voice he uttered,
"Gohan? Vegeta? What is going on?"
Gohan let out an awful scream as the tremors ripped his body inside and out now. Goku quickly wrapped his arms about the boy so Gohan's flaring would not cause himself bodily harm.
"Calm down, Gohan. It's okay. I've got you."
Vegeta spit bitterly on the ground, the salvia tinted crimson with suspected blood from biting his tongue so hard. Whoever it was, was beyond dead now. And it's corpse was so repulsive that it even caused the murderous Vegeta to flinch.
It hung on the wall with no support except for the melted skin that was frozen to the wall now. Skin was crusted and stretched over the body as if it was some kind of tight leotard. The eyes and hair were gone and only fragments of it's clothes remained on the limp form. It's mouth was perhaps the most frightening. It was shaped in a silent scream yet the teeth were charcoaled a dark ashen color and the lips were just hanging flaccidly off the skull like clothes.
Gohan let out a earsplitting scream of agony again thrashing about in Goku's arms. Vegeta noted Goku was clinging tighter and harder with each seizure that flowed through Gohan's body. It amazed Vegeta how Goku could still cling on to someone who was 100 times stronger. * Must be this love thing. Kami, I hate things I don't understand. * Vegeta shook his head lightly not allowing his dark childhood creep through his mind again. Trying not to pay attention the haunting screams as they vibrated through the room, Vegeta looked around. He could now see why Gohan hadn't stopped. So many people and animal remains decayed about him, and judging on how Gohan was reacting, the boy could sense all the life force that used to be there. It had to have been maddening. * Kami just stop with the screaming though. It's freaking me out. *
Suddenly, Vegeta's heart gave a horrible jolt as he spotted something moving in the shadows. Tensing up he tried to get Goku's attention finding he didn't need to. Gohan had gone mute and flaccid in Goku's arms. His eyes were still wide open staring into the dark shadows with Goku. The tremors were still there as Gohan's eyes edged out the victims yet much smaller.
* Was Gohan really this bad after the Cell games?* Vegeta thought with a tinge of fear, * And we let him live through it alone? What kind of animals, were we? *
"*It's* here."
Gohan's voice was fluid and emotionless. Goku dropped his arms from Gohan's sides not voluntarily. It was obvious his limbs were going numb from all the strain of holding the boy still.
Gohan suddenly smirked awfully as his eyes narrowed focusing about his murderous counter self,
"It's time to bloody up our hands, butchers. Our hog has just arrived."
To Be Continued…
Please R + R!
Sorry for the detailed corpses. I apologize in advance for anyone sick because of it. I have to rack up the rating now. Darn. Well, I hoped you enjoyed it anyway. By the way, since I know a lot of you are going to ask, Gohan is currently stuck between both sides of himself and because of this he has lost sense of himself completely. His emotions change rapidly throughout the next couple of chapters so just to be forewarned. A lot of tense anger and screaming scenes. ^^;;
