I'Narn En'Gohan
Chapter 2
The air above Mount Paozu was so thick with tension that it could be cut with a knife. Ever since the odd looking beast had spoken to the group of three, there had been total silence. It wasn't very shocking to them to suddenly find a dragon flying hundreds of feet above the ground. They were used to off things such as that happening, but what did silence the fighters was the strange aura that the beast gave off. It was one of the most powerful and great things that any of the three had ever felt.
Trunks had encountered the dragon once before, but was so disheveled that he had not had the piece of mind to feel out the being's ki. Maybe if he had done that before, he would have never returned to the past. His power greatly surpassed that of Cell by many, many times, and they all knew that there was no hope of being able to destroy such a creature. But true to his personality, Vegeta put aside his intimidation and immediately went on the offensive.
"Just what the fuck are you?"
"Oh, I see we have an unpleasant one amongst us. Here I was thinking that the Saiyan's had reformed themselves to be like the ones in the days of old, but I guess that's how you are when you're the prince of a dead race."
Vegeta's face immediately turned red from anger and the veins in is forehead began to bulge and throb. The Saiyan was ready to pounce on the dragon, strength be damned. "Excuse me?"
"Dad, you might wanna calm down here," Trunks said calmly, attempting to quiet his father down so that he wouldn't say anything to offend the dragon.
"I believe you heard me my good chap," said Malcolm nonchalantly, dismissing Vegeta and turning to Trunks, "Now old boy, I believe that we have some business to attend to."
"No! You're business is with me for now, dragon," screamed Vegeta, stepping in between the dragon and his son from the future, "Now tell me who you are before I pound you into oblivion."
"Vegeta, let's just calm down and see what this guy has to say," Gohan said, trying his best to reign in the Saiyan.
"Fine, fine. No use in everyone getting in a tizzy here," the dragon sighed, "My name is Malcolm and I am the Protector of the Timestream."
Everyone but Trunks froze, not moving a muscle, shocked beyond belief. No one really had thought about the presence of a Protector of Time, much less having an idea of what the being would look like. A human sized dragon wearing hip-hop themed clothes with an English accent really didn't strike them as a typical higher deity.
"Well, just because you're the Protector of Time doesn't mean that I won't beat you into a pulp," Vegeta threatened, though his words really didn't have as much force behind them now that he knew what he was dealing with.
"Yes, I'm sure. Now, my business here doesn't have anything to do with you two." Malcolm pointed at Gohan and Vegeta. "I'm here for young Trunks."
"What do you want with him?" asked Gohan, coming forward in defense of his friend.
"Oh, I just need to borrow him for ten years or so."
"You're not going to take my son anywhere," growled Vegeta, surprising Gohan with the adamant vindication of his son.
"Oh bugger off, Saiyan. I could crush you under my thumb if I so wished."
Gohan dropped into a fighting stance. "Then you'd have to crush me too."
Malcolm cocked an eyebrow in amazement at the two beings, looking at them as if they had gone absolutely insane.
"You three are going to be erased from existence anyway. I don't know why you would bother fighting," shrugged the dragon, disregarding them and their threats entirely.
Trunks's eyes went wide."What? Malcolm, you never said anything about that."
"Well what did you think would happen, old boy? Did you think that I would just let this augmented timeline continue its wretched existence?"
He nodded. "Well, yeah, I did."
"I'm afraid that you're mistaken, old boy. As soon as you and I leave this place, I'm going to completely erase it. There won't even be a trace of the Kais left by the time I'm done," he looked at the three residents of the present timeline, "Nothing against you chaps, especially you young one. You've endured a lot in your short life just to be destroyed."
"Just take me with you and leave these people alone. I'll do whatever you want."
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid it's not that easy. I will have to destroy this timeline. End of story."
"We'll fight you," Gohan threatened.
"And lose, I'm afraid."
"You underestimate us, dragon."
"No, I don't. You don't understand what I'm trying to tell you. I am omnipotent. If I wish to crush your spine right now, Saiyan, it would be nothing difficult for me. If I wanted to turn you into a bowl of potted flowers, I could do so with a mere thought."
Vegeta quickly shut up, finally realizing that words would win this fight, not fists. Silently, he left that part to Gohan.
"Can we do some kind of favor for you?"
"NO! I will not be brought down to the level of a mere errand boy."
Gohan gritted his teeth and eyed the prince. He allowed his power to spike to its full potential and his eyes to turn teal. Words were not always needed to quiet the Saiyan.
"A favor? There is someone I can think of that needs to be taken care of," Malcolm considered.
"Yes! What if we agreed to fight a warrior of your choosing, Malcolm?" Gohan questioned, using his genius intellect to attempt to come up with a suitable solution.
The dragon cocked an eyebrow at the hybrid. "What are you getting at, young chap?"
"Put us up against any warrior that you so wish. If one of us wins, we get to keep our timeline intact."
"Yeah, I'll agree to come with you if you allow these guys to at least fight for themselves."
Malcolm thought for a moment, hesitating to answer at first. "I don't think that would be a good idea. Lelos wouldn't like that a bit."
"Come on," Gohan interjected, "It must get boring managing Time. Put us up against anyone you want and we'll give you a show you won't forget."
"Nothing can top the Senda Wars for a good show, I'm afraid, but then again, I haven't seen a good fight in ages..."
"We'll give you a great show Malcolm. Just give us the chance," Gohan begged, sensing that the deity was about to give in to their pleas. Though Vegeta saw that the strategy was working, he would have no hand in it. The Prince of Saiyans would have no part in begging, even if it did come down to the existence of his timeline.
"Ohhh alright. I'll give you mortals a chance."
"Thank you, Malcolm. You won't be disappointed."
"Yes, I'm sure boy. Now who shall I put you up against..."
The dragon stared off into the sky, towards the setting sun for a moment or two, contemplating where and who the threesome should fight. Malcolm decided that Trunks would not fight since he was not a part of this timeline. It would only be Gohan and Vegeta. They would have to do their best against whoever they were sent to fight. His face snapped back suddenly to the two warriors, "I've got it."
The trio gazed on in silence as Malcolm closed his eyes, spoke a few foreign words, most likely an ancient language of Otherworld, Gohan guessed, waved his hand through the air and paused as if he was waiting on something.
Vegeta had been quiet since the dragon threatened to crush his spine or turn him into flowers, but he had been silent for long enough, "Just what are you doing?"
"Vegeta, shut up!" Gohan threatened through gritted teeth, hoping that the prince wouldn't cause them to lose their chance to save their timeline.
With a flash of light, a portal appeared in front of the five beings. It was as if it was a window to another world, as it was clear and left them perfectly able to see through to the other side. On the other side, a barren grey landscape could be seen, littered with rocks and huge craters. At the very site of it, everyone knew that it has been the site of many great battles over the years, yet none but Malcolm knew what it truly was.
The Protector of Time held a hand outwards, palm facing up, inviting them to step through to the other side.
"After you, mortals."
Gohan hesitated at first, as did everyone else, but he soon stepped through, followed by Vegeta, then Trunks, and finally Malcolm himself. As quickly as the portal had come about, it closed equally as fast behind them with a snap through the air.
Gohan stumbled out of the portal, a bit disoriented at first, but quickly regained his composure. Without hesitating, the Saiyan began to observe the area surrounding him. The first thing he noticed was the yellow layer of clouds above him. He couldn't begin to be able to estimate the distance to the top. For all he knew it could be hundreds of miles to the strange cloud layer above him. The next thing he noticed was the river flowing next to him. It contained water that was as grey as the landscape he was standing on, and so murky that you couldn't see much father than an inch beneath the surface. Gohan allowed his senses to expand out around him, taking ki readings in the area, but stopped once he came to the first thing he located. His jaw dropped a few inches, hanging open significantly.
That has to be the most overwhelming thing that I've ever felt in my life. Just where the hell did this goddamned dragon send us?
"You've got it exactly right, boy," Malcolm said from behind Gohan. He had been so engrossed by the power in the distance that he hadn't even noticed his companions come through the portal.
"But I didn't say anything."
"He can read minds too, Gohan."
"Ah..."
"Exactly, young Saiyan. Now, as I was saying, you were exactly right by thinking that you had been sent to Hell."
Gohan blinked in shock. "You sent us to Hell? Why?"
"Well, this is where I want you to fight."
"I've been to Hell before, dragon, and this is not a part that I recognize. Where in this Kami forsaken place have you sent us," Vegeta demanded, already on the offensive again.
"No, I wouldn't think you would have ventured this far into the bowels of the Netherworld during your brief stay here."
"Well, where are we," asked Gohan, still unable to wrench his thoughts away from the power in the distance. He was just now noticing that Vegeta had been completely healed.
"We are right on the outskirts of the Battle of Evermore, only in one of the lesser used areas of the battlefield. Those nitwits moved on from here long ago."
The fact that they were standing on a battlefield had been surmised long ago, but the fact that they were in Hell had been surprising to the Saiyans. What had they gotten themselves into?
Why does he want us in Hell, Gohan thought, Does he want us to fight in that battle he was talking about?
"No, young Saiyan, my interests do not lie in you fighting in the Battle of Evermore. My interests for you are in the fortress to your left."
Gohan turned upon the mention of the fortress to find just that. It wasn't too opulent or grand. It was a simple, grey castle made of stone with a single tower on each of the four corners. Gohan guessed that it was no larger than Capsule Corporation.
"That's it?"
Malcolm's brow wrinkled in wonder, "What do you mean 'That's it?'? That fortress is home to Dabura, one of the most feared Demons in this level of Hell. Search out his ki if you wish to find him."
Vegeta quickly located his ki, not shocked at all by the level of it, for it was close to that of Cell, "So what do you want us to do with this so-called Demon?"
"Well, I want you to seek him out and defeat him in battle. I care not if you kill him, I just want him beaten."
Gohan nodded, understanding the group's task, "I think that we can handle that. One question though. Why him?"
Malcolm smiled. "It's really quite trivial, actually. He lost to me in a card game a few hundred thousand years ago and he welched on the bet."
Gohan blinked in surprise and felt close to fainting. "You brought us to Hell, to defeat a Demon, because he didn't pay off a bet?"
The dragon nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good summary of the situation, yes."
"Okay, fine," Gohan sighed, "We'll take care of him."
"Splendid! I'm glad we can all agree on something."
"Just remember this. The castle is full of dangers and perils that very few living mortals have ever been subjected to before. You all may not make it out alive."
Gohan and his companions nodded, accepting any such fate that might befall them.
"I do not fear a weakling Demon and a castle full of tricks. I've dealt with worse before," stated the Saiyan prince.
"I'd rather be dead than erased from existence, personally," Gohan stated grimly.
Vegeta nodded in agreement. "Amazing. The boy and I are thinking the same," he stated dryly. "Absolutely shocking."
"I'm glad that you all understand and accept the reality of the situation," Malcolm began, "Now go and seek out the Demon King and defeat him in combat. If you do not accomplish this goal, you and you're timeline will be erased from the Multiverse forever. Your lavender haired friend and I shall be watching from my home in the Timestream. Goodbye and good luck, chaps."
Malcolm began to perform the ritual to call forth a portal of his and within moments, there was one floating in front of the group of five. He looked toward Trunks and gestured for him to move through it, "After you, old boy."
"One moment, Malcolm," Trunks said, addressing his captor. He turned to Gohan, unbuckling the sword from his back, "Gohan, I won't have much use for this anymore. I want you to have it."
Gohan was speechless since he had never seen his older friend even take his sword off. "I can't take that Trunks."
Trunks shook his head, hushing the boy, "No, I want you to keep it. I won't have any use for it where I'm goin'."
Gohan was obviously shocked, but Trunks smiled reassuringly.
"You had better have this thing mastered by the time I make it back."
Gohan smiled slightly, accepting the gift and the challenge, "You can count on me." He buckled the sword to himself, wearing it in the same manner that Trunks always had.
"Good luck you guys."
Vegeta eyed him from his spot across the group from the half-Saiyan. He walked up to the teen and extended a hand. Trunks looked down at it, not knowing what to do with it at first, but then taking it after a moment
"The same to you, son."
The pair broke apart and Trunks stepped up to the portal, putting only one foot through at first. He looked over his shoulder one last time before disappearing through.
"Trust me, I will take good care of him. I have a feeling that you will all be seeing him again soon, anyway," Malcolm began, "If you do defeat Dabura, a portal will appear on his throne to bring you back to your home. I hope you will not disappoint me, chaps."
They all nodded their goodbyes to Malcolm, whom would either be their savior or destroyer by the end of the day. Without hesitation, the dragon stepped through to the other side, causing the portal to disappear as well.
Gohan turned toward their destination, the castle of the Demon King. The wind swept through Hell, bringing with it a terrible howling sound that fit the desolate, torn landscape perfectly. All three beings of mixed races eyed the castle with a determined eye, ready for what awaited them. They all knew the consequences of their failure and none had felt pressure akin to this before. A whole timeline resting on the shoulders of three mere mortals was a very heavy weight, but true to their personalities, all put aside their fears and anxieties. They were ready for battle.
"Let's do this Vegeta." Gohan said, taking his first steps towards the ancient fortress.
Vegeta raised a fist, proclaiming to no one in particular, "We shall crush that so-called Demon King beneath our boots."
The two would-be heroes took to the air towards the castle.
The fight to save everything was on.
End Chapter 2
Author's Notes:Sorry about the long wait, but I kinda lost interest there for a little while, but thankfully, I've gotten it back. Most of the the third chapter is also complete, so maybe I'll have that out in a week or so. But first, before we get too deep in this story, let me tell you that I am not going to be the most punctual author. It may be months before I can get individual chapters out. You have been forewarned.
By the way, I made a few small revisions to the first chapter that directly affect this one and the rest of the story.
Please leave a review, even if it is only a short one, so that I can try to become a better writer, which is what most of us are here on this site for. I'll try to answer you're reviews in the next chapter.