Facing my Demons

Chapter 9

Gohan panted , his father really wasn't kidding when he said that Janemba was powerful, though he knew it was only so because Gohan couldn't seem to get a grip over himself. His power would continuously slip and weaken before suddenly powering back up and Janemba seemed to notice this. The alien was annoyed, the boy wasn't taking this seriously. No wait, he was distracted by something else. By what, Janemba didn't care, he just wanted the boy's full attention on him. Janemba moved forward quickly, managing a powerful kick to Gohan's chest, knocking the wind out of the demi saiyan. Elbowing the back of Gohan's head, sending him crashing into the earth, Janemba left him there, flying towards where the other battles were held. The red alien like creature signalled the others, not wanting to stay here. He was distracted, however, as a powerful Ki blast was sent his way. Dodging easily, Janemba turned and watched as Gohan flew up to him.

"We're not done here!" Gohan seethed, his anger taking control.
"It is. I'll see you when you're capable of fighting, Son Gohan," Janemba smirked as Gohan's eye twitched. The red alien disappeared, just in time to miss the powerful blast recklessly sent his way. Gohan turned, still angry, only to see that the other aliens had also disappeared. Gohan landed and angrily stormed over to the others, not noticing android Seventeen at that moment.
"We should go after them!" Gohan yelled, clenching his fists.
"Don't be stupid! You can't just rush in all reckless, you need a plan, your friends barely managed to make it out of this fight! How do you think they're going to survive when you rush in without resting and formulating a plan?" Seventeen said, not being able to sense Gohan's intense anger.

"I didn't ask you, android! Stay out of this, I don't trust you," Gohan seethed, his Ki flaring.
"What? Because I'm an android? Eighteen is an android and you trust her, don't you?" Seventeen asked.
"Your sister proved that she can be trusted, unlike you," Gohan clenched his teeth, his heart nearly beating out of his chest because of the previous hit Janemba had hit him with and his anger wasn't helping.
"It seems your friends and family trust me more than you, I mean look at you, covered in blood looking all murderous. They're scared of you and rightfully so. You're just another monster," Seventeen chuckled to himself, thinking the boy was still as strong as when he fought against Cell. If so, Seventeen could easily beat him. The android smirked at the thought, though it quickly slipped from his face when Eighteen yelled at him, panic clear in her voice.
"Seventeen! No!"

A tense silence filled the air as everyone watched Gohan, waiting for his response. Gohan's head was bowed, a shadow cast over his face. Those words, had cut deeply. A monster? Is that what he was? Gohan's anger doubled, all he wanted was protect his friends and family, what's so wrong with that? Gohan raised his head, a look of absolute fury on his face, an air of bloodlust around him. Slowly, he started walking towards Android Seventeen, completely prepared to kill the man and no one was going to stop him. Seventeen, oblivious to this, decided to ready himself for the fight, smirking at the challenge. Goku decided to intervene, wanting to stop his son's soon to be rampage. His friends and family were just starting to get comfortable around the boy, he didn't want it to be ruined again.

"Gohan, stop, don't do-" Goku touched Gohan's shoulder, but was cut off when the boy turned quickly, ramming his fist into the man's stomach. Blinding pain was all Goku felt as blood flew from his mouth. The force of the punch was so intense that Gohan's fist had broken through Goku's skin, impaling the man. Realization flashed in his eyes, but it was to late. Goku could see the emotions flashing in Gohan's eyes, the realization, regret and pain. Goku leaned forward, blood dripping from his mouth and onto Gohan's shoulder. Seventeen stood in shock, eyes wide, mouth hanging open. He hadn't expected this, at all.
"Kakarot!!" Vegeta screamed, shocked that Gohan had done such a thing.
Goku watched as panic briefly flashed across the boy's face, before it was gone. Everything was gone. Not even the smallest hint of feeling. Gohan felt panicked, before everything disappeared, replaced by a strange feeling of being calm. Then, came the numbness. He didn't feel anything anymore.

Slowly, Gohan pulled his fist back, not paying the slightest bit of attention to Goku who collapsed forward, landing on his knees and clutching his wound with one hand, the other used to support himself. Gohan stared at his hand, covered in his own father's blood. He watched the red liquid drip down onto the grass below, a few droplets sliding down his arm. His arm was covered in dried blood. His own blood, now mixed with his father's.
"D-Daddy?" Goten stuttered, now more scared of his brother than ever. Gohan barely registered the words, giving a brief glance at the man before calmly walking away from the scene. The group parted for him, scattering as far away as possibly without possibly angering the boy. Gohan ignored everyone, he needed a shower. Calmly, he entered the house, not feeling anything.

"Goku!!" Numerous voices called, running towards the fallen saiyan.
"Dende?!" Piccolo yelled, the smaller Namekian jumping out of his frozen state, running towards the fallen man. They were lucky that Dende was among them, having wanted to enjoy a last peaceful time with the entirety of the group. He also thought that his healing powers might be of use, and he was right. Goku sat back once Dende finished healing him, panting loudly.
"Kakarot, I know you want to be gently with the boy and all, but this has gone on long enough, I think I'll take over from here," Vegeta sneered.
"You should have been taking care of him when I left in the first place, Vegeta, you said you would!! What the hell?!!" Goku screamed, climbing to his feet. They stared in shock, Goku rarely, if ever, rose his voice to any of them.

"Why didn't any of you take care of him? You promised me!" Goku asked, his voice breaking. He watched as everyone looked away in guilt.
"If I didn't step in, he would have killed Seventeen!" Goku shouted once again.
"We're scared, okay?!" Krillin yelled back, surprising the others even more.
"This has gone on long enough! Yes, okay, Gohan nearly killed all of you, but that was when he just revealed himself as the boys' imaginary friend, their big brother, he was angry and felt forgotten. Besides, how many times did he save you to make up for that? First, he protected the boy's from Buu at the arena, then he saved all of you when Vegeta and I weren't there! He even defeated Buu at the cost of his own life, just to make sure all of you could be safe again! And even now, after all this time, the way you've been treating him, he's once again putting his life on the line, for you!" Goku yelled angrily.

Gohan stripped himself of his clothing, throwing them somewhere he doesn't remember. Stepping into the shower, Gohan ignored the water, which was extremely hot. He started rubbing at his body, trying to rid himself of the blood. Exhausted, he leaned forward, bloody hands pressed against the shower wall. Seventeen's words running through his head. Is that really what he is now? A monster, like Cell or Freeza? Did he belong in hell? Did he even deserve to be alive? Gohan felt his shoulders begin to shake at the thoughts running through his mind. He didn't know how long he stood there, shaking, trying to force his tears away. Still covered in blood, Gohan turned off the shower and dried himself off, covering the towel in most of the remaining blood, though his hands were still tinged red. Dressing in a new set of clothing, Gohan wrapped his arms around himself, his heart pounding in his chest.

It felt as though he were having a heart attack, though Gohan thought it was only because of recent events. Nearly killing his father. Images flashed in his mind, his dead father lying at his feet, the bloody bodies of his friends scattered around the ground, but most of all, the body of his little brother that was hanging limply in his hand, Gohan's fingers wrapped tightly around the little boy's neck. The images were enough to set him off. Gohan collapsed to the floor, slamming his back against the counter in the bathroom, a pain filled scream ripping from his throat, body shaking violently as he finally cried. He hadn't allowed himself to cry properly in years. Gohan felt exhausted, he just wanted to sleep and possibly never wake up.