Seven Years Later

The settlement of New Lunos on the World of Sulu-Four was small, the Planet being a relatively new colony made up of a mixture of peoples from the Moon, Earth and Confederation of Planets. It declared its loyalty to the Moon Kingdom largely because the Moon Kingdom had the most influence in the Quadrant. It inhabitants were mostly farmers, making a living off the bountiful soil that the World had to offer and selling it at a fairly decent profit. New Lunos was the main trading port for Sulu-Four, home to roughly two thousand people, barely even a town but to Ephraim's inexperienced eyes, it was a mighty city.

Ignoring the boy's continued pleading to stop and look at every stall in the market they were passing through, Gero pressed on towards their objective, a small bar hidden away from sight in an alley obscured from sight by a large stall selling wheat. Gero almost had to order Ephraim to follow him into the alley as he walked towards a small door that was the entrance to the bar. The two entered the small building, their eyes having to adjust to the poor light, Gero recognising the locale for what it was the moment he saw it. A den of thieves and lowlifes, where only the lowest of people dwelt, it was almost as bad as Stoke-on-Trent.

Ephraim closed the door behind them as he glanced around the bar, feeling a little uncomfortable. He'd never been in a place like this and wondered what to do exactly. Not noticing Ephraim's discomfort, Gero looked around the bar and saw the contacts, all four of them, recognising the group from the images he had been sent by General Nezu. The four were thieves and outlaws, wanted throughout the Eastern Quadrant for smuggling, banditry and stealing and were perhaps the only ones left throughout the Quadrant able to make a run like this. They were the Wolf Fang Gang.

"I see that you managed to make it here." Gero commented acidly at the group, not at all impressed by their general appearance. Two of them were women who looked about as dangerous as cardboard and the other was a bald midget for pity's sake. Only the tall man slouching at the head of the small table appeared to be any sort of true threat although a low class slob to say the least. Gero's judgement by appearances was about to undermined heavily however.

The scruffy looking man looked at Gero, very much unimpressed. He brushed some of his long dark hair out of his eyes and looked at the two people he was supposed to carry on his ship "We did. Although Cosmos definitely didn't make it easy for us. I hope you're ready to leave, the sooner we're out of here the better."

A small purr like sound was heard from the woman beside the man. A tall woman, with long light blue hair had spied Ephraim and was giving him the look most commonly found on predators before their prey "Now, now Yamcha, let them rest, we'll be travelling with them for quite a while, no reason we can't get to know each other a little better."

Both Gero and Yamcha shared a glance that, although silent, showed equal measures of exasperation. Turning to the woman, Yamcha gave her a tired look "You know Ryoko, the phrase 'business before pleasure' is something you should really take to heart."

The predator like smile once again crossed Ryoko's face as she looked at the handsome Ephraim "Oh come on Yamcha, why not have a mix of both?" She patted an empty chair next to her "Why not come sit next to me handsome?"

"Oh, I'm fine standing. But thank you for the offer." Came the oblivious response from Ephraim who smiled pleasantly at the woman. Ryoko stared at the young man, her expression, like many before her, one of trying to find out if Ephraim was having a joke at her expense.

Seeing nothing but total honesty, Ryoko raised an eyebrow and asked "You're a virgin aren't you?"

"No, I'm local, lived only a few miles out of this town in fact." Ephraim said, still clueless as to what Ryoko was after.

Ignoring the four pairs of eyes suddenly fixed on him for some kind of explanation, Gero went on "So are we leaving now? The sooner, the better." He snapped, giving Ryoko a glare, not liking her attitude one bit.

No answer was forthcoming at first, Gero himself having failed to make the best of impressions on the group. Yamcha raised a glass that was sitting in front of him to his lips, drinking the alcohol inside it and giving a satisfied sigh, letting Gero stand there and stew for a few moments before giving a reply "We're good to go. But remember, this is my ship you'll be going in. So you go by my rules and in return, you get a ride to the Moon Kingdom and no questions."

"I remember the deal that was made fine. No need to go over it again." Gero said in a tone of harsh contempt as he looked towards the group "There's no point in delaying, we need to go."

"Keep up that attitude and you won't be going anywhere old man." Came a new voice, this one from the young blonde woman who barely looked older than Ephraim "Any of us could easily teach you some respect and that boy of yours won't be of much help either."

Before Gero could retort in anyway, Ephraim finally spoke up, not wanting a fight to break out "Hey, there's no need for that. Look, we've gotten off on the wrong foot, how about we get on the ship, start the journey and make up along the way?"

A chuckle came from the mouth of the short man of the group as he gave Ephraim a look "Sounds like the kid's got more common sense than the rest of us." He rose from his seat and held out his hand to shake Ephraim's, just then realising how tall he really was "Huh, looks like someone gets a healthy diet alright. Name's Krillin by the way, the good looking blonde is my girlfriend, Eighteen. You of course have already met Yamcha and Ryoko."

There were certainly more pressing matters, but Gero's curiosity got the better of him "What sort of name is Eighteen?" He sneered.

With a sigh, one of a person who had given the same answer more times than she had ever wanted, Eighteen said "Let's just say that my parents got bored very easily and suffered from a lack of imagination when it came to naming their kids."

The realisation of Gero's face was countered by the confusion on Ephraim's "What's them being bored have to do with naming you?" He asked innocently, much to everyone's embarrassment.

Draining the last of his drink, Yamcha quickly decided to put an end to the situation "We're leaving." He said, putting down his drink on the table and rising from his seat, the others soon following him. Ephraim turned to ask his uncle the same question but was silenced with a firm stare. Gero had never really gotten round to explaining biology beyond the simplest facts to his grandson. And he wasn't planning on starting now.

XxX

Looking at the ship, Gero was left deeply unimpressed. While he was far from expecting a luxury ship like Royalty would use, the sight of the Puar in front of him did little to make him feel as if this trip would be anything approaching comfortable. It looked small for a ship, the size of a house and if that was anything to go by, the engine must have been relatively small. The hull was battered an grey, ugly looking with only the name 'Puar' painted in faded white on the side as a decoration.

For Ephraim though, his first viewing of a space ship (That he could remember anyway) was met with the same reaction of a child with a birthday present "This is a real space ship!" He exclaimed upon entering it, not caring about the dented or dilapidated state it was in. The Wolf Fang Gang watched him with some amusement, apart from Yamcha; they all admitted that the Puar was a heap. But to see a young man like Ephraim bounce about the place in great excitement made them forget that for a moment as they watched amused at his actions. As they made their way to the bridge, Yamcha rested a hand on Ephraim's shoulder "Alright, you've had your fun, but now you've got to sit down and let us take this thing off."

Nodding, Ephraim quickly got out of the way with the others taking up their positions, Yamcha and Ryoko at the front for piloting, Eighteen at defence stations and Krillin at communications. With the silent progression of people who had done this a legion of times before, the Wolf Fang Gang started the engines and waited for them to warm up before lifting off. Ephraim watched on with great interest despite the fact that they were basically sitting and waiting without doing much. After sometime, several lights started to light up in front of Yamcha causing him to nod in satisfaction "Alright people, buckle up and let's-!"

The sentence was quickly cut short however when a sudden explosion rocked the ship, sending everyone sprawling. The communication system crackled as an order was barked through, making Ephraim screw up his face as untouched parts of his memory faintly stirred…

"This is Lieutenant-Colonel Cosmos of Her Majesty's Armed Forces." Came the voice over the radio waves, the Puar having never been fitted with a Com-Screen "You are to surrender immediately and be placed under our custody. We have disabled your weapons with our shot. You have one minute to offer your submission."

The radio went silent and Krillin turned to Yamcha with a sardonic smile "And this is why I said we should have gotten our radar system repaired instead of going to that casino. But would you listen?"

"Shut up Krillin." Yamcha snapped as he looked out of the reinforced material that functioned as view point to everything in front of the Puar. There in the sky was whatever ship Cosmos had chosen to attack them. It was a huge Warship, the very definition of overkill. With a grunt born of frustration, Yamcha looked over to Eighteen "They really take out all our weaponry?"

With a nod, Eighteen answered "Looks like they really got the drop on us. Anyone have any bright ideas?"

Professor Gero rolled his eyes at this, these people were supposed to guide him and Ephraim to the Moon Kingdom? With a wave of his hand Gero said "Ephraim, go outside and get rid of these interlopers will you? Just like the simulations I created for you."

Nodding, Ephraim left the bridge and started to walk towards a point where he could exit the ship. Ryoko looked at Gero in amazement as Ephraim exited the ship, wondering what he was up to "What do you expect that kid to do? He can't even shout at them from out there!"

Pointing at a monitor above the communications panel which showed the entrance to the turbo-lift that made the entrance from the ship to the ground beneath it, Gero answered the question "Just watch girl and you will find out the answer to your question."

The others turned their eyes to the monitor, wondering what was on Gero's mind. A question that was soon answered when Ephraim exited the turbo-lift onto the ground, took a few paces for a clear shot at the Warship above them. The radio once more crackled into life as Cosmos's voice was heard "This is your last warning. Surrender or-!"

The voice was cut off however as a small ball of light ascended from the ground and struck the Warship head on, causing a tremendous explosion on the ship's side. It instantly began to lose height as the giant ship moved away from the Puar, flying shakily over the trees of the forest which the ship had been hidden to cause an almighty roar as it crashed in the distance. The sound was low as the ship churned against the ground, tearing up tree and earth alike as it carried on for some time before finally stopping.

Up on the bridge of the Puar, silence reigned with the only face not showing some kind of shock was Gero's, smugness showing instead. It took a long time before anyone could talk, long enough for Ephraim to have returned to the bridge, smiling pleasantly. It was Krillin who finally broke the silence as he looked on at Ephraim with shock and more than a little awe "How… How did you do that?"

"Well I saw that the ship's class was a Princess Warship and they usually have their engines near the bottom deck on starboard side. So I aimed my attack there so that…"

"N-No." Krillin interrupted, not wanting a technical analysis of what had just happened "I mean, how did you manage to blow it out the sky so easily?! It would have taken all four of us to even make a dent in that thing!"

A smirk crossed Gero's face, his smug levels reaching critical mass "As you'll find out during our short journey, you'll discover that my grandson is not exactly as you'd expect him to be. Now then, I believe it would be best for us to take our leave before reinforcements arrive?"

The suggestion was accepted quickly as that harsh reality bit down and everyone scrambled to bring the engines back on to escape from any ensuing reinforcements. Feeling that something was owed to the boy to some extent, Gero placed a hand on Ephraim's arm (His shoulder being too high to reach) and said "Well done my boy, you took down a ship and got rid of some of the villainous Moon Kingdom soldiers for us."

Ephraim nodded before saying "Thank you grandfather, but I made sure I didn't kill any of them."

Suppressing a heartily felt sigh, Gero could only ask "What?"

A completely innocent nod confirmed Gero's exasperations as Ephraim went on "Well I remember you telling me that the Moon Kingdom used slave labour for its Warships. So keeping that in mind and the knowledge that the engines on a Princess class Warship are self sustainable without the need for immediate crew, I aimed for them and brought the ship down without casualties while also giving the slaves a chance to escape from their captors!"

Only Gero heard this, the Wolf Fang Gang having been too busy getting the ship off the ground to listen. Gero suppressed his true thoughts on the matter and managed to give a forced smile "That's… good Ephraim. Go and see if they've set up a room for us would you? I feel the need for a brief rest after all this excitement."

Nodding earnestly, Ephraim left the bridge to look for any spare living space with Gero watching him leave. Sparing the lives of their enemies? Gero reflected upon the idea that maybe he was too good a liar if this event was anything to go by. Either that or the boy really was that naïve. Thinking back to the seven years the boy had lived in his house however led Gero to realise it was certainly the latter. He could only hope that the facade would last long enough for the mission to end.

XxX

A flicker, that's all it was, a mere spark of energy in the practically infinite cosmos of the Universe. It flared briefly before suddenly vanishing, as if it was never there. It went practically unnoticed to all but those who had let their minds focus on the energy of the Universe and to further their knowledge and strength. Several had noticed the flicker of energy, almost all dismissing it as a brief spurt of strength during a fight or training. Several frowned in thought as they wondered where that the energy felt familiar in someway but mostly dismissed it before long, except one.

It had been a long, lonely seven years for Piccolo. He had been left at his own behest on an almost deserted planet by the Yomiko seven years ago. There was a small Space port run by Jurai colonists that was slowly expanding but beyond that, Piccolo had an entire World to himself. With fresh water aplenty, Piccolo had all he needed in order to devote his entire life to training, his rage at the loss of Gohan finding its only outlet in continuous fighting and meditation. He had not confronted his grief, only allowed it to surface when his rage was at its greatest, blasting everything in his surroundings as he vented out his frustrations.

On the odd occasion when the grief momentarily assuaged, Piccolo took to meditating in order to strengthen his mental side as a counter to his more physical exercises. It was during one such period of deep meditation that Piccolo felt it, the small spark of power that vanished suddenly. It took Piccolo one brief moment to recognise the person whose energy it was, the revelation hitting him like a tidal wave. It was Gohan; there could be no doubt about that.

Joy, amazement, disbelief and confusion flooded Piccolo all at once. How could this be possible? Gohan had died seven years ago hadn't he? Raising himself to his feet, Piccolo resolved to get to the port town, grab any ride he could and track down the energy signature. If it truly was Gohan, then Piccolo would find the truth behind his sudden reappearance. If it wasn't, then even he didn't know what he was going to do…

To be continued…

Lord Edric – Gohan is just one of those people who're always constant methinks. But Videl will not be in this story alas, I simply have no plans for her.

LanceXstorm5 – There certainly will be battles up ahead and the possibility for Ephraim to fight his father is there, we shall see eventually…

Brutal2003 – Won't have to wait too long, Galaxia's forces are keeping an eye on the pigtailed Princess.

Shiva – Yes, Ephraim is Gohan's new name. And glad to hear you're enjoying it so far.

Cloud_Link_Zero – Actually, Ephraim is Gohan after his memory was wiped by Dr. Gero. Will we see him Ascend? Time will tell.

Pchu – Thanks very much for your kind words. As to whom the mysterious Saiyan is, I can say that he's going to offer an extremely tough battle later on.

I'd just like to apologise for leaving this alone for four months. I generally lost my writing motivation for this fic and got distracted by other projects I'm afraid. Hopefully I'll manage to keep up my motivation to crank out a few more chapters before it happens again. Hope you enjoyed and please read and review!