Chapter 8: Training…Begin!
A/N: I just want to thank all of those who have sent in reviews and comments on my story. This being my first story, all reviews and constructive criticism is welcome. Ok, back to the story.
The grass under Chris' feet bent back as he stepped out of the temple, with the other seven elementals behind him. The guardians had just finished showing the others the parts of the temple: this included the four turrets to the bedrooms, Danielle's art room, and Chris' library. Gohan enjoyed the library most of all: the ceiling was taken out, so it was a two level room, swarming with all kinds of writings in literature, history, and information (some in terms of fighting methods of other planets).
The tour ending, everyone had gone out for the first part of elemental training. They stopped near the forest area. "Ok you four, the first thing you need to learn is elemental aura control. You will learn to master your aura, so you can release it to use in battle, much like an energy blast." Chris turned to face the others. "Bringing out your elemental aura is similar to brining out your ki energy."
To bring out your ki energy, you release the energy in your body. To bring out your elemental energy, you must channel the power of your element from the earth itself, and then release it. The two are very similar; it's just here, you receive the energy from another source."
Chi-Chi appeared skeptical. "Do you really believe that we will be able to work with only that as the instructions? That seems a little vague."
Andre shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we don't really know how to explain this. It was something we just knew when we were created; no one taught us."
The adults all looked annoyed, thinking that they would get nowhere. Suddenly, Gohan spoke up. "We have to work with what we have, right?" Not knowing what else to do, the boy his hands together, and closed his eyes in meditation. As he observed the darkness from the insides of his eyelids, Gohan thought about what Chris had said.
"…You must the channel the power of your element from the Earth itself…" This in mind, he tried thinking about the fire that dwelled within the core of the Earth. The searing heat, the powerful flames lashing about like a whirlwind of blades. Remembering what the fire stood for; courage, hope, everything he had thought he had before Cell-
*Wait. What's that?* Through the darkness of Gohan's vision, he could see a tiny red ball of light. It began to grow and brighten, as if it was trying to bore a hole through his eyelids. Gohan, startled, tried to block out the light, but to no avail; the light still came through. Soon, it enveloped his body, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to tingle. He started to sweat, both with heat and fear. Its power, shining…burning…
Burning…
Wait…something was burning!
While trying not to break his concentration, Gohan slowly opened his eyes. All seven pairs of eyes were on the boy and his newly formed red aura surrounding him. He looked down at his pressed hands, which had begun to burn. He separated his hands-
-and the whole group exploded into sounds of shock and pride, as a small fireball hovered between Gohan's two hands.
"Excellent Gohan! You've already mastered your aura. Now you can use the gift of fire," Chris replied. He also received congratulations from the other guardians. Suddenly, Danielle stepped up to Gohan and looked at his palms, with a concerned look on her face. They were bright red, burned from the heat of the fire.
"Ouch." Andre sucked air in through his teeth. "Looks like you're also gonna need to learn to absorb fire, or you'll be fried before today.
Chris nodded. "
You're right. I'll take him now. Can you guys take care of the others while were gone?" They agreed. "Great! C'mon Gohan." He stretched out his wings, and with one strong flap, was in the air. Confused, Gohan powered up, and shot off after him. Soon they were simple specks in the horizon.
"They'll be back. You three however still have work to do," Brian ordered. Goku groaned like a kid, but eventually they all gave in. They assumed the same position Gohan had, but with far less luck. After about ten minutes, Andre and Danielle decided to sit down under a tree as Brian supervised their students.
Piccolo continued to glow blue back and forth, but Goku and Chi-Chi were having less luck. Goku just wasn't concentrating well, and Chi-Chi thought she could do it simply by raising her fighting energy. She began to shake as her muscles tightened. Brian watched her for a moment, watching her face begin to spasm from keeping it so tense. Soon, Brian broke her concentration by poking her strait on the forehead with the tip of his tail.
"Ow!" Chi-Chi rubbed her forehead vigorously. "What was that for?"
"You're too tense; your own energy is blocking your elemental aura from reaching you. You need to relax more, or else you won't get anywhere. Just observe how Piccolo and Goku are doing." They turned to the saiyin and namekian; Piccolo already formed a water ball between his hands, and Goku was glowing gold.
Chi-Chi became extremely agitated. With a sigh, she went back to her meditation, her body more limber this time. Her steady breathing matched her heartbeat, placing her body in sync with her body. Soon, she also began to glow.
Brian sat down beside Danielle and Andre. "They all have character problems that will make this difficult; I don't know how I'll stand Goku's naive demeanor. I hope Chris will have better luck."
Andre smiled. "You forget, all four of us are going to work with Gohan. We need to rebuild his self-confidence and high spirits. He was practically torn to pieces after Cell."
"I agree," Danielle replied. "Do know how much screaming I've heard during my shift in watching him as he slept? I have to block the sound each night so his parents won't hear. He certainly won't open up fully just yet."
"Yeah." Andre was suddenly distracted by Chi-Chi's yelling. Apparently, Goku had generated a stone with his aura, and was so surprised, he accidentally fired it near his wife's feet. So, everyone watched as Chi-Chi went off on a rant about safety. Brian sighed, and Andre was rolling on the ground laughing. Brian tried to calm down Danielle, who was trying to go break up the fight.
Well, almost everyone was watching; no one noticed the heated look Piccolo was giving the guardians.
His large, pointed ears started to twinge with the high pitch of Chi-Chi's screams.
Meanwhile, on a volcanic island fifteen miles southeast of West City, Chris and Gohan touched down. They stood on the rim of the searing volcano. Down below, Gohan could see the bubbling lava; active, but not about to erupt, by the looks of it.
"Here we go." Chris jumped off, and floated above the volcano's mouth, his wings catching the rising heat. "You need to learn to adapt to high temperatures, so you can use your fire element without burning yourself. Now come here." Reluctantly, Gohan powered up again and levitated next to Chris
"Ok. This part is easy. Just move lower and lower into the volcano, until you reach the bottom. Stop when you need to, and don't use your ki to block the heat. Also, don't be afraid of your aura; you look a little startled before you made the fireball. Try to accept the aura, embrace it; that is the only was to use it properly."
Gohan nodded. Slowly, Gohan started to descend into the volcano. Almost immediately, he was met with a rush of heat. He started to raise his ki, but stopped. *I won't get anywhere like that'* he thought. He closed his eyes, and tried to concentrate on the fire aura, just like before.
At first, nothing happened. Then, after a moment, the same bright red light appeared. This time though, as the light increased in magnitude, Gohan did not panic. Instead, he just let the aura surround him. To his surprise, the aura didn't burn this time; rather, it felt warm and inviting. A smile played across his face. The light became brighter and brighter. Then, without warning-
Gohan opened his eyes wide. His body was surrounded with the same red light.
Carefully, the boy continued moving further into the volcano. Soon his clothes started to singe with the extreme heat, but a slight release of fire energy stopped that. Down and down he went, until before long, his feet were grazing the surface of the magma. Looking up, he watched as Chris flew down to him, meeting at eye level.
"Alright! I did it!" Gohan was ecstatic. He shot up, and did a midair back flip, landing perfectly on top of the magma.
Chris was surprised as well. "Yeah. I didn't expect you to master the aura that fast. You're gonna make an excellent fire elemental." Then, he mimicked Gohan with a back flip, and landed-in the magma. Gohan gasped as he watched Chris' dark outline move under to molten rock. Hen he burst through the surface, and grinned.
"Surprised? You can do it to, now." He took a breath, and went back under. Gohan seemed skeptical (like maybe Chris had gone nuts.) *Like everything else lately hasn't been nuts.* With a "Here goes nothing" attitude, Gohan took a breath and fell in.
He didn't even go very far. The magma was real thick, like mud. How Chris could possibly move through it so well was beyond him. Still, it was relaxing. Gohan laid back and floated on the surface…
And gasped as a hand reached up, grabbed his face, and pulled him under. The boy barely had time to take another breath. As he came up, Gohan bobbed in the solution, looking around. Soon, he saw Chris on his back, laughing. With a smirk, Gohan flung some magma at him, as if it was water. It hit his face with a splat.
Wiping it from his eyes, Chris lunged at Gohan. For a while, it continued like this; the two of them playing around like little kids. Chris was pleased to see how well Gohan could adjust to the magma without trying. He came up from behind Gohan, and brought his arms up, pinning him by his shoulders.
"I got you now Gohan," He said with a smile.
I got you now Gohan…I got you now Gohan…
The saiyin boy paled.
Suddenly, everything around Gohan changed. He was no longer in the volcano, but in midair, above a desert plain. His arms were still pinned, and he could feel to strong arms holding him back. Confused and scared, he tried to break free, but when he did, he was greeted with a cold voice, thought to have finally ended two months ago.
"I got you now Gohan. Do you feel your anger rising? I want you to be furious! What's the worst that can happen? Just the cost of your friends lives…" Then, the dead laugh of the genetic android…
"NO STOP! PLEASE, LET ME GO!!" Gohan broke free, and kicked himself forward. He spun around, and fired a blast behind him. Where he thought Cell was, Chris gave a look of shock. He jumped up, and brought his hands forward in an attempt to defend himself.
"Wall of Fire!" he yelled. A fireball formed in front of his hands, and spread out in front of him. As the blast hit the flames, it was vaporized.
The wall disintegrated, and they stared at each other. Gohan's face carried a look of terror; Chris', one of confusion.
"Oh Chris… I'm so sorry…" Gohan lowered his head and put his hands in his face. *I just attacked him! How could I do such a thing?*
*Cell. I was just starting to reach him, and he has another Cell flash. I gotta be more careful about what I do." Chris sighed. "Don't worry Gohan. It was my fault. Let's get back to the others."
Raising his head, Gohan nodded. Fortunately for him, the tears forming on his face were quickly evaporated by the lava's heat. His face now showing nothing but shame, the boy slowly levitated up toward the volcano's mouth.
Chris stood on the magma's surface. "Well, at least he mastered his aura. Better than I thought he would. Things will go much easier now." That in mind, the guardian stretched his wings, and the rush of heat from below propelled Chris up to Gohan.