Hey guys!
Previously on A Half-breed's Life:
His father's screams rang through his head. Raditz's laugh as he tortured his father. Vegeta's last words before he left…
"If he can't survive, he's not worth our time."
Fine. They wanted him to toughen up? He would toughen up. Those specialists wanted him to work and train? Fine. He would do just that and he would become the strongest warrior in this camp and once those three saiyans returned…
Gohan narrowed his eyes at the wall in front of him as he leaned on the sink.
"I'm going to kill them."
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Gohan was thrown off his feet and he landed on the ground right in front of Frieza. Zarbon landed next to him, placing his foot on top of Gohan's head to keep him down.
"Ah, it's always good to see a saiyan in his rightful place." Frieza said coldly. The half-saiyan was still breathing hard as he lied on the ground. He was ready to get up but Zarbon was still pushing down on his head. "Very well. You can stay for now. Don't make me regret this decision, boy."
"Thank you, sir." Gohan managed to say. He did not know why he was thanking the man, but he figured this was what he was expected to do.
"Dear Zarbon. Isn't it about time you got off of him?" Frieza's gaze turned to the man. "Or are you already attached to the boy?"
Gohan groaned when Zarbon pressed down on his head. "Crushing a saiyan under my foot takes me back, lord Frieza. I have to admit that I had the pleasure of running into this one before. It's easy to see that he hasn't been tamed right yet."
"It's difficult for saiyans to behave like civilized warriors, you know that Zarbon." Frieza responded, smiling sweetly. "Don't be hard on the boy. He will learn his place in time."
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Gohan was standing over Vegeta's body. The man was asleep. The half-saiyan created a ki-blast ready to send it right through Vegeta's heart.
Gohan hesitated and the blast in his hands diminished a bit. Should he do this? He'd kill Vegeta and then… take out Nappa and Raditz? Could he do that? And what about Frieza and his henchmen? Would they just let him go?
The boy lowered his hands. Maybe he should wait. Get them to trust him and then kill them when they least expected it. Gohan shook his head and raised his hands to Vegeta's chest again. No. He had to do it now.
A hand curled around Gohan's wrist and Vegeta opened his eyes. The half-saiyan gasped as Vegeta pulled Gohan down and pushed himself up, curling Gohan's arm on his back and pressing the half-saiyan down on the thin mattress.
"Well well, the little puppy finally shows its claws." Vegeta hissed into Gohan's ear. The boy growled in response as he tried to pull his arm free but Vegeta only tightened his grip.
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"Do you really think you'll get away with attempting to kill me?" Vegeta asked. "Are you really that stupid?"
"I will succeed one day." Gohan said as he looked up.
"Hmmm." Vegeta pushed against Gohan's elbow again. "But for now you're still too weak to be capable of murder." The man smirked when Gohan let out another pained sound. "And you're too weak to overpower me." The man leaned in closer while he applied even more pressure on Gohan's arm. "If you try something like this again I will personally break both your legs and arms, got it?"
"Yes." Gohan groaned out. "I got it."
"Good." Vegeta released the boy and floated back to give Gohan more room to get up. "Go back to your cot." He ordered, watching as Gohan got up as well and got off the bed.
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"So I am completely innocent. I haven't done anything to you." Vegeta stated. "And you know that. So why did you go for me and not for your dear uncle?"
"You went for me," Vegeta continued after Gohan's silence, "because I'm the leader. I'm the strongest. I am the most dangerous." Vegeta met Gohan's eyes and realized he was right. "Smart move. I would have done the same thing."
"I am nothing like you." Gohan did not like what Vegeta was implying.
Vegeta chuckled. "Yet."
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The half-saiyan clenched his fists and powered up. Right now.
Four scouters beeped and Raditz, Vegeta and Nappa all looked at the half-saiyan, but it was too late. Gohan put his hands together and blasted the space pod, destroying the machine. The half-saiyan was surprised by the explosion but his eyes widened when he noticed the smoke that the explosion created. This was his chance. The boy whirled around and ran for the large entrance.
His scouter told him what his senses picked up nanoseconds earlier. Someone was standing in the entrance.
Vegeta hadn't thought at all and had gone straight for the entrance. Gohan stopped running. His entire body went cold when he saw the dark look on the man's face. Vegeta looked absolutely livid.**** DBZ **** DBZ ****
"I just want to be free." Gohan whispered as he stared at the ground. Raditz opened the tank and turned around. He knelt down in front of Gohan.
"Freedom is overrated." Raditz said as he reached out and unclasped the shoulder bands of Gohan's armor. The half-saiyan let Raditz pull the armor off. He could hardly move his limbs. "Let me tell you this; not one person in this army is here because they want to be."
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Raditz made sure no bystanders would interfere while Vegeta's blast burned the man's flesh. "You can choose, half-breed. He will either die a quick death by your hands or he will die slowly." Vegeta loudly to overpower the man's screams.
Gohan shook his head as Nappa released one of Gohan's arms so the young warrior could kill the man. The teenager's eyes moved from Vegeta to the tortured man. The half-saiyan shook his head again as Vegeta's taunting eyes fell on him. Another scream was heard when Vegeta pushed the ki-orb closer to the man's arm. Gohan stretched out his arm and slowly started to collect ki. The young warrior closed his eyes. The man was dead within a second.
"Good job, kiddo! You're officially a murderer now! Welcome to the club!" Nappa said cheerfully as he smacked on Gohan's back. The half-saiyan was staring at the dead man. His hands were shaking as he lowered them.
Vegeta destroyed the remains of the alien before he sent Gohan an approving glance. "Well... Let's find your next victim."
Moving right along~
Chapter 10. A Difficult Beginning.
Gohan was waiting while the others destroyed the city and everyone in it. They made a deal. If Gohan waited patiently without trying to run, he would only have to kill fifty people in the next city. If Gohan resisted or tried to run, they would make him murder one-hundred aliens.
The half-saiyan watched it all. It was his punishment for being so weak. But what could he do? If he fought them he would only get beaten up like he did back in the launching center. He couldn't afford to get killed either. He needed to pay them back for what they did.
So he would obey the others for now. He would do what they said while he awaited his chance. He would get stronger and one day… One day he would be strong enough to kill them all. Starting with his horrible uncle and ending with that bastard Vegeta. He would watch them die a slow death and he would enjoy it.
The half-saiyan reached back and pushed his fingers under his uniform so he could scratch his shoulder. The boy fingers ran over the scar on his shoulder. He'd never actually seen it. Maybe now he could find a mirror and look at it. He did know what it must look like though. The special symbol of Thunder was that of a weapon. A stick with a metal rope tied to it. On the other end of the metal rope there was a metal ball that was covered in spikes. In the old days, the weapon was used to kill cadets who tried to run from the camp. They would be forced to fight three other cadets of the same year. The three opponents would be carrying the weapon while the offending cadet would be empty-handed.
This was an old-fashioned punishment that was customary when the camp was only used to train slaves or orphans. A couple centuries ago, a headmaster freed the slaves and opened the camp to everyone who wanted to learn how to fight the hard way. The cadets were there at their own choice so death penalties weren't in use anymore. Still, Thunder considered itself the strongest group of the entire camp and therefore they used this as their symbol. A dangerous weapon was the perfect symbol for a dangerous group.
Gohan lowered his hand when the others appeared near him.
"We're done here." Vegeta called before he beckoned for everyone to follow him. "Let's go."
Gohan let out a sigh and followed the others. Soon he would have to do it again. He would have to kill fifty more.
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"This is the last one." Vegeta said as he pushed a young boy against his shoulder. The small boy was fidgeting with his blue shirt and his green eyes shot around frantically. He was eying the adults with fear but he didn't know the real danger was the younger warrior standing in front of him. Vegeta looked at Gohan. "You can do the honors."
Gohan shook his head. "Do you want us to torture him?" Vegeta asked as he raised an eyebrow. "You're cruel, aren't you? You don't let them have a peaceful death but you make them suffer."
Gohan frowned at him before he extended a hand to the small boy. The half-saiyan closed his eyes as a blast appeared in his palm. "O no." Raditz appeared behind Gohan and grabbed his chin to push his face up. "Open your eyes. Watch as the lights leave his eyes." Raditz hissed. Gohan kept his eyes shut. "Open them!" Raditz yelled. Gohan opened his eyes and eyed the wincing boy in front of him. Raditz looked at Vegeta and the prince nodded. "Now do it." Raditz ordered. The blast separated from Gohan's hand and went right through the defenseless boy. Raditz pushed Gohan's face up so he could meet his eyes. "Now that wasn't that bad, was it?"
Gohan glared at him before Raditz released his chin. Nappa was the first one to speak. "So, now what? Are we calling it a night?" He asked as he eyed the destroyed city. Raditz's hands were resting on Gohan's shoulders. The half-saiyan was staring at the place where the boy used to be.
"Yes." Vegeta answered as he stretched. "We should get something to eat and take a nap. Let's go." Vegeta jumped in the air.
They landed in a clearing. Gohan momentarily wondered why they didn't just stay in the destroyed city but once he saw a small animal-like creature shoot into the bushes he realized that they wanted to spend the night in a place where they could easily catch their food.
"Raditz. Go catch us something to eat. Nappa. Grab a couple of buckets and see if you can get some water. Half-breed…" Vegeta looked around and realized that Gohan was standing a few feet away from him. "Stop being useless and go gather some firewood."
"Yes sir." Gohan muttered in response before he turned and walked to the trees. Instead of gathering the firewood he simply cut down a tree and used his energy to cut the tree into smaller pieces. The half-saiyan put a bunch of sticks and branches down near Vegeta and the man ordered him to awaken a fire.
Once the fire was going strong, Gohan shifted back. He looked around. Nappa returned with the water and Raditz just dumped a large furry animal near them. Gohan raised an eyebrow. This animal was almost as big as a house. Were they supposed to eat all that?
"Do you expect us to live off that?" Vegeta snarled at Raditz. "Go get some more. Hurry up."
Raditz nodded and flew off. Gohan only got a moment to be surprised at this. "Half-breed!" Vegeta called. The half-saiyan jumped up.
"Yes?"
"There is a river nearby. That's where Nappa got the water from. He said he saw some fish. Go catch some." Vegeta ordered while he cut open the animal with a sharp stick. Gohan tried not to look at the blood on Vegeta's hands. The man had taken off his already bloodied gloves for hygienic reasons but the half-saiyan wondered how much better this was going to be. He was snapped out of his thoughts by Vegeta's impatient voice. "Why are you still standing here? Or would you rather we chop off your arm and eat that for dinner?"
"No sir." Gohan shook his head and turned to the direction Nappa was pointing at. He pushed off.
"I'll keep an eye on your power level!" Vegeta called after him. "I'll notice if you go too far!"
"Yeah yeah…" Gohan muttered under his breath. "Jerk." The half-saiyan gave a quick glance over his shoulder to see if Vegeta heard him but the man was still busy mutilating the dead animal.
Gohan landed near the river. At least he could wash off the blood. He dived in headfirst. The half-saiyan enjoyed the feeling of the cold water against his skin, rushing through his hair. He opened his eyes and noticed several kinds of fish. They were everywhere. Gohan grinned. This was going to be fun.
Their dinner was delicious. The three adults may be heartless murderers but they did know how to make good food. The half-saiyan ate until his stomach couldn't take anymore. Satisfied, he yawned and rubbed his eyes. His entire body felt exhausted and his eyelids were heavy.
"Half-breed." Vegeta called. The man was standing near them and he beckoned the half-saiyan. Gohan walked closer. "Stop." Vegeta ordered. The half-saiyan was aware of the gazes of Raditz and Nappa. He stood still as Vegeta circled him.
"Your arms are a little flimsy." Vegeta started. The man looked over at his comrades. "We'll have to add some exercises especially for his arms." He said before looking back at Gohan. "You need strong limbs in order to put up a decent fight. I have no idea why you're one of the strongest of the camp." He said.
Gohan crossed his arms over each other. "If you're only going to insult me I'll sit back down." He replied.
Vegeta stepped closer to him. "We are elite soldiers. We are stronger and have more experience than you." The man stated. "We can't have you slow us down so we'll need to bring you up to a higher speed."
Gohan frowned up at him. "I can keep up with you guys just fine." He snarled back.
"We'll find out when we have our first spar." Vegeta responded before he stepped closer. The man reached down in his armor. "For now, there is something I want to show you."
Gohan watched as Vegeta pulled out a small cloth bag. Vegeta opened the mini bag and pulled out a silver necklace. Gohan widened his eyes and he reached out. "That's mine!" He snarled when Vegeta moved up his arm to keep it out of his reach.
"I know. Headmaster gave it to me." Vegeta replied. The man tossed the bag in the fire. "I noticed that there was something inside this medallion." The man opened the round medallion. Gohan knew it was shaped like a four-star dragonball. He never told anyone though. Everyone assumed it was a random figure.
The half-saiyan tried to snatch the necklace out of Vegeta's hands again but the man kept it out of his reach. "Now now. Patience, boy."
"Give it back!"
Vegeta looked at the picture he got from the medallion. The man raised an eyebrow. "Well well." He turned to his comrades and showed the picture. "Look how adorable."
Gohan knew what was on the picture. It was a family picture. Chi-chi could be seen on it. Goku wrapped his arm around his wife and Gohan was sitting on Goku's other shoulder. They were all grinning at the camera. One happy family.
"Whoop!" Nappa said as he stepped closer and studied the picture. "Look at that fine piece of ass. Now I get why Kakarot didn't want to leave planet earth. I would think twice leaving a shrew like that."
Gohan powered up and launched at Nappa. The man widened his eyes somewhat and stepped back to dodge Gohan's mad attack. Nappa laughed when Gohan attacked him again, trying to punch the man several times but finding them all to be dodged or blocked.
Gohan landed on the ground. "That's my mother you're talking about!" He screamed at the man.
Nappa spread his arms. "All broads are only good for one thing. Your father knew it. That's why you're here right now."
The half-saiyan clenched his fists. He wasn't entirely sure what Nappa meant but he did notice the mocking tone in which Nappa said it. Whatever the full-blooded saiyan was saying, it was bad and he was going to pay for it. He knelt down and grabbed a small rock. He threw the rock at Nappa, and while the man tilted his head to dodge the rock, Gohan sent a blast. Nappa held up both his hands to block the blast. His scouter beeped and he looked up, but it was too late. Gohan's boot connected with the back of his neck and Nappa was forced to stumble forward and fall to the ground.
"Why you little…" Nappa jumped up and glared at the half-saiyan. "You're going to regret doing that when I pull every single hair from your sorry little head…"
"Calm down, Nappa." Vegeta said as smirk appeared on his face. "You were egging him on, weren't you?"
Gohan still wasn't done but Vegeta was approaching him so he focused on the prince. "Your mother is still alive, isn't she?" Vegeta asked.
The half-saiyan made a confused face. "No. You destroyed the planet, right?"
"Oh, we said that, didn't we?" Vegeta shook his head slowly while he pulled off his scouter. "The planet is still intact. We just figured it would be easier to keep it from Freeza. That jerk would send another team to purge the planet and I would like to keep it around."
"The planet is still intact? My mother is still alive." Gohan let out a relieved breath. He still had a home.
"Hmm…" Vegeta tossed the necklace in the fire while he looked at the picture.
"No!" Gohan tried to catch it but he forgot to power up in time. The half-saiyan fell on his hands and knees next to the fire.
Vegeta appeared on the other side of the fire. "Remember, boy. Your planet is still intact, which indeed means that your mother is still alive." The man showed the picture to Gohan and his finger tapped on Chi-chi's head. "But, if you decide to run away from us, we might decide to bring your dear mother a visit."
"What?"
"Imagine her screams as we tear her limb from limb." Vegeta hissed. Gohan got up and shook his head. "We know what she looks like. We'll find her and we'll make her life so miserable that she'll be begging us for death."
"No!"
"Oh, we won't." Vegeta said sweetly. The man folded the picture and put it back in his armor. "As long as her son behaves she can keep on living her life peacefully."
Gohan lowered his gaze. Vegeta expected Gohan to give up right then and there but Gohan looked up again. "I hate you." The half-saiyan hissed.
Vegeta's annoying smirk was back on his face. "Good." The man turned away from the seething half-saiyan and he stretched his arms. "Ah, I think it's time for a nap. I'd say three hours is enough."
Nappa and Raditz nodded. Gohan was still glaring at the saiyan prince when Raditz approached him. The man placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder. "Come on, nephew."
The half-saiyan shrugged the man's hand off his shoulder. "Don't call me that. You're nothing to me." He snarled at the man.
"Fine." Raditz shrugged before he yawned. "Just come along with me. We're going to take a nap and I have to keep an eye on you."
"Why you?"
"Because I'm nothing to you." Raditz responded, smirking a little. "You're my blood so I have to take care of you. That's how it goes."
Gohan followed Raditz to a large tree. Raditz sat down and leaned against the tree trunk with his back. The man patted on the area next to him and Gohan sat down there. The half-saiyan leaned against the tree as well after making sure his shoulder wouldn't touch Raditz's shoulder.
"You would kill your own sister-in-law?" Gohan muttered. "I thought family meant something to you." He couldn't remember how he got the necklace. It had been with him from the moment he arrived in camp. Headmaster confiscated it, saying that as long as Headmaster had the necklace Gohan wouldn't try to escape without it. Headmaster was wrong about this but he still kept the necklace.
"I do what Vegeta tells me to do." Raditz responded. "If that means killing my family, so be it. I will kill my sister. I will even kill my nephew if I'm told to."
Gohan glanced up at him. "I probably shouldn't be surprised. You killed your brother too. Did you enjoy that as much as you enjoyed murdering all those people today?"
"I only did that because he wouldn't come with me. I couldn't come back empty-handed." Raditz closed his eyes. "Though I didn't have any problems with it. That's what you're in for, boy. We will do anything to get our way, and beating a small runt into oblivion is easy and fun."
The half-saiyan didn't reply. Not long later, Raditz sent the half-saiyan a glance and he realized that the boy was asleep. The man allowed himself a small smirk. Gohan had been through a lot the last few days. Of course he was tired. Raditz couldn't blame him.
After their nap, Vegeta led them all to yet another city that they had to destroy. Raditz took care of counting Gohan's kills while the others performed their part of the show. The trio took turns taking care of Gohan, but Gohan preferred it when it was his uncle's turn. Raditz gave Gohan his time and usually pointed Gohan in the direction of adult men. The half-saiyan knew that those men were innocent but he'd also been treated horribly by a lot of older men in his life so it was easier to project his hatred on those aliens.
Vegeta only barked at the half-saiyan, pointing at children to torture the younger warrior and getting angry when Gohan refused and killed a grown person instead. Nappa seemed to consider it all a great game. He would challenge Gohan to kill a certain number of people within a certain time. Maybe Gohan preferred that. It made this whole ordeal seem less horrible. Then again, Gohan was probably just fooling himself.
After yet another long day, Vegeta announced that they were done and that they were going to find a spot to depart from this planet. Once arrived, Vegeta pulled out a remote and pressed on a button. Gohan watched as the others did the same thing and he realized that he didn't have a remote. He was about to ask Raditz what was going to happen with his space pod when Raditz made a second remote appear and pressed on a button.
Oh right… They had it. While they were waiting, Vegeta turned to Nappa. "Nappa. Plant some Saibamen for me." He said.
"Why?" Nappa asked as he reached down into his armor and retrieved a small bottle.
"I want to play with our new toy." Vegeta replied in almost a childish way. The half-saiyan stepped back when Vegeta glanced at him. Was Vegeta referring to Gohan when he said that?
"Alright." Nappa knelt down and pushed some holes in the sand with his finger. The man opened the bottle and looked up. "How many?"
"Ten will do." Vegeta responded. While Nappa planted the Saibamen, Vegeta turned to Gohan. The half-saiyan looked back at Vegeta as the man started talking: "There are different ways to kill others, half-breed. Yesterday and today, the only technique you used were blasts. Some races aren't affected by energy-use so you'll have to use other techniques." Vegeta continued. "We'll practice that right now."
"How are we going to practice?" Gohan asked suspiciously. The ground in front of Vegeta started rumbling and within seconds ten green alien-like creatures crawled out of the ground. Gohan widened his eyes and stepped back. "What the hell are those things?" He asked with wide eyes.
They were smaller than Gohan but they looked way more dangerous. They were a green color and had big red eyes. Gohan's eyes ran over their bald heads, which looked very similar to the pictures of brains he'd seen in the books he read in camp.
"Saibamen." Vegeta answered with a nod. "They are amazing targets to practice on. Okay. I want you to kill them but you cannot use ki-blasts." Vegeta said as he eyed the half-saiyan.
Gohan was still staring at the little creatures in shock but looked up when he heard Vegeta's comment. "What? No. I'm not going to kill them." He said.
"Do not use blasts." Vegeta said ignoring his comment. "If you use an energy attack you will be very sorry. Count on it."
"I won't do it!" Gohan yelled back at him. "You can't make me do it again!"
Vegeta reached inside his armor and pulled out the picture of Gohan's family. "So what shall we tell her? That she suffered through all this pain because her baby refused to kill a couple of insects?" Vegeta smirked when Gohan lowered his hands. "Are you going to listen to me?"
Gohan nodded. "Yes."
"Good." Vegeta glanced at the Saibamen. They were all staring at him in anticipation. "Kill him." He ordered as he pointed to Gohan.
Gohan gasped. The ten Saibamen all looked in Gohan's direction and attacked him immediately. Gohan jumped away and tried to avoid them. The boy blocked attacks and tried to keep the small warriors from latching themselves onto his body. He managed to punch five down but they got up almost immediately.
"How long do you think he's going to keep on fighting them without killing any?" Vegeta said to the others as he stepped closer to them.
"I bet five minutes." Nappa said as he nodded.
"I bet three minutes." Raditz added.
"I'm think he'll last six minutes." Vegeta answered. "Those men are ruthless but he's stubborn. That's going to cost you two a chore."
"You're not very sure of yourself are you?" Raditz mocked as he looked up at Vegeta. "I'd say one week of chores." Vegeta shrugged and nodded as answer. They all watched as Gohan fought the ten saibamen.
Vegeta looked at the timer on his scouter and noticed Gohan was lasting three minutes already. This needed to end or he was going to lose the bet. "They won't stop until you're dead, half-breed." He yelled.
"Don't be so stubborn, half-breed. Just kill them. They won't hesitate in killing you." Raditz added.
Gohan kicked a saibaman to the ground. After this he whirled around and punched another Saibaman away.
"Give up, half-breed." Nappa yelled. Gohan shook his head as he punched another saibaman away. The boy groaned when he noticed all ten of them were still standing. Gohan gave a yell of frustration and killed all of them within a minute. The boy fell down on his hands and knees.
Nappa made an approving sound. "That will be two chores-less weeks for me." He stated smugly.
Vegeta leaned down and wiped over Gohan's armor with his finger. A stain of purple blood was shown on his finger. "You heartless murderer." He taunted.
Gohan balled his hands into fists and attacked him. The boy punched Vegeta right in the stomach. He didn't get the chance to do anything more since Nappa was already grabbing his hands. "You made me do it! You have no right to call me that!" He yelled angrily.
Vegeta got up. The man reached down and grabbed Gohan's chin with his hand. "That's it, brat. Get angry. Feel the hatred fill your heart. I want my perfect soldier to be ruthless." He hissed before he released the half-saiyan.
Gohan watched as the man walked away. Nappa released him. The half-saiyan looked over at the tall man but Nappa wasn't paying attention to the young warrior anymore.
The space pods arrived during Gohan's fight. Vegeta threatened to kill his mother if Gohan even considered destroying one more space pod and the half-saiyan promised not to do that anymore. He didn't want to get left behind on this planet anyway.
Gohan leaned back in the space pod. Vegeta told them they would be travelling for a couple days. The half-saiyan didn't know how long it had been since they left the planet.
"Half-breed." Nappa's voice sounded through the scouter. Gohan took a deep breath and ignored it. He didn't want to talk to them. "How are you feeling now that you're a murderer, huh?"
Raditz chuckled. "Leave it alone, Nappa." He said, sounding amused.
"No, I want to know. Did you feel powerful when you saw the life draining out of them?" Nappa added.
Gohan lowered his gaze. Jerk… He thought, but he wouldn't say it out loud. He already felt horrible. Nappa didn't have to make it even worse.
"Hey, brat." Nappa called out when Gohan didn't respond. The half-saiyan scoffed. Really? He didn't respond to an insult and now he was the bad guy? "Or should I proceed to tell you all the lovely things I would like to do to your hot mother?"
"What do you want from me?" Gohan snarled back.
"Ah, it speaks." Nappa said cheerfully. "Tell me, boy, when did you start to enjoy murdering those aliens?"
"I don't want to talk to you." Gohan responded. "And as long I stay near you assholes you will never reach my mother anyway so stop talking about her."
"Did you write that insult down in your mental notebook, Vegeta?" Nappa asked cheerfully.
"Of course." Vegeta's voice sounded amused. "The list is already getting quite long. I haven't decided whether it's going to be one punch or two punches for every insult he throws in our direction…"
Gohan took off his scouter and tossed it away. He could care less if they would get angry. He didn't want to hear their voices anymore, and he certainly didn't want to talk to them right now. The half-saiyan thought about his friends, back in camp. He wondered if Judin and Oriko were still locked up in the isolation cells. He hoped not. Maybe the specialists would go easy on them now that Gohan was gone.
A wave of emotion coursed through his body as he thought about the camp. He hated to be there, but now… He would do anything to return to his friends. Hell, he would even choose the specialists over these jerks.
The specialists had been hard on him, but they were never as mean as the three saiyans were…
"I'm a saiyan…" Gohan whispered to himself. "Saiyans are the strongest warriors in the universe…" He fell silent as he thought about the first time Crimon taught him that phrase…
The five-year-old half-saiyan was sitting on the ground. His hands were shaking and his body trembled as he sniffed. Tears dripped down his cheeks.
Crimon knelt down next to him. "Come on, saiyan. You can't let this bring you down."
"Leave me alone." Gohan muttered, looking down.
The large man reached out a lilac hand to give the half-saiyan a tissue. The boy accepted it and wiped his cheeks. The boy's crying became even heavier when he pulled the tissue back and realized it was full of blood. They'd gotten him good. Five of them. All twice Gohan's size and thrice his age but they didn't care when they were pushing him around.
"If you give up now, they win." Crimon said. Gohan didn't look up at him. "Don't give in. Where is your saiyan pride, boy?"
"My saiyan pride?" Gohan snarled at him. He jumped up and walked to the other side of the room. "There it is!" He pointed out the window. "Back on planet earth. Where I am supposed to be!" He lowered his arm. "But what do you care? You're the reason I'm still here!"
Crimon got up as well. The man approached Gohan and the half-saiyan stepped back. The child bent through his knees slightly and held up his arms to protect his body. The boy thought Crimon was going to punish him. Crimon studied Gohan for a moment. A five-year-old with a black eye, a bloody nose and tears streaming down his face. Now that's intimidating…
The man knelt down near him and grabbed his handkerchief from the small pocket in his uniform. "Come here." He stated. Gohan didn't respond fast enough so the man reached out, grabbed his wrist and pulled him a step closer. The he spit in the handkerchief before he moved it closer to Gohan's nose.
The half-saiyan whimpered a bit when Crimon roughly wiped his face. The man wasn't used to dealing with children. "What are you?" Crimon asked as he wiped Gohan's upper lip and nose.
"A human." Gohan responded.
"No." Crimon spit in the cloth again and moved his hand up to brush the handkerchief over a bleeding wound on Gohan's forehead. "You're a saiyan, and saiyan's are the strongest warriors in the universe." He stated as he ignored how Gohan winced every time he brushed over the boy's wound. "So you are a strong warrior as well, which means that you cannot let anyone bring you down, got it?"
The half-saiyan's expression was difficult to see in this dark room. The moon could be seen through the window behind Gohan. The others purposely kept Gohan inside his bedroom behind closed curtains at all times during the nights because they didn't want Gohan to transform. The half-saiyan had been ambushed today though. That's why he was still outside his room.
"So, what are you?"
"I refuse to say that." Gohan responded, shaking his head wildly. Crimon stopped for a moment, finding this hold up rather annoying.
"Humor me. What are you?"
"I'm a saiyan." Gohan said, rolling his eyes.
Crimon moved onto Gohan's bloodied knuckles. The boy definitely tried to put up a fight. He wiped the boy's knuckles. "And Saiyans are?"
"The strongest warriors in the universe, right?"
"Exactly. So?"
Gohan took a deep breath and tried to remember what Crimon said before. "So, I'm strong… And I can't let anyone bring me down?"
Crimon let Gohan lower his one hand and moved on to the other one. "And now with a little more conviction." He instructed.
"I am strong." Gohan responded, smiling. "And I cannot let anyone bring me down! The next time I am going to beat them up!"
Crimon almost made a face as he wondered if Gohan would be able to do that, but he figured he could let Gohan think that if it made the boy feel better. "Exactly." The man tousled Gohan's hair. "Now let's get you in a shower and in your bed."
"But... I'm wide awake. I wanted to take a walk outside. Unwind a little." Gohan responded before he went to turn to the window.
"No. No. No!" Crimon said quickly. He turned Gohan back to face him and let out a relieved sigh. "You're not allowed to look outside at night, remember? There are monsters out there."
Gohan made a face. "I don't think I believe you. I doubt there are monsters outside. People go outside all the time at night. And where are the monsters during the day?"
"Don't question our orders, boy." Crimon got up, walked around the boy and used his boot to push Gohan forward. "Just do what I say."
The ten-year-old half-saiyan leaned back on his seat. He leaned his head back and looked up at the black world around him. "So I'm strong." He whispered. "And I cannot let anyone bring me down…" He sighed. There. He said it. Weren't the specialists supposed to be with him in spirit? Then why did he still feel so alone…
**** DBZ **** DBZ ****
Gohan looked around on the planet. There were many different aliens here. Of all sorts and sizes. Vegeta told Gohan that they landed on one of the family planets. These were basically planets on which the families of the soldiers lived. The people here had nice lives and could practically get everything they wanted as long as their fathers, and later sons and daughters worked for the army.
The half-saiyan noticed a couple of young women who were standing, talking to each other and their children. One of the kids was just a baby. A green strange looking alien with only one eye, just like its mother. The half-saiyan walked closer and smiled when the baby gave him a wide grin.
"Oh, look at you." One of the women said. "You look so tough in your little uniform." She cooed as she eyed the half-saiyan.
"Are you going to be a good soldier later, like your father or mother?" Another one asked as she reached out and tousled Gohan's black unruly hair. The half-saiyan was not used to feminine attention, and he was especially not used to being treated like a real innocent child.
Gohan looked at the baby. "It's so small." He stated as he looked up at the mother.
"Don't be afraid." The mother responded when Gohan stepped back because of the baby's movements.
Gohan stepped closer and reached out. "Can I?" He asked. The woman nodded and Gohan gently touched the baby's hand. He gasped silently when the baby grasped his hand.
"Aww..." The women all seemed to find this adorable but Gohan was mostly interested in the baby.
"Half-breed!" Gohan visibly flinched when he heard this shout, and he released the baby. Raditz came running closer. "You're not allowed to run off without our permission." He smacked Gohan over the head, earning angry exclamations from the women.
"How dare you!"
"You can't hit your child!"
"He was just talking to us."
The man ignored them. "Let's go, brat." He snarled before he started walking. Gohan apologized to the women and he followed his uncle. He did not know why he was so nice to them. They reminded him of his mother. He'd always been nice to women because he hoped everyone was nice to his mother right now. His mother. Who was living all alone in the mountains…
Vegeta greeted Gohan in pretty much the same manner but the prince chose to smack his cheek before threatening to break Gohan's limbs if the boy decided to stray from their path again. The half-saiyan grudgingly apologized to them and was forced to walk in front of his uncle from that point onwards.
The half-saiyan looked over at his uncle. "Where are we going?" He asked.
When Raditz sent him an annoyed glance, Gohan half expected the man to hit him again but his uncle answered his question: "We're going to our own apartment."
"We have an apartment too?" Gohan asked curiously. "I thought the room on Frieza's ship was the only room we had."
Raditz shook his head. "No," he responded, "a couple of years ago we completed a very difficult mission. When we reported our achievement to Freeza he was just entertaining a new business partner of his and to show his business partner how much of a charitable boss he was, he gave us our own apartment. Right here on this planet." The man stopped for a moment when they entered the hall of the large building. Gohan eyed the blue-colored hall with interest.
There were aliens everywhere. Most of them were hurrying up and down the hall, going out or arriving. A lot of aliens went to one of the numerous receptionists to rent a room for a limited time, but Gohan followed his comrades straight to one of the elevators.
"Is it bigger than the room in Frieza's ship?"
"Of course." Raditz responded briefly. Gohan decided that he asked enough questions for now and he took a moment to look at the mirror. There was a bruise on his cheek from Vegeta's punch earlier. The half-saiyan made a rather annoyed face as he ran his finger over it.
Once they arrived in their apartment, Gohan widened his eyes. The room was not all that big but at least it was bigger than the room they had in Frieza's ship. The communal area contained a couch and two chairs, which were standing around a metal table. The living room and the kitchen were in the same room. The half-saiyan studied the open kitchen and noticed there were several different strange looking machines in there. He figured the others would explain how to operate those eventually. He didn't need to ask about it yet.
"Come on." Raditz said as he tapped on Gohan's shoulder. "I will show you our room."
"Our?"
"You're sharing a room with me." Raditz said, turning to one of the doorways on one side of the room. Gohan followed him and, before he entered the room he shared with Raditz, he noticed that Nappa opened the door to the room next to theirs.
"Do Vegeta and Nappa sleep in the room next to us?" Gohan asked, looking the bedroom over. It was nice. There was a window and on either side of it stood a bed. One small bedside table was standing in between the two beds. Again, Gohan noticed two different cabinets. These were both locked.
"Don't I get a locker?" Gohan questioned, looking at them.
"Nope. You can leave your stuff in my cabinet or just here on the ground." Raditz replied. The man sat down on a bed. "This is mine. That one is yours."
Gohan walked to the bed on the right side of the room. He studied it for a moment. "Why do you have two beds here if there is just one of you?"
Raditz opened his mouth to answer this question but Vegeta interrupted them by calling Gohan. The half-saiyan turned and walked out the room.
"What?" Gohan asked, frowning.
"Get Raditz. We're leaving." Vegeta responded.
"We just got here." Gohan said, raising an eyebrow. Vegeta didn't reply so Gohan turned back to call his uncle and called him over.
The young warrior followed the others to a large room. The half-saiyan eyed the spacious room. The floor was a cool blue color and the walls were white. Gohan looked over at Vegeta.
"We're going to train here, aren't we?" Gohan asked, stepped closer.
The man raised an eyebrow when he noticed how eager Gohan was. "We're going to stretch first." He responded. "And do some exercises. After that we're going to spar."
Gohan was excited for the spar, but he soon found out that "some" exercises was actually a lot of exercises. After being put through some torturous drills, the focus being on workouts for his arms, just like Vegeta said back on the planet, Gohan was finally standing opposite Vegeta.
The older saiyan noticed the look of anticipation in Gohan's eyes. "Well then, half-breed. Let's see how you will do against an elite warrior."
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To be continued~
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