Chapter Nine
A plump, mustached Saiyan shot an energy ball at Gohan. Gohan knocked it away from him, crouching down and pushing himself off the ground, flying towards the Saiyan warrior.
"Don't hold back, Shikumesh!" Bardock yelled. "Make him realize his potential!"
"Are you – sure – Bardock?" the plump Saiyan said between blocks. Gohan gritted his teeth. The man was able to have a conversation while fighting! He threw a kick to Shikumesh's stomach, but Shikumesh down-blocked it.
"Positive! Let it rip!" Bardock shouted. Shikumesh smirked.
"You – got it – then!" Shikumesh replied. The Saiyan warrior threw Gohan with so much force that the boy had difficulty stopping his acceleration towards a rock fixture. Shikumesh gathered his energy into his right hand, then threw the ball of energy at the boy. Gohan braced himself as the yellow energy blast shot towards him. When it collided with him, Gohan let out a scream as he hit the rock fixture head-on.
"Gohan!" Goten cried, starting to move towards him. Radditz grabbed Goten's arm.
"That is your brother's fight! Pay attention to your own!" Radditz snarled, reverse-punching Goten in the face.
A few feet away, Fasha and Bargose, a tall, grey-skinned Saiyan with scars on his almost bald head, sparred, both of them drenched in sweat and panting like dogs. Nappa and Tora fought close by, Tora obviously the stronger of the two. Bardock tapped his foot impatiently, the only warrior not fighting. He was tired of waiting for his turn to fight Gohan, but Shikumesh wasn't finished yet. Having an odd number sucked.
"Gohan! Don't fight your power! Let it loose! Saiyans aren't supposed to restrict their potential! I know you're a half-breed, but you have to try to embrace your Saiyan heritage!" Bardock yelled. Everyone stopped what they were doing to pay attention to what would happen with the eldest half-breed. Shikumesh waited to see what kind of an effect Bardock's words would have on the man's grandson. Gohan looked at Bardock, tears, hurt, shame, embarrassment, and anger all present in his eyes. "Come ON, Gohan!"
"I CAN'T!" Gohan screeched, sounding oddly like a dying animal.
"WHY NOT?" Bardock yelled back, uncrossing his arms. Gohan visibly cringed at Bardock's tone. Bardock frowned; he hadn't meant to sound that intimidating. Hot tears rolled down Gohan's face. Gohan refused to look up at any of them, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. The boy half expected it to be Piccolo. Gohan looked up. Fasha stood right in front of him, looking genuinely concerned.
"What's the matter, Gohan? Why can't you unleash it?" Fasha asked. Gohan had the sudden urge to hug her, like he used to do with his mother.
"I'm scared of it," Gohan admitted. "I'm scared of my power. I'm scared I'll turn into what Cell and Frieza are."
Fasha let out a pitying sound and hugged him. All the other Saiyans stared at Fasha, surprised.
"What the hell?" Nappa asked.
"Since when does Fasha act all motherly?" Bargose questioned. Bardock and Radditz shared confused looks, then looked at Fasha and Gohan.
"Bardock!" Fasha called. "We'll have to pick up where we left off some other time! I want to talk with Gohan for a while!"
All the men gave Fasha strange looks. Goten, on the other hand, smiled.
"Okay, Miss Fasha! We'll give you guys a break!" Goten said for the Saiyan men. Goten turned the grown-ups. "So, how about we just train by ourselves for now?" The men looked down at Goten, all of them looking like they found themselves into an embarrassing situation.
"Great, we're being ordered around by a kid and Fasha," Nappa grumbled.
"Shush. She'll hear you," Shikumesh muttered. "She'll get really mad if she hears you say that."
Bardock, Tora, Radditz and Bargose all shuddered at the thought.
-
Tien gripped his knees, fear keeping a hold on his heart. He sat in the waiting room, drawing stares to him because of his third eye and his clothes. The doctors had taken Yamcha as soon as the words "alcohol poisoning" left Tien's lips. It had been about an hour ago. Worst-case scenarios ran through the man's mind.
"He can't die," Tien said aloud, "He just can't. He's too close to Goku and Chichi to die. They've already lost Gohan and Goten. He can't die!"
Everyone else in the waiting room stared at him, but he didn't pay them any mind. Tien stood up and went over to the desk where a nurse sat, handing out folders to passing doctors.
"Hello, miss?" Tien said. The nurse looked at him.
"Yes?"
"Is there a phone I can use?"
"Yes, just walk down that hall, you'll find a pay phone."
Tien frowned.
"I don't have any money with me."
A foreboding sensation settled in Tien's stomach. He listed off all the people he knew who actually had money. Goku and Chichi weren't rich – they were falling into a financial pitfall as it was. Even considering Piccolo was a joke. Yamcha had money, but did Puar know how to get into his bank account? Bulma did, but for some reason that was of little comfort. Krillin and 18 didn't even have jobs. Now that he thought about it, neither did Tien or Chaotzu. Many of the Z fighters didn't have real jobs, or that much money. Vegeta was mooching off of Bulma's income, so he didn't really count. Suddenly, Tien felt like throwing up.
"Are you all right, sir? You look a little green."
"Is there a phone that I don't have to pay to use?" Tien said, trying to ignore the sinking feeling he had.
The nurse looked like she really didn't want to give out that information.
"How quick is the call? And how important is it?" the nurse asked.
"I have to tell someone that my friend is in the hospital. Please, he's been back there an hour and I haven't heard any word. He might be dying for all I know."
The nurse sighed and handed him the receiver on the phone on her desk.
"What's the number?"
Tien gave them Bulma's telephone number. He'd tell her to tell Chichi, and that she had to come over or else there will be a hospital bill that Tien didn't know how to take care of.
-
Fasha led Gohan away from the others. They flew until they could barely see Bardock, Goten, and the others behind them. Fasha touched down, and Gohan followed. Fasha sat down and motioned for Gohan to do the same.
"So, you're scared of what you'll become when you embrace your power?" Fasha asked, wanting confirmation. Gohan nodded, looking ashamed. "Don't feel bad, kid. It's nothing to feel ashamed of. Only weak muscle heads like Nappa don't worry about it from time to time. It doesn't mean you're weak or anything." Gohan looked up at her. Fasha smiled sadly at the hopeful but doubtful look on the boy's face. "Come on, why would I lie to you? I have nothing to gain from lying."
"But – but how do I control it when I do?" Gohan asked.
"You have to unleash it first, kid. I was once a lot like you. I wanted to be on the same level as everyone else so badly, I trained and trained until I collapsed from exhaustion. But at the same time, I was scared of the power I held. Being part of the most powerful race in the universe can be scary sometimes."
Gohan leaned forward slightly. "How did you overcome that fear?"
"I thought about my family and what would happen to them if I didn't unleash my power to defeat the bad guys. When I did that, all of a sudden, using all the power I had to its fullest potential came very easily to me." Gohan stared at her, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"Can you show me?" Gohan asked. Fasha looked a little surprised. Then she smiled.
"Sure, kid."
Fasha stood up, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Images of her teammates being torn apart by Frieza entered her head; Bardock fighting Cell and losing; Radditz ceasing to exist by Frieza's hand; Cell doing something to this boy in front of her. Fasha let loose a scream, letting all the power she had consume her.
Gohan stared as her energy surrounded her, her power level rising exponentially. Gohan had never felt this amount of power come from a female fighter before. She easily outmatched Yamcha and Tien. She had to at least be on Piccolo's level, if not higher. Fasha continued to power up, rock rising into the air and turning into dust.
Over where the others were, Bardock held onto Goten, keeping the boy from falling over.
"What's going on!?" Goten shouted over the sound of the ground shaking.
"It's Fasha!" Tora yelled, trying to keep his footing. "She's powering up to her fullest!"
"But why!?" Radditz demanded.
Bardock looked in the direction he had seen Fasha and Gohan disappear to. He didn't sense Frieza or Cell over there. So why would she give herself away like that? Frieza and Cell could find her easily now.
Back with Gohan and Fasha, the female Saiyan finished powering up. Gohan stared in awe at her. Fasha smirked.
"There you have it. Me at my strongest. What do you think?"
Fasha laughed at the astounded look on Gohan's face. She wished she had a camera with her.
"You're amazing!" Gohan finally managed to choke out. Fasha gave a true smile.
"Flattery will get you nowhere. Now, let's see what you can do, kid. Just think about those closest to you getting hurt, maybe even for something that you did or failed to do. Then, take that anger and direct it to rising your power level. After that, we'll work on control."
Gohan nodded, stood up, and closed his eyes. Piccolo being killed by Nappa. Frieza murdering Krillin on Namek. Daddy fighting and losing to Cell. Trunks no Mirai being beat up by Androids 17 and 18. Gohan gritted his teeth. Fasha gasped as his power rose quickly, faster than Fasha even thought possible. Yellow flames surrounded Gohan, his hair turned blond and stood on end. Fasha gaped in shock. Was this – a Super Saiyan?
Mom crying over Daddy being gone. Mom trying to keep a happy face even though everyone knows she's upset. Mom having to worry all the time. Mom crying over my dead body. The pain Mom must've gone through. Gohan let out a scream, breaking through the barrier that kept him from another plane of power.
Fasha stared, not believing her senses. Electricity sparked in the boy's energy, his hair stood more on end than it already did.
"This is . . . impossible," Fasha said, staring at Gohan, feeling as though she couldn't move if she wanted to. "No wonder . . . he was scared. . . He's clearly the strongest person in Hell. . . ."
Suddenly, Gohan stopped powering up and grabbed his chest. Fasha blinked, at first not comprehending what she was seeing.
"What's wrong?" Fasha asked, running over to him. Gohan shook his head, then slowly let go of his chest.
"For a second there, it felt like my heart was going to rip out of my chest." Gohan said, patting the spot where his heart was. Fasha gulped. She forgot he was only part Saiyan.
"Well, that might be enough powering up for now. Damn, Gohan, you're probably the strongest person in all of Hell and beyond."
Gohan looked doubtful.
"Do you really think so?"
Fasha nodded.
"I know so, kid."
-
Cell and Frieza stood across from one another, both heavily panting. Frieza sported a bloody arm while Cell didn't even have a scratch on him.
"Fine!" Frieza wheezed out. "I won't touch the boy unless it's to punch him! You win!"
Cell smirked.
"Good. Now, where is that Ginyu force? We'll need them if we're to take on those Saiyan rejects and not waste too much of our energy on low-levels." Cell said.
Frieza chuckled, an evil grin dancing across his face.
"You always know how to make everything better, Cell."
"That's why we're partners, isn't it?"
They both laughed, and then took off to find the Ginyu force.