A Little Fall of Rain

[Goku]

Justin and his bodyguard stood clustered around the flickering light of their fire. When the night had first settled, the burning wood had been the only source of protection against the encroaching darkness. Now, it licked at their heels as the stench of death pressed in around them. How many of these monsters were there? The shambling horde had done well to get this close to Darkshire, and the astronomer took a deep breath.

Gabriel Bloom, Captain of his Guard, raised his sword higher and took a sudden stab forwards, the blade expertly stabbing through the face of one rotten corpse.

“Well, M’Lord, look on the bright side.” The stern-faced man said, without a trace of amusement on his weather-beaten features. “This lot outright proves that you’re on the right track.”

Justin chuckled faintly, and lifted his fingers to push his glasses back into place. The stars above twinkled merrily. Even here, even now, he couldn’t help but find beauty in the way they shone. And yet, one of the stars didn’t seem quite right… he was sure he would have noted that erratic movement previously.

“I suppose you’re right Captain, just a pity that nobody will ever hear of it.”

Suddenly, then, that irregular star fell streaking towards the ground, the burning white of it resolved instead into a short figure wearing strange, bright orange clothing. His hair was even stranger – a mass of spikes projecting every which way. The brilliance of that bright white illumination made the poor astronomer feel even less confident about their chances.

All around them were the rotting corpses of the damned and the dead. Most were simple peasants; a motley crew of assorted corpses which had lain forgotten in this abominable place. Their flesh was sallow and most writhed with maggots, the obvious wounds which had claimed their lives worn as proudly as soldiers might bear their coat of arms.

Some few were the more dangerous sort – men of rough trade whose deaths had come thanks to their own folly. Bandits and soldiers whose ignoble ends they now sought to bring about on the encampment which had dared to stand in defiance of their master’s will.

For one moment, Justin wondered if the strange figure now stood at the edge of the ring of death were their master – but the casual smile he wore dispelled that notion at once. If there was any doubt, the cheerful note in his voice cast it aside completely.

“Ohayo!” He announced, above the growls and snarls of the dead as they began to shamble around to face him as well as their initial quarry. “Six to one? That doesn’t seem like very fair odds!” His boots dug into the dirt, and that bright light surrounding him burst even brighter, a shining beacon against the dark night.

“LET’S TRY THIRTY TO ONE INSTEAD, HYAAAAAAAAA!”


“Do you think he’s suicidal or… or does he actually have a chance?” Justin tried his best to keep the quiver of fear from his voice, but he couldn’t quite manage it. Gabriel, however, hadn’t taken his eyes off the hoard of enemies since the beginning, and now that there was an opening, he was ready and willing to take advantage of it!

“ATTACK, ALL OF YOU! FOR THE KINGDOM!”

The battlecry served its purpose, his men surged into the front rank of confused undead with blades slashing in all directions, determined to force the enemy back and away from their charge. In the same moment, the newcomer burst from his stationary position to hit the enemy like a cannon ball. What had seemed a hopeless situation was immediately thrown into a new light by this sudden and unexpected good fortune.

Gabriel had seen many men fight in his day. The Omniverse was full of strange and wondrous styles which he could never have dreamed of before his time here. He had never, however, seen a man fight with only his own limbs and seemingly without even an ounce of fear in his heart as he took on the restless dead.

The enemy were numerous, but the martial artist moved with a grace and control which bellied his apparent enthusiasm to get into the fray. He turned the numerous grasping limbs of his adversaries into a weakness rather than a strength; ducking and twisting amongst them such that they spent as much time pawing fruitlessly at each other as they did trying to find solid purchase upon his stocky, muscular frame.

But he wasn’t merely waiting for the guards to do their work; he was no mere distraction! Where he lashed out in return, bones and tendons tore in a hideous cacophony of discordant violence. The rotten, decayed husks had no adequate defence against such a coordinated onslaught, and with each blow another was sent toppling to the ground, where a powerful stomp or accurate slash of the blade could send them back to a merciful rest.

Even as he watched, the stranger turned to deliver a crashing kick which staved one creature’s ribcage in cleanly, and then one of the sturdier of the lot was on him. No mere peasant, this wretched sack of flesh had clearly once been a mercenary; thick chainmail and leathers protected him from the first three blows, though it had clearly not protected him from the spear-haft still lodged firmly in his heart. Even as Gabriel watched a great, rusted battle axe came swinging down to attempt the decapitation of their would-be saviour.

He shouted a cry, attempting to warn the man – and at the last possible moment both arms came up to protect his head. The axe slashed hard against the martial artist’s forearms, cleaving a deep cut across them with a splatter and spray of blood…

And then the warrior undead’s legs were swept out from underneath him, and a punishing fist crashed through his skull, sending a fountain of grey-matter and maggots flying into the air.

The stranger’s voice raised in protest - “Eugh! These things are disgusting!”


It had been a long time since Goku had engaged in massed combat, but the skills never truly died – which was more than could be said for the foul-smelling creatures which made up this foe. There was a kind of rhythm that you had to find in these situations; a heartbeat to the battle, a give and take which flowed through it all. The dull ache in his arms was only getting worse as the fight dragged on, and he was surprised to find that he was moving so slowly. That sense of strange weight which had settled on him since his arrival here refused to let itself be shaken off completely. It was as though he were fighting with a limb tied behind his back, only he had never been aware of it before…

It was exciting! Ordinarily, foes like this would pose no challenge at all, but now he found himself suddenly having to hit each one with care and precision; to duck and dodge away out of range of grasping hands and slashing, rusted blades. Frieza had been the most intense battle of his life, but it had been a battle of martial artists clashing for the fate of the galaxy – this was a scrum of desperate men and women forced to action against mindless undead.

When the battle was finally won, it wasn’t with a single glorious attack or display of overwhelming power – it was with the slow, methodological dismemberment of the nauseating enemies which continued to try and drag them to the ground.

Goku himself was left battered and bleeding, not least from the vicious cut to his forearm, but he was unbowed. So, too, was Gabriel – a warrior he had picked out in the melee almost immediately. The tall, powerfully-built blonde sheathed his sword and cast an appraising eye over the blood-and-gore caked form of Goku. How Gabriel’s armour still managed to shine as a brightly-polished mirror was completely beyond the saiyan.

“You have my thanks.” Gabriel said, offering his hand. “Captain Bloom. I would know your name, friend.”

Goku smiled easily and took the hand, squeezing hard through the metal and shaking firmly.

“Son Goku. Just Goku is fine.” He laughed, scratching behind the back of his head, “It was no problem. What were they? I’ve never seen anything like that before!”

The Captain turned to cast his eye over the astronomer – who seemed to have emptied the contents of his stomach onto the ground, just to add to the degree of unsanitary mess now staining the campsite.

“We can’t stay here.” Gabriel declared. “Son Goku, would you help me relocate the camp to higher ground? When we have set up a new base, I will answer your questions.”

Goku blinked, and looked around the blood-drenched battlefield. “Eeeh? Oh, sure sure, I suppose that makes sense…”


By the time the new camp was safely ensconced amongst the hills overlooking the Gate into this place, Goku was thoroughly exhausted and couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer. The saiyan slept, and there were muttered words from the remaining members of the expedition.

“There were eighteen of us when we began, Justin, now there’s scarcely enough to keep you safe. We need to send back for reinforcements.”

“We don’t have time for that. It is imperative that we complete our mission.”

“Then we will need help from an outsider.”

All eyes turned to the figure now splayed out next to the fire, snoring as merrily and completely as though he were sleeping in the softest sheets, rather than on damp, cold earth. How anyone could sleep at all – let alone so soundly – after seeing such brutal horrors first hand was a mystery they did not want to think about too deeply.

“Do you think we can trust him? It could have been an elaborate trick.”

A pregnant silence followed, and it was Gabriel’s voice which broke it.

“A man like that? No. I’ve seen him fight. I don’t know what he is… but I’m certain there isn’t a shred of deception in him.”


When the sun rose the next morning, it was on a camp almost as weary as it had begun. None had slept well, and the discussion long into the hours of the night had not been pleasant. In the end, however, Gabriel had given his word that he would tell Goku what had happened, and it had been agreed that the outsider could probably be trusted – if he had wanted to betray them, doing so in the middle of the battle would have been quite easy, after all.

It would have been an easier decision to stomach if they hadn’t had to watch him eat the next morning. Goku had attacked the thin and watery gruel they had available as though it were another deadly enemy to be overcome with maximum force. Not a drop remained in his bowl, as the rest of the party tried to stomach theirs down.

“So, those creatures, what were they?”

Gabriel turned his head to face Goku, and his jaw clenched firmly. “Evil magic. The corpses of the dead brought back to kill us.”

“Oooh. Does that happen a lot around here?”

The Captain hesitated for a moment, nonplussed by the easy acceptance of such a thing. “Ah, well, yes, but there is a particular reason why they are after us.”

“Oh? What did you do?”

Gabriel looked to Justin helplessly, whilst his surviving men had to try and hide smirks of amusement at the easy way the newcomer had thrown their poor commander for a loop. He was used to being treated with deference and respect; there was something in Goku’s manner which made it clear he didn’t really know or care who they were or what they were doing; it was only the fact that they were in danger which interested him at all!

The Astronomer took pity on his friend and took over the explanation for him.

“We are searching for a piece of a star.” He said, “We have reason to believe it fell to earth in this place, in fact… I think I have charted its precise location, and it is absolutely vital that we reach it before our enemies find it and use it themselves.”

Goku’s brow furrowed at that, and he scratched his head again.

“Eeeh? A star? Like, a meteor? Don’t those fall to earth all the time?”

The Astronomer chuckled, and shook his head. “Not like this, no. Suffice to say, the creatures that attacked us last night were the first evidence we have of a coordinated effort to stop our advance. Everything else has just been… a natural consequence of this place.”

Goku cocked his head to the side. He didn’t need to say anything to make it clear he was completely and totally lost. This time, it was Gabriel who came to the rescue.

“A lot of our men have died whilst Justin confirmed his predictions. There used to be a lot more of us. Now, we are considering whether to push on or call for reinforcements…”

Goku nodded his head seriously.

“And the trouble with that.” Justin continued, “Is that the longer we leave it, the more likely that the powers which sent those monsters – or one that is even worse - will find the star piece, and use it to become even more powerful than they are already!”

Hopping up to his feet, Goku punched his open palm and nodded firmly in response. “I see!” He declared brightly, “So those were just the small fry? They’ll send stronger guys to try and kill you?”

The Astronomer and his guards shared a curious look – Goku didn’t sound worried or nervous at the prospect of fighting stronger enemies… he sounded excited, as though the prospect had done more to wake him up than breakfast ever had.

“I, suppose you could put it that way.” Gabriel said. “This whole world is ruled by evil, the longer we stay here, the more likely it is that they will send their truly powerful servants to try and finish us off.”

Goku’s face split into a wide grin, and his eyes twinkled at the prospect.

“Okay! Then you don’t have to worry at all!” Goku announced, his hands moving behind his head. “I’ll travel with you! If those things were the first attack, I want to see what else this place can throw at me! Haha!”

Gabriel stared in naked confusion at the brash confidence this strange newcomer was suddenly exuding.

“Are you, are you sure—“ Justin began, intending to scold Goku for his attitude, to warn him of the darkness and dangers which surely lay ahead. Instead, Goku interrupted him by holding up his hand.

“Absolutely! Don’t worry about it! I saw some of what Gabriel was able to do in that fight, and I wanted to spar with him anyway.” His grin took on a whole new, cheeky, dimension, and he walked over to clap the stunned Captain on the back.

“I can’t do that if I let you die, right? So let’s go and get this meteor! What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

… Oh, why did he have to ask that?