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: Yes! Another chapter! I can't to get started so enough pointless chatter and off I go…

Goku stumbled slightly forward rising up from his sore haunches. His eyes bled with tears at realizing he had just touched his son enough to bring him back. Pure relief burned into his soul wiping away the horrors of what might have been. Goku let out a small cheer as he nursed his aching body,

"Yes. You show him, Gohan!"

Gohan looked back to him out of the corner of his uncanny jade eyes as his lips curved upwards in a slight smirk. He shook his head and frowned before he spoke to his father,

"Dad. I want you to get Vegeta and get out of here."

"What?" Goku gasped still trying to maintain his footing, "But Gohan…"

"Don't try to knock what ever sense you think I have lost back into me, dad." Gohan said sternly, "You and Vegeta are only in the way here. You know as well as I do that fact. I can take care of this guy."

"Gohan… I can't just leave you." Goku sputtered in defense.

He somehow found this conversation painfully familiar. But now he was on the opposite side and it hurt. Now he knew what if felt like to be the one who was told to run.

                "You told me a proverb once that always sticks in my head." Gohan hissed eyeing his father, "A warrior may be great but only when he recognizes his weakness as well as his strengths. You are not strong enough to fight. Trust me, Dad. This isn't all just redemption for my last mistake, I want you to be safe as well. I won't mess up again. I promise you, you won't need to save me."

                "But Gohan."

                "Go Dad." Gohan snapped harshly, "For once you have to listen to me! And I know it's hard for you to comprehend this but you are not any help to me for being here."

                Stunned by Gohan's tone, Goku fumbled backwards allowing his back to grace the sharp wall. He nodded roughly and turned to go just as the Dragon let out an ear splitting shriek. Goku fell to his knees covering his sensitive ears. Through the folds of his arms he could see Gohan stand calmly as the electricity flowed over and through his body. He didn't even seem remotely bothered by the scream but his face had contorted into rage at what it was screaming for.

                It's bloody stump was now throbbing intensively as claws seeped through the flowing dark fluid that was covering the floor. It was regenerating and in mere seconds all that was left of the injury was the blood that coated it's claw.

                "Nice trick." Gohan smirked, "How about this one?"

He slunk down into that all too familiar pose and curved his fingers inward to his palm. A small ball of blue light danced between his palms as he canted his father's technique.

                "Kaaaaaa….mmmmmmeeeeeee……haaaaaaaaaaaa…mmmeeeeee………..HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!"

He thrust his palms forward releasing the stream of energy strait at the monster. The blast erupted from his finger tips covering the whole room in a bright yellow blaze. It's force knocked Goku clear forward with only the callous sharp rocks to break his fall. Goku skidded on his side until he came to a somewhat awkward halt. He squinted against the blinding light trying to detect his son with his poor vision. But his attempt was futile…

                The light cleared pretty quickly. Goku unshielded his eyes and the first thing he came to focus upon was the dragon roaring in irritation. Smoke had singed it's scales but their was no real damage. Goku felt as though someone had just started chocking him. How could the Kamehameha technique not work?

                Apparently, Gohan had the same thoughts spinning in his thoughts. He stood rigid with fury, his fists clenching and unclenching. The lighting still forked about him scorched the air as his energy rose. He smiled lightly and nodded as if greeting an old friend.

                "I thought so. You have impressive armor." Gohan smiled as if the beast could understand him.

Goku noticed a slight grimace appear on Gohan's face after he spoke. He clutched his side determinedly as the tremors fought their way in again. Goku's eyes widened slightly as his gaze trailed to the walls… The source. The things that were stealing him…

                "Let's go!" Gohan shouted raising his fist high as his charged all out to the beast.

Goku tore his eyes away from the battle and rushed over to the fallen boy who had saved his life only minutes before. Vegeta was awake now but he wasn't in any shape to protest Goku coming to support him,

                "So we running for it?" Vegeta coughed in a tormented voice.

Goku knew how Vegeta felt about leaving when things just started heating up. But strangely Vegeta usually put up more a fight then this. Goku shook it to the side and hissed in a urgent whisper,

                "No. Not yet."

Gohan struck out at the monster just having his hits vibrate off his steel like scales. They shown with his astonished reflection as he realized he couldn't penetrate it's skin even in this form. Still attempting to attack he danced about the monster using every attack he could think of. But not one of it's scales gave way to his punches or kicks. The dragon spit out it's fiery breath engulfing Gohan in his flames. The burns ripped at his skin but he ignored them as much as he could. His arms crossed over his face instinctively protecting him but the spasms seized Gohan in their arms again causing him to grip his head and yell in agony. The dragon drew back as the lightning flashing off Gohan's body stuck at random points all around his hovering form.

                "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Gohan shrieked.

                "Tell me if you see what I see." Goku hissed as Gohan began to violently shake.

                "I see Gohan have a fit again." Vegeta mocked dryly, "That's what you see too, right?"

Goku frowned as Gohan began wailing in fits of rage and remorse. It took every ounce of self control he had to hold himself back from rescuing his son.

                "The reason he is having these fits though." Goku hissed, "Can you see it?"

                "No." Vegeta said suddenly perplexed as he gazed about himself, "Where?"

                "The walls that dangle with those rotting corpses." Goku snapped waving his hand to the graveyard they were in, "Look at all the dead. Doesn't something strike you as peculiar?"

Vegeta reluctantly stared over at the nearest corpse that only hung by it's broken neck a few feet away. It's eyes were gashed out. And it's skin had crusted over some portions of it's body as limp as clothing. It's tongue hung out of it's mouth caked a sooty black…and it's jaw. Vegeta blinked at the sight of it. At first sight of it he thought death had frozen the person's jaw in a silent scream but in fact every corpse in the room had their jaw hanging off their skull as if sucking something up. Even the animals. As if they were sucking…

"They are feeding off Gohan's energy."

"Yes." Goku nodded darkly, "They are killing him just as badly as the dragon could if not worse."

Gohan fought against his momentary weakness. He squinted through his agony seeing the dark eyes of the dragon's watching him. Of course…. Eyes. Summing up all the strength he could muster, Gohan let out a bloodcurdling scream sending his energy hurling about him vindictively.

One of the blasts nearly made contact to Vegeta and Goku. They didn't seem trouble with it though. Vegeta hovered with Goku into the air and carefully estimated their shot.

"Ready?"

"Now!" Goku agreed.

                Vegeta dropped Goku firing thousands of ki blast about the room obliterating all the skulls that he could see. Goku cause himself by using his tail as a propeller. In this position, Goku charged up all his energy into his kamehameha wave and rotated it about the room taking off as many heads as Vegeta.

                Gohan placed his hands over his forehead aiming his attack when he got sight of Vegeta and Goku's strange attacks. Seeing this threw Gohan off guard…

                "Final…Fla-" Before Gohan could finish the monster made one clean swipe at him.

His claws snatched Gohan out of the air and pressed him against the cold floor. One of the claws sank deep into Gohan's left arm causing him to cry in pain. The dragon squeezed him tighter sinking the blade deeper until it had nearly pierced out the other side of his arm. Blood seeped down Gohan's arm staining the orange fabric a deep crimson.

                Gohan gritted his teeth tightly as he freed his right arm. He thrust his hand before him strait at the monster's mouth as it inhaled air for a fire blast.

                "Chew on this." Gohan shouted releasing a ki blast strait into it's mouth. The dragon swallowed the blast having it explode internally. He released Gohan immediately and staggered backwards stunned by such a attack. Taking this opportunity as best he could, Gohan leap into the air and tried once more to do the technique he had planed this time with only one hand.

                "F-final…" Gohan sputtered as another tremor swept over him, "F-fina- final…"

                "No!" Vegeta hissed spotting the last corpse in the corner, " We missed one."

It's legs had almost completely regenerated all it's flesh and was making it way to the waist. Goku let out a desperate cry and fired a ki blast down at the creature breaking it's neck clear off. It's head rolled motionlessly on the floor; it's jaw clamped shut.

                Gohan shook his head regaining himself. The dragon had recovered and was now at eyelevel to Gohan. It inhaled deeply just as Gohan shouted his attack,

                "FINAL FLASH!"

Both attacks merged together engulfing the duelers with the tremendous amount of light…and then everything went dark.

Screaming. The screams of the terrified children mixing into one forlorn cry of agony. Their screams sang a more bitterly sad song then grief itself and only Gohan could hear them. The wails of anguish were interpreted into Gohan's mind and exited his pallid lips in great hisses of grief stricken shrieking. Clutching his pained head, Gohan's legs buckled beneath him causing him to cave into the hard uncaring stone. Hands gripped his shoulders in a attempt to pull him out from the sea he was drowning beneath. But the surface was too hard to penetrate and he was forced to feed off his worse fears for oxygen. Their pain and last words became his own as he tore at his own skin to rid their presence. His flesh burned pitilessly as thousands of deaths ripped out for a piece of his living spirit. Arms wrapped over and around him like a blanket but the pain still remained from where they had ripped at his skin. He thrashed violently, his eyes sealed shut with the horrors of the room. He couldn't look…

Goku watched in dismay as his son pull meted from the sky and onto the ground. There was a harsh smack when his body contacted the ground. Both he and Vegeta rushed over to the boy's side finding only the mildly expected injuries. The dragon was now thrashing about in the darkness beyond this room apparently more then just temporally blinded from the final flash. In fact… Gohan had damaged the eyes so bad that the dragon might not have any eyesight at all.

                "Good boy." Vegeta hissed to himself watching the darkness for the return for the creature, "Smart thinking."

                "Gohan! Gohan, can you hear me?"

The voice so soothing dove into Gohan's rigid heart releasing it from the icy chains that concealed it. He remembered now. He remembered where he was and what he was doing here. The burning subsided momentarily leaving only the sore aftermath of his seizures and fall. His senses focused back into the world around him informing him that he was on the floor and partly in someone's arms. But something was wrong…

                "Gohan. Are you awake?" Goku cried as he felt Gohan beginning to twitch, "Speak to me."

                "Yes." Gohan coughed weakly his eyes still wired shut.

                "Open your eyes, Gohan." Goku said soothingly, "Focus on my face."

Gohan's eyes fluttered open but all that Vegeta and Goku could see were blank pupils that pierced right through them. Vegeta took a deep breath, first to summon up his courage,

                "Gohan, look at us."

                "I am." Gohan stated as his eyes filled up with tears, "But I can't see you."

Goku immediately hugged his son tight as Vegeta stood in shock… Kakarot's brat… Gohan…was blind…

To Be Continued…

Oh, I was worse this time. *snickers* Hope you all enjoyed it.