"You realize, Zarbon, that this is completely unacceptable."

Zarbon stopped himself from wincing, and stared directly at the monitor, refusing to let his gaze waver. The boy had been missing for more than five days now, which was longer than any search mission should ever take. However, the Saiyan was nothing short of a genius. Complicated formulas, mechanics, and anything else they had tested him with had come as naturally as breathing. The fact that he was able to stay hidden so well, was no surprise, but it was still, as Freeza said, completely unacceptable. Zarbon cleared his throat. "Sir, we're searching the Gliese system, and the surrounding systems as we speak!"

Freeza folded his hands and leaned forwards, sighing. "Zarbon, you realize that you're trying to convince me that you're searching space, for him." He rubbed the bridge between his eyes. "Space." He said, again. "He could be anywhere!"

"We believe he's…"

"You believe?"

"Yes sir…"

"Oh for the love of… Please don't make me call in specialists for this."

"Not necessary, sir. I'll bring him back."

"So you've said, over and over." Freeza leaned back into his chair. "I'm starting to think you're not the man for the job…"

"Please, give me more time, Lord Freeza." Zarbon frowned. "I'm certain there's something I can do."

"Something?"

Zarbon folded his arms. "I just need to find the right bait." He said, looking up at Freeza. "With that, I can lure him to me."

"Fine, Zarbon." Freeza sighed, leaning back into his chair again. "I'll give you a week. Any longer than that, is inexcusable. I'll send someone else to retrieve him."

"Of course Lord Freeza. I'll have him in custody by weeks end."

"Good."

The transmission ended and Zarbon bit down on his lip. How the hell was he going to lure that boy out of hiding? The only thing he could possibly use was…

A wicked grin spread across Zarbon's face and he folded his arms. He turned to the pilot and flicked his wrist outwards. "Set a course for Planet Anan." He looked towards a monitor. "And get two prison transport ships."

"Two sir?"

"Yes." Zarbon smirked. "And have one of them crash."

"I still can't believe you got that engine up and running." Kuririn turned around and looked up at Gohan who looked back down at him, smiling.

"I'm just good with stuff like that, I guess."

"Yeah, when did you have time to learn how to make a Gliesian engine? I doubt Freeza taught you that sort of stuff."

Gohan shook his head and sat down in the chair next to him leaning his elbows onto his knees. "No, I'm mostly self taught. A lot of it just comes naturally to me. Mom was rigorous about tutoring, I was doing calculus by the time I was four. She really wanted me to be a scholar."

"Wow." Kuririn leaned onto the console and looked at the rest of the fleet that surrounded them. They had successfully managed to sneak off the bloodied sky hell planet with the band of merchant ships. So far none of Freeza's ships had followed them, and there was nothing being posted about a Gliesian ship being wanted so for the time being, they were safe. "So, what's your plan, Gohan?"

Gohan looked down at the floor again. "My plan? It mostly involves staying alive right now. I'm not strong enough to take on Freeza the way I am. But I have to go back, and save my family, and Vegeta's too."

"Well we're going to want to help you save Bulma and Chi-Chi."

"I think you guys would like my dad." Gohan smiled fondly. "He's a good guy."

"Well he must be. Chi-Chi isn't the type of woman who would settle."

"Oh she's not." Gohan stood up and looked towards the door. "I'm going to go back to the engine room, and see if I can rig up a few upgrades."

"You're a really big help, Gohan."

Gohan gave him a smile, and started walking again. He looked down at the floor, and frowned. He wasn't sure how he was going to save his family. He was worried about Goten and Trunks. His father and Vegeta would be fine, he was sure of that. But he was never sure what they were doing with his younger brothers. They had them killing aliens and other aliens at a much younger age, and it worried Gohan. He had a bad feeling about all this. He felt incredibly useless, not being able to save anyone, and bringing so much trouble to these people. Still, he wasn't going to dwell on it. Getting depressed wasn't a good way to save anyone. He was going to find some way to train, and get stronger, and then he was going to bust in and save his mother, father and brother. And god help anyone who got in his way.

Gohan made his way towards the engine room, and found himself face to face with Videl. He frowned and leaned back a bit. She leaned forwards and put her hands behind her back. She opened her mouth to speak, and Gohan held up his hand.

"Sorry, Videl…. I'm really not in the mood to talk today."

"We're not going to talk. We're going to train down in the cargo hold."

"Train?" Gohan smiled. He could do that. It wouldn't be any sort of place he could let loose in, but he would be able to get a little bit stronger. "Did you figure your Ki out?"

Videl smiled and held out her hand. A small glowing orb appeared in her hands, it wavered and was poorly handled but it was a ball of Ki nonetheless. "You tell me."

"Awesome…" Gohan smiled. "And I didn't need to throw you at a mountain for you to figure it out either."

"Nope. So come on, let's go train."

"Alright. We can spar a bit." Gohan said, folding his arms. "Maybe work on your upper body strength."

"What's wrong with my upper body strength?"

"It's lacking."

Videl furrowed her brow. "Lacking?"

"Well yeah. I mean not that you're weak or anything. You could just use some work. Nothing personal." Gohan rubbed the back of his head. He chuckled a little bit and tried to diffuse the tense air that had suddenly filled the room. Videl wasn't buying it. He sighed and pointed down the hall. "So shall we go spar?"

"Yeah, uh huh." Videl nodded and started walking. "And then I'll show you just how 'lacking' my upper body strength is."

Gohan chuckled a little bit more and followed her. "Alright, alright."

Real world applications. That's what Freeza had called it. Gohan was fifteen years old, and so heavily restrained he could barely move an inch. He was trapped in a small trailer, the metal was at least ten inches thick and he could hear the hum of ships on every side of him. He wasn't scared though. He was worried, and he was nervous, but for some reason he wasn't scared. He looked down at himself and tried to move through the heavy restraints, but had no luck. Real world applications. Whatever that meant. The ship very slowly came to a stop, and Gohan looked up as the door opened. Several heavily armed guards stood in front of him, all of whom were looking at him nervously. They all stood back, and one of them pointed a remote at him and suddenly all of the restraints popped open. As Gohan stood up, he watched the soldiers flee from him, and he pulled the cloth down around his mouth, and he heard the steady drum of engines and he knew suddenly that he was alone on some strange planet, with nothing more than a metal trailer, and heavy restraints. He brushed the metal bindings off him and stood up straight. Then, a small plasma screen lit up next to him. He looked over at it as Freeza's face suddenly filled it.

"Hello, SG002." He smirked, leaning into his hand. "Did you have a pleasant trip?"

"What's all this about, Freeza?" Gohan turned towards the monitor.

"I told you. I want to see how far you've progressed."

Gohan looked over at the open door, and folded his arms. "You've said that, but what does it mean?"

"Oh don't be dense, SG002." Freeza sighed. "I want you to kill every living thing on this planet."

"What?" Gohan looked over, shock clearly evident on his face. "I won't do anything like that!"

"Oh come now, I told you that I'd ease you in slowly, didn't I? This planet is full of nothing more than low life savages. Murderers, cannibals, any crime you can think of these people have committed. They wander through space, hitting random planets, and committing atrocities and other assorted evils. The original inhabitants are long dead. Think of it as retribution for their crimes."

"Why should I believe you?"

"You don't have to, though I am telling you the truth. Eventually I'll have you killing much more important worlds than this, but I'm not totally heartless. I'm starting you off slowly. You should be grateful."

"What if I refuse?"

"Is that wise?" Freeza's eyes glimmered. "Is disobeying me the best choice? When I have your entire family here? Your mother is completely dispensable."

Gohan narrowed his eyes and turned on his heel, growling from the back of his throat. "Don't you dare touch her!"

"Then clean this planet." Freeza folded his fingers in front of his mouth. "I'm giving you four hours. If it's not done by then, I'll kill her. Come back here when you're done." The transmission ended and Gohan closed his eyes.

He stepped out onto the planet, and folded his arms. He couldn't trade the life of his mother for thousands others. Then again, if what Freeza said was true, then these were people who wouldn't be missed, and who his mother was definitely more important than. He would have to investigate for himself. He flexed his fingers and stretched out his Ki, getting a feel for how well he'd be able to move. His wrists were still clamped in his typical heavyset cuffs, though those didn't bother him. It was the extra weight that the restraining jacket they had put on him brought that was making him uncomfortable.

Still, he had a job to do and only four hours to do it. He would have to work quickly. He took off into the air and flew towards the gathering of low-level Ki. The planet was full of them, and ripe with the scent of death. It was helping to prove what Freeza said to be true, but Gohan would have to see it for himself. With his mother's life on the line, he'd have little to no trouble dealing with murderers and monsters. Though if they weren't… god help him.

Gohan landed a few feet away from a camp sight, in the middle of a small and humble looking village. He put a hand on one of the huts, and looked around. The smell of blood was heavy in the air, as was the smell of fire and smoke. He heard cheerful cries coming from the campsite a few feet to his left, and he pushed aside a curtain that covered the window to a hut, and he slipped inside. Instantly, he wished he hadn't. He recoiled at the sight of the dead bodies on the floor, the walls and carpets stained bright red with blood. He held a hand over his mouth and walked towards the door, which was little more than a tattered curtain. He pulled it back to look into the street where the campsite was, though he needed no more confirmation that what Freeza had told him was true.

His blood boiled at the sight of the men crowded around the campfire, laughing. He found it odd that Freeza had sent him here to kill these men when they seemed exactly like the type to be first in line to be recruited to Freeza's army. Still, he had a choice to make now. He could make good on his deal with Freeza, or sit tight and let his mother get killed. He looked down towards the ground, and frowned. Even after ten years, he wasn't entirely used to killing people, even if they did entirely deserve it. The power to end a life was something he never thought he would be given, and never hoped he would have.

And yet, part of him enjoyed it. He felt incredible amounts of shame at the thought of such a thing, but the fact that remained that it made him feel strong. His whole life he had felt powerless, and afraid, and to be able to have that power over someone else felt like karma. He knew it was wrong to feel that way. He hated every bit of that feeling and was by no means proud of it. He had talked it over with his father a few times, but nothing had come from it. It had always ended with him assuring his father that he didn't want to feel that way and telling him he would stop. Vegeta had been little help. He had simply said it was natural for Saiyans and to let the instinct take over. That it would make him stronger.

Though if that was what Strength led to, he was almost fine with staying weak. Gohan narrowed his eyes. Still he had to choose between the life of these horrible people or the life of his mother. And how could he choose them? He folded his fingers into fists and stepped out from behind the curtain. He walked towards the group of cheering men, his hands at his sides. Instantly, all eyes were on him.

"Did you do this?" Gohan asked, though he didn't need to. The blood that covered them was proof enough of what they had done. The men standing there looked perplexed. They looked between themselves and Gohan curled his fists angrily. "Answer me!"

One of them laughed. "What did you sleep through it?"

"Foolish boy, I'm surprised we left you alive!"

They laughed again, and Gohan felt his control slipping. He felt his nails were nearly going to rip through his skin and he walked forwards. The men were all laughing, and one stood up to walk over to him, brandishing an ugly long knife. "Don't worry, boy, this will only hurt for… well I plan on making it hurt a lot!"

He didn't get a chance to take another step. Gohan reached forwards, grabbed his neck and snapped it with one swift motion. He dropped him to the floor and looked up at the group of men. There were more of them. Lots more, but it wasn't a problem with him. This was one order he wouldn't particularly mind obeying. And he knew Freeza knew that. It started small. Take the life of an evil man, and soon you can work your way up to taking the life of an innocent, all justified in your mind. At least that was what Vegeta said. However, Gohan never planned on reaching that stage. But for now, he wouldn't trade the life of his mother for these men. He'd figure out what do later.

He turned his head to look at the other men who were staring at him in awe, and he turned towards them, narrowing his eyes. This wouldn't be difficult for him at all.

Gohan slowly made his way back towards the trailer he had been brought to this world with. The fleet of ships from before was back and Gohan found himself face to face with an army of Freeza's soldiers. He looked them up and down, there wasn't anyone particularly powerful in their ranks, and with some proper maneuvers he would be able to cut through them as easily as he has killed the population of men that had taken over the planet he stood on. He looked up at one of the smaller ships that lined the planet and wondered how easily he'd be able to commandeer it. And then with no warning, the entirety of Freeza's army fired on him.

He gasped and raised his Ki to protect himself as quickly as he could, but it was smashed through with the brute force of a thousand blasts raining down on him. He was knocked backwards and hit the dirt, and still the fire continued. He could hardly move. Finally, the blasts stopped, and he was left in the dirt feeling soundly beaten. He hadn't been expecting them to fire on him without any sort of provocation, but in hindsight he supposed he should have. Freeza would have been expecting him to pull some sort of stunt, and so he had been preemptively subdued. He felt himself being moved slowly back into the dull grey dome of his Trailer. Slowly the restraints were secured around him again, and he could hardly put up any sort of resistance, and it pissed him off.

He pushed himself up off the ground, which was incredibly difficult without the use of his arms, and looked around. There were doctors bearing needles around him now, and his thoughts turned to his father, as they always did when needles were brought up. He recognized the contents as the healing solution from the healing tanks. Injected intravenously it healed most wounds, though not as quickly as the healing tank would. Still being a Saiyan Gohan healed quickly anyhow. His wounds were slowly closing and he still ached like hell. Finally all the soldiers filed out, and Gohan was alone. The trailer raised off the ground, and he knew they were flying again. The small plasma screen lit up once more, and he looked over at Freeza.

"Well done, SG002!" He applauded. "I almost thought you wouldn't have it in you, but you proved me wrong. I look forward to seeing you again."

And that was all he saw. The transmission went dark and Gohan looked back at the dark of his trailer. He sighed and stared at the floor as the steady rumble of the trailer moving through space slowly began to soothe him. The healing serum worked its way through his veins and he felt rather peaceful. He drifted in and out of a dreamless sleep, and waited for the journey to be over.

That was when his journey took an unexpected turn.

The trailer rattled and shook and Gohan lurched, suddenly very awake. He tried to get to his feet, but the shaking wouldn't stop. It shook violently, and he felt it might scramble his brains. He braced himself up against the wall as there was a sudden heavy jerk. Gohan was tossed about like a rag doll, until the trailer suddenly came to a halt. He stood up shakily and looked up. The trailer was on its side, he could tell, and it was dented and badly banged up. The fact that he was in tact was nothing short of a miracle. He looked up towards the door above him and noticed it was more badly damaged than the rest of the trailer and his heart soared. He managed to climb a bit and prop himself between a large dent and the wall. He looked up at the door, and smirked. He raised his foot and it collided with the metal, denting it heavily. He pulled it back down and kicked it again. And again, and again. Finally, the door was barely hanging by a thin hinges. He pulled his foot down and put all his power into one final kick. The door went flying.

Gohan smirked, incredibly satisfied with himself. He pulled himself up, and climbed out of the trailer, observing the fiery wreck that surrounded him. They had crashed. Of all the luck in the world, they had actually crashed. It was the chance Son Gohan had been waiting for, and he was not about to pass it up.

Goku folded his arms, and took a threatening step forward. "What the hell do you mean we can't see the boys anymore?"

Freeza examined his fingernails as if they were discussing something as trivial as the weather. "I mean, I've decided it's high time they leave the nest. They don't need you any more and I'll be taking care of them now."

"What?" Goku shouted, curling his fists. "They're only ten!"

"Vegeta," Freeza smoothly countered. "How old were you when your father handed you over to me?" He asked, smirking. "About the boy's age, weren't you?"

Goku could practically feel the hateful aura surrounding Vegeta. He took a look back at the elder Saiyan and furrowed his brow. He hadn't been aware that Vegeta had been with Freeza since such a young age. "It doesn't matter, you can't take them from us!"

"I can, and I have. I suggest you learn to cope." Freeza cracked his neck, and then turned his back on the two older Saiyans. "Not to worry, though." He added with a smirk. "I'll be taking very good care of them."

With no warning, Vegeta lunged towards Freeza, hands extended as if he meant to strangle the tyrant. Goku reached forwards, in some pitiful attempt to stop him, but Freeza's tail reached him first. It looked as though it had barely scraped Vegeta, but it sent him flying into the far wall, leaving cracks and a dent in it. Goku ran over to his side, and knelt beside him.

Freeza laughed and closed the door and Vegeta's fist collided with the floor. "Dammit! I won't let that bastard have my son!"

"It's alright Vegeta." Goku frowned, putting a hand on his back. "We'll get them back." He looked over at the door, Freeza had walked through and narrowed his eyes. "What say we put in some extra credit hours?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Kakarot?"

"I'm talking about training." Goku stood up and offered a hand down to Vegeta. "I'm talking about getting stronger. We can't let him take the boys. So I suggest we figure out a way to stop him."

Vegeta smirked once, and shook his head. "You know, Kakarot, for as stupid as you are, you say some smart things sometimes." He reached up and took Goku's hand and Goku just smiled.

"I have my moments."

"Idiot."

Goku smirked and punched his palm, smirking. "Less talking, more sparring!"

"If you think you can handle it."

"I'll go easy on you."