--- Disturbance, Book 2: Divergence ---

Chapter D14 - Land of Confusion

Disclaimer: The fun about this sentence is that by the time you realise it doesn't say anything, it's too late to stop reading it. Also: See first chapter.

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-I must have dreamed a thousand dreams-
-Been haunted by a million screams-
-But I can hear the marching feet-
-They're moving into the street-

For five hours, the Lookout had been filled with the sights and sounds of a rigorous training cycle. Under Oran and Lime's directive, Goten and Trunks would fuse into Gotenks, and Oran and Lime into Liran, and the two would train. After half an hour, the Gotenks fusion would wear off, and through means unknown to any bar them, Oran and Lime would forcibly separate prematurely, and they would spend the next half hour resting. And then they fused again.

Quite frankly, the other people on the Lookout were sick of it. Sure, the appearance of Gotenks and Liran was impressive the first couple of times, as was the blinding speeds the pair managed to reach as they trained across the white-tiled palace garden, but after five hours, it was old hat, and plain and simply, boring.

Chichi and Bulma had returned to their card game, though now they had dragged in Eighteen, Krillin, and Yamcha, the short blonde pigtails of Marron barely visible above the tabletop indicating where she sat; on her mother's lap. Piccolo still stood watch over the training kids, though everyone else had retired inside, to await the results, either good or bad. Videl and Dende had returned - well, remained - atop the Observation Deck, removed enough from the group to grieve in peace, but close enough to watch what's going on.

It didn't look good. "Dende," Videl asked slowly, "Are they making much progress? I mean, Majin Buu's gonna be whole again in, like, half a day isn't he? Are the boys going to be ready by then?"

Dende grimaced, then shook his head slowly. "No Videl, things aren't looking good. While they're getting better at fusion, Goten and Trunks just aren't getting stronger fast enough, and while I can't be sure, I think Majin Buu may be regenerating faster. I'm afraid we may not be able to win this one."

"Don't worry Dende," the human girl replied confidently, "I'm sure Gohan'll be back in time to save the world from destruction again."

"I hope so Videl," the demi-God replied slowly, "I truly hope so."

-Now, did you read the news today?-
-They say the danger has gone away-
-But I can see the fire's still alight-
-They're burning into the night-

Tension was high down on the training field, as Gotenks and Liran squared off and duelled for the sixth time now, and sooner or later, one of them was going to snap. Turns out, it was sooner. With a shouted, "That's it! I've had it!" Liran snapped the bamboo rod in two, and stalked away from the fight.

Her shout having drawn the attention of those inside again, Krillin raced out, asking frantically, "What is it? What's going on?"

"What's going on?" Liran parroted, before continuing angrily, "'What's going on' is that we are all doomed!"

A fresh round of shock was passed around the group, before Yamcha asked, "Doomed? Why? The boys are powerful enough to stop him, especially fused."

Her hair flicking around as she shook her head, she replied, "No, what we have is a pair of boneheads, who fuse to form an even BIGGER bonehead!" She stabbed a finger in Gotenks' direction. "They are more concerned with flashy moves and showing off to inflate their already moon-sized ego to properly train. They are never going to be strong enough to beat Majin Buu!"

Piccolo, by this point, would have been berating their teaching style, if it wasn't the sort of thing he would have done anyway had he been in charge. Instead, he stated, "If the boys knuckle down and get to work, then we will-"

He was cut off as Liran cried out, "You just don't get it Pickles! We have, what, eighteen and change? Less? Hours to get these boys up to code. We have already wasted five hours, and it's clearly obvious to me that eighteen hours is not going to be enough. Hell, a week wouldn't be enough! I would need an entire year to get them ready to fight Buu, and we just don't have that kind of time!"

There was an awkward silence, before the newly arrived Dende, Videl in tow, replied quietly, "Actually, we do."

-There's too many men, too many people-
-Making too many problems-
-And there's not much love to go around-
-Can't you see this is a land of confusion?-

"No!" Chichi shouted immediately, "No, I am not letting one of my sons go through that again."

"What?" Liran asked, looking around at the assembled grown-ups. "What is it?"

Surprisingly, it was Bulma that tried to reason with her, seemingly ignoring the fused girl as she pressed, "But Chi, this may be the only way. Goten and Trunks are the only hope we have left, and if this is what they need to do to win, then we just have to let them. Which would you prefer: that Goten go through with this, or that he, and everyone else on the planet, die?"

Tapping her foot irritably, Liran growled, "Hello? Is somebody going to tell me what you're talking about?"

"But Bulma," Chichi replied, again ignoring the girl, "Gohan was never the same afterwards. I'm afraid that sweet, innocent Goten will be-"

She was cut off by a massively loud explosion above them, which drowned out all other sound; the explosion itself, however, was harmless. All heads shot in the direction of the culprit, finding Liran standing there with one hand still pointed in the direction of the blast. She smirked, "Okay, now that I have your attention, is someone going to tell me what the fuck you're babbling about?"

"The Room of Spirit and Time," Piccolo replied in his usual stoic manner. "Also known as the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. A near limitless room where a year inside takes only a single day outside."

She nodded slowly, turning to Bulma and commenting, "You're right B, this may be our only hope." Turning to the fused boy behind her, she grinned and asked, "So 'Tenks, you man enough to face the vast unknown of the RoSaT?" Slowly, very slowly, Gotenks nodded. She turned back to Piccolo. "So, where is this room?"

-This is the world we live in-
-And these are the hands we're given-
-Use them and let's start trying-
-To make it a place worth living in-

"This is it?" Oran asked disinterestedly, staring at the fairly plain wooden door. The two fusions had worn off as Piccolo led them deeper into the Lookout, the green man leading the four kids past countless doors, before stopping abruptly in front of this one. Now, while the Saiyan boy wasn't expecting neon signs announcing that this was a room or power, he at least thought it'd stand out, possibly with gold trim or something, so to see a door that was more boring than the rest was a tad... disappointing. "It doesn't look like much."

The corner of Piccolo's mouth turned up in his version of a smile. "No, it doesn't, but it doesn't need to. Behind this door is the Room of Spirit and Time, a place where time and space are warped, twisted, and contained. The room is endless, and easy to get lost in, so I suggest you remain within sight of the entrance, and the housing chamber around it, at all times."

Trunks scoffed, "Pfft, it can't really be endless."

Piccolo continued on unperturbed, "For every hour you spend inside, a mere ten seconds will have elapsed outside. Every day, just four minutes. Every week, less than half an hour. One year's time inside is just twenty four hours outside, and no being, mortal or otherwise, can spend more than two full cycles inside the chamber; if they do, the room seals shut behind them, trapping them inside forever." He smirked slightly, "I must warn you, in the chamber's entire history, only four people have managed to last the entire year inside: Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, and Mirai Trunks."

"Wow!" Goten chirped, "You mean both my daddy and my brother have been in here? Cool!"

Piccolo nodded just once. "Now, normally only two people at a time could go in the room, but Dende has been tinkering around with it and has removed that restriction. He, however, is not sure whether he has removed the clause that people aged as the room did while in here or not."

"You mean I could come outta there a year older?" Trunks cried out, shaking his head violently, "Nuh uh, I'm not going in there!"

"What's the matter Trunks?" Lime goaded, "Gohan did this when we was about your age. You're not afraid of getting older are you?"

Trunks, however, was not going to rise to the bait, replying in a half serious, half deadpan voice, "Yes. Yes, I am afraid of getting older."

Oran folded his arms. "The way I see it you have two choices. Either we go inside and train to stop Majin Buu, or we stay here, and I get to kill you. Either way, I win."

Trunks scowled. "I just want you to know, I'm not Gohan."

Oran nodded. "Dually noted. Get in the fucking door."

Turning to face the wooden door, Trunks whinged, "Aww fuckberries..." before swinging it open, and the four kids strode inside. (1)

-Oh, superman, where are you now?-
-When everything's gone wrong somehow?-
-The men of steel, these men of power-
-Are losing control by the hour-

"Now then," Goku mused to himself from his perch atop King Yemma's celestial palace, "What would Gohan's energy signature feel like now..."

Having spent many years with nothing but training and eating to occupy his time, rather than creating and learning new techniques, Goku had instead chosen to refine the techniques he had, hone them, make them perfect, and included in these techniques were his Instant Transmission, and his Ki Sense. And master them he had. Goku could, given the time and the drive, find anyone in the same dimension as him and teleport to them.

Of course, he couldn't just pick a random person and teleport to them, he needed some way of picking an individual thread out of the tapestry that made up the universe. He could, for example, find Vegeta easily, because he knew the dead prince's energy wave extremely well. However, with said prince being in Hell, he wouldn't be able to just sense him normally; he'd have to use his new method.

Working on a similar principle to echo location, Goku could project a wave of energy like he was searching for, and wait for it to 'bounce' back towards him, which is would only do if the wave resonated with the target. However, the technique wasn't perfect because, as he'd found in the past, a person's unique ki signature is made up from parts of their parents; thus, sending out a wave would resonate with the target, their parents, and their children.

For example, if, on earth, he sent out Vegeta's signature, he would find both Vegeta and Trunks. Doing the same in Otherworld as it was now would locate Vegeta, his father and mother, potentially their parents, and so on, each generation fainter than the last. Sending out his own wave her in Otherworld would find his brother Radditz, his father Bardock, his mother - who he had never met - and, if he was here, his son.

However, with this technique still being as it was, just locating a signature that resonated with his wouldn't be enough to find Gohan, so he sent out two waves; his own, and Chichi's, a signature he knew like the back of his hand. Theoretically, the only person around who should resonate with both would be Gohan.

A grin spread across his features as he felt an echo, crowing triumphantly, "There he is! Wow, he must be on the very edge of Otherworld. Wonder what he's doing there." Standing up, he placed two fingers to his forehead, locking on to the signal, "Well, one way to find out."

Then he was gone.

-This is the time, this is the place-
-So we look for the future-
-But there's not much love to go around-
-Tell me why this is a land of confusion-

Gohan was the epitome of focus and determination, breathing deeply, eyes closed, as his body ran through the series of training exercised Kellre had taught him automatically. His mind ran through every solution to his current problem: the corruption he could now feel quite clearly in the Z Sword. A wave of white light washed over the blade, coating it, as he used the hyper-sensitivity his energy allowed him to trace the weapon's chi flow, to find the extent of the corruption, and the source. He was focus, he was determination, he was-

"Hey Go-" Distracted. With a startled yelp, Goku dropped to the ground and ducked under the swing that would have taken his head off, a trio of sliced hair fluttering to the ground to land on the soft grass. Holding a hand over his heart as he lay on his back, propped up on one elbow, Goku cried out, "Geez Gohan! What are you trying to do, kill me?"

"Dad?" Gohan's eyes snapped open, his focus gone as he searched for the man. "Dad! What are you doing here? How'd you get here? Heck, aren't you supposed to still be on Earth?"

Climbing to his feet, Goku grinned as his golden-haired son. "I followed your ki trail to here. You're way out in the outskirts of Otherworld ya know? I almost didn't find ya." With a shrug, he added, "And going Super Saiyan Three forced me to come back sooner than I would have liked, but don't worry, I've got the kids working on a plan to save everyone." He blinked a moment, suddenly noticing something, and cried out, "Hey, you don't have a halo!"

Gohan grinned back, "Nope. I'm still alive. Shin and Kibito just brought me here to get this," he indicated the sword he still held, "and train to stop Buu."

"So Videl was right then." Goku smirked slyly. "You know, she never believed you were dead. Said she'd feel it. You haven't done anything you should tell your old man about have you?" Gohan blushed slightly, but shook his head. "Are you sure? When I asked if she had anything she wanted me to tell you, her reply was 'nothing that need be spoken'."

His face practically pulsing red, and almost hot enough to fry an egg on, Gohan replied slowly, "Well dad... I love her. And with luck, she loves me too. But no, we haven't done anything. Well, I did kiss her, but..."

Goku grinned, "You sly dog you. So, what's with the sword?"

-This is the world we live in-
-And these are the hands we're given-
-Use them and let's start trying-
-To make it a place worth living in-

Planting the sword nose-first into the dirt, to save having to hold it up any longer, Gohan replied, "Apparently, this sword, the Z Sword, is the most powerful weapon on the universe, and in a very King Arthur-Excalibur kind of way, I'm the only one that's been able to free it from the rock spire is was stabbed up to the hilt into, making me it's chosen wielder. Kaen and Kellre have been teaching me how to use it properly."

"Kellre's dead?" Goku asked curiously, head tilted to one side, "When did he die?"

"He didn't," Gohan replied with a shrug, "He and Kaen both, for lack of a better term, projected themselves here to Otherworld to teach me." suddenly remembering something, he added, "Oh, and Kaen's not dead either."

That got a surprised look from Goku. "He's not? Wow, he just doesn't stay down does he?

Gohan grinned. "Is that a note of jealousy I detect in your voice dad?" His father just waved him off. "Problem is, according to Kaen and Kellre both, the sword's broken."

"What do you mean 'broken'?" Kibito, watching from nearby, screeched incredulously, standing next to an equally gaping Shin. "The Z Sword is the most powerful weapon in existence; how can it be broken?"

'Oh, shit, right. Forgot they were there.' Gohan swore to himself; he'd gotten so distracted by his father's arrival he forgot Shin and Kibito were observing him. 'Damn that was a newbie mistake. Ah well, guess I better bite the bullet.' "They told me the chi flow of the weapon is corrupted, which is why it's so heavy and difficult to use. I've been examining it myself, and they're right; there's... something interfering with the flow."

Looking at the weapon as though seeing it for the first time, Shin asked worriedly, "Can you... 'fix' it?"

Gohan nodded, picking the weapon up again and flaring into Super Saiyan Two. "Yeah, I think I can. I could feel it... well, moving, as I probed the blade with my ki, and I think I worked out what they meant by 'binding the weapon to myself'; I need to feed my ki into it, until it takes it on, becoming part of myself, an extension of my will, my soul, rather than just my body." He took a few steps away from everyone. "Guys, stay back. Here goes."

With a roar, Gohan's aura burst into life, and the Z Sword was wreathed in golden flame. Gohan swung the weapon as though attacking invisible foes, more to give his body something to do than because he needed the practice, as he forced his ki deep into the weapon. The others could quickly see the effects taking hold, as, with each swing, an arc of purple smoke left the weapon, and swirled around his aura.

Faster and faster Gohan swung the sword, his aura doubling in size, before his form became completely obscured by the purple smoke. Then, as suddenly as he'd started, Gohan stopped, his aura dying and the smoke drifting away. Shin bit back a gasp as he beheld the weapon now in Gohan's hands. Gone was the dull grey blade, leaving behind a brilliant silver colour, that looked gold in the right light. The dull yellow hilt was now a pure gold, and at the base of the jet-black handle, sat a perfectly cut sapphire.

-I remember long ago-
-When the sun was shining-
-And all the stars were bright all through the night-
-In the wake of this madness, as I held you tight-
-So long ago-

With a nod, Goku commented, "Now that's more what I was expecting from a powerful ancient artefact."

"And very well done that was young man," A new voice called out from amidst the purple smoke. "Freeing me without damaging the sword; you exceeded all my expectations." The smoke soon cleared, revealing a being that looked exactly like Shin, except aged a few millennia. "But then, I had thought it would be a Kai that would do it."

"Who... Who are you?" Shin asked curiously.

The being shrugged. "My name has long since been lost to the sands of time. Fair to say though boy, I am your ancestor and predecessor. Just call me Elder."

Gohan seemed the only one not surprised by Elder's appearance, as proven when he commented, "I thought it felt like a ki signature corrupting the sword's chi flow. So you were sealed away in the weapon were you?"

Elder nodded. "Ages past, when this universe was still in its infantile stage, I was sealed away by a greater demon, who feared my powers; the power to unlock the true potential of anyone, mortal or immortal. He sealed me inside the most powerful weapon of the age, knowing that, even should anyone know of my imprisonment, I would be forever trapped, as no one would destroy so holy a relic, which was, the demon believed, the only way to free me."

"You can unlock people's true powers?" Gohan asked eagerly, "Then can-"

"Of course I can boy," Elder replied with a grin. "That's what the legends predicted. He who freed me from my steel and magic prison would have need of my powers, to defeat the greatest evil known to man. Sound about right?"

Gohan nodded. "Well, considering Majin Buu draws his power from the Well of Evil itself, yeah, that about sums things up."

Taking a seat on the grass, Elder indicated the patch of earth before him, stating, "Sit. If you're anywhere near as strong as I think you are, this could take a long time."

-I won't be coming home tonight-
-My generation will put it right-
-We're not just making promises-
-That we know we'll never keep-

The fact that Kaen and Pi arrived on the bridge of the Icebreaker with Kaen's arm around her shoulder, Pi's arm around his back, and their tails intertwined, was a good sign that their relationship was getting back on track. That they appeared to be acting like a new couple, however, was less so. With a mental shrug, the four adults present (Truniz and Cherri being elsewhere) all seemed to come to the same realisation; they had put everything that happened behind them and started afresh. Again.

"Big brother!" Kat cried, racing across the room and leaping into a flying tackle hug; also known as a glomp. "Ooh, I'm soo glad you're okay."

Coughing as he caught her with one arm, stumbling back a step, he wheezed, "Easy there little sis, I still need some time to recover 'fore you can try that again."

"You're not fully healed?" April asked worriedly, in her patented mothering tone, her eyes casting over him for any remaining injuries.

When Kaen shrugged, Raene then asked, "So what're you doing out of the tank?"

"There's nothing left it can do for me," Kaen replied with another shrug. "My body's fine. It's my soul that needs to recover now, and the regen tank can't exactly help that."

"Why would your soul need to recover?" A voice called from behind them, heralding Truniz's return to the bridge, Cherri wrapped in his arm.

"You mean other than the massive imbalance caused by breaking not just one, but two Super Saiyan barriers in the space of a few minutes?" Kaen remarked rhetorically. "Someone was draining my energy as fast as the tank could return it."

"Someone?" Kellre prompted. Despite their long talk earlier, he never got the full story about what was going on.

Kaen heaved a sigh. "Okay, the short version is: For the past month I've basically had an evil doppelganger living inside my head, and when Babidi tried to take control of me he merged with all of my negative thoughts and memories before taking over my body, becoming Dark Phoenix. Working together, Pi and I managed to boot him out, but when he wound up in Hell he and I were still linked, so he was draining my energy both trying to find a way to escape, and to fight off Gohan, who had been sent to Hell to destroy him."

There was a moment of awkward silence, before Avarrdo stated, "I think we need the long version."

Kaen grimaced. "I was afraid you'd say that..."

-There's too many men, too many people-
-Making too many problems-
-And there's not much love to go round-
-Can't you see this is a land of confusion?-

In the far reaches of space, a deep, rumbling laugh echoed across the airless environment; of course, due to a lack of air, it was impossible to hear it. It had taken a long time - from what the pieces of him left on the blue planet reported, the sun had already passed over them again - but he had finally rebuilt his body. And, even better, he had returned to his ideal form, the one he had used to kill that stupid girl.

A pink aura burst into life around him, as he blasted back the way he had come, arcing through the vacuum of the cosmos like a sickly pink comet. He was going to bring death and destruction to all of them, starting with the stupid planet that had dared to hurt him!

-Now, this is the world we live in-
-And these are the hands we're given-

"Oh sweet and merciful Kais," Dende breathed, turning back to the palace and shouting, "Majin Buu is fully regenerated and is on his way!"

"So, it's time then huh?" Piccolo muttered from beside him.

"It would seem that way," the demigod replied sadly.

"You think the kids have had enough time to train?" Videl asked, her tone strangely missing the fear one would expect given the situation.

Dende just shrugged. "We'll find out soon enough won't we?"

"W-when is M..Majin B-Buu gonna a-arrive?" Krillin asked fearfully.

A grimace coming to Piccolo's face, he replied, "He's already here."

-Use them and let's start trying-
-To make it a place worth fighting for-

As if his words summoned him, the grim visage of Majin Buu appeared before them, landing on the edge of the tiled structure. Laughing deeply, Buu demanded, "Produce."

"Produce what?" Piccolo replied smoothly.

Buu laughed deeply again, before scowling, "The long haired man - the first one - promised me a powerful fighter. Now, produce."

"He's not ready yet," Piccolo commented. "The deal was, you wait two days, and we give you your challenger. Only a single day has passed. Just wait one more day."

"No more waiting," Buu growled. "The second man caused me great pain. That cost you your extra day. Now, PRODUCE!"

Giving a silent prayer, Piccolo stated calmly, "You want something to do for the next day? There are still billions of people down on Earth. Why not amuse yourself by killing them?"

-This is the world we live in-
-And these are the names we're given-

"Piccolo!" Dende shouted, "What the hell are you doing?"

"What's necessary." Piccolo replied calmly, as Majin Buu strode around the perimeter of the Lookout, his gaze locked onto the planet below.

"W-What's he doing?" Krillin asked fearfully.

A look of horror coming to her face as Majin Buu neared the end of his circuit, Videl gasped, "He's counting everybody on Earth."

"No, worse," Piccolo added. "He's finding them."

With a sick grin, Majin Buu raised a single hand above his head, a pink ball of light forming, and he announced triumphantly, "Witness the end of humanity!" Before anyone could stop him, thousands, millions, billions of pink blasts rained down upon the Earth, and one by one, all life was wiped from the face of the Earth. His grin twisting to a smirk, he drawled, "Majin Genocide Technique. Nice huh? Now, produce!"

-Stand up and let's start showing-
-Just where our lives are going to-

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Author's notes:

(1) - This dialogue was stolen from a web series. Five points to the first person to correctly guess which one who's name isn't Ninja, who already knows.

I'm so sorry this took to get out. Writer's block + World of Warcraft + Girlfriend -> Very little writing getting done. I'll endeavour to get the next one done on time.