Captain Blues: Ahoy-hoy. Time to set sail!

Merging Spirits: Legacy of Gohan Unchained
Chapter Four: Gohan Vs. Cell (Final Part)

"W-What?"

Those were the first words that fell from Seventeen's mouth as he slowly rose onto his knees, looking around in confusion. The last thing the android had remembered was battling Piccolo before Cell had decided to interfere before….He didn't want to think about that.

Seventeen stood upon his two feet and took notice of his surroundings.

There was his dear sister, unconscious a few feet away from him, then there was the Z-fighters himself, but what surprised him were these two things.

One, there was the damned bug that had swallowed him whole, and two, this kid was pouring outrageous power from his body, so much that Seventeen knew that he would not be able to put up even a decent match against the boy.

"What the hell did I come in on?" He asked himself in wonder, but he didn't bother to do anything. Instead, he needed to watch how this played out. Then, when things were calm, he would take his sister and bolt.

"Y-You…You ruined me!" Cell shouted out with his raspy voice, his bug-like eyes glaring scornfully at the young Saiyan across from him, who then smirked and disappeared, only to reappear before Cell's form and ram his elbow into the bug's face.

Gohan then followed up with repeated strikes to its stomach, the teen smirking as Cell's body seemed to stretch out from each powerful attack. With a yell, Gohan delivered an uppercut to Cell, then a brutal sidekick that sent the bug flying towards Seventeen.

Seeing this, Seventeen leaped away from the flying Cell, only for Gohan to appear before him and land a brutal punch to Seventeen's chest, making him crash into Cell, which sent the two colliding into the ground.

"What is Gohan doing out there?" Krillin asked Goku, who was looking just as confused until they heard the laughter come from Vegeta.

"It may not be obvious to you two buffoons, but to a Saiyan warrior, it's clear. He's taking out Cell and Seventeen at once. Good riddance, I say. It shows your boy has more Saiyan blood than his old man," Vegeta said with an air of Saiyan pride flowing around his words.

"That's not right! Gohan needs to be focusing on taking out the immediate danger," Goku said while narrowing his eyes. 'What is going on, Gohan?'

Gohan then flew down with his feet first towards the two, but Seventeen managed to move before Gohan's feet hand managed to impale him.

Still, when Gohan's feet slammed into Cell's chest, Cell let out a roar of pain as Gohan's feet sunk into Cell's chest, causing purple blood to fly from the two holes he made with his feet, but Cell was still alive and tried to summon up enough energy to blast the boy.

Seeing this, Gohan quickly jumped up, pulling his feet from the holes in Cell's chest and rammed them back down onto Cell's face hard, then launched himself off of Cell and began to blast Seventeen, who was now flying towards Eighteen to get her and himself far away.

Seventeen successfully grabbed Eighteen, but he was hit by Gohan's blast, sending both of their bodies flying further away from the battle.

Seeing Gohan distracted by Seventeen's mere existence, Cell forced himself to get off the ground and fly up with his tail ready to strike. Still, when he made it thrust forward, Gohan grabbed it without even sparing Cell and glance.

Gohan's head slowly turned to face the bug, his cold gaze piercing through Cell's soul. Before Cell knew what had happened, His tail was viciously ripped from his body, making the bug shout out in horror.

Gohan quickly flew down to Cell's beaten form and watched as Cell forced himself to get up to try and fight Gohan some more, and to anyone watching this battle, it was indeed a pathetic sight.

Cell was fighting as hard as he could, as fast as he could, but the hopelessness was beginning to set in as Gohan was effortlessly moving against his blows, and that's when Cell finally realized something.

Something that hadn't formed into his head before.

Not when Gohan forced him to spit out the two androids, not when he was getting beaten into the ground, not even when he turned into Super Saiyan two. Cell realized that he should have caught on when the teen matched him in his Super Saiyan form.

This wasn't a fight he could win.

It took him now to realize that Gohan was in a league of his own.

That this mere child could defeat any threat, this earth could face without so much a bat of an eye, and that's when something he began to wonder with dread forming in his bleeding chest.

Was this how they felt? Was this how everyone he had fed off of felt when he rained down terror upon their cities. Was this what the Z-fighters themselves felt when he fought them throughout his life in the present? Was this how Trunks felt before he ended the time traveler's life in the past?

Did they feel this hopelessness that they were looking at their very killer?

After one last punch was dodged, Gohan latched onto Cell's wrist and gripped it tightly before letting out a shout of anger, brutally ripping out Cell's arms from his body, making Cell scream in pure, unfiltered pain, but Gohan didn't stop.

Instead, Gohan began to land savage blows onto Cell's battle-ravaged body before placing his hand against Cell's bloody stomach and letting a beam of energy sail through the bug. Gohan watched with cold, uncaring eyes as Cell landed a few feet away from him, severely wounded.

"P-Please…" Cell begged slowly and weakly, reaching up to the Saiyan when he was standing above his own broken body. "H-Have mercy…P-Plea-se…."

"How dare you?" Gohan murmured with unshakable anger in his voice as he stared down at his beaten foe, his energy flaring wildly.

"Did you spare any of those people you ruthlessly slaughtered?! All those men, women and children, and animals! They begged you for their lives but did you spare them?!" Cell's eyes widened in fear as he could sense Gohan's power reaching a level he could barely calculate.

He watched as Gohan raised his hands high above his head while cupping his hands together, then gazed in horror as yellow and white energy flowed into it at a quick pace.

"P-Please! Have mercy!" Cell screamed out.

The energy in the boy's hand continued to sky rocket before Gohan shouted out, "This is my mercy!" And that's when Gohan threw his hands towards while simultaneously soaring in the air, letting a massive ball of energy engulf the screaming Cell in a blinding flash of light that roared above Cell's screaming.

And in that one moment, The Z-fighters felt Cell's energy dwindle until it completely vanished, signifying to them that it was all over…

When the light had died down, the area that Cell was lying in was now a huge crater, with streaks of yellow and white lighting appearing in certain places of the cavity.

Gohan floated over the hole, but instead of any happiness or relief that he should have felt at defeating Cell, only anger was there.

He then slowly turned his head to where he had last seen Seventeen and gazed coldly at the unconscious android and his equally unconscious sister.

He knew what he had to do now.

"H-He did it…."

Those were the first words from Krillin's mouth as he stared at the floating demi-Saiyan in shock but then a broad smile formed on his face. Gohan had done something that Goku, Vegeta, or Trunks couldn't do, and he had done it with so much ease.

"Yahoo!" the bald human shouted out happily, leaping in the air in excitement along with the grinning Yamcha, their arms around the other's shoulders with their free arms pointing up to the sky. Tien merely crossed his arms and smiled in relief while Chiaotzu floated around him with a happy laugh.

Trunks let out a relieved smile and laugh while Vegeta smirked and crossed his arm. "Well, I have to say Kakarot; your son is more of a Saiyan than you will ever be," But he was a bit peeved when he noticed that Goku hadn't responded to this, but instead was staring at his son, who was still floating in the air.

He didn't know how or why, but he could feel something was wrong with his son. 'Gohan…What is wrong with you, my son?'

Goku quickly got his answer when he saw energy explode to life around Gohan's body as the teen turned around to face the unconscious forms of Seventeen and Eighteen.

Goku watched as Gohan slide both arms to his right side and cupped his hands together, and summoned up his energy to flare around his body, and that's when he watched as Gohan shot out a large beam of energy towards the androids.

Seeing this, Goku used his instant transmission to appear in front of the androids to the attack with a solid one-handed golden beam. Still, he was surprised when he found Gohan's attack was far stronger than his so with a grunt, Goku changed into his super saiyan form but surprisingly, Goku still found himself weaker than his son. Still, he pressed forward until Gohan broke off the struggle and flew to the side to avoid Goku's beam.

Goku let out a sigh of relief when Gohan managed to move away from his attack but then that relief turned into panic when Gohan shot out multiple balls of energy.

Seeing this, Goku fired shots of energy to counteract them before hearing Gohan yell with a heat he had never heard come from his son's voice, "Father, what are you doing?!"

Goku shook his head and flew towards Gohan and said, "This isn't how I raised you, Gohan! These androids did nothing wrong!"

"Nothing wrong?!" Gohan exclaimed in shock and a hint of disgust. "They killed people, Father, caused mass havoc, and they would have killed us all had Trunks not come to warn us! I can't, and I won't allow them to take another breath!"

With that said, Gohan flew past his father while summoning a ball of energy into his right hand, but before he could throw it to the unconscious androids, Goku appeared in front of him, which caused Gohan to stop.

"Gohan, the androids aren't the ones from Trunk's future! They haven't killed anyone. Stolen something, sure but never killed!" Goku yelled out.

"But they will. Don't you get it! We take our eyes off of them for one moment, and they will kill us all!" Gohan argued angrily.

"Gohan, we must spare them. They can be a great help to us. They deserve a second chance in this timeline!" Goku said to his son sternly.

"I will not let them live because of the kindness that lies in your heart! Those things are dangerous, and I cannot allow them to live, and if that means I must get through you to defeat them and save the world we're supposed to protect, then I will!" Gohan's golden aura raged around him after these words fell from his mouth, but before he could do anything more, he heard a familiar voice in his head, causing all will to fight to die down.

"Calm down. You can't allow your anger to get to you, kid."

Gohan's energy evaporated immediately at the shock of the voice.

'Piccolo…I can't calm down! He's willing to endanger all of us just because his heart is too big!' Gohan explained with anger in his mental voice, but he couldn't keep that same anger up with Piccolo. 'Trunks told us how bad they became, and I've seen what they were! I can't spare them!'

"Kid, what happened with Vegeta and me was similar to the androids," Piccolo calmly replied. "Look at Vegeta. Sure he's an ass, but he's fought with us many times since we fought Frieza, and even though his Saiyan pride led to Cell reaching his strongest form, he still fought for us, no matter what he says…."

Gohan gritted his teeth.

"Now look at me, Gohan," Piccolo continued. "My father killed Krillin, then tried to kill your father and take over the world, and when he died, I took on his plan and lost. While Goku didn't spare my father, he did spare me and look at me now. Not only did I fight on the side of the man who killed my father, I even sacrificed my life to save his son. The very same son I see as my student and my younger brother. The same son whose heart is just as pure as his father's…."

Gohan paused at Piccolo's words and felt all the anger he was feeling towards his father as well as the androids, but as he returned to his base form, he told Piccolo, 'But…After all that I've seen…and heard…I can't trust them….'

"I know Gohan….Letting go of revenge is one of the toughest things any of us could do in our lifetime, or in your case, two lifetimes. Still, everyone deserves a second chance, Kid. Let them have that, and if they don't take it, then you have my permission to wipe them off the face of the earth," Piccolo told him.

Gohan let a laugh leave his lips, but he knew that this would be very difficult to do. The hatred he felt for the androids was unsurpassed, but Piccolo was right.

Both he and Vegeta were evil at one point, and while Vegeta is trying in vain to keep up this attitude, Piccolo had changed because Goku had given him a second chance.

Maybe he could do the same if only to hope they don't take it so he could wipe them off the planet. 'Sensei….Thank you…' for a split moment; Gohan could see Piccolo inside his mind giving him a small grin of approval before fading away seconds later.

With Piccolo's words heavy in his mind, Gohan looked to his father's teal eyes merely let out a small, sad, "I'm sorry, Father…" before turning his back to him to fly off into the distance, needing to think about what needed to be done now…

Could he let go of that anger that has been with him since his time with his father in the time chamber?

Could he spare the androids from their all but assured death?

Kneeling in front of the sparkling river that belonged to the lush forest of Mount Paozu, Gohan cupped his hands together under the water and lifted it and took a gulp of the fresh water and sighed at the refreshing feeling.

Gohan knew that he would have to go back to see everyone sooner or later, but deep down in his heart, he felt that he couldn't face them just yet.

Especially his father.

Gohan couldn't understand it. His father knew that the Androids were a threat.

That they were created to kill him, and yet he wanted to give them both a second chance? Gohan couldn't fathom what his father was thinking, but all he knew was that it was a grave mistake, but he remembered the words Piccolo had given him.

"Everyone deserves a second chance..."

Gohan knew that his Sensei was right about that.

They had given him and Vegeta second chances. Hell, there was a time where all of his friends were enemies of his father, but Goku had consistently shown that second chance, and now they were nothing short but blood brothers.

But Gohan couldn't let it go.

He can't…

Ever since his time in the chamber, Gohan had dreams of what those androids had done to all of them, and they didn't do these things because their lives were in danger. They had slaughtered millions, taken away his friends and family and even his life for fun.

Gohan clenched his fists tightly until blood flowed from his palms as golden streaks of lighting appeared randomly around his body, but before anything more could happen, he let his anger ebb away.

As much as he wanted to hold onto that anger, Gohan realized that he couldn't anymore.

It didn't take an intelligent person to realize that somehow during his training, Gohan had received these intense feelings and memories from himself from his fight against the Androids from Trunks' timeline.

Still, he realized that these androids, from what his father had told him, were not like the androids from Trunk's time.

Everything was different from the timeline that his future self and Trunks had belonged.

Dr. Gero and Android Nineteen was the first change. They had arrived around the time Trunks said Android Seventeen and Eighteen would appear.

The second thing was his father's heart disease coming a lot earlier than when Trunks said it would, the kind-hearted Android Sixteen's existence, and finally, Cell.

So many things had changed from Trunks' timeline.

So with a nod, Gohan had indeed decided what he was going to do.

He would judge the androids on their merit, not as the monsters that came from Trunks' time. He would do what his sensei and father said he should do and give them that one chance at redemption.

"Yeah…One shot is all they get," Gohan said to himself as he closed his eyes and fell onto the grassy ground beneath him, his body finally falling to the unbeatable enemy to any being in the universe…Exhaustion. He didn't realize that he had been forcing himself to stand on his own two feet until he let the anger and tension leave his body.

'I feel…So tired….' Gohan thought to himself as his eyelids grew heavier, his breathing becoming slower and his hands going limp. Gohan let his eyes drift close with a smile on his face.

But as Gohan's consciousness slipped away, a faint voice was heard in the breeze that flowed all around his simple form.

"…Thank you, Gohan…."

"Gohan…Gohan, wake up!"

Gohan let an annoyed frown form on his face as he opened his eyes to see Krillin and Goku above him, causing him to groan out tiredly.

"Let me sleep," The demi-Saiyan murmured while closing his eyes, but he felt the two shake him awake while his father said, "Gohan, we're about to summon the Dragon. Wake up."

Gohan let his annoyed frown stay as he leaned up and looked at the two men and asked them, "I thought you guys would've done that already."

Krillin shook his head.

"No, Goku insisted that we don't do it until we found you and had you up there," Krillin

Gohan merely sighed at this and gave his father a look.

While Gohan decided to give the androids a chance, he was still crossed with his father due to him blindly forgiving the ones set to kill him without thinking about it first.

But Gohan supposed he needed to let that go as well.

His father's heart is always in the right place, and that's all that seems to matter, but Gohan swore that he wouldn't be the same. If he were going to trust someone or spare an enemy, he would need to put some serious thought into it.

Gohan stood up and shook his head before a white and sky blue aura appeared around his body and together, the three blasted off into the sky and flew at top speed to Kami's lookout, but as they flew to the Lookout, the stern voice of Piccolo's invaded his mind.

"Kid…We need to talk," Piccolo said.

Gohan faltered when he heard this, but he continued to fly ahead of his father and friend until he was miles away from the duo. 'Sure, but before we begin, how are you talking to me right now, and how were you able to talk to me earlier?' Gohan asked.

He heard Piccolo chuckle at this and explain, "I'm with King Kai; I'm using him to talk to you right now."

"Yeah, hello, Gohan. It's nice to talk to you formally. Piccolo has been worried about you, kid," King Kai said with a dorky little laugh which made Gohan smile.

He didn't exactly know who King Kai was, but his father had told him about him during their training in the chamber, and from those stories, Gohan figured that he was an easy-going person.

'It's nice to meet you too, King Kai. Father has told me so much about you,' Gohan thought to the Kai with a sincere tone, making the Kai laugh good-naturedly.

Piccolo immediately took back the conversation with, "Gohan…I know that you guys are going to try to wish me back to earth, but…I don't want to come back."

Gohan immediately stopped when he heard that.

Gohan looked towards the sky and thought to his sensei with a distressed tone, 'Why Sensei? Why do you wish not to come back?'

He heard Piccolo sigh at this before he said, 'Gohan…I've done many bad things in my life, but if there was one good thing I've ever done, it was to contribute your growth."

"When I first trained you, I was nothing short of the same villain your father had fought more times than I can count, and in my eyes, You were a loud brat that I thought wouldn't survive my training despite the potential that I saw within you…."

"But then you proved me wrong. You not only survived my intense training, but you also exceeded all my expectations. You became stronger, faster, and smarter, but most of all, you showed me that you were the kindest soul I had ever met, and you changed me," Piccolo explained.

Gohan let a soft smile form on his face at his sensei's words but stayed silent so he can continue what he had to say.

"When we fought the Saiyans, despite being afraid out of your mind, you showed so much courage in helping us fight them, and you continued to show it when it was just me, you and Krillen left…But when Nappa was going to kill you, I…I sacrificed myself to save you. I didn't know how or when it happened, but you had wormed your way into my heart and when I was successful in saving you. I died, but I did not die with regret because I saved someone I viewed as my best friend…."

"I watched all that you and Krillin went through thanks to King Kai on Namek, my pride that I had trained someone as courageous as you had increased, but in my heart, I felt that you were not ready to face these challenges alone, so I asked to be brought back to life. And when I did, I vowed that I would always protect you."

"I completed that vow when died against Cell, but as I look at you now, I realize that you have become what I always knew you would. A proud warrior that will defend those you care about, and that is what I truly wanted and what I was waiting to see, and now that I have, my job as your sensei and protector is done…." Piccolo finished.

'P-Piccolo…N-No! I still need you!' Gohan yelled inside of his head, tears falling from his eyes. He couldn't let Piccolo leave him again, but the fighter simply laughed gently at this.

"No, Gohan…You don't need me anymore. You are now strong enough to stand on your own two feet without expecting me to catch you every time. I know that this is hurting you, and it is hurting me as well, but I know that if I go back, you would eventually regress and become dependent on me again, and I don't want to see that happen. We both knew deep inside that this would happen one day, and that day has arrived."

'But I can't… You've always been there for me,' Gohan thought with a panicked tone in his voice. He couldn't see himself without Piccolo's guidance.

"And I always will be Gohan…But it's time for you to stand tall on your own and with me there holding your hand, you won't be able to do that, Kid. We both know this…."

'Piccolo…I'm scared,' Gohan admitted while closing his eyes.

"I know…But one day, you will thank me for doing this…." Piccolo softly replied.

After taking a deep breath, Gohan reopened his eyes and nodded softly.

Piccolo was right.

As much as it hurt for him to admit it, it was time for him to stop relying on him and stand on his own two feet, but he didn't want to let go of that father figure he had throughout his life. He loved his biological father, but Piccolo was always there for him when he desperately needed it.

'You're right, Piccolo…As much as it hurts, you're right….' Gohan finally said to him sadly.

A transparent Piccolo slowly appeared before him, his white cape bellowing in the wind that flowed all around them.

Gohan watched as Piccolo raised his right hand and patted Gohan's head, a gentle smile on his lips.

"Thank you for always looking out for, Piccolo," Gohan told him with a smile.

"I'll always be watching after you, Kid. You know that," Piccolo said to him with a tender but gruff tone in his voice, which caused Gohan to bark out a tearful laugh, but he nodded and looked up at him and smiled warmly before the image of Piccolo faded away.

Gohan looked towards the sky and smiled tearfully but widely before flaring up his Ki and soaring to the lookout once more but thought to himself… 'No matter what happens from here on out, I will never forget you...'

Captain Blues: And with that, we start on the rest of Gohan's life. How will everything turn out a few years later? Find out next time on… Merging Spirits: Legacy of Gohan Unchained