A Hero's Time Warp
Prologue
Gohan stared at the view before him; the rain from the previous night had evaporated into new bright rays of beaming sunlight. It was fortunate for him especially, seeing that he had no money, no place to stay and certainly nothing to keep him warm from the harsh weather. So the only area he could use to shelter himself was under a large oak tree outside of an old hotel. The hotel had a lot of customers; that was probably because of the 23rd world martial arts tournament. The young fighter frowned, still glaring towards sky. This tournament happened before the boy's time; many years ago. Twelve years to be exact.
It wasn't a long walk from the hotel's oak tree to the tournament. Actually, it only took about ten minutes at a slow human pace. The thought made Gohan frown even deeper. He was a human down at heart and knew better than to show off his powers. However he was not a big fan of being secretive and pretending to be someone he wasn't, completely opposite to his usually open book life. But he had to keep to one rule; that was to keep his identity to himself. If anybody knew he was from the future then he would have the media chasing him around. Not good. But the main worry was keeping his secret hidden away from his friends and… father.
Gohan's scowl softened into a look of pure anguish. He then shoved his hands into his pockets and lowered his head.
"This is my entire fault…" he then muttered before leaning against the nearby wall of the stadium. "If I wasn't so foolish then I wouldn't be in this predicament." A sigh escaped his lips. "I'll find you Cell. You can bet on it!"
Pushing himself up from the wall, he ran into the area where the fights were being held. His new determined attitude forced a smirk onto his face as he ran past a few of the spectators, earning a few odd glances. But he didn't care. It was going to be hell of a day and he wasn't really looking forward to it. However on the other hand, he needed to keep a positive attitude and do what was right for Earth. The right thing was going be hard though. Cell could be anywhere in this different timeline, ready to jump out at him. Maybe he should have made the right choice by killing him when he had the chance, damn his stupid arrogance. His father had warned him and told him when the time was right, but his foolishness had killed Goku and all his hope. Nevertheless the biggest mistake was letting Cell take the time machine…
Cell games (two days ago)…
Cell knew it; as soon as Vegeta fired that attack he was done for. His beady eyes swapped from the Kamehameha wave to the ki assault that the Saiyan had fired. Gohan's attack was wavering but he knew that any time now that the boy was going to receive a dramatic boost. The android didn't want to admit it but, well… he was practically dead. Unless… His eyes, once more, continued to dart between the two blasts. The only chance he had left was to act fast, faster than fast! When these pathetic earthlings spoke of hope he was sickened and disgusted, now he understood what the simple word meant.
Taking in fresh air, the monster shakily removed a hand from his own Kamehameha wave. His hand was still shuddering as he moved it upwards towards his head. Taking another glance, he noted that the beam Vegeta had fired was about to hit anytime soon. A frenzy of panic pushed him to move faster. Eventually, his two fingers were firmly placed on his forehead, that's when he smirked. The devious smile didn't last long, especially when the android vanished into nothingness.
From a safer distance, Cell watched the two large Kamehameha waves blend together and shoot into the direction of the stars. He then turned to Gohan and the others, who were shocked to say the least. He then knelt beside the fallen body of Trunks and reached into the young man's pocket. Pulling a small object free from the tight pocket, his smirk broadened.
"Yes," he whispered. "I have the time machine!"
"C-Cell!" a voice screamed out to him.
He then faced the nuisance and snickered. "If you still want to continue our little fight then I suggest you follow me. I hope to see you there soon." Just before flying off he spoke once more, "and Gohan, good luck finding me. You have two days before I blow up this puny planet."
"B-but, wait!" Gohan's pleading voice growled. "You could at least tell me-"
Cell released a chuckle deep within his throat. "If there is a tournament then I'll expect you there!" Then the monster took off, leaving the boy falling to the ground with exhaustion.
Present…
It was still blurry to the Gohan and he found it hard to remember the day. But one thing was certain; he needed to kill Cell. Even with his father dead, Gohan knew that he had a lot to lose, especially that his father was in this timeline too. Perhaps this is what Trunks had felt like when he came from the future because of the androids. Perhaps he felt scared that he was going to lose everything again. Gohan didn't want that feeling, not again.
It was Bulma who suggested that someone should follow him through time, and, to his mother's dismay, he was there to volunteer. Vegeta had wanted to go after the tyrant but everyone thought it was a much better idea for Gohan to face him once more. Gohan was the strongest out of the remaining Z-fighters but he still doubted himself. Cell was a strong opponent after all, and he was sure that it was going to take a hell of a lot power to put him to rest.
The hybrid was still running towards the fighting area, he could tell he was getting closer because more and more fighters kept passing by him. His curved lips switched into the opposite when a scowl slid its way onto his face. He felt a bag of nerves and the closer he got to the arena the worse it became. Swallowing the lump at the back of his throat, Gohan sped up…
It's now or never…
Yesterday…
"So let me get this right," Gohan began before pointing over to a time machine identical to Trunk's. "First I take the time machine to a different timeline, following Cell who has gone back over twelve years ago."
"Yep," Bulma shrugged, wiping her oily hands on an old rag. "Then you have to keep a low profile, if you blow your cover then you could corrupt the universe!"
Gohan blinked.
"No pressure," she speedily added.
He blinked once more.
"Come here and give me a hug!" Bulma smiled and wrapped her arms around the boy gently; Gohan grinned and returned the gesture. "Please be careful Gohan. Your mother would kill me if anything happens to you."
"I'll be fine Bulma," he reassured her, "I promise. Besides, you gave me a communicator so I could chat with you guys. What's the worst that could happen?"
A/N
Well, that's the prologue. I'm sorry if you're still confused, and if you have any questions feel free to ask. I'm going to say this now; if you have seen Dragonball then this will probably be more enjoyable. Personally, I can say that I love that anime. Db and Dbz are ten times better than Dbgt. Anyway I don't want to go on and on. But this will be set in the 23rd Budokai (last tournament in Db)!
Danni (X-Danni-G-X)