Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of its characters

Keepsakes

The only sound that could be heard amidst the oppressive silence of the lightless room was the soft panting of Gohan's shallow breath. Videl had returned home, and he sat alone in his bedroom. Alone with his demons.

The image of Videl lying half dead on the floor clung to him like a thick cloud of smoke. It filled his senses and blotted out all else as that moment replayed in his mind over and over. Each repetition filled him with fresh horror. Each repetition swelled the feeling of hopelessness over how powerless he had been to save her.

He hated it.

Bulma was absolutely right. If only he had been at full power, he could have been at Videl's side in the blink of an eye with instant transmission. 23 times normal gravity was nothing to his normal self. As it was, he had been forced to run in what seemed like slow motion to open the door and shut of the artificial gravity from the outside. The delay had left Videl on the brink of death. And it was entirely his fault.

It was his fault.

That smiling face. The guiding light that led him through the dark tunnel in his dream. The only sliver of hope he had felt for years. Somehow that face had become his universe. And it was his fault it had almost vanished forever.

The answer, of course, was simple. But could he do it? Could he embrace his power once again? Dare he risk returning to a life of sleepless nights, haunted night and day by the ghosts of the past?

Gohan rose from his bed. With slow, silent steps filled with uncertainty, he made his way by memory through the darkness to the closet door and gripped the handle. The gentle creak of the swinging hinges rang through the soundless room, crashing on the apprehensive Saiyan's keen ears like a gunshot. Reaching as high as he could, Gohan grabbed the item he sought from the top shelf and brought it back to the bed.

With a flip of a switch, light flooded the room, revealing the object that now lay conspicuously on Gohan's bedside. He simply stared at it for a moment. A plain, brown square box about 2 feet long on each side. Its exterior was completely unremarkable. Nobody would guess the significance it held to the boy that now ran his fingertips gently over the smooth lid. Painstakingly, Gohan opened the lid and revealed its contents.

A garment made of orange cloth lay neatly folded in the bottom of the box. On top of it was framed picture of a man with spiky black hair and a goofy smile sporting the very same orange outfit. Seeing that man's face, the familiar symbol adorning the otherwise plain gi… It brought back anew the pangs of guilt and loss that had followed Gohan for seven years now.

He instinctively drew back. These were the only items he had taken from his house when he moved to Satan City. They were remembrances of his father—his picture, his old gi—and symbols of his shame. Tentatively, he reached down and pulled the orange training gi from the box. The cool fibers of the expertly fashioned cloth ran smoothly through his hands.

Gohan gulped.

Dare he don the clothes of his fallen father? Only weeks ago, to do so would have been the ultimate act of betrayal in his mind. Could he be arrogant enough to effectively take up his father's mantle after what he'd done? Was he worthy of being the protector of Earth?

With a heavy sigh and a groan of desperation, he crumpled the garment in his hands. His head dropped to his chest. He just couldn't do it, he thought. Not now, anyway. He wasn't ready. Not yet.

Carefully, he replaced the gi back and the box and safely stashed it away in his closet to await the day Gohan would finally conquer the shadows of his past and assume his rightful place as the hero of Earth.

Or so he hoped.

Hello everyone!

It's been forever, I know. If anyone is still with me after all this time, thank you for sticking with me and I apologize for disappearing so abruptly. I had a case of writer's block combined with a pretty tough few weeks that kind of took the wind out of my sails. After that, life got busy and I just couldn't work up the motivation to continue this story. I'm back now, though, with renewed determination to finish this story. Things will still be busy, but I've managed to sketch out a rough outline of my story up until nearly the end, so that should help.

And for any new readers, thank you so much for taking the time to read my story up to this point. It really does mean a lot to me. Please take the time to review. Ask questions, give constructive criticism, praise me for my absolute god-like writing style and creativity (okay, you probably don't have to go that far). I love it all.

And that goes far all you regulars too, just in case you forgot. Always remember: Reviews = Motivation. ^_^

Oh, and lastly, I know this is a very short chapter. I did it this way for a few reasons. 1) I like the effect it gives. 2) There was a natural break after this scene, and I didn't want to tack completely unrelated stuff on the end. 3) I just plain wanted to get a new chapter posted as soon as possible and let you know I'm back.

Don't worry, though. More is on the way.

Well, farewell for now and thanks for reading! I look forward to hearing from you.