The Horse with No Name
Chapter Forty-Nine
Kintsugi
Boots submerge into sand, and around situates a desert.
And with it, so quickly does Goku's remaining confidence drain like the black absorbing the sun. Fear. Nausea. Horror. It's awful; a suddenly materialized swill of malevolence fills him with dread down to the fact that this place feels wrong, like the monster breathing down your neck, or the shadow looming behind, or the sense you've just made a terrible, terrible decision in coming here.
As the others arrive, Goku surveys the expanse of red sand, already perspiring and dry-mouthed. Surrounding is the haunting red of a cursive landscape that feels enclosing, eternal even, as if they're stuck in some horrible snow globe brimming with sand.
They'd arrived by some strange, nauseating warping deck from the estate. Despite sweating up a storm, the desert is in fact cold, or rather, cutting; the sand razors ride the wind with a breeze not dissimilar from the bite of Earth's weather. Goku'd been too wrapped up in adrenaline back there to feel the wind properly, but he can feel it here, perhaps because along with the weather everything here feels so much… more; more cold, more dark, more buoyant with ki, more… evil.
He moves forward. Each step feels oddly heavier than the last.
So, this is Haed's Sanctum. Real Hell, the old Hell.
This is the place Gohan wants to call the dragon.
This is — whoa!
There's screaming, off in the distance. Rixas bumps into him from behind when Goku turns to stone.
"Goku?"
It reminds him of the Ghost in Luxun's Domain; the knowing wail before a kill; so soon it starts does the chorus die, but the echo carries for miles along the wasteland.
His palms are sticky with anxiety.
"This is horrible," Goku admits, hoarse.
Quell appraises him. "How embarrassingly vanilla. I am not surprised whatsoever at your sensitivity."
"What do you mean? You can't feel that?"
"Discomfort? Not really."
Discomfort? No, it's like Goku's nerves are on fire. It's agony.
Rixas claps a hand on his shoulder, gesturing him forward. "You're about as good as souls come so I don't doubt for a second that you feel especially cruddy in this shithole. That's just how it is. You've gotta' ignore that fear though. Remember; it's all mind games."
It's not that Goku's fearful; he pushes himself to move in a systematic march through the desert to prove that to himself, a laborious task only in due to the pressing unease of this place, and most certainly not because of the ugly similarities to the domain he's recognizing as he goes.
He breathes.
In and out.
Fear is understandable, Goku hears, There is nothing left in your son for you to salvage. He will become a martyr. That is something to fear. Why bother at all?
Piccolo catches his eye knowingly and Goku holds the gaze. What does he believe will happen? Does he think it's fruitless after all?
You should let go, his mind continues, You can rest here…
There isn't time to rest. They need to find Gohan – and what will they find when they stumble upon him? What's left of his son? What are they going to do now that he may have reached the point of no return?
Luxun's Domain brought out something dark in Gohan; Goku remembers the mania. This darkness had followed Gohan to Earth, and now it's dragged him – and them – down to this awful place where evil sprouts like seeds shooting in spring.
"Oh, right. Remember that lake from Luxun's Domain?" Rixas asks, clearly reminded of the domain also, "Well, there's one here too. I'm not sure if it's active or not so just be careful where you stand."
Sinner's Lake. The little girl living in the domain had wanted to drown Piccolo in it.
Perfect for swimming.
"There are in fact three here, though just one is active. Do not approach it," Quell advises over the wind, leading their group. "It will likely tempt you so you must remain resilient. I hope you are listening, Short Saiyan. Should you not be careful, it will feast upon your negativity with unrivalled greed before it absorbs you into its mass."
Vegeta raises his head at being addressed, but says nothing in response.
Against better his judgement, Goku still wants to comfort him. But he knows it wouldn't be welcomed, as evidenced back at the estate when he'd tried there. "The boy is gone and that's that. Let's get on with this," Vegeta had said, heated with the sort of heartbreak only a grieving father would comprehend.
"Remember why we're here," Goku now overhears Piccolo tell Vegeta instead, "This is not about revenge."
Revenge?
Even he knows Gohan is not redeemable, adds the whisper.
Rixas spares a glance and even Quell appears moderately interested.
Goku nods. "Trunks will be—"
"Don't, Kakarot. Not from you."
"Then from me," Rixas urges, "I'll make Trunks my personal responsibility after this mess, I'll make sure he's all right, safe and all that, but I swear if you fuck this up for all of us today then I'll make sure you'll never see that kid again. Mark my words."
"Rixas," Piccolo reprimands.
Vegeta again doesn't rise to it, his quiet fury cindering.
Undeterred, Rixas shields his eyes and gazes into the nearby distance where a collapsed, barely legible structure looms ominously against smog. "Is he at the coliseum?"
"Definitely." Quell pinches his brows; a sigh follows. "I can sense Haed's handiwork at play. His wards have been dismantled. He is expecting us."
"So it's a trap," Goku cements,
"Tsk. Haed's subscribes to his own mantra of chaos in which I will never understand, never mind you. Even if you expect the unexpected somehow I guarantee you will still be out manoeuvred."
"He's slimy, Goku. Like a slug that won't die despite how much salt you drown it with."
Quell snorts. "Well articulated." They halt. "Ah. Be wary. We are at the perimeter now. Do try not to die before we reach Mori's summoning circle."
Rixas kneels and inspects the sand. "Has he placed mines?"
"Gohan can do that?"
Of course. How were you to know? You do not understand him. So, perhaps, you should not go. You should stay here, rest, swim…
"I cannot sense any surface level energy deposits, but that does not mean there are not some more expertly camouflaged within the depths. He has the skill. And do not charge recklessly; you must be wary of manipulated air pockets if you choose to fly as they may drag you into an awaiting explosive."
It's true. There's so much he doesn't know about Gohan, about what he can do, about how he feels, about how little he feels. Goku remembers the vacancy in Gohan's stare.
He isn't your boy, come the whispers, You should let go, of him, of your family that doesn't want you – and you should stay here. Yes.
He looks around. The red bleeds from up and down. Where does the sky meet the desert? It's all the same.
As expected, it's Quell who takes lead beyond the perimeter, each step tentative. The others follow in his footsteps exactly, though Vegeta does shoulder barge Goku as he goes. Piccolo follows, passing by Rixas, who stops.
He takes Goku by both arms when Goku finds his feet fastened into the sand. He startles when he presses his forehead down against his own.
"What is it?" Rixas asks, oddly intense. "Look at me. This is something not right—"
Do not believe him.
"I-I'm fine—"
"Goku... You are susceptible in such a wicked place. You've gotta' strengthen your resolve. Remember who we are here to save."
Who wants everyone dead. Who wants—
Rixas' eye contact is too much all at once, and he shuffles under the gaze. "What is it?"
"I think… It's in my head," Goku eventually admits quietly, drawing back, "This place. I… I think… I don't know. It's—"
"Are you hearing voices?"
"I… I'm… Are they voices?"
"Probably. I suspected as much that you might be. It's normal. Well, about as normal as it gets down here."
A wash of tiredness drains Goku so immediately that he can't help but laugh. "That's… awful."
"Yeah but, uh, c'mon. This is the last hurdle. This ain't you. Where's that misguided confidence of yours?"
Another nervous laugh bubbles. "I know. Yeah."
"Goku—"
"It's… It's fine. Let's—"
"This is normal. You're wiped. It's all around shitty, and to top it off, this – this dump – is the complete fucking precipice of evil we stand atop." Rixas gestures around, "You are not a man who stumbles moments before the finish line, right? Whatever insecurities you have will be amplified here. This place prays upon weakness, and purity, which is a delicacy to the monsters that reside in the bowels."
He is trying to trip you. Cast him aside! Rest awhile, think of nothing—
"You don't have the luxury of being scared right now," Rixas continues.
"I'm not. I don't think. I-I…"
Goku's never been scared before, not truly to the core. He's scared superficially of things like injections and doctor's appointments (subsequent injections), but today, this feels like everything is for keeps. Even when they went up against Cell or Buu it didn't feel so… permanent. And if they win then what's going to happen? Piccolo says it's never going to be the same. Gohan said so, too. And even Goku knows, he feels… Well, Goten will never fight now without his ki. Goku thinks he can't look at Chi-Chi the same again after she let go of Gohan. And Gohan, he… he's not even fully Gohan, is he? There is something controlling him. The Mori within or the Almighty or Haed; which bits are Gohan and which bits aren't?
What even will home be after all this?
Goku envisions himself sitting alone in the mountain house, silence deafening.
"I… I…"
He is scared, he realizes. Terrified, in fact.
It's this place. It's Hell. It's the voices in his head.
"I thought," Goku finally gets out, "I thought that after all this, maybe everything could return to something like normal, maybe not exactly the same but something like it. But now… Well, there isn't going to be happy ending, is there? It's all going to be different and broken and just…" He groans, palming his eyes tiredly. "This place… It's making me think too much."
"Mori's mask."
"…Ah?"
"You've seen it, right? His mask. It's black and full of golden cracks."
"Right…"
"Kintsugi," Rixas supplies unhelpfully. "…No? You don't know?"
"Rix—"
He raises a hand. "So. Ages ago, Mori taught me that there's this ancient art form on your planet where when something breaks – pottery or glass or whatever, I don't know – you glue it back together with melted gold." His lips thin into a watery smile. "So then, the broken thing, see, it becomes something new, built from the idea that you're embracing the flaws and broken history of what happened – the breakage. It makes it stronger. It makes it special."
There's a fond sort of sigh and Rixas, for the first time, seems the old man he is. "He quite likes his mask, y'know. I think he likes the idea that something beautiful can come from something fragmented, that broken doesn't mean doomed, that something can be fixed, or even better, made stronger."
"Oh. His mask… wasn't like that before?"
"Nope. Black and boring." He then smirks, tapping at Goku's cheek. "Oh, and I think Mori did manage to catch you with the Z Sword after all. You've got a fresh scar right there, by your chin – look at that – you're very own Kintsugi."
Absently, Goku grazes a finger over the small ridge on his chin.
Kintsugi.
Goku never knew the name but he knew the practice, the very Earth practice, the same practice he would admire as Chi-Chi would sit at the kitchen table and meld the vase together for hours on end. The blue shards met gold. It'd sparkle with originality at the end of the evening atop the counter whilst Gohan below, nose pointed over the wooden finish, would admire with eyes filled with hungry fascination.
"I think he likes the idea that something beautiful can come from something fragmented."
It's then, Goku powers up to Super Saiyan.
From horror, from trauma, from hurt, came his gold.
He looks at the might in his hands.
Warm energy pushes against Hell. The voices follow in retreat.
"…The final hurdle, and then the finish line."
He will paint the world gold.
But it's then, the instance he follows the footsteps of the others, golden and brilliant and ready, that this resolution is tested.
The ground breaks into journeying cracks and from them, something clawed yearns from freedom. The floor completely opens, redder than ever, and claws – no, fingers – so malformed, so twisted like dead roots, curl into the crimson. These pits stretch before them all like great yawning voids, and from them so, so many of these clawed, tarry fingers sprawl, splaying hungrily, stretching, grasping; growing as blackened weeds in desperate clench of the sky.
The entire land fills with the decrepit things. Goku's so disgusted by their rotting appearances that he doesn't know how to react. They're twitchy, skinny creatures with almost black skin jutting over skeletal bone. There are no eyes. Some have mouths torn into the fabric of their decayed skin, and they use them to splutter nonsensically, cawing and spitting with tongues not within their control.
One comes close enough to Goku that he sees it spit up what he supposes to be teeth. The thing screams, head convulsing, before blindly charging at the group.
Before Goku reacts, Quell blasts the creature to extinction.
Piccolo repels another with a speedy Masenko. "What are these things?"
"First Ones," Quell says.
Rixas splutters. "First what? These are zombies!"
"Pick up a blasted book, for the Almighty's sake! First Ones make the Last Ones – this is rudimentary! Even Mori knows this!"
"Of course he does! He summoned the fuckers! What the hell were you teaching him?! This is not rudimentary!"
"You should—!"
"And what's the trick to them?" Vegeta interrupts, propelling forward a blast to launch one enthusiastic creature aside. "They aren't strong."
"What?"
Goku reorganizes the question. "What's their gimmick?"
Quell's lips press thinly. "The First Ones are made of rot. You must not have them touch an open wound otherwise their contagion will spread until—"
"You're turned into a zombie," Rixas finishes.
"Until you are depleted of your energy and drained. Your body will soak into the ground and your soul will be absorbed into the mass."
"And your body becomes a part of their army, right? Zom—"
"Yes," Quell seethes, "But, most importantly, your soul is the true — Rixas, do not touch it! – Ki should be the only method in dealing with these foul, little bottom feeders."
They're getting faster. One by one, they're fine to cast aside with energy, but soon enough, a sort of human-shaped pile up comes at them like a wave. Tactics change and Goku flies high and slices a line through them with a sharp Kamehameha. Quell manages the mirror side and disintegrates a great portion of the army whilst Piccolo and Vegeta clear the rear. But even then, more clamber out of the dirt.
Despite being ordered back, Rixas propels the ones that advance upon him, but without ki he is unable to get the clean sweep the others can. The creatures seem to sense this weakness. They charge him, their victory cries wet and shrill and it's Piccolo who drags Rixas upwards at the last utmost second, saving him the fate of Quell's following counterattack. So rapidly the ground below seems to melt. Goku smothers his mouth when the retch of burning meat cascades as a hot wind, Quell above with hands hovering over the swaying heat.
Yet, more and more and more, the First Ones come.
"They're never bloody ending!" Quell sneers, cooking his victims. "We haven't the time for this."
He's right. The dragon hasn't been called yet but at any time it could be upon them.
Goku manages to make out the supposed coliseum through the crowd of corpses. The gap of sight opens and closes in on going fashion when more creatures collapse upon one another in attack.
He looks between the others, watching them throw blasts or continual streams of ki, before then setting on Rixas' frustrated expression. He stares back, apparently reading Goku's mind because he jumps ever higher, nodding and setting a path for them both to course along.
Claws reach out for them as impossibly these creatures seem to pour out of the sky itself.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" they hear from beyond the mass, presumably from Quell or Piccolo because both looked furious when abandoned.
It so turns out Vegeta had a similar idea to them, except instead of darting around the dead; he chooses to power up and bluster his way through. His energy cinders explosively and some of the creatures fizzle up before Vegeta even touches them.
Dancing around the decay is tricky. Sharp teeth more than once come inches away from taking a bite out of Goku's arm. Rixas kicks away several swerving too close to Goku, and Goku repays the favour when Rixas nearly loses a chunk from a hand. The army continues to grow and even by time they've reached the coliseum, the swill of the creatures swarm the landscape well into the beyond. Piccolo and Quell are still inside.
"They'll be fine," Rixas says, landing atop one of the splintered pillars nearing the forum. "They're both vigilant."
With an unknown motive, the creatures choose not to climb the ruins – the reason obvious to Goku only later – and so they circle, gnawing at the stone noisily.
Vegeta lands next to Goku, reeking and matted in filth.
"Did they bite or scratch you?" Rixas demands. Vegeta shakes gunk free of his hands, and then goes to wipe his eyes. "No, wait. Don't—"
"Don't fucking touch me," Vegeta says, "I can do it myself."
"If that goo gets into any orifice then—"
"I don't need your help!"
"Then become a zombie, then!" Rixas throws his hands up. "By the Almighty!"
"Guys, over there." Goku gestures over the jutting bodies to a clearing where he sees two silhouettes together. All three bound between the pillars, stopping at yet another blockade. It's here he realizes why the creatures have stopped pursuing them. Black checkerboards around them, square by square, in one smoky, familiar build.
No.
Goku will not be stopped by Byleath again.
Vegeta is in the same boat. Almost simultaneously, both let rip a roar as they power up to their respectable transformations; Goku's Super Saiyan God energy fights back with dominating ease, whilst Vegeta's strange homage to the form is still more than enough to tackle against the ensuing prison. The black tiles break away as two of them is apparently two too many. Adding Rixas to the fray is overkill, and soon enough Byleath appears from behind his wall of tricks.
The Zealite seems so much less threatening than ever before.
Even when he duplicates, Goku feels that Byleath must know he's outmatched. Tricks are simply that. Once you know what's coming or how or what's going to happen next then the anticipation dies. Still, Goku's had to be humbled more than once by Byleath – he won't underestimate him again. Strength doesn't conflate power. Intelligence has its own place on the battlefield.
Goku demonstrates his lessons learned. He remains aggressive but still manages a defensive eye, watching out for Byleath's usual underhanded approach. The lack of any other Zealites tell the story that perhaps Goku had been damning in his last attack against them on Earth, that perhaps some, if not all of the other fighters, will not be getting back up to join their leader.
Byleath remains impressive despite the odds. He uses the landscape to his advantage, dispelling breaching blockades that bulldoze against Goku and Vegeta, urging them closer down towards the hungry mass of dead. Rixas remains out of reach. He seems to be weighing up a decision between leaving them or helping them.
Goku had wanted to be the first to reach Gohan but it seems trivial now. How he'd needed to shake his son and bring him back home, and remind him of what's right. But… what more can he say to Gohan? Goku has told him already how much he loves him, and Goku knows that, despite Gohan's mental standing, that that's very much reciprocal. This isn't the issue.
It should be Quell, Goku realizes in that moment. It should be him to talk Gohan down. He has the power of the Collective. He has the understanding of the Almighty.
Gohan chose him.
He'd chosen him over the Earth and Goku.
Though, he didn't choose him over Revelation.
Revelation may be more important than Quel,l but at least he didn't rank bottom in your son's heart, unkindly returns the voice, You'll never matter—
No. He won't succumb to his fears – this isn't about him – he needs to prioritize what Gohan needs right now, and if that's Quell then that's just the reality of the situation.
If Goku has to stay back and take down Byleath a final time then so be it. This is a team effort.
Rixas jets off alone in the direction of the clearing.
"What are you doing, Kakarot?" snaps Vegeta, "Get going!"
"No, you can't take this guy on alone."
"Then you take him and I'll go face Gohan."
"Vegeta. You said—"
"He murdered my son," he returns in a quiet hiss, "I won't let that stand. I won't let him achieve Revelation. I'd rather die than see his victory realized."
Stubborn until the end – he's the same as Gohan in that regard, can't he see? – Goku watches as the multiple Byleaths eye their adversaries, likely wondering what trick to instill next, all the whilst Vegeta stews in his rotten cycle of vengeance and makes the situation all the more convoluted.
The Kai killed Famis. Gohan killed the Kai. The Kai killed people in the Almighty hospital. That girl captain, Roarg, is dead, and now Trunks is dead. It's one after the other after the other. Who will it end with?
"I'll kill this worthless worm," Vegeta says, "And then I'll follow."
"You don't need to do this."
"He won't have Revelation," he repeats, "I'll take what he cares about, like he did..." He trails off but the unsaid is loud enough. "I can handle this clown," Vegeta finally concludes. "Go."
"Vegeta… Everything… will work out. I'm sure of it."
"Ever the optimist," he scoffs hoarsely. "Not every story has a happy ending, Kakarot."
"This one has to."
"Don't you yet realize? A happy ending is just a story that hasn't ended. What? How did you expect this to conclude after everything? After finding out the truth? Did you think Gohan returning would be— Tch, it doesn't matter now, does it? No." The flame of black and red hair turns to Goku, shoulders below tense. "Just go."
So Goku does. There's no point arguing with him when he's like this.
He follows the last remaining path in Rixas' steed. The unearthed creatures are still in high numbers, though their chorus of howling rings not as piercingly nor as loudly as before. This is perhaps in due to the many explosions from back where they'd left Quell and Piccolo, which can be heard in succession one after the other even now.
He manages to reach the clearing after a complex flight path has him detour around the bulk of rotten limbs reaching for him. Just as he lands, a gust of wind blusters from behind, setting him off balance and into the coarseness of sand. There's another collision of energy. Byleath and Vegeta. It's happening. There's a black cuboid floating, likely indicating a new Zealite pen and a whole bed of tricks, though Goku doubts it won't take too long for a prison break; Byleath hadn't looked his best and Vegeta isn't messing around.
Collecting himself up, Goku finds the clearing otherwise ominously quiet. No one is here, including Rixas.
He veers around in anticipation for someone to jump him, yet the area remains barren.
He walks. Boots crunch into sand.
Should he call someone? Rixas? Gohan?
But then the red glows. It brims beneath the sand much like lava in the grasp of a volcano. Eruptions follows, spewing at different points; one, two, three… Goku twirls, counting. Seven. There are seven.
Suddenly, beams of light cast high from each of these marks. The sky above thunders and the crimson instantly bleeds out into black.
Goku knows immediately what's happening. It's the dragon. Gohan must be summoning it.
And he's stood dead centre of the summoning pit. Crap.
There's a colossal girth of energy which envelops the entire section of land, bringing forth its own drag of the area surrounding. The wind – dry and arctic – carries with it the swirling gore of the nearby blood lake. The Sinner's Lake screams as it's wrenched from its home and into the mouth of the cataclysm, blood droplets splaying as rain and scalding Goku with hateful heat.
He does try to fly away, though it's akin to fighting the inevitable. The orbit of the summoning is just too much. He's but a rag doll, so small and meaningless and weak in comparison to all of this.
It's at the abyss of torment that Goku encounters the eye of the storm; a disquiet tempest of energy so pure, so clean, that merely having the audience with it strips Goku of his motivations. This witnessing of the incredible sucks the air from his chest. His eyes widen until they burn… it's just so…
This is divinity.
God, it's too much. Gold so bright scalds white until Goku loses all senses of his surroundings. His limbs are aspic, and it's only seconds following that he realizes that he's been thrust into the clutch of a sand hill. By the time his vision's settled, there sits the looming figure of a dragon so large that Goku has to swing his head from side to side to take it all in. Gold and menacing, it waits.
Gohan… Gohan. Where is Gohan?
Goku collects himself and begins to search beyond the wreckage. As he does this, the dragon's voice reverberates across the desert and Goku winces at the volume. The echo carries its foreign tongue throughout Hell.
Goku fancies his best chance to find Gohan is to approach the dragon and so he does, so quickly coming to face the hissing blur of Rixas crashing down into the sand below. Above, the silhouette of the attacker chases. It'd be impossible to make out who the perpetrator was if Goku didn't already know the identity. He stiffens in anticipation, he readies himself to make his move, he –
It's so quick.
Gohan propels the Z Sword so fast in Goku's direction that he barely has the time to dodge – he hardly manages it. But it's not too bad. Instead of being impaled through the chest, the sword digs into his arm and banishes him to the exact location to where Rixas' just been cast.
Rixas had just managed to stand, though it's for nought because he's sent right back down when Goku crashes into him.
"Now!" Rixas demands wetly, shoving him up and through the edge of the sword. Goku groans from the agony, though Rixas has no sympathy. "GET UP! Power up NOW!"
Goku can't even evade properly, never mind transform into the next ascension. Gohan doesn't give them the moment to breathe. He's rested. He's ready for them. Gohan had been anticipating them.
And so what follows Rixas and Goku to the ground isn't Gohan himself, but a congregation of energy spheres.
"MOVE!" Goku commands.
He shoves Rixas hard and goes to take the blast head on. It's especially nasty. Rixas wouldn't have stood a chance against this sort of thing. This clean energy… it's… monstrous. It's almost like cheating.
Goku readies the block, and finds that he needn't have.
The ivory army of ki courses west side upon meeting their twins. An explosion sounds. Around the sand spits upwards, sizzling to the touch like hot ice.
"Q-Quell," Goku realizes.
Gohan's shadowy figure loses its obscurity as it approaches. The gold eyes are both sharp and empty, and he appraises Quell like one would a mar on a shoe's edge.
"Here is inevitability," he breathes.
Quell isn't deterred. "Enough," he says, "It is time to stop this bedlam, Mori."
Gohan closes his eyes very slowly, as though truly appreciating the flavour of this betrayal. "You have always been weak."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. You are undeserved of your position. You are no leader of Revelation."
"I am more than that," Quell says cryptically. His mouth is set in a thin line when he regards Goku, making it all the more mysterious when he continues whatever he's saying in Lanit-Tongue.
Gohan replies in such, still wearing that arrogant, untouchable air. Goku can barely recognize him through the self-righteousness, through the callous disregard of what he just did to Trunks.
"Knock it off with the semantics," Rixas yells. There is now a gash of great magnitude across his chest, shallow but long and very insistent on bleeding. "Mori, can't you recognize what the divinity has done to you? You must at least fucking know—Argh!"
Rixas is cut once more when Gohan summons the Z Sword backwards; it slices the right arm in its route, though the real surprise comes when the path is intercepted. Quell catches the blade by its hilt and stubbornly refuses to let it fly free, the thing fitting like puppies in a sack.
There's a crackle of tension almost instantly.
Both refuse to break eye contact and Quell's pressure returns as a result, the ocean ready to engulf the desert and all those who dare oppose Quell's might – including Gohan. There's no indication of fear like there'd be from Rixas earlier today. No, now it's two predators eyeing one another, both equally in wait for the slip of subservience.
From Goku's side, Rixas takes in a deep breath.
"That is not yours," Gohan points out, light.
"Yes," Quell agrees, "Though it seems it hardly matters these days. What belongs to whom; this charming blade in my hand… Governance over our Collective… Revelation…"
"So astutely aware, you are. Yes, likely because you have always been about control. And now you do not have such a thing it so painfully apparent."
"Control is the purpose of my being, lest you forget."
"No," Gohan hisses, "Your purpose is to serve the Almighty."
"And yours is to follow my lead."
Gohan laughs. It's not a nice sound. He brushes his hair back, grinning furiously. "And what has that gotten us other than a dead brother?"
Rixas sucks air between teeth.
"It is truth," Gohan breathes out, still grinning, now in Rixas' direction. "It is."
"It is," Quell concedes.
"The dragon is here. Before you turned your back on me, brother, I thought you'd be excited, what, at the prospect of standing above all else." Gold becomes unseeing in the mirth of it. "Salvation brought upon the universe by us, together, us… doing good and being strong and powerful and righteous by the Almighty's teachings."
"There is nothing good about what happened to Trunks," Goku intervenes. "You know that."
"What is ethical or not is in the eye of the beholder. But more importantly, you have no say in this matter."
"Yes, I do!" Goku feels leave him, fast. "I have every say with how my son acts! This isn't even about Revelation – what's happening to you isn't right! I won't let you become something you're not! You are not—"
Gohan laughs once more. It's patronizing and Goku feels himself swallow a strange rage he's never felt before.
"Mori," Quell says heavily, the pressure curling around and around, so weighted that Goku feels the air physically thicken. "It is time to end this."
"Yes… You are right," Gohan agrees, "I'll do what you pitifully are unable to, even if I have to cut through each of you to do it, I'll be—"
Crrrrrunch!
The forgotten Z Sword had still been hanging between them, and now it's become a victim of Quell's grasp. The hilt is dust. It audibly breaks into crumbled fragments until the sword falters to the ground, where immediately Quell brings his boot upon the blade, snapping it in two.
Something else breaks. Goku notices the temper in Gohan's expression. The embers crackle in that gaze, and Goku is unsure who'll make the first move, but the inevitable is that one of them will definitely strike.
"Please," begs Rixas, "Don't f—"
It's Gohan. He employs the crosswinds, falling into them and slamming a fist directly into the cusp of Quell's cheek.
Goku knows that Quell can take a hit from his own experience so he remains unsurprised at the rebound and at the consequential reprisal; Quell captures the fist, dragging it forward and cracking his elbow down centre of the forearm. It's a horrid blow. Goku cringes as he moves backwards, watching as the two engage in back and forth until disappearing into the sky as tiny specks.
"Not good," Rixas says, almost maniacally so, "Not good. Not good… They can't. They'll… no."
Goku has to shake him. "Rixas, remember what you just said. Last hurdle."
"You don't understand!"
"Yes, I do. Quell's gotta' be the one to get through to him. He'll listen to him. He just needs—"
"No, Mori didn't even buckle. You don't get it! That's not normal! He didn't even—"
"If Quell can't then there's no one else," Goku admits, "We've gotta' do what we can to help."
Rixas grits his teeth, looking up at the collision of bright energies and then towards the colossal beast above.
"The dragon," Rixas breathes, "We need to cancel the wish, the summoning, the whatever – I don't know – just, let's move. Over there."
Goku notices the slight inclination near the base from which the light of the dragon projects. The seven points of the dragon balls are scattered around and buried within the sand itself; there's likely very little point in trying to unearth them so Goku follows Rixas to the centre of the chaos. Whirlwinds of red batter them and Goku squeezes his eyes closed as the sand increasingly becomes more determined to blind him.
Above is a lightshow. Through the blur, Goku bears witness to an array of colours clashing in the atmosphere. He's seen spectral lights like this before, on cold nights atop the mountains near his home; blue and green and dancing in slow rhythm. This time, there's a wave of heat that comes from such sight, and it's all Gohan. It would be a proud moment to see such power from Goku's own son if not for, well, the circumstances of it all. This is Gohan's raw ability. This is true power. This… this is intent to maim too, and more so than anything Goku finds himself thankful not to be facing up against it right now.
Rixas and Goku are about half way to the dragon when a set of stray ki blasts rain down. Or at least, he originally thought they were stray, but with the ferocity of the onslaught Goku could very well be wrong. What started off as pinpricks of light, falls an assault which explode the moment they reach a surface – and so suddenly, Goku's reminded of his earlier fight against Quell and how there'd been an attack resembling this. The parallel between Gohan and Quell's fighting styles are still as present as ever.
Upon dodging the cusps of heat, Goku quickly finds himself challenged when a returning horror respires through the dirt. Damn it. More and more, sand casts aside and he trips when his foot is snagged, the claw around it bony and strong. More skeletal hands sprout from the ground until they have full grasp of Goku's boots and then gi pants.
"Shit," he hears Rixas curse. It gets worse however. Just as he comes to Goku's rescue, the ground opens up and into the mouth of land they fall, into the midst of screeching creatures awaiting their next brethren.
Goku expands his aura, shouting. Several creatures are sent backwards with sand and rockery but victims in the flurry of energy, and with them; Rixas. He also soars into the crevice.
And into the hungry arms below.
"Rixas!"
And like that, he's gone.
Goku growls out and charges his energy with such ferocity that hundreds of the creatures must disintegrate at once. The red of Super Saiyan God blisters furiously and screams dissolve into silence, a heavy one that's swallowed up by the humming of the dragon's energy above. Goku pants on the dryness of his throat. Breathing in the desert sand is like swallowing ash.
"Crap," Goku snarls hoarsely. He glares down into the abyss below.
Rixas will be fine. He'll have to be.
Goku doesn't have a choice but to continue. He allows himself but one more moment of frustration – of worry for his friend – before continuing in step to the base of the dragon.
Gohan parries, feet flittingly light as he hops between the soaring rocks. Mid-air, he dances around his brother's brutal – and wholly foreseeable – strikes. One punch here, another there, oh look, another energy blast. Gohan has trained alongside Quell enough to know how his brother operates; so boring and straightforward, like a Rottweiler blindly charging forward, practically beckoned really. It'd been intimidating once, he reflects, but after seeing the weak, empty centre of Quell's core, Gohan finds that there is little to be afraid of. Quell has not the power of the Almighty on his side. Quell has not even the power of purpose.
But he does have the satisfaction of destroying the Z Sword.
Gohan grinds his teeth. That'd been his sword.
The urge to hurt is overcoming. It's poison to his objective and Gohan has to swallow the wicked desire to impart revenge for his lost steel. This fight is about putting Quell down. Gohan doesn't need to kill to do that. When Revelation is delivered, his brothers will understand Gohan's righteous ways and will mourn the fact they challenged him.
Or if not, simply, they can watch as the Kai aim to execute him. Gohan will attempt to lead the Council, of course, but if the Kai are so determined for Gohan's head then who is he to stop them? Who cares? Who fucking cares?
Gohan is but one person. Revelation is for the infinite!
He's grinning. The muscles in his cheeks are stretching and Quell is looking at him with something amounting concern. It's a rare look, much like witnessing a unicorn in daylight.
So Gohan takes the opportunity and ensnares his brother's arm, choking it with daggered fingers until the cloak beneath burns away and the flesh hiding begins to pimple redly. Quell deflects, snapping a hand down against Gohan's fingers until released. He is the one to put distance between them.
"Is this what you want?" he growls, disrobing his enflamed cloak into the wind. "Do you still hate me after all this time? Is this what this farce is about? Do you still aim for my life, brother?!"
Of course, Quell thinks it's about him.
Gohan turns to his dragon. Still, it awaits him. Haed had ushered it forward for him, using the words of the old divine language that existed long before Gohan.
"You promised me," Quell bites out with his standard heat. "You promised yourself devout to our collective! You promised yourself loyal to me!"
That'd been some years ago.
"Our first altercation had been in a desert then, too," Gohan points out conversationally. "Do you remember?"
Quell bares his teeth like some common animal.
"You wanted this," Gohan continues, entertained with arms wide spread. "I took the elixir and found myself once more." The memory feels an eternity ago. "Aren't you happy, brother?"
"You are just as brain addled as the day you returned," Quell hisses. "I refuse to believe that this fanatical tirade represents the boy I raised."
Imprisoned, the Almighty supplies in mind.
"You have pushed me," Quell continues, "Away from what is truly important. I have been forced to turn against Famis' justice because of your zealous actions, forced to join hands with your ridiculous mortal clan. Does this not speak volumes, you little ingrate? Can you not see how lowly you've sentenced me?!
"YOU did this! Your newly found arrogance and obsession is ruining us!"
Trust Quell to hanker for the dramatics.
Gohan's supposes his atonement comes in the form of a charged roundhouse. It doesn't land but it does set up for Quell's flank of ki blasts, each burning with ki only marginally less clean than Gohan's. Gohan bats the first few away and dodges the last, sweeping under it when projected in undisrupted direction of him.
How annoying. Gohan clicks his tongue when one of the blasts cinders the foot of his trousers. The flame ignites boldly, as is the signature of Quell's ki; and so it swallows up the oxygen greedily and slithers up and along the leg until Gohan is forced to skid along the sand in order to put it out. Quell had foreseen this. Linearly planted energy pockets wait for such a moment, and so soon they rejoice; they scream for joy as Gohan dances between them, fire to toes and then smoke on his trail when he takes to the air. Manoeuvring between the energy and Quell proves as demanding as always. It's a laborious task. And it's so easy to fall into the role of prey.
Quell is wearing the face of a marauder. The gold runs ever colder; his fury more severe than Gohan's yet seen. He leaves no room for mistake in his pursuit and as a result, Gohan's waltz must be perfect.
Alas, it is. It's always perfect.
Quell trained him too well. Gohan's had many teachers now. Piccolo, his father, Rixas, and Quell himself, and not to mention the scoured intelligence Gohan sourced in his travels throughout the universe. He's researched techniques and shared secrets with masters – Mori also would do as much – and now the fruits of his labour are prevalent in Gohan's pointedly supreme fighting language.
Gohan remains on the defending line. He deflects, disappears, reappears and jumps out of the way of the swinging blurs that come for him and because of this, there's the realization that Quell has managed to push him backwards in lieu of a large pillar. It wouldn't be a problem to break through it, but the disrupted speed would ruin the beat of Gohan's movements and potentially would result in a nasty strike landing.
Quell knows this. He urges him into the proverbial corner, teeth bared and expression wild. His hair is a beast its own, following with obedience as he pushes and pushes and pushes.
Before Gohan's back touches stone, he already has his rebuttal in motion; the Z Sword may be lost but he isn't without a bladed edge. The kyoketsu-shoge returns for an encore, the flash of steel momentarily distracting for Quell, who has to revaluate the situation and perform a side step. Gohan takes advantage of this rare wilt in confidence. Of course Quell has seen the kyoketsu-shoge before. He'd been the first Gohan had shown after buying it from a vendor on Geo, the first to test it in friendly combat too, and now just simply one of many who will feel its bite.
He launches the shoge and it boomerangs backwards in a curl as Gohan releases more and more of its chain. Quell is still evaluating. He is still thinking, remembering perhaps, about how best to go against this strange weapon. Bitterly, Gohan recalls it having very little effect against his father but it'll be different here. Quell doesn't appreciate the kyoketsu-shoge's properties – he hadn't seen it as threatening upon that first meeting – and so he has to learn on the job.
Gohan notices the moment Quell realizes that he is now game in the hunt. That icy fire blusters and the sneer cuts his face in half, there's an audible snarl ripping from his throat as the shoge's chain captures his arm. It curls around and Gohan drags him forward and down into an anticipating knee.
Quell takes that hit – which in fact concerns Gohan. There's a splutter, a cough, but Quell is most certainly not out, and what was too good to be true turns out to be just that. Gohan hadn't been the only one preparing an attack. Quell has a pearly glow of ki just for Gohan, bowling ball sized and spitting.
It's too late to evade.
He curses at the contact with the ki. The wind from the energy's pressure runs hot, and the clash of aviation temperatures – that from the attack and that from the penetrating desert chill – challenge him to keep balance in the sky. He manages to block with his arm, though that means very little in the long run. The energy sphere doubles in size, and then triples. Soon enough, it's so large that Gohan is left holding against something the width of a house.
It becomes the best option to let the energy fly. He spins around it, unintentionally sentencing Quell to the journey, or he would have, had there been more than just a wilted chain in his hand. Quell had escaped in the chaos.
"Fuck!"
As the explosion sounds from below, Gohan manages to see Quell emerge from the other side of the descending light. There is no satisfaction when he throws the shoge southwards, just the simple arrogance he usually befits himself with.
That's two weapons lost in the space of half an hour.
Gohan releases his half of the shoge, thankful that the upward gust of sand from the explosion shields his visible frustration from Quell.
It's time to elevate things.
Welcome back, shall we swim together?
Come forth.
Let us consume you.
Goten immediately knows where they've arrived to.
The beating in his ribcage is a hammer to glass, as though his heart has the will to pummel itself free. That same harrowing feeling from before, the loss of his energy, the realization of truth, the horror; Goten has to mourn the fact that he's once again found himself in this pit of misery.
Why here?
He scrunches his eyes closed, a deep whine catching in the back of his throat.
A meaty hand slaps his back.
"We must move," Kibito tells him grimly. "However discomforted you feel, this is not where the journey ends. Are you hearing voices?"
"Y-Yes."
"Think of loved ones, of family, of why we're here. Incentive is the death of a weak mind."
Do not listen to him. We are liberation. Are you not tired?
"Gohan," Goten reminds himself, eyes closed. "My brother. My dad, and my mum too. Everyone."
Kibito is actually managing a smile by time Goten's opened his eyes. "Keep reminding yourself, boy."
Hell has not changed in Goten's absence, all except for the turbulence of the weather. Forked lightning, framed by a blackened sky and catalytic rumbling, hangs lowly overhead as though indicating where they have to go. It's bright over there. Glowing, even. One doesn't need to read energy to know something bad is happening over there.
"Are you ready to teleport once more?"
Goten swallows but nods regardless. In for a penny, in for a pound.
This time, they reappear much closer to the scene of events. What Goten hadn't seen at distance was the swirl of dust clouds and the… Wait, is the ground moving?
He squawks, bouncing into the air when what can be considered hands reach out from the sand. Zombies? Monsters? Goten doesn't know. As they haul themselves upwards, he flies higher and higher out of reach. Kibito does, too, similarly disturbed, growling out when one manages to capture him by the ankle. A subsequent blast has the creature unhand him, disintegrating back onto the mass of swaying bodies birthing up.
Goten turns to him at a loss. Horrified. "What the hell? W-What are these—?"
Kibito shoots another blast only centimetres from Goten's right. There's a wail – more of a screech, really – and another creature is fell. "Do not touch them!" he instructs, "Stay by my side. You cannot—!"
Goten doesn't need to be told twice. He dives behind Kibito when yet another of those things launches itself at him in an almost kamikaze sort of fashion. Kibito reacts fast and kills it, as well as the next and the several others after when they dive bomb from all angles, including downwards. Are they falling from the sky, too?
Soon enough, the world is spinning and they must be teleporting again. They arrive further out this time, somewhere quieter. Kibito allows himself a breath.
"I should have left you on Earth," he curses himself.
It'd been the argument they had just before departing.
"This was the deal," Goten reminds, loud over the soaring sand, shaking his bundle, "You promised to bring me."
Kibito sneers, and then looks back to from whence they came. At this angle, the glow is more betraying of the truth. Goten notices what they're looking at exactly at the same time as Kibito.
"Oh. Is that the—?"
"Lord Mori has already summoned the dragon! The Supreme Kai was right. He – Just, where the Supreme Kai? He told me to meet him here, but—"
Goten is hardly listening. Above, is that golden beast. God. It's a huge dragon. It's golden and shiny and nothing like Shenron, not really, if except for the red hue of its very large eyes. It blinks slowly, bored almost. The glow of red disappears and reappears like a pair of twinkling stars in the sky.
A thought strikes.
It'd be able to restore Goten's ki, should Goten make the wish.
As quickly as it came, he dismisses it.
No. No… It's not the time, nor the place, not in this trap.
No wishes should be made.
The blanketed bundle in his arms will see to that.
He tightens his hold on it, sickened at the thought of what is inside but also just as fiercely protective of it. He wouldn't let Kibito dig them up and he won't be the one to give them away either. This is why he's here. To make sure no-one takes advantage of what's in his arms. At the end of the day, Gohan is still his brother even if he pretends otherwise.
"We need to go back down there, don't we?"
Kibito's already wide face stretches further in displeasure. "Somehow. It seems Lord Haed has made his allegiance known with his summoning of the First Ones. This is as the Supreme Kai feared."
Lord Haed… He's that creep Gohan was speaking to last time he was here. The God of the place. The Underworld…
Goten clutches the blanket closer, the Power Pole painful against his side when he does so. "I'm sorry, Kibito," he mutters, thinking of his lost energy, "If I could defend myself better then I wouldn't be such a burden."
Kibito spares him a look. "Yes, well, I am not chancing myself against those decrepit malformations either. This has nothing to do with your lack of power."
Goten manages a smile in spite of things. It's tired and soon slips away in the grand scale of the situation. A blast of hot wind charges from the eye of the storm, knocking them both to their backs, and Goten skidding along the sand until Kibito grasps at his shin.
"Do not let go!" Kibito shouts.
Goten clutches his treasures until the wind eases. When a hill of sand settles over his body, Goten deems it safe to sit up.
"Lord Quell," whispers Kibito, eye wide. "He is fighting."
"Gohan, too."
They share a moment of puzzlement.
Gohan and Quell… fighting each other? Ehhh?
Goten readies himself into a ball when yet another surge of energy-blasted air hammers at them. He curls in on himself as he hears Kibito let loose a low groan. That hold on Goten's ankle threatens to snap.
Above, the thunder applauds the chaos. A strike of lightning chars the ruins in the near distance, clapping down, one after the other.
"This is good," Kibito breathily tells Goten once the wind subsides once more. He drags him upwards, the sand pouring. "With Lord Quell assisting our ambition then power is now on our side."
They make their way over to a sheltering ridge of rockery and take cover beneath. Goten can in fact see the fight clearer from here. He sees Gohan. He sees the light surrounding him and the way it cuts through the dark as though it was born to do just that. Quell is up there too, comparably fast and monstrous and bright. That pressure technique of his; Goten feels it here, barely stomaching what has to be his heart being vacuumed through his bottom and down into the sand.
"Any ideas?" Goten asks.
"Yes, not to perish in the crossfire. Keep your head down."
"You said we need to do the ritual as soon as possible!"
"I also said that it is too dangerous for a mortal boy here, too. Do as I say, child!"
Goten fumes, watching as comets of energy streak through the black. The ground shakes with each landing attack, dust from the ceiling sprinkling ever more sand on them. Gohan and Quell are really going at it. Their auras ricochet against one another, back and forth, electric; literally so with lightning striking them. Sparks glitter forth, raining dangerously over their makeshift cave when the fight moves above them.
It results in Goten spitting sand when Kibito pushes his head down. The kai's eyes squeeze tightly closed as the world around quakes, his grip a vice around Goten's skull. Goten instead chooses to focus on the rainbow of ki colouring the desert, more fearing his head splitting open as opposed to the murderous gods outside bringing upon the freaking apocalypse.
For a brief, painful moment, night zaps into day. Goten groans and buries his face until it's dark once more. Whatever attack that was, Goten hopes not to see it again as little blue circles flit around his vision for a good ten seconds until he's able to concentrate again.
Just as Goten thinks it safe to chance a better view, the worse seism yet strikes and the cave begins to disintegrate under the weight of the energy. Kibito pulls them both aside just in time to witness a silhouette plunge into the desert beyond their fallen shelter. It's at speed, and a bowl with the birth of a car forms from the landing.
It's Gohan. His vacant expression doesn't falter as Quell lands in pursuit. There's a fixed concentration, a focus Goten would only distinguish in his father or Vegeta analysing an opponent. It's odd witnessing it on Gohan, like watching him be someone he's not – funny, really, considering the turnabout of all this. This is Mori. Lord Mori, with the cool single-mindedness of a person Goten doesn't know.
Quell barely gives Gohan the time to read him. He's readying yet another attack – though, it doesn't look very much like ki this time – with hands elevated high, chin raised and teeth grit. Goten can't sense anything even as light gathers. It must be magic. Rixas said that Quell's capable of it. From this distance, Goten thinks Quell's lips are now moving, but no words can be heard, only the hush of wind that overrides all else.
And then, if ever possible, even more sand gathers around, spiralling upwards and into mirroring balls despite the wind's best efforts to push it aside. They – all eight – surround Gohan, pulsating and distorting with jelly like consistency into emulating shapes. Molten red dies down into something glassy, each iridescent, until it ends with Gohan staring down eight individual swords.
The crystalized blades hiss through the sandstorm. Much like a conductor, Quell commands them in a symphony his own, having them glide musically atop the storm with slick precision in Gohan's direction. But Gohan is deft. He must have known what Quell was going to throw at him, perhaps would have already faced these swords before, because he manoeuvres himself expertly against them in a dance so fluid that his limbs seem aspic.
It's like watching thread interweave fabric. Gohan tucks in tightly against one edge whilst coming kissing distance to the other, spinning out of touch of any. It's impressive. Goten feels an awe in spectating; a horrified admiration for someone he is hoping to lose. Gohan is faster than Dad. He's probably stronger, too.
Then something strange happens. Gohan manages to take hold of one of the blades by the hilt, and suddenly, it smashes. Shards burst like hail. He does it again and again and again, over and over, until there is only the one left. This one, Quell doesn't let him have so easily. Gohan has to fire a barrage of bullet-like energy attacks to have Quell avoid, and then, finally he takes the hilt. Instead of an explosion, this sword is launched around in orbit for leverage before being released.
Quell braces himself, hand out, ready to catch what is supposed to be a physical object. It's not. On its journey, the sword melts. Quell realizes too late, withdrawing his hand just as this goo reaches him. It surely strikes. Goten can't see clearly but he thinks Quell buckles just a bit, having to step back as Gohan reappears directly in front of him.
Gohan is ready with his next attack, already swinging forward, fist poised. Quell isn't ready. Even Goten can tell that his defence is reactionary. A shield of ki appears in the nick of time, one Gohan collides with, bringing forth yet another wave of surging, hot air.
It violently pushes both Kibito and Goten backwards. And that's show over. Goten clasps onto his bundle as though his life depends on it, not even bothering to reach back towards Kibito's sweaty hand. It slams them both against some hard fixture that'd been previously hidden by the sand. Goten grunts, his world momentarily dark. His head aches.
A cough leaves him as he tumbles forward, the blanket and its contents, however, still thankfully firm against his chest.
That's when he feels his world take a hell of a wobble. Something sharp captures him under his chest, spinning him onto his back. An unforeseen problem.
The Kai Champion. The girl one. Eyrelle. The one who joined Gohan.
His heart hammers and he's absently feels like a rabbit at the mercy of a fox. Her sword still lingers about his chest, expression hard and focused upon what's in his arms. Is she going to kill him?
"Go away!" he shouts at her, pathetic. "Just get lost!"
Behind her, another silhouette appears against the red sand.
"Goten?" he hears it ask, drawing closer. It's the Supreme Kai! "Thank goodness. You are all right. Let him up, Eyrelle. He is here to help."
Goten's world is in disarray. Doesn't she work for Gohan? Why is she helping him up?
"Kibito – have you seen him?"
Goten musters up a reply but his lips refuse cooperation.
"Supreme Kai!" they hear in the wayward distance. There's scuffling. Rocks and bricks are being lulled upwards with Kibito attempting freedom beneath. The Supreme Kai doesn't hesitate assisting his friend, equipping his telepathy to help draw away the fallen debris.
Eyrelle sheathes her sword. "So, the Supreme Kai speaks truth," she says cryptically. Goten has no idea what she's talking about until she gestures to the blankets, "They are really…"
"You're not taking them."
"I did not ask for them."
"Good. Why are you here?" She hasn't attacked him yet so she must be on their side again. "Can't decide what team you're on, huh?"
Eyrelle's impassivity remains durable. "Teams are for games, and I do not want to play such things."
"Well, I don't trust you. Don't come near me."
"Should I have wanted what lies in your arms I would have taken them."
Goten tightens his hold on the bundle. He needs to keep them protected. In the wrong hands, anything could happen to his brother.
"Yeah, well, don't get any ideas."
"Oh, Goten," the Supreme Kai greets once more, grim, before looking down at the blanket. "You did not need to come this far. Hell is too dangerous for a boy. What on earth were you thinking, Kibito?"
"He would not let me take them," Kibito attests snappily.
"I understand your… concern for your brother's welfare," Shin concedes to Goten, "But—"
"I'm not leaving. Whatever ritual you're doing, I want to be there. I want to see my brother back to normal."
"Is that what you told him would happen, Kibito?"
"No, sir!"
"Goten, we must keep our expectations measured. What happens after the—"
Overhead, one blur of energy jets past, followed by the next. Goten can't tell who was who, only that they've managed to pull half of the desert's sand along with them. Once again, Goten struggles to hang on against the drag of momentum.
"Is that Lord Quell?" gasps the Supreme Kai, struggling on all fours.
Eyrelle's sword has her planted but even she can't swallow her shock at the situation.
"There have apparently been some developments in our absence," Kibito grits out.
Beyond, a series of explosions light up the horizon in following, signalling that no longer are they in danger of crossfire. Aftershocks still stretch out flittingly in reach of them, yet they're not enough to keep them down.
"Goku must have gotten through to Lord Quell," the Supreme Kai says with obvious admiration. "Yes. Most certainly." But then, standing, he sobers at an intrusive thought. "Or perhaps, Lord Quell, too, has realized how deeply tangled Lord Mori has become within his own belief system, that it has warped his caring nature faultily."
Kibito scoffs, stumbling upwards, stuck in the sand. "Do not be overly sympathetic, Supreme Kai. Lord Mori is a zealot."
"We are not to question our lordships' characters," Eyrelle reminds, "Remember yourself."
"How dare you?! Perhaps you should remember yourself after your performance with the Council!"
"Kibito, please."
Eyrelle turns a cheek. "Do not embarrass yourself."
"You have no— ugh, what in the—? My foot—"
Before they realize what's happening, it's too late. Claws have snared themselves around Kibito's boot, multiple fingers grappling tightly as, first, beaky, black noses push through the sand, followed by empty socketed eyes and a mouth that hacks as it wails. There's a crunch. Kibito groans, head back, fresh perspiration spotting as below. One of the creatures draws back, blood dripping from its teeth.
"Kibito!"
Shin moves forward to haul Kibito free but Eyrelle is faster. She snags him away as Kibito contends with the plethora of creatures now coming at him. Call it instinct, call it luck, whatever it is, Goten's already back about thirty feet, floating in the air, watching it all unfold with open horror.
The creature, however, could be considered pleased. A grin dilutes the thing's empty expression. With head lulled back in a state of bliss, it melts into the sand, duty served.
More and more, the creatures take chunks out of Kibito's legs, each submerging back into the sand. Kibito is screaming now. He sinks lower as the creatures tear away at him.
"DO IT!" Kibito cries out. "PLEASE!"
Goten feels his heart in his throat. He might sick it up. Do what? What can he –?
And then it makes sense when Eyrelle's sword propels cleanly through Kibito's skull.
There's no more screaming, only the wailing of dissatisfied creatures below.
Goten barely registers taking her hand, but he must have because she's pulling him through the air. As they go, he watches Kibito's body slump in on itself and disappear into the sandstorm. Kibito… He'd…
Goten catches his breath, pulling the blanket close, hugging it.
They land closer to the dragon this time, somewhere on top of a dome shaped building in the midst of nothing else. There's no sand so there are no sand creatures. Eyrelle quickly checks over Goten for any wounds before doing the same to the Supreme Kai, who appears to be struggling with the shock of watching a friend go like that.
"Supreme Kai," Eyrelle says, "There was no other choice."
"I know," he whispers.
Shin stands, back turned. He breathes out. Goten notices his shoulders shake, just a little. This isn't going to stop the ritual, right? He's not going to suddenly turn his back on saving Gohan… right?
"Supreme Kai," Goten manages, his voice oddly strained, "I'm s-sorry."
"Kibito knew the risks," he replies. His Mohawk bobs low in the glow of the dragon. "He died with honour. He would… not want us to throw away our opportunity. He… by the heavens… tch."
"The ritual," Eyrelle reminds, "With this, we can end this. Remember what is important. As you said, for now we must put away our personal feelings."
Goten thinks it's a little harsh of Eyrelle to come down on a guy after what amounts to be minutes after his best friend's death. If Trunks had just died in front of him and she'd spoken to him like that, he'd take that sword and stick it somewhere unpleasant.
But the Supreme Kai agrees with her. He raises a hand in acknowledgement. "I apologize." When he faces Goten, the sorrow has been stripped. Professional coolness remains, his defence perhaps. "Goten… it is time to prepare for the ritual. Please give them to me."
Goten clutches at the bundle one last time before peeling back the blanket. The muddied collection stare up in anticipation.
"But why do we need them?" he asks, "K-Kibito never told me."
Grim, the Supreme Kai holds a hand over them.
"The roots of a dead tree still hold water, Goten. These are Gohan Son's bones. These... are what bind him to mortality."
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Soooo... I'm back? Apologies for the random hiatus - not on purpose! - this chapters was written on about six different flights and four different countries. I cannot stress how busy I have been hence the very mean and nasty two month+ wait. I'm sorry! I've now been back in China a week and one of my first priorities was this bloody chapter. Hogwarts Legacy awaits me. How long I have wanted to play it but still... I sacrifice myself for the fic. Oh boohoo hard life for a traveller haha. Anyway, chapter 50 is 4k deep so I'll post it within a couple weeks, maybe earlier. Oh yeah, because Kags had the audacity to go on holiday, I "beta'd" this myself (is that a thing to self beta? anyway) so apologies if you see some errors here and there. She's selfishly enjoying her trip. Meanwhile, I'm committing homicide at any character who looks at me funny.
Also, one of my friends drew my OC ladies. Roarg, Eyrelle and Myra. She doesn't post her art online but she said I could so I'll link them on my bio or something.
As always, thanks so much for all the reviews, follows and the like. It's been wonderful to have feedback, even after I make you all wait 84 years for the next chapter (old meme but it checks out). Please let me know your thoughts if you haven't!
Cheers and see you (sooner than two months) on the next one!