Prologue

For a Saiyan, nothing was more important than combat. The smell of blood, the pain from a punch, and the sounds of broken bones filled every Saiyan with a joy that was completely incomparable to anything else. Fighting meant everything to a Saiyan and Gohan mused that his father would enjoy a world with constant fighting like the one he inhabited. He, however, hated it. He hated waking up every morning and hearing how many people had been killed by the wretched cyborgs that had murdered his friends. He hated going out to search for them, finding them, and "fighting" them if he could even call their exchanges that. He hated returning to Capsule Corp, beaten and bloodied while Bulma patched him up and her son, Trunks, watched, sometimes just to ask when or if he could train with him. The cyborgs never tried hard enough to kill him and Gohan sometimes wished that they would. The only benefit was the zenkai boosts in power that he received but it seemed that the level of the power boost lowered every time until it was essentially worthless. It was as if his very biology was telling him to give up. He hated this life.

He hated it more when he decided to take Trunks on for training. If he had another Super Saiyan to assist him, maybe they'd stand a chance. At the very least, he'd be able to fight one of the damn things without them having support. But the journey to get Trunks to become a Super Saiyan would be arduous. The boy, while driven and determined, had nothing to draw on. He had no justified anger. He had no reason to hate them. His father died before Trunks could know him and his mother was still around. All of Gohan's friends died when he tried and failed to get the Dragon Balls and save everyone. Gohan carried that weight every time he entered combat.

Today was another day where an explosion and billow of smoke indicated that the cyborgs were having "fun" again. Sighing, Gohan rose to his feet, tightened the belt to his gi, and powered up to fly. In a burst of energy, he crossed the empty valley before descending on the fiery city around him. He saw the male cyborg shooting a beam from his finger towards a man running away with his daughter.

It never stops. Gohan thought as he dropped in between them and deflected the blast upward, the energy ball harmlessly fizzling out in the sky. He turned to the startled man and girl and said, "You have to get out of here." The father quickly obliged and raced away.

The black-haired male cyborg scoffed. "Well, that's no fun."

There was an explosion and Gohan heard the father and his daughter scream. He clenched his jaws and snarled but didn't look behind him. She was here. The small glimmer of hope that he held that they had separated was gone.

"Look who's back for another round," a feminine voice said behind Gohan.

"While it is fun to knock you around for a while, you interrupted another game I was playing with your fellow humans," the male cyborg said as he stepped forward.

"Don't worry, 17. He'll more than make up for it," the female said.

The male cyborg stared at Gohan, his icy blue eyes analyzing him. Gohan didn't know what kind of advanced machinery was behind his eyes but he knew one thing. He hated the cold way the cyborgs looked at him. He hated the monotony of their vocal patterns.

There was no further preamble to the battle. The female cyborg burst toward him with a kick from behind and Gohan ducked to the side as the blonde sailed by him. Gohan grit his teeth and summoned the power within himself, coating his body in the golden fire of a Super Saiyan. With the speed increase, he grabbed the female cyborg by her hair and flung her to the ground.

Her twin appeared in front of Gohan in a black flash and punched him in the stomach. Gohan felt his organs shift in his stomach but again, grit his teeth and bore it. With his free hand, he aimed a ki blast directly into the cyborg's face. When the explosion went off, Gohan gave himself further distance. The damn things were playing with him, even more so than usual.

A bright yellow light caught his attention almost too late and the beam that descended towards him burned through the sky. Gohan prepared to deflect the blast back and the two cyborgs appeared at his side. The male kicked at his ribs and the female aimed a punch at his face. Gohan blocked the kick with his knee and caught the punch. The two cyborgs stared him down and looked from one to the other.

What are they planning? he thought. Then he saw their lips curl up, smirking. Gohan realized too late that their other hands were free. The heat from their blasts made him scream out and the ensuing explosion sent his body spiraling back towards the city. He felt the building that he fell into beginning to crumble in around him. The cyborgs floated at the entrance to the hole that Gohan had fallen into. The crevasse began to fill with light as the cyborgs charged energy blasts. From what Gohan sense, the blasts weren't going to be pleasant.

The ensuing light show blasted apart the building and the half-Saiyan barely managed to keep up a barrier to save himself from the brunt of the damage. The world went from light to dark and Gohan felt the weight of rubble on him. It was hard to breathe through the dust and debris, leaving Gohan in a coughing fit. Around him, he could hear the muffled voices of the cyborgs speaking.

"He doesn't seem particularly motivated today," the male cyborg said, a juvenile disappointment peaking through his otherwise monotonous voice. "The only one of these humans that wants to put up a fight isn't even trying."

"Yeah, I'm disappointed," the female cyborg replied.

Gohan sighed inwardly. To hell with this, I'm tired of fighting. Every day, it's the same thing. I can't keep this up. I'm not strong enough. I'm not like you, Piccolo, Vegeta...Dad. I'm sorry…

He laid there under the destruction and through the dust, could feel his tears flowing from his eyes. He heard the cyborgs take off and the gust of wind blew more dust over him. Sobbing underneath the rubble, Gohan closed his eyes tight and took in hollow breaths. I can't be like you, Dad

"Get a hold of yourself, Gohan!"

The shock of hearing that familiar voice caused Gohan's eyes and mouth to burst open. It couldn't be. "Dad…? But, how?"

"It's a bit much to explain, son. But, I'm contacting you now because I have a way to help. But first, you have to go to Kami's Lookout," Goku said, his voice as clear to Gohan as if he was standing in front of him.

"What is that?" Gohan asked. He heard his father sigh.

"Right, I guess I never told you about it. Kami' Lookout was where the Guardian of Earth would reside. On that Lookout, there's something there that can help you. Mr. Popo should still be there and he can give you more information," Goku said, his voice fading.

"Dad…" Gohan said.

"Oh man, it looks like my time is up. So, make sure that you take whoever's left to fight with you," Goku said. "And Gohan, one last thing...I'm so proud of you and I believe that you have the power within you to save the Earth."

As his father's voice faded away, Gohan could feel a weight lifting from his spirit. Maybe the fight wasn't hopeless. He still had a chance…

Gohan carefully pushed the debris off in order to keep from drawing attention to himself. When he stood up, he looked around, observing the destruction around him. He counted every dead person he could see and estimated those that he couldn't. I'll avenge you all and I'll make you proud, Dad.

With those final thoughts, Gohan lifted into the air and took flight, heading towards Bulma and Trunks...