The Horse with No Name


Chapter Forty

The Son, the Holy Spirit and the Father


Dellie's Diner, West City, Earth

Within the confines of the stale, dismal-smelling diner in Downtown West City, non-licensed jazz songs play over tired speakers, low as coffee cups kiss tables and patrons talk amongst one another in levelled conversation. It's damp. The snow has long since melted into rain and the entire space is dark as a result. Sun-ruined red tiles and booths look ever more depressing. In one such red booth overlooking the car park, Videl Satan sits, hunched over a milkshake, wide-eyed as her straw lollygags between open lips.

Goten slurps the rest of his own milkshake.

"Can I get you another?" Croaks the antique server when she notices the empty glass. A bejewelled ball point pen clicks above a notepad and she turns to Videl. "How about you, sweetie? Another strawberry?"

Videl is too busy catching flies to register her.

"Yeah, please," Goten says after a time. "For us both."

She leaves but before she does, she smiles, teeth grey behind gaudy diner red lipstick. "Sure."

"You're kidding me," Videl finally breathes. "I… you're… Goten, you're serious?"

"I'm not. That's it. That's the entire story."

She has to sit back, chipped bitten nails claw into hair as she drags it back. "Oh my fucking… Christ."

"Yeah, I know."

"This Rixas guy is here now, on Earth?"

"He's gonna' be at the meeting. I only know 'cause Trunks called me like an hour ago about it."

Videl's hands shield her mouth and she leans against the table for support. It's a similar reaction to Trunks' from the other night after Goten had relayed his account to him. Only, Trunks hadn't been quite as horrified, per say, more like morbidly curious, with a particular appetite to know every fraction of Goten's experience as possible. Over the phone it'd been difficult to gauge what exactly had gone through Trunks' mind, but from the lilts of silence from the other side it's clear a lot of thoughts had indeed been swallowed.

At first, Trunks'd been jubilant when he'd answered.

"Goten? Is that you? Goten? God. You better not be a fucking ghost," he'd said in greeting instantly after the first ring. After a meek "hi" in return, it took less than five seconds for him to blow up over the phone, shouting expletives and calling him a moron and wishing that he had in fact choked on that stupid orb when he'd swallowed it.

At least, mercifully, he'd not been as mad at the prospect of losing Gotenks as anticipated.

"That's shit," he'd said so simply after Goten had told him about his lost energy. "I don't know what more I can say. That's really shit… I'm sorry, man. But… uh, at least now you don't have to fight anymore. That's something, I guess."

"I can't even go Super Saiyan," he'd admitted, hurting, pathetic.

"Damn…"

"It's one of the worst things that's ever happened to me."

"Goten, you almost died, like God knows how many times, and you would have if not for your brother. For that alone you should be kind of thankful. I don't want to sound like a dick but at least you're still around to tell the tale. I mean, without getting all gooey and stuff, I'm thankful… you scared the shit out of me, idiot."

Goten had wanted to drop the subject after that. It'd been sore to talk about his power loss – it still is. Sure, he'd been able to fly to the diner today but that's barely anything to celebrate in comparison to what he used to be able to do. And what does the future offer? If Gohan gets his way then he won't even have that, he and Trunks will have to use Nimbus as B-Grade public transportation.

"I want to meet this Rixas," Videl asserts, fist to table. "Where is he?"

"W-What? No way, that's a terrible idea."

"I'm not scared of him."

"That's 'cause you can't sense their powers, the gods I mean. It's unlike anything you've felt before."

"It's not like want a fist fight." She leans over the table, the impossibly stubborn glint to her expression telling Goten that there's no getting through to her whilst she's like this. "I just want to know what the hell happened to my friend for him to become this – this crazed – radicalized terrorist that goes around killing people. The Gohan of the past was super into his connection with ki, he'd been the one to show it to me, he taught me how to fly; God, he was basically some hippy country kid with how he talked about the stuff. Like hell they didn't do anything to scramble his head. The Gohan I knew wouldn't just do a one-eighty on this, and he wouldn't hurt anyone for the sake of it."

"Well, this is Lord Mori," Goten says haughtily.

"Fuck that guy. He's—"

Two pink, cream-topped glasses clink on the table. "Your milkshakes."

Videl takes hers and angrily slurps.

"Thanks," Goten says, hoping the server will take that as her cue to go.

"Missy, aren't you Videl Satan?" she instead caws, inch-long acrylics gesturing excitedly, "Ooh, it is you, isn't it? Oh, aren't you just the cutest thing? I've seen you on the tele and in Good Morning Satan City magazine. Your pa' is a hero."

Videl blows into her straw, sour. Pink milk bubbles. Talk about bad timing.

"I'm sorry but we're having a pretty serious conversation." Goten smiles the best he can, taking his milkshake and raising it up. "So… if you could just, uh, thanks."

"Say no more, sweetie. Let me get out your hair. Consider these on the house for the world saviour's little girl and her cute friend. Ooh, I can't wait to tell the gals who moseyed into my little piece of West City this morning. Do enjoy, and shout me over if you need anything at all."

By the time she hobbles back over to the serving station, Videl's soul hangs on by only a fraction. "I'm twenty-three," she mutters, hollow, "And I'm a lawyer."

"And the saviour's little girl, apparently."

"And an absolute idiot. How didn't I see that there was something so wrong with him? Now that I think about it, there'd been so many red flags. But do you know what annoys me the most when it shouldn't? That fact that he'd… God, that he'd lied to me. To me. I told him to talk to me if there was anything bothering him and he just – argh! Goten, I thought we were friends."

"You are." Goten prods at the milkshake with his straw, eyes firm on the sinking cream. "Gohan was really messed up when I last saw him. I think he's trying his best to distance himself from his Gohan-ness, he's trying to be Mori but I could tell with everything that's happened with me and with Dad and everything else it's totally eating him up. You should have heard him, Videl, he's never gone off at me before like he did back at the estate…"

"What did he say?"

"And you're spoilt!" Gohan had fumed, "Lazy, undetermined and expectant of those around to take care of you! I worked for everything I had and you resent it!"

Goten shrugs, looking out as the rain pelts down.

"He's never seen me, either!"

"Just some truths, I guess. What he wrote in that letter of his was just the polite version of what he really thought of me…"

Videl clicks her tongue. "He loves you."

"Yeah, well, he chose Rixas and Quell as his brothers."

"That's because he's hit his head or something, or at least, that's what I hope he's done because if not I'll be giving him a concussion for being an idiot. Don't ask me how I'll do it but I will, for us both."

"Don't worry about me, Videl. I'm done sulking – I'm not taking this lying down anymore. I'll knock him about the head myself, uh, also somehow."

"Good." Her milkshake is gone even before he touches his own, and with steam teeming from her ears, she watches as Goten finishes before readying herself to leave the diner. The server waves to them as if bidding the king and queen farewell.

From then on, there's no dissuading Videl from attending the aforementioned meeting. Since they were already in West City, Capsule Corporation is less than a ten-minute jet copter ride away, fifteen maximum with the rain. Goten doesn't argue with her because he knows that there's very little point, and really, he can't say anything when he's also gate-crashing. No invite had been issued out to him even though he'd been the one cooped up in that giant house for days with a bunch of monsters.

Okay, actually Myra was actually really nice to him most of the time so he's not counting her in that. She'd also been…

Yeah…

His face heats.

Why does Gohan always get the pretty girls?

Videl clicks her fingers in front of his face. "I said let's go."

Now having parked her jet copter and equipped herself with an umbrella, she stands before Goten and the expansive property of Capsule Corporation. Her boots audibly announce their arrival before they even enter the building, tapping against concrete and then laminate flooring all the way along the public areas and into the private section. The guards know him – and Videl, of course – so don't stop them as they make their way to the living quarters and up to where Trunks had said to meet him. His face is a treat upon seeing Videl.

"You're actually bringing a plus one to something we're not even invited to." Before Goten says anything in return, Trunks (the non-hugger) surprises him and flails his arms around his shoulders. "You stupid asshole," he mutters, "Don't you dare leave me again."

Then he slaps Goten across the head.

"Ow, what was that for?"

"You damn well know what that was for. Hi, Videl."

She folds her arms, surveying Goten with distaste. "I already gave him crap, too."

"Glad to hear it. Not that I'm unhappy to see you but I think it's going to be a hard sell for us all to be allowed in."

Actually, it's not a hard sell at all. When Goten and Trunks ready themselves at their usual peek hole at the door, Videl sighs and boots the door open like she owns the place. Trunks practically lands on him, and they both scuffle off the floor when multiple pairs of eyes turn in their direction.

"It's not like they didn't sense us outside, right?" Videl says, walking ahead. She waves to the small group. "Hey, so I want to hear what this god has to say about Gohan. Anyone got a problem with that?"

"Tch." Vegeta is already on top form. "You're just going to get in the way. What difference do you—?"

"Actually," the Supreme Kai says, smiling, "You're very welcome, Videl Satan. You'd been a close friend of Gohan so your attendance is significant today. Ah, yes, what an excellent turn of fate. In fact, all of you are welcome. Please take a seat. Boys, you too."

Goten and Trunks look between one another, while Videl takes her chair like this had been a part of the plan all along. The other two don't say anything, expressions ranging from discontent to annoyance, as circling the half-moon conference table, Vegeta, Piccolo, Shin and now Videl sit.

Vegeta is clearly unhappy. His chin rises in Trunks' direction. "No funny business, boy. I don't want to hear your dog shit ideas about the Revelation."

Goten notices Trunks flinch as he takes the chair to his right. What's that about?

"Well, it might be best for you to remain quiet unless spoken to," the Supreme Kai says in a similar manner, "I cannot predict Lord Rixas' reaction as I have had very, very little interaction with him. Let's play it safe as not to upset him."

"He's not as bad as Quell," Goten then tells the group. "Actually, he'd seemed pretty normal in comparison."

Both Piccolo and Vegeta scoff.

"Well, I mean… I don't know. I guess I didn't see what happened on Old Planet Geo…"

"It's better you didn't, Goten," Piccolo says, "It wasn't pleasant viewing."

Vegeta, who looks especially unwell now that Goten thinks about it, nods in agreement.

"Oh really," the Supreme Kai sighs, looking at the clock ticking away above the door. "Goku would be late to his own funeral, wouldn't he?"

"That's Dad, all right."

"And how lucky we are that you have found your way back to us. I am pleased for you to be here in the flesh, truly."

"Yes." Piccolo turns to him next. "You survived the Realm of the Gods. I suppose not everyone's going to get a return trip from there, not unless they go around eating mystical orbs like starved vacuum cleaners and stumble across a god for a ride home. Consider yourself lucky."

Goten scratches the back of his head, awkwardly laughing and ignoring the incoming glares. "It wasn't bad there."

"The Realm of the Almighty is beautiful," Shin says, "I've only been there a handful of times."

"Yeah, Hell was worse."

"Goten, you were in Hell? Whatever for?"

"Oh, when the Zea—"

There's a sudden pop. The Instant Transmission and the loud presence of both Dad and Rixas together have the room immediately halt into silence. All stare as the two stop there, Dad slightly in front and looking ever so confused at the budding tension, whilst Rixas stands behind, looking a little too comfortable in Earth clothes, his face impassive and eyes dizzyingly gold.

Oh. A tied, oversized rucksack sits on Dad's back – is he going somewhere after this?

"Hey, uh, everyone. Videl, you're here? Why? I mean, long time no see n' all, but this is pretty dangerous stuff."

"Shut up and sit down, Kakarot."

Shin welcomes them, smiling kindly. "Good morning, Goku, Lord Ri—"

The chair screeches, obnoxiously so when Rixas drags it out. He unceremoniously plops himself next to Goten and gestures with a thumb back at Dad. "Right," he says, "I'm taking this guy with me to your earthly Time Chamber, so you can tell Beerus to focus on training the vertically challenged saiyan over there and that I send my sincerest apologies for the troubles."

"What did you just call me? My name—!"

Shin is quick on damage control. "A-Ah, yes. Piccolo had mentioned your suggestion but Lord Beerus has already set his mind on taking Vegeta and Goku in order to strengthen our—"

"Too bad. It's settled. Goku and I will be spending some quality time together and I'm really looking forward to it. If the cat has a problem with that then you can send him my way."

"Goku, do you really want to do this? Are you sure that it's a good idea?"

"Rixas is the best person to learn from right now," Dad asserts after a pause for thought. "I appreciate Beerus' offer but Rixas trained with Gohan – out of all of us here, if there's someone who knows how Gohan operates offensively then it's him and I think that'll be helpful if and when I see him again. Honestly, last time I saw Gohan back on that planet I didn't even recognize that I'd been fighting against my own son. In how he holds himself, how he fights… he's changed so much."

Rixas snorts. "I'd like to think improved."

Dad and Rixas… together?

"Mmm…" Shin looks between Rixas and Goku, uncertain. "Yes, well… I'll inform Lord Beerus of your decision. I'm sure he'll… understand. So, will you be needing anything for this endeavour, my lord?"

"Did the Kai agree to my terms?"

"They… did."

"For certain?"

"Yes."

"I'll kill them myself if—"

"My lord, I can swear a magical pact and so can they should it come to it." Rixas stares for the longest time, never once faltering. Eventually the Supreme Kai is the one to speak. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Now that you mention it… I doubt the genie can get this for me. Hold up." Rixas leans back in his chair, hands stuffing into one pocket and rooting around until soon enough, a miniscule corkscrew-topped bottle emerges and is chucked to Shin. "I want more of this. Know it?"

The cork is popped. Whatever the stench, it causes Shin to cough. "Y-Yes. Amber Salve."

Dad's immediately curious. "What's that?"

When the smell finds its way to Goten, he remembers it from when Myra had applied it to his burns. "It's a health serum," he tells them. "It's like a cream."

"That's right. My captain actually used it on you here on Earth, Goku, weeks ago when I first defeated you. Its remedial components are second to none and especially effective in healing divine inflictions of ki, and all those pretty criss-cross slices from Mori's relic Z Sword. I imagine you lot could do with some of this considering Mori took out both your magic bean collection and your guardian healer. Supreme Kai, you should be able to find the manufacturer of the salve on Planet Geo; it's the old, crusty bloke who runs the Slosh for Dosh inn. Tell him Rex sent you. I want two – no, three – of my usual order."

"So it's like those senzu beans," Videl comments, picking up the bottle the moment Shin puts it down. She twists it around and tries to open it back up, failing miserably and accepting it when the Supreme Kai takes it back off of her.

"It first needs diluting for… I'm sorry but there are not many ways to articulate this, Videl, weaker beings, otherwise it can cause some lasting damage to the body's natural reaction to muscle regrowth."

"Vi-del," Rixas parrots not without amusement, "Oh, I see…"

"You see what?"

"Give me the salve now," Vegeta next orders, "I'm sick of feeling like a useless lump of bones."

"Yes, I bet that wasn't very nice for you, was it? My brother's lovely golden hellfire back on Old Geo is so beautiful yet so disastrously excruciating. Stronger beings have fallen to it so you should be thanking your lucky stars that you're still here." He watches as Vegeta messily applies it up along slightly reddened arms. "Mmm… Oh deary me."

"Be quiet! From what I heard you were hardly in a better state than me by the end."

"Vegeta!" The Supreme Kai hisses, "I do apologize, Lord Rixas, Vegeta is just—"

"Please, Rixas," Videl then calls out next, making the Supreme Kai die several deaths on the inside. "What happened to Gohan? After all these years of him being gone, what did you do to him to make him so… so…?"

"Videl."

Rixas bats a hand. "No, go on, I want to hear this."

"Broken."

The telling silence indicates that they all want the answer to this.

"Sweetheart." Rixas smiles wryly at her. "If I understood half of went through his head then I'd be fixing it as opposed to sitting here with you fine people today."

"Don't call me sweetheart. And I mean, you must know something otherwise—"

The Supreme Kai is seconds away from kicking her out. "Videl—"

"Be quiet, Kai." Rixas gestures to the Amber Salve on the table. "Tell you what, why don't you make yourself useful and go fetch me some of this? I can babysit the mortals for a little while considering you don't trust them to be alone. Or are you scared of me – that I'm gonna' gobble 'em up?"

"No, of course not, Lord Rixas. As for your salve, I am first awaiting Kibito to return with our final guest and then we can finally talk about what I've asked you all to be here for today."

Goten doesn't know how the Supreme Kai keeps his patience because Goten wouldn't be able to bite his tongue. Rixas seems eager not to cooperate with the guy whatsoever.

"What guest?" asks Dad. "Who?"

"She's my informant," the Supreme Kai says. "She has insight into the situation, much like the rest of you."

Rixas raises his brows, as does Goten.

"When you say 'situation' you mean Gohan, right?" Trunks asks.

"That's correct."

"I second you going to bring more of this Amber Salve," Vegeta says after having coloured the entirety of his arms a ghostly white. "This is far better than those wretched senzu beans. Why haven't we been using this all along if you'd known about it? I'm already feeling its effects."

"Overuse is dangerous," the Supreme Kai says, now exasperated. "Unless you're divine then I wouldn't suggest using it at all, but considering the circumstances—"

"I slather it on everything and I'm fine."

"Yes, but Lord Rixas, you are divine. Shall we get back to the topic at hand?" He looks around the group, somewhat frazzled. "I've asked you all here to discuss the topic of Lord Mori – or Gohan as some of you know him by – as I believe this is what I think holds the key to the downfall of Revelation. You are not going to like this, Goku, but I'm sure Lord Rixas can attest to this that it's very much Lord Mori leading the charge on Revelation. Back at the council meeting chamber, I'd witnessed as much a shock as Lord Quell or even you, Lord Rixas, at the state of affairs there. You hadn't known anything, had you?"

Rixas looks especially bitter now. "I'd known you murdered my brother and that I would have ripped you apart given the chance. You should be grateful that Mori spared you as he did. Neither Quell nor I would have."

"Yes, I appreciate as much. But please understand that I didn't kill Lord Famis and I wouldn't have been a part of such a ploy. Yet, by now, you must understand why it was done, specifically considering your latest experience with Majin magic."

"I wouldn't give a fuck if Famis had invented murder itself. You lot had no right to take him from us. So no, I'm not condemning what Mori did as I would have personally gone a lot further, it's more why he did it that I have beef with, but I'm not here to gossip about my brother so I'd rather just drop it."

Dad leans in at his other side. "Eh, you really didn't know, Rixas?"

"How about the Zealites?" The Supreme Kai pushes anyway, braver than expected. "Did you know about them prior? You and Mori argued enormously at the meeting place."

Rixas sends Goten a pointed look, startling the latter. "We were arguing about what just happened here on Earth. He'd been pissed I destroyed his mortal vessel in front of the kid and Goku, and…" He actually looks put out. "Well, let's just say that you saw it come to a blow on Old Geo."

Goten didn't see what came to a blow. "Did something bad happen? The Supreme Kai said something about Majin magic?"

There's a bark of laughter from the god, and not a trickle of amusement from anyone else.

Piccolo contemplates his next words very carefully. "He… beat you, in the end, didn't he? Even with your Majin power, Gohan still somehow…"

"He didn't beat me. It wasn't a proper fight."

"Gohan walked. You didn't."

"I could have killed him plenty of times," Rixas defends, "Thank the Almighty I didn't. I just wanted to play with my food."

"That's horrible," Videl comments.

"That's the power of Majin." Vegeta scoffs and throws the empty container. "I want more of this salve before I leave for Beerus' planet."

"Yes and I want some more of it before we leave for the Time Chamber. Can we hurry this along? Goku and I have places to be."

Goten's earlier anxiety returns at the thought of Rixas and Dad being locked away together for an entire year. "Are you sure you want to train with him, Dad?"

Colour Goten surprised when Rixas flicks him across the temple. "Eh? I was decent to you."

"Ow. I just mean that you two… don't…"

"I'm a delight, young man."

"My earlier point," stresses Piccolo, "is that it's worrying that Gohan had even been able to hold a candle to you, that he and Lord Quell together are very much a force to be reckoned with."

"Oh, you only saw the tip of the iceberg."

Vegeta hits the table. "First it's Kakarot I'm lulling behind and now it's him again."

"Tell us, Lord Ri—uh, Rixas, because it's been festering at the back of my mind for a while now, has Gohan been trying to close off our roads to secure health?" Piccolo asks, each head turning to him in surprise, "From my understanding, he doesn't want us to fight and he knows that we wouldn't want to risk ourselves in battle needlessly when we wouldn't be able to heal ourselves."

"Bingo. And he wanted to disconnect you from the kais, of course. That's why he had your guardian stolen too, but what a fat load of good that's done with the Supreme Kai hanging around you like a fly to shit. Again, that's why he threatened this one away into hiding. He'd wanted you isolated from the situation. Mori knows what he's doing."

Dad smiles, sardonic. "Gohan's smart…"

"Smart or not, he's pretty fucking stressed right now. Quell cannot stand the lot of you and so Mori's been juggling that for a while, y'know, keeping you all alive. Now with Revelation and whatever other schemes he has cooking… I bet he's not doing so hot."

Goten remembers the letter once more.

DO NOT BECOME INVOLVED.

The Earth needs to stay out of it.

Was that because of Quell?

Videl, who seems to be in the same boat, folds her arms over the table, a stern line creasing her forehead in two. "Not very brotherly of this Quell guy to threaten his brother's family, is it?"

Rixas laughs. "Not at all, but that's what he's like."

Trunks snorts. "Sounds like a hoot."

"Since the reincarnation malarkey, I'd say that Quell's mellowed, but that's just my two pence."

"Reincarnation?"

"Yeah, to go from Mori to your beloved Gohan – wait, how did you think all that went down? I thought you said you told them, Supreme Kai? Mori reincarnated himself to be born a saiyan and gain the power of physicality. Do you not know about the balance between Gods of Rev—?"

Vegeta snaps. "We know about the blasted balance, yes."

God. It makes sense. Goten thinks back over everything Gohan's said, how he's managed to be two people at once, the duality (as Rixas had put it the other day) that's had Goten suffer emotional whiplash; this entire second life…

There's stunned quiet. Even Videl simmers in her horror.

"Yes, well," Shin coughs into his hand, "That's where my guest comes in. She's actually quite the expert on the magic of memories so she'll give us insight on what must be going through Lord Mori's brilliant but strained mind. Ah, here we go…"

Perfectly on time, the door opens and in walks Kibito and this mystery guest of theirs. It's a dark skinned woman, young and flighty-looking with eyes all over the room as she hides behind the hulking figure of the kai. There's an immediate response from Rixas. He stands, the at ease aura surrounding him gone in an instance.

"You," he seethes. The gold cuts, sharp.

The woman cries and clutches at Kibito's arm.

"Lord Rixas, I know that you must be acquainted but—"

"You are the one that leaked the Spire's information, aren't you?" Rixas next spits, "You're a doctor there yet you waived your confidentiality agreement to work with these—" Whatever's next said is lost to a foreign language. He rants at her and she shrinks, ever lower. "You sentenced your own colleagues to death!"

Doctor Jivel… Doctor Yuluk…

Goten clenches his fists. So this was the one who helped Brutil and others into the Spire?

"Why?" Goten also wants to know. The others turn to him. Dad clenches his shoulder. "They were innocent."

"I-I… You don't understand," the woman – Hezk – says. "It's more complicated than it's being made o-out to be… I'm sorry, my lord. You must u-understand with you here now that—"

Goten is yanked when Rixas drags up his dad. "I'm not listening to this. C'mon. We're going."

"Uwah, now?"

"Lord Rixas," the Supreme Kai attempts, "Please, we must discuss Lord Mori's condition and between both you and Doctor Hezk we'll be able to understand exactly what went wrong. To beat Revelation I truly believe that it lies in deconstructing Lord Mori's mind."

"No! I refuse to reveal anything about my brother that isn't relevant to Revelation. I have no intention in spilling his secrets, regardless of what's happened between us."

"Your loyalty is commendable and discussing personal issues is gaudy I know, but the situation is—"

"And I'm not talking with a traitorous bitch like her." She wilts even more if possible. "Get your ass moving, Goku, we're going."

"Please—"

The door slams behind them, with the last thing Goten seeing is Dad's apologetic expression as he's dragged. Well, that's that, Goten guesses. He turns and looks at Videl, hoping that she's managed to swallow what she's bitten off. But chewing she still is, looking about as lost and exhausted as Goten himself feels.

Trunks smiles, flat. "You know, I think I like him."

"Shut up, boy."


The Redsand Outskirts, Hell

"Your family are your brothers, and your duty is to them and to the Great Cause. You are to lead the next generation, and you are to bring new life. It matters not under what pretence you do this. Gohan Son may be your mortal charade but the spirit is within you. "Understand that there is no escaping the obligation to be carried, my child.

This is your fate.

You are but not a snake nor a sheep, you are a leader."

Yet, what happens when the Great Cause – Revelation – and brothers are no longer one in the same? The Almighty hadn't been clear about that, had it?

Gohan calls the sword back, the hilt snapping back to the flat of his palm with a resonating slap. The Z Sword, now having disappeared into a cloud of smoke, leaves the hand holding nothing but the remnants of ki bindings that had once attached to the blade. They too disperse and he stands to full attention and surveys over the scape of the wastrel plains. Dark hair pulls into the wind, black against the murky red skies. Electricity crackles in the air. An explosion sounds in the beyond and he watches all of it, face hard and free for the universe to witness.

His mind races with weighted, condensed thoughts, dragging onward as the space in his chest aches.

Fuck Rixas.

Fuck everyone.

He's angry and hurting and… and

Sweat trickles and he breathes, sudden, ragged. Spittle droops from his mouth, and he drops to one knee as slowly his adrenaline leaves him. So quickly does the world feel like it's closing around him, embracing with its hands around his neck and squeezing until there's nothing left. Gohan chokes on it, rage swirling in his stomach. A spike of energy lashes out and the wind flees him. Aiming for the skies, crimson sand splashes.

"Argh!"

Crackling shockwaves billow and he stands once more. His breath finds him.

Gohan claws at his chest, his fingertips pressing firmly into the sweat-drenched frayed cloth that remains.

"My lord," Byleath says from behind, "I apologize for interrupting your training but Lord Quell is requesting your presence, still."

"Tell him I'm busy."

"Sir, he sounds most urgent."

There's another explosion in the distance, fire spits up from the jagged mountain scape and Gohan watches it; he enjoys watching the embers splinter in hot pockets of destruction. "Has he found the final ball?"

"That I do not know, my lord."

"Then return to me when you do." He spins a shoulder, advancing on the crouched Zealite. "And not a moment before then. Do you understand?"

"…Yes, my lord."

Byleath has enough sense not to question him again, disappearing into black smoke and likely returning to the Realm of the Almighty where he should be, instead of hassling Gohan in the bowls of Hell. Quell can wait. When he can stop stubbornly plying his head in the sand with regards to Rixas then Gohan will give him the time of day.

"Let him realize his own mistakes," Quell had said upon returning from Earth the other day. "He needs time to come to terms with the Revelation. He is tender hearted about matters such as body and energy autonomy for the mortals. Once he's had his fill of their company then he shall return to us, much like you did."

But his father won't allow for that. Why is Quell underestimating his father's influence? Now that Rixas is there then they'll most certainly come together. Gohan knows now, he knows the depths to how much Rixas disagrees with him, and he'll use that to connect with his father and the others on Earth. What does that mean for Gohan and Revelation? Quell doesn't believe in Goku Son and his reach, but Gohan does. He knows the magic that man has over people and what he can truly achieve… and with Rixas by his side?

"Fuck," Gohan curses for the nth time, "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Several ki blasts soar and explode into the atmosphere.

Gohan needs power. It's a precaution. The Almighty's ambition has been split which means power divided is power weakened. Rixas betraying them has cost a third of their might. They'll need to make up for that, and whilst, between Gohan and Quell, they should easily be able to bring down Beerus, Rixas and his father, it wouldn't be by a particularly wide margin. Sure, Gohan has his bag of tricks. He has some things up his sleeves that he hadn't been able to use against Rixas on Old Planet Geo, namely his manifestation and his use of clean energy. It'll take some days of fasting and clean eating but he should be able to organize himself to use such might when it comes down to it.

It should give him the advantage. Still, it doesn't feel like enough. There's that niggling worm at the back of his brain that reminds him of the miracles Dad has pulled out of the bag. For Gohan to truly come out victorious, he's going to need to win by more than just a hair's length.

Remembering the collection of dusty books he's hunched over for years and years now, Gohan decides that… he's going to need to do it.

I need the Super Saiyan God transformation after all.

"You look especially distressed, Mori," croons a voice from the shadows. "Are you still stinging from losing my most sacred dragon ball?"

Gohan's lip pulls into a sneer.

"The Earth is only but a fleeting breath away should you want to touch her soil, plunder her treasures..."

"Not yet," Gohan responds, "In due course I'll return to Earth and collect the ball myself."

"You are angry."

Of course he is. All the time.

Not only Rixas, but Goten too…

They betrayed him after Gohan opened up to both of them. Is Revelation such a horror to them? Is being selfish more important than the universe's well-being? Why are their values more important than Gohan's plight? For everyone, Gohan wants to do this. The children, the babies, the vulnerable, the pleading vacancy that watches from the dirt… It coils around warm bodies, brown on red on the unseeing; he's doing it for them, the forgotten victims of this fucking rotten existence.

Gohan's chest constricts again, a breath is taken so desperately even though he doesn't need oxygen.

"Mori, Mori, Mori… You have always been such a tender boy… Tell me, what do you need? Let me be of assistance to you in your trying times."

There's a garbled laugh. "At what cost?"

"I am a generous host and you are in my home, after all."

After regaining himself, Gohan smirks, darkly amused at Haed's saccharine tone; It dies slowly as his eyes graze over the sandy hills and the battle-torn coliseums in the distance. "I need the power of the Super Saiyan God, yet those who can give it to me are those I may have to turn it against. One could not make it up."

"How unfortunate."

He turns, facing Haed's discomforting, slimy recreation of sympathy. "Truly," Gohan says, "But no matter. I will seek these gains differently."

From the darkness, he emerges into the desert's hold, his hand reaching for Gohan's clammy, dirt-lined skin. Fingers pause next to his ears, holding exactly where the dragon ball had once sat. "I believe only in your succession because, simply, my imagination allows for no alternative. How I had enjoyed your acceptance of my gift, yet how little you took care of it. My heart breaks. Do you value my assistance so little? Do you wish me to step away, too, like your brother?"

Gohan slaps his hand away. "Rixas is confused… and stupid… and… he doesn't understand the nuance of the movement."

"No, he is not like you. You are the Champion of Revelation when no other cares."

"Don't pretend you do."

"I place importance in institution, in ritual of the natural cleanse of Revelation."

"Oh, so you'll assist me in bringing the mortals salvation even when you take such gratification in turning their souls into dust?" Gohan gestures to the hourglass in the distance where infinite sand trickles. "How about we ask the boundless amount of souls within your confines what they think of that?"

"Do you think I am playing you?"

"Everyone seems to be playing a game of some sort, but me."

"The once-mortals entrapped within my hourglass played no such games."

"…Is that a threat?"

"You know it is not." Haed's claw unfurls in gesture of the falling sand. "There is no strife between myself and the sand of time in my hourglass. Within it, the mortals are mortals no more. They are empty space. They are nothing. They are the manna which feeds the machine of Hell, and I am its humble caretaker. The mortals they once had been were bore no ill will by me – I care not for mortals but I, unlike Quell, do not truly detest them. Tell me, Mori, do you detest the dirt you walk on?"

Gohan swallows his disgust. "I see," he manages. "You are all the same."

"If you did not see the mortals as lesser then you would not feel it your right to strip them of their energy."

"That's… That's not right. It is not about asserting control over them but about leading them as a good leader – as a God – should."

"By that definition, you do not walk with them, but above."

Gohan's brow knits together.

"Acknowledge it. Own your birth right and yield it proudly, for there is nothing less threatening than a man who does not understand his own power, let alone his enemies'." Haed slinks backwards, his long cloak slithering in the sand. "Happy training."

There's a rip of thunder, lightning flashes behind ruby clouds and in the distance, the all too familiar screams cry out from Haed's sanctuary. He stays for several hours longer, tiring his body so much that his mind is sure to follow. Hell – the dark, deep pits in which most souls never see the light of day – consumes him until there's next to nothing spit out, and what little it spews is barely able to make it home to the estate without collapsing in the gardens.

Days, he'd been there. Days, he'd suffered the dank foulness of evil just so he doesn't have to look at this place.

Eyrelle has seemed to finally have emerged from her cave to take over Roarg's duty as captain of Rixas' fleet, yet she spares not a second for him, thank the Almighty. He savours such peace from her. Myra, however, goes to approach him in the foyer but one stern look has her in the opposite direction. Even Cross, who has never once looked at him without a semblance of deep dislike, dares not to gaze, his head low into his ledger as Gohan drags himself to his quarters and into his bathtub.

Quell does find him.

He doesn't even give him the courtesy of a knock, breaking his door's lock cleanly.

"Zamasu has been here for you," he says.

Gohan continues drying his hair with the towel.

"He has found the final ball, the four-star."

The towel lowers.

"Where?"

"Luxun's Domain."

Sluggishly he removes the towel and Gohan's eyes press closed. What awful, awful news. Quell wryly smiles as a result, closing the door behind him before stopping only a couple feet in front. Tired gold rotates up at the elder, sallow in comparison.

"You're mourning someone not dead. Rixas will come back to us. We always return to one another," Quell says, softer than anticipated. He surprises Gohan further when he rests his hand against Gohan's cheekbone. "You are weak with a lack of faith, little brother."

"…Were you this calm when it was me on Earth?"

"Yes. Rixas, however, was less confident. I trust you both, more so than you think. I am learning to do so, and so it is also time for you, too, to learn to put faith in Rixas' ability to find his way home."

Gohan sighs, moving away. "His principles mean more to him than I do, though that would make me a hypocrite to hold that against him."

"Your hurting is understandable."

"He turned Goten against me."

You both, together… You both fucking…

Gohan feels his lip curl. His head whips aside.

"Mori, Rixas has always been a brother of the collective but for now, let him tantrum alone. He will soon know that he has wronged us. I have already had words with him on Earth. He knows my fury."

He says that yet Quell is infuriatingly calm. Is this for Gohan's benefit? Instead of feeling grateful, Gohan just feels ever more the burden. "You tell me to put faith in Rixas, but my faith is already elsewhere… it's in my… father – Goku Son – and his ability to win even the darkest hearts over and recruit them to the side of victory."

"Tch! He will not rein victorious. There is more chance of me cleaving his head free from his shoulders," Quell then snaps, the composure charred so suddenly. "Why do you enjoy his shadow so much?"

"It's easy for you to say, brother, but he was always the victor, the good guy, the…"

"The fairy-tale."

"The inevitable."

"Oh, stop it. Knock him from his podium, will you? You are stronger, you are smarter, you are even older, but most importantly, you are not his son," Quell says with finality, holding Gohan so they're barely inches apart, "You are my blood. So stop looking at him and what he can do, and put your faith in me." The gold opposite burns liquid fire. "You are not his boy. You are a God of Revelation."

Gohan doesn't look away from his brother's intensity. Fire coils in the gold.

Finally, he nods, slow, contemplative. The resolve blooms when Quell quirks a most determined smirk. "Let's prepare for Luxun's Domain."

Swallowing, Gohan nods.

"Right."

.

.

.

.

.

.


Earth, the Room of Spirit and Time

Goku is faced with oblivion.

The Room of Spirit and Time – he'd just been here only days ago, less than a week ago in fact, as to strengthen the form of Super Saiyan God, and in order to defeat… him.

Rixas is ahead. He's dragging his heels along the tiles, hands in pockets as he studies their surroundings, his hair flopping left and then right. Silently, he basks, and when they reach outside, there's a whistle of admiration for above them, sits the overarching clock.

If quiet enough, one can hear the ticking. Mister Popo had once told Goku that the sound of it can drive a man mad, yet Goku's never felt the itch of insanity. With the clock being the navigation point Goku's searched for the many a time he'd become lost in such an oblivion, it makes him absently think protection. It's safety to him. It's his home for his duration here… and now, it's Rixas' too.

Tick... Tock… Tick…

Noticeably, barely any time at all has passed, if the static hands are to be trusted. Goku can't help but wonder how much stronger he'll be when those hands move even so much as one number away, never mind the entire cycle of a year's worth.

I need to be able to match Rixas by the end, at the very least. If not… Gohan, he'll…

"Oho." Rixas raises a hand over his eyes, staring far beyond and into the bright shine of nothingness. "It stretches for the length of infinity, right?"

"Ah, yeah, that's right."

"Spooky."

Goku doesn't follow when Rixas meanders to the other side of the building. He instead looks out into the haze, eyes losing focus, white swallowing all. This is his potential, he reminds himself, this limitless wealth of space is his opportunity to climb to where no person – God or not – has reached before. Just how strong will he become? How strong is Gohan? What does he need to do to keep up with his son?

For the first time in a long time, he feels alive.

It's exhilarating.


As so it turns out, Rixas runs hot and cold.

Whilst for Quell, weeks ago, it'd been pretty easy to come to the decision of dislike, Rixas is more difficult to form an opinion on; he's insular one moment and then engaging the next. Goku hopes it comes from a place of uncertainty with the enemy rather than because of anything Gohan may have said to him in the past. If this jarring back and forth doesn't settle they're in for an uncomfortable year.

Capsule Corporation's meeting leaves Rixas somewhat jittery; he's unhappy clearly, then and now, especially the prior as he'd looked seconds away from burying Shin outside in the garden. Yet there's no shouting or destroying everything in sight as one expects. Instead, he attacks Goku with no-nonsense enthusiasm by having Goku go into detail about all the flavours of training he's ever received. After that, Rixas sits there for a good couple of hours, legs crossed on the floor, nodding whilst Goku relays each of his techniques. It's not a comfortable experience. Goku isn't necessarily a private person by any means, but he does like to hold his cards close to his chest when it comes to his fighting style, so Rixas having him outline everything makes him feel, well, kind of vulnerable.

"If it makes you feel any better, that Spirit Bomb would definitely flatten me in the right circumstances," Rixas tells him, leaning back against the tiles. "Too bad it takes as long as it does to charge it up."

"Piccolo says it's practically useless in a solo fight. I've gotta' agree."

"With the right set-up we can put it to use. You never taught it to Mori?"

Fonder memories are recalled; dense flower filled forests, sunsets in summer, the quiet before the androids… "Gohan tried when he was a kid, but he didn't too much like the feeling of drawing away someone else's energy."

Rixas snorts at the irony.

By this point, big plastic buckets full of the healing cream Rixas had earlier introduced at the meeting have now been delivered. Amber Salve lines the shelves in the bathing room. They stack atop each other in excited anticipation and fill the entire room up with an unpleasant medicinal whiff. When Goku impatiently peels a lid off and gags almost instantly, Rixas laughs. Gohan had apparently had the same reaction. Something in that knowledge has Goku laugh too, gingerly reattaching the lid.

Also from Rixas' list of demands – this time to poor Mister Popo – there had been several swords requested. Goku likes swords though he doesn't have a particular talent for them. Disappointingly, Rixas tells him that they're for his use because Goku needs to learn to defend against them if Gohan fancies whipping out the Z Sword. Unlike Goku, he does have the talent for swordplay.

"I'd teach you but we'd need longer than the year," Rixas tells him as Goku swings around the goliath steel. "Mori is really, really good, especially with his manifestation skills."

"Manifestation? Gohan can do that?"

"Oh, yeah, but I'm more worried about what I don't know he can do."

Quell had taught Gohan how to manifest and a whole range of energy attacks, Rixas reveals shortly thereafter, whilst he'd been the one to perfect Gohan's hand-to-hand and sword-fighting. Meanwhile, Goku finds it hard to imagine Gohan interacting with either Quell or Rixas, especially so on a familiar or even friendly basis, yet apparently Gohan is close to them in one way or another. Rixas clearly cares about him.

Along with the swords, the salve and an entire wardrobe of gis for Rixas to work with, he'd also put in some stranger requests. Beer, wine, hard liquor; the bottles clink together as Rixas organizes them on the kitchen counter, and he pauses, momentarily disturbed when Goku tells him that he doesn't drink alcohol. A beer is opened then and there to dull the horror.

"And they call me a monster," Rixas comments when Goku rejects the offer of the dancing bottle.

It's the sociable thing, right? To drink with your friends is to strengthen the bonds of friendship. Nevertheless, Goku doesn't see a point in blunting the body with that nasty stuff, especially when it tastes so bad. The occasional splash of brandy in a hot chocolate isn't harmful, yet those years-old scenes of Master Roshi getting wrecked enough that he'd struggle to get up and train him and Krillin the next day are a different story. Goku'll never understand it.

As Rixas organizes the other groceries, beer bottle dangling from his mouth, Goku wonders what sort of year they're in for.

It's quieter than expected.

Rixas is having one of his silent spells when Goku returns to him later that day. He'd told Goku to go train as normal, to establish a routine to build on, yet ignores him completely when Goku returns hours later with a series of questions. He just drinks and listens to loud, angry music playing from the stereo that Mister Popo had installed just for him.

As for Goku, after not training properly for a good few days, his body is still a bit achy – stiff more so – from the battle on Old Planet Geo and the injuries suffered there. So already the salve is opened and spread over the faint red rashes that remain on Goku's chest. It's where the brunt of Gohan's ki attack had struck during the big fight. And honestly, it's really given him trouble today, burning ever hotter when the usual heat of fatigue cinders in his chest. The overall result leaves him breathless quicker. Divine ki isn't to be underestimated.

Super Saiyan God is just a taste of the energy, not the full meal. What Goku wants is to really be able to understand what he can achieve with it; how far he can push it – really, he hopes Rixas will be able to help channel his transformation into something great. There are continually more levels to reach out for after all and Goku wants to be as strong as he can be.

He's greedy. He always wants more.

Rixas is greedy too it turns out. When Goku emerges from the bath, Rixas sits on one of the beds in the sleeping quarters in wait.

"You returned only after a few hours? I'm sure you can do better than that."

Next time, Goku is away for so long that days must have passed. He stumbles in, holding his wheezing chest and collapsing before he even reaches the stack of Amber Salve. Rixas doesn't move him and when Goku does eventually wake at the foot of the building, he drags himself to the kitchen in a desperate bid for water. Empty beer bottles are pushed aside as Goku makes for the tap and he glugs generously.

Soon enough, Goku comes and goes from the building and doesn't spot Rixas at all. One of the swords is gone so Goku assumes that he's somewhere deep in the fog, training. The expectation is that they'd be training together but Goku won't push him just yet. If this is how he must prove himself then so be it. Though, it must be weeks before Goku sees Rixas again. There'd been the worry that Rixas had got lost in the void; it's a vacant, dangerous place after all. Apparitions can appear before the mentally weak, hallucinations can haunt, the lull of nothingness can swallow any person up, and while Goku doesn't think Rixas weak by any stretch of the word, he does see him as sad and susceptible.

Finally, Goku does reacquaint himself with his usual level of fighting skill and energy, having fallen behind because of his injuries. How satisfying it is for him to be able to push his limits once again. And so he does, session after session, and it's after one of these especially gruelling training sessions that he finally comes across Rixas.

Far into the grips of white, Rixas lies, sprawled, beaten and exhausted, and non-responsive. When Goku tries to wake him he gets not even a grunt. The breathing is shallow, the heartbeat slow.

Goku of course carries him back.

It goes on like this for a while. Rixas doesn't thank him for the help, but he does throw Goku an unwelcome beer and tells him to continue the good work. The grin doesn't reach his eyes.

Rixas is found several times in the oncoming weeks. Each time he wakes back in the house and in his bed, safe and sound, whilst he mentions nothing of the incidents of what left him so depleted.

One time, Goku finds him and doesn't even both checking the vitals. He collects the god and hoists him up as he usually does, lumbering him all the way back to the building.

There's a pat on his sweaty mop of black hair.

"You're kind," Rixas mutters against his shoulder, "…No wonder he loves you more."

You sound… so… so…

"I should'a let Quell kill you."

"Geez, thanks."

It's not mentioned again and with there being no day and night cycle in the Room of Spirit and Time, time is so often hard to gauge. Only the large clock atop the building offers truth. Two months fly by yet Goku feels like he's achieved very little.

Rixas is confronted when Goku chooses not to go out that day.

"When do we start?"

The bob of freshly washed blonde jostles in acknowledgement. Dark circled eyes present from beneath, the gold so dim in comparison to what Goku's seen before.

"Are… you okay?"

Rixas scrapes his hair back. "I'm just swell."

"This place can be…" Goku looks for the words. When he was training to fight against Rixas, the room had been unkind to him, praying upon his darkness and twisting shadowy thoughts into unpleasant fantasies. Back then, he would have salivated at the chance to tear Rixas apart, yet now… "Look, maybe you shouldn't go out that far by yourself anymore. The white gets to you if you're not careful, and especially if you're bothered by somethin', and I can tell that you're…"

There's a despondent sort of smile. Goku respects that Rixas doesn't bother hiding it.

"I'm supposed to be sorting you out," the god says, picking up his beer bottle and gesturing with it. "I don't need you to be my shrink."

"Yeah, well, we all get sad sometimes. Talking to someone can be good. I'm sad, too."

"Oooh. Is Daddy wanting a chit-chat?"

Awkward, he laughs, scratching the back of his head. "Problems shared are problems halved."

"You do you and I'll do me."

The tone frazzles him a bit. "Hey, look, you suggested training. I chose you over Beerus."

"And we'll start when I'm good n' ready."

Goku looks down at the handsome collection of vacant bottles, scowling. Is this really how Rixas wants to spend his time? He knows the guy is depressed and all but the bottom of a bottle doesn't work for anyone, even Goku understands that.

"Thirsty?" Rixas goads, "Help yourself."

You know what…

Fine. He'll try appealing to Rixas on this level. He helps himself to one of the full bottles and pops the lid, flopping into the chair beside Rixas as he raises the bitterness to his lips. The latter watches, wide eyed, as Goku downs the disgusting beverage in only a few seconds.

An angry burp follows.

"Woahhh! All right," Rixas cheers, this time really smiling, "Here's another, my man."

Goku sips the next, still hating it.

For the entire day, neither goes out to train, instead sitting or spreading across respective furniture and sipping the most repulsive drinks Goku's ever had. By the time he's had his sixth bottle of beer and second cidre his head starts to finally feel a little float-y.

"You're no light weight," Rixas commends. "I'm impressed. You sure you've not done this before?"

"Nope."

"Wild."

"Like, does the alcohol give you a different style? Is this your trainin' technique?"

"No, sweetie, it's my coping mechanism."

"Oh… So, uh, did you do this with Gohan?"

Rixas studies him, but the alcohol allows for looser lips. He's already had far more than Goku, and he drinks at the speed that it might disappear from the table at any second.

"Mmm? Do what? Train in unlimited vacuums of space?" Rixas eventually asks, only slightly slurring. "Huh, no? Oh, you mean drink of course. Now, that would be tellin'." There's a click of the tongue. "Are you asking me if I took your innocent baby boy and introduced him to the world of debauchery at such a tender age?"

"Uh…"

"Shh. You're nosey. I dun' wanna' talk about Mori." Rixas points a finger. "Stop it, big nose."

"I'm ju—"

"Here, try this. I want your opinion."

A bottle is thrust into Goku's mouth and he splutters instantly. Transparent liquid spews forth, burning. "Ughhh! What was that? That was awful!"

Roars of laughter rip free, on and on. "I know! It's over-proof! You should have seen your face. Oh, don't cry, have a soda, you big baby."

Goku downs it like a man dying of thirst.

"I just wanna' know what kind of person my son grew into," he manages through the carbonation-fuelled heartburn.

"He was already an adult before your Gohan was ever born."

The tone annoys him. "Funny that, 'cause I remember helping his mum change his nappies. I taught him to walk and we'd read him bedtime stories when—"

"Uwah, point proven. Shut up. Shut up. Fine, I mean, Mori was Mori before and after the reincarnation. Like, the Gohan bit is—" He showcases an inch between fingers, "Maybe like, this much in the grand scheme of things. I'm tellin' ye, there's no major difference now, except that he doesn't talk with a spoon up his ass."

"My son wouldn't have hurt a fly before. Gohan had been a good kid."

"People change. You seem a nice enough fella now but I've seen the horrid shit you can pull when you hate a person. And as a result, you've seen me corrupted by Majin power. Everyone's got a bit'a nasty somethin' inside. And Mori is a good kid, most of the time, he's just… Honestly, I think he's just got a lot going on in his head right now. The Almighty's sway over him is eating that shit up."

"What d'you mean?"

Rixas melts over his chair, the back of his legs flatly pressed against the wall. The bottle points to the ceiling. "Y'know, the big guy, the Great Almighty itself; the holiness beyond and the heart of the ascension. It's my god daddy."

"And this guy… talks to you?"

"Not for millennia. Quell dun' like him too much, but I know Mori spoke to him when he first came back home. Mori's always been more spiritual than any of us. It's why he's driving this Revelation train. Choo-choo…" There's a pause of consideration. "Don't look at me like that. What's your prob–? Oh. God, you're not drunk enough for this. Here, drink."

"No, I'm good—"

"Shut up. Drink it."

"Ugh, no way."

"Drink up and I'll tell you a pretty story about Mori."

Rixas grins because Goku's weak, and he laughs because he knows it'll work again and again. And it does. Goku doesn't know what he poisons his body with but it's equally as rancid as the beer; it's like drinking medicine soup, only it makes him feel worse. But Rixas doesn't go back on his word. There's a haze that now accompanies the room, they simply exist in a comfortable pigeonhole as the god talks and talks and talks.

He first admits to putting Gohan through a similar bout of peer pressure to drink, and then he tells stories of the results; how they would train in the mornings and share drinks in the evenings, the taverns they'd frequent together with the captain, the expeditions they took and planets they'd visit.

"Those were such good times," he breathes, shimmering with quiet fondness. There's a crack in the shining gold. "But, then… things went too far."

Goku wobbles as he sits. It's hard to decipher as well as he would normally, but he recognizes the tone change.

"You're right, Goku. I'm sad," Rixas mumbles drunkenly, "I miss Roarg. And my brothers… I'm scared for them. Mori… I… Back then, during that time, he'd been sad too but I hadn't seen it. Tch… I bet you would have…"

"Don't beat yourself up. Gohan's always been good at hidin' when he's down. He doesn't wanna' burden others."

Rixas' eyes are downcast. "He really missed you."

The clench in his chest feels more intense than usual. Goku doesn't cry easily – never, really – yet the urge, likely born from this disgusting alcohol, makes the strange sensation bubble in his throat.

"The kid too, and his mother, the namekian…" There's a tarry scoff. "The girl… Videl. She's very pleasing on the eyes. I can see why he missed her."

"Did Gohan try to come back to Earth?"

"Oh, yeah." Rixas chuckles, sitting up properly and wiping at his eyes. "Quell was such a hard ass about it though. They didn't get on for years and I was stuck between them whilst they pretended not to love each other. Mori didn't remember himself for a while so, keh, imagine it, your Gohan stomping his feet and getting absolutely nowhere whilst Quell nearly went bald from the stress. The big reason Mori stayed away before Whis – the fuckin' idiot – brought him to Earth was 'cause Quell said he'd nuke the planet."

"Thas'… bad."

"Heh, yeah." There's a laugh. "He's real threatened by you, by the way, Quell that is."

"Eh? Really? I know he dun' like me."

Rixas turns to him, swaying. His expression is bright. "Last shot of the night and I'll tell you a secret."

"Annh? Rixas. C'mawn, no more…"

The liquid glugs into the previously acquired tiny glasses. It's that foul over-proof drink that Goku had nearly thrown up.

"And if yer don't throw it back up I'll train you tomorrow. How 'bout that? Yes? Yes. Ah, and here you go, Mister Goku Son, step-daddy dearest."

"I'm dyin'."

"Shut up. Okay and… three… two… one!"

Goku drinks it anyway because the curiosity is killing him, that and because after eight weeks of little to no training means that they really do need to get the ball rolling. The alcohol burns all the way down, setting his stomach ablaze.

"Wooo!" Rixas throws his glass, the result leaving thousands of shards everywhere for the two to stand on in the coming months. He claps his hands and then Goku's back when the latter manages to keep the toxic fire down. "Good man!"

Goku slumps into his arms, willing the dizziness away. This is the worst thing that's ever happened to him, and he says as much.

"Wait until the morning," Rixas laughs, ruffling his hair. "I've seen Mori's hangovers and they're not pretty. You're not gonna' wanna' mo—"

"Secret," Goku manages, sitting up. "Please. One secret in full."

"Hohoho… Not a time-waster, I see." Rixas leans back, blurring completely. "You wanna' know why Quell's threatened by you? Here it is. It's 'cause, despite all the shit that's gone down between you n' Mori, you're still probably the most influential person to 'im. Why do y'think the Supreme Kai is up your ass right now? Why do y'think Mori said nothin' about his divinity to you all this time he'd been here? Hell, why do y'think I'm here?

"So listen, Quell and Mori are real fucking tight but they bring out the worst in each other too. Don't you go thinkin' that it's Quell pullin' Mori along 'cause it isn't. Quell doesn't give a damn about Revelation, he just wants Famis avenged. Honestly, they're just adding to each other's toxicity and it's getting worse and worse and… I'm scared. That's why I'm here.

"Goku, you're the person the kid loves most. Mori'd been scared of your reaction to all this – I know that for a fact 'cause he told me often enough way back then. As for the Supreme Kai, Quell and I, well, we all know that you're the real MVP here. You're the one who can make a difference.

"I came to Earth for you."

Goku has to lean back. The feather lightness has his head bounce against the chair's cushion. It's a lot to take in, especially now. He's drunk and tired and…

"Rixas… I… know you're scared bu'…" His eyelids feel like magnets pulling together. "You… too… have to help Go'an. At the meeting with Shin n' the others, you… didn't wanna' talk to the lady doctor but… For him, y'know, you've gotta' help us know more about him. You're loyal 'n all and that's great but… Mmm…"

"Let's get you to bed."

He stands and Goku feels himself being assisted to the bedroom in the room over. His boots drag over tiles before being slipped free. The firm mattress cushions his fall and he's out before the lights even turn off.


Goku's is actually up for training.

He wakes up and brushes teeth for five minutes straight to scrape away the taste of evil. Breakfast follows and he goes overboard. He's no Chi-Chi but he can make scrambled eggs and sausages just fine; after last night's antics, the smell is heavenly. This is the first time he's cooked here since his stay with Gohan years ago. Usually, he'd heat something up or just eat it from the packet. Those health drinks from Capsule Corporation are great to bring here, but today, today is a big breakfast kind of day.

He switches the light on in the sleeping quarters.

"You promised me," Goku tells the lump in the covers.

"I promise you certain death if you don't turn that light out."

"Trainin' later today, breakfast now. Do you like eggs?"

Rixas does like eggs. He doesn't eat nearly at the speed Goku does but he definitely enjoys the pleasure of a hot breakfast. Several plates are consumed but they stack so sadly next to Goku's load.

"Before Frieza did his thing, I never met any saiyans unfortunately," Rixas says as Goku gnaws at another mouthful of egg and meat. "But I did hear of this impressive appetite of your people. It's certainly a display to behold..."

"G'hawn n' G'ten's not as ba'."

"Delightfully disgusting." He pushes own plate aside. "Anyway, I have actually thought about what you told me at the start with your training and technique breakdown. Back in the day, I stripped Mori down to the bare bones basics but I don't think you're as desperately in need of that. Your form has holes but it isn't as bad as Mori's had been."

Goku swallows. "His was that bad?"

"He'd been naturally defensive when you're more offensive, which suits the hold better. You also have more confidence in yourself whereas he'd not been following that instinct at all, so I repurposed his foundation so that all his bases were covered. He's lighter on his toes now, you'll notice, and quicker to respond. That's at the expense of a sturdier defence but what he lost there, however, has been replaced with speed. As a result, I can tell you that one really good hit against him will do some damage. It's just… getting that hit in."

"That's the opposite of Vegeta."

"It's the opposite of me, too."

"Uh-uh. You're fast."

"Mori's faster." There's a moment of mourning for the admission. "Well, with that ki of yours helping, you'll be faster than me too, hopefully, by the time we're done here."

Rixas is true to his word about training him that day. He's a bit green in the face and those bags droop as low as ever but he seems a lot more positive. There are no trips into the white or moody intervals. Instead, they linger around the building and Rixas shows all the points where he would break Gohan's foot when given the opportunity. A bit grumpily, Goku recalls how Gohan had done much the same thing to him back on Old Planet Geo.

"Ha-ha-ha! Really? I wish he told me that."

There seems to have been some sort of breakthrough between him and Rixas since last night. Not once does Rixas cool with him. He's in fact friendly. The god laughs every time he manages to knock Goku from his feet, and then proceeds to scold him.

All in all, it's not a bad time.

Who knew it would be at the sacrifice of Goku's liver to make it happen?

The process of this training is a little dawdling for Goku's taste but Rixas is very specific about nailing the basics. So, for the entirety of a week, they practice the holding form, and then the blocks and when Rixas is appeased with those, Goku's finally allowed to punch him.

Blood courses down Rixas chin but he looks happy enough.

"Feel good?"

Goku scratches the back of his head, sheepish. "Kinda'."

They venture further into the void after a few more weeks and things become a little more intense. Rixas' form is so tight and breaking through it is as hard as it had been back when they'd first fought. It's a miracle when a strike does land cleanly, especially so now that Goku's been banned from using ki. Rixas tells him he can use it further down the line when the technique is solid. Until then, Goku can only rely on his more primal attacks, which, actually, he finds himself enjoying.

This self-imposed restriction provides a challenge he's never before implored. Perhaps if Gohan manages to strip Goku of his ki, he'll at least be able to hold his own for just a while. Rixas seems fine without it. In fact, never once does he ask for a break. They train and train and train until both are panting but not willing to stop. If this was Goten or Piccolo, or even Gohan, they'd have returned home hours ago.

So it turns out, Rixas loves training, probably about as much as Goku does, and he isn't above showing his enthusiasm for it either.

One morning, he wakes Goku up by banging pans together, announcing that he'd just had a moment of genius insight to an earlier problem. Another time has him doing a literal flip in excitement when Goku manages to remain upright after an attack, and in the hours following, he laughs away the pain when he applies the salve to his own wounds, barely flinching and animatedly motor-mouthing about what they can do in their next session. He's quite the personality.

When he invites Goku to do some laps around the building just because he misses "a good jog" Goku's reminded of the strange habit Gohan had picked up back on Earth.

There's a face of horror at the rejection. "It's not boring, you plebeian. It's mindful."

Rixas is pretty strange, but in a good way. He's not what Goku had thought he'd be and he's most definitely not the villain he'd wanted him to be. There's an unashamed energy to the man and he wears his positivity like armour, and now that he's coming out of his funk, so rarely does he seem to be morose at all.

Honestly, Goku… likes him.

A lot, actually.

"Myra and Mori go way back but they're much closer nowmmmfff—" Rixas says over dinner, noodles pouring from his mouth, "Umff, ah. Yeah, you should have seen them before. He scared her little knickers off her behind back then, but these days they're like—" He drops his chopsticks and clasps his hands together. "This. Y'know, she's worried about him, too."

Rixas has fed Goku more and more titbits about Gohan's life back at the mysterious estate, the Realm of the Almighty and beyond. He's now learned of Captain Roarg, their friend who'd once helped Goku and paid the price of being a good person, and Myra, who is Gohan's personal assistant and probable caretaker. There are also of a few others, like the Zealite Goku's come to blows with and an especially foul kai named Zamasu. When Goku had realized that Zamasu had been the sneak who'd told Goku about Famis' death way back on Planet Geo he'd nearly choked on his food.

Gohan had warned him of the politics. He now understands why.

"Only surround yourself with people you trust," Rixas sagely says.

"Are you one of those people now?"

"Oh." It catches Rixas off-guard. "…Oh, wow, would you look at that, I guess I am. Good for you, I'm a magnificent addition to any team."

"That means you need to trust me too, Rixas."

The god stabs at his meat, skewering it with his singular chopstick. "Ehh, this is getting heavy," he complains, ripping the flesh of beef between his teeth. "I 'spose I trust you 'nuff. Roarg… she'd liked your ideology, I think, 'smuch as she'd allow it." The meat is swallowed. "She'd also been worried about Mori before she… yeah," Rixas halts, bringing the mood down in one fell swoop. Goku still feels so much guilt about this person. She'd sounded truly wonderful. "Ah well. She'd be kicking my ass if I let her death turn me into a wastrel layabout. I'm sorry about that, in the beginning, here I mean, it's just…"

"You don't gotta' apologize."

"I do, in fact, 'cause this shit has been eating at me for months now." He sighs, chopsticks now on the table. "I really freaked you and Goten out by gutting Mori like I did, y'know by killing that mortal body. I'm not going to pretend I wasn't trying to hurt any of you, because I was. So, yeah, I'm sorry. I was a dick."

"We're both sorry, then, I guess."

The months start to roll by faster if Goku could ever believe it. The clock above never lies and already seven months have passed in a commotion of exchanged strikes, attacks, and lively conversations over meals. During this time, Rixas starts to take express interest in Gohan's life here on Earth and Goku happily divulges all. It's so much nicer than training by himself. Being here with Rixas reminds Goku of the times he and Gohan had shared here before the Cell Games, how it could be to actually have someone to talk to instead of letting the emptiness of the space mess up his head.

The murderer of Yardrat and Rixas of Revelation seem to be two completely different people in his mind now, though being roommates with someone for this long might do that.

Soon enough, Goku can't help but marvel at what it would be like to witness Rixas and Gohan getting along. They're both very different people, but Rixas swears their closeness. From the sounds of Rixas' enthusiasm on the subject, they'd been as thick as thieves at one point. Really, it's no wonder, now that Goku thinks about it, that Rixas had felt so rotten when he first came to Earth. He'd just betrayed his closest comrades; his family.

"We'd been fighting for a while," Rixas tells him the first day he whips out his sword. "Mostly over what happened on Earth but about smaller things too."

"You'd noticed he'd changed before then, right?"

"Right. Mori had started becoming more reclusive, secretive… I really didn't like it, especially after what happened last time when he reincarnated himself."

"When he'd tried to… kill Quell?"

Rixas's lips stretch wide but it's not a smile.

It's still hard to get his head around all these horrible things Gohan has done, or rather, Mori has done. More and more, Goku's finding it harder to recognize his son at all within the identity of this god, before and after. As much as he doesn't want to badmouth his brother to the guy, Mori had seemed an all-around appalling person before the reincarnation, yet Rixas swears otherwise, telling stories of all. He relays Mori's guarded childhood, the imprisonment Quell sanctioned him with, the sweet innocence he'd had as a boy; yet it's all so hollow when Goku knows the final result.

Rixas had been grouchy when Goku had told him as much. "You say he's your son, right? This is him. This is all of him. Take him or leave him." The sword had clattered at Goku's feet at the end of the session. "I accepted Gohan and so you should accept Mori."

But Gohan had been perfect in comparison. It's different.

"Does Quell accept Gohan as Gohan?" Goku asks later, staring up at the canopy in his bed.

"Deep down, I think so, more than he realizes," replies the darkness. "He won't ever tell you that though."

The next day is a rest day as Rixas is a great believer in them. He listens to his music and drinks his beers, sometimes even doing little puzzles on a piece of paper when bored enough. When Goku finds a pack of cards, each shows the other respective games. Go Fish is especially enjoyed, Snap less so when they break the table after the first round. Rixas' games are too convoluted or sometimes he outright forgets the rules. Another time, he realizes that these playing cards only go up to a certain number. Goku teases him about his age and being forgetful, yet it's hard to have the high ground when the guy looks freshly graduated.

The mocking is returned with the training. Rixas is quick-lipped and enjoys banter in a way that Goku knows Gohan must enjoy. However, the joking dies down when the training evolves into something far more intense.


The sword carves through his stomach in a near fatal plunge.

Rixas has to bring the salve from the bathing quarters all the way into the thrust of white whilst Goku lies there, bleeding out, trying not to die. He spits up a wad of blood into Rixas' hair as steady hands apply the cream into the crevices between Goku's organs. It's honestly, truly, awfully hell. The pain has him seeing stars. When he's stable, Goku shakily tries to get up, only to fall back into the pool of sticky fluids and into the arms of his attacker.

"So dramatic," Rixas admonishes, playful, "What's wrong? Got two left feet?"

This doesn't just happen the once. Rixas tears so many holes into Goku over the month that he may as well be Swiss cheese. At one point, Rixas suggests that Goku might be getting some sort of perverted pleasure from it. He'd not understood the joke at first and so Rixas takes even greater joy in explaining the seedy implications than he had in causing the fatal injury.

Goku wishes he hadn't asked.

Throughout the experience, Goku comes to a strange conclusion: Never before has he felt so old. His body just can't keep up…

"You've been in here four times now," Rixas points out, "You're wasting your life, man. When all this is done, I'll get someone to restore your missed years 'cause your body is gonna' be ancient before you're middle-aged if this keeps up."

"Vegeta says saiyans keep fighting until they're elderly."

"Yeah, but you'll be hitting your peak in due time I'd say. Soon enough, you'll just start getting a little bit slower, a little less responsive, those hits just won't pack as much a punch…"

Goku doesn't like the sound of that. An unpleasant rinse in his belly has him frown. "Wow, I'm… actually… getting old."

"Chin up. You've still got some good years left. And well, I mean… you could always do what Mori did."

"Ah?"

"The elixir. You achieved that Super Saiyan God mode and that's a divine transformation. If you drank the elixir that strips you of your mortality, you'd be able to build on your previously achieved divine power and essentially become immortal."

Goku lies in bed that night, thinking it over as Rixas snores away from the other side of the room. A while back, Rixas had once told him how Quell had pressured Gohan into drinking this poison; the awful essence that'd stolen Gohan of his opportunity to ever be just Gohan again. Yet, according to Rixas, it'd the turning point for his son's shift in power. He'd grown so inexplicably fast in terms of strength from then on out. But drinking it would mean Goku would never die of old age or disease or any of the other mortal inflictions. He'd never go to Otherworld, either. Drinking it would truly be denouncing the people he loves here.

Yet, Gohan did that.

You really chose them…

Did Gohan really want to throw them away? Did Quell manipulate him or was it of his own volition? There's only so much Rixas will talk about with Gohan's choices, and that's because there's only so much he understands.

"He went kicking and screaming," he tells Goku when he becomes sick of the brooding. "But by all accounts he chose it. Again, louder for your brain cells at the back, let me reiterate, as much as Quell is the hardest screw to walk this universe Mori is devoted to him and vice versa. They're like little parasites in each other's heads, I swear."

"You, uh, sound kinda' jealous. They're reliant on each other, right? Aren't they just two people that can't achieve their goals without one another's help?"

"You just described co-dependency." Rixas brandishes his blood-stained sword. "And I've had millions of years to be jealous; I'm over it, though it'd been easier with Famis around. Now, more than anything, it's annoying."

"Y'know, I really can't imagine Quell and Gohan being so close."

"They trained together endlessly. Sometimes, I wouldn't see them for weeks."

It's weird to think that Gohan had trained with both Rixas and Quell yet he'd just stood by when Beerus had first appeared on Earth all those months ago. Weirder yet that he'd refused to so much as to practice some blocks with Goku after his return but he'd been happy to train with someone like Rixas, who's about as gentle as an aligator. Really, Gohan could have taken Beerus on and possibly even won. Would that have been the case without the elixir's help?

Goku doesn't agree with Gohan's decision to take it and leave his family, yet the idea plagues him. If Goku took it how strong could he become? What would divinity look like on him? It's… enticing because it's not a short-cut either, but simply another door to walk through in order to earn something truly incredible.

Gohan had been incredible.

That's partially thanks to Rixas' training, Goku can see that. And he understands the rapid growth in his son's strength as they proceed because Rixas grows more and more intense in his attacks and methods. He doesn't hold back at all. The strikes are deadly. The space for mistakes is minimal. It comes to a point where Goku is eventually allowed to use ki, and soon enough following that, he's allowed to transform into Super Saiyan God.

The power of divinity is like ice in the water. Before he can truly grasp it, it's already melted away. Only the icy memory of it remains. Super Saiyan God is the ghost of what was, or really, what can be.

The elixir would speed things along…

Rixas says as much, over and over, and Goku can't help but recognize that he would be right. Yet, he doesn't want it to come to that, not just yet.

"Let's just keep trying," Goku implores, haggard.

They talk less as time draws on and not because of any disagreements but because they're both growing more exhausted after each session. They train, eat and sleep; not always in that order, and sometimes they take a rest day but usually it's spent sleeping in its totality. Rarely, Rixas still jogs and when he does, Goku performs the stretches he's been ordered to focus on.

By the time the eleventh month finds them, Goku achieves the flicker of something special.

"We're staying longer," Rixas breathes, astonished, just before Goku falls to the white. He doesn't mention the elixir again.

Twelve months come and go and Goku wonders if the others are waiting for them outside, panicking that something may have gone wrong. But Rixas is right. They need to push onward. Goku's on the brink of a breakthrough. Whilst he misses his friends and family, he can't stop now.

By this step in his power journey, Rixas isn't holding back against him. They fight furiously, electric energy bleached out against the limitlessness ivory of the room, as they jet from space to space. That sword is like a windmill, soaring around and around at impossible speed with the ambition of halting any and all progression on Goku's front. It catches him several times. Blood splatters but he doesn't stop.

Gohan would have buckled at that, Rixas later tells him. Being able to take a hit is apparently key to taking on Gohan. "Breaking through the offensive of someone so fast and precise will result in injury," Rixas says later "The kid's a glass cannon, so once you're on the other side of that you've got a better chance. It's about holding out."

Goku screams, powering up further. The aura casts a wave of red over all, including Rixas.

"Push more!" Rixas demands, halting, his blade carving into the floor. "PUSH!"

Yes. Goku's felt it before, the more.

"You'll never beat any of us until you do THIS!"

For months now, all they've done is search for a spec of light in the darkness. They've not known what they've been chasing, yet Rixas has the same instinct as him, the same understanding of power. It's a language they both speak that so few don't. Goten doesn't… Goku can see that now. Gohan, he too, does not…

It's the same because Goku doesn't understand his boys either, especially Gohan and this radical, shocking plight of his.

Rixas launches high, bringing the sword with him. "Show me the power of the mortals!" he roars. "Otherwise… it's gone! Mori will take it! Do you want that?"

"Don't let this sway your confidence, Goku, let these variables empower you," Master Roshi had said. Goku'd not understood what he meant at first, but he's slowly starting to.

The universe is so vast.

I'll never be able to relate to everything or everyone. It's okay not to understand so long as I listen…

But that doesn't mean I don't deserve to be heard.

Goku's throat rips with agony. Sweltering power churns from within the depths of his core and he pours himself out, his soul feels to have left his body. It's euphoric. There's no wind in the Room of Spirit and Time but he feels a gust from somewhere. Billows of energy swerve around him, cutting. The red flashes.

"YES!" Goku hears Rixas' steel clatter. "Fucking YES! Get in there, Goku! YES!"

The energy around him reaches to the heights of infinity.

Blue.

He breathes a laugh.

It's blue.

The sensation reminds him of the first time he achieved Super Saiyan those many years ago on Namek. Whilst less emotionally charged, the feeling has him revelling in a high never before achieved. It's charged with a different flavour of energy completely. He feels so… so…

A breath away, gold eyes dazzle with intense joy. Rixas throws his arms around him. "You… You're just a mortal and you… DIVINE! THIS IS TRUE DIVINITY! You did it, Goku!"

That's it. This energy… it's like Rixas', Quell's… Gohan's.

The Super Saiyan God transformation had just been the beginning. This is what the mastery of the form looks like. This… is true control of it.

Rixas pulls back and slaps his hands onto Goku's cheeks. "You blue beautiful bastard. Quell is gonna' eat his heart out."

Goku's hands take divinity. He's running with it.


On the fifteenth month, the door to the Room of Spirit and Time finally opens with Shin already outside waiting for them with news that the final dragon ball has been located.


.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I really got my teeth into this one.

Goku and Rixas together brings me great, great pleasure, and as some of you predicted, they're pretty much a match made in heaven. Alternate chapter ending scene is them emerging from the Room of Spirit and Time with matching BFF rings and defeating Gohan with the power of friendship. Gohan isn't doing as well, definitely knowing of the bromance montages happening on Earth and, in all seriousness, understanding the danger of this power couple. Goten meanwhile can't decide between who's hotter out of Myra and Videl... All in the day of a life of this fic.

Anyway, thanks to Kags, my lovely beta who I had to brawl with over several points of this chapter. I'd wanted the time chamber stuff split because I wanted a bottle episode lol, but alas, she wanted this in full so... yeah. I mean, good thing we had another Covid lockdown this week so I had time to write it. I'm excited to write about Luxun's Domain... Maybe, if I'm "lucky" I'll get another lockdown then.

'Aight, as always, thanks for all your support. I'm really enjoying your comments, especially some of the really clever, insightful ones that make me slightly angry for being too on the nose lmao. Please drop us your thoughts if you're feelin' it. That'd be lush. Until C41!