Chapter 43
Lambs to the Slaughter
How he hadn't noticed her eyes before now was beyond him.
She had dark, almost black almond eyes which were never quite his father's and never quite his mother's, and curiously, were Gohan's very own blend of the two.
It was strange to witness, to see a skeletal, haunted mirror.
"She's got those wide dark eyes of yours…"
Mister Satan had been right all those months ago.
Son Gohan the Destroyer
Capsule Corporation. Planet Earth. March, Age 776.
His boots drummed over the metallic floors as he roughly searched the laboratory. He had barely rejoined the group after his rather depressing conversation with Whis and Lord Beerus, before Bulma had yelled at him to fetch her a new combustion chamber.
Apparently, whatever bodged-job Gohan had done the last time he had taken Bessie for a spin had fried it, subsequently causing more work for Bulma and delaying their imminent take off.
He had finally found the shiny cylinder on one of the racks Bulma used to house spare parts, and wasted no time in exiting the now rather messy lab and headed back to the hanger.
Sunrise glowed through the windows of the dim winding corridors as he made his way back towards ground, past the living quarters and out into the -
"Gohan?"
He stopped, so focussed on the task at hand that he had barely registered the small Ki behind him. He had one hand on the steel stair rail that would take him through a passageway that linked the main building to the ship hanger, the device Bulma needed in the other.
"Are yer leavin' so soon?"
"Yes," he replied, keeping his eyes fixed firmly ahead. "We are."
Silence. Until a soft, sweet gurgle that Gohan really wished he hadn't heard drifted between them.
"Oh, right - of course," Hercule said, a little sheepish, "Universe needs to be saved an' all. I understand."
He didn't move. Instead, he asked, "Is she sleeping?"
"Oh, Videl?" He quirked, as if it wasn't obvious, "Yeah, I told her to get some rest whilst I took this little cutie for a walk. Nurses are watchin' over her now, thank the Gods - well, literally eh? If it wasn't for you -."
"It was Whis who saved her, not me."
Hercule's nervous chuckle petered out, "Well I don't know about that. You were the one who persuaded him to help, I don't think they would have done it off their own back."
Gohan did not offer a response. He knew the grim reality of the situation a lot more than he did. Suddenly, a delicate whimper lifted from the swaddle of blankets, and Mister Satan turned his attention to shushing and cooing at the infant - but to no avail.
"Hey little one, don't ya cry - your Pops has got you - oh - oh dear," He winced, as the cries only intensified, blaring harshly around the small corridor they had found themselves in, "You've got your mama's lungs that's for certain! Yeesh! Let's hope you don't have your daddy's power and go all golden on me! HA!"
His knuckles were white against the handrail. He turned, finally, only to catch the aghast look on Mister Satan's face as he realised his slip.
"Ah, uh," he stumbled, "I mean - uh -."
"It's alright," said Gohan, although it most certainly wasn't. "I shouldn't be here, I was just getting this for Bulma, and -."
"Gohan," Hercule interrupted him, cradling the baby girl to his shoulder and smoothing his large hand over her little back in calming circles. Albeit as protective of his daughter as he was, it certainly did look odd to see such a hulking stature of a man deal with a crying newborn so delicately.
He sighed, and spoke more bravely, "Gohan look, I don't pretend to understand all these God rules you're under. That weird angel and scary cat demon can say what they want, but it doesn't make you any less her daddy."
"Hercule - I'm not -."
"You're not even going to acknowledge her?" He asked, frowning deeply and bringing the now calm child into the crook of his hairy arm, "Videl nearly died, m-my poor girl, and you're just going to ignore that fact that she's yours?"
"It's not that simple."
"Seems pretty simple to me," Hercule pressed, "Don't matter what you are or where you'll be, Pan will always be a part of you."
"... Pan?"
"Oh," Hercule faltered, blinking back at him, "I thought you knew - Videl finally settled on a name, before she went to sleep. S-Sorry, I didn't mean to overstep -."
"No," Gohan uttered, barely realising that he had released the railing, "No, it's fine. It doesn't - I'm… I'm glad she chose one."
"Great name too," he smiled proudly, looking down at the girl in question… Pan, "My ol' martial arts Master's clan name, ya know. I can't let Videl take all the credit, ha."
"Y-Yeah."
"A strong name for a strong girl, and pretty too, huh?" Hercule gushed, a large finger brushing the baby's chubby cheek, coaxing a small chirp from her tiny mouth, "I think it suits her."
He nodded, without thinking and not really understanding why his chest began to ache so much.
Mister Satan's smile was unwavering as he beamed back at him, "She's got those wide dark eyes of yours too. Did ya notice?"
Area 1101, Sector 2,467. Saiyan Territories - Home For Infinite Losers. June, Age 776.
Wide dark eyes. His eyes.
Wide dark eyes. Near black but not quite. Peculiar. Reminiscent perhaps of his Saiyan heritage for he only knew of full-bloodied Saiyans having near black but not quite eyes. Although, he remembered momentarily, that his father had always alluded to his eyes being similar to his mother's.
His mother. Yes, she could certainly pass for a much younger version of his… of his mum were it not for the fact that she was so terribly thin and scarred.
An old injury. The thickened faded flesh marred the majority of her right cheek and travelled all the way down her neck. It even stretched under his eyes and across the bridge of her nose. Videl's nose, he noticed, and her mouth.
His surroundings lifted back into focus all at once and his next words felt lost in the howl of battle that screamed all around them.
"Y-You… you can't be."
"Is it really that hard to believe, Gohan?" Perses cooed snidely, "Be reasonable, how do you think she is able to wield the energy of a God of Destruction?"
That's right. The Hakai. It was poorly controlled, but it still manifested within her power just as readily as it did within his.
Power that he had almost unleashed upon on her. His own -
"Ah," Perses grinned, "Yes, most troubling, isn't it? I did warn you not to do something that you would regret."
"H-How?" Gohan demanded, "What did you do to her?!"
"Me?" He feigned offence, "Oh no Papa, you brought all of this on yourself."
His voice cracked, "I-I don't -."
"Understand?" He goaded, and glanced between them, "Difficult to comprehend that this wretched creature came from your own supposed 'righteous' seed? And yet I know that you have felt the wrongness within her Ki just as you will have my own. You can't quite understand what you are sensing but you know it is wrong, not meant to be - the energy of a demigod. Why do you think the Gods are so afraid? Dirty, corrupted power such as ours should not exist, or so your ancient scriptures say, right?"
Gohan didn't deny it, which only made Perses' grin widen.
This couldn't be real, he thought, desperately trying to think of a way out of this nightmare.
He had a fleeting glimmer of hope that vanished with the moment - was this just Hell playing tricks upon him? Had he lingered here in the Underworld too long again?
But no.
Lightening flashed and forked like deadly claws raking across the sky. A burst of violet fire escaped the girl - Pan - as she charged without warning. The ancient relic came swinging towards him, aiming to kill. He dodged, and lunged forwards in an attempt to grapple the Z-Sword out of her grasp.
Hot flames burned at his cheek, leaving him no choice but to kick her away. She crashed into a pile of rubble, the Hakai exploding somewhere up above them. He thrust his right arm outwards, calling the relic back to him.
It all but trembled in her fist.
"Oh?" Perses chuckled, delighted. "Is its allegiance to you wavering, I wonder? It appears you are not as special as Whis made you out to be oh chosen one."
Gohan grit his teeth, as a sizzling fuchsia light manifested around his palm, casting a garish silhouette darting over the waterlogged ground. She was quick to recover, and he met the relic blow for blow in the air. She was no swordsman, but the Z-Sword was unrivalled, and one quick counter was all it took to shatter his Ki-blade to dust.
The child would grow to be very strong if allowed to live, Whis had warned.
He dodged a ball of destructive energy, ducking under the sword and sending a powerful fist sinking into her gut.
She choked on her own blood, though her power did not waver. Her eyes held nothing but malice as she growled like a caged animal and unleashed a rapid barrage of lethal blows towards him.
Siring a bastard with a mortal is a big no, no.
He countered, feet skidding in the mulch as he attempted to force the relic from her. But it was as though it was moulded to her fist, unable to budge as she charged another destructive blast within her opposing palm. He snuffed it out as quickly as it came, driving a spinning kick into her side and sending her flying with a roar of pain.
Something unpleasant gnawed at him, as he watched her gather her composure. She was already injured. Bleeding from her nose, her eyes, her ears but she didn't appear to have noticed. It was as though all that was holding her up was the malignant Ki that encompassed her frame. Dark and sizzling with impurity, it cast a wash of unholy festering shadows writhing across the desecrated earth towards him.
His throat ran dry, but the coppery taste of blood lingered. He could feel Perses' eyes burning into his back.
"W-We, we don't have to do this," Gohan mustered, trying and failing to wrap his head around what was unfolding right in front of his eyes, "Just... just hand over the sword. You don't know what you're getting into -."
Pan's eyes flashed venomously, a dark chuckle escaping her until it erupted into an all out cackle.
Goosebumps crawled over his skin, her cold cruel laughter grating on his every nerve. A part of him refused to believe it. That this shell of a person could be the future version of the baby girl he had abandoned back on Earth. The tiny infant with wispy hair that looked as soft as feathers to touch, innocent eyes now twisted into something unrecognisable.
The great taboo.
Darkness, sorrow, hatred seeped from her very being as her laughter abruptly died and she rose into the blood red sky above him. His stomach jolted with a sudden sickness. Was this how his own father saw him when he had found out about the monster he had become?
She was upon him in a flash of fire.
Her nails tore at his face and the relic came close to stabbing him in the side. He fought back, feeling blood trickle down his cheek as he pelted her across the jaw.
An agonising scream ripped from her throat, energy sparking as they battled for dominance over the sword. Every time he came close to wrenching it free, she would release another Hakai so that he was forced to retreat. It was frustrating, alarming, as she licked her own blood clean from her lips.
"It doesn't - have to be this way!" He roared, dodging out of the way of another world ending blast and firing his knee into her sternum. His voice shook as he tried to reason, "T-This is madness, surely you can see that!"
"Pan," Her name felt heavy on his tongue as they broke apart from another stalemate, "Pan, please. Just listen -."
Disgusted, she spat viciously to the floor.
"Unworthy fool," Pan observed dangerously, "You beg just like the rest."
He didn't know what she was getting at, but he was on guard as he felt her energy swell. The sour concoction of Divine and mortal Ki simmered around her, building in intensity. Dense, blackened bolts of lightening lapped frantically at her aura.
But he refused to give up.
"Pan, you don't have to do this," Gohan tried, "Zamasu and Perses, what they want - it isn't right!"
She all but giggled at that. It unnerved him.
"You are just as deluded as Zamasu says," she hummed, the relic glinting the harsh glare of her destructive aura. "You have no power over me. Despite the illusion of a lost little lamb, I know of the demon that lies buried within you. The constructs of time make no difference. Trust that I detest you just as much as the disgraced Destroyer who sired me!"
… the council may go back to their original idea and destroy the Earth, taking the bastard child out with it.
Gohan was rooted to the spot, teeth gritted in defiance, as her energy continued to climb, the winds roaring in protest.
"The New World will thrive under the rule of Perses! Zamasu will see to it!"
"And you?!" He bellowed, catching on, the harsh calamity of hot air invading his lungs, "What happens once they've used you?!"
"I will have my salvation!" She cried, short hair whipping about her thin and bony face, "You will not be able to stop what is coming, for it is already at hand! You are no saviour, you are nothing! And once the Omni-King is destroyed, there will be no being in this cosmos able to salvage this pestilent world from the crux of its demise!"
The Omni-King? Grand Zeno? What - ?
His thoughts were interrupted, by the colossal orb of destruction that manifested around her. Her erratic Ki forced its way into the violet mass, shuddering with anticipation. Pan screamed, manic, unhinged laughter returning. It echoed over the far reaches of Hell and punched him in the chest. Gohan brought his own Almighty power forth, as the orb pulsed with a reproachful energy. He kicked off from the ground and charged towards it in a swirl of violet and fuchsia.
He could not let that thing hit the ground, else the entirety of Hell would be Destroyed.
Gohan snarled, unleashing his Hakai with such deadly concentration that the realm shook, the clouds breaking apart with lashings of hail and rain as a monumental shockwave fled over every crevice. It blew back the crimson earth and left nothing but deep craters with seemingly no end.
The orb exploded into deadly shards, before disintegrating into a shower of purple particles. His limbs trembled, his hands were burned. Skin flaking, raw flesh exposed.
He panted, locking eyes with her as the dust clouds parted. Yet where he expected to face her wrath, did he instead meet her unsettling smile, her gaze running the length of him. Gohan ignored the sharp twist of his stomach, and made to attack when he was promptly met with an iron fist that embedded into his abdomen. Blood and saliva splattered, as he doubled over, winded.
He hadn't even seen him move.
Perses retracted, a sneer lingering on his lips, "It is futile to resist. You have already failed."
He coughed and gasped, trying to suck as much air into his perforated lungs as he could, "Y-You, you bastard - ! I won't let you - !"
"Oh?" He said in amusement, "Still that spark of defiance, I see. Come now, Gohan, try to see reason before she obliterates you."
"You… you did this," he breathed, rage filled him but he was in so much pain he couldn't connect it to his power, "You and Z-Zamasu, why her -?!"
"I am only righting a wrong, dear child," Perses spoke lowly into his ear, "This utopian lie created by the Gods. Something that never should have been in the first place. Shaped by those who could not overcome their own hardships, and wished to rewrite their mistakes. Their deaths. The sad thing is, Gohan, is that you are apart of that lie - the biggest lie of all, perhaps. That fails to realise that he exists in a world he does not belong in."
"W-What are you g-getting at -?!"
"The real you died and stayed buried in a different time because that is what the Gods decided," he whispered, "Don't you see that you have no merit of your own? They control you."
"No - they don't - !"
"Pity," Perses sighed, "Despite your supposed intelligence, you have fallen for these perpetual lies. But it is no matter, the cosmos will be free of them once I dispose of the Gods that forged them."
"A-And the Omni-King?" Gohan forced himself upright, finally able to breathe easier - albeit a little, "That's your plan, right? To kill him and take the cosmos for yourselves? Give me a break."
"It is unsurprising just how little you know, Son Gohan," Perses said smoothly, unfazed by his revelation, "Which is just another reason as to why you are clearly unworthy to wield the ancient relic. Did you know that not one person, God nor mortal, has managed to free that sword since the dawn of existence? The one, true blade fated to be unrivalled, capable of cutting down the 'mightiest' of foes… or should I say the Almighty."
He stared disbelievingly into those cold unblinking eyes, the cogs in his head beginning to churn.
"Oh yes, the true purpose of the Z-Sword is one that is kept close to the Angels blackened hearts, one that I managed to negotiate from one of the old universes before it was cleansed," he explained, "It is a secret that has been known since before the primordial deities even created the Kai in their image. For they knew of only one being who would prove to be the greatest danger to the cosmos that they had worked so hard to create."
"Grand Zeno - the Omni-King, All," said Perses, a twisted glint in his cool grey stare, "A dangerous being capable of eradicating all life at once if he sees fit. A childish, manufactured creature who is undeserving of his throne but too powerful to conquer. So the ancient ones decided to create a weapon that would be able to strike him down incase he got out of control - a weapon that you know as the legendary Z-Sword."
Gohan stared at him, open mouthed. W-What?
He couldn't believe it, he didn't want to believe it.
His mind darted in every direction. No, it couldn't possibly -!
But if what Perses had said were true, then why on earth did the sword bond to him?
Why was he able to free it when no one else could? He had no intention of killing Grand Zeno, not in the slightest - ! And worse, did Whis know? Did Lord Beerus? Surely not. Else why would they allow him to walk around with such a weapon for all these years?
He swallowed, his chest tight as he stared at the relic clutched in his future daughter's grasp. They had it all figured out.
"I-It won't work," he managed to choke out through the shock, feeling his anger rise to replace it, "The Omni-King is too powerful. What part of your twisted brain makes you think that you can even get close to - ?!"
Realisation suddenly slapped him in the face.
"That's what you want the Super Dragonballs for," Gohan's breath came up short, "The wish - the wish you made a thousand years ago before you were sealed in the Void - you became a vessel 'to withstand the greatest power in the cosmos'! You're going to - !"
A loud, slow clap echoed over the dusty planes.
"Bravo," Perses smiled brightly, teeth glistening at him, "You've figured it out faster than any deity before you. Clever boy! It almost makes me want to spare you!"
Gohan seethed, as he continued to laugh cruelly at the look on his face.
"Alas, there would be no point in me keeping you around," he said, "Once all of the Divine wishing orbs are in my possession then I will ask the Divine Dragon to siphon Grand Zeno's power and take it for myself. And then the forbidden fruit of your own loins will use the relic to end him once and for all!"
A bone-quaking mixture of fear and anger gripped at his resolve, "No! Y-You can't - !"
"So what are you going to do, Gohan?" He cooed, "Hmm? Obliterate your own daughter to serve your Master's noble cause? I know that Beerus wouldn't hesitate."
His fuchsia aura erupted in a display of crippling power, with the aim of blowing Perses' back several feet so that he could desperately wrestle the Z-Sword out of Pan's death grip - !
He crashed to both knees, as another blow threatened to tear a hole right through him. Terror struck him all at once, as he was incapacitated before he could move.
Pink hair faded back to black as the transformation left him. His limbs turned to jelly, every nerve immobilised. His scalp burned, needles threading over his skull as Perses grabbed a hold of his hair and forced his gaze upwards to meet hers.
Do you know why it is forbidden for Gods to be with mortals?
A flash of silver told him that the Z-Sword was at his throat.
Rain poured in a sporadic fashion from the Ki-infused clouds. It rapidly pooled, so that he was now kneeling in a murky shallow lake of sludge and water. He could do nothing but stare into those wide dark eyes as she moved closer.
A wild eagerness grew within them and his head jolted, still firmly held in place by the vice grip Perses had on his hair. Pan retracted the hand that had smacked him hard across the face, relishing in the redness she had coaxed from his mouth.
"Oh how I wish you were able to exist long enough to bear witness to the end of your universe," she goaded with a spine-chilling girlish giggle, "Zamasu assured me that the conquest of your home world will play out much the same as it did in my time. Only this time, I will make sure this version of me will find salvation a lot sooner than I did. I will tear that disgusting little brat limb from limb myself - it is what she deserves for simply existing."
Angry bolts of scorching heat spewed forth, as he struggled. He tried to break free, but the sting of Pan's next smack across his face made him feel dizzy. This time, her nails drew welts of sticky blood oozing from his cheek.
"P-Pan-!" He addressed her blindly, wincing through the pain. A storm of anger, frustration, devastation and panic collided within him as her face came inches from his own and she looked him dead in the eye.
"I-Is this the only choice you have?!" He coughed blood. "Is this really what you want?!"
She sighed deeply, and pressed her forehead against his in one swift movement.
He grimaced at the unexpected touch. Trying and failing to pull back as she told him softly, "I have waited my whole miserable existence for this moment."
She lingered for far too long. Her breath unbearably hot at his lips.
"I will be the one to finally free this world of your stain," she whispered.
A sense of foul discomfort hitched like an anchor in his chest. Her loathing was palpable in the air, thick and suffocating as she whipped herself away from him. Then, all too disturbingly, she let out a long sultry groan that was akin to pleasure and forced the sharp edge of the relic towards his jugular.
"This is the end for you, Destroyer."
It shuddered against his skin, as if it was trying to stop itself from its own deadly path.
"Oh this is better than Zamasu had promised me," Perses chuckled, and forced him harder to his knees so that he doubled over. "What dramatic irony, to have your forbidden bastard wipe you from existence in this reality. But make no mistake, in this timeline, your head will be presented to Whis on a platter."
"Y-You can't - !" Gohan wheezed, but he was firmly held him at bay by his strength. His fist clenched as he yanked his head back painfully and exposed his neck further. The Z-Sword vibrated so much that it hummed, almost desperately this time, but oddly Gohan couldn't hear Z at all.
Off in the distance, an explosion of rampaging energy caused his senses to tingle with heat.
Whoever was coming wouldn't make it.
Wide dark eyes towered over him once more, haunted by a malicious desperation that he had once seen reflected within his own. They were the last thing he was likely to see before the blade slid keenly along his neck. It would be slow and horrific. He knew. He had delivered that same fate to countless others himself.
It is so that they will not love, for love is the death of duty.
He felt the cool steel connect before it burned. He ground his teeth before he could no longer hold back the scream that tore from his throat. Slick warmth was coaxed forth by the sharp edge, his vision turned red, then black, and then - green?
Green burst outwards in a rush of fluorescent light. It sped towards them, devouring everything in its path like a bright unfurling tidal wave of chaos.
He felt Perses' grip on him slacken just before it hit.
Area 113. Sector 221. Home For Infinite Losers.
A short time earlier…
Goku remembers what it was like to be in Hell.
Unending red deserts eclipsed by dark looming mountains, stretching as far as the eye could see. The whole feeling of the place was downright nasty and haunting. It was something that he had never wanted to experience again since that time - many years ago now - when he had accidentally fallen off of Snake Way.
His opponent had a similar sort of feeling, a pungent and wicked Ki that crept into every nerve, tempting his body to succumb to his might. Yet the more Goku fought Black, the more he questioned whether the malignant energy was anything to do with the Destructive power that leapt towards them with each swipe of his scythe.
He knew his son's Ki better than anyone. He had spent eight long years pining for that bright warm energy he had always associated with Gohan, so much so that it was ingrained within him, deep-rooted into his senses. It was purposeful even, because if he hadn't, he was scared that he was going to forget what he had felt like.
Now Gohan's Ki had changed over time, the brightness had dulled but the warmth was still there, sometimes so warm that it was scorching, burning away at his very soul. Whether it had changed so much because of his attained status and Divinity, Goku wasn't sure.
What he was sure of was that even though Black had traces of that same energy, there was something positively evil that overshadowed the lingering mist of what was once his eldest son. He may have had his face and crippling strength, but Goku was certain that this thing was not Gohan.
"Goku! On your six!"
He whirled around faster than lightening, the dazzling blue flames of his own Divine power whipping about him. He countered, as Black's onslaught continued to drive both him and Kratos back.
A burst of crimson cast heated shadows as it connected with the doppelgänger's back, before Goku managed to punch him to the ground. Wicked laughter escaped the fiend, as he exploded with power - his dark aura blowing them away before either of them could land a finishing attack.
It hadn't taken long before their section of HFIL had turned into an all out battlefield, and the deafening sounds of war roared harshly in his ears. Where one fight began, and the other ended was difficult to tell. The dark clouds above them thundered with a ruinous charge, as though the heavens were about to break apart from each cataclysmic explosion that escaped the fray. He heard Vegeta let out an almighty cry as he unleashed rapid fire on the immortal Zamasu, who was quick to counter and smacked him down with just as much force as Goku had been dealt.
"That miserable runt," Kratos spat, cradling his bloodied side as he helped the Guardian to his feet. "I'll kill him!"
He was deathly pale as he swayed on the spot. He didn't look good. Much like the rest of their rag-tag group of warriors.
Kratos' side had been hacked clean open, a slither of blood drenched his torso. Despite his injuries, Kratos had continued to hold his own, and proved himself to be quite the formidable ally that Goku would have had no qualms in challenging to a spar were the circumstances different.
He himself had a particularly gruesome burn to his shoulder from where a Ki-blast had caught him off guard. Black was fast, the force of his hits particularly unforgiving - much like how Gohan fought.
But something still didn't add up.
"Kratos, you need to save your strength -."
The next punch came out of nowhere. It knocked him across the sky with an otherworldly strength that any Saiyan father would be proud of. Goku lashed back as they collided in midair, his fist thrummed with a haze of blue as it smashed across his jaw - finally drawing blood.
This only angered Black further. Dark, negative pressure mounted, forcing Goku to bring forth more of his own power, pushing him to the wire. They clashed, shockwaves causing the already decimated ground to erupt below them.
"Tell me who you really are!" Goku bellowed, dodging the scythe that brutally slashed towards him, "I know you're not my son!"
The beautiful sound of Gohan's laughter was twisted and cruel as it escaped Black's lips. It made his skin crawl.
"You're not him," he said again through gritted teeth, "You might have Gohan's face, but ya know, for being supposedly twenty years older I would have thought that your moves would be a little more polished than this."
That caught Black's attention.
"You're observant, Saiyan," he mused with a curiosity that was almost reminiscent of the young God of Destruction, "Oh yes, you've come quite far for a lowly animal. But this so called Divinity you have achieved simply will not be enough to defeat me."
"Wanna bet?"
In that moment, the air around them shifted and hot, diabolical energy came flooding towards them.
Black inclined his head towards a distant mountain range just as Goku felt Gohan's - the real Gohan's energy explode directly into his own ascended form of Super Saiyan God. But, he realised with dread, that it was accompanied by another power that quickly overshadowed it.
He felt his insides freeze. He only hoped that Gohan and Piccolo could hold on. Had they gotten to the Z-Sword yet?
"Ah," said Black, "It is only a matter of time."
"Before what?" Goku growled, anger coursing through him when he didn't respond, "Answer me, you fake!"
"A fake? Really? I am not a copy, Goku," he said, "Believe me when I say that this is Lord Gohan the Destroyer's true body, right down to the last battle scar."
"Then what - ?"
"What am I?" Black continued with mirth, "Hm, I suppose I could grant you with the truth of how I came to obtain this form before I wipe you from existence. I wonder… if you will bequeath me that same delicious look of terror you had before I Destroyed you the first time?"
He seethed, as Black continued to butcher his son's laugh.
"What's the matter, Saiyan? Have I touched a nerve?"
His Ki flared, surging forwards as he thwacked Black across the skull in a crippling hammer strike. The demonic deity stumbled, unprepared for Goku's sudden onslaught, but soon bit back, and retaliated with a devastating blow to his gut.
Goku wheezed, forcing himself to recover quickly. He pressed two fingers to his forehead just as Black's boot came swinging towards him.
"KA-MEH-HA-MEH - HAAAAAA!" He roared, the blast exploded from his palms the moment he reappeared behind him.
Black's scythe shredded the wave of light right down the middle. It forked, spewing outwards in opposite directions before meeting its fate over the horizon.
"There's no use in fighting, Goku," Black hummed, twirling the sizzling Ki in-between his fingers, "You cannot win against me."
"I could say the same thing to you," he shot back, "That stolen power isn't so easy to control, Black."
"Is that so? You pitiful mortals simply do not wield enough brain capacity to comprehend my wondrous potential," he mustered offhandedly, but Goku caught it - the slight quake to his gaze as he addressed him.
So, he exploited it.
"I thought there was something off about the way you fought," said Goku, choosing his words carefully, "Despite all this power you claim to have, I can sense that you're holding out on me."
"Is that what you think?"
"It's what I know," he retorted, goading him, "You might have Gohan's strength and transformations, but you've never been able to access that trigger - have you?"
Black growled, only confirming his suspicions, "Shut your uncouth - !"
"It makes sense now. It's why you were so willing to fight Gohan at first, you were trying to see if you'll find the answer to it as you fought," Goku said smugly, "But I'm telling you that there's no way you'll work out how to tap into that hidden potential. Heck, even I don't fully understand it, and I'm his dad."
"I SAID SILENCE, MORTAL!"
The orb of Destruction clamoured towards him in a fitful cry of rage, he ducked out of harms way with only seconds to spare. A shower of purple particles followed, before dissipating into the wind.
"The only thing you have accomplished so far in this fight is further justifying our plans," Black said dangerously, "I see that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree in terms of your persistent insolence and repeated affronts towards a pure deity. You will now reap the swift and severe consequences of your actions!"
"… you're throwing a lot of big words at me here," Goku said seriously, "But because I don't understand 'em, I'm going to take them as disrespect."
"All the better."
A cold whisper came from right behind him. He felt the spark of dark energy all too late, and promptly found himself at the bottom of a crater.
"Get off of me you big oaf!"
He yelped, as a muffled growl escaped the rubble underneath him.
"Yikes! S-Sorry Vegeta," he blundered, before scurrying off his friend, "Didn't see you there -."
"Shut up!" Vegeta scowled, blue hair wild as he batted his hands away. "Dammit, they're beating our ass."
Goku followed his glare towards the two wicked beings that loomed over them in the air. They smirked back, and it made his blood boil.
"This is simply delightful," Zamasu chuckled, his unsettling gaze drifting between the two, "Look at the both of you - you belong together."
Vegeta snarled, kicking off from the ground and firing himself towards them.
"Vegeta, wait - !" Goku yelled, charging right after him.
Back to back, Black and Zamasu managed to keep them at bay. They barely bat an eyelid when Kratos, Makhai and Eris shot up to join in the onslaught. Wave after wave, streams of fantastical technicolour barrelled into the wicked duo, the heat from the crossfire becoming unbearable until it detonated.
The winds screamed and the clouds unleashed, rain soaking through to their skin as a plume of toxic smoke billowed into the air.
It happened before any of them could stop it.
Black leapt from the explosion. His deadly scythe raised high, before he brought it down upon an unsuspecting Eris. Her eyes grew wide, before her body was cleaved in two.
Flesh, bone and organs splayed. It was gruesome.
Goku failed to stop the cry of horror that fell from his lips, as her deep red blood splattered against his cheek. The destructive energy ate away at her before both halves fell haphazardly to the ground. Purple particles devoured every atom, exploding into a glorious shower of light.
"N-No…," Makhai was the first to stammer, "E-Eris - ! Y-You…!"
"Makhai -," Kratos mustered, rattled, "Makhai, just -."
It was no use. Makhai erupted, consumed with a blind despairing rage as he attacked Black. Wild, untameable amber encircled him, his eyes blazing with tears as he flung his fist towards the murderer.
"MAKHAI!"
He was put down in no less than two blows, soon meeting a large pile of jagged rocks in which he was promptly buried underneath.
They rushed Black as soon as Makhai was sent spiralling to the earth. Goku heard Kratos cry out in pain as he met a similar fate, his body going limp as he dropped out of the sky.
"KRATOS!" He cried, speeding after him in order to break his fall - but found that he was suddenly held hostage. Grappled into a headlock by none other than the wicked depiction of his son.
"Your numbers are dwindling," he teased, as an unsettling feeling of fear began to manifest the pit of his stomach, "Like lambs to the slaughter."
Just as he thought his head was going to pop off his shoulders was he suddenly released, curtesy of Vegeta - who had struck Black out of the air with an almighty kick to the face.
"Get it together, Kakarot," he panted, although the heated look in his eyes gave him away, "We cannot lose here."
"Sadly, your faith is misplaced, Vegeta," Zamasu's sickening voice reached their ears once more, "You talk so bravely yet you scatter like ants. Poor, weak insects that you are. Why don't you surrender now, before you die on your hill?"
"Fat chance," Goku spouted hotly, his blue aura igniting around his frame, "I'll make you pay for what you've done, both here and in the future!"
He threw his head back and laughed, "Oh thank you, Goku! Thank you, for demonstrating why Saiyans are of all mortals especially ill-suited to live in the New World! You share not a shred of decency amongst you and would dare to swing your fists at a God! You reek of the same repugnant arrogance as your Destroyer, taking Divine Ki for yourselves and twisting it into something truly ugly."
"I've had enough of your damned preaching you invincible bastard!" Vegeta bellowed, launching towards Zamasu and engaging him in another furious skirmish.
The evil Kai swiftly caught one of his wrists out of the air, forcing a sharp gasp from Vegeta's throat as he locked his arm in a vice grip.
"This universe is already lost," he said madly, "Heartbreaking as it is to see a world so scarred, the purge is necessary to finally free it of the mortals that defile it. Mortals like Saiyans!"
The nauseating sound of shattered bones reached his ears, as Vegeta roared in pain.
"VEGETA, NO!" Goku cried, rushing forwards as Zamasu fired a blast off at point blank range.
Vegeta's smouldering form struck him in the chest with such force that it sent him speeding backwards once more. This time, his spine hit the hard earth with Vegeta on top of him. He groaned, peeling the unconscious prince off of him with as much gentleness as he could muster.
"You all seem so willing to die for this pestilent universe, and for what?"
Zamasu was right above him, landing swiftly at his feet.
"I-It's not over - ARGH!"
Pure agony cut right through him, tasting blood as it bubbled up in his throat. He gasped through the pain, as the burning pink Ki-blade burst out of the side of his chest - missing his heart by inches.
Behind him, came Black's sneer, "You are too weak, even killing you won't satisfy me anymore. But maybe this will… do you want to know how I came to attain this form?"
Goku all but choked in response, his jaw tightly set in defiance.
"This may be Gohan the Destroyer's stolen body, but the mind and soul inside belongs to me - the Supreme Kai Zamasu, or the future counterpart of the one that stands before you."
His stomach twisted, as the cursed eyes of the wicked Kai bore into his.
"Z-Zamasu - ?"
"Oh yes!" Black chirped manically, "After my past counterpart attempted to dispense of his Master Gowasu, he took the Time Rings for himself and travelled five years into the future in the hopes that he would be able finally locate the last Super Dragonball. There, in that reality he found me. I was shunned, cast out and hiding, floundering in despair after I had been apprehended by your son and the Supreme Guard. I had escaped but they had taken my Dragonballs, and with them, sealed Perses away in the Void in which he resided for good. I had spent years lamenting but unsure of how to bring about Divine justice."
"So, what better way to bring about said justice which we both desired?" Zamasu chimed in, "I knew that I could still break Perses free in this timeline but I needed the perfect sympathiser as my ally. Someone who I could trust, who agonised just as I did of the folly of impure mortals and Gods alike. I needed a plan, and who did I know longed for the same grand utopia as I did?"
"What came next was a glorious allegiance that would shape the future of both of our realities," Black purred in his ear, "We propelled into action, obtaining the future Dragonballs and using the first wish to allow me to switch bodies with Gohan - who was fated to helplessly watch as his own power slaughtered every Kai and Destroyer in the multiverse! The cosmos falling to ruin by his hand!"
"Y-You…" Goku heaved, stricken with dread, "How dare you - how DARE you take his body!"
"How dare I?" He said lowly, "You are mistaken, Goku. Your son is the one who dared to challenge a pure entity such as I - both myself and my counterpart."
"So you stole Gohan's body just because you couldn't win?!" He snarled, "You're nothing but a coward!"
"Call it cowardice if you must," Black scoffed, unfazed, "But it is nothing short of brilliance. This body has a great gift that your son was truly undeserving of - a culmination of talent and rage, a great potential still unrealised, fuelled by the power of Destruction. You are a supposedly accomplished warrior, are you not? Surely you can recognise that Son Gohan is the perfect weapon."
He felt sick.
Shame rose like bile in his throat. This monster - or monsters even - had used Gohan's power to their advantage in much the same way as he had.
Oh yes, he had made that same cruel observation many years ago and had abused it. It was abhorrent, twisted even, to think of an eleven year old child as such a thing. But at the time, Gohan had been their only hope at defeating Cell - he just had to find the right trigger to set off the bomb.
It had been a decision that Goku would regret for the rest of his days.
"Your son fought hard," Zamasu smirked, "But it was not enough, his failure allowed us to summon the Divine Dragon once again and make it so that I could never be destroyed, making our conquest of Gohan's miserable home planet all that more sweeter."
No. "Y-You went to Earth? Why - ?!"
"It wasn't just for the satisfaction of annihilating everything that he had ever loved, oh no," he mocked, "We came across something beneficial to our cause that would no doubt secure our victory. Oh yes, Gohan left something quite precious back on Earth, now didn't he?"
His blood ran cold.
"Abandoned by her father and her mother left dead from her very birth," Zamasu spoke slowly, relishing in the horror that crossed his features, "There was nothing left for that poor creature save for the target put upon her head by the Divine Council, should her demigod powers prove troublesome."
No. It couldn't be. Surely he wouldn't -
But that girl. There was that girl on Namek. She could use that same hellish power that Gohan had. He had watched her obliterate Elder Moori after making the wish - and then Deimos - and -
"You should rejoice Goku! Your granddaughter was chosen for a higher purpose!" Black cackled, "To bring about the New World through the destruction of another - albeit just a child at the time we found her, she soon succumbed to the idea of her true destiny, and that cursed power of hers will be used to bring about the destruction of her own sire! Her dirty bastardised blood will secure the fate of the multiverse as you know it!"
Goku breathed hard, his head was spinning.
...
The unforgiving sun beat down on his back as he stood, watching over the desert wastes of the Northern Wastelands.
His son's anguished cries cut right through him as Cell ballooned.
...
Craters filled with flowers.
An innocent smile frozen in bronze.
No bones under the earth.
An Eternal Dragon without answers.
...
Purple.
Purple and fuchsia.
Dreadful energy that had spat and snarled from the young man who was now but a pained reflection of the boy who was lost. Taken by the Gods and moulded in their shadow.
Just like her.
...
He could have never imagined it would come to this. Not when he had forfeited his match against Cell, not when he had made the choice to sacrifice himself for the sake of the Earth.
Not when Chi-Chi had placed that sweet newborn into his arms.
Oh Goku, isn't she the most beautiful baby you've ever seen?
She wasn't, as harsh as that sounded.
Sure, the wonderful warmth flooded his chest as he cradled his granddaughter close, a tiny fist curled around his finger. She was cute, adorable, with dark innocent eyes drinking him in under thick lashes.
Gohan's eyes.
It wasn't like when he had first held his Gohan. Not even Goten's birth could compare to that feeling. He would never admit it to Chi-Chi, or anyone else for that matter. But as soon as the midwife had placed him into his awkward embrace with a stern instruction to 'mind his head', Goku had felt a sudden rush of something that he couldn't comprehend - still couldn't, even.
He had been young and unprepared and had no idea of what he was letting himself in for. But what he did know was that Gohan had filled parts of his heart that he hadn't even realised were missing.
...
Had he really been so powerless to stop all of this from happening?
And Zamasu… Zamasu was still talking.
"… thus the image of your son slaughtered all of you," he goaded, leering over him, "And it won't be long before her use becomes redundant. Once the Z-Sword has served its true purpose, she will be purged along with your wretched kin of this world!"
He stilled, and his rapidly pounding heart dropped into his stomach like a deadweight.
Black laughed along with him, "Oh I do hope that your sons scream for their father as they take their final breath - it was such a glorious sight to behold in my reality."
Gohan… Goten…
"How does it feel, Goku? Knowing that you are helpless to save them once again?"
"This is what happens when Gods and mortals alike rest the fate of the world on the shoulders of a child."
...
"What do you say, son?" He said, smiling down at him as a mixture of pride and trepidation filled his chest. He knew that he could do this. His Gohan. "Win this one for me, and then we can all go home."
"Okay Dad," Gohan said finally, his voice broke a little although he desperately tried not to let it show, "I'll do it."
...
All at once, Goku felt his pain give way to something more. White hot fury surged through his veins like an electrical current, igniting his Divine aura ten-fold. It festered and boiled underneath his skin, begging for release. It was overwhelming, all-consuming. Like nothing he had ever felt before.
The anger spewed from the depths of his soul, dangerous and wild like the Oozaru trapped within him. Only now it had been set free. Black had forced him out and Zamasu was the moon.
Violent arcs of Ki crackled around his frame, as Goku took ahold of the Ki-blade that had skewered him and crushed it. It shattered beneath his fingers, as his electrifying stare honed in on Zamasu before all at once his power erupted.
"KIAO-KEN!"
A blaze of red sent both Zamasu and Black flying backwards. The fire of the Kiao-ken thrashed against the calming hue of his Divine power as he rushed forwards, his fist colliding with Zamasu's cheek so hard that his head snapped all the way around.
A gargle of blood and phlegm flew from the wicked deity's lips, as Goku fired him across the sky with a lethal kick to the sternum. He didn't linger to watch Zamasu drop to the ground, instead, he set his venomous gaze on Black and met him blow for blow in the air.
He smashed through his guard, a pained cry escaping the fiend before he was promptly acquainted with a rocky cliff face. Dust exploded as it crumbled to a heap, but Goku was not done. He found him amongst the debris, barely recovered before he unleashed all of his rage upon him.
"BASTARD!" He bellowed, spit flying as his knuckles sunk into his gut. An elbow, a knee, a fist. Again and again and again, as Black tried yet struggled to fight him off.
His blood - not Gohan's blood, not his blood - oozed from numerous gashes he had inflicted. Divine, destructive energy burst forth before it wilted, as Goku was determined to smash all of that stolen power out of him.
He felt a disturbance in the air, as a monumental blast hurtled towards him - burning the clouds away in a vibrant flash of pink energy. The gigantic sphere charged into the ground and ate up the earth just as Goku pressed two fingers to his forehead and zipped out of harms way.
There was a rip-roaring crash and a calamity of heat. Black's agonising screams were lost into the abyss, disappearing along with his body as it exploded. All that was left of the surrounding area was a deep abyss. The enormous crater whirred and fizzled with electrifying energy as the torrent of winds began to die out.
"YOU MISERABLE REPROBATE!" Zamasu roared, hovering before him as he twisted his broken neck back into place. "YOUR SINS WILL NOT GO UNPUNISHED!"
He was wild, seething, and sent another devastating bream clamouring towards Goku's head. He dodged, his muscles straining against the warring combination of fiery Kiao-ken and the silky undertones of his obtained Divinity. But he didn't care, he needed to put an end to this now.
He needed to get to Gohan.
He appeared behind Zamasu, a crippling spinning kick to the skull striking him out of the air once more. He didn't wait for him to get back up, instead, he released a catastrophic Kamehameha, his palms unloading every ounce of power he could muster in that moment.
A brilliant dome of light surged over the ruined planes of Hell, the entire realm rumbling in protest. Zamasu may be indestructible to most beings including himself, but he knew it would at least keep him at bay for a few precious moments.
"GOHAN!" He yelled as he hurtled over the decimated mountain range. Panic gripped him, he couldn't lock onto his energy. It was spent, snuffed out. His Super Saiyan Rosé power had completely gone.
A magnificent flash of green almost blinded him as he got closer. It spread keen and thickly across what once was some kind of village, before it spiralled. It surged towards the three figures in the middle of the rubble, none of them having noticed it approach before it was suddenly upon them.
His heart stopped as he caught sight of Gohan. He was on his knees, bloodied and broken, trapped between Perses and... his granddaughter.
Gohan's haunted eyes stared up at the girl who raised the Z-Sword high above her, before bringing it down towards his throat in one lethal swing - !
"GOHAN!"
A/N:
This was a doozy. Something that has been building for a LONG LONG time. Perses plan has finally been revealed, the purpose of Pan, of Zamasu, of Black. It's all coming together, the pieces are finally falling into place.
A Gohan/Goku chapter was much needed. And although I have AGONISED over this chapter for freaking months, I loved writing it. I love the pain. The horror. The Gohan and Goku torture. But then again I am so bloody glad it's done. I can't even...
And yeah, poor Eris :( The title is appropriate here... May have broken Makhai's heart too...
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I wanted to get across the utter desperation, the urgency and the hopelessness of this whole situation. Especially from Goku. I LOVED writing Goku, I think it was my favourite part of the chapter actually. He is SUCH a badass when he fights, and he also managed to off Gohan Black - hooray! There is such a theme of fatherhood throughout the last, this and next chapter. It's gonna be a BIG turning point next time.
I also have to say how much the first section with Hercule and Gohan really tore me up. I absolutely love Grandpa Satan, he's such a sweetheart in this. Although I didn't explore it last chapter during Pan's interlude, in my head I like to think that Hercule died not long after Videl from a broken heart. That's just me though, I am leaning into the deaths a little too much... oops.
I am SO excited to release the next part. It's getting there. I'm hoping to have a little more free time this week and next week to focus on it.
And also this cliffhanger is super mean - sorry not sorry.
You guys are amazing. Thanks so much again for reading and sticking with me. The final arcs are close at hand... 3