“… a second chance… as in a second chance at life?” Gohan asked

“Yes, that’s precisely what I meant.” Polycosmos said

“… does that mean you are going to send me back to help Trunks fight the androids?” Gohan asked feeling some hope rise in his chest.

“Cyborgs.” Polycosmos corrected, sipping his tea.

“What?” Gohan asked confused

“Actually, they’re Cyborgs, they aren’t fully mechanical, they were once human before they were abducted and experimented on. I found out when I looked into your past to see what led you to that moment.” Polycosmos said

“… what… I didn’t know that.” Gohan said surprised by what he heard

“You didn’t know?” Polycosmos asked

“… no all I know is that they showed up years ago killed all my friends and have been on a killing spree for years and me doing my best to stop them.” Gohan said sighing.

“Does knowing this change your view on them?” Polycosmos asked sipping his tea.

“…I… I don’t know… on one hand knowing that they were once human and what happened to them makes me feel bad for them, but on the other hand I feel like they no longer remember what being human was like and that they can no longer be saved. I don’t know how to feel… I’ll have to talk to Bulma and Trunks about it when I’m see them again and see what they think.” Gohan said startled by the question before closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and exhaling before opening his eyes again.

“What… see them again?” Polycosmos asked confused

“Yes, you said that you were thinking of giving me a second chance at life, I thought you were going to send me back to help Trunks fight the and—the cyborgs.” Gohan corrected himself looking up at Polycosmos.

“Oh, no sorry I should have been clearer, if you accept my choice, I won’t be sending you back to where you died; I was thinking of sending you to a whole different universe.” Polycosmos said.

“I… that’s… but…” Gohan stammered before closing his eyes taking a deep breath and exhaling before opening his eyes again. When Gohan opened his eyes again there was a cup of glowing golden hot tea in front of him.

“Drink a little of that it will help, it’s something of my own making.” Polycosmos said looking at Gohan, “I know that I just dropped something big on you, so take your time gather your thoughts and ask your questions we have plenty of time.” Polycosmos said taking a sip of tea.

“… thank you.” Gohan said sighing before picking up the tea watching the steam rise from the cup before taking a sip. The tea was very good, it was sweet and had a fragrantly taste, Gohan felt his racing mind calm down as the tea took effect.

“Feel better?” Polycosmos asked

“Yes… thank you.” Gohan said as he placed the cup down after taking another sip.

“I know that I may have accidentally given you some false hope for not explaining fully and I apologize for that it wasn’t my intention. I’ve also given you a lot of information at one time and your mind is probably racing trying to make sense of everything, but you haven’t had time to process everything so take your time and think things over like I said we have plenty of time.” Polycosmos said taking a sip of tea.

“… thank you.” Gohan said as he stared into the cup of tea in his hands. “… why are you sending me to a new universe and not back to my old one?” Gohan asked after sitting in silence for a while.

“Why… like I said earlier I feel like you will provide me with a good source of entertainment, and I have feeling that sending you to a new universe will be very good form of entertainment. The reason why I’m not sending you back to your universe is because you already died and there’s no way for you to come back to life without questions being asked and I don’t want that.” Polycosmos said

“… I think I understand what you are trying to say at least a little, but you are the God of the Multiverse if you wanted to bring me back no one could stop you and me being brought back I could say that King Kai brought me back.” Gohan said looking at Polycosmos.

“… you have a good point, but then they will ask how come he didn’t bring anyone else back and then there will be more questions, sorry I don’t want to risk that.” Polycosmos said looking at Gohan.

“…I understand… it’s just…” Gohan said stopping

“… Frustrating.” Polycosmos finished, “I can see where you are coming from but think of it this way you will have a chance at a fresh start away from fighting if you want it, you can get an education, fall in love, get married, have children, and anything else you couldn’t do before.”

“…that all sounds good, it really does but… I just don’t understand.” Gohan said looking at Polycosmos.

“What’s not to understand I’m offering you a second chance at life in a whole new universe; you can accept it or not, it’s your choice in the end, if you chose not to, I’ll send you to your universes afterlife to be with your family and friends.” Polycosmos said refilling his cup of tea.

“… it’s as simple as that… yes or no.” Gohan said looking at Polycosmos.

“Yes and no.” Polycosmos said, “If you say no then that’s it, I send you to your universes Afterlife and I try and find someone else to accept my offer.”

“… and if I say yes?” Gohan asked

“Then I heal your body and send you to a new universe with all your knowledge, strengths, abilities, and you do whatever you want.” Polycosmos said

“… whatever I want?” Gohan asked, Polycosmos nodded his head, “… even if I wanted to conquer the world?”

“Yes, even that but I know that’s not in your nature so I’m not too worried about that.” Polycosmos said.

“... this is all still so confusing.” Gohan said drinking some tea.

“What’s confusing?” Polycosmos asked

“… everything, all this, about you and your reason for doing this, you told me that I’m nothing special considering all that you’ve seen in the multiverse. You said that you’ve seen countless of people like me so ‘why me’ and not anyone of those countless of others you’ve seen. Why intervene in my case when more than likely there have been so many others who were better deserving of this chance… why not them… why me.” Gohan said

“One reason I chose you is because you happened to catch my attention, with your warrior spirt, your pure heart, how you didn’t give up even though you knew that there was a chance you could die, and plenty more things, the second reason is that you happened to die at exactly the right moment.” Polycosmos said

“Wait… what do you mean, I died at the right moment?” Gohan asked.

“Exactly that, that when I woke up from my slumber and decided to look at what was going on in the multiverse, trying to find a new way to entertain myself. I find you fighting, for your life and then dying a few minutes later that was… surprising.” Polycosmos said drinking some tea.

“Why was it surprising?” Gohan asked

“I told you that I can see into the past, correct?’ Polycosmos asked

“Yes, you mentioned it when you said that you looked into my past to see what led to my death against the and—cyborgs.” Gohan said nodding his head.

“Right, well I can also see into the futures of all the worlds and parallel worlds in the multiverse if I choose to, but I normally choose not to do that because one knowing the future can get boring. Two the future is not set in stone, it can change, so when I do look into the future, I also see every single possible outcome that may come to pass.” Polycosmos said

“… every single one?” Gohan asked

“Yes, and before you ask yes, there are some worlds in which you aren’t the one who dies fighting the cyborgs but it’s the young boy you trained who dies instead. That brings me to another reason why I choose you it’s because you were the older one, because you have more experience, and because I have a feeling that you are the better choice to help me.” Polycosmos said.

“… how exactly will I be able to help you?” Gohan asked

“Well, remember I’m giving you the choice you can either accept my offer of a second chance in a whole new universe or you can deny my offer. If you do deny it I will send you to your worlds afterlife where you will be reunited with your friends and family.” Polycosmos said refilling Gohan’s tea

“… why are you letting me decide?” Gohan asked nodded his head in thanks.

“Simply because I don’t want to force this on someone, it’s a big decision and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. Whoever accepts will have to say goodbye to everything they know and must adapt to a whole new universe, and everything in it and that can and will be difficult, so I want whoever takes the offer to do it of their own free will.” Polycosmos said drinking some tea.

“…if I accept your offer, how would it work exactly?” Gohan asked,

“Besides what I said earlier?” Polycosmos asked, Gohan nodded, “Well like I said I was thinking about sending you to a world that is somewhat like yours, where you can adapt well enough to live your life. After that I haven’t put much thought into it because I want to give you time to think about it.”

“… and what will happen exactly if I deny your offer?” Gohan asked after a few minutes

“Like I said nothing much I’ll just send you to your worlds afterlife but not without erasing your memories of our meeting, can’t have you remembering me. The last thing you will remember will be dying at the hands of the cyborgs before waking up in your world’s afterlife, with your friends and family.” Polycosmos said

“… the offer sounds good but—” Gohan started.

“Hold on before you make your decision, take some time, and properly think about it. I have a feeling I know the reason you want to refuse the offer.” Polycosmos said rising a hand to stop Gohan. “It has to do with your friends and family, and the boy left behind to fight the cyborgs, right?”

“… a little, I’ve been fighting almost all my life and now that I have a chance for peace and to see everyone all again, I feel like that I would be a fool if I don’t take the chance. Also, if I’m in my worlds afterlife I’ll be able to watch over Trunks.” Gohan said

“I see… you really miss them all of them.” Polycosmos said with a smile.

“Yes… yes I do.” Gohan replied with a smile.

“… Tell you what give me some time to think of a solution for your worries, and come up with a proper plan while you take some time to think about my offer and if you still don’t want to accept my offer after I come up with something then I’ll drop the subject, and I’ll send you to your world’s afterlife, just give me some time... please.” Polycosmos said

“… ok, I can do that, it’s the least I can do.” Gohan said

“Thank you…. I’ll leave you alone to think while I try and come up with some solutions. The building behind me has more food, drinks, and is furnished if you wish to use it. Don’t worry about the time it flows differently here.” Polycosmos said with a nod towards the building before disappearing.

Gohan looked at where Polycosmos disappeared at before looking at the building before shaking his head, “… I’ll check it out later.” Gohan mumbled as he made his way under one of the trees, where he sat down, crossed his legs, arms, and closed his eyes to meditate over everything that’s happened and to give Polycosmos the time he asked for.

____

(AN: This was originally supposed to be the last chapter before Gohan being sent to his first world, but I felt that Gohan accepting Polycosmos offer right away wouldn’t be believable especially if Gohan’s not able to go back to his world. Gohan has no real incentive to accept the offer so why would he, sure he has the chance to live the life his mom always wanted for him, but he wants to see his family and friends more and if he goes to a new universe than that might not happen.)