While the band of weirdoes held their customary welcoming ceremony for the new arrival to their group inside the hall, the hot topic of today's assembly was currently making his final farewell to the students of Orange Star High. About half an hour following the closing moments of his presentation, the kind yet oh-so-charming Kaiser, accompanied by his secretary, slipped into the limo waiting outside the school's gates and prepared himself for the trip back to his office. Rolling down the window and waving goodbye to his supporters, the man left the amorous crowd of a hundred teenagers with a screech of his vehicle's tires and a honk of his horn. His driver saw to the effect of the last two occurrences before the black, elongated luxury sedan drove down the main road and vanished around the corner.
After rolling the tinted window back up to where it belonged, the billionaire mogul in the suit breathed a sigh of relief and, unbuttoning his collar, crossed his legs and kicked back for the long ride ahead. "Man… now that was a chore-and-a-half. Even though I'm used to pulling all nighters and hauling paperwork, giving speeches at community events can be such a drag." Running a hand through his black locks, he then looked towards the mini-bar he had setup alongside the window and smirked. "Barkeep. Martini please. Painfully dry." He then watched the automated drink dispenser place a martini glass on the conveyer and begin mixing the ingredients for the beverage. After the flask was shaken by the robotic hands, the robot then emptied the alcohol out into the glass holder and placed a skewered olive into the drink. Once the martini was slid over to the man's position, Kaiser took up the glass, held it up with a joyous smile, and spoke in the most posh voice imaginable. "Ah, yes. Thank you, Nigel."
As Violet watched her eccentric boss sniff his beverage and swirl it gently in his hand, the former Red Ribbon Army Colonel then pulled up her notepad and, upon skimming over the notes of the day's procession and the timetable scribbled across the screen, glanced in his direction.
Taking a sip of his cocktail, Kaiser gasped in delight, "Ahh, there's nothing like a glass of cool gin to help wash away the woes of a long and exhausting day." He then rested an arm across the luxury seats behind him and spared a glance at his assistant, who was sitting just over from him on the neighboring seat. A grin then formed at the uncomfortable look on her face. "Come now, Violet. Why do you look so anxious? Relax a little and have a drink with me."
The purple haired woman in the suit and skirt nodded, "That sounds lovely, sir. But… uhh…"
"Hm? What is it?"
Removing the stylish spectacles she was wearing and slipping them into her left breast pocket, the short-haired woman gave her boss an inquisitive stare, "I'm just a little bit worried… about the exchange."
"The exchange? What do you…ooh…" Quickly realizing what the woman meant, Kaiser took on a far more sadistic expression as he set his martini glass on the stand next to him and held out his right hand. Palm facing up, the boss then gripped the end connected to his wrist and pinched, "You mean… this?" He then pulled off what Violet first mistook as a dead layer of skin, but was actually a transdermal patch designed to resemble human skin plastered to his palm, which he removed with a simple tug. Holding the band aid like piece in front of him, the boss grinned. "Beautiful? Isn't it? It worked like a charm."
Frowning at the piece of material as if it were something foul and unpleasant, Violet then turned back at her leader with a raised eyebrow. "Please tell me you didn't shake hands with the other children while you were wearing it."
"No. Of course not. I had it in my pants pocket the entire time," Kaiser replied, lowering the graft a little. "I only slipped it on the moment I had to shake hands with Son Gohan."
The woman blinked, "How does it work, exactly?"
"The weapon's design is actually quite ingenious. You see the epidermal layer of the patch works by injecting powerful microscopic toxins into the body via physical contact with the target. By coating the outer surface with the viral strain and attaching the nonlethal side to my skin, I can infect any person I want with a simple handshake," Kaiser explained, before then sparing the transdermal patch a smirk. "Basically, Son Gohan has approximately twenty four hours of blissful living before the full effects of the infection finally kick in."
As disgusting as it was to hear, Violet simply went along with the man's plan and nodded her head in understanding. "And… what about the other kids? How did you prevent the weapon from infecting them?"
"That part's simple to explain. I coated the inside of my jacket pocket with an anti-viral solution that nullifies the patch's lethal cargo, basically shutting off the weapon and rendering it harmless," Kaiser stated as he then spared a smug glance in Violet's direction. "You may have noticed I only shook the boy's hand once."
"I see," the woman murmured. After watching her boss scrunch up the transdermal patch and chucking it into the disposable unit beside him, the secretary gave the man one last, nervous look. "That's all it took, huh? And what poison did you decide to give him?"
"Oh… I gave him a small shot of subject HV-15 from the Central Branch's development sector… a little special something I cooked up just for this occasion."
Recognizing the number off by hard, the purple haired woman looked at the man in shock. "Isn't that-?"
"Uh-huh," Kaiser replied, not even bothering to acknowledge the horrified expression that appeared in his assistant's eyes. When he picked up his martini glass and took another sip, the man then stared down at the clear contents and grinned. "It's the disease that wiped out over a hundred people seven years ago, slowly eating away at their strength and vitality until there was absolutely nothing left. Let's see how our young friend takes to it."
Violet, her expression becoming serious, closed her eyes and lowered her head in resolution, "Yes… sir."
Even though she obeyed every one of his orders without question, it didn't mean that she had to like all of them.
If there was ever a crueler way of killing ones adversary… her boss had just found it.
XXX
(That night)
It was dark out and all Gohan could see as he jogged through the blackness of his world was the stony path of the floor flying past him. Ignoring the fact that he couldn't see anything, the boy's panting filled the air as he attempted to reach the end of the stretch of road he was on, desperate for an exit. Though he had no idea how he got here or what'd transpired in the hours beforehand, all the young warrior knew was that he had to leave… and fast.
Seeing all sorts of lights flashing by him, the man in the orange and blue gi broke out into a sweat as he kept on running, not knowing where he was going but hoping he would get there soon. The cold was gripping and the atmosphere was foul, something that did not sit well with the boy at all and compelled him to move.
After several minutes of continuous sprinting and watching an aurora borealis blow past in a cyclone of colors, Gohan suddenly saw a bright light up ahead. Looking up in surprise, the young demi-Saiyan sped up his sprint and charged forward, determined to reach the end of the tunnel of darkness. He eventually spilled out of the void in a flash of blinding white, which ended in him stumbling to a stop atop a rocky plateau. Gasping in shock, the young man looked up when the haze of the stunning glow vanished and he found himself positioned on a wide expanse of grey earth, with the stars of space glittering in the skies all around him.
At first baffled by the sight of the cosmos, the young warrior looked around the area surrounding him momentarily to figure out exactly where he was. The ground was soft, barren, and had an incredibly dusty texture to it, and the land stretched out before him was dotted with hills, craters, and mounds. It was safe to say on this observation alone that he wasn't on any particular part of the earth, especially since the stars could be seen so clearly. Gohan then began to think that he'd ended up on some planet he'd never been to far outside of his galaxy. However, when he eventually turned to look in a particular part of space above the world he was on to assess exactly where he was, the spiky haired hero then spun around in alarm and his expression became one of abject horror and disbelief.
"N-No way."
Hanging in the sky high above him, he saw the unmistakable form of the planet Earth hovering in the vacuum just over the horizon line. But unlike the lush, green and blue ball he'd come to recognize as his home, the demi-Saiyan instead found himself staring at a planet with its oceans tainted red with blood, it's skies set alight by a raging hellfire, and its continents, which were once covered in pristine forests, splintered and cracked by the heat of the planet's core. This led the boy to the realization that he was standing on his planet's moon, looking up through space and towards his home, which had fallen victim to a foe whose identity he did not know.
To sum it all up, the earth had become an inferno… a world that'd been scorched by war and destruction.
Backing up with his face reflecting a clear expression of terror and incredulity, Gohan suddenly heard something behind him and turned. When he did, he was met with a sight he could only imagine in his worst nightmares.
The Z-fighters and all of his friends lying scattered across the barren field… dead.
Every single one of them was there. Krillin, battered and bleeding from a massive hole punched in his chest, was lying in the arms of his wife, Android 18, the latter of whom was hunched over with an arm missing and a hole blown through her chest as well. Android 17 was splayed out nearby, torn in half, lying near the burnt bodies of Tien, Yamcha and Chiaotzu. All three of them were covered in bullet-sized holes, indicating they'd been taken down by a hail of powerful energy beams and bullets.
Closer to the demi-Saiyan and away from the first area of carnage, Paprika was on her knees with her head was slumped forward; her body riddled with spears that was not only impaling the ground but also holding her corpse upright. Next to her lay Kana and Piccolo, both of whom had been nearly burnt beyond recognition and had their faces buried in the ground. Goten and Trunks, having suffered the least, had had their necks broken, and were lying side by side, staring across at the demi-Saiyan with lifeless eyes.
Vegeta soon followed them, the man looking as though he had put up one of the biggest fights of his life, as the entire right side of his body had been burnt black, and he had blood trickling out of his mouth. Next to him was Zangya, her body broken, covered in blast burns, and had a sword shoved clean through her chest, leaving her on her back and impaled to the floor.
The last of them was none other than Videl Satan, lying at the base of the hill, her form left burnt and battered with her hand resting across her stomach. It was the raven haired girl that eventually snapped Gohan back into reality and, with his expression still reflecting a look of pure horror, the boy stumbled towards the girl lying on the edge of the field, and immediately knelt down beside her.
Taking her head in his hand and wrapping the other one around her, Gohan attempted to rouse her from whatever slumber she was in. "Videl… Videl! Wake up. Wake up…" Seeing her head lull back in his grip coaxed a look of despair and desperation from the young warrior, who then brought his hand up to run across his girlfriend's face. What once was filled with color and life had now been replaced by the cold and paleness of death. "N-No. This… This can't be. How… did this happen?"
Sorrow starting to fill the boy's heart as he came to full understanding that all of his friends had died trying to save the earth, he was unexpectedly shocked out of his trance when he saw Videl choke up blood and heard her strangled coughs fill the air. Caught completely off guard, the half-Saiyan attempted to hold her in an elevated position as the teen gasped for air. When her sapphire eyes eventually blinked open, showing the bags and the stress of a terrible battle, Gohan then heard her speak.
Her voice, strained, came out in a whisper that filled the boy's heart with pain.
"You… c-couldn't… save… us…"
Sadness and grief crossed Gohan's face when he saw his girlfriend's eyes stare back up at him, blood dribbling out of the corner of her mouth and her energy beginning to fade. He shook his head, not wanting to believe that this… or any of it, was real.
"You… let us… all… down," Videl wheezed out once again, as tears of sadness and despair formed in her eyes. "You've let me… down… Gohan."
"No. I… I didn't know," the half-Saiyan whispered, attempting to come up with a reason for his absence and failure. But try as he might, he just could not hash an answer, mostly for a fact that he had no idea who'd done this or who his enemy was.
What monster could've destroyed their world and killed everyone he loved and swore to protect? Was it some alien from another galaxy? Another tyrant like Frieza or Bojack? Or was it an Android that had done it? A creature created by Doctor Gero or someone similar to him. The young Saiyan did not know.
However, just as his mind was filling with a rage of questions and emotions, and his heart slowly began to sink deeper into a pit of blackness, he suddenly saw Videl lower her head and her eyes become hidden by a veil of hair. At first the boy thought his girlfriend was finally slipping and clenched his eyes shut to stop the tears from flowing. A few sobs left his lips when he felt the girl's body go limp and her life-force vanish.
But then, when he looked back up at her moments later to see the results of what he directly blamed as a result of his actions, a startling transformation had taken place. In the blink of an eye, the girl's raven black hair had turned blonde and her entire state and appearance had changed dramatically. Her frown became replaced by a sickly smile and a black eye patch had formed over her right eye, while the left pupil had turned blood red. Furthermore, aside from her blonde locks having grown all the way down her back, her outfit had also been swapped out, becoming a single, revealing swimsuit with a cape and black, long boots. To complete the transformation, all the wounds and damages he'd been afflicted with, had all vanished, and an enormous witch's hat had formed on her head, transforming her into an entirely different person.
Before Gohan could even do anything, his once dead girlfriend had turned into the phantom he remembered seeing back at Capsule Corp all those days ago.
A look of stunned bewilderment filled the teen's tear strung eyes.
"V-Videl?"
He heard the blonde girl giggle and saw a grin form on her face. A split second later, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his body followed by a loud 'squelching' sound. Eyes widening in shock as his body froze up, the demi-Saiyan then looked down to see what had happened, and saw that the girl in his arms had run her hand through his chest and out his back, leaving him impaled on her arm.
In an instant, a wash of pain unlike anything Gohan had felt before, rushed through him like a bolt of electricity, drawing a scream of agony from the fallen defender of earth…
(End Dream)
OOO
Gasping in fright, Gohan sat up from his bed with a start, covered in sweat and eyes widened in horror. Panting heavily as beads of perspiration rolled down his face and skin, the demi-Saiyan stared ahead of him and towards his wall on the far end of the room, where he took a long moment to process everything that'd happened.
Initially believing he'd just been standing on the moon with a person's arm shoved through his chest, the boy's first instinct was to check the area on his pectorals for said wound to plug it up. When his hand patted over his breast bone and felt no hole, he then looked down to clarify for himself that it wasn't, truly there. Upon doing so, a sigh of relief then left him and he spent the next several seconds calming his mind and gathering his thoughts. His heart, which had once been beating like crazy, soon settled and allowed him to sit comfortably across his bedspread.
"A nightmare. It was just a nightmare…" Gohan whispered.
It'd been a while since he'd had one of those. The last bad one he remembered was back in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber when he saw Cell in his perfect form murder both his mother and Piccolo right before his very eyes, and that had been a traumatizing experience in itself. This recent one though took the cake as the most fucked-up dream he'd ever had thus far, leaving him to wonder whether it'd been a vision or just a hallucination brought on by indigestion.
Feeling his stomach give a bit of a ping, the demi-Saiyan, still covered in a bit of sweat, figured he should go and grab a drink to help cool himself down. So, upon hopping out of bed and adjusting his underwear, the demi-Saiyan in the skin tight black shorts went to the kitchen, fetched a glass of water, took a moment to survey the countryside beyond the window, and then, after finishing his drink, headed back to his room. On his way he made sure to check up on his brother's and Zangya's rooms, where he saw both family members sound asleep and respectively enjoying a pleasant dream.
Expressing momentary enviousness and smiling at their peaceful states, the teen quickly adjourned to his bed for some shut eye.
However, as the minutes passed and the restless boy found himself tossing and turning under the sheets, Gohan couldn't help rid this feeling that something was off. But, being the persistent character that he was, the half-Saiyan calmed his turbulent thoughts and tried to get some shut eye…
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