Chapter 113 - Visage
Black pulled the energy blade from Gohan's backside with a furious movement. The heat and intensity of the sabre had cauterised the wound, yet it did not dull the pain in the slightest. Placing his palm on Gohan's back, Black intended to finish Gohan off with a point-blank kikōha, crimson energy emitting from his hand.
Gohan had other plans. Feeling a rush of anger surge through him, he spun on the spot, his own hand alight with ki. The air before him exploded in a wave of yellow ki, enveloping Black in its light. Using the diversion to get away, Gohan leapt back, clutching his side. The pain was shooting through his body, though he counted himself lucky he wasn't bleeding. The Saiyan-half found himself barely paying Black the attention he should be. Off in the distance, the smoke was still rising from the Western Capital. Yet, in front of him, Trunks' body was prone on the ground.
What should I do? thought Gohan. I should have intervened, Trunks' pride be damned! I'm an idiot!
"That attack reeks of desperation, Gohan," Black's voice emanated from the smokescreen the explosion from Gohan's attack had created. It faded to nothing, revealing the Super Saiyan God floating there in all of his menace. "Is that the best you can do? Or does such a wound on a vital organ make focusing your god ki difficult?"
A bead of sweat crept down Gohan's face. He didn't want to admit it, but Black had a point. God ki required concentration to use at the best of times. Trying to bring it to the surface while sporting a fresh new hole where one didn't belong was a sublimely difficult task.
"I must admit, I am impressed," replied Black. "This had nothing to do with you. My target was Trunks - and Trunks alone. Yet you willingly came here, to interfere with a divine task that did not concern you. Not many people walk to the their deaths like you." Cupping his hands at his side, crimson ki began to pool between both of his hands. "Now...you'll die here, alone!"
"No...he won't...!"
A voice from below caught the attention of both Saiyans. Trunks was rising into the air between Black and Gohan. His Super Saiyan God form had petered out and died, yet he gripped his shattered blade, still intent on fighting. "Black...this is still our fight!"
Unable to suppress it, Black laughed, breaking his Kamehameha stance. A hand ran through his crimson hair, the Saiyan god's laugh growing into a mad cackle. "Trunks, you can hardly fly, much less fight me right now. Humans really do say such mad things when they're desperate, don't they? No matter. I'll pick you both apart, if that's your wish."
"Do you need to spend so much time talking to them?"
For the third time now, a voice, seemingly disconnected from its source, sounded out. This time, however, it came from the sky itself. Black clouds whirled, spinning down in a reverse tornado next to Black. The clouds burst apart, revealing a young man dressed identically to Black. His eyes were sharp, narrowed, and onyx in hue. His hair was spiked, upward-styled, with a single fringe falling down over his face. On his left ear, like Black, the man wore a dark green Potara. Regarding Trunks and Gohan with immense disdain, the young man turned to Black. "You haven't killed them already? Didn't we agree to wipe these Saiyans out?"
"You're right, but it isn't every day I get to fight two Saiyans at once. I was having fun," Black replied, grinning. The expressions on Gohan and Trunks' faces, mingling shock and horror, was something the Saiyan God was truly savouring.
Gohan couldn't believe his eyes. Before him, right now, was an effigy of himself. A duplicate in all but essence. It wasn't the same as looking at himself in a mirror, but the result was similar enough. Gohan could recognise his own features, his own hairstyle. Even the attire the man wore was styled like his, only in shades of black and grey, the same as Black's. How had he not noticed the similarity?
"G-Gohan..." Trunks stammered, blue eyes dilating in terror. "That's...that's you, Gohan...!"
"I know," said Gohan through gritted teeth. "You there!" He snarled at his own effigy. "Are you the reason the Western Capital just went up in smoke?"
Gohan Black considered Gohan for a moment before answering.
"I am."
"What happened to Bulma and Qirka?"
"You can ask them when you see them in Hell," replied Gohan Black.
"Mother and Qirka?! Did something happen?!" Trunks chances a look behind him, seeing the billowing plume of smoke where the Western Capital should have been. Terror flooded his blood like ice, the Saiyan-half glaring daggers at the Black duo. "Mai...and Mother...again...!"
"You're truly unfortunate, Trunks," sneered Gokū Black. "To have been unable to save Bulma twice."
Trunks' howl of rage split the sky. Golden flames burst to life around him, crackling with bioelectricity. He couldn't focus his god ki, yet a Saiyan's body responds to rage. Trunks, clad in the aura of a Super Saiyan 2, violently lunged towards the Blacks.
"Trunks! Wait!" Gohan attempted to follow, only for the pain in his side to sear throughout his entire body. Flinching violently, Gohan staggered, giving Trunks the necessary time to put the distance between themselves.
Gohan Black intercepted the strike meant for Gokū Black. Hand outstretched, he deflected Trunks' strike, diverting the force downward. Leaning in, Black grinned. "Bring back any memories, Trunks? You trained with the Gohan of this era, didn't you?" Swiftly, his knee slammed into Trunks' diaphragm. Air burst from Trunks' lungs, his eyes rolling back, golden hair receding to its typical lavender hue. "Perhaps the old familiarity can accompany you to the afterlife."
Thoughts flooded Trunks' mind. Grief, rage, sorrows. Blue eyes burning, he stared into Black's cold dark eyes. "I'll...rip you apart..bastard...!"
"You've failed already, Saiyan," said Gohan Black loftily, grabbing Trunks by his collar. "Be silent and perish!" Gohan Black heaved Trunks up, igniting his palm with a burst of dark ki, black at its core, emitting a purple light.
SLASH!
He swung his arm akin to a blade, a diagonal gash appearing along Trunks' front. The belt keeping his sword tired severed, his jacket ripped open, and what blood could spurt from the wound before the tissue burned and sizzled, cauterisation setting in, quickly burst in droplets. Trunks let out an anguished gasp, the wound adding to his already considerable pain. He began to fall, Gohan Black preparing another blow.
"We will rest well tonight, Saiyan," grinned Gohan Black, the blade forming into a sphere, preparing to unleash a powerful, finisher kikōha. His attack was interrupted when a kikōha from afar interrupted him. The blue sphere exploded on contact with Black, obscuring his vision and distracting him long enough for Trunks to fall to the ground. Emitting a burst of ki, a kiai pushed away the obscuring fumes. Gohan Black loomed through it, staring at the source of the interruption.
Gohan, hand outstretched, glared, stony-faced at his counterpart.
"It seems you're in a hurry to die first, Gohan," said Gokū Black, floating forward. His lip curled, an unfittingly ugly expression to wear on the face of a Super Saiyan God. "Shuffling the order means nothing to us. This is the day the Saiyans perish."
"Music to my ears," said Gohan Black, smirking.
Shit... Gohan's eyes flickered from Trunks, who was sprawled on the ground, unmoving, to his shoulder, where, just over it, the Western Capital lay smoking. To say he was caught between the anvil and the hammer was an understatement. Bulma, Qirka, and so many other nameless innocents were dead or dying, and Trunks, who should be within his help, lay at death's door as well. To make matters worse, it was clear these two were playing around now. They're confident that there's nothing I can do to resist them...and worse, they're right... Gohan took a deep breath. He didn't enjoy the feeling of being cornered; it toyed with his ability to think logically, and that was when his Saiyan genes were at their worst.
I just need to make it out of here...if I can get Trunks and hightail it on foot... Gohan remembered how displeased Black had been with the destruction of the forest. I might be able to play that to my advantage...
Super Saiyan burst to life around Gohan's body. Black hair dyed itself white gold, black eyes flashed emerald, coupled with the golden flames licking at his entire form. The Saiyan-half knew he might not have a hope in Hell right now...but he and his friends had bet on worse odds before. Gohan moved. Gold streaked through the sky, diving towards the forest floor for Trunks.
Gokū Black was there faster than Gohan had ever considered. He couldn't feel the man's energy, yet the pressure of a god saturating the entire forest. Black obstructed Gohan's path to Trunks with his body; at this exact moment, Gohan Black sprang forward, hand clad anew in the buzzing blade of ki that both Blacks appeared to specialise in. Narrowly, Gohan avoided the thin blade of light, twisting his body so that his dark clone missed him by metres. Igniting his own palm with ki, Gohan created a sphere, which he then crushed in his hands.
The sphere exploded in a burst of light, acting as a stun grenade. In the smoke and light, Gohan made an attempted beeline for Trunks yet again. The Blacks, however, kept pace with Gohan, each one of them created two twin kikōha, discharging them towards Gohan. He wove between the orbs of light, the volatile spheres exploding against each other on contact. If he needed any further smokescreen, they practically gave it to him. However, lights and bursts were not enough to keep the dark-clothed duo at bay for long. The dark copy of his himself closed in, swinging a right hook Gohan parried with the flat of his palm.
A moment's distraction was all the two needed; Gokū Black followed Gohan Black with a double-edged sledgehammer to the ribs. He angled it diagonally, away from the forest - why send Gohan closer to Trunks? - instead forcing the young man over the canopy. Gohan, under immense duress from the strength of a god, found it difficult to reposition himself. The Super Saiyan floated above the forest trees, farther away from Trunks now than he had been when he'd started. Sweating profusely, the adrenaline pumping through his blood was numbing the pain of his wounds; no, the sweat now was merely from nerves.
"Your effort is commendable, but this is the most you can do as a mere human," Gokū Black said.
"Trying to bait us so you could take Trunks and scarper off?" asked Gohan Black, a quizzical look on his face.
"How did you—"
"I know how you think, Gohan," Gohan Black replied easily. "I knew the moment you attacked me just how you would try and rescue Trunks. But neither of us will let you get to him."
"It is time to bring our ideal world to fruition," said Gokū Black. The words came out accompanied by the most ill-disguised sense of longing. "The gods, so unwilling to do the necessary work that needed to be done - to cull the weeds from an otherwise perfect garden - are unworthy to stand alongside us. The Saiyans, who possess both incomprehensible might and a startling disregard for the divine...are the ugliest blotch upon our perfect dream. You and Trunks, both of you sinners will die, right here, by our hands."
Meaning this quite literally, Gokū and Gohan Black raised their palms towards Gohan. Light appeared to pull in from all directions, a kikōha forming between the two of them, red-violet over a black core. The combined might of the twin spheres bore down on Gohan, who saw his entire vision filled with that dark, crimson light. Raising his hand swiftly, Gohan unleashed a kikōha of his own, pooling out the very last dregs of his energy. There wasn't even a collision. Gohan was struck by the fused kikōha, enveloping his whole body. The sphere, pressing against him, pushed him into the distance, away over the trees, the smoking ruins of the Western Capital, and over the horizon. In the eyes of Gohan and Gokū Black, the sphere then swerved, shooting upwards into the sky and exploding.
The fireworks illuminated the sky, splitting the cloud cover and bathing Gokū and Gohan Black in fresh light. The replica of Gokū inhaled deeply, a satisfied smile on his face. His crimson locks returned to their normal black colouration, and his body regained its muscle mass, the Saiyan God reverting back to his base state. "A horrendous wrong has finally been righted," he said.
"Are we sure he's dead?" inquired Gohan Black.
Gokū Black shook his head. "Not entirely, no. But we aren't in the practise of boiling away seas and burning down forests - nature need not suffer for the sins of these humans, should it?"
Gohan Black nodded curtly. "Right you are. Now, shall we attend to Tr—" The words had barely escaped his lips, his eyes scanning the ground below them, did Black see that Trunks was missing. Where he should have been, there was no trace of a body, neither clothing nor blood. "Trunks! He's gone!"
"What?!" Gokū Black scanned the area with his eyes, frustration mounting with every turn. Breathing deep, Black closed his eyes, and began to scan out with his senses. The ability to sense ki was wonderful, and it would be what led him to victory. Or so he had assumed. His senses picked up nothing that would have given Trunks away. Furthermore, the forest, teeming with wildlife at every corner, was clouding his senses when trying to find the ki of what should by all rights be a dying man. "He's wasn't letting out too much ki to start with...but the life in the forest is clouding my vision. Tch...!"
"Should I flush him out?" suggested Gohan Black, raising a palm, ready to prepare a kikōha. "He couldn't have gotten far with those injuries."
Placing a hand firmly on Gohan Black's shoulder, Gokū Black frowned at him. "We are here to purge the worlds and universes of humans; we just went over this. We can afford to give Trunks his time."
"We're so close to—" insisted Gohan Black, before Gokū Black cut him off.
"There's nothing they can do to stop us. We possess the strongest powers in the Universe, and furthermore—" Black fingered the jewelry hanging from his left ear, allowing it to catch the light, in addition to Gohan Black's attention. "Even if they come back stronger than before, in that pesky way Saiyans do, we have our trump card. When they return...they will perish."
The other Black lowered his arm, allowing himself a smile. "You're right. Then we shall wait for them."
Gohan's eyes wouldn't open. The man felt his body, almost as if he was separated from it, being lifted into the air, and carried. Part of him, that same detached, distant part, could hear the words someone was saying.
He heard his name. Words, many seemingly jumbled, but certainly his name.
Where am I?
The words were everywhere and nowhere. Gohan tried to focus, and found himself sitting alone, around a campfire. The crackling and snapping of flames on the hearth was a familiar feeling. How many campfires had he made, alone in the woods?
"So I've crossed over here again?"
The voice gave him a start. He looked up, towards the other side of the campfire, and saw another man. This man resembled him, so very much, but he was scarred along the side of his face, his hair was shorter, and he was missing an arm.
"We...? No, you're not..."
"Hello, Son Gohan," said his future self. "I'm sorry to see you here."
Gohan blinked in confusion. He looked around, yet for as far as he could see, there was darkness. The only source of light came from the fire between himself and...his future self. Resisting the urge to stand up and run, Gohan locked eyes with the Gohan of the future
"You're...me?" He blinked, dazed. "Where are we then? Am I dead?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" said the future Gohan, nodding along. "I don't believe you are. Not yet."
"But aren't—"
"I am, yes," said the Gohan of the future heavily. "I've been waiting here since the Androids took my life. For Trunks."
With his mind processing multiple things at once, Gohan had to think hard about where he was. If his future self was here, who he knew to be dead, this was likely some part of the afterlife. But he hadn't moved on yet. So, was it limbo? Gohan frowned. The dead didn't usually keep their bodies, except in the rarest of circumstances; he knew his future self would be one of those. Realising this was indeed part of the Afterlife, Gohan asked, "Trunks?! So then, he hasn't...he's not...?!"
Gohan's future counterpart grinned, shaking his head. "No, and I couldn't be more grateful. When I felt a Saiyan-half like myself coming. I was terrified. But it looks like there's only us."
Gohan was relieved. Even though he had no idea where he was, or why his future self was sitting right in front of him, Trunks was alive. Another face crossed his mind; Gohan voiced the thought he didn't want to ask, steeling himself for the answer.
"Did you see Bulma?"
The future Gohan's face darkened. "Yes, her soul came this way before you did. I wouldn't let her wait for Trunks, though. I'm the only one who needs to apologise to him. I left...so much on his shoulders."
No...Bulma...really is gone...! His own future counterpart had confirmed the terrifying words of that twisted copy of himself. Steadying his shoulders, Gohan kept his face focused. "If it's any consolation I think you raised Trunks splendidly. He's a fine man now."
The Future Gohan was quiet for a moment, his eyes wide and mouth slightly slack. "...Thank you. Thought it is strange to hear it from my own mouth. But that's besides the point...you're clearly me, but I'm here, and long dead. How did you get here?"
Gohan launched into an explanation about Bulma's time machine, and Trunks' escapades to the past. His journey to warn them of the Androids, the debacle with Cell, and how his own timeline had diverged from this one. Finally, he explained about Black. "I've come back from my era to help him deal with a threat bigger than anything he's dealt with before."
The Future Gohan was pensive for a moment. "A time machine...it's mad, but it sounds like Bulma." He grinned then, and laughed in a very Gokū-ish way. "So there's at least one timeline where the world is at peace. Me, a family man?" He sounded wistful. "Is it every but as good as it looked when I saw others?"
Gohan smiled. "You bet it is. My wife is an amazing woman; confident, headstrong, and she never quits. She's pretty strong too; gives a lot of us a run for our money. And our daughter...she's a lot like Dad, I think. She'll be amazing when she grows up!"
"Dad..." The future Gohan looked away, into the darkness of the firelight. "I'm still not sure how to face him either. He left me his colours...and I was supposed to protect the Earth. I failed him!" He grit his teeth, and Gohan saw tears forming in his future counterpart's face.
"You'll be fine," Gohan replied, without hesitation. "When Dad died...he died believing in us. Both here, and back in my era. And if we didn't measure up, he won't think any less of us. He'll just tell us to come train with him, and tell us how much farther we can improve. You know how he is."
"This was different, it was—" But whatever it was died in the future Gohan's throat, as his past counterpart placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I see where Trunks gets it," he said quietly. "But it's fine. When you see Dad, the first thing he's going to do is ruffle your hair and tell you that you did your best."
"I...thank you," said the future Gohan, tensing slightly, until he finally allowed himself to relax.
"And don't worry about waiting here for Trunks," Gohan added. "I'll make sure you don't need to see him for a very long time. I came to this era to help him. Our own pride landed me here, but that won't happen again."
"So you're—?"
"Going back, yes," said Gohan, standing up. His future counterpart stood up as well, and the two looked each other in the eye from their full heights. "What about you?"
"I'm going to go on," said the future Gohan firmly. "I've stayed here too long. When you see Trunks, tell him I'm proud of everything he's done."
"I will," Gohan nodded.
The darkness around him began to clear. The fire dimmed, and the darkness gave way to a blindingly bright light. It took his surroundings a moment to come into focus. The light filled his eyes first, before blurring into colour, and then solidifying into shapes. Beneath him, it was warm, even soft, and he felt a cool, wet towel in his forehead. His body was wrapped in bandages and gauze.
"G-Gohan! It is you! You're awake!"
The familiar voice, the one he'd heard before meeting his future counterpart in that strange, limbo plane, rang shrilly in his eardrums. He knew that voice. He knew it well. Turning his head to his left, Gohan saw her sitting at his bedside.
Chi-Chi's face was stricken. She was holding a cotton swab, apparently having been dabbing at his wounds. Tears had filled her eyes, and her face was more lined than Gohan had ever seen it.
It was Chi-Chi, of this era.
"Mother?!"
A/N: This was such a fun chapter to write. I'll be upfront; I hate Future Zamasu. I hate him with a passion. I believe Present Zamasu, and Black, are some of Super's best writing - specifically in the anime, as in the manga, he was just...hilariously shite. But in the anime, not only do I relate to Zamasu and Black's motivations, I find it to be uniquely complex for Dragon Ball. Trunks vs. Zamasu was a clash of ideals - whether humans should survive or perish. So I decided the best way to not have to write my least favourite villain, as well as not have to deal with the absolute pain in the ass that is writing around immortality, I decided to introduce two Blacks. Gokū Black, the original, who is my favourite villain, and Gohan Black, the second Black.
Now, as for the scene with Gohan and Gohan. I loved it. I didn't plan it, but I had a lot of fun writing it. Scenes where I get to write Dragon Ball characters having proper range of emotions is always something enjoyable. It's not the kind of scene people usually get to write with Dragon Ball, but I think it is at its best in a Dragon Ball fic with Gohan, who should be able to process emotions normally. I didn't expect to have so much fun writing that scene, but I am definitely glad I did. I think the ending might have been the most surprising part. I was aghast at how few future characters the Future Trunks arc used, so I definitely wanted to fix that.
Well, I'm glad I updated soon! I'll see you all in the next exciting chapter of The Erased Chronicles!