Gohan's Moving Castle

WAR comes HOME

Southern coasts

Bordering the North and South lands…

It was dark…dark as the deepest abysses of both sea and space. It was a depressing atmosphere, filled with the essence of smoke, ash and sparks and the smell of decaying flesh, gun powder, fire and death. It was as if the plagues have spilled out onto these lands, enveloping all who dwell within it, consuming them into a world of pain, suffering, sadness and sickness. There was no peaceful life left as the scorched earth was torn apart by fierce battles of war.

Flying, airborne above all and shooting like a comet through the skies, a red, furry, muscular man shot out of the darkness. Following an old recon mission of the entire area, looking down from a birds eye view, the young, spiky haired Saiyan was able to see what had recently transpired in the following hours. As of now, their…his lands were under attack. The main lands of the North were burning, and the continents beyond that, far down South, were also in ruins.

The young man wore black, gi pants with red ankle weights and gi shoes. He also had a black belt strapped around him. His tail, which was normally wrapped around his waist, hung freely, waving about in a particular fashion. It was obviously Gohan, only he wasn't really a…Super Saiyan anymore. His increase in muscle span and mass, as well as the development of red cycles round his eyes, golden texture added to his irises and red fur growth over his arms, chest, back and tail indicated he was in a different state of Super Saiyan. His hair, now black, spikier and more defined, also showed how much he had changed. You may also take note that it hung back, almost like a pony tail but thicker, spikier and loose without any restraints. In any case, the sure transformation had given him an incredible power boost.

Soaring through the skies and looking like a comet imprinted against the black, masses of clouds and smoke, the young Saiyan continued his recon. His eyes gazed down towards the earth, capturing all the horrifying images of war imaginable.

He was flying above the coast, and what he saw was terrifying. The Southern Military's navy, consisting of Colorado Class Battleships, Heavy Cruisers, Destroyers, Frigates and Assault craft were mercilessly bombarding the Coast Line where the Northern Army was housed, defending the beaches. The surrounding houses were burned to the ground, exploding into showers of debris and rubble. Bunkers and trenches were also torn apart, with the soldiers within them also being disintegrated. Their screams of terror were muffled by the explosions as naval artillery hammered them mercilessly.

When he thought that this slaughter would continue, it got worse. Hearing another set of gun fire, Gohan looked further out to sea. There, he saw a massive Armada of Northern naval vessels heading towards the Southern Armada. The fleet of Nevada Class Battleships, Super-Heavy Cruisers, Destroyers and Pennsylvania Class Battleships flared their guns at the enemy fleet. Within moments, several of the Southern naval vessels were sunk. Three battleships burst into flames. One ship had her back broken and was underwater within seconds. In response to this new threat, the Southern navy turned their attention to the opposing fleet and opened fire. The sounds of naval cannon fire was deafening!

Taking a swoop downwards, Gohan detoured through a cross-fire, watching as the ships hammered away at each other. On closer inspection, he could see men on all sides taking to the deck and returning fire with anti-aircraft weaponry, as well as other smaller pieces of naval fire power. The rounds launched at the ships struck home. Whenever a battleship was struck, men were blown to pieces or literally thrown off the ship from the resounding force. Gohan could see naval personnel floating in the water, either withering away in the cold, calling for help, or floating as lifeless corpses.

Barely avoiding a anti-battle craft round, Gohan took to the skies once more. As soon as he reached a certain altitude, he turned his attention inland. Moving over several of the beaches, he could see landing craft, mostly rowboats packed with soldiers, making their way inland. The Southern Army was attempting a desperate, coastal assault! However, their efforts were futile as the Northern Defenders were already waiting for them. In the wake of the bombardment, carnage had spread across the coast, however, there were still strong points and bunkers still standing. As soon as the invaders were ashore, they were rained down by heavy machine gun fire from the bunkers and trenches up on the cliffs. The very few tank obstacles provided some cover, but it wouldn't be long till enemy artillery came in and wasted them. The Northern Army wasn't planning on giving up their land any time soon.

Gohan skipped this battle, figuring he shouldn't get involved. Whatever he was capable of doing would bring more death and destruction. All he could do now was to try and keep either side from making their advances. But God knows what was going to happen next.

Just as he was retreating over safe ground, his eyes and senses caught the distant churning of engines and whistles. Looking up, he saw that ahead of him, just several more miles above a town, a squadron of bombers, blimps and air-battle cruisers belonging to the Southern armies was laying waste to the countryside town. A series of explosion and napalm blasts erupted, engulfing the town in a fiery column of death. There were no screams, just explosions…

A couple of minutes of flying around a bit more, Gohan saw the Northern Defenders approaching. The Northern Military's air-force had arrived to repel the next wave. Squadrons of air-bikes, blimps, bombers and air-cruisers were on route, charging in head to head with the enemy. As soon as they were all in range, their heavy guns and weaponry lit up, filling the skies with flak and flashes of projectiles. The booming of 103 AMP rounds was heard clearly, and seconds later, a flying vessel would burst into flames. Great explosions and flashes of light sounded the destruction of one air craft. The downed titans would burn to the ground, filling the sky with a red death. It was fire in the sky.

Gohan flew straight through the rain of debris and burning ships, avoiding each one and watching as the ash floated past him. There was no where he could turn without seeing a path of destruction or death making its way towards him. This gave a totally new meaning that war is hell. He couldn't imagine hell being much worse.

Fortunately he was saved from further dilemma and delusion as he was found a target from an unlikely foe.

A group of Southern air-cruisers had just entered the scene, with its pilots and crew spotting his familiar form shooting through the skies. It was here they deployed their newly acquired air-corps. Just behind the bomb bay doors, there was a hatch. One of the vessels opened up this hatch, revealing what looked to be a plastic tube. When it opened up, it expelled thirty living objects into the air, which immediately took flight. A second vessel opened a different hatch, this one able to be accessed by man sized objects. From here, thirty different objects took flight, only this time; these ones looked more humanoid then ever…

Gohan sensed this and spotted these flying creatures. With just one glance, the young Saiyan's instincts flared. With a grin, he changed course and flew straight for these creatures. When he was close enough, he could identify the creatures easily.

The first squadron of creatures to have taken flight was humanoid in size just like the second group, only these were more…foreign looking. Shall we say, alien like. All of them were exactly the same to the next. They had pink skin, skinny, unfit bodies, wore white, baggy pants, black belts with golden buckles, had a flat, snake like nose, black eyes with red irises, air holes dotting their bodies and had a small, tentacle emerging from the backs of their head. They were horrid looking, and all let out simultaneous, evil laughs. It was an entire group of thirty Kid Buus!

The second group of course, was far different to them. They were all clones, and all had Oozaru like faces, but their bodies remained the same. They also had brown, furry tails like Gohan in normal form, and they all wore blue, spandex uniforms and white-yellow plastic body armor (just like Vegeta). Though different from the ordinary civilization, Gohan identified them as cursed or mutated Saiyans. These beings let out roars, like wolves, and were all looking ravenously hungry!

Gohan didn't take this into full perspective and charged straight into the mass, fist first. As soon as he was within reach, he rammed his fist into his nearest opponent. With speeds greater then their own, he slammed his fist straight into one of the Kid Buu's, driving forward and picking up several more targets. Soon, he was flying on with a group of Kid Buu's and Saiyans mashed into a pile, which he pushed along. Then, as soon as he had a whole mass ready for the final kill, he opened his palm and unleashed a powerful, golden ki blast. There was a blinding flash of light, accompanied by the sounds of rushing winds, energy and screams/roars of terror from the Kid Buus and Saiyans. As soon as their bodies were reduced to ash, he flew on, pursued by a new legion of creatures.

Smiling, Gohan stopped high above them before flying straight down. In a flash, he reached the new mass, attacking with ferocity. As he plummeted, he sent a roundhouse kick into one of the faces of the Kid Buu's, knocking him away. He then grabbed a incoming fist from one of the Saiyan's and, spinning about, threw him into another Buu. Then, steadying himself, he flipped over and sent a downward kick into the back of one of the Saiyan's heads, knocking him away. This attack readjusted his position so that he was falling right side up. As soon as he was level, he avoided attacks from charging Buu's, shifting through the air before eventually grabbing one of them by the ankle and pulling it to him. He slammed his fist into its face several times, knocking it senseless before sending a final elbow so that he knocked it away. But just as it was sent away, he was grabbed from behind and piled on by a mix of five Saiyans and Buus. They were all screaming and roaring in outrage and effort, staggering him forward. Seconds later, another group rammed into him from the front.

Just as it seemed that he would be crushed by all of them while he fell back to earth, there was a blinding flash of light and a growl. A blue shield blasted outwards, throwing all those on him off and sending them away, charred and damaged. Gohan's arms and legs were spread out wide, a angered look on his face.

As soon as his foes were away, he was able to concentrate on the others. The rest came in one after another, and Gohan fended them off, always knocking them away without a hassle. But then, minutes later, he realized that there were too many of them. The skies were no swarming with thousands of Saiyans and Buus. It was insane! How many people serving the Southern army had converted themselves to these beasts?! It was mind boggling.

Not wasting any time, Gohan shot straight up for the skies. Along the way, he sent basic ki blasts at several incoming Buus and Saiyans intent on blocking his way. They were disintegrated easily. Then, with his golden, fierce aura bursting around him, he shot skywards, pursued by the regiment worth of attackers. While he was being pursued, Gohan glared down with rage and frustration, his face bruised and lip bleeding. With a growl, he held his hands to his sides, blue ki balls of energy forming. With a yell, he threw both hands up, linked the energy formations before throwing his hands down, towards his targets. A massive blast of energy shot forth from his palms, charging straight down towards the mass of creatures and engulfing them. A majority of them were killed, leaving only 1,125 left from the 4,200 that were sent after him. Now more ash and smoke filled the skies, of whatever remained of his victims.

Not discouraged by this sight, the rest of them continued on with the pursuit, forcing Gohan into a faster retreat. Without a second thought, he shot straight towards the cloudy skies above. He could see that the electromagnetic field generated by the destruction of so many airships had left the atmosphere of clouds electrified and dangerous. It would kill anyone who approached. Gohan knew that it was his only way out. Throwing his hand up towards it, he let out a yell, firing a invisible ki wave at it. A massive hole was punched straight through, revealing the clear blue above. it was as if he was flying in the eye of a giant cyclone.

Within seconds, Gohan was clear free and shot through the layer of dark clouds where he made the gap. On his exit, he closed up the hole in the clouds with a reappearing spell. This blocked off any access to him for the Buus and Saiyans. As soon as they saw the eye close, the Saiyans and Buus broke away, pulling back so not to hit the clouds. But several of them weren't so lucky. They ran straight into it. The electromagnetic field enveloped them and fried them like pieces of steak in a furnace. Their bodies returned to earth as ashes…well…those who were able to avoid this fate.

Gohan had vanished…

Back at Port Haven

The war has been dragging on for three days now, and already there has been severe numbers of casualties. But even as the ports and villages further south were suffering from the effects of the war, the villages up north were still all at peace.

The store of The Great Wizard Jenkins and the streets outside it remained peaceful. The same went for it inside. With the door and area set on the Port Haven store, a dim light seeped into the interior of Gohan's castle. Even though the sun was just about to rise, it failed to disturb any of the occupants indoors. They were too busy snoring away. Well, most of them anyway. Calcifer was occasionally drifting in and out of unconsciousness. Even though he could sleep, he had four areas to mind: the castle, the Jenkins store, the Pendragon store and the unknown, black area. If he wasn't a fire demon, he may as well be a door man.

Anyway, while the whole castle was silent as the grave, the dial to the door suddenly flipped to the black quarter. With a chime of a bell, the windows darkened. The light from Port Haven vanished, replaced by nothingness. It was from this nothingness did the door open slowly before suddenly closing. At first there was nothing, as if an invisible entity had entered the castle's midst. However, the sounds of heavy footsteps advertised the return of a familiar owner. Slowly, a figure materialized out of thin air. Dripping with blood, and bloodied up as well, the Super Saiyan 4 Gohan walked over to the chair set in front of the fire place. As soon as he reached it, he turned and slumped right down into it. Letting out a sigh of relief and a hiss of pain, he brought both his feet up and onto the concrete area in front of Calcifer and his frame holdings. The orange flame flickered, the light falling upon Gohan's form. The young Saiyan's head was dipped back, his eyes tightly shut.

A distant chime sounded, making it clear that the door had flipped back to Port Haven. Light from outside spilled in once more, filling the room with a brighter dim. Even so, the atmosphere still felt cold and tense, with the smell of death evident in the air. Calcifer took note of this, and was already aware of Gohan's return. Peering over his charred log, he could see the state Gohan was in and was silently placed in a state of shock. He blinked, his form flickering and crackling away.

"Whoa…" Calcifer whispered. "Are you okay? Man…you smell terrible…"

Gohan trembled a bit, his fingers curling and twitching. His mouth was agape and his breathing was raspy. To add to the red cycles round his eyes, he had blood leaking from them, as well as from his mouth. It stained and smeared his chin, as well as his chest. His arms, chest, and the rest of his body was battered and bruised, with cuts exposed and bleeding. To add to it, he was in terrible pain, and not just from having three broken ribs, a cracked shoulder plate, bruised bones and sore muscles. His outside state was worse then ever.

Feeling that the shoots of pain were caused due to his coursing energy, Gohan felt that a change was in order. With a might drop of effort, he lowered his energy level and brought it back in. Slowly, and painfully, his fur rippled and sunk back into his body, being replaced by regular skin. His shirt failed to reappear as it had been damaged during his transformation. To accompany this degeneration, the cycles round his eyes disappeared and his irises flashed back to orb black. His tail hung limply, its brown texture returned. Then, with a groan of agony and a sigh of relief, he was back to normal. His body, though still bruised and battered, felt much better.

Calcifer blinked when he saw Gohan return to his original form. "You shouldn't keep flying around like that. Soon you won't be able to turn back to your normal form…" the flame said in warning. He knew very well that Super Saiyan 4 was hard to control, but it made it worse in Gohan's position. Shaking his head, Calcifer reached out to the side and grabbed a nearby piece of timber. Setting it underneath him, he smiled up at the young Saiyan. "Isn't this great, Videl put these here for me!" he exclaimed.

Gohan groaned as he sat up, bringing his feet back down. Adjusting his arms and fixing his broken bones by sending recovery energy through his system, he sighed and looked up at his friend. "This war is terrible. They've bombed from the Southern Coast to the Northern Border, it's all in flames now…"

Calcifer scowled in disgust. "I can't stand the fire and gun powder!" he muttered. "Those dopey guys have absolutely no manners!" Gohan chuckled, his eyes filling with new life at Calcifer's sense of bringing up a good joke every now and then. The young Saiyan grinned, though was inwardly disturbed.

"My own kind attacked me today…" the young Saiyan informed. Calcifer blinked in surprise.

"Who? The Witch of the Waste? Babidi?" Gohan shook his head.

"No. Not wizards. Some mad soldiers who turned themselves into Saiyan monsters for the King," the young Saiyan replied. Calcifer blinked, lowering himself back down again. The fire demon sighed in dismay and shook his head.

"Those soldiers are going to regret doing that," Calcifer confessed. "They'll never change back into humans." Gohan nodded affirmatively.

"I know. That curse will stay with you forever if you use it unwisely for too long. Especially Babidi's new henchmen; Majin Buu soldiers," Gohan said. Calcifer looked at him in disbelief, his form seemingly growing larger in its place.

"You're kidding. They're using copies of the original Majin Buu!" Gohan nodded, making Calcifer cringe and pull back. "I thought you defeated that monster years ago…"

"Apparently I did, and Babidi as well. But like him, he's still alive. Using whatever essence he was able to scrounge, Babidi is giving it to Southern Kingdom soldiers as experiments. Once they've fused with the formula, they become his henchmen, overcome with evil. Babidi also gave a sample to the Witch of the Waste to use, and she enhanced it in her own way to create those black, blob soldiers," Gohan said, piecing together everything he had learnt so far. Calcifer had to agree. He trusted Gohan's judgment after all.

"Guess there's no hope for them now eh?" Calcifer replied. Gohan nodded glumly.

"After the war…who knows what will become of them. They're all expendable assets. Their lives will be destroyed. They won't even recall ever being human; they'll just live as mindless puppets for Babidi. If he's still alive, then I've got a lot of trouble on my hands…"

Calcifer blinked, rising up again to a certain height. "Hey, aren't you supposed to report to the King too? Like all the others?" Gohan sighed and stood up. Ignoring his sore muscles he turned and headed for the stairs.

"I'm tired. Make some hot water for my bath…" The fire demon was no less then astounded, especially at Gohan's quick recovery. But then again, it was most likely the immediate, sudden order he was given.

"What! Not again!"

Ignoring the complaints thrown at him by the fire demon, Gohan walked over to the stairs. But instead of going up to the next level, he focused most of his attention towards the ki hiding under the stairs. Now no longer subjected to the untidiness of the room's previous state, he was easily able to access this area easily. When he reached the space under the stairs, he pulled away the curtains and looked down at the couch. To his tired eyes, he drew amazement when he saw a small form, wrapped in a blanket, lying curled up on the couch, back turned to him.

Coming in for a closer look, he saw that it was his house guest, Videl, sleeping silently. Drawing in steady, peaceful breaths, the girl dreamt on, venturing into the unknown parts of her sub-conscious mind. Gohan drew breath himself into a silent gasp, his eyes widening. He had just laid a steady eye on her face, and for the first time ever, he was able to see how beautiful she really was. Her perfect skin with raven, silk like hair lying across her delicate surface, added by that feminine, girl image. Without her pigtails, she looked gorgeous. He never really took the time to notice.

After a moment or two of staring at her, Gohan began to think. He wondered whether she…in her state, would like him. Even though the stories about him were a bit exaggerated, he knew that a lot of people really believed in them. He hoped that she didn't see him as a monster of a sort. He would have to find out later…

With a smile, he closed the curtains and pulled away. With a turn of his heel, he headed up stairs to the bathroom. he had to get himself cleaned up…

TO BE CONTINUED…