Author's note: I am so sorry about the huge delay, for this story and all my other ones (if you're reading them). I am going to attempt to finish this story over the next couple of days while I am in school holidays so this huge delay doesn't happen again.

Please read and review.


Chapter 9 - So You're Half Alien?

By the end of the sixth day, the group had found all the scavenger items, had eaten well every day and were bonding, for lack of a better term. Gohan had relaxed again, after Videl's questioning, and the four were growing closer. It was in the afternoon of the sixth day, and the four were relaxing in the river, swimming around and joking with each other. It was their final day; tomorrow they would have to leave early morning to get to the meeting point by the afternoon.

Gohan was the only one not in the water, he was absentmindedly doing handstands on the river bank, going upside down and holding it.

"Wow Gohan, that must be really difficult!" Erasa swooned.

"Huh?" Gohan asked, not hearing what she said. He didn't drop out of the handstand, just lifted his head to stare at her questioningly.

"You must be really strong and flexible to be able to hold a handstand like that." Erasa giggled.

"Not really, just a good sense of balance and strong core muscles." Gohan shrugged, while upside down, so it ended up being a push-up or sorts.

"Why are you doing it?" Videl asked.

"I'm just thinking," Gohan murmured.

"About?" Sharpener joined in, getting out of the water to sit on the grass next to the other boy. His tail flickered towards Sharpener for a moment before returning to wrapping itself around Gohan's waist.

Gohan was silent for a moment as he righted himself and sat down, before saying, "About something Videl asked me, the other night."

Videl, who had been about to dive under water, shot upwards to stare at the boy in shock. "Gohan, I was out of line that night, and I am sorry for prying," Videl started to say.

"But it was true. And I was just upset you figured it out, and upset over talking about my dad." Gohan told her.

Videl couldn't stop the grin from growing on her face and she punched the air triumphantly, "I knew it! You were there!"

Gohan smiled softly at her, but it soon dropped off his face. "Would you like to hear the full story?" he asked her.

"Yes."

"Are you sure? You won't like what it reveals. Especially about your father," Gohan warned her.

She frowned with confusion for a moment, "What does my father have to do with any of this?" She climbed out of the river and wrapped herself in her towel, sitting down next to the two teenage boys. Erasa joined the group wordlessly, suspecting something revolutionary was about to be revealed.

Gohan sighed and said, "It is completely up to each of you individually whether you believe me or not, but I just want you all to know, I am going to tell you nothing but the truth. If there is something I don't share with you, it is because it isn't just my secret to share. Also, whether you believe me or not, please don't tell anyone else."

"Of course not." Erasa spoke at once.

"I won't repeat a word." Sharpener shrugged.

"I won't repeat it." Videl spoke in a low, serious voice, somehow guessing she wasn't going to like where this was going.

"Well, Videl asked me the other night if my family and I were at the Cell Games. And we were." Gohan started.

"You're one of the Golden Warriors?" Sharpener asked.

"How do you make your hair golden?" Erasa asked.

"You're also the Golden Fighter, aren't you?" Videl asked.

"Yes, I'm the Golden Fighter." Gohan answered Videl.

"How, how can you do all those things? How can you do all those tricks?" Videl demanded.

"They aren't tricks. They're real, and can be powerful attacks." Gohan corrected. "And I'll get to that, I need to tell you the whole story."

"So, you fought at the Cell Games?" Videl repeated, a prompt, for the boy to continue.

"Yes, but that's not the start. For you to understand everything about me, I need to tell you about a boy named Goku and the Red Ribbon Army." Gohan started.

And so he did. He told them about his father meeting Bulma, going after the Dragonballs, the fights with the Red Ribbon Army, Emperor Pilaf and King Piccolo, and the World Martial Arts Tournaments. He told them about his uncle Raditz arriving from space, and how his dad was an alien. He told them how he died, and when Vegeta arrived to destroy the planet, they brought him back and the huge battle they fought. He told them about his trip to Namek to destroy Frieza. He told them how his dad turned into a Super Saiyan, and killed Freiza, and only just escaping the exploding planet. He told them about the Red Ribbon Army creator, Dr Gero wanted revenge on his father and created android after android, trying to perfect them to kill Goku. He told them how Trunks from the future came back to warn them of Goku's heart condition, and to give them the medicine. He told them how Cell had come back with Trunks, and upon absorbing the other androids, transformed into his 'Perfect' state. He told them how he had given them a week to train, and that he had gone into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train with his dad and reached Super Saiyan as well. He told them how his father had fought against Cell with all he had and it wasn't enough. He told them how his father had told him to try and fight Cell. He told them how he had been trying and failing, until Cell had hurt his family, slowly killing them off one by one and how he had just lost it. He told them how he had gotten cocky and played with Cell, and in return, Cell had been able to kill his father. He told them how he had finally killed Cell, but after Goku had died and was gone. He told them how he hadn't wanted recognition and fame and neither did the rest of his family so they quietly disappeared, leaving Hercules to take the credit. At the end of his story, the sun had begun to set and all of them were getting rather cold, but they were all just sitting in shock.

"You're suggesting that Hercules is a fraud!" Sharpener finally spoke, hurt that his friend would suggest the Champ of lying.

Before Gohan could defend himself, Videl spoke up, "Don't be so stupid Sharpener, of course my dad is lying. I always knew it, I just never had proof. I always thought that yeah, he might've been strong, but the strongest? No way. Impossible. So you killed Cell? That's brilliant." She grinned at Gohan, who hesitantly smiled back.

"You believe me?" He asked somewhat cautiously.

"Of course." Videl rolled her eyes. "Come on, we'll head back to the cave, get dinner and get dressed then you can teach me how to fly."

Gohan laughed nervously, "Ha-ha, I don't know, Videl, it takes a lot and –"

"Are you saying I don't have what it takes?"

"No, no, of course not, just that, well, I'll teach you, but maybe after camp? It takes a lot of energy and we have to walk tomorrow all day."

"Only if you promise to teach me?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course."

"OK then, let's head back to camp." Videl got up and walked away.

Gohan turned to Sharpener and Erasa who hadn't spoken. "Guys?"

"So you're half-alien?" Erasa asked.

"Yeah, kind of." Gohan chuckled nervously.

"That's pretty cool, come one cutie-pie, let's go get dinner before Videl burns it all." Erasa linked her arm through Gohan's and lead him away. Sharpener followed, deep in thought.


After Erasa and Gohan had cooked dinner, and they had all eaten, Sharpener turned to Gohan, "I believe you when you say you killed Cell and that you're an alien and all that, but I don't understand why you don't want people to know."

"My mum and I didn't want to the popularity, the attention, the public image. And I am sorry to you Videl, for having put that on you, but we wanted a normal life, as normal as we could get, which wasn't that normal, but still, if we had told people that, my little brother would've grown up constantly in the spotlight and would never have known the forest, the quiet, what I see is normal, because we'd constantly be hounded. Why do you think we live out in the mountains? And besides, at the time, I didn't really want all the attention considering I had just caused my father to have to sacrifice himself to save us all." Gohan shrugged. "That and the fact that the human race needs a public hero, someone they can relate to and rely on. Hercules is that person, he may be a liar, and may be, well, sorry Videl, there is no nice way to say this, a fraud, but he is real and human and there for them. I'd be a horrible public hero." Gohan grinned nervously at them.

"But you're the Golden Fighter, that's a public hero figure." Videl pointed out.

"But I wear a mask. A disguise. It isn't a reflection of me, I'm not a role model for others, I'm like the police force, I keep the place safer, catch criminals, all that, and work with you Videl. You're the public hero, and you do an awesome job at it." Gohan explained.

"If you say so nerd-boy." Sharpener announced, "Now, as it is the last night of camp, out here by ourselves, I think we should just set a few ground rules. Gohan, none of us are ever going to share your secrets, but you have to promise you'll realise we're your friends now, if something is wrong, you can come to us to talk. Any of us."

"Deal." Gohan grinned, shaking hands with the blonde over the dying fire.


The next morning had a depressing feeling to it, packing up their camp and belongings, putting it all away and setting off towards the meeting point, Gohan leading them not along the trail paths they sometimes came across, but straight through the forest, not at all afraid of animals, or getting lost or anything. The boy had his tail wrapped around his waist again, in case they crossed paths with anyone else, and the four didn't mention the secrets they now shared.

An hour after lunch, Gohan grinned at everyone else over his shoulder and announced, "We're here."

They walked through the trees to the clearing, where the two teachers were sitting in the middle, playing cards.

The teachers jumped up and went on and on about the group being the first back and well down and how did you go and did you get everything, did anything go wrong, were you hurt. Questions poured from their mouths and the four regretfully subjected themselves to the twenty questions.


By the afternoon, all the groups had returned, some looking a little worse for wear. Only Gohan's group had all the scavenger items, and only Gohan's group looked cheerful. It was clear who had the most fun.

It was too late to head back to the original campsite that day, so they all pulled their tents out, to set up and sleep.

It was late at night, and Gohan was lying on his stomach, on top of his sleeping bag, head resting on his arms with his tail swinging back and forth.

"Gohan, you still coming back to Videl's after the camp to type up the report and stuff?" Sharpener asked from his sleeping bag.

"IF she'll still have me, yeah." Gohan whispered back.

"Course she will."

"Goodnight."

"Night nerd-boy."


To be continued.

There we go, only one or two chapters to go, and then the end. I am so sorry about the huge gap between chapters.

Please review! Let me know your thoughts on the story up until this point. J