The Buu Saga: How It Should Have Been

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z, or any of the characters as well. These are all owned by Akira Toriyama.

Chapter 1: A Father's Last Request

A/N: Hey everybody, as the title suggests, this will be an AU fic about the Buu saga. Now I, like many other people, believe that Gohan was made far too insignificant after the Cell Saga, as he neglected his training and was forced by Chi Chi to study. I, however, will be rectifying that with this fic, and Gohan shall return to the top again!

It was finally all over. Gohan had defeated Perfect Cell, and the Cell Games had ended, with only one casualty. This singular death, however, was a hefty loss for the people of Earth. Son Goku, the man who has saved earth a seemingly countless number of times, died at the hands of Cell during the battle, and Gohan couldn't help but feel at least partly responsible.

Cell killed Goku in an effort to self-destruct and destroy the planet. However, before he even had the chance to self-destruct, Gohan had been absolutely humiliating Cell in battle. However, anger clouded Gohan's mind, and instead of finishing him off when he had the chance, Gohan played around with Cell, and this allowed Cell the time to self-destruct. Gohan felt responsible for the death of his father, and he felt even more devastated when he heard from Goku that he didn't want to come back as well.

Gohan flew alongside Krillin with an expression of sadness on his face. My father, he thought, gone forever. He couldn't fathom what it would be like to go through the rest of his life without a dad, but at the same time, he was ready to accept the challenge.

Unbeknownst to many of his friends, Goku's final words to them lit a fire under the young half-saiyan. After telling everybody that he didn't want to come back, Goku followed this statement up by saying that with Gohan's newfound power, the Earth would be in good hands. Gohan really took this statement to heart, because he knew all too well that trouble seemed to follow the Earth, and that he needed to make sure he would be able to protect it from whatever threat was thrown at them.

It was then that Gohan made his decision, and it was a decision that would drastically alter the course of his life. He decided that he was going to follow the pseudo final request of his father, and give up the life of a scholar to become a true fighter. He was sure that this was a choice that his father would approve of, but his mother on the other hand, was going to take some serious persuading.

"Hey Gohan," Krillin said, "you alright over there? It seems like you have something on your mind."

Gohan was surprised that Krillin was able to pick up on his dilemma so quickly, but he was willing to confide in him nonetheless. "Yeah, I do. My dad told us all that the Earth would be in good hands with me," he began. "It was a pretty big thing for him to say, and I really want to make him proud, so I've decided that I'm going to become a fighter," he said, with true Saiyan pride showing on his face. Krillin looked back at his friend and shot him a smile, but the smile on Gohan's face began to fade when he thought of his mother. "But…" he began, when Krillin interrupted, "Let me guess, Chi Chi?" he said.

"Yeah, all she ever wants me to do is study to become a scholar, and never really listened to my dad when he wanted me to fight. She didn't even want me to fight against Cell," he said. "But maybe you know something about my mom that I don't, is there any way I can convince her to let me be a fighter?" he asked his friend,
Krillin had to think really hard about this one, because he knew that ever since the day that Gohan was born, Chi Chi was dead set on making him a scholar. However, a light bulb went off in the monk's head, and he offered a solution.

"Well, Gohan, it may not seem like it, but your mother has always had a high level of respect for Goku, and no matter how much she seemed to think that he was in a 'gang' she knew that he was keeping the Earth safe. With him gone, though, there may be a chance that she realizes that nobody is there to defend the Earth, and combine that with the fact that Goku literally left the Earth in your hands, and you may have a chance at convincing her," he said.

Gohan's face lit up, he was sure that this plan was going to work. "Thanks, Krillin! I'll give that a try," he started, and as the two neared the Son residence, he bid farewell to his friend. "Wish me luck!" he said.

"Just be easy with her, Gohan, if you push too much it might not work out," Krillin replied.

"Okay, Krillin, I will," he said, and with that he dropped down to his home, seeing his mother and grandfather inside.

As soon as Gohan entered the house, his mother shot through the hallway leading through the door and tackled her son, tears of joy in her eyes.

"Oh my little boy is safe! Thank heaven you are okay! What happened out there Gohan? And where is your father, I have some words I'd like to share with him for letting you fight!" Chi Chi asked, and a look of severe discomfort and sadness fell over Gohan's face.

He tried to think of the best way to handle the situation, and after some inner deliberation (as well as suspense on Chi Chi's part) he decided that the best way to handle this would be for him to tell her exactly what happened after the cameras blew out.

"Mom, Grandpa, you two may want to sit down for this one," he started, and led the two into the living room. The Ox-King, who had been quiet up until this point, couldn't contain his anxiousness any longer and said to the young half-saiyan "So Gohan, tell us what happened out there."

Said half-saiyan took a deep breath, and then began his story. "Okay, Grandpa. You two saw everything that happened until Cell smashed Android 16's head, right?" he asked. Both Chi Chi and the Ox-King nodded their heads in agreement, so Gohan continued. "Well you two may not have heard it, but the android's last words were to me; he told me that it was okay to fight in order to protect the people that you love," Chi Chi's face tensed up a bit, as she felt that her boy should never fight under any circumstances. Gohan then continued, "and that there are some people out there who, no matter how many chances for reparation they are given, will never change their ways. He also told me that Cell was one of those people. The last sentence that the good android uttered was a request, he asked me to protect the earth that he had come to love." The Ox-King smiled at the heartfelt nature of the android's speech.

"After that, though, Cell had had enough of the android, and smashed his head to pieces in front of me. When I saw that happen, I could no longer contain the anger that had welled up inside of me, and I...I snapped. I started screaming in anger for all of the horrific things that Cell had done to my friends, and my power just exploded in the arena, and I suspect that that is what caused the cameras to explode," Gohan said, and Chi Chi nodded.

"Well this new power that I acquired was enough to cause me to ascend to a whole new level of Super Saiyan, and I began to completely outclass Cell in battle. I even managed to blow through half of his body with one of my Kamehameha Waves…but…dad told me to finish him off while I had the chance, but I wouldn't listen to him. I told him that I wanted Cell to suffer for what he had done to all of us, and with that Cell had time to regenerate his body and come back to fight more. This didn't seem so bad at first, as I still was able to dominate him in battle, but after I landed a punch on him that had enough force to literally make him regurgitate Android 18, he had decided that he had had enough with the battle. He said that he was going to blow up the planet completely with a self-destruction, and his body began to swell up a lot. I tried to hit him, but he told me that if I hit him one time that he would explode. I…I had no idea how to stop him…I thought that the earth was doomed, and it was all because I refused to finish him off when I had the chance," Gohan said, as he began to choke up.

"Well how did you stop him Gohan? The earth is still here so you must have thought of something!" Chi Chi said as she saw tears begin to form on Gohan's face.

"I…I actually didn't do anything. Dad…Dad walked over to me and Cell and told me that…he was proud of me, and…well…" Gohan lost himself. He began to sob as he relived his father's death in his head. After a few seconds he recomposed himself, and continued, "he told me to take care…of you. After that…I knew what he was going to do, and he…he teleported Cell…and himself…to King Kai's planet. Cell…Cell exploded there, and…killed Dad and King Kai…" Gohan squeaked out, as he and his mother began to cry in unison, with the Ox-King doing his best to hold his composure for the group and to comfort them.

"Oh, my Goku! How could he die like this again!" Chi Chi said to nobody in particular, with tears streaming down her face. At this point, Gohan had recovered and hugged his mother, trying the best he can to comfort her. It must be the worst feeling in the world for her, not only does she have to go through the death of her husband, but she has to go through it twice, he thought, not realizing that he too was going through Goku's death a second time.

After about five minutes, Chi Chi had calmed down, but something had started to bother her. "Wait Gohan, you said that Cell's self-destruction killed Goku and King Kai…what happened to Cell?" she said, fearing the answer.

Gohan sighed, then said, "Well that's just it. Apparently one cell in his body had survived the explosion and he was able to regenerate his entire body from that one cell. Not only that, but because he has the genes of a Saiyan in him, he became exponentially stronger than he was as well. I wish this was the worst part, but it wasn't," he said, and looks of horror showed on the two adult's face. "He was able to teleport back to earth just by seeing Dad perform Instant Transmission once…and the first thing when he got back was kill Trunks, and then he almost killed Vegeta as well, but I stopped him. Unfortunately, this made me lose all movement in one of my arms, and I thought that the earth was done for. But out of nowhere, Dad contacted me from Other World using King Kai, and told me that I still had the power inside of me to beat Cell, and that he was going to help me defeat him. We engaged in a Kamehameha Wave struggle, and not too long after that his began to overwhelm mine. Once again, I thought that I was done for, but Vegeta suddenly attacked Cell with all of the power he had left inside of him, and this distracted him long enough for me to do the same thing with my Kamehameha, and this was enough to destroy Cell once and for all," Gohan finished, with an expression of both pride and sorrow on his face.

Chi Chi and the Ox King both smiled at the fact that Gohan had defeated Cell, but they were still both grieving the loss of Goku at the same time. However, a spark seemed to go off in Chi Chi's head, and she practically yelled at Gohan, "Wait! Can't we use the Dragon Balls to bring Goku and Trunks and all the others back?"

Gohan looked down, he knew that soon he would have to explain Goku's request to her. He then said to her, "Yes, we actually have already used the Dragon Balls in fact, but…Dad told us that he didn't want to come back," he said, dropping the proverbial bomb on Chi Chi. She seemed confused, shocked, and saddened at the same time.

"But…but why? Why would he want to leave us here all alone?" she asked her son.

"He actually didn't come back because he was concerned about our safety. He said that all of the problems that have arisen over the years were because of him. He said that it would probably be safer for all of us…if he wasn't around any more," he said, and the small amount of anger that could previously be seen on Chi Chi's face faded instantly as she heard the reasoning behind the honorable decision that her husband had made. She smiled at her son, and pulled him in for what seemed like the fiftieth hug that afternoon.

This is the time, Gohan thought, you have to do it now.

"He…also made a bit of a last request, before he left us," Gohan said to his mother, though it was his Grandfather who replied.

"What was it, Gohan?" he asked, as her and Chi Chi were both anxious to hear what it was.

"Well," Gohan started, "after he told us that it was better for him to stay in Other World, he…he also told us that with my new found strength that the earth would be in good hands. He didn't say it outright, but I know he wants me to be able to defend the earth at all costs, now that he can't. And I…I want to honor this Mom…I want to be a fighter," he said, and closed his eyes as he prepared for the tsunami.

"WHAT? ARE YOU INSANE, GOHAN? THERE IS NO WAY THAT I AM LETTING MY BOY BECOME A LITTLE HOODLUM! IF YOU FIGHT AND GIVE UP ON YOUR STUDIES, WHAT CAN WE POSSIBLY DO TO RAISE MONEY FOR THIS FAMILY? WELL?" she shouted, and Gohan shuddered.

This was a question that Gohan had some trouble finding an answer to, but after several minutes of thinking and Chi Chi's foot tapping, Gohan had finally come up with a solution. "Listen Mom," he started, "I actually think I have a way to provide a steady income for us while also training myself in the process," he said, and a smile came to his face.

Chi Chi was rightfully skeptical, "and just how do you plan on doing that?" she asked Gohan.

"Well, there are several construction companies out in West City by Bulma, and with my strength, I would be able to build buildings that may take them months to build in only a matter of days, maybe even in only one. With that kind of talent, I should be able to get nearly any salary I want from those companies, surely one that would be able to hold our family up. Also, with the speed I would be able to work at, it would still provide me with enough time to either head over to the Brief's home and use their Gravity Room for training, or I could also head back here and train out in the woods," Gohan continued, though he was not done yet. He still had one more card to play. "There's also one more thing," he started and his mother, who was witnessing her argument being slowly devoured by her son's logic, showed a face of confusion, as she didn't know how they would be able to make more money without another job.

Gohan smiled at his mother's face, then said, "the World Martial Arts tournament is also held every few years, and if I am allowed to train myself further, I would almost certainly win them, and the prize money for the events is several million zenie," he said, and his mother gasped, as she had completely forgotten about the tournament. Chi Chi sat back in her chair, as even though her son had just destroyed her argument against him becoming a fighter, she still refused to allow herself to have his son put himself in harm's way. "Sorry, Gohan, but I still can't let you do this. It's far too dangerous for you to be a fighter!" she said, hoping that the half-saiyan would submit.

Unfortunately for her, the Saiyan inside of her son would continue to shine, as he came back with his final argument. "Listen, Mom, if I train, there is nobody who will ever be able to hurt me. And besides…this was Dad's last request, do we really want to deny him the last thing he will ever ask of us?" he said, sure that this would do the trick.

Chi Chi was stunned, just hearing the words that her son would be a fighter completely made her lose sight of the fact that it was also her husband's final request. And after seeing how Gohan would be able to still provide for their family, and now realizing that this is what Goku wanted as well, she felt that she had no choice. "Well…okay Gohan. I guess I can allow you to train yourself from now on. But only if you make enough money for us to live on! If you can't then its right back to the books!" she said, though she knew that this threat would wind up being unneeded.

Gohan just smiled at his mother, and hugged her once more, "thank you so much, Mom, I love you," he said. "I love you too, Gohan. Now go get some rest, I'm sure you need it after the day you've had. I'll wake you up when dinner is ready," she told her son. Gohan stood up from his seat and made his way to his room. Thank you, Kami, he thought to himself, …and you too, Krillin.

A/N: Well, that's the end of chapter 1! Next chapter, we find out that Chi Chi is pregnant! Please be sure to leave a review, as I will be sure to read all of them. At the beginning of each chapter I will have a section dedicated to responding to any reviews that you leave to me. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm looking forward to writing the next one!