Chapter 2- It's Back!

Gohan fell to his knees as the massive Cell laughed. Earth would soon be wiped off the map because of the organic android's explosion.

"I've failed…"

"Ten more seconds, boy, and the Earth will be gone!", Cell laughed at Gohan. Suddenly, Goku appeared in front of Gohan. The half-Saiyan boy looked up at his father, who had one hand firmly placed on Cell's stomach and two fingers of his other hand placed on his own forehead.

"Hey. You put up a good fight, Gohan. I'm proud of you.", Goku said with a smile. Gohan was absolutely shocked.

"What? Daddy?"

"Take care of your mother for me, she needs you. Tell her that I had to do this, Gohan. Goodbye…my son."

He instantly disappeared along with Cell and Gohan ran forward.

"NO! COME BACK!"

Tears welled up in Gohan's eyes and began to stream down his dirty cheeks. He fell to his hands and knees and punched the ground. His father was gone…forever. At that moment, all of Gohan's pain released itself in a single word.

"DAAAAAAAAADDDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

Gohan stopped punching the ground and broke down crying. Krillin walked over to the boy and kneeled next to him, patting Gohan on the back.

"That's it…cry. Let it all out.", Krillin said with a smile. Gohan replied, his words choked apart by tears.

"D-Dad d-didn't have to s-sacrifice himself. I wish it would've been me…"

Gohan opened his sore eyes and looked around. He was lying on the floor in his room wearing the same clothes he had when he went for a walk. The teen looked out of the window and saw that it was early morning, almost time for breakfast. Gohan stood and went to his closet, grabbing a fresh set of clothes and walking to the bathroom for a shower. He walked into the bathroom and quickly stripped out of his clothes. Gohan looked at himself in the mirror; his eyes were dark and tired, his face was stained with dried tears and his lips were cracked and dry. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he saw a dark object wagging behind his naked body.

"What the…"

Gohan turned and looked behind himself. What he saw made him gasp; his tail had fully grown back. The boy looked in awe at the furry member on his backside as it waved back and forth.

"That doesn't make sense…the last time my tail grew back was when I trained with Piccolo…", Gohan said quietly to himself. He decided to visit with Piccolo, to consult him about the matter. He also decided not to tell his mother, because she would probably get very scared and want to chop the tail off; a very painful process. Gohan turned on the shower and waited for the water to get warm. As it warmed, Gohan looked at himself again in the slowly fogging mirror. He was still very saddened by the sudden reminder of his role in the Cell Games, but couldn't cry anymore and he didn't want his mother to know about the events of the previous night.

"I wonder what Piccolo will think about this…", Gohan said to himself, looking at his tail after he stepped into the hot stream of water. In a hurry, Gohan quickly washed his body and hair. The teen stepped out of the shower, dried himself and put on his fresh clothing. Gohan knew it would be tough to hide the tail from his mother, so he tightly wrapped it around his muscled stomach and moving quickly, he walked into the kitchen and sat down.

"Good morning Gohan.", Chi-chi said, turning around to face her son.

"Good morning Mom, morning Goten.", Gohan said to his six month old brother who was eating a cup of apple sauce in his high chair. Goten looked up at his bigger brother and giggled.

"Gowan! Gowan!", babbled the young child. Gohan ruffled his brother's wild black hair and turned to face the food in the middle of the table. He began to eat his pancakes slowly, not at the normal speed a Saiyan would eat food.

"Gohan…are you ok? You seem…different.", inquired Chi-chi. Gohan's looked up at his mother and faked a smile.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm fine. Hey, Mom…can I visit Dende and Mr. Popo at the Lookout today? It's been forever since I've seen them…and I promise I'll be back before it's time for me to study.", Gohan lied. He wouldn't be visiting Dende, he would go looking for Piccolo.

Chi-chi looked at her son. He seemed to be getting farther and farther away from his studies, but Chi-chi figured that after his father's death that Gohan needed to be with his friends more. His studies still were the most important to her, but she didn't want to overwhelm him.

"I suppose…but I want you back by 9.", she said with a slight smile. Gohan looked at the clock. It was 7:30, he had plenty of time. The young Saiyan smiled at his mother and finished eating. He wiped his lips and stood, quickly running out the door.

"I'll be back soon! Bye Mom!", Gohan yelled behind him as he flew over the forest, searching for Piccolo…