Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Akira Toriyama and Funimation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
This story focuses on Gohan, and begins after his death at the hands of the Androids. It is an AU, and reviews are welcome and appreciated.
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Welcome to the afterlife, son!
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Chapter 19: Congratulations and reflections
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Last time...
The spectators, who had been all standing during this clash of powers, went into a roaring frenzy and threw confetti and all other related stuff. And once again the Grand Kai was proud of himself for a) hosting such a great tournament and b) giving out all the tournament related stuff like confetti, fan-articles and and and...
Maybe I should consider entering merchandizing... he thought grinning, while Goku and Gohan were still being celebrated.
This had indeed been a good fight and an awesome tournament. One that they all could be proud off...
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Now the continuation...
The whole audience still continued to celebrate while Gohan and Goku walked towards their waiting friends. Goku had put a hand on his sons' shoulder, and the two were talking about his father's previous experiences in the afterlife tournament.
"... and then, the next thing I knew was that Pikkon hit me with one hell of an attack and I felt like a herd of dinosaurs had had a stampede upon me!"
Gohan smiled. His father was fully in his element. But now, after this wondrous tournament, he, Gohan, had come to enjoy fighting once more again too.
Down on Earth he had fought countless time for his sheer survival, praying that he would be stronger next time, hopefully strong enough to take both of those Androids on at the same time.
Sadly fate had had other plans for him. But looking at the bright side, he had come to know a whole lot of new people, had met challenges, had become stronger and had found a girl... no, a young woman, he thought, who was very attractive and obviously quite strong in character...
"And what happened then, dad?" Gohan asked, glad that he was able to listen to the conversation he was having with his father while thinking things trough.
'Heh, I love multitasking...' Gohan thought, and a smile crept on his face.
Goku was smiling a happy smile too, but for completely different reasons. He was obviously thriving in memories of this great battle he had fought against Pikkon, and Gohan had to admit, it was interesting.
"Well, he used this attack of his, which you have seen too in this tournament, one time too often..." Goku said, and an uncharacteristically mischievous smirk played on his face.
Gohan looked at him with a quirked eyebrow.
"The Thunderflash-attack?" he all-but guessed.
Goku nodded, still smirking.
"It is very effective, as you have seen, but it has, or had, a flaw. It took him too much time to execute it, and by the time he was ready to fire it I had already teleported behind him, prepared a Kamehame-ha and fired it at him at point-blank range. Imagine his surprise..."
Gohan smirked now too.
"I can imagine, dad. One should never let his guard down in front of a Saiyan, as beaten as he may look..."
Goku patted his son on the back.
"My sentiments exactly, son."
Meanwhile they had reached their friends, and the first to congratulate Gohan was Piccolo, who had this honour because of being his first mentor.
"Kid, I'm very proud of you. You have become a formidable fighter, and by the time we will be wished back we will be ready." he exclaimed, and gave his ex-pupil and forceful handshake.
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Now it was Vegeta's turn...
"Not bad, brat, not bad at all. With a bit polishing I might make a decent Saiyan out of you after all." he said and stalked off.
Gohan only quirked a surprised eyebrow at Vegeta's retreating form, for this was the nearest to a compliment Vegeta had ever made.
And Krillin, who was standing next to Goku, just shrugged.
"That's Vegeta for you. Congratulations, Gohan!" the ex-monk exclaimed and pulled Gohan into a warrior's hug. Tien and Yamcha did the same, while Gohan realized that he would not say no to a hug coming from Videl...
After all congratulations had been made, Gohan began to scan actively for Videl, only to find her still sitting in the audience.
And with a groan Gohan remembered that the show was not over yet...
'Bugger! The awards show! I completely forgot that I will receive this medal from the Grand Kai...'
Goku had heard the groan coming from his son, and looked at him questioningly.
"Son, what's up? Anything wrong?"
Gohan shook his head.
"It's just that I had forgotten that I will receive that medal from the Grand Kai. And you know how much I like being the centre of attention..."
All present (except Gohan, of course) smirked at this statement. It was common knowledge how much Gohan 'loved' attention, they had all seen examples of it.
At first, they had had a very hard time to convince poor Gohan to celebrate his birthday with more people than just his mom and dad when he had been a kid, and other examples of extreme shyness had followed.
And it did not help that Gohan was exceptionally strong and bright, and had all the physical attributes of a Saiyan, which would guarantee him attention if he was not extremely careful...
True, nowadays Gohan could freely show just how strong he was, and he was very glad for it. Even if he would have to explain a lot once he would have the opportunity to talk to a certain raven-haired woman...
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While Gohan was contemplating this, Krillin smiled sympathetically at the demi-Saiyan.
"Just take the whole celebration in stride, Gohan. After all, you deserve it. You fought an awesome tournament, ascended further than anyone thought possible and beat your old dad. That's bloody brilliant!"
Gohan still looked unconvinced, until Goku, in an attempt of humour said
"Hey! I resent that! I'm not old!" and put on a pout that could rival that of a five year old.
This caused everyone to laugh, and Gohan had to admit that, all things considered, it would probably not be that bad after all.
'Yeah, after all, once this whole awards show is over I can concentrate on the girl...' Gohan thought, smiling.
The others noticed his smile, and took it as a sign that he would just do what they had suggested: enjoy it.
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Little did that know that he planned to enjoy something else much more...
Ever since he had begun to fight the Androids he had learned to rely on his inner voice, to let the Saiyan side of his being out.
As a kid and during his (rather short-lived) youth he had done everything to suppress his instincts and urges to act different than his mother taught him, and had controlled his Saiyan side with iron discipline.
But when the Androids had killed his mother, while she had been in the city during one of their attacks, something in Gohan had exploded.
He had felt his mother's KI vanish, and the control his human side had had over his Saiyan side had vanished too.
There and then he had let his Saiyan side take over, and in his anger he had accomplished something he had not thought possible: he had become a Super Saiyan.
Ever since then Gohan had never again suppressed his Saiyan side, his instincts, the part of his being he had neglected for so long.
Finally, after some struggle the two halves of him had come to an understanding, and 'lived' now in equilibrium. He would not have believed it, but his Saiyan side had had a lot to offer.
Gohan had now full trust in his instincts, and his instincts told him that Videl would be a worthy mate for him. And once this blasted awards show was over he would make a move on her...
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to be continued...
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A/N: this chappie popped into my head spontaneously, and it's completely un-betaed (sorry Rose, don't grill my butt ). You see where I will go with this story, and I will try to write on it whenever I have the time. Though updates may (and will) take quite a while in comparison to the other stories. The fighting is now over for the time being, whereas it has just begun in my post-GT storyline.
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Review answers:
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foxfire22: Thanks! Yeah, that they will. It's not over...
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brian: Thanks for the review!
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Digi fan: Cool you liked it! Though the fights are over for the time being...
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Dark Angel: Wow, that's one compliment! Thanks, and if you liked the fights, my post-GT-story will be after your taste. The fights just started...
and no, the Kais won't bring them back to life. that would be against the rules...
that's due to the fact that Bardock is in hell, for he was still sentenced there, despite his efforts before his death (my opinion). I'll see if I can do something about it in the future...
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chrey419: Thank you. and be sure, there are future plans for them...
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SupersayiankingTommy: yeah, occasionally I have good ideas, I must agree.
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Deathlord98: yeah, most would have thought that goku would win, but nope...
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Candy the Duck: and you'll see more videl involvement in the future...
as for the dictionary, you're welcome!
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supersaiyaman: I hope so too...
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Raid-Scion-of-Randomness: I thank you for r&ring it! Yeah, that's where I got part of my inspiration from, the other comes from my imagination. Actually, I wrote more than seven sides full of moves for fighting scenes, and am constantly adding...
and I'm really flattered to hear that you're my biggest fan! wow! thanks!
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KyLewin: yeah, but I hope the surprise was a good one. and you're welcome, I hope to see more of your stories soon!
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Anthony1: thanks! as for videl and Gohan, you'll see...
What a nice way to wrap up this tournament. Gohan was able to overcome his father and become the new chapion. But the question is that with the tournament now over with what will he and all the other Z-fighters do now? Also, will Gohan and Videl officially meet each other? Until the next chapter, see ya.
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DBZ Chick1: thank you! although my update rate will decline too, I'm afraid...
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Roadkill4: gonna continue it, of course!
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animeprincess1452: yup, that is for sure...
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Cappucine: why, thank you! that's a huge compliment, and I'm glad that you liked the first tourney. the other is developing too...
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zara m: thanks, I try my best, and I'm sure Gohan will do to regarding Videl...
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Rose Vaughn: I like to surprise... :)
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Goku's little sister: that he did, and glad that you liked it. though I'm quite sure grand kai will worm himself out...
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Tim Knispel: thank you! I try my best...
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Marshmellow13Dragon: yeah, that shows it quite clearly, doesn't it? I'm glad that you liked the fights, and you can be sure there is more to this story...