To Wear Armour in Times of Peace: Chapter 6

A desperate scream pierced the darkness as Gohan bolted awake. The boy panted heavily, shaking fists held in front of his face. With the bioandroid disappearing before his eyes, his clouded brain blinked to life.

It wasn't real. Well, not anymore.

Feeling exposed, Gohan clutched the thin sheet, dragging it higher across his bare chest. Still sitting up, he focused on the sensation of the damp bedsheet against his burning flesh while he attempted to calm his breathing.

"Boy," a voice growled.

Dark eyes shot open, immediately focusing on the intruder.

Vegeta stood leaning against the door frame, peering into Gohan's room with an unreadable expression. Somehow, the man's presence never failed to comfort Gohan. In fact, he knew if anyone on this planet could relate to him in the slightest, it would be the prince himself. The teen nodded meekly, urging the older Saiyan to continue.

Vegeta straightened himself to take a step forward, arms still crossed tightly across his chest.

The prince wore only tight, black boxers briefs, and his tanned skinned seemed so much darker in contrast to the pale moonlight leaking through the window. The two males made brief eye contact before Vegeta turned his back to Gohan. Confused, the boy simply waited.

Finally, the man muttered, "I know it doesn't feel like it now… but it gets easier to live with."

A surge of gratitude flooded Gohan at his adopted father's words. Everytime the teen woke screaming, either Bulma or Vegeta would appear at his side. Bulma would fret in her bathrobe, push Gohan's matted hair out of his eyes, and mutter loving words to him until he fell back into slumber. After a particularly bad flashback, sobs would escape the boy, and she would simply hold him until he lost consciousness.

Vegeta, however, usually just watched the boy from afar. He made himself known, and would stay until the boy collected himself. This was the first time the older man had ever attempted anything that could be considered comforting. And somehow, that made it much more meaningful to Gohan.

As the prince left, presumably to return to his sleeping wife, another thought stuck Gohan. Casting a glance to his bedside table, his breath caught in his throat. The clock read 12:01 AM.

His father had died exactly five years ago, on this very day.

As soon as she saw the bags under Gohan's eyes, Bulma demanded that he stay home from school that day. He protested at first, but she refused to listen.

"Sweetie, you just go upstairs and rest today," she chided, pinching one of his cheeks. He squirmed at her touch, still feeling feverish after his vivid dreams. Seeing his discomfort, she quickly pulled away. A look of hurt crossed her features, and she quickly looked away to hide it, instead pretending to busy herself with breakfast.

He felt bad that she couldn't have a normal family. "Not with someone like me around, anyway," he thought to himself. He shifted on his bare feet, sensing Bulma had more to say.

"Besides," she added, trying to lighten the mood, "I want you to be in top shape for your date tonight, stud."

A light pink dusted Gohan's high cheekbones as he recalled his promise to Erasa. Knowing Bulma had a good point, he dragged himself back upstairs, ignoring the way his stomach pulsed with hunger.

The grief didn't feel nearly as suffocating as it had in the beginning. Yet, it still had an undeniable presence in Gohan's life, as if it had a tangible life force he could detect.

He had lost his father before, when Goku sacrificed himself to kill Raditz. The then 4-year-old Gohan had openly weeped for months as he endured Piccolo's training, knowing he may never see his father again. And despite coming back to life, there always seemed to be something more important for Goku to take care of. He frequently left to train for undetermined periods of time, without letting his family know he would be gone. In those days, all Gohan had was Chi-Chi.

When she passed, Gohan had thought about ending his life to rejoin his parents in the Otherworld. He wondered if his unborn baby brother somehow lived there, being raised as some sort of ghost child by his deceased mother. The thought faintly made him smile, and for the first time in months, a peaceful sleep took him.

Erasa wiggled her hips as she slipped the tight blue jeans over her shapely bottom. She twirled in front of her full-length mirror to look at herself, and she beamed at her reflection.

"He's totally gonna die when he sees me," she laughed.

She tugged her green tube top up a little. "Subtle is sexy," she told herself. "I can't give all my secrets away on the first date!" She giggled. It had been a long time since a boy had made his way into her love life. Most boys only seemed interested in her for her looks, but she knew Gohan was different. She didn't know how, but she knew.

Okay, maybe not different like Videl had been trying to paint him, but different in a good way!

She checked her make-up once more, before heading downstairs. She had just reached the bottom step when she heard the doorbell ring. Her small ears perked up, and she dashed toward the door, nearly slipping in her green sandals.

She waited a moment. She didn't want to seem too eager, after all.

Just as Gohan reached for the doorbell a second time, the white door swung open before his very eyes.

"Hi," he croaked.

"Hi," she purred.

"You look… wow," Gohan managed. Erasa stepped forward, looking more shy than Gohan and ever seen her. Locking the door behind her, she walked in silence next to Gohan as they left her driveway.

After a minute, she quietly asked, "Is it alright if I hold your hand while we walk?" Gohan blinked in surprise. "Or," Erasa backtracked, "it's totally fine if you don't want to... I know you don't like being touched, and it's kind of hot out anyway, so-"

She felt a clammy hand engulf her petite palm. His worn and calloused fingers gently curled around hers, and she looked up to Gohan, who muttered something he had told very few people in his life. "It's okay… I trust you."

Their walk didn't last very long. Erasa lived fairly close to downtown, where the parade was passing through. They arrived within minutes to see the first of the floats drive through the streets. Students of Mr. Satan's martial arts school hung off the trailer, pulled by a flashy brown hover car. The men flexed as they threw candy toward the cheering crowd.

Gohan caught a piece of candy and he offered it to Erasa, who graciously accepted. Then a thought occurred to her. "Hey, how come you weren't at school today?" She asked, already forgetting about the chocolate now melting in her hand.

The boy scratched the back of his neck. Figuring he should tell the truth, Gohan said, "I wasn't feeling too good. I didn't sleep very well, and I had a lot on my mind, so I just took a day off to relax."

"But this is the day Cell died," Erasa said, eliciting a wince from her date. Not sure what line she had crossed, she gestured around them. "You should be celebrating, like everyone else." She had seen that look on his face before, but she couldn't understand why.

After a minute, Erasa opened her mouth to change the subject, but Gohan didn't notice. He murmured, "Today is also the day my father died, several years ago."

The blonde went still at the declaration. A chill ran down her spine, and she suddenly regretted the spunky attitude she had sported throughout the school day. While the whole world celebrated today, Gohan had mourned.

"And my mother's death would happen just a few days later, in the very same year," he finished.

"I'm sorry," she breathed, tears coming to her eyes. "I am so, so sorry. I wouldn't have even asked you today if I had known-"

"It's okay, Erasa," he said, gently squeezing her hand. "I wouldn't have agreed if I didn't want to be here."

The two teenagers laughed and talked while they watched the rest of the parade. The subsequent two hours had passed by rather quickly, and they soon found themselves sitting on the sidewalk, Erasa nibbling on some candy while Gohan ate a few hotdogs from the vendor across the street. "Don't worry," he told her. "I'll still have plenty of room left if you wanted to go eat somewhere after this."

She laughed. "I'll hold you to that, mister!"

"Well, what kind of food are you feeling?"

"Hmm," she tapped her in thoughtfully before smirking. "Maybe somewhere with real silverware and napkins," she teased, rubbing her thumb over a spot of relish on Gohan's white button-up shirt.

"Oh man," he groaned. "Bulma's gonna kill me."

"You also have some on your face," Erasa jeered, and the boy quickly wiped his chin with a sleeve. Realizing he had possibly made the situation worse, he groaned again.

"Here, let me help you with that," she said. She leaned in close, taking his chiseled jaw into her soft palms. With the pad of her thumb, she caressed his bottom lip before biting her own.

Gohan's brain stuttered to a halt at their closeness. "Does she want me to kiss her?" He silently wondered. Erasa's eyes slowly closed as she leaned in further, and before Gohan could decide on a course of action, an obnoxious laugh echoed through the street.

The teens jumped apart, startled at the crowd's roaring response. They looked to see none other than Mr. Satan and his daughter, drifting through on the last parade of the night. Videl looked rather bored, but Hercule seemed to thrive on the attention.

The blonde next to Gohan laughed and waved, instantly trying to move on from the ruined moment. As Videl waved back to Erasa, a knot formed in the center of Gohan's chest. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he felt a strong power level spike nearby.

Something hard rammed into Erasa's shoulder, and she was knocked from her position on the sidewalk. She clutched at her assailant desperately as she flew through the air, eyes shut tightly while she screamed. In the distance, she heard screeching tires over Videl's yell as well, but her brain couldn't process what happened. A split-second later, she spun once before landing on a smooth, hard surface.

Heart pounding, the girl tentatively opened her eyes, squinting through thick lashes to check for danger. Her blue eyes widened as she stared into familiar black ones.

"Gohan?" She ventured.

Gohan's eyes widened in panic. "Damn it, I'm Gohan, not the Gold Fighter right now!" He internally berated himself. As Erasa looked at him in surprise, he gave her a small smile. "Are you alright?" He asked, expression stern and worried. She nodded, her voice frozen in her throat. Her eyes moved down his face, burning the skin her gaze touched. She realized the boy was hunched over her, and she could see the faintest glimpse of firm pecs as the force of gravity separated his baggy shirt from his pale body.

Screams brought the girl crashing back to reality as Gohan jumped off of her, pulling her to her feet alongside him. The car pulling the float in front of Hercule's had been driven onto the sidewalk, its own float now blocking Hercule's from moving forward. There were tire tracks where Erasa had been sitting just moments earlier.

The car door opened, revealing a pair of red, mechanical eyes. With the grace of a fine gymnast, the man jumped on top of his ride, before turning back to the wide-eyed world saviour.

Mercenary Tao smiled.

"So we meet again, Mr. Satan," he said.

Gohan backpedaled, pulling Erasa with him through the throngs of shrieking passerby. Spectators now pushed in all directions, struggling to break free from the crowd as power poured off the infamous assasin.

The broadcast crew that had been filming the parade abandoned their posts as well, not even bothering to turn their cameras off. The man who sold Gohan the hot dogs has taken off amidst the chaos, and his gas grill sparked dangerously in the vendor's absence.

"Erasa, you need to get out of here, now!" He said. "Run home, or better yet, get to Capsule Corp. if you can! Anywhere but here!"

"Gohan, don't leave me!" She shouted, grabbing Gohan's collar as he tried to run back toward the parade.

"I'm sorry, Erasa, I have to help!" He said, easily breaking her hold on him. His spiky hair disappeared among the crowd, and Erasa felt her courage leave her, just as Gohan did.

Videl and Tao now stood in the middle of the road, facing one another.

"I may have been hired to kill your father," he had told her, "but I suppose killing his only child would be a step in the right direction."

Videl smirked. This was her chance- her chance to make history, much like her father had. She slid down into her father's signature stance, eyes trained on her prey.

"Who are you and what do you want?" She demanded.

"Dear child," Tao greeted, his long, black braid swaying slightly in the cool breeze. "I am General Tao. And as I said, I am here for your father's life."

Mr. Satan stood paralyzed in fear as he watched his only daughter square off with one of the most dangerous humans in the world. She didn't seem too scared, which deeply troubled Hercule.

"Oh, I've heard of you," the girl jeered. "Nothing but a washed-up martial artist from the Crane School… one who doesn't have any real skill other than light tricks."

Hercule knew his lies would be his downfall, but he didn't expect it so soon. After all, he knew how dangerous these "tricks" really were. Who could've predicted his daughter would fall prey to their destructive powers?

"Tricks, eh?" Tao sneered. "How about for my first trick, I make the annoying little girl disappear?"

Taking that as an invitation, Videl sprinted toward the cybernetic menace. However, the mercenary merely removed one of the hands from behind his back and pointed a single finger at Videl.

"Dodon Ray!"

A shockwave rippled through the street, terrorizing what few citizens remained. The bright flash of red light seared through Videl's eyes, but before it could reach her, the beam jerked to the left and veered into a portable trailer. The hot dog truck exploded, a ball of fire blowing hot air over her smooth skin.

"So we meet again, Tao," The Gold Fighter growled, his arm still spread to the side from redirecting his opponent's energy blast.

Tao's artificial eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

"No, you… you can't be!"

"But I am," the Gohan calmly replied. "It's been quite some time since I last saw you. And honestly, I'm regretting my choice to let you live."

Videl fell to the ground, the burst of adrenaline leaving her as she realized her life hadn't been swept away from her. Before she knew it, her father's large, hairy arms had embraced her in a bear hug from behind. He struggled to restrain his daughter's strong will, but she bristled when she heard the Gold Fighter speak. His smooth baritone voice sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't quite figure out why.

"Listen," Tao pleaded. "I was just hired to take out Hercule Satan. Doesn't that sound like a good idea? I mean, he's done nothing but steal the credit for killing Cell, not to mention he continually discredits our energy manipulation!"

Videl's stomach dropped. "What are you talking about?" She yelled, much to her father's dismay.

"I knew you were foolish enough to believe your father when he spoke of tricks, but I didn't think you were truly stupid," Tao shot back. "You don't recognize the Delivery Boy all grown-up?"

Fear shot through Hercule's spine as he did indeed recognize Gohan.

Forgetting the boy's first name, Tao turned to Gohan once again. "Please, son of Goku Son. Spare me like your father would have!"

"Son?" Videl gasped, recognizing the name of the former WMAT champion. And then she remembered the last time she had yelled out "Son."

"Gohan?!" Videl gasped.

"I've changed a lot in the past few years," Gohan told Tao, clearly not hearing Videl's conclusion. "The last time I didn't end a life quickly, it resulted in my father's death at the hands of Cell."

Tao fell backwards in fear. He began scrambling to stand, but a heavy foot on his chest forced him back down again.

"So you know what I did to that overgrown grasshopper?" Gohan sneered. "I obliterated him."

Hercule's grip tightened on his daughter as he felt her stiffen. "Videl, please," he begged in her ear. "Now is not the time to-"

"But if I had killed him earlier, I wouldn't have lost everything. And I won't make that mistake again," Gohan growled, his knuckles turning white as his fists clenched tighter. Then one palm snapped open, a blast glowing brightly in front of Gohan as he concentrated his energy.

"No!" Tao shouted in fear. "No, please! You're no better than him... You're a monster!"

A howl of rage sent shivers down Videl's spine as her pigtails suddenly whipped around her face. She felt an intense pressure throw her and her father to the ground. When the painful, animalistic screaming ceased, she couldn't believe her eyes.

Gohan's hair stood straighter on end, and it appeared to have darkened slightly to an impossibly rich shade of yellow. Blue electricity cracked around his body, and the energy visibly poured off him in waves.

The 16-year-old boy saw Imperfect Cell crumble before his very eyes. The horrific green monster begged him to stop, but Gohan continued to toy with the android.

"You're a monster!" Cell finally screamed at him.

The teenage boy choked back a sob as his younger self heard Goku's voice echo off the mountain. The voice felt so close, but just out of reach. When was the last time he had heard that voice?

"Take care of your mother, Gohan."

Oh. Gohan knew how this ended.

It ended with his father scattered into a thousand pieces all over King Kai's non-existent planet. It ended with Cell shredded down to the last molecule by the Turtle Hermit's signature move until nothing was left. One arm dropped uselessly to his side as he felt the excruciating pain return to his shoulder. He brought the other hand to his side, and a blue orb of energy began to take form.

"Ka-me…"

As Tao struggled to free himself, Goku told his pre-teen son to release more power. "Think of all the pain he's caused you!"

"Ha-me…"

Videl cried out. "Gohan, stop! You can't kill him!"

"Think of all the things he's done!" Goku screamed from inside the 11-year-old Gohan's mind.

Videl's voice rang in his ears. She reminded him of his mother's inevitable death, and of Vegeta's explanation of a broken Saiyan soulbond.

He thought of the wet corpse of his little brother- one who never took his first breath.

"Stop!"

Gohan felt Cell's unusual mixture of energies disappear instantly as his father spoke again.

"Stop before you do something you'll regret, son!"

"Dad?"

"Gohan," Goku said, his hand on King Kai's back. The Kai's antenna twitched as the telepathic message sped toward Earth, faster than the speed of light. "Please, son. You were charging a Kamehemeha strong enough to destroy the planet. I could feel it all the way out here! Let your energy fade back into you."

Speechless, Gohan lifted his foot from Tao's chest. The man coughed and wheezed, flipping over onto his hands and knees as he sputtered.

The boy felt the blue orb disappear from his hand as his excess energy vanished, and he powered down his ascended Super Saiyan state.

"That's it. Good, son, good," Goku softly encouraged. "I don't know what Tao did to you just now, but… I think you know he doesn't deserve to die."

Tears falling from his teal eyes, Gohan sent a well-aimed chop to the back of Tao's head, simply knocking him out.

"Gohan… he..." Videl whispered.

"Yes, sweet, pea," Me. Satan breathed. "He saved us… again."

"That's my boy!" Chi-Chi said, her hand brushing up against King Kai's back as she shifted closer to her husband.

At the sound of his mother's voice, Gohan's aura completely vanished, and his depleted, 11-year-old body thrummed with pain. In reality, the teenager hadn't quite kept up with his training. Normally, his inner turnoil would have fueled his Saiyan rage, and he would've powered up to even greater heights. Yet right now, he was too exhausted to hold even his first level Super Saiyan form.

His hair turned black as the teenager fell backward onto the asphalt. Delirious, the child laughed until he lost consciousness.

"I'm so proud of you, son," Goku murmured, as Chi-Chi buried her face into his chest.

A few feet away, now distracted from his card game with Bubbles and Gregory, Goten Son beamed up at his parents.