THE TWISTED MIND II.
AN: Hey everybody. The story is still alive. I'm not entirely sure I got the tone I was going for with this chapter, but it seems better to me than what I had originally planned. Let me know what you guys think.
Dark Dreams
Goten watched from a clifftop as Gohan and Pan emerged from Videl's house. For a moment they did nothing except stand there. He supposed they were discussing something. A short time later Videl also emerged, gave Pan a hug, and flew off towards the city for another hard day of work. Goten's fists clenched. How could she even consider leaving her daughter alone with Gohan? His anger passed momentarily however, replaced with uncertainty instead.
Was Gohan really the danger he thought he was? Goten wasn't an idiot. He knew Gohan could have easily killed him if he felt like it when he confronted him by the lake. Instead he had left himself completely vulnerable. It could just be some messed up mind-game, Goten reminded himself. Earn everyones trust, only to turn on them again. But as Goten watched Gohan and Pan interact he found that theory harder and harder to believe. Gohan seemed genuinely happy down there, and Pan seemed to be having fun as well, even if she was acting a bit shy.
Still, he couldn't drop his guard. Not yet. He had to be sure beyond even a shadow of a doubt that Gohan truly held no bad intentions. If he did plan on betraying them again, then Goten would be ready. He quietly continued to observe.
–
"So Pan, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Gohan asked.
The little girl looked thoughtful as she considered the question. "I think I want to be a superhero." She said finally.
"You do?" Gohan blinked. He supposed it wasn't that unusual a thing for a kid to want to be, but it was the sort of thing he would have expected a boy to say.
"Yeah!" Pan said with a nod. "Mommy told me that my daddy was a superhero who fought crime and beat up bad guys!" Pan voice filled with excitement as she spoke. "I want to be like my daddy.
It took an act of will on Gohan's part not to shed a tear at that. It touched him deeply in a way he wasn't sure he could express in words. But he kept that to himself. After all, Pan wasn't ready to know the truth.
"That does sound pretty cool." Gohan agreed amiably as they strolled around to the back of the house where a swingset waited.
"What do you do?" Pan asked.
"Me?" Gohan considered his response as he sat on one of the swings. "I guess I don't know."
Pan joined him on the swings. "Why not?"
"Well, I guess I never had the chance to become what I wanted." Gohan said.
"Oh." Pan said. There was a comfortable moment of silence. "How did you and mommy become friends?"
"We went to school together." Gohan replied.
"Mommy said she mat my dad in school." An almost hopeful note entered her voice. "Did youg know my daddy?"
Gohan considered this. "Yeah." He said at last.
"What was he like?" Pan asked.
Gohan considered how best to anwser the question. He decided to give her something like the truth. "Your father was a smart guy, really enjoyed life. He really loved you and your mom too."
Pan looked away. "If he loves us then where is he?"
Guilt rose up in Gohan, and when he spoke his tone was sad. "He didn't want to."
"Then why?" Pan looked at Gohan now. "Why did he leave if he didn't want to?"
Gohan sighed as he stood and stepped away from the swingset. He had left to protect her, and everyone else, from himself. He had become a monster that took pleasure in torturing and killing those who he had once cared for. When he regained his sanity, when he became capable of understanding what he had become, how could he possibly have stayed? Even if there had been no danger of falling back into the insanity that had gripped him there was no way the others could have forgiven him. But he couldn't tell Pan that. She deserved an anwser however.
Gohan turned to face "Your father left to protect you."
"Protect me?" Pan watched him closely.
"Yeah." Gohan nodded. "There was a bad man, a villian who wanted to hurt you. Your father left in order to stop him from doing that."
"Did he win?" Pan asked.
"Yeah, he won. He beat the bad guy."
"Then why hasn't he come back?"
"He had to go a long ways away. I'm sure he's trying to get back, and one day he'll show up for sure. You just have to be patient. Can you do that for him?"
Pan nodded. "Will he like me?"
Gohan smiled.. "I know he will."
–
After a time Gohan and Pan went back inside. Goten sat down on a tree stump and thought about what he'd witnessed. Their conversation had been quiet, so he hadn't heard what they were saying, but he had caught glimpses of Gohan's face. What he'd seen left him more unsure than ever before. Goten sat there lost in thought well into the evening, even as the sun went down. When he finally stood the moon had climbed high into the sky. He was about to fly away when he felt something strange. Slowly, he turned back towards the house and watched as Gohan emerged into the night.
–
Gohan's eyes opened, and once again he found himself in the ruined city. The air was thick with smoke, and the scent of blood and scorched flesh was so strong he nearly gagged. He looked around, at the carnage.
As in his previous dream Gohan wandered the city, knowing what he would see. One by one he came across the mutilated bodies of those he cared about. He felt a lump form in his throat, and the only thing that stopped him from crying was the rage. He needed to find the one who had done this.
"Daddy help!" Gohan whirled, his heart racing. There! Across the street he saw Pan, his precious wonderful daughter.
"Pan!" He raced towards her. "Thank kami you're safe!" He said, his voice thick with relief.
Blood sprayed across Gohan's features. Time seemed to stop as he looked onward. A hand protruded from Pan's stomache, dripping with gore.
"Da...ddy..." Pan's voice was barely a whisper. Then her body was tossed aside like nothing more than a piece of trash.
"You." Gohan's eyes locked on the murderer. The dark reflection of himself who even now wore a deceptively pleasant smile.
"She is such a wonderful girl isn't she?" That dark mirror spoke. "So young and innocent."
Rage filled Gohan. White hot, blinding. His aura erupted around him with such intensity that the surrounding buildings were torn apart by the winds, and the street caved in beneath him.
"I'll kill you!" He roared, and charged forward with a punch that carried behind it all his rage and all his power.
Time paused for a moment just before the fist struck, and in that moment that dark reflection spoke. "Kill me? But Gohan, you are me."
Then the fist struck.
–
Blood and gore exploded across the forest floor and splattered across trees. Some of the blood splashed onto Gohan's face and clothes. He stood there fist extended, breath coming in heavy gasps that bordered on sobs. Slowly he became aware of his surroundings. He was not in a ruined city, but in the woods perhaps a mile from Videl's house. Before him lay not a dark reflection of himself, but the unrecognizable remains of some forest creature. His eyes locked onto that creature, taking in every detail. He could sense the last remnants of its life force fading away. Abruptly his legs gave out and he was on his knees.
Goten watched from a small distance, a silent witness to Gohan's sobs and the death that had just occurred. He walked forward slowly until Gohan noticed him.
"Goten." Gohan's voice was shaky. "What did I do?"
Goten looked at the gore. "You walked here like you were in a trance, then you killed this animal." Goten's voice was almost as shaky as Gohan's.
Gohan looked back at the remains. "I killed it?" He sounded afraid.
Goten nodded.
"Did I enjoy it?" Gohan asked shakily.
Goten stiffened. "I don't know."
"I see." Gohan stood shakily and turned away from the remains. "I had a nightmare, that he killed everyone, and I couldn't stop him. I was to late. I couldn't do anything! Kami it felt so real!" Gohan's sounded almost hysterical.
"He?" Goten questioned.
Gohan hung his head. "It was me, as I was back then. It was like looking in a damn mirror."
"You shouldn't be around Pan. What if something like this happened to her?" Goten said after a moment.
Gohan shook his head. "No,I'll be fine. This won't happen again, I won't let it."
"I can't let you go back there." Goten said more sternly.
Gohan's eyes turned angry. "I've waited for years to meet my daughter, to know her. I won't walk away now. Not for anything." His voice was cold, and when he looked at Goten the younger saiyan could see the desperation in his eyes. Like that of a cornered animal. Goten backed away eyes narrowed. Gohan blinked, and the anger faded from his eyes.
Slowly Gohan regained his composure. The older man walked away. Goten made no move to stop him.