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: Well, that took awhile. Mean ol' Espeon. Taking forever…
Videl held tight to Gohan's hand knowing that if she let go she would go flying into the snapping jaws of the beasts behind them. Gohan had already tried, as well as everyone else, to fly their way out of danger but even that didn't seem to be working. Gohan cast a attentive glare to both Trunks. They got the hint and rose their power levels to match Gohan's. In a instant, Videl found herself flying forward and then jerking to a halt.
"We lost them." Gohan sighed with relief.
Videl didn't need to ask how they lost the wolves. It was probably having to do with their super sayian secrets again.
The area they now stood in was the same forest looking area except the light was no longer shining down through the leaves. Videl guessed they had to be in the center of the massive forest…
"Mom, Dad, and Vegeta are gone." Gohan said suddenly.
"Oh. Don't worry, Gohan." Mirai Trunks smiled, "We'll meet up with them again. I'm sure they are around here somewhere. You'll see."
"I just don't want Haji to find them first." Gohan uttered darkly.
"You're overreacting." Mirai Trunks chuckled half-heartily, "They'll be fine. Is you father not Goku? Have some faith, Gohan."
Videl could tell the teenager was still uneasy. But he masked it over with a false sense of security to please the others. And seeing Gohan perturbed did not make Videl very calm either…
"Gohan… He's all alone out there." Chichi whispered falling faintly to her knees, "All alone."
"Chichi. We can't stop." Goku muttered gently pressing his wife to her feet.
"I failed my family. First Gohan…then Goten… and now I have abandoned Gohan once more." Chichi uttered pointlessly to herself.
"Chichi-"
"Just kill me now, Goku." Chichi whispered her eyes filling with tears, "I have failed my children."
"Chichi…" Goku gulped the words getting stuck in his throat, "You can't be serious."
"I am." Chichi shrieked the tears spilling down her cheeks.
She grabbed Goku's hand and placed it on her chest,
"Be kind and make it quick."
"Chichi?!" Goku gasped pulling away, "I can't kill you."
"You'd rather I suffer this pain?"
"What are you saying, you idiot woman?" Vegeta said suddenly, "That you are just going to give up?"
Chichi glanced up at the cold hearted man who had once before attacked the son family. And now he was sending Chichi hidden sentiments. She stared in puzzlement at the man as he glared down at her,
"If you really want to kill yourself, go ahead." Vegeta hissed, "Do tell me what pleasure you get out of it. I'd like to know how cowardice feels."
"Vegeta!" Goku cried trying to stop the man from criticizing his hurting wife.
"Well, isn't it, Kakarot? Only a coward resorts to suicide. What about your son, Onna? Gohan has gone through a lot or have you not noticed. But never once have I seen that child try and take his own life. Perhaps he thought about it. I don't doubt that, but the point is he never truly acted upon it as you have attempted now."
Chichi remained silent, her head bowed in certain shame. Vegeta continued not giving the woman peace just yet,
"If anyone deserved the sweet afterlife it is your son, Chichi." Vegeta snapped, "No one deserves the torment he and his brother have gone through the past few weeks. And all you can say is how you failed them. Honestly woman, how selfish can you get?"
"Vegeta. Please stop." Goku whispered.
"No. He's right, Goku." Chichi sobbed trying to wipe away her tears, "He's right. I have no right to try and take the easy way out when our children are out there trying to find the better way."
"Good, now stop blubbering." Vegeta snapped, "Let's get moving."
"I'm hungry." Chibi Trunks cried as his stomach let out a violent groan.
"We know." Everyone retorted coldly to the boy as he skipped along side their long strides.
"Can't we eat something? Please Gohan?" Chibi Trunks pleaded.
"I'm hungry too, Trunks." Gohan said glancing the small lilac top's direction, "We'll get something to eat as soon as we find a place to set camp. I promise."
Chichi clung onto Goku's arm faintly as they climbed some rugged stone steps to the top of the cliff's face. Vegeta guessed there might be some sort of shrine at the top that might have some clues to where the other's went. If not they were high enough to see some miles off. Either way the might be able to spot them.
"Did you hear that?" Vegeta asked stopping suddenly.
Goku shook his head just for Vegeta to yell at him to shut up. Vegeta cast his dark eyes all about looking for some source of voice he heard. The whispering continued allowing Vegeta to guess there location. Without a word to Goku or Chichi, Vegeta went out in a all out run up the steps. Goku and Chichi exchanged puzzled looks and then followed him. They had no clue to where they were heading in such a hurry, and Goku had a sinking feeling in the bottom of his stomach. Somehow he felt nothing but evil looming towards them but he was drawn to it. He couldn't stop running and soon he could hear what Vegeta could hear to clearly. It was demon children singing…
Vegeta stopped at the foot of the shrine listening to the voices of the dead children swirl about them. Chichi began to whimper as she clutched harder to Goku's arm. The music wafted in the air filling it with darkness and forlorn. Goku, leaving Chichi's side for a moment, headed into the shrine as if in some trance. Vegeta and Chichi followed wearily behind him casting glances behind them to make sure they weren't being followed.
The shrine looked to be like the insides of a church. It's walls were a pale and haunting white with marble stone beneath their feet. At the farthest point from the entrance, in the center, was a memorial of flowers and pictures. Goku rushed over to it or rather to the figure bowed down in front of it weeping.
Goku gently lifted the small figure up to it's feet and pulled down the hood of the cloak. He wasn't surprised but everyone else was. The face and hair of the child and even the clothes resembled that of Gohan yet several years beneath his time. His eyes were different though blazing a faint bluish purple glint. Soon after being revealed his form faded a bit. The child form of Gohan stared at his father as if Goku was the ghost. His eyes brimmed with tears as he reached out to touch Goku's cheek. But the little boy's fingertips brushed through him. Gohan recoiled, greatly shaken. Goku might have felt the same way but he masked it well. He reached out and touched Gohan's transparent hand gently getting nothing but a tingling sensation in his fingers.
Chichi and Vegeta gazed about the room watching thousands of spirits emerged each resembling a child dressed in all black robes. The ghost of Gohan was going slightly pale at seeing them all arrive but before Goku could open his mouth someone interrupted him.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Goku spun about on his knees his eyes full of malice for the identical man who had just entered the door of the shrine. Chichi ducked slightly behind Vegeta and strangely Vegeta didn't notice. He was glaring just as awfully at the man.
"What?" Chichi sputtered.
"The singing of the demon children? The disturbed souls. They come to me or rather Haji. Demon children do not go to heck with the rest of the demons but relatively come to Haji to be watched over. Then Haji would send them up to heaven with their parents. Course he used to. Now I keep them here with me. I love their music." Haji smirked awfully.
"You're sick." Vegeta spat.
"What is Gohan doing here?" Goku snarled waving his hand to his young son's form, "He is not dead."
"Are you so sure?" Haji smiled cocking a eyebrow, "Did you not notice his child self seeming to disappear the last couple of months. He is still the little boy you remembered when you were alive during the cell games?"
"No! You're lying!" Chichi screamed.
"Oh, am I? Then tell him. Tell Gohan that I am lying." Haji smirked.
Chichi turned her tear filled eyes to the little boy who had begun to shake slightly. The boy hugged his arms close and tried with all his strength not to look at the parents who were looking so longingly at him.
"Gohan. He's lying, isn't he?" Chichi whispered walking towards the spirit. "You aren't… aren't a demon, are you?"
'No. Mommy, I'm so sorry.' The boy whispered as his tears fell, 'I did this to protect you. To warn you.'
"What?" Chichi gulped, "From what?"
"From me, of course." Haji laughed, "Gohan gave a portion of himself up unconsciously to warn you when you came. Warn you that you are my target."
"Target?" Goku and Vegeta gulped.
"Pluck you off one by one. Starting with the ones I skipped on earth. Chichi and Mirai Trunks." Haji grinned, "Then I'll gladly get the rest."
"You'll get Chichi over my dead body." Goku hissed putting himself in front of his wife.
"That can be arranged." Haji smiled simply releasing a great amount of energy at the couple.
Before they could blink, the child spirit set himself before his parents with his arms out spread. The child took the full amount of the blast protecting his parents the best way he could.
"NO! GOHAN!" Chichi screamed watching her son disappear in the white light.
'I said I would protect you, mother. And I did…'
Chichi blinked back her tears as her vision returned. The spirit about them were laughing along with Haji's high pitched cackle.
"Stop laughing." Vegeta snapped.
Haji shook his head and wiped some tears from his eyes,
"You don't realize how stupid it was for the child to sacrifice himself." Haji smirked, "Now he won't even exist anymore. Gohan's childhood is completely gone. His soul is now shattered thanks to mommy over there."
Chichi bit her lip as tears continued to fall,
What have I done?
Gohan stopped for a second his heart racing in his chest. He felt suddenly empty. His head was spinning and he could barely keep his balance. He fell to his knees hearing Videl's worried cry beside him,
"What's wrong, Gohan?"
"Nothing." Gohan gasped, "Just out of breath."
"There's a flaw in that." Goku smirked, "Gohan's gone through worse. There wasn't much child left in him anyway. He can survive without that."
"I never said he would die." Haji smirked, "But now it makes it easier to lure him to me without his innocent nature holding him back."
"You probably don't want that." Vegeta laughed, "You underestimate him."
"And you underestimate me." Haji grinned staring strait at Chichi, "Like I said to Goten. I want Gohan to kill me. The more brutal the better. Don't you see? Gohan, your beloved son, will soon be the worst tyrant in the universe without any equal. And the boy that mommy once loved will disappear leaving only a memory of himself behind."
"Why are you telling us this?" Vegeta snarled, "Now we can easily go warn the brat."
"Can you?" Haji smiled, "Or haven't you noticed that there is no longer any exits in this room."
Vegeta looked to were they had entered to see he had been telling the truth. The door had disappeared. They were stuck in a big death trap.
"I'll be sure to give you all a hero's death…" Haji laughed, "Long and painful…"
To Be Continued…
Please R + R!
Kind of a rushed chapter. But I promise the next chapter will be good.
