A/N: Hi, this is my first ever fanfic so don't expect the best. I may make quite a few mistakes here and there as I don't have a beta reader (just me proofreading through, I might get one soon, we'll see). I'll try my best to upload as frequently as possible, but I do like to do things to the best of my ability, so if a chapter isn't up to standard I will spend more time to correct it so you may need to wait a while.
I would like it if you would leave a review, even if you haven't got anything but criticisms, but that's how I'll get better at writing and you get better chapters. Win-win situation. :)
Chapter 1: Universe 7, DBZ Earth (Near the end of The Cell Games)
White hot sparks burst through the air, like an array of fireworks, as two figures position themselves into the infamous signature stance of the turtle hermit school. Large clouds of sand and dust were blown away by the sheer force extruding from both fighters, with both of them encased in violent blue energy, that seemed to ready to lash out at any given time to anyone unfortunate to stand too close to the two powerhouses. As they charged up their respective Kamehameha's, one of the figures, a bug-like creature with sickening green skin dotted with dark green spots, curved his lips into a smug grin that stretched across his face directed at his foe. His purple eyes brightened and seemed to convey the utter joy he had from watching his bloodied opponent struggle to match his unrivalled power.
"It is over Gohan, there's nothing you can do to stop me now. I am perfection personified, I contain the very cells of all the greatest fighters in the universe and there is no one who can now get in my way! I have to admit, your power was indeed admirable but nevertheless it pales in comparison to mine. I will obliterate you and your ragtag group over there and the universe will see what perfection truly is onc-"
Gohan cut him off. "Oh shut up, I will not let my dad's death go to waste. I will protect everyone here by doing them a favour by destroying you! I'll make you pay for everything you've done!" He exclaimed.
Cell growled, as annoyance flickered through his face, his eyes burning with promises of a painful death. How dare this pipsqueak interrupt him! Ohhh, how he is going to enjoy blasting him and the Earth into oblivion.
Gohan stood his ground several hundred yards away from Cell, as he charged a full power Kamehameha with one hand. His spiky golden hair stood up, defying gravity with one lock hanging over his sweat-plastered forehead. His once proud purple martial arts Gi now turn to shreds from the first round he went up against Cell. Cuts, scrapes and bruises littered his body with some of his bones being broken, as Lightning danced across his form. His left arm hanging loose to his side as blood flowed from his shoulder, which now was a red oozing mess of blood, muscles and tendons. A small voice at the back of his head told him that even with Dende's healing abilities and no more senzu beans left, that was gonna leave a permanent scar etched into his shoulder. Shaking his head, Gohan told himself to focus on the task at hand and deal with the repercussions later. He owed that much to his father. Tears welled up in his eyes as he thought about his dad's noble sacrifice and how it was all his fault for not finishing the fight when he had the chance, instead letting his anger and arrogance get the best of him. His right arm exerting his energy into his Kamehameha started to shake from the sheer guilt weighing upon him.
" Gohan! Snap out of it!" Goku's voice rang in Gohan's head startling him. "You need to focus more of your power into your attack! This is your chance to finally beat Cell!"
"Right, you got it Dad!" Gohan cleared his mind and charged more energy into his Kamehameha. The whitish-blue ball of energy increased in size and grew even brighter than before and pulsed with power, beams of energy shot off from Gohan's hand.
Cell witnessed this and doubt started creeping into his mind before he pushed it down and graced his face with an arrogant smirk. "Prepare to die, Gohan!" Cell launched his attack at the 12 year old, who mimicked his actions. The two colossal beams raced towards each other and clashed in the middle, resulting in the expansion of a large dome of blinding energy that pushed the Z-fighters away and sent a certain world champion flying away. The ground started to collapse, forming a tremendous crater under the extensive force being thrown at each other. The air vibrated with static electricity as the entire place shook from the severity of the beam struggle.
"This is crazy! I've never seen a battle this intense before!" Krillin cried in disbelieve as he held an unconscious android 18 in his arms.
"Y-yeah, I just hope that Gohan can pull this off. He's our last chance in beating Cell once and-for-all," Said Tien.
The others stayed in silence as they continued to watch the destructive and fierce battle unfold. A few metres away from them, spikey black hair poked out from a crater as Vegeta rose from it, clutching his right arm. His entire body ached in pain and, like Gohan, had quite a few scrapes and bruises on his skin. Vegeta's gaze fell upon Gohan and Cell, as he thought back to his disgraceful performance against the mechanical green cockroach from the future. He was absolutely furious at himself for not being strong enough to battle Cell, and to add salt to the wound, here was Kakarot's son going toe-to-toe with the repulsive bio-android. Urgghhh, how it makes him angry just thinking about it! "The once feared warrior prince of Saiyans, thrown to the wayside like some low-class scum! How much more humiliation will I have to endure? How many more insults to my pride must I take?!" In a flash of golden light,Vegeta re-emerged himself back into the super Saiyan form and thrusted out his arm and hand to begin charging for a big-bang attack.
Back to the fight, Cell had managed to gain more leverage against Gohan as his Kamehameha had almost engulfed Gohan's and edged closer to the half-Saiyan. Cell grin grew even more as he saw his inevitable win. "Face it Gohan! You've done your best but your no match for me! Just accept that you're going to die any minute from now, it's futile to keep on going. Ohh, but do not worry I'll make sure you won't go alone, after I'm done with you I'll send your pathetic friends with you along with this planet! " He started to laugh maniacally.
Gohan gritted his teeth, and squeezed his eyes shut. He knew he was about to lose, he couldn't beat Cell, he was too weak. "I'm sorry Dad, I've failed you."
Otherworld Snake Way
In otherworld, Goku could hear the utter hopelessness and defeat in Gohan's voice (A/N well, I guess his thoughts) and frowned. He knew Gohan was powerful enough, he just refused to acknowledge it, but how could he get him to see it himself? "Gohan! Don't give up, you can do this! You just need to dig deep!"
Earth
"I'm not like you Dad! I'm not as strong as you, I can't beat him!" Gohan mentally replied. He wasn't like Goku, a powerful warrior who somehow always found a way to top his opponents no matter the gap in their powers, always training and striving to better himself. "You thought you could be like Goku?" The little voice at the back of his head, was back and it sneered at him. "Please, you may have gotten stronger than before, but you're still the same scared, little boy who was stood in fear against Nappa, the Ginyu force and Frieza. You were helpless to do anything when others like Piccolo and Krillin sacrificed themselves to make up for your weaknesses. Even your father has given up his life twice to save you. Your weak and you know it." As much as Gohan tried to ignore that strain of thought he knew there were some truth to it. He always failed where it mattered most and now the lives of his friends, family, the Earth and possibly the whole Galaxy, now lay in his untrustworthy hands.
"No son, of course you're not like me." Gohandeadpanned, he was slightly hurt by his father's words. how was this supposed to help him? "You have such a gentle nature and you don't like to hurt others, but there are some people in the world that can never change, no matter what you do. Sometimes forgiving your opponent, especially evil ones like Cell, is not the right thing to do and that's exactly true right now. You need to end this Gohan, stop holding back your power just let it all go!"
"B-but Dad I am, I-I don't have enough!" Fumbled Gohan.
Use your anger Gohan! It's what fuels you! Get angry Gohan, if you do, there would be no-one in the world that can beat you! Think about all the people he's hurt and use that to unleash your latent power! I know you can do this son… I believe in you."
Knowing that his father, the man who Gohan has looked up to for all of his short life, telling him he believed in him, spurred newfound hope in Gohan. Memories of Cell torturing countless innocent people and his friends blitzed through his brain. Anger burned in his sparkling, light blue eyes as massive waves of energy erupted from Gohan and fuelled into his Kamehameha, pushing Cell's back towards him. Shock and surprise adorned Cell's face before adopting an angry expression. He gritted his teeth and released more of his power, trying to over-take Gohan. Suddenly a blast hit Cell's side causing a moment of shock and confusion, his flow of energy faltered a bit as Cell turned to see who dared attack him. Vegeta floated in mid-air with his hand out-stretched and let out ragged breaths of air, that blast had used up the last of his energy as he dropped down into his base form. The attack itself did not hurt Cell, but caused him to make a fatal mistake. Even a millisecond of indecision can be the cause for defeat. It was at this moment Gohan let free all of his remaining power at the Bio Android and started to overwhelm Cell's attack, pushing the overgrown cockroach back.
"What! This cannot be! I will not be defeated by a mere child!" Cell screeched.
"Go on Gohan! Now's your chance! Finish it!" Gohan could feel his father's presence by his side, helping him in destroying Cell. Gohan started to walk forward, slowly approaching the disgusting bug creature.
"This is for all the people you hurt Cell! Arrrrrhhhhhhhh!" He roared and pulled back his arm and then thrust it forward. Energy hurtled towards Cell and enveloped him as Cell's body started to deteriorate.
"This cannot be!" he shrieked as his body started crumbling before him. Every cell of his body was completely obliterated and he knew there was no way he would be able to regenerate from this attack. "NOOOOOOOO! I am perfection!" Cell continued to scream, his face contorted into a painful look, as his body burned away.
Gohan redirected his blast into the stratosphere of the Earth to avoid any more damage to the already heavily-scarred land. As the dust settled, a battered and exhausted Gohan stood alone at the feet of Cell's death and a sense of Euphoria rushed him.
"I-It's o-over… it's finally over!" He rasped out. A huge, fatigued smile plastered his face as Gohan eyelids started to close as he slipped into unconsciousness. He lost feeling in his entire body and fell face first into the ground with a large thump, as his previously spiky, golden hair returned to its original black colour and hairstyle.
Krillin's eyes widened as flew over to where Gohan laid, he was followed by the rest of the Z-fighters except Vegeta and Trunks (A/N. since Trunks Is dead at this point in time). "Gohan!" he screamed.
"Relax, he's fine, he looks worse than he is, we'll get Dende to heal him once we reach the lookout. He's exhausted from his fight with Cell, let him rest." Piccolo responded in a gruff voice, his eyes scrutinizing Gohan's form, but you could hear an undertone of pride as he spoke of Gohan as well as the slight flicker of a smile at the corner of his mouth threatening to split his face . He was speechless, inwardly grinning like a madman at his student, never did he think that the once cowardly and naive boy he trained all those years ago could become such a powerful warrior that he had surpassed all the fighters around him by the age of 12. His latent power is truly incredible and Piccolo had the impression that this was barely scratching the surface. "Although…" He scowled as he thought back to the arrogance Gohan had shown once he transformed. "Hmmm… I guess I need to find a way to change that before it turns into a habit." He mused.
"Oh man, that was some fight, Gohan is just like his old man. You know what they say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Yamcha stated as he rubbed the back of his head, giving off a nervous laugh with his eyes closed. All the Z-fighters looked at him and sweatdropped but chose not to comment, they were all used to his happy-go-lucky attitude and need to always lighten the mood.
"Alright I think it's best to regroup at the Lookout and to gather the dragonballs, we need to fix all the damage Cell has done to the world." Said Tien.
"Yes your right, Krillin you go ahead with 18 and I'll bring Gohan" Piccolo said, taking control of the situation. "Tien go find Bulma and ask for the dragon radar we need to sta-" Piccolo was interrupted by a swirling mass of black energy that grew from a single point right next to the unconscious form of Gohan. It started to suck in everything that was unfortunate enough to be next to it, which also included gohan himself. The circular void seemed intent on dragging him into the unknown abyss as it pulled on Gohan more vigorously, who slid across the ground unaware of the present danger. All within a blink of an eye, Gohan's body disappeared into the black mass of energy. The Z-fighters were shocked as they were rooted to their spot. As suddenly as it came, the hole started to close until it once again became a singular point floating in the air and then vanished without a trace. Already too late, Piccolo jumped for the strange void but hadn't made it in time and fell to his knees right where the hole first appeared.
"Gohaann!" They all shouted at the same time. Piccolo slammed his fist into the ground. A web of cracks ran through the ground as Piccolo let out his frustration. He was a mere spectator for the duration of the Cell Games, forced to let Gohan go against the cunning android and when he needed him to take over and ensure his safety he failed to deliver. He grit his teeth in frustration and slammed his fist into the ground once more, thinking about the loss of his only true friend in the world, the only one who didn't see him as a monster when they first met.
"Come on Piccolo let's gather the Dragonballs, I'm sure Shenron knows what happened to Gohan." Krillin suggested nervously, once he recovered from the shock.
"Yeah ok, Yamcha go pick up Trunk's body and bring him with you, Tien- dragon radar, everyone else let's go." Piccolo ordered. They all flew off trying to fix all the damage that came with this entire Android-from-the-future fiasco.
Vegeta observed all this from the same position he was in from when he launched his attack on Cell. He felt saddened about the disappearance of a fellow Saiyan, even if he was only a half-breed, he respected the power the boy held. Although, that emotion went as fast as it came as his eyes settled on the dead body of his future son that was being carried away by Yamcha, as disgust filled him once more. He couldn't even protect his own son nor could he hope to match Cell at his current power. "what sort of warrior am I? To not even pose a threat to my enemies. I'm a disgrace to the Saiyan race." Vegeta spoke to himself. Wait, something was wrong. "nnngghh, what's gotten into me? Just you wait Kakarot, once you are wished back to life, I will grow even stronger than you and your son. The prince of Saiyans will reclaim his throne once again and prove to the universe who is the strongest!" He then flew off by himself to gods-knows-where.
Otherworld Snake way
"King Kai! Where's Gohan? Can you sense him anywhere?!" Goku asked frantically. He had witnessed everything and was worried about the whereabouts of his son.
"I'm sorry Goku, but I don't know where he is." King Kai apologized. "I think we should just wait for Shenron to tell us where it is that black hole took him, although I'll keep searching." King Kai kept up a calm façade but, internally he was just as worried as Goku. That hole seemed like a portal, and if his hunches were correct that would mean… Gohan has most likely travelled to another universe or dimension. Inter-dimensional travel was forbidden for Deities of his rank so he had no idea if it was possible to return Gohan back to Earth with his status, however King Kai kept his thoughts to himself. He didn't need Goku even more upset about his son knowing he was possibly in a completely different dimension with extensive injuries and extreme fatigue, yet.
Although, there is a possibility that he could set up a mental link with Gohan while he was transported by the supposed portal…
Goku sighed. "Okay, But tell me if you find something. I'm going to get something to eat, see ya later King Kai!" Goku grinned as he placed two fingers to his forehead and instant transmission 'ed himself away.
King Kai looked at the spot Goku was standing before, incredulously." Honestly, that man has the attention span of a monkey." He sighed and shook his head.
"Oooh oooh ahhh ahhh" Bubbles, King Kai's monkey, started blabbering, seeming offended.
"Yes, yes Bubbles you are more intelligent than Goku." King Kai agreed, after glancing at the Ape. Bubbles started to rant once more. "No, I didn't mean that you in particular was stupid. Wha- no I didn't mean your monkey relatives were stupid either- look Bubbles it was just a figure of speech okay?" He internally groaned in his head. "why me?"
Bubbles made some more monkey noises which in turn made King Kai grit his teeth in annoyance. "NO! I am not making it up to you by giving you your own harem of female apes, you perverted monkey." Bubbles stiffened, as his brown eyes adopted a dangerous glint. King Kai visibly gulped. Why did Goku leave him alone with this easily agitated animal? "What have I done to deserve this?" He questioned as Bubbles opened his mouth, probably ready to go off again on the now dead deity. "Here we go again…"
Universe 6, PJO Earth (a few months before TLT)
The bustling streets of New York slowly lit up as street lights flickered on, illuminating the city, as Apollo completed the last stretch of his run while Artemis gets ready to begins hers. Hurried Mortals rush off to return home after a long day of work or to start their night of wild adventures. Tuned out from all the commotion was the slender figure of woman in a black Trench coat with violet lining running up the sides of her torso and arms. Light blue, skin-tight jeans coated her long legs and a plain purple T-shirt hugged her frame cosily that her curves were accentuated. What was most striking about this woman was her long, wavy, blacker-than-night hair that cascaded down her back and her purple eyes that shone with power, which slightly glowed in the dark, complementing with her flawless pale skin. She was quite tall, standing at a height of 5''7 and had that intimidating aura that made lustful men back off once close enough, not to mention the cold gaze that grazed any that met her eyes.
As she walked through times square a thoughtful expression crossed her face. She had only come to New York in disguise as a mortal to get a glimpse of Poseidon's forbidden child, Percy Jackson, the child of the 'Big Three' who was most likely going to be the prophesized child. The Demigod that would decide the fate of the entire Olympian Council, whether it shall remain or fall. "Hard to believe that scrawny 12 year old will most likely be the deciding factor." She mused.
-Flashback-
As the bell rang, two boys walked out the school gates and headed down the street, side by side. They both were about 5''3 and had bags slung on their backs with one of them in crutches. The boy on the right had messy jet black hair with a slightly tanned complexion, sea green eyes and a swimmer's build. He wore the casual T-shirt and jeans combination. The boy on the left, had a red Rasta cap and wore a jumper that sported the words 'Nature is beautiful' and jeans. He had light brown skin with light brown eyes. Curly brown hair poked out from underneath his hat and he had a few hairs growing on his chin. They both decided to head to the raven haired boy's apartment, although what they failed to pick up on was the woman subtly following them in the shadows, who also was eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Grover hurry up! I've got a strong feeling that my Mum's made blue cookies!" The green-eyed boy excitedly declared. "Gabe's not home either, I overheard in the morning he's gonna be at some big gambling tournament or something. He's not going to be back for hours."
"Finally, I didn't think that he could even move his fat ass more than the fridge." Grumbled Grover, but a smirk pulled on the corner of his mouth. Percy just had that uplifting aire about him.
Percy laughed. "Yeah, I know. My Mom doesn't have to deal with him for a while now." His face scrunched into a scowl as he slowed down, making both of them come to a stop. "I just don't get it, I know for a fact my Mum hates him even more than me but she puts up with him. Why doesn't she just dump the scumbag back into the dumpster he crawled out from?" He questioned.
Grover grew sympathetic as he looks at his friend glare at the crack in the floor. "Soon Percy, you just need to put up with all this for a little while longer, then I can take you to camp. I won't fail like I did before." His thoughts wondered to the time he escorted the trio of demigods to camp all those years ago which resulted in a certain daughter of Zeus ending up as a tree. "Mrs Jackson probably has her reasons Perce, you need to trust her. Your Mom's a strong person." He hoped Percy would drop the subject.
Percy let out a sigh and started walking again. "Fine, I'll believe that my mom has some grand reason why that overgrown meathead is still living with us." He turned his head to glance at Grover next to him, his lips formed a sly grin as his eyes glimmered with mirth. "You know my Mom will be on you if she finds out you didn't call her Sally."
Grover slightly paled. Percy's mother was very adamant when it came to calling her Sally instead of Mrs Jackson. She can be as stubborn as Percy when she wants to. Percy laughed at the face Grover made, before drifting into random topics as they walked.
The black haired woman stepped out of the alley and looked at the boy's retreating figures. "It appears he is not yet aware of the Greek world" she thought, gazing at the green-eyed boy. "He's quite innocent and naive, doesn't seem like he was the one to have stolen Zeus' masterbolt." She turned back into the alley and flashed away.
-End of Flashback-
"I don't think the boy is the Lightning thief." She continued musing before letting out a small sigh. She didn't understand why she was so concerned as she wasn't really loyal to Olympus, especially because she was treated as a minor goddess. "Just because I'm a Titan, not like I sided with the bastards in the Titan war, clearly shows their trust in me." She mumbled bitterly. "Although better the Olympians than the Titan's ruling the world." The reason for her concern was that she did worry for her children and the oblivious mortals. She was one of the few Gods/Goddesses that actually care for mortals and the constant storms created by the seas and skies, courtesy of Poseidon and Zeus, was a danger for all of them. She also didn't want a civil war to break out as that might result in her children having to join and choose a side.
Hecate ended her deliberations by leaving it up to time to show how events will play out in the future. She continued walking through the streets attracting lustful stares from men, when she detected an abnormally large gathering of mist around a swirling mass of black that had opened up high up in the sky. Her eyes widened in slight shock and curiosity. "What is that? I don't believe I've ever seen this before." The Mortals didn't pay attention to the growing black mass until it spewed out a charred object that sped across the sky, heading for the forest on the outskirts of the city. They gasped in surprise as they presumably believed it to be a shooting star. Hecate witnessed all this and flashed to where the thing landed as questions and theories flooded her mind.
As she arrived at the scene, there laid a black haired boy in a large crater. Hecate surveyed the area, trees and branches were broken from the Boy's fiery descent. She frowned as she approached the boy as her pupils dilated in sadness when her eyes met his figure. The boy seemed to be wearing an old-fashioned martial arts Gi that was shredded to pieces, only managing to cover the bottom half of his body. He was covered in gashes, burns, lacerations and blood with a disfigured left shoulder. The boy looked as if he went through Tartarus and back. Hecate could see he was around the age of 12, his hair that spiked out in different directions matted in dried blood.
She continued gazing at the boy, thinking about what could have done this to him, when she paused and saw his chest rise and fall. Her eyes widened as she quickly bent down and gently grabbed the boy, flashing him away to her mortal home in California. She rushed him towards the guest room and set him down on the bed. Instantly she went to work trying to heal him as she placed her palm on his chest, muttering a healing spell. A violet glow encased the area around his wounds as they started to heal. "How this boy is still alive is a mystery. No one should be able to survive this kind of damage to them. This boy is special but I am not sure if I have the ability to heal all of his injuries. I might need to take him to Apollo." She pondered.
She then started to notice that the wounds seemed to be healing at a much faster rate then when this spell is used on mortals. His breathing started to become even again as the fatal injuries were taken care of. "This is very interesting. No demigod should be able to recover from wounds like that so fast, with little difficulty… wait…". Shock passed through her body as realization hit her." I don't sense any godly blood in him. But that doesn't make any sense, he can't be some normal human, if that was the case he would've died from those wounds time ago."
She decided to not make any random assumptions and wait for him to wake up and tell his story. "Hmmm…you are very intriguing, who knows, maybe you are not of this world. I wonder how you were durable enough to survive." Hecate murmured as she scanned his body. His body did not have an ounce of fat on it, despite not presumably being more than the age of 13, he had an athletic figure that would put many Greek gods to shame. He was not overly muscly to the point where it would slow him down, like Hercules, but had the form of an experienced fighter suited for speed and strength. "He must have had quite intense training to get into shape like that at such a young age."
Even though the boy was unconscious, Hecate had already felt some small desire to take care of him like her own. She let a small smile breaking her normally expressionless face as she looked down upon him. Her purple eyes twinkling with fascination and interest. She then turned on her heels and left the room, shutting the door, plunging the room in darkness, to let him have his rest after what she guesses must have been a harrowing day for the young boy.
A/N: Well, that's the end of the first chapter. I hoped you like it. Yes, Gohan was found by Hecate, not many fanfics that include her so I wanted to be original and have her play a somewhat main role in the story.
I wanted to know if this is a good sized chapter or do you want it to be longer or shorter? And what pairing should I give Gohan? I do have some pairings in mind but just wanted to see what you guys think.
Anyway, that's it for this chapter, remember to follow, like and review. See you all next time.