His ears were ringing and his vision had blurred to the point that all he could see was a bright smear of colours. Something hot and sticky spattered into his eye, he swiped at it-

Oh. Blood. Was it his or someone else's? Not that it really mattered.

"Gohan..."

Who was speaking? Cell? No, it was a woman? A girl? A dark shape seemed to hover over him and he screamed at his body to move.

"Gohan, you have to get up. You have to keep fighting."

"Who are you?" he rasped.

"I am the messenger from the depths of death and you should not be here, it is not time for your light to fade away. You must shine. You must burn until everything catches fire around you!"

Gohan's vision swirled before him and dimly he heard Cell's mocking laughter.

A girl knelt in front of him, luminous dark eyes filled her face with a stare devoid of anything childlike in it. Gohan knew that look, he saw it every time he looked in the mirror.

"You're death..?" Gohan gurgled.

"I am companion to destruction and ruin and wed to the apocalypse," she said softly.

Gohan's vision was improving and as the world cleared the girl seemed to get a little more blurry.

"Apocalypse... We're going to lose?"

Her eyes narrowed: "Are you?"

Gohan, a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. A weight placed there by his father. He had never really considered himself a boy, he thought his year with Piccolo had granted the mantle of manhood, of being able to stand with his father. His father, a man so wild and yet so much stronger through the responsibilities he'd held. He was the hero through so many demons.

Now it was his turn.

"Let it burn Gohan..." The girl sounded like she was shouting from far away.

Gohan exploded into the air with a great cry and rushed to meet his monster.

Far away a little dark-haired girl opened her eyes and released her white-knuckled grip on the blankets pulled up to her chin. She rolled over to face the window and wondered what had woken her.

END