Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball or any of the
characters portrayed within this story. I'm making no money writing this story.
(but wouldn't that be great if I did?)
Author's Note: Okay, so in all my wanderings around
the DBZ fanfic sites I've never seen anyone write a story about after Mirai
Gohan died, him meeting up with the others. And if someone has… will you let me
know? I'd like to read their version as well. But, anywho… here's mine. I had a
lot of fun with this. Mostly cuz I love Gohan from this timeline… he was just… badass!
Thanks for reading. Please review!
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~*A Reunion Long Due*~
He grunted
as he pushed himself upward with his only remaining arm. The pain was gone, he
actually felt great, if a little drained.
Where am
I?
The
brightness that surrounded him barely allowed him to see.
The last
thing I remember is fighting the androids… what happened after that?
Finally he
stood, tall and proud, prepared for anything that could possibly be lurking in
the light to attack him. There was a chuckle from behind him that made his
spine stiffen in shock.
"Nothing's
going to attack you here, son, you look like you're waiting for a monster to
pounce you or something."
Gohan turned
backwards very slowly, almost not believing his own ears, or his eyes for that
matter… but there he was. Standing before him and grinning like it had only
been minutes ago that he'd last seen him.
"D-daddy?"
Even to his
own ears, that word sounded strange coming from his lips once again. He hadn't
said it since he'd been very young. The man's voice that spoke it now made it
seemed warped somehow.
Goku
chuckled and took a step forward.
"Hai! It's
me, Gohan!"
The
demi-saiyan blinked once before he found himself throwing his large body into
his father's strong arms. It was strange… they were the same size now … but
that didn't matter in the least at the moment.
Tears
silently slipped down his cheeks, but too quickly his father was pulling him
back and inspecting his appearance. A single finger tracked down the scar that
covered one of his eyes. His father smiled, but it didn't really reach his
eyes.
"You trying
to look like Yamcha now, son?"
Gohan shook
his head, but found himself mute as his father continued to roam his hands over
him. It was like he was trying to take every inch of Gohan in with his fingers.
Goku's hands froze when he reached the shoulder that no longer connected to a
limb. His face morphed into a mask of regret as he spoke quietly.
"You've had
a very hard life, haven't you?"
Gohan
glanced down towards his feet. He didn't want his father to feel guilty. His
voice was very humble when he spoke.
"It was
nothing I couldn't handle, Dad."
His father
tilted his chin up so he could meet his gaze again. He could see in the dark
eyes that Goku didn't believe him for a moment.
"I'm sorry
I wasn't there for you."
Gohan
shrugged. It seemed to cause his father even more pain to see this. Gohan
didn't realize how that simple action seemed to amplify the fact that he was
missing an arm.
"I've ….
I'm dead … aren't I, Dad?"
Goku nodded
sadly.
"Yes son,
yes… you are."
Gohan
gritted his teeth and fisted his only hand to his side.
"Damn
androids. They were just too strong …"
Goku nodded
silently, and then his face lit up in one of his trademark grins.
"Come on…
there are some people that want to see you!"
Gohan
simply nodded and followed his father into the light. Suddenly a large building
loomed before them. It reminded Gohan vaguely of Kami's lookout, but more
ornate… and massive in size. He almost didn't realize that his father was still
speaking to him.
"…. they'll
probably allow you to keep your body like the rest of us… and maybe you can
show off at the tournament for your old Dad, huh?"
Gohan
simply nodded and followed Goku through a giant, arched door. A couple steps
inside… he froze. His jaw must have hit the floor, and his father giggled next
to him. They all sprang to their feet to greet him.
Piccolo,
Yamcha, Kryllin, Tien, Chaotzu … even Vegeta was standing off to the back of
the room, arms crossed and looking decidedly bored. As soon as Gohan laid eyes
on the Saiyan Prince something snapped to his memory and he cried out in
anguish. The smiles disappeared from all the faces in the room at his reaction.
"OH,
NOOOO!!!!"
Even his
father was startled next to him as Gohan dropped to his knees and slammed his
fist into the floor with all his strength. Rivers of cracks instantly shot
across the room. Kryllin dropped to his knees before the demi-saiyan.
"Gohan?
What's up, little bro?"
Gohan
gritted his teeth as he glanced up to meet Vegeta's confused stare.
"Trunks!
Dammit!"
The Prince
blinked at his son's name as Gohan pounded the floor once more.
"He's all
alone now. Dammit! What was I thinking!?! I run off and get myself killed and
now there's no one to teach him how to harness his power!"
Goku placed
a hand on his son's shoulder.
"He'll be
fine, Gohan."
Gohan only
whispered.
"You don't
understand, Dad … I … I was his only friend. Poor kid … what's he going to
think of me now?"
There was a
quiet footfall behind him and a soft-spoken voice.
"Actually,
he does not think ill of you at all, Gohan."
The
demi-saiyan turned to find an old friend standing in the arched doorway.
"Dende!!"
The
teenaged namek placed a friendly hand on Gohan's shoulder.
"He was
upset that you left him, yes, but your death is what made him finally snap into
a Super Saiyan."
Everyone in
the room started. Even Vegeta's arms dropped out of their normal crossed state.
Gohan jumped to his feet.
"You mean
it? He did it?"
Dende
nodded.
"Yes… when…
when he found you."
Gohan's
smile faded for a minute, but sprang to new life as he turned to face the
Saiyan Prince in the corner.
"Man,
Vegeta… that kid of yours… you wouldn't believe it! He's got so much power.
He'll be stronger than us all, I think."
Vegeta
snorted and his characteristic smirk formed on his lips.
"Of course
he will, you baka, he is MY son, and a Prince of all Saiyans."
Gohan simply
chuckled and shook his head. It was good to know that Vegeta hadn't changed so
much in death. If there had always been one constant in his younger life, it
had been the Prince's ego.
A hand
dropped onto Gohan's armless shoulder and he turned to face his old teacher.
"So when
did you do this then, kid?"
Gohan
chuckled.
"Ah, you
know, Mr. Piccolo … just … during a battle."
The namek
rolled his eyes.
"You gonna
tell us anything about the man you've become? Or are we just to guess?"
Gohan
grinned widely. Something he hadn't done in such a long while.
"Is it
really important, Mr. Piccolo? I'm here now… we've plenty of time for such
discussions later… right now…. I'm starving!!!"
Most of the
people in the room face faulted and stared aghast at the demi-saiyan. Except
for Goku, who had fallen onto the floor in a fit of laughter. Vegeta made a
disgusted noise from the corner of the room.
"No doubt
that that's your son, Kakarott."
Goku pulled
himself off the floor and patted his son on the back. Gohan blushed and
shrugged his apology.
"I'm sorry…
its just… food is kinda scarce down there right now. I can't really remember
the last time I had a good meal."
That remark
seemed to leave a somber mood to the room. Tien broke the silence by slapping a
fist into his open palm.
"Damn! I
wish we'd had more of a chance to fight those androids. We've protected the
Earth so many times from outside evils…"
He sent a
glare in Vegeta's direction, and the Prince answered with a smirk.
"… and we
ended up all getting squashed like bugs by something made right there on
Earth."
Gohan
nodded but the smile didn't leave his face.
"Don't
worry too much, Tien. Trunks will take care of it. I just know it."
Vegeta
snorted.
"You're
putting a large amount of trust on a mere child, aren't you?"
Gohan
nodded happily.
"Hai. You
better believe it. I told those androids that if they destroyed me, someone
even more powerful would come along and take my place. I was speaking of
Trunks. He'll do it. If there's one thing he inherited from you, Vegeta, it's
that he never quits. He won't stop until they've been defeated. Just wait and
see."
The Prince
grumbled something under his breath, then went back to looking bored. Kryllin's
chuckle brought Gohan's attention back to his father's best friend.
"Man,
Gohan! You look so different! All grown up now! It's been so long since I've
seen you!"
Gohan
nodded.
"Yeah… man…
I've missed you guys. It was really hard at first, you know? It was just me and
mom, and Bulma. Trunks was just a little baby, so I felt like it was me against
the world. Mom wanted me to hide… not to fight… but I just couldn't do that…
not after all of you gave your lives…"
He chuckled
without humor.
"Oh man…
when mom finds out I'm dead… she's gonna kill me."
Vegeta
snorted.
"You're
already dead, you baka."
Dende
placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder once more.
"She
already knows, Gohan. Trunks carried your body to her."
Gohan fell
silent. Goku patted his grown son gently on the head.
"ChiChi'll
be okay, son. She's a strong woman. She's had to be. Besides, she knows we'll
see her again one day."
Gohan
nodded and his father patted his own stomach.
"Now you've
got me hungry, too. Come on… we've plenty of time to talk later. Well… maybe
not Vegeta!"
Everyone
snickered except for the Saiyan Prince. Gohan scratched his chin.
"Why not
Vegeta, Dad?"
Goku
grinned at the smaller Saiyan as the Prince rolled his eyes and waved a
dismissive hand towards him. Willing him to speak freely to his son.
"Vegeta's
kinda… on loan to us right now. He's got to spend fifty years in HFIL to
atone for all his past sins, then he'll be allowed to come to Heaven with the
rest of us."
Gohan
simply nodded and gave Vegeta a sympathetic smile, which irked the Prince to no
extent.
"I don't
need your pity, baka. I crushed entire worlds with my bare hands and I'm not
ashamed of anything I've ever done."
Gohan
quickly nodded his apology. Kryllin tugged on his empty sleeve and leaned in to
speak quietly.
"He's just
happy cuz Freeza's down there, and he gets to beat up on him regularly."
Gohan
chuckled. Goku began walking towards a door in the back of the room.
"Let's go
eat!"
The group
quickly followed him out, but Gohan lagged behind. Vegeta was still leaning
against the wall. When there was only the two of them left in the room, Gohan
put his hand behind his head innocently as the Prince glared at him.
"You know,
Vegeta… Trunks really is a great kid. He would ask me about you all the time… I
hope… I hope you appreciate the love that kid has for you, even though he's
never even met you. Bulma, too … she misses you … a lot."
Not really
expecting an answer, Gohan turned to leave, but a hand shot out to snatch his
empty sleeve.
"Thank
you."
Gohan
blinked at Vegeta once in shock. The Prince's scowl had softened, just a bit
mind you, but when you'd been around him long enough you would notice the
minute change.
"V-Vegeta?"
He was
promptly released and the smaller man looked away.
"Thank you…
for … taking care of them… and … training my son."
Gohan's
face split into a huge grin, his eyes were large and full of warmth.
"You're
welcome, Vegeta!"
The Prince of all Saiyan's
snorted and turned to leave the room.
"Don't look
at me like that… you resemble that baka Kakarott too much."
Gohan
chuckled under his breath and followed the Saiyan out of the room.
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what did you think? Huh? If this one goes over well, I plan
to do a bit of a sequel where Mirai Trunks dies (of old age I hope) and gets to
meet everyone and stuff. Please review!
