Bound

Chapter 1

CMG: As usual, I don't own Dragon Ball Z. Now let's find out what happens next shall we? *laughs evilly*

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You used to captivate me by your resonating mind,
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind.
Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams
Your voice has chased away all the sanity in me.
These wounds won't seem to heal,
this pain is just too real,
there's just too much that time cannot erase.
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears,
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears.
I held your hand through all of these years.
But you still have...
All of me.

~Evanescence-My Immortal

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The fighters stared in aghast. A minute ago, Goku had taken Cell from Earth in attempt to save it; however, Cell had returned and killed Trunks as Vegeta looked as though he was on the verge of losing the last threads of sanity that he had left. As Cell laughed, Gohan got angry at the way he took the look on their faces. Most importantly, Gohan had no idea if his father was still alive or not.

"Cell, that's enough!" yelled Gohan. "Where's my father? Tell me!"

"Your father's in hell," said Cell as he seemed rather delighted. "And after I'm done killing you pests, I shall go back to the Other World into that pit and kill him at my leisure."

If anything, those last words were the death of Cell as Vegeta and Gohan both charged at Cell to massacre him and make him pay for endangering the Earth and killing everyone, including Trunks. As Cell found himself at the receiving end of all the blows, he was knocked back as Vegeta threw a lot of blasts at the android. In the midst of the destruction going on, Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin stared in awe at the two fighting with everything they had.

"They're mad," said Krillin.

"Pissed is more like it," said Yamcha. "Remind me not to make Gohan that mad."

Within about a few minutes, both Saiya-jins were breathing hard as they watched and waited in case Cell was still alive. As the dust cleared, they saw no signs of Cell as they both sighed in relief. Before Gohan could scream though, a tail grabbed him by the neck as Cell laughed evilly.

"Gohan!" cried Piccolo.

"You really thought you could defeat me?" said Cell as he chuckled as he began choking the boy with the tail as he screamed in pain.

"We need to stop him!" said Krillin.

"Not one move or he dies," said Cell with a nasty voice as he floated up into the sky about a few feet above them; dangling Gohan above them as the boy gasped for breath.

"Damn," said Tien.

"L-let go of m-me..." moaned Gohan as he felt that he was on the verge of passing out.

"Not until I have my revenge," said Cell as he began to pull Gohan's arm back painfully. The writing screams emitted from the young half-breed's throat as his hair faded back to the black locks he was born with. Consciousness seemed to waver for Gohan as Vegeta finally struck back at Cell with a counterattack. Blasting the monster from behind, Gohan found himself on the ground as he coughed violently for a moment or two before he quickly regained his breath. Cell turned with an evil glare in his eyes towards the Saiya-jin Price as though he had a death wish.

"You'll pay for what you've done," hissed Cell.

"No, you will," said Vegeta as he stepped aside and Cell froze. There behind Vegeta stood everyone armed ready with energy blasts as Cell looked on in horror. Behind him, a voice was heard chanting a familiar attack...

"Ka... me... ha... me..." said Gohan as his aura flared around him; transforming him into an ascended Super Saiya-jin again. Vegeta powered up a blast as well as Cell was surrounded by all sides by the fighters. "HA!"

"DIE CELL!" yelled Vegeta as the energy blasts all met in the middle as Cell was destroyed atom by atom until his dying screams were no longer heard. As the fighters celebrated, Gohan became worried about his father's fate as everyone, except Vegeta, went to Kami's Lookout to wish back those who died and save Goku. Unfortunately...

"The one known as Son Goku cannot return to this realm," boomed Shenlong as Gohan stood there agape.

"Why not?" cried Krillin. "He's alive, isn't he?"

"He is, but it is beyond my power to bring him back to this realm," said Shenlong as the others seemed upset.

"Where is he then?" said Yamcha.

"He is not of this world nor is he in hell," said Shenlong. "I cannot tell you anymore for it is not in my place to tell you mortals. Do you have another wish?"

"No," said Gohan upset as the tears ran down his cheeks. "You can go." With a golden flash, Shenlong faded as the dragon balls scattered across the globe. Gohan fell to the ground as his hands covered his eyes as he cried once more over the loss of his father.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bubbles were heard as Goku started regaining consciousness. His body stung with uncertainty; thin thread-like objects ran up his body as he felt a breathing apparatus over his mouth giving him air. Opening his eyes, he saw strange symbols that didn't explain where he was at or how he ended up there. Trying to lift his arms, he found them pinned to his sides to some strange object. More bubbles were heard as he heard footsteps.

"Kakarot, I see that you're awake," said a baritone voice. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of you."

"What do you mean?" said Goku. "Who are you and where am I?"

"All those questions will be answered in due time," said the voice. "For now, just watch the images."

"Why?" said Goku. "They make no sense!"

"Oh, but they will make sense in time," said the voice before the sound of footsteps retreated as a hissing sound was heard as the footsteps seemed to walk in that direction. The hissing sound was heard again after the footsteps were no longer audible as Goku remained entirely in the dark about what was going on.

'Why am I here?' thought Goku. For the first time, he regretted the decision about what he did to try and save his master's life. In defeat, he stared blankly at the foreign symbols as each one danced across his vision; almost mocking him since he couldn't move a muscle.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"...and Goku's fallen into hell," finished King Kai as he stood in front of King Yemma.

"I suppose I'll let you tell Grand Kai know about this," said King Yemma as he dismissed King Kai as he walked out the door. "As for you two, how about you go to the cafeteria and get you guys something to eat?"

"Yay!" chirped Gregory as Bubbles made cheering noises in agreement.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What?!" cried Chi-chi as she hugged Gohan. "I refuse to believe he's in hell! Why didn't that damn dragon bring him back?"

"He said it was beyond his power," said Gohan. "He can't bring him back."

"This can't be happening!" cried Chi-chi. She ran off to her room to cry as Gohan felt guilty for not finishing Cell when his father told him to.

'This is all my fault,' thought Gohan. 'I wish I could have listened to you, dad! If I did, then you wouldn't be in hell right now!'

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CMG: Yeah, I used something that sounded like it was from the series Full Metal Panic. I was inspired to write that scene into this fanfic to make things more interesting and set Goku in a situation almost similar to it and adding a few twists of my own to make it more fitting. On to answer the reviews, I suppose:

Daughter of Ashes: Thanks for your support. It'll get better as it goes along and this idea's been in my head for awhile now.

DBZ Chick 1: Hopefully, this chapter's a bit better in detail. I was a bit shaky writing a fic of this genre during the first chapter, but I feel more confident now writing something a bit different than my older fanfics. Besides, this fits my mood a bit better since I'm going through some tough times.

Amy: I'm glad for your support for this fanfic as well as the sequel I'm still working on. With my time divided, I feel a bit more stressed out right now, but I'll always find time to update.

And to anyone else reading, I appreciate the feedback. It encourages me to keep writing and adding more chapters. There will be some twists in the future, so I'll add a little teaser for the next chapter:

*King Kai, are you there?*

"Yes, I'm here," said King Kai. "What do you want, Piccolo?"

*I want to know what happened to Son,* said Piccolo.

"Release me..."

"Huh?" said Goku as he found himself in a void. As he looked around, he saw a figure standing there in the shadows. The Earth-raised Saiya-jin didn't recognize him. The mysterious figure standing before him was someone he never met before.

"I know the writing. Let me free..."

"I'm sorry, Gohan," said Piccolo as Gohan got tears in his eyes.

As the story progresses, I'll add more chapters, depending on my mood. Until next time, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Later!