Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, I said so in the first chapter.
Warnings: AU, maybe a little OOC, same as before really, minor Raditz bashing (I love him to death, but it's just too easy! ;P )
No comments from the peanut gallery this time… *looks over at Steph reading quietly in the background * … so on with Chapter 2!
Change of Plans
Before he left Chikyuu-sei, Raditz had told Kakarotto's friend that bringing the boy was actually a better deal than bringing Kakarotto, but he begun to dread trying to convince his lord of this as they approached the end of their return trip.
* What 'm I gonna tell Freeza? * Raditz mused. * He's gonna be pissed anyway, but how do I make it less hazardous to my life? * He thought as hard as he was capable of, but to no avail. After landing he finally decided that it would be best to leave the boy in his quarters and then report to Freeza. A bawling child would not help his chances any.
With resignation, Raditz approached the audience room. To his dismay, Freeza was able to see him immediately. He walked in and knelt before Freeza, waiting to be addressed.
"Well?" the pink, purple and white lizard-like alien asked. "I thought you went to retrieve someone. Where is he?"
"Well, uh…" Raditz began. "He, uh…" Raditz fumbled for words.
"I'm waiting," Freeza's tone told Raditz that he was doing so impatiently.
"You see, uh, something… happened to my brother that, uh, completely altered his mind. He was, umm, unsalvageable, so to speak…."
"So you failed," Freeza interrupted. It was a statement, not a question, and Freeza started to dismiss Raditz.
"Well, in acquiring my brother, yes, but I…" Raditz stopped. * Kuso! Why did I open my-*
Freeza narrowed his red eyes at the Saiya-jin. "But you what?"
Raditz took a deep breath. * Keep it short and to the point, * he told himself. "When Kakarotto wouldn't cooperate, I tried to change his mind by kidnapping his son. The fool then attacked me and we fought. During the fight, Kakarotto's son exploded with a power higher than my own. In the end, Kakarotto was killed, but, I thought that the boy might be useful so I brought him." Raditz hazarded a glance to Freeza's face; he did not look pleased.
"He's but a few years old," Raditz rushed to say before he was told to shut up. "It shouldn't be too hard to make him obedient to your will, Freeza-sama." Raditz then shut his mouth, fearing he had said too much, and waited silently, half expecting a blow of some sort.
"You thought…" Freeza said, his voice emotionless. Then with a bit of sarcasm, "I didn't know you were capable of that sort of thing." Raditz said nothing. "Hmm… You said, this boy possessed more power than you?" Raditz quickly nodded, then opened his mouth to elaborate before remembering he was already treading on thin ice. Freeza saw this and asked, "Is there something you would like to add?"
"Uh, w-well, the boy had all that power when he was angry. When his anger was spent, his power went back to a resting level, which, while lower, was still more than twice his father's power."
"So the boy's power fluctuates, does it?" Raditz nodded. "That could be useful, if it is controllable. Do you think it could be controlled?" Freeza asked.
Raditz hesitated to answer. *Well, Kakarotto and his friend could both change their power levels. * "I- I believe so, Freeza-sama."
"Hmm. I would like to see this boy. Bring him here."
"Hai, Freeza-sama," Raditz said and immediately left to retrieve his nephew, somewhat surprised that Freeza hadn't killed him nor dismissed him out of hand yet. He returned a few minutes later carrying the tailed boy with shaggy, longish black hair by his bright yellow overcoat. The boy's earlier bawling had been reduced to silent tears with the occasional sniff, but even that stopped when he saw Freeza. When Raditz placed him on the ground in front of Freeza's hover chair, the boy became so frozen with fear that his tail even stopped twitching. Black eyes wide and fixed on Freeza, the boy hardly dared to breathe.
"Hmm. He certainly doesn't look like much, ne, Zarbon?" Freeza said, addressing his ever present right hand man. The blue-skinned, green-haired, pretty-boy alien gently shook his head, causing his earrings and tiara charm to dance about.
"No, he doesn't look like much at all," Zarbon answered with a small smile. "Or rather, he looks more ready for a hug than a blow." He reached one elegant finger up to touch the button on his scouter. The device emitted soft beeps as numbers rolled across the ruby lens. When the numbers finally came to a rest, Zarbon let out a soft whistle.
"What is it Zarbon?" Freeza asked.
"Appearances truly are deceiving. This child's power level is almost 1000."
"1000? My, that is high for such a small boy. And you said he is at least twice as strong as his father?" Freeza inquired. Raditz nodded. "Hmm. Very well. Zarbon. I want you to find this boy a trainer… Shougai perhaps? Raditz. You are dismissed."
"Hai." Raditz turned to leave, but Freeza had more to say.
"Oh yes, Raditz. Let's not make this 'thinking' into a habit, hmm?"
"Hai, Freeza-sama." With a nod from Freeza, Raditz continued on his previous course. Once he was out of the audience chamber, Freeza addressed Zarbon once more.
"Zarbon, after you have dropped the boy off, I would like you to inform the security official that I would like an observer placed on him. The fact that he's a child does not belay the fact that he's a Saiya-jin."
"Hai, Freeza-sama," Zarbon replied and walked over to where the boy was still crouched, frozen. He quickly snatched the child up by the back of his overcoat and carried him out of the audience room. As soon as they were out of sight, however, Zarbon switched to carrying the boy in his arms. The movement seemed to shake the boy out of his shock, for he nearly jumped and looked up at Zarbon in near fear.
Zarbon smiled sweetly, saying, "Don't worry kiddo. I'm not going to eat you or anything." The boy didn't look too reassured by this, but he also didn't look ready to burst into tears, so Zarbon decided to leave it at that for now.
They passed several identical doors in the long hallway before Zarbon found the one he wanted. The room on the other side of the door wasn't very large, and shared the same stark white décor as the rest of the complex. This room did have several benches (white of course) and a wall covered in locker looking objects. Zarbon put the boy down next to one of the benches before he turned to rummage through one of the lockers.
"Aha! Here we are." Zarbon turned to present his find, a black long-sleeved bodysuit, to the boy. "Here. Put this on. I'll be back in a minute with some armor." With that the braided alien left though a different door, leaving the boy to change.
When he returned several minutes later, he found the boy changed, tugging nervously at his sleeves, and his old clothes folded neatly on one of the benches. Zarbon smiled and laughed to himself. *Oh dear me. A powerhouse and a neat freak? What a combination. * He kept his comment to himself though, and helped the boy into his armor.
Afterwards, he stepped back to survey his handiwork, and smiled at the result. "There! Now you look like a fighter." A blank stare was the boy's only response. Zarbon sighed. "So kiddo, do you have a name?" The boy nodded. "Well what is it?"
"Gohan," the boy answered quietly, which was about as loud as he could manage right now. He had faced so many weird, new, and scary things today that he was still trying to process most of it. Of all the aliens he'd met so far, this Zarbon wasn't too bad. *He's definitely much nicer than Raditz, that's for sure, * Gohan thought. *And nowhere near as scary as that Freeza guy… * he nearly shuddered at the thought of the scary, pink, horned alien.
"Well then, Gohan. Can you walk, or do I need to carry you again?" Zarbon asked. Gohan shook his head no, he could walk, and Zarbon started leading the way with a "Follow me then." They walked in silence, with Gohan running every few steps to keep up, passing so many identical doors and taking so many seemingly random turns that the boy was quite lost by the time they ran into another living being.
At first, Gohan felt a pang of homesickness. This new alien looked very much like his mother when she wore her hair in a low ponytail. That was about as far as the similarities went, however, as his hair was auburn, not black. Not to mention the pale green skin and vicious scar down the left side of his face.
"Ah! Shougai. I was just looking for you," Zarbon said to the new alien. He gestured towards Gohan, "I have a new student for you." Shougai gave the boy a long measuring look before turning back to Zarbon.
"Your timing is good, anyway. I was just on my was to start on a new batch."
"Shall I leave him with you then?"
"I suppose." Shougai gave Zarbon a polite nod then motioned Gohan to follow before taking off down the hallway. The boy hesitated a moment before following, only because he knew more about Zarbon than this Shougai, not that that was saying much. Regardless, he followed Shougai down a few more hallways and into a decent sized room containing nothing but several adults and a small horde of children. Or at least that's what he figured them to be. They were all different kinds of aliens, but most of then were small and looked young as best as he could figure. He didn't get much of a chance to study his classmates as Shougai wasted no time in starting class.
"Alright brats! Listen up!" he yelled, gaining the attention of all the children. "For the strong ones in this pathetic bunch, this will be the first of five cycles of training. For the weak, it will last until you're transferred, if you're smart enough, or it'll end with your death. Weakness will not be tolerated in the army proper and you'll never make it there if you can't handle this."
He paused to see the effect of his harsh words. A few faces revealed their owner's fear, but many seemed to be in a kind of shock. The remaining few were neither shocked nor fearful, but defiant. He gave a small smirk as he committed each of those faces to memory. They would warrant watching as they would either make it all the way or break in the second cycle. Survey complete, he continued.
"Well then brats. Welcome to Hell."
AN: Poor Gohan! This training's gonna make Piccolo look like a saint! But don't worry; he'll be fine. This *is* Gohan we're talking about. A bit longer chapter this time, but that's just the way it happened to fall. Again, review if you liked or didn't, and say why. It doesn't help if all you say is 'I hated it' and don't tell me how to make it better!