Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Despair ❯ Chapter 9

Everyone has met up with Gohan and Slade on Tamaran and of course conflict ensued. During the battle Slade injured Terra and Beast boy lost control and severely beat on him in retaliation. Gohan then proceeded to knock each of the Titans out except for Raven. Even now he is poised to attack. Who will it be? Slade? Raven? Someone else? Don't ask, just read.

 

Gohan, tears streaming down his face prepared to attack with the orb of energy he now held in his hand.

 

“I'm sorry Raven, but I must do what needs done whether I like it or not.” He increased the size of the orb in his hand and Goku stepped forward to stop him but Gohan stopped him in his tracks. “Stop! Don't make this any harder than it already is.” Gohan once again looked down at Raven with pity in his eyes.

 

“Thank you Raven, for all you've done to help me. I'm sorry it had to turn out this way.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw Goku step toward him and that was all the excuse he needed. Gohan thrust his palm out at Goku and fired the energy blast right into his face. Completely caught off guard, Goku took the blast and patted down his hair to put out a small fire that had started in it. Before he realized what was happening though a fist connected with his cheek and he was sent sprawling to the floor several feet away. He got up and saw that Gohan had gotten into a defensive stance.

 

“I told you to stay out of my way but you wouldn't listen. If you had just stayed out things would have gone much better for everyone.”

 

“What are you talking about Gohan? I didn't…” Goku quickly got into a defensive stance as Gohan had launched himself at him and came at him with a barrage of punches. Goku nimbly dodged each punch and countered with his own that was blocked effortlessly. Gohan backed off for a moment but flew in with a spin kick aimed at Goku's side. Goku saw it coming however and jumped over it and shot a ki blast point blank into Gohan's chest, hurtling him back towards Slade. Slade cursed under his breath and called out to Gohan.

 

“Enough play time Gohan. You need to finish this quickly as there are urgent matters on Earth that require our attention.”

 

“Like what?” Gohan asked upon getting up.

 

“It seems that someone has decided to try and conquer the Earth while we've been away. There is currently a three way war going on between my droids, that Cell creature, and some Saiyajins who have brought an invasion army to Earth. If we don't hurry this up there may not be anything for us to go back to.” Gohan nodded and once again rushed at Goku.

 

“I don't mean that! Take care of Raven. I want to finish the Titans off now.”

 

“If I don't stop him then he'll stop me before I can do anything.”

 

“Come now Gohan. You know as well as I do that he wasn't moving to stop you. It seems to me that you've become quite fond of Raven. If you knock her out as you've been told then her death will be easy. However if you wish to continue with these games then I can't make any promises. Now, continue where you left off.” Gohan looked at Raven for a minute.

 

“I….can't.”

 

“What was that?!”

 

“I said I can't.”

 

“Your loyalties are becoming a real nuisance Gohan. Perhaps I'll just eliminate her first. You can be rest assured that she will die slowly if you don't do it. It's your choice, either she dies painlessly or she dies a most horrible death. So what is it?” Gohan just stood there struggling with himself. Slade narrowed his visible eye at him.

 

“Very well then. I guess I'll just have to take Beast boy and Terra back as well. I can't have you working for me if you're going to be disobedient.”

 

“Maybe they can help us.”

 

“Help us? Why would they do that?”

 

“If what you're saying about the current situation on Earth is true, then we'll need all the help we can get.” Slade considered for a moment.

 

“Very well. In fact, I think I'll let them live if they cooperate, though I'll have to lock them up somewhere to keep them out of my way.”

 

“I don't think so.” Goku said from behind Gohan. He turned around to see that Piccolo and Vegeta had joined him.

 

“We're here for Gohan and we're not leaving without him.” Piccolo said.

 

“Then I guess you won't be leaving here at all. Take them down Gohan.” Gohan nodded. He flew at Piccolo and caught him with a vicious right hook to the jaw, almost breaking it. Piccolo grabbed a handful of Gohan's hair but Gohan flipped behind him, painfully pinning his arm to his back.

 

“I'm not as weak as I was when I came here.” He whispered into Piccolo's ear. He then brought his legs up and kicked him hard, sending him flying. He hit his head on a wall and fell unconscious. “Now that the weakling is gone, who's next?” Vegeta stepped forward.

 

“I won't be so easy to take down as the Namek. I've become a lot stronger since you last saw me. Why don't you drop this charade now and come with us? It'll be much easier that way.”

 

“Charade?” Gohan laughed. “You think this is an act? If I want my new friends to live I have to make sure you stay out of the way and that's exactly what I intend to do. I've given you guys plenty of warnings but you didn't listen.” He smirked before he fired an energy blast at Vegeta. Vegeta nimbly dodged it but suddenly found Gohan's hand gripping his throat, cutting off his air supply. Vegeta flashed into super Saiyajin, forcing Gohan to let go.

 

“Then I guess we'll have to force you.” He said simply before suddenly appearing behind Gohan and kneeing him in the small of his back. He caught Gohan's foot as he flew away and slammed him face first into the floor. He then proceeded to try and kick Gohan but he was already up and crossed his arms in front of himself to block it. Gohan threw an energy blast at the floor to distract Vegeta and quickly transformed into a super Saiyajin. He then powered up to his max and waited for the dust to clear. When it did he could see Vegeta standing there waiting.

 

“This is more like it. Maybe now this'll actually be challenging.” Vegeta mocked.

 

“You should keep your ego in check Vegeta. Don't forget that I have another transformation at my disposal if I need it.”

 

“Do you think that you are the only one capable of ascending? Don't be ridiculous. Your father and myself have also reached the level of ascended super Saiyajin. That is why you can't win. Even if you miraculously get past me, you'll still have your father to deal with and I don't think you have the energy to take us both on.” Gohan smirked.

 

“We'll see.”

 

“I'm going to wipe that smirk off your face boy!” Vegeta growled as he got into a fighting stance. Gohan did the same and they sat there for a minute. They both suddenly flew at each other, their outstretched fists meeting in between them and sending a shockwave out from the force of the impact. They both brought their free fists forward and locked hands in a test of strength. It seemed as though they were evenly matched until Vegeta brought his head forward and slammed it into Gohan's with incredible force. Gohan clutched his head with both hands due to the incredible amount of pain inflicted by Vegeta's head butt. Vegeta used his momentary distraction to charge up a large energy blast and fire it. Gohan recovered to see it coming at him and he didn't have time to avoid it so he crossed his arms in front of himself for protection. The resulting explosion sent out a cloud of dust and Vegeta immediately launched himself at Gohan so as to catch him off guard again. It was not to be however as Vegeta felt two feet plant themselves in his back and crush him into the ground. He got up and rolled away just in time to avoid a punch that was aimed to knock the wind out of him.

 

“He's really serious about this.” Vegeta thought to himself. “It's looking like I'll have to ascend and take him out quickly.” Something didn't sit right with Vegeta. Something, maybe gut instinct, told him that Gohan wasn't going all out even though he was at his max as a super Saiyajin. Vegeta concentrated and abruptly flashed into super Saiyajin two. “Let's see how you handle this!” He shouted upon reaching his max. Gohan merely smirked and waited for him to act. “Why isn't he ascending? Something's not right here.” He flew at Gohan and threw a punch at his face which connected…and went right through him as though he were thin air. Vegeta landed and began looking around and was body slammed to the ground. Gohan kicked him in the side as hard as he could, breaking a couple ribs in the process and flipped him on his back. He then grabbed Vegeta by the throat and brought him up so that they were looking in each other's eyes.

 

“I'll make this quick.” He promised before using his free hand to chop Vegeta on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious. Gohan then turned to Goku. “Are you going to try as well? I'd really rather not do this, but if you're going to insist then let's get it over with.”

 

“Gohan I know you don't think you have a choice but to follow him but you're wrong. There's always a choice.” Hearing this angered Gohan.

 

“Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!” Goku was taken aback by the harshness in Gohan's tone. “You don't know the position I'm in here so don't pretend that you know all of the facts because you don't! Don't you think I've tried to think up alternatives? There are none. I've mentally gone over every scenario I can think of and they all end up in failure. They all end up with my friends dead.” He added the last part quietly, though Goku could still hear him fine.

 

“But he was going to kill your friends anyways Gohan.” Goku said, referring to Slade.

 

“He wasn't actually going to kill them. He was just using that as a way to get me to do what he wanted. He knows that if he kills them, I won't have a reason to work for him anymore. He's not stupid Dad, he's an expert at manipulation and I've been manipulated. I'll figure a way out of this on my own but you guys getting in the way isn't helping my case at all.”

 

“You won't listen to reason Gohan, I guess I have no choice but to fight you.” Gohan snarled angrily.

 

“You're the one who won't listen. As usual someone's trying to tell me what's best without even caring about what I know or how I feel. I tried to prevent this but you've forced my hand. Prepare yourself Dad because I'm not going to hold back.” In response Goku transformed into a super Saiyajin and awaited Gohan's first move. Gohan flew at him and Goku braced himself. Gohan continued towards him and was about to crash right into him but went right through him instead. Goku turned around, expecting Gohan to be coming at him from behind but was elbowed in the back for his troubles. As he flew forward two feet planted themselves in his face, causing a thin line of blood to trickle from the corner of his mouth. Goku regained himself and stopped his flight and Gohan appeared in front of him. Goku threw a punch at him but he caught it in his hand. Goku brought his other fist around but that one was caught as well.

 

“You're probably wondering how I've gotten so much stronger aren't you? Well there are two reasons, one, I've been in a few tough fights since I got here and two, well you'll just have to see for yourself.” Having said that, Gohan brought his tail up in front of Goku's face. Goku stared at it for a moment before Gohan smacked him in the face with it. This caused Goku to begin struggling to free his fists as Gohan relentlessly whipped his face.

 

“Come on Dad, I know you're better than this! Fight me with everything you've got. It's the only way you even stand a chance at winning this battle.” Gohan then jumped up and kicked Goku's right shoulder as hard as he could, dislocating it on contact. Gohan let go of Goku's fists as he yelled out in agony. Goku winced as he tried to make his injured arm move.

 

“Guess this isn't going to be as easy as I thought.” Goku said through clenched teeth. “Fine then, if that's the way it's going to be then I'll play along…for now.” Goku tensed and flashed into super Saiyajin two, expecting Gohan to do the same though he didn't.

 

“Come at me.” Gohan said and waited for Goku to make his move. Goku flung an energy blast at the ground to distract Gohan and flew forward, hoping to knock him out with one blow and end the fight. However when he got to where Gohan should have been there was nothing but dust waiting for him. He sensed something coming at him from behind and back flipped over an incoming energy blast only to be hit in the back with another. Goku sensed that Gohan was standing behind him and swung around with his arm outstretched but hit nothing but air.

 

“Come on Dad I can tell that you're still holding back. Show me your true power.” Goku tried to locate Gohan from the sound of his voice but it seemed to originate from everywhere at once. “I want to see that you can rise to any occasion, even being betrayed by someone you care about. I want to see you make me leave Slade, I want you to put all your willpower into this fight.”

 

“Gohan! What are you doing? Get this over with already!” Slade called from the throne.

 

“No! I want him to see that even with all this power I possess, that even though I'm so much stronger than before I still can't get out of this the way he wants. I want him to see how little he knows!” Goku looked toward the throne to see that Gohan was there with Slade. He also noticed that Gohan was now at super Saiyajin two and was geatly surprised by the amount of power he was putting out.

 

“I hope I can win this.” Goku thought to himself. “For his own sake as well as his friends' sakes.”

 

“Fine then, I'll show you my true power. I'll show you my full power and stop you with it!” Goku brought his good arm up to his side and let out a yell of concentration. The wind picked up and the ground began to shake as Goku brought his power higher and higher. After a few seconds of this there was a flash and Goku now looked very different. His hair had grown down to his waist and his eyes had turned green, Goku had become a super Saiyajin three. Gohan was a bit shocked to see that his father had reached the third super Saiyajin level, though he wasn't scared of losing.

 

“He's not as strong as Slade.” Gohan thought to himself. “With his arm being injured I may be able to win, of course I can always try kaioken if it gets too rough.”

 

“Is this what you wanted?” Goku asked, his voice deeper and more primal than usual.

 

“Yes. Slade's already shown me super Saiyajin three so don't expect me to be surprised. I'll tell you one thing before we continue this. You don't stand a chance.” Gohan disappeared but Goku found him before bringing up his good arm to block a kick that was aimed at his injured shoulder. Gohan then began an onslaught that Goku was hard pressed to keep up with due to having only one useful arm. Gohan swung a fist at Goku's face but it was blocked by another. He then swung a leg around but Goku ducked under and kept hold of the leg before swinging Gohan around in circles several times before letting him go flying. He then used instant transmission to teleport above Gohan and slam his fist down onto him, causing him to crash into the floor and leave a Gohan sized crater. Gohan slowly got out and barely managed to painfully block a kick that was aimed at the back of his neck. He flung an energy blast at Goku but he merely flew to the side of it before landing and shoving off at Gohan. Gohan overlapped his palms over his forehead and began charging yellow energy in between them.

“Masenko Ha!” Gohan shouted before letting loose with the blast. Goku was heading towards the blast at too fast a pace to dodge it so the blast hit him full on, knocking him back and singeing his gi. He sensed Gohan coming down at him from above and swung his outstretched arm at Gohan, knocking him out of the air and to the floor. Gohan stood up but didn't attack. Instead he merely chuckled.

 

“What's so funny?!” Goku demanded.

 

“Oh it's nothing really. It's just that I've noticed two major flaws with super Saiyajin three.”

 

“And what are those?”

 

“Well for one thing your energy is draining pretty fast. It must be fun trying to stay in that form for more than say…half an hour. Another thing is the hair.” The last par Gohan said when he was suddenly behind Goku. “I mean come on, having hair that long is just asking for trouble.” Gohan smirked before grabbing a handful of hair and yanking Goku towards him. He let go and brought his doubled up fists down on Goku's face, landing him hard on the floor. He then kicked him in the side and brought an elbow down to meet Goku's gut, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to cough up blood as he doubled over the offending elbow. Gohan was quickly becoming excited by the raging battle and was finding it harder and harder to end it quickly. His Saiyajin instincts demanded more blood and pain from his opponent and it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to resist.

 

“This is my Dad.” He reminded himself. “I just want to keep him out of my way, not kill him.” Slade sensed Gohan's trouble and decided to stop Gohan before the fight started taking too long.

 

“That's enough Gohan! Finish this now.” Gohan nodded and picked Goku up by his hair.

 

“Sorry Dad, but it's got to be this way…for now.” Gohan then chopped Goku on the back of his neck, striking a certain nerve and knocking him unconscious. Gohan dropped back to his normal form and let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't expected the fight to go as far as it did and he was beginning to scare himself. He was brought out of his thoughts when Slade spoke up.

 

“Very good Gohan. Now, wake the Titans and explain the situation that we're going to find on Earth.”

 

“What about Terra? She's been hurt pretty badly and she may not survive without medical treatment.”

 

“Raven should be able to take care of that now that she'll be able to concentrate.”

 

“Alright.” Gohan then proceeded to wake the Titans and gathered them together to explain what was going on.

 

“Yes, I'm still working with Slade.” Gohan said, answering a question from Robin. “But there are more important things to worry about right now. We've just received a message that Earth is having a lot of trouble right now. It seems that Slade wasn't the only one interested in taking over Earth.”

 

“What do you mean?” Robin asked, quirking an eyebrow.

 

“Well, it seems that there is an alien army out to take over as well and Cell has gotten involved in fighting both sides making it a three way war.”

 

“I take it you're going to want our help?” Raven asked, holding her glowing hands over Terra's wound.

 

“Well, actually it was my idea. Slade was just going to put you guys in some kind of suspended animation or something like that to keep you out of the way. I convinced him that we're probably going to need your help.”

 

“So let me get this straight. We're going to be fighting along side Slade's droids?” Robin asked.

 

“Well it all depends on what's more important to you. Fighting Slade or keeping the planet safe.” Robin quieted down.

 

“What about Goku, Piccolo, and Vegeta?” A renewed Terra asked.

 

“Terra! You're alright!” Beast boy ran over to her and caught her in a bone crushing hug not unlike the hugs that Star was infamous for.

 

“Let go BB…can't…breathe.” She managed to choke out.

 

“Heh, sorry.” Beast boy said with a blush as he let go. Gohan chuckled at their moment before answering Terra's question.

 

“If you guys can get all three of them in one trip then take them with you, but if you can't it's okay because my Dad knows a technique that can get them to Earth instantly.

 

“I've got them.” Raven said as Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo floated to them while surrounded in a black glow. Just then Gohan fell to his knees and began shuddering. He clutched his head and began groaning. Raven's eyes grew wide as saucers and Piccolo, Goku, and Vegeta fell to the floor as she ran over to Gohan but he pushed her away.

 

“What is this?” He asked no one in particular. “So…evil.” He shuddered again but managed to stand up, though he was shaking badly.

 

“What's wrong?” Raven asked, not bothering to hide the concern in her voice.”

 

“You guys can't go to Earth.” Gohan said weakly, ignoring Raven's question.

 

“Why not? What's going on?”

 

“I just sensed something that's on Earth. I've never felt anything this horrible before. It's so violent, so evil. If you guys go to Earth there's a good chance that you'll die so just stay here. Raven once again approached Gohan.

 

“What was it that you felt? Clear your mind and share it with me.” She put a hand on Gohan's forehead and he did his best to relax. Raven closed her eyes and when she opened them she was in a dark void. Suddenly she felt a sense of hatred, insanity, violence, and pure evil radiating from seemingly everywhere at once. An enormous figure appeared before her, though she couldn't make out any details since it was shrouded in darkness. What Raven could discern though, was that the figure had to be at least ten feet tall. She heard the figure groan and howl in pain but just as suddenly it began laughing maniacally. The laugh chilled Raven to the bone and she found herself shrinking away from its source. There was little that scared Raven but whoever this was frightened her even more than losing control to her father. The figure held up an orb of energy and Raven looked up into the face of madness. The eyes were the most horrible things she had ever seen. They were entirely white, seemingly empty holes without a soul inhabiting them. The figure emitted a laugh of utter insanity as it hurled the orb at Raven. Raven was forcibly pushed back into her own body when the blast connected with her, causing her to reel back and fall to the floor.

 

“Wh…what was that thing?” She asked, regaining her composure upon getting back on her feet.

 

“I…I don't know but that's why you guys have to stay here. If something like that is on Earth then it may not even be there when we reach it.” Something off to the side exploded and Raven jumped.

 

“I need to meditate.” She said.

 

“It spooked you that badly?” Beast boy asked, astonished. Raven hadn't even been that scared when they watched a scary movie and she lost her powers because she kept denying her fright.

 

“Let's just say that it makes your movies look wimpy in comparison.” Beast boy visibly paled. Out of all the villains he'd ever fought, even when he helped fight off Trigon while in Raven's mind, he'd never found any of them to come even close to being as scary as some of the movies he'd watched. After meditating for a moment, Raven stood back up and spoke to Gohan.

 

“Look, even as scary as that was, we still need to go with you. It's our job to keep our city safe. We've already gone over this with you so you know that we're not going to stay. Gohan looked desperate for a moment but sighed in resignation.

 

“Fine, but I want you guys to take the ship there. No waking my Dad up and getting him to teleport you. Understand?” They all nodded. “Good.” He turned around and walked back to Slade. Slade could tell that something was troubling Gohan so he decided to ask out of curiosity.

 

“My don't you look frightened. Did Raven do something to you?”

 

“No, I just sensed something that's on Earth and it scares me.”

 

“Now what could possibly scare you? What is on Earth that could be that bad?”

 

“I don't know exactly what it is but I think it's supposed to be a Saiyajin. The only thing is that whoever it is has been extremely corrupted by hatred and insanity. I've never felt such an enormously evil aura.”

 

“Is that so? We must go now, time is of the essence.” With that Slade and Gohan left the throne room and headed toward their ship. The Titans followed soon after and took off, finding that Slade's ship was already gone.

 

I'm not so sure about how good this chapter was so tell me what you thought. Who do you think it is that they're going to find once they get to Earth? Will Gohan and the Titans be able to fight off this new threat and Cell at the same time? Maybe you'll find out in the next chapter.