Episode 21

One Last Training

At Kami's Lookout, Kami's students had dramatically progressed and enhanced their skills. It was almost strange to Kami because it felt like yesterday that his students were progressing at a slow pace, but now, everyone was training more rigorously than ever. Everyone was also learning faster. Kami assumed it was because the Z-warriors had finally trusted Raditz; thus, they learned to understand each other's feelings and needs, which will strengthen the warriors' bonding and friendship. This was great news for the Guardian of Earth considering his students needed the confidence and improvement in order to prepare for their battle soon.

And as for Gohan and his long-gone tail?

After the day when Gohan transformed into a Great Ape, when he stepped out from his bed, the first thing that happened was that he lost balance and fell flat on his face.

"Ow! That's strange," Gohan looked up. "I feel kinda off-balance."

Gohan stood up again and tried to walk, but his feet were a bit wobbly, having to do extra work just walking. After a few more steps, he fell again.

"Yaw! Uh, what's going on?" asked Gohan. He sat up this time and placed his arms on his back. It was then he realized something was missing. He turned his head and noticed his tail was gone. "Aah! My tail! Where's my tail?"

The young boy was worried that he quickly sought for Krillin. Once he found him, he asked him anxiously about his tail. Krillin explained to him the reason that Bardock gave him since he had to avoid telling him the real truth of what happened a day ago. Once Krillin provided an explanation to his question, Gohan still felt disappointed of losing his tail.

"But I need to get used to it now. It'll be hard though," he added. When he started to walk away again, he fell flat on his face once more.

"Eh, careful," Krillin said.

Gohan was then given new clothes; clothes that were very similar to what Goku wore; his signature blue and orange uniform.

A few days had passed, and like what Raditz had said, he was sparring with Krillin along with Tien and Yamcha. It was a three against one battle, but even with their powers combined, it was hard to take Raditz down. Krillin gave a punch while Tien and Yamcha simultaneously delivered sidekicks. Raditz blocked all of their attacks with his arms and legs and then he thrust out a force field from his body that blew the three Z-fighters away.

Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin slid on the floor, but they proceeded to attack him head-on by dashing towards him at full speed. Raditz disappeared before they even had the chance to hit him and soon, Raditz fired a massive energy blast at the three. Tien, Yamcha, and Krillin were almost caught in the blast, however, they counterattacked by firing their own energy blasts. Raditz instead vanished at the blink of an eye and elbow struck Yamcha and Krillin. After the elbow strike, he "reversed" back-flipped in air and struck Tien on his back with a falling axe kick. The Z-warriors maintained their balance and resurfaced on the floor. Raditz took this chance to attack them again until Krillin started to say.

"Hold on, hold on!"

Raditz immediately stopped and asked, "Huh? What's wrong?"

Krillin tried to regain his breath. "Wow, Raditz, you're really good, but take it easy! We're only Earthlings, you know."

"Yeah," Yamcha agreed. "Your kind of training is very demanding. I could barely keep up with you."

Raditz relaxed his power within him. "Oh really? Sorry 'bout that."

Tien approached him. "Man, you're really strong. So this is what it feels like fighting a Saiyan, huh? I have to admit, it's not really all that bad after all the training we did with Kami."

Krillin came up to Tien and whispered to him. "Don't be ridiculous. Raditz's just taking it easy on us and we're already struggling! Imagine if he goes full power on us."

Tien felt nervous just thinking of that.

Raditz put his head down and decided to give them a heads-up about his two comrades, Vegeta and Nappa. "You all must know that this is only the beginning. Even if I were to take it seriously, it's nothing compared to my comrades who are coming to Earth after a year. They're even more powerful than me."

Krillin gulped very hard. "Wow, are you sure? So after all the training we did, it's still not enough?"

Yamcha tried to calm him down. "Hey, it's only been a month and some weeks. Don't expect the worse already. We still have plenty of time left to strengthen ourselves."

"Yamcha's right," Tien said. "At least we can do is train hard and fight the two Saiyans and buy us enough time until Goku arrives."

Raditz thought of his little brother. He wanted to ask something to Goku's friends. "If you don't mind me asking, what's so special about-"

"-Goku?" Krillin finished for him. He smiled. "Goku has always been the strongest fighter who could've ever lived at the face of this planet. He fought every battle he could possibly encounter here. He always grows stronger within every fight. He had abnormal strength for a kid. We had always thought he was a mere Earthling who had supernatural powers and a tail, but when you came, Raditz, and explained that he was a Saiyan, it's no wonder why Goku's so strong both in and out."

Yamcha then added, "So in times of crisis, in times where victory seems unlikely, Goku always steps in and finishes the job. For some reason, whenever you're near him, you know everything is gonna be just fine."

Raditz thought in his mind that his brother had great reputation here on this planet. He was highly-respected by his friends and by a lot of people who came to know him, yet Goku's carefree, happy-go-lucky, and almost innocent-like nature veiled the true, incredible strength within him because the ones who engaged themselves in a fight with Goku will always thought he was inferior, that his innocent-like face cannot save him and that he was weak, but once Goku had landed his first strike on his opponent, it quickly revealed of what he was truly inside, his strong determination and perseverance that said he will protect his planet no matter what. The forever smile on his face though will always confuse his enemies. They would always think his smile meant he was ready to be defeated or he had an ambitious plan up in his sleeves that will make victory his. In summary, Goku was a very mysterious and yet powerful, blissful fighter who was full of surprises.

Raditz looked up at the blue skies. He was proud of his little brother and he will try his best to become just like him.

That same day, around afternoon, the Z-warriors were taking an hour break. Raditz was staring at the skies while Bardock was sitting around in the corner. Bardock then stood up and approached his son. Without having to get his attention, Raditz felt him coming.

"Hey, Dad," he said.

"Now, how's training going for you?" asked Bardock.

Raditz stood up and nodded eagerly. "It's going great. Kakarot's friends are not bad either," he paused for a second and asked a question. "How's Gohan by the way?"

Bardock crossed his arms. "Gohan? He's a strong boy indeed," he turned around and stared at the kid for a little while who was talking to Chiaotzu and Yajirobe. Bardock then said, "You could tell that he is Kakarot's son. He has great potential. He has the capability of becoming a fighter just like his own father."

"Well, that's good to know, but there's still a problem and that is he doesn't trust me still," Raditz was a little disappointed, but not that much. "I tried talking to him once, but I needed to leave him alone because the boy was shaking too much from fear."

As he stared more into the innocent eyes of his nephew, Raditz chuckled a little. "Heh, it's my fault. I was a bad uncle."

Bardock did not comment, but instead finally announced what he will now do to Gohan in terms of his progression in training. "Well, you two get along pretty soon because I'm ready to hand Gohan to Piccolo in just a week's time or so."

A spark of alertness clicked on Raditz. He asked his father if he was crazy of making such an impulsive decision.

"I'm not insane and I'm definitely not impulsive. I'm telling the truth," he scolded him a little. "I feel Gohan has improved very much. Besides, a warrior like him needs special training. He needs that kind where he can release all of his full power. He needs a special mentor and I feel that Piccolo is the best teacher."

Raditz turned to face his father. "But did you remember what Kakarot said? That so-called Piccolo is still a bad guy. What makes you think we could trust him? Who knows what he'll do to him."

Bardock bit his lip. He wanted to tell his son that he had seen the future and that particular vision he saw convinced him that Piccolo's heart was capable of changing into good. He believed though that he should keep his special ability, the ability to see the future, as a secret for now. He believed it was not the time yet for his son to discover the truth.

Bardock instead said something else. "Raditz, you would doubt your own father? I know what I'm talking about. I'll talk to Kami about this manner. In the meantime, you and Gohan get along. I'm going."

A sudden mood swing suddenly struck him, and Bardock left without another word, leaving his son bewildered of this strange, new behavior he had seen today. His father, he knew, used to be straightforward in his answers, but now it looked like he was hesitant to say some things to him. Raditz watched as his father left and entered Kami's Chambers. While his eyes followed him, he noticed that Chiaotzu appeared in front of him.

"Hi there, Raditz," greeted Chiaotzu.

"Hey there," he greeted back.

Chiaotzu smiled. "I've been meaning to ask this for a long time, but what's that device on your eye?"

"Oh...? This?" Raditz told him it was a scouter.

"What's that?" the child asked.

"It's used to detect and calculate a power level of a being," answered Raditz. "It's also used for communication."

Chiaotzu was already fascinated to hear a device so advanced. "That's really cool! I wonder what my power level is."

"Me too," Krillin then joined in. "Goku told me once that you used it to check his energy level and also Piccolo's."

Even Yamcha and Tien became interested as well to know what their power levels were. Yajirobe was the only one who was only interested in eating food, of course.

Gohan was at the flight of stairs, looking at his uncle along with all of his father's friends. It appeared that they have finally come to trust him, but the young boy was still a tad bit anxious just being around his uncle. He may have a change of heart, which was a definite fact, but there were no warm-hearted memories between them. Every time he looked his face, even just a glance, the first memory that will come to his mind was Raditz's evil face and what he had brutally done to Goku, his father. A part of Gohan said this, but also a part of him tried to convince the young warrior that his uncle was now a changed man that should start to get along with him.

He looked at the marbled floor and thought about his father for a while. Every day, he missed him. All he wanted really was his father to come back home.

Inside Kami's Headquarters, while Popo was pouring tea for Kami, Kami was standing near his window as he was listening to Bardock who was speaking to him about handing Gohan to Piccolo for the rest of the year for training purposes.

"I feel like we've already trained him everything he needs to know," Bardock said. He then rubbed his chin. "Not to mention, Gohan is not the crybaby he used to be before...I hope. Heh, heh. I mean, he's becoming a strong fighter every day."

Kami asked him a question. Why did he want to hand Gohan to Piccolo then if he was already learning a lot from the Z-warriors? Bardock replied Gohan was the kind of Saiyan, a half-Saiyan rather, who had potential that was very different from his own father. Even if he, his own grandfather, would teach him all the fighting skills, he was afraid the hidden power within him would not wake itself still. Gohan needed a special mentor who can help him bring out his full potential in battle, and Bardock thought that Piccolo was the one who can help the young boy. A special warrior will need a special teacher.

"We may need Gohan's help. I know he can become one of us, especially his own father," Bardock continued.

Kami thought about it for a moment. He held his crutch. He and Piccolo were complete opposites; Piccolo being a manifestation of his evil side and so his intentions in life were always filled with malice. Actually, Kami's "original" evil side was King Piccolo, the father of Piccolo whom had wished from the eternal dragon to be granted youth so he could regain a tremendous amount of strength to take over the world. His plans were thwarted, however, when Kid Goku stepped in and finished him off with every last bit of his strength. Before King Piccolo died, he asked his son, who was still inside an egg shell, unable to talk and see what was happening to his own father, but was able to hear his father's last death wish, to seek revenge on Goku. When Piccolo hatched from his shell, he swore to seek vengeance on the one who defeated his father. When both he and Goku became adults, they battled with each other in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, but Piccolo lost to Goku after a grueling, painstaking battle. Before Piccolo left, he vowed he will return with newly improved powers to beat Goku and finally realize his father's wishes.

Piccolo was a fearless, serious warrior who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, but then, since he was the half of Kami, the opposite of him, the good and compassionate side of him, Piccolo was capable of becoming good himself. In fact, for the past few days, Kami had been watching Piccolo from his tower and he was not sure if he was actually hallucinating, but since his alliance with Goku in order to beat the once-evil Raditz, since his decision of forcing himself to team up with Earth's Z-warriors in order to prepare for their battle with Vegeta and Nappa, and since his willingness to train the young Gohan, Kami began to see a change in him.

Bardock stood behind the Guardian of Earth, patiently waiting for his response. As he waited, he looked around the room and checked out its dimmed surroundings of tranquility and mystery. Bardock could sense this room held some kind of a secretive past. The place had a lot of untold stories to tell and he was curious to know what these tales were.

Kami moved his head to focus his vision on the ceiling. Bardock's attention was caught. Before he asked him what his decision was, Kami turned around and gave him a smile. Kami believed once that Bardock was just another evil alien who came to Earth and planned to destroy it, but seeing how he and Goku both shared the same resemblance, the same attitude, and the same traits which assured people they were trustworthy enough, Kami finally agreed with Bardock that Gohan should be handed to Piccolo since they both felt Piccolo was the only being who could help Gohan bring out his full potential.

That evening, when the Z-warriors were taking a nap, Gohan just stepped out from Kami's Chambers to get some fresh air. While he happily sprinted from one step of the short staircase to another, he stopped instantly to see someone had already gone outside before him.

"Who's that?" Gohan whispered. He moved closer to get a better look. He hid behind the pillar. He peaked and realized it was Raditz. "What?"

Raditz was training alone. He was almost giving lightning-fast kicks and punches that Gohan could not see all of them. After Raditz gave multiples of punches, he jumped, slid his body back and gave a fading roundhouse kick. After the kick, he back-flipped and went for a flying sidekick. He back-flipped another time and gave a quick sweeping kick on the floor, followed by a set of punches again. In the end, he did a powerful palm strike, and then jumped, and instantly delivered a tremendous hook kick in the end, leaving a trail of aura and a lightning spark in the end.

Gohan was purely amazed. No words could describe how surprised he was.

Raditz relaxed for a moment. He placed his hands on his hips. He needed to work on his flexibility since he was slightly struggling with his balance. He then looked up at the skies to admire the beauty of the night. All of a sudden, he sensed someone behind him. As a reaction, he turned around and caught Gohan before Gohan could hide from him.

"Gohan?" Raditz made sure it was him.

Gohan gulped hard and showed himself from the shadows of the darkness. "H-hi there."

Raditz wanted to approach him, but he stopped, keeping in mind that his nephew was still afraid being around him. He kept some distance apart between them.

"I didn't expect you to be here. Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Raditz asked.

"...I should, right?" Gohan said, looking away from him. They both paused for a moment and then he asked his uncle, "What are you doing?"

"Just doing some last minute training before going to bed."

"Ooh..."

And again, they stayed quiet. Around Gohan, the tension in his atmosphere was quite high. The boy was still too anxious to talk to his uncle.

Raditz tried to warm up to him just a bit more. He folded his arms and switched to another topic. "I heard from your grandfather that...you're going to train with Piccolo soon."

Gohan felt his heart jumped to his throat. "Wha-what? Why would Grandpa say something like that? I thought Piccolo was still a bad guy. I couldn't possibly train with him."

"I thought of the same thing," Raditz also agreed with him, "but you could never doubt your own grandfather considering he's the most trustworthy person you could've ever met."

"R-really?" asked Gohan, rubbing his hands together.

"He always knows what he's saying. I know him," Raditz found himself slightly smiling. "He's only doing what's best for everybody. He makes wise decisions. He's a good father."

Gohan happened to look at the eyes that were turned away from him, whose focus was on the flooring instead. For a second there, Raditz's eyes glistened with hope, a kind of shine that told Gohan it was about time he trusted him and accepted him as his true uncle.

"My dad is like that too," Gohan looked down on the floor and smiled.

Raditz thought of Goku.

Gohan nodded. "...my daddy is the best there is. I would never doubt him in any way, just like Grandpa Bardock. If Grandpa knows that I must train with Piccolo, then I'll do it. I know he's only doing what's best for me. I'd like to help my daddy's friends with our battle against the two aliens that will come to Earth soon. I'd like to fight beside them. I want to make my daddy proud."

Raditz cannot help but smile at the young warrior's already matured way of thinking. "That's the spirit."

"Besides, I don't think Piccolo is not much of a bad guy," added Gohan. "Ever since he teamed up with my daddy, I feel there's some good in him."

His uncle also agreed with his statement. The tension between them was immediately going down; the bond ship between uncle and nephew was already going strong.

"Since you'll be leaving soon to Piccolo, could I...train you a little bit?" asked Raditz.

Gohan bit his lip. The fear in him went back, but not that much anymore. "Train with you?"

"Just for five minutes. Don't worry. I'll take it easy on you," assured Raditz.

Should he go ahead then? The anxiety within him, the memories about the once-evil Raditz who tried to destroy the Earth, he still cannot shake out from his mind, but he knew he must stop feeling like this. His uncle was a changed man now with a pure heart just like his own father. Gohan stopped being so frightened and tried to focus on the present. Gohan slowly stood up and nodded.

"Okay."

Raditz and Gohan then stood at the center of the tower. Raditz waited for his nephew to attack first since he did not want to take the initiative or it would only frighten him more. Gohan tried to remember all the training he did with Kami and Bardock. He should gather all what he had learned and put it on the test to his brief training with Raditz. Gohan really wanted to make his father proud.

Gohan leaped in air and gave a battle yell. He drew his right arm back for an attack. Raditz's face became serious, prepared to battle with him. Gohan then gave a strong punch in which Raditz blocked by crossing his arms. Gohan's attacks were strong for a young child, Raditz thought. The young boy then did a turning sidekick while still floating in air. Raditz this time evaded it by moving his head. Gohan surfaced, bent his arms together, and decided to go all-out on him. The young warrior gave rapid punches and kicks. Raditz was evading all of his attacks. He sensed Gohan's strength heightening to new levels. For a young kid like him, he was already showing what he was capable of as a warrior. Bardock was right in saying he had a type of special power none of them possessed.

When Gohan gave a straight punch, he did not realize that Raditz had gotten behind him. Gohan did not know what to do at this point. As a result, Raditz pushed him back with a light kick and made him tumble on the floor. Raditz thought he hurt his nephew a little too much, but he was surprised to see Gohan was back on his two feet without a slight frown or tear. Gohan placed his hands in front and tried to gather energy.

"Hmm?" Raditz looked up.

Gohan took a while to fire an energy blast, but a blinking light soon formed from his palms and he successfully launched a ki wave. Raditz stood there and deflected it with his own hands. He advanced towards Gohan, challenging him to think what he should do next and quickly. Raditz then noticed his nephew jumped high. He spun and tried to give a fast sidekick, but his uncle blocked it with his left hand. Gohan moved back, bounced when his two feet touched the floor, and gave a straight, flying sidekick this time to his stomach. Gohan was quick at that time so he caught his uncle off-guard, but since Raditz was only taking the fight easily, it was understandable why this was the case. The kick landed a very good force power on his stomach that Raditz was pushed back a little.

Gohan laughed and smiled to know how much he had improved. His short celebration was taken advantage by Raditz for he suddenly teleported near Gohan's left side and gave a roundhouse kick. Almost like an involuntary action, Gohan surprisingly blocked his attack with his left arm though it hurt which could give him quite a bruise. Raditz was surprised that Gohan was keeping his alertness intact. The young boy moved back and fired another ki blast. Raditz deflected it again.

"Hyah!" Gohan boosted a little bit of his energy and decided to attack his uncle again non-stop. This time, they both battled in air.

Gohan's fast-paced attacks almost created small winds from his fists. His fast-paced kicks almost sliced the air. While Raditz was dodging his attacks, his level of seriousness began to escalate. His nephew was already learning how to be a well offensive and defensive fighter. Raditz thought he should turn up the heat a little bit more to challenge him.

In Gohan's mind, he was thinking that his uncle was a skilled warrior in terms of speed and defense, but again, since he was only taking the exercise easy on him, imagine if his uncle were to go full power.

As Gohan did his last punch, Raditz instantly disappeared. The young warrior tried to search for him, but his mind was too distracted that he could not concentrate. Raditz then appeared and punched him on the cheek, catching him off-guard. Gohan fell to the floor, but dashed back to give a striking elbow strike to his face. Raditz moved his head just in time to evade the attack, but the young warrior followed up with a soaring punch, yet Raditz grabbed his fist tightly.

"Huh?" Gohan did not know what to do now.

"Hyah!" Raditz then lifted up Gohan, placed his right foot on his stomach, and kicked him, making him fall to the floor again. Gohan felt even more pain from this attack. As he struggled to get up, Raditz launched a ki blast of his own.

"WAAH!" the fear already took over Gohan. Instead of trying to skillfully and gracefully evade the blast, he ducked down with his hands over his head. His teeth were chattering and he was shaking.

"G-Gohan?" Raditz tried to get his focus back.

Gohan looked up. His eyes were filled with dread. "That was so scary! Please don't do that again!"

Raditz realized he was taking this too seriously on his nephew. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to. I need to learn how to control myself sometimes."

The full-Saiyan was saddened because he knew he blew it, thinking he had made Gohan lose his trust towards him. Fighting to Raditz had always been a serious routine, a kind where he did not hold back on anything, even if it meant training with his own family, but he had forgotten that Gohan was just a young kid.

"I'm sorry," was all Raditz could say. He turned around with a disheartened heart, but Gohan unexpectedly called him in a way that shocked him.

"Wa-wait! Uncle!"

Raditz stopped dead in his tracks. He quickly turned around and looked at him straight in his eyes. He saw some tears from them, but Gohan quickly wiped them away to try to prove he was strong and not a crybaby anymore.

"You're-you're really strong, Uncle Raditz," he stuttered with a smile. He was slowly getting up from his feet.

"Uh...!" Raditz quickly ran to his nephew to help him get up. When they looked at each other's eyes, deep trust and sympathy were finally formed between them. Gohan and Raditz both beamed.

Raditz had finally given the one last training that Gohan needed. Gohan had finally learned how to remain strong in battle, but the one major thing that Gohan came to accept at this moment was that Raditz was a changed man, a man whose intentions in life were good and true, and a man whose name was Raditz, Gohan's true and loving uncle.