(Gohan and Videl's House, Later that day)
Videl was relaxing in the living room when Gohan returned, Pan having finally exhausted herself and fallen asleep. Gohan sat next to her on the sofa, looking serious and avoiding her eyes. Videl turned towards him, stared at his clothes, and asked "What is it, honey? What happened? Why are your clothes torn up?"
"What? My clothes? I..." Gohan looked at himself. His black shoes were scorched, his pants torn and his gray jumper frayed and marked with soot. "I never even noticed, I was too excited and didn't shield my clothes properly. Sorry about that. But Videl, I... I have something to tell you. I've thought about it and..." He hesitated, noticing Videl's worried expression.
"You can tell me anything, Gohan. Go ahead."
"Okay," said Gohan, "There's no easy way to say it, so I'll just tell you right away."
He steeled himself, turned towards Videl and said "I'm going to fight against the gods."
Videl didn't respond. She looked at him inquisitively, trying to figure out what was happening. "What do you mean, fight against the gods?"
Gohan took a long breath. "Remember what I told you about the tournament? The way all those gods just casually murdered people? I can't let it go. I won't have Pan growing up in this world, and I couldn't live with myself if I just let them do it. It has to stop."
Videl began to feel a growing unease. "Gohan, what do you plan to do? Are you going to fight them all? What happens if you win, will you just kill them? What will happen to me and Pan if you die?!" She grew more and more agitated as she went on, her imagination supplying her with increasingly terrible scenarios that grew out of Gohan's words. "I remember how Beerus attacked us during Bulma's party, how can you even think about fighting a monster like that?"
Gohan grabbed her shoulders and she went quiet, looking up into his eyes, although he could see his words disturbed her deeply. They stared into each other's eyes for a long while, and eventually Videl spoke.
"Gohan, we have a good life, you have your career, we have little Pan. Are you really going to walk away from all that to fight the gods? Do I have to tell you how insane that sounds?"
He lowered his eyes and didn't respond. At first she thought he'll agree with her, apologize in his own polite way and everything will go back to normal. But as he raised his head and began to speak, she knew it wasn't going to happen.
"Videl, remember when we were in high-school?"
"Yes, of course..." she answered softly.
"You and I went out constantly to help people, right? Even after graduation, you still tagged along with me and we patrolled the city in our costumes. You remember that?"
"Yes, but things are different now, Gohan, we have a family."
Gohan hugged her close but continued speaking, his head resting on top of her own. "We still go out now and again, don't we? With the cool poses and everything, because we still want to help people."
Videl sighed, hugging him right back, and let him continue. She could feel her tears coming.
"Imagine how many people are out there who need our help, and there's no one to help them. They pray to their gods, but their gods are the ones who are killing them. Not just here, but all over the universe and in all other universes." Gohan paused for breath and noticed Videl was crying silently. He wiped her tears gently with his thumb, but they kept coming. Gohan hugged her again and continued, "It's insane, Videl, they have to be stopped. We'll never be free as long as these lunatics are in control."
Videl whispered, now crying against his chest, "But things are better now, no? You said all the universes have been restored, right?"
"Yes, but all the planets that Beerus destroyed, they're still gone, and gods of destruction keep murdering people. The angel, Whis, he even gave Freeza his life back. He just set Freeza loose without caring about the consequences, and Beerus is a thousand times more brutal than Freeza himself. I have to stop them."
They stopped hugging and sat apart from each other. A few moments later Gohan spoke again. "Look, I know this how crazy this sounds, but I feel that I have to do it. I came to you first, because you're my wife and I love you, so if you say that I can't go, I won't go. I'll just live with it."
Videl wiped her tears and tried to calm herself, looking into Gohan's eyes. She remembered the way they flew towards Babbidi's ship together all those years ago, with Kibito urging them to fly faster. She realized she was holding him back, and let him go on without her. But he came back, and they have been together ever since.
He was always so gentle and passive these days, constantly smiling and relaxed. But she could always remember that dangerous quality inside him, the warrior persona. She saw it only for a moment, but she could never forget it. On the way to Babbidi's ship, while they were both hovering in midair, Gohan was smiling at her, then he turned his head to fly after Kibito. And while his head was turning, before he sped away, she could see it for just a fraction of a second. His eyes were hardened steel, his jaw set. The gentle and loving man she knew took a step back and let the warrior take control.
And this is what she saw now when she looked into Gohan's eyes.
"Oh Gohan... I can't lie to myself about it, I don't want to hold you back. You're right about everything, I just don't want you to throw your life away, I don't want Pan to grow up without a father."
Gohan smiled, and they were soon hugging again. "I'm not as crazy as my father. I know I'm much weaker than dad and Vegeta and the rest. I'll need to train and learn new techniques, it's going to take a while."
Videl started crying again, and he began running his fingers through her hair.
"I'll never let them hurt you, Pan and anyone else, ever again".
