Author's Note: This was going to be the Gohan/Cell confrontation, but I
decided to write an essay on Goku and his relationship with his friends
instead. I'm not even kidding. Boohoo I'm sure. Well, if you've read the
fic this long, you know I'm not the greatest at writing external conflict
anyway. You'll get it in another two months. (I hope I'm joking, but my
schedule isn't exactly wide open for this sort of thing.) After I write
this chapter, expect another stand-alone (questionable) Gohan angst fic for
after the death of Goku. It isn't going to be pretty. Kind of funny that I
don't even like Gohan but I write him so much. And for you "An Alternate
Afterlife" fans out there, review "An Interesting Future." It's depressing
to have zero reviews for a fic I wrote that I actually like.
Goku by nature had little in the way of patience. He had never needed it, seeing that he rarely waited for anything, except fights and dinner. Dinner had always come extremely fast, thanks to Chichi, and the excitement that came over coming battles was usually tempered by constant sparring and the knowledge that it was likely one or more of his friends were going to die. Everything else came naturally, and things people thought he should want, he often didn't. His marriage to Chichi had come out of no where, and while Goku hadn't been adverse to the idea, he hadn't been waiting with the baited breath that Chichi had held for eight years. It had been the same with Gohan, as children were largely outside the realm of Goku's experience. The only time Goku ever remembered actually waiting for was his wounds to heal after that first fight with Vegeta.
After meeting with people that were more considered more normal than himself, Goku sometimes questioned what was wrong with him. He watched people and wondered why they held onto things so tightly, be it material possessions or pets or people. Be it his rather unemotional childhood (Gohan Senior hadn't been one for displays of affection) or his saiyan heritage, Goku had always had trouble connecting with people enough to miss them when they weren't there. During his first year dead after Piccolo had blasted a hole through his stomach, or the subsequent year and a half that he had spent in space, Goku couldn't recall consciously yearning for one of his friends' presences. It had been the same during his childhood, as on his long training journeys he had been perfectly content the entire time with his own company. The people he called friends he could gladly go without seeing for years and hardly notice the lack. He transitioned from training partner to training partner, for though Goku had always called Krillin his best friend, after that day Goku had come back from space he had spent far more time training with Piccolo than Krillin, and found himself enjoying the namek's presence more than that of his short bald friend's. After the android's arrival Goku for whatever reason (racial camaraderie, perhaps?) started preferring Vegeta's company, even over that of his wife. No one else was like this, as everyone else stayed static in their relationships while he kept moving. Perhaps that was the reason his personality had changed little over the years. To keep old friendships, people changed to adjust to new faucets of the relationships. Goku had never bothered, had always found it easier to stay the same and find others to have companionship with. Ultimately, training stayed the same; it was what mattered, and though his friends always claimed nothing had changed, it had. As his power surged beyond anything they could hope to accomplish in a hundred lifetimes, they had grown more distant, except perhaps for Gohan. Of course, these days with Gohan came Piccolo, so his friendship with the namek had also grown, but death Goku knew was the only thing keeping them from drifting away as well. Too much was invested in things Goku didn't care enough about to put any effort into, such as fishing and showing up on time to events that didn't matter.
His relationship with Cell was different. Their relationship was based on the fight, and nothing else. In truth, beside battle, the android and the saiyan had little in common. Of course, besides battle, there was little either thought worth doing. They fought, they trained, and their power levels rose at almost identical rates. If things continued in that vein, they could fight together forever, and Goku looked more forward to that than a hot bath, food, good sex, or all combined. That was what truly made him saiyan, Goku knew. The fight mattered above all else, and he had found one who felt the same, and had even less relationships to get in the way of battle than Goku (even when the saiyan was dead.) This unexpectedly brought a closeness that Goku had never experienced with anyone else. Always before the knowledge that he would eventually leave them behind had made him keep people at arms length, no matter how it appeared to them.
So, for the second time in his existence, he found himself waiting for something, except this time it was someone. Enma's vacation had put a kink in their plans, but in a few short hours Goku could finally visit those otherworld hot springs he had heard so much about from the other fighters. Apparently Cell had never been in one, and it would be fun. . .
"Dad!" Goku almost choked, and he fleetingly wondered if it was possible for the heart virus to come out of remission while he wasn't even alive. The saiyan quickly got control, but barely loosened up in time to receive his eldest and (as far as Goku knew) only son. "Dad! I can't believe I'm with you again!" "I can hardly believe it either. Gohan, what are you doing here?" The demi-saiyan's smile faltered slightly. "Dad, aren't you happy to see me?" "Of course, son, but, um. . . what happened?" What was left of Gohan's smile faded from his face. "I. . . had to see you, dad. Mom, well, she. . . And so I. . ." The demi-saiyan looked up at his father for encouragement, but he saw something foreign instead; a livid Goku. "Gohan, how could you leave your mother alone! You can't just go leaving people on a whim. I bet she's heartbroken! And what in the world made you think suicide is acceptable under ANY circumstances!" Momentarily astounded at his father's intuition, surprise quickly gave way to anger. "Piccolo promised he was going to wish me back, dad! I'm going back to Earth! I didn't leave everyone who loves me behind, unlike you. You left us again, except this time forever, to go train! You don't love us! Mom was right! She was right to forget you, and move on, seeing as you probably did the second you arrived in otherworld!" "Chichi. . .?" Gohan's anger subsided at the look of utter hopelessness that came over his father's face. "Mom, she found someone. . . someone else. I just came here to tell you." "Gohan, I never meant to hurt you or your mother. I just thought, everyone else would be safer if I wasn't around. Chichi. . . well, she deserves happiness." Gohan felt a wave of shame come over him as he realized the effect his words had on his father. "Dad, I. . ."
"Goku, we have a problem. The trip has to be put off again. Your snot- nosed brat of a son decided to kill himself and we'll have to put up with him until you can convince those humans of yours to wish him back to Earth." Gohan whipped around, eyes wide. It couldn't be. How could that evil be here, the most holy of planets? "Just the luck. He's already here." Cell smiled cruelly, for the first time since his death. He was slightly out of practice, but some things are just like riding a bike. "Hello, Gohan. Miss me?"
Elsewhere. . .
The darkness ravaged his mind, tearing it open, unlocking hidden corridors for all to see. Searching, searching. . . He tried to hide what he knew it was there for, but the darkness was a key, or perhaps more accurately a battering ram, able to get past every door, every wall. It took only a moment, then it found what it was looking for. The shadow grew.
Goku by nature had little in the way of patience. He had never needed it, seeing that he rarely waited for anything, except fights and dinner. Dinner had always come extremely fast, thanks to Chichi, and the excitement that came over coming battles was usually tempered by constant sparring and the knowledge that it was likely one or more of his friends were going to die. Everything else came naturally, and things people thought he should want, he often didn't. His marriage to Chichi had come out of no where, and while Goku hadn't been adverse to the idea, he hadn't been waiting with the baited breath that Chichi had held for eight years. It had been the same with Gohan, as children were largely outside the realm of Goku's experience. The only time Goku ever remembered actually waiting for was his wounds to heal after that first fight with Vegeta.
After meeting with people that were more considered more normal than himself, Goku sometimes questioned what was wrong with him. He watched people and wondered why they held onto things so tightly, be it material possessions or pets or people. Be it his rather unemotional childhood (Gohan Senior hadn't been one for displays of affection) or his saiyan heritage, Goku had always had trouble connecting with people enough to miss them when they weren't there. During his first year dead after Piccolo had blasted a hole through his stomach, or the subsequent year and a half that he had spent in space, Goku couldn't recall consciously yearning for one of his friends' presences. It had been the same during his childhood, as on his long training journeys he had been perfectly content the entire time with his own company. The people he called friends he could gladly go without seeing for years and hardly notice the lack. He transitioned from training partner to training partner, for though Goku had always called Krillin his best friend, after that day Goku had come back from space he had spent far more time training with Piccolo than Krillin, and found himself enjoying the namek's presence more than that of his short bald friend's. After the android's arrival Goku for whatever reason (racial camaraderie, perhaps?) started preferring Vegeta's company, even over that of his wife. No one else was like this, as everyone else stayed static in their relationships while he kept moving. Perhaps that was the reason his personality had changed little over the years. To keep old friendships, people changed to adjust to new faucets of the relationships. Goku had never bothered, had always found it easier to stay the same and find others to have companionship with. Ultimately, training stayed the same; it was what mattered, and though his friends always claimed nothing had changed, it had. As his power surged beyond anything they could hope to accomplish in a hundred lifetimes, they had grown more distant, except perhaps for Gohan. Of course, these days with Gohan came Piccolo, so his friendship with the namek had also grown, but death Goku knew was the only thing keeping them from drifting away as well. Too much was invested in things Goku didn't care enough about to put any effort into, such as fishing and showing up on time to events that didn't matter.
His relationship with Cell was different. Their relationship was based on the fight, and nothing else. In truth, beside battle, the android and the saiyan had little in common. Of course, besides battle, there was little either thought worth doing. They fought, they trained, and their power levels rose at almost identical rates. If things continued in that vein, they could fight together forever, and Goku looked more forward to that than a hot bath, food, good sex, or all combined. That was what truly made him saiyan, Goku knew. The fight mattered above all else, and he had found one who felt the same, and had even less relationships to get in the way of battle than Goku (even when the saiyan was dead.) This unexpectedly brought a closeness that Goku had never experienced with anyone else. Always before the knowledge that he would eventually leave them behind had made him keep people at arms length, no matter how it appeared to them.
So, for the second time in his existence, he found himself waiting for something, except this time it was someone. Enma's vacation had put a kink in their plans, but in a few short hours Goku could finally visit those otherworld hot springs he had heard so much about from the other fighters. Apparently Cell had never been in one, and it would be fun. . .
"Dad!" Goku almost choked, and he fleetingly wondered if it was possible for the heart virus to come out of remission while he wasn't even alive. The saiyan quickly got control, but barely loosened up in time to receive his eldest and (as far as Goku knew) only son. "Dad! I can't believe I'm with you again!" "I can hardly believe it either. Gohan, what are you doing here?" The demi-saiyan's smile faltered slightly. "Dad, aren't you happy to see me?" "Of course, son, but, um. . . what happened?" What was left of Gohan's smile faded from his face. "I. . . had to see you, dad. Mom, well, she. . . And so I. . ." The demi-saiyan looked up at his father for encouragement, but he saw something foreign instead; a livid Goku. "Gohan, how could you leave your mother alone! You can't just go leaving people on a whim. I bet she's heartbroken! And what in the world made you think suicide is acceptable under ANY circumstances!" Momentarily astounded at his father's intuition, surprise quickly gave way to anger. "Piccolo promised he was going to wish me back, dad! I'm going back to Earth! I didn't leave everyone who loves me behind, unlike you. You left us again, except this time forever, to go train! You don't love us! Mom was right! She was right to forget you, and move on, seeing as you probably did the second you arrived in otherworld!" "Chichi. . .?" Gohan's anger subsided at the look of utter hopelessness that came over his father's face. "Mom, she found someone. . . someone else. I just came here to tell you." "Gohan, I never meant to hurt you or your mother. I just thought, everyone else would be safer if I wasn't around. Chichi. . . well, she deserves happiness." Gohan felt a wave of shame come over him as he realized the effect his words had on his father. "Dad, I. . ."
"Goku, we have a problem. The trip has to be put off again. Your snot- nosed brat of a son decided to kill himself and we'll have to put up with him until you can convince those humans of yours to wish him back to Earth." Gohan whipped around, eyes wide. It couldn't be. How could that evil be here, the most holy of planets? "Just the luck. He's already here." Cell smiled cruelly, for the first time since his death. He was slightly out of practice, but some things are just like riding a bike. "Hello, Gohan. Miss me?"
Elsewhere. . .
The darkness ravaged his mind, tearing it open, unlocking hidden corridors for all to see. Searching, searching. . . He tried to hide what he knew it was there for, but the darkness was a key, or perhaps more accurately a battering ram, able to get past every door, every wall. It took only a moment, then it found what it was looking for. The shadow grew.