Future Trunks had come and gone after delivering his warning to Goku, and Piccolo by extension since he was listening in using his advanced Namekian hearing, and now everyone was discussing their plans for training in anticipation of the android threat that would appear in 3 years time.
Yamcha let out a sigh as he watched Vegeta fly off 'Leave it to him to ruin the mood.'
"We'll be leaving too, so until we meet again everyone, and welcome back Goku." and so Tien took off with Chiaotzu.
"You've gotta wonder how strong those two will be by then, no doubt Tien is gonna come up with another amazing new technique."
"I wouldn't be surprised." then Goku turned his attention over to Piccolo "Hey Piccolo, you mind training with us? Please? Me and Gohan I mean, it would help a lot to have a sparring partner."
Piccolo nodded "Yeah it makes sense, let's do it."
"Great. Hey Krillin, Yamcha, do you guys wanna come too?"
Krillin chuckled nervously "I think I'm gonna pass, I'll just head over to Kame House and train with Master Roshi."
"Fair enough. Yamcha?"
"Actually I think I'll take you up on it." Yamcha told him "To be honest I doubt I could really keep up with your level of training but I think it's time I change that, after all aside from Bulma I've known you longer than anyone here and it's time people realize that."
"Yeah that's true, I'm itching to see just what you've been up to since then." then he turned back to Bulma "Oh and be sure to take care of that baby okay Bulma?" and he took off, with Gohan, Piccolo and Yamcha following him.
"Baby? Goku what the hell was that about? Bulma and I haven't… you know… since I was wished back. Did all of that training in space mess with your head or something?"
"Oh you'll find out soon enough. But anyway, how come you were so keen on training with us?"
"Well like I said, it's about time I stop acting like some kind of clown of a martial artist and start showing people what I can do. Besides, after I was brought back by the Dragon Balls I found some new motivation to take my training more seriously."
"What?"
"Well about 6 months ago I learned something… it turns out that I have a son."
"...What?!"
"Yeah I meant to tell Bulma and Krillin about it earlier but then Vegeta showed up, then Frieza and that big guy and I kind of got caught up in the excitement. Anyway it was about 9 or so years ago not long after your big fight with Piccolo at the World Martial Arts Tournament, Bulma and I had another huge fight and we decided to break it off for good. After that I kind of hit it off with this woman named Scarlett, turns out she's a former world champion, the last one before you started entering actually, and we started seeing each other but we ended up breaking it off. But about 2 months or so after I was brought back she called me and I left for a little while. I don't plan on forgiving her for never telling me that I had a son, I feel horrible for missing as much of his life as I did so far."
"Wow. How old is he?"
"About 7, around Gohan's age actually. His name is Kai, he's a good kid. Anyway it turns out that she's been training him in martial arts and he's about half of my full power right now, the two of them even created their own power up technique pretty similar to your Kaioken. So anyway, you mind if I bring him to train?"
"Well sure, it'd be nice for Gohan to have a friend his own age and if the kid is strong then it's only fair to give him a chance."
"Great, thanks. By the way, how's Chichi going to react to this?"
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Now is what I like to call, how Chichi reacted to this.
"YOU'VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!" Chichi shrieked at the top of her lungs "You think I'll stand for this?! Well you're wrong, I will not let you interfere with my baby's education! Am I the only one who's concerned about preparing our son for the future?! Why do you think I bought him a sleep study bed and those learning tapes?! And now you have the gall to tell me that you wanna take him away to train again?! You must be out of your mind! As for you, Piccolo and Yamcha I couldn't care less."
"I already told you, if we're going to beat these androids then we're going to need Gohan's help." Goku told her "I know education is important, really I do, but 3 years from now the whole planet will be in big trouble."
"Really? Don't talk to me about education when you haven't had one job or made one zeni the whole entire time we've been married, I just feel like I've been raising our son all by myself."
"...Yeah I guess it does kind of sound pretty bad doesn't it? But Gohan wants to go and he's ready to fight, just ask him yourself."
"I don't have to ask him, I'm his mother and I say no way!"
"So are you saying that Gohan's grades are more important than the future of the entire Earth?"
"I'm not the mother of the Earth, I don't give a damn about anyone but my little baby and I won't share a house with two uneducated losers!"
"You're such a kidder Chichi." he slaps her in the back, accidentally sending her through the wall. And a tree. And into a nearby boulder "Chichi! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, I thought I was holding back but I guess I don't know my own strength!"
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Soon enough, Goku was bandaging her injuries "I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened. Will you please forgive me?"
"Yeah sure fine." Chichi let out an aggravated sigh "I guess I should be used to crying by now shouldn't I? I can't believe I'm saying this but Gohan can go with you, and no matter what this will be his last fight you hear me?"
"I hear you, oh and by the way Yamcha's gonna bring his son along too."
"Yeah fine- Wait, what?!"
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"It would seem that even Super Saiyans have their weaknesses." Piccolo noted.
Yamcha let out a sigh "I hear you, that's one battle not even Goku will be able to win."
"So I see. By the way, I'm not sure how I feel about some little kid interrupting our training for something this important."
"I'm not an idiot Piccolo, I wouldn't suggest bringing him along if I didn't think that he could handle himself. But if you still doubt him then fine, go ahead and test him. I'll pit Kai against Gohan in a one on one sparring match, that way you'll get to see him in action and see how good he is alright?"
"...Fine, but if it looks like he's just gonna hold us back then he's out."
"Deal."
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A week passed, and training began, starting in the arctic.
Gohan studied his opponent 'So that's this kid Kai that dad and Yamcha wanted me to fight.'
Kai stood with short brown hair and green colored eyes, along with a set of glasses, clad in a crimson red gi, a black, white shinguards, black wristbands and black shoes 'So this is the kid that dad wanted me to fight. So you're Goku's kid right?"
"Yeah, and you're Yamcha's son."
"Yep. Let's make this a good fight."
Yamcha stepped forward "Let's make this clear guys, this is nothing more than a simple spar to see where the two of you stand and nothing more. I'll call it when I think we've seen enough from you two, got it?"
"Got it."
"Okay." he stepped back and fired a single Ki blast into the air to act as a flare "Begin!"
"Right!" Kai blitzed forward.
'He's fast!' Gohan managed to block the first punch, being sure to hold back, which resulted in the two of them trading even blows, sending shockwaves across the battlefield, before they both broke away "You're good."
"So are you."
"You're still holding back though aren't you?"
"Well I've got one trick up my sleeve, I just wanted to confirm whether or not I'd have to use it if I wanted to win. But you're stronger than I expected you to be so I guess that means I oughta go all out. Ryuken 7x!" his aura turned deep blue and flared wildly, increasing in size.
"That's amazing, it's just like my dad's Kaioken."
"Sort of but it's derived from will power instead of Ki control. Now then, let's do this!" he then blitzed forward and aimed a kick at Gohan's head.
Gohan blocked the kick and hit Kai square in the chest with a palm strike, sending him skidding backwards, then fired off a barrage of Ki blasts.
Kai flared his Ryuken aura and dissipated the smoke "I'm not done yet, I've still got one more trick up my sleeve!" he cupped his hands at his side "Ka… Me… Ha… Me… HA!" he fired forward a Kamehameha.
"Masenko!" Gohan countered with a Masenko, the two blasts colliding and destroying the cliff that they were on, sending them both crashing to the icy ground below.
"I think we oughta call it a day." Goku suggested.
"Good idea, looks to me that they both had enough." Yamcha turned to Piccolo "So then, are you satisfied?"
Piccolo let out a grunt "He's not bad, I'll give him that. Fine he can train with us."
"I told you he'd surprise you."
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3 years passed, and the day of the android conflict had arrived.
Kai wasn't exactly pleased by what he was hearing "What the hell do you mean you don't want me to come with you?"
"I mean that this is dangerous stuff." Yamcha told him "That kid from the future said that these things were able to kill the likes of Piccolo and Vegeta in his time, if that's true then we're in for the fight of our lives here and if anything ever happened to you then I'd never forgive myself."
"You still haven't forgiven mom for not telling you about me until I was 7."
"My point exactly, so please just stay here."
"...Fine I get it, I don't like it but I get it. Just be careful alright dad?"
"I will, and afterwards I'll teach you the Spirit Ball in exchange for you teaching me how to do the Ryuken okay?"
"Deal."
"Good." then Yamcha took off.
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The next few days were seriously hectic.
Goku had come down with the Heart Virus later than expected and actually during the battle with the androids, forcing Vegeta to save him and Yamcha to carry him home.
Vegeta destroyed one of the androids and Piccolo began dominating the other, only for Trunks to show up and reveal that they weren't the androids from his future, allowing the only remaining android, later revealed by Bulma to be Dr Gero, to escape back to his lab and activate androids 17 and 18.
Now active, 17 and 18 killed Dr Gero and then activated a third android called 16, and they set out to kill Goku, only to be stopped by Vegeta, but they easily trounced him, as well as Trunks, Tien and Piccolo, leaving only Krillin standing.
Realizing how powerful the new androids were, Piccolo decided to fuse with Kami in order to create the original Nameless Namekian from whom they were born, or a Super Namekian as dubbed by Krillin.
However, once that was done Piccolo ended up confronting Cell, another android created by Dr Gero that had travelled back in time from another timeline after killing the Trunks from that timeline and came back in order to absorb 17 and 18 and achieve his Perfect Form, as he had put it.
In order to become strong enough to combat these threats and perhaps even reach levels beyond that of the Super Saiyan transformation, once he had recovered from the Heart Virus, Goku took Gohan, Vegeta and Trunks up to the Lookout to something from when he was a kid called the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, a room where one could do a year's worth of training in a single day, and Vegeta and Trunks went inside first.
While they were inside, Piccolo was confronted by the androids and engaged 17 in a one on one battle, only for Cell to interrupt it, nearly kill Piccolo, fight evenly against Android 16 and then absorb 17, evolving from his Imperfect form and achieving his Semi Perfect form.
Cell then dealt 16 critical damage with a single Ki blast and set his sights on 18 with his new power, but Tien pulled a bold move and fired a barrage of Neo Tri-Beams, distracting Cell long enough for 18 to grab 16 and get away, though he had to be saved by Goku at the last second and taken back to the Lookout with a seriously wounded Piccolo, leaving Cell alone to hunt down Android 18.
Fortunately, that was when Vegeta and Trunks emerged from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and rushed off to confront Cell, with Vegeta displaying his new 2nd Grade Super Saiyan form and easily beating Cell into the ground.
However, Cell goaded on Vegeta's pride and lust for battle and convinced him to let him absorb 18 and achieve his Perfect form, which he did despite intervention from both Trunks and Krillin.
With his new power, Cell easily trounced Vegeta and left him out cold, then easily defeated Trunks after seeing his new form, which sacrificed speed for raw power.
But instead of killing Trunks, Cell proposed a tournament to decide the fate of the Earth, which he would dub the Cell Games, and he later announced it on the news for all of the world to hear.
In response to this, Piccolo, Yamcha, Trunks and Vegeta all went into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train, with Tien, Krillin, Gohan and Goku all deciding not to.
At the same time, Goku headed over to New Namek and recruited the young Namekian Dende to be the new guardian of the Earth so that they would have the Earth's Dragon Balls on hand once again.
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The day of the tournament finally arrived.
Kai followed Yamcha outside of his hideout on the east side of Mount Paozu "I'm guessing you don't want me coming to the Cell Games with you?"
Yamcha let out a sigh "I'd be lying if I said that you could handle yourself but the truth here is that I'm not sure even Goku has a chance of beating Cell. At this point we're gonna have to hope for a miracle."
"...Just make sure you, Gohan and everyone else get back safe alright?"
"Don't worry, we'll be back alive and well before you know it." and he took off at full speed.
'Then why do I have this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach? Well nevermind that right now, I think they can handle themselves just fine. Still though, if only there were a way to compare to the likes of them seeing how far ahead of me they are right now. Maybe… yeah, maybe I can talk to that guy.' and he blasted off in a different direction.
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Korin didn't even have to turn his gaze away from the ledge to know that Kai was standing right behind him "I figured that you were going to come sooner or later."
"Then I'm right to assume that you know why I'm here?" Kai guessed.
"I do. You're tired of Yamcha treating you like a little kid, you want to get strong enough to prove that you can hold your own against the likes of them even though you've never been in a real fight before."
"Yeah I do. I can't just stand by and do nothing while they're all risking their lives to fight the likes of Cell. I want to be able to do anything I can against guys like him, he's taken too many innocent lives as it is."
"...Well if you're that determined and you're really not afraid then I guess it would be alright if you took a sip."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying that I'm gonna let you have a crack at the Ultra Divine Water."
"You know my dad mentioned something like that but never actually told me anything specific, what is it exactly?"
"It's water that's packed with mystical properties and magical zing, it will greatly enhance the abilities of the one who drinks it but first you're going to have to track it down in order to drink it and enjoy its benefits. It's a perilous journey, far to the North there is a maze made entirely of ice. You're first going to have to navigate through this icy labyrinth in order to obtain this special water, it's hidden somewhere in a cave at the end of the maze. Many brave explorers have attempted to to navigate through this maze in an attempt to reach the Ultra Divine Water only for them to never be heard from again."
"And Gohan's dad was one of the few out of hundreds who actually reach this Ultra Divine Water and survive?"
"Yep, so now that you know the peril involved what are you going to do? Do you still wish to seek it out?"
"Yes I do, I'm not going to be the weak link to my dad and the others and I'm not going to be afraid of some maze."
"I see, well you've got guts I'll give you that much. Come with me, I'll show you how to get to the start of the maze." he led him into another room.
"So how long is it going to take me to get to this icy labyrinth or whatever?"
"As long as it takes you to hop into that pot." Korin pointed to a loan pot sitting in the corner of the room "It's a sort of portal that will take you there almost instantly, now before you go I have one word of advice."
"What would that be?"
"If you're dead set on going then there's one thing that you absolutely must avoid no matter what."
"What?"
"Darkness, a Darkness blacker than the night itself. It shields the Ultra Divine Water with an illusion so cunning and mind breaking that you may never be able to escape its empty void once you become ensnared in it."
"I'll keep that in mind." and with that, Kai leapt into the pot.
'Your kid has serious guts Yamcha, now let's see if he's got the resolve and the potential to back it up.'
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Kai opened his eyes and found himself in the icy labyrinth "So this is it."
"Hey kid, up here!" Korin called from above "Listen to me Kai, if you manage to find the Ultra Divine Water then be sure to return here to this exact spot and I'll be sure to pull you back out again."
"Got it Korin, thanks." and he walked off into the maze "It's cold in here, I'll have to be careful so I don't freeze to death or anything. I doubt I'd be able to explain that one to Dad." he then continued onwards only to stop when he saw something.
A frozen corpse laid on the side of the path.
"Poor guy, he must've gotten lost in the maze I'd better hurry before I end up like him." he then started to walk forward, only to stop when he heard a crash and looked back to see the path behind him disappear "Okay that's not good, I think it's safe to say now that there's something coming."
That was when a large snow cyclone emerged from the cracks in the ground and took on the form of a massive ice monster, which promptly unleashed a monstrous blizzard.
"I don't have time for this. Ka… Me… Ha… Me… HA!" he fired a quick Kamehameha at the ice monster, only for it to regenerate "Oh you've gotta be kidding me, it's like I didn't even hit him at all!"
The ice monster lunged at him, but suddenly stopped as the head evaporated into nothing.
"Okay scratch that, I guess it just had a delayed effect. Now then, down the hatch!" he slid down an ice slide on the side of the path until he reached the end and found himself at the bottom of a deep ravine "Well that was fun, now I'd better get moving." he continued walking "I'm gonna have to hurry or I'll end up freezing to death." then he froze and looked back "What the hell? This Ki signature, is it Gohan? It's so massive that I can feel it all the way from here. What the hell is going on out there?"
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Here's what was going on out there.
After an annoying interruption from the supposed world champion Mr Satan, a jackass in an afro who claimed that Ki control was all light shows and tricks, the tournament began in earnest.
Goku and Cell fought about evenly for awhile until Goku suddenly gave up out of the blue and said that Gohan would be fighting next.
Despite not having much faith that he would win, Gohan agreed to fight though once he made the mistake of mentioning that his hidden power came out when he got angry, Cell decided to beat the anger out of him, leading Goku to realize how much of a mistake that he had made.
That was when Android 16 attempted to self destruct and take Cell with him, only for Krillin to reveal that the bomb had been removed, allowing Cell to blast him to pieces, leaving only his head intact, before Cell then created 7 Cell Jr's to terrorize Goku, Piccolo and the others in an attempt to enrage Gohan.
16 got Mr Satan to throw his head over to Gohan and gave him some words of inspiration before his head was crushed by Cell, enraging Gohan into going Super Saiyan 2.
With this new level of power, Gohan slaughtered all of the Cell Jr's each with one blow and began trouncing Cell with ease, but let the power get to him and chose not to kill him when he had the chance, instead deciding to make him suffer, and continued pummeling him until he spat out 18 and reverted back to his Semi Perfect form.
Enraged at the thought of losing to Gohan, Cell attempts to self destruct and take the entire planet with him, with Gohan unable to stop him.
Realizing that there was only one way to save the Earth, Goku chose to sacrifice himself and take Cell to King Kai's planet where he exploded, killing everyone there, including Goku.
Gohan was left to grieve with the guilt of his overconfidence and letting the power get the better of him, but that was short lived when Cell returned, once again in his Perfect form and now even more powerful than he was before, and killed Trunks with a single shot.
Enraged over his son being killed, Vegeta attacked Cell in a blind rage only to be swatted aside and almost killed, forcing Gohan to defend him from a would be fatal attack, breaking his left arm to the point where it was useless.
With nobody else left to fight him, Cell prepared to fire his Solar Kamehameha, which had more than enough power to destroy not only the Earth, but the entire solar system.
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'Gohan, dad, everyone… I've gotta get moving.' Kai took off running as fast as his legs would carry him, only to skid to a stop, his eyes wide with shock "D-Dad?"
Sure enough, Yamcha stood in front of him "Yes, in the flesh Kai."
"But you're supposed to be- Oh I get it, this is one of the traps by this Darkness guy in order to protect the Ultra Divine Water."
"What are you talking about Kai?"
"The fact that you're supposed to be with Gohan and the others fighting Cell, the fact that you're pronouncing every syllable of every word you speak like some kind of freaky robot, and the fact that your accent is different. Nice try, I'm not falling for it."
"So you noticed." Yamcha's expression darkened "The Ultra Divine Water is sacred, it is not meant for the likes of humans. Your presence defiles it, you must leave this place or your life will be forfeit."
"I can't do that, especially not when my father and friends are out there fighting for their lives against an opponent that's going to destroy the Earth. I know I still won't be able to figure against guys like Cell but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't at least give it everything I have."
"...I see." then Yamcha disappeared in a white light, followed by the entire cavern shaking, and the figure of a large black creature emerged in front of him.
"So you've shown your true self at last, now who are you?"
"I am Darkness, the guardian of the Ultra Divine Water, and you have proven yourself to be worthy. Look ahead."
Kai looked ahead and saw a pot and a cup on a small table "Is this it? Is this the Ultra Divine Water?"
"Yes. The sacred liquid is very dangerous, one must be both mentally and physically strong in order to survive its effects. For those who are unsuited, it means certain death."
"But it will make the one who drinks it stronger just like Korin told me right?"
"There is no guarantee. The Ultra Divine Water takes advantage of special powers held deep within you, if you have no special power within you then nothing will change and only those who carry a special power will become stronger. The others, if too weak, will die."
"Just like Korin said. So tell me Darkness, how many people have drank the Ultra Divine Water before me?"
"14 people in total."
"I'm guessing that includes Goku. So how many have survived the effects of drinking it?"
"Only 1 has survived."
"And I'm guessing that one would be Goku. Alright, I'll do it. Gohan and my dad would be more than willing to risk it, and seeing how they're fighting on the front lines right now it's only right that I do too." he forced down the entire cup, then grabbed his throat and began squirming around on the ground in pain and agony, images flashing through his mind of his time with his mother, with Yamcha, training with Yamcha, Gohan, Goku and Piccolo during the 3 years before the androids, and everything in his life up to drinking the Ultra Divine Water, and yet he refused to cry out in pain despite how much of it he was feeling from the effects 'Come on Kai, you have to be strong for the sake of Yamcha, for the sake of Gohan, for the sake of everyone out there fighting Cell!'
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The battle against Cell was about to come to an end.
After receiving a pep talk from Goku from Otherworld via King Kai and his telepathy, Gohan charged up a Father Son Kamehameha against Cell, resulting in an epic beam struggle that he was slowly beginning to lose, even as Piccolo, Tien, Krillin and Yamcha all rushed in to help him.
Fortunately, Vegeta fired a Galick Blazer at Cell from above, managing to distract him just long enough for Gohan to unleash his full power and overwhelm Cell, obliterating him, before he finally collapsed from exhaustion.
With the battle over, everyone headed back to the Lookout to recover, except for Vegeta, who flew off to moap.
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Kai slowly stopped squirming and got back to his feet "What… Did I…? Yeah I did. I did it, I survived! Booyah mother f*ckers!" then he looked down "It's weird though, I don't feel any stronger. I mean sure I feel a little bit different, but I can't really explain it."
"It is done."
"So it is, thank you Darkness."
"You have been granted this new power, use it wisely." and with that, Darkness disappeared.
"I'd better hurry back too." he looked up "It's so clear now, I can see it plain as day." and he flew off into the sky.
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Soon enough, Kai found himself back where he had started "Hey Korin it's me, are you still up there?"
Korin poked his head out in the sky "Hey Kai is that you?"
"Yeah it's me alright, mission accomplished."
'So the kid didn't die after all, he really is impressive.'
"So you think you could let me back out now?"
"Alright, just hold on a second." Korin whisked him back up and out through the jug, where he landed safely on the ground "Welcome back, I take it your mission was a success?"
"You tell me." Kai flared his aura slightly "I do feel different though, somehow my whole body feels different. I feel this huge reservoir of power bubbling up inside of me, I feel really at peace too even more than I had ever thought possible."
'Goku and Yamcha both said that he would survive no problem but I never considered just what it would mean, could this boy truly be the one? Well done Kai, I'm impressed. I'd like to give you a little something to reward you for all the trouble you went through but it looks like we don't have time for that, Yamcha and the others are on their way up to the Lookout. You might wanna hurry up and meet them up there."
"Right." and Kai blasted off at full speed.
'I've gotta admit I'm actually pretty amazed, Yamcha mentioned the kid had potential but to get the Ultra Divine Water all by himself at his age was something even not Goku could pull off. Is it possible that he'll surpass even Goku? Well I guess only time will tell.'
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Kai flew up to the Lookout and landed in front of Dende "Hey Dende, are the others back yet?"
"Not yet, but I sense them coming." Dende told him.
Sure enough, Yamcha dropped down with Gohan in his arms, along with Piccolo and everyone else "You're the one who took over as guardian?"
"Yes, here let me see Gohan quickly."
"Alright, good luck." he gently set Gohan down on the ground.
Dende quickly began healing Gohan's injuries "There."
Gohan slowly came to and sat up "Wha-?"
"Gohan you're okay!"
"Dende?"
"What a relief!" then Dende's expression turned downcast "I'm really sorry about what happened to your father." this was met with everyone else turning downcast at the thought of Goku's death.
"...There's no reason to be. He was the one who talked me through the fight, I could hear him plane as day throughout the whole thing. I could feel my dad's energy all around me, it was so close that I could practically smell it. Actually I could smell it, but anyway he was by my side the whole time I was fighting Cell and telling me that he knew that I was going to beat him. I doubt I could ever have won without him, he's the one who saved us."
"Yeah but you're the one who dealt the final blow." Kai caught him in a bear hug "Whatever the case here is you did an awesome job out there, I'm proud to call you my friend."
"Kai…"
"He's right Gohan, you've made us all proud today." Piccolo told him "You've gotten strong kiddo, really strong."
"Piccolo…"
"Hate to interrupt the master and student moment, but the blonde is awake." Kai pointed out.
Sure enough, by this point 18 had regained consciousness "What the-?"
"Oh good, you're awake." Krillin noted.
"Dende get away from that blond she devil, she's dangerous!" Yamcha barked from the other side of the Lookout, prompting 18 to cautiously bolt to her feet.
"Come on Yamcha, give it a rest." he turned back to 18 "You were unconscious so we took you up to Kami's Lookout, although now I guess it's just the Lookout. Anyway you're among friends here, and Gohan was the one who defeated Cell."
18's eyes shot wide at this "Gohan won, seriously?"
"That's right, the kid's incredible now!" Yamcha barked "If you wanna go on another rampage then you sure as hell missed your chance blondie!"
"Try saying that from over here Dad." Kai told him dryly.
"Krillin here happens to be the main reason you're alive right now." Piccolo told her "After Cell spat you out 18, he defended you from Vegeta and the others."
Krillin promptly earned a shocked look "Well I… I just thought that someone should look after you since you were out cold and all. That's all there is to it, really."
"All there is to it my ass!" Kai blurted out "You were defending the hot blonde over here because you've totally got the hots for her!"
"Dude!" Krillin promptly whacked him over the head "She's standing right there."
"Yeah I know, what's your point? I mean you realize she's an android and you basically doomed the entire planet for cybersex and Tien basically blasted himself half to death so he could get laid. Seriously, my dad and I had a bet going on who was gonna screw it up. I was personally betting on Vegeta."
"Oh gee, thanks for that."
18 let out a scoff "Don't hold your breath if you're waiting for a thank you, what did you think I was going to fall all over you just because you protected me? You did didn't you? Well think again short stuff." and she flew off of the Lookout.
"What did she just call you?!" Yamcha stormed up to the front "That ungrateful can opener, yeah that bitch better run."
"It's a little late for saving your face now Dad." Kai told him dryly "But nevermind the hot blonde bitch, I think right now we should focus on using those Dragon Testicles to bring back everyone killed by Cell and the other androids Dr Gero created."
"For the last time they're not- You know what, good idea."
Gohan noticed Krillin looking downcast "Hey what's with the long face Krillin? Try to cheer up a little bit, just because 18 hates you doesn't mean that we like you any less."
"You're not helping." Krillin muttered.
Dende stood before the Dragon Balls "Come forth Shenron, we summon you to grant our wish."
The Dragon Balls glowed, the skies darkened, and Shenron appeared in all of his magnificent glory "Who has summoned me? Speak your wishes so that I may return to my slumber."
"I've got this one guys." Gohan stepped forward "Shenron, our first wish is for you to bring back everyone who was killed by Cell and all of Dr Gero's androids."
"That is a simple request." Shenron's eyes glowed deep crimson and he granted the wish, reviving everyone who was killed, including Trunks.
"I was afraid of this." Piccolo muttered "Since Dende created a new Earth dragon I was hoping that Goku would be revived along with the others, but this dragon was made from the same model as the old one so their powers must have similar limitations. I don't sense Goku's Ki signature anywhere."
Yamcha nodded "Makes sense, since Goku was already brought back once before back during the whole thing with the Saiyans."
"What is your second wish? I do not like to wait."
"Wouldn't hurt to check I guess. Hey Shenron, is there a way for you to bring Goku back just one more time? I mean we'd really appreciate it if you could help us out with that."
"That is impossible, the one called Son Goku has already been brought back once before and I cannot do it a second time. Now speak a new wish."
"I figured it couldn't hurt to check. There's gotta be a way to do it though, we've just gotta think for a minute."
Then Krillin thought of something "How about something like this: We ask Shenron to turn back time to before Goku died, that would work wouldn't it?"
"No, then Cell would just be brought back with him." Kai pointed out "That would just put us right back where we started. Anyone got a better idea that would actually work?"
"I do." Dende gleefully chimed in "We'll just take the wish to Porunga instead, he can do it."
Piccolo nodded "Yes of course, the Namekian dragon doesn't have the same limitations that Shenron does. He can bring a person back any number of times as long as they don't die from natural causes."
Yamcha smirked "Getting ourselves back to New Namek should be easy enough, we'll just use the second wish on this dragon to zap us all there and we'll be there in no time."
"Hey, don't I get a say in this? Hi everybody, it's me!"
"Is that… Holy crap, it's Goku!"
"Dad, what's going on?" Gohan called.
"I'm talking to you guys from Otherworld so I'm gonna make it quick. You know Bulma said something to me years ago that kind of stuck with me, she told me that I was like a magnet for all of the bad guys that were always popping up and if you think about it then that's not really too far from the actual truth. I get the feeling that the Earth is gonna be way more peaceful if I just stay where I am right now and King Kai agrees with me on it. I'm gonna miss you guys a lot but you don't have to worry, I'll be just fine up here. It really isn't that bad and King Kai tells me that they're gonna give me special treatment on account of all the times I've helped to save the Earth. Most people and that includes bad guys just turn into spirits up here but they're gonna let me keep my body, and if that's not enough I won't ever get any older and there are a bunch of old fighting masters here from before my time so it's not like I won't have plenty to do. It should be fun. King Kai is back to normal thanks to Shenron but he says he's gonna take some time off and show me around so I've already got one friend to keep me company, I know it's kind of the raw end of the deal for you and your mom Gohan but you don't have to wish me back okay? Besides son, you're so strong now that I have nothing left to teach you."
"But that doesn't mean I don't need you."
"I'm sorry guys, I'm out of time but be sure to take care okay? Live all of your lives to the fullest and I'll see you again when you're done. Goodbye." then the connection disappeared.
"Dad…"
Kai looked over and noticed tears spilling out of the corner of Gohan's eyes "Hey man are you…"
"Sorry guys, I… I just need to be alone right now." and he blasted off at full speed before any of them could say anything.
"Gohan…"
"Just wait here, I'll go get him." Piccolo was about to take off, only for Kai to stop him.
"No, don't. You guys take care of the second wish, I'll go calm him down. After all, it's what friends are for." and he took off.
"...You know Yamcha, your kid's got guts."
Yamcha smirked "Yeah, and he's got Goku's good heart to back it up." then he lost his smirk and his face fell "I feel bad for Gohan though, let's just hope Kai can snap him out of it."
"In the meantime, after we take care of the last wish we'll have to tell Chichi about what happened to Goku. We're going to die.
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The desert where Goku and Vegeta first fought.
That was where Gohan found himself after flying for a straight hour of flying, and now he stood in the center of the desert, painful images of Goku's sacrifice flashing through his mind over and over again 'Dad… I still need you… no… no… NO!' he flashed into Super Saiyan and began firing a rapid barrage of Ki blasts in random directions, destroying the surrounding rock plateaus, before he finally fell to his knees and began quietly sobbing 'Dad… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…'
"I don't think I've ever seen you so broken or ever even sad, and you've never given up, not once in the 3 years that I've known you."
Gohan looked up see Kai standing in front of him "Kai…"
"You've always been this determined yet happy go lucky jackass." Kai let out a sigh "This is the first time I've ever seen you break down like this. Your father, a man for whom I have nothing but respect, the man who's embraced his role as protector of the Earth, a man who's accepted his fate as an unsung hero, is…"
"Shut up! Don't you dare say another word! I had to put on a brave face for everyone, I couldn't let even Piccolo see me like this and now I've been pinching my cheeks so hard they're bleeding out gallons! If this were a dream then I should've woken up by now! This isn't a dream is it, he's not coming back is he?"
"...No Gohan, he isn't."
Gohan promptly let out a primal roar of grief and began firing off one Ki blast after another in several random directions, tears streaming down his face "DAMMIT! How could I have been so arrogant, so narrow minded, so stupid?!"
"Gohan-"
"Don't even say it Kai, it was my fault and you know it! I have no excuses for what happened back there! I had the chance to finish off Cell but I just threw it away! I had the power to finish it but I let it go to my head, and because of that my dad paid the price! Because of me my mother lost her husband, and the Earth lost its first and greatest protector! It's all my fault! IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" he began pounding the ground endlessly until he stood in the center of a massive crater "I'm totally pathetic, I can't protect any of them! Dammit! Dammit! DAMMIT!"
Kai floated back down in front of him "Gohan…"
"Go away Kai, just go away and leave me alone!"
"I can't do that and you know it, I'm not going to just stand by and let you hurt yourself more than you already have."
"It's my own body and I'll do what I want with it, and it's none of your damn business!"
"Well if that's the case then you can't blame your father for doing what he did, if you're standing by what you say then his death was none of your business."
"Shut the hell up, say one more word and I'll beat you to a bloody pulp!"
"If that's what you need in order to feel better then go ahead, I'm not going to lose to you as you are now. You may be much more powerful than I am even after I drank the Ultra Divine Water, but as you are right now your will and spirit are weaker than they've ever been."
Still in his Super Saiyan form, Gohan charged at Kai in a blind rage.
Kai easily sidestepped the attack without even bothering to use the Ryuken, then grabbed him by the arm and slammed him to the ground with ease "Get a grip you idiot!" he picked Gohan up and slammed him against a plateau, holding him by the neck "Can't you see things clearly yet? You were so sure of yourself, so determined to get stronger, so sure that you could overcome every obstacle that you would face and in all the time I've known you I've never once seen your resolve waver. But facing just one guy, making just one stupid mistake, took your confidence and resolve and shattered it beyond recognition. And your father was your inspiration, your role model, your guiding hand in life. I'm well aware that you feel as if your world has been shattered now that he's gone, and you've faced one obstacle after another time after time! You'll never find your way like this, you've already lost yourself in your regret and your guilt. I know that it hurts worse than anyone could ever even hope to imagine Gohan, but you have to bottle up your feelings. Don't think about the one man that you've lost, you can't get back things that have already been lost to you. But you have to think about what you still have right in front of you, the people that you still have to protect!" he loosened his grip and let go.
Gohan slowly slid to the ground 'What I still have to protect…' images began flashing through his mind as tears began streaming down his face "Piccolo… mom… Krillin… all of them… I still have all of them…"
"Now do you get it?"
"I need to see them, I need to see all of them." and he promptly blasted off.
"Oh gee, no need to thank me or anything."
"You didn't need thanks and you know it."'
Kai looked back and saw Piccolo standing behind him "And yet you didn't bother to get involved in that, how long have you been here anyway?"
"Since Gohan started attacking you in a rage. You did a good job out there."
"I did what I thought was right, Gohan is the only friend I have that's actually my own age and if one of my friends is in trouble then I'm going to help them in anyway I can."
"I see."
"So how did Gohan's mom take the news?"
"She broke down crying, your own father is still trying to comfort her. Knowing her she'll probably go into denial."
"How do you figure?"
"Because she just shrugged it off and kept acting like he's going to come back."
"To be fair he does."
"Not this time, and I doubt that she's going to accept it very easily."
"Give it time, she'll come to terms with it."
"Perhaps. Anyway, Trunks is leaving tomorrow morning and your father wants you to be there to see him off."
"I figured as much, but before then I have a request."
"What is it?"
Kai looked Piccolo dead in the eye "I want you to train me."
Piccolo's non existent eyebrows shot up 'Okay, I wasn't expecting him to be so straightforward with it. Alright then, tell me exactly why you want me to train you so badly."
"Because I want to become stronger. It's not just for anything as noble as saving the Earth or anything of that sort, I'm not an idiot. Over the past 3 years of training I've grown to consider Gohan a really close friend, my best friend actually, and it's only right that I stand by him now that he's got such a huge burden. Besides, I hate losing in just about anything and everything, especially martial arts. I know I've only been into it since I was about 6 or so but I can't just stay behind Gohan forever. I know sticking to the same training regimen as he had isn't going to help me keep up with his level very well but I know that I can learn a lot from you, I've already grasped the basics of Ki control a long time ago so I know where to begin. Please."
Piccolo studied Kai for a moment, then nodded in approval "Good, that's exactly the kind of motivation that I wanted to hear from you. You'll become a fierce rival for him and I think that that's exactly what he needs at the moment, but don't expect me to go easy on you."
"I wouldn't be asking you this if I thought you would."
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Morning came, the time had come for Trunks to depart and everyone, with the exception of Tien and Chiaotzu, and arrived at Capsule Corp to see Trunks off.
"Trunks." Bulma clasped his hand in hers "Just be sure to take care."
"Thanks." Trunks just received the two fingers from Vegeta and returned it, then turned back towards Kai "It's time."
"So it is." Kai shook his hand "Take care man."
"You too, all of you." then he hopped inside of his time machine "Bye everyone!"
"You be good son!" Bulma called.
"I will!"
"Take care Trunks!" Gohan called.
"You guys be sure to do the same, live your lives to the fullest." and with that, Trunks promptly disappeared with his time machine.
'Until we meet again Trunks, until we meet again.' that was when Gohan felt a hand clasp his shoulder and turn around, only to see a silhouette of Goku in the sky above him, and he gave a small smile "Dad…" then a feeling of dread crept over him 'Oh yeah… crap…'
Chichi noticed Gohan looking nervous, while she was completely oblivious as to why "What's the matter Gohan? You don't usually seem this nervous about anything."
'...Well dad, looks like I'm about to join you. Listen mom, I have to tell you something and I'm not gonna beat around the bush or anything. There's no point unless I just come out and say it straight, I've decided that I'm going to continue with my training. The threat of Cell and the androids may be over with but I don't think the Earth is ever going to truly reach the day when nobody needs to protect it."
"No." the reply was predictable and almost automatic "No Gohan, I absolutely forbid it! I let you train with your father for this whole thing with Cell and the androids because I knew I didn't have any say in the matter, but I will not allow this!"
"For crying out loud mom, I need you to listen to me! Dad is not coming back, there are threats out there only I can handle. This new power I have will be critical sometime in the future and I can't just sit around and wait for an actual threat to arise before I realize that I have to train again. I have to keep trying especially now, believe me when I tell you that I can balance my training and my studies."
"No Gohan, the threat is gone now! Cell is dead, you don't have to train or fight anymore! We can wind down and finally have a normal life now!"
"That's just a whole other level of naive and stupid." Yamcha stepped forward "You'd have to be that naive and stupid if you think the Earth is ever going to truly be safe. Haven't you noticed a recurring pattern that there's always something threatening the planet? Gohan is making the right decision here."
"But-"
"If you truly believe that the fate of the world and its people aren't as important as a simple test then you're nothing but closed minded, short sighted, and to be honest pretty damn selfish. In life there are sacrifices that have to be made, Gohan understands that perfectly well so why the hell can't you?"
"Listen-"
"No mom, you need to listen." Gohan promptly shut her up "Yamcha is right, you can't just put my studies above the fate of the planet. That's incredibly narrow and closed minded. There won't be a point to any of my studies if some other outside threat waltzes in and tries to blow up the planet like how Cell did literally 24 hours ago. Regardless of what you say I am going to continue with my training whether you like it or not, like Yamcha said sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good."
"But Gohan I want you to keep studying!" by this point Chichi was seemling about to hit her breaking point "You're still only a kid, you don't need to worry about something like saving the world! Leaving that kind of thing to Piccolo or Vegeta or anyone else, you can't keep getting distracted by this martial arts nonsense!"
"Oh for f*ck's sake!" Kai finally exploded "In case you haven't noticed something here then let me point it out for you, that nonsense as you so aptly put it literally just saved not only your ungrateful harping ass but the entire mother f*cking solar system! Without it then you, all of your books, your colleges and all the other scholarly cra you wanna cram down Gohan's throat wouldn't even be here right now, much less the rest of the entire planet! Gohan is doing not only everyone here except for you proud, but the entire planet a great and seriously long overdue justice. And if you're worried about him going it alone then don't worry, I'm going to be there by his side training with him. I'm training with Piccolo and my dad so that makes three, maybe four if Vegeta gives enough of a crap."
"But…" by this point Chichi slumped to the ground in defeat, seeing how in her warped and seriously f*cked up mind all of her dreams were being crushed by her 10 year old son and the only friend he had that was actually his age.
"I'm sorry mom, but this is the path that I've chosen." Gohan told her.
"...What can I say? In the end you're just being exactly like your father so I guess all I can really do now is relent."
'Wow, that actually went a lot better than I had expected.'
"If it helps I drew up a schedule for him." Kai pulled a notepad out of his pocket "See my dad and I figured something like this would happen so last night we drew up a schedule to balance his studying and his training. We figured that 3 days of the week could be used for training and the next 3 could be used for studying."
"What about the 7th day?" asked Chichi.
"Oh that's a day that we're gonna use to unwind and just be normal kids so that I can show him how to act around other people his own age, I figured we'd just go bowling or something at first though."
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Sunset came.
Gohan stood on the edge of the Capsule Corp building, lost in thoughts 'Dad, no matter what I face I will never forget your kindness or your indomitable spirit.'
"Hey."
Gohan looked back and saw Kai floated down beside him "Hey."
"Just thinking about the wonders of life?"
"I guess you could say that." a brief pause "Thanks by the way, for helping me out with my mom I mean."
"Sure thing."
"...Did you mean what you said though? About standing by me during this whole thing?"
"Of course I did, why wouldn't I? You're more than just my sparring partner, you're my friend and friends stick together no matter what." he held out his hand "So what do you say, are you partners in saving the Earth or what?"
Gohan started, then grinned and clasped his hand in a sort of high five manner "Partners in saving the Earth. What do you know, for once I actually have a friend my own age. I'll cherish him for as long as I have him.'
A/N:
The idea of Kai being Yamcha's son just popped into my head when I was planning out The Rise of a Savior, a fic idea that I had scrapped by the way, and I figured that he could be what Gohan lacked. Firstly, a friend his own age. Seriously, all of his friends are at least 20 years older than him aside from Piccolo. Secondly, a worthy rival to push him like Vegeta, Piccolo and others have been for Goku.
I know a lot of people hate on Yamcha, I kind of do too sometimes, but there are some things to consider here, mainly the fact that out of all of the Z fighters that actually matter aside from Master Roshi and Bulma, he's known Goku longer than any of them, including Krillin. I mean sure I used to hate on Yamcha, but then I saw that spinoff manga about him being reincarnated or something and I started to gain some new respect for him and realize how much untapped potential he had.
This was originally going to be a full story but I lost my drive and inspiration for it and I wrote myself into a corner again, so I decided to scrap most of it and leave the prologue here as a oneshot. As for the content that I had originally planned out, I start an entirely new one. It's the same idea for the most part, just starting from the beginning of Z so that I can incorporate all sorts of other ideas into it that I think could have a lot of potential.
