For Gohan, the world had been filled with darkness and death ever since he was a child. That day, when they arrived—the destroyers of the world, the androids—they killed almost everyone who was important to him. He had to hide and survive. There was no time to grow stronger, no clear path to improvement. All he could do was live to fight another day, accepting the grim reality that people were going to die.
This wasn't the life he had envisioned. Not at all. He missed his father. He missed his friends. Gohan hated the fact he had to live in this world of death and destruction. This dark world that seemed to have no end in sight. He worked hard to gain strength, enough he hoped to turn things around. Yet, it felt pointless to him. It was as if he had hit a wall of limitation, his power stuck in place. No matter how much he worked, he wasn't able to break the barrier and find the greater power beyond. The power that was potentially enough to save the world and to protect what little he had left in it as well.
There was still one source of hope for him left. A person with potential to reach levels he failed to reach. He had found Bulma's son Trunks and started to train him. Trunks being half human, and half alien had the same potential as he did. Gohan saw great potential in Trunks—potential that, in time, could surpass the limits Gohan himself had reached. His goal was to train Trunks, to help him break through his own barriers so that together, perhaps, they could finally rid the world of these androids.
As Gohan flew toward West City, he suddenly sensed a massive spike in energy. For a moment, he felt something incredibly strong ahead of him. He knew it wasn't the androids—they didn't produce any energy. Whoever it was, it had to be someone else. A chill of both excitement and dread shot through him as he pushed his speed to the limit. For some reason, the androids had decided to annihilate all of West City.
As Gohan flew faster, his anxiety deepened. His mind raced with dread over what he might find—the thought of Trunks and Bulma in danger gnawing at him. The energy signature ahead only fueled his desperation, and without hesitation, he pushed himself into Super Saiyan, his hair turning golden, his body igniting with raw power. The transformation wasn't just a surge of strength—it was his resolve, his need to protect those he loved. But the fear remained heavy in his chest, thoughts of innocent people dying, and the city being destroyed swirling through his mind.
Worst of all, the possibility that Bulma or Trunks might not survive haunted him. He couldn't afford another failure. He had failed so many times before. Maybe, if he'd been stronger, if he hadn't hit this cursed wall that capped his power, the world wouldn't have fallen into such chaos. Maybe his friends would still be alive. He felt like he had failed them all—as a protector, as a teacher, and as a son. The son of Son Goku, the greatest hero Earth had ever known. A man who had defeated the galactic tyrant Freeza, who had saved Gohan and their friends more times than he could count. And here was Gohan, fighting to survive in a world his father had once saved, a world now ravaged and nearly destroyed. Compared to Goku, he felt like a complete failure.
Then, just as he approached the city, he felt it—that terrible drop in power. He knew what it was right away, it was someone's ki reaching a flat line, they were going to die, and soon. He felt it hit like a hammer blow. He knew what happened, as he processed the information, his eyes went wide. Trunks was dying and was about to be gone. Gohan pushed forward, quickly as he had to get there, maybe just maybe he could do something. If only they still had sensu beans left.
Rage boiled in him, his Super Saiyan aura flaring uncontrollably as he landed in West City, his body trembling with anger and despair. There, on the ground, lay Trunks, his student, his hope for the future, dying before him. The androids stood nearby, watching with smug, emotionless eyes. As he stood there, he didn't even notice that most of Capsule Corps had been blown away. That he had also lost Bulma in that moment too. Gohan was far too focused on what was in front of him, on Trunks to think past that in the heat of the moment.
Gohan quickly rushed over to Trunks' side, his heart pounding in his chest as he knelt beside his student. Blood-soaked Trunks' capsule corps shirt, his body battered and broken from the androids' relentless attack. Gohan's hands trembled as he reached out, cradling Trunks' head in his arms.
Gohan held Trunks seeing that the life was slowly fading from his eyes, as his body lacked any energy in it. Gohan felt his breath grow more ragged as he held the body. He had failed him, his mind started to slowly overwhelm with emotions, as he fought them back to keep in the moment with his dying student.
"Trunks," Gohan choked, his voice heavy with grief, "I'm… I'm so sorry. I couldn't get here fast enough. I should've protected you."
Trunks, struggling to speak, lifted his gaze weakly toward Gohan. "You… you did your best, Gohan. Don't… blame yourself."
But Gohan couldn't accept those words. His mind was racing, consumed by the overwhelming guilt of all his past failures. He had promised to train Trunks, to make him strong enough to survive, strong enough to save this ruined world. And now, he was losing him—just like he had lost everyone else. His father. Piccolo. His friends. One by one, they had all been taken from him, and no matter how hard he tried, Gohan couldn't stop it.
Trunks coughed, blood staining his lips. "Gohan… you… you have to stop them. You can still… you can still save everyone."
Gohan wasn't sure how that was even possible for Trunks to say. For him to so believe in him when he was such a failure. "I can't, I am not strong enough, I am not my dad, I have failed to be like him. I wanted to save everyone, and I couldn't save anyone," Gohan roared as tears streamed down his face as he held his student tightly to himself. He hated this nightmare, he hated those androids, he missed those who were important to him. "If only I was stronger, none of this would have happened."
"Gohan… it's not your fault," Trunks whispered, his voice fading as he gave Gohan a small, sad smile. "You… you're like your father. A hero… no matter what happens… don't lose sight of that."
But those words only pierced Gohan's heart deeper. His father… Goku… the man who had always been there to protect them, to save the day. Gohan wasn't like him. He wasn't enough. He had never been enough.
In that moment, Trunks' hand fell limp, his breathing stopping. The world around Gohan seemed to collapse in on itself. His student, his hope, was gone.
Gohan let out a completely emotion filled primal scream. His voice echoing across the ruins of West City, as his ki picked up. The world around him for a moment reflecting the storm of emotions within him. His energy growing at a quick and intense rate, as he let out all of his frustrations, his anger, his sorrow, and his hatred in that moment, as something suddenly happened.
In a heated moment, Gohan transcended his limits, his body putting out its own ki, which was sparking like electricity all around him. His aura shinning bright in the darkness of the moment. His eyes focused, as his hair grew a bit larger. There was suddenly a new edge of danger to the aura around Gohan, his limitations that kept his power in check were no more. He was now a hurricane of emotions, of anger, rage, and purpose. Gohan standing there in his ascended Super Saiyan two, had done what he had thought impossible in a moment, but was far too taken by his emotions to even realize it.
His breath came out in ragged, furious gasps, his vision blurred by tears and rage. The androids, who had stood by with their usual smug arrogance, now took a step back, sensing the sheer power radiating from Gohan.
For Gohan, there was nothing but pure, unbridled rage. His heart was broken beyond repair, his soul filled with the sorrow of loss after loss. And now, he would make the androids pay. Every ounce of his pain, his anger, his grief, would fuel his next strike.
This time, he wouldn't fail. He couldn't. Not anymore.
Gohan stood tall, his breath steady despite the storm of emotions raging within him. His gaze locked onto the twin androids who had brought so much destruction and pain to the world. They were the source of his sorrow, the root of his anger. The two machines that had stolen everything from him—his friends, his family, his future. But now, they would meet their end.
His eyes, filled with both unyielding fury and a new, ironclad resolve, bored into them. There was no hesitation, no shred of compassion left. The unsettling aura that radiated from him, fueled by his transformation into Super Saiyan 2, was something the androids couldn't sense—just as they couldn't sense the massive power that had grown inside him.
Gohan's voice came out cold, like a death sentence, "Now, it's the end for you, androids."
His tone was harsh, devoid of mercy. He had none to offer them, nor did they deserve it.
Without any warning at all, Gohan shot forward like a bolt of lightning. So fast that neither Seventeen nor Eighteen had a moment to prepare themselves. Gohan's first attack caught the smug dark-haired android off guard. Slamming into his gut so hard, it lifted him off the ground. Gohan didn't stop, as the next attacks pushed the android higher into the air, each hit cracking with energy as it landed with impact, the sounds of the hits echoing across the ruined city.
Eighteen, recovering from her initial shock, raised her hand and began charging a ki blast, her face hardening with determination. But Gohan was already a step ahead. With graceful, almost effortless precision, he dodged each blast she fired, his movements fluid, his focus unbreakable. He wasn't fighting with desperation anymore—he was fighting with purpose.
Seventeen, still reeling from Gohan's brutal assault, tried to muster some semblance of a defense. But it was futile. Gohan's fist collided with his chest again, shattering any hope of resistance. And then, with one final, powerful strike, Gohan sent Seventeen hurtling through the air, a look of sheer terror on the android's face as he felt the overwhelming might of Gohan's new power. This was not what they were used to, and they were shocked to be on the receiving in for once.
Gohan stopped mid-air, his hand raised toward the sky, energy swirling in his palm. "Masenko," he muttered, his voice steady but laced with cold determination. A massive beam of energy erupted from his hand, surging toward Seventeen with unstoppable force. The blast hit its mark, engulfing the android in a blinding explosion of power.
When the light faded, there was nothing left of Seventeen. Just dust, scattered in the wind.
Gohan stayed in the sky as he looked over at eighteen who was in shock, having not moved yet. His work wasn't done, and he knew it well. He knew that he had to finish them. He had to get his vengeance for the death of those he cared for, and he was going to show no mercy.
Gohan didn't hesitate. This was no time for hesitation. He moved quickly towards the blonde android as he started to charge in his cupped hands the move of his father. This was her end, and he was going to finish her off once and for all. There was nothing the blonde could do or say to avoid her fate. She was going to know what it was like to suffer, just as those she killed had suffered. Just as his student had suffered. He prepared himself as he moved quickly towards eighteen who fired off a couple of ki blast that were completely futile in her own anger over the loss of her brother.
"Kamehameha!" Gohan roared, his voice filled with rage and sorrow.
The blast shot forward at nearly point-blank range; the brilliant blue beam of energy overwhelming Eighteen before she could even mount a defense. Her form was swallowed by the sheer force of the attack, her scream cut short as the wave of destruction tore through her, vaporizing her entire being in an instant.
When the light from the Kamehameha finally dimmed, there was nothing left—no sign that Eighteen had ever stood there, no trace of the devastation she had caused. Just like Seventeen, she was gone.
Gohan stood still for a moment, his breath heavy, his aura flickering. The androids were finally defeated. But as the silence settled over the ruined landscape, the weight of his actions hit him. He had won, yes, but it had come too late. Too many lives had been lost, too much had been taken from him. Trunks, his last connection to hope, lay dead behind him. And the world was still broken.
Victory, in this moment, felt hollow.