Disclaimer: I do not own DB/DBZ/GT/Super!
A figure blasted through the sky at impossible speeds. He was flying so fast that someone looking at the sky wouldn't even notice his passing. However, it was a good thing though that flying didn't take much concentration because Son Gohan was deep in thought as he flew, a bag of training clothes slung over his shoulder as he made his way to Kami's lookout. I should've been strong enough to beat him. If I were as strong as I was when I beat Cell, Broly would've been nothing! Gohan grit his teeth. He'd let himself go, badly. Seven years of not training will do that to you. Seven years of sitting on my butt reading when I could've been making myself stronger! Dad gave ME the mantle of protecting the Earth and I haven't been preparing. What if something worse than Broly comes along? If not for that freak accident with the Dragonballs partially bringing Dad back for that moment, Goten and I would be dead along with Trunks and Videl!
Mercifully Videl had not seen the majority of his fight with Broly so she still didn't know about him being the gold fighter, still didn't know about his Saiyan heritage. The heritage I've been letting rot while I prepare for tests that I could've passed in my sleep! Well no more! Gohan was determined to be ready for the tournament that was starting in just over 24 hours. It would be plenty of time. Gohan looked to see the lookout up ahead and slowed himself to land on the platform where his former mentor Piccolo was waiting.
"What brings you to the lookout kid?" Piccolo stared out over the Earth. Gohan could almost feel the disappointment in those words.
"I almost lost." Gohan didn't have to elaborate. Piccolo had been watching the whole thing. The only reason he hadn't stepped in is because he knew it was a lesson Gohan needed to learn. "You did. I won't bust your chops over it again seeing as you're here to rectify that."
Gohan nodded. "I am. I won't be caught unawares again."
Piccolo smiled in approval. "Good. Dende's waiting for us. Follow me." Even though Gohan knew where he was to go he followed without objection. Some things never change. Piccolo proved correct when they came upon Dende outside of the room of spirit and time alongside Mr. Popo. Dende had a worried look on his face. "Are you sure you want to do this alone Gohan?" Gohan ignored the fact that they knew already what he was going to do. Piccolo probably heard the argument he had with his mom and went ahead and made preparations. Good old Piccolo. Gohan thought fondly. Of course, Dende being Kami probably didn't hurt much.
The room of Spirit and Time, or the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, where one day in the normal world was one year inside the chamber, was a daunting thing to endure. It had been hard enough when he was 10 going inside with his Dad. Going in by himself would be twice as hard especially since he wasn't sure about his stamina. But Gohan was determined. "I have to do this Dende. Not just for the future of this planet, but for me. I have to prove to myself that I can do it."
Dende smiled and shook his head. "You're definitely a Saiyan."
Gohan allowed himself a small smile at that and, with an approving nod from Piccolo, he walked inside. With a click the door shut and he was alone for a year. His mother hadn't been happy with his decision, but she had understood. Videl had been even less understanding, wondering why he couldn't take her to this special training place. Gohan blushed at the thought of being inside the time chamber alone with her. Of course, he couldn't explain what the time chamber was without possibly giving away his secret but that was looking more and more to be a futile effort. I'll have to tell her at some point. Gohan shook those thoughts away and put everything where it needed to go while he thought up his training plan.
He walked out from the main platform into the emptiness a way out before he took a stance and powered up to Super Saiyan. With effort he drew on his inner power and tried to ascend. It was difficult. More so than he thought it would be and he had to draw on his anger from the past to do it but in the end, he succeeded. Gohan didn't feel successful though. He was angry at himself. "Damn it I really have let myself go!" He clenched his fist in anger before shaking himself. He didn't have time for this and so, with a breath, he began his warm up.
Meanwhile at Capsule Corp, the home of the Briefs, Vegeta trained in the gravity chamber Dr. Briefs had built for him. Trunks had been training with him but Bulma had called him away so that she could further show him how Capsule Corp worked. Vegeta wasn't a fool. He knew that eventually, Bulma would give control of the company to Trunks just as her father had done to her. He was fine with it, as long as Trunks kept up with his training. Thinking of what Kakarot's son had done, not training all these years. Irritated him immensely. He had all that power and that natural ability and yet he squandered it! It made his blood boil and with a shout of anger he sent a Ki blast out that destroyed the controls. "Damn." He'd have to get Dr. Briefs to fix it later. With a grunt he powered down to his base form and grabbed a towel as he made his way to the kitchen. He walked to see Bulma munching on an apple as she read over some report or other. "Where's the boy?" He asked casually.
"Off at Goten's house." Bulma shrugged.
"Hn." Vegeta opened the fridge and started piling things onto his plate. With a roll of her eyes, Bulma grabbed it and sent him to sit. While she was preparing his meal, Vegeta sat in thought. "Is Kakarot's other son there?"
"You mean Gohan? Actually, Chi Chi made mention of him going to train. I think she mentioned Kami's lookout but I'm not sure what he could do there to get ready for…unless he's using the- "
"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber." Vegeta said with a smirk. "He's finally taking his training serious again."
"Yeah, I think that run in with that Broly guy scared him."
Vegeta nodded in agreement. He hadn't gone because he wanted to see if Gohan could handle it. He had however, almost gone when he had felt Trunk's energy drop dangerously low but then Broly's presence had disappeared. He scarcely believed the younger son of Kakarot when he told him that Kakarot himself had shown up. Gohan had confirmed it though, saying that the eternal dragon had brought him back for a moment so they could overwhelm Broly. As irritated as Vegeta was that he had missed his chance at Kakarot, he ignored that and proceeded to take Gohan to task for allowing himself to get so weak. Gohan had been ashamed enough on his own but Vegeta could care less. "How dare you squander the power that your Saiyan DNA gives you!" He had told him. It seemed Gohan had taken his words to heart.
"How much training can Gohan really get in a year though that will make a difference? He can't spar with himself in there." Bulma thought aloud.
That's exactly what Gohan was doing however. He utilized the multiform technique as he fought himself. It had felt like he had been in the chamber for 6 months so far but he knew it could only have been a few hours. In that time, he had mastered his Super Saiyan 2 form and currently was working on making his base form as strong as possible. Super Saiyan in and of itself was only a power multiplier so mastering Super Saiyan would do no good if his base form was weak. And so, he trained and fought himself to grow his base form so that his Super Saiyan forms would be as strong as possible. The odd thing was, when he was in his Super Saiyan 2 form, he almost felt as if he could go higher. Gohan ignored that for the time being though, continuing to block attacks from his clone, improving his blocking and dodging skills that he had never properly developed when he was younger. Piccolo would be proud of my dodging now. Gohan smirked to himself.
After a few more hours of dodging and blocking, Gohan halted the training and ended the multiform move. With only himself now he stood silent, searching within himself for that power he had felt before. His hair had grown while he had been there, growing to his shoulders. The tail that had grown back within the first month of training waved idly. Suddenly Gohan tensed and, with a yell, transformed straight into Super Saiyan 2. He knew he was much stronger than he had been against Cell now. So much so that he could feel the power underneath his skin. He got into a stance that he normally used to power up and began to yell as he gathered his power. It swelled around him as he brought more and more power to bear. His hair began to spike higher and then grow longer down his back as he continued to power up. He didn't even realize that the room was shaking. Those outside on the lookout noticed though.
"What's going on in there?!" Dende yelled as the lookout trembled with Gohan's power. "We shouldn't be feeling it from in there!" Piccolo looked on in awe before it was replaced with a smirk. "Hn. It's about time kid."
Back at Capsule Corp, Vegeta was out on the lawn looking out into the distance. He could feel the boy's power. He smirked but then the smirk turned into gritted teeth. This meant that the boy was even stronger then him, again! He looked back and thought of training some more but knew it would do no good. The gravity chamber was still broken and training now could only potentially cause more harm then good. "Hn, oh well." Vegeta turned and went back inside. At least he would get a chance at Kakarot at the tournament. With a smirk, Vegeta walked back in and decided he'd see how receptive Bulma would be to having a little fun that night. He wasn't worried. He was good at persuading her when her work seemed to get the best of her. It was odd really, Vegeta had never seen himself as a family man and yet here he was. He wasn't disappointed though. He found himself happier than he had ever been, more than he had ever thought himself deserving of. Of course, he'd never admit that out loud.
Back inside the chamber, Gohan wasn't finished as his power continued to swell, his eyebrows disappearing into his head until, with one last scream, he was done. Gohan stood for a moment as everything calmed back down. He surveyed himself. His hair had grown down to the back of his knees. His eyebrows were gone but Gohan wasn't worried about that. "Oh, wow this is strong! Huh, think I'll call it Super Saiyan 3." He nodded to himself before splitting into the multiform and began to test himself. An hour later though and he was spent. "Man, this form doesn't have a lot of stamina. Must be due to the power output. Oh well, I'll just have to get used to it the way I did with the other 2 forms." He wondered how many potential forms of super Saiyan there were. Was there a limit at all to how strong a Saiyan could get?! "And I've just been letting it rot inside of me for the last 7 years." Gohan said bitterly before getting hit in the face by his clone. Instantly retaliating, Gohan kept up his guard and kept his mind focused on the task at hand. He had to stop at some point however, as he finally dropped back to his basic form, exhausted. He ended the multiform and made his way back to the main platform. "Don't need to over do this new form." Gohan smirked despite his exhaustion. He wondered if his dad had found Super Saiyan 3 in Otherworld. "Knowing dad, probably. That means I'll have to train even harder. Surely if he's found it then he's mastered it by now."
In Otherworld, Goku stood on King Kai's new planet, excitement bubbling in himself as he looked over his new form. "Man, King Kai this is powerful! I can feel the energy under my skin." Goku had just unlocked Super Saiyan 3. "Of course, I won't be able to use this form in the tournament. Powering up would take too long."
"It'd also use up a lot of the time you'll have on Earth. Remember Goku, the more energy you use, the faster your time will slip away."
"Don't be silly King Kai, it doesn't work like that at all, at least, not in this case."
"Oh, hey Fortune Teller Baba!" Goku exclaimed.
"What do you mean?" King Kai asked, confused.
"The higher power has decided to let Goku have a true 24-hour day. He says Goku earned it."
"Huh. Well if the Supreme Kai said it then we'll let it go without an issue. I still wouldn't advise using that form Goku. It takes a lot of energy so at least wait until you've mastered it before you start using it in too many fights."
"Gotcha King Kai! No problem!"
King Kai shook his head. This guy is crazy! I always said he'd be the death of me…looks like I was right. For the time being at least. His planet had been restored and, at some point soon, his halo would disappear again and he'd have a life to spare. King Kai had planned on using that life to give Goku back his. He knew that being dead and not being able to spend time with his family weighed on Goku. So, even though Goku would surely protest, he'd do it anyway because Goku deserved to live with his family. "He'll have to wait a little longer though." King Kai thought with a sigh as he watched Goku test out his new form. He tuned in his senses toward Earth. He had felt when Gohan's energy had skyrocketed hours before. He knew then that Gohan had also reached that higher level. What was odd about it was that he seemed even stronger than Goku in that form. Maybe not too odd though. That kid has always had a knack for getting stronger faster than Goku when he has a mind to do it. Goku hadn't felt the energy spike because he was dead so he had no idea that his son was training again. I think I'll let Gohan surprise him. Heh. That ought to be fun. Let him get surprised for once.
Back on the lookout, Piccolo looked almost nervous as he waited. The kid is going to make us late for the tournament if he doesn't come out soon. It made sense that Gohan would want to take as much time as he could to get back to form. But seeing as Gohan had apparently found a new form of Super Saiyan perhaps it wasn't out of the range of possibility that he may want to master the new form before emerging. I doubt he'll need to use that new form in a human tournament but I suppose it couldn't hurt. Suddenly, the door clicked open and piccolo turned to watch as his former student exited, very much a changed warrior. Gohan looked far more like a man than he had going in considering he had only been inside for a little over 24 hours. His hair had grown down to the middle of his back and his tail had grown back and was wrapped comfortably around his waist. "Hey Piccolo, sorry I took so long." His face looked sharper, more defined and his eyes held a confidence in them that Piccolo hadn't seen since his fight with Cell.
"Heh, it's alright kid. But we'd better get going or we'll be late." Piccolo tossed Gohan a sensu bean which he gratefully ate. The Namekian then held his palm out to Gohan and, after a moment's concentration, a bright light over took Gohan and, after it faded, Gohan had a clean, fresh gi on. It was reminiscent of the gi he had worn against Cell except it had a black under shirt on that had sleeves and he was wearing black boots. On his back was Piccolo's own symbol, a sign that Gohan had regained his former mentor's respect. Gohan smiled at the gesture. "Thanks Piccolo. Now, let's go!" And with that, they both leapt off of the Lookout as Dende and Popo waved and sped towards the tournament.
Back at the tournament site itself, Krillen, his wife 18, and their daughter Marron stood waiting alongside Roshi for the others to show up. Suddenly, Krillen spooted Chi Chi and Goten making their way through the gate along with Bulma, Trunks, and Vegeta who wore his trademark scowl. Krillen waved them over excitedly. "Krillen, is that you under all that hair?" Bulma asked disbelievingly.
"Ha ha very funny Bulma." Krillen replied sarcastically.
"Hmm, you've grown weaker since the last time we met baldy, is your humanity finally catching up with you?" Vegeta asked, his other trademark smug smile on his face.
"Again, very funny you guys." Krillen replied with an eyeroll.
18 decided she didn't want to be left out. "Hey Vegeta, how's the arm? Not still giving you trouble is it?"
Krillen had to forcefully hold the laughter in as Vegeta grit his teeth in irritation. "My arm is just fine as I'm sure you'll see you walking toaster."
Chi Chi chose that moment to step in. "Would you two stop it! Sheesh it's like you haven't been making the same childish insults towards each other for the last 7 years or something."
Vegeta just scowled and turned to look at the people milling about when a man in an orange gi and a halo over his head appeared right next to him, causing Vegeta to tense. "Damnit Kakarot why do you have to appear so close?"
"Sorry Vegeta!" Goku said as he rubbed the back of his head. "But I had to focus on your energy to get here from the check in station! Gohan isn't here yet so I couldn't use his energy."
"Goku?" The man in question turned to be met by the tearful eyes of his wife. Goku was not typically a man that understood emotions such as sadness. He also wasn't great at understanding relationships. But he had come to love Chi Chi and being separated from her for seven long years had been torture. He carefully embraced her, returning the kiss she bestowed on him before she backed away reluctantly to introduce the small child next to her. "This is your youngest son, Goten."
Goten looked up at his father in wonder. "Are you my daddy?"
Goku felt his heartbreak that Goten had even needed to ask that. "I am, son." And with that statement, Goten launched himself into Goku's arms in such a display that Trunks had needed to dry his eyes a little.
Not far away, Videl observed the scene. Gohan had told her that his dad was being allowed to come back from the dead, which she found unbelievable, for a day for the tournament. But seeing how the man had appeared out of nowhere combined with the halo over his head, Videl felt there wasn't much choice but to believe. Where the heck is Gohan anyway?" She approached them as Goku asked that same question.
"He went off to train before the tournament." Chi Chi answered.
"Your brat let himself go rather badly these last seven years." Vegeta sneered.
Chi Chi looked as if she was going to respond when she spotted Videl. "Oh, hey Videl! I'm glad you were able to make it. Everyone this is Videl, a friend of Gohan's."
"Mom she's my friend too! And Trunk's friend!" Goten protested. Chi Chi smiled at her son.
Vegeta eyed the girl suspiciously. "Aren't you the child of that fool Hercule?"
"Vegeta! Be nice!" Bulma scolded.
"I am, what of it?" Videl challenged. This only caused Vegeta to smile but it elicited no verbal response.
What did however, was the power level they felt coming their way. Krillen whistled. "Man, I can't believe that's Gohan. What kind of training did he do to get that strong?"
Vegeta was staring off into the distance before he swore, loudly. "Fucking second place, again!" Videl barely heard him but his statement confused her. Krillen's statement about Gohan confused her in that she thought Gohan was strong already. She understood what sensing Ki was and was ready to badger Gohan to teach it to her as soon as possible.
"Oh, wow he is way stronger than he was seven years ago!" Goku stated. "If he had gotten as weak as you say Vegeta, the only way he could've improved this much is the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. That's still a large jump though."
Videl was about to ask what he meant when the man in question landed 10 feet away next to a green skinned man in a turban and cape. She hardly recognized him though. If she had found Gohan cute before, she was nearly ready to salivate now. But again, she was confused. How does someone change that fast? It was only a day ago that I saw him and now he looks completely different! It then clicked. This time chamber place must be somewhere you can go for training in a short amount of time. I wonder what the ratio is? And how is that even possible?!
"Hey guys, sorry we're a little late. I wanted to maximize my time in the chamber." Gohan then noticed his father who was standing with Goten in his arms, smiling encouragingly at him. "Dad." Gohan said, almost painfully. "It's been a while." By then, Goku had put Goten down and walked towards his oldest son. "Son. I'm so glad to see you, after all this time." And with that, they embraced. Gohan fought back tears. He had dreamt of this moment for so long. After a few moments they let go and back away a little. "Hey Dad, what do you say we all go fishing after this, if you have time?"
"That'd be great Gohan!" Goku exclaimed. Gohan smiled at that. Today is going to be a great day. Little did any of them know that there was a darkness ahead that they all had to be ready for. They may need to put that fishing trip on hold.
Hey so this has been floating around in my head for a while now. I want to clarify a few things. 1) Yes, I do believe that Gohan could have ascended to SS3 in 1 year of nonstop training. Afterall, when he and Goku trained 7 years earlier, Gohan went in not even smelling SS1 and came out with the ability to go SS2 even if he didn't know it at the time. So, it certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility that he could have went in this time barely at SS2 level and come out an SS3. Although I may have used a bit of that good old Fanfiction magic to make it happen in 6 months. 2) Yes, the tail is back and I may even go as far as Vegeta getting his back at some point. AT himself admitted that he just forgot they exist so it's also not out of the realm of possibility. 3) This isn't a story where I plan on crapping all over AT, but the guy is very inconsistent with his story writing. We know that there are several characters from DB that didn't make it into DBZ simply because AT forgot they existed (Launch anyone?). 4) No, I won't be able to update this a lot. It's going to be like my other stories where I update when I can in between school work and other stuff. So just be patient! 5) Obviously I'm acting as if The Great Saiyaman didn't exist. Gohan entered this tournament to face his father so nothing about any blackmailing from Videl will come up. 6) I also don't plan on sending Videl's character down the drain by the end of this story the way Super has done. Anyway, those are my main points I wanted to clear up before people asked them. But if you do have a question, simply leave it in a review and I will respond when I can. I hope you guys enjoy!