Alright yes! I have finally finished this, at the last moment I wanted to cut out the end redo it and save part for a flashback but... I figured you all waited long enough so
without further ado...-
Chapter 9: Cell Hunting
Training started the same as in his timeline though it was more difficult to hide his power than he thought it would be. His Father and especially Piccolo would try to push him to where they thought his limits were, which were even lower than the limit he was going for since they didn't know he'd been training. Every time they knocked him down he wanted more and more to knock one of them down, as a six year old kid that fight made him improve.
Now though it was going to make him break his cover. They'd been training for a few weeks and Piccolo could see he was holding back because he knew him and knew how he trained, and his Father was a seasoned fighter he could sense there was more but for now seemed to be ignoring it. Though he did keep telling him to focus. Gohan growled as he hit the snow again.
"Gohan! You gotta focus!" Goku yelled down to him. Gohan growled again, clinching his fist in the snow that was soaking threw his clothes. He was focusing! If he wasn't he would have broken his self-imposed limits and knock his Father on his ass! Gohan took a breath and held it as he counted to ten. One of the many books his mother made him read said it was a good calming mechanism. It worked, slightly, as it took his mind off why he was so angry for a moment but his butt was now wet from the snow and he was getting cold.
Gohan stood up and started using his energy to warm himself up when a small blast hit him smack in the face knocking right back into the snow. 'That's it!' was Gohan's only thought as he blasted into the sky straight at his Father who he'd sensed the blast came from. Goku was shocked at the reaction and wasn't quiet able to move out of the way as his son's fist grazed his cheek.
Gohan didn't stop though, fists met at a quick pace and Goku was quickly realizing he wasn't able to hold back anymore as his son was pushing him back. His attention was caught by Gohan's eyes, they were moving rapidly and had a faint green glow. As he landed face first in the side of a cold, snowy mountain he realized getting distracted was a big mistake on his part. He sometime underestimated Gohan because he was a kid and forgot that Gohan wasn't just a kid he was his son. And apparently had his mother temper.
Goku had to create a shield as Gohan sent blast after blast at the crater he'd planted him in. Piccolo had been watching it all carefully. He knew Gohan had been holding back but this… it was like he'd been fighting with a self-imposed handicap. And Piccolo could truly see it now, as he watch Gohan playing with his Father, and that's what it was, he was just playing with them.
Piccolo frowned, he knew his student, the boy was kind hearted and loyal. He didn't believe the boy would be taking their training lightly without a good reason. With that thought Piccolo sent a blast straight at the boy to test him as he might not get another chance once Gohan realized he'd broken whatever rules he had put on himself.
Gohan sensed a large energy blast coming from the side while he was still busy pinning his Father in a hail storm of his own blasts. Quickly stopping and turning to the blast he batted it away like a fly. As soon as he saw Piccolo's shocked face behind the blast he knew what he had done. In this timeline that blast would be considered powerful, and he had just smacked it away.
"Uh oh." Gohan spoke very quietly and was almost grateful for the blast his Father sent when it knocked him out of his stare with Piccolo. Thankfully his Father had been too buried in the ground to notice what he had done but he knew with the looks Piccolo was giving him they would be talking later.
'Sometimes he hated being right.' Gohan thought. As soon as he Father had declared it lunch time and ran ahead Piccolo gave him a look that meant stay put. And while he very much wanted to run after his Father and get some lunch he knew Piccolo wouldn't let the temporary reprieve be worth it. Might even confront him in front of his parents.
"Tell me." Piccolo ordered bluntly and straight to the point. Gohan frowned even if he wanted to tell him, where would he even start? Piccolo settled for staring him down since he wasn't answering yet.
"You've been acting strange since that boy from the future was here, maybe since Namek. There you almost seemed to transform into a super saiyan. From what I saw from the future kid a partial transformation." Piccolo stated. He was nowhere near done but Gohan saw an in, somewhere he could start from that would help give his story a small amount of credibility.
"Trunks. His name is Trunks" Gohan inserted before his mentor could continue. Piccolo stared at him for a moment, letting one of his theories from when they met Trunks grow.
"You're from the future." Piccolo stated after a moment. It wasn't a question but Gohan nodded, watching his mentor worriedly. A few months ago Piccolo wouldn't have even considered it but after seeing Trunks, and hearing that name that he was sure the boy never heard, he was confident he was right about Gohan.
"How long?" Piccolo was watching him carefully almost like an enemy. And Gohan really didn't like it. He felt uneasy, Piccolo had never look at him like, like he could be a threat.
"You were right, I've been here since Namek. The first thing I remember is seeing in this timeline is Frieza beating on Vegeta." Gohan shifted his feet nervously, he hated being under Piccolo's stare down.
"Tell me everything, kid." Piccolo ordered sitting down and finally taking his hard stare off the six year old. Gohan breathed in relief, he knew that he'd passed whatever test Piccolo had just done.
"I'm from just about a month after the first set of androids arrive.-" Gohan was cut off.
"First set?" Piccolo asked. Normally he wouldn't interrupt but that was… disconcerting news.
"Yeah, lemme finish. Trunks, just by being here, he said, must have changed the timelines. I don't even know if I've changed them too because I was already here while Trunks wasn't, and Trunks still came." Gohan was getting confused and he was sure Piccolo was too so he moved on.
"I was in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for a while so I was eleven when I came back." Gohan paused what else could he say? He didn't want to tell Piccolo that he was the one that defeated Cell because he wasn't sure he could do it again, and didn't want to have to be put in the position ever again if he could help it.
"I know there was two set of andriods, the first ones were where Trunks said, but they weren't the ones he thought they were. They were andriods 19 and 20. 20 is Gero. We were strong enough to beat them but Gero got away and released 17 and 18, they are the ones Trunks remembers." Gohan paused frowning, he hadn't been there but he knew what happened.
"Everybody got clobbered, and Vegeta in the name of a good fight, let 17 and 18 release android 16." Gohan sat down before continuing his story. "My Father's heart virus kicked in just after the battle with 19 and 20 started, when he turned into a super saiyan. Most likely from the extra stress."
"So he was down for a few days and we had to hide him while the androids tried to hunt him down. As soon as he was better though we all started taking turns in the time chamber. After that the androids weren't a problem but we had a bigger problem… his name is Cell." Gohan finished quietly.
Piccolo watched his student carefully, whoever this Cell was he had done a number on his kid. Gohan seemed lost in the memories of that time and Piccolo didn't know if he should pull him from his thoughts or not but decided he really didn't like seeing that defeated look on the kid's face.
"Is he why you came back?" Piccolo finally asked. Gohan pulled himself back to the present, or rather a different kind of past to answer.
"Sort of. I didn't exactly come here on purpose." Gohan admitted almost sheepishly. Piccolo's eyes narrow, and the six year old knew he'd better explain. "I misspoke. The dragon had been summoned and everyone was trying to think up a good wish… I wasn't paying attention." Gohan felt small and stupid under his mentor's eyes. It really was a stupid mistake.
"Gohan." Piccolo sounded wary but waited until the kid looked at him. "What did you wish for?" It wasn't a request but it was said so gently that Gohan felt even worse. Cause if even Piccolo was being careful with you the world really was going to HFIL. Course Piccolo had always treated him better than the others.
"I wished for another chance." Gohan stated, and Piccolo cursed. Gohan flinched because he'd never actually heard Piccolo curse, not in a language he could understand anyway, but at least all was right in the world again.
"Do have any idea how foolish that was." Piccolo growled and Gohan couldn't look at him. "You could have ended up anywhere, any-when!" his sensei was fuming and Gohan knew he was right. Piccolo tried to glare at his student after his outburst but it was kind of hard when the kid looked so pathetic, and wasn't looking at him.
Pushing the anger down with a deep breath and letting the concern take its place Piccolo studied his young friend. He really did look pathetic. The Namek huffed, it was easy to forget that the kid was just that, a kid. Growing up too fast with too much expected of him.
"Another chance for what?" Piccolo finally asked. Gohan didn't look up but answered his mentor obediently.
"To save my Father." whispered the six year old. Piccolo close his eyes and sighed, place his hand comfortingly on top of the kid's head. Of course the kid was only thinking of someone else.
"Cell?" Piccolo asked and the small boy nodded under the Namek's hand. Gohan sniffed and swiped at his face, still not looking up but explained.
"Cell was defeated, but Dad died, and it was my fault." Gohan was trying to skirt around the truth. That he was the one to finally stop Cell but it really was all his fault.
"I doubt it was your fault, kid." Piccolo stated frowning at the thought. "But even if it was I know your Father wouldn't blame you." The Namek took his hand from the kid's head and pulled him closer to his side. He didn't know what had come over him. It just felt wrong for the kid to be so upset, he never got that upset.
Gohan sniffed and curled into the Namek's side slowly calming. He really felt stupid for breaking down like that. It was Piccolo who taught him not to cry. Though now Piccolo was kind of hugging him. Maybe hugging him on his birthday had changed something. He couldn't bring himself to care though, if hugging Piccolo opened his friend up a bit more and got him free hugs than he was good with it.
"Gohan!" The little saiyan and big Namek both sighed when they heard Chichi call. Gohan chuckle hearing Piccolo sigh with him and Piccolo pulled away hiding a small grin.
"We'll talk more later. You should go get some food." Piccolo said as he stood up. Gohan got up with him and wiped away any tears that were left with a small smile.
"Okay. See you Piccolo!" Gohan called back as he raced back to his house. He felt so much better now that Piccolo knew. Of course there a lot more to tell his friend and some he'd rather keep to himself, but he felt better just finally being able to tell someone. Even better that it was Piccolo. He was smart, he could help.
Two weeks later Gohan saw his Father and Piccolo off as they went to take their drivers test. Today was the day, and he hadn't told Piccolo. He'd told Piccolo a lot but this seemed like something he had to do himself. So he had waited until the day his Father and Piccolo would both be busy without him. In his timeline he'd snuck out and gone to watch them. Gohan smiled as he remembered them racing each other as their instructors screamed in the passenger seats. While he'd like to see that again, he had something a little more important to do, like Cell hunting.
Cell should still be in his larva stage right now, probably buried in the ground. Not that it would be a problem to blast him out but he had to remember the others could sense him. Even if they were busy with their own training. Thankfully the most likely to sense him was Piccolo who was a little distracted at the moment.
He let his mom shut him in his room to study, opened his book and quickly went through problems for five minutes to make sure she wasn't coming back and to have at least some work down on paper. At this age it would have taken him longer to do the worked he'd just done so when his mother realized he was gone hopefully she'd think he'd been here longer. Sighing at having to sneak around his mother Gohan pushed away the guilty feeling, he was doing this for her too.
The little saiyan left his work book open and quietly snuck out his window… one day his mother was going to nail that shut. He almost squeaked in surprise when something bumped him outside his window. After spinning around though he relaxed, and put a finger in front of his lips.
"Shh Icarus, before we get caught." Gohan whispered to his dragon friend before leading him into the tree line. "I'm sorry boy. I can't go flying with you today." Gohan said as the little dragon flexed his wings. He really would like to fly with his friend, it had been a little while since he'd had any time to play. The little dragon whined and Gohan patted his side. "I know but it's important, I'll be back and maybe even with time to play, but you gotta say here and not follow me okay?" The little dragon made another whine but nodded his head before nuzzling the boy's face.
Gohan laughed quietly and pushed his own head back into the dragons before backing off and floating into the sky. "I'll be back." Gohan stated to his friend with a smile before turning and shooting into the sky. He had a creepy grasshopper to find.
Two hours later Gohan was frustrated and freezing. It was cold when he, Bulma and future Trunks had come here, but now it was winter and there was snow everywhere. He had arrived an hour ago and couldn't seem to find the time machine or Cell. He had already raised his power level to heat himself up but he was still cold. Taking a deep breath he carefully raised his energy more so that he wasn't cold but had to be careful to not burning his skin. It was annoying to have to focus that much while he was flying and trying to look for something, which is why he didn't like doing it for long.
Finally Gohan spotted the top of the time machine over a hill of snow. He was about to rush over to his find when he remembered Cell was supposed to be there and made his approach cautiously. Once he was mostly there he dropped down to his feet and walked the rest of the way looking for any sign of the green monster. It was obvious he was there somewhere, Gohan could sense it, and now that he could see the time machine he could see the hole Cell had made it the glass top.
When he realized he was holding his breath Gohan force himself to breathe slowly. He made it the machine with no resistance. Keeping his eyes and senses open at all times Gohan capsulized the machine. Nothing happened, either Cell was smart enough to know he shouldn't reveal himself or didn't notice Gohan while in larva form. Whatever the reason Gohan had enough of hide and seek.
Lifting into the air Gohan sent a few small blast down around the area melting the snow until he saw Cell's wiggling form trying to bury deeper and hide. Gohan despite never seeing the form knew it was Cell. As soon as he saw him he locked on and could sense the evil aura of a Cell who'd already killed a future version of his little cousin to steal the time machine.
"Cell!" Gohan yelled, letting his anger flare he blasted the area Cell had just crawled back into, revealing him again. Before Cell could leave his sight for a second time Gohan transformed jumping to super saiyan before quickly hiding his power from the others and lifted his hands above his head to form his attack.
"MA-SEN-KO HA!" Gohan yelled pushing out enough power to level a village, hoping it would be enough to destroy Cell once and for all and that his father's friends were otherwise occupied or just thought he was training. As he caught his breath from the attack Gohan dropped his transformation and slowly lowered himself to the ground. Watching for any signs of Cell. He stayed there a good ten minutes looking, and sensing for the slightest sign of Cell. With nothing happening he knew he couldn't stay there all day looking and slowly started to leave. Sensing nothing the six year old huffed and turned around fly back toward his home.
Cell grimaced in pain, he was slowly regenerating but his larva form was weak to begin with and it would take time. He knew the one who'd attacked him though, he was made from part of the boy after all. What surprised him more was that the boy had called him by name, and seemed to almost know where to find him. It was most disconcerting, the boy had future knowledge, he would have to be even more careful until he achieved perfection. Then nothing would matter. He'd destroy them all.
Gohan shivered and frowned briefly feeling ominous intent in the air, it was gone quickly though and the small boy mentally shrugged snuggling back into the top of his dragon and went back to watching his Father and Piccolo scare there driving instructors half to death. Gohan chuckled at the instructor's faces, his Father and Piccolo's competitiveness, and was glad he could at least catch the end of it.
Later Piccolo gave him a look that Gohan knew meant the Namek had sensed him. Thankfully though Piccolo didn't question him. There were some things Gohan felt he had to do himself. Cell, the monster that killed his father, was one of them. He wasn't sure he could defeat the perfect Cell but the larva form was weak so he knew he could take it on. He just hoped that would be enough, that another evil wouldn't spring up to take Cell's place. And that he wouldn't have to use the power inside him that he preferred to keep hidden.
AND CUT! This story is NOT abandoned! I just am very busy.
"Make somebody happy today. Mind your own business." By Ann Landers
Anyway this chapter was more just something that need to be, in the next one the storyline will get moving.
