(One Year Later)
Things on earth really quieted down following the incident at Capsule Corp. Thanks to Vegeta, the abomination the Z-fighters later dubbed Sentinel 16 had been wiped clean off of the face of the planet and with Gohan's quick jump across space, they were able to repair all of the damages the android had caused to the surrounding landscape. While the situation had indeed appeared dire at first, the fully automated enemy fighter didn't actually cause that much destruction to be classified as a Cell-level threat. After the Saiyan Prince had finished dealing with him, the man claimed that the android Bulma had created was only about as strong as the original Sixteen, perhaps even stronger.
Whatever the case, with the robot destroyed, Doctor Briefs brought back to life, and the West City region restored to its previously serene state, the defenders of earth could once again return to their usual routines.
In the next several months to follow, Krillin finally stopped beating around the bush and proposed to Android 18, who gladly accepted with a smile on her face and a sparkle in her eye. The pair had the ceremony two weeks later in a temple not too far from Gohan's house. As expected, every one of the Z-fighters attended the event, including the Satan family and Zangya, the latter of whom ended up being the maid of honor. It was a simple affair with very few embellishments, but a terrific day all the same. Even Piccolo managed to have a good time at the dinner, standing in the corner chatting away with Gohan and all the others who decided to swing by his spot. And as expected of the occasion, everyone was sure to congratulate the newly married couple on finally tying the knot, who headed off on their honeymoon shortly thereafter.
The wedding turned out to be the biggest highlight of the year for everyone involved. It also served as a major turning point for Krillin who, after years of being on the receiving end of vicious beatings at the hands of villains far more powerful than him and going through more hell then any normal person would have to go through in their entire lifetime, the Z-fighters included, managed to get what he considered the girl of his dreams. Yamcha made extra certain to praise the guy for bagging the hottest babe their group had ever come across, which promptly ended in him receiving a frying pan to the head from Bulma.
After that weekend, the days slowly pedaled back to a regular pace. Bulma, albeit reluctantly, returned to her work in the laboratories getting her projects done and restarting the Android 16 remodeling from scratch. This time though, she made certain to scrub the files that created Sentinel in the first place and began taking the construction of the automaton one step at the time.
As an extra precaution to the overall scheme, the woman decided not to give the robot the same frame right from the get-go. Wanting to avoid yet another accident at the facility, Bulma went right back to square one with plastic, a safety she was planning to install into all future robots. She also had an idea on how to make the new android more 'people friendly', a result she was really looking forward to testing.
Before anyone knew it, an entire year had once again come and gone.
In the Son household, Goten was another term older and, true to his Saiyan genetics, he was growing fast. Now at four, the boy had become just as articulate and strong as Gohan was at the same age. And just like his older brother, the sibling had developed the same loving, carefree nature as the hybrid fighter, with the exact same strengths and capabilities that would put most other kids to shame.
This also included a penchant for literacy and numeracy, a skill that he was currently practicing as part of his schooling at home.
Sitting at his desk in his bedroom surrounded by books, in a setting very familiar to all those who lived in that house, the child dressed in the orange and blue prince-style uniform with black spiky hair could be seen scribbling away on a graph paper. Going through his Year 6 geometry with a smile on his face and tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth, Goten was really letting his textbook have it.
"There… now… if I was to arrange the coordinates this way," the youngster murmured to himself, only to suddenly be interrupted from his train of thought by the door to his bedroom opening. Looking across, Goten saw his mother, dressed in her familiar yellow household robes and shoes, walk in with a tray of sandwiches, apples and juice. The sight of her delivery had the child beam excitedly, "Hi mum."
"Hello son. Studying hard?"
"I think so," the boy replied, quickly glancing back at his work and flipping through his pages in reverse. "I've just finished the entire chapter on shapes and moved into the final chapter on Cartesian coordinate systems. After this I'll be switching back to my algebra."
"That's excellent," Chi-Chi exclaimed brightly, setting the tray of goodies down next to him and leaning over to check on her boy's work. After running through the pages he'd already completed, the woman gave an approving nod and patted her son on the shoulder, "Well done Goten. After you're done with this portion, I think we can move on to your biology homework in the afternoon. How does that sound?"
"Yeah," the child chirped with an enthusiastic nod. "I want to learn more about cicadas and dragonflies. They look so cool when they're all grown up."
The mother giggled, "Oh, I'm sure there will be plenty of time to study your insects, Goten. But I think we'll need to start setting you up on learning about the process of photosynthesis and plants for the next unit as soon as possible. We can't have you hanging around the basics the entire year, right?"
"Okay," Goten agreed while taking one of the apple slices she'd brought for him and popping it into his mouth.
While Chi-Chi beamed at her youngest child and Goten moved onto the next page of his book, the sound of loud shouts and heavy fists cutting through the air suddenly drew their attention out the window. When the pair looked across the grassland that was their backyard and past the oak tree standing several meters away from their house, the mother and son saw a familiar orange figure dart across the sky in a series of barely visible blurs. They watched the anomaly continue to streak through the air at light speed before eventually reappearing out of his dimension engaged in a heated shadow sparring match.
Adorned in a pair of orange gi pants and a blue belt, with massive weight bands that had the appearance of padding slipped around his wrists and ankles, the spiky haired form of a sixteen year old Gohan could be seen going through the motions of yet another fierce training session. Sweat flying off of him with every punch and kick he threw at speeds humans would not be able to track, the boy shouted and grunted with every combination he unleashed, attacking from the one spot before beginning to move about the air at random.
At first glance it seemed like the teen was the only one out there. But on closer inspection, the family indoors saw not only Icarus sitting out there on the grass and watching him, but the boy's friend Lime was also out there, sitting by the dragon and watching her friend work.
She was obviously amazed at the sheer skill and speed the half-Saiyan was displaying, and who wouldn't be. Gohan was clearly fighting in a manner that no other human on earth fought, including her grandfather.
Chi-Chi sighed as she straightened up and placed a hand on her hip, "There he goes again; tearing it up like there's no tomorrow."
As he watched his older brother punch and kick away at the air with amazement reflected in his eyes, the young Goten couldn't help the excited smile that slowly formed on his lips.
Yelling out as he repeatedly cut the air with planet crushing attacks, Gohan then performed a stylish aerial spin kick before descending to the ground. Stopping just an inch above the grass, the teen flew forward with an onslaught of punches and a high kick, which he then followed up with a backwards summersault that sent him into the sky. Upon securing a good altitude once again, he continued throwing combinations of lightning fast blows, utilizing attacks and moves from both his father's and Piccolo's fighting styles. Though the speed he moved at made it impossible to tell the difference between any of his strikes, it was still an impressive display nonetheless.
The sixteen year old Lime, wearing a yellow, loose fitted blouse with a tasteful red skirt befitting her age, whistled when she saw the raven haired teen throw another wide hook, which was then instantly followed by a barrage of side-kicks and a rapid fire series of jabs. "That's amazing, Gohan. It sounds like you're lobbing cannon balls with every attack."
With one last shout, the boy thrust a right corkscrew across the grasslands towards the mountains. As soon as his strike was thrown, a sonic boom rang out followed by a gust of wind that rippled over the grass and eventually struck the side of the distant edifice. The attack's impact over five kilometers away took the form of a blast of dust and rubble that shot up into the air in all directions, showing just how much force he actually put behind the blow.
Icarus squawked at the sight of the cataclysm, whereas Lime stared in awe.
Satisfied with the results, Gohan turned back to his audience member and grinned, "I'm in really good form today. If I keep at it, I'm sure I'll be able to use these things in the gravity room no problem." He flexed the massive weight bands he was wearing, which looked more like a set of red tires than anything else.
"How much do you think they'll actually weigh when you get in there?"
"Since they're imbued with demon magic, several hundred thousand times more if I really push it. But I don't want to kill myself. They're already set at four tons a piece. The highest I can actually go is forty tons altogether, but that's only if I'm in peak condition," Gohan replied, holding one up and effortlessly jabbing out with it. After a few shots he pulled it back. "Sure, it's a bit old fashioned, but a little bit of old every now and then has always been good in my books."
"That's what my grandpa says to me sometimes." Lime grinned from her spot on the grass, "How long do you think it would take me to become strong enough to lift one of those on my own?"
"Honestly?" Looking up thoughtfully for a moment and gauging the girl's power level, the teen Saiyan grinned, "If you'd started doing this sort of stuff about three years ago, I probably would've been able to get you to hold at least one of these by now. Maybe even two."
"Ah, shoot," the country girl jabbed the air, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "Figures. I should have started grandpa's martial arts training earlier. I was lazy."
Gohan grinned in amusement, "Is he giving you the full Master Roshi treatment or is he doing his own thing?"
"Ugh." The brown haired girl with the ponytail groaned and placed her cheek in her hand, "You don't know the half of it. Good thing I've got the day off today. If he'd sent me out there this morning to work on the fields, swim up the rivers and push those damn boulders across the valleys for the hundredth time, I'd probably be dead right now."
Ever since the Sentinel incident back in Capsule Corp, Lime had managed to convince her grandfather to start training her in his martial arts. While the old man had been hesitant at first, he eventually conceded to his beloved granddaughter's pleading and started her on the fighter's path.
Taking inspiration from Gohan's methods, the retired warrior not only had the girl working on her technical skills, but her strength and speed as well. To put it simply, if he was going to be teaching her his family's martial arts, he was damn well going to teach her properly, and what better place was there to start out then the fundamentals.
Obviously his granddaughter had been motivated by Gohan's attitude to knuckle down into something constructive and practical in her life. Considering how much she enjoyed spending time with him, it made sense she would want to start doing the same stuff he did in order to have something else to talk with him about.
"Keep at it. From what I can sense you're making excellent progress," Gohan said with an encouraging smile from up high.
Taking his words to heart, Lime smiled back at him sweetly, "Don't worry, Gohan. I will." Her exclamation earned a delightful chirp from the pink dragon lying on the grass directly beside her.
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