Of course there's an Epilogue, I just couldn't resist! ;)
Epilogue
One Year Later
xxxx
Carry on my wayward son - Kansas
Planet Earth, June Age 775
His plan was fool proof.
There was no doubt about it, he thought, as he clenched a clawed fist over the stone of eternity. It was the key to the galaxy's demise. Yes, immortality would finally be his! His enemies would finally fall, the universe's strongest warriors would bow before him. World's would quiver and tremble beneath his feet!
Yes, he thought, as his green, scaled skin brushed against the dry rocks of the cave. No one would find him here, not on such a weak little planet in the middle of the Northern Galaxy. How the strange blue rock was still surviving was beyond him, what with The Planet Trade having had ruled over the galaxies for decades. It was full of such disgusting creatures.
Oh yes, he would have fun eliminating them all with his new found power. He had already caused havoc within their cities, destroying buildings and raiding their banks for more precious gems.
It was only the beginning of his empire.
But for now he must rest, he was shielded from the heat of the burning sun, safe and cool in the dark cave. He would have to wait for his moment, the moment the universe would fall. Yes, it was fool proof. No one could stop him now.
"You know, for a supposed highly wanted villain, you sure are stereotypical."
The sudden voice echoed off the walls of the cave, causing the green-skinned alien to stop in his tracks, it was strong but youthful, and held a hint of amusement in its tone.
He gasped, as he heard footsteps approach, and in a flash, the stone of immortality was ripped away from his grasp. His many eyes darted around him, though he could not see any sign of his attacker anywhere.
"Honestly, this is almost too easy," the voice spoke again in a bored manner, "I mean, I could practically hear you muttering your plan from the other side of the planet. Did you want us to find you?"
"W-who are you? Show yourself!" he croaked, fear racked his bones as a white aura chased away the shadows of the cave, illuminating a figure standing before him.
It was a young man, he realised, around six feet tall. He had long, unruly golden hair that cascaded down to his waist in a long ponytail. His face was handsome, youthful with a strong jawline, though his eyes were covered by a shiny black visor.
He was well built, with a muscular torso and broad shoulders. He wore a black spandex bodice with a blue and gold chest plate, complete with a silver and black cape, dark gloves and boots also accompanied his outfit. The hilt of a sword could be seen behind him, nestled within the sheathe that was strapped to his back. A long brown tail protruded from his cape, swirling around him in annoyance.
"Oh come off it," said the teenager, rolling his eyes, "I would have thought that most people would know by now. Gossip travels fast throughout the galaxies as The Supreme Kai says."
"No, no," the green skinned alien gasped, taking in his appearance fully, "I-it cant be – y-your him! The one who defeated Majin Buu! The rumours are true!"
"That's right," said Gohan with a smirk, "And I can't believe you were stupid enough to come to my home planet. Im mean certainly, give Earth a visit, see the sights, visit the newly opened Gold Fighter museum if you want to, I don't mind! But when you start destroying the cities, that's when you start to piss me off. Honestly, its like you're actually asking to be beaten to within an inch of you're life or something."
The alien whimpered, the enormous energy pulsating around him was unmistakable as the young saiyan thoughtfully turned the stone around in his palm, the other hand reaching for the sword on his back, "Now, how to teach you a lesson…"
BAM!
The alien cried out in pain as he suddenly flew across the cave, his large green head hitting the stone wall. All four eyes popped out of their sockets as he slumped to the floor, unconscious.
"Nice shot," The young man observed, impressed as the attacker landed gracefully in front of him, "Golden Girl."
"Thanks Gold Fighter, but you talk way too much, I got fed up of waiting," Golden Girl replied, rolling her eyes at him.
"Aw, come on Videl," he teased, putting the jagged Z-Sword back into it's place, "I was just having a bit of fun, it's been a few months since we had any extraterrestrial criminals knocking on our doorstep."
Videl huffed in annoyance, folding her arms across her chest. She was dressed in a similar black outfit as her comrade, though her bodice was more like a leotard, exposing her smooth toned legs. The bodice ran the length of her arms and dipped at the chest where a plate of silver armour protected her torso. A black mask covered the area around her eyes, allowing her sapphire orbs to shine brightly out at the young saiyan. Her raven hair was loose, reaching her waist in elegant waves. She wore thigh high boots upon her feet. Black fingerless gloves and a golden cape completed her attire.
"Aw don't be mad babe," Gohan pined at his girlfriend, "Look I'll finish off the job -"
Quickly bringing up his palm, he blasted a small ball of Ki at the unconscious brute, incinerating him in an instant, "See?"
Videl did not look impressed, "And what about this 'stone of eternity' that he was harping on about?"
Gohan swiftly ignited a ball of Ki in his palm, "What stone?"
The Satan girl tutted, "You can't just solve everything by blowing things up you know!"
"Why not?" he smirked, "It worked on Buu."
"You're going to hurt someone with that ego of yours one of these days," she sighed before spinning on her heel, "Come on, we're already late."
The young saiyan quickly followed suit, following her out of the cave and taking off into the sky. The skies were clear and bright, the sun reflecting in the ocean as they flew overhead. Gohan held back his speed, as Videl was still getting used to her flight, though she had come on in leaps and bounds, her Ki swelling bigger and bigger with each passing day.
"Hey look! It's The Gold Fighter and Golden Girl! Everybody wave!"
Cheers erupted below them as they flew over the streets of Satan City and continued further East, the young couple waved back cheerily, their fans reeling from excitement. The pair were truly loved by all, even though their true identity's were far from a secret. There was something about having real superhero's to fight crime that was enchanting in itself.
Fortunately for Gohan and Videl, Mister Satan was quick to stifle any reporters who dared to report on their love life, even though it was fully out in the open. The news that The Gold Fighter was dating Videl Satan, or Golden Girl as she was now referred to, left millions of broken teenage hearts across the planet, though the halfling paid no mind, there was only one heart he was bothered about breaking.
Still, Videl's hate mail had steadily slowed after a few months, and now one year on the couple were moving on with their lives. They were careful not to let the whirlwind of being superhero's take over as they tried to adjust to breaking free into normal adult lives. Gohan was close to completing a university degree in engineering at just nineteen years old, generously paid for by Mister Satan. With the Champ and Bulma pulling some strings, Gohan was allowed to complete the degree in just under a year, with a post at Capsule Corporation waiting for him at the end. That way, he would be able to get a much better job role instead of just having an apprenticeship. His mother was ecstatic of course.
Videl on the other hand, had enrolled in the police academy for Satan City and had nearly completed her first year. And, with Gohan's impending salary in just a few months, the pair had already started at looking at houses together. Mister Satan had offered them the money for them to build an enormous mansion in Satan City, but the young couple didn't feel right taking it, more than willing to start up alone. Gohan still had some money saved up from his earnings as The Gold Fighter after all.
The halfling also knew he couldn't live in a place like Satan City, as much as he had grown fond of his future father-in-law. His mother certainly didn't like the thought of her 'baby boy' moving out, but Gohan was more than ready to start his own path, his own life with Videl and Gokuto elsewhere.
As they flew over the Eastern Mountains, Gohan knew that he would miss the place in which he grew up. Though he knew that he could never stray for too long, that and he would always struggle to be too far away from the beautiful countryside.
Deeming it safe to transform, Videl pressed the button on her wrist watch, her superhero clothes replaced by a pair of skinny jeans and converse, her long white t-shirt loose off one shoulder as it flapped freely in the light quickly joined her, sporting his own pair of ripped jeans and a tight t-shirt, showing off his sleeve of tattoo's that had a few new additions added to it. His long, golden hair turned back to it's usual ebony, the visor slipping from his face and revealing his dark onyx eyes that glinted in the summer sun.
"I'm so glad that Bulma built that illusion device into your suit," said Videl, as they flew, "I was getting fed up of bleaching your hair every six weeks."
"Don't lie Vi," he winked back at her, "you loved all those loooooong hours we spent locked up in your dad's bathroom."
"Shut up Gohan," she fumed, folding her arms across her chest as the wind whipped through her hair.
The halfling smirked, and began to swoop around her teasingly, throwing his head back and forth, "OH Gohan! Don't stop Gohan! Ooh I love it when you do that with your tail Gohan - OW!"
The young saiyan dropped several feet, as Videl caught him off guard with a well aimed strike to the skull.
"Your punches are getting stronger lately," he winced, floating up beside her once more.
"Well I've been practicing, hitting you is one of my favourite things to do," she mused, flashing him a wicked grin.
"Just one of?" he teased, causing her to roll her eyes at him.
She ignored his wicked grin as they flew over the familiar valleys of Mount Paozu, sparkling clear lakes reflecting their shadows in the water. Gohan could just about make out small ripples over the surface, though from this height he couldn't tell whether or not it was caused by fish or locals swimming in the cool waters.
"Why are you squinting like that?"
Gohan started at the sound of her voice. She was giving him a curious, and rather amused look, which caused the halfling to shoot her a glare, "I'm not squinting, I've just got something in my eye."
"Oh really?" Videl quirked, "Because I've noticed you've been doing that a lot lately, especially when you're studying at your computer. Maybe you need glasses."
The young saiyan halted in mid air, "I do not need glasses."
His girlfriend sighed hopelessly, "Oh come off it, it's not that bad, you can't keep struggling like that."
"Easy for you to say," he pouted, folding his arms across his chest, "I've never heard of a saiyan needing glasses before."
"You are half human too Gohan," she reasoned, her lips quirking into a smirk, "Besides, they might make you look like less of a punk."
"Oi!"
Videl rolled her eyes, taking off once more and forcing the young man to follow her, "You're not getting away with this, we're going to the opticians tomorrow and getting your eyes tested."
"Fine," Gohan sighed, "But not one word of this to anyone, especially not Mum or Vegeta."
She grinned back at him triumphantly, causing him to scowl. But there was no more time to argue, as the billowing smoke from the chimney of his family home came into view, shortly followed by the little cottages by the edge of the forest.
The young saiyan touched upon the ground lightly, though Videl squeaked a little, stumbling into him as she made a rather clumsy landing.
"We've got to work on your landing," he chuckled, causing the girl to glare at him.
"I'll give you a landing Son Gohan," she growled, shaking a fist towards him before walking off ahead towards the door step.
Gohan smirked, reaching the doorway in a flash and leaning up the frame before her, "Well why don't I give you another private lesson tonight, once I've put Gokuto to bed…"
To his delight, her lips quirked into a seductive smile. She leaned into him, her breath tickling his lips, "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah…"
CREAK
The two crime fighter's yelped, as the front door suddenly swung open from behind them. Gohan's back hit the cool wooden floors with a loud thud, Videl falling right on top of him as he looked up to meet the thunderous glare of his mother.
"Late again!" Chi-Chi fumed, shaking her head at the pair of them, "Why am I not surprised?"
"Sorry Mum," Gohan grinned, still splayed out on the floor, "We got caught up."
"Yes I'm sure you did," his mother tutted, shutting the door with a snap, "Now please get up off the floor Son Gohan, you're setting a bad example."
The young saiyan rolled his eyes, clambering to his feet and helping his girlfriend up in the process.
"Oh Videl!" his mother suddenly gushed, as if just having noticed the Satan girl, "How lovely to see you! Please come in, make yourself at home, you know where everything is!"
"Thanks Chi-Chi," Videl smiled, following her into the small kitchen where Goku and Goten were sat at the table, their eyes staring hungrily at the mountain of food in front of them.
It was rather odd having his father back in his life, though not in a bad way. It had certainly taken some getting used to over the first few weeks after his return, though as it turned out, it seemed that Goku had a lot more readjusting to do too. His father was certainly not used to having a teenager for a son, and thus resulted in a rather embarrassing situation regarding instant transmission when Gohan was late coming back from Videl's one night.
It was safe to say that his girlfriend did not visit for about a week after that particular incident, and it took her a bit longer than that to look his father in the eye. Still, having his father back was certainly a blessing for their little family. His mother simply couldn't stop smiling, and had even begun to wear her hair down, something Gohan only ever saw when she was relaxing. Goten and Gokuto were completely besotted by the man, and Gohan would join them all on numerous fishing trips and camp out under the stars amongst the valleys.
The Z-Fighter's were back to their normal, carefree selves, and had returned to family life. Though they refused to let up on their training, the reality that there were beings out there more powerful than Cell was a hard lesson to learn, but one that had to be learned all the same.
Gohan's power, however, had took a bit more getting used to than anything else. The first day after Majin Buu's defeat, he had returned from Videl's for a well deserved shower and finally got a good look at himself in the bathroom mirror. As he had studied his reflection, he noticed some subtle differences in himself that weren't there a couple of days beforehand. His muscles seemed harder, more defined under his skin. His eyes even looked darker, if that was at all possible, though a light spark had been reignited within the orbs that he thought he had lost many years ago.
He couldn't help but think that the spark was mainly due to Videl.
Still, his power was certainly gastronomical, and it took him a few months to be able to control it properly. Gohan would occasionally engage in a friendly sparring match with the gang, though at the moment his focus was aimed at his career and Videl. He had willingly taken to training her to fly and manipulate Ki in between spending time together on dates like any normal young couple. Videl loved sparring with him, and even though he was eons stronger than her, he enjoyed teaching her all the same. His father, Piccolo and Vegeta didn't seem to mind, though they had encouraged him to not let his training slip again. For now though, they were happy for him, and Gohan would even go as far to tease them all for getting soft.
"Chi-Chi, can we eat yet?" Goku groaned longingly.
"We're starving!" whined Goten.
"Don't be so dramatic Goten," the ox-princess huffed, "Gohan and Videl are here now."
"Sorry we kept you waiting Dad," Gohan grinned cheekily as the teenager's entered the kitchen and sat themselves down at the table.
"That's alright son," his father beamed, "Did you catch that alien monster that was destroying the cities?"
"Of course we did Goku," Videl winked, "Well, more like I did, all Gohan managed to do was tell him off a bit before I had to take control of the situation and drop kick him into a wall."
"Wow Videl!" exclaimed Goten, his eyes widening in awe, "You're like the Robin to Gohan's Batman!"
The girl's stare hardened as Gohan snorted with laughter.
"Okay, Robin wishes he was me," she said in annoyance, picking up her fork and glaring at her boyfriend.
"But Robin's cool!" the young boy protested.
"Speak for yourself Goten," said Gohan, still laughing.
"Oh stop teasing her the both of you," his mother scolded, before her head perked up listening for something, "I think I hear Gokuto, I'll go and check on him, you stay and eat your dinner Gohan."
As his mother left the room, his father turned to him, "Now your mother's gone son, I've been meaning to ask, when are you going to start training him?"
"I don't know," the teen said honestly, when thinking about his own power, he couldn't help but consider what he would do about Gokuto's, "I was thinking about teaching him a few basics next year when he turned four, but Piccolo was saying something about doing meditation with him instead."
"Meditation?" His father frowned.
"Yeah that's what I thought," said Gohan, "But Piccolo said it would be good for controlling his little outbursts."
Videl snorted, "I'd hardly call them little Gohan."
"Aw he can't help it," he pouted, "he's only three, I didn't start training until I was four, remember?"
"Yeah but you weren't…" his father paused struggling for words.
"Weren't what?" the halfling challenged dangerously.
"To put it lightly son, you weren't a little terror."
"Oi!"
"Hey I'm sorry," Goku smiled apologetically, holding his hands up in defence, "But you can't deny that his temper tantrums are something else, remember when he exploded the garden shed just last week?"
"And your mum's wedding china last month," Videl stated.
"Remember when you forced him in the bathtub when he didn't want a bath that one time Gohan?" Goten chimed in happily, "I got stuck in the ceiling!"
"Alright alright!" Gohan sighed, "So he's got a few anger management issues I have yet to parent out of him. But do you really think meditation will work? Even I struggle with the attention span for that!"
"No surprise there," Videl drawled, causing the halfling to glare at her.
"Who knows Gohan," his father shrugged, "Piccolo might be right. Gokuto has got a lot of power inside him after all. It might be good for him to learn how to control his energy before we start teaching him how to spar."
"Don't worry Gohan," said Goten, "I bet it won't take that long! Ooh! Then 'Kuto can join in with mine and Trunks' fighting games!"
The teenager scoffed, "That will only happen if we ever want half the world to be destroyed. Which is never."
"Awwww," Goten pouted, "no fair."
"Oh by the way," Goku started, "Did you know that Vegeta's already got Bulla training in the gravity chamber? She's only on four times Earth's gravity though at the minute."
"Of course she is," said Gohan with a roll of his eyes. Vegeta would no doubt be smug about that one.
Videl gasped, "What?! But I can't even handle that! She's three!"
"Don't worry Videl," Goku grinned, "We'll get you training under gravity in no time at all, you've already improved from the last time I saw you and Gohan spar, I can sense it!"
"Wow thanks Goku," the girl blushed, "That means a lot coming from you."
"But I thought you were already training in the gravity chamber?" blinked Goten innocently, "Remember Gohan? Me and Trunks sensed you and Videl in there last week but you wouldn't let us in! By the sounds of it you were having a really hard training session, Videl was moaning really loudly! You must have really hurt her!"
Videl blushed to the roots of her hair, as Gohan glared at his little brother.
"Goten!" the halfling seethed, as his father snorted with laughter, "I told you to keep that training session a secret!"
"Whoops!" the young boy gasped, slapping his hands over his mouth, "Sorry Gohan, I forgot."
"Don't worry about it son," Goku grinned wickedly, "It's easy to get carried away when you're under those sorts of conditions, I remember when I used to train with your mother before you were born. Let's just say it was lucky that we lived all the way up here in the mountains, or else someone would have walked in on Chi-Chi and I-"
"Dad!" Gohan yelled hotly, cutting him off. Great Kami, he really did not want to know.
Luckily for him, his mother chose that moment to walk back into the kitchen.
"Poor love," she sighed, sitting opposite her husband at the table, "He's having another one of those dreams again."
"He is?" Gohan frowned, moving to get up from the table when Chi-Chi stopped him.
"He's fine Gohan, he settled right back off to sleep," she informed him, "I think spending the day at Mister Lao's took a lot out of him, you know how excitable he gets."
"How is Lime?" Videl asked, concern flickering through her eyes.
"No different," said Goku with a sigh, "When I went to pick him up earlier she was sat out on the porch, she didn't acknowledge Gokuto when he hugged her goodbye this time. I think she was having a bad day, Mister Lao said he had to take 'Kuto out with him to the fields to distract him. Apparently Lime had been staring out at the sky for hours."
"Yeah, she likes to look at the clouds floating by," Gohan said sadly, his mind drifting to his best friend.
Lime wasn't always that subdued anymore, occasionally her eyes would light up at the sight of their son, and she would even hug him back when he jumped on her lap and cuddled her. She still couldn't talk, though she had steadily improved over the past year. Gohan would make sure that Gokuto went to see her at least once a week, and the boy seemed to enjoy his visits over the mountain. Though Gohan couldn't help but feel a little guilty, he had been so busy attending university and looking at housing with Videl in West City that he had been unable to visit the Lao's for the past few weeks. He would have to make time over the weekend to take Gokuto again.
"Well look who's just woken up from his nap!" Chi-Chi suddenly announced to the solemn room as the toddler in question wondered into the kitchen.
"Hi there kiddo," Goku cooed at the little boy.
Gokuto yawned widely, blinking the sleep out of his emerald eyes. He now came up to just above Gohan's knee, his freckles more prominent on his cheeks and his ebony hair messier than ever.
"Hello Grandpa!" He said happily before clambering onto Gohan's lap, "Hi Daddy, Hi Videl!"
"Aren't you supposed to be asleep young man?" The halfling asked him curiously, his tail wrapping around him in affection.
"I smelled food!" He bellowed, causing the family to chuckle.
"Well now, I think that's a very good reason for skipping out on your nap, wouldn't you say Gohan?" Videl smiled at him.
The little boy giggled, clutching onto Gohan's shirt as he grinned back at her. His son absolutely adored Videl, which thrilled the halfling to no end. Only a hand full of times, did Gokuto accidentally call her 'Mum', but the young saiyan reasoned that it was because she was around so much. He knew that Lime was his Mummy of course, but at his age he didn't really understand what a girlfriend was.
"Here," Gohan rolled his eyes in amusement, passing his son his fork and allowing him to go to town on his dinner. He couldn't remember the last time he didn't have to share his food.
The sounds of chomping and slurping filled the room, as the four saiyan's and two human's tucked into their meal. Goten finished first, and was busy hollering at his mother for seconds and thirds when Gokuto gulped down his mouthful and turned towards him.
"Daddy guess what!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"What?" Gohan asked, taking his opportunity and stealing a mouthful of potato.
"I dreamt that I was flying!"
"FLYING?!" his father over-exaggerated like the besotted grandfather he was, "Wow look at you!"
"You did?" Gohan chuckled, "Will you remember how to do it this time?"
Gokuto hadn't exactly learned how to fly at will, although the teenager knew he had done in the battle against Majin Buu. Yet the littlest saiyan claimed he didn't remember how he did it.
Gokuto blinked, "I dunno, but I was flying really high up and all these lights were everywhere and there was people yelling and shouting and the lights were really pretty. Then I got really mad and really really tall and then all the lights made a great big BOOM! It was weird!"
The teen saiyan shook his head in amusement as the kitchen was filled with his family's laughter. Gokuto had been having very vivid dreams for months, and at first Gohan was worried, he didn't want the young boy to be traumatised by flashbacks from the battle with Majin Buu.
However, none of the dreams made any sort of sense, so the teenager just put it down to the toddler having a very wild imagination. It didn't seem to bother the little saiyan too much, save for disturbing his sleep occasionally. Gokuto gave him a wide grin, as the bright kitchen hummed with the warm buzz of the Son family. Videl gave his leg an affectionate squeeze under the table, before returning to her meal, batting his father's wondering hands away from her plate in the process.
His mother was jumping between scolding Goten for getting splatters of gravy all over the carpet and informing them that they were to be spending the day over at Capsule Corp. with the rest of the gang tomorrow. His father wasn't really listening, just nodding his head obediently whilst shoving bread rolls into his face.
Gohan couldn't help but smile, even with the annoying prospect of he and Videl having to slip out of the gathering tomorrow to go and get his eyes tested without anyone noticing. He really hoped he didn't need glasses, he was sure to be teased relentlessly by the Z-Fighters if he did. Though maybe spending a bit of time with Videl alone would be enough to curb his nerves before he asked her that evening, his thoughts drifting momentarily to the ring box hidden in his sock draw.
He didn't think that he was rushing into anything, even though he was just nineteen. They didn't have to get married right away, it would do them well to save up for a mortgage first. He hadn't told a soul, not even his mother and father, so it was sure to be a shock for everyone when he got down on one knee tomorrow evening - he couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Videl, and what with him having died and all last year, it seemed to have put everything into perspective for the young saiyan.
Still, everything was finally back to normal in his crazy life, and he couldn't wait to see what the future would bring. He couldn't see his girlfriend saying no, he was The Gold Fighter after all, Destroyer of Cell, Slayer of Majin Buu…
"Videl is right, you're going to hurt someone with that ego of yours."
Gohan rolled his eyes at the gruff voice that suddenly entered his head, "Why must you always eavesdrop on my private thoughts Mister Piccolo?"
"It's not eavesdropping when I can hear your gloating from The Lookout."
"Liar," he inwardly smirked, "You and I both know you're sat on our roof having a kip."
"It's called meditation Gohan."
"It's not meditating when I can hear you snore," he teased.
"You're on thin ice kid."
"You love it."
He felt the familiar force of his mentor shutting him out of his mind. He rolled his eyes in amusement, the Namekian warrior could never leave him in peace even now he was about to be a married man. Slowly, he looked down, realising that Gokuto was still staring at him with expectant emerald green eyes, waiting for him to give some kind of praise to his amazing tale.
The teenager ruffled his hair, grinning at the little boy in his arms, "Sounds like quite the dream kiddo."
The End?
Well, there it is! I just want to thank everyone for their continued love and support. This story has been 3 and a bit years in the making, when I first got the idea for the story back in December 2013! Its been through a lot of development and changes, and I am finally happy with it. My writing has gotten a lot better, and all you lovely reviewers and followers have just made me want to keep writing more and more! I may go back and do some editing around grammar, but will not change anything about the story. Check out my instagram emeraldsaiyan for artwork and posts related to this story as... ITS NOT FINISHED YET. That's right, there's a sequel currently in the works, although it wont be out for a while. I have released a sequel preview which you will find on the next page. Thank you so so so much again you amazing fanfiction people. This has really become my escape, and allowed me to be creative. I so hope have enjoyed the ending. I can't believe that I've posted the first book! ahhh! Thanks again! Love! 3 xxx
