Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Distant Light Years ❯ The Victims ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter Seven: The Victims.

The sleeping figure tossed savagely in his sleep. Over and over again he saw the bullet pass through her chest and she would fall to the ground, blood oozing in great gushes from the wound. Her hand would slowly reach up towards him, her eyes pleading before she uttered his name with her last breath, her face bleeding before falling to the blood muddied earth face first. His name would always echo around in his head, her voice fill of pain until he would sit up in bed screaming. This night was no different.

"GOOOHHHHHAAAAANNNN.." He bolted up. "AHHHHHHH!" He blinked staring into black space. He buried his face in his hands, tears weeping from his eyes. It had been 200 years since she had died, a woman in her prime. 200 years and still he dreamt about that moment he knew he could have prevented. He and Videl had been assisting in an armed robbery when the robber's accomplice had taken them by surprise. The first shot had bounced harmlessly off Gohan, but the second had blasted through Videl's heart, spraying the ground behind her with blood. The whole thing had been in slow motion, with the robber turning to run, Gohan screaming in rage at his wife's dead body before he had taken after the murderer to do bloody justice. He had torn the man limb from limb. Literally.

It was something that had never left him now it was awoken. That Saiyan blood lust. He hid it the best he could. But the memories of the incident often crashed into his mind at unusual moments. Memories of him ripping the man to pieces, chunk by bloody chunk. Innards spilling out in slimy puddles. Bones snapping like rocks cracking against his skull. The man had screamed so much, it had been bliss to his ears to hear that sickening music. Momentary madness, his father had said. But he knew otherwise, and he knew his father understood it too.

It had shaken him to see the same rage in his father when Pan had died. Gohan had gone numb when it had happened. His little angel. Apparently quarter Saiyans didn't live near as long as half Saiyans let alone full. She had died only fifty years ago. Gohan hated him self for not spending more time with her. After Videl's death he had distanced himself from every one. Including his daughter, the person that had needed him the most. She had never been married, or had children even though it was something Videl had always wanted for her daughter. Gohan reasoned that it was because of Videl's death that Pan had given up on relationships. Why, he didn't understand. He didn't stop to think that his exclusion of her in his life might have made her think badly of men in general. She had been engaged when Videl had been killed, the wedding had been broken off and she and her partner had separated shortly after.

Gohan wiped his face on the sheet. It came away bloody. He had scratched himself all over his face again.

Then had come the Civil War. Long and horrible. Gohan was glad that Videl hadn't been around to witness it. He had joined Trunks's rebel army in taking Earth back to peace along with his father and brother. Cities had been decimated by nuclear missiles until Goku had systematically stolen every nuclear missile on the planet and thrown them into the sun using his Instant Transmission. Trunks had destroyed research facilities stopping the manufacture of new ones. They had hoped that it would end the war.

Sadly humans were stupider than they thought.

Invading armies had joined forces and fought against them, calling them the Saiyan Plague. Gohan had been disgusted. All his life all he had ever done was protect these people and now, after helping them, they had tried to destroy them! He had wanted to go out there and slaughter them all, seeing Videl's killer in every face. Goku had managed to stop him, but neither had realised that Trunks had wanted a similar thing.

Gohan's breathing broke with a sob. "Fuck.." he whispered, closing his eyes to the darkness.

One night Trunks had approached Gohan, it had been a long bloody day, forced to fight a human war using human methods with barbaric guns. Gohan had wanted blood on his hands, fighting this way was not helping his natural Saiyaness to rage and fight with his bare hands. He had watched Trunks break down in battle, throwing his gun aside to run roaring into the fray, spreading blood and death like a wave. Goku had subdued him, but Gohan had watched the younger Saiyan fight with a hungry glint, he too had wanted to spill blood to the ground. Only his fathers quick actions against Trunks had made him hesitate..

Goku had knocked the berserking warrior out with a swift blow to the back of the head and had called a retreat back to base. The base was an old abandoned army facility in the interior of a mountain, miles from any where. That same day they had brought in Bra's second husband badly wounded. He was a great human general by the name of Roget. The man was a brilliant tactician, picking every battle field with precise genius. All the dying man could think of was how could he have been so stupid, his error had been so great, he deserved to die. It had been a sad day. Perhaps it had been what had sparked Trunks off to begin with. He had been good friends with Roget after all.

Trunks had come up to him that evening and had asked him if he wished to indulge in a little assassination. Gohan had stared at him, the thought of warm blood flooding his hands came to his mind. He wanted to refuse, but he wanted even greater to accept. He wanted to sate that growing blood lust. Goten had been standing in the shadows behind Trunks in obvious agreement with Trunks's plan to knock off all the leaders of the opposition. Gohan had hesitated. He looked over his shoulder where his father was comforting a grieving Bra, Pan had been there too, helping her long time friend. He looked back at the two young men. Both had been ravaged by the pain of war. He could see it in their eyes. But Gohan felt that little thing inside him that was screaming "No!". That little thing that made him kill Cell and fight Buu for the Earth with out loosing it. His sanity, founded on the love of his family.

He glanced at Goten. He could see his brother had lost that, if he had ever had it in the first place. He had thought he had once, long before his wife and daughters had been murdered in their beds by the soldiers while he had been out fighting battles with his father. He felt sorry for Goten, in many ways the boy was even worse off than Gohan had been. Gohan's childhood had been ripped away from him at an early age. Goten had grown up enough to know what peace and happiness in a family was like. So loosing it had been even worse for him.

Gohan had answered Trunks with the only answer he knew would save his sanity from the murder Trunks and his brother were about to commit. "No Trunks. I can't." And it was true. If he was to stay sane, he couldn't possibly do what the two demi-Saiyans then flew out to do. He had never told his father about Trunks asking him. When Goku had found out about the monstrous act the next day he had seemed horrified and refused to continue helping Trunks if he did another thing like it. Trunks had then proclaimed himself ruler and conqueror over the invading armies and sentenced the old leader's families to death. Goku had left then, Gohan had followed even though in his heart of hearts he had wanted to stay and watch the slaughter Trunks and Goten then committed. Maybe even joined in..

Gohan stared down at his hands. He slowly looked down at the sleeping woman beside him. She was a nothing, just a fuck. He stared back at the white walls of his room. It was cold. He looked back at that slim neck and reached a hand out to it. ~Break it.~ Came the voice in his head. ~Mince it to bone.~ He stared. He bit his lip. ~Just a little perhaps..~ He wrapped his hand around the throat of the sleeping woman and slowly crushed it. She awoke just before she had died, a gurgling scream and then that was it. He shivered. He wasn't insane, he just needed to.. kill some times. For the last seventy years life had been strangely uneventful. Even though he half-heartedly helped his father take down Trunks's magnificent empire. Goku did not want to slaughter masses like he had in the Civil War. He instead hindered Trunks through destroying his many means of transporting goods and products though out Earth and the space colonies as he could when the fancy took him. Gohan thought it was stupid. There was no point in continuing a lost fight. Earth was at peace now, it should be left at it. Besides, Gohan thought, all his father was hurting was Goten and Bra since it was their transport company that ran that sort of thing. Son Transports, Gohan thought it was mockingly ironic. He truly wondered at his father's sanity at times. It was petty, these sabotages his father staged.

With a sigh he stood and fumbled around until he found a pair of light blue shorts. He pulled them on and walked around the bed to the dead wench. He wrapped a blanket around her, tying a knot in it and grabbed her foot, dragging her off the bed. Her head hit the floor with a thunk. He dragged her out of his door and down the hall, contemplating on weather to go to see Trunks or not.

He was getting bored of his father's idiocy. He knew his father wasn't stupid but he was definitely beginning to annoy him with the way he was acting. He just wished his father would accept the situation and move on with life. He hadn't been the same since Bulma had died. It was like that had assured him that Vegeta wasn't returning. Gohan him self, had not missed the Saiyan Prince at first, but as time went on he realised how much more boring his training was with out a bit of a challenge. His father always went light on him. He hated it.

A trail of blood followed Gohan as he dragged the body towards the trash dispenser in the middle of the hall. He looked up and saw Goku staring at him at the other end of the hall. He froze. "Gohan, what are you doing?" Goku's eyes flicked from the wrapped up body to his son. Gohan blinked and looked back at the body before facing his father again. "I'm um.. just getting rid of some trash." He pulled the chute open with one hand and shoved the bloody package down the dark opening, dripping warm blood on his arms and the floor. Goku stared at the blood before looking away with a dazed expression. "Uh..ok, Gohan. Have a good sleep." He walked off down the hall towards his rooms. Gohan stared after his father, his eyes wide. He shivered slightly. "Never underestimate the power of denial.." Gohan muttered as he turned and walked back to his rooms, lonely and dark.

****

Vegeta stood looking out over the city. From here he could sense Kakarott and his brat Gohan many miles away. They didn't hide their power levels at all. The city was long asleep, even the huge office towers did not flicker. It was very silent, the hover cars made little nose as they flew though the warm night air. "So this is all mine." He smiled slightly and crossed his arms. Trunks had told him of every thing that had happened since he had left. It was a sad story, yet Vegeta was sorry he had missed the wars. It would have been interesting to say the least. He was surprised at his son's change over the years. He was a cold ruthless man, yet still held some strange compassion for his loved ones. He wasn't convinced yet that his son was mad. He was mearly the outcome of so many years of pain and suffering.

He heard the soft foot falls behind him as Goten walked up to the window next to the new King. Goten stared dispassionately out the window. Was that a hint of contempt Vegeta saw in the man's eyes as he looked out over the city? "Do you know why the Civil Wars started Vegeta? Did Trunks tell you?"

Vegeta glanced at the youngest Son. "No he didn't." Goten shook his head slightly with an ironic smile.

"He was bored."

Vegeta turned to face him. "What?!"

Goten grinned. It wasn't a nice smile. "He was bored. He got on the good side of on of the worlds greatest leaders and manipulated him into a position where he had to declare war on another world power. He was bored, he wanted some thing to happen." Goten turned to stare out the window again. Vegeta blinked. His son had instigated the whole thing? He was amazed yet faintly horrified. "I and your self are the only ones who know." Said Goten quietly. Vegeta slowly nodded, taking in the information. This place, this time, it was so different! He wondered for a moment if the Civil Wars would have even happened if he had been here. He would have made sure the brat was never bored that was for sure. What if he hadn't left? He frowned at what could have been.

He heard Goten sigh softly. "What does Trunks use you for?" Asked the Saiyan no Ou. Goten slowly turned to stare at him.

"Use me?" He gave another sigh. And looked sadly out the window again. "Your right, he does use me." He looked down for a moment, his eyes sad. "Mine and Bra's company, and of course Son Transports." He smirked. It looked strangely normal on his face. "He is not the man I once knew." His words were chilling and he turned to leave. Vegeta caught his arm.

"Wait." Goten turned to look at him with some surprise. Vegeta pulled a small metallic capsule from his pocket. He gently unscrewed the top and tapped a small micro chip into his white gloved hand. "This is the reason I came back when I did." He picked the chip up to hold it between his finger and thumb to Goten.

Goten stared at it, his eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

Vegeta stared at it for a minute. "I was hoping Bulma could tell me. It needs some kind of viewing device to see what's on it, but that's Bulma's speciality not mine." He caught him self. Was, it *was* her speciality. Goten held his hand out with questioning eyes. Vegeta nodded and placed it gently in his hand. Goten held it close to his face.

"I think I can help you with that." He looked back up to the King who's eyes had widened in surprise for a split second before Vegeta had hid himself behind a facade of indifference. Goten snorted. Vegeta hadn't been quick enough. "Just because I look like my dad doesn't mean I'm brainless.." He closed his fist around the chip for a second before handing it back to the Ou. Vegeta quirked an eye brow at him. "Where did you get this from?" Vegeta wondered weather it was wise to tell him, then dismissed the paranoid thought, what did it matter?

"When Vegeta-sei was destroyed the moons were left intact. The closest, the one all Saiyans associated with power and might, Gekko, had a long abandoned base on its surface. It was to this moon I went to see the last place of my people. Here I found this chip. I do not know what might be on it." There was only so much he would tell the half bred son of a third class. Issues of Saiyan Royalty had nothing to do with him Vegeta paused though, Goten was married to his daughter, and if he and Trunks were ever killed that would make Bra Queen and Goten her consort. It was a very high station for any Saiyan, to be consort, almost as powerful as being the ruling monarch them selves. Still, Goten didn't need to know what the hologram had said. No one did.

Goten looked at him, his eyes widened. He had always, along with every one else, thought that Vegeta had gone to train in space. He would never had thought the former Saiyan Prince would be bothered to venture to some far off moon which held nothing for no one any more. Well it had obviously meant some thing to the usually cold and indifferent man. Goten nodded. "I'll go see what I can do about getting that chip working." With that he turned and slowly walked out of the room. Finally! Something worth his while to do instead of Trunks's pointless pursuits for more power. He smiled to himself, it had been a while.

Vegeta turned to look out the window again. he marvelled slightly how time and pain changed every one. Even those he thought were changeless, like Goten. He had always thought he would be that happy-go-lucky young man, but that was not to be. Vegeta sighed.

"Oh yes, victims aren't we all."

****

TBC…