Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Death of a Hero ❯ One-Shot

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

This fic is based on the future timeline when Trunks is going through the city and he finds Gohan's body after his death at the hands of the androids. I always wondered what he was thinking, which is why i wrote this fic.

The song in here is VNV Nation's "Forsaken (Vocal Version)" off of their "Solitary" EP. I don't own DBZ or this song.

~ = lyrics



"But I can't let you go fight them alone with your injury!" Trunks said to Gohan as the androids destroyed another city just a few miles away from them. During their last bout with the duo, Gohan had lost his arm trying to protect Trunks. Gohan looked down on the young warrior, his blue eyes making promises that he could never keep. Trunks would be more of a distraction than an ally right now, and he couldn't risk that.

"Ok you win. Let's go." Gohan said. Trunks' face lit up like New York at dusk. Turning his back to Gohan, he looked at the flames rising from the nearby city, he was more than ready to fight the androids. And then everything when dark. Gohan had knocked him out with a single blow; he couldn't afford the risk to Trunks or himself. He flew off in the direction of the town.

Trunks awoke atop the large rock he and Gohan had been standing on. As he regained his senses, he remembered all that had happened, his willingness to fight, Gohan tricking him so he wouldn't get hurt.

"Damn it Gohan!" he yelled, powering up and heading for the smoldering city, the black sky hanging over it like a funeral wreath. He scanned the wreckage below him; the pieces of cement sticking out at odd angles like ruined fence posts, glass shimmering in the lightning like a scared animal's eyes in front of a car. Thunder rumbled, giving the silent shell of the buildings a voice, screaming out for justice. Fighting the lump in his throat, he continued searching for Gohan, the feeling of dread growing stronger, wrapping around his heart like a snake.


~I have nothing left to feel.~
~When I have nothing left to say~
~I'll just let this slip away.~

He saw him lying on the cracked blacktop, limp, lifeless and discarded. Water mixed with the blood, creating a puddle below him that rippled in the wind. Trunks landed and silently walked over to his fallen master. The sky chose that moment to open up again, the heavens crying over the death of the Earth's only hope. Wetness was on Trunks cheeks, his own warm salty tears mixing with the cool molecules from the sky. He reached Gohan, staring down at his handsome, now scarred face.

::He's not real. This really isn't Gohan. It can't be. Gohan can't die.:: He thought to himself, looking at the wax-like man at his feet. But he knew that was a lie. This was Gohan, and he was dead. Dead, like everyone else. A chapter had finally ended with his passing, the one that had begun with the death of all the others. He wasn't coming back, and neither was anyone else. Trunks felt his own heart slow under the heavy burden of grief.

~I feel these engines power down.~
~I feel this heart begin to bleed~
~as I turn this burning page.~

"GOHAN!" he cried, the forlorn sound getting mingled and lost in the howling storm. He wanted to shake him, make him come back. His grief turned to rage, how could Gohan just leave him like that? Leave him all alone here in this hellhole? He was the one ray of light in his life, the only other person alive that could understand how he felt or what he was going through. How dare he just leave like that, without warning, without saying good bye? His hands clenched, digging his nails into the skin. Trunks sobbed uncontrollably. He wanted him back for just one moment; to ask him where did he go from here? To ask him how to find the hope that Gohan had held onto his whole life, how to become strong enough to defeat the androids. He wanted to apologize for being in the way that day at the amusement park when Gohan had lost his arm. And he felt guilty for still being alive. He wasn't a super Saiyan, he didn't have the strength to fight the androids like Gohan had, it should have been him lying in the puddle of dusty red water, his body slowly cooling in the rain.

"Now what? What do I do now?" he whispered.

~Please forgive me if I bleed.~
~Please forgive me if I breathe.~
~I have words I need to say.~
~Oh so very much to say.~

~And whose life do I lead?~
~And whose blood do I bleed?~
~Whose air do I breathe?~
~With whose skin now do I feel?~

~I'm supposed to walk away from here.~
~I'm supposed to walk away from here.~

~(Help me)~

"God, please God...HELP ME..." he muttered, dropping to his knees.

~And whose life do I lead?~
~Whose blood do I bleed?~
~Whose air do I now breathe?~
~I'm convinced there's nothing more.~

He could no longer see a reason for living. If only he could tell him how much hope it had given him to have someone else who understood the rage the burned through his veins like acid, to show him the outlet for that pain. His hope had died with Gohan; it was running downhill with the rivers of rain, tears and blood that polluted the afternoon. There was nothing left, he wanted to die. He couldn't think any longer, for the first time in his life his head was void of all thoughts. He screamed. It was primal, it was the only thing he could do, he did it without even knowing why.

~The day you died I lost my way.~
~The day you died I lost my mind.~

~What am I supposed to do?~
~Is there something more?~

~The engines power down.~
~Like a soldier to his end I go.~
~Because I'm convinced~
~that there is nothing more.~

~and whose life do I lead~
~and whose air do I breathe?~
~With whose skin and whose blood do I feel?~

~What happens now?~
~Have I done something wrong?~

::WHY:: was the first thought that came to him, as he screamed up twords the deity, if there was one, that must have been looking down on the scene.

~Forgive my need to bleed right now.~
~Please forgive my need to breathe~
~But I've so much to say~
~and it wouldn't matter anyway.~
~You're not here to hear these words that I must say~
~and I'm convinced inside~
~that there is nothing more.~

~Whose life do I lead?~
~Whose air do I breathe.~
~Whose blood do I now bleed?~
~With whose skin now do I feel?~

~I have nothing left to say.~
~I have nothing left to feel.~
~Am I supposed to let this go now,~
~let darkness come and take you away?~

Something snapped in the scream, he slammed his fists into the ground. The pavement cracked and exploded around him. Through the blurred vision of his tears he saw the glow surrounding his fists, through his grief he felt a surge of renewed energy. Realizing what had happened he fell back, stunned. Hope had regained its foothold in his heart. He would avenge his fallen friend, his father, and all the others his mother had spoken so highly of. He stood; the rain had subsided becoming a soothing spattering of mist that blew through his newly blonde hair. Someone was whispering through the wind, it sounded like Gohan. Trunks listened.

~(If your frightened of dyin' and you're holdin' on~
~you'll see devils tearing you life away.~
~If you've made your peace,~
~then the devils are really angels,~
~freeing you from the Earth)~