BLACK MOON

A DRAGONBALL Z Story

MOIRAI SAGA

BOOK ONE

by

J.M.A.

Based on the story and characters created by Akira Toriyama

RATED M for moderate language, violence, mature themes & elements involving teens that may be sensitive for some readers

Tags: Drama, slow-burn romance, slight A/U and canon divergence, character-driven, action/adventure, sci-fi, hurt/comfort, slice-of-life, friendship

Part One

"We are kindred spirits, forged in different fires."

- Aaron Polson

Gohan

Death. The stench of it was everywhere. It was in my nose, caked in every pore, dominating every nerve in my body.

Because of me, all of my friends were going to die.

Because of me, the whole planet was going to be eradicated from existence.

And I just stood there. Too scared to do anything, and just as terrified of doing nothing.

I didn't know what else I had expected, how I thought I was going to win this war. No enemy, in the long history of my father's legacy, had ever let good win by bowing out, admitting defeat. It was always a fight to the death.

I didn't know how or why I had expected Cell to be any different.

What a pathetic excuse of a warrior I was; what a disappointing, unworthy son I was. I wanted to be just like my dad; I wanted to do good, to help people, help the world.

My heart just had a different idea of doing it than he did.

Perhaps that was why the words of an Android, a sentient being of wire and steel, stifled my reluctance and fear—a being whose sole purpose of existence was to murder my father, only to choose different, and become an ally.

He'd chosen peace. He'd chosen love and compassion. And he'd chosen to fight for all of it, even though he knew it would lead to his death.

This, he was asking me to do, now; this, he tried to help me realize, that I shouldn't be afraid of my power—no matter how violent and horrible it could be—for I could use it to fight for what I loved, what I treasured and wanted to protect. That to bow out of fighting for all I held dear simply because of my fear would be far worse than the violence I would unleash.

That gentle, understanding smile would forever be stamped behind my eyelids, as Cell's foot came down and crushed the android's disembodied skull.

He'd known he would die. But he made sure he found his way to me anyways.

I could have stopped it, could have stopped all of this—

If I hadn't been such a coward.

That caged monster inside me stormed and clawed, a demon rising from the depths of some hell buried deep in my soul. I felt it everywhere; from my gut to my ears to the tips of my fingers…

LET ME OUT, it demanded.

LET ME OUT, it cried.

I had always been terrified of this monster inside me—of the rage and violence and savage instincts—terrified that one day, once it was unleashed, I could never trap it again; that it would swallow me whole and I would lose all that had made me good, all that made me, me.

But if I didn't let it out now, if I didn't succumb to this power I'd been born with, everyone I loved was going to die.

No more.

No more pain, no more death. No longer was I going to stand aside and do nothing. My soul would be damned just as well to be a bystander as my father and friends were murdered in front of me; what difference would it make, giving in to this beast that had been born within me, stalking my life like the shadow at my feet?

I didn't ask for this. I was just a kid.

But to save my family, to save the planet—the universe—I would sell my soul, I would give myself to that demon, to do what I—it—needed to do, and I would find a way to live with the blood on my hands after.

If I ever came back at all.

I closed my eyes against Cell, against the desert painted with blood, against the pleading eyes of my father and friends, succumbing to darkness.

I finally let that tether snap.

You're free.

That monster in my skin snarled with triumph, and then erupted in its unbridled fury.

A/N:

Hello, welcome to my fanfic, Black Moon! Thank you very much for clicking on my story and checking it out! Before you blaze on, dear reader, allow me one moment more to clarify some things about this fic:

This is a passion project that is 10+ years in the making, one that has gone through dozens of changes and reinventions through the years (if you are a reader from back when this was originally posted in 2012, you'll know just how much this fic has changed!)

This is a Gohan and OC-centric fic, told in first-person narrative. While other characters, both canon and of the OC-type will all play their roles, the main protagonists of this fic are Gohan and my OC, so don't expect a whole lot of "coverage" with others of the DB cast.

This will not be a short fic. It is a slow-moving story that heavily focuses on character arcs; it will be a bit of a slow mover in DBZ terms, in which there won't be any fighting for a while. There are 3 parts; Part 1 primarily explores the main characters, their worlds, the coming together of said worlds, the gateway between Part 1 and Part 2 is where the tension and fighting begins to build, with Part 3 being one big ladder to the climax.

While this prologue follows the canon story to a T, this is the only time it will do so. From here on out, I will put my own twist and touches to the story, and bend or eliminate some "rules" of the canon material if I feel it's necessary for the story I'm trying to tell (but I will always try to find my way through the story going by the rules of the canonical material first).

This story isn't going to be the typical happy-go-lucky, quirky, adventure-laden DBZ tale. As the tags in the preface say, this is a drama, in addition to being a hybrid between the canon world and a distorted version of our reality; it is going to be blended with some of our real-world problems and struggles, which may be off-putting for some, and that is fine :) DragonBall is and was always a light-hearted story that wasn't meant to be taken too seriously, and that's what a lot of people love about it (including myself), but this is what I've always wanted to explore and tinker with in a DBZ story, and if you want to stick around for the ride, know that I greatly appreciate your time and readership!

With introductory words out of the way, spur onward! It's amazing, I have posted, rewritten, reposted, and had this fic out in the world to read for so long, yet I never stop being nervous about new people coming on to read my work! I hope you enjoy it! Have fun!

-JMA