Something snapped inside Gohan and he surged to his feet. "This is bullshit," he spat. His chest heaved as he fought to contain his fury. How dare Raditz claim to be protecting him, after everything he'd done.

Raditz stared up at him, surprised as much by the curse as the suddenness of it. He sighed, apparently expecting this. "I should have known my luck wouldn't hold," he murmured.

"How dare you?" Gohan hollered. "It's all your fault! All of it! If you hadn't come to Earth, my Dad wouldn't have died, and he would have been home when I was growing up. I wouldn't have been dragged halfway across the galaxy to try to bring back our friends. I could have had a normal life!"

Raditz gazed at Gohan, unblinking. "So it's all my fault that your life turned out this way, hm? All my fault that you've been pushed far enough to start realizing your potential?" Slowly, deliberately, he rose until he was face to face with his nephew. "Well," Raditz continued, "I guess there's only one response for that." He looked to the side for a moment.

Gohan automatically glanced away to see what caught Raditz's interest. He never saw the backhand coming. As he pulled himself out of the new trench he just dug, Gohan sneered at his uncle, "I knew it was all just an act."

Raditz spat to one side. "You need to get your head out of your ass, kid. This is bigger than your petty revenge. You've got a destiny waiting for you whether you like it or not."

"Damn you!" Gohan cried, leaping at his uncle. Raditz vanished and Gohan spun, trying to locate his opponent.

"Up here," came a mocking voice. Gohan scanned the trees and spotted Raditz hanging upside down from a branch of a massive oak tree. Gohan summoned power and sent it hurtling towards his nemesis. Raditz vanished, laughing, leaving the tree to meet it's fiery end. Gohan shrieked incoherently and gave chase.

There was no training, no finesse in this battle. Everything Gohan had ever learned was upended as he gave free rein to his rage. Gohan threw everything he had into an all out assault.

Raditz, for his part, blocked or dodged each attack, laughing, daring Gohan to catch him.

Raditz led him a merry chase. "Come on, Gohan. I'm everything you've ever hated, ever feared. I'm right here. All you have to do is come and get me." His taunts served only to fuel Gohan's fury, and the lake roiled under the forces unleashed by the young warrior's attacks.

For every action, there is a reaction. In the physical world, the indiscriminate way Gohan was fighting would have wreaked havoc on the planet's structure. Here, in a world built by energy and influenced by thought, the structure survived, but it's form was drastically altered. Charred stumps replaced a once proud and ancient forest. The sky was soon obscured by endless black thunderheads, the pale moonlight replaced by harsh flashes of lightening.

There was no warning before the heavens opened up. One moment Gohan was in the air, searching for Raditz, the next, he was blinded by driving rain. Howling with fury, he summoned his power, forcing the rain away.

"Behind you."

Gohan spun at the soft whisper, swinging wildly and connecting with only air. Raditz slipped under his arm and uppercut the boy viciously. He blinked out again as Gohan tried to recover, only to reappear long enough to deliver a swift punch to the kidneys.

Once again, Gohan was unable to block or dodge. The small part of his mind that wasn't seething with bloodlust was gibbering that this shouldn't be possible. He was much stronger and faster; he was a Super Saiyan! Raditz should be nothing but an insect to him!

"DAMN YOU!!!!" Gohan screamed into the thundering blackness. He landed, slipped in the mud, and fell to all fours. "Damn you," he choked, sitting back on his heels and letting his arms fall heavily on his thighs. "Damn you." The rain continued to pour down, soaking him to the bone and mingling with his tears.

Footsteps splashed in the mud beside him. Raditz. He didn't care anymore. Let the man do what he would. Gohan was tired of fighting what he couldn't defeat. He stared at the puddle in front of him, his eyes the ripples of the heavy drops, his ears focused on the savage warrior beside him.

Raditz dropped to his knees, facing his nephew. "I already am, kid. I already am." He reached for Gohan's shoulder; the boy flinched, but otherwise didn't move. Raditz pulled him close. Gohan resisted for a moment, then gave up and rested against his uncle's chest, sobbing harshly. His uncle held him until his tears ran dry, and then blackness claimed him.