Chapter II: The Tyrant's Heir
"We sense you . . ."
Gohan woke up with a cold sweat covering him. He jerked his head around the cabin, but he did not see anyone. Why would he expect to? Gohan shook the fear that had gripped him and swung his feet onto the floor. Was that a dream? It seemed real enough to him.
The regulated and recycled air of the ship washed over him and it only made the sweat all the more unbearable. Gohan stripped his night clothes and threw them across the room. He stumbled into the bathroom and turned the water on. A hot shower sounded very good at that moment.
As the water ran over him, Gohan tried to relive the dream. It had been so fresh in his mind moments before, but now he could hardly remember anything about it. He had never had a dream like that before. There was no one there physically, but he could hear their voice. No, voices. There were two voices speaking the same words.
Gohan shut the water off and stepped out. He quickly dried himself with a towel and breathed in deeply. The calming technique Piccolo had taught him quickly overcame him, and he relaxed. Dreams were just dreams, even if they are nightmares.
As he walked back into the room his alarm began to blare. Gohan shut it off. Five AM standard time already? His deceptively short dream had lasted eight hours. Stuffing his discarded night clothes into an automated washing system Bulma had installed, Gohan dressed himself for another day of training.
He was a week into space already and he had come no closer to learning how to control this power he felt. He could touch it, yes, but not bring it out. Gohan was starting to wonder if he even wanted to. Each time he tried to use this power he could feel his Super Saiyan form undergoing radical changes. If he kept going he could destroy his ship. Still, before he could set down on a planet to do this, he first had to learn how to bring out his new power.
Maybe later. Gohan decided, as he stepped onto the main deck, he would take a break from that today and revert to more traditional training. The GR unit Bulma had built was more impressive than she had let on. There was a voice command interface that was deactivated by default, but it did not take him long to learn how to turn it on.
Gohan began to perform his stretching routine as he spoke his commands. "Computer, set the gravity level to two-hundred Gs and ready three sentry drones, level twelve."
"Warning; specified gravity setting far exceeds preset safety levels. Safety protocols on level twelve sentry drones are disabled. Do you wish to proceed?"
He was starting to understand why maybe she had disabled it for him. "Yes, proceed." Three hovering, diamond shaped robots floated out of an opening in the floor. They took up standby positions on the far side of the GR.
"Please specify drone programming."
"Select coordinated assault programming. Target me."
"Specified program is not . . ."
Gohan rolled his eyes. "Is not recommended, yes I know, do it anyway." The computer stopped and the drones suddenly fixated on Gohan. He grinned. "All right, here comes the warm up."
Two drones sped towards him with their weapons ports open. Each drone carried a variable output beam gun. Bulma used to deny Capsule Corporation was into weapons development, but Gohan knew better than to take her word at face value. Capsule Corporation was into everything.
The third moved overhead and opened up its gun port as well. Gohan quickly raised his power level to its highest in his normal state. The trick about the Super Saiyan transformation was that it was a multiplier. Training at your lowest level would increase your power at your highest, but it was still wise to train as a Super Saiyan so you could get used to that level.
Two energy beams lanced out at him from either side. Gohan sidestepped the first, and then leaned back to avoid the second. The third drone fired down on him, but Gohan had already back flipped over the two other beams. The drones increased their speed and gave chase.
He had trained with these before. Their programming had them use straight beams at first, but they would soon move up to rapid fire as Gohan proved a harder target. That happened a little sooner than he had expected as the first drone unleashed a spray of energy bolts in his direction. Gohan phased out of the way of each one, but kept his eyes on the other two drones now circling around for their attack.
"Increase gravity to three-hundred Gs." The sudden added weight slowed him for a moment, but Gohan easily adjusted.
As he always did while training, Gohan began to think. His mind always felt clearer while he was training. He could think more easily, realize things he normally did not. The small distraction also helped him focus his reflexes.
What was it that kept him from reaching that new level? Gohan remembered back to his time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He remembered when his father helped him with his first transformation. It required need, and it required vast amounts of anger. Gohan had visualized Frieza coming to kill them all. All he had to do was create in him mind the need, and then let the anger flow.
A beam streaked straight at his face, but Gohan moved the mere inches needed to avoid it. The same was true with the second level of Super Saiyan. Cell was unstoppable at that point. No one, not even his father, could touch him. Gohan needed that power to stop Cell. He needed, and he was angry. Cell was torturing his friends. He was infuriated. He would never forgive Cell. Anger and need.
Gohan dodged two more bursts of fire and sped to the far end of the room. He hunched down and waited as the three regrouped. He had created his need. He had his anger. Why could he not bring out that next level? Were anger and need not enough? Were anger and need not . . .
He blinked.
One of the energy beams sliced straight through Gohan's left arm. He clutched it in pain and fell to the ground. Blood began to trickle out through the areas the beam had not cauterized. The three drones flew at him, ready to make the kill.
"End program!" Gohan shouted. The gravity began to ease up gradually, and the three drones shut down their weapons and floated away. Distraction helped his training in some cases, but not in others.
Gohan pushed himself up and moved as fast as he could to the medical bay just below him. Stumbling in, he opened a cabinet and grabbed what he needed; gauss, styptic, and a disinfectant. There was a healing chamber in the corner, but Gohan knew he would not need it. He knew quite a lot about human anatomy and tending wounds. His mother always wanted him to become a wealthy doctor, but then again, Gohan knew he could probably become anything.
He pushed those thoughts aside. Now was not the time. Even as he stopped the bleeding and began to wrap the wound, Gohan kept repeating over and over in his mind the last thought he had before the beam hit him.
Were anger and need not needed for this new level?
It was an interesting thought. All this time he had been trying to bring out this great new power with anger and it was not coming. In fact, the closer he got with his anger, the harder and harder it was to touch every time. But how? How else would he bring out this power? Everything about his Saiyan strength and his Super Saiyan power seemed to revolve around anger. Why would this time be any different?
Gohan cut the gauss and tightly tucked the end into the fold. He tried flexing the arm, or at least moving it, but was met only by pain. This would dampen his training a lot. He grabbed a nearby sheet, ripped it, and fashioned a not too shabby sling. His arm now resting comfortably, Gohan moved up to the top deck.
He needed to find a planet not too far away that he could land on. There he could test his theory. The ship's computer had a built in star map listing every system Capsule Corporation's interstellar sciences department had ever discovered. He put in a simple command, and it returned with a result. Just two day's journey away was a planet with a breathable atmosphere.
Gohan altered the ship's course and sat back in the chair. The two day trip would give him enough time to let his arm heal. Another advantage of his Saiyan genes. Not knowing of anything else to do in that time, Gohan went back down to the lower deck and collapsed into his bed. Sleep sounded like as good a plan as any.
- DBZ -
Who was he?
She kicked the bag again.
How did he jump that high?
Another kick.
Why does dad think it was just a story?
Quick two punch combo.
And why was she so obsessed with it?
Videl made one last roundhouse kick on her punching bag and stopped. She had only been practicing for ten minutes and she was already breathing heavy. Her dad never breathed heavy after two hours of it. She had to get better!
Wiping off the sweat on her brow, Videl moved to the outer edge of the gym and leaned over. Listening to the pretend gunshot in her head, she started running along the painted track lines. She was going to get stronger. She was going to get faster. She wanted to be as strong as her dad.
But even her dad could not just a car and a semi-truck like it was hopscotch. Her dad could not just disappear in half a second on an open stretch or road and sidewalk. That boy could though. Did she want to be like her dad, or did she want to be like that boy?
He was pretty cute.
Videl tripped suddenly and fell over on her chest. She slammed her fist on the hardtop and stood back up panting. Cute? She shook her head and started to run again. Videl cared about training, about being a great fighter like her dad. What did she care about dumb boys?
But he was cute.
She tripped again and this time landed on her face. "Ow! Damnit!" Videl rolled onto her back and cupped her hands to her nose to keep the blood from flowing onto her shirt. Why did she keep tripping when she thought about him?
"Videl?"
The blue eyed girl turned to see her best friend at the gym entrance waving. Erasa blinked when she saw the small amount of blood trickling out from behind her friend's hands. Grabbing a nearby towel, Erasa ran over and handed it to Videl.
"Thags."
"What happened? Did somebody come in here and punch you?" Erasa asked.
"No. I tribbed and fell on da groud." Videl quickly cleaned her hands off and then clamped the towel onto her nose. There was some blood in her mouth now. She really hated that.
"You tripped?" Erasa frowned. "Videl, you never trip. What happened?"
She shrugged. "I dond know. I wad jud tinging aboud dat boy I told you aboud and . . ." Videl saw a strange smile on Erasa's face. "Whad?"
Erasa began to giggle. "You don't get it? You got a crush, Videl!"
"Huh?" Videl shook her head. "No I dond! I wad just tinging aboud him and I fell. Dats all!"
"Sounds like a crush to me." Videl pressed the towel to one side of her nose and blew hard. Erasa backed away as clotted blood came out. "Eww! Videl, that's so gross!"
"Well at least I can talk now!" She snapped back. The bleeding had stopped, so she quickly wiped away what was left. "And stop saying I have a crush on him. I don't even know his name!"
"That's what makes it so romantic!" Erasa winked. "Cute, strong boy comes out of nowhere, saves the day, and then disappears."
"You're nuts, you know that?" Videl hopped back onto both feet and sniffed.
Erasa was giggling now. "Well what were you thinking of when you tripped?"
"I already told you! I was thinking about the boy who saved me."
"But what about him."
Videl blinked. "W-what do you mean?" Why does she always seem smarter than she looks? "I was just thinking about him, nothing special."
Erasa skipped over and wrapper her arms around one of Videl's. "You're lying! I can tell! C'mon Videl, tell me!"
"Okay, okay!" Videl could feel her cheeks burning. "I . . . I was thinking he was cute. Now get off me!" She managed to pull her arm away, but Erasa's smile only made the blush worse.
"I knew it!" She clapped her hands together. "You got a crush on him!"
"Erasa, I said I don't have a crush on that stupid boy!"
- DBZ -
"Man I'm stupid." Gohan mumbled as he stepped over the next batch of loose rock. The world he had found in the star map had a breathable atmosphere, but it was largely volcanic. Several volcanoes in the distance were spewing magma and ash into the air, and small earthquakes came and went with each eruption.
Gohan only hoped that if he did reach that new level here the planet stayed in one piece instead of shaking apart. Looking over his shoulder, Gohan checked to see how far away from his ship he was. Seemed like a safe enough distance.
His arm had healed enough that he could move it without much discomfort, but it was far from one-hundred percent. Phantom pains of when Cell had badly injured it lingered still. Ignoring it, Gohan cleared his mind and set about the task at hand.
He had to push away the anger. If his mind is clear and focused, then maybe he can find the way to reach that power. Patting the black rock beneath him, making sure it was not hot, Gohan sat down cross legged and began to meditate. Anger was not the key.
Gohan's eyes lazily closed, and all that was left was the blackness behind the lids. He zoned out the sounds of this world and then there was silence. He quickly thanked Piccolo for the meditation techniques. His mind clear of all else, Gohan began.
Though his eyes were closed, he could still see the flash. Gohan felt the changes in his body as he transformed into a Super Saiyan. Then he moved on. Another flash, and this time he felt the lightning around him. It struck at the planet, vaporizing small bits of rock and dirt. Gohan forced his aura down until it was gone. He had to be in complete control.
This new power was a part of him. Just like when he ascended to a Super Saiyan Two, it had always been there. He only needed to become aware of it, to bring it out and control it. He could do this.
It was there just as he had found it the first time. This was just a deeper part of the well hidden away. Gohan reached out to it. He could feel the vast amount of power that was there. It was his for the taking. All Gohan needed to do was grasp it. It seemed so easy and yet it was so hard. He had to go deeper inside.
Gohan's breathing became heavier. The amount of concentration needed for this was great. It would be so much easier if he could use anger to bring it out, but Gohan knew better. This power could only be reached through determination and control, not with anger. He was beginning to understand.
Whatever level of Super Saiyan this may be, it was something totally different from the first two. Gohan had always wondered how it could be possible for there to be a second level of Super Saiyan. They had all thought their first transformations were it. Then his father and Vegeta suspected there was another level to reach when the androids came. Maybe the first two levels were not the true form of Super Saiyan. Maybe this third form is what the Super Saiyan was supposed to be.
Gohan would soon find out.
He was almost there. Gohan felt strain run through his body. It became harder to breathe. He did not let it stop him. He was closer now than he had been in the past two months. He was going to achieve it. He was so close . . .
There was someone here. Gohan snapped out of his meditation as he felt several strong powers approaching here. Quickly jumping to his feet, Gohan moved into a ready stance and waited. Soon enough, seven aliens in armor similar to the kind the Ginyu Force wore came flying in. They had a sinister aura around him.
It became obvious enough they were not friendly when one shot a full powered ki blast straight at Gohan.
The teenage Super Saiyan flipped over the attack and pushed off the rock straight towards his adversaries. The fanned out before he reached them. Gohan stopped in mid air and focused in on the closet one. Flying towards him, Gohan threw a kick that he was sure would knock the alien out.
He instead caught it. Gohan gasped, but before he could act the alien grabbed on with his other hand and threw the Saiyan back into the planet's surface, breaking through the rock on impact. The others laughed and hollered down on him. Gohan stood up out of the crater and brushed the dirt and dust off of him. He had underestimated them. They were not the average run of the mill grunts he had thought them to be. In fact, they were a lot stronger than they should be. Maybe without Frieza around, fighters in the galaxy had started to become stronger. The old tyrant did hate competition.
Gohan smirked. "Nice one." They could hide their powers, but Gohan knew a thing or two about piercing those kinds of shields. Whoever these guys were, they were inexperienced with concealing their power levels. Gohan was vastly superior to them. He began to raise his level.
"Nice one you say?" One of the aliens with royal blue skin laughed again. "Kurm here would disagree, seeing as he threw your miserable ass into the ground!"
"Yeah, my mistake." Gohan checked his arm to make sure it was still all right. No such thing as being too careful when your injury was not fully healed. "I'm ready for you this time, though. Funny to see guys with your power levels. You're a lot stronger than the Ginyu Force ever was."
"Oh, we're much more than that." The alien chuckled.
What? Gohan frowned. He probed them deeper, trying to find out if he was lying or not. To Gohan's shock, he was telling the truth. They were all as strong as Frieza! It made no sense. How could anyone reach those kinds of levels so quickly? Even Krillin and Tien were not that high, and they've been in training for years.
The blue skinned alien beat his chest with a clenched fist. "I am Ully, the second in command of Lord Jugger's grand army."
"Ully huh?" Gohan moved himself into a defensive stance. He had to be ready for anything. "Well, Ully, why don't you and your friends come down here?"
The sinister alien chuckled. "With pleasure." Ully powered up and charged Gohan, the others following at his heels.
Gohan let his aura out, powering up even faster. Ully's first punch sliced through empty air, and Gohan snapped a sharp kick into his ribs. He then backflipped onto his hand, dodging another attack, and pushed himself off the ground. Suspended in the air, Gohan clapped his hands together, building up his energy.
"Ka, me, ha, me . . ." One of the attackers phased in on his side and swung his fists across Gohan's left cheek. The Super Saiyan was stunned for only a moment, and then stopped his momentum with a quick burst of energy. The alien continued his assault, charging down on Gohan with a readied roundhouse punch.
There's no way I'm this rusty! Gohan was shocked that he was having this hard of a time dealing with these aliens. He may not have been anywhere near his maximum, but at the second level of Super Saiyan he should be making mincemeat out of these guys. I think I've had just about enough.
The punch came, and was met by a swift kick from Gohan, severing the limb at the elbow. Gohan blinked a few times as he saw electrical sparks and wiring sticking out of the wound. "They're androids?"
His lapse in attention cost Gohan a fierce double footed kick from another alien who came flying in from behind. The ground rushing towards him, Gohan stretched out his left hand and rebounded onto his feet. No serious injuries, but it had hurt a lot. These guys were more dangerous than he had thought.
The seven attackers landed just a short distance away. The one missing an arm didn't even seem to realize it. They had a large amount of ki, super enhanced strength and speed from their cybernetic implants, and they could not feel pain. Just Great. Gohan fumed.
"What's the matter little boy?" Ully grinned. "Scared?"
"Who, me? I think you're the ones who should be scared. I've killed androids before." Gohan wanted to end this quickly; an all out attack. There was no telling what other kinds of tricks these things had up their sleeves.
"Weaklings no doubt." Ully began chuckling again. "Do you really think you can defeat . . ." He had no time to finish his boast before Gohan phased right in front of him and gripped his hand to the alien's face. The last thing Ully saw was the blinding light of raw energy.
The six others stumbled back in shock. "He-he killed Ully!" One of them shouted. Gohan spun himself in the air and sent his leg down on the creature's head. His foot crunched and tore through metal before stopping in mid torso. Seeing another one close at hand, Gohan threw the corpse with a kick, and smashed the enemy against a rock wall with it.
Four left. Two charged him at the same time. Gohan caught one of the punches and then pulled himself off the ground to avoid the other. Pressing his free hand to the alien's chest, Gohan blew a gaping hole through it and then did a roundhouse kick with his heel on the other, shattering the head. Gohan was shocked that he was having such an easy time killing these things. His father had always shown mercy to his enemies.
Am I heartless? They may just be machines now, but they were real people at one time. Is this wrong? Gohan took a leap away from the remaining two. They were trembling in fear. Now it was they who had not expected Gohan to be so powerful. The tables were turned.
This is wrong. Gohan held both of his hands out. "Just leave, now. Don't ever cause evil again, and I won't harm you." Lines had to be drawn. If his father could show mercy to an evil like Frieza, then Gohan could give them a second chance.
The two blinked a few times. Was this some trick? When Gohan made no threatening moves they began to back off, throwing nervous looks at each other.
"Pathetic."
Gohan spun to identify the source of the voice but was blinded by the sudden explosion of energy where the two aliens he had let go were. When Gohan managed to see he was greeted by their remains lying in a smoking crater. He turned around to see a tall, red skinned man with long white hair standing on one of the boulders. He hand was outstretched with smoke trails coming from it.
"Why did you kill them?" Gohan yelled.
The new alien waved his hand. "They were pathetic weaklings. A true warrior would have fought you to the end." He wore baggy white pants and a white cape clasped around his neck. He jumped down to Gohan's level. "So much for my grand army if they can be defeated by a single talent such as yourself."
Gohan backed off a step and assumed another defensive posture. "Who are you?"
He unclipped the cape and threw it away. He was lean, but very muscular. Gohan had a hard time sensing how powerful he was. It almost seemed in flux. The alien clenched his hands into fists. "I am Lord Jugger, the successor to the Cold family's throne."
He broke into an evil grin. "And I have come for you, Gohan."
The Author's Annotations:
Jugger is a much more prominent character this time. In fact, close to half the next chapter is the fight between him and Gohan.
One of you asked about my infamous "30 reviews and you get a new chapter!" deal. Well, some people seem to still misunderstand that. It wasn't a requirement, it was a bonus. If I got 30 reviews on a single chapter I'd reward you with a new chapter in the next day or so instead of a week later. It kinda backfired on me, but it was fun.
I'm not going to make that deal this time around. If I get 30 reviews on a chapter, cool, I might come out with another sooner than later, but you guys don't have to review like you did before.
. . . But it'd be really nice of you if you did.