Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Chosen One ❯ Chapter Thirty-Nine ( Chapter 39 )

The Chosen One

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Gohan and the rest of his friends found themselves inside their ship on the planet Arcturus. It seemed that they were back.

Sephra took a deep breath. "We're back," she breathed.

Bulma ran a diagnostic scan on the ship. "It looks like there's a breach in one of the fuel lines," she said. "We need to get it repaired."

As if on cue, Vegeta walked up to the star chart. After a moment of examining it, he said, "There's a space station about half of a light-year away. It's an older station, but it'll do. Out of 1,682,950 space stations, this one is designation number 666."

Gohan gulped. "Uh, could we try a different space station?" he asked.

"Not possible," Vegeta responded. "The next space station is one hundred light-years away."

"Hey, Gohan, what's up?" Sephra asked with concern. "You look scared or something."

"Listen," Gohan said. "Vegeta said that the designation number of the space station is six hundred sixty-six, right? Well, the number 666 is connected with the devil, the emperor Nero, and most things often considered evil. That's why I'm reluctant to go."

"Gohan, do you actually believe that?" Bulma asked. "That's just superstitious nonsense. We will be fine."

-39-

"Well, we're here," Bulma said.

"Where?" Gohan asked. "I don't see it."

Bulma pointed. "There."

Bulma pointed to a disc-shaped object. It was slowly spinning, and it was painted a jet-black.

Gohan shivered when he saw the space station. "Guys, this is a bad idea," he said.

Krillin looked at the space station and said, "Guys, I'm starting to agree with Gohan. That thing is giving me the creeps."

"Oh, don't be such cowards," Bulma said.

-39-

"I don't see anyone," Android 17 remarked.

"Well, there's bound to be some people around somewhere," Bulma said.

"Unless this space station has been abandoned and has just been floating in space ever since," Krillin said, his voice quivering.

"Oh, stop it," Bulma said.

Gohan was looking around, taking in his surroundings. Suddenly, he heard a whistling noise and he felt instantly tired. He was unable to control himself and he collapsed to the ground, sound asleep. One by one, the others followed suit.

-39-

Gohan could feel the sun beating down on his face as he lay on the ground. Suddenly, he realized that there was not supposed to be a sun on a space station. His eyes snapped open and he sat up. From what he could see, it appeared that he was on the planet Namek. How did I get here?

Gohan got to his feet and saw the rest of his friends. One by one, they woke up in a similar fashion.

"Where are we?" Siber asked.

"It looks like Namek," Krillin said.

Piccolo looked into the distance. "There's a village over that way. Let's see what the locals can tell us."

-39-

Gohan looked in horror. "What is this?" he gasped.

Piccolo walked up and stopped. "What is going on?" he demanded, scowling and shaking his fist.

As they watched, a group of Namekians was doing hard labor. Some were cultivating bizarre, sinister-looking plants, while others were moving supplies. Every now and then they saw a Roxian armed with a whip who would use it on an exhausted Namekian. Then, one Namekian went by that Gohan recognized. Gohan grabbed his arm and pulled him behind a building. He tried to shout, but Gohan covered his mouth.

"You are Thammer, right?" Piccolo asked.

Gohan removed his hand. "How do you know my name?" Thammer asked.

"Listen," Piccolo said. "We came from five thousand years in the past. My name is Piccolo, and this is Gohan."

Thammer turned to Gohan, looking at him. "Yes, I see. You look just like him. It's too bad that the fate of the universe could not have rested with someone more reliable."

Gohan took a step back in surprise. "What? What do you mean?"

"This," Thammer stated, "is what will happen if you lose. In this timeline, you lost the fight with Rekhas, and the Roxians' dark ambitions were realized. Now, the Roxians have enslaved every race in the entire galaxy, and Rekhas learned something dreadful."

"What is that?" Piccolo asked.

"The Dragon Balls," Thammer answered. "He learned of their powers and made use of them. First, he wished for immortality. Second, he wished to be a god, and last, he wished for the ability to transcend dimensions. He entered the Other World and killed King Yemma, the Grand Kai, the Supreme Kai, and every other divine being. He set his Roxians there to torture people after death, regardless of whether they go to Heaven or Hell. Now, we will suffer from the day we are born."

"But if you stop reproducing, the Roxians will run out of people to boss around, right?"

Thammer shook his head. "No. We are forced to reproduce. The Roxians watch over our eggs to make sure that strong and healthy Namekians are bred. As for sexual species, they use the practice of artificial insemination. They then force the women to work until they can no longer both work and support the baby. Right now, the many species of intelligent life in the universe suffer for all eternity, while the Roxians enjoy themselves for all eternity."

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky above and struck Thammer. The electrical discharge killed the Namekian as Gohan and Piccolo watched in horror.

Piccolo began to seethe with anger. "Damn that Rekhas," Piccolo breathed. He then looked at Gohan. "Gohan, it is imperative that you do not lose."

-39-

Gohan and Piccolo returned to the others. "So, what did you find out?" Bulma asked.

Piccolo and Gohan told Bulma and the others everything that happened. "It turns out that this is the future if I . . . lose . . ." Gohan finished.

"Gohan," Sephra said, "I'm worried about Gabria. Can you please take me there?"

Gohan held out his arm. "All right. Take my hand."

-39-

Gohan and Sephra appeared outside of a Gabrian town. From what they could see, the town fell into disrepair. There were crumbling buildings and vines growing all over the place. As they walked into town, they saw a similar sight to what Gohan and Piccolo had seen on Namek. This time, however, one of the Roxians spotted them.

"Hey!" The Roxian walked over to them. "What are you doing? Who are you?"

He held up a device. "Retinal scan," he said. "Look into the light."

Sephra did as she was told and allowed the Roxian to perform a retinal scan. "There is no data," the scanner said.

The Roxian looked at the scanner. "All right, who are you?" He then looked at Gohan. "And why don't you have any wings?"

Gohan stood up straight. "Tell me the coordinates of your home world."

The Roxian was puzzled. "What? You dare defy us?"

Quickly, Gohan pulled out Testament and held it in front of the Roxian. "Do you see this? This sword is known as Testament, or as you Roxians refer to it, Asok's Bane."

The Roxian took a step back. "What? Impossible! The last holder of Asok's Bane was killed five millennia ago by the great, benevolent, all-powerful, omniscient, destined ruler over all that is, all that was, and all that ever will be, Rekhas!"

"Well, he's back," Gohan said. "Now tell me what the coordinates are for the planet Roxia five thousand years ago."

"And why should I?" the Roxian responded defiantly.

"Because if you don't, I will kill you and ask someone else," Gohan said.

The Roxian began to sweat. "All right! All right! I'll tell! All right, here are the coordinates for the planet Roxia five thousand years ago . . ."

-39-

Gohan and Sephra reappeared in front of the others back on Namek. "So, what did you find out?" Bulma asked.

Sephra hung her head. "The situation on Gabria is the same as it is here," Gohan said sadly. "But we did get one thing." He pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Bulma.

"What is this?" Bulma asked.

"Those are the coordinates for the planet Roxia," Gohan said.

Bulma went pale. "What? We're not actually thinking of going there, are we?"

"Bulma, we have no choice," Gohan said. "If we want a chance of winning, we have to go to Roxia and fight Rekhas.

"There's one more thing I want to do. I want to see the situation on Earth." Gohan focused, but suddenly stopped. "Something's wrong. I can't sense the Earth."

"Well, we can fly there," Bulma suggested. "I found the ship and the fuel line is fixed. Are you guys ready to go?"

-39-

"We're almost there," Bulma said. "There's Pluto."

Gohan looked out the window. "Yeah, you're right." Then, he looked around. "Hey! Where's the sun?"

"Gohan, from this distance, the sun looks just like any ordinary star," Bulma said. "You'll see it soon."

About five minutes later, the ship reached Saturn. "I still can't see the sun," Gohan said.

"Yeah, that is odd," Bulma remarked. "Anyway, let's keep going."

The ship continued on its path and flew by Jupiter and Mars. They still could not see the sun.

Suddenly, Gohan saw something outside the window. "Hey, look! Is that Venus?"

Bulma looked in the direction that Gohan was looking. "Yeah. Why can't we see the sun?"

Soon, they passed Mercury. Suddenly, all sorts of warning signs and lights went off in the bridge.

"What the heck?" Bulma exclaimed. "We're headed toward a gigantic object! It's gotta be as big as . . ."

Gohan and the others were knocked to the floor of the bridge as Bulma swerved hard to avoid the colossus. "Big as what, Bulma?" Gohan asked.

"I don't know how, but that thing is our sun," Bulma said.

Gohan and the others were shocked. "WHAT?"

"I don't know how, but that thing has the exact same mass as the sun," Bulma said. "Somehow, it's been solidified."

"Well, let's keep going," Piccolo said. "We haven't found the Earth yet. It must be on some other part of its orbit."

Bulma suddenly pulled the ship to a stop. "This is about where the Earth should be," Bulma said. "But I don't see it."

Ayn looked out a window. "You guys, I think I found it," he said. "Although you're probably not going to be happy."

Bulma pivoted the ship so that it faced the direction in which Ayn was looking. "Oh my God . . ."

The Earth had been reduced to a mere formation of floating debris. The planet had been destroyed. Then Gohan noticed something else. People! There are people floating in space! They can't decay without an atmosphere!

"There are people's bodies floating through space . . ." Sephra observed. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Gohan continued to look out the window. Then, he saw something that would haunt his dreams for a long time to follow. "Oh my God!"

"What is it, Gohan?" Krillin asked. He walked over to the window and turned pale.

Outside the window, in outer space, were the bodies of Chi-chi and Goten.

Gohan was overcome by sadness. NO! I've failed! I've let everyone down! Slowly, Gohan pulled Testament from its scabbard. He held it out as far as he could, then pointed the blade at himself.

Piccolo turned around just before Gohan pulled the sword toward himself. "GOHAN!!" he yelled. "NO! DON'T DO IT!!"

Gohan closed his eyes and pulled the sword toward him. Suddenly, the blade stopped moving. Surprised, Gohan opened his eyes. What he saw came as a surprise to everyone there.

"What's wrong with you?" Vegeta asked as he held the blade away from Gohan's body. "What do you think you're doing?"

Tears rolled down Gohan's cheeks. "I've failed . . . Just let me be with my family. . ."

"Don't speak such nonsense!" Vegeta responded. "You haven't failed anything yet! This is just one possible outcome! You can still prevent this from happening!"

Gohan's eyes widened. Of course! I completely forgot!

'HEH HEH HEH. HOW TOUCHING.'

Gohan dropped Testament in surprise. "What the . . . ?"

"I think I know!" Piccolo exclaimed. "Show yourself, Rekhas!"

'NO, I HOPE YOU FORGIVE ME IF I DON'T. YOU SEE, I HAVE EVOLVED PAST THE NEED FOR A PHYSICAL BODY. DID YOU LIKE MY LIGHT SHOW WITH THAT PATHETIC NAMEKIAN?"

Gohan bared his teeth. "That was you?"

"Bastard!!" Piccolo yelled.

'WATCH YOUR TONGUE, PICCOLO. IT'S NOT NICE TO CALL THE SUPREME BEING OF THE UNIVERSE A BASTARD, YOU KNOW.'

"So you get your kicks out of torturing innocent people?" Gohan yelled. "You make me sick!" His anger carried him into Super Saiyan.

'ALL PEOPLE EXIST FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE TO SERVE THE ROXIANS! THEY ARE MY PROPERTY! I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT WITH THEM!'

"Well, fortunately, this universe will never happen!" Gohan yelled. "When I get back to my own time, I will destroy you!! You hear me? I'll destroy you, Rekhas!"

-39-

"I'll get you! You hear me?"

"Gohan! Gohan, come back! Gohan!"

Gohan opened his eyes and found himself back in the space station. He sat up. "What happened?"

"We just saw the future that will happen if Rekhas wins," Ayn said. "Our consciousnesses were sent to the future."

Gohan jumped up. "Wait! That means we don't have the coordinates-"

Bulma pulled out a slip of paper. "Yes, we do," she said. "They're right here. Also, the ship is fixed."

"All right, all in favor of leaving ASAP, get to the ship as fast as you can!" Krillin shouted as everybody retreated to the ship.