The Limits of Destiny

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z.

Chapter 1: Torn

Peaceful times followed the conclusion of the Cell Games. It had been a year since Gohan transformed into a Super Saiyan 2 and rid the Earth of the monstrous android, and not a single villain had disturbed the tranquility since. But, however tranquil the Earth was at the moment, nothing could calm the storm of emotions still raging in Gohan's heart.

In half of his heart was scorching fury, anger at himself for allowing his pride to cloud his judgment. If he hadn't, his father would still be alive. In the other half was pure sadness and disappointment that his father would not be coming back. There were two things that always ignited a spark of hope within Gohan: his father, and the belief that everything would turn out okay. His most inspiring memory was when, on Namek, Goku just walked right up to Frieza without hesitation. Even though Frieza was the most feared being in the universe, Gohan knew everything was going to work out. But now, both of those sources of inspiration were gone. This resulted in a feeling of extreme loneliness. His ultimate desire was for Goku to come back, but he knew it wouldn't happen. Nobody could replace his father, yet he still yearned for someone to share his adventures with.

In yet another half of his heart, he found happiness in the fact that he now had a little brother- Goten. He reminded Gohan so much of Goku that his anger was calmed by just holding him. Finally, in the last half of his heart, he felt responsibility. Should another threat to Earth ever arise, it would be up to him to conquer it. He knew that this technically added up to two hearts, but it's not like his mom was checking his math or anything. Speaking of his math, he probably had to get back to studying soon. Chi-Chi has become more lenient with studying following Goku's death, feeling that if she had allowed Gohan to train harder, Goku would still be alive. However, he still had to keep up with his studies.

"GOHAN! Dinner's ready!" Chi-Chi called from the front door of her house. This abruptly broke Gohan out of his meditation.

"Coming mom!" Gohan got up from his place under the tree and ran back inside, smelling what he perceived to be spaghetti and freshly baked bread. Sure enough, he hit the nail on the head. "Looks great mom! Thanks!" As Gohan began to dig in, there was a knock on the door.

"Chi-Chi! Gohan!" called the voice.

"Grandpa!" Gohan bolted over to the door and opened it, embracing his grandfather the Ox-King in a hug. Ever since Gohan's return from Namek, the Ox-King paid regular visits to the Son household, but since the Cell Games, he had come over nearly every day.

As dinner came to a close, Chi-Chi began her usual interrogations.

"Gohan, did you finish all your homework, sweetie?"

"Well, everything except for math, but that's because it's too easy and I think I could better spend my time-"

"Oh, too easy for you?" Chi-Chi interrupted. "Then, how do you differentiate a composition of functions?"

"Chi-Chi! Differentiation! He's only twelve years old! I didn't learn that until I was twenty!" Ox-King interjected, trying to save his grandson.

"FATHER! HE DOES NOT YOU TO PROVIDE HIM WITH EXCUSES FOR NEGLECTING HIS STUDIES!" As soon as Ox-King tried to respond, his head became a victim of the legendary frying pan. "So Gohan, how do you do it?"

"You use chain rule for derivatives. If you have f of g of x, you do f prime of g of x, and multiply by g prime of x." He calmly explained. Chi-Chi looked at her son in absolute bewilderment. He was supposed to be working on algebra, and she thought he couldn't have gotten as far as calculus yet, but apparently, she was wrong. "So mom, can I go train now?"

"Uh…sure…okay," was the response he received from his jaw-dropped mother. Gohan ran out the door and flew towards the Lookout.

As soon as he landed, he was greeted by a typical "Hey kid." from Piccolo.

"Ah! Piccolo! How've you been?"

"Excellent. What brings you here?"

"I was wondering if you could train me some more?" A smile sprouted across Piccolo's face.

"Gohan, you've far outclassed me in skill. I have nothing left to teach you." Gohan beamed at the compliment.

"Yeah there is." Piccolo looked genuinely surprised. What could he still have to teach the kid who beat Cell?

"What?"

"Well…during my fight with Cell, I was definitely more powerful, but in a way, I still lost. I let my pride overcome me. My mind was not as strong as it could have been. You've always had excellent judgment, so I was wondering if you could teach me!" Piccolo smiled again. This kid was truly amazing. Even though he had beaten the strongest villain to terrorize the Earth, and it was now a time of peace, he still wanted to improve.

"Well Gohan, I'd say you're already mentally fit. You recognized your mistake, and are willing to learn from it. All that is required now is a bit of meditation every once in a while. If you want, I can teach you more advanced forms of telekinesis, though. It should sharpen your mentality."

"Thanks Piccolo, you're the best! Oh, and there's one more thing."

"What is that?"

"I feel like I'm not…done yet."

"What do you mean 'done yet'"?

"Well, you see, I heard from Vegeta a long time ago that the super saiyans of legend were unstoppable, and that nobody could surpass them in power. During the fight with Cell, even though my power increased substantially, Cell was still able to put up a fight."

"I see. So you think that there's another level of Super Saiyan that you still have to reach."

"Uh-huh!"

"Well kid, I'd help you with that, but I'm not a Saiyan. I'd go talk to Vegeta about it."

"I was afraid you'd say that! Haha."

After talking with Piccolo and Dende for a few more minutes, Gohan headed off to Capsule Corporation. As Gohan flew off, Piccolo and Mr. Popo engaged in conversation.

"That boy sure is amazing. He reminds me of Goku," Mr. Popo said, in his ever cheerful tone.

"Yes, he does. And right now, that's a very good thing."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure Mr. Popo, but for the last few weeks, I've felt a disturbance growing somewhere. Some kind of evil. I'm not sure what kind of threat it will be, but it's best to be prepared."

"Surely it couldn't be worse than Cell, though!"

"I…hope you're right, Popo."

Gohan landed at Capsule Corp only to be greeted with cookies and tea by Mrs. Briefs.

"Oh, hi Mrs. Briefs. Is Vegeta around?"

"I would ask Bulma that, dear. You know, you really should have told me you were coming, and I could have made more cookies!" she answered, congenial as ever.

"Oh, thank you, but I'm kinda in a hurry," Gohan said, as he ran inside. He found Bulma in her lab, working on some new crazy project. Gadgets were scattered everywhere, and it was even messier than usual. Bulma's hair was full of split ends and it looked like she'd been up a while.

"Bulma!" Gohan exclaimed. He ran up to hug her.

"Ah, Gohan! So good to see you! How're you and your mom?"

"We've been well! So is Goten."

"Great to hear. So kid, what brings you all the way out here?"

"Actually, I was looking for Vegeta. Is he around, and preferably not grumpy?"

"Well…" Bulma said rather hesitantly. "Vegeta is having a…". She was cut off by yelling from another room.

"WOOOMAAAAAN! WHAT IN THE NAME OF NAMEK DID YOU GIVE ME!" Vegeta's voice was even more rough and angry than usual.

"IT'S CALLED A LAXATIVE YOU MORON! THAT'S WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU EAT UNHEALTHY AMOUNTS OF EXPIRED FOOD!" Gohan heard grumbles and curses, followed by extremely loud flatulence.

"Sounds like he's not having a good day…"Gohan whispered.

"No, Gohan, he's not. I haven't gone shopping due to my new project, so he ate five month old food, and a lot of it. So, I gave him a-"

"WOMAN! IF YOU THINK THIS IS SOME KIND OF JOKE, YOU ARE GOING TO PAY SEVERELY! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S GOING TO FIX THIS THING!"
"Oh my Kami…" she grumbled. "WHAT THING!"

"THE COMODE! THIS PIECE OF JUNK WON'T FLUSH!" Bulma's eyes bulged at the conclusion of that statement.

"Uh…I guess I'll come back another time," Gohan offered, innocently.

"Yeah, I think that'd be best."

"Well, see you later!" With that, Gohan flew home, laughing hysterically the whole way back. "Well," he said to himself, "he may be the Prince of all Saiyans, but that must be the king of all dumps!"

Although laughing is usually healthy, in this case, it may prove to be more deadly. Unbeknownst to Gohan, distracted by his own laughter, he was being followed.