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 43: On the Clock
Gohan:
Clouds moved past him in a blur as he pushed himself forward. Garlic wasn't moving, which meant this was where the showdown was going to happen. There was no running anymore, and that meant this was a trap. It was painfully obviously a trap, but no matter how grand it was, he'd have to push his way through it. Perhaps this was how his father was defeated even, but he doubted it. Whatever he was getting himself into, he had to stop this nightmare from continuing. If he failed, it'd mean more then just the end of his own life, it'd mean the end of Pan's, and then the end of everyone elses'. Given what'd happened to Videl, everyone on the planet could suffer from the monster's viciousness.
It'd be worse then what he would have done to the Earth. It would take months, or years, for it to die. In the Planet Trade, Cooler always looked for a balance of maliciousness and efficiency. If you too sadistic, too malicious, you weren't useful because it would take you too long to do your job. Given how much the demon had been playing with them? He'd have been cut after his first planet took several months to complete. Still, that didn't make things better, in a lot of ways it made it worse. Everyone suffering and dying just to please Garlic's delusions? Failure was as little an option here, as it was against Turles, or Broly.
Only this beast had Pan already.
Narrowing his eyes, he pushed himself further and faster, urging himself forward. It took only seconds however to detect something off. Several disruptions in the energies around him let him know of twelve powers moving towards him. They were all much stronger than the soldiers which Trunks had fought. There was almost an unnatural energy in the air which followed them around, seemingly making them stronger due to the proximity of something. The creatures which fought him around his apartment had a similar energy to them, but they'd been significantly weaker. These creatures were no better against him in a fight.
But they weren't there for that, were they? They were there to slow him down. Garlic wanted more time to prepare, which was why he'd sent these pawns out to die. Right now, the main thing he needed to do was just avoid them. He could kill them all at once, once he got where he needed to go. Instead of participating, he just decided now as the time to slip by. Shooting past the figures in the sky, Gohan just began to drift to one side, passing through several clouds before emerging on the other side, vapour brushing out of his way as his body made a long line through the cloud itself. From behind, he sensed them on his tail... keeping up with him.
Great, they're putting everything into keeping up. I don't have time for this.
From behind, he felt the glow of energy bolts already beginning to follow him. Twisting himself upside down and pulling down, Gohan took back towards flying to the Earth just as two of the bolts shot past him, their pink-red energy trailing across the sky.
"I've never met anyone who wanted to die this badly before," Gohan muttered with annoyance as he slipped past two more bolts as they came arcing towards him.
Continuing his descent towards the ground, the Saiyan looked at the terrain. Forest and canyons lined up for seemingly an endless expanse, all still moving towards his target. Diving towards the ground, still angled to close with Garlic's location,the bombardment now followed him. Hundreds of bolts of energy began to rain down from above. Pulling up and towards a canyon, Gohan saw explosions walk just below hie flightpath. Trees and mud blasted into the air with each attack. Much to his surprise, the energy was dense, almost like a bullet. The explosions were caused most by the impact of the energy, rather then its discharge upon landing.
Smart, they're trying to get around my power advantage with piercing assaults.
As soon as he lowered into the canyon, he moved past huge rock pillars which lined up the centre of the canyon, slipping in and out of them at break-neck speed. Behind him only three of the demons seemingly could even hope to keep up. The sides of the canyon began blasting apart as purple and red energy bolts slammed into every space behind him. Dozens of waves followed one after another. Debris exploded in all directions. The lead demon, a horned, red skinned devil, laughed maniacally as he aimed ahead of him, disrupting his view with explosive shot, designed to throw him off his game and prevent him from seeing where to move ahead. Thundering booms echoed through the canyon as all visibility disappeared with dozens of blasts. It was either pull up and face another assault from above, or move through.
Move through was the best option, because of one true. He didn't need to see where he was going, he only needed to feel where he was going. Reaching out with his energy, he sensed the world around him, he plunged through the smoke and dust, moving around the piles without any problem, before pointing one hand back as soon as he cleared the dust. Bolts of energy followed him just like before, but these ones were firing blind themselves, making sure they were clearing a path. Gathering energy into his palm, Gohan fired one, single purple bolt of energy back, before looking ahead. As soon as the demons cleared the dust cloud, he heard their terrified and shocked screams.
A moment later, a massive explosion echoed out across the landscape. Three of the twelve energy signatures disappeared in the fiery blast, which sent a massive dust plum into the air, fire glowing out of the core of it.
Turning his attention ahead again, Gohan pulled up from the canyon and rocketed towards the mountains. It was easy to sense another three demons breaking off from the main group, following straight up after him, as another group moved to cut him off from above. Hundreds of red bolts followed him, scattering across the mountain's face as he pulled up along it. Avalanches of mud and rock spilled down the mountain while explosions rocked every part of it. Huge air bursts of energy followed behind him as well as they let off more disruptive attacks.
"You guys really don't know when you mind your own business!" Gohan shouted back towards them, making his next moves planned as another series of blasts cut past him. One of the denser bolts of energy slammed into his shoulder a moment later, sending a spike of pain through him.
Grunting angrily, glared ahead, seeing more blasts coming up ahead. Roars of demonic origin came from above as well, as he felt four more powerful blasts coming in to follow him. These ones twisting with him as he flew ahead of them. All the while more rounds walking up with him every metre he flew. When he pulled up, a beam of purple energy blasted out, hitting him head on. When it did, the entire side of the mountain exploded around him. There was no pain this time however, as his shield was raised just in time. All around him rocks fell from the sky, some boulders the size of buildings. Pulling towards the rocks in the mass of smoke and falling stones, Gohan pulled around one rock, setting off one of the blasts trailing him. Diving closer to the shattered mountain and pulling up to trail it, another went off into the side of the mountain, further collapsing it, making it fall in on itself yet more. The very peak of the once mighty structure of rock began rumbling and falling inward as the other, untouched side of the rocks began imploding as well. The remaining two bolts caught themselves on more falling debris, setting off another two huge explosions in his wake.
As soon as he cleared the debris cloud, leaving the mountain to crumble behind him, he felt another dense round plunge into his back. Jerking in the air, rounds traced in the air after him, shooting into the empty sky from the half dozen monsters in tow. The closer he came to his objective, the stronger they seemed to get. Which meant they were going to delay him unless he figured out the best way to let them all fall into his range again for a single attack. Twisting in the air, Gohan began to move in a long cyclone like motion as he flew ahead. The dense bolts of energy followed him at an ever more rapid pace, but he felt the demons beginning to come together again as they followed him through his long twists in the air.
Another series of bolts shot through his path. He felt the forces around him pulling hard against his body as he pulled himself to a halt in the air. Everything seemed to lurch back, but without question he obtained what he wanted. The six demons shot past him in a series of purple and red aura trails. It all happened in under a second, leaving his would-be killers with nothing themselves to hunter after. Reigniting his own aura, a golden field burst around him before he exploded after them. The hunted now becoming the hunter.
Pointing out one hand, he concentrated before launching a single attack.
The Catastrophe Gun attack fired rapidly out of his right hand. Dozens of bolts of energy fired ahead, each one twisting after one of the monsters. Terrified and erratic motions followed from all of his enemies. As the bolts closed, they exploded into a dozen more purple energy waves.
"No! No No No No NO!" one demon screamed as he desperately started to evade.
Each of the demons plunged down, trying to make one final attempt to desperately avoid. Each bolt followed after as terrified screams followed. The valley below them was pristine and seemingly untouched. A second later, hundreds of massive explosions burst in the air above it and in the ground around it. Fireballs roared into the air as black smoke billowed out of the ground. New fires raged, and inside them the demons ashes were at their core. There wasn't a single bit of sympathy from the Saiyan for their fate.
"Amateurs," Gohan snapped, his golden aura trailing after him as he continued on his journey towards Garlic's energy, barely deterred.
The remaining three demons accelerated after him, their power seemingly growing again. The strange energy he felt before only seemed to become more intense.
Whatever is causing that, is feeding into their strength.
"I don't have time for this. I'm kind of on the clock, and you're making me late," Gohan shouted back towards them.
They didn't seem amused by his response as he saw the three of them gathering energies to make their own assault.
The valley below turned into hills, which then turned into a small town, which then swept past a long beach before the ocean flooded in below. The clear blue sea became the only thing for as far as the eye could see. This time several beams carved through the surface of the water after him. The water split from the impact of the beams with the water, sending massive waves in two directions with each beam. The ocean floor was disrupted beneath the waves as well. This was the home stretch, it wasn't much further until he arrived at the source of the power.
Pulling down again, this time Gohan plunged into the water, taking in a great gulp of air before he did. The cool, salty liquid rushed over his frame. It was refreshing and shocking all at once. It did little to impede his movement, if it impeded it at all. Behind him he felt the demons plunge into the water after him. He could sense the water moving around him as yet more bolts of energy trailed after him. Breaking above the water, Gohan felt the air rush against his wet clothes and skin, but it was of little consequence as well. The demons were using their eyes, not their senses. Just like the demons from before, they were going to be effected by the water before they reemerged from it, meaning they'd have trouble knowing what he was going to do.
Putting both his hands together and gathering sufficient energy, Gohan did one turn, before launching a single bolt of energy down towards the water he just emerged from.
A massive explosion of water emerged from where he had as the three demons came howling out of it, only to realize there was the deep glow of the Calamity Blaster. Twisting in the air in the same motion as when he'd fired the bolt, Gohan continued on his path. The shockwave hit him before he heard the explosion. This time there was no time for his enemies to even realize they were dead, which meant there were no screams.
Behind him, the purple tinted blast burned for several seconds as if it were a star hanging above the water. Waves chaotically shuffled across the surface of the ocean as Gohan just peeled his eyes ahead.
He wasn't going to let a band of no-counts stop him from getting to Garlic on schedule.
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Garlic jr.:
Incompetence.
That was what his minions were guilty of. All they had to do was stall Son Gohan for ten, perhaps fifteen minutes. They'd barely made a dent in the time. The pitiful excuse for a Namekian demon, Piccolo, and the "Prince" of all Saiyans were going to arrive, shortly. The two lesser enemies were trying to conceal their energies, but he could most certainly detect the raging animal coming there for him. Son Gohan's power was glowing like a bright beacon, telling the whole of the world that he was on his way there.
"Spice," Garlic remarked, turning his red eyes towards his chief lieutenant. "Take Mustard and Vinegar and prevent anyone from reaching me."
"On my life, Lord Garlic, not one of these pitiful creatures will come into contact with you," his minion pledged.
It'd better be on your life. I don't want to waste so much time dealing with all of these idiots myself.
With his three chief minions moving towards the exit, Garlic was left alone on his throne, save for the girl to his right. He sat back and just looked forward, every moment his heart beat, it beat with a venom towards Son Gohan. The waiting now was as mind-numbing as his tumbling madness in the Deadzone. This was all his existence was at the moment. It was the waiting for Son Gohan. Every second he felt himself remembering the bleakness he'd been condemned to, and the glory he'd been denied, all because of some child.
The coming battle was going to be a retelling of the story, and how it should have been told. There wasn't a single day he'd not thought of Son Gohan, or his power. There wasn't a single day he didn't relive being plunged into his own nightmare because of the wretched son of Goku. Even with his plans for the universe as a whole, they paled in comparison for his one true desire. His desire for revenge was his one true lust. Nothing else could satisfy it, or be a substitute for it. And now, after two decades, he could finally taste the barest edges of it. It was enough to drive him mad.
Even if all his plans were foiled, he was immortal. They could never truly be undone. He would have what he wanted.
"Mister Gohan is going to stop you," a voice came from the side, making Garlic break from his trance. Turning his eyes sharply to the girl.
"My dad is Goku, and he's the strongest fighter in the world, and when he gets here he's going to teach you a lesson!"
It was a grim parody of what had come before. He could recall Gohan's words all those years ago as if it'd been only a few moments ago. Now his daughter was parodying him. It would have been amusing, truly amusing, had it not reminded him of his humiliation.
"Oh? You're convinced your father will come here and save you, and add me to the mountain of corpses he's made of his enemies?" Garlic responded.
"Stop saying that," the girl said back, clearly angry. "He's not a mean person, like you say he is!"
There it was. The flicker he'd sensed in the boy all those years ago. It was enough to make his eyes widen as he sensed it. So, the power which flowed through Son Gohan's veins, emerged in his daughter as well. It was exciting to see. Of course, the girl was impotent to him now, with the power he possessed now, but it was still remarkable to see how resilient it could be, persisting from one host to another. First Son Goku, then his son, and now his granddaughter.
Still, her open defiance wasn't appreciated, or accepted.
"Tell me something, girl? Do you even understand what I told you before? Actually, watch this. Minion!"
One of his lesser demons arrived from the side of his court, looking up sheepishly towards him. The orange skinned creature with red eyes would be a suitable example.
"Yes, master Garl-"
Pointing his finger down, Garlic blasted a hole in the monster's chest. Blood oozed from the open wound as it gagged violently. Staggering for several moments, he then collapsed onto the floor in a puddle of blood. The blood slowly expanded across the stone floor, filling in the cracks all around it. The girl screamed for a brief moment, stumbling back and just sitting back down on the stone, trying to hold herself.
"That is what your 'Mister Gohan' did to all those billions, meaning a lot of people.. That's very likely what he's going to try to do to me, but I cannot die, so he cannot do that to me."
There were tears in her eyes, but a long, drawn out stare. Which was another good sign. She was learning to shut herself down already. She'd be a natural killer eventually. All he needed to do was kill Gohan, and the rest of this miserable planet, and then he'd be able to prime her for the bloodiest tasks. That distant look told him all he needed.
"He'll stop you," Pan managed to whisper to herself.
Hope was wonderful, because it was always the first step on the road of disappointment. And to drive the point home, he pointed the very same finger he just had at his minion, at Pan. A painful zap of red energy later, the girl had half collapsed and was trembling uncontrollably.
"Did he stop me from doing that?" Garlic snapped.
Children are so disrespectful these days.
Turning his head back to the entrance to his hall again, Garlic looked past the body and just towards the door, his head slowly inclining it forward.
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Gohan:
It was massive. A massive, foreboding castle, with terrible dark columns and sharp structures. A nightmare of a building, it was designed to cause fear to anyone who entered it. He'd seen more then a few fortresses in his time, but this one reminded him of only a few. None of them held pleasant memories. But most of all, just upon seeing the buildings, even in their shattered state, brought back an odd sense of familiarity. He'd been here before, in the life he'd lost before his time in the Planet Trade. Only the vaguest hints of memories came to mind, but it was enough. This place stank of violence, and death.
There were a hundred ways to approach this place. Direct, an attempt at stealth, perhaps from above, but it was too late for that. They would have sensed his energy long since coming. The direct approach was the easiest one to decide on. Walking through the archway into the palace, stepping past the ruined statues and destroyed pillars, Gohan peered towards the stairwell leading to the next complex. At its base were a half dozen of Garlic's minions.
They seemed to be relatively calm.
"So what if he's coming here, with the master present we can- huh?"
Walking in an orderly fashion towards them, Gohan stopped, before smiling.
"Hey."
A moment later, an explosion blasted out of the bottom of the palace. The ground archway blasted outward along with piles of rubble. The cloud of shattered building expanded into the outside, as within, dust and smoke overwhelmed most of the building. Bits of meat were descending from all around, remnants of the six demons killed in the blast. Immediately upon moving up the steps, energy bolts began flying from all directions. Two below, two from the side, one above.
"There he is! Kill him!"
It was a simplistic remark, but it was a simplistic situation. Kill or be killed. Turning around to the two below him, Gohan fired down the steps, blasting away both demons in a single shot, before twisting upward, disappearing with pure speed, appearing next to the two on the balcony to his right. A swift kick to one, and a brutal punch to the other, tore bodies apart. Legs and torsos separated, before the power being used to strike them caused both bodies to explode. A dozen more monsters then charged from below.
How many of these things are there?
A combined beam of force blasted up towards him, singeing his arm and burning away part of his red t-shirt. Blurring back up towards the next room, Gohan dispatched the last demon above him with a vicious chop across the side of the neck, splitting the body down the middle. Twisting to turn back towards the dozen, he felt the blurs of motion all around him as the enemies circled him in a wave of motion. Smirking, Gohan let his aura drift around him for several moments as he concentrated. They were striking at him from all directions, but it was a primitively simple task to dodge. It looked as though he wasn't even moving to the outside viewer.
Putting his hands together, he formed a single, bright glowing purple ball of energy, most certainly malicious in its origin.
A moment later, he disappeared, but the ball remained.
All twelve demons stopped in mid air around it, their eyes widened as they stared directly into the bright ball.
"Oh Shi-"
Another blast rocked the already crippled ruin.
With another blur of motion, Gohan travelled through the dark heart of the palace, his senses searching not for Garlic, but Pan. Lost in his driven goal, it took Gohan several seconds to detect something he'd have sensed much earlier if he'd been paying attention. Three powers, all of them swollen with the strange energy still being emitted throughout the castle. The same energy that increased the power of the demons he'd slain in the palace, and on the way here.
Before he could render a response, a blow landed firmly on his abdomen, a knee appearing in blinding motion in front of him. Another struck him across the face, and a third game in from behind, axe smashing him into the floor. His body broke through the thinly built balcony, before slamming through two more levels and busting through a column, before he found himself able to roll back and find his feet.
Landing in front of him, two hulking figures appeared, before the third one gracefully found his footing. The three were a mismatch of demon parts. The two larger ones had horns, and the smaller one had spiky, almost Saiyan hair. They were significantly stronger then the previous minions. In fact, they had more in common with the red monster who assaulted Goten back in West City. These were Garlic's shock troops. The Armoured Squadron of Demons. He could already tell who the leader was, the spiky hair, smug looking one.
"Master Garlic is very impressed you made it this far. We are here to welcome you, of course," he commented, before bowing his head slightly. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Spice... and this is Mustard and Vinegar. We are the Three Monarchs."
The other two demons flexed their muscles, clearly in an attempt to intimidate, their smirks becoming ever more confident and vicious.
"Yea, and we're going to crush you," the largest of the three said, the purple skinned one who Spice introduced as Vinegar.
The brute cracked his knuckles as he chuckled, and Gohan just narrowed his gaze. The three of them were certainly tougher then any of the dozens he'd killed so far. Tougher however, wouldn't be enough, as they were still infants compared to his power. They were going to attack him as a group, but even then this wouldn't prove much of a challenge.
All Gohan did was give them a dangerous glance, before slowly slipping into a defensive stance.
"All the three of you are going to do is get my hands more bloody," Gohan responded coldly.
Immediately the confident smirks turned to scowls across the board as the three demons edged towards him. The red haired one, who Gohan assumed to be Mustard, scowled the most before the three launched themselves at him. In a swirl of motion they assaulted. Pink and teal colours lead the pack as they whirled around him. Turning naturally with their speed, Gohan blocked. Kicks, punches, elbows and knees all stabbed towards him. Slowly he elevated off the ground, moving with them as he intercepted each attack in a flurry of motion.
Spice, Mustard, and Vinegar revealed what kind of fighters they were in this furious exchange. Gohan picked up on every subtle movement, looking not only into how they attacked, but how they defended. Each one left themselves open to attack in a dozen ways. As Gohan deflected another fist away from him, he made his motion to attack.
It was like he was moving in all their directions at once. Almost at the exact same instance, Gohan landed an elbow into the sternum of Vinegar, a fist caught the side of Spice's face, and a back kick connected with Mustard's back. The three demons immediately ejected from battle. Each one slammed into pillars and walls, shattering their points of impact before impotently falling to the ground.
Slowly, Gohan gracefully landed on his feet a moment later, standing up straight and cracking his neck from side to side.
"Was that it? Do you think this is some kind of childish game? Do you three really think you could bring such a weak assault to me, and expect a different result? You're pathetic," Gohan commented, before spitting on the ground.
Immediately, he began sensing out Pan's energy again, locating it and feeling a sense of relief. Now that these three were dealt with-
As soon as Gohan had moved to walk towards where he sensed Pan's energy, the three Monarchs were standing only metres in front of him again. Each one looked haggard and harmed from their very, very brief encounter with him. They were either impossibly loyal, or they thought they could do something impossibly futile to stop him. Either way, he wasn't intimidated or impressed. With a near blank look on his face, Gohan just stared back at the three demons.
"None of you are particularly smart, are you?"
"Do you think that's the limit to what the Three Monarchs can really do?"
Crossing his arms, Gohan just stared on, titling his head to one side a second later.
"I don't care if it is, or isn't," he determined. "You're all dead men at this point anyway."
The air around them however, seemed to heat up as energy was summoned forward. Red auras began to encircle the three demons as Gohan rolled his eyes. They were going to power up? It wasn't going to be that impressive-
The spike hit at a million kilometres a second seemingly. Suddenly the three's bodies exploded with muscle mass and energy. The most dramatic transformation being when Spice's frame doubled in size and overwhelming muscles spilled off of his body seemingly. It was an incredible increase in power, even Gohan had to admit that. Slowly, his arms uncrossed as the three demons howled, their powers still growing.
Dust blasted into the air as the ground cracked beneath the now three hulking Goliaths. Taking a step back would be a sign of weakness, but Gohan felt immediately on the defensive. Any one of them were still no match for him, but the three together? It was still a good chance of a win, but not without a serious commitment, one he couldn't necessarily afford before finding Pan.
Shit.
As soon as the dust settled, the three had their grins return, now confident in their abilities.
"With the power of the Makyo Star inside of our master's body itself, we are all more powerful then you can imagine."
"I've got a better imagination then you think," Gohan responded, slowly shifting his form back to a defensive stance.
With the kind of confidence that only superior numbers could breed, the three launched themselves at him once again. Raising his right arm to block, Gohan intercepted the first lightning quick strike from Spice, locking their forearms together to a blur of a moment before he ducked under the demon's elbow. A second later their knees connected in another blur of motion. From the side, Vinegar assaulted now as well. His huge fists struck out in a furious motion, swinging wildly and looking to land blows, none of them found their mark. With the two demons fighting together in tandem, the problem became his. There was no room for offence in the series of assaults.
"He's too frightened to do anything but dodge!" Spice laughed.
Without hesitation, Gohan slammed his elbow into the demon's face instead of parrying a blow from Vinegar. Without time to react, the huge fists of the giant demon found their mark. A blow slammed into his ribs before one caught him across the face, sending him skidding along the ground. The pain was minimal, their punches weren't strong enough to fully subdue his aura. Accessing more power to put them down seemed to be the only option.
Two feet tried to land on him from behind, but the Saiyan rolled aside, appearing in a blinking motion to the side, down on one knee as Mustard landed with both feet on the stone floor, carving a path through the stone.
"Rotten monkey! I was going to crush you in one blow!"
Optimistic, to say the least.
Preparing to ramp up his energy, Gohan narrowed his eyes as his opponents regrouped for the next attack.
"You'll pay for striking my face," Spice snarled through the back of his hand.
Before he could make another response, the ceiling to their left exploded into a huge fireball. Demons screamed out in their sudden deaths, before being washed away in a wave of exceptionally powerful energy. Fresh flames licked against the stone pillars, burning the edges of the rocks. Raising his hands, Gohan blocked a rushing wave of heat, and thousands of rocks moving through the air as bullet fast projectiles. Most bounced helplessly off of him, when he was found in their path. Across from him, the demons did the same.
"What the Hell was that?" Spice snarled.
Looking into the smoke, Gohan knew exactly who it was first.
Spiked hair made the top of the silhouette in the blastzone. A golden glow hummed from within. As the smoke slipped away further and further from above, it revealed only the cold Super Saiyan eyes of an all too familiar face.
Vegeta.
The three demons all seemed to freeze in place in shock at the presence of the Saiyan they thought they'd killed. Vegeta's armour was shattered, his clothing badly torn, but his body was in perfect condition, no doubt from the help of a Senzu bean.
"You," Spice managed to say.
"Yes, me," Vegeta responded, taking several steps forward, lighting arching off of his gloves and then up his arms. "And I see your pitiful power level has managed to rise since our first encounter. That's good, perhaps you'll be able to amuse me for five minutes before I kill you."
With the inside of the palace now directly exposed to the outside, a cold wind blew in, washing over all of them. Looking nervously back towards Gohan, and then back towards Vegeta, it was obvious that the three monarchs were concerned about their odds of fighting them both at once.
"You're a fool, Vegeta. We defeated you before, what makes you think we cannot defeat you again? Our power has only grown in the last few hours," Spice spat. "Surely you must have a death wish."
With a humph of disgust, Vegeta responded with great disdain.
"A death wish? You must be right. After all, didn't you promise me you'd have a hand in my death, demon?" Vegeta asked, an confident smile creeping across his face. "I've come to give you the opportunity to make good on your threats. Or have you lost the nerve to back up your words?"
Immediately the room was flushed with crimson energy as Spice snarled angrily at Vegeta. Rocks and chips of stone off the floor slowly rose in the air as black lightning arced between the rocks.
"Spice, don't you think we should focus on Son Gohan, like-" Vinegar was cut off as the world began to rumble, not just from Spice's energy.
Immediately Vegeta's smirk disappeared as he looked past the demons. Gohan's eyes traced over as well. Green light blinded the battle hardened Saiyan for a moment, before the familiar energy signature appeared. It was powerful, much more powerful then the last time they'd met.
The Namek? Good. Another big hitter always helps.
As the light faded, Piccolo slowly walked into view, his white cape blowing behind him as he approached them from the other side, dropping a dead demon at his side, having broken its neck only moments earlier.
"Garlic's taste in minions has declined since the last time I encountered him," Piccolo remarked, sizing up the three demons.
"Mind your own business Namek, these three are mine," Vegeta cut in, glaring past their enemies towards their ally. "If you want to make yourself helpful, why not find Kakarot and that foolish Guardian of this planet?"
The rolling of Piccolo's eyes was his only response.
"How dare you insult us, green skin?! We're the most powerful warriors in the universe!" Vinegar shouted.
"Yea!" Mustard shouted after him, both of them snarling and barring their teeth.
"Except for Gohan, Vegeta, Goku, your master Garlic, and myself, that claim is almost close to being true," Piccolo commented, grasping his turban before tossing it aside. "If you're lucky, you might be nearly as strong as Dabura was. And I killed Dabura."
A second later, Piccolo turned his gaze towards Gohan, as serious as ever. It was easy enough to read, and Gohan understood immediately. Vegeta and Piccolo were going to deal with Spice and his boys. That meant they were going to give him the chance to find Pan, and stop Garlic jr. Slowly lifting into the air, Gohan eyed Vegeta, who just crossed his arms and glared. Behind it, he could see the reluctant acceptance of the plan.
"Where do you think you're going?" Spice spat, turning his attention back towards Gohan.
In a blur of motion, Vegeta appeared directly in front of him, his arms still crossed.
"I could ask you the same," the Prince's voice cut in. "Don't tell me you were thinking about backing off on our fight, lapdog. I want to see if your bark matches your bite."
"Maggot!" Spice shouted, throwing his first punch towards Vegeta.
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Garlic jr.:
The Four Monarchs, now Three, were clearly doomed. It was all just a question of it they bought him enough time to kill Son Gohan the way he wanted to or not. Truthfully, even if they failed, he would still win. After all, he was immortal. Death was something he never needed to fear, and with the power of the Seven Dragon Balls and the Makyo Star, he would never need to worry about expending all his power. His fears died earlier that day, when he obtained his wishes from the Eternal Dragon. It meant security in his own power, and to increase the power of any demon who came into proximity of his body. Even his minions, who'd been weak only a few days earlier, could at least make attacks on Super Saiyans.
His Monarchs were easily matches of nemesis's before the arrival of Bojack. But the Saiyans had continued their advance since then. This was what spelled the doom of his Monarchs more than anything.
The explosions had sent rubble tumbling from the ruined ceiling above, but he didn't care. The girl in the corner's head rose with every blast that rocked the building.
"Don't worry girl, you're precious father will be here for you any moment."
She turned her head to stare at him, looking for some sign of jest he was sure, but gave her none. The only thing he gave her was a cold stare in turn, before looking forward. There was a cold breeze that seemed to sweep into his throne room. At the base, two feet finally planted themselves the beginning of the long staircase up to his throne. There he was, in person, for the first time in. so. Long. Every centimetre of him was as he imagined him. The Saiyan was power personified, at least on the outside. Beneath the surface he could almost smell the fractured, bloodied wreck he'd helped forge. The Planet Trade Henchmen was still there, deep inside. It was delicious to think that this was Son Gohan... as sinful and corrupt as any of Goku's worst enemies.
He wasn't looking through a crystal ball anymore, or a pool of blood. This was it, this was Son Gohan in the flesh, standing right there in front of him. It was going to be an incredible experience, pulling him apart limb from limb. Still, this was the moment he'd been waiting for, for so very, very long. Slowly rising from his throne, Garlic just smiled down at the Super Saiyan.
"Son Gohan, at long last, we meet again."
The girl to his right seemed to transform. Her eyes widened with hope, and tears of relief sprung into her eyes. A bitter taste slowly entered Garlic's mouth as he realized Gohan wasn't looking at him, but was looking at the girl. So, he valued this brat more then he did their grudge? He'd killed the mother of the girl, and his first response wasn't revenge, but concern for the whelp? Well, his belief that the girl would drag Gohan here certainly proved true. It proved too true.
With a low growl, Garlic began to walk to the top of the steps, turning his gaze away from Pan entirely and back to Gohan.
"Nothing to say then?" he asked, narrowing his red eyes. "I killed your lover. I killed your father. I nearly killed all your friends. I've taken the girl. And all you do is give me the silent treatment? I'm hurt. Even Goku had more to say before I disposed of him."
That managed to catch his attention, before the voice cracked in the room.
"Mister Gohan, you've gotta help me, he-!"
The girl moved to begin moving down the stairs to greet Gohan. Without hesitation, Garlic shot beams into the ground in front of her. Two small red blasts sent her flying back, rolling against the ground.
"Pan!" Gohan finally spoke, his eyes widened before he turned to Garlic, almost snarling.
Oh, I see why you've not run in swinging wildly yet. You want to protect the girl. How very adorable. That is going to make this all the easier.
"Pan, stay there, and stay down," Gohan then said, before letting his aura emerge again. Golden energy sparked across the Saiyan's body as he slowly began to walk up the steps. "You want me to say something? Fine. I'm going to kill you."
There it was. There was the rage he wanted to see, simmer below the surface. It was the same anger and fury which cast him into the Deadzone. It was the same fury which killed his own father-figure, and the monster Broly.
And it was as marvellous as he remembered it. It was a thrill, making his heart race with anticipation, and his digits twitch with almost a giddy kind of joy, unable to be contained within. As his dark grin twisted against the edges of his mouth, the demon's cold eyes remained locked with Gohan's, as if telling Gohan with his eyes what he hadn't yet with his lips.
No, you won't kill me, Gohan.
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Author's Notes:
Right. So just to let people know, Chapter 44 may take me a bit longer. Though I will say that Chapter 44 focuses on Piccolo and Vegeta. Chapter 45 will be much larger, and has Gohan as the primary focus (as surprising as that is, in his story, lol)
As for things in this chapter, I really enjoyed bringing Vegeta and Piccolo in when I did, and I'm going to have a lot of fun writing a very traditional Dragon Ball styled battle next chapter. I'm not sure how long it'll be, but it'll be entertaining, I promise. But yea, the next two chapters will be incredibly important. I really hope to capture what I want to convey.
I really enjoy writing how obsessive Garlic is with Gohan in an incredibly unhealthy way.
I had one reviewer who wanted me to point out where Saga's begin and end and what not, so this is how I've best been able to do it-
Gohan/Turles Saga:
1-15
Babidi/Broly Saga
16-30
Garlic jr. Saga:
31-4?
I basically consider sagas to cut off after significant, climatic events. So we're rapidly approaching the end of the Garlic jr. Saga. The chapters following it, are already planned. It's going to be split up to convey different things about the universe in general, before the story moves forward. I'd expect 3-5 chapters to follow the Garlic jr. Saga which are instrumental to building the world for the next Saga.
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Reviewers:
Johnny Spectre: If you wanna see some violence, Chapter 45 is going to be brutal.
DarkKnightShiva: I always try. :)
Pyromania101: I can't spoil everything. But you'll see everything is paced as it needs to be. Not all chapters will be absolutely gigantic. For instance this chapter is only 13 pages. But next chapter I suspect will be between 15-25. The one after that?... Big.
Guest1: It's never been implied that Garlic trained in that time. And if you look at the scene where he's in front of the Makyo Star, he states his power will increase 10,000 fold. Then let's not forget what happens when Vinegar and Spice go in front of the Star and transmutate into giants from its energy, as their power goes nuts.
Guest2: I find it intensely funny that you've failed to put together a proper sentence.
"it is obivious you lack douchebag" - Uhm? What are you trying to say? I understand it's designed to be hostile, but its clearly not very well thought out. Also, I would like to add, that you're complaining about something that happened, what? 18 chapters ago? Twenty? Please dude/dudette, cry to someone who gives a shit.
XXTITANIA SCARLETTXX: I think I answered this one by PM, if I didn't, I apologize.
Maesde: I think Pan's already pretty scarred. This is going to just add to that. Normal is never what her life's been destined to be, but really Gohan's fucked her life up. From her conception, to his interactions with Videl, to concealing who he was, to having enemies who want to get back at him through her. Gohan's tried to do what he can for Pan, in the ways he allowed himself, but he also has really destroyed a lot of her life sadly.
KaosMoshPit: I try. This is the last part of the build up, now we can harvest the crop. Chapter's 44 and 45 are going to be colossal (I hope)
VuvuzelaHero: Smug, obsessive, psychotic, and power hungry. Garlic's part in this series over the next few chapters will be awesome.
DBZ fan the first: I'm trying.
Nephal Fox: What do you mean? This is awesome!... just not for Gohan, lol
MaxPain32: I've planned out my next few sagas, and how they all tie together. But I do want to stress that the original end for this Story is basically in the late 40's for the story. I have decided to change it, because I feel I can do more, but I'm almost done the original component of what I wanted. The reason I chose Garlic as the "final" villain originally, is he's the first person Gohan ever hurt, and he's the first villain of the series, if one counts the movies. It's where Gohan's Story begins. But, I digress. The new sagas will go forward.
MetallicManiac: I don't know many "god awful" stories that clear past 2,000 reviews. I'm glad you enjoy my story all the same. :)
Heseltine: I don't know if Pan fully believes it herself yet. Note, she's yet to call him dad, or father. But Pan plays a pretty huge role in Chapter 45.
Brelic: I can, it's gonna be really tough to write XD
YoungIV: I think the climax is coming in Chapter 45.
Guest3: Don't worry, the clusterfuck is being resolved! It is all part of the plan!
LincDawg: If everything goes as planned, there will be... 1...2...3...4... 5?... Five more villains to go through. If everything goes as planned.
Randomreader: Yep, I allow a lot of the gaps to be filled in by the reader :)
BigBluKrew: Yea, I'm always a bit perturbed by people who want the anime, or people who want something radically and completely alien to the anime. I try to find common ground in all of it, and write a compelling story inside of it. I may fail, but that's what I try to do.
An9454: Is that a pun I detect?!
DaLightningKid: Thanks a bunch :). A lot of people really have trouble getting over things. To be fair, with certain things I get annoyed too. Don't even get me started on what I perceive as "flaws" in Company of Heroes II, lol
RedHunter87: For the purposes of this story, Garlic is immortal. I trust the Eternal Dragon when he says "your wish has been granted". And as before, I suspect the story will continue past this Saga. I have plans to do it.
Moriksako83: I hope that all the hype turns out to be justified. I've got tons of scenes planned. I just hope I have the will to do it, and do it right. If it goes the way I want, it'll be the best fight in the story.
Tomorrow4eva: Fair criticism, I normally don't change things for much, but I tried to address a bit of what you said this chapter. Thanks.
Aqua Roxas: I can't spoil, but I can say that a lot of those predictions are wrong XD
Guest4: Number 1!... Engage!
Puppet Master: Om nom Nom nom!
Guest5: Derrrrrrr, calculator?! No, I'm saying they're bullshit because they can mean whatever you want them do, and are easily manipulated. It's like a survey. They can mean more then you think, and how they're presented changes a lot. I know tons of you guys love them, but, yea, I don't really care. There won't be specific battle ratings.
Guest6: How did I not see something coming? You mean crazy perverted people? It's not being stricken from the story, I'm just not really going to be providing people with feedback regarding it. It plays a role in the story going forward still. There are no free passes.
Ki Ai Sky: Thanks a bunch!... And I think I answered those by PM.
Guest7: I provided this above a bit.
Guest8: So many Guests! Actually, I posted this chapter today because of this review to point one thing out. Firstly, I understand that my grammar isn't perfect, but I also want to point something out.
Where I come from, Defense is the wrong spelling. I'm a Canadian, we spell defence the right way. We're civilized. ;)