Author's note: This is a fic about Gohan there may be other characters that
have big roles in the story but it focuses mainly on Gohan. Some characters
may be OOC depending on how you view said characters. I have many plans for
Gohan and a general outline for the story. So things should be updated
pretty quickly unless I get stuck on something. I hope you enjoy reading
the story.
Summary: Gohan is blinded by what happened at the Cell games. What will happen to him now that he can no longer see? Story will span time from Cell games to high school, the world martial arts tournament, and maybe further.
Disclaimer: Oh my god! I now own a Piccolo and a Vegeta! Or at least the action figures, but they're really cool! My next goal is to get Gohan. Anyway, I do not own any of the characters related to Dragonball Z. Also I do not own Mortal Kombat or any relatedf characters. All credit goes to their creators. But I do own this plot line SO DON'T STEAL IT!!
Author's note2: Hello everyone, first of all I would like to thanks all of the people who have been supporting me lately and all of my reveiwers for their supportive comments in response to the last author's note. This is the chapter that I had already finished before my friends death. I am still having a bit of a rough time but it is getting better. I am not completely sure when the next chapter will be out so please be patient. Now responding to some questions I got in reviews for chapter eighteen:
The future scenes from the Hall of Fate and Destiny show a person's life up until their real death. I don't consider dying and being brought back to life by the dragonballs an actual death - more of a limbo thing, so even though a person may die and be brought back to life by the dragonballs, it wouldn't be considered dying by the Hall of Destiny and Fates standards and most likely wouldn't even be shown in the scenes.
The reason Gohan hasn't gone to see Goku's grandpa (Gohan senior) like he has Bardock is because the man is unfortunately one of the little cloud puffs, and there are way too many cloud puffs around Otherworld for Gohan to even try and figure out which one is Gohan Sr. Besides - from what I remember all the little cloud people could do was squeak talk. I know in the Buu saga that when Chi Chi, Videl, and Bulma all die they were sort of cloud people (at least I'm assuming that's what the cloud people turn into) but I'm not going by that. I want all of the dead people who didn't get to keep their bodies to be little white puffy clouds that can only squeak.
As to the mention of my little slip up with Gohan looking at the clock, I can only apologize. My mind tends to run away with ideas and sometimes I forget important details like the fact that Gohan is BLIND. Thank you for pointing that stuff out. Normally my beta reader or I can catch it, but sometimes stuff does slip through. Please let me know if you spot anything like that in the future. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
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//...// Is telepathy
Are thoughts or rather hearing character speaking to themselves inside their heads
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A Surprise and Preparations
Vegeta looked at Gohan and, seeing the huge grin the boy had on his face, became a little apprehensive. The last time he'd seen that grin was when Gohan had warned him to throw out all of his shampoo bottles and get new ones because Trunks and Goten had decided to fill them with pink hair dye. The boy had been laughing the whole time as Vegeta gathered up the bottles. However, being the Saiyan Prince, Vegeta stiffened his spine and spoke.
"Well brat, talk already - I don't have all day."
Gohan took a couple more deep breaths before getting up off the floor. Removing his shirt because it was starting to restrict his movements, he began to do stretches as he talked.
"Well Vegeta, it came to my attention that the World's Martial Arts Tournament will be in seven months. Hercule is going to be competing in it as the returning world champion and Videl will be fighting as well."
Vegeta snorted. He didn't care much for the girl Gohan called Videl. He thought she was a pushy, arrogant little bitch, and he hadn't seen anything yet to contradict him. Even if what Gohan said about her catching criminals was true, he still didn't like her - she reminded him too much of Kakarott's mate before she died. Gohan ignored the snort and continued talking.
"The adoration and arrogance Hercule gets increases every year, and every year people believe him more and more when he says that everyone but him uses tricks and light shows when they fight. He disgraces martial arts and dishonors every martial artist who spent a lot of time training to learn powerful techniques, only to have them passed off as tricks and be scorned. I believe it is time to stop that. I want you to compete as well; otherwise there will be no challenge for me. I'm going to try and convince the others to fight as well, but I'm not sure if they'll go for it. Goten and Trunks can enter the junior division and get some experience too. I'd also like us to enter the team matches that are being held this year. What do you say, Vegeta?"
Vegeta had been looking curiously at Gohan ever since he had continued his little speech. He knew the boy extremely disliked Hercule for trying to disgrace all of the fighters at the Cell games, but he hadn't realize that Gohan was also thinking beyond the games to what Hercule's proclamations of tricks and light shows had done for martial artists who used ki techniques. It was part of his Saiyan pride showing through, as well as the human sense of righteousness, that made Gohan feel the way he did. Vegeta was proud to see the Saiyan part of him come alive: granted, it had been growing over the years, ever since the boy had been making trips to hell, but it never really manifested itself beyond fighting and his self confidence. Until now.
Vegeta thought over what Gohan had just asked him. To fight in a tournament filled with weak humans, maybe a few somewhat strong fighters if the brat could get some of the others to enter, and he and Gohan eventually battling it out for some hollow title that humans seemed to place too much importance on. Granted, it would be interesting to see the facade of the fraud Hercule crumble and crack in front of the public that held him so dear.. This was the first time Gohan had ever really asked something from him and besides the solo fights, the boy wanted to fight as a team - something Vegeta hadn't done since he was a child, and somewhat missed. Settling on his answer, Vegeta took a deep breath. However, just before he could speak another voice interrupted them, one Vegeta hadn't heard in seven years.
//Hey guys!//
Gohan jumped to his feet, his head whipping from side to side as he frantically sent out all of his senses to see if the owner of that voice was actually present. Finding nothing, Gohan sighed in relief as he realized that the voice was in his head, and being projected to Vegeta as well. At the cheerful greeting Vegeta's mouth had dropped open, but he closed it a second later before snarling angrily.
"Is that you, Kakarott?"
The voice laughed a little sheepishly before replying.
//Yeah it's me, sorry if I freaked you guys out. Hi Gohan! Your mom says hi too. //
Vegeta looked over at Gohan. He had seen the boy jump and look like a scared rabbit when Kakarott had first spoken, but now the expression on the boy's face was completely neutral, devoid of emotion as was his voice when he replied.
"Hello father. Tell mom I said hi as well. I take it you're using poor King Kai as a telephone once again?"
Again there was another bout of sheepish laughter from Goku before he spoke.
//Yep, but this time I have good news! Your mother and I get a chance to come back to Earth for forty-eight hours! I found out that the WMAT is coming up, and I decided that this would be the perfect time. We can get the whole gang together at the tournament again, just like old times. It'll be great!//
As Goku shared his great news, Vegeta, who was still looking at Gohan, had the chance to see the boy pale drastically at the news that Goku would be coming back. The emotionless mask slipped for a moment, and Vegeta could see pure rage on Gohan's face before it was covered up and the boy responded in that neutral tone of voice again.
"Yeah, it'll be great father."
There was a pause, then Goku began to speak again, but a little faster this time.
//I don't have much time left to talk, Gohan. Your mother and I will be waiting at the tournament gates for you guys at eight o'clock the morning of the tournament. I've heard about some of your recent accomplishments from the Grand Kai, son, and I can't wait to see how much stronger you've gotten! I have to go now, see you in seven months!//
With that, the connection was cut off and the two Saiyans could no longer feel Goku's presence in the room. Everything was silent in the gravity room except for the two men's breathing, then suddenly Gohan's voice broke the silence. It was a cold tone, and one filled with a menace Vegeta had only heard when the boy faced down Cell after he ascended.
"Get out of here now Vegeta."
Vegeta looked towards Gohan, ready to give the boy a piece of his mind for trying to order him around like that. He nearly gasped in shock; Gohan looked as if he was about ready to kill something. Vegeta could sense that the boy was barely holding his anger in check, and obviously wanted him gone before he let go. Feeling apprehensive about leaving the boy on his own, yet at the same time knowing he couldn't stay, Vegeta walked out of the gravity room and a little ways away before he began to feel it. Gohan's ki was rising. The boy was transforming, and in less than a second he had gone to Super Saiyan, a couple more seconds and he reached SSJ2. Then the fun really began.
Ever since he had reached the third level of Super Saiyan, Gohan rarely went SSJ3 around CC. He never ascended that high in the GR since the form was so powerful the aura alone could damage a lot, not to mention it caused major earthquakes. The ground began to tremble, and chunks of dirt and grass began to lift into the air as Gohan's ki continued to rise. There was a feeling of dreaded anticipation in the silence, then Gohan just let it go. Anyone that had a telepathic bond to the boy held their head in pain at the very loud and vivid ranting Gohan was doing in his head.
THAT KAMI DAMMED SON OF A BITCH! THE FUCKING NERVE HE HAS TO TRY AND COME BACK AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS AND ACT AS IF NOTHING HAS HAPPENED! MOTHER FUCKING ASSHOLE THINKS EVERYTHING WILL BE ALL FINE AND DANDY. WELL HE CAN GO FUCK HIMSELF ON A LOG! IF HE THINKS I'M GOING TO WELCOME HIM BACK WITH OPEN ARMS, HE HAS ANOTHER THINK COMING.
What followed was a string of cursing in several different languages, including Namekian and Saiyago. All the while Gohan's ki continued rising until he finally transformed into SSJ3 state. Barely a second later the GR blew with a loud bang, unable to contain all of the power Gohan was putting out. Raising a ki shield to cover CC from some of the falling debris, Vegeta looked at Gohan in disbelief, one hand cradling his aching head from Gohan's unintentional telepathic rant. The normally calm, cool, collected young man was utterly gone. Never mind his earlier anger at Hercule, this was something different - something that went much deeper and was far more dangerous. It didn't take a genius to see that Gohan was beyond furious as he continued to rant and his ki still continued to rise.
Vegeta felt someone land next to where he stood on the CC roof. He looked and saw the Namek, who had no doubt heard Gohan's telepathic rant as well. Piccolo looked at Vegeta, raising an eye ridge in silent question with blood coming out in little trickles from his ears. Vegeta looked back up at Gohan, who didn't seem to be going anywhere at the moment, before answering Piccolo's silent inquiry.
"We were in the GR talking and Kakarott contacted us using that Kai of his. Apparently he and his mate are being allowed to come back for forty-eight hours, and Kakarott chose the day of the WMAT, deciding to compete and get everyone else to go as well. Said he wanted to see how strong the brat has become."
Piccolo's mouth was open in shock. Goku and ChiChi were coming back for forty-eight hours, and on the day of the WMAT no less. Piccolo was aware of Gohan's feelings towards Goku and, quite frankly, he didn't blame the boy at all. Gohan had certain justification for not being too happy with Goku, and to have him come waltzing back as if nothing happened was not the brightest thing for Goku to do. It was no wonder Gohan was pissed off, but he didn't think that alone was enough to piss Gohan off quite this much. Directing his eyes towards the golden figure in the sky, he spoke to Vegeta and asked a question.
"Did Goku say anything else? Something that would make Gohan this pissed off? He had to have - my head feels like someone took a sledgehammer to it."
Vegeta snorted rudely to show his contempt of the other full-blooded Saiyan before responding, never taking his eyes off of Gohan, whose ki still continued to climb.
"Just like the Baka he is, all Kakarott could do was talk about fighting in the tournament, how it would be so great to have everyone back together, and how he wanted to see how strong the boy has gotten. He acted as if nothing has happened and that nothing has changed. He'll find out just how wrong he is soon enough when he finally returns to this mud ball of a planet."
As Vegeta answered his questions, Piccolo couldn't help but marvel at the stupidity of Goku. Even Goku with his oblivious nature should've known that the last thing Gohan wanted to see was his father competing in another fight. But then again, as Gohan had told him once, with Goku it seemed as if the man only cared about four things in order: fighting, food, friends, and family. Family was always the last thing Goku seemed to consider. He tended to make decisions without thinking how it would affect his family now or in the future. On top of it all, from what he had gathered from Gohan's yearly visits to see his parents, Goku was blissfully happy in the Otherworld - able to train and fight to his heart's content now that ChiChi was there with him. Apparently Goku didn't give much thought to his sons, especially the one he'd never met. Goku always forgot anything Gohan had told him from the last visit and everything ChiChi told him about his youngest son. He was too wrapped up in his training and having fun. Gohan had given up trying to get Goku to take any real interest in Goten, and gave him only the barest details.
Goku took what he had for granted when it came to his family. He had always taken it for granted that ChiChi would wait for him and understand when he went off on training missions. The same went for when he died the first time: he had expected ChiChi and Gohan to be there when he came back, and he'd simply picked up everything where he left off, failing to notice what they'd gone through without him. Then there was the series of events that caused Goku to be away for yet another year, going planet hopping just for the fun of it - he didn't even notice that his wife and child desperately needed him at home, safe and sound. After three long years of training for the androids, everything finally ended with Goku's ultimate death and his decision not to be wished back by the Dragonballs, not even bothering to think about what Chi Chi and Gohan wanted. He thought that the two would always welcome him back with open arms, and he had grown to expect that. Piccolo knew that this time Goku wouldn't get that sort of greeting from Gohan, and there was no telling what reaction Goten would have to seeing his biological father and mother, whom he'd only heard stories about.
With an angry, frustrated scream, Gohan's aura pulsed and expanded yet again as his ki kept swelling in power. The ground beneath Gohan now had a nice sized crater that his power had created while first powering up, and while his aura expanded, so did the crater. Finally ceasing his screaming, Gohan turned to face Vegeta and Piccolo, his face hard and cold. Not even bothering to speak out loud, he sent a thought to both of them.
//I'm going to an unpopulated place to blast the shit out of some rocks and, for once, power up completely. Maybe I'll even destroy some mountains or islands or whatever. Don't follow me - I'll come back when I'm ready. Don't tell anyone about my father yet. And Vegeta - I still need to talk to you when I get back. //
Cutting off the link, Gohan blasted off towards some unknown place to do exactly what he'd said he was going to do. Piccolo looked at Vegeta and Vegeta looked at Piccolo. Both warriors jumped off the roof of the building and landed on what was left of the lawn - Gohan had destroyed most of it by blowing up the GR with his aura and energy. What grass was left was now brown and withered, littered with melted pieces of the GR. All the nearby buildings' windows were shattered from both the heat and intensity of Gohan's aura. Vegeta was sure that Gohan's power up had caused a nice earthquake throughout the city, and he thanked Dende that Bulma was currently out of town on some business trip for the day with both Trunks and Goten. She would undoubtedly have a fit when she came home, but most likely Gohan would be back by then and he'd be able to explain everything.
Vegeta once again looked at Piccolo before asking quietly.
"Well Namek, will you be competing?"
Piccolo didn't even pretend that he didn't know what Vegeta was talking about and simply answered.
"Yes. Are you?"
Vegeta smirked, looking like he had all those years ago - before he'd mellowed out a bit - his eyes taking on that excited, maniacal glint.
"I can't miss an opportunity to smash Kakarott's face into the ground, now can I green bean? Besides - the boy already asked me to participate so he'd have some decent competition. He was planning on asking the rest of the fools as well as you, but Kakarott interrupted before I could answer the brat. It seems the boy thinks it's time for the Cell game fighters to make their reappearance and shove the afroed fool's words down his throat - quite possibly accompanied by a ki blast."
Piccolo was a little surprised that Gohan had decided to enter the tournament, but he knew that the boy had been getting steadily more irritated with Hercule and his posturing: apparently Gohan had finally decided to put an end to it. He had a feeling once the other fighters knew that Goku would be coming back for the day, they too would enter the tournament - for old times' sake if nothing else. Piccolo knew he didn't want to miss it. He had a feeling that the WMAT would be where Goku and his son would finally have it out. He was still thinking when Vegeta's voice broke through his thoughts.
"I almost forgot - apparently the tournament has decided to include team matches this year as well. Two people against two others. The brat and I are going to be a team - you should pair up with Kakarott. He is the only fighter, besides the brat and I, that can keep up with you. Cue-ball will no doubt team with his wife, I doubt scar face will compete, and we haven't seen the triclops or the creepy clown for awhile, so I don't think they will be there at all. If you want to stand a chance of winning you better pair with that baka. Not that it will matter - the brat and I will win no matter what. Still, I think it would be nice to beat both you and Kakarott into the ground at the same time."
Piccolo just shook his head at Vegeta's words, even though they were probably true. He would have to figure out if he was going to pair with Goku the day of the tournament, but in the meantime he was still a little worried about Gohan. Vegeta looked over at Piccolo, who was still looking in the direction Gohan had taken off in, pensive frown on his face. Scowling, Vegeta decided to butt in before Piccolo did something stupid such as following the boy.
"Would you stop worrying about the brat, Namek! He is a fucking adult now! He doesn't need you or anyone else going after him every time something upsetting happens, let him deal with it or you'll only piss him off more!"
When Piccolo just turned to look at him with an unreadable expression, Vegeta gave up. Making a noise of disgust, he began walking towards the door to the main house.
"Whatever - I don't really give a shit Namek. I'm going to eat since I can't train properly until the woman fixes the GR. Do what you want, just leave me alone."
With that he disappeared inside the house and Piccolo turned his gaze back towards the direction Gohan had disappeared to. After a few minutes the former guardian of the earth shook his head, lifted into the air, and took off in the opposite direction for the lookout.
It was way past dark when Gohan finally came home. Bulma had gotten home hours ago and had already seen the damage to the GR and the lawn. Ever since Gohan had lost his temper, earthquake's had been plaguing the planet as a result of the massive power-up. Thankfully Dende had managed to keep the damage down to a minimum, so there were no injuries. When Bulma had confronted Vegeta about the GR he had only told her to talk to the brat when he got back. On top of it all there was a message from Orange Star High saying that Gohan had cut his last three classes and an assembly. Needless to say Bulma was impatiently waiting for Gohan to get back so she could demand an explanation.
At long last a tired, dirty, and still disgruntled Gohan stepped through the door, only to be greeted by an irritated Bulma waiting for him on the couch. As soon as he sensed her he sighed and ran a hand through his long hair before going over to sit on the opposite couch, knowing full well that she wanted to speak to him. Bulma watched him with a little concern as he came over and sat down. Gohan looked really tired to her, as well as agitated, but she wanted answers and she wanted them now.
"Gohan, what happened to the GR and the lawn today? That's the worst blow up ever, there's nothing left but melted metal and burned dirt. I also got a call from your school saying that you skipped the last three periods and an assembly this afternoon - what's going on?"
Gohan just sighed irritably. He knew Bulma needed to know what happened, but he really didn't want to go over it so soon. Deciding he might as well get it over with quickly, he ran his hand through his hair in another agitated gesture before beginning to talk.
"Well, the assembly and school are easily explained: It was either leave or beat the shit out of Hercule in front of the whole school and probably several reporters - not to mention uncover my identity as one of the gold fighters at the Cell games. He came by the school today to give his "I am the savior of the world speech". I caught a glimpse of what he was going to say from his mind and I knew if I actually heard that out loud there would be one dead 'world savior'."
Bulma was a little surprised but not a whole lot: Gohan wouldn't have skipped school for anything less than a very good reason.
"Are you serious Gohan? He actually showed up at the high school to do a publicity bit? I can't believe that man - he is such a publicity hound! Even though he deserves it, I'm glad that you decided to come home rather than beat the man up and expose yourself."
Gohan gave a small, bitter sounding laugh. He was sitting on the edge of the couch with his elbows resting on his knees, hands dangling in between his legs. His face was turned down, and if Bulma didn't know better she would've said he was just staring at the floor. He looked and sounded much older than he really was: the years and his experiences had really taken their toll on him. It didn't happen often, but every once and a while he would become depressed, silent, and seem to grow old before their eyes. Such periods only lasted a few days before he'd return to a more cheerful Gohan, but none of the adults could forget what he would look like on those days. To Bulma it looked as if Gohan was having one of those times right now, and she didn't have a clue how to make it better. Lifting his head up, his sightless aqua eyes rested on her face and Bulma couldn't repress a shiver. Looking at Gohan's eyes always gave her the shivers - they just didn't show anything and looked so dead it was hard to believe that the person behind them was still alive. When Gohan finally spoke again, his voice had an even more acidic cast to it.
"If you think that was bad, just wait. I came home in a relatively pissed off mood, refused to fight Vegeta because I would've ended up killing him and going out of control, so we ended up talking instead. I've asked him about entering the WMAT with me - I've decided that the Cell games fighters need to finally make their reappearance to the world. I was also planning to ask the other Z-fighters and Piccolo to join so there would be some decent competition, but just as Vegeta was going to give me an answer someone interrupted us with a little telepathic message via the North Kai."
Bulma gasped.
"Are you kidding Gohan? Was it who I think it was?"
Gohan just nodded.
"Yep, it was dear old dad. Apparently they're letting him and mom come back for forty-eight hours and he chose the day of the WMAT to come back so he can compete. He wanted Vegeta and me to compete, as well as convince the other Z warriors to participate. He said he wanted to see how strong I've become."
Gohan's face soured at that last comment, indicating his displeasure towards his father's thoughts. In fact, the entire speech was heavily flavored with distaste and sarcasm. Bulma's mouth was wide open at this point and her voice was a little breathless as she spoke.
"Are you serious? Goku and ChiChi are coming back for two days? And all Goku could say was he wanted to see how strong you've become? He didn't ask about Goten or anyone else?"
The sour look on Gohan's face changed into the look of someone who has finally given up on something as he replied.
"Of course he didn't ask about Goten, Bulma - no matter how much I tell him he barely remembers he has another son, and he only remembers me because I go to see them once a year. Oh, and he did say it'd be great to have everybody back at the tournament like old times."
Bulma was silent for a moment. She understood Gohan's feelings towards his father, and was more than a little unhappy with Goku for his neglect, but she loved and missed her old friend - she would be more than happy to see him when he came. She did have some misgivings about Goten meeting Goku and ChiChi, however. The young boy hadn't known any parents other than Gohan and, to a lesser extent, Bulma and Vegeta. Kami knows what he would think of Goku and ChiChi. ChiChi at her calmest could be overwhelming, and knowing how excited the woman was bound to be didn't look good for their chances of not scaring off the poor kid. Bulma just hoped ChiChi wouldn't start criticizing and analyzing everything Gohan had done so far with Goten and would just be happy to see them. She turned her attention back to Gohan as he took a deep breath to continue speaking.
"After dad stopped talking and cut off the link, I told Vegeta to get out - then I proceeded to royally lose my temper. First it was just a little ranting in my head, which apparently I accidentally broadcasted because Piccolo showed up. Then I powered up and was so pissed I went SSJ3 in the GR without even really realizing it - which explains the melted metal since at that point the GR blew up. After the explosion and seeing how much damage I had done, I decided I'd better go off some place else to power up completely and hopefully blow up a few mountains to release a little anger before I totally wrecked everything on the planet by accident. I told Piccolo and Vegeta not to follow me, then I left."
He rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache and sat back on the couch, patiently waiting for Bulma's reaction. Bulma wasn't too surprised by what Gohan told her - it sounded like something that would happen, especially with Gohan. The boy was always careful with his power, especially around other people, and always tried to avoid hurting them. She couldn't really fault Gohan with getting angry and his momentary lapse of judgment. Gohan carried more than enough weight on his shoulders and he was so rarely able to really loose his temper or give in to frustrations as much as he needed to. So, all things considered, her tone was very understanding as she spoke.
"It's all right Gohan. I don't blame you for getting a little angry and wrecking the GR - it wasn't on purpose - and I'll have another one done soon anyways. As for your school, I'll just write another note or something so you don't get into trouble. There is one thing you're going to have to do, however."
Gohan's head turned towards Bulma's voice at that last statement, a single eyebrow raised in question.
"You're going to have to start preparing Goten to meet his actual father and mother. There's no way you're going to be able to avoid this, and I'm sure that you don't want to cause him any more nervousness than necessary. You'd better start telling him what to expect from your mother and father before they arrive."
Gohan made a face at this, but he knew Bulma was right. There was no way he could prevent his parents from coming back and, if he didn't tell Goten, the poor kid would probably freak out or something and be traumatized for the rest of his life by their mother.
"All right Bulma - but you get to help out because I seriously doubt my views of them are unbiased in any sense."
Bulma smiled at the young man in front of her whom she'd had the privilege of seeing grow into a mature adult. She was very proud of the person Gohan had become over the years, and proud of the things he had done - especially in regards to Goten, Trunks, and Marron. The chibis adored him and he adored them as well. She sometimes thought if it hadn't been for the children, Gohan wouldn't have turned out nearly as well.
"Ok Gohan, we can get Vegeta and the others to help as well if we need to. Now, however, I think it's time I went to bed. You should get some sleep too, dear. Well, I'm turning off the lights so you won't have to remember them before you come up, ok?"
"Ok Bulma."
There was the sound of footsteps as Bulma rose and walked over to the stairs. They paused for a moment as Bulma undoubtedly turned off the lights, then continued on up the stairs, the noise getting fainter and fainter as Bulma made her way to her bedroom. For a minute Gohan just sat and relaxed on the couch, silently letting the atmosphere of home wash over him. He was completely exhausted from his fit of temper earlier. After anger of that magnitude abates it leaves a person weak and drained, having completely exhausted their bodies trying to rid themselves of it. Then he spoke, his voice carrying clearly through the still air.
"I know you're there Vegeta - just come out and sit on the couch so I can answer whatever the hell it is you want to ask me. And I know you want to ask me something; you didn't stand there throughout that whole conversation just for the hell of it."
There was the noise of footsteps again, but this time they were heavier - a clear indication to him that the person was male. Gohan felt Vegeta walk towards him and take a seat on the other couch where Bulma had been sitting.
"You said you still needed to talk to me after you got back, brat."
Vegeta responded with a hint of a sneer in his voice, saying without words that he didn't appreciate being kept waiting on someone else. Gohan sighed.
"You know, I completely forgot about telling you that because I was so pissed at the time. But yes, I do still need to talk to you about something - in fact, it was a continuation of our conversation before my father interrupted us. By the way, if I remember correctly Piccolo appeared sometime before the GR blew; what happened to him?"
Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the couch cushions, casually taking in Gohan's appearance. The boy didn't look too bad overall - just exhausted, dirty, and depressed.
"Green bean left a little after you did. He's planning on competing in the tournament, as am I. Now, what did you still need to talk to me about: I want to go to sleep, so hurry it up."
This was not how Gohan had wanted to ask Vegeta to enter the mini tournaments with him. He had the talk all planned out in his head: he would've brought up the subject as a counter point to the WMAT after Vegeta had answered a yes or no, and pointed out all of the training they would receive to hopefully convince Vegeta to say yes. Now he had to ask in the middle of the night after throwing a huge fit and blowing up the GR. The odds weren't exactly leaning in his favor at the moment. Pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing it again, he took a deep breath and began to speak.
"Well Vegeta, I wanted to ask you about something I found out about in school today. Apparently this year the Commissioner of the WMAT has decided to hold eight mini tournaments before the WMAT. There are solo matches then team matches. Each tournament will be in a different city, and there is still prize money involved, but the main idea is to train in a tournament setting and against possible opponents in the WMAT. I want to enter all eight tournaments, and I want you to enter with me and for us to be a team in the team matches."
Vegeta was actually shocked - this was the last thing in the world he expected to hear. To him it was bad enough that he had to enter one silly human tournament just to get a chance to beat Kakarott's face in, but there was no way that he would enter any others! He opened his mouth to tell Gohan exactly that.
"You have got to be joking brat. One silly human tournament is more than enough - there's no way I'm competing in eight more. I don't even know why you're doing it since you'll easily crush anyone you face; there is absolutely no challenge."
At those words Gohan grinned, his voice very smooth as he replied.
"Actually, there will be a challenge Vegeta - because if we do enter there are some rules we're going to set in order to not make this too easy. First off no transforming; second, no ki blasts; third, no ki enhanced kicks, punches, or blocks; and fourth, no flying unless your opponent can as well, and none during our matches. In other words Vegeta, we will be fighting on technique and skill alone, along with our natural strength. Granted our regular strength is normally enough to easily kill most humans, so we'll just have to tone it down until our matches. Because you do realize don't you that most likely we'll end up fighting each other in the final battle of each tournament, right? Besides - the team matches will give us a chance to practice actually fighting together before the WMAT."
Vegeta had been listening to Gohan as he listed off the rules, and actually seemed intrigued for a minute before shaking his head no and snapping at Gohan.
"Even with those rules there isn't a good reason why I should bother to do that when I can be busy in my GR training to defeat Kakarott. Those tournaments will do us no good for increasing our power if we don't transform, so it's waste of time."
Gohan resisted the urge roll his eyes at Vegeta's return to his primary objective of beating Goku. Instead he took a deep breath and calmly replied.
"Not quite true Vegeta - or do you not remember what I told you I found out about the Super Saiyan levels a long time ago. You only reach Super Saiyan, or another level after Super Saiyan, because your body can't handle the amount of power you're generating. What's more; training in your normal form boosts your power, and power you gain by training in your normal state is carried over to SSJ and SSJ2. As a matter of fact, it seems that if you alternate training normally with the Super Saiyan states your power tends to increase faster. But that isn't the full reason I want us to use those rules, Vegeta."
"Then why the hell did you make those rules boy?"
Vegeta snarled, angry because he had forgotten what Gohan had told him a while ago about the Super Saiyan levels. At Vegeta's question Gohan's face turned serious, as did the tone of his voice.
"Because we've been focusing on just gaining power for too long. Our skills are becoming lax in other areas - most specifically in our forms and technique. We're getting sloppy Vegeta. What happens if there was some new evil that matches your power level or mine? At that point everything will be based on technique and skill, not power. The only thing that may give us the edge is our knowledge of different ki attacks and our actual fighting skills. Those rules I made up allow us to improve our technique and, at the same time, increase our power - at least a little bit."
Vegeta was silent: Gohan had just voiced what he himself had been thinking of late. He too had noticed their technical skills suffering while they concentrated on power. The brat was right - they did need to start focusing more on actual training rather than powering up and focusing solely on gaining more power. Out of every one of the Z-fighters, Vegeta was the most skilled on technique alone, with 18 coming in second and Piccolo third. He'd been fighting and training his whole life and he'd gained more battle experience than anyone else. Gohan wasn't the worst, but he could use some improvement and learn some new things. Finally finished thinking, Vegeta spoke.
"You're right brat: you're lacking in your technical skills. The Namek only taught you so much as did your father - you definitely have room for improvement. I will enter these tournaments with you on two conditions. One is that we go in disguise and under false names. Ever since the Onna made me promise not to ki blast more than one reporter a week, the stupid maggots have gotten bolder and I don't feel like being chased around and not being able to blast them. Two - I pick the disguises and names. Knowing you we'd end up going in pink bunny suits or something equally ridiculous. Do you agree bratling?"
Gohan was almost jumping with joy as he answered.
"Of course Vegeta - it's not like I want to be recognized either. I'm saving that little surprise for the WMAT. Besides, I told Videl and the others that I wouldn't be competing, so I really don't need her on my ass. About the disguises, I'm highly insulted that you honestly think I would pick something as ridiculous as pink bunny suits. I had a much better idea in mind. We could borrow some turtle shells from Roshi and wear green spandex underneath - oh, and we could even wear bandannas over our eyes as masks! What do you think?"
Vegeta was to busy looking at Gohan in horror to respond to the question immediately. He was thinking that Kakarott's genes must have finally surfaced in the boy. Turtle shells indeed! It was almost worse than pink bunny suits... He came back to reality and remembered to answer Gohan's question.
"I think, boy, that your brain-damaged father's defective genes have finally surfaced in you. That idea was almost worse than the pink bunny suits - I don't know where the hell you got that idea from and I don't think I want to know. No way in hell will you catch the Prince of Saiyans in a turtle shell with green spandex!"
As he was listening to Vegeta, Gohan finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. Through his giggles he managed to get out enough words to form a sentence.
"Heeheeheeheeheehee....I....hahahahahaha.....was....heeheehaheeheeha....just ....hahaheehahahee....kidding...."
Vegeta almost sighed in relief at the evidence that Kakarott's genes were not surfacing, and the only cause was the boy's twisted sense of humor. Turning his attention to the still laughing Gohan he spoke again.
"Very funny brat - you have a very twisted sense of humor, bordering on creepy. Now what exactly is going to happen at these tournaments and where are they?"
Gohan finally stopped laughing and was almost totally out of breath, so he waited a moment before responding to Vegeta's question.
"Well, there are eight tournaments open to everyone age 18 and up. You show up at the tournament site and register to enter on the day of the tournament. The tournaments are held every two weeks starting one month from now, and the last tournament ends two months before the WMAT. There are eight spots available in each tournament, and I'm not sure how they determine the spots; whether it's by elimination fights or something else. Either way I know we will be in two of the eight spots in each tournament unless something totally weird happens. After the eight spots have been filled, the tournament begins. The same thing goes for the team matches - eight spots are available and each chosen team receives a spot. They didn't say much about rules in the ring, so I'm assuming it's the same as the WMAT. Either way we'll find out when we get there. Now, the location spots for the tournaments are sort of scattered. The first is in East City, the second in Green Star City, the third here in West City, the fourth in Satan City, the fifth in North City, the sixth in Blue Star City, the seventh in South City, and the eighth in White Star City. We're going to have to either IT or fly to most of those spots to make all of the tournaments in time. Do you have any other questions Vegeta?"
"Your damn lucky I'm doing this brat. I'm going to sleep now - I expect you to be ready to spar in the morning. Now that you've blown up my GR I'll need a decent sparring partner instead of just the little brats."
With that Vegeta got up off the couch, walked over to the stairs, and disappeared the same way Bulma had gone previously. Gohan got up off the couch and went to his bedroom, slightly happier than he'd been earlier. He knew the mini tournaments were going to be a lot of fun and he could hardly wait. Flopping down on his bed, he wondered vaguely how in the hell they were going to disguise themselves: both their hairstyles were quite distinctive. Shrugging to himself, he decided that it was Vegeta's problem and drifted off to sleep, still clad in his dirty clothes.
The next four weeks were interesting. Gohan had gone back to school the day after he skipped, armed with a note from Bulma. Videl had gotten on his case about it being rude to skip an assembly, even though it was for someone you didn't like. Gohan had told her it wasn't really any of her business if he decided to skip something or not, and they ended up not speaking to each other for the rest of the day. The next day, however, Videl apologized and they started talking again. Everyone at school couldn't stop talking about the WMAT and the mini tournaments. Apparently during his speech the other day, Hercule had announced that he wouldn't be able to participate in any of the mini tournaments because he was training in secret for the WMAT. Gohan snickered to himself when he heard that. Hercule was probably scared that someone would beat him before the WMAT and show what a weak fighter he actually was. Videl stuck by her plan to only participate in the Satan City tournament, and Gohan stuck to telling everyone that he wouldn't be competing at all.
School was just as boring as ever, and Gohan spent a lot of time daydreaming about techniques and ideas he wanted to use to defeat Vegeta. Gohan's training continued as normal, and Bulma got a new GR up and running, so Vegeta was happy. Gohan also notified all of the other Z- fighters that Goku and ChiChi were coming back for the WMAT and, predictably enough, everyone was going. Krillin, 18, Piccolo, Gohan, Vegeta, and Goku were the only ones who were going to fight, however. Yamcha decided not to since he hadn't really kept up his training. Tien and Chaotzu had decided that they weren't going to come at all, and simply told Gohan to say hi to Goku for them.
Not once during those four weeks did Vegeta give any hints as to what their disguises would be, and Gohan was left in the dark. He knew Vegeta had gotten Bulma to help him out with the making of them, but had turned down all of her ideas. Gohan had caught wind of one idea that was worse than the pink bunny suits and turtle shells combined. Apparently Bulma had thought a black body suit with a huge green tunic over it accompanied by a red cape, boots, gloves, and some sort of orange antennae helmet would be just the thing. Gohan was extremely grateful that Vegeta had vetoed that idea quickly: he really didn't think he could live with the shame. Bulma probably would've thought that the Ginyu Force poses would look great with the outfit. Gohan just couldn't picture himself or Vegeta doing those stupid-ass poses while wearing a helmet and cape - they would never have lived it down.
Finally it was the night before the first mini tournament. Gohan was grateful that all of the tournaments were on weekends - that way he didn't have to explain away his absence from school on every day there was a tournament. Knowing Videl she would put two and two together and figure it all out. Gohan was sitting in the living room with the chibis, patiently waiting for Bulma and Vegeta to appear with the disguises so they could try them on and make any last minute adjustments. Goten and Trunks were both a little upset at the adults: they wanted to participate in the mini tournaments as well, but couldn't because the mini tournaments didn't have a junior division like the WMAT. Gohan had just barely managed to bribe them out of disguising themselves as one person and entering under an alias. He told them that if they could manage to behave themselves until after the WMAT, he would teach them something he'd learned in Otherworld called 'fusion' that could really increase their power.
As Gohan was play wrestling with the chibis, Bulma and Vegeta finally walked into the living room. The gasps from the chibis told Gohan that Vegeta was already in his disguise, and he sensed Bulma holding a bundle of something in her arms. Curious, he reached out as she handed him the bundle. Carefully he set it down in the lap that Goten and Trunks left in favor of looking Vegeta over, exclaiming about how cool he looked. Gohan ran his fingers over the bundle and separated it into individual pieces. The first piece Gohan picked up felt somewhat smooth but hard, and using his senses as well as his fingers he figured out it was Saiyan armor similar to the ones from the Cell games that Vegeta and Mirai Trunks had worn. Putting it aside, he picked up the next thing - which happened to be a pair of leather gloves. Next was a pair of boots and some sort of mask made out of stretchy material and rubber. Last was a spandex bodysuit with which everything had been wrapped up in. Gohan got up and turned his head in Bulma's direction.
"Hey Bulma, I'm going in the bathroom to change - you're probably going to have to help me with this mask thing when I come out."
Without even bothering to wait for an answer, Gohan went to the bathroom to change. He felt a little weird that he would be wearing Saiyan armor again: the last time he had donned a suit of it had been in the room of Spirit and Time, training to become a Super Saiyan to defeat Cell. He pulled on the body suit first: it went from his neck all the way down to his ankles. Just like it had before, the suit stretched to accommodate him, molding itself to his body. Next he pulled on the armor, noting that Bulma and Vegeta had decided to weight it for better training. Then the gloves and the boots came on, leaving him with only the mask to figure out. He wondered briefly what he looked like with the armor on - after all, he'd really changed a lot in the past seven years. He most likely looked totally different, especially considering the length of his hair. He had an absentminded thought that, if he looked like Raditz before, he must look a lot more like him with the armor on. Deciding that he really didn't care either way, he grabbed the mask and stepped out of the bathroom and back into the living room where Bulma, Vegeta, Goten and Trunks were waiting.
When Gohan walked back into the room, Vegeta almost thought that Raditz had come back to life before noticing the features that set Gohan apart from his uncle. Bulma had given a sort of involuntary gasp as well, as she too saw how much Gohan resembled Raditz at that moment. Goten and Trunks were the first to respond.
"Wow Gohan, you look sooo cool!"
"Big brother, you and uncle Vegeta look almost the same! Like super heroes!"
Gohan laughed as the two chibis swarmed over him. He ended up settling Goten on his back, with his hair as handles, and Trunks sitting on his shoulder as he turned his head in Bulma and Vegeta's direction.
"I look like Raditz, don't I? That's what has you two so shocked - am I right?"
Vegeta was the first to answer.
"Yes brat, you're almost identical to your uncle now except for a few features that set you two apart. All you need is your tail to complete the look-alike image. Thank Kami you aren't as weak as him, though."
Bulma was next and stated in a breathless tone.
"Kami Gohan - I felt like I stepped back about fourteen years. You definitely inherited your uncle's features as well as his hair. It just takes the Saiyan armor to really show it."
The corner of Gohan's lips quirked in response and, after a moment, he spoke.
"I had a feeling that's what would happen. Anyway, I still need help with the mask, Bulma - and you guys still haven't told me what everything looks like, or is the armor still the same as before?"
Bulma walked over to Gohan and, after prying Goten off of Gohan's hair and Trunks of his shoulder, ignoring the protests of both boys, grabbed the mask out of his hands and began to put it on him while talking.
"Actually there are some differences, but not in the overall structure of the armor. We changed the colors and put your family crests on them. Wait until I have everything ready, then you can have a peek of what you look like in my mind. Oh, and I almost forgot - we're going to be doing something a little different with your hair."
With her last sentence Bulma managed to tug the mask into place and stepped away from Gohan to let him adjust it comfortably. As soon as he had the mask fitting comfortably, Gohan spoke, his voice a little muffled.
"What do you mean you're going to be doing something with my hair? There's no way I'm cutting it, if that's what you're thinking!"
Vegeta laughed at how horrified Gohan sounded at the thought of cutting his hair. He had the Raditz styled hair, but it wasn't as long - Gohan's hair only reached his butt while Raditz's hair had gone down to his ankles, and Gohan also had one stubborn lock of hair that insisted on curling over his forehead, away from the other strands of hair.
"She isn't going to cut it, brat. She just wants to put some color stuff into it. She calls it 'streaking' and the color washes out as soon as you wash your hair, otherwise I would've never agreed to it."
Bulma made a face at Vegeta before turning back to Gohan.
"Ok Gohan - do you want to see Vegeta first or yourself? Let me know so I can think of the image."
Over the years Gohan had found out that if a person concentrated hard on an image he could actually see it as well when he looked into their mind. Of course, the images were never totally accurate because each person sees something different, even if they're looking at the same thing - but it was enough for him to get the general idea. He didn't use it very often since, most of the time, it was more trouble than it was worth. But he was excited now, and curious what colors Bulma and Vegeta had come up with for the armor since Bulma had said they were changed from the old white and gold. He also really wanted to see how his family crest looked on the armor. He was still wearing the pendant King Vegeta had given him - he never took it off unless it needed to be cleaned. Deciding that he wanted to see what Vegeta looked like first, he turned in Bulma's direction.
"I think I want to see what Vegeta's new armor looks like first, Bulma."
Bulma nodded her head and walked to stand in front of Vegeta, approximately four feet away. She stared at him for a minute, making sure she had all of the details right, then closed her eyes and concentrated.
"Ok Gohan, I'm ready - take a look."
Gohan shut his eyes and sent out his mind. Reaching Bulma's, he slipped inside. As soon as he was in her mind, Gohan could see Vegeta. He gave a gasp and pulled out of Bulma's mind with a start. Vegeta was wearing a full black spandex bodysuit. His armor was colored blue and black, styled just like it had been during the Cell games. The shoulder straps and parts that used to be gold were now blue, and where there used to be white black now dominated. On the front of the armor over Vegeta's heart was the royal crest of Vegeta-sei. Black gloves with blue edging and black boots with blue tips were on his hands and feet. Another shocking detail was Vegeta's hair. Normally all black, it had been streaked with blue - the same color as the armor. But that wasn't really what shocked Gohan. As soon as he saw what Vegeta looked like, his mind flashed back to when he was shown his future in the Hall of Fate and Destiny, and the image of him and Vegeta in weird Saiyan armor facing off in an arena. He had a feeling he knew now what he looked like as well, but wanted to make sure.
"Bulma, do me a favor and put an image of me in your mind now: I need to make sure, but if I'm right you guys aren't going to believe this."
Bulma and Vegeta had both been looking at Gohan strangely after he'd gasped, wondering what in the world was wrong with the boy, while the chibis didn't even appear to notice - far too busy still examining the armor. After hearing his question, Bulma looked at Vegeta, shrugged, turned around to study Gohan for a minute, then closed her eyes.
"Ok Gohan, I've got you in my mind now."
Gohan closed his eyes again and reached out for Bulma's mind once more. A moment later he opened his eyes and began to laugh. He'd been right - it was the exact same armor he had seen from the scenes of the future. It was identical to Vegeta's except where Vegeta's armor was blue, his was red, and the crest over his heart was different. Gohan's hair wasn't streaked at the, moment but he had no doubt that the streaks would be red as well, and that the lone bang would be dyed completely red in a sharp contrast to his black hair. The other thing he had that Vegeta didn't have was the mask. Apparently Bulma had been into the chibis' video game collection and gotten an idea from the Mortal Kombat games, because the mask he had on was almost identical to the ones Scorpio and Subzero - two of the characters - wore. The only difference was that she'd bypassed making it cover the whole head, and sort of chopped off the top, leaving his hair free. It probably wouldn't have all fit in anyway. Gohan knew Vegeta would have a matching mask eventually, leaving his hair to be free as well. There was no way Bulma could get Vegeta's hair to flatten, even if Vegeta agreed to let her try. Laughing quietly to himself, Gohan plopped down onto one of the couches, amiably allowing Goten and Trunks to make themselves comfortable on top of him once again. Vegeta, already irritated at Gohan's cryptic comment from before, snapped.
"What the hell is so funny brat? And what did you mean by that comment of yours earlier? You'd better stop laughing and answer me soon or I'll blast you boy."
Grinning, Gohan managed to get his laughter under control as he explained why he was laughing.
"Well Vegeta, I just had a major case of deja vu. I'm not sure if you remember me telling you this, but when I was shown my future in the Hall of Fate and Destiny I was shown a scene of the two of us in weird Saiyan armor with our hair streaked, facing off in an arena. As soon as I caught a glimpse of your image in Bulma's mind, I remembered that scene. These outfits are exactly what we were wearing, and I'm guessing that the arena was from one of the mini tournaments, or even the WMAT. I laughed because it was a little creepy, but it means that I'm probably going to start seeing stuff I saw in those scenes, and that's just weird."
Bulma was looking at Gohan strangely; shocked because she'd almost completely forgotten about all of the stuff she'd heard about from Gohan's trip to the Hall of Fate and Destiny. He was right, too - it would be a bit creepy actually seeing something like that come true. Vegeta just smirked at Gohan and said.
"Hmmm, this should be interesting brat. I almost forgot about all of that stuff, but now I do recall you describing that scene to me. It makes me wonder what you'll find familiar next."
Gohan made a face in the direction he sensed Vegeta.
"I hope I don't find anything familiar for awhile - I need time to get used to this first one. Anyway, I think I need to go to bed if I'm going to fight my best tomorrow."
He grabbed Goten with one hand and Trunks with the other as the two began trying to slink away unnoticed at the mention of going to bed.
"And I think you two definitely need to go to bed - it's way past your normal bedtime."
He told them, turning to face Bulma and Vegeta with a chibi under each arm, struggling like mad to get free.
"You guys did great with this armor - I love it and thank you. I'll take care of these two for the night, then head off to bed. See you bright and early Vegeta!"
With that he headed upstairs, blithely ignoring the vehement protests of Goten and Trunks as he carried them towards their room, leaving Bulma and Vegeta alone in the living room. Bulma turned to look at Vegeta, who was still staring in the direction Gohan had taken the kids.
"I'm going to bed Vegeta - please try to resist training all night; give yourself a chance to rest before tomorrow."
Bulma ran her hand down Vegeta's arm in a loving gesture, then headed upstairs to their room. After a moment of contemplative silence, the Saiyan Prince turned around and followed her.
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Ok guys, I know I said this would be the mini tournaments chapter, but as I started to write this I realized at some point I was going to have to have a scene where Goku let's them know he and ChiChi will be coming back for the WMAT. I also changed the 24 hours to 48 because the WMAT has the team fight competition. The solo fights are on the first day and the team fights are on the second day. Anyway, considering how I have portrayed Gohan as resentful of Goku for certain things, I decided he wouldn't be too happy about Goku just waltzing back for a couple days, and the chapter sort of ran away with me. By the time I was able to finally have Gohan tell Vegeta about the mini tournaments and describe the outfits the night before the first mini tournament, I had twenty-two pages. If I had included the first mini tournament in this chapter it probably would have been about forty something pages. Therefore I decided to make it all another chapter. Besides, my beta reader would've killed me if I made the thing that many pages, as it is she has enough trouble editing over twenty, so I decided I better not try her patience.
Well everyone, it's time to review! Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to see Gohan beat up Goku? Let me know, be a reviewer!
Next chapter: Mini Tournaments
Summary: Gohan is blinded by what happened at the Cell games. What will happen to him now that he can no longer see? Story will span time from Cell games to high school, the world martial arts tournament, and maybe further.
Disclaimer: Oh my god! I now own a Piccolo and a Vegeta! Or at least the action figures, but they're really cool! My next goal is to get Gohan. Anyway, I do not own any of the characters related to Dragonball Z. Also I do not own Mortal Kombat or any relatedf characters. All credit goes to their creators. But I do own this plot line SO DON'T STEAL IT!!
Author's note2: Hello everyone, first of all I would like to thanks all of the people who have been supporting me lately and all of my reveiwers for their supportive comments in response to the last author's note. This is the chapter that I had already finished before my friends death. I am still having a bit of a rough time but it is getting better. I am not completely sure when the next chapter will be out so please be patient. Now responding to some questions I got in reviews for chapter eighteen:
The future scenes from the Hall of Fate and Destiny show a person's life up until their real death. I don't consider dying and being brought back to life by the dragonballs an actual death - more of a limbo thing, so even though a person may die and be brought back to life by the dragonballs, it wouldn't be considered dying by the Hall of Destiny and Fates standards and most likely wouldn't even be shown in the scenes.
The reason Gohan hasn't gone to see Goku's grandpa (Gohan senior) like he has Bardock is because the man is unfortunately one of the little cloud puffs, and there are way too many cloud puffs around Otherworld for Gohan to even try and figure out which one is Gohan Sr. Besides - from what I remember all the little cloud people could do was squeak talk. I know in the Buu saga that when Chi Chi, Videl, and Bulma all die they were sort of cloud people (at least I'm assuming that's what the cloud people turn into) but I'm not going by that. I want all of the dead people who didn't get to keep their bodies to be little white puffy clouds that can only squeak.
As to the mention of my little slip up with Gohan looking at the clock, I can only apologize. My mind tends to run away with ideas and sometimes I forget important details like the fact that Gohan is BLIND. Thank you for pointing that stuff out. Normally my beta reader or I can catch it, but sometimes stuff does slip through. Please let me know if you spot anything like that in the future. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
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//...// Is telepathy
Are thoughts or rather hearing character speaking to themselves inside their heads
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A Surprise and Preparations
Vegeta looked at Gohan and, seeing the huge grin the boy had on his face, became a little apprehensive. The last time he'd seen that grin was when Gohan had warned him to throw out all of his shampoo bottles and get new ones because Trunks and Goten had decided to fill them with pink hair dye. The boy had been laughing the whole time as Vegeta gathered up the bottles. However, being the Saiyan Prince, Vegeta stiffened his spine and spoke.
"Well brat, talk already - I don't have all day."
Gohan took a couple more deep breaths before getting up off the floor. Removing his shirt because it was starting to restrict his movements, he began to do stretches as he talked.
"Well Vegeta, it came to my attention that the World's Martial Arts Tournament will be in seven months. Hercule is going to be competing in it as the returning world champion and Videl will be fighting as well."
Vegeta snorted. He didn't care much for the girl Gohan called Videl. He thought she was a pushy, arrogant little bitch, and he hadn't seen anything yet to contradict him. Even if what Gohan said about her catching criminals was true, he still didn't like her - she reminded him too much of Kakarott's mate before she died. Gohan ignored the snort and continued talking.
"The adoration and arrogance Hercule gets increases every year, and every year people believe him more and more when he says that everyone but him uses tricks and light shows when they fight. He disgraces martial arts and dishonors every martial artist who spent a lot of time training to learn powerful techniques, only to have them passed off as tricks and be scorned. I believe it is time to stop that. I want you to compete as well; otherwise there will be no challenge for me. I'm going to try and convince the others to fight as well, but I'm not sure if they'll go for it. Goten and Trunks can enter the junior division and get some experience too. I'd also like us to enter the team matches that are being held this year. What do you say, Vegeta?"
Vegeta had been looking curiously at Gohan ever since he had continued his little speech. He knew the boy extremely disliked Hercule for trying to disgrace all of the fighters at the Cell games, but he hadn't realize that Gohan was also thinking beyond the games to what Hercule's proclamations of tricks and light shows had done for martial artists who used ki techniques. It was part of his Saiyan pride showing through, as well as the human sense of righteousness, that made Gohan feel the way he did. Vegeta was proud to see the Saiyan part of him come alive: granted, it had been growing over the years, ever since the boy had been making trips to hell, but it never really manifested itself beyond fighting and his self confidence. Until now.
Vegeta thought over what Gohan had just asked him. To fight in a tournament filled with weak humans, maybe a few somewhat strong fighters if the brat could get some of the others to enter, and he and Gohan eventually battling it out for some hollow title that humans seemed to place too much importance on. Granted, it would be interesting to see the facade of the fraud Hercule crumble and crack in front of the public that held him so dear.. This was the first time Gohan had ever really asked something from him and besides the solo fights, the boy wanted to fight as a team - something Vegeta hadn't done since he was a child, and somewhat missed. Settling on his answer, Vegeta took a deep breath. However, just before he could speak another voice interrupted them, one Vegeta hadn't heard in seven years.
//Hey guys!//
Gohan jumped to his feet, his head whipping from side to side as he frantically sent out all of his senses to see if the owner of that voice was actually present. Finding nothing, Gohan sighed in relief as he realized that the voice was in his head, and being projected to Vegeta as well. At the cheerful greeting Vegeta's mouth had dropped open, but he closed it a second later before snarling angrily.
"Is that you, Kakarott?"
The voice laughed a little sheepishly before replying.
//Yeah it's me, sorry if I freaked you guys out. Hi Gohan! Your mom says hi too. //
Vegeta looked over at Gohan. He had seen the boy jump and look like a scared rabbit when Kakarott had first spoken, but now the expression on the boy's face was completely neutral, devoid of emotion as was his voice when he replied.
"Hello father. Tell mom I said hi as well. I take it you're using poor King Kai as a telephone once again?"
Again there was another bout of sheepish laughter from Goku before he spoke.
//Yep, but this time I have good news! Your mother and I get a chance to come back to Earth for forty-eight hours! I found out that the WMAT is coming up, and I decided that this would be the perfect time. We can get the whole gang together at the tournament again, just like old times. It'll be great!//
As Goku shared his great news, Vegeta, who was still looking at Gohan, had the chance to see the boy pale drastically at the news that Goku would be coming back. The emotionless mask slipped for a moment, and Vegeta could see pure rage on Gohan's face before it was covered up and the boy responded in that neutral tone of voice again.
"Yeah, it'll be great father."
There was a pause, then Goku began to speak again, but a little faster this time.
//I don't have much time left to talk, Gohan. Your mother and I will be waiting at the tournament gates for you guys at eight o'clock the morning of the tournament. I've heard about some of your recent accomplishments from the Grand Kai, son, and I can't wait to see how much stronger you've gotten! I have to go now, see you in seven months!//
With that, the connection was cut off and the two Saiyans could no longer feel Goku's presence in the room. Everything was silent in the gravity room except for the two men's breathing, then suddenly Gohan's voice broke the silence. It was a cold tone, and one filled with a menace Vegeta had only heard when the boy faced down Cell after he ascended.
"Get out of here now Vegeta."
Vegeta looked towards Gohan, ready to give the boy a piece of his mind for trying to order him around like that. He nearly gasped in shock; Gohan looked as if he was about ready to kill something. Vegeta could sense that the boy was barely holding his anger in check, and obviously wanted him gone before he let go. Feeling apprehensive about leaving the boy on his own, yet at the same time knowing he couldn't stay, Vegeta walked out of the gravity room and a little ways away before he began to feel it. Gohan's ki was rising. The boy was transforming, and in less than a second he had gone to Super Saiyan, a couple more seconds and he reached SSJ2. Then the fun really began.
Ever since he had reached the third level of Super Saiyan, Gohan rarely went SSJ3 around CC. He never ascended that high in the GR since the form was so powerful the aura alone could damage a lot, not to mention it caused major earthquakes. The ground began to tremble, and chunks of dirt and grass began to lift into the air as Gohan's ki continued to rise. There was a feeling of dreaded anticipation in the silence, then Gohan just let it go. Anyone that had a telepathic bond to the boy held their head in pain at the very loud and vivid ranting Gohan was doing in his head.
THAT KAMI DAMMED SON OF A BITCH! THE FUCKING NERVE HE HAS TO TRY AND COME BACK AFTER ALL OF THESE YEARS AND ACT AS IF NOTHING HAS HAPPENED! MOTHER FUCKING ASSHOLE THINKS EVERYTHING WILL BE ALL FINE AND DANDY. WELL HE CAN GO FUCK HIMSELF ON A LOG! IF HE THINKS I'M GOING TO WELCOME HIM BACK WITH OPEN ARMS, HE HAS ANOTHER THINK COMING.
What followed was a string of cursing in several different languages, including Namekian and Saiyago. All the while Gohan's ki continued rising until he finally transformed into SSJ3 state. Barely a second later the GR blew with a loud bang, unable to contain all of the power Gohan was putting out. Raising a ki shield to cover CC from some of the falling debris, Vegeta looked at Gohan in disbelief, one hand cradling his aching head from Gohan's unintentional telepathic rant. The normally calm, cool, collected young man was utterly gone. Never mind his earlier anger at Hercule, this was something different - something that went much deeper and was far more dangerous. It didn't take a genius to see that Gohan was beyond furious as he continued to rant and his ki still continued to rise.
Vegeta felt someone land next to where he stood on the CC roof. He looked and saw the Namek, who had no doubt heard Gohan's telepathic rant as well. Piccolo looked at Vegeta, raising an eye ridge in silent question with blood coming out in little trickles from his ears. Vegeta looked back up at Gohan, who didn't seem to be going anywhere at the moment, before answering Piccolo's silent inquiry.
"We were in the GR talking and Kakarott contacted us using that Kai of his. Apparently he and his mate are being allowed to come back for forty-eight hours, and Kakarott chose the day of the WMAT, deciding to compete and get everyone else to go as well. Said he wanted to see how strong the brat has become."
Piccolo's mouth was open in shock. Goku and ChiChi were coming back for forty-eight hours, and on the day of the WMAT no less. Piccolo was aware of Gohan's feelings towards Goku and, quite frankly, he didn't blame the boy at all. Gohan had certain justification for not being too happy with Goku, and to have him come waltzing back as if nothing happened was not the brightest thing for Goku to do. It was no wonder Gohan was pissed off, but he didn't think that alone was enough to piss Gohan off quite this much. Directing his eyes towards the golden figure in the sky, he spoke to Vegeta and asked a question.
"Did Goku say anything else? Something that would make Gohan this pissed off? He had to have - my head feels like someone took a sledgehammer to it."
Vegeta snorted rudely to show his contempt of the other full-blooded Saiyan before responding, never taking his eyes off of Gohan, whose ki still continued to climb.
"Just like the Baka he is, all Kakarott could do was talk about fighting in the tournament, how it would be so great to have everyone back together, and how he wanted to see how strong the boy has gotten. He acted as if nothing has happened and that nothing has changed. He'll find out just how wrong he is soon enough when he finally returns to this mud ball of a planet."
As Vegeta answered his questions, Piccolo couldn't help but marvel at the stupidity of Goku. Even Goku with his oblivious nature should've known that the last thing Gohan wanted to see was his father competing in another fight. But then again, as Gohan had told him once, with Goku it seemed as if the man only cared about four things in order: fighting, food, friends, and family. Family was always the last thing Goku seemed to consider. He tended to make decisions without thinking how it would affect his family now or in the future. On top of it all, from what he had gathered from Gohan's yearly visits to see his parents, Goku was blissfully happy in the Otherworld - able to train and fight to his heart's content now that ChiChi was there with him. Apparently Goku didn't give much thought to his sons, especially the one he'd never met. Goku always forgot anything Gohan had told him from the last visit and everything ChiChi told him about his youngest son. He was too wrapped up in his training and having fun. Gohan had given up trying to get Goku to take any real interest in Goten, and gave him only the barest details.
Goku took what he had for granted when it came to his family. He had always taken it for granted that ChiChi would wait for him and understand when he went off on training missions. The same went for when he died the first time: he had expected ChiChi and Gohan to be there when he came back, and he'd simply picked up everything where he left off, failing to notice what they'd gone through without him. Then there was the series of events that caused Goku to be away for yet another year, going planet hopping just for the fun of it - he didn't even notice that his wife and child desperately needed him at home, safe and sound. After three long years of training for the androids, everything finally ended with Goku's ultimate death and his decision not to be wished back by the Dragonballs, not even bothering to think about what Chi Chi and Gohan wanted. He thought that the two would always welcome him back with open arms, and he had grown to expect that. Piccolo knew that this time Goku wouldn't get that sort of greeting from Gohan, and there was no telling what reaction Goten would have to seeing his biological father and mother, whom he'd only heard stories about.
With an angry, frustrated scream, Gohan's aura pulsed and expanded yet again as his ki kept swelling in power. The ground beneath Gohan now had a nice sized crater that his power had created while first powering up, and while his aura expanded, so did the crater. Finally ceasing his screaming, Gohan turned to face Vegeta and Piccolo, his face hard and cold. Not even bothering to speak out loud, he sent a thought to both of them.
//I'm going to an unpopulated place to blast the shit out of some rocks and, for once, power up completely. Maybe I'll even destroy some mountains or islands or whatever. Don't follow me - I'll come back when I'm ready. Don't tell anyone about my father yet. And Vegeta - I still need to talk to you when I get back. //
Cutting off the link, Gohan blasted off towards some unknown place to do exactly what he'd said he was going to do. Piccolo looked at Vegeta and Vegeta looked at Piccolo. Both warriors jumped off the roof of the building and landed on what was left of the lawn - Gohan had destroyed most of it by blowing up the GR with his aura and energy. What grass was left was now brown and withered, littered with melted pieces of the GR. All the nearby buildings' windows were shattered from both the heat and intensity of Gohan's aura. Vegeta was sure that Gohan's power up had caused a nice earthquake throughout the city, and he thanked Dende that Bulma was currently out of town on some business trip for the day with both Trunks and Goten. She would undoubtedly have a fit when she came home, but most likely Gohan would be back by then and he'd be able to explain everything.
Vegeta once again looked at Piccolo before asking quietly.
"Well Namek, will you be competing?"
Piccolo didn't even pretend that he didn't know what Vegeta was talking about and simply answered.
"Yes. Are you?"
Vegeta smirked, looking like he had all those years ago - before he'd mellowed out a bit - his eyes taking on that excited, maniacal glint.
"I can't miss an opportunity to smash Kakarott's face into the ground, now can I green bean? Besides - the boy already asked me to participate so he'd have some decent competition. He was planning on asking the rest of the fools as well as you, but Kakarott interrupted before I could answer the brat. It seems the boy thinks it's time for the Cell game fighters to make their reappearance and shove the afroed fool's words down his throat - quite possibly accompanied by a ki blast."
Piccolo was a little surprised that Gohan had decided to enter the tournament, but he knew that the boy had been getting steadily more irritated with Hercule and his posturing: apparently Gohan had finally decided to put an end to it. He had a feeling once the other fighters knew that Goku would be coming back for the day, they too would enter the tournament - for old times' sake if nothing else. Piccolo knew he didn't want to miss it. He had a feeling that the WMAT would be where Goku and his son would finally have it out. He was still thinking when Vegeta's voice broke through his thoughts.
"I almost forgot - apparently the tournament has decided to include team matches this year as well. Two people against two others. The brat and I are going to be a team - you should pair up with Kakarott. He is the only fighter, besides the brat and I, that can keep up with you. Cue-ball will no doubt team with his wife, I doubt scar face will compete, and we haven't seen the triclops or the creepy clown for awhile, so I don't think they will be there at all. If you want to stand a chance of winning you better pair with that baka. Not that it will matter - the brat and I will win no matter what. Still, I think it would be nice to beat both you and Kakarott into the ground at the same time."
Piccolo just shook his head at Vegeta's words, even though they were probably true. He would have to figure out if he was going to pair with Goku the day of the tournament, but in the meantime he was still a little worried about Gohan. Vegeta looked over at Piccolo, who was still looking in the direction Gohan had taken off in, pensive frown on his face. Scowling, Vegeta decided to butt in before Piccolo did something stupid such as following the boy.
"Would you stop worrying about the brat, Namek! He is a fucking adult now! He doesn't need you or anyone else going after him every time something upsetting happens, let him deal with it or you'll only piss him off more!"
When Piccolo just turned to look at him with an unreadable expression, Vegeta gave up. Making a noise of disgust, he began walking towards the door to the main house.
"Whatever - I don't really give a shit Namek. I'm going to eat since I can't train properly until the woman fixes the GR. Do what you want, just leave me alone."
With that he disappeared inside the house and Piccolo turned his gaze back towards the direction Gohan had disappeared to. After a few minutes the former guardian of the earth shook his head, lifted into the air, and took off in the opposite direction for the lookout.
It was way past dark when Gohan finally came home. Bulma had gotten home hours ago and had already seen the damage to the GR and the lawn. Ever since Gohan had lost his temper, earthquake's had been plaguing the planet as a result of the massive power-up. Thankfully Dende had managed to keep the damage down to a minimum, so there were no injuries. When Bulma had confronted Vegeta about the GR he had only told her to talk to the brat when he got back. On top of it all there was a message from Orange Star High saying that Gohan had cut his last three classes and an assembly. Needless to say Bulma was impatiently waiting for Gohan to get back so she could demand an explanation.
At long last a tired, dirty, and still disgruntled Gohan stepped through the door, only to be greeted by an irritated Bulma waiting for him on the couch. As soon as he sensed her he sighed and ran a hand through his long hair before going over to sit on the opposite couch, knowing full well that she wanted to speak to him. Bulma watched him with a little concern as he came over and sat down. Gohan looked really tired to her, as well as agitated, but she wanted answers and she wanted them now.
"Gohan, what happened to the GR and the lawn today? That's the worst blow up ever, there's nothing left but melted metal and burned dirt. I also got a call from your school saying that you skipped the last three periods and an assembly this afternoon - what's going on?"
Gohan just sighed irritably. He knew Bulma needed to know what happened, but he really didn't want to go over it so soon. Deciding he might as well get it over with quickly, he ran his hand through his hair in another agitated gesture before beginning to talk.
"Well, the assembly and school are easily explained: It was either leave or beat the shit out of Hercule in front of the whole school and probably several reporters - not to mention uncover my identity as one of the gold fighters at the Cell games. He came by the school today to give his "I am the savior of the world speech". I caught a glimpse of what he was going to say from his mind and I knew if I actually heard that out loud there would be one dead 'world savior'."
Bulma was a little surprised but not a whole lot: Gohan wouldn't have skipped school for anything less than a very good reason.
"Are you serious Gohan? He actually showed up at the high school to do a publicity bit? I can't believe that man - he is such a publicity hound! Even though he deserves it, I'm glad that you decided to come home rather than beat the man up and expose yourself."
Gohan gave a small, bitter sounding laugh. He was sitting on the edge of the couch with his elbows resting on his knees, hands dangling in between his legs. His face was turned down, and if Bulma didn't know better she would've said he was just staring at the floor. He looked and sounded much older than he really was: the years and his experiences had really taken their toll on him. It didn't happen often, but every once and a while he would become depressed, silent, and seem to grow old before their eyes. Such periods only lasted a few days before he'd return to a more cheerful Gohan, but none of the adults could forget what he would look like on those days. To Bulma it looked as if Gohan was having one of those times right now, and she didn't have a clue how to make it better. Lifting his head up, his sightless aqua eyes rested on her face and Bulma couldn't repress a shiver. Looking at Gohan's eyes always gave her the shivers - they just didn't show anything and looked so dead it was hard to believe that the person behind them was still alive. When Gohan finally spoke again, his voice had an even more acidic cast to it.
"If you think that was bad, just wait. I came home in a relatively pissed off mood, refused to fight Vegeta because I would've ended up killing him and going out of control, so we ended up talking instead. I've asked him about entering the WMAT with me - I've decided that the Cell games fighters need to finally make their reappearance to the world. I was also planning to ask the other Z-fighters and Piccolo to join so there would be some decent competition, but just as Vegeta was going to give me an answer someone interrupted us with a little telepathic message via the North Kai."
Bulma gasped.
"Are you kidding Gohan? Was it who I think it was?"
Gohan just nodded.
"Yep, it was dear old dad. Apparently they're letting him and mom come back for forty-eight hours and he chose the day of the WMAT to come back so he can compete. He wanted Vegeta and me to compete, as well as convince the other Z warriors to participate. He said he wanted to see how strong I've become."
Gohan's face soured at that last comment, indicating his displeasure towards his father's thoughts. In fact, the entire speech was heavily flavored with distaste and sarcasm. Bulma's mouth was wide open at this point and her voice was a little breathless as she spoke.
"Are you serious? Goku and ChiChi are coming back for two days? And all Goku could say was he wanted to see how strong you've become? He didn't ask about Goten or anyone else?"
The sour look on Gohan's face changed into the look of someone who has finally given up on something as he replied.
"Of course he didn't ask about Goten, Bulma - no matter how much I tell him he barely remembers he has another son, and he only remembers me because I go to see them once a year. Oh, and he did say it'd be great to have everybody back at the tournament like old times."
Bulma was silent for a moment. She understood Gohan's feelings towards his father, and was more than a little unhappy with Goku for his neglect, but she loved and missed her old friend - she would be more than happy to see him when he came. She did have some misgivings about Goten meeting Goku and ChiChi, however. The young boy hadn't known any parents other than Gohan and, to a lesser extent, Bulma and Vegeta. Kami knows what he would think of Goku and ChiChi. ChiChi at her calmest could be overwhelming, and knowing how excited the woman was bound to be didn't look good for their chances of not scaring off the poor kid. Bulma just hoped ChiChi wouldn't start criticizing and analyzing everything Gohan had done so far with Goten and would just be happy to see them. She turned her attention back to Gohan as he took a deep breath to continue speaking.
"After dad stopped talking and cut off the link, I told Vegeta to get out - then I proceeded to royally lose my temper. First it was just a little ranting in my head, which apparently I accidentally broadcasted because Piccolo showed up. Then I powered up and was so pissed I went SSJ3 in the GR without even really realizing it - which explains the melted metal since at that point the GR blew up. After the explosion and seeing how much damage I had done, I decided I'd better go off some place else to power up completely and hopefully blow up a few mountains to release a little anger before I totally wrecked everything on the planet by accident. I told Piccolo and Vegeta not to follow me, then I left."
He rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache and sat back on the couch, patiently waiting for Bulma's reaction. Bulma wasn't too surprised by what Gohan told her - it sounded like something that would happen, especially with Gohan. The boy was always careful with his power, especially around other people, and always tried to avoid hurting them. She couldn't really fault Gohan with getting angry and his momentary lapse of judgment. Gohan carried more than enough weight on his shoulders and he was so rarely able to really loose his temper or give in to frustrations as much as he needed to. So, all things considered, her tone was very understanding as she spoke.
"It's all right Gohan. I don't blame you for getting a little angry and wrecking the GR - it wasn't on purpose - and I'll have another one done soon anyways. As for your school, I'll just write another note or something so you don't get into trouble. There is one thing you're going to have to do, however."
Gohan's head turned towards Bulma's voice at that last statement, a single eyebrow raised in question.
"You're going to have to start preparing Goten to meet his actual father and mother. There's no way you're going to be able to avoid this, and I'm sure that you don't want to cause him any more nervousness than necessary. You'd better start telling him what to expect from your mother and father before they arrive."
Gohan made a face at this, but he knew Bulma was right. There was no way he could prevent his parents from coming back and, if he didn't tell Goten, the poor kid would probably freak out or something and be traumatized for the rest of his life by their mother.
"All right Bulma - but you get to help out because I seriously doubt my views of them are unbiased in any sense."
Bulma smiled at the young man in front of her whom she'd had the privilege of seeing grow into a mature adult. She was very proud of the person Gohan had become over the years, and proud of the things he had done - especially in regards to Goten, Trunks, and Marron. The chibis adored him and he adored them as well. She sometimes thought if it hadn't been for the children, Gohan wouldn't have turned out nearly as well.
"Ok Gohan, we can get Vegeta and the others to help as well if we need to. Now, however, I think it's time I went to bed. You should get some sleep too, dear. Well, I'm turning off the lights so you won't have to remember them before you come up, ok?"
"Ok Bulma."
There was the sound of footsteps as Bulma rose and walked over to the stairs. They paused for a moment as Bulma undoubtedly turned off the lights, then continued on up the stairs, the noise getting fainter and fainter as Bulma made her way to her bedroom. For a minute Gohan just sat and relaxed on the couch, silently letting the atmosphere of home wash over him. He was completely exhausted from his fit of temper earlier. After anger of that magnitude abates it leaves a person weak and drained, having completely exhausted their bodies trying to rid themselves of it. Then he spoke, his voice carrying clearly through the still air.
"I know you're there Vegeta - just come out and sit on the couch so I can answer whatever the hell it is you want to ask me. And I know you want to ask me something; you didn't stand there throughout that whole conversation just for the hell of it."
There was the noise of footsteps again, but this time they were heavier - a clear indication to him that the person was male. Gohan felt Vegeta walk towards him and take a seat on the other couch where Bulma had been sitting.
"You said you still needed to talk to me after you got back, brat."
Vegeta responded with a hint of a sneer in his voice, saying without words that he didn't appreciate being kept waiting on someone else. Gohan sighed.
"You know, I completely forgot about telling you that because I was so pissed at the time. But yes, I do still need to talk to you about something - in fact, it was a continuation of our conversation before my father interrupted us. By the way, if I remember correctly Piccolo appeared sometime before the GR blew; what happened to him?"
Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the couch cushions, casually taking in Gohan's appearance. The boy didn't look too bad overall - just exhausted, dirty, and depressed.
"Green bean left a little after you did. He's planning on competing in the tournament, as am I. Now, what did you still need to talk to me about: I want to go to sleep, so hurry it up."
This was not how Gohan had wanted to ask Vegeta to enter the mini tournaments with him. He had the talk all planned out in his head: he would've brought up the subject as a counter point to the WMAT after Vegeta had answered a yes or no, and pointed out all of the training they would receive to hopefully convince Vegeta to say yes. Now he had to ask in the middle of the night after throwing a huge fit and blowing up the GR. The odds weren't exactly leaning in his favor at the moment. Pinching the bridge of his nose and rubbing it again, he took a deep breath and began to speak.
"Well Vegeta, I wanted to ask you about something I found out about in school today. Apparently this year the Commissioner of the WMAT has decided to hold eight mini tournaments before the WMAT. There are solo matches then team matches. Each tournament will be in a different city, and there is still prize money involved, but the main idea is to train in a tournament setting and against possible opponents in the WMAT. I want to enter all eight tournaments, and I want you to enter with me and for us to be a team in the team matches."
Vegeta was actually shocked - this was the last thing in the world he expected to hear. To him it was bad enough that he had to enter one silly human tournament just to get a chance to beat Kakarott's face in, but there was no way that he would enter any others! He opened his mouth to tell Gohan exactly that.
"You have got to be joking brat. One silly human tournament is more than enough - there's no way I'm competing in eight more. I don't even know why you're doing it since you'll easily crush anyone you face; there is absolutely no challenge."
At those words Gohan grinned, his voice very smooth as he replied.
"Actually, there will be a challenge Vegeta - because if we do enter there are some rules we're going to set in order to not make this too easy. First off no transforming; second, no ki blasts; third, no ki enhanced kicks, punches, or blocks; and fourth, no flying unless your opponent can as well, and none during our matches. In other words Vegeta, we will be fighting on technique and skill alone, along with our natural strength. Granted our regular strength is normally enough to easily kill most humans, so we'll just have to tone it down until our matches. Because you do realize don't you that most likely we'll end up fighting each other in the final battle of each tournament, right? Besides - the team matches will give us a chance to practice actually fighting together before the WMAT."
Vegeta had been listening to Gohan as he listed off the rules, and actually seemed intrigued for a minute before shaking his head no and snapping at Gohan.
"Even with those rules there isn't a good reason why I should bother to do that when I can be busy in my GR training to defeat Kakarott. Those tournaments will do us no good for increasing our power if we don't transform, so it's waste of time."
Gohan resisted the urge roll his eyes at Vegeta's return to his primary objective of beating Goku. Instead he took a deep breath and calmly replied.
"Not quite true Vegeta - or do you not remember what I told you I found out about the Super Saiyan levels a long time ago. You only reach Super Saiyan, or another level after Super Saiyan, because your body can't handle the amount of power you're generating. What's more; training in your normal form boosts your power, and power you gain by training in your normal state is carried over to SSJ and SSJ2. As a matter of fact, it seems that if you alternate training normally with the Super Saiyan states your power tends to increase faster. But that isn't the full reason I want us to use those rules, Vegeta."
"Then why the hell did you make those rules boy?"
Vegeta snarled, angry because he had forgotten what Gohan had told him a while ago about the Super Saiyan levels. At Vegeta's question Gohan's face turned serious, as did the tone of his voice.
"Because we've been focusing on just gaining power for too long. Our skills are becoming lax in other areas - most specifically in our forms and technique. We're getting sloppy Vegeta. What happens if there was some new evil that matches your power level or mine? At that point everything will be based on technique and skill, not power. The only thing that may give us the edge is our knowledge of different ki attacks and our actual fighting skills. Those rules I made up allow us to improve our technique and, at the same time, increase our power - at least a little bit."
Vegeta was silent: Gohan had just voiced what he himself had been thinking of late. He too had noticed their technical skills suffering while they concentrated on power. The brat was right - they did need to start focusing more on actual training rather than powering up and focusing solely on gaining more power. Out of every one of the Z-fighters, Vegeta was the most skilled on technique alone, with 18 coming in second and Piccolo third. He'd been fighting and training his whole life and he'd gained more battle experience than anyone else. Gohan wasn't the worst, but he could use some improvement and learn some new things. Finally finished thinking, Vegeta spoke.
"You're right brat: you're lacking in your technical skills. The Namek only taught you so much as did your father - you definitely have room for improvement. I will enter these tournaments with you on two conditions. One is that we go in disguise and under false names. Ever since the Onna made me promise not to ki blast more than one reporter a week, the stupid maggots have gotten bolder and I don't feel like being chased around and not being able to blast them. Two - I pick the disguises and names. Knowing you we'd end up going in pink bunny suits or something equally ridiculous. Do you agree bratling?"
Gohan was almost jumping with joy as he answered.
"Of course Vegeta - it's not like I want to be recognized either. I'm saving that little surprise for the WMAT. Besides, I told Videl and the others that I wouldn't be competing, so I really don't need her on my ass. About the disguises, I'm highly insulted that you honestly think I would pick something as ridiculous as pink bunny suits. I had a much better idea in mind. We could borrow some turtle shells from Roshi and wear green spandex underneath - oh, and we could even wear bandannas over our eyes as masks! What do you think?"
Vegeta was to busy looking at Gohan in horror to respond to the question immediately. He was thinking that Kakarott's genes must have finally surfaced in the boy. Turtle shells indeed! It was almost worse than pink bunny suits... He came back to reality and remembered to answer Gohan's question.
"I think, boy, that your brain-damaged father's defective genes have finally surfaced in you. That idea was almost worse than the pink bunny suits - I don't know where the hell you got that idea from and I don't think I want to know. No way in hell will you catch the Prince of Saiyans in a turtle shell with green spandex!"
As he was listening to Vegeta, Gohan finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. Through his giggles he managed to get out enough words to form a sentence.
"Heeheeheeheeheehee....I....hahahahahaha.....was....heeheehaheeheeha....just ....hahaheehahahee....kidding...."
Vegeta almost sighed in relief at the evidence that Kakarott's genes were not surfacing, and the only cause was the boy's twisted sense of humor. Turning his attention to the still laughing Gohan he spoke again.
"Very funny brat - you have a very twisted sense of humor, bordering on creepy. Now what exactly is going to happen at these tournaments and where are they?"
Gohan finally stopped laughing and was almost totally out of breath, so he waited a moment before responding to Vegeta's question.
"Well, there are eight tournaments open to everyone age 18 and up. You show up at the tournament site and register to enter on the day of the tournament. The tournaments are held every two weeks starting one month from now, and the last tournament ends two months before the WMAT. There are eight spots available in each tournament, and I'm not sure how they determine the spots; whether it's by elimination fights or something else. Either way I know we will be in two of the eight spots in each tournament unless something totally weird happens. After the eight spots have been filled, the tournament begins. The same thing goes for the team matches - eight spots are available and each chosen team receives a spot. They didn't say much about rules in the ring, so I'm assuming it's the same as the WMAT. Either way we'll find out when we get there. Now, the location spots for the tournaments are sort of scattered. The first is in East City, the second in Green Star City, the third here in West City, the fourth in Satan City, the fifth in North City, the sixth in Blue Star City, the seventh in South City, and the eighth in White Star City. We're going to have to either IT or fly to most of those spots to make all of the tournaments in time. Do you have any other questions Vegeta?"
"Your damn lucky I'm doing this brat. I'm going to sleep now - I expect you to be ready to spar in the morning. Now that you've blown up my GR I'll need a decent sparring partner instead of just the little brats."
With that Vegeta got up off the couch, walked over to the stairs, and disappeared the same way Bulma had gone previously. Gohan got up off the couch and went to his bedroom, slightly happier than he'd been earlier. He knew the mini tournaments were going to be a lot of fun and he could hardly wait. Flopping down on his bed, he wondered vaguely how in the hell they were going to disguise themselves: both their hairstyles were quite distinctive. Shrugging to himself, he decided that it was Vegeta's problem and drifted off to sleep, still clad in his dirty clothes.
The next four weeks were interesting. Gohan had gone back to school the day after he skipped, armed with a note from Bulma. Videl had gotten on his case about it being rude to skip an assembly, even though it was for someone you didn't like. Gohan had told her it wasn't really any of her business if he decided to skip something or not, and they ended up not speaking to each other for the rest of the day. The next day, however, Videl apologized and they started talking again. Everyone at school couldn't stop talking about the WMAT and the mini tournaments. Apparently during his speech the other day, Hercule had announced that he wouldn't be able to participate in any of the mini tournaments because he was training in secret for the WMAT. Gohan snickered to himself when he heard that. Hercule was probably scared that someone would beat him before the WMAT and show what a weak fighter he actually was. Videl stuck by her plan to only participate in the Satan City tournament, and Gohan stuck to telling everyone that he wouldn't be competing at all.
School was just as boring as ever, and Gohan spent a lot of time daydreaming about techniques and ideas he wanted to use to defeat Vegeta. Gohan's training continued as normal, and Bulma got a new GR up and running, so Vegeta was happy. Gohan also notified all of the other Z- fighters that Goku and ChiChi were coming back for the WMAT and, predictably enough, everyone was going. Krillin, 18, Piccolo, Gohan, Vegeta, and Goku were the only ones who were going to fight, however. Yamcha decided not to since he hadn't really kept up his training. Tien and Chaotzu had decided that they weren't going to come at all, and simply told Gohan to say hi to Goku for them.
Not once during those four weeks did Vegeta give any hints as to what their disguises would be, and Gohan was left in the dark. He knew Vegeta had gotten Bulma to help him out with the making of them, but had turned down all of her ideas. Gohan had caught wind of one idea that was worse than the pink bunny suits and turtle shells combined. Apparently Bulma had thought a black body suit with a huge green tunic over it accompanied by a red cape, boots, gloves, and some sort of orange antennae helmet would be just the thing. Gohan was extremely grateful that Vegeta had vetoed that idea quickly: he really didn't think he could live with the shame. Bulma probably would've thought that the Ginyu Force poses would look great with the outfit. Gohan just couldn't picture himself or Vegeta doing those stupid-ass poses while wearing a helmet and cape - they would never have lived it down.
Finally it was the night before the first mini tournament. Gohan was grateful that all of the tournaments were on weekends - that way he didn't have to explain away his absence from school on every day there was a tournament. Knowing Videl she would put two and two together and figure it all out. Gohan was sitting in the living room with the chibis, patiently waiting for Bulma and Vegeta to appear with the disguises so they could try them on and make any last minute adjustments. Goten and Trunks were both a little upset at the adults: they wanted to participate in the mini tournaments as well, but couldn't because the mini tournaments didn't have a junior division like the WMAT. Gohan had just barely managed to bribe them out of disguising themselves as one person and entering under an alias. He told them that if they could manage to behave themselves until after the WMAT, he would teach them something he'd learned in Otherworld called 'fusion' that could really increase their power.
As Gohan was play wrestling with the chibis, Bulma and Vegeta finally walked into the living room. The gasps from the chibis told Gohan that Vegeta was already in his disguise, and he sensed Bulma holding a bundle of something in her arms. Curious, he reached out as she handed him the bundle. Carefully he set it down in the lap that Goten and Trunks left in favor of looking Vegeta over, exclaiming about how cool he looked. Gohan ran his fingers over the bundle and separated it into individual pieces. The first piece Gohan picked up felt somewhat smooth but hard, and using his senses as well as his fingers he figured out it was Saiyan armor similar to the ones from the Cell games that Vegeta and Mirai Trunks had worn. Putting it aside, he picked up the next thing - which happened to be a pair of leather gloves. Next was a pair of boots and some sort of mask made out of stretchy material and rubber. Last was a spandex bodysuit with which everything had been wrapped up in. Gohan got up and turned his head in Bulma's direction.
"Hey Bulma, I'm going in the bathroom to change - you're probably going to have to help me with this mask thing when I come out."
Without even bothering to wait for an answer, Gohan went to the bathroom to change. He felt a little weird that he would be wearing Saiyan armor again: the last time he had donned a suit of it had been in the room of Spirit and Time, training to become a Super Saiyan to defeat Cell. He pulled on the body suit first: it went from his neck all the way down to his ankles. Just like it had before, the suit stretched to accommodate him, molding itself to his body. Next he pulled on the armor, noting that Bulma and Vegeta had decided to weight it for better training. Then the gloves and the boots came on, leaving him with only the mask to figure out. He wondered briefly what he looked like with the armor on - after all, he'd really changed a lot in the past seven years. He most likely looked totally different, especially considering the length of his hair. He had an absentminded thought that, if he looked like Raditz before, he must look a lot more like him with the armor on. Deciding that he really didn't care either way, he grabbed the mask and stepped out of the bathroom and back into the living room where Bulma, Vegeta, Goten and Trunks were waiting.
When Gohan walked back into the room, Vegeta almost thought that Raditz had come back to life before noticing the features that set Gohan apart from his uncle. Bulma had given a sort of involuntary gasp as well, as she too saw how much Gohan resembled Raditz at that moment. Goten and Trunks were the first to respond.
"Wow Gohan, you look sooo cool!"
"Big brother, you and uncle Vegeta look almost the same! Like super heroes!"
Gohan laughed as the two chibis swarmed over him. He ended up settling Goten on his back, with his hair as handles, and Trunks sitting on his shoulder as he turned his head in Bulma and Vegeta's direction.
"I look like Raditz, don't I? That's what has you two so shocked - am I right?"
Vegeta was the first to answer.
"Yes brat, you're almost identical to your uncle now except for a few features that set you two apart. All you need is your tail to complete the look-alike image. Thank Kami you aren't as weak as him, though."
Bulma was next and stated in a breathless tone.
"Kami Gohan - I felt like I stepped back about fourteen years. You definitely inherited your uncle's features as well as his hair. It just takes the Saiyan armor to really show it."
The corner of Gohan's lips quirked in response and, after a moment, he spoke.
"I had a feeling that's what would happen. Anyway, I still need help with the mask, Bulma - and you guys still haven't told me what everything looks like, or is the armor still the same as before?"
Bulma walked over to Gohan and, after prying Goten off of Gohan's hair and Trunks of his shoulder, ignoring the protests of both boys, grabbed the mask out of his hands and began to put it on him while talking.
"Actually there are some differences, but not in the overall structure of the armor. We changed the colors and put your family crests on them. Wait until I have everything ready, then you can have a peek of what you look like in my mind. Oh, and I almost forgot - we're going to be doing something a little different with your hair."
With her last sentence Bulma managed to tug the mask into place and stepped away from Gohan to let him adjust it comfortably. As soon as he had the mask fitting comfortably, Gohan spoke, his voice a little muffled.
"What do you mean you're going to be doing something with my hair? There's no way I'm cutting it, if that's what you're thinking!"
Vegeta laughed at how horrified Gohan sounded at the thought of cutting his hair. He had the Raditz styled hair, but it wasn't as long - Gohan's hair only reached his butt while Raditz's hair had gone down to his ankles, and Gohan also had one stubborn lock of hair that insisted on curling over his forehead, away from the other strands of hair.
"She isn't going to cut it, brat. She just wants to put some color stuff into it. She calls it 'streaking' and the color washes out as soon as you wash your hair, otherwise I would've never agreed to it."
Bulma made a face at Vegeta before turning back to Gohan.
"Ok Gohan - do you want to see Vegeta first or yourself? Let me know so I can think of the image."
Over the years Gohan had found out that if a person concentrated hard on an image he could actually see it as well when he looked into their mind. Of course, the images were never totally accurate because each person sees something different, even if they're looking at the same thing - but it was enough for him to get the general idea. He didn't use it very often since, most of the time, it was more trouble than it was worth. But he was excited now, and curious what colors Bulma and Vegeta had come up with for the armor since Bulma had said they were changed from the old white and gold. He also really wanted to see how his family crest looked on the armor. He was still wearing the pendant King Vegeta had given him - he never took it off unless it needed to be cleaned. Deciding that he wanted to see what Vegeta looked like first, he turned in Bulma's direction.
"I think I want to see what Vegeta's new armor looks like first, Bulma."
Bulma nodded her head and walked to stand in front of Vegeta, approximately four feet away. She stared at him for a minute, making sure she had all of the details right, then closed her eyes and concentrated.
"Ok Gohan, I'm ready - take a look."
Gohan shut his eyes and sent out his mind. Reaching Bulma's, he slipped inside. As soon as he was in her mind, Gohan could see Vegeta. He gave a gasp and pulled out of Bulma's mind with a start. Vegeta was wearing a full black spandex bodysuit. His armor was colored blue and black, styled just like it had been during the Cell games. The shoulder straps and parts that used to be gold were now blue, and where there used to be white black now dominated. On the front of the armor over Vegeta's heart was the royal crest of Vegeta-sei. Black gloves with blue edging and black boots with blue tips were on his hands and feet. Another shocking detail was Vegeta's hair. Normally all black, it had been streaked with blue - the same color as the armor. But that wasn't really what shocked Gohan. As soon as he saw what Vegeta looked like, his mind flashed back to when he was shown his future in the Hall of Fate and Destiny, and the image of him and Vegeta in weird Saiyan armor facing off in an arena. He had a feeling he knew now what he looked like as well, but wanted to make sure.
"Bulma, do me a favor and put an image of me in your mind now: I need to make sure, but if I'm right you guys aren't going to believe this."
Bulma and Vegeta had both been looking at Gohan strangely after he'd gasped, wondering what in the world was wrong with the boy, while the chibis didn't even appear to notice - far too busy still examining the armor. After hearing his question, Bulma looked at Vegeta, shrugged, turned around to study Gohan for a minute, then closed her eyes.
"Ok Gohan, I've got you in my mind now."
Gohan closed his eyes again and reached out for Bulma's mind once more. A moment later he opened his eyes and began to laugh. He'd been right - it was the exact same armor he had seen from the scenes of the future. It was identical to Vegeta's except where Vegeta's armor was blue, his was red, and the crest over his heart was different. Gohan's hair wasn't streaked at the, moment but he had no doubt that the streaks would be red as well, and that the lone bang would be dyed completely red in a sharp contrast to his black hair. The other thing he had that Vegeta didn't have was the mask. Apparently Bulma had been into the chibis' video game collection and gotten an idea from the Mortal Kombat games, because the mask he had on was almost identical to the ones Scorpio and Subzero - two of the characters - wore. The only difference was that she'd bypassed making it cover the whole head, and sort of chopped off the top, leaving his hair free. It probably wouldn't have all fit in anyway. Gohan knew Vegeta would have a matching mask eventually, leaving his hair to be free as well. There was no way Bulma could get Vegeta's hair to flatten, even if Vegeta agreed to let her try. Laughing quietly to himself, Gohan plopped down onto one of the couches, amiably allowing Goten and Trunks to make themselves comfortable on top of him once again. Vegeta, already irritated at Gohan's cryptic comment from before, snapped.
"What the hell is so funny brat? And what did you mean by that comment of yours earlier? You'd better stop laughing and answer me soon or I'll blast you boy."
Grinning, Gohan managed to get his laughter under control as he explained why he was laughing.
"Well Vegeta, I just had a major case of deja vu. I'm not sure if you remember me telling you this, but when I was shown my future in the Hall of Fate and Destiny I was shown a scene of the two of us in weird Saiyan armor with our hair streaked, facing off in an arena. As soon as I caught a glimpse of your image in Bulma's mind, I remembered that scene. These outfits are exactly what we were wearing, and I'm guessing that the arena was from one of the mini tournaments, or even the WMAT. I laughed because it was a little creepy, but it means that I'm probably going to start seeing stuff I saw in those scenes, and that's just weird."
Bulma was looking at Gohan strangely; shocked because she'd almost completely forgotten about all of the stuff she'd heard about from Gohan's trip to the Hall of Fate and Destiny. He was right, too - it would be a bit creepy actually seeing something like that come true. Vegeta just smirked at Gohan and said.
"Hmmm, this should be interesting brat. I almost forgot about all of that stuff, but now I do recall you describing that scene to me. It makes me wonder what you'll find familiar next."
Gohan made a face in the direction he sensed Vegeta.
"I hope I don't find anything familiar for awhile - I need time to get used to this first one. Anyway, I think I need to go to bed if I'm going to fight my best tomorrow."
He grabbed Goten with one hand and Trunks with the other as the two began trying to slink away unnoticed at the mention of going to bed.
"And I think you two definitely need to go to bed - it's way past your normal bedtime."
He told them, turning to face Bulma and Vegeta with a chibi under each arm, struggling like mad to get free.
"You guys did great with this armor - I love it and thank you. I'll take care of these two for the night, then head off to bed. See you bright and early Vegeta!"
With that he headed upstairs, blithely ignoring the vehement protests of Goten and Trunks as he carried them towards their room, leaving Bulma and Vegeta alone in the living room. Bulma turned to look at Vegeta, who was still staring in the direction Gohan had taken the kids.
"I'm going to bed Vegeta - please try to resist training all night; give yourself a chance to rest before tomorrow."
Bulma ran her hand down Vegeta's arm in a loving gesture, then headed upstairs to their room. After a moment of contemplative silence, the Saiyan Prince turned around and followed her.
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Ok guys, I know I said this would be the mini tournaments chapter, but as I started to write this I realized at some point I was going to have to have a scene where Goku let's them know he and ChiChi will be coming back for the WMAT. I also changed the 24 hours to 48 because the WMAT has the team fight competition. The solo fights are on the first day and the team fights are on the second day. Anyway, considering how I have portrayed Gohan as resentful of Goku for certain things, I decided he wouldn't be too happy about Goku just waltzing back for a couple days, and the chapter sort of ran away with me. By the time I was able to finally have Gohan tell Vegeta about the mini tournaments and describe the outfits the night before the first mini tournament, I had twenty-two pages. If I had included the first mini tournament in this chapter it probably would have been about forty something pages. Therefore I decided to make it all another chapter. Besides, my beta reader would've killed me if I made the thing that many pages, as it is she has enough trouble editing over twenty, so I decided I better not try her patience.
Well everyone, it's time to review! Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Want to see Gohan beat up Goku? Let me know, be a reviewer!
Next chapter: Mini Tournaments