Prologue and Author's Notes
This is going to be quite an ambitious project. It started as a pretty minor idea, that is, how in the world would Gohan ever be able to tell Videl that he is actually a member of a race of mercenary space aliens known of as Saiyans? I thought about the idea and rolled it around in my head, and came to the following conclusion : the story makes ABSOLUTELY no sense unless told, for the most part, in entirety. And so, Gohan's only real option would be to tell Videl the ENTIRE story, as he knew it, starting when a Saiyan baby named Kakkarot came to Earth, and ending with the parts that she knew about.
So, what I am writing is Gohan's retelling of the entire DragonBall / DragonBall Z series. The DragonBall section will be a bit sketchy, both due to my lack of knowledge of the original DragonBall and due to the fact that Gohan hadn't been born yet, so he only knew what he had been told by a father who, well, wasn't the brightest crayon in the set, and by a mother who didn't like to talk about her husband's past fighting history.
Without much more ado, then, I bring to you:
Gohan's Story of DragonBall
OR
How to Tell the Woman of Your Dreams You're a Space Alien
It had been two days since Gohan had returned home from the fight with Buu. Gohan lay in bed, about to get up, just thinking about all his friends and the exploits they had been through. His uncle, Radditz. Vegeta and Nappa. Frieza. Even the name of Frieza still made him shudder a little, like he was a bad dream. The Androids. Garlic, Jr. Hey, there was a laugh. That little squirt had sure given us a run for our money back then, though. Cell. Just thinking of Cell made Gohan's eyes water a bit. Even now, with his father alive again, Gohan still felt guilty whenever he thought of the fight with Cell. Then, after Cell, it was Buu. "Wow," Gohan thought, "I sure hope that was the last of 'em. I'm getting really tired of fighting all these bad guys..."
Just then, Chi Chi yelled up the steps. "Gohan, Goten, Goku, breakfast is ready!" That was Gohan's cue to get up, even though he was still lost in his thoughts. He shook the train of thought out of his head and rose out of bed. Goten had already jumped up and was probably already down at the table, waiting for food. Just then, Gohan remembered that today was a school day!
"Man," Gohan thought, "the Earth was only saved less than a week ago and they already are demanding we go back to school...I'd almost rather have to fight Buu again." Gohan stopped at that thought. "No, I take that back. Buu killed almost everyone, even those I would have given my life for, like Videl." That thought made Gohan start. "Well," he thought, "its the truth...I would give my life for her, and for..." and Gohan started to list in his head the others he would give his life for. A small part of him, though, knew that he was just denying how he felt for her. "Oh, well," that part thought, "the rest of me will figure it out soon enough..."
It was then that Chi Chi yelled up the stairs again. "Gohan, are you coming or not? You're going to be late for school!"
"Whoops!" Gohan thought, looking at his watch. "No time for breakfast this morning, I guess." He ran downstairs and said as much to his mother before grabbing his lunch and rushing out the door.
Gohan lept off into space just outside the door, reached down and keyed his watch, then pumped his speed WAY up. He arove at school only a few minutes after taking off from home. Having learned his lesson last time, he quickly scanned the roof for any people. Unfortunately, someone was standing by the door! "Oh, great," Gohan thought, "I'll have to take the long way." But, before Gohan could turn to fly a different way, the figure noticed him and started waving. It was then that Gohan realized who that the person on the roof was. It was Videl!
Relieved that it was Videl on the roof, Gohan set down and keyed his watch again. "Hey, Videl!"
"Hi, Gohan! How was your weekend?" Videl asked. "Hey," she then said, looking down at her watch, "you're pretty late this morning, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I was a little lost in thought this morning and lost track of time. I didn't even get a chance to eat breakfast," he said, sheepishly.
That caused Videl to look shocked. "Gohan, miss breakfast? I thought it took the end of the world to get you to skip a meal...so, what was so important that you skipped breakfast to think about it, huh?"
"Sorry, Videl, but we both need to get to class on time, and, by the way, I wouldn't miss breakfast for the end of the world. Not even Buu made me skip breakfast!" he said, flippantly and then ran off toward class.
"Oh, that Gohan!" Videl thought, then she, too, ran off for class. She only JUST made it before the bell rang.
"All right, students, today we are..." the teacher began to drone on. Videl looked over and saw Gohan, lost in his thoughts again. "What can he be thinking about?" she asked herself under her breath.
Gohan, was still thinking about his friends and the past. All of the enemies they had faced and the adventures they had shared. It was hard to believe that..."Huh, what's that?" Gohan thought, then focused his senses before him and realized that the teacher was right in front of him, yelling at him to pay attention. However, before he could say anything, Sharpener and Erasa (Author's Note : I think that is how its spelled, all I know is that she says its "with an 'e'") stood up and said, "M'am, please excuse Gohan. He has had a very taxing last few weeks, helping save the world and all." (Author's Note : I am allowing this to come from them for a few reasons : 1, they saw Gohan power up at the Tournament and they know he is the Great Saiyaman, and 2, they know that they gave their power to the father of Gohan (Goku's spirit bomb) I think that they probably can make the connections.)
The teacher stood there, blank faced for a moment, then said to Gohan, "Is this true? Did you help save the world from Majin Buu?"
To this, Gohan replied, in his most humble and sheepish voice, "Yes, Ma'am."
"Fine, then, but please pay attention in class from now on. And that goes for all of you!" she said, focusing on Erasa and Sharpener. The others murmured a "yes ma'am" and Sharpener and Erasa took their seats.
"I'll have to remember to thank them," a still very surprised Gohan thought, "and I'll have to ask them how they knew." Later, after class, Gohan went up to the two of them to pay them his thanks. "Thanks, you guys, but how did you know?" he asked them.
"Pretty simple, Gohan. Remember? We saw you at the tournament and they introduced you as the Great Saiyaman, then we saw you turn into the Gold Fighter. A bit later, you, two other guys with black hair and that other guy from the competition appeared before us and one of the guys destroyed half the audience. And, a while later, Hercule told us to give Goku your energy to defeat Buu by putting our hands up, and Goku is supposed to be YOUR father. It all comes together, you see?" they explained together.
"Wow, you guys really thought that one through," Gohan said. "Well, I have to get to my next class, thanks again!" And then, in a flash, Gohan ran off.
Gohan wasn't the only one that heard that. Videl had just come around the corner when Erasa and Sharpener started to explain their arguement, but she decided to hang back so they wouldn't notice her. While listening to them talk, she started to think about things, like "How does Gohan do that?" and "What is it with his family and the family of that Vegeta guy?" Before they had finished their speech, she had resolved to ask Gohan about that sometime soon. Like today, after school.
The rest of the school day was pretty uneventful, and when his last class let out, Gohan headed up for the roof to depart for home. But, just as he had this morning, he was intercepted by Videl before he could leave. "Oh, hey, Videl! How you doing?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm fine, Gohan. I was just wondering about a few things," she replied.
"Like what, Videl?"
"Oh, a few things about you, Gohan."
Gohan blushed at that line. "About me?"
"Yes, about you. Like, where in the world do you get your powers? And why is you entire family so powerful? And how about that Vegeta guy, and Trunks? Why is it that you all seem to be some sort of super humans?" As soon as she began to explain herself, Gohan stopped blushing. Thankfully, it seemed he had misread her comment.
"Well, uhh...that's kind of a hard question...I think, uh, I think I have to go! Bye, Videl!" Gohan said, and then he shot off at nearly top speed. "Oh, man!" Gohan thought, "how in the world do I explain to her about Saiyans and everything? This is gonna be tough...plus, she's gonna be mad at me for ditching her...oh, what am I going to do? Oh, geez...she's following me...I either better think fast or find a good hiding spot soon!" he thought, noticing her energy following him.
Gohan thought as fast as he could, but he also was looking for a place to hide. "There!" he thought, spying a cave by a lake. "She won't find me there!" Gohan quickly set down and started to head into the cave, not knowing that she had seen him land. Videl quickly landed by the lake and Gohan realized she must have seen him. All of the sudden, a great idea struck him and he walked out of the cave toward her. "Hey, Videl! Good, I was hoping you'd follow me. I wanted to tell you about all that somewhere a bit more private," he said, lying through his teeth.
Videl, however, saw through his bluff. "Give it up, Gohan, I know you were trying to run and hide from me, and you almost pulled it off! So, spit it out Gohan! I wanna hear this."
"Ok, but I'll have to start from the very beginning. Its a long, long story, but if you don't hear it all you either won't believe me or you'll take it the wrong way," Gohan said.
"Oh, Gohan," Videl replied, "you can just say it. I will believe you."
"Okay, maybe I'm a bit more worried about you taking it the wrong way than I am about you not believing me," he said.
"Gohan, what could it possibly be? There is nothing you could tell me that would stop me from being your friend ('or loving you,' a small part of her said, but she ignored it as best she could)."
"Well, even so, I'm going to start from the top. Have a seat," he said, motioning to the ground next to him as he sat down. Videl took the seat offered her and then let Gohan tell his story.
"Ok, where to begin? Lets see, it all started about 35 years ago. The original Son Gohan, who I am named after, found my dad in the woods near where we now live and took him in to raise him. He took him in because he found my father quite odd. You see, my dad had a tail back then, and Gohan found this very unusual."
"Unfortunately, my father was a very mean and destructive boy, and even at a very young age was very powerful. This was very difficult for Gohan to deal with, until one day, while walking in the woods, my father fell down a ravine and badly injured his head. From that day on, my father was a sweet, loving boy, and he is much the same today."
"Well," Videl interjected, "I see why your dad isn't too bright. He hit his head when he was young!"
"Hey!" Gohan replied, obviously feigning that he was hurt by her comments, "that's not funny! Take it back!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Gohan. You know I'm just kidding."
"Ok, well, back to the story you so desperately wanted to hear. A year or so later, I'm not exactly sure, Gohan's house was destroyed by some huge ape and he was killed. My father, though, survived. He went on living there and supporting himself."
"That is, until one day, after he had been fishing, he was nearly killed when a young woman hit him with her car. Well, as it turned out, the young lady only THOUGHT he had been killed, he was much to tough for that, however. And so, my dad, being a pretty simple kid, thought that the big metal thing that had just attacked him was a monster and attacked it. That was when the woman shot him in the face. Of course, the bullet only sent him flying back, it didn't harm him in the least. And so, the woman took the last recourse she could think of. She introduced herself."
"This settled my dad down, since he thought she too was a monster (he had never seen a girl before!). It turned out this young lady was actually Bulma!"
"Wow!" Videl said, "THAT is how your dad met Bulma? Weird!"
"Yep, that's how it happened. But, anyway... It turned out that she was on a trip to gather the dragon balls, and she decided to ask this strong, tough little boy to help her find them. My dad, being the adventurous type, went right along with her. It even turned out that he already had one of the balls in his possession."
"So, they set out to get the other dragon balls. A few days after they leave on their little quest, my dad found a large sea turtle, lost on land, and decides to help him return to the ocean. It turns out that the turtle's name was Kame, and that his was a friend of the great Master Roshi. Of course, I say 'the great' in a figurative sense, because back then, he was great. Today, he's just a dirty old man." They both enjoyed a quick laugh at that.
"Well, I guess I'm getting carried away at this part. I wasn't even alive yet and here I'm talking like I was there. In any event, that is how my dad met Master Roshi. As a reward for returning Kame, Master Roshi gave my dad the flying Nimbus."
"What's a flying Nimbus?" Videl asked.
"Here, I'll show you, Videl," Gohan said, then he stood up and shouted to the heavens "FLYING NIMBUS!" and, as we all know, a cloud flew down and stopped before him. "This is Nimbus. Only those with a good heart can ride it. Here, let's go for a short ride!" With that, Gohan took Videl's hand and the two of them got on the Nimbus. Nimbus flew off with them on it, and as it flew, Gohan resumed his story.
"From there, Bulma and my dad went back to their dragon ball hunt. Master Roshi had one, which he gave to Bulma. They also find out that one is on 'Mt. Frying Pan.'" Noticing the look on Videl's face, Gohan quickly explained "Hey, I don't make up these names, they were told to me."
On the way there, dad and Bulma meet Oolong (that's Master Roshi's friend that looks like a pig) and Yamcha, who, at the time, was a desert bandit and tried to rob them. They were also accosted by Lord Pilaf, this short little general guy who also wanted the dragon balls. Let's say that dad 'accidentally' knocked Pilaf's airplane out of the air when he thought it was a giant bird."
"Now, on the way up Mt Frying Pan, Dad and Bulma met up with the Ox King, who lived on Mt Frying Pan. Now, in case you didn't know, the Ox King is my mother's father and my grandfather. Does that explain why its known of as 'Mt. Frying Pan?'" At that, Videl giggled, then Gohan noticed how far they had flown. "Hey, Nimbus! We need to go back to that lake, now!" With that, Nimbus turned around and they began to fly back.
"Unfortunately, the Ox King was kept from his home by a large fire on Mt Frying Pan. My dad flew back to Master Roshi's on Nimbus, here, and got him to help, as the Ox King had trained with Master Roshi. On the way back, my dad met my mom, and picked her up to return her home, too."
"When the three of them, oops, there is the lake, Nimbus!" Nimbus flew down to the shore and he and Videl got off. "Thanks, Nimbus!" And then Gohan and Videl sat back down on the grass. It was then that Gohan casually glanced at his watch. "Oh my! Mom is going to kill me, it's late, and I probably missed dinner!" With that, Gohan took off, then turned to Videl. "Can we finish the story another time, Videl? K, great!" He said as she waved at him, then he shot off toward home.
"Oh, Gohan," Videl thought, "you silly boy..." Then, she, too, flew home.
The next day after school, Videl went to wait for Gohan on the roof, but this time, Gohan was already waiting for her there. "Ready, Videl?" he asked. She nodded and the two flew off to the lake again.
When they arrived, the two of them again took their seats on the soft grass, then Gohan resumed his story. "Let's see, where was I? Oh, yes...Mt Frying Pan. Master Roshi returns with my dad and my mom, and he uses the Kamehameha to put out the blaze. Unfortunately, the blast also destroys the Ox King's castle and half the mountain itself, but my dad also instantly masters the attack, as well. Master Roshi was greatly surprised at that, because it took him 50 years to master the Kamehameha!"
"After that, Master Roshi went back home and took the Ox King and his daughter with him. This left my dad, Oolong, Bulma, and Yamcha (who finally showed himself) to go after the final dragon ball, which, incidentally, was at Pilaf's castle. And why is it that everyone has castles? I really don't know, Videl." Videl laughed at Gohan's little side note.
"Unfortunately (you'd think I liked that word, but my dad and crew just really had this thing with misfortune), on the way to the castle, all the dragon balls except my dads were stolen. They all chase the robbers to Pilaf's castle, who then captures them and takes my dad's ball. Just in time, though, my dad blasts them out of the trap with the Kamehameha and Oolong rushes up and makes a wish, using up the wish that Pilaf would have used for world domination."
"Gohan," Videl asked, "what did Oolong ask for?"
"Uhh.." Gohan said, feigning ignorance but blushing madly, "I don't know. My mom never told me, and I never asked my dad..."
"Gohan," she said, looking him in the eyes, "you are lying to me. C'mon, you can tell me. I'm your friend..."
Videl's cajoling got the answer out of him. "Fine, Videl," he said, "Oolong wished for a pair of girls panties..." Gohan blushed again. So did Videl.
"Oh." she said, now wishing she hadn't asked. "Oh, well," she thought, "he warned me..."
"Well, uh, let's get back to the story, k?" Gohan asked. "After that, Pilaf again captures everyone and puts them in a steel enclosed pit with a glass top. I think his idea was to use the sun to bake them all. He didn't count on one thing: my dad."
"You see, the thing about him having a tail is that when he sees a full moon, he changes into a huge, uncontrollable were-ape with immense powers. This is actually what had happened to Son Gohan. My dad had seen a full moon and transformed into a giant were-ape and crushed him. Fortunately, my dad didn't remember that. That form kind of limits your memories, you see? The problem with Pilaf's plan was that there was a full moon that night. My dad transformed and tore them out of the pit, but nearly killed everyone else until they manage to cut off his tail. That broke the transformation and he turned back into sweet little Goku."
"Whoa! You're telling me your dad turns into a giant ape-thing in the light of the full moon?" Videl asked, almost disbelieving.
"No, Videl. He USED to. His tail was cut off back then, so he couldn't make that transformation again," Gohan replied.
"After that, Yamcha and Bulma hooked up, and everyone went back to the city, except for my dad. He goes to Master Roshi's island to have him train him. This is where my dad meets Krillin. The two of them train together for the 21st World Tournament. They also meet Lunch at this point. You haven't met Lunch, and I haven't seen her since I was a little kid, so we won't worry about her too much. Krillin and Dad both train really hard to prepare for the Tournament, and finally, it comes."
"When Dad and Krillin arrive at the Tournament, Dad sees a familiar face. Yamcha, too, is entering the competition. Yamcha is eliminated by Jackie Chun (who is actually Master Roshi) in the first round, but both my dad and Krillin advance. Krillin loses to Master Roshi in the next round and my dad beats his opponent. At this point is the finals, between my dad, who is 12 or so, and Jackie Chun, who is, uh, OLD. They fight for something like 6 hours, during which Master Roshi blows up the moon and finally, but only barely, beats my dad. It was called the best finals match, ever, at the time. It probably still is."
"After that, and I don't know much about this, my dad gets into a big mess with the old Red Ribbon army while trying to collect the dragon balls, again. While searching for the balls, he saves a few villages, some people, and messes up a lot of robotic Red Ribbon soldiers. Also during this little episode, he meets Master Korin, the cat that lives on the Tower of Korin, beneath the Guardian of Earth's Lookout. During this escapade, he also meets Baba, Master Roshi's sister. She helps him find the last dragon ball, which, of course, Pilaf has."
"Well, after an interesting battle between Pilaf and his henchmen and my dad, he gets the last ball from Pilaf and uses the wish to restore to life someone who the Red Ribbon army had killed while Dad was searching earlier. Dad was like you were when you first saw the dragon, that is, quite impressed. After that, Dad decides to enter the next Tournament. He spends the next three years training for it."
"When he goes to the 22nd World Tournament, he sees all his old friends, who have trained hard the last few years. This is also where he meets Chaotzu and Tien, who are students of a rival of Master Roshi's. In any event, the final match boils down to Tien versus my dad, and it is a doozy. Now, for a bit of background info, Tien and Chaotzu were trained by an evil (literally!) rival of Master Roshi's, and so, at this time, would have to be considered bad guys."
"Before the fight ends, Tien and Chaotzu ditch their old master, who is trying to kill my dad. Master Roshi whips their master and sends him packing with a big 'ol Kamehameha. Then, the fight really heats up. Finally, though, Tien wins just barely when he blows up the ring and my dad lands first."
"However, before they can leave the Tournament, Krillin goes back in to pick up his things and is killed by some kind of monster. Master Roshi recognizes the trademarks of the Demon King Piccolo."
"Piccolo? You mean like your friend, Piccolo?" Videl asked.
"One and the same. You see, Piccolo wasn't always a good guy. He was originally the evil half of the old Guardian of Earth, Kami."
"So, what made him change?" Videl then asked.
"Well, actually, it was me," Gohan replied. "But we'll get to that soon enough."
"As I was saying, Krillin was killed and my dad was furious. He raced off in search of Krillin's killer, which he found. The killer was an underling of Piccolo's, and he beat my dad up pretty good. In fact, good enough that he thought my dad was dead. But, he wasn't."
"My dad gets into it pretty good with Piccolo and his minions, and I don't know much except the general things that I have been told. I know that Piccolo killed a lot of people, even the Eternal Dragon himself! And I know that Piccolo took over the world. But I also know that my dad beat him in the end. And then, he began to train with Kami for the next World Tournament."
"After three years, my dad went back to the Earth and enrolled in the tournament. Everyone else was there, but almost no one recognized him, it had been so long. During the semi-finals of that tournament, my dad and my mom fought. She tells him that if she wins the fight, they have to get married. My dad, being my dad, didn't *quite* understand this 'marriage' concept, and said sure. After the fight, which he wins, she asks him to marry her anyway, and he says 'Sure, let's get married!' Well, that's my dad for you." Videl laughed at the story of Gohan's parents getting together. Gohan, too, laughed with her.
"Well, lets see. After that fight, Krillin has to fight a clone of Piccolo. This is the Piccolo we know today. Krillin gets his butt kicked, but he does put up a good fight. Next, Yamcha is eliminated by Kami. The next round is Tien vs my dad and Piccolo vs. Kami. My dad beat Tien, this time, and Piccolo defeats Kami."
"And so, in the final round, it was my dad versus Piccolo. It was a long fight, but eventually my dad won. He was hurt bad, though, and it took a sensu bean to heal him."
"Oh," Videl said, "you mean like the thing you gave me after my fight with Supodo Bichi?"
"Yep, same thing," Gohan replied. "After that, though, things settled down for a while. My dad and my mom got married, and they had me. Now, my mom wouldn't let my dad train me to be a fighter, she wanted me to be a scholar, and so all I did as a child was study. Until I could read on my own, mom would read to me just about day and night. And then, once I had learned to read, she and my grandfather, the Ox King, would bring me books all the time to read."
"By the time I was four I had so much miscellanious knowledge packed into my head that I thought it might explode. But, that was when my life got interesting. My dad hadn't seen any of his old friends in about five years, and so he was going to take me to visit them at Kame House. We went there, and I met Bulma, Yamcha, and so many others for the first time. I was a bit shy, but, hey...could you blame me? I had led quite a sheltered life, up until then. But, that was when things changed."
Ok, I put a bit into that chapter, and I'm sorry to my other readers that I haven't posted in a while, I just haven't had the time or any decent ideas...another chapter for this will (one day) be up, but please don't hold your breath. I want to thank Dragon Ball Blast (www.videogames.com/ramza) for helping me fill in the holes in Dragon Ball. They have an excellent summaries page, both for the manga and many of the shows. I don't exactly know HOW I'll deal with Radditz, but...well, wish me luck.
-htmLord
This is going to be quite an ambitious project. It started as a pretty minor idea, that is, how in the world would Gohan ever be able to tell Videl that he is actually a member of a race of mercenary space aliens known of as Saiyans? I thought about the idea and rolled it around in my head, and came to the following conclusion : the story makes ABSOLUTELY no sense unless told, for the most part, in entirety. And so, Gohan's only real option would be to tell Videl the ENTIRE story, as he knew it, starting when a Saiyan baby named Kakkarot came to Earth, and ending with the parts that she knew about.
So, what I am writing is Gohan's retelling of the entire DragonBall / DragonBall Z series. The DragonBall section will be a bit sketchy, both due to my lack of knowledge of the original DragonBall and due to the fact that Gohan hadn't been born yet, so he only knew what he had been told by a father who, well, wasn't the brightest crayon in the set, and by a mother who didn't like to talk about her husband's past fighting history.
Without much more ado, then, I bring to you:
Gohan's Story of DragonBall
OR
How to Tell the Woman of Your Dreams You're a Space Alien
It had been two days since Gohan had returned home from the fight with Buu. Gohan lay in bed, about to get up, just thinking about all his friends and the exploits they had been through. His uncle, Radditz. Vegeta and Nappa. Frieza. Even the name of Frieza still made him shudder a little, like he was a bad dream. The Androids. Garlic, Jr. Hey, there was a laugh. That little squirt had sure given us a run for our money back then, though. Cell. Just thinking of Cell made Gohan's eyes water a bit. Even now, with his father alive again, Gohan still felt guilty whenever he thought of the fight with Cell. Then, after Cell, it was Buu. "Wow," Gohan thought, "I sure hope that was the last of 'em. I'm getting really tired of fighting all these bad guys..."
Just then, Chi Chi yelled up the steps. "Gohan, Goten, Goku, breakfast is ready!" That was Gohan's cue to get up, even though he was still lost in his thoughts. He shook the train of thought out of his head and rose out of bed. Goten had already jumped up and was probably already down at the table, waiting for food. Just then, Gohan remembered that today was a school day!
"Man," Gohan thought, "the Earth was only saved less than a week ago and they already are demanding we go back to school...I'd almost rather have to fight Buu again." Gohan stopped at that thought. "No, I take that back. Buu killed almost everyone, even those I would have given my life for, like Videl." That thought made Gohan start. "Well," he thought, "its the truth...I would give my life for her, and for..." and Gohan started to list in his head the others he would give his life for. A small part of him, though, knew that he was just denying how he felt for her. "Oh, well," that part thought, "the rest of me will figure it out soon enough..."
It was then that Chi Chi yelled up the stairs again. "Gohan, are you coming or not? You're going to be late for school!"
"Whoops!" Gohan thought, looking at his watch. "No time for breakfast this morning, I guess." He ran downstairs and said as much to his mother before grabbing his lunch and rushing out the door.
Gohan lept off into space just outside the door, reached down and keyed his watch, then pumped his speed WAY up. He arove at school only a few minutes after taking off from home. Having learned his lesson last time, he quickly scanned the roof for any people. Unfortunately, someone was standing by the door! "Oh, great," Gohan thought, "I'll have to take the long way." But, before Gohan could turn to fly a different way, the figure noticed him and started waving. It was then that Gohan realized who that the person on the roof was. It was Videl!
Relieved that it was Videl on the roof, Gohan set down and keyed his watch again. "Hey, Videl!"
"Hi, Gohan! How was your weekend?" Videl asked. "Hey," she then said, looking down at her watch, "you're pretty late this morning, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I was a little lost in thought this morning and lost track of time. I didn't even get a chance to eat breakfast," he said, sheepishly.
That caused Videl to look shocked. "Gohan, miss breakfast? I thought it took the end of the world to get you to skip a meal...so, what was so important that you skipped breakfast to think about it, huh?"
"Sorry, Videl, but we both need to get to class on time, and, by the way, I wouldn't miss breakfast for the end of the world. Not even Buu made me skip breakfast!" he said, flippantly and then ran off toward class.
"Oh, that Gohan!" Videl thought, then she, too, ran off for class. She only JUST made it before the bell rang.
"All right, students, today we are..." the teacher began to drone on. Videl looked over and saw Gohan, lost in his thoughts again. "What can he be thinking about?" she asked herself under her breath.
Gohan, was still thinking about his friends and the past. All of the enemies they had faced and the adventures they had shared. It was hard to believe that..."Huh, what's that?" Gohan thought, then focused his senses before him and realized that the teacher was right in front of him, yelling at him to pay attention. However, before he could say anything, Sharpener and Erasa (Author's Note : I think that is how its spelled, all I know is that she says its "with an 'e'") stood up and said, "M'am, please excuse Gohan. He has had a very taxing last few weeks, helping save the world and all." (Author's Note : I am allowing this to come from them for a few reasons : 1, they saw Gohan power up at the Tournament and they know he is the Great Saiyaman, and 2, they know that they gave their power to the father of Gohan (Goku's spirit bomb) I think that they probably can make the connections.)
The teacher stood there, blank faced for a moment, then said to Gohan, "Is this true? Did you help save the world from Majin Buu?"
To this, Gohan replied, in his most humble and sheepish voice, "Yes, Ma'am."
"Fine, then, but please pay attention in class from now on. And that goes for all of you!" she said, focusing on Erasa and Sharpener. The others murmured a "yes ma'am" and Sharpener and Erasa took their seats.
"I'll have to remember to thank them," a still very surprised Gohan thought, "and I'll have to ask them how they knew." Later, after class, Gohan went up to the two of them to pay them his thanks. "Thanks, you guys, but how did you know?" he asked them.
"Pretty simple, Gohan. Remember? We saw you at the tournament and they introduced you as the Great Saiyaman, then we saw you turn into the Gold Fighter. A bit later, you, two other guys with black hair and that other guy from the competition appeared before us and one of the guys destroyed half the audience. And, a while later, Hercule told us to give Goku your energy to defeat Buu by putting our hands up, and Goku is supposed to be YOUR father. It all comes together, you see?" they explained together.
"Wow, you guys really thought that one through," Gohan said. "Well, I have to get to my next class, thanks again!" And then, in a flash, Gohan ran off.
Gohan wasn't the only one that heard that. Videl had just come around the corner when Erasa and Sharpener started to explain their arguement, but she decided to hang back so they wouldn't notice her. While listening to them talk, she started to think about things, like "How does Gohan do that?" and "What is it with his family and the family of that Vegeta guy?" Before they had finished their speech, she had resolved to ask Gohan about that sometime soon. Like today, after school.
The rest of the school day was pretty uneventful, and when his last class let out, Gohan headed up for the roof to depart for home. But, just as he had this morning, he was intercepted by Videl before he could leave. "Oh, hey, Videl! How you doing?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm fine, Gohan. I was just wondering about a few things," she replied.
"Like what, Videl?"
"Oh, a few things about you, Gohan."
Gohan blushed at that line. "About me?"
"Yes, about you. Like, where in the world do you get your powers? And why is you entire family so powerful? And how about that Vegeta guy, and Trunks? Why is it that you all seem to be some sort of super humans?" As soon as she began to explain herself, Gohan stopped blushing. Thankfully, it seemed he had misread her comment.
"Well, uhh...that's kind of a hard question...I think, uh, I think I have to go! Bye, Videl!" Gohan said, and then he shot off at nearly top speed. "Oh, man!" Gohan thought, "how in the world do I explain to her about Saiyans and everything? This is gonna be tough...plus, she's gonna be mad at me for ditching her...oh, what am I going to do? Oh, geez...she's following me...I either better think fast or find a good hiding spot soon!" he thought, noticing her energy following him.
Gohan thought as fast as he could, but he also was looking for a place to hide. "There!" he thought, spying a cave by a lake. "She won't find me there!" Gohan quickly set down and started to head into the cave, not knowing that she had seen him land. Videl quickly landed by the lake and Gohan realized she must have seen him. All of the sudden, a great idea struck him and he walked out of the cave toward her. "Hey, Videl! Good, I was hoping you'd follow me. I wanted to tell you about all that somewhere a bit more private," he said, lying through his teeth.
Videl, however, saw through his bluff. "Give it up, Gohan, I know you were trying to run and hide from me, and you almost pulled it off! So, spit it out Gohan! I wanna hear this."
"Ok, but I'll have to start from the very beginning. Its a long, long story, but if you don't hear it all you either won't believe me or you'll take it the wrong way," Gohan said.
"Oh, Gohan," Videl replied, "you can just say it. I will believe you."
"Okay, maybe I'm a bit more worried about you taking it the wrong way than I am about you not believing me," he said.
"Gohan, what could it possibly be? There is nothing you could tell me that would stop me from being your friend ('or loving you,' a small part of her said, but she ignored it as best she could)."
"Well, even so, I'm going to start from the top. Have a seat," he said, motioning to the ground next to him as he sat down. Videl took the seat offered her and then let Gohan tell his story.
"Ok, where to begin? Lets see, it all started about 35 years ago. The original Son Gohan, who I am named after, found my dad in the woods near where we now live and took him in to raise him. He took him in because he found my father quite odd. You see, my dad had a tail back then, and Gohan found this very unusual."
"Unfortunately, my father was a very mean and destructive boy, and even at a very young age was very powerful. This was very difficult for Gohan to deal with, until one day, while walking in the woods, my father fell down a ravine and badly injured his head. From that day on, my father was a sweet, loving boy, and he is much the same today."
"Well," Videl interjected, "I see why your dad isn't too bright. He hit his head when he was young!"
"Hey!" Gohan replied, obviously feigning that he was hurt by her comments, "that's not funny! Take it back!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, Gohan. You know I'm just kidding."
"Ok, well, back to the story you so desperately wanted to hear. A year or so later, I'm not exactly sure, Gohan's house was destroyed by some huge ape and he was killed. My father, though, survived. He went on living there and supporting himself."
"That is, until one day, after he had been fishing, he was nearly killed when a young woman hit him with her car. Well, as it turned out, the young lady only THOUGHT he had been killed, he was much to tough for that, however. And so, my dad, being a pretty simple kid, thought that the big metal thing that had just attacked him was a monster and attacked it. That was when the woman shot him in the face. Of course, the bullet only sent him flying back, it didn't harm him in the least. And so, the woman took the last recourse she could think of. She introduced herself."
"This settled my dad down, since he thought she too was a monster (he had never seen a girl before!). It turned out this young lady was actually Bulma!"
"Wow!" Videl said, "THAT is how your dad met Bulma? Weird!"
"Yep, that's how it happened. But, anyway... It turned out that she was on a trip to gather the dragon balls, and she decided to ask this strong, tough little boy to help her find them. My dad, being the adventurous type, went right along with her. It even turned out that he already had one of the balls in his possession."
"So, they set out to get the other dragon balls. A few days after they leave on their little quest, my dad found a large sea turtle, lost on land, and decides to help him return to the ocean. It turns out that the turtle's name was Kame, and that his was a friend of the great Master Roshi. Of course, I say 'the great' in a figurative sense, because back then, he was great. Today, he's just a dirty old man." They both enjoyed a quick laugh at that.
"Well, I guess I'm getting carried away at this part. I wasn't even alive yet and here I'm talking like I was there. In any event, that is how my dad met Master Roshi. As a reward for returning Kame, Master Roshi gave my dad the flying Nimbus."
"What's a flying Nimbus?" Videl asked.
"Here, I'll show you, Videl," Gohan said, then he stood up and shouted to the heavens "FLYING NIMBUS!" and, as we all know, a cloud flew down and stopped before him. "This is Nimbus. Only those with a good heart can ride it. Here, let's go for a short ride!" With that, Gohan took Videl's hand and the two of them got on the Nimbus. Nimbus flew off with them on it, and as it flew, Gohan resumed his story.
"From there, Bulma and my dad went back to their dragon ball hunt. Master Roshi had one, which he gave to Bulma. They also find out that one is on 'Mt. Frying Pan.'" Noticing the look on Videl's face, Gohan quickly explained "Hey, I don't make up these names, they were told to me."
On the way there, dad and Bulma meet Oolong (that's Master Roshi's friend that looks like a pig) and Yamcha, who, at the time, was a desert bandit and tried to rob them. They were also accosted by Lord Pilaf, this short little general guy who also wanted the dragon balls. Let's say that dad 'accidentally' knocked Pilaf's airplane out of the air when he thought it was a giant bird."
"Now, on the way up Mt Frying Pan, Dad and Bulma met up with the Ox King, who lived on Mt Frying Pan. Now, in case you didn't know, the Ox King is my mother's father and my grandfather. Does that explain why its known of as 'Mt. Frying Pan?'" At that, Videl giggled, then Gohan noticed how far they had flown. "Hey, Nimbus! We need to go back to that lake, now!" With that, Nimbus turned around and they began to fly back.
"Unfortunately, the Ox King was kept from his home by a large fire on Mt Frying Pan. My dad flew back to Master Roshi's on Nimbus, here, and got him to help, as the Ox King had trained with Master Roshi. On the way back, my dad met my mom, and picked her up to return her home, too."
"When the three of them, oops, there is the lake, Nimbus!" Nimbus flew down to the shore and he and Videl got off. "Thanks, Nimbus!" And then Gohan and Videl sat back down on the grass. It was then that Gohan casually glanced at his watch. "Oh my! Mom is going to kill me, it's late, and I probably missed dinner!" With that, Gohan took off, then turned to Videl. "Can we finish the story another time, Videl? K, great!" He said as she waved at him, then he shot off toward home.
"Oh, Gohan," Videl thought, "you silly boy..." Then, she, too, flew home.
The next day after school, Videl went to wait for Gohan on the roof, but this time, Gohan was already waiting for her there. "Ready, Videl?" he asked. She nodded and the two flew off to the lake again.
When they arrived, the two of them again took their seats on the soft grass, then Gohan resumed his story. "Let's see, where was I? Oh, yes...Mt Frying Pan. Master Roshi returns with my dad and my mom, and he uses the Kamehameha to put out the blaze. Unfortunately, the blast also destroys the Ox King's castle and half the mountain itself, but my dad also instantly masters the attack, as well. Master Roshi was greatly surprised at that, because it took him 50 years to master the Kamehameha!"
"After that, Master Roshi went back home and took the Ox King and his daughter with him. This left my dad, Oolong, Bulma, and Yamcha (who finally showed himself) to go after the final dragon ball, which, incidentally, was at Pilaf's castle. And why is it that everyone has castles? I really don't know, Videl." Videl laughed at Gohan's little side note.
"Unfortunately (you'd think I liked that word, but my dad and crew just really had this thing with misfortune), on the way to the castle, all the dragon balls except my dads were stolen. They all chase the robbers to Pilaf's castle, who then captures them and takes my dad's ball. Just in time, though, my dad blasts them out of the trap with the Kamehameha and Oolong rushes up and makes a wish, using up the wish that Pilaf would have used for world domination."
"Gohan," Videl asked, "what did Oolong ask for?"
"Uhh.." Gohan said, feigning ignorance but blushing madly, "I don't know. My mom never told me, and I never asked my dad..."
"Gohan," she said, looking him in the eyes, "you are lying to me. C'mon, you can tell me. I'm your friend..."
Videl's cajoling got the answer out of him. "Fine, Videl," he said, "Oolong wished for a pair of girls panties..." Gohan blushed again. So did Videl.
"Oh." she said, now wishing she hadn't asked. "Oh, well," she thought, "he warned me..."
"Well, uh, let's get back to the story, k?" Gohan asked. "After that, Pilaf again captures everyone and puts them in a steel enclosed pit with a glass top. I think his idea was to use the sun to bake them all. He didn't count on one thing: my dad."
"You see, the thing about him having a tail is that when he sees a full moon, he changes into a huge, uncontrollable were-ape with immense powers. This is actually what had happened to Son Gohan. My dad had seen a full moon and transformed into a giant were-ape and crushed him. Fortunately, my dad didn't remember that. That form kind of limits your memories, you see? The problem with Pilaf's plan was that there was a full moon that night. My dad transformed and tore them out of the pit, but nearly killed everyone else until they manage to cut off his tail. That broke the transformation and he turned back into sweet little Goku."
"Whoa! You're telling me your dad turns into a giant ape-thing in the light of the full moon?" Videl asked, almost disbelieving.
"No, Videl. He USED to. His tail was cut off back then, so he couldn't make that transformation again," Gohan replied.
"After that, Yamcha and Bulma hooked up, and everyone went back to the city, except for my dad. He goes to Master Roshi's island to have him train him. This is where my dad meets Krillin. The two of them train together for the 21st World Tournament. They also meet Lunch at this point. You haven't met Lunch, and I haven't seen her since I was a little kid, so we won't worry about her too much. Krillin and Dad both train really hard to prepare for the Tournament, and finally, it comes."
"When Dad and Krillin arrive at the Tournament, Dad sees a familiar face. Yamcha, too, is entering the competition. Yamcha is eliminated by Jackie Chun (who is actually Master Roshi) in the first round, but both my dad and Krillin advance. Krillin loses to Master Roshi in the next round and my dad beats his opponent. At this point is the finals, between my dad, who is 12 or so, and Jackie Chun, who is, uh, OLD. They fight for something like 6 hours, during which Master Roshi blows up the moon and finally, but only barely, beats my dad. It was called the best finals match, ever, at the time. It probably still is."
"After that, and I don't know much about this, my dad gets into a big mess with the old Red Ribbon army while trying to collect the dragon balls, again. While searching for the balls, he saves a few villages, some people, and messes up a lot of robotic Red Ribbon soldiers. Also during this little episode, he meets Master Korin, the cat that lives on the Tower of Korin, beneath the Guardian of Earth's Lookout. During this escapade, he also meets Baba, Master Roshi's sister. She helps him find the last dragon ball, which, of course, Pilaf has."
"Well, after an interesting battle between Pilaf and his henchmen and my dad, he gets the last ball from Pilaf and uses the wish to restore to life someone who the Red Ribbon army had killed while Dad was searching earlier. Dad was like you were when you first saw the dragon, that is, quite impressed. After that, Dad decides to enter the next Tournament. He spends the next three years training for it."
"When he goes to the 22nd World Tournament, he sees all his old friends, who have trained hard the last few years. This is also where he meets Chaotzu and Tien, who are students of a rival of Master Roshi's. In any event, the final match boils down to Tien versus my dad, and it is a doozy. Now, for a bit of background info, Tien and Chaotzu were trained by an evil (literally!) rival of Master Roshi's, and so, at this time, would have to be considered bad guys."
"Before the fight ends, Tien and Chaotzu ditch their old master, who is trying to kill my dad. Master Roshi whips their master and sends him packing with a big 'ol Kamehameha. Then, the fight really heats up. Finally, though, Tien wins just barely when he blows up the ring and my dad lands first."
"However, before they can leave the Tournament, Krillin goes back in to pick up his things and is killed by some kind of monster. Master Roshi recognizes the trademarks of the Demon King Piccolo."
"Piccolo? You mean like your friend, Piccolo?" Videl asked.
"One and the same. You see, Piccolo wasn't always a good guy. He was originally the evil half of the old Guardian of Earth, Kami."
"So, what made him change?" Videl then asked.
"Well, actually, it was me," Gohan replied. "But we'll get to that soon enough."
"As I was saying, Krillin was killed and my dad was furious. He raced off in search of Krillin's killer, which he found. The killer was an underling of Piccolo's, and he beat my dad up pretty good. In fact, good enough that he thought my dad was dead. But, he wasn't."
"My dad gets into it pretty good with Piccolo and his minions, and I don't know much except the general things that I have been told. I know that Piccolo killed a lot of people, even the Eternal Dragon himself! And I know that Piccolo took over the world. But I also know that my dad beat him in the end. And then, he began to train with Kami for the next World Tournament."
"After three years, my dad went back to the Earth and enrolled in the tournament. Everyone else was there, but almost no one recognized him, it had been so long. During the semi-finals of that tournament, my dad and my mom fought. She tells him that if she wins the fight, they have to get married. My dad, being my dad, didn't *quite* understand this 'marriage' concept, and said sure. After the fight, which he wins, she asks him to marry her anyway, and he says 'Sure, let's get married!' Well, that's my dad for you." Videl laughed at the story of Gohan's parents getting together. Gohan, too, laughed with her.
"Well, lets see. After that fight, Krillin has to fight a clone of Piccolo. This is the Piccolo we know today. Krillin gets his butt kicked, but he does put up a good fight. Next, Yamcha is eliminated by Kami. The next round is Tien vs my dad and Piccolo vs. Kami. My dad beat Tien, this time, and Piccolo defeats Kami."
"And so, in the final round, it was my dad versus Piccolo. It was a long fight, but eventually my dad won. He was hurt bad, though, and it took a sensu bean to heal him."
"Oh," Videl said, "you mean like the thing you gave me after my fight with Supodo Bichi?"
"Yep, same thing," Gohan replied. "After that, though, things settled down for a while. My dad and my mom got married, and they had me. Now, my mom wouldn't let my dad train me to be a fighter, she wanted me to be a scholar, and so all I did as a child was study. Until I could read on my own, mom would read to me just about day and night. And then, once I had learned to read, she and my grandfather, the Ox King, would bring me books all the time to read."
"By the time I was four I had so much miscellanious knowledge packed into my head that I thought it might explode. But, that was when my life got interesting. My dad hadn't seen any of his old friends in about five years, and so he was going to take me to visit them at Kame House. We went there, and I met Bulma, Yamcha, and so many others for the first time. I was a bit shy, but, hey...could you blame me? I had led quite a sheltered life, up until then. But, that was when things changed."
Ok, I put a bit into that chapter, and I'm sorry to my other readers that I haven't posted in a while, I just haven't had the time or any decent ideas...another chapter for this will (one day) be up, but please don't hold your breath. I want to thank Dragon Ball Blast (www.videogames.com/ramza) for helping me fill in the holes in Dragon Ball. They have an excellent summaries page, both for the manga and many of the shows. I don't exactly know HOW I'll deal with Radditz, but...well, wish me luck.
-htmLord