Fated
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Dragon Ball Z
A/N: Hm, I'm getting worried… the frequency at which I receive glorious reviews is dropping… Am I really doing that poorly? I certainly hope not… Well, enjoy the chapter!! This chapter was more or less inspired by Breaking Benjamin's "Blow Me Away"
Aaron Leach: Why thank ya!.
H-bomber: I'm glad you approve XD
Linbug: Ya I tried to capture her personality, I hope I did well lol
G. Login: I'm certainly glad you think so!
Princesa de la Luna: Hahaha thanks, and I hope I answered your questions well lol :P
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Gohan glanced around the gravity chamber thoughtfully. "Red tiles… and white paneled walls, nice combo!" Gohan said out loud as he admired the décor. He walked toward the center and titled his head in curiosity. 'Hmm, that must be the control…' He mused as he stood in front of the machine in the center of the room. "Set to normal…" He looked over to the far side of the panel and noticed a knob. "Time to test her out!" He announced to no one and turned the knob until the numbers on the screen rose to the number 10.
When the gravity settled Gohan back flipped away from the controls and began his attack on his invisible enemy; so far he didn't feel much difference at all. 'Well this won't do.' He thought and walked back to the controls, increasing it to twice that much and began training once more. "Argh, still nothing…" He muttered and stood straight again, glancing at the controls thoughtfully. 'My dad trained much higher than twenty… I wonder if I could too?' He pondered to himself as he made his way to the controls once more.
"Let's see…" The numbers on the machine slowly went up, passing thirty… forty… fifty… Gohan began to feel the strain but he did not stop there. Sixty… Seventy… Eighty… Gohan should have stopped now that the force of the gravity was making it difficult to stand steady but he went on. Ninety… One Hundred. "AHH!" Gohan felt himself collapse to his knees and winced as pain shot up his legs.
"Alright… much better…" He gasped and rose to his feet shakily. "I can hardly move but… I have to… get used to it!" He said and crawled further away from the machine. He positioned himself in a push-up position and began his training, feeling the sweat run down his body with each lift. 'My heart is going to beat clean out of my chest!' he thought as he continued his exercises. After half an hour of training he felt himself slipping.
Gohan gasped and groaned in pain as he struggled to lift his heavy weight. "Good God… did… dad… struggle… this much when… he trained to… fight Freeza?" Gohan said aloud and panted with the effort but did not stop. At 100x the gravity of earth his body felt like lead and every tiny movement made his muscles scream in pain. 'I should have trained under seventy-five first…' Gohan thought woefully but would not give up! He toyed with the idea of going Super-Saiyan but that would make it much too easy.
About two and a half hours later he could no longer withstand the strain anymore and so he slowly made his way to the controls. Gohan gasped in shock when he lowered the gravity back to normal too fast and felt himself double over, panting as the sudden lack of pressure made his head swim and eyes dizzy. 'Note to self… think before I do something…' he thought and let himself collapse against the machine, resting his back against the column. "Now that was some great exercise!" He said and laughed with glee. 'At this rate, I may yet become stronger than dad!' he thought and let sleep overtake him.
When consciousness returned to him Gohan's eyes fluttered open to gaze at a heavenly sight. "Videl… what are you doing her?" he asked groggily. Said crime-fighter smile affectionately and ran her hand through his short hair.
"You've been in here all day… Would you care to join us for dinner?" She asked, moving away a bit so he could pull himself to his feat. Videl resisted the sudden urge to run her hands down her fiancé's chiseled abdomen and turned to lead him out.
"Wait a sec." Gohan said grabbing her arm gently and pulling her against him. Videl braced her hands on his chest and looked up at him questioningly. "Don't I get a better greeting than that?" He asked with a playful smile. Videl smiled right back and ran her hands through his hair once more as she pulled his head down, letting their lips caress before pulling away and smirking.
"Better?" She asked and yelped when Gohan wrapped his arms around her middle and lifted her up.
"Yeah! Much." Gohan said and laughed joyfully. Videl gazed down at him lovingly and stroked his scalp again; she loved it when he smiled and laughed, it made her forget the reality they lived in and she cherished it as much as she could. Gohan placed her back down on her feet and gave her a questioning look. "Are you okay? You have a far away look…" He asked - concern dripping from his voice. Videl smiled and shook her head, dismissing his worry.
"I'm fine, just admiring your smile… it really suits you, you know." She admitted, loving the blush that tinted his cheek. "Now come on, you're hungry, I'm hungry, Bulma's hungry, let's go eat already!" She said and grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the room.
"Woah!" Gohan called from the force of Videl's tug. "I'm coming I'm coming!" He laughed. The three dined happily, chatting about anything they could think about that did not relate to the androids. The radio was kept off and there was a semblance of peace in the large, dome-shaped manor. Later that night Bulma resisted sleep - afraid that the nightmares of her Gohan or her son dying would keep her from peace - so instead she continued to work on her technology. Gohan and Videl slept as peaceful as the world would allow them; taking comfort in that they slept in the arms of the one they loved.
Two days later Gohan made his way to the gravity room again after eating a truck-load of food and kissing the two women on the cheek. When Gohan set the machine to 100 again he was very pleased when the gravity did not bother him as much as it did before. 'Excellent…' He thought as he began to train harder and faster than he had the first time. Hours later, after taking a break and a nap with Videl, he returned and almost felt normal in the heavy gravity.
"Alright… So I mastered a hundred times earth's gravity… how about I try a little higher?" Gohan walked over to the machine and glanced down where it said 100. He moved the knob until it said 200 and waited for the machine to do its thing. Gohan gasped and collapsed to the floor with the weight created. "Jeez!!" he growled and forced himself to his feet. "I will not be defeated… by… gravity!" he said through gritted teeth and almost unsteadily walked over to a pull-up bar.
As Gohan trained, he felt like he did when he trained under 100 but he decides that it was not that bad… The training went on like that for three more day. On the fourth he took a break and decided he could keep himself busy while Videl went to give a friendly report to Harold, by helping Bulma with relocating equipment. "So are you sure that's not too heavy for you?" Bulma asked as she watched in amazement as Gohan carried her latest project, which was almost as big as a house and made of steel, to one of her hangers.
"Aw it's fine Bulma really! This is as light as a feather for me; I won't get hurt I promise." He said setting the five-ton hunk of metal and wires down in an empty spot in the large hanger. "What are you building this time anyway?" He asked as he glanced up at the skeleton of when looked like another time-machine.
"Well… it was an old project of my dad's originally… it's a spaceship, I'm trying to resurrect his plans for it. Who knows, maybe it'll take us to new Namek?" She commented. Gohan was about to respond when the radio that had been set outside so they could hear music as they worked beeped and a news reporter began speaking.
"Horrible news! Forgive me my dear listeners but it seems one of the many secret refugee camps that house thousands of people from all over the world has been discovered! Earlier this morning our brave remaining enforcers went out to the southern section of the city where it was located to search for survivors… they found none… terrible news… will nothing stop their carnage?" The reported said in a dire voice. Bulma glanced over at Gohan in alarm, Gohan vibrated with fury and his power whipped around him.
"Hold on Gohan, calm down…" Bulma advised gently but her words fell on deaf ears. Gohan roared with anger and felt his power explode around him, ripping the earth until he floated over a crater. When he had calmed enough to land on turned soil near the crater and where Bulma sat in shock where she had been thrown, Gohan's hair stood up on end and was now gold, he glanced over at Bulma with teal eyes and blinked in shock when he saw not fear but awe in her eyes. "Gohan… you're… you're lit up like a Christmas tree!" She said pointing at the violent electricity that swirled around him.
Gohan looked around himself and then realized how powerful he felt. He looked at his hands, feeling raw power coarse through his veins. 'This is… incredible…' He thought wide-eyed. Bulma stood and approached him.
"Gohan. I understand you're angry but you can't go out there…" She said.
"BUT! VIDEL-"
"Is in the WEST part of the city… that wasn't her refugee camp…" Bulma said and smiled at his clearly relieved look. "Now, calm down would you? YOU'RE DESTROYING MY GARDEN!" She screamed. Gohan ducked almost submissively and let his powers dissipate, returning him to his normal state.
"Ah… Sorry about that Bulma…" He replied sheepishly. Bulma sighed in annoyance and waved her hand.
"It's fine. Look, Gohan, I think that training of yours is really paying off! I've never seen you look so dangerously-powerful… If you keep it up I think you could have an excellent chance at defeating the androids! I wouldn't be surprised if you could do it now though." Bulma complimented and turned to tend to her ruined yard. "Just stay away from my backyard if you're going to do that again." She growled and walked off. Gohan stood there, staring at his hands. Gohan liked the idea of possibly being strong enough to defeat whatever threat that comes along, including the androids and decided to train more.
He reentered the gravity room and stared at its controls. He set it to 250 and gasped as it weighed him down, "Okay…" He muttered, resisting the urge to gasp, "I must try harder than this… I must become stronger!!" He growled and made his way painfully to the center controls. Gohan perspired in effort and doubt as he began to turn the knob again until it said 300. "AHH!" Gohan felt his body slam to the ground, watching as the air around him shifted and the white walls turned red. "This… may… be… too… much!" Gohan said hoarsely.
Gohan began his slow and painful training. He was happy when Videl returned the next day and did not let her go the rest of the day, keeping her in his arms to reassure himself that she was indeed safe and alive. Videl had not minded, loving the feel of strength and security in his embrace but the next day she sent him back to training. She loved him but she decided it was better to keep him occupied or else his mind would start wandering toward dark thoughts, thoughts of destruction and battles…
Gohan was pleased when he began to become accustomed to even 300x earth's gravity. Even if it stressed his muscles to the point where they would not stop twitching for an entire day he kept on going. A few days later Gohan felt he had mastered the training, being able to do ten thousand pushups and sprint around the room fairly easily. 'Thank you Dr. Calvin… this serum must really be helping me out…' Gohan thought one night as he noticed he healed a lot quicker now than he had before he met Videl and got his arm back.
A few days later Gohan was in the gravity room like always, training and exercising after a large breakfast. "Alright! I think I have three-hundred down pretty well!" Gohan said as he kicked and punched an imaginary enemy with incredible speed and only a bit of pain and effort. It had been a week since he began training under three-hundred times earth's gravity and had to stop himself several times when he heard the news speak about the Android's latest attacks. So far he had been good and stayed with Videl and Bulma at Capsule Corps, even being visited by his mother and grandfather eased the burden in his heart. Now that his training was paying off he decided it was best to step it up a bit. "Let's see how high this thing can go…" Gohan mused as he walked over to the machine. "Five-Hundred? This isn't so bad… I wonder if this is al-"
Gohan felt his body buckle and slam against the floor. 'No!' He thought in panic when he could not move a muscle. Gohan groaned in pain, feeling even his hair crushing his skull. 'Damnit… I think I over did it…' he thought, unable to open his mouth. Gohan gasped unwillingly as the tears of pain that slid down his cheeks left marks. The gravity, it seemed, was slowly beginning to kill him…
"AHHHHHH!" Gohan screamed, his torn body unwilling to allow so much pain anymore, resulting in him loosing control and powering up. Gohan screamed as his body surged with power. He could not stop himself as he felt the torrent whirl around him violently, beginning to tear apart the gravity room and everything around him. He screamed as he began to surpass his previous Super-Saiyan ascension, as soon as he seemingly reached his peak the gravity room could not withstand it any longer, resulting in a huge explosion. Before his world went black Gohan felt his hair lengthen and stand on end and his face twist into something more jagged.
"Would you like two sugars or thr-" Suddenly Bulma's question was interrupted by a sudden explosion in the backyard.
"Androids?!" Videl gasped as the two women made their way to the source as cautiously as they could. "Oh no! Gohan!" Videl cried as the two ran to the obliterated Gravity Chamber to find Gohan lying half-naked on the rubble.
"Maybe… five-hundred… was too much…" Gohan gasped before blacking out again.
Bulma, having had experience in healing Gohan and her son over the years, patched up Gohan and helped heal him while Videl helped around the house and kept her company. Gohan slept for 2 days straight; during those days Videl and Bulma conversed over their experiences and experiences with Gohan until they both understood each other and the way they thought of the wounded man in the next room. Both women loved him, each in their different manner.
Three days after the explosion Bulma stopped herself in mid sentence as she sat across Videl and looked over to the door to where Gohan slept. "I think he's waking up." She announced and stood up from the table.
"Oh good, give him a slap for me okay?" Videl said in a drawl and leaned back against her chair. Bulma smirked and walked over to the room, noticing her patient turning his head to the side and frowning. Bulma sat next to the bed and waited for him to open his eyes. When he did she smiled down at him.
"Gohan…" Bulma began as Gohan's eyes slid open. "That was some stupid stunt you pulled." Bulma scolded, receiving a shamefaced look from the young man she saw as a little brother.
"Yeah…" He agreed and glanced at Videl who stood at the doorway. She gave him a look that said they would have a "chat" later before smiling and walking off again. With Videl away Bulma decided that she could ask Gohan the question that's been bothering her ever since she and Videl found him and she tended to his wounds.
"Um, Gohan… I've been meaning to ask you… have you looked at your… back… in the mirror before?" She asked tentatively. Gohan blinked in sleepy confusion and shrugged, wincing in pain from the sudden movement.
"Um… not really… why would I look at my back? Why do you ask?" He asked. Bulma crossed her arms and stared at him thoughtfully.
'So he doesn't know does he… maybe its best he finds out on his own.' She thought before smiling and waving her hand in dismissal. "Oh it's nothing, I was just curious is all… uh… not many people do you know?" Bulma said, attempting to deter him, Gohan however was gullible enough to take her seriously.
"Is it a bad thing? Should I check on my back more often?" He asked sincerely. Bulma groaned and smacked her hand over her face.
"NO Gohan… Just forget I said anything! Gosh you're so much like your dad sometimes…" She said with a tired sigh. Gohan blinked in confused again and shrugged.
"Alright, I guess…" He said, "Say… you think I could have some food?" He asked with a sheepish grin when his stomach gave a loud roar.
"Yup… like father like son like I always say…" After a huge meal in which neither women could get Gohan to say a word as he ate, Gohan sat there and let Videl chew him out, screaming at him for being so reckless and trying to get himself killed. Gohan stayed silent as she screamed, he agreed with her but he knew if he were to get stronger, he'd have to do it the hard way… and this was it.
"NO! Don't go back! You'll kill yourself!!" Videl protested as she tried fruitlessly to pull a determined Gohan back from heading toward the newly fixed gravity machine. She could not believe it, after yelling at him for nearly an hour he was STILL going to go and kill himself in the dreadful machine.
"Relax! I won't break it this time! I feel a LOT stronger than I did before. I know I can handle it… I won't hurt myself and I won't make it explode again." He said with an amused and reassuring smile.
"You had better not. That equipment wasn't cheap back when we could afford to buy and replace technology." Bulma grumbled. Suffice it to say, Gohan realized as he trained that he had become much, much stronger than his father was; part of him ached with that thought but the other was thrilled and excited. After becoming accustomed with five-hundred times earth's gravity and testing his new power out he noticed that perhaps something was not normal… after all, a half-Saiyan should not be able to ascend as high as he did… that's what Vegeta always said anyway, that a half-Saiyan would never be able to surpass a full-Saiyan …and yet… he did… what was going on?
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End A/N: Woohoo! I bet you all are dying to see Gohan fight now!! Too bad he's so stubborn about letting Trunks handle the androids :P Hmm… what IS going on with him? He shouldn't be able to be that strong eh? ;) That mystery shall be revealed in the next exciting chapter!! Stay tuned and please comment on what you think about this so far!!
