Disclaimer, in case it wasn't obvious. I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or really any other property. Thank you.
The Long Road
Chapter 38: You Only Live Once
Garlic jr.:
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
The cold darkened stone room, with stale air and sick intent seemingly built into every stone held only one resident.
It was always so hard to be patient when waiting for a plan to come together. Impatience was often so much more satisfying. It'd been something burrowed in his mind the entire time as the events passed. He could see everything he wanted from here. Whenever not commanding his demonic minions, he stared into the lives of the people he wanted to destroy. The reflective pool in front of him swirled with the lives of others, as souls howled on the edge of the caldron. Reaching out his hand, he almost touched the pool as he stared down at all the lives of his enemies, quietly wishing to pull every moment away from them, as they'd done for him.
Over a decade without a word to someone else. Over a decade without feeling a touch, or even pain. There was no taste, and no light. It was an eternal night trapped within the realm of his own mind, driving him into a solitary madness. Were it not for one thing, he would have been driven completely out of his mind. Revenge was the thing he'd wanted most. It fed his desire to watch their pitiful little lives as well, feeding his envy. It wasn't just the power they all had, it was the lives they'd all had. Every second he watched he imagined pulling them all apart, spoiling and ruining every aspect of these treasures they all possessed.
But most of all, he'd built up his plans around Son Gohan. He'd watched his every waking moment for days now. It was hard to turn away from it all. From the time he'd spent with his daughter during the day, to his evenings sleeping on the couch or screwing the human woman who hated him. He'd already destroyed his home before, the first step in the long road to his revenge. It was a road built on the pain of loss. The last things he wanted plucked away from the son of Goku were his family. His harpy mother, his obstinate brother, the mad whore, and most importantly his daughter, were all pawns in the game.
For all that power, he'd feel what happens when things are just stripped away. It made his mouth almost water with anticipation every moment he thought of it. He imagined reaching into the pond of light and liquid he looked into, and just stabbing his claws into their hearts in front of Gohan himself. Reaching in and wrapping his claws around Gohan's soul and twisting, showing him a fraction of the Hell he'd experienced. But what was all the more delightful, was the climax of his little game. When he killed Son Gohan, he'd not be able to join the family he stripped away in the afterlife.
It was profoundly satisfying to know that Son Gohan was bound for Hell just as much as Vegeta was, if not more so. It was more than pleasurable to have found out. It completed a piece of his soul, knowing how far his attacker had fallen. After everything was taken away from him, he'd have no chance to even obtain it again, once the thing that Gohan valued most was stripped away. How many billions died so that Gohan could live? His father would have died before he harmed a single innocent man. Gohan had killed, and killed, and learned to love to kill, all so he could have one more day to live.
He'd become the man Garlic had wanted to shape him into, until those pitiful creatures Piccolo and Goku warped the perfect creature into a broken mold of what he could never be. Even now when he looked at him, living on the woman's couch after his home was destroyed, Garlic saw what he really was... a failed life.
It gave him immeasurable pleasure now that he understood it in full. The evil that had seeped into Gohan's soul would always be there. He'd seen the lowest levels of existence in this universe and had been bathed in it. In truth, Garlic had watched much of his life since even before the World Martial Arts Tournament. The chaos and death he brought with him in the first months were such a sharp contrast to Goku. Now he aspired to be something he wasn't. It was pitiful watching him reluctantly pull away from the woman he'd raped years before. He didn't revel in suffering anymore, a true crime if there was one, but at the same time he couldn't embrace the kind of joy his father seemed to embody.
In truth, if Gohan had never changed from the life he'd had before the Earth, Garlic may not have wanted revenge as desperately as he felt now. It would always burn within him of course, but there was more to it now. Now it wasn't just an act of vengeance, but it was an act of mercy. There would be no more confusion for Son Gohan as to the choices he'd made, there would be no more walking between darkness and light. Garlic would plunge him into the darkness, and let him taste the despair he drowned billions of others in, before casting him into an eternal Hell in the next life.
The huge wooden doors of the medieval castle room he resided in slowly breached open as the turcoise demon with white hair stepped inside. Spice, second only to him in strength of his lieutenants, stepped inside, smirking devilishly.
"We've collected three more Dragon Balls, Lord Garlic, without attracting anyone's attention. Though it would seem there were several close calls in regards to the one known as Vegeta. I suspect if we bring the Dragon Balls to the real world to summon the Dragon, that Vegeta will show up before anyone else."
Dealing with Vegeta would be enjoyable. He could rely on Vegeta's furious vengeance and malice to allow him to still achieve what he wanted. He had more then enough pitiful minions to put in Vegeta's path to stall him, and Vegeta's viciousness would mean he would spend too much time enjoying dispatching them to stop him.
"Vegeta is nothing," Garlic responded. "He's just a mad dog on a leash. We'll give him what he wants until I get what I want, and then we'll see how threatening the little vegetable prince is," Garlic said to Spice, before slowly and reluctantly turning his gaze from the pool of images, to the door. "Now, I suspect you also came to me with news regarding our friend the Kai."
Looking nervous, Spice turned his head slightly and looked back, just as the black and gold clad Kai walked in behind him, his light blue features dimly lit by candlelight. Two blue eyes then stared up at him, making the demon sneer at the presumptuous creature in front of him. If he hadn't required his help regarding Goku, or if he hadn't required his help regarding hiding from the kabal of pitiful warriors on the Earth, then Garlic would have rejected his help almost immediately.
"Every time I see you, I am reminded by how pathetic you are Garlic," the Kai remarked with a half disgusted face.
The sneer on Garlic's face deepened with every second he stared at his 'ally'. He'd already vowed to kill him, so there wasn't much use in continuing to remind him, especially when his plans relied on his assistance, at least for a little bit longer. He didn't even fully grasp why the Kai was so enthralled as to help him in the first place.
"Well, it's not as if you are any great fearless warrior yourself, Abaddon," Garlic pointed out coolly. "If I recall correctly, you wanted your involvement in all of this to be forgotten, isn't that right? For all that power, you want to not be even seen at the crime. Instead it is all left in my hands. What is it you're trying to stop? How is it that I am the lesser of two evils? I am the future ruler of a universe infested with demons and darkness. I am an Immortal King who stands here, on the precipitous of greatness."
The look of disgust didn't disappear from Abaddon's face as he stood there, now mixing his disgust with annoyance.
"Let us say that you get what you want, Garlic, shall we? Countless billions killed, empires overthrown, and a dark rule which covers galaxies for thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of years," Abaddon remarked, beginning to walk towards him, a steeled look crossing him as he did. "Despite all of that, galactic order would not be overturned. The dead, would still be the realm of the dead. The living would still be ruled by the living. The heavens would go on as they always have, even if somewhat put off by your... civilized rule."
A deep, dark smile crossed Garlic as he listened to a description of the carnage and chaos he would bring, before his iron rule would begin. But it was clear that this god thought that his rule would be putrid at best, and yet thought something was even worse, at least from his own perspective.
"So what exactly is this great threat which I am going to combat?" Garlic asked, looking amused.
"Why, the Saiyans of course," Abaddon responded in a straight forward way.
The Saiyans? Gohan, Goku, Vegeta, their children, and whatever little monster the human woman of Goku's was going to spit out any time now? That was what he was concerned about? That was what he was willing to hand the universe over to him for? With a smug smile, which turned into a cackling laugh, Garlic jr. openly mocked the very idea of it.
"The Gods fear the Saiyans so much, that you'd give the universe to me to stop them?" the demon said between his laughter.
"Saiyans, are not like the rest of you scum who know your place. They constantly feed on conflict, wanting more and more, always seeking thing stronger then themselves to kill. This wretched planet has been nothing but a haven for them, and the Supreme Kai doesn't seem to understand the threat, now that Majin Buu has been dealt with," Abaddon pointed out, looking more uptight and annoyed with every second. "These.. monkeys are more then just a threat to the material universe. They're a threat to the order of the universe."
So that was it? The Kai thought that him ruling the universe wouldn't disrupt the order of it? The fool. The moment he obtained the chance to destroy the Gods, he'd take it as well. There could be no sharing of power with him. The only thing he'd offer anyone was servitude. Everything else was simply interm to his goal of complete dominance.
An eternal night for the entire universe.
"Well I can assure you, Kai, that once I have the Dragon Balls and the moment is right-"
"Make it right soon, or I will find someone else, Garlic," Abaddon ordered, before turning on his heel and walking towards the door.
"Of course, great Kai. I promise that this will be resolved with haste I can assure you. I will deal with all the Saiyans for you," Garlic promised, his smile only growing.
And perhaps I'll keep one or two under my sleeve, just to use against you myself... after they're given the ... proper guidance.
As soon as the door closed, Garlic looked towards Spice.
"We move in three to five weeks," he stated, before turning back to the reflective pool. "When I think our friends on Earth are best exposed for my full return."
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Goten:
It'd been weeks since he'd seen Gohan, and even longer since he'd seen dad. Things were starting to get bad too, considering that his father had promised mom he'd be there for this. She'd been confident he'd come through, until of course earlier today, when her water broke. It was terrifying and awkward all at once, given that he had to fly her to the hospital. Worst now was the fact he was waiting at the hospital for her as her only family right now.
He'd been there for hours in a waiting room just sitting, trying not to imagine he was there in truth. Some of the staff had checked on him a few times and tried to be friendly, but in truth he really didn't want to hear it. What he really wanted was his dad to be there. Firstly, he'd know what do to, having been through this with both him and Gohan before. Next, his mom wouldn't be so crazily stressed out. There was nothing that could be done about it, at least according to Gohan. Unfortunately, just like his older 'brother' had asked, he didn't tell their mom that Goku might be dead. He just told her he may not be able to make it in time.
And it looked as of right now, that it was true. There was no way his father would miss this unless he was dead. It's not like it hadn't happened before, but his stomach churned with the information. More then anything he didn't want it to be true at that moment. Still, when he looked up and over to the door, he felt his heart sink. There was something he had in common with Gohan, which was that he didn't want to disappoint their parents. Right now he couldn't help but imagine that he wasn't the support his mom needed at that moment, and that in truth she really needed his dad around. Before even coming here he could still hear what her mom had said before they left.
"It's too soon, your father isn't back yet."
He'd had to almost drag her here, given how desperately she'd tried to call people.
Well, it obviously wasn't too soon, as she was in a delivery room and he was sitting here for hours waiting for whatever was going on to finish. He just wanted everything to be over and for his dad to get back. Everything would work out once he got home and this time stuck around.
With a frustrated sigh, he leaned forward and just put his forehead in his hands, drawing it through his spiky black hair a second later. He was going to have a little brother or sister himself, a real brother or sister, and it scared him. He'd never had a sibling before, at least not one that wasn't a deranged mass killer who everyone put up with. Looking up, he silently wished even Piccolo would show up, just so they weren't facing this completely alone. Sometimes Piccolo could almost be like a dad to him, if his dad wasn't around. They trained all the time and sometimes Piccolo had good advice. Still, he didn't sense the Namekian around at all.
He's probably trying to help dad right now too.
Of course, that lead to the even more humiliating fact. He couldn't help his father at all, it was up to everyone else. Worse, it was up to Gohan. After all, Goten was just some kid who couldn't change anything. He was batted aside by everyone now. From how he died, to his say among his friends and family. It wasn't fair, and he was so tired of it. It was a joke when Gohan told him to look out for his mom and everyone else. It was ceremonial at best.
But quietly, even if he hated to admit it, he would even take Gohan being there just if he could avoid waiting alone like this, and not having a clue as to what was going on, or even if their mom was going to be alright. A few times he'd heard her make pained screams, and it made it all the more uncomfortable.
"Are you doing alright?" A nurse asked him as she walked by. "Do you need a drink?"
"How much longer is my mom going to be doing this?" he asked.
"Oh, I'll have to check with the other nurses and doctors... but anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours."
Great.
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Videl:
"I thought you were an alien," Videl remarked coolly, looking off to her side. "And why the Hell are you getting into a suit?"
It'd been almost a week since the incident. It'd been almost a week of trying to pull herself together and failing a little bit more every day. She'd found it impossible to train, and impossible to keep her mind straight. All of her focus was bleeding away as she tried to get a grip on her life. If her mistakes plagued her before, they now threatened to overwhelm her. Every day she saw Gohan and Pan together made her stomach twist and turn, and every day she tried to get along with him it made her nerves grate. The false politeness they'd both been devolved to made her want to beat his face into the wall. But more of all, this whole thing had made her realize something profound.
She hated herself.
She was supposed to have gotten over her fear of him. She tried to throw him out of her house and he just ignored her, as always. She was still weak, and still useless. She'd exerted herself on him, almost wanting to vomit the entire time, to show herself that she had no reason to be afraid anymore. The fact he recoiled from her made her feel almost sick at that moment as well. The monster she'd built in her mind just wanted violence and sex, and hid itself behind a mask of false sincerity and humanity. She'd never thought that Gohan was exclusively there for her daughter. Part of it had to be her, wanting to ruin her life.
Instead, she learned he wasn't as simple as she imagined. Even when he gave in, it seemed much more like surrender. It was pathetic, both of them waging a battle, and both of them losing. She couldn't even win at that. The pain of it all was what consumed her most. She hated herself for throwing herself at him in the first place. What kind of creature was she? He'd raped her, and he'd ruined her life more then once. He'd played with her like a cat with a mouse on that rooftop in Satan City. Then he just barged into her life years later, ruining it further. But the real crime was now hers. She'd fucked him, and for what? To prove something?
All she'd done was prove how pathetic she was. She didn't deserve Pan, and she didn't deserve even the meagre strength she had.
Snapping out of her almost trance, she noticed Gohan was speaking as he finished pulling his deep blue jacket over his white collared shirt. He was wearing a very sharp looking blue business suit, with a black tie.
"-It's complicated, alright? Look, you need to watch Pan while I'm gone."
Apparently his mother had gone into labour? She couldn't fathom how that was possible. He was an alien. How was it that an alien's mom was on Earth, about to give birth? She felt like there had been some kind of supreme trick played on her. He didn't even show her the decency to tell her the truth.
"So you're going to bullshit me now?" Videl asked coolly.
Finishing buttoning up the front of the jacket, Gohan turned his head towards her, clearly not looking impressed. It was enough to make her shrink, which immediately made her furiously recoil, almost snarling at him with the look he was giving her.
"Believe whatever you want then. Since when do you care where I go? Look, I don't want to fight. Just take care of Pan for once while I'm gone."
It was enough to make her fist close. It was impossible to say that he didn't know what she'd been up to the last week. She'd spent huge portions of it in her room, trying to not just break down. Even when she was out of the room, everything regarding Pan just felt increasingly distant. It was almost as if she wasn't her daughter anymore. Somehow she'd become tainted by whatever this creature was in her home. Worse, she'd become tainted the longer he was there as well. He continued to dominate her life like some kind of horrible spectre. It'd gotten even worse.
"Fuck you," she finally snapped, her voice hinting at venom.
Ignoring her, he stepped past her, heading towards Pan's room in the quaint little home. When the door opened she saw him step in, clearly to give his farewell for the day. If he was lying to her, that meant wherever he was going was important. If she were only stronger she could keep up with him and find out.
"Alright, I promise I'll be back tonight or tomorrow," Gohan's voice echoed from his- no their- her daughter's room. "You're mom is gonna look after you. Behave. I don't want to hear what I heard last time, or I'll be really upset."
Stepping out of the room, the door closing behind him, he stared back at Videl with cool eyes.
"Why the suit?" she asked again, not even sure what else to say.
"My mom always likes it when I look professional," Gohan answered. "She always wanted me to be a doctor, or a scholar, or something that wears suits most of the time."
He's lying again.
"You're mom is on Earth?" Videl counted, looking for a means of fouling up his story further. "I guess she must be really pleased about how you turned out. If she's here at-"
Videl felt herself unable to even sense what had happened, her back collided with the wall and her entire body felt helpless. A tight hand clenched her neck, pulling her into the air as she found herself fighting to even move. Everything was spinning and she felt utterly powerless. Holding her there with cool black eyes, she saw Gohan standing in front of her, his hand around her neck. Finally sensation caught up with her, feeling his fingers digging into her neck. She didn't kick out or try to fight back, instead she just stared at him while she tried to breath.
"You are to say nothing about my mother," he warned. "You don't know anything about it."
It felt right.
Getting hurt, or even getting killed like this. It at least felt like it had something to it. It almost felt like she was letting herself get out of the way. Struggling, she choked for air enough to finally say something, if only it was brief. She pushed back at his order.
"Think... she'd be pleased... now...?"
Come on. Hurt me.
She knew she'd defied him again, it was small, and it was terrifying, but at the same time exhilarating. Her heart rushed as she awaited the next battery or worse. Instead, she felt his fingers loosen, and her feet fell to the ground. Immediately her own hands came to her throat as she choked and gasped for free and open air. He'd dropped her? She didn't understand.
Looking up at him, she saw the same cool eyes staring back down at her.
"Watch Pan," he ordered again, before opening the door angrily and storming out of the home.
Left there, holding her throat on her knees, the only thing Videl could manage to do was wonder what had just happened. Again, he'd defied everything she expected from him. She didn't get it.
"Mommy?" Pan asked, her head peeking out from behind her room, looking towards her frightfully. "Are you okay?"
For the first time in a long time, just seeing the look in her daughter's eyes, that look of real concern, Videl answered truthfully.
"... I'm fine Pan."
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Gohan:
Anger still very much flowed through his veins at his latest sparring encounter with Videl back at his 'home'. He walked right into that one and it was frustrating to say the least. Thank god Pan didn't see it devolve at least. Even as air flowed through his hair while he scanned for Goten's energy, he was still back at that house in his mind. He'd stepped out several minutes earlier and started his flight, but his mind couldn't step past what had just been.
It was stupid to hit her, especially when it started with something so stupid. For almost a week since they'd fucked, he couldn't get his shit together. Sure, he'd managed to take care of Pan, but there was little else. Every day he saw it all, he could only think of how to try and fix things. Hell, he didn't even want to just fix things for Videl, it was really for Pan more then anyone. Right now they were in a bubble, an isolated house in the forest. When that bubble burst, or when they stepped outside of it, everything would turn even more sour then it already was. So in other words, he needed to try and fix this before it got even worse, and before it leaked away from the house in the woods.
It needed to be fixed, preferably, before his dad and mom found out, if possible.
Fixing it could mean a thousand things though.
Rearing up in the air to get better height, Gohan pulled away from the surface of the Earth as his body tore through the sky. It was a sudden urge to lift himself higher, feeling almost a nervous tick in the back of his head.
I should just take Pan and go. Maybe. Fuck I don't know.
The sick and sad truth about it was, beyond feeling responsible for Videl's fall, a fragment of himself cared about her fate. It was probably because she was Pan's mother, and if she got worse it would only serve to hurt Pan more. Even now though he hated seeing her in pain, if only for himself. At least when she was training all the time she seemed to be determined, something Gohan could understand. The last week had been miserable watching the opposite occur. She'd been in her room most of the time being utterly silent. It wasn't natural and it bothered him.
Every time he just wanted to say it wasn't his problem, but the truth of it was that it had become his problem. Hell, it had become his problem several years earlier, he just never realized it. Maybe he could have loved the girl he first came across on that street in the human city years ago. She'd been alive and filled with tons of energy, and an eagerness to fight. That was what had attracted him to her in the first place, it all seemed so Saiyan. He'd never met a Saiyan woman before, but often his mind had constructed what he always imagined them to be, and Videl seemed to fill that void. Who cared if it hurt her at the time? He saw humans as little more then livestock he wasn't permitted to kill. He didn't think about what it would do to her mindset, or that she'd have a daughter, or that he'd care at all.
It all happened because he imposed his imagination on her, and then imposed his will. It even seemed sick wanting to fix her now as well. Why was she broken? Because he'd broken her. How did he intend to fix her? Through what means? Forcing her to be better? How did that even work?
I'm too tangled in this. I need to step back and think about everything. Where do I go from here?
With those thoughts, his feet landed outside the small hospital near the edge of a Satan City suburb. Goten's energy was inside, which meant this was the right place. Walking through the front entrance, he immediately looked around, seeing several people sitting down and staff bustling about. Walking further, ignoring everything else around him, he simply followed the energy signal. Of course he understood precisely what was going on. Of course, he'd never had a spouse- that he knew of at the time- give birth to anything.
Shit, I wish dad was here.
It was troubling how often he'd wished that lately.
Rounding a final corner, Gohan came face to face with the source he'd followed. With his posture hunched, Goten's head turned up to look towards him with eyes widened, almost surprised to see him. Obviously he was stressed out, and for that Gohan couldn't blame him. Normally he'd have had a half dozen disparaging things to say to him, or at the least want to say to him, but today he fell flat. It was just a kid in a chair, looking worried. As if dying hadn't been bad enough, the kid was now sitting here without his dad around, having to take care of their mother.
Hell, he'd basically asked him to do it.
"Hey Goten."
No time like the present to start squabbling.
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Goten:
It was relief Goten felt when the taller Saiyan arrived. He was wearing a suit, probably to try and impress their mother. Still, it was nice to not be alone and not feel responsible for stuff he didn't get, even if it meant having to be around Gohan. He didn't let his relief be shown by a smile, or relaxing openly, but he did let out a much needed sigh. Thank the Kais, Dende, and whoever else for this, even if it was a mixed blessing.
"Hey," he reacted to his brother as he took a seat next to him.
Silence came over the two of them as they sat there. No questions came to mind for Goten to ask his brother, and clearly none came back from him. They'd just sit there until the doctor's arrived and told them what was going on. Goten couldn't even bring to ask Gohan what he thought of having another kid-sibling around. It wasn't something he was interested in asking, and it wasn't something Gohan would be interested in answering.
If anyone was a poor substitute for their father, it was Gohan. He imagined how his father would have been bouncing around with excitement waiting to hear what happened, or being told to leave the delivery room for asking too many questions and getting too excited there. He probably would have been harassing the staff, or freaking out about needles. His dad had a way of making every situation feel fun, or at the very least lighthearted. Instead however, despite the relief of having someone else here, it was Gohan. Which meant he sat there like a statue, looked rigid, and was about as interested in talking to anyone as Goten was interested in hearing him say anything.
"How long do they think it's going to be?" Gohan finally asked, breaking the silence that had been between them for almost fifteen minutes now.
"Minutes to hours," Goten answered shortly.
The silence returned a second later, and Goten retrieved his posture. He didn't want to look hunched over for some reason, it seemed like it'd betray how exhausted he felt. Turning his head slightly, he peered back over to Gohan, who seemed unmoving, not even looking at him.
"What?" Gohan asked a second later, seeing him out of the corner of his eye somehow.
"Nothing," Goten said after a few seconds before turning to look ahead himself.
"Good," Gohan followed up, before crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair, clearly bored.
Everything went quiet again before Gohan finally turned over and looked at him.
"Hey," he said, implying for him to look back towards him.
Turning back towards Gohan, making eye contact briefly for the first time that day before casting his glance towards the door, Goten just tried to do his best to act disinterested.
"Yea?"
"What was it like being dead?"
What kind of question was that? In fact, what kind of question was that while they were waiting for their mom to go through labour? Why would he even ask that?
"Uhm. Like being alive I guess?"
It was true. The only difference was the halo over his head. He still breathed, he still felt his body, it all felt the same at the very least. The difference was the world he found himself in. First the check-in station and then King Kai's planet. In truth, their dad knew a lot more about being dead then he did. But then again, Goku wasn't there.
Still, his older brother raised a sceptical brow to his comment.
Sighing, the younger of the Sons tried to do his best to explain what his dad told him.
"When you die, you get put in a few different categories I guess? King Yemma basically judges your soul, and determines what fate you'll have. One fate is reincarnation, that's for people who didn't do anything particularly good or bad. If you did really good things, you get to spend the afterlife enjoying a new world, or training to get stronger if they let you keep your body because of your power."
"If you were really evil, uhm, I mean did a lot of bad things, and they let you keep your body because you were really strong. You spend it in uhm, Hell."
Visibly, Gohan's features didn't change at all as he remarked, but somehow Goten could feel that the answer he gave him made him really uncomfortable. He knew some of the stuff Gohan had done, even some of the stuff Vegeta did, and for the first time in a long time, he felt bad for his older brother. It wasn't hard to imagine where he was heading after he died.
"Huh," Gohan responded after a second, trying to sound uninterested, sitting back again, trying to blow it off.
"... Why'd you ask?"
"Curious," Gohan was quick to respond, trying to silence any follow up.
There was more then one reason he'd asked, there had to be, but Goten didn't even know how to approach it. He didn't even know if he wanted to approach it. Was he asking because he was worried about dying? That seemed crazy.
But then again, dad's gone right now too. Does he think he'll get killed or something?... He thinks he's going to get killed. That has to be it.
The awkward silence fell back over the room again before a nurse stepped through the door not a minute later.
"Mister Son?" she asked Goten, leaning down and smiling. "The doctors say your mom and sister are going to be fine. We'll be by in a few minutes when you can see them."
Sister?
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Chi-Chi:
More then anything she'd wanted Goku to be there with her. He'd been there with her when Gohan came into the world, and when Goten had as well. Every time he was there smiling brightly at her, always so happy to meet the new little member of their family. Today he wasn't there, and she didn't know why, and she didn't care why. It hurt, and it hurt a lot. Even when her water broke she just didn't believe it. It wasn't possible that the baby could come when Goku wasn't there for her. But here she was, holding her little girl tiredly as she lay in the hospital bed, looking down at the fragile little figure resting against her. There was even her long monkey tail flicking around behind her, which made Chi-Chi sigh, knowing it'd have to come off. Goten's tail came off when he was young, and the girl's would have to come off as well. Tails were dangerous, very dangerous, and she couldn't risk that becoming a problem.
Moving her arms weakly to better hold the healthy little girl, Chi-Chi just felt her head fall back. All she wanted was to just go to sleep at this point. It'd been an easier birth then Goten and Gohan, but it was still overwhelming. When the nurses opened the door and Goten stepped through, she smiled at her youngest son. It was when Gohan came through the door after him that her eyes brightened. At least he'd come as soon as he could.
The fact he was wearing a very sharp suit made her all the happier. He always looked so professional in a suit. It still reminded her, in the back of her mind, that he wasn't the doctor, or lawyer, or scholar she'd wanted him to be. Still, he knew she approved of it, so the sentiment was understood. The bright smile she gave to him as a reward made him smile back himself.
"Hey," She murmured weakly to Goten and Gohan. "My two boys are here together? I'm surprised you didn't tear each other apart."
"Nah," Gohan responded, walking to flank the opposite side of the bed which Goten had. "I wouldn't wanna get into it with the kid here, especially with everything going on. Besides, we're good, aren't we Goten?"
Her other son just looked back at him reluctantly before nodded.
They were at least putting in the effort, she'd give them that. Of course Goten and Gohan immediately turned back to their new sister, before looking at her.
"Well, she's definitely small," Gohan remarked.
"And she's got a tail," Goten added. "I guess she looks alright, kinda weird with that thing on there though."
"You would be so lucky to have one," Gohan responded after a second before looking back at their mother. "Got a name for her yet? I'd recommend choosing one soon. It may be a few more weeks before dad can make it around."
It was always unfortunate to hear the hard truths, but at least Gohan was willing to tell them to her. With a sigh, she looked down towards the little girl on her chest, being held in her arms.
"Keiko," she decided, looking down at her daughter before smiling.
It was a bit of hopefulness on her part. She was hoping that her daughter would be lucky, and she knew that Goku wouldn't disapprove of a name like that. In truth, he probably wouldn't disapprove of almost any name she gave their daughter, barring that she didn't try to name her Frieza, or after some genocidal maniac. Still, they'd had a short list of names they'd talked about, and this one just felt like it fit.
Goten grinned at the name, before petting his sister's tail for a second.
"Keiko, what a neat name," he said, bringing on some of his father's joyful expression.
Gohan on the other hand almost recoiled.
"It's not very Saiyan," he remarked.
"Neither is your name," Goten countered, staring up at his brother defiantly.
Internally Chi-Chi groaned, fearing they'd start an argument in front of their sister and the staff, but Gohan kept his cool. They were still trying for her, at least.
"No, but-"
"Gohan," Chi-Chi said, reaching out her left hand and placing it over his. "Everyone here is from Earth, including you. Earth names are just fine."
Her voice was soft and reassuring, knowing that he'd at the very least accept what she'd said. He stared back at her for a few seconds, wanting to argue, but he was muted before just nodding his head reluctantly. It was another concession, but she knew that Gohan really just wanted her to be happy more then anything else.
Clearing his throat a second later though, Gohan continued to look back at her, obviously with something to say, this time his gaze much more serious.
"When you get out of the hospital, I want you to call the woman who Vegeta is with and see if you can stay with her for a while, until dad gets back," he said, his voice not hiding his obvious concern. "It's a lot easier if everyone is all together to keep everyone safe."
She still didn't know exactly what was going on, but increasingly exhaustion was taking over for her. She wanted to hear it all right now, but knew that the longer she prolonged rest, the less she'd remember.
"You're going to have to tell me why when I wake up," she said seriously.
Smirking, Gohan shook his head.
"I've actually gotta get going to be honest. I just wanted to check in on you and Keiko,"he remarked, clearly mocking the human name, raising some of Chi-Chi's annoyance. "But, Goten will be able to completely fill you in."
"Me?! But you only told me-"
"Nope, completely fill her in Goten. Don't hold anything back. Anyway, remember to call Vegeta's woman and get things set. If Goten can't fill you in, I'm sure the blue haired woman can."
With that, Chi-Chi made an annoyed noise, before resting back further in her covers. Slowly she started to drift, her last fleeting images being of Goten watching over her as Gohan began to pull away.
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Gohan:
My sister is back there, and you're leaving it up to Vegeta to protect them.
Their lives were going to move on, and of course there was something else making his judgement call as well. He had to figure out how the Hell he was going to protect his own daughter, and her troubled mother. Of course the idea he had to look around every corner was concerning. How did they know where his apartment was? Clearly through his energy reading right? Still, it created a real problem.
Goten is going to be the shield which takes care of mom and 'Keiko'. When they get to Capsule Corporation, they'll have at least Trunks, and maybe even Vegeta around too. At the very least they can buy time if something goes sideways before I get there.
He wished he'd stayed at the hospital longer in all honesty. Maybe seen if he could have been there to help Goten and Chi-Chi move, but he was being compelled to return 'home'. It felt like an overwhelming worry in the back of his mind every second he wasn't there. Something else was going to go wrong, and no matter what it was he couldn't change it. He couldn't make Videl spend time with Pan, he couldn't make Pan's world as perfect as he wanted it to. When he wasn't there he had the constant fear of the charade finally falling apart. Maybe Videl freaked out, or had some kind of breakdown, or worse Pan asked the wrong question.
Of course he was overreacting, he could sense Videl's suppressed power, and if she was distressed it was very likely to spike, there was no sign of that right now. It was still awful because it was ruling his life. Maybe today was the day he could just stop giving a shit and let the miserable thing off the hook. But how different would that be from his own childhood? Maybe it was for the best.
When his feet touched down in front of the cabin that Videl and Pan called home, his eyes just stared blankly at the door for what seemed to be an eternity. The night's moon was full, and it made his nerves even further on edge. His tail flicked behind him as he approached the door, feeling the blutzwaves radiating over his body. If he were to turn and face the moon now, he'd transform into the Great Ape, Oozaru. It'd been so long since the last time he'd transformed, or even imagined he'd need to transform. Still, just by the fact that he was surrounded by the tainted light, made his body feel itchy almost with a series of different chemicals.
Thankfully, the full moons on this world were brief.
Opening the door, Gohan was treated to a quiet room. The lights were dimmed and it was clear that Pan had already gone to bed. It was probably for the best, he didn't want another awkward scene coming up today. The best he could hope for would be to have a shower, get ready for bed, and then get some much needed sleep. He had myriad problems to deal with, and he really needed to touch base with Piccolo as well.
Walking into the bathroom, he turned the valve on the shower, letting a rush of water explode from the shower-head. Stripping his suit off, Gohan turned to view himself briefly in the mirror. The patches of scars still webbed their way across his body, and for the first time he just stared. Perhaps his body reflected his life now in a lot of ways. All the mistakes and regrets could be found in each one of the marks marring him. A particularly terrible gash in his left chest and shoulder left him slowly tracing his fingers across it, feeling the difference in the texture of his skin as his fingers moved across it. They were ugly in their nature, not only from how he'd earned them, but the way they marked his body. Were it not for Dende's healing, he probably would have had even more synthetic muscles across his body right now then when he'd first come to Earth. The incisions the doctor's had left on his left side however, were still visible, from Dende's healing or not. Those wounds had long since healed, leaving the scars behind as well.
The sound of the shower eventually broke him out of it, before he stepped into the hot water, letting it do its work in purging his skin of sweat and other contaminants. Staring into the beam of water that blasted into his face, he just felt tired. Idly he wandered just how much he was going to see his new little sister, or even see his mother moving forward. Everyone's lives moved on, and so was his. Was it rude not to visit? Was it rude to visit too much? Did he even have the time considering everything else? He first had see about helping his father, and stopping the Garlic demon.
Stepping out of the shower, he quickly dried himself, before putting his briefs back on. Walking out into the living room and spying his couch, his uncomfortable bed away from his bed. Reluctantly he sat down on the familiar piece of furniture, hearing it creek as he did.
Looking up, he saw Videl standing there, looking at him from the hallway to her and Pan's bedrooms.
What is it now?
She looked strange. It was like she was anxious over something. It wasn't much of a step to assume she was fucked up again. Any moment now he could anticipate some kind of erratic behaviour from her. He really would rather deal with it in the morning.
Walking into the light given off by the full moon which was pouring through the window behind him, Videl stopped and just stared back at him still, trying to bring up something to say. Whatever it was, Gohan didn't really care. He just wanted to sleep.
"What?" he finally asked. "Did I wake you up?"
Several seconds passed and she didn't respond. Standing up he took several strides towards her, annoyed and finally near the end of his patience for the door. He stopped himself from reaching out and grabbing her, but stopped in front of her.
"What?"
Slowly, her hand moved up and rested on his chest, over the scar he'd traced over earlier. It was strangely gentle, and almost enough to make him flinch away. When she looked at him, he saw something different then he'd noticed before. It wasn't affection, that was certainly true... She didn't look happy at all in fact. It was almost a look of resignation. It was like looking at someone just accepting their fate and waltzing to their death.
"I want you to hurt me."
Immediately he sighed in response, looking away and just trying to weigh everything. It was very clear what she was saying, and even the way she made the request told him exactly what she thought of it. He didn't get it, and he didn't get her. He didn't understand, and he knew the request was made selfishly on her part. Maybe it was to hurt herself, or maybe she got off on something he didn't get. With his tail flicking behind him, he had to make a choice. He'd already made this mistake before. The question was to drop it and let it go, or to double down.
"Yea," Gohan answered finally, before looking back down at her. "I can do that."
The last thing he thought before leaning down and kissing her, were words he'd heard Turles mention more then once when they were plunging into the unknown on an alien world, where death and destruction always awaited.
Hell, you only live once.
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Author's Notes:
Next chapter is going to be a rough one to write. I'm not sure how long it's going to be, but it's really going to be the last one to heavily focus on Videl and Gohan, at least for a while. I've had the next chapter planned in my mind for like... Six months. It's one of the key points in the story, so I'm super nervous to get started on it in all honesty. All the same, the show must go on.
I think this Saga's theme song would probably be Move Along, by The All American Rejects. It really just jives with me when I'm writing certain scenes, so if anyone is interested, yes, that'd be the song I think kinda fits this "Saga" as a whole, both in where its been and where it's going.
I posted this chapter early, because I may be busier over the next 2 weeks then I originally imagined. However, as always, more reviews means I work harder on trying to get chapters finished quicker.
Also, for anyone who doesn't know, today (November the 11th) is Remembrance Day in Canada, it's a day where we honour the people who served in the Canadian military, and honour the fallen. I'm not a militarist by any means, but I thought it important to note that this day is here.
Reviewers:
Pyromania101: The next chapter, if I pull it off, will be amazing. This is in reference to your Videl/Gohan comments. Lol
Sekhelmet: Sadly, Gohan's not so good at fixing these kinds of things.
ParagradeN7: I dunno if Gohan would want to have Pan trained. He really doesn't approach fighting from the same path as anyone currently there. He fights, but he hates it, and probably can attribute it to most of the horrors in his life.
LincDawg: Welcome back! All mt stories are thoroughly planned. As I even pointed out in these A/N, I've had the next chapter visualized for six months. O.O
lil dynamic: I don't think I'll be using Tarble, not because I don't like him, but it'd just be adding more to the story that isn't really related to it. I like Tarble as well, might I add, it's just a rough fit for this story.
Dark Knight Shiva: Don't worry, it's coming to a close soon. :D
: I'm glad you want faster updates.
Morisako83: Yea, Gohan's not really well known for bravery in this story, least of all in his personal life. He's not even got the courage to tell Pan he's her actual father yet. He had to come up with some bullshit just to appease her. Gohan may be braver on the battlefield then he once was, but in his personal life he's still a massive coward.
Bigbluekrew: Yea, Videl's psychology is kind of an interesting thing. Some PTSD, mixed in with some serious self-destructive ideas, and a yearning for power, yet also wanting to be hurt. She's a real shining example of mental stability.
Guest1: Heh. Gohan doesn't even really understand that kind of love, I don't know if he ever will.
Guest2: Gohan and Videl are complicated. Will Gohan ever apologize to her? That's hard to say. How would he? Also remember, he's kind of a coward. Apologizing takes a lot of guts, and I don't know if he has that right now.
Guest3: I realize this. This isn't the Filler Saga, and it didn't happen in this timeline. All will be explained for Garlic by around Chapter 40 (I hope)
superfly: I normally look forward to writing it, but Chapter 39 terrifies me. lol
Aqua Roxas: More Pan then Gohan. Gohan's got his own batch of problems. He is not innocent in all this.
KaosMoshpit: I promise you this, Videl will grow a great deal as a character after this saga, and even during it.
MasenkoX: Thanks! Being with the Sons may not be what's best for Pan either. Pan's got a complicated situation. What is best for her? That's hard to say, it depends on how one defines 'best'. Pan's going to have a life she didn't deserve. She deserved better. But the truth is she's going to be in her parent's shadows no matter where she goes.
Guest4: Sadly. I dunno if I can fit all those characters. But expect to see Bojack! BOJACK!
Dr. Blue22: I'm lazy too, it's okay.
Brelic: If I pull this off, everyone will think Garlic's the best villain of this story. If I do it right. Which I'm hoping I can.
Cjjansen95: I don't think Chi-Chi could give Videl a wake up call, but Gohan definitely. And thank you for the high praise.
Dbzfanthefirst: Thanks man
VuvuzelaHero: Yea, things can get much worse. Like in Chapter 39 ;)
MaxPain32: You're hopes have been answered!
SilentWarrior: That's awesome. That's kinda been the aim for the two characters to really come across as distinct.
Ki Ai Sky: Totally hate fucking.
DrewBa12: Rolling continues.
Redhunter87: I think I answered this via PM.
OpenSourceArtist: The broken family is probably more interesting for the moment, I concur.
Darknessrising11: I'll try to keep you hooked. passes over fishing hook
lmc9389: Gohan is a dick. That's just sadly part of it.
Daughter of Vegeta: Answered via PM
TyTyTy: Thank you very much :D
Guest5: Trying to truck. Trying so hard.