The Horse with No Name

Chapter Thirty

Intermission II

Not all Gods of Revelation call one another family, no less, brothers. Different generations have brought about diverse dynamics with varying – and often bumpy – relationships between the four born to the Almighty.

One of the first sets recorded in history killed one another with rash, divine intensity. They'd famously set a precedent to be better, to be devout – something still not always abided by to this day. A second collective broke into two rival factions and warred for generations. Millions perished. No Revelation had been achieved and the kais had slaughtered the last god so viciously that rarely do the books even mention the incident.

Interestingly, another collective lived without much correspondence; existing in opposing corners of the universe and not in the Realm of the Almighty at all. They'd in fact lived the shortest amount of time (a measly few hundred years each, give or take), and so it was established that the collective must be most powerful together.

That did not mean that those who stayed together got along together. So many collectives ran cold, some ran lukewarm and few truly leaned into the brotherhood or sisterhood or whatever unit they fancied themselves.

The rare collective who did love loved brightly, loved famously. They were the success stories.

The most recent Gods of Revelation predecessors who passed were picked off – one by one – until the last had been executed for his crimes against the Sacred World of the Kais, mortals and the many universes hurt by Revelation. They'd loved and suffered for it and achieved Revelation for the most part. So few relics are around now.

Then, Quell had been born, bringing a collective that ran on, well, love. Success had been imminent. Their line is the longest thus far.

Quell had been raised alone. One would think it possible that he'd never been a child at all considering how he walks around with a fat spoon up his ass, but the servants who had raised him (with most being long since deceased) quoted him as an intelligent and distant boy, if not prone to anger occasionally whilst being… a little lonely.

So when Famis had joined him it had been very much a welcome breeze of change. And yes, they'd been close if Quell is to be believed. Quell had shown him the ropes, had introduced him to fine living and status, and had appreciated the similar restraint Famis would show when dealing with those around him. Cool and collected; both had been remarkably parallel in that respect.

Rixas hadn't joined them until many a year later. The thousands and thousands of years – millions even – they had suffered in waiting for him had birthed such a maturity gap that neither Quell nor Famis knew how to interact with him. Rixas had not been like either of his elder brothers. He had been rebellious from the start; he'd been loud and brash and demanding of his freedoms. It's no wonder Quell hadn't let him have a public profile – Rixas would have gotten himself killed before the age of one hundred, absolutely. His habit of starting one too many wars and getting into fights had Rixas exist through a rocky adolescence. He would kill whoever pissed him off, whoever wronged the weak, whoever hurt the vulnerable – yes, even Rixas had had a hero complex back in the day. He had wanted to save everyone and bring a great mercy long before Mori had even been born. Back then, he remembers with a level of nostalgia, his immaturity would have Quell threaten to ruin the collective himself by stringing and quartering him until there would be nothing left.

Over the years, they did learn to deal with Rixas, and Rixas would come to love and rely on both of them despite being so very different. His family (and not just the collective) became the reason he would get up each and every morning. They'd supported him, enjoyed his company – he'd enjoyed theirs, they'd lived with him and broke bread with him and listened to his wild tales with furrowed looks of disapproval. Quell and Famis and Rixas; that's how it had been for a long while. Rixas had been the baby – the punk, the brat, the headache – and he'd relished the role.

It changed, of course.

Mori came to them one spring; birthed from the light and found as a bundle under the ivory and gold-dazzled tree like they all had been. In the attention of the brilliant gaze of moonlight, wailing had awoken them all from their slumber, pulling them to the garden together in a poetic and symmetrical step. None had known what to do. There had been panic. Who knew how to deal with this? Not one of them had had any contact with babies before – that's why they had the servants. This had been their job. They had been the ones supposed to find the bundle, but it'd been night time and the estate grounds lonely. The wind had cried along with the infant.

It'd felt like such the… mortal experience.

Quell had been the one to collect the babe.

It'd been mesmerizing to watch the tight expression of Quell's relax into perplexed softness, as though this had been his first time witnessing such a creature. Rixas and Famis could only stare, admittedly surprised, when the child had stopped crying upon feeling his brother's touch, as though he'd known that he'd found his place to belong, his person.

That night, Quell had cried.

And Rixas and Famis had no idea what to do with themselves. After eons, such a scene had never been witnessed by either of them. Perhaps, they'd reasoned between one another years later, that the baby had imprinted on Quell much like a little duckling would do; something which made sense if only because of how much Mori would come to resemble one. Wherever Quell went, Mori had followed, waddling with waving wings and making Rixas tease about how much Quell would spoil the youngest of them in a way he had never done with his other brothers.

In hindsight, he'd been a little jealous. The position as the baby of the family had been a title begrudgingly wrenched from him and all Rixas had now was some toddler to look out for. He had a semblance of responsibility. Honestly, after years of doing as he wished the obligation came most unwelcome.

That's not to say that Rixas hadn't loved Mori. Annoyingly, the kid had been cute growing up. Rixas would fawn over the way Quell would turn pink when being caught red-handed with Mori in his arms. Rixas would laugh and joke right up until the moment Mori would thread tiny fingers through his own hands, watching with those little duckling eyes, blinking, smiling like Rixas had been the only person in the world.

It's… It's difficult not to get drunk on those fond, affectionate moments of the past.

Unfortunately, Famis had remained as distant – albeit polite – as always to Mori. Unlike Rixas or Quell, Famis had never shown a hot streak no matter how hard he'd be pushed. There'd never been fire. He'd been awkward and unknowing in how to deliver warmth; the introvert the extrovert would adopt, and someone who had not gelled well with Mori's equally reserved disposition. They'd been similarly intelligent, similarly level and unfortunately, similarly stubborn. As Mori got older, Famis had kept his distance more and more and as a result, Mori would react like a person scorned. The kid had always been more sensitive then he let on.

Quell had been pissed when Rixas had starting taking him on the town when Mori got older. Rixas had felt the desperate need to help Mori grow into his confidence, so he had introduced him to the magic of the mortal world, and had breathed excitement into a sheltered boy who only had the love of his family. During this time, they'd been close and Rixas hadn't begrudged him when his brother finally started to carve out his own independence. The babying from Quell had never quite stopped despite Mori's desperation for self-discovery and taste of his own power; power that had been admittedly jilted by Quell's own anxieties.

Quell had reason to fear. Mori had been intelligent but emotionally immature. He had been able to hold himself fine – very charming, actually – in a bar or club or what have you, but he had always looked for something more in places and people he just shouldn't. Mori would have never had admitted to it but… the kid could love deeply. He would feel deeply. He would hate deeply. When a person would wrong him he would hurt and he would seek comfort. Whatever horrible habits he grew into, like plotting and lying and sneaking around, Rixas would always remember Mori as the boy who would hold his hand when they would stumble across a butcher doing his work. He'd remember the tears shed for mortals who had nothing to do with him. He'd remember Mori's immature kindness.

Mori hadn't always been twisted, but instead passionate and naïve. He'd been the boy who'd wanted change – no, revolution, or rather, Revelation.

Rixas had feared that just like the others had. Revelation brings demise.

The tight ropes on Mori's upbringing had never been cut but had become strained – torn – and almost loose… right up until the first attempt on Famis' life. The poisoning had Famis lose an eye and as a result, Quell had panicked and forced Mori to be kept under lock and key. Even Rixas, who had been about to come into a public profile, had needed to take a step back. They'd hidden.

It's at this time that Roarg and Mori had formed a deeper… friendship. Like a coward, Rixas had looked the other way if only because it's easier that way. Mori had felt something for her and she'd so obviously loved him but to Rixas it'd felt stunted; it would never go anywhere because of their positions so what had been the point of the heartache? Yet, as Rixas realizes later, it had been a good distraction for Mori. How he had needed it.

When Rixas could have been there for his brother, he hadn't. He'd left it to Roarg because he'd always taken the easy way out, even back when the worst of it had happened…

When Famis had been murdered, Rixas had been useless - leaving Quell to the Zealites unless instructed otherwise. They'd all (even Mori) been crushed; heartsick and forced to understand the true extent of Quell's intensity. He'd been manic with grief. Bad decisions came from his tears. It's important to understand that the pain of loss is enough to change a person. Quell's paranoia had flowered, tensions had grown, relationships with outsiders had lessened, anger and hatred had ruled all and Mori soon revolted as a result. The love, the thing they have always prided themselves on, became tainted.

Instead of Quell being stricken down by the duckling, Mori had swallowed poison and seen himself out.

Now, what will always remain unforgiveable is the pain that Mori had put Quell and Rixas through. One of the collective dying is like having a soul ripped and shredded, cut up like thin paper just to exist as a copy of what once was, threadbare. Quell hadn't slept, hadn't eaten. He'd died for those years.

Rixas, too, had wilted. Neither had spoken for months. They'd not even announced to the kais that another of the gods had ascended. The idea of it had just… hurt.

It still hurts sometimes.

Mori... had… Well… it's hard to accept what he did even before he had come back to them years later.

In the last few decades before Mori's passing, Rixas and Mori hadn't been as close as they'd been when Mori had been younger, when they would drink together, practice swordplay and spend days on beautiful planets exploring. After Famis, Rixas had sort of done his own thing and… and kind of left Mori to be alone. It had been a great mistake. While the estate is an amazing place to live, anyone will go crazy being there alone as long as Mori had been. No wonder he went off the deep end a bit.

The guilt had been enough to keep Rixas up at night.

Then the impossible had happened.

Seeing Mori in the Realm of the Almighty and back from the dead had been like breathing life into Rixas once more.

Upon sitting by Mori's bedside in the Spire, Rixas had been left with his regrets for hours. This is my precious baby brother, he'd thought as he'd combed back black hair from a sleeping face. I love him.

Rixas would not make the mistake of leaving him again. This had been his second chance.

It'd been Quell's too.

However, things had become… strange for a lack of a better word. Mori had been different and so very, very young and even greener than Rixas had remembered him to be in the past. This mortal-raised variant (Still, it astounds Rixas to this day that the stupid genius had reincarnated himself into such a state) had reignited Rixas' memories of a purer child – the duckling – and so he had swiftly found his opportunity for redemption as a brother.

I'll be here, he'd promised.

With Mori's change in persona, the kid had become much more tolerant than anticipated to Rixas' selfish hunger to pamper him. So, he'd spoilt Mori once more. Rixas had doted. It'd been a reliving of their glory days. What, save some simpering about mortality and depression here or there, they'd had good times. They had partied, drunk far too much drink, seen so much of the universe in so little time, and more importantly, Rixas had helped make Mori truly strong after years of Mori hungering for it. Quell had soon taken the reins in teaching Mori but it had been Rixas who had given Mori his wish. He'd fulfilled that for him. Yet…

The distance is returning.

Mori has since come back into his darker ways. The secrets are chronic; the plotting, whispering, glances behind before the next steps are all noticed.

And today, on Earth… Mori had…

The bubbling rage still swooshes around and around in Rixas' gut like liquid fire, wanting to erupt as violent lava, as manic energy, as a fist through someone's stomach until a splay of hot blood wrenches free.

It's… it's maddening.

He rakes his fingers along his cheeks just to find no skin at all but instead the artificial touch of his mask. If anything, it makes him angrier and he wants to rip it free so he can breathe in fresh air as he shouts and roars. An animalistic growl emits from the base of his throat.

Calm down, he orders himself (Not that it works. Nothing ever works).

His fury is only satiated by a good fight or blowout. He needs to punch something. To hit. To kick. To hurt – to fight.

He clasps at his head. "Urghhh…"

"Compose yourself, Rixas," Quell says, clapping his shoulder. "We haven't the time for this."

That's easy for him to say. When Quell is pissed off all he has to go and do is release a shit ton of his pressure – smack some idiots down to the ground maybe – and get on with his day. When Rixas sees red it's not that simple and the guy knows it. He can't release heat or ki and he can't just calm down at a drop's notice. People die, planets blow up, races are massacred; all a symptom of his famed fury– but sure, he'll just compose himself now. Super easy; yeah, why hadn't he thought of that?

His hands are still shaking. They're covered in blood but they're still so thirsty.

Mori… Mori… God, he just knows how to get under Rixas' skin. Why would he push him? The asshole knows not to wind him up – catastrophic things happen when Rixas is angry. His temper gets the best of him, and he'd already been livid upon seeing Mori just – just standing there, standing in that stupid mortal body of his like he was supposed to be there instead of back at the estate or alongside his brothers. What the hell was he doing on Earth?

Mori had sworn to him, had assured him that there'd be nothing hidden between them. Mori had promised.

Yet you tried to leave us again.

So Rixas killed him. Maybe dying in front of those saiyans would teach Mori to stop playing with fire and to question himself a bit more on how these secrecies make everyone else feel. The selfish bastard can't just do as he pleases. Does he not care about his true family? Goku this, Goten that, Earth, Earth, Earth – Rixas has endured it for years. And just as they climb over the hill to a clearer future Mori starts regressing, and runs straight back into the arms of those he shouldn't have ever been with in the first place.

Hadn't Rixas been enough? He'd tried to be there for him – he'd tried so much more than the first time around. He'd given Mori power. He'd given him what he wanted! Why can't Mori see that? Why? Why?!

"Rixas," Quell shoves him hard. "Organize yourself or see yourself out!"

Rixas breathes.

Roarg has his other side, silent but strong; a column for him to lean on should he need it, but with the Supreme Kai and his assistant here Rixas can't afford to demonstrate weakness. Rixas is the brute. He is the strong one. He needs to be feared.

…Which works out well because he fears himself somewhat right now.

God, I nearly killed that mortal. I nearly killed Mori's… Mori's guy.

If Roarg hadn't had stepped in, well… it goes without saying that Quell wouldn't have held him back from toppling heads. Really, Rixas would have honestly done it, and if he did then Mori would never have forgiven him – Rixas knows this. God, shit, it really had come close to Rixas nearly butchering the guy; he had been at death's door.

If… if only Mori hadn't been there!

Yes, it's all his fault. If he hadn't been play acting as some kid on a washed up, backwater planet in the middle of nowhere then Rixas wouldn't have blown his lid like he had. Yeah, that's right. It's that idiot. That selfish fucking bastard got exactly what was coming to him…

So why does Rixas feel… bad?

Even that annoys him.

"Roarg," Rixas finally bites out, unable to take another moment inside his own head, "You saw him at the estate, Mori, I mean."

She nods.

They're walking together along the questionably quiet square on planet Geo – the main one he knows Quell and Mori to take when going to meetings together – behind Quell, the Supreme Kai and his uppity assistant. Eyrelle leads the way; a strange yet familiar sight that has Rixas thinking wholly of Famis and of easier days. How long has it been? How many centuries have they not crossed paths with Eyrelle? And to think that she's involved here – something about it doesn't sit right even with him so what does Quell think about all this?

All this Zealite stuff is funny business. Rixas doesn't like it one bit. Isn't it just such a coincidence that they ended up on the very planet that Mori had stranded himself on for years? How strange it is that the saiyan – this fatherly Goku – had stumbled into accessing a godly form as such as he had (Even if it doesn't hold a candle to true gods). Honestly, if Mori isn't somehow involved then Rixas will eat his hat.

In front, Quell walks measuredly and with an aloofness that wouldn't alarm anyone who doesn't know him as well as Rixas does – but he sees right through it, sees to the core of concern. Quell knows something is afoot too.

"He was talking queerly," Roarg then says, quiet, just for him. Rixas had nearly forgotten to what she was referring to but she then continues, equally low. "There had been a man with Lord Mori. I think… he had been a Zealite."

The anger immediately perishes.

"What?" he whispers back, harsh. "Why didn't you so say earlier?"

"He told me not to. He told me to go to Earth and protect the earthlings."

From him. He'd sent her to stop Rixas from gutting Daddy.

Shit.

Mori is back at the estate alone whilst they're all here, millions of miles away and unable to do much of anything. And on top of that, Rixas is acting like a kid; angry and doing nothing and, and – they need to do something. Mori… Mori can't die again. His voice rises. "We need to tell Quell. We need to go back! He could be—!"

The group stops ahead of him and Rixas almost bumps into the assistant. The sudden halt gives time for him to gawp at the smoky visage lining the entryway of the building. Symmetrical and intimidating, antique marble is marked by shadowy individuals, barely decipherable from the gloom of the hall if not for the sense of unease they radiate.

What the hell?

Zealites, he realizes, never having seen multiple of them in one go. But here – now – there are around about a dozen of them, and standing so unnervingly neatly in formation that they don't even looks real. It's as though they'd been sent to personally greet the arriving party. Quell's leading step doesn't have one of them buckle; they'd expected this. Hidden behind silhouetted identities and their flaming smoke, there isn't an inch of movement, no acknowledgement, nothing from them as the group slowly approaches.

Rixas eyes his brother. It's taken him aback that Quell hasn't gone in guns blazing with the aim of cutting, gutting and launching each of the offending Zealites. No, instead he follows the path paved, the one framed by the guarding fighters and their sense of foreboding, and pretending that none of this is bothering him – that nothing could ever ruffle Quell's plans. Yet, it's building up. It's going to end badly. Rixas feels the air chill, feels the ominous unknown of a situation reaching its peak. Are they about to finally come face to face with the leader of these warriors, what, so suddenly?

Rixas narrowly avoids bumping one of the Zealites. The creepy bastard doesn't even flinch.

Eyrelle shuffles, downtrodden. She hums as though none of this is anything to be too alarmed about. "Let's go."

There's a lightbulb moment for Roarg. Her intake of breath has Rixas reach for her, momentarily startled, but they haven't the time to stop.

The dim, ancient hallways open up into even darker, older paths that Rixas has rarely ventured into before. Quell knows his way however, face impassive, determined, resolved. He continues and the group traverses up to a large bronze door, one sweltering in weight and ornate arrogance; bursting to tells its pedigree history and keep the secrets behind. Basically, it's a kai bullshit pretty thing. No doubt that this is where they're supposed to be.

The Supreme Kai reaches towards it, running each delicate engraving beneath fingertips.

"It's been opened recently, not forcibly," he notices. It's probably a kai thing because Rixas wouldn't be able to tell such a detail.

Eyrelle hums again, a dying sound.

"Open it," Quell orders.

It's the Supreme Kai who does. There's a bit of a song and dance to it – some magical words Rixas won't pretend he understands – and with a groan, the door inches, revolts and then ultimately opens for them in a cloud of dust. Quell charges through it, leaving an outline of where he'd just been in the grey smog, boldly advancing as the Supreme Kai and his assistant trail after him. Rixas goes to follow but stops when he notices Eyrelle linger.

"I was told… to not enter," she says when Rixas gestures forward.

On his other side, Roarg reacts – she definitely knows something. She stiffens in apprehension, only to quickly return to the perfect picture of cloudless indifference a breath later. "I-I see. Let's… continue."

They're really going to leave Eyrelle here? Rixas doesn't like this. "Roarg…"

"Steel yourself, my lord."

And then they hear it. There's a gasp – the Supreme Kai is horrified, stepping back, nearly falling and making Rixas have to push past him and his shell-shocked assistant just to see.

His eyes widen.

What in the…

Heaped kai corpses topple one another in a haphazard pile, blood spewing forth in liberal puddles, streaming together, one after another, connecting into a coursing river of red under the table. Sprays of blood have doused that same table; smears of it brazen against the cool stone, speckling sporadically, leading to yet another body with lifeless eyes and a mouth wrenched in terror.

This is the kai council – or was – that decorate the chamber. Rixas recognizes one or two, Quell must have known them all; must have sat and endured them as they spoke over those remedial politics they all would gush about. There's no gushing now. The blade that had ripped through each of them had made sure of that.

Rixas makes his way through the bloodshed to have words with Quell. If the Zealite that had done this is still around then they should consider all bases, should protect them, they need to – he stops when his brother's arm extends, blocking him.

Quell tilts a head towards the balcony.

And Rixas' mouth runs dry.

Mori.

There, up top the lavish, curtain-framed balcony, sits his youngest brother on his throne. He's very clearly the culprit. Slashes of red discolour his cloak even with as dark as it is. The sheen is ghastly, the evidence is clear; managing to look ghoulish under the dimness of the candle flickers.

He doesn't walk down to greet them. He just stands, repositions himself and leans over the balcony, casting a streak of orange glow across his red-spattered face.

"You best have an explanation for this," Quell breathes in waspish Lanit-Tongue. "And it better be the most persuasive, eye-opening, inconceivable tale ever to be spun otherwise..." Gold dazzles dangerously. "I will come up there and lynch you myself, I will wrench your foolish neck and strangle—"

The pressure torrents from him, growing, spiralling, amplifying more and more and more until –

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Three dragon balls cascade from the balcony, Mori's hand still stiff in the air even after the balls touch the ground, where they roll, tumbling in sluggish succession just to still at Quell's feet.

Quell doesn't even look at them. "And what are these supposed to mean to me? Is it something to do with the hoard of Zealites I had to pass to reach you? Are you aligned with them? Or worse yet, are they yours?"

Mori doesn't immediately answer and it's enough for Quell's simmer to boil.

"Damn it, brother! You—" From a shout to a low rumble, Quell's temper drops to treacherously icy territory. "Mori, tell me… Did you – Famis – his murder, Mori… did you?"

"No, I didn't," Mori then says all rather silkily.

Rixas want to run up there and strangle him himself. "What the hell is this? Is this because of what happened on Earth? Is this your sick revenge?! Are you messing with—?"

Quell snatches him by his tattered shirt, essentially hushing him. The pressure jilts momentarily, deadness comes with a whisper. "Those Zealites; are they yours?"

Mori opens his mouth but there's an interruption.

"Gohan?" The Supreme Kai has regained himself finally but it's just to fall from one shock to another. His foot catches on one of the bodies and he slips, splashing until his assistant catches him. He is swiftly pushed aside so the kai can stride closer for a better angle. "Gohan… I… No…"

Quell pushes the Supreme Kai away when he wanders too close.

"Answer the question. Are these Zealites yours?"

"Yes," Mori says, curling his hands over the railing. It's said not in Lanit-Tongue.

So Mori wants the kai to understand? Is this a performance? Rixas grates his teeth. Fine, he'll give his best song and dance. Lanit be damned. "You made us chase you! You? You've lied to me – to us – and used us for your stupid fucking games and—and—!"

I was worried sick about you, you bastard!

"These Zealites," Quell manages, equally strained, "Were they responsible for Famis' murder?"

"No."

"Can I get more than a yes or no?!" The building rumbles. "Talk to me, Mori! Tell me the truth of it. For many years you have known of my search for the Zealites yet you say nothing! I walk in here to a small Zealite army and a bed of dead kais; what do you have to say for yourself?" Mori (audaciously!) goes to sigh and Quell sees red once more. "Don't you dare give me insolence! I demand that you explain what you have done here today!"

Flecks of paint and marble glitter from the ceiling, the floor shakes; Quell is unhappy. Rixas, too; his nails are cutting into the palms of his hands. Mori is determined to make it as hard as possible, isn't he? Is the kai making him nervous? Does he not want to upset his buddy?

Slaughtering half of the Council probably didn't do you any favours, did it?

Those hands press the railing and legs swing over in one fluid motion. Mori hits the ground, thudding feet away from the Supreme Kai.

His hand meets his hip, his face the picture of innocence as though these people around them had dropped dead of their own accord. "How about you tell them why the Gods of Revelation might be angry, Supreme Kai?"

"Gohan, I… Is it you? I do not understand. You… your face. Your eyes."

The assistant agrees. "It's impossible. You are just… a boy."

"What are you taking about, Mori?" Quell doesn't hesitate in manhandling him. "Desist in speaking such nonsense!"

"Mori?" the Supreme Kai parrots, "Lord… Lord Mori?"

"The kais," Mori begins, thin, snatching himself free, "Have played you for years, brother. I can personally guarantee you that no Zealite touched Famis, that they would have no motive even if you were to think the worse of me. A dead brother is a weakened collective and a weakened collective brings only a weak leader of the Zealites. And, simply, I would not have killed him or anyone out of malice, not even then.

"The kais, however, have been sending you after the Zealites though, haven't they? They have skulked in the shadows, dancing around and plotting against you whilst pointing the fingers at a faction you had nothing to do with previously. They have pointed and let you play. They encouraged you to chase after the Zealites as to keep you tamed; a carrot and stick situation—"

The kai gaps. "That's not the case!"

"—And with the Gods of Revelation distracted they can let us continue existing, unperturbed to what we may get up to should we be left alone long enough. If you are chasing phantoms then you are not a threat—"

"What you don't understand is that—"

Mori clearly doesn't like being interrupted. From the shadows, he manifests a great, sturdy sword; one marred red, and points it at the kai. "Be quiet," he warns. "You'll have your chance."

"The Z Sword!" the assistant notices.

How hadn't Rixas noticed? It is! It's the bloody thing that Mori used years and years ago, long before this whole reincarnation business. When… When had he gotten it back?

"Gohan…" murmurs the Supreme Kai, chin tasting steel. If the prickling of sweat is anything to go by he also recognizes it as the one to slay his comrades. "Please, lower…"

Mori doesn't. "Being stuck at those meetings at Capsule Corporation had been interesting just because I had the opportunity to be a fly on the wall in so many situations. Had you known I spoke Celestianese then perhaps you would not have been so liberal in your chit-chats."

Quell is the one to slap the sword low. "Get to it."

There's little rest in the Supreme Kai breathing easier because he's about to be put on the spot.

"The kais had him murdered. They framed the Zealites."

What?

"You lie."

"No, they played you."

"W-What?" Quell has never looked so lost. "This is impossible. You are mistaken."

"And so I took my sword and ran it through them – for him, for you, for the collective and in the name of justice," Mori's voice raises, his hand throws out, "I would not lie about this. I have been on Earth and privy to information that I would not have been had I stayed in the Realm of the Almighty—"

"The kais have been honest in their—"

"You know them to be liars! You have known them to kill our predecessors. You have had reason not to announce Rixas or me to the Council. In your gut you knew them to be untrustworthy. Your hate is not hidden at all – let's not be foolish, Quell. And… if you do not believe me, ask him."

Quell is white – what, with fury or confusion or shock, Rixas has no idea – and looks to be struggling with the simple task of breathing. His hand reaches the table, shaking. The room is shaking. Pressure thickens.

Once more, Rixas tries to steal Mori's eye contact, but he isn't even looking at him. He won't look at him. "You… You better not be lying," Rixas manages in that stupid warped voice, chest depleted. He snatches the mask free. "If this… all this… if it's all at the expense of your game, I swear, I'll…"

"Shut up. I didn't ask your opinion."

That BRAT.

Quell is between them before Rixas can move, but his attention is on the kai. "You are the least repugnant out of them all. I have never too much minded talking with you because you have common sense and operate with a decent level of work ethic. I am sure it will serve you well today so tell me, Shin, Supreme Kai, tell me the truth of it so I can make a decision going forward. Just remember that the truth will most certainly out."

The Supreme Kai clambers for his words. "L-Lord Quell… I…" Mori is looked at again as though he'd just sprouted an extra head. "Gohan, I… Lord Mori? I am confused with the—"

"Spit it out."

Mori leans back against the table, brow expectant. "There isn't any use denying it, Supreme Kai. You spoke about it with my father, who heard it from a kai, one with a seat at this very Council."

"From who?"

Mori doesn't respond. He marches his fingertips along the table, lips pulled in a tight smile.

Rixas hates the flittering around. The fist he slams on the table crashes through it. Mori barely moves – barely reacts. Why won't he look at Rixas? Does he think himself better? Just what is he thinking? That punk. His impatience degrades into familiar fury, both at Mori and at the kai.

Crunch!

His foot breaks through the marble floor, and he spits. "Did the Council order this or not? Damn it, kai!"

The Supreme Kai withers, appealing to his assistant in his bout of silence.

Then, the loudest word of all is breathed.

"Yes."

Rixas slips, clumsily grabbing a chair for stability.

No… No!

At the same time, Quell leaps. He makes haste towards the kai. His fingers cultivate warping energy in a violent bubble; the appetite to grind it into flesh apparent in how he moves. Blistering heat – one hot with vehemence – swelters in the chamber – Rixas has to look away from it. He has to shield himself. Splinters of ki spark free and burn.

The assistant cries for his master but the kai doesn't cry at all. He simply spectates his own demise as the light burns closer, vacant.

Yes, Rixas agrees, DIE.

But then, a hand wraps around the wrist.

Quell is stopped; Mori stands between him and the kai.

"I killed the Council," he tells, the ball of energy flickering between them. "I avenged Famis. This kai had no part in his death, only in the concealment of it."

"Move," Quell hisses, "Get out of my way."

The clinical glow bursts with renewed frustration. Mori doesn't wilt under it but the kai behind looks less confident, terror stretching his eyes wide. He's glued to the spot.

"This one lives."

"MOVE." The pressure emerges, molten concrete to anyone unable to bear it. The kai drops and the assistant follows, even Roarg collapses down to her knees. "I will slay every kai that dares show their face before me! I will send them to a place beyond Otherworld! Famis will be remembered with every fallen body of each kai who dares to breathe!"

"They are dead!" Mori retorts, as recklessly brave as always, "Do not let this become you, Quell! If this hatred absorbs you then you will charge headfirst into death. Our kin has never survived our own anger! You will sentence yourself, and then both Rixas and me."

"How dare they fool me!" Quell seethes, "I… I will… From limb from limb, I shall…"

"No, you won't." Mori's hand closes over the energy, killing it. "There has been enough death today."

"How rich of you to say," Rixas fumes, "By what right do you decide to steal this satisfaction? This isn't your revenge, Mori. You barely remember him. If we want to burn this whole fucking planet to the ground then that is our right, our honour-bound duty to Fam—"

"If we burn and burn and burn then there will be nothing left!"

"Then let them choke on the cinders!"

"If you are foolish then you will just walk down the road every other God of Revelation has, and then, you will die." Mori still has his hand over Quell's, squeezing it. "See reason, Quell. Mull this over. React when you are level headed and not burdened with grief and wrath."

N-No! No, this isn't over! "And you just planned to waltz in on here and carve yourself out a fancy mess?" Rixas gestures to the barbaric display. "How is this not a reaction?"

"This is execution. They met their end justly. I have known about Famis for some time now and have known what I wanted to do; only upon being given the opportunity tonight – by you in some ways – was I able to deliver justice."

Then where is Rixas' justice? Where is Quell's? Where was their invite to this bloodbath? What kind of measured sociopathic bullshit is this? The familiar sloshing of heat from earlier returns, his anger is brewing, the hate and evils within stirring and all so suddenly Rixas wants to grind every kai's face into glass. He wants to pierce his fingers through their hearts. He wants blood and bones and gore. The walls will be painted in their blood and the heavens will mourn eternally for—

"M-My lord."

Shakily, he looks down to his own assistant. Roarg has managed to bring her hand up to his. The pressure is choking her out, its waves lapping like an impossible current of despair. Rixas relishes it however. It feeds him. Quell's own abhorrence is addictive and he drinks it up like fine wine.

Roarg is nonetheless persistent. "Lord… Rixas. B-Breathe."

She's telling him to do that? How ironic.

"I'm not saying that we won't rise against this," Mori continues, steady. "The kais won't get away with this. This bloodshed is not enough… but it's enough for today. Our message is known. We are not to be wronged in the way that we have been, that we have been wronged but not blind sighted enough to rampage and destroy all. We are not beasts. Our revenge will be our dismantlement of all that is currently known."

"Revelation," Rixas realizes.

It's enough to wake the kai up from his stupor.

"L-Lord Mori, you cannot be truly—"

"It is our divine right by the power of the Almighty," Mori continues, more so to Quell than to the Supreme Kai. "Stop allowing them to suppress us our birth right."

"Revelation brings upon catalytic events! The universe barely came out unscathed from the last attempt at it," the Supreme Kai cries out, "You cannot be serious in your endeavour, please, Gohan, do not even suggest this when the system is already so fragile. The balance between gods and kais has always been a delicate matter but if you challenge this then the entire—"

"Be quiet," Quell finally bites out. He snatches his fist back. "And do not use that filthy mortal name around me again."

The pressure has become sea foam. It hangs in between like a reminder of what once was, threatening but now weak enough to stand against. Roarg rises, sapped, and Rixas' natural reaction would be to help her if not for his own simmering rage still threatening to bubble over.

"Quell," Rixas implores, desperate for the retaliation, the bloodshed, "We need to… We've gotta'… We… Let's kill them, all of them." The fact that Mori still hasn't looked at him makes Rixas frenzy further. "I don't give a fuck about any system and neither should you! I want my revenge – for Famis, for us!"

The kai scampers up and Rixas wants to bury him. "L-Let's be reasonable. Please, we can talk—"

Quell finally turns away. "I have done enough talking to you – millennia of it – and you have wronged me. I do not have sympathy for you or your plight or the kais you represent. Mori, I assume you have preconceived notions on what you want to do as reprisal considering how confidently you speak. Revelation, you say? How unsurprised I am with you."

"No," the Supreme Kai breathes, "Please, not that."

"Quell, you can't be serious—"

"Rixas, swallow your anger. Mori is right. For now, be patient and the revenge we shall have will be sweeter."

"This isn't a game! This was our brother!"

Mori frazzles at that. "This has never been a game! Your brother, my brother, their brother, whose brother; it doesn't matter. The kais have exacted their will upon anyone who they deem acceptable to wrong or ignore or turn against! If we simply slay them then others will rise and take their place. So many of the Council are dead; our message is clear, we are not running on the fumes of our godly fury but instead showing restraint. Our vengeance will be born of that."

"That's not enough, Mori, I want to—"

Quell cuts him off. "Rixas, go home."

What?

"If you cannot swallow your mania then go home."

"You can't—"

"I will hear Mori out at least, later, in full, not now, because…" He breathes, the pressure looms once more. That anger, dormant beneath a volcano could explode free at any moment. "I cannot think straight whatsoever, and neither can you. He is right that one wrong step could have us… in a compromised situation."

"And the rotting Council here don't constitute as that? You think the others won't react to this?"

And then Rixas realizes. That sneaky bastard had done this on purpose. Mori had journeyed that first step alone so the next would be forced to be taken; the kais won't take this sitting down. War is upon them. Mori had chosen for them.

"Better this than the entire planet," Mori hotly retorts, "This is my offering, for now."

You underhanded asshole, Mori…

Quell admires the view, his head rising to appreciate the splatter of blood streaked across the walls. "And this Revelation… Is it what we spoke about back before you left for Earth?"

"Yes."

There's a dark bark of laughter. "Isn't this working out for you so very nicely?"

"It's not like that."

What the hell Revelation had they been talking about back at the estate? Is this why they'd fought?

The Supreme Kai is equally taken aback. "Kill me, strike me down," he says, frantic, "Have your revenge with me but please, please do not chase Revelation. Think about the affected lives – the universe – that will be ruined by this pursuit. Whatever you are trying to achieve never ever creates balance, but instead, it just ruins— Gohan, please, you are a good person, you—"

"—Just cleaved myself through half of your friends," Mori finishes, "You don't know me."

"I-I thought I did. I don't understand. You had just a mortal body on some planet in the North—"

Quell makes a guttural noise. "That name! Drop this ghastly topic."

"Your father is devastated. He's—"

"That man is not his father!" Rixas flinches at the heat from reborn pressure, Quell continues to fume. "Mori is not some mortal. Do not presume things! Goku Son is a simpleton who happened to stumble across godhood out of sheer luck, and out of the incessant meddling of the angel and his stooge."

Mori doesn't enjoy the bite. "Quell…"

"Do not embarrass yourself, not whilst I still feel… feel like this." Quell pulls his shoulder, waspish on the turn. "I am unable to see through the haze. Do not anger me more."

"I understand. This is a lot to digest and I do not expect you both to hear me out in full right now, but please refrain from discussing Earth." The sword still in his hand swings back into oblivion. "This is not the time or the place but we shall talk about what has happened in my absence. You however, Supreme Kai, already know the truth of it. I was summoned to Earth and so… I appeared." There's a sigh. "Reincarnation is a complicated matter so it has been quite the messy situation as you've likely noticed."

The Supreme Kai doesn't understand. "Whis would have known—"

"Of course he knows."

Lilac hands rise to cover the small 'o' of his mouth. "But then, he could not… Oh."

"He'd foolishly broken the rules," Mori continues, "Telling Beerus would have made things even worse and would have shaken the balance. It'd been my secret to tell and I'd planned on revealing myself until you became involved with the Zealites…"

"Enough of this." Quell slashes a hand through the air – the warping stone, Rixas notices – cuts a hole right then and there in the chamber. It's a rule not to teleport in here; never to fly, never to emit power but Quell is done with it all. No shits are given. "We are leaving."

But Rixas isn't done. They can't go. "What about the kais?"

"We will return."

"And what about them?"

The kai and his assistant positively stiffen.

"Well, that's up to Mori, isn't it? Let him tidy his own mess. I am returning to the estate to consider my own moves. You, too, should temper yourself." A foot has already planted itself on the other side of the warped portal. "Organize yourself, Mori, for I have my questions. Let's go, Rixas."

What?

Rixas only moves when Roarg guides him away. She isn't taking no for an answer; her pallor greenish and her touch icy as she pushes at Rixas's previously scathed skin, almost dragging him to the warp. She pleads, quiet, unlike herself; her confidence has also been shaken. When she follows Quell through the portal Rixas feels inclined to follow out of a duty to her. After everything she's done today she deserves loyalty.

Shit.

Rixas looks back at the red sodden room, the prey – the kai – left untouched, the forgotten dragon balls, and then at Mori.

"Go home, Rixas," Mori says, back to him.

And so he does.

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I do love me a fresh POV right off'a the stove.

Thanks again to Kags for beta-ing! Her magic makes it possible to throw these chapters out quicker.

And holymoly, you guys hit the review target faster than I expected. I mean, I hadn't expected you to quite hit it because I was asking for a lot. But 250 was reached in less than a day. Not gonna' lie, I was like "Oh shit. Guess I better hurry this chapter along then...". Legends of Arceus had to wait - now that this is out I'm gonna' absolutely smash that game. But yeah, thanks so, so much for the feedback. To those few people who haven't reviewed before until now; big thanks! It gives me the fuzzies that you've gone out your way to let me know you're there. And to the usuals; you guys are great. Seriously.

Cheese aside, there's quite a lot to unpack here what with Gohan's radical plunge headfirst into taking control of the plot. I've been nervous putting it out there because (As many of you have accurately pointed out) Gohan is not quite the hero anymore. He's slotting quite nicely into... dare I say it, villain territory; this has been the destination for his character since the fic was first planned some time ago. The descent of his innocence and his overall blossoming of corruption has been slow but for me that feels realistic. I'd considered skipping a lot of the early estate chapters ("Quell Saga" haha) to speed the process along but it felt wrong not to show Gohan's character shift even early on.

In Celebration of the big 3-0 I've answered some questions that have been asked in reviews or PMs, Q&A style.

Q&A:

Does Quell have a mask?
Yes, he does. He doesn't wear it because he doesn't need to conceal his identity. He might wear it on important business or if there is a particularly putrid smell in the air LOL

Can Shin speak Lanit-Tongue?
Nope. Lanit-Tongue cannot be learned. It's bestowed upon you when you pledge loyalty to the Almighty. I'm hoping to have it mentioned in the fic at some point.

Did Mori have anything to do with Buu?
No, nuffin'. Famis created majin magic, and Buu had been just many of the disasters to come from it.

So Mori had nothing to do with Famis' death?
No. Famis dying would make Mori weaker so there is no incentive to do so. Killing Quell had been an option because of how he he'd been oppressing Mori. **Checks notes** More to come on that, I believe.

What did Roarg say to Rixas and Quell in Chapter 29 (in Lanit-Tongue)?
She'd just relayed information and calmed Rixas down. Rixas had then told Quell that Gohan/Mori had been found and that he'd killed him. Honestly, it'd been just transmitting the story we've already seen.

Is Gohan really doing this Revelation shtick for the mortals?
**Sips Starbucks** What you've got to understand is that the boy is a mess, still. His heart is in the right place but there is a darkness to him that he ignores (Well, he's finally come to embrace it a bit more lately). Gohan does care about mortals. He cares and he loves but he isn't completely selfless. In fact, he did take gratification in the massacre. Mori had been equally grey. I really do hope Rixas' perspective shed the first bit of light on that.

How do the Gods of Revelation power division work again?
Mori = ki
Rixas = combat
Famis = magic
Quell = a delicious salty blend of all three
Gohan = ki and combat (magic still sucks)

WHEN WILL GOKU FIND OUT?!
Never. I'll go on indefinite hiatus on the cliff hanger he's about to learn the truth.

How many chapters are left in the story?
My guesstimation is that we'll stop around – most likely before – fifty, and god, I hope so. My other fic is collecting dust. 32 is my baby and I'm leaving it to die.

Do you write solo?
I write alone but I get a lot of help and feedback from KagariAsuha, my beta. She's helped mould the plot and solidify ideas. She's a crusher of self-gratification and won't let me write myself into a wall …and she's stealer of Britishisms in her edits lol. EmeraldSaiyan and Nyx also often bounce ideas with me as well. This fic would be completely different without them.

Any notable inspirations?
Yes, I'm glad you asked, Mr Made-Up Person. I listen to a lot of different bops; Attack on Titan's Red Swan is just so good. In fact, all of their openings and closings are **chef's kiss** and very much in line with Gohan's themes in this fic. A Child of Evil (a closing) is another one that fits in well. At the moment, I am listening to a lot of Imagine Dragons. Don't be surprised to see lyrics from 'I Bet my Life' knocking about in the future.

What themes are centric here?
Corruption. Grey. Brotherhood. Family. Gohan and Goten's dual stories reflect their opposing attitudes. Gohan's tale represents coming into the grandiosity of his role, whilst Goten is the underdog living with expectation; the normie, the kid, the every day person... the us. Gohan is special, really. In canon he is strong and good and pure and bright; a right chip off the old block off the very special Goku. Goten's character (in canon is) cardboard. 'Poor kid isn't worth much of anything that even Toriyama forgot that he existed at one point. There are a lot of "Goten in the shadow of Gohan" stories and this is my take on it.

Goku and Gohan's relationship is another central point of the story, though we have only touched on it here and there so far. A lot of readers have noticed that Goku and Quell are often compared; accurate. Gohan reflects on Goten and Rixas comparatively much like he does Quell and Goku. In the same way Gohan hungers for Goku's approval, Gohan does for Quell's.

Any other comments?
Thank you for reading this far. This story is very much its own thing and not really like most DBZ fics. The people who read and review are bright and supportive and have made writing this a wonderful experience. I get to brag a lot about how I honestly don't have any dickhead reviewers. I joke with Kags that I'm waiting for a dudebro to shit on my parade but it's yet to happen… well, we have upwards of twenty chapters yet. The day is young.