I hope you guys like this. It's my first attempt at writing here, so be gentle. Comments and (hopefully constructive) criticisms are welcome.
This is a flashback
"This is Gohan thinking"
Chapter 1: Decisions
Pan's cries slowly gave way to sleepy whimpers as Gohan rocked her back to sleep for the fourth time that night. He cradled the baby tenderly, but his face was a grim mask of thought. He'd taken over Pan duty the last few nights- it was a nice break from lying awake with his thoughts.
His father and Jiren fighting, while Gohan sits helpless on the sidelines. Goku, standing triumphant over Jiren, about to end the tournament. Shock even on Jiren's face as Goku's power tears his body apart. Terror at the realization that Universe 7 just lost its one chance to survive.
Pan cuddled closer to Gohan's chest for warmth as she drifted off, breaking Gohan out of his reverie. He smiled gently, and placed her back into her crib, and zipped up the anti-flight roof. As he walked back to his and Videl's room, however, the frown and furrowed brow returned.
Seventeen, alone on the fighting stage, wishing to bring back the other universes. The Grand Priest calmly admitting that if a selfish wish had been made, Zeno would have erased everything.
"How could they be so flippant about the destruction of all existence?"
Gohan pulled Videl closer.
"They gambled everyone's lives- no, everyone's existence, on the morality of whoever just happened to be left standing at the end of the tournament."
Videl was strong for a human, but she felt small and fragile as he pondered the minds of gods and angels.
"The Supreme Lord of Everything, who holds the power to end everything, is a literal child. The gods show a callousness to mortal life only exceeded by that of their angelic guides."
The girl in his arms shifted, seeking a more comfortable position against the hard lines of his body.
"Dad and Vegeta seem to accept things as they are. Piccolo is blinded by his respect for those of divine authority; probably a hold-over from Kami."
There was no visible change in posture or expression that could have tipped off an outside observer, but suddenly there was an air of decision in the room. No one else was willing to change things; that meant the responsibility lay on Gohan.
"I'll play the gods' game. I'll get stronger. And then, when I'm strong enough, I will hold them to the responsibility of their power."
...
Gohan dried his hands with a relieved sigh. The morning's mountain of dishes was finished.
"Thanks Gohan," said Videl, wiping a bit of food off a burbling Pan's face.
"Well, it's the least I can do considering I'm going to leave you with Pan for a whole day". Gohan chuckled, rubbing the back of his head in true Son fashion.
"I'm just glad you've decided to get back into training," said Videl. " I think it'll be good for you". She paused, azure eyes curious. "What made you decide, by the way? Tired of being the dutiful scholar?"
Gohan chuckled again. "There were some pretty strong fighters at the tournament, and they were supposedly all from the eight weakest universes. Guess it just got me excited, you know?"
She seemed convinced. "I see. Don't think this gets you out of training with me when you get back, got it?" The gleam in her eye was almost predatory.
Gohan sidled out the door and took off for the lookout.
…
"I've just finished repairing the hyperbolic time chamber for the last time, so don't destroy it again," warned Mr. Popo. "I'm looking at you, Vegeta".
Vegeta answered with only a grunt, though Gohan could swear there was an almost fearful undertone to the noise.
"I've made a few changes to the chamber that I expect you will enjoy. In addition to the increasingly extreme environment the further in you go, I've also graduated the gravity, from 10 times earth's gravity near the entrance to a maximum of 5,000 g's," said Popo.
"Why stop at 5,000?" asked Vegeta. "Surely you're aware I can handle more".
"After 5,000 g's it became too difficult to compensate for time dilation," Popo explained.
Vegeta shrugged, and Gohan followed him into the chamber.
As echo of the door's closing behind them faded, Vegeta turned to Gohan with a guarded expression. "I'm curious, weakling. Why did you choose me to act as your mentor? Surely you'd be more comfortable with your father, the clown, or your other father, the slug".
Gohan shrugged off Vegeta's choice of words. "That's just it, Vegeta. Piccolo was my first teacher, and I spent years after that training with my dad. If I want to learn, I need to step outside of my comfort zone".
Vegeta nodded, then phased out of sight. He reappeared a moment later with a punch aimed at Gohan's jaw. His eyes widened fractionally when he realized Gohan had caught the blow. "Actually, Vegeta, I had a few questions for you before we begin. I need-"
He was cut off as Vegeta started chuckling, a smirk spreading across his face. "Tell you what. Beat me, and you can ask all the questions you want". A blue aura exploded out of him, then faded into a darker blue as he underwent the royal transformation.
Gohan returned the smirk. "Alright Vegeta, it's a deal". A white-hot aura enveloped him and his eyes narrowed. "But I should warn you, I've thought up a few new tricks since you last saw me fight".
"Show me, then!" shouted Vegeta, launching toward Gohan. The fist was an inch in front of Gohan's face before he even saw it. He dodged to the side, taking a nick to his cheek. And then it was on, a flurry of blows that rained down on Gohan from every side, pushing him back.
"This is ridiculous!" thought Gohan. He coughed up air as a kick blew through his guard and knocked him into the air. He quickly righted himself and reformed his guard to block another kick. The shock of it sent tremors through his skeleton. "I'm in my ultimate form, and stronger than I was against Buu, and he's got me completely outclassed!"
Another blow knocked him to the ground; he rebounded against the unnaturally hard surface in the high gravity with a gasp. He rolled into a stance, then cupped his hands together. "Ka-me," he said, jumping to gain distance as Vegeta struck the ground where he'd been standing. "Ha-me…" Vegeta rocketed toward him, and Gohan thrust his hands toward him. "HAAA!" He poured his full power into the blast, striking Vegeta dead-on. He felt a surge of relief at the successful hit. A gloved hand burst out of the Kamehameha and gripped his face. The blue turtle-style wave broke off as he was slammed into the ground, Vegeta's laughter filling the air.
Gohan groaned, kicking Vegeta away. "Alright, so I've established that a full power frontal attack is useless against him. I don't want to kill or maim him, so cutting and piercing attacks are out of the question". Vegeta began firing a scattershot of small ki blasts, which Gohan did his best to dodge. "Alright, let's try it".
As Vegeta stopped firing ki blasts and flew in to close the distance, Gohan powered up. He formed a ki-blast in each hand, concentrating for a moment, then began to rapid-fire them at Vegeta. Vegeta broke off his charge to dodge the blasts, easily weaving in between them. He laughed at the weakling's futile attacks, then noticed something.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" said Vegeta. "It looks like you've adopted your father's habit of stealing others' attacks. What did the Namekian call this one again? Regicide Blaster?... That's right, Hellzone Grenade". He stopped dodging, and as expected Gohan's blasts kept missing him, surrounding him completely. "An admirable attempt, but ultimately useless if you don't have the power to harm me". Gohan said nothing. After a moment, he stopped firing, and brought his arms together with a shout, signaling the attack.
Glowing golden energy orbs rocketed toward Vegeta. He chuckled, confident in his ability to tank the attack, and flared his aura. "Let's see what you've got, weakling!" One blast reached Vegeta before the others, and the explosion obscured Gohan's view of Vegeta. Gohan smirked. It also obscured Gohan's attack from Vegeta.
As the innermost blasts of the attack closed in, the outermost orbs began to flatten and overlap, forming a rapidly collapsing hollow sphere. As it closed in, the energy forming it became more and more dense. A fraction of a second later, the inner layer of ki blasts detonated simultaneously, enveloping Vegeta in a massive explosion. Before it could expand, the outer sphere closed in on it, compressing it further into a white-hot maelstrom of roiling energy. Gohan strained with effort as he collapsed his attack around Vegeta, holding in the massive explosion.
Vegeta, meanwhile, had noticed something was wrong. Rather than dissipating, the explosion from the clown-spawn's attack was becoming more intense. Yelling with effort, he expanded his azure aura to push back against the golden energy, but the pressure only redoubled as if in response. Sudden panic gave way to surprised laughter as the attack began to break through his aura. "Didn't think you had it in you!"
Gohan shouted, aura flaring brightly as he gave a final herculean effort. The collapsing star he had created around Vegeta shrank and flared in sympathy, eclipsing the solar flare attack in intensity, then finally exploded outward in a supernova. Gohan stood in the smoky aftermath, panting heavily, sweat pouring off his brow, as he waited for the outcome. The smoke suddenly gave way to clear air as it was dispelled by the Prince of all Saiyans throwing a punch at the exhausted half-saiyan. The fist stopped an inch from Gohan's cheekbone, and a shockwave broke across the two of them. They held that pose for a moment, Gohan breathing hard. Vegeta smirked, letting his fist fall and dropping out of his transformation. Gohan noticed he looked a little scuffed up; maybe his attack had done something after all. "Not bad, half-breed," said Vegeta. "Certainly much better than I expected. I suppose you've earned a few answers".
Gohan smiled, wiping away a trail of blood.