Dragonball Z

Gohan: Protector of Earth

Disclaimer:This is a Dragonball z fanfiction. I do not own or in anyway profit from Dragonball z or any of the characters in this story. This fic centers on Gohan, and begins right after the cell games. It is an AU, and reviews are welcome and much appreciated.

Prologue:

It was over. The battle was finally over. The evil that was Cell had laid waste to much of the planet and its inhabitants, but it was finally over. With one mighty kamehameha blast, Gohan was able to destroy every last cell in Cell so that there was no possible way he could regenerate. But it did come at a cost. Gohan's father, the great hero Goku, sacrificed himself to protect the planet from Cell. Goku had teleported to King Kai's planet where Cell self destructed killing Goku along with King Kai, bubbles, and even Gregory. It was thought that when Cell decided to self destruct he would not be able to return to this dimension. That was the idea of self destruction that in the process the one that does it also loses their life. But the z-fighters were wrong. This monster could not be defeated that easily. When a death beam collided with and killed Mirai Trunks, everyone knew Cell had returned. It took everything Gohan had to defeat Cell once and for all. With only one functioning arm and the power of his saiyan heritage and the love for his friends and family, Gohan's final kamehameha beam was able to overpower that of Cell's. It was truly an amazing scene, only witnessed by a few, and denied to the public by a deceitful warrior who claimed the glory for himself. Hercule Satan, the arrogant martial arts champion, would take credit for this most impressive feat and downplay the heroics of those that fought and those that lost their lives. Most would not know the bravery and might of Gohan, but that's expected of a hero. As was the case with Goku, a hero's job was to defeat the enemy and save the world, not for the fame and credit like Hercule was soon to do, but for the satisfaction of protecting those that can not protect themselves.

Gohan could have killed Cell right after he transformed into an ascended super saiyan, a super saiyan 2, but he chose to toy with him. He did not want to give Cell a quick and painless death but preferred to scare him, put fear into his black, genetically engineered heart. He wanted Cell to beg for mercy before he finally destroyed the vile creature. This ultimately backfired though and resulted in his father's death. The guilt Gohan felt was immense; he was responsible for his father's death. He had turned into the very thing he hated most, by toying with Cell he had become Cell, a heartless monster feeding off the fear of others. Gohan was mature beyond his years but neither child nor teenager could easily cope with such a feeling. He was consoled by knowing he could wish his father back with the dragonballs, along with Mirai Trunk who came to warn them about the androids and stayed to help them through the emergence of androids and cell.

Goku did not want to be wished back from the dead however. He felt it was better for the Earth if he remained dead, that the enemies who posed a threat to the Earth resulted from him. Cell was created by Dr Gero, along with the androids, to destroy Goku. Goku as a child destroyed the Red Ribbon Army, an army created by Dr Gero to take over the world. If not for Goku, there may not have been a Cell in the first place. However, if there was no Goku, the Red Ribbon Army may have collected all of the dragonballs and used them to take over the planet. For as many times as Goku saved the Earth from destruction, his heroics also put the planet at risk.

Gohan did not see it the way his father did, he wanted his dad to return and he wanted to have his whole family together again. Too much of his life was his father away, from the time after Radditz arrived on Earth to the time after Namek was destroyed and Goku had decided to stay on a far away planet. In addition to that reason, how could Gohan live with the guilt of the situation? How could he forgive himself for indirectly killing his father, the Earth's greatest hero? There was nothing he could do now. He had to live with what happened. He had to take it as a lesson, albeit the hardest lesson he would ever learn. Never again would Gohan underestimate an opponent and risk the safety of those he loved. He would never again let arrogance and hatred get in the way of a battle, for that is not how a hero fought, for that is not how Goku fought.

With Goku gone, there was a void left among the z-fighters and the planet. For so long everyone had relied on Goku to be the hero, if there was an enemy too powerful they could just wait for Goku to come and defeat him. They could not do that anymore. They had to be ready for whatever threat was out there. Although there was a great improbability of a power equal to that of Cell's ever appearing again, the Z-fighters had to be ready. The Earth had shown its susceptibility to being conquered over the years from the Red Ribbon Army to the saiyans and eventually to Cell, some of the most powerful and evil forces in the universe attempted to conquer this small lush planet on the edge of the cosmos. It needed to be protected from any possible threat that could emerge.

Being the one who had defeated Cell and stepped into his father's shoes, Gohan had to accept that role. Chichi never wanted him to be a fighter, but preferred for him to become a Rhode scholar, doctor, lawyer, or any number of professional positions that displayed his intelligence to others and brought recognition to his family. But that was not what Gohan was destined for. Although only half saiyan, the saiyan blood that flowed through Gohan's veins were too strong for him to ignore. No saiyan or half-saiyan was capable of not becoming a fighter. It was just a natural part of their lives, written onto their DNA. Gohan was meant for greatness, to resume where Goku had left off and become the protector of Earth. He had to step into his fathers shoes and assume the role of hero. Villains from far away planets and villains from a nearby village would always be there and would always be a threat to everything Gohan held dear to his heart. Gohan had to be the protector; he had to train in order to be ready for whatever came next.

This is the story of Gohan, the son of the legend, a hero for the ages, the protector of Earth.