Chapter 91 Final Steps

The door to the time chamber opened without fanfare. Ahead of schedule, there were still several hours in this world, or months within the chamber available to Gohan. Yet he stepped out as if an entire new man. It was hard to accurately describe the difference between the room of spirit and time and returning to the real world. The room was so… still. Constantly shifting and changing yet with a staleness that seemed so unnatural. He savoured every moment of the deep breath he took, the fresh air filling his lungs before he let it out gently.

"How do you feel?"

Piccolo's gruff voice may have sounded the same to everyone else, but Gohan had noticed how it changed over the course of the near nine months they had spent in the chamber. Piccolo had of course always respected Gohan, minus a brief period when he had first kidnapped him as a four-year-old child, but the way he spoke to Gohan was something more now. An equal. Not only as a fighter, but as a master.

"Strong." Gohan said, his steps sure as he moved forwards.

"As you should, but more to the point, what do you feel?"

They left the inner sanctum of the lookout and moved towards the edge. Gohan came to a halt with his feet only half on the platform, teetering on the edge as if he might fall over.

"I feel it all. The tiles beneath my feet, the wind blowing by my sides, the energy flowing through the flowers." He took a pointed breath inwards and the flowers in the garden seemed to preen with additional life, visibly growing slightly. Gohan's control of his Ki had excelled tremendously. Their training together in the chamber had enhanced his mental abilities beyond what Gohan had previously thought possible, and with it he felt his Ki not just as some well of power within himself, but a weave through the fabric of reality that he could bend to his will.

"What do you see?"

The next test. Gohan looked outwards from the lookout and saw not the simple sky and forest. He saw past the clouds and the hills, beyond the mountains and saw the world in its entirety. He saw Petra, walking excitedly through the streets of West City as she shopped with some money Bulma had given her. He saw Bulma herself fretting over an ever growing mountain of documents as the final preparations for their trip came towards a close. Vegeta was training with Trunks, the one from this timeline as future Trunks watched in slight envy.

Past it all, he saw his family. His mother was working in the kitchen, cooking a massive dinner that she knew could well be one of their last as a family before Gohan left them again. Goten was playing with Videl, who was trying to tutor him on his homework instead with little luck. His father was working the field, ploughing the land as a farmer by hand as he tried to keep his mind busy. Goku didn't want to address the loss he was about to feel, it was fear of the pain it was going to cause him. Fearless in battle, but not in life, Gohan felt his calling.

"I see something I need to do." He levitated without a single motion, drifting towards his father before the power built around him and he rocketed forwards. In spite of his immense speed, there was no shockwave in his wake, only a simply whoosh as the winds parted peacefully around him.

He reached his home in only moments. Though his eyes surveyed the area and saw everything he wanted to, he ignored it all as he beelined straight towards his father. There was no surprise in his father's face as he saw him land, only joy at his return. He may not have raised his Ki to any typically detectable degree, but his father was likewise a master of Ki, and had sensed his son approaching.

"Gohan! You're back early, you look… different." He gestured to Gohan's new outfit. "Did Piccolo make that for you?"

"No, it was me." Gohan ran a soft hand over his outfit. It was something new to what he had worn before, a combination of all aspects of his life. The purple Gi of Piccolo's teachings, mixed in with his father's own turtle hermit Gi. Pairing the Gi's had been easy but tying it through with his other inspirations had been more difficult. The military uniform of his time in the Scouts had been a very different style and material, but he had blended it with his Gi's well enough, all topped by the white headband he wore. Once red with the blood of the vanguard garrison soldiers he'd fought alongside with at Trost, he kept it white as he remade it in anticipation of their return. "I've learned how to make clothes, among other techniques."

His father beamed with pride at him, though it wasn't quite enough to hide the fear he felt behind those eyes. "Gee, look at you, growing up so fast. I always knew this came naturally to you." He hesitated, wincing at his own words. "I mean, I know it's not the life you wanted to live, but…"

"It's okay dad, you're right. This does come naturally to me." He smiled at his father, seeking to assuage his ever-present guilt. "But that doesn't mean I couldn't still learn a few things. Fancy a little spar?"

"Are you sure?" Goku flicked an eye towards their home, knowing that Chi-Chi would be furious if Gohan had finished his time in the chamber and the first thing they did was spar.

"Yeah, this will be just us, a good test of where I'm at."

His father nodded eagerly. It didn't take much to convince him, his love of fighting and desire to spend some one-on-one time with his son too great. They left from the farm and moved quickly towards a deserted area in the mountains, picking a small flat area. With how often they trained and how destructive it could be, it did them well to learn the best places for fights off by heart.

As they landed, the two fighters began stretching in preparation for their fight.

"So, are we going to go slow? Or you want to just jump straight into it? Because I'm fine with taking it easy." His dad spoke with a confident and excited tone, looking forward to what was to come like a child at a candy store.

Gohan smiled at it, happy to see some real joy on his fathers' face again. "Let's skip past the basics. Come on, show me how powerful you've become."

His father's grin was infectious. "Well alright, but don't say I didn't warn you." Such was his control that when Goku rose to Super Saiyan form, there was no big explosion of power or strain on his body. His mastery of the form had made it as easy as flicking a light switch. "You still remember how you mastered Super Saiyan?"

Gohan's hair began to softly rise and spike, the shift from dark black hair to a bright blonde smooth and controlled. His irises changed to teal as he grinned back at his father. "I still remember. But come on, Super Saiyan isn't all you have now, is it?"

He chuckled, and Goku clenched slightly as the rush of power became more visible. His muscles bulged, his hair spiked higher, and crackles of electricity formed around him in his yellow aura. "I learned how to go beyond like you did. For simplicity, we just called it Super Saiyan 2."

"Heh, so did I." He spread his feet and clenched, transforming the same in response. Despite their immense rises in power, neither showed visible signs of strain yet. "That's not all you have, is it dad?"

"Heh, no. I got a lot of practice with combining Super Saiyan form with the Kaio Ken technique." The swirl of red into his aura began slowly, as did his fathers straining. The roar he let out was strong and deep, yet controlled and precise as he powered up higher and higher. "KAIO KEN TIMES TWENTY!"

The shockwave that he let loose was felt hard, by the surrounding area as rocks cracked and shook as well as by Gohan. He smiled happily, with pride. His father was always strong, always incredible, and it seemed no matter how much time passed, he was still just as amazing.

"Not bad dad, not bad at all."

"Oh, getting a little arrogant, are we?" His dad had recognised the teasing tone in his voice, and it only heightened his anticipation. "I could push it higher if I needed to, but let's see what you got first."

"Well, if you insist." His knees bent slightly further, and he took a deep breath inward. This would only be his second time trying this technique, and the first had been with assistance. But he was confident. The first whisps of power came easy, the push after was much harder. He had to recall a feeling, an understanding of what his body had been doing what was relative to him, almost a year ago. He couldn't do it inside of the time chamber, so separate from other life, but out here in the real world, he felt those same sensations again.

Twinkling sparks of light emanated around him, drifting inwards as he pulled in from the rest of the world. As they built more and more, those sparks ignited. It was no mere roar of energy, but a sudden eruption of power as the Spirit Saiyan transformation hit his body full force. No longer was energy drifting inwards to him, instead it was pulled with the intensity of a black hole. Taken willingly, but with unyielding determination. He roared as the white aura surrounded him, his blonde hair and teal eyes still visible beneath and surrounded by sparks of electricity.

"This is the form I managed to attain by absorbing the energy of the spirit bomb. With the change that Ymir put me through, I guess it allowed me to act as a conduit directly." Despite how impressed his father was, it was clear that he didn't fully understand what Gohan was saying. "I became a spirit bomb in a sense, able to use the energy as I see fit."

"Wow. I sensed your power when you beat Cell, but I never got the chance to actually see it." He took a moment to admire the form before he dropped into a fighting stance in anticipation. "So, are you ready to prove it's not just for show?"

Gohan laughed, dropping into his own fighting stance. "Ready."

Panting and exhausted, Gohan lay in the dirt side by side with his father. "You're so strong Gohan."

He grinned under his dad's compliment, though he paused to savour the feel of rejuvenating energy before he responded. "Thanks. So are you dad, you've trained hard all these years."

He grimaced, his smile cracking in spite of his jovial mood. "It was all I could do. The whole time I spent wondering where you were, trying to find you. I didn't know where I would find you, if I ever would… but I knew if there was anything standing in my way, they wouldn't stop me."

"I know dad. I didn't know if ever I was going to see you again, but I knew you wouldn't have left me alone."

"But now you're going away again…" His father whispered the words, a despair clear in his voice. "I don't know when I'll see you next."

"You'll see me again." Gohan's words were a promise, not only to his family, but to himself. "I'll have a duty, a mission to keep that world safe and maintain the peace. But I'll see you all again, no matter what it takes."

They laid in silence for a while, breathing steadily and enjoying the peaceful scenery.

"I'll miss you son." Goku could speak only softly, the emotional toll on his mind too great. "I know you need to do this, but… I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too dad." Gohan fought back the tear he wanted to let loose. Now was not the time to cry, he needed to maintain his control. "But, before I go, how about a few more months together?"

"Won't that be too long? I thought you had to get back to the other world and deliver those supplies?"

"I still have a few months left in the time chamber. Think that's long enough to teach me a few things? The Kaio Ken, instant transmission… life?"

Goku smiled. "I don't think anyone would say I'm the best person to teach about life, but I'll tell you everything I know."

"I'd like that."

The day had come. Final inspections on the time machine mark 2 were completed, and all the supplies had been loaded on board. All those that could fit anyway. They would need to make multiple trips to deliver all of the items, but such would be easy enough.

Future Trunks would be piloting the machine, and there was to be a smaller group travelling this time. The returning Eldians, Gohan, Goku, Piccolo, and Dende would all be making the trip for several different reasons. The Eldians and Gohan to return home, Goku and Piccolo to accompany Gohan, and Dende to manage the dragonballs.

Saying goodbye to his family was… difficult. He could say goodbye to his father later, but his mother and younger brother had taken time. There had been other delays, Historia getting her final checks on her pregnancy, Mrs Jaeger receiving final direction and some medication for her recovery, Hannes and Mikasa having lost track of time spending a day together in the city as he apparently took her for some private trips around. But most of all, they had been delayed by Gohan's farewell.

"You be safe okay?" His mother told him for the thousandth time, squeezing him so tightly he might have thought she was a Super Saiyan. "I've packed you home cooked meals, and all your favourite things. When your dad comes home, you make sure you give him a message for me. I know I can't come because of weight restrictions, but the next chance I get I'll be coming to say hi, and you better have some good things to tell me."

"I will mom." He gave her another tight squeeze before subtly trying to pry himself free. "I have to go now; we've got some people to save."

She froze, fighting back against his pull before his father put a hand on her shoulder and she slowly relented. Gohan pulled away and slipped his hand into Petra's, a confirmation on their plan to leave as well as a small request for support as he hid his pain.

"So, this is goodbye."

"I'll see you again mom, I promise." Gohan took a step towards the machine, pushing himself to act. "Are we all ready to go?"

"Everything is onboard and ready for use." Bulma said, handing over a tablet with detailed documents on it. "Full itinerary is there, and hard copies are aboard. You're already to go."

"Alright then. Let's-… let's go."

He moved himself before he could reconsider, Petra by his side and subtly pushing him along. The Eldians boarded first, Future Trunks already waiting inside for them. Gohan and Petra entered next, Goku and Piccolo following with Dende taking up the rear, dragonballs in hand. Locating them had been simple between the dragon radar and Goku's regular practice summoning the dragon and wishing for his son.

The walk through the machine emphasised to Gohan just how full of supplies it really was, with the interior now completely cramped with boxes upon boxes. When he took his seat, he found his eyes wandering through the stockpile and imagining just where they would all be going. Some for Paradis Island, others for Marley, more would be going even further abroad. His return home had in essence been a vacation, now there was real work to be done.

"We're going to be in for a world of work when we get there." Petra muttered, looking over the same supplies as him.

"As soon as we arrive," Historia cut in, "I'll need to make an address to the people and find out what has happened in my absence."

"If the preparations have been made like we planned, then with the final supplies we'll almost be ready for the summoning." Gohan turned to Dende. "We might need to find you somewhere to stay if that's okay."

"Don't worry Gohan, I'm prepared to stay if need be."

Ymir turned to ask Dende questions about Shenron and their wishes, but Gohan tuned it out. He was almost there, reaching his goal beyond returning to his family. He could bring peace to the planet and undo the bloodshed that had stained the memories of those still alive.

He was snapped out of his rambling thoughts as the whirling of the machine came to an end. There was a sudden air of tense excitement amongst the occupants of the machine as they prepared to leave, anxious movements as they unbuckled and stood from their seats. He followed them, his own anticipation and excitement rising at the thought of almost being home.

When he moved to the doors and opened them, he was hit the familiar smell of the world he had left, and the cheers of a waiting crowd. There were thousands of them, not having suddenly gathered in preparation for their arrival, but having set up camp and living in waiting for them. It was something akin to a shanty town, and Gohan almost frowned before he looked closer and noticed something.

This wasn't just Eldians gathered here, nor were they Marleyan refugees who had been cast aside. It was both people, and more. Eldians, Marleyans, and people from other nations he didn't recognise. The difference between them was obvious though, multiple styles of clothes, of races and age, all peoples from different walks of life from around the world had come here to wait, wait in the same spot where they had departed with the promise of aid.

From the cheers of the people, they tried to come closer to the ship, only quickly forced back by the arrival of a handful of soldiers. Eldian soldiers who pushed their way through the crowd quickly took position to block the people from crowding them, their Ki enhanced abilities making it easy to quickly become an immovable force.

"I think a lot has changed in our absence." Gohan muttered, clearing a space for Historia as she took central position. The visible presence of the Queen sent up another round of cheers, though mostly amongst the Eldian population. It had seemed that Gohan's legacy and actions had spread wide across the world, it was he who most of them were here for.

"More than we anticipated." Historia agreed, muttering as she studied the crowd. From out of the people came the quick arrival of a familiar officer, as Commander Erwin raced up towards them with a small handful of personnel in tow.

"Your highness." He greeted her with a polite urgency as his eyes flicked over to the crowd. "It is good to see you have returned, as you can see the people have been waiting anxiously for your arrival. Perhaps it would be best for us to relocate to avoid any further issues from the… crowding."

"Agreed." She turned to address his assistants, who stood ready and willing to act as needed. "Begin offloading the cargo from the ship, make sure it is taken straight to designated storage and is not lost or left behind. Gohan," she turned to him, "can you help us skip the crowd?"

"Are you sure you don't want to say anything first?" Gohan eyed the group of waiting people, wondering just how badly things might look if she were to suddenly leave without saying a word.

Historia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You're right, I was just hoping to put it off. Gohan, tell them what goes where, I'll keep this brief."

She took a step away from them all and began to speak to the crowd, Gohan tuning it out as he set to work pointing out the various supplies and what would need to be carried where. Erwin corrected him a handful of times, as whilst Gohan had been present for outlining the storage plans, he hadn't been around for the actual preparations, and by necessity not everything had gone to the original plan. He was finished by the time that Historia was, her final words succeeded by a round of cheers from the public.

"Think you've got this son?" His dad asked cheekily, as everyone in the group put a hand to each other's shoulder.

"Don't worry, I can do this." Gohan answered, placing a hand on Erwin's confused shoulder before raising two fingertips to his forehead.

In an instant, the ship vanished away and they were in the middle of palace, scaring the life out of a poor cleaner who squealed and fell back in shock. Gohan's attempt at an apology were drowned out by his father's raucous laughter, and Erwins stunned surprise.

"It's a technique I learned on our planet from my dad," Gohan quickly explained, "I can transport to anywhere instantly, as long as I can sense an energy signature."

"I see… an incredible technique to be sure. Mrs Jaeger, where's your wheelchair?"

"A long story." Historia interrupted, taking steps towards her throne. She stroked the armrest carefully, thoughtfully, before she took a seat and was mentally transformed into the Queen she always showed herself to be. "Summon the officers, diplomats, nobles, anyone of importance. We have a great many announcements to make, and preparations to complete now that we have the first wave of supplies from the other world."

"The first wave your highness?"

"That's right. That ship is filled with as many supplies as they could fit, but we have many more to come through. Once we finally have them all, we need a global effort to distribute them all as appropriate. What has happened in our absence?"

Erwin took a mental tally of the key events before he began to relay them. "The Marley forces returned to the mainland and began re-construction efforts and rescue for any survivors. A few of their major cities hadn't been destroyed, so they've been relocated there. We've been using some of our forces internationally to help in rescue efforts and communicating with important leaders. Many governments have been in essence, gutted by the Titan attacks, so they've been essential in retaining some degree of order. In the meantime, however, thanks to Gohan's actions and our visible presence, we've been getting flooded by refugees. Some with religious fervour, others for more practical purposes. People have flocked to us either for safety and stability as we were amongst those least impacted by Titan attacks, or as a wish to worship and become acolytes of Gohan."

Gohan sighed and rolled his eyes at Petra's giggle, his love teasingly rubbing a finger over his headband. It seemed that he was forever going to be seen as some kind of religious figure. Though perhaps this time he had brought it upon himself, given his decision to become the guardian of this world.

"Excellent work commander. I wish I could offer you a break, but I'm afraid we're only just getting started." Historia motioned towards Dende, who stepped forwards and laid out the seven dragonballs across the floor of the throne room. All of the other Eldians present looked at them in fascination, the magical orbs unlike anything they'd ever seen.

"Make sure all final preparations are nearing completion Commander, soon it will be time for us to make a wish."