"So, just how did you know my father?" Gobo asked Juunana. They
were standing outside the android's small house, warming up for the day's
bout of training. It had been a little over a week since the two had
joined up. Gobo had made plenty of progress in the way of fighting skills;
His moments of clumsiness were now fewer and far between. And he was
learning how to deal with his immense strength a lot better too. But when
it came to his dreams, he hadn't gotten very far. The teen was hoping that
hearing some more stories might help him to remember things. It still hurt
to think of his grandma, but the fact of the matter was, his dreams came
more vividly back then. If only he'd bothered to remember! Juunana didn't
answer. He rarely did when Gobo asked such questions, and it was really
starting to annoy the demi-saiyan.
But there was little to be done about it, at least until after they trained for a while. Juunana's tongue usually loosened up after he'd pounded the living shit out of Gobo. So instead he focused on his surroundings as he stretched his muscles. Juunana lived outside the city, on a tiny island that the aliens paid no mind to. It had a single palm- tree, and a small house with 'Kame House' written along the side. Gobo had wondered why his tracking device hadn't killed him when Juunana rescued him from the aliens. The android had stated simply that his saiyan DNA rendered him impervious to the poison. Gobo knew the 'saiyan' had been the word his Grandma used for his Grandpa's alien species. Only when she said it, she spat it like it was something foul and dirty. The teen's mouth set in a grim line as he remembered the argument he'd had with Juunana after finding out that he'd just been carried away from his perimeter.
"Wha… But, what if you'd been wrong about me?!?" He'd demanded incredulously. Juunana had explained not long ago that the only reason he saved Gobo was because he looked like Gohan. He figured someone related to Gohan might know where Juuhachi was, although Gobo still didn't quite follow this logic. The android had shrugged callously, as was his nature.
"You would've died, and I wouldn't have cared." Juunana supplied.
It was crap like that which made Gobo dislike him. But for some reason he couldn't quite shake, the demi-saiyan inherently trusted him. It was an odd feeling of being torn between personality, and instinct. Suddenly a light went off in the teen's perceptions. He raised an arm to block a carefully-aimed kick for his head, as Juunana began to start their training a few minutes early. And without warning. But such was not uncommon now for Gobo. What WAS uncommon was that he'd actually been able to block it. Juunana seemed to think so too, as the android paused for a moment, his crystal blue eyes blinking in mild shock. Then his face set in grim determination. Gobo floated away and made his fighting stance. Legs positioned with stability, one hand in front of him, the other at his side. The energy he had, which Juunana had explained was called ki, now flared around him at his control. From what he had learned, Gobo gathered that he was even more unusually strong for a being of this planet than he'd thought. But that he was, on the other hand, comparatively weak for a member of his family. Mainly because he wasn't anywhere near a level of strength Juunana called 'Super Saiyan'. As far as Gobo could tell, it made your hair stand on end and turn blonde, and provided you with lots of energy. On top of that, Juunana explained that he was stronger than a Super Saiyan. He had also explained that he was an android, and got his strength from being built with it. Thus he did not make the BEST teacher. But he was better than anything else Gobo had ever had, so he accepted it.
Juunana did not take a stance. He had no need to be on his guard; Gobo would not surpass him for quite some time. Instead he simply stood with his hands held loosely at his sides. Both men were dressed in black training gis. Gobo waited for Juunana to make a move. He had learned quickly that he must not rush into things with his foes; let them go first, and show their own strengths and weaknesses. Suddenly a flare of energy erupted around Juunana. It cast an eerie light-blue glow as it cascaded around him, contrasting Gobo's own red aura. The demi-saiyan braced himself as his teacher lunged forward, throwing a flurry of fast and unpredictable punches. Most hit, but some were blocked. Gobo tried to watch Juunana's movement's as closely as possible. Unfortunately, that grew harder when the android began aiming for his head.
With a sudden cry, Gobo dropped to one knee in the sand and lunged a leg out to kick his opponent's feet out from under him. Juunana caught on just in time, and launched himself into the air. He did a back-flip, and landed several feet away. Then there was a soft 'swish' noise, and Gobo blinked as his adversary faded out of sight. The demi-saiyan cast his eyes around desperately. He searched everywhere, above, behind, to the right, to the… As his head turned left, a booted foot smashed painfully into the side of his face. Gobo drew in breath with a hiss as he was thrown against the dirt. Realising in an instant what Juunana had planned, he rolled quickly to the side to avoid the fist hurtling down towards him. Then, almost instinctually, he darted out a hand and grabbed Juunana's arm. His opponent's eyes widened as he was tossed into the air, quickly followed by a small ball of ki Gobo had formed. The android batted it away with ease. Gobo watched as it sailed into the air, then realised his mistake as a knee was placed painfully into his gut. He doubled over, gasping for breath.
"Never take your eyes off your enemy." Juunana stated numbly. Gobo growled and pulled back, preparing to plant a kick into his opponent's stomach. With a cold smile Juunana darted out an arm and caught to limb. Not a sound escaped his mouth as he flung Gobo so hard the demi-saiyan hit the ocean outside the island with a loud 'smack'. His eyes widened as he sunk under the waves. Gobo didn't know how to swim, and was to stunned to think of flying out. Water… It was like the soot. He couldn't breath. He couldn't escape. There was a flash in his vision as he remembered seeing the fire explode all around him. All those people, and it was all his fault. Just because he was angry… Gobo reached out a hand as he sank deeper below the waves. The sun was just like the fire of his own energy. His grandma never would have approved of him doing that, and Gobo was very deeply ashamed. 'Let yourself die. Let it go, it doesn't matter. After what you did you deserve to die.' A voice whispered to him in the back of his mind. 'No, don't listen! What would your death serve? All you can do now is atone for the crimes you committed. Dying will only make it worse!' Another voice argued. Gobo blinked away tears into the salt water. Voices now? 'It must be the shock. I'm loosing my mind…' he mused bitterly. Then Gobo let his eyes slid shut. Why weren't his lungs burning yet? How long could he hold his breath for, he wondered? Something flashed up into his vision as his eyelids closed in the darkness. An image, of a warm and lovely face.
"Hello sweetie." His mother said to him softly. Gobo looked around in surprise. He was no longer drowning in the sea, but instead stood in a cold black room. Before him was his mother. She looked just as he remembered her, as if she hadn't changed at all since the last day they were together.
"…Mom? But how?" He asked in shock. Videl shook her head.
"Shhh, it's alright son. You aren't going crazy." She reassured him. He snorted in mild surprise.
"Oh great, well as long as my hallucination thinks I'm sane..." Gobo retorted sarcastically. But part of him was also filled with hope. What if this really was his mother? What if this was real? Videl shook her head. But the smile never left her lips.
"Gobo, please. You have to believe me! I don't have much time. Listen, they have Piccolo at their central command. He can help you find the rest of us. But I don't know where we are." The surreal image of his mother pleaded with him. Gobo gulped. He had believed it all this far, why not believe in this too? It was just as crazy as the rest of it.
"Who's Piccolo?" He asked simply. There were so many more things he wanted to say to her, but he just couldn't find the words. Suddenly Videl whipped her head around, as though a noise had caught her attention. She turned back to her son with fear in her eyes.
"There isn't any time. Find him, that will lead to the rest of this!" Videl told him. Gobo reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, but suddenly she wasn't there anymore. Instead his hand was met by another. Gobo blinked his eyelids open through the hazy fog of the sea. Juunana swam above him, one hand clasped around his own. With apparent ease the android quickly dragged his quarry up to the surface, and tossed him coldly onto the shore. Gobo gladly drew a breath, although he was fairly certain he could have held it for a lot longer if he needed to. Juunana looked at him and shook his head.
"That is the LAST time I am saving your life." The android said in annoyance. Then both fighters looked towards the sky as something came sailing towards them at an impressive speed. A bolt of energy erupted at Gobo's feet, and he jumped away, sand flying into the air from the impact.
"What the hell is going on?"
But there was little to be done about it, at least until after they trained for a while. Juunana's tongue usually loosened up after he'd pounded the living shit out of Gobo. So instead he focused on his surroundings as he stretched his muscles. Juunana lived outside the city, on a tiny island that the aliens paid no mind to. It had a single palm- tree, and a small house with 'Kame House' written along the side. Gobo had wondered why his tracking device hadn't killed him when Juunana rescued him from the aliens. The android had stated simply that his saiyan DNA rendered him impervious to the poison. Gobo knew the 'saiyan' had been the word his Grandma used for his Grandpa's alien species. Only when she said it, she spat it like it was something foul and dirty. The teen's mouth set in a grim line as he remembered the argument he'd had with Juunana after finding out that he'd just been carried away from his perimeter.
"Wha… But, what if you'd been wrong about me?!?" He'd demanded incredulously. Juunana had explained not long ago that the only reason he saved Gobo was because he looked like Gohan. He figured someone related to Gohan might know where Juuhachi was, although Gobo still didn't quite follow this logic. The android had shrugged callously, as was his nature.
"You would've died, and I wouldn't have cared." Juunana supplied.
It was crap like that which made Gobo dislike him. But for some reason he couldn't quite shake, the demi-saiyan inherently trusted him. It was an odd feeling of being torn between personality, and instinct. Suddenly a light went off in the teen's perceptions. He raised an arm to block a carefully-aimed kick for his head, as Juunana began to start their training a few minutes early. And without warning. But such was not uncommon now for Gobo. What WAS uncommon was that he'd actually been able to block it. Juunana seemed to think so too, as the android paused for a moment, his crystal blue eyes blinking in mild shock. Then his face set in grim determination. Gobo floated away and made his fighting stance. Legs positioned with stability, one hand in front of him, the other at his side. The energy he had, which Juunana had explained was called ki, now flared around him at his control. From what he had learned, Gobo gathered that he was even more unusually strong for a being of this planet than he'd thought. But that he was, on the other hand, comparatively weak for a member of his family. Mainly because he wasn't anywhere near a level of strength Juunana called 'Super Saiyan'. As far as Gobo could tell, it made your hair stand on end and turn blonde, and provided you with lots of energy. On top of that, Juunana explained that he was stronger than a Super Saiyan. He had also explained that he was an android, and got his strength from being built with it. Thus he did not make the BEST teacher. But he was better than anything else Gobo had ever had, so he accepted it.
Juunana did not take a stance. He had no need to be on his guard; Gobo would not surpass him for quite some time. Instead he simply stood with his hands held loosely at his sides. Both men were dressed in black training gis. Gobo waited for Juunana to make a move. He had learned quickly that he must not rush into things with his foes; let them go first, and show their own strengths and weaknesses. Suddenly a flare of energy erupted around Juunana. It cast an eerie light-blue glow as it cascaded around him, contrasting Gobo's own red aura. The demi-saiyan braced himself as his teacher lunged forward, throwing a flurry of fast and unpredictable punches. Most hit, but some were blocked. Gobo tried to watch Juunana's movement's as closely as possible. Unfortunately, that grew harder when the android began aiming for his head.
With a sudden cry, Gobo dropped to one knee in the sand and lunged a leg out to kick his opponent's feet out from under him. Juunana caught on just in time, and launched himself into the air. He did a back-flip, and landed several feet away. Then there was a soft 'swish' noise, and Gobo blinked as his adversary faded out of sight. The demi-saiyan cast his eyes around desperately. He searched everywhere, above, behind, to the right, to the… As his head turned left, a booted foot smashed painfully into the side of his face. Gobo drew in breath with a hiss as he was thrown against the dirt. Realising in an instant what Juunana had planned, he rolled quickly to the side to avoid the fist hurtling down towards him. Then, almost instinctually, he darted out a hand and grabbed Juunana's arm. His opponent's eyes widened as he was tossed into the air, quickly followed by a small ball of ki Gobo had formed. The android batted it away with ease. Gobo watched as it sailed into the air, then realised his mistake as a knee was placed painfully into his gut. He doubled over, gasping for breath.
"Never take your eyes off your enemy." Juunana stated numbly. Gobo growled and pulled back, preparing to plant a kick into his opponent's stomach. With a cold smile Juunana darted out an arm and caught to limb. Not a sound escaped his mouth as he flung Gobo so hard the demi-saiyan hit the ocean outside the island with a loud 'smack'. His eyes widened as he sunk under the waves. Gobo didn't know how to swim, and was to stunned to think of flying out. Water… It was like the soot. He couldn't breath. He couldn't escape. There was a flash in his vision as he remembered seeing the fire explode all around him. All those people, and it was all his fault. Just because he was angry… Gobo reached out a hand as he sank deeper below the waves. The sun was just like the fire of his own energy. His grandma never would have approved of him doing that, and Gobo was very deeply ashamed. 'Let yourself die. Let it go, it doesn't matter. After what you did you deserve to die.' A voice whispered to him in the back of his mind. 'No, don't listen! What would your death serve? All you can do now is atone for the crimes you committed. Dying will only make it worse!' Another voice argued. Gobo blinked away tears into the salt water. Voices now? 'It must be the shock. I'm loosing my mind…' he mused bitterly. Then Gobo let his eyes slid shut. Why weren't his lungs burning yet? How long could he hold his breath for, he wondered? Something flashed up into his vision as his eyelids closed in the darkness. An image, of a warm and lovely face.
"Hello sweetie." His mother said to him softly. Gobo looked around in surprise. He was no longer drowning in the sea, but instead stood in a cold black room. Before him was his mother. She looked just as he remembered her, as if she hadn't changed at all since the last day they were together.
"…Mom? But how?" He asked in shock. Videl shook her head.
"Shhh, it's alright son. You aren't going crazy." She reassured him. He snorted in mild surprise.
"Oh great, well as long as my hallucination thinks I'm sane..." Gobo retorted sarcastically. But part of him was also filled with hope. What if this really was his mother? What if this was real? Videl shook her head. But the smile never left her lips.
"Gobo, please. You have to believe me! I don't have much time. Listen, they have Piccolo at their central command. He can help you find the rest of us. But I don't know where we are." The surreal image of his mother pleaded with him. Gobo gulped. He had believed it all this far, why not believe in this too? It was just as crazy as the rest of it.
"Who's Piccolo?" He asked simply. There were so many more things he wanted to say to her, but he just couldn't find the words. Suddenly Videl whipped her head around, as though a noise had caught her attention. She turned back to her son with fear in her eyes.
"There isn't any time. Find him, that will lead to the rest of this!" Videl told him. Gobo reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, but suddenly she wasn't there anymore. Instead his hand was met by another. Gobo blinked his eyelids open through the hazy fog of the sea. Juunana swam above him, one hand clasped around his own. With apparent ease the android quickly dragged his quarry up to the surface, and tossed him coldly onto the shore. Gobo gladly drew a breath, although he was fairly certain he could have held it for a lot longer if he needed to. Juunana looked at him and shook his head.
"That is the LAST time I am saving your life." The android said in annoyance. Then both fighters looked towards the sky as something came sailing towards them at an impressive speed. A bolt of energy erupted at Gobo's feet, and he jumped away, sand flying into the air from the impact.
"What the hell is going on?"