What is my purpose?

by Eve Knight

Gohan realizes how much he truly is worth...only it takes the loss of Videl to make him realize that.

"Die Great Saiyaman!" The masked thug screamed as he fired off round after round from his assault rifle.
Yawning and rolling his eyes behind his sunglasses he flew above the spray of bullets and flew back, feet first, knocking the thug to the ground. Stepping off the robust body of the crook he surveyed the 'battlefield'. Four men down, a bank saved, again.
His fans ran over to greet him, but he was in no mood today. He flashed them a smile and flew off as quickly as he good towards school. He was already late for class, and didn't need yet another reprimanding from his teacher. He found it funny how he could be tardy almost everyday and not get a detention and yet there were several others that were tardy only once and received harsh judgment. Changing out of his costume before landing he stuffed it into his bookbag and walked into class.
"Why is everything so dark in here," he thought to himself as he quickly found his seat.
"Nice sunglasses Gohan, you look just like the Great Saiyaman with them on," one of his classmates called to him, trying to suppress a laugh.
Gohan blushed and took them off quickly and said nervously, "I could never be as awesome as the Great Saiyaman, and we look nothing alike!"
Several of the other students chuckled but quieted as the sensei spoke. "Gohan find your seat," the sensei told him, her voice on the edge of laughter.
Settling into his desk, he got out his notebooks and pencils and got ready to take notes. But as the sensei droned on about something he had learned about when he was five, his mind began to wander and soon he dozed off.
Gohan looked down and saw the clothes he wore as a younger person. He looked forward and saw Cell standing with a smug look on his face.
"I will defeat you Cell!" Screamed chibi Gohan. "Ka...me...ha...me...ha!!!!!"
The customary flash of bluish flight followed the scream and the beam destroyed Cell, leaving nothing but ashes and smoldering dirt.
Looking down again he saw the white gloves of the Great Saiyaman
"I am the greatest in the world!" Yelled Gohan.
Bullets ripped through the air and there was a green and white blur as the Great Saiyaman caught them all and dropped them to the ground before flying forward to render the attacker unconscious. More and more fired at him, and he vanquished them all. Feeling good about himself he looked around for his enthusiastic fans but saw only a few onlookers, all with bored looks on their faces.
"Yay...the Great Saiyaman saves all again from someone the police could defeat," he heard someone say sarcastically.
Gohan slowly lowered his arms, the empty feeling of not being needed or wanted coming over him. He looked around and saw that he was all alone on the empty street, no one cared enough anymore to stay.
Ring!
Gohan shot up as the bell rang for his next class. Quickly he gathered up his stuff and began walking to his next class. The feeling still holding on to him.
"Gohan!!" He heard Videl call his name and he slowed to let her catch up.
"Hi Gohan!" Videl's cheery voice entered his ears, but it did not sink in, nor did he offer a reply. "What's wrong?" She asked him worryingly.
Gohan just stared ahead blankly, his face devoid of expression, as if someone had sucked his soul out. He looked over at her and motioned for them to fly to the roof of the school. Making sure it was safe, the both flew up to the top of the building and sat down on a bench they had put up there.
"I am useless...all I do is fight petty criminals, I never do anything of importance anymore...no one really needs me." He finally said quietly.
Videl said nothing for a few minutes, and looked up at Gohan, and saw the tears forming in his eyes. She wrapped her arms around his, and leaned her head on his shoulder, showing him that she was there for him.
"We have saved the lives of many people, and you think what you do is useless? I think that you are more of a hero than anyone has ever been, even your father." Videl said, trying her best to cheer Gohan up.
He smiled weakly at her, kissed on her forehead, and held on to her until the bell rang for his next class. The rest of the day he sat in a daze, he retained nothing that day and after the last bell rang he flew home immediately, instead of waiting for Videl.
Arriving home he walked immediately ran into his room, leaving Chi-Chi staring only at the shadow that he left behind. He flopped down on to his bed and covered his face with his pillow and slowly drifted off to sleep.
"Gohan! GOHAN!"
Gohan sprang out of bed, his mother's voice waking him from his sleep. Slowly he stumbled out of his room, "What is it mom," he said sleepily.
"Someone knocked on the door and I answered but there was no one there and and," she started to ramble, panic underlying in her voice.
"Slow down mom," Gohan said, worry starting to creep into him.
"There was this note attached to the door." She handed him a crumpled piece of paper. Slowly Gohan uncrumpled the piece of paper and began to read.

Great Saiyaman
We have Videl, if you want to see her again come to the Warehouse district...alone. If we see any cops we will kill her.

Gohan squeezed the note in his hand, the anger building inside of him. He waved goodbye to his mom and ran out the door and flew into the sky towards the warehouse district. The entire way there he kept thinking of how easy this was going to be. Just a bunch of kidnappers with automatic weapons, the same old thing every time.
Landing outside the warehouse district he slowly walked through the gates. Instantaneously he heard the firing of a gun and he rolled out of the way. Spotting the man holding it, he flew into the window of the building that it came from.
He saw Videl tied to a chair with a gag in her mouth, a man held a gun to her head and saw several other people all dressed in black cloaks, save one. A man with long blonde hair dressed in saiyan armor, which wasn't uncommon ever since the Cell Games. People had been wanting for a long time.
"I am so glad you could make it Saiyaman," the man said with the pompous voice that was common of crime lords, it seemed.
"So what do you want? Money? Power? Publicity?" Gohan asked sarcastically.
"Oh I want none of those. It may surprise you. Actually I just want to see you suffer. Kill her," The man instructed to the cloaked member holding the weapon.
Immediately Gohan ki blasted the gun from the man's hand before he could get the shot off and flew towards it, grabbing it before it hit the ground.
Standing up, now seething with anger he flew towards the head master, fist ready to smash into his face.
"I wouldn't if I were you, I do have other people here with weapons." The man said smugly.
Gohan stopped in mid-flight, looking around as the other eight members pulled weapons from their cloaks.
"Are you going to risk it?" The man said with a small laugh.
Gohan weighed his options, and decided on his best course of action. In one fluid motion he was across the room, his hand on her shoulder, and concentrated on teleporting. He found home and began the teleport as he heard a gun fire. Arriving home he looked over at her and saw her smile back at him weakly.
He reached for her hand and grabbing it, he felt that it was damp. Looking down he saw that it was covered with blood. The bullet had hit Videl. He looked back at her face shocked, and saw that her eyes were blank and lifeless. She was dead.
Gohan grew angry, and felt the rage of the super saiyan within him. He held it in check, for becoming super saiyan would doom everyone. Teleporting back from where he had come, he found the man sitting in the chair that Videl had been held in, obviously waiting for him to return.
"Oh I am so sorry about your loss. Remember you can always wish her back...oh wait you need all seven dragonballs don't you. And look what I have here." The man smiled smugly as he held up the two star dragonball. "You want it, come get it."
Gohan ran ahead full speed and swung wildly, but was surprised as he hit only air. He heard a noise behind him but was too late, as the man's elbow smashed into the back of Gohan's head, disabling him.
The man bent down and said quietly to Gohan, "My name is Golen. Remember it well. Your girlfriend was only the first that you will be lost to you by my hand. Your suffering has only begun." That was all that Gohan heard as Golen brought his boot up and slammed it into the back of his neck, rendering Gohan unconscious.
When Gohan awoke he was still in the warehouse, and the first rays of light were shining through the dirt covered windows of the room he was in. Sitting up groggily he rubbed the back of his neck, still feeling the pain of the combined boot and chop that he had received there. He looked around for any clue as to who it was that had injured him so. No one else had ever been able to knock him out in just one blow. Sure it happened a few times from a beam of some sorts, but that was already after he had been through a beating. Trying to shrug it off, he stood up shakily and headed for the door.
Finding the strength to do so, he flew home. The flight was long and slow, his strength slowly returning to him. Arriving at his house he was greeted by his mother at the door, tears in her eyes. She hugged him tightly, whispering how she was so worried and that she was glad he was okay. She pushed him towards a chair at the table and he reluctantly sat down.
After a few moments of silence he finally spoke the question that was weighing so heavily on his heart and mind. "So...what happened to Videl after I left."
Chi Chi breathed in a little bit, looking as though she were about to cry again, and answered slowly, "Her body faded away slowly...she probably was taken to heaven, or one of the Kaio-samas to train."
Gohan stared down at the table for a few moments longer before replying. "If she had been taken by one of the Kaio-samas she would have tried to contact me by now..." His eyes began to fill with the tears he had fought against for so long. Standing up abruptly he ran into his room and laid down on the bed and slept.
He did not come out of his room for the rest of that day, the next, or the day after that, except to bathe once. He stopped eating entirely and spent most of his time sitting on his bed, staring off into space. No real thoughts entered into his mind, he just felt the emptiness. The emptiness that was slowly eating him whole. He laid down on the bed again and would have begun crying once more if he hadn't dried up all the tears that had left in him.
He closed his eyes, wishing that he would die. "I have nothing to live for...without her I am nothing, I have no purpose...I realize that now...perhaps I really did love her."
The time that they were together he never realized that he had felt this way. He knew that he felt strongly for her, but never realized that perhaps it could be love. He was scared at the thought of it, a new emotion to him but now he knew that it had to have been.
"If only I could have told her how I felt...at least once before...before..." Gohan started out before once more bursting into a mess. His eyes stang as they tried to produce the tears that weren't there.
He laid there hours more when his nose started to twitch. He smelled something. A familiar smell, a sweet smell. The smell of Videl. He opened his eyes and saw her staring down at him, a smile on her face. Immediately he sat up and threw his arms around her.
"I thought you were dead," he finally managed to stammer out, still holding her tight.
"I am...I was granted my 24 hours back. It looked like you needed me." Videl smiled at Gohan and took his hand. "Follow me."
Videl walked outside Gohan's room and then the front door. Still holding his hand she began to fly away with him. They flew over the city and into the country side to a small hill that overlooked a lake.
After landing Videl gave Gohan a beaming smile and drew him close to her. They both stared out at the lake, the image of the moon reflected on its smooth surface. After a few minutes of this Videl turned to Gohan once more.
"Do you remember this place?" she asked him softly.
Gohan smiled at her, "Like it was yesterday."
Spring had just recently fallen on the land, the air crisp and clear. It was a clear night, the stars were the only illumination. Gohan had decided to take a late night flight with Videl. The held each others hand as they flew through the night sky, when Gohan found a spot to take a rest for a little while. He had drawn Videl close to him and spoke soft and low.
"I want you to know Videl that I will always be there to protect you, help you, do anything for you. I promise."
Videl had smiled at him and then kissed him lightly. "I promise all the same to you. No matter what, from here on."
Gohan was still smiling as the last image of the memory ran through his mind. Videl stared into his eyes and knew what he was thinking.
"So you see you made that promise to me...and it's time for me to call you on it. I want you to find the man who shot me and defeat him. And if you could find it in your heart to waste a wish on me, wish me back."
Gohan took both her hands into his and said to her, "It wouldn't be a waste of a wish. I would do anything for you, like I said, and I would happily do this...not just because of my promise but...because...I...love you."
Small tears of joy started in her eyes as she embraced him and whispered in his ear, "I love you too." She kissed him deeply and passionately then and felt Gohan's hand slip into hers.
He took her then into his arms, and carried her as he flew back home. They quietly slipped into the house and back into his room. The rest of the night they expressed their love physically, all of which passed by too quickly for them.
When the first rays of the new dawn came shining in through Gohan's window it was time for Videl to leave once more. She kissed Gohan once more and spoke softly to him as they held onto each other.
"I love you..."
Gohan smiled at her and kissed her lips, "I love you as well...I want to thank you. You gave me something to live for once more. This has been the best day of my life...but nowhere as near as wonderful as the day that I bring you back to me."
She smiled and held his hand as her body slowly faded away, returning once more to the afterlife. Gohan sighed a little and stood up, still feeling the soft touch of her lips on his, still smelt her in his clothes. Walking outside his door, he looked around carefully for his mother. Not spotting Chi Chi anywhere he walked out the door and flew off to Kami's lookout.
When Gohan landed on the lookout he was embraced quickly by Dende. "I heard what happened to Videl...I'm so sorry Gohan."
Gohan's eyes glassed over and a slow smirk came over his face, "Don't feel sorry for me, feel sorry for the son of a bitch that is going to get his ass kicked." The way he spoke made Dende shudder a bit, he had always known Gohan to be a nice and relatively non-violent person, but the words that came out were ones that should not have come from Gohan. He had changed with the death of Videl, understandable as she and him were almost as one.
Gohan's expression changed, with a true smile replacing his devilish smirk. "I have a favor to ask of you Dende...I want you to find me the other Dragonballs..this way if I don't win I can just grab the Dragonball and run."
Dende smiled at his old friend and happily said, "I have already sent out Mr. Popo to gather them. He returned just before he got here with all of them."
Gohan smiled and touched his friend on the shoulder, "Thank you very much my friend."
Gohan then felt out for Golen's ki. He felt it in the same area that he had originally felt it before. Quickly he flew away and soon touched down where he felt his nemesis ki. Powering up instantaneously to full he flew into the building.
"GOLEN! It is time we end this!" Gohan screamed into the musty warehouse air.
Golen slowly walked from out behind a pillar, holding the Dragonball in his hand. "I am so glad you decided to show. When I felt your ki disappear I was afraid you killed yourself before I got the opportunity to do so." He set the Dragonball on the ground and stepped into his fighting pose. "Come and attack me."
Gohan ran forward and at the moment we would have thrown his first blow he teleported elsewhere, leaving Golen confused. He turned around expecting Gohan to be there but instead was met by a ki blast from behind. Golen merely lost his footing a little and turned around and followed through with a blast of his own, knocking Gohan through the ceiling.
"He is much more powerful than I am," he thought to himself. "Time for plan b." Gohan focused and teleported back inside the building, grabbed the Dragonball, and teleported away before Golen could catch him.
Arriving at Kami's lookout once again, Gohan set down the Dragonball next to where the rest had been lain on the ground. His face was plastered in a smile as he then set to the ritual of summon the dragon.
"Why hast thou summoned me?" Shenlong asked of Gohan.
"I wish for Videl to be given life once more."
Shenlong was silent for a few moments and said, "It is done. What is thy second wish."
Gohan told him his second wish and Shenlong went silent once again and then said, "It is done. Farewell." The dragon then disappeared in a flash of light, and the Dragonballs spread to the opposite ends of the world.
Gohan teleported home and found Videl waiting in his room. She stood up and ran into his arms, the tears on her face wiped away by his shirt. He leaned down and they kissed deeply, their passions and love for each other felt anew.
"Videl...I..." Gohan stumbled for words momentarily before breathing in and collecting himself. "I missed you so...I'm glad you're back. Now I have a purpose...a reason to live once more...to be able to see your face each day."
Videl's eyes misted over with tears as she held Gohan's hands in her own. "I know...I cried the entire time I was there and not with you. The thought of not being able to hold you was too much."
Gohan wiped away her tears and kissed her once more. "You don't have to worry you're here now, with me and I won't let anyone take you away from me." Gohan's face grew serious and he turned his head and looked out the window. "It's time I finish what I started with Golen...I won't be able to do it alone though...I will need your help...if you feel up to it..."
Videl smiled, an evil smirk would better describe it and said, "Lets get that bastard."
Gohan took her hand and focused on the spot where Golen was. Finding his ki signature, he teleported himself and Videl there. Golen stood waiting for them when they materialized.
"So you finally want to end this? Then let's finish this!" Golen through off his formal oriental shirt, exposing his bare muscular chest to the air. He stood and began to charge his ki and the ground around him began to demolecularize. Slowly his entire body began to grow in size as well as his power level.
Gohan was charging his own ki at the same time, the combined effect of them both causing a crater in the ground to form, slowly growing in size, consuming buildings in its path. When they were finally both at full power the warehouses were nothing but piles of rubble on the ground. The sky had taken on a reddish hue and there were storm clouds forming in the sky.
Golen laughed and screamed, "Is it that your full power? You will have to do better than that!" He teleported behind Gohan and smacked him to the ground. Not wanting to give him a chance to get up he quickly flew to the ground and grabbed him by the head and dragged him along the ground, digging deeper and deeper into the planet's crust with Gohan's body. Preoccupied with his current punishment of Gohan he didn't notice that Videl was preparing a surprise of her own.
"MASKENKO-HA!" She screamed as she unleashed a beam of blue and white upon Golen, flinging him through the sky, spinning out of control.
Gohan stood up slowly but fell down once more, his face a mess of cuts, some deeper than others. Videl rushed over to his side and grabbed his arm to help him up but she was met with a ki blast, knocking her into the ground.
"You son of a bitch!" Gohan yelled at Golen, blood dripping from his mouth as he spoke.
"I told you would have to do better!" Golen grinned evilly and held his hands in a cupping fashion and a ki ball appeared. "Ka...me..."
"Shit, I can't beam battle him...I have to think of something," Gohan thought to himself.
"ha....me"
Then Gohan remembered something that Piccolo taught him about the art of distraction. Quickly summoning what ki he could in that short amount of time he fired a blast and hoped it hit its target. Sure enough the ki blast hurled through the air and hit Golen in the testicles, making him lose his concentration, and the ball of energy he had built up disappeared.
Videl stood up and began to snicker as Golen fell the the ground, grasping his crotch in agony. Gohan walked over to Golen and looked down at him. "Not so much of a man now are you bitch?" Videl was a little taken aback by his launguage but understood completely.
"You little bastard," was all that Golen could choke out as he stood up. He thrust his hands forward to strike Gohan but was grabbed by the wrist by Gohan.
"I don't think so...here is another manuever Piccolo taught me." Gohan screamed and slwoly started to pull down on his wrists. Soon he pulled hard enough on both of them so that the radii broke and popped partly through the skin.
Golen screamed in pain and his face went pale. "You haven't felt anything yet," Gohan said to him. Gohan then reached for the parts of the bone that had shown through the skin and pulled them out. Golen began to pass out from the pain but was unable as the last image he saw was Gohan reaching back and plunging the bones through his eyes, killing him instantly.
Golen's dead body slumped slowly to the ground, and Gohan walked away. He was met in a rush by Videl, who wrapped her arms around him and kissed his face all over. It hurt him, but he let her continue, knowing that he had to be strong for her. Accidentally though Videl brushed over a very sore spot and he slumped to the ground.
"Gohan? Gohan?" she asked to no avail. "Shit..." She gingerly picked Gohan up and flew him back to his house. Quietly she crept into Gohan's bedroom and laid him down on the bed. She kissed him gently on the lips and fed a senzu bean to him. She walked out of the room and flew back to the hill where they made that promise, it seemed so long ago now. She looked out across the waters and thought of him, how far their relationship had progressed and how much she loved him. Suddenly she felt a pair of hands touch her shoulders. She was about to act defensively but relaxed as she heard Gohan's voice whisper gently in her ear. "Hey you..." he said quietly to her.
She turned around and kissed him, pulling him close to her body. "I'm glad you came...I thought you would be able to find me here."
Gohan smiled back at her. "Videl I love you more than I can ever tell you. You have helped me so much, kept me sane, kept me alive. I want to make it up to you."
Videl touched his cheek gently and whispered, "I'm sure you will be able to find a way."
Gohan turned her chin upward and kissed her gently and laid her slowly to the ground. The stars shone down on them as Gohan took the initiative and pleased her all through the night, never once wanting for himself, focused all of his being on pleasing her.
When Videl awoke she was wrapped in Gohan's arms, his sleeping face still pressed close to hers. She leaned forward and kissed his lips softly. He began to stir slightly, and smiled at her when he opened his eyes.
"Don't feel so useless now, do you?" She asked teasingly of him.
"Oh hush you." He kissed her once more. "I love you...now I know that I will always have a purpose, to keep you happy and safe."
Videl smiled back at him and hugged him tight, where they laid for the rest of the night, safe in each others arms.

The End