The Horse with No Name
Chapter Two
Ivory and Gold
The smell of dewy morning grass greets Gohan from his slumber. It's earthy and almost too zesty-fresh straight after waking up; making him grumble and nestle further into his pillow, except, said pillow has become strangely not very comfortable and particularly itchy… and flowery.
He lunges forward, and then dark eyes open into a world of colour.
The grassy smell now erupts around him, and Gohan drinks in the vision of purples and greens exploding around him as the scent consumes. Its perfume, so potent, wonderfully fills his chest as he spirals his head. The face of foliage meets him. Trees everywhere, tall and proud, slowly sway their pink leaves at him in welcome, light against the dark shadows of the expanding forest behind.
Beyond that, smatters of beautiful pastel specks have been sketched out as delicate, water-kissed flowers. The dewy aroma hums from them as they sit before a stretched landscape of muted hills, hills which journey eternally against the lilac backdrop, growing and shrinking beneath a blanket of stars despite it very clearly being daytime.
The gradient of purple to green to pink feels soothing and so natural to stare at, and for a long moment Gohan thinks himself to still be asleep. Dreamlike glistening from the dewdrops cast dizzying glares from the sun and finally he finds it all too much to look at.
Where am I?
Water jumps in excitement when Gohan stands. It splashes the exposed skin of his calves, kissing the vulnerable area where his pyjama bottoms no longer cover. Last year's growth spurt made sure of that. As he walks along the padded grass, fine blades slicing between his toes, he looks around to try and gauge just where he's ended up. He remembers going to bed last night, but he certainly doesn't remember taking a midnight stroll into the forest, not that this forest looks anything like the one backing onto the Son house.
The strange colourings look very little like anything he's ever seen on Earth, instead reminding him of the planet Gohan had briefly been to when training with the Z-Sword. Is that where he is now? As Gohan looks around, he starts to feel unsure, and that's when the heavy scent only grows stronger. It's suddenly so thick Gohan feels like he can taste it in the air.
Sweet like spring, addictive like nothing he's ever tasted before, it pulls at his legs lovingly, gesturing like a mother, into its nest of blooming, cerulean flowers making its home near a collection of powdery, white trees. Larger than the other trees, they don't dance for him. Instead, they sit in waiting.
Lethargic against the ushering, he follows the fragrance trail all the way over to the snowy trees. Like the dew, they sparkle.
"Beautiful," he breathes, chest depleted.
In response, the ivory branches flare silver. The gentle spines on the leaves also breathe life as gold trails up and down, beating in rhythm as sunny dust illuminates the area in a warm glow. It circles, dances, flourishes, casting golden ash everywhere as Gohan whirls in confusion. In tandem, the aroma squeezes him ever tighter, stealing the oxygen from his lungs and replacing it with its own perfumed delicacy.
The gold, silver, and entrancing scent concocts together and Gohan feels like he's experiencing an entirely different sense than he'd ever thought possible. His heart crashes about its cage, beating in perfect synchronization with the whitened trees, of which waltz in their own artistry.
Gohan tries not to be consumed entirely by the experience, tries to understand what's happening. But nothing like this has ever happened to him before.
It's killing me. I think I'm dying.
Yet something tells him that can't be true, the life around him is so vivid. Emotionally transparent, it's so clear to Gohan that whatever's happening to him is nothing evil –nothing wrong. When he goes to speak, however, he finds that he can't so much as utter a single word and that does scare him. Not a sound murmurs out.
In a vapid motion, Gohan brings his hands up to his chest. It thrums with such pressure he doesn't know where he begins and the tree ends.
"Does it hurt for you to look upon me?" asks The Ivory Tree.
He stares up, lost. Not every day does Gohan converse with a tree. Finally, words are granted to him, gifted as the ease in his chest allows him some liberty.
"No," Gohan soon rasps. "Where am I? Who are you?"
The tree is silent, golden zigzags running down and through the leaves in occasional glimmers.
"Then you are ready," it finally concedes to him.
"I don't understand," Gohan's brows furrow, "who are you? I-"
A billow of energy, ki he can't sense, rains down in thin, fine drops, but heavily. His knees give out and he collapses against the field of blue, petals scattering madly. They climb up into the lilac sky, volleying between gold and silver as the tree grows tall. Branches crackle; snap as Gohan watches in a stupor from the floor.
The gold streams through the leaves, down the braches, coursing down the thick trunk and through spindly roots before shining under the flowerbeds. The glow is bright; it makes Gohan wince, but only briefly before making him wail.
The gold had crept up his pyjamas and along his skin much alike a shadow chasing twilight. Rapid, it makes its move –its attack. The streak bleeds his world bright, blinding him as the golden haze pulsates and absorbs into his eyes. They burn, hot and bright like the sun, as white flashes carve against his vision. His hands, no longer lulling, scramble and claw at his face, and the unmistakable wetness beneath his nails doesn't surprise him. The breaking of skin –while it hurts- doesn't account to a fraction of the searing horror assaulting his eyes. Never before has Gohan wanted to tear a piece of his body free like this.
"Stop it!" he calls out, falling against the flowers. "Make it stop!"
If anything the pain two-folds, and he screams. He screams so much that he doesn't remember succumbing to the agony. He's swallowed, watching as the gold fades to black as The Ivory Tree's words follow him to the abyss.
"The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from adapting; they cease to be just that. You are the skin no more, my child."
The black is cold, empty.
And then it's gone –just like that. Amongst the foliage and pastel colours, he stands alone in his golden, bleeding glory. The tree is only but a tree now. The glistening whiteness seems to have evaporated into the darkness, journeying off together with it to who knows where. The gold, gifted to him, stays however. It colours his pale skin warm, coating him in something ethereal and holy.
He looks down at his hands, examining them as the gold slowly dims.
Just where am I? Who was that?
His hands clench into tight fists, a frown pulling at his cheeks with equal tightness.
More like… what was that?
Squawks sound from behind him, reminding Gohan that he's still lost within this strange forest. Chirps and odd little noises from insects chorus from all around. The flowers practically vibrate with life. As he clambers back to his feet he tries not to think about the ache around his eyes, or the red which stains his fingers. He walks through the blue flowers, far away from the nestle of trees, and back the way he came through until he reaches a clearing. Kempt fields comb through the wild grasslands, ones framed by aged, brown brickwork of walls and paving. Vines in a rainbow of colours thread through and around the dour structures, knotting together to form a direct path for Gohan to follow.
The walkway must lead somewhere, or at least, Gohan hopes so, because he's following it with growing urgency. None of these surroundings look like anything to do with the forests he's seen growing around his home, and the suspicion that this might not be Earth only increases when he stumbles upon a large, foreboding building in the distance. Writing, completely foreign to him, is scrawled is in a flowing mixture of shapes and dots. It sits upon a sign leading towards said building and reads unlike anything he's comes across in his studies.
His fingers trace the groove of the etchings.
"Where am I?"
Only the creaking of the sign answers back, and all he can do is stand there in a stunned silence.
A heavy gust of breath drains from him.
Onwards he walks, passing countless more trees, flowers and the gleaming of yellowed eyes between them. As strong as Gohan is, he doesn't want a run in with any weird creatures that might be dwelling out there. He picks up his pace when he hears a low rumble from deep within darkness, and when it sounds out again, he takes to the sky in an awkward take-off.
Strange. My ki feels… off here.
It's as if he suddenly had to use his left hand instead of his right hand to write. Calling upon his energy feels kind of skewed, making his form pull ever so slightly to the right as he courses through the sky. Gohan's always been a good flier, and he's always had decent form, so why his body is suddenly rebelling against him is lost on him. A pang of worry strikes.
First he wakes up in the middle of nowhere; next, those abnormal albino trees lured him in with their horrible (wonderful) scent, and now, he can't do something as simple as propel through the air. Gosh, he hopes those trees didn't do something to him. He really doesn't like any of this at all.
He hovers only a few feet above the ground, flittering gracelessly as he tries to catch his footing. Just as his toes tap the coolness of brick does he feel fingers clasp around his throat.
Gohan's reactions are good. He presses backwards against the assailant, knocking his head back and catching them with a direct and hard strike. Immediately, the person lets go, momentarily winded, and so Gohan pulls forward, swivelling low and striking with a stretched leg. But there's no one there to catch, no one until they reappear behind him once again, catching both his blindside and his forearm. So he tries the same thing once again. But the attacker is fast, dodging and catching Gohan's other arm in a merciless vice.
A growl of frustration bubbles at the back of the teenager's throat as the grip tightens. Whoever this is has a heck of a grasp, twisting Gohan's arms just enough to hurt something rotten but not enough to break them.
"Who are you?" he growls. "Why are you doing this?"
"You dare disrespect this land and yet you question me?" comes the reply, surprising Gohan as he recognizes the smooth tones of a woman. "Why are you here? These lands are sacred and you have no right, mortal."
"M-mortal?" Gohan stiffens. "Uwah, so this really is the Planet of the Kais-ow, ow, ow!"
"Do not play stupid, mortal," she hisses, twisting both his arms so tightly that he starts to see stars.
"I'm… I'm not!" he insists through clenched teeth as his body is forced to sink and buckle against the grass. A boot imprints sharply against his spine. "Argh! Just—just give me chance to-"
"Who sent you? The Zealites employing mortals now? Speak up. I do quite enjoy a good laugh."
"I don't know who that is!"
"Liar!"
Something in his shoulder cracks as he's forced against the dirt. Good heavens, just who even is this woman? Gohan knows he's been slacking just a little bit with his training recently (finals in school are coming up) but this is ridiculous. She's making mincemeat out of him!
Enough of this.
A jet of energy waves out, harsh and jagged as it cuts at both the air and the woman. The grip is released and with resolve, the teenager bounces back to his feet and several steps away. Another blast leaves him just so he can ensure the distance. However, the wave is bigger than expected. It laps out as a huge, unforgiving slew of force, slicing down many of the surrounding trees. Bricks become dislodged from the road, pulling into the orbit of the gust. They batter down at Gohan's assailant before he even has the chance to look at her.
"Wha-"
It's as if his ki has been amplified, uncontrollable against Gohan's usually tight reins, as it lashes out with yet another wave. Gold sparks dazzle in the chaos, causing friction against the bricks as they circle around the plain.
Then, it stops.
The bricks fall, the gold fades, and Gohan is whirled feet backwards and into the remains of an aging wall. Dust explodes everywhere upon the impact. Eventually, he stumbles up, emerging from the clouds of smoke, horrified at the betrayal of his own ki.
It's never done that before!
What the heck was that?!
"Got some fireworks about you, huh?"
Gohan turns just in time to catch a gloved fist in the palm of his hand. Attached, is a thickly-built woman. She's not much smaller than him, with tanned skin and a long, dirty-blonde plait which chases her as she aims another punch in his direction. He catches that one too. It doesn't deter her however, as a nasty heat butt sends him back to the floor.
Blood streaks down and catches his eyelashes as he watches her saunter over him. She's bleeding too. Just as heavily from a matching wound on her head.
She smears it away from her eyes. "Just what the hell is your head made from?"
He doesn't answer her, instead swiping her legs and turning to make a run for it.
"Coward," she growls, refusing to fall.
Her calves are pure steel. They don't budge an inch against Gohan's, firm and impossible to sway. He doesn't even have enough time to get away as she grabs at his shirt, dragging him up high. As much as Gohan loathes the idea of hitting a woman he's finding that he may have little choice here. She's clearly very strong, and from her outfit Gohan can tell that she's someone of importance. Bright, her grey armour glistens in the daylight. It's shiny and comes across as expensive looking as he stares down at his own blurred reflection. Beyond that, sits a crest in the centre of her breastplate. Gohan notices that it's a silhouette of a horse, one mid-gallop with its mane wild and free about the wind.
Gohan's shuffled in her grasp, and she barks a laugh. "See something you like?"
What?
He's shuffled again. "Eyes up here."
Huh? Wha—ah!
Oh God. His eyes snatch upwards as his face burns from the shame of it, ears sizzling.
"I-I wasn't looking at them! No! Ah, I mean, I-"
"Such a cute one," she snorts, amused, "something tells me that you wouldn't know what to do with them anyway."
His legs tuck upwards out of instinct as he feels his cheeks grow pinker and pinker. "It's not like that!"
"It's of no difference to me. The rabbit's opinion of the fox has little relevance in the end." She tilts her head, plait and blood flailing sideways. "Before I end you by my own hand do you have any lasting words?"
Gohan won't go down easily. If she really wants a fight he'll give her one -but why does it have to be that way? Can't they talk about this?
"There's been some kind of mistake! I-I just woke up! I don't know how I got here!"
"Impossible," she spits, "one doesn't just wake up here. This is the Realm of the Almighty! Don't believe I'm stupid for a second, mortal. We've seen your type crawling around here for years now, scurrying about like the rats you are, hoping to gather any information you can for your masters." She lowers him just enough to get a good look of his face. "Don't think you… can… fool… me."
Her mouth hangs there, words decayed, and for a second Gohan thinks he's somehow broken her because she doesn't move for a good while. She just stares at him, eyes wide and unblinking as the red leaks into them.
"I… Impos… no…"
She drops him, and because he doesn't expect it he falls gracelessly to his bottom.
Her hand levels up as a beam of ki dances about her gloved palm. It spirals threateningly in Gohan's face. "Who are you? Tell me your name!"
The glow dramatically skews when he doesn't immediately answer, and her ki feels sharp and nasty all of a sudden.
"Stop it," he says. Sticking a ball of energy in his face has very rarely gotten him to speak in the past. Today is not the day that it starts. "Put out the attack."
"Name."
"When you lower your hand," he tries carefully, eyes low and submissive. They don't need to fight –especially considering that he has no idea what had just gone on back there with his ki. Just what at the heck was that?
Whatever it had been deeply unsettles him.
"Just lower your hand," Gohan repeats, softer this time. "We don't have to do this."
Just as Gohan expects her to comply he hears a piercing whistle in the forest behind. It's a long and drawn-out sound, one which the woman repeats. He has to cover his ears from the shrillness of it. Another whistle is returned and as soon as Gohan turns to look behind he's brutishly wrestled down to the floor by the woman. He tastes the grass and its sprinkled dew when he hits the ground hard.
"You stay down," she orders.
Her knee sits on the base of his neck just in case he dares defy her –which he would if not for the group of armour-clad soldiers emerging from behind the trees in droves. Eight, nine, ten… fourteen, fifteen… He keeps counting until so many appear that he may as well not bother at all.
"Where's Lord Rixas?" asks the woman.
"Southwards, Captain," replies one of the men. He has blue skin and thin, pointed ears; definitely not human. "He's been training in the courtyard since dawn."
"Figures." She scoffs and flicks her plait from over her shoulder. "Someone give word to him that I've found a person of interest, and that I require his immediate assistance."
"But, Capt-"
"And don't let him give you any of his usual bullshit. Tell him to meet me at the Winter Pavilion as soon as he can."
"The Winter Pavilion, Captain?"
Gohan grunts as her knee presses deeper in his neck. He wishes they'd stop angering her.
"Did I stutter? Yes, The Winter Pavilion. I don't want this getting back to the barracks. That means none of you are permitted to speak about this to anyone. As far as you're all concerned we came up empty on today's patrol. Do you understand?"
A low rumble of murmurs ripples about the crowd. Good heavens, just how many soldiers are out there?
"You're bleeding… Did… did this mortal-"
The knee lodges impossibly hard, so much so Gohan splutters as she snarls an ugly sound. "Do you understand?"
The blue soldier's arm waves in a long half circle before resting on his chest. He and the countless others finally holler out an affirming; "Yes, Captain!" before making haste.
Quiet rustling of foliage and the unforgettable hushing sound of energy echoes into the background as Gohan and the captain watch on. He can't see much from his position. The world is slanted and shaded rosy from the blood as soldiers disappear left, right and centre into the thick greenery.
By this point Gohan's sure that his head might just pop off. His hand reaches out to tap at the ground to show his surrender, to show his compliance.
"Oh, give me a break," she says but gives him leniency all the same.
The pressure lessens just enough for Gohan to get one good splutter out. Another cough follows as his hand rings around his throat in a bid to encourage a better oxygen flow. When he's hoisted up like a rag doll, he yelps, choking on the fresh air. "Wh-what are you doing?"
"How would you like to get to where we're going? Would you like to walk like a respectable individual or would you rather me carry you like the baby mortal you are?"
"I'm seventeen!"
"Oh? In what years?"
"Er… Earth…"
She clicks her tongue. "An infant…tch, less than."
"You know Earth?" Gohan questions. "Okay, put me down. I'll walk -I'll walk."
She does, and he immediately pulls away from her, bristling. The captain doesn't so much as make a move to retrieve him and that unsettles Gohan just a bit. She's clearly very confident in her own prowess, understandably so considering she just managed to floor him in less than five minutes. Maybe if he'd been fighting seriously he could have caused some damage. Whilst he hadn't been using a fraction of his full strength something tells him it wouldn't have been as simple as that.
He considers her as she considers him. There's something about the way she looks at him that unnerves the teenager, makes him fidget as he can't read the emotion batting about her thinned, brown eyes.
"This way," she eventually says.
It almost sounds cordial for her so he does as requested, lingering behind as she leads them through the density of trees.
"Where are we going?" he asks, swatting away the leaves and branches she leaves about her trail.
"The Winter Pavilion," she surprisingly replies. "It's not far from here. Do your best to keep up, and don't even think about making a run for it. I'll snap both of your legs before you even make it fifty feet away."
"Why," Gohan begins, trying his best to bounce over curled tree roots and sly thorns, "don't we just fly there?"
The captain whirls around and Gohan barges into her. The plait nearly smacks him in the face.
"We do not fly here!" she snaps. "This is a sacred place where only the select few may rise higher above the rest. Should I see you fly again or even think about flying I'll make it my duty to carry you."
"Err… oh, okay. I'll keep that in mind. Sorry, I didn't mean to… er… Is it disrespectful to your culture or something?"
She pulls back a branch and Gohan swears she makes it slap him on purpose. It stings long after they pass through the next section of trees.
"Mortals shouldn't even be here on this sacred land," the captain chides, "but flying? Not even the noblest do it so frivolously here. If you fly then you do it with reason, not to so simply get from one place to another."
"Oh, er, I see." The teenager scratches at the back of his head. Flying long since became second nature to him. "So it's aggressive?"
"Uppity," she supplies simply, and then stops.
Gohan stops too as they've finally reached the forest edge, and now find themselves looking at a grand, ivy-draped building sitting across a body of water. It's made from the similar patchwork of bricks he'd seen earlier in the forest. Perhaps this is where it had led to –perhaps this had been the building he'd earlier spotted in the distance.
He approaches warily, somewhat struggling to keep up with the captain and her no nonsense speed.
A little ki-use wouldn't go a miss here. Actually, they'd be able to get up to the entryway up ahead much quicker if they just used their energy… even if Gohan's energy seems to not be cooperating quite as well as usual. Perhaps it's this place? Perhaps the sacred life force of this planet has something off about it, something which knocks the control of ki.
Or maybe it was that tree…
Gohan brushes a hand through his hair, dismaying. Everything about all of this makes him horribly uneasy, chiefly how the captain keeps looking back at him to make sure that he's still following.
Gohan coughs awkwardly. "So, are there any special culture rules here?" he then asks just to be polite. She turns and gives him an unimpressed look. "N-no! I'm being serious!"
It goes ignored and he starts to feel anxious. Last night had just been as normal a night as any, so how he's ended up on this mystery planet –or realm- is a complete mystery to him. Did someone use the dragon balls? Did Kibito Kai bring him here? Just what's going on? He frowns, feeling a little sick. Hopefully his family aren't too worried about him, and he just prays that he'll get some answers soon. From the conversation he'd overheard between the captain and those soldiers they're off to meet a lord. Either the meeting will answer some of Gohan's questions or…
His knuckles crack in anticipation.
Gohan swallows the discomfort. No, it won't come to that. He'll be fine. The lord will assist Gohan… Surely, he will.
He looks up and drinks up the image of the structure. The place is pretty big, with its looming, magnificent archways, ones that angle dramatically against the lilac sky and disappear into small points at the top. Gold delicately spirals around the build, coating the brown in that strange, spotted language he'd seen earlier.
"Can you read it?" asks the captain. She's wearing that strange look again.
Gohan doesn't like it. He hates the way her eyes pierce him with questions no asked.
"No, I can't."
She hums thoughtfully, petting the arch and turning to admire the splendour of the foreboding architecture. "I'm surprised you didn't put up more of a fight. Usually you mortals are quite feisty."
"Why fight if we don't have to?" Gohan asks.
Another long stare follows and the teenager just has to look away. Why does she keep doing that?
Awkwardly, Gohan focuses upon the ugly, brass door they're now approaching. It cuts into the wall of ivy and into the purple, curling flowers and neatly presses against the stonework. Gohan can tell its old just from the condition of it. Discolour kisses the corners, growing sporadically like Vitiligo exploring the skin. It leaks upwards against the metal as wears and tears cut into the fine design, marring the polished home place of more swirls and dots.
A matching set of windows neighbour the door but Gohan can't see inside. If anything, it looks dark and abandoned, offering little in the way of what to expect. His gut instinct tells him not to enter, to run away –no, to fly away- but he supposes that he may just get answers to his questions faster should he cooperate.
Then, the door opens and an ocean of black beckons him in.
Oh, I'm not sure about this.
"After you," she says as Gohan lingers about the entryway.
He nods, brows creased. They knot together against the crispy dried blood.
"It's kind of dark in here," he tells her, unsure, but takes a step into the room regardless.
There's an eeriness to the shady nature of the room. Gohan can't see beyond an arm's reach as he scuttles ever deeper into the building and further away from the natural light outside. Whilst he's not at all the scaredy-cat he'd been as a little boy, he's still not overly fond of being stuck in dark unknown places with ruthless strangers.
Still, it oddly annoys him when he hears her laugh from behind.
"Baby mortal afraid?"
"No," he lies, and takes a bigger step just to prove her wrong.
That's when crunching begins to echo throughout the chamber, growling underfoot. Gohan startles backwards as he feels the floor vertebrate, loosening and crumbling beneath his toes as he checker-bounces back to where he'd started.
"Oh yes, it's quite old. Do be careful," she remarks as she takes a path east of the entrance.
Gohan glares at the back of her armour as she moves. "Y-yes, thanks."
He keeps close to her, shadowing her in the black. Not even the light from outside can see them now, and the only thing he can pick up is the smell of damp, decaying wood. Flying would be the common sense approach to this but he doesn't want her to get angry with him again. Even mentioning it might cause an adverse reaction. So he copies her steps, jumping after she does, tip-toeing in her stead. Only when she gestures for him to go through yet another door first does he have a problem.
"I don't trust you," he tells her honestly.
She laughs. It sounds foreign after hearing her grunt and snarl at him over the last hour or so. "Excellent, then you're not as stupid as I'd thought. But I don't really have the time or patience for your complaining so I would appreciate you just doing as asked."
Asked or told…
"We're moving deeper into this decrepit fort. There's no-one else here. " Gohan says. "You could be taking me into a trap."
"Of course I'm taking you into a trap."
"Wh-what?"
"You're my prisoner, not my travel companion. Get moving."
Gohan swivels, his foot slamming through rotted wood. "You're kidding me!"
"Look, mortal, I'm taking you to my lord. You've piqued my interest just enough for me not to slaughter you where you stand. Why not count your blessings?"
The teenager hits a fist against the doorframe behind, shaking the fragile building hard. It groans as dust rains down from the ceiling.
"I just woke up here!" he shouts, "I woke up, stumbled around for a bit until I was attacked by a tree, a tree! Then I ran into you only to be attacked again, and now you're taking my down into your lair for what -I don't know! I already told you that I have no idea what I'm doing here –I don't even know how I got here, or why I'm here. This is like the kai world, right? I know the Supreme Kai, or rather, Kibito Kai. You can ask him-"
"Ehhh, did you say a tree attacked you?"
Gohan stiffens at the new voice. It dwells from beyond the door he'd just refused to enter.
"Lord Rixas," the captain greets.
The chasm of black offers a pair of gold lights, twinkling dangerously together in the gloom. A long moment passes for the teenager to realise that he's actually looking at a pair of eyes. They pierce into Gohan's in a manner he's never quite seen before, unsettling him to his very core as their shrill, golden glow steals his breath away.
And suddenly, a light flickers between them and Gohan finds himself a breath away from a hovering ball of ki. It's not at all dangerous; gifting the drab surroundings a yellow radiance; highlighting the faces of everyone in the space and emitting a warm waft as it does so. It's the lord's energy, energy which doesn't feel hostile whatsoever, it almost feels inviting, cosy; warm after a long day in the snow.
It feels like home.
The lord bounces forward, moving impossibly close and into Gohan's space. He's quick to grab at Gohan's shoulder with immeasurable strength.
The man's voice shakes. "What… what the…"
The lord doesn't look anything like a lord at all. He's a tall man; firm with muscle of which protrudes under sun kissed skin. His clothes are raggedy and not lord-like at all, making this lord look less like nobility and more like an everyday college student Gohan's seen loitering about Satan City.
Under the shaggy mop of blonde hair, those unbelievably intense spheres of gold balloon in utter shock. They grow and wobble, pinning Gohan.
Then the unthinkable happens. Two hands grasp either side of the teenager's cheeks.
"No…" the lord breathes, squeezing them, "impossible."
"That's what I said," comments the captain. "So do you think…?"
"I… I don't know."
Gohan tries to pull free of the grasp, but like the woman, the man is inhumanely strong. He cranes the teenager's face in order to get a better look, devouring Gohan's terrified expression with rapid interest.
"A trick… Lord Rixas?" she asks. Gohan tries to turn to look at her, to see if she's wearing that curious expression she'd been wearing near enough the entire time he'd been in her company, but the brutish hold on him is stubborn.
"Err…" the teenager tries between squashed cheeks, "do you think you can let go now?"
The man, Lord Rixas, starts and looks like he won't move for an instance, but then the hands slowly pull back; falling against Gohan's reddened skin. His golden expression is warped by the twist of confusion, the flickering of his eyes –the way he seems to drink in Gohan's face with unnerving intensity.
"Leave us," he finally whispers.
Gohan originally thinks that he's referring to him and goes to move, feeling lighter at the idea of it, but is grasped by his upper arm by the lord as the captain silently disappears into the shadows. They seem to perpetually go on forever, making him feel exceedingly more trapped by the second.
If it gets weird then I'll just have to blow my way out of here, mysteriously affected ki or not.
The vice around his arm pulls Gohan through the door without so much giving him the choice, the dark rupturing around them as the ball of ki follows through the thin passageway. It bounces between the walls, lighting candles as it goes.
"Look," Gohan attempts, "there's been a mistake. I didn't mean to trespass here. I just woke up. I'm really sorry if I've caused some prob—uh…"
They've now reached another door, one equally as grand and impressive as the entrance's had been.
"Really, I'm sor—uh, where are we going?"
It opens and Lord Rixas drags him through and into a world of light.
It's actually so bright that Gohan flinches, his hand automatically reaching up to shield against the offending break of daylight. Beside the door they'd just entered sits an assembly of windows, ones that don't look as tired as the ones he'd earlier seen but equally as ancient. Wherever they are now isn't at all dilapidated. It's an old-fashioned drawing room, one littered with books and papers. However, with its masses of bookshelves and desks, it's probably more akin to a study if not for the alcove of armchairs poised together in ready for congregation.
As he's dragged onwards Gohan nearly trips over a stack of scrawls. "Was that a secret entrance or something?"
Lord Rixas continues to ignore him, but does manage to deposit him into a wooden chair.
"Er…"
Crack!
A fist then launches into the space beside Gohan, sending cracks rocketing in every direction. The teenager frazzles. Another punch is aimed towards the opposing side of him and Gohan jumps again. The severity of raw power being emit from this guy is just astounding.
Lord Rixas leans in close, unnervingly so. Gohan feels breath beating down on his face, but he refuses to look away. Even as those eyes pin him and make him squirm, Gohan doesn't wilt. His dad raised him better than that.
He steels his gaze.
Momentary silence hangs between them, thick with tension. But when Gohan goes to speak he's interrupted unexpectedly with a string of foreign words. The lord speaks at him rapidly in a language Gohan doesn't recognize. The wisps and rolling syllables make his head spin.
"I –I don't understand!" he says, ignored as the lord goes on and on.
The words become louder and Gohan has to shout again as the lord grows frantic. Suddenly, the words come to a halt, and Lord Rixas appears utterly anguished.
He presses forehead low against Gohan's, of who sits in quiet horror.
Finally he speaks once more.
"You've come home, brother."
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The promised continuation. Let's go, go, go!
Thanks for the reviews, follows and favs on this so far. Let's get this party started.