Ericsofly2: I assume you mean Videl. You'll just have to wait and see.
Vukk: Thanks, I didn't catch that before I uploaded it. I went back and fixed it though, so it should be good now.
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A full day had come and gone since the Cell Games ended with Cell finally being destroyed once and for all, and everyone had come to see Future Gohan off and say their goodbyes before he left.
Bulma patted Future Gohan on the shoulder "So you're heading out already huh? Well be sure to tell the future me she did a good job on pulling you out of your funk."
"Oh believe me." Future Gohan let out a sigh "I know just how much I plan to tell you when I get there."
Goku stepped up next and gave Future Gohan a firm handshake and a gentle hug "You really should be proud of yourself Gohan, you've taken huge leaps in strength in a really short amount of time. The Androids in your time won't stand a chance against you, and no matter what other threats you face I know you'll always find a way to overcome them."
"I hope you're right about that Father, but I promise I'll give it everything I have to make sure that the world lives on in peace."
"Just one more thing before you go." Chich stepped up to Future Gohan and handed him a small box "Take these with you, lots of food and other goodies to help you get started once things calm down in your time. Call it a sort of new housewarming gift."
"Still taking care of me, I guess I shouldn't be surprised mom."
"Just hang in there for a little while, and I promise you'll find what makes you happy. Truth be told I actually like this whole thing about having a son from the future, it means way less time I have to wait until I get grandkids."
"Mom come on!" that made his face go red.
"Looks like the future me did a pretty good job."
"I never doubted that for even a second." Future Gohan turned around and found Kai standing next to the time machine "I was worried you wouldn't come."
"I wouldn't let you leave without getting to do this!" Kai powered up his Namek-Ken and let a fist fly forward.
Future Gohan blocked the fist with one hand, earning a smirk of approval "I can't help but wonder how much stronger you'll be the next time I see you."
"Stronger than you, count on it."
"Believe me, I do."
"Alright, now take care of things back in the future McFly, and go wreck some Android shit for all of us okay?"
"Count on it." so on that note, Future Gohan hopped into his time machine and started it up, waving to everyone as it lifted up off the ground "Goodbye everyone, I promise I'll never forget you!"
"Don't come back without wrecking some shit!"
Future Gohan gave them a thumbs up before the time machine finally disappeared from their sight and the timeline.
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In the future timeline…
West City had long since been decimated, and Capsule Corp was all that remained, but even it had sustained considerably damage.
Once the time machine appeared and touched the ground, Gohan quickly stepped out and put it back in its capsule, his mind drifting to the events in the past 'When you think about it, the set of Androids I faced in the past weren't actually that bad, but the Androids from my own time are a completely different story. The Cell who reached his perfect form might be out of the picture, but my toughest battles still lie ahead, not on a physical level, but on an emotional one of me. I won't let the Android 17 of my time cause any more suffering. The next time I see him, I'm going to end this once and for all.' and on that note, he promptly made his way inside.
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Inside Capsule Corp…
Bulma was in the middle of reading some certain material, though her reaction was rather questionable "Ha, suck on that vurst Einstein! Go ahead and collapse that wave function all over your pasty German-"
"Please don't finish that sentence, seriously."
Bulma looked up from her material and instantly lit up at the sight of Gohan standing in the doorway "Gohan you're back, thank goodness. You really had me worried there, you've been gone for so long." she got up and studied him from a few different angles "Hang on a second, is it just me or have you gotten taller?"
"I'm afraid so. You see, without into that much detail there's this room hidden up on Kami's Lookout called the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, that basically allows you to do a year's worth of training in a day, and the conditions in there were insane."
"Sounds like some pretty high tech stuff."
"Truth be told tech didn't really have anything to do with it."
"Maybe but still, the most important thing is that you made it back home safe and sound, and without dying. So how did it go, do I dare let that smile make me optimistic?"
"Might as well, but I've got a lot of stuff to tell you."
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20 minutes later…
Bulma poured some coffee into a cup and handed Gohan a cup "Sounds like things got pretty crazy over there."
"That's the understatement of the year, whether it be this timeline or the next." Gohan told her dryly.
"Well it looks like time is as unpredictable as it is complicated, but the younger version of you won and everything turned out okay?"
"Yeah, it was great. Not only did we save the world, but I got to fight alongside Kai, Piccolo and everyone else again."
"I see, and how was it?"
"In a word, it was nostalgic. Kai was my best friend and Piccolo was the one who taught me how to fight so I can protect people. Of course, it didn't come without its fair share of issues, like when Kai got blasted by Cell. Looking back I'm not too proud of that, especially considering it almost got the planet annihilated."
"...Yeah, call it a hunch but I have a feeling you got that from Kai."
"I wouldn't be surprised, he had his moments both good and bad. But all in all, he was and always will be my best friend. Nothing is going to change that.
"Attention, this Alpha Leader Wombat and I'm coming to you guys live from Orange Star City, where we've got our special guests the cyborgs and they are tearing it the hell up! I've already lost 5 men, I'm running out of ammo, and I'm holed up in the bank! Looks like this is gonna be ALW's last report, so all I can say is: Watch out TJ, I'm COMING HOME BROTHA! For tonight, we dine in he-' and then the radio suddenly cut out.
"One on hand you've gotta give the guy credit, he went out with style. On the other hand, looks like he just saved me the time and effort of having to hunt him down."
"Gohan, just promise me you'll be careful." Bulma pleaded "I know that you're a lot stronger now, but I don't want history repeating itself."
"It's alright Bulma, this is the whole reason why I went back in time in the first place. If I can't protect those that are left and avenge Kai and the others, then I might as well just give up fighting altogether." he threw off the jacket he was wearing and flashed into Super Saiyan "This has become about so much more than just correcting the past, now it's about making a brighter future for everyone. I'll be back before that coffee gets cold." and with that, Gohan blasted out of the building and into the skies, his eyes blazing with determination 'No more 17, do you understand me? This ends today!'
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The scene of Orange Star City was pretty much a wreck, and it was quickly getting worse by the minute.
17 was blasting away at one ruined building after another, the sadistic smile on his face growing wider by the second "You know something, being the destroyer of the world and all that crap used to be about shits and giggles, just me and my sister trying to entertain myself. But that's not what it's about anymore. That little bastard took my sister from me, the only person in this whole fucked up world I gave a shit about, but at the cost of his own life. I can't take it out on him, so I'm gonna do the next best thing. I'll make sure everyone left in this world feels the pain that I wanted to inflict on him because of it. They're gonna pay for what he did, and they'll pay in their blood!" he continued firing Ki blasts at the ruins, fully intent on scorching any survivors from the city.
What had gone unnoticed was a blonde woman, around 18 years of age, with shaggy blonde blonde hair, blue eyes, a green tube top and blue jeans, pulling herself out of the rubble behind where 17 was rampaging, and she was eyeing him with rage "You bastard… You killed my best friend… She was all I had left… You're gonna pay for this!" and so a medium sized Ki blast shot forth from her palm, striking 17 in the back hard enough to get his attention, but otherwise not even scratch his clothing.
17 stopped his barrage, turned back to the woman and shot her a wicked smirk "Huh, a Ki user I haven't slaughtered yet. Wasn't expecting that." he started walking towards her in a slow and menacing way, being hit by a few more Ki blasts "Not too bad of a shot either, at least someone took me seriously when I said I was gonna bathe the planet in blood. Must give you some leeway when people let down their guard, only natural when they see a pretty face. You're blonde too, reminds me of my sister." he got down on one knee in front of her, cupping her chin so he could look at the fear in her eyes "So do me a favor and sit still would you?" he was about to fire at her, when…
"Get away from her!"
17 whipped out of the way just in time to avoid a large Ki beam that promptly destroyed the remains of a nearby building "There's only one guy I know of who can fire a blast of that size, so he's finally back huh?"
"You're damn right I am." sure enough, Gohan dropped down onto the scene, his golden aura blazing "I hope you've gotten everything out of your wretched life you wanted, because it's ending today, right here and right now." he looked over at the woman quickly backing off to a safe distance 'Good thing I decided not to microwave that coffee.'
"Well what the hell do we have here? How ya doing Spike, it's been a few weeks. I'm surprised you're back up on your feet already, and also breathing. I guess this is what happens when I forget to double-tap. Also, is it just me or do you look different from before? I mean you've got the new outfit obviously, your hair is a little bit more shaggy, not to mention you look like you got jacked as fuck. You must be crushing thaht 5 by 5, also did you get a little bit taller?"
"That depends, am I noticing bits of blonde dye in your hair?"
"Hey I'm perfectly secure. You know what screw it, I'm definitely swiping left on you this time around." so on that note, 17 promptly fired a Photon Flash in Gohan's direction.
"Not good enough." Gohan promptly blitzed behind 17 and slugged him in the face as hard as he could.
"You goddamn cheap shotting son of a-" 17 was promptly send crashing through several buildings, and when he finally stopped and pulled himself back to his feet his clothes were pretty much shredded "You know it's too bad you don't keep a sword around or something, because now I'm going to have to do what comes next with my bare hands. No you know what, I actually prefer to do it this way." he promptly charged at Gohan again.
Gohan blitzed through 17's set of attacks and promptly kneed him in the gut, cranking his neck to dodge a stray Ki blast in the process.
17 pulled himself back to his feet and spat out some blood "You know, I feel like this might be a bad time to point out his specific choice in shirt."
"You know it's funny and a little bit sad at the same time. You and the other Android didn't have to turn out like this, in fact the ones I met in the-"
"Hold up a second, did you just call me an Android? Not gonna lie dude, that's pretty offensive."
"Hey they called you Androids in the past, no one ever bothered to disagree."
"The past? What, did you time travel?"
"Actually yeah."
"When the hell was that, shouldn't we remember you?"
"How about this, if I don't kill you in the next 3 minutes then I'll give you an explanation. Does that sound good?"
"Trust me wife beater, by the time I'm done with you I won't need one."
"...Wait a second, that's what you meant by my choice in shirt? Is there no like that you're not gonna cross?"
"What are you kidding right now? I tried to melt some blonde chick's graymatter not 2 minutes ago, and that's what's got you offended?"
"Believe it or not, you actually have a fair point." Gohan blitzed behind 17 and dealt him a swift fist to the jaw, easily deflecting a barrage of Ki blasts in the process before pinning him to the ground with ease "Just face the reality of this situation, you know you can't win this."
"Yeah right, you just want me to beg for mercy. Forget it, you're not getting the satisfaction of hearing me scream-"
"Like you hear everyone else scream? Let me guess, you think life is all about you? What about the others, the good people who died because of you and your sister, the hell you've inflicted upon the Earth for almost a decade? Forget it, this ends now!" and with that Gohan dealt 17 a swift kick to the face before following up with an Explosive Demon Wave, obliterating 17 in the fiery explosion that followed, leaving nothing behind "And that was for Kai, because you couldn't take your grief out on him, so you decided to take it out on the rest of the Earth, and that was your undoing."
When the smoke cleared, the blonde woman from before was floating down towards Gohan and coughing a bit from the smoke "Is this actually happening? I mean, is he really dead."
"He's dead, but I know how you feel. The fact that both of the Androids are finally gone, it hasn't really sunk in yet."
"How could it?" the woman's face fell as she wiped away a few tears "That one killed my best friend just a few days ago… She was all that I had left."
"I understand that better than you could imagine." they both unconsciously sat down on a nearby piece of rubble.
"We spent the last three years training to fight the Androids together. We had already lost both of our families, so we didn't have anyone else. But she sacrificed herself so I could get away, and he blew her to hell."
"Tweak a few details, and that could describe my entire life from when I was 10 up until right now. I have to admit I'm surprised though, I didn't think there were any Ki users left."
"I'm still relatively new to it, I've only been using it for about 6 months. Not like it did much good, I couldn't even scratch him."
"Welcome to my world. I couldn't either until about two weeks ago." Gohan breathed a sigh "I myself have lost almost everyone I care about, whether it be to the Androids or to that damn heart virus. My best friend since I was 4, his name was Kai, was the only person I had left that kept me going. We spent 7 years training to take out the Androids, and in all of that time he never lost his spirit. About a year or so ago, he knocked me out and went to take on the Androids alone. That was the last time I saw him. He sacrificed himself to destroy the Androids, and he managed to take one of them out, leaving me alone to deal with the last one. I spent a few months in a haze of grief and sadness, before I finally realized something: He only did what he did because he knew that after he was gone, I would still be here. So I poured my heart and soul into my training, and it's thanks to that and the memory of those I held dear, that I'm as strong as I am now."
"So you mean, if I trained like you did then I could get strong enough to take on monsters like the Androids?"
"With enough hard work, patience and perseverence, yes."
"So then…" the blonde woman got closer to him, blushing slightly at how close they were to each other "Could you train me?"
"Wait what?"
"Could you train me? What happened to my best friend Videl, and what happened to your best friend Kai, I don't want anything like that to happen again. I want to do this so no one else has to feel the pain of that kind of loss again." she gripped his hands gently "You killed the Android, so you should be able to teach me how to get strong enough to protect the people who can't protect themselves."
"I-I don't…" Gohan couldn't form the words from his mouth when he realized how close the woman was to him 'This girl… she has that same fire in her eyes, the will to make sure that no blood is shed, the feeling like you have to get stronger… She gets it. Are you sure you really want to?"
"Positive."
"...If you're that certain that you want to devote yourself like this, then I guess it wouldn't be right for me to just turn you away."
"It's not like I have anywhere else to go anyway."
"Alright, I'll train you but it's only fair to warn you that I've never done this before, so I can't guarantee how good of a teacher I'll be. My name is Gohan by the way, Son Gohan."
"My name is Erasa." she gave him a bright smile that seemed to be filled with hope "Although I guess I should be calling you sensei now."
"Please don't."
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As the months went by, rebuilding at last began due to the threat of the Androids at last having ended, but training began as well.
Gohan dropped into a combat stance "Your Ki control isn't too shabby considering you've mostly had to teach yourself, but by the standards of my teacher Piccolo you're still pretty shoddy, so we're kicking your training up a notch, from Ki control to actual combat. Are you ready?"
"I'm ready, now let's do this!" Erasa promptly charged at him at full speed, dodged and weaving around most of his attacks, but once she closed in on him she was sent flying by a shockwave from his fist.
"It doesn't mean much in battle if you can't control your Ki and use it to your advantage, now get back up and try again."
"Alright, I…" Erasa pulled herself back to his feet and promptly launched into a barrage of attacks, one of which eventually landed as she dealt Gohan a kick to the jaw "Yes, finally I got one! And it only took… three months. Crap."
"Nice work, but you let your guard down!" Gohan suddenly unleashed a shockwave that promptly sent Erasa flying into the nearby river, leaving her to fish her way out.
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Later…
Erasa spat out some seawater and dumped some out of her ears "Well that could've gone better in my eyes."
"Don't be too hard on yourself, you're actually doing pretty well." Gohan handed her a towel and sat down next to her "Believe me though, if you think I'm tough then you should've tried training with Kai and Piccolo. Neither of them gave the royal treatment, at first I always thought they were harsh but it was only to make sure I could handle whatever was thrown at me, and it worked wonders."
"Long story short, you're doing this for my own good right? So these friends of yours that the Androids killed, the ones that taught you how to fight and protect, what were they like?"
"In all honestly, they were the best friends I could've asked for."
"Well the likes of Upa, Krillin, Tarble, Tien and Chiaoztu, truth be told I never really got to know any of them that well. Yamcha I knew better, he was Bulma's husband. He was always kind and determined, and really protective of Kai before he was killed by the Androids. Piccolo was my first real teacher, and aside from Kai he was my first friend. If it wasn't for his training then I wouldn't be who I am now. For Kai that goes just as much, maybe even more. He was always snarky and said and did a lot of things that got on peope's nerves, but he was loyal, determined and his spirit never wavered for even a second. I didn't see his final battle against the Androids, but I doubt he would've blown himself up to take them out if he thought he had any other options at the time."
"There's actually been rumors going around about him, they're calling him the Crimson Caper or something like that."
"He actually tried to dub himself as the Crimson Dragon, of course he was on a My Hero Academia craze at the time." Gohan let out a small chuckle of nostalgia "When I found out that he had sacrificed himself, I just broke down crying and ended up pretty depressed for the next few months. But then Bulma said something to me that really got to me, she said that he would never have done what he did if he didn't know that I would still be here after he was gone. After I finally got over my depression, I took those words to heart and poured myself into training, but not before I tried to take out 17 and failed miserably."
"And that's what led you to travel back in time to save your dad and your friends?"
"Yeah, and I got to talk to my mother again. I didn't realize it when I was going back, but that was exactly what I needed."
"I wish I could see my family again." Erasa let out a sigh "And Videl too. I just wish there was a way that I could tell them that it's over, that you did it, that 17's finally gone."
"I think she knows, and so does Kai and everyone else up there." Gohan looked up at the vast skies above them "But here's the catch of it all. It's not over, not yet. There's still one monster that has to be dealt with, and when he does finally show himself, I'm going to end this once and for all."
"You mean that bug creature. When will he show himself?"
"I have no idea, but when he does, I'll be ready."
"I think you mean we will be ready."
"...Yeah, we will. Especially because of this." Gohan pulled out the carepackage Chichi had given him.
"Hey what's that note?"
"Oh that's something from my dad." he handed it to her.
"Really?" Erasa took it and read it out loud "Hey Gohan, before you start crying all over this letter, just take a look read what I'm trying to tell you. Look, everybody wants a happy ending right? But it doesn't always roll that way, of course I bet you understand that just as well as anyone else. I don't doubt for a second that by the time you're reading this little care package, the 17 of your timeline has been taken care of, and now the people still around in your time are celebrating and rebuilding, all that good stuff, and eventually some version of normal for the world will be gotten back. What a world, or maybe a universe, or maybe like a multiverse or something. If someone had told me back when you were still a toddler, back before Raditz showed up, that we weren't alone, let alone to this extent I mean… I don't know if I would've been surprised, just laughed it off or gotten pumped at the possible challenges. But then again, who really knew? The epic forces of darkness and light, choosing how to use our training, for better or for worse, that's the reality that you're going to have to find a way to understand and coincide with. I just wanted to leave you with this along with that carepackage your mother gave you, and that copy of Scarlet's notes that Kai stuffed in there too, just to get you started. I put a couple of notes in there too, like Instant Transmission and the Spirit Bomb, and Kai even put in some info on how that Dragon Fist technique of his works. After all, you never know when you're going to need them right? Everything that's happened with Frieza and Cell, and now learning you're going to have a little brother or sister in this timeline, it's got me scratching my head about whether or not I've got what it takes. But then again that's part of life, part of the journey is the end. You know what, I doubt either one of us have to worry. I bet everything is going to work out exactly how it's supposed to. Remember this son, if you ever need us then we will be there. I love you son, we all do."
"Yeah, I teared up a little when I first read that, but it still means that he's always watching out for me."
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A full year had come and gone since the demise of Android 17, and a sense of hope had at last returned to the remaining people of Earth.
Erasa stood with Gohan outside of the Capsule Corp in the newly rebuilt but still under reconstruction West City, standing next to the fully recharged time machine "So how about it, do you really think he's going to take the bait?"
"I'm pretty sure I have a rotting corpse in another timeline that says, yes he's going to take the bait." Gohan told her dryly "Now please, just stick to my script okay?"
"Kind of morbid when you think about it." Erasa let out a cough, and then she started with the script "Alright Gohan, time for you to take this time machine back to the past where there are two living Androids for you to help your dad defeat!"
"Thanks Erasa, I can't wait to save all of those juicy fat people in the past from those Androids with this time machine!"
"Make sure to write!"
"I will!" they both forced a very painful awkward laugh until Gohan's gaze suddenly hardened, sensing a certain Ki signature appearing behind him "Erasa get inside, right now."
"What?" Erasa looked back to see Cell staring at them "Oh crap, is that him? You know it's kind of weird, you never told me he was green but I imagined he was green."
"Erasa."
"He's looking right at us right now, so does he know I can see him?" she was met with a certain growling noise from Cell "Is his vision based on movement?"
"Erasa that theory was discredited years ago, and I spent six hours writing this script, so please work with me."
"Right right. Alright Gohan, I'm going to help Bulma make dinner! It'll be done by the time you get back!" and so she rushed inside, leaving Gohan alone with Cell."
'My younger self took care of things in the past, now it's my turn. Alright Cell stop stalking me like the predator and get out here, I know you're there."
"No you don't, this is an ambush-" that was when Cell realized his mistake "Oh."
"I know more than that too, you're here to kill me and take my time machine. What do you say we just skip the monologues, and also you killing me."
"Oh come now, that's the fun part." Cell started stalking his way towards Gohan "And what's most unfortunate for you is that I seem to be missing two vital pieces, so I'm going to need that time machine so I can-"
"Go back into the past and absorb Androids 17 and 18."
"To achieve my-"
"Perfect Form."
"Okay you suck, you are sucking all the fun out of this! I'm the only one that sucks here boy- No wait, that came out wrong."
"No, it sounds about right to me."
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Meanwhile, inside…
Erasa and Bulma peeked through the Capsule Corp window and observed the confrontation taking place "Seriously though, whose DNA did Dr Gero have to add to make this guy look like he stepped into a teleporter with Jeff Goldblum?"
Bulma let out a slight chuckle, then turned her attention back to the confrontation 'You can do this Gohan, you can end this once and for all.'
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Meanwhile, back outside…
Cell gritted his teeth and barred his fangs in Gohan's direction "Tell me, how exactly do you know all of this?"
"Simple, it's like someone once told me…" Gohan shot him a smirk "Multiverse Theory is a bitch."
"...Okay I feel like you're referencing something and I don't get it, and frankly that's really not fair, so I'm gonna need that time machine so I can go back and redo this entire conversation from the beginning."
"Hate to break it to you Cell but that's not happening, you already got your way once and I have no intention of letting history repeat itself."
"Oh is that so? Of course, you've already travelled into the past before. That explains why you're so well informed, but even so I believe you're giving yourself far more credit than you're deserving of. Believe me when I tell you this my friend, my robot spies happen to be very good at reconnaissance. I have your power level, your techniques, your fighting style, everything about you that's worth knowing I already know!"
"Is that right, so does that mean that you already know how 17 up and vanished."
"...So that's it, you were the one responsible for that you little- All the more reason not to let you run loose. Make no mistake, I do intend to take your time machine, and when I find the Androids in the past I will devour them and achieve my Perfect Form!"
"I have no intention of letting that happen, but I also have no intention of fighting you within the limits of the city. People are finally rebuilding after all of the hell Dr Gero's abominations have put them through, so I vote the two of us relocate, and my vote is the only one that means anything!" and so Gohan promptly unleashed a quick shockwave, the force sending Cell flying far outside of the city limits, and then Gohan blasted off after him.
Erasa and Bulma rushed out of the house and looked on once they were gone 'Gohan, take him down and end this.'
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Outside the city limits…
Cell stopped himself in mid air and landed on the ground with Gohan standing in front of him ready for a fight "Well look at you, I will admit that you have improved considerably, but you're in for quite the rude awakening if you think that will be enough for you to stop me. After all I am the ultimate life form, Dr Gero's dream having at last been realized. All of those who dare to oppose me will simply be absorbed into my being."
"Yeah, that's not going to happen." Gohan promptly flashed into Super Saiyan "I hope you're prepared to meet your maker in hell, because I'm pretty sure that's where Dr Gero ended up after he was killed."
"Oh let me guess, you think you're being cute?"
"Bitch, I'm adorable." Gohan blitzed forward and dealt Cell an uppercut kick, blitzed above him, deflected a Ki blast and dealt him a smash attack, sending him hurtling towards the ground at full speed.
Cell rebounded on the ground, his mind racing 'What the hell just happened? I don't understand, it shouldn't be this easy for him to fend me off. I am far too powerful to lose to a brat like him of all people!' he charged towards Gohan at full speed.
Gohan dealt Cell a fist to the face and a spin kick to the chest, sending him crashing to the ground at full speed "It's over Cell, just face the reality. Once you're gone, the Earth will finally be safe again." he caught Cell's tail, spun it around and promptly hurled Cell high into the air above him.
"Why you little-" Cell stopped himself in mid air, now seething with rage "Why don't we see how you deal with this maneuver!" he cupped his hands at his side "You're powerful, but let's see you dodge this one! A full power Kamehameha, dodge it and the precious Earth you've been fighting so hard to save will get blown to bits!"
"We'll see about that."
"Ka… Me… Ha… Me…"
"Ka… Me… Ha… Me…"
"HA!"
"HA!" Gohan promptly unleashed his Ultimate Kamehameha just as Cell unleashed his own, easily overpowering Cell's Kamehameha and engulfing Cell in the process "This nightmare is finally over Cell, now get the fuck out of my timeline!"
Cell could only scream in agony as he was completely annihilated by the blast, not a single trace of him remaining afterwards.
With the battle over as quickly as it had started, Gohan powered back down to his base form and breathed a long overdue sigh of relief, a small smile gracing his features 'To think, after all of this it's finally over. I can't thank all of you enough. Father, Kai, Piccolo, all of my friends… I hope you're all finding what you want from life in the past.'
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Meanwhile, in the past…
By this point, a full month had come and gone since the events of the Cell Games, and life had at last returned to normal for our heroes in the past.
"Alright Gohan, it's time for your afternoon snack!" Chichi made her way into Gohan's room, only to find that he wasn't there "And you've up and taken off somewhere with Kai again, haven't you? I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore. Seriously though, did he have to go out the window?"
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Meanwhile, with our main characters…
Gohan pushed his way through some bushes to a small cliffside overlooking a river "Fishing is fun and all, but why is he suppressing his Ki?"
"It's called the element of surprise assclown!" Kai burst up from beneath the river with a massive fish in hand, startling Gohan enough to be blown off his feet "See what I mean, even if we have a few days off from training now I can still knock you on your ass whenever the hell I want to." he was met with a chuckle "So where the hell is Father of the Year while we're doing this?"
"I think he said he wanted to talk to Piccolo about something. He's been kind of out of it since everything went down at the Cell Games."
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Meanwhile, up on the Lookout…
Piccolo looked up from his meditation to see Goku standing before him "I didn't expect to see you up here so soon. What's this about?"
"It's kind of hard to explain…" Goku let out a sigh and sat down next to Piccolo "I don't know, I feel like I've been in a funk. Ever since I came back to life something feels kind of off, I mean I'm not eating as much, and even when I'm training it kind of feels like I'm just going through the motions. It's like something is stopping me from going all out."
"And why exactly are you coming to me?"
"I don't really know who else to go to with this. I mean I would go to King Kai, but I doubt he wants to see me again for awhile."
"Nice to know that you think so highly of me." his tone was dry, and he breathed a sigh "I'm just gonna take a guess here, but I'm assuming you still feel bad about what happened with Gohan in the Cell Games?"
"Well… yeah I do. You and Kai were right Piccolo, I should've stepped into the fight a lot sooner than I did. But I had so much faith in Gohan, and I was being so confident in him, that I didn't see the writing on the wall right in front of me. Fighting is one of the things that makes me happy, and I just thought it would make him happy too, but it doesn't. Not like it does for me that is."
"And you found out the hard way. The problem you have right now isn't with your body, it's your mind telling you that you need to back off. Take some time to examine all of the other things you care about in life. You do have another kid coming you know."
"Yeah I know. I know I made some mistakes with Gohan, and I don't want to make those same mistakes with this one. I want to be a better father to both of them, so I don't put them in those positions again. If Gohan doesn't want to fight, then I'm not going to force him. That sounds simple enough, doesn't it?"
"Cutting fighting out of Gohan's life isn't the answer here. If you want simple then let me put it like this: Take a break from fighting for a little while, focus on the other things in life that make you happy."
"You think so?"
"I'm offering what I can."
"...I guess that works, thanks Piccolo. I owe you one."
"Let me just say this: When you achieve that Super Saiyan 2 form, you and I are going to fight each other with everything we've got."
"Trust me, that's the plan." and so Goku blasted off the Lookout with a smile on his face 'You know looking back, maybe Piccolo is right. Maybe a break from fighting will do some good and help me clear my head, so now I can focus on my family. Gohan and Piccolo are already pretty far ahead of me, so if something comes up they can handle it for now, but I'll still be there to help them if they need it. One would probably think that I've be kind of upset about giving up fighting so easily, but it's not like it's forever. Besides, I'm just not afraid of change I guess. I never really have been. When I comes down to it, I know they're going to be alright. After all, if there's anything I've learned since I first landed on Earth, it's that everyone is a lot stronger than they think they are. Things change, and they're going to keep changing, and that's something you can't stop. The most important part is that now we can just go through life and make our dreams come true, like Gohan becoming a scholar. I guess now it's up to the rest of them to see what kind of future they make, at least for the time being.'
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Despite the conflict being over, the adventures still continue for our heroes as they go on to live their lives, but the tails of those exploits will have to be saved for another time. Until that time comes my dear readers, may the road rise to meet you. As long as that road isn't Snake Way.
A/N:
And with this chapter, not only do we have the shortest chapter in this entire story, not only do we see Gohan liberate the future from the terror of the Androids, but we also see the Cell Saga at last come to an end, with life continuing to move forward for the survivors. I had originally planned for the epilogue to be one chapter, but with the adventures of Gohan and Kai, the latter awakening his Spirit Ken technique, I decided to create one chapter for the present timeline, and one for the future timeline. It's only right for me to warn all of you that from here on out, this story is going to be on hiatus for the time being, so that I can work on some of my other stories for now.
Considering what I said in the summary, it shouldn't be surprising that I had decided to include Erasa in the future timeline. Sure it could've been easy to just wait until the Black and Zamasu arc to include her, but I wanted to give Gohan something to do in this timeline until then, aside from the Majin Buu crisis. I also have plans for a few villains from the movies and a somewhat overhated series to be included as well. I'm not sure how well I handled it, but I'll leave that up to you guys.
Now then, like I said, this will be where this story goes on hiatus for the time being, at least a few months. Part of it is because I want to work on some of my other stories, such as my Naruto fic that I've been struggling with since October of 2017, or my new Fairy Tail fic that's been way more popular than I was expecting. But still, a new reason has come to light that really left me disenhearted: Team Four Star has decided to cancel the next season of DBZ Abridged. The link where I found the information on this is provided below. I understand their reasons, but it's still rather heartbreaking for me, so I'll probably need some time to come to terms with that before I come back to this story.
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Power levels:
Future Gohan: 1.2 billion
Future Gohan (post 1 year training): 1.8 billion
Super Saiyan Future Gohan: 8.4 billion
Super Saiyan Future Gohan (post 1 year training): 12.6 billion
Future Erasa: 400
Future Erasa (post 1 year training): 12,000
Future Android 17: 380 million
Future Cell: 435 million