Chapter 30: Dealing With This

A steady stream of Ki blasts exploded where Gohan had just been, narrowly escaping the pain that would have followed. He took a small amount of time to catch his breath, always on alert for what his enemy would do next. Gohan had no clue of how long they had been fighting, but he knew that he was on the losing end of it.

One of the disadvantages of being sick, he thought, jumping to the side again to avoid a stronger blast of energy directed towards him. Some part of him was wondering if the sickness had taken a greater toll on him than he had thought. Or even if I am sick at all.

"You always seem to run away," Drew taunted, his eyes staring curiously at Gohan for a moment. The other boy's Ki had risen during the battle, making him wonder when it would end. Gohan's hair had long since turned a light yellow when he hit the next form, but it didn't seem to give him any advantage.

What about the one beyond that? He wondered, cringing slightly at the unwanted memories that distracted him. The distraction was long enough; Drew came charging forward and knocking into him, sending him through a dying tree.

"You were always so hesitant to use what has been gifted to you," Gohan could barely hear the other boy's words through his pained coughs, "Maybe I should have kept the younger one around, then you would have had at least some form of provocation."

Gohan froze at the words, his eyes narrowed a bit. Sure, he didn't like to fight, that much was true, but he would if it came down to protecting those that mattered. He didn't answer back, as much as he wanted to, because he knew it was always an enemy tactic to force some sort of distraction.

"It's a wonder how you could have beaten him," Drew's words caused confusion again, but also a bit of annoyance.

"Enough with the third-person pronouns already," he muttered, casting his gaze towards the other boy, who was floating nearby with an amused look. It didn't seem as though he were attacking right now. It's either 'he' or 'she,' and half the time I have no clue who anyone is talking about.

"Who are you talking about?" Gohan asked, getting up and starting to walk towards the other boy. Drew continued to float in the same position, seemingly content in torturing him in a way other than fighting.

"It's not a surprise that you don't remember; you were so small then that I hardly recognized you. The only thing that tipped me off was your Ki," Gohan sighed in irritation at the boy's statement. Not getting any closer, he thought, but then ran over the words again, realizing that there was a difference; he's implying that I was younger. Who did I fight then? Raditz came when I was four, but I didn't necessarily 'beat' him, so that leaves…

His eyes widened at the realization. "The Makyo Star with Garlic Junior?" Drew laughed at bit at his answer, "why would you be mad about that?"

"Because…" Drew paused, a look of spite on his face, "he was my mentor and father."
You have got to be kidding me, Gohan felt like smacking himself; it felt like déjà vu all over again… I don't even want to know how, but this is getting seriously annoying. First I have to deal with Cell's 'children,' one of whom was my friend, and now this?

"This seems to be a horrible pattern," Drew suddenly disappeared from his gaze, making him alert again as the boy's – uh 'alien's' – Ki disappeared. Mocking laughter came from all sides, not giving him any advantages. He decided to try a different tactic: keep the boy talking.

"I didn't think Garlic Junior could take on the appearance of a human though. Does that mean you're different?" the prospect wasn't unheard of, considering Frieza had used the Saiyans.

"No, he was my biological father," Gohan made a face at the words, "but I have a special… how would you put it? Skill, I suppose. I just had to find a host young enough."

The words sunk in, allowing the answer to come through: this… being had taken over the boy before he even had a chance of living. Anger spiked through him, causing sparks to bolt through the surrounding air.

"How could you do such a horrible thing!?" he shouted, finally locating where the voice was coming from. He shot through the air behind him, knocking into the former boy. He didn't expect to receive a legitimate answer, considering all bad guys never had one.

Gohan could tell that exhaustion was starting to wear him down; he floated to the ground as he felt his energy running out again. What is wrong with me? A question popped into his mind, and he figured he might as well try. "Did you, by any chance, get me sick?"

Drew's angered expression turned to one of slight confusion, making Gohan almost want to laugh. I guess he didn't then. That's a relief. No idea what an alien virus could do at a time like this.

"This seems to have gone on long enough. I'm done playing with you," Drew's statement made the humor leave the situation. He realized then just how much of a disadvantage he had. Especially since I asked him if he got me sick; it doesn't take a genius to figure that out. He gasped as he felt something wrap around his legs. He glanced down and saw some sort of cord infused with Ki. Where did that come from?

Gohan tried any maneuver he could think of to get free, but quickly realized that it wasn't to his benefit. No matter what I do, it just saps my strength. The situation reminded him of his fight with Bojack, but this time he was pretty sure Hercule wouldn't come crashing into the scene.

A red Ki orb filled Drew's hand, causing Gohan to realize he was in serious trouble as the Ki spiked. Drew's head tilted to the side a bit as the Ki dissipated a small amount, curiosity in his eyes. "You seem… different. Something is off about you."

"I'm pretty sure I'm sick," he answered, trying to stall time, but he could see that the boy didn't really believe him. If it wasn't that he was sick, then what else could it be?

Does he know about the Lotus? His other self took the most opportune time to chime in, causing irritation to spread through him again.

How in the world would I know that? Like Drew said, I was pretty young when this whole incident started.

"I guess it doesn't matter, I should still just kill you," Drew seemed almost like he was contemplating on finishing a game or not. A strange sensation filled him and made him squeeze his eyes shut. His whole senses seemed to be focused on the pain, not allowing them to work properly. He felt himself fall to the ground a bit, making him wonder what the Ki cord was actually doing. Is he planning on defeating me this way?

Gohan felt like he was going to pass out. He seriously wished he would have taught Goten how to fly; maybe then his brother would have been able to get back to the house quicker. A thought hit him: what if Goten didn't know how to get back to the house? What if his little brother was wandering around the forest at night alone? Then that's another thing that I'll need to deal with after this.

The pain in his side exploded and he was pretty sure that he had passed out for a few moments. He felt disoriented as he came to, seeing that Drew was nowhere to be found. The Ki cord that had been keeping him in place was gone, but he still didn't feel much better; if anything, he felt worse.

Where could he have gone? Gohan wondered as he shakily stood up, wandering closer to the edge of the cliff. He glanced down it, not seeing anything but not sensing the other boy's Ki either. Could he have fallen down there?

Drew had seemed to have a lot of Ki, but everyone had their limits. It wasn't like you could expend more Ki than you had; that would just leave you in a very unwelcome situation. Drew must have run out of Ki and fled or… something. Even though it seemed like his Ki was endless, what could have made it run out so quickly?

Trails of something dark green where Drew had been made him turn to look, but he realized his error too soon. His foot slipped on the edge of the crevice, causing him to fall backwards. Just when he had been lecturing Drew on using too much Ki, he had done the same error. Soon, he found himself falling through the air and to the ground below.

Wow… um… hi everyone? I'm not dead, I just… how do I even explain this? I had this chapter partially written and then when I looked down at the date, I realized it has been three months since I updated. Uh… so I seriously didn't mean to let that happen; time just slipped by way too fast. Sorry if this really wasn't the conclusion you were looking for but, like I said earlier, I stink at fight scenes and this wasn't necessarily meant to be one. I'm going to try and get the next chapter out as soon as possible, but I am really focusing on my other DBZ fanfiction right now, so maybe expect a delay? Sorry about that, but I would like to hear your thoughts in a review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9