30 Minutes until the Tournament of Time
"Who's that green guy Goku's talking to?" Caulifla murmured with a raised brow.
"Whoever he is, he looks pretty intense, kinda like that Frieza guy from way back when," Kale muttered in reply.
Cabba focused on the figures below with a fixed stare. "Something tells me this isn't a good sign of what's to come."
- DB DBZ DBS DBGT -
"Why so glum, everyone? I thought you'd be more welcoming towards a familiar face!"
It had been twenty-three years, but Gohan had never forgotten that face or the voice; both of which he found ugly to look at and grating to listen to. His orange gi ruffled as he snapped his eyes towards his daughter he'd concealed behind him. "Pan, you and Bulla go stand over with Trunks and Goten."
"But, Papa I," Pan began, but was swiftly cut off.
"Do as he says, Pan," Vegeta cut in. "You too, Bulla."
Both Pan's shared a look with their respective fathers and each other before silently complying, following behind Bulla to the opposite side of the waiting area and out of hearing range. They were ignorant of the pink eyes following them.
"So many new faces, I'll have to find time to get acquainted."
Gohan fully recognised the intent behind the sneer and the malice behind his words. "Eyes on us, Cell. We're the ones competing," Gohan shot back, thrusting his head towards his father, and both Vegeta's in emphasis. "So you might as well crawl back into whatever hole you dug yourself out of, because you have no chance of winning this tournament."
Cell's expression remained unchanged, and he simply fixed his gaze on Gohan. His mouth was smiling but his eyes were not. "Gohan," he drolly murmured before glancing between the identical men distinguished only by their attire. "Two of you in fact." He took a single pace forward. "It seems no matter the timeline, you still spout the same tired drivel."
It had been so long ago for some, but despite that, the feelings Gohan had for this creature had never really gone away. Hidden perhaps and buried deep, but always lingering. Seeing Cell in the flesh again was more than enough for all those emotions to begin to bubble to the surface.
"You're long dead in our time, Cell." Gohan despised the fact that despite his current height, he still had to look up to meet the creature in the eyes. "I made sure of that."
"And yet here I stand despite your efforts." Cell swivelled his head aside in a small bout of laughter. "Oh, you can't even begin to imagine how pleased I am to see you all. Frankly I'd grown rather bored of terrorising my universe these past few years, hence why I accepted such an alluring invitation to this place." Cell broadened his grin. "How appropriate that I get to decide your fates once again upon yet another tournament stage."
Goku's arm shot across Gohan's chest the instant Goku felt his son's power swell. "Save it for the ring, son." If Grand Zeno had been willing to erase people in the past for trying to intervene during the Tournament of Power, Goku didn't even want to think about what he would do to those who partook in an unsanctioned fight in his ever looming presence. "That's assuming you even manage to make it past the first round, Cell. We're here looking for a challenge after all."
Upon Goku's direction, the warriors present ended their confrontation and vacated their waiting area in favour of Timeline 2's; a silent agreement being held to distance themselves as far as possible from their once fondly forgotten but now returned enemy.
Cell followed them with a gleeful gaze and a silent sneer, soon shutting his eyes and dipping into a state of meditation whilst he eagerly waited for the tournament to commence.
- DB DBZ DBS DBGT -
"Of all the people, in all the timelines, Zeno chose him?"
Gohan was fuming, his counterpart also. One was currently pacing back and forth, while the other was leaning against the ring in a slanted stance. The overall mood of the group of twin timelines had soured.
"Don't sweat it, Gohan," Goku soon exclaimed, patting one son on the back whilst fondly looking at the other one. "That ain't our Cell; the one you killed is gone and never coming back. Don't let that guy over there ruin this for you," Goku patted Gohan once again before stepping back and broadening his shoulders. "We still got a tournament to win don't we? And even if that Cell is stronger than the one we fought… do you really think he even holds a candle to us at our level now?"
It may have been the reassuring words, or it may have simply been the fact it was Goku saying them. Whatever the case, both Gohan's felt their moods substantially improve.
"I suppose when you put it that way, dad," Gohan 1 began, looking his father in the eyes with a composed expression. "Even if I do get matched up against Cell, I'll just have to beat him again." He flashed a confident smirk.
Goku grinned in reply. "That's the spirit, son!" He then adopted a more competitive smile of his own. "Although, maybe this time I won't have to tag you in."
"Hmph, aren't you getting ahead of yourself, Kakarot?" Vegeta cut in, inserting himself in the conversation. "Perhaps it's finally time I got my chance at a rematch with that freak, you've both had your shots already!"
Piccolo, still standing off to the side, felt his brow twitching. "Getting a real sense of deja vu here."
The topic of Cell was gradually but thankfully dismissed, and the residents of both timelines utilised what time they had left to mingle amongst themselves; Bulla conversed with the two Pan's, Goku had formed a circle with Uub, Trunks and Goten. Meanwhile Piccolo and the two Vegeta's had each found a separate area to individually brood, and lastly Gohan was discussing the identifiable variations in the timeline with himself, to little success.
"So you've never heard of Garlic Jr?" Gohan 2 asked, appearing somewhat in a daze.
"Can't say that I have," Gohan replied with a nervous laugh. "I mean I would've been young at the time he showed up right? But it doesn't seem like the kind of thing I would forget, especially if we fought him twice and he was specifically trying to kill me the second time."
The Gohan's had been trying their best to narrow down the events in their lives to the singular moment their timelines had branched apart irreparably. Whis had of course indicated it was eons ago; but given their lives seemed to parallel each other, they looked to the only other major variation and the occurrences beyond it.
They had settled on the death of Old Kai and the apparent final end of Timeline 2's Beerus some 16 years ago; as that was where the most obvious differences seemingly began to occur. The most evident being that the second timeline had never even known of the existence of the God of Destruction Beerus before today and the subsequent adventures that took place thanks to his presence, or lack thereof.
It seemed as if the absence of Beerus had led to a different path for them all.
Gohan was most interested in his counterpart's description of the past year or so of their timeline. A Grand Tour of the universe in search of Black Star Dragon Balls, Hell itself literally opening up, and even the Dragon Balls themselves turning against them and disappearing forever. All events Gohan would decree to investigate in his own timeline to ensure their prevention.
Yet as they discussed further and the conflict against the Tuffle parasite Baby was further elaborated on, it seemed the differences ran much deeper than they initially thought.
It was when they had gotten to the subject of using the 'sacred water' held atop of Dende's Lookout to free the minds of the people of Earth from Baby's control that things began to get complicated. Despite their combined intelligence and efforts to understand it. Gohan 1 had never heard of this sacred water, nor his counterpart's timeline's prior usage of it against this so-called Garlic Jr.
Gohan 2 gripped his hair in thought. "I really don't understand it, it's like both our timelines experienced the same events, but so many little things are different? I mean like that year we spent training with Piccolo, you don't remember any of what I do!"
Gohan shrugged. "Never made friends with a dinosaur, random orphans or a robot I'm afraid…" He paused and slowly blinked. "Unless you count the androids."
His counterpart slouched down in his chair with a defeated look, hand held to his forehead and his glasses pushed askew. "I give up, this is hopeless." One of his legs began to bounce as he tried to contain his thoughts. "We could go on for hours yet still never get the full picture, it's insanity."
They remained in silence for several moments, quietly pondering their shared dilemma. Gohan 1 eventually settled on something new to give consideration to and voiced himself when he found the appropriate moment. "Maybe it just doesn't matter. It's like our timelines are two interpretations of the same story… sure there's some discrepancies between the two, but in the end we all ended up more or less in the same place give or take an event or two."
Gohan 2 snorted, an expression the other Gohan noted contained a noticeable hint of disagreement. "Not entirely in the same place." His tone became flat and his movements were stilted. "You can see what your timeline has that ours doesn't."
Gohan had of course seen, how could he not have? Two of the most important people in his life were missing from this alternate timeline, and it wasn't too difficult to guess what had become of them. "I'm sorry," Gohan droned out. He made sure his next words were almost silent. "And it's not just him is it?" Gohan stated slowly but surely. "Piccolo too." His voice fluctuated. "You don't even have the Dragon Balls to undo it." With that his voice wavered completely.
After taking a moment he spoke again, his tone almost pitiable. "Personally, I don't know how you cope with it."
"Not well," was the heavy response he received.
They shared another moment of silence at that.
"But Pan and Videl make it easier… so much easier." The wearier Gohan removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was an odd experience to literally have a conversation with yourself about a topic so personal. "I have to be the one to protect them now. I can't afford the luxury of relying on dad or anyone else to do it for me. I guess in a way it's like I've been running from my responsibilities towards them and the Earth with him around."
"You can't mean that," Gohan replied sharply. "It doesn't just fall on you; our friends will always be there to help us, we've been through so much together."
"Us too," Gohan 2 shot back, his tone noticeably dreary. "But I guess that might just be another difference between us. Over the years, one by one our friends have just... moved on. We all have our own lives now and our priorities have shifted." He returned his glasses to their usual placement. "Going off on adventures is behind most of us now. Heck, just compare our turnout to yours; you've still got the whole gang together, whereas overtime ours just… drifted apart."
It may have been a slight exaggeration on the second Gohan's part, but it was still nevertheless rooted in the truth. In his timeline, one by one after the fight against Buu, their once tightly knit group of friends had simply come apart at the seams, one at a time. His father and mother had lived a simple life in the mountains with Goten, Krillin had responsibilities of his own to the ones he loved, Bulma and Vegeta had their own affairs to deal with, and Gohan himself had a growing family to attend to.
Yet despite all that, it was the most recent events that had the most unravelling impact. It was no longer as simple as old friends simply drifting apart. Their recent losses were gone forever. Buu, Piccolo, and even the Dragon Balls.
"It's just not been the same since dad went away," Gohan 2 stated in a daze, his other self listening intently. "You know what he's like; how he can bring people together just after a quick talk or make a friend for life after a single fight. He's the one who brought everyone together. Without him around the magic is just… gone." Despite his words, Gohan's tone remained unnervingly flat and neutral. "To be honest, looking up at everyone here with you guys in the stands, I wouldn't be surprised if it's the last time I see some of those faces."
After he finished speaking, Gohan 2 was expecting the silence between them to resume as before. He didn't anticipate his counterpart to respond with an almost sarcastic laugh and a glare. "You know, I never thought I was one to give up so easily."
"Well maybe that's just another difference between us," Gohan 2 snapped.
Gohan 1 was undeterred, fixing his other with a firm stare and adopting a rigid stance. "So dad goes away and that's it? The ride's over? Nothing from the past thirty years mattered?" His temper flailed but his words were even. "You make it sound like there's nothing left to look forward to."
"Dad hasn't just gone away," Gohan 2 shot back, his back arching slightly. "He's gone. For good. He is not coming back this time." His tone had been swift and pointed, but he finished mournfully.
"Wouldn't be the first time," Gohan 1 replied in a quipping tone in contrast. He paused another moment, leaning back whilst closing his eyes, seemingly deep in thought. "Your Dragon Balls are gone, so you can't wish him back, wherever he may be." His brow furrowed. "And you haven't said, but I'm guessing Namek's Dragon Ball's aren't an option either, especially if they're capable of spawning evil dragons too. I'd doubt you'd want to chance it." It was then Gohan smiled, so very similarly to his father.
"But there's a nice clean set of Dragon Balls right there in the sky. No wish limitations."
Gohan 2 resisted the urge to roll his eyes, simply settling on an exhale and a groan. He knew what his counterpart was getting at, he'd considered the option himself as soon as the concept of the Super Dragon Ball's was explained to him. He gave up on that thought just as easily. "You sound like Pan," despite himself he managed a smile. "We need to win the tournament to make that wish, so given the circumstances you'll have to forgive me if I don't get my hopes up."
"You guys need to win," Gohan nodded in agreement, then he looked across slyly. "Or I do." His grin grew as his counterpart's eyes widened. "Or Dad, or Vegeta. Six contestants out of sixteen? I'd say it's worth betting on."
Gohan 2 simply looked perplexed, this was not something he anticipated would be suggested. He almost couldn't believe it, even if it was himself saying it. "But why would you-"
"Come on, you really think we need that wish?" Gohan stated in a near laugh, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Those two," he indicated to his father and Vegeta, now bickering as usual about something. "They just wanna fight, preferably each other, and I guess I'm just along for the ride. We've not even discussed the wish, assuming we get it." If there was any confrontation left in his expression, it was fleeting. "We still have Dragon Balls, you don't. You have a wish, we don't. So why don't we just give ourselves something to fight for?"
The two returned to silence, but whereas on the prior occasions it had been due to uncertainty and awkwardness, now, a sense of eager anticipation hung in the air. Gohan 1 felt a few final words were needed. "And maybe you're right. Maybe if your dad comes back, so will the magic."
Gohan 2 gave a single 'ha' as a reply, but it was genuine. He looked as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "I never seriously considered it as a possibility." His lips trembled slightly and he looked away. "I never even considered whether or not dad even wants to come back."
Gohan 1 widened his eyes at that, however he was cut off from any response by his counterpart's further, relieved words. "But if nothing else, even if he can't come back, even if we just wish to know where he is and that he's safe. The closure would be enough for us all."
After a brief pause, Gohan raised his head. "Well then." He slapped his counterpart on the shoulder. "Now I have something to work towards, other than trying not to embarrass myself of course."
His smile was genuine, as was the one he received in reply.
Once again they sat in silence, though now they were both content. Each cast a gaze over the ring, to the stands and the occupants of them. Gohan 2 looked to the left to see Beerus still chasing the Old Kai's about. The other looked to the right, his gaze turning to a glare as he unwittingly set sights on the green and black armoured form of Cell.
"You're really going to let your Pan compete?" Gohan 1 asked stoically.
The response he received felt slower than it actually was. "Pan's more capable than either of us realise."
Gohan kept his eyes fixed on Cell, he swore he could see the green monster smirking even now. "Even against him?"
Gohan 2 blinked once and snorted. "I think I can speak for both of us when I say that if he hurts Pan it'll be the last mistake he ever makes."