Gohan: Development of a Hero
This is a Dragonballz fanfiction. To my eternal sadness, I do not own or in anyway profit from Dragonballz or any of the characters in this story. This fic, as you can guess from the title, centers on Gohan, and begins right after the cell games. It is an AU, and reviews are welcome and appreciated.
Btw, from now on, when characters speak in Saiyago (the Saiyan language), the dialogue will be shown in Bold.
Part 19 - Circumstances
"FINAL FLASH!!!"
Gohan watched as Vegeta unleashed his most powerful attack. He waited until Vegeta was too involved to notice, and then he moved. Using his speed, Gohan moved behind Vegeta and gathered his energy. By the time Vegeta realized what was happening, it was too late.
"MASENKO-HA!!!"
Vegeta tried to turn, to provide some sort of barrier. But it was too late; the blast hit Vegeta on his side and threw him to the ground with immense force. Gohan winced; he could tell Vegeta wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. Gohan landed gently in front of Vegeta and said, "I'm beat; it's time to stop."
"NO!!!" Vegeta yelled. As Gohan watched, he slowly tried to rise to his feet. Gohan could see the muscles in his legs quivering and knew Vegeta had nothing left. To continue would be meaningless.
"Vegeta…" Gohan began.
"I'm not done yet," Vegeta snapped. He cupped his hands to his side, and Gohan felt him trying to gather energy for some sort of strike. Vegeta's eyes were unfocused, and his entire body leaned a little to the left. It was shocking he was even standing, but Gohan knew it wouldn't last long. He also knew nothing he said would get Vegeta to stop.
"GALLIC GUN…" Vegeta gasped out. His entire body was swaying, but the energy in Vegeta's palms was steady, ready for use.
"FIRE!!!!"
As the beam flew towards him, Gohan saw Vegeta pitch forward, completely spent. Gohan waited, and when the beam was close enough, he easily batted it aside where it was absorbed by the Gravity Room. The blast had been incredibly weak; Gohan was pretty sure Bulma could have blocked it with little effort. If Vegeta had been thinking straight, he would never have even attempted to fire such a weak blast. Unfortunately, he wasn't thinking straight, for one very good reason.
"This is all my fault," Gohan chastised himself, "I just had to open my big mouth…" Gohan sighed as he walked towards Vegeta. At the time, Gohan had thought saying it would give Vegeta the final push to do it. Vegeta had been getting discouraged; it was little signs really, but Gohan had been around him long enough to see them. He had been training towards it for over 7 years; it was understandable he would start to lose a little drive to reach it. So he had told Vegeta the truth, the way Gohan saw it.
You should break into Level 2 any day now
Gohan shook his head as he lifted an unconscious Vegeta up. Vegeta hadn't taken the news as Gohan had hoped. He had been reenergized, but there had been a small side effect. Vegeta had gone nuts. He began to push himself harder than ever, demanding Gohan spend more and more time sparring with him in the Gravity Room. He stopped letting Gohan dictate when the spars would end; rather, he would continue to fight until unconscious.
"At this rate, you'll reach level 2 in time to die," Gohan muttered as he set Vegeta down in one of the regeneration tanks. One of the first projects Gohan and Bulma had collaborated on was the adaptation of the Saiyan healing tanks for use here on Earth. It had taken years; many of the principles and technologies involved were far more advanced than any found on Earth. But they had finally gotten a working prototype after close to 3 years of work. It wasn't ready for mass production; it was still prohibitively expensive, but Gohan had hopes it could be mass-produced in the future. For now, it was a useful way to recover from tough spars.
As the machine started, Gohan took one final look at Vegeta's grim visage. He sighed; he couldn't understand it. Given how hard Vegeta was pushing and how close he was, he should have ascended already. Gohan could feel it every time they sparred; Vegeta maximum was unbelievable close. In fact, he was now stronger than the level Gohan fought Cell at before he ascended to level 2. So, why hadn't he ascended?
Gohan sat down heavily on a chair in the kitchen. If he didn't figure this out soon, Gohan was positive Vegeta would train himself to death. No one could get him to slow down, not even Bulma. I need help Gohan mused. He just didn't know how to solve this problem; he needed advice from someone who was an expert on the Saiyan transformations. But who…
Suddenly, Gohan grinned. He was an idiot; there was an obvious person to ask. Why didn't I think of this sooner? Gohan wondered. This was perfect; if anyone could help Gohan find a solution, it was Sensei. After all, he was stronger than Gohan, and seemed to know more about Saiyan transformations than anyone else Gohan knew. Tonight, Gohan would make sure and ask him
Time to get some help.
"Hello Gohan, how is everything going with Lime?"
Gohan grinned; after Lime had met the Briefs, Gohan had decided it was time to let Sensei know. So three months ago, the same night the Briefs met Lime, Gohan had told Sensei about her. Since then, Sensei made it a point to ask about Lime every single night. It was kind of amusing; Sensei seemed fascinated that Gohan was dating, and his curiosity seemed unwavering on the subject.
"Fine, just fine. I didn't see her today, but we talked for a little while on the phone this morning," Gohan confessed.
"You ready to start today's lesson? I've got a new technique to teach you," Sensei continued.
"Actually, I wanted to ask your advice on something. I've got a situation…" Gohan admitted.
"What's wrong?" Sensei immediately asked in concern.
"It's…Vegeta." Gohan began. "He's close to Super Saiyan 2; I can feel it when we spar. But for some reason, he can't make the transformation. I know he's strong enough; hell, he's stronger than I was when I first ascended. But he still isn't transforming. I was wondering if you had any idea what the reason for this could be."
Sensei said nothing for several minutes; instead, he gazed steadily at Gohan. Gohan met his gaze without hesitation, and idly noticed something. He and Sensei were now the same height; apparently that last growth spurt had made them equal. Finally, Sensei said softly, "I always suspected your sparring with Vegeta would result in him becoming stronger than he had been originally, but I never suspected it would be like this. My congratulations; if you're correct, Vegeta is going to reach Super Saiyan 2 much earlier than he did in my timeline."
"Really?" Gohan asked. He was stunned; he'd never thought Sensei would ever flat out admit to anything like this.
Sensei nodded, "I can only hope this doesn't alter things too much…"
"What do you mean?" Gohan demanded.
Sensei sighed, "Gohan, ever little change that happens has a ripple effect on the future. I knew this, and was even counting on it. However, even I can't predict how the changes made are going to alter the future. I just hope it isn't too problematic."
Gohan saw and even smelled that Sensei was worried; apparently, this problem was worse than he was letting on. "I'm sorry…" Gohan began.
Sensei held up a hand, forestalling any more, "Don't be. To be honest, if I were in your shoes, I would have done the same. After all, 'always have a back-up plan'. Now then, as to your question…I can think of several reasons why Vegeta would not be ascending."
"Such as…" Gohan pressed.
Sensei didn't speak for several seconds; finally, he explained, "Super Saiyan 2 requires a certain set of circumstances to occur. But at the core of the transformation are two things; Rage and Need. The transformation is fueled by anger, an asset I'm sure Vegeta has in abundance. Therefore, the problem lies in the other core requirement. Like Super Saiyan, the power responds to a need, not a desire. Let me ask you this; what need exists for him to ascend?"
Gohan opened his mouth, but after a few seconds he closed it. As he really thought about it, Gohan realized there was no real need. Oh, Vegeta wanted it badly; but that was a desire, not a need.
Sensei saw Gohan's understanding, and added, "You ascended because you had to. Though you were incredibly angry, at the core was need. If you didn't get more power, Cell would kill you and your friends. My circumstances were…similar. Without that need, the power will not come. No matter how much anger Vegeta has within him, he'll never ascend without the trigger."
Gohan sighed heavily; that was bad, "What am I going to do? Vegeta is pushing himself to reach it, but you're right. Though he desires it badly, there is not a NEED for him to ascend. The Earth is peaceful, and other than annoyance that he isn't the strongest, Vegeta doesn't NEED to ascend."
A thoughtful look came over Sensei's face. He slowly approached Gohan until they were within a few inches, and said softly, "There may be a way."
"What? How?" Gohan asked.
Sensei didn't speak for several seconds, and Gohan felt dread rise in his soul. Finally, he said, "Do you remember how you ascended to Super Saiyan 3?"
Gohan nodded, confused, "Yes, but I don't see…"
"I lied to you," Sensei interjected, "I led you along, convinced you I kept something secret from you. I created a set of circumstances in which a need was manufactured, and you responded by ascending."
Gohan froze; he saw where Sensei was going, "Are you saying you could do something similar for Vegeta?"
Sensei shook his head, "No, Gohan, I can't. I'm not in that world, nor would I ever bring him here. I'M not the one who would have to do it."
Gohan swallowed, "Me? You're saying I'd have to do it,"
Sensei nodded once, "Yes Gohan. You are the one who would have to create the situation. You are the only one who can."
Gohan shuddered. He knew Vegeta; Gohan knew what would happen if Vegeta found out Gohan set him up. "He'll hate me if I do it," Gohan admitted, "Vegeta would be upset if I did what you're suggesting, and I don't know if I can…"
Sensei placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder; the gesture was at once comforting and supportive, "I know how much you respect and care for Vegeta. I've seen it when you talk about him; I wish I could tell you of another way. But you have to ask yourself; do you care enough for him to risk his hatred to do what needs to be done?"
As Gohan gazed into Sensei's eyes, he suddenly understood. He knew now what it had cost Sensei to do what he had done; the moral wresting Sensei must have done before he'd made his choice became clear to Gohan. After all, he was now faced with the same choice.
"Thank you," Gohan said softly.
Sensei smiled softly, "Anytime Gohan. Now then, are we ready to begin?"
Gohan nodded, and Sensei let his hand drop. Gohan listened as Sensei began to explain the particulars of the new technique for tonight with half a mind; the rest of him was weighting, considering what to do. Could he really do this to Vegeta? Was there any other choice? If he didn't do it, would Vegeta ever let it go? As Sensei began to demonstrate the technique, Gohan reached a decision.
He knew what he had to do.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Well, another part is done. I hope you liked it. Please read and review. Now, to respond to reviews.
Sailor Wade: Thank you for telling me about the premature babies. I had already been told about that, but I appreciate you providing a real life example that it is true. I will now state again that I was wrong; I apologize for my mistake.
Orchid: The reason I went with the eyes often is because they are the windows to the soul, or so it has been said. I will sometimes refer to expressions, but I am a firm believer that you can judge a person's mood and read what they are feeling in their eyes.
ChimmyChumba: The trilogy will not be ending with Buu and the Destroyer; just this part.
Samurai Demon-God Sekikage: I apologize for not mentioning your request. I am considering doing a Lime/Gohan story after this; however, this story will most likely take a long time to complete, so right now it is merely a backburner idea for my muse to consider along with several other possibilities. I will give it due weight when it comes time for my next story, but that won't be for quite a while.
I'll try and get the next part out as soon as possible.