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 27 – But You're Dead!

"GOHAN! WAKE UP!"

Gohan tensed as he felt them coming. A second later, two objects slammed into his midsection. With a gasp, Gohan sat up and opened his eyes. He found two sets of eyes staring right back, with anticipation apparent in their posture. "Good morning," Gohan groaned.

"Come on! The sooner you get up, the sooner we'll get there," Trunks started in excitement.

"I'll be down in a moment," Gohan promised, "In the mean time, why don't you head down and get seated for breakfast."

"ALRIGHT," Goten and Trunks shouted together, and then they were gone.

Gohan took a deep breath and smiled. Their exhilaration about today was not surprising. This was their first tournament, the first real chance they would have to fight against new opponents and test their skills. The Saiyan in them must be reveling in that fact; Gohan probably would have felt the same if it weren't for what he knew was coming.

Gohan's smile faded. Today was probably going to become the most important day of his life; the very fate of the world was resting on his shoulders. He had trained and prepared for this day for close to 7 years; he wouldn't fail. Standing quickly, Gohan got dressed for the tournament with a sort of grim purpose. Gohan donned his chosen uniform, a pair of black gi pants with a corresponding black muscleman shirt. The clothes were loose and would serve him well, at least until the time came for his true attire.

Gohan smirked as he put on his latest invention. Though it only looked like a watch, Gohan had adapted it to house a single capsule. When opened, the capsule would adorn him with the clothing inside. Gohan had been given a long time to consider what would be best, and he felt his choice would serve. In secret, Gohan had experimented with the standard Saiyan battle armor, increasing the strength and protectiveness of it without sacrificing any of his movement or flexibility. Though it looked exactly like the uniform he had worn in the Room of Spirit and Time, Gohan guessed it was close to ten times stronger. He normally hated to wear armor. He felt it was almost cheating, but against the Destroyer he'd take any advantage he could get. And it was definitely better than Gohan's backup plan; a gaudy set of clothing, mostly black and green, with a red cape and helmet. He had toyed briefly with that idea, but once he'd drawn it out, had felt it would make him look absolutely ridiculous. No, better to go with Saiyan battle armor; it almost seemed appropriate somehow.

"What's taking so long Big Brother?"

Gohan looked at the doorway to see Goten standing there anxiously. Gohan smiled, "Nothing, just getting ready for today. I figure I'll fight in this at the tournament."

"Wow, you look awesome," Goten proclaimed, but Gohan could see Goten's cheer and enthusiasm seemed unreal.

"Goten, what's wrong?" Gohan immediately asked. He knelt down so he and Goten were eye to eye. Goten could try and hide many things, but never from Gohan. His eyes always gave him away.

Goten shuffled his feet, "Do I hafta wear the amulet?"

Gohan suppressed a groan; he knew this was going to be tough. "I'm sorry Goten, but you really need to. Just during the Tournament," Gohan knew Goten hated the amulet; it had only recently begun to constrict Goten's powers, but he was definitely feeling the bind. Gohan wished Goten could simply remove it; however, any sudden jump in power would definitely be noticed and would lead to awkward questions.

"Awww…but what if I fight Trunks? I'm not stronger than him with it on, but I KNOW I can beat him without it," Goten whined.

Gohan knew he would never win this if he didn't do something fast, "Goten, I promise you won't have to wear it much longer. For now, I really need you to do this for me. Can you just leave it on for a little while longer, for me?"

Goten looked uncomfortable for a second, before he finally said softly, "Okay Gohan, I promise. I'll leave it on."

Gohan smiled slightly, "Great. I'll tell you what; how about after the Tournament and everything that comes with it is over, you and I go out for ice cream? Just the two of us..." Bribery and a topic change would seal the deal; Gohan knew that much from all the time he spent with his brother.

Sure enough, Goten's face lit up, "Really? Just you and me, and tons of ice cream? That sounds AWESOME!"

Gohan felt a little bad manipulating his little brother like that; it felt wrong somehow. As soon as this is over, I'm making it up to him Gohan declared mentally. Aloud, he said, "Let's get down there before Trunks and Vegeta eat all the food!"

A look of immense horror came over Goten's face. A split second later, he was gone. Chuckling, Gohan followed after him. After all, he wanted some food too. Walking into the kitchen, Gohan saw that Trunks and Vegeta were already at the table, impatiently waiting for food. "WOMAN, hurry up!" Vegeta snarled, "I need food, so I'll be at my best when the time comes to crush that third class clown!"

"Just for saying that, I should make you eat some of my leftovers," Bulma declared.

All four Saiyans paled. The 'leftovers' (a term they had never even known existed before now) referred to a plate of food made by Bulma so bad that none of the Saiyans would eat it. It had been left in the refrigerator, hopefully where it would die. "Don't even tease about that Bulma," Gohan said with a grimace. "I'm sure Vegeta was just nervous about today, right?"

"Hmph, as if I have any reason to be nervous," Vegeta declared proudly. However, his eyes flickered towards Gohan for a moment, and Gohan understood it as a slightly sign of thanks for saving them all from the 'leftovers'.

"Well, I see his royal highness's ego hasn't been damaged," Bulma retorted, "What about you Gohan, looking forward to today? To seeing your parents again?"

The time had come; with practiced ease, Gohan slid his mask on. He hid his true feelings and forced a smile, "Of course I am. And I can't wait for Goten to meet them either." At least he was honest about that; though Gohan would sooner face Frieza again without ki than his parents, he was reasonably sure Goten's meeting would be pleasant.

"Are you sure they'll like me?" Goten asked nervously. He was fidgeting a little, and his eyes darted around the room.

"Goten…" Bulma began, but Gohan halted her with a glance. He then turned and added, "Goten, trust me. Mom and Dad will love you, and you'll love them." Inwardly, Gohan felt bitterness rise within him. That was the first time I've called them that aloud in years he realized in shock. Forcing the bitterness down, Gohan continued, "Don't let it bother you. After all, you need to be clear and focused for the fights today."

Any further conversation was halted as Bulma's mother entered with a tray laden with food, "Breakfast," she chirped, and all four Saiyans fell upon it with a vengeance. As he ate, Gohan spared a look to take in everyone's status. Trunks was nervous but trying to hide that face with bravado; Gohan had seen that before. Goten was still nervous, but it was much less apparent then before. Vegeta had an almost feral grin on his face, and his eyes burned with a fire Gohan hadn't seen in a long time. Bulma looked happy, and her mother looked…well, like normal. As for Gohan himself…he found himself torn between nervous anticipation and a sort of immense calm. Gohan tried to lean hold the calm as long as possible; he had a feeling it wasn't going to last long. He soon found himself doing something he hadn't done in a long time; praying.

Kami, please help me get through the events that are to come.

This is even worse than I thought it would be Gohan muttered mentally as he walked out of the plane. Originally, all of the Z-Fighters planned on going to the Tournament in the same plane. Vegeta had wanted to simply fly there under his own power, a much faster route than Bulma's plane. However, he acquiesced surprisingly fast when Bulma stated she refused to be carried like a sack of grain to the Tournament. Further problems arose when Bulma's largest air transport capsule was destroyed (Trunks and Goten swear it was a training accident, but Gohan suspected a prank. After all, why else would a paint bomb be in Bulma's purse?). Needless to say, the remaining air capsule was only large enough for the four Saiyans, Bulma, and her parents.

The others agreed to all find other means of transportation and meet at 9am. Registration started then, so everyone figured they'd be one of the firsts one there. They thought wrong, Gohan realized as he finished leaving the plane. The entire island was packed with people; so many Gohan could barely recognize one human ki from another. Many of them were simply spectators, but even more were Gohan's 'peers' and fellow Tournament participants. Not that Gohan would ever consider them equal; their ki level was incredibly low for fighters. Gohan had hoped to find fighters outside of the Z-Fighters that were at least strong for humans, but that was obviously not the case.

Oh well Gohan mused as he saw some 'fighter' try and awe the audience by lifting what looked like 75lbs with one hand. At least the Z-fighters were all fighting today and they had enough Sensu beans to really let loose and go all out. Gohan smirked; he still remembered the look on Korin's face when Gohan mentioned how many Sensu beans they would need. Gohan thought Korin was going into cardiac arrest. But he'd come through in flying colors; Gohan now held a bag with close to 30 Sensu beans. Hopefully, that would be enough.

"I should just send all these fools into the next dimension and save us the hassle of eliminating them in the Tournament." Vegeta commented as he came up next to Gohan.

"Restraint My Prince," Gohan advised in Saiyago, "Save your strength for worthier opponents"

Vegeta snorted but did not reply. As he continued to walk, Gohan suppressed a smile. He knew back right after Cell, such a remark from Gohan would have made Vegeta do it just to prove he wouldn't listen to a brat. I've really earned his respect Gohan mused in wonder. Either that or he's mellowing as he gets older. Not that Gohan would ever repeat that comment; Vegeta would skin him alive.

Without even pausing for thought, Gohan's hands shot out and grabbed Goten and Trunks as they tried to shoot past him. "Aw, come on Gohan," Goten whined.

"Yeah big brother, let us go," Trunks added.

"I want you to keep out of trouble, which means you will stay in my sight for right now," Gohan stated firmly, even as he smiled. He wasn't sure how or when it happened, but at some point Trunks had begun to refer to Gohan as 'big brother'. Gohan found it flattering, especially since Vegeta never corrected Trunks.

"We promise to be good," Trunks firmly stated with a look of extreme innocence on his face, a look that always sent chills down Gohan's spine.

"I'm glad to hear it, but for right now you're still staying near me. I just don't want you to do something and be disqualified from entering. Understand?" Gohan replied.

"Yes Gohan," Trunks and Goten stated with a sigh.

"Good, now let's go catch up to Vegeta," Gohan said as he released Goten and Trunks. As soon as they were loose, the two began to run after Vegeta.

"I'm glad you're keeping them tightly controlled," Bulma mused.

"I just want this island to survive until the fights are over, which probably won't happen with them running loose," Gohan joked.

"True," Bulma admitted as the two of them moved over to where Vegeta and the boys were walking.

Any further discussion was cut off as Gohan sensed several familiar kis ahead. To his surprise, Gohan realized they were the last ones to arrive. Well, almost the last ones. Our guests of honor still need to appear.

Vegeta must have realized the same thing, for he snapped, "Damn it! If we'd flown how I wanted, we'd have been here first, instead of trailing behind the others."

Krillin's approach stalled Bulma's retort. Without preamble, he looked at them and asked, "Have you seen Goku and Chi-chi yet?"

Hello Krillin. Yes, I'm glad you could make it too. Gohan thought in irritation. Looks like things were going back to normal; everyone focused on…them and leaving Gohan to stand in the shadows. God, he hated how everyone ignored him whenever his father was around. Not that he was particularly surprised; after all, they were all Goku's friends first. Still, it hurt how quickly he was dismissed in favor of his father.

"Hello Kid. You alright?"

Gohan turned and saw Piccolo staring at him with a slight frown. I must be letting my mask slip Gohan chided himself. Forcing a smile, Gohan replied, "I'm fine Piccolo. You ready for today?"

Piccolo merely nodded, "Of course. Though I can already see the Tournament has gone downhill since I was last in it. Still, there are enough good fighters to make it worthwhile."

Vegeta snorted, "Please Namek. As if you stand any sort of chance today against a Saiyan. You better hope we don't fight today, or…"

"Don't worry Vegeta. Everyone knows I'll be the one beating you today."

Gohan turned and laughed. Standing there weathering Vegeta's worst glare was his student Lime. She seemed unconcerned and unafraid, a fact that pleased Gohan. He was also pleased with what she had chosen to wear. Lime stood in front of him in a white gi. Her pants and long sleeve shirt stood in nice contrast to Gohan's own garment, but what pleased him the most were the markings. Lime turned around to give Gohan the full view, and he saw that while Piccolo's mark was over her left breast, Gohan's covered the back of her gi top. She cut her hair short for the Tournament Gohan noted. Her remaining hair was effectively kept out of her hair by a red ribbon.

Lime moved forward and smiled at Gohan, "Hey Gohan. How do I look?"

"Like my student," Gohan replied, causing Lime's smile to widen. Throwing away decorum, Lime leaped forward and hugged Gohan hard. Gohan returned it eagerly, and when she pulled away, added, "You rested up like I told you?"

Lime nodded, "Absolutely. So, we ready to move in and sign up?"

"Actually, we're waiting for a few more people," Bulma explained.

Lime frowned, "Really, who? I thought Gohan had told me about all of the Z-Fighters. Who else is coming?"

In shock, Gohan realized he had forgotten to tell Lime the news. It didn't seem like a big deal to tell her; after all, she'd never met his mother and only saw his father for like two seconds. Taking a deep breath, Gohan remarked, "My parents."

Lime's face went blank, "Wait, but they're…"

"Yes," Gohan interjected. He didn't want to explain further, and Lime must have seen that in his expression.

Lime leaned in close and whispered, "Are you okay with this?"

Gohan wasn't surprised she would ask him that; of all of them, she perhaps understood best exactly what he felt towards his parents. Therefore, he leaned in even further and whispered back, "I have to be…for Goten." His voice was the merest sound; it hopefully was soft enough that Piccolo didn't catch it.

Lime pulled back softly, and for a moment a look of immense compassion and understanding crossed her features. Then, it was gone and her normal look was back. But her eyes never lost that look, and Gohan realized she did it for him, to aid in his deception. He hoped his eyes conveyed the gratitude he felt towards her effectively.

"Where is he?" Krillin wondered impatiently. "Do you think it was all a joke?"

"I doubt Goku would joke about something like this," Tien advised, "You know how seriously he takes fighting."

"He probably just is running late from eating so much," Oolong suggested.

Roshi laughed, "That's true. The boy would do something like that. But I'd hoped Chi-chi would keep him on time. After all, her fiery temper could get him moving faster than anything else. Well, except for her absolutely fine bod…"

Roshi was immediately silenced as Bulma slapped him upside the head, "PERVERT! I see you haven't changed at all."

"Of course he hasn't changed. If Roshi had changed, that would be a sign that the world was about to…" Yamcha began, but he trailed off as all of them detected the two kis that had suddenly appeared.

Gohan turned, and felt his breath freeze in his lungs. Standing behind him and only ten feet away were his parents. Everyone seemed to be too stunned; finally, Goku broke the silence as he asked with a grin, "What, is no one happy to see me?"

"GOKU!" Most of the people cheered, and they all rushed forward to engulf Goku and Chi-chi. Gohan hung back as he tried to sort out what he was feeling. He needed to be in control for this; he couldn't let anything slip. He could feel Goten hiding behind his legs; his nervousness was understandable. As for Gohan himself, he wasn't sure what he was feeling. His father was unchanged; his ki was definitely stronger, Gohan could easily sense that. But everything else about him, from his goofy grin to his gravity defying hair was exactly the same. He appeared unchanged by the time that had passed, and that stunned Gohan slightly. Oh, he knew that Goku wouldn't have aged; why would the dead age? But so much was different now, about Gohan, about everything. To see his father in such a frozen state shocked him.

As for Chi-chi, she looked…amazing. She appeared to be in better shape than Gohan had ever seen her in. Before the others had swarmed her, Gohan had gotten a good look at her. Her body had become hardened, like a warrior. The gray that had begun to show up on her temples had faded, and the small wrinkles on her face were gone. If anything, she looked younger than the last time Gohan had seen her. However, superimposed over the new look was an image burned into Gohan's mind. The last time he had seen his mother. The pale visage, the pain wracked face and emaciated body was a startling contrast to how she looked now. The image would probably have haunted Gohan if he'd dreamed. Now, it simply made him unable to move.

Chi-chi kept a frown off of her face only with effort. It was great to see everyone again; Bulma and she had hugged fiercely, and even Goku's old friends seemed delighted to see her. But the person she most wanted to see wasn't in this gaggle of well-wishers. He was here though; Chi-chi had caught a glimpse of him before being over-whelmed. Now, she wanted nothing more than to see him again, to see her little boy after all this time.

Goku seemed to feel the same way. The two of them clasped hands as he said, "It's great to see you all again," Goku looked at all of them for a moment, and something seemed to pass between them. They apparently understood what Goku and she wanted; they parted silently, lending weight to the meeting that was about to happen and allowing Chi-chi her a closer look at Gohan.

Chi-chi found her daydreams up in heaven were off quite a bit. She had expected to see a scholarly, studious young man standing before her. This was definitely not the case; Chi-chi could tell by the stance and general body mass that Gohan had become a warrior. However, intelligence glowed in his eyes; Chi-chi could see that now. Looking closer, she began to see bits and pieces of her and Goku in him. He definitely had Goku's hair and eyes, but Chi-chi could see a bit of herself in his nose. And that strong chin easily could have come from her father. As for his stance and general posture, that actually seemed pure Vegeta, both proud and strong. Not that Chi-chi was surprised; she had figured that Bulma would take Gohan in after…what happened, and therefore Gohan would have picked up a few traits. Still, as Chi-chi continued to stare, she realized it didn't matter. This was definitely her son, and she found herself unable to stop looking at him. Out of the corner of her eye, Chi-chi saw that Goku seemed similarly affected.

Gohan felt a little uncomfortable; they both were just staring at him as if trying to look into his very soul. Slightly worried that they would succeed, Gohan managed to say, "Hello…Mom…Dad…" Inwardly, Gohan winced. God that sounded awkward. Come on, you can do better. However, neither of his parents appeared to notice his awkwardness; they continued to simply stare him.

Finally, Goku broke the silence by saying softly, "Hello son," He wanted to convey so much with his words; how proud he was of the man Gohan had become, how happy he was to see him again, how sad he was that his visit was only temporary. But all that Goku could seem to say was those two words, and he prayed they would convey it all.

Chi-chi was torn between complete joy and apprehension. Her son stood before her, and that thought was incredibly joyful. But that old fear, that he would hate or be saddened by what had happened, still lingered. Finally, she stated happily, "My little boy…" With a smile, Chi-chi walked purposefully towards Gohan. She intended to hug him nearly to death, like she used to do, when she caught sight of the small boy with a death grip on Gohan's leg. She froze, utterly stunned as she asked, "Who is that?"

Gohan was puzzled; his mother was pale, and his father seemed to be following her example. What's going on? "What do you mean Mom? This is Goten…come on Goten, say hello." He tried to coax Goten out away from his leg, but Goten wasn't moving.

"That's not funny," Chi-chi said coldly. Goten was dead; King Yamma, King Kai, even the Grand Kai had said so. This couldn't be Goten. Right?

"What are you talking about?" Gohan questioned.

"You know that Goten is dead Gohan," Goku explained. His face had closed off, and he looked like he always did in his fights Gohan realized. "He died right after he was born."

"What? No he didn't," Gohan countered. He was puzzled; what the heck were his parents talking about? "I'm sorry, but that's just not…"

"HOW DARE YOU!" Chi-chi hissed. "I can't believe my own son would do something like this." She felt anger rise in her; this had to be a trick, IT HAD TO! And if it was, there could only be one reason for it, "What, you wanted me to suffer even more for my failure back then? You wanted to twist the knife with this fake!"

"Mom, you need to…" Gohan began again.

"Get him out of my sight," Chi-chi interjected hatefully, "I don't know what you are trying to pull with…him…but it wasn't funny. Joke's over Gohan."

It was too much for Goten. Bursting into tears as his imagined family reunion dissolved, Goten turned and flew off almost as fast as he could. Gohan used his harshest glare on both Goku and Chi-chi as he said coldly, "I don't know what the hell that was about, but I do know one thing. If anyone is a fake here, it's you. The mother I remember would never have done what you just did." Without another word, Gohan turned and flew after Goten.

Chi-chi stared at the two retreating forms in shock, as a dreadful realization began to sink in. Slowly, Chi-chi looked around to find the others staring at her with expressions of immense shock on their faces. Finally, her gaze rested on Bulma, her oldest friend and most trusted confidant. Bulma was the one person here Chi-chi knew would never lie to her, so she asked softly, "Bulma, was that really Goten?"

Bulma seemed to understand exactly how important the question was. She didn't make any acidic remarks or use sarcasm; she simply nodded slowly and said, "Yes, he is Goten."

That was all it took; the dam burst in Chi-chi mind as one fact reverberated. Goten is alive. Along with that thought came a deep sense of horror and abject fear as she considered both her decision made long ago and the actions she had just taken now. Looking at her husband, Chi-chi saw his face had a very similar expression. Turning to the others, Chi-chi tried to make them understand, to have their looks of shock vanish. "They told me he was dead," Chi-chi explained, "If I'd known, I'd never…I wouldn't have…I'd have come…OH KAMI!"

It was too much; the horror and sadness overwhelmed her. Chi-chi fell to her knees and began to weep. She was vaguely conscious of Goku kneeling down with her and embracing her, of his tears mingling with her hair as he also wept, of the others gathering around them. But it all was barely noticed; Chi-chi was consumed by her thoughts. They lied to me; Goten is alive. I stayed dead for nothing; my fear of Gohan's reaction was groundless. I abandoned my older son for no reason, and shouldered so much responsibility on him. I kept my youngest son from ever meeting me, and forced him to grow up till now without his mother.

Oh Kami, what have I done!

TO BE CONTINUED…

Another part is now done; I hope you enjoyed it. Please read and review; reviews help keep me motivated. As to those of you who have posted questions concerning the story's plot, such as who is Sensei and such, realize I have read them. While I will not answer them at this time or ever in this comments section (unless I really screw up down the line), I promise that all of the unanswered questions in the story will be answered either by the end of this part of the end of the trilogy, depending on the question. This brings me to my next point; don't let my stated goal of finishing Development of a Hero by the end of the summer mislead you. I fully plan on writing two more stories after this and making this a trilogy. I was simply stating when this story would be done.