Discovered

Three of the six pieces of Gohan's soul had been returned, but it still wasn't enough. They still couldn't feel Gohan's innocent spirit rise above the Cell's, which worried them greatly. Soon everyone began to wonder…Would this really work?

No, they couldn't question it, this HAD to work and it would. Now all they had to do was quickly release Gohan's soul parts before Android 20 made the poison or worse, the Cell discovered what they were up too…

Vegeta was the next one to stumble upon the next fragment; it was in the desert where they found Gohan after 20 fused the Cell within him…

Vegeta grumpily got into a meditative position and allowed the darkness to enter his mind….

"Where, where am I?" He heard a confused Gohan ask out loud before seeing the teen floating on his back, eyes closed. "I feel something…something's changed…but what?" Just as those thoughts left his mind, Vegeta watched as he flinched in pain as something zoomed on by him; leaving a bloody scratch on his arm.

Gohan yelped in shock and pain as it wasn't an ordinary scratch. He could feel something inside of him beginning to leave him, but it wasn't his energy…

'So that's how that stupid Cell was able to scatter his soul around, he delivered the virus when the kid was still disoriented…' Vegeta told himself before Gohan began fading from sight. The next thing Vegeta saw was the demi-saiyan waking up in a field of grass close to his house. It wasn't real, there was no smell, feel, and everything was 'dead', so to speak.

"Where, where am I?" Gohan asked again as he sat up slowly, ignoring any pain he felt in the process. "How, how did I get in the forest? – Did, did I escape?" He asked himself before deciding to take off towards his house.

Vegeta followed reluctantly, wondering what the Cell was trying to do to him by showing the teen this. He didn't have to wait long as they arrived at the son house to find no one there. Gohan frantically called for his mom, dad, and even his brother, but no one or nothing was there. "They might be at Bulma's…" He tried to convince himself before taking off to the city. Vegeta grunted before following as well.

They arrived on the front lawn only to notice no one was about. No one walked down the streets, no one drove on by in their cars, everything was just…silent…

"Where, where is everyone? I, I can't be, be alone…" Gohan then collapsed to his knees, eyes glossy. "I, I didn't do this…did I?"

Vegeta's eyes widened. 'So that's how the Cell was able to get the upper hand! He trapped Gohan in a fake dimension so that he would feel guilty and alone. If there was no one left to protect, why would he want to live? – It's so ingenious!' He growled before Gohan all of a sudden grasped his head in pain.

"AH!" Vegeta looked around at the sound of that too familiar scream. 'Wait a sec, was, was that me?'

"Was, was that Vegeta?" Gohan asked before hearing another voice.

"Gohan! Gohan stop it right now!" Vegeta turned back to the in pain teen as he realized what was going on. 'This must've been when the Cell was attacking me for the first time in Otherworld…' He studied the teen even more and noticed he really didn't have any idea what was going on. 'Guess I owe him an apology for accusing him…'

'Father? Is that you? Stop? Stop What? What am I doing? -Father, where are YOU?' Gohan cried out into the empty black void he was now floating in. The pain and fear that Gohan was emitting was so overwhelming that even Vegeta wanted to get him out of there, but he stood his ground.

"Daddy, HELP ME!" That pushed him over the edge. He knew how hurtful it was to lose a son and hearing Gohan cry out for help stuck a knife in his heart. What if that was his son, what if this all happened to Trunks? He couldn't even start to think how Goku felt about this whole situation when he himself already felt like his heart was torn; Goku had to feel ten times worse! But how was he able to keep a cool mind? 'I guess I'll be 'nice' to him till this whole ordeal is over…' Vegeta promised. There had to be a way to save this kid…

The scene in front of him turned completely black and Vegeta no longer saw Gohan, but he knew the half breed was still around.

"Who's there?" He heard Gohan yell frightened. "If you're that Cell then go away!" His voice was so hoarse, swollen, and even had a hint of hopelessness in it that it pained Vegeta to have to even hear it.

"You don't have to worry, it's just me Vegeta."

"Vegeta…I'm, I'm sorry but I don't know anyone by that name."

Vegeta flinched in disbelief. "Wa, what? STOP FOOLING AROUND YOU BRAT-" He stopped as he heard the Saiyan whimper somewhere in the dark. He didn't know that all of Gohan's memories were gone, only Piccolo and Goku knew… "Why are you crying?" He asked in a hushed 'calm' tone before a mist started to take form into a extremely pale boy that seemed to be ill on the ground holding on to his knees; trying to burry his face.

"What do you want from me? You already took everything I ever knew from me!" Vegeta became confused. 'Wait, what does he mean by 'took everything he ever knew'?' He wondered before the answer came to him.

"That, that Cell thing took all your memories?" He said in both disbelief and anger. Gohan weakly looked up at him with frail hopeless eyes that sent a shiver down his spine.

"Ya, at least, at least I think so. I, I can't remember. But I CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING! WHY AM I EVEN ALIVE ANYWAY? I WISH I WAS DEAD!" He cried before barring his face in his knees again. Vegeta froze in complete shock at hearing Gohan, who was always so happy, care-free, innocent, and joyful say something so dark like that. Heck he would have thought the Cell was trying to make him say that, but just by looking at what it reduced him too, Vegeta couldn't blame him. Gohan was nothing but an empty shell taking up dead space at the moment. Without memories, why would anyone want to live?

Vegeta sighed as he knew he had to do something and kneeled down to him. "Look, I may not have been close to you, but I know you enough to say that you make everyone happy. No matter how crappy of a day someone is having, they see you and they forget all about it…To be truthful, that's what you do to me." Gohan looked up at him, tears still streaming down his eyes. "Sure I don't show it, but both you and Kakarot make my day." Gohan's eyes seem to widen at that name.

"Kakarot…" He trailed off as he was lost in thought. "Kakarot…."

"In case you forgot him too, he's your father."

"DAD? I, I remember him! And you, you always called him Kakarot and always want to beat him! How is he? Did, did I, I mean, the Cell hurt him?"

Vegeta frowned; he knew he had to strike something in Gohan to make him mad, to make him furious so that he would kill the Cell off immediately. "The Cell, no. You, yes."

"Wa, what do you mean me?"

"He's heart broken that you're gone even though he's trying to hide it. And the Cell, well, he isn't helping either." Gohan looked worriedly up into Vegeta's eyes. "He's laughing, taunting, and even tried to trick him. I'm afraid one of these times he'll really act like you before killing him when he isn't expecting it." Gohan's eyes widened even more.

"Wa, what? Haven't' you told him?"

"Ya, but he won't stop believing that you're gone. If you give up, your father will be lured in a trap that will ultimately cause his downfall. He will die all because of you, again; just like when we were fighting Cell – But since you said you wished you were dead, guess that can't be stopped…" Gohan clenched his fists in anger and determination.

"I, I never actually wished I was dead…I just thought about it…"

"Then what are you gonna do about it? Let him die or fight the Cell with everything you got?" Gohan's scared frightened face cringed up in anger before standing up.

"No, I will NOT give in; I'm gonna fight this Cell till the end!" Gohan then turned to Vegeta with a stern look. "And if I can't, then kill me Vegeta." Vegeta went in shock at hearing this. "My weakest point is my forehead, that's why I'm always weakened when someone hits me there. Aim your final flash there; don't even listen if I tell you not too just fire. – It's the only way to save everyone." Vegeta only nodded yes. He knew how important this was to Gohan.

"How will I know if I'm forced to kill you?"

"You'll know, trust me. Thank you for showing me the truth behind this; I'm no longer afraid of going back into my body, everyone's counting on me!"

Vegeta smirked; something he wouldn't even think about doing if the others were there. "Beat him, you can do it. You are your father's son." Gohan only smiled before he faded away, allowing Vegeta to return to his body.

(Back with Gohan and 20)

Gohan picked up a mineral they needed for the poison when he felt something strange within in. It felt as if a breeze or a mist had just passed over his body that was unnatural and only happened to him. 'What the-'

"Is everything okay?" Android 20 asked as he walked up beside Gohan; worry evident on his robotic face.

Gohan just continued to stare into the creek in front of him as he tried to figure out what was going on…

'What in the world is going on?' He wondered before feeling the little piece of Gohan that remained grow a bit 'bigger' so to speak. The only way he'd feel that from Gohan was if a part of him returned… 'It, it can't be...' His thoughts trailed off before he couldn't feel four out of the six negative energy signals any more and his eyes widened in shock.

"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

Android 20 gave him a puzzled look. "What, what's going on?"

"They're, they're leading Gohan's scattered soul back into me!"

20's face paled a bit before noticing Gohan's skin was indeed gaining just a tad more color. "WHAT? THOSE IDIOTS! Don't they know what will happen if they do that?"

"They wouldn't care as long as they get their Gohan back; even if it meant Gohan and me battling each other one last time to decide who wins." Gohan's fear slowly left his face and stood back up, smirking in pleasure. "Guess we'll have to finish them off right now…" He trailed off before taking off to stop the Z-Fighters, Android 20 right behind him.