Alright, I was going to post this chapter later but I got the next one finished so what the hell, here you go. Expect the next chapter within a week or so.
I just realized something about saiyans. I checked out Bardock special, the early DBZ episodes and the later ones and came to a conclusion. Saiyans can eat how ever much or little they want and still are fine. I think saiyans just love to eat and when ever it's possible they eat as much as fast as possible. But if food is scarce or they do not want to be rude they can eat the same amount as a human or less. In the Bardock special and the early DBZ no one ate a lot of food. In the early one's you notice Chichi only making 2 pots of food, 1 of rice and 1 of soup, at least I think it's soup. Anyways, 2 pots, and that's to feed Goku, Gohan, Chichi, Ox King, and Krillen (This is just after Raditz gets killed). Yet at the world martial arts tournament before Buu where food is abundant the 3 saiyans eat so much Krillen compares them to bottomless pits. So I've come to the conclusion they can eat as much or little as they want and totally depends on circumstance.
Oh, 1 thing. Gohan may be fast enough to travel between solar systems in a relatively short amount of time but he can not duplicate that speed inside an atmosphere. Those of you that know physics already know why, for the others… There is something called gravity and air resistance and Coriolus force, although the later only affects him when on his way to the place, on the way back that force is working with him. Those have a major impact on slowing him down. Also there is the little tidbit that if he goes to fast he wouldn't be able to take any bearings on his position and won't know when he should turn or slow down or even stop.
To explain the meaning of the chapter title in 17… The world they arrived on IS the saiyan home world… I should I say both worlds were created the exact same way and are the same size and position in each universe. The world is the same as the one they left… but it's completely different because it's a different reality and it evolved in a far different manner then the one in original reality. It does have a world crystal but it's impossible to even get near considering it's under constant watch by at least several hundred gods. Not that it would do the saiyans any good if they did get near it. Taking the world crystal across to their reality through the dimensional door rips a gigantic irreparable rift between both realties that will eventually grow to encompass both effectively destroying everyone and everything in both realities. So… it's not really a good idea to take it heh.
GAH! This chapter was FAR longer then I had anticipated... FAR FAR longer… Like holy shit it well whoops any other chapter size I've yet done up. Well I hope you all don't mind having a chapter over 10k words.
Chapter 18: Challenges
Gohan woke up bright and early the next morning, before any of the others, and started his preparations. He had calculated that it would take half the day to get to his destination; maybe less if the terrain permitted it. He didn't want to blast over cities at break neck speeds. The shockwave would devastate them and he really did not want kill anyone on this quest. After a breakfast that consisted of just one helping of food, much to the relief of the cooks, Gohan left the palace by the front entrance.
He gazed down at the city from above, fully taking in the sights. They had passed over it rather quickly the day before so he didn't have much time to admire the view. The city was quite beautiful and Gohan wouldn't have minded admitting it to anyone. All the cities he had ever visited had been built for strictly utilitarian needs. This city appeared to have been formed to please the eye. Gohan smiled to himself as he lost himself in the view and the peace. The peace that permeated the air was much different then back home. At home there was always a sense of violence in some form or another in the air. Here there was no sense of violence, just pure peace.
"Enjoying the view?" A feminine voice startled Gohan from behind.
Gohan whirled around to see Alihvan standing behind him with her hands behind her back. "Yes, as a matter of fact I was." Gohan said, "Also the air… It is so… peaceful. There has been so much violence where I come from that the very ground is saturated with it. It is a shame that there is not a single planet in my reality that has air quite like this."
Alihvan smiled kind of sadly, "Yes, it is quite peaceful here; it is why I like to visit this city…" She said. Gohan gave her a strange look but didn't say anything. "Oh by the way, I'm going to go with you. You interest me." She said.
Gohan smiled slightly, "I knew there was some reason for this meeting. Why do you wish to come with me? Surely it is not just because I 'interest' you."
Alihvan smiled slightly, "I have… business there so I'm heading in that direction. I thought we could keep each other company on the way. I also have knowledge of the land which you do not." She replied
Gohan raised an eyebrow at her, "Oh? And I suppose your grandpa is ok with this?"
Alihvan nodded, "He doesn't know and I don't think he would mind if he did. He knows I can take care of myself. He'll just think I'm on a camping trip. I've done it before."
"Gone on a camping trip or gone away for an extended period of time?" Gohan inquired.
Alihvan just smiled and said nothing.
Gohan shook his head in amusement, "Well, I do not see the problem with you tagging along but I was planning on getting there today so I will be to traveling at a high speeds. Do you think you can keep up?" He asked.
Alihvan smiled again, "I think I can, yes. I don't think you'll be able to fly the entire way there though. The humans have a… barrier at the edge of their lands. It prevents anyone or anything from flying, even birds." She said.
Gohan raised an eyebrow, "And why exactly do they have this barrier?" He asked curiously.
Alihvan shrugged, "I don't know. Their gods created the barrier. Very few humans had the ability to fly with magic but the majority of their enemies could. I suppose it's a defensive mechanism." She responded with a little shrug.
Gohan nodded but frowned slightly, it made sense that the humans would have that barrier, but how did Alihvan know that very few humans had the ability to fly when the barrier prevented any of them from even attempting.
"Just how does the barrier prevent creatures from flying and how long has it been up?" Gohan asked.
Alihvan was about to respond but quite obviously changed what she was going to say, "I don't know. I just know what my grandpa told me, I haven't tried it out flying. As for how long…" She paused, "Years I suppose, I'm not certain on the exact year." She finished giving Gohan the feeling that she was hiding something.
"Anyways, you said you wanted to get there soon right?" Alihvan said innocently, "Let's get going!" She said and jumped off the platform. As she fell she initiated her rune magic and soon was blasting across the city. Gohan smirked, so, she wants to have a race eh?
A sonic boom resounded from the place Gohan used to be. All the people saw was a golden blur flash across the sky at several times the speed of sound. The runes that floated throughout the city positioned themselves around the shockwave to prevent it from damaging any property or hurting any people. Within seconds Gohan was outside the city and rapidly approaching Alihvan.
The young girl looked back and saw Gohan catching up really fast and started to speed up. Runes flashed across her body and erupted in the air around her. Suddenly a circular wall of runes appeared in front of the girl and, as she encountered it, her speed tripled. Gohan smirked and flew even faster and soon the two were side by side. The air around crackled with energy creating a devastating shockwave in their passing. The only good thing about flying was due to their height nothing that grew up from the ground was affected by their passing.
Gohan looked down and noticed they were flying over a forest, a very large forest. The two of them were traveling at an incredibly fast speed
Several more runes flashed in front of Alihvan and suddenly a voice appeared in Gohan's head. This is a nice race; I enjoy a challenge from time to time. At this speed we'll reach the barrier within an hour's time. It'll be really noticeable. If everything in front of you appears hazy and blurry, you've reached the shield. I wouldn't try to fly to far into it or you'll find out exactly how it stops people from flying.
Gohan nodded and the two continued on in silence. As Alihvan predicted it didn't take them much more then an hour to reach the barrier. It was there that her description of the barrier became apparent. Everything beyond was blurry, like looking through water while waves were rippling across the surface.
Gohan looked over at Alihvan and met her eyes. As one they descended to ground level. They were on at the edge of a wide open plain. Behind them was a massive forest which they had flow over. Gohan breathed in deeply and walked through the barrier. Once through he noticed nothing felt different. There weren't any limiters on how much of his life force he could bring to bear and that reassured him greatly. Alihvan soon joined him on the other side.
"The road is that way." She said as she pointed to the southwest.
Gohan nodded, and started bolted off in that direction. He may not be able to fly, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to go as fast as possible. Alihvan soon caught up employing the same techniques that she had used to increase her air speed. With their speed greatly reduced in relation to their air speed the journey was going to take several days instead of just one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Several hours later…
Vegeta floated high in the air above the city as he gazed south in the direction Gohan had gone earlier that morning. He was wondering why his life force was moving away at such a slow pace and hoped Gohan had a good reason for it.
Vegeta sighed and was about to head inside when a shockwave sounded from outside the city. Vegeta whirled around to witness Karie and Bardock beating on each other. Vegeta's face lit up, he hadn't had a decent spar in a long time and a two on one was just what he was looking for.
Two yellow balls of glowing energy formed in Vegeta's hands and with a yell he launched them at the two fighting saiyans. Karie and Bardock noticed the balls of energy just and time and managed to evade them. The energy flew out and slammed into the forest outside the city cause two moderate sized explosions. The explosions shook the ground startling everyone in the city into awareness.
Bardock and Karie glared up at the smirking prince who currently had his arms folded across his chest in satisfaction. Bardock and Karie exchanged glances and suddenly they were in Vegeta's face punching and kicking.
Karie threw a left punch at Vegeta's face and was rewarded by having her arm smacked away as Vegeta ducked and moved to the side to block a kick from Bardock. Karie followed up by swinging her leg around and under Bardock's in an attempt to reach Vegeta. Vegeta snapped his hand down, grabbed Bardock's leg, and twirled around it as her leg swept under Bardock's. Bardock fired an energy blast at the twirling Vegeta who just kept going around. As Vegeta came up around he planted both of his feet into Bardock's face causing his head to snap backwards and his body to tumble away as he momentarily lost control of his energy.
Karie took advantage of Vegeta's move and slammed her fist into the top of his head sending him tumbling away as well. Vegeta righted himself far more quickly then Bardock and had rewarded Karie with a knee in the stomach by the time Bardock came to. Suddenly Bardock appeared beside Vegeta and planted his elbow into the King's cheek. Vegeta was sent flying away and was met by an elbow from Karie as she used her instant transmission technique to get behind him.
Vegeta rocked forward and kicked out with his feet and grinned as they met solid flesh. A grunt was all the reward he got for his efforts but he didn't worry about it. He was merely using her as a springboard, and a good springboard she made as Bardock unfortunately found out. He had less then an instant to take stock of what was happening before Vegeta's foot connected with his head yet again. Bardock shook his head to clear his vision and snarled at a grinning Vegeta and abandoned all style. Suddenly Vegeta found himself dodging a very frustrated Bardock throwing all his life force into enhancing the speed and strength of his punches. A second later Karie was right beside Bardock doing the same thing.
By this time a crowd had started to appear. Those that could fly were in the sky watching in horror and amazement at the speed, strength and brutality of the fight that was going on between the three. They honestly believed they had gone insane and were trying to kill each other. Arthain sighed from his position beside Gahlanthas.
"I wish they'd get their warm up finished and start actually trying." Arthain complained.
Gahlanthas snapped his head towards Arthain, "Warm-up? For what? They're trying to kill each other, and they have to be at their maximum!" Gahlanthas said as he desperately tried to come to grips with the speed that was being displayed.
A massive shockwave rippled outwards from the fighting followed by several more and finally a long massive stream of shockwaves. Vegeta had finally finished dodging them and had started to meet fist with fist, foot with foot, and knee with knee. Arthain smiled, "Ahh, they're getting close to finishing. I've wanted to see their full potential after the training session on the star ship. And despite what you wish they are FAR from their maximum. They're just warming up for their little spar. They're bored and saiyans fight for entertainment." Arthain explained to Gahlanthas.
Gahlanthas frowned and drew upon his own power. He had no intention on joining the fight but feeling the power of the runes flow through him gave him a comforting feeling. Suddenly a thought occurred to him and a smile creased his face. He no longer feared the power of these 'saiyans'. Arthain caught the change in the elder and smiled internally.
A sudden explosion signalled the end of the warm-up as Vegeta arched back and roared. Rage flowed from him flooring the empathic creatures in the city but what floored most were the waves of energy. Nearly every rune in the city whizzed around and formed a wall between Vegeta and the city below. His roar continued on for seemingly forever but the transformation that Vegeta underwent scared many. His muscles bulged to incredible proportions as his hair grew longer and wilder. Although the size of Vegeta looked frightening, it was the look on his face and the power radiating out of him that scared most. He looked like he was on the verge of insanity with the wide grin and the wild look in his eyes. They mistook battle lust for insanity. Karie and Bardock nodded to one another and suddenly two more explosions rocked the city as Karie and Bardock began to power up. Their screams echoed across the city just as Vegeta's had. Neither of them underwent any transformations like Vegeta but their expressions matched his.
Arthain looked over at Gahlanthas and noticed worry in his eyes but that he was still keeping his composure, unlike everyone else in the city. The citizens, including the other elders, were in either three categories, fainted, in a state of disbelief and doubt of their sanity, or scared out of their wits. Arthain wanted to laugh out loud so much it nearly hurt. Suddenly it occurred to him he didn't care what the people here thought of him and burst out laughing. His laughter scared everyone, even Gahlanthas, because it wasn't normal. There was an overlapping sound in it as if there were more then one person laughing, and indeed there was.
Vegeta looked down and saw Arthain laughing and was about to frown when he noticed the object of his laughter, the citizen of the capital. Vegeta's grin just creased his face even more. Karie and Bardock decided to take advantage of Vegeta's momentary distraction and both slammed punches into his face. Vegeta's head rocked back for an instant before it snapped forward and there was no grin on it anymore, only a snarl of anger. With a roar and a burst of energy Karie and Bardock were violently thrown away from him.
Vegeta blasted forward only to be met by twin kicks from Bardock and Karie. A shockwave blasted out from Vegeta and rocked everything behind him but it didn't affect him at all. In fact he had grabbed the legs when they had connected with his chest and used them to slam the two saiyans together. Vegeta split them apart only to find their hands had inter-locked. His eyes widened as a massive stream of energy rippled out from their combined hands, down between them, and directly into Vegeta. The resounding explosion was heard for miles in every direction as Vegeta was thrown backwards away from the other two.
Before Vegeta had a chance to recover Bardock and Karie positioned themselves behind and in front of Vegeta using instant transmission and fired massive energy waves at him. Vegeta snarled and formed a protective shield around him as he thought of a plan to get out. He couldn't move without lessening the shield's strength and being hit with the full force of the energy waves but he couldn't stay there forever either. His shield would collapse before their energy ran out. Suddenly an idea formed in his mind, the second technique Arthain had taught them.
Vegeta roared as he summoned yet more energy from within and began to manipulate his shield. Suddenly twin shield spikes shot out from either side as they headed for Bardock and Karie. Karie's eyes widened and just narrowly avoided being impaled by Vegeta's shield. Bardock wasn't so lucky. The shield tore through Bardock's left arm as he tried to get out of the way. He screamed for a second and glared at Vegeta as he held his ruined arm.
Suddenly Vegeta was in Bardock's face. A knee in the face collapsed the nose causing blood from his face to join that of his arm. A kick slammed into Vegeta's back as Karie tried to hurt Vegeta while his attention was away from her. Vegeta whirled around and slammed the back of his fist into her face. Karie flipped back and prepared to ready herself but wasn't fast enough and got a knee in her stomach. Karie doubled over for a second before her face was raised up, forcing her to look into Vegeta's hand. An explosion rocked across the sky yet again as a energy blast ruined Karie's face and sent her careening down into the city below at breakneck speeds.
A second later a large crash was heard as Karie slammed into a side street in the city creating a large smoking crater. Vegeta turned back Bardock, a second later a snap was heard as Bardock's back was broken like a twig. Vegeta grabbed Bardock's now limp leg and swung him down into the same street as Karie. A second crash and a second crater was created in the street, just a few feet from Karie's crater.
Arthain nodded in satisfaction, "Ah, not bad but could have been better. He went rather easy on them but it was to be expected." Arthain said happily.
Gahlanthas looked at Arthain as if he was insane, "Did you just see what he did? He killed his two companions!" Gahlanthas exclaimed.
Arthain laughed again although this time there was just his voice, "No, they aren't dead, see look there." Arthain said as he pointed at Vegeta.
Vegeta had, by this time, collected Karie and Bardock and were carefully caring them in his arms. He floated past Arthain and landed on the palace platform. He gently set the two down and reached into a pocket inside his battle armour and pulled out a capsule. Vegeta breathed deeply and powered down to the level he had been when first arriving at the city. The king pressed the button on the top of the capsule and threw it down on the platform. A cloud of smoke erupted and five regeneration chambers, with an electric generator, appeared out of no where. Vegeta picked Karie and Bardock up and place them in their own chamber and turned it on.
By this time Gahlanthas, the elders, and Arthain had arrived and were staring at Vegeta like he was an alien.
Vegeta looked Gahlanthas in the eye, "They will be out in a few hours, and then I'll take the chambers away. Tell whatever god gets excited about them that I have no intention of spreading the knowledge and any poor shit that tries to steal it will not live to see the next day." Vegeta said and proceeded to sit down in front of the chambers as he waited for the others to get out. There wasn't anyone to do or talk with aside from Arthain that Vegeta cared about and he couldn't even do anything with Arthain.
Gahlanthas looked over at Vegeta in surprise and turned to look at Arthain. Arthain just shrugged his shoulders, "It might make it more understandable if you realize that every time saiyans are mortally wounded and recover our power grows substantially. So those two will be much stronger the next time they fight at their maximum." Arthain said and walked over to join Vegeta.
Gahlanthas frowned for a moment and noticed Gohan had been gone all morning. The elder walked over to the two saiyans and posed his question, "Where is your advisor?"
Vegeta waved him off as he replied, "Oh he's out getting the sword; he should be back soon. At the speed he's going at it should only take him a few days although he could probably get it faster if he flew. I wonder why he isn't."
Gahlanthas' eyes bugged out, "WHAT! By himself? He won't be able to do it, trust me. That place is a fortress; it would take an army to break it down." Gahlanthas cried.
Vegeta looked back at Gahlanthas and smirked, "An army of your pathetic warriors perhaps, but he's more then enough. Besides he said he could do it with little to no blood shed and I'd rather not get my hands dirty doing such a menial and pathetic task so I let him do it. He'll be back in a few days, just you wait and see." Vegeta said and turned back to watching the regeneration chambers. "Now do not disturb me again. I'm busy with something much more important, like how I am going to find a nail clipper."
Gahlanthas glared at the back of Vegeta's head. He had two choices: stand there and argue acting like a child or obey Vegeta and leave him alone. Neither sat very well with the ruler of Vihn but after a moment of indecision he turned on his heel and walked off, "I have work I need to do." Gahlanthas declared.
Vegeta nodded, "Yes, you go do that and be a good little ruler." Vegeta said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 days later…
Gohan awoke and began to prepare himself mentally and physically for the day ahead or rather the night. The sun was beginning to set and the two of them had collapsed that morning in exhaustion due to their travelling.
Gohan and Alihvan had been running non-stop since the barrier wanting to make good time. Alihvan had managed to keep pace with him the entire time but appeared completely worn out and collapsed on the spot when they stopped. Gohan had been exhausted due to lack of sleep; Alihvan had been exhausted due to lack of sleep and energy. Gohan had decided that they would camp right there because he doubted much would disturb them and he was too sleepy to be choosy about where he slept.
They had rested at the edge of a forest that ended abruptly into open grasslands just in front of a huge mountain range that stretched to either side as far as the eye could see. Khaz'Hila rose before them, or more precisely, the mountain that Khaz'Hila resided in. All that could be seen of the fortress city was a series of four huge walls surrounding the entrance to the underground city. The first wall was situated on ground level before the mountain while each succeeding wall was located higher up on the mountain then the previous. Each of the three walls resided on huge platforms that seemed to have been carved by some huge god like force out of the cliff face.
Alihvan woke up shortly after Gohan. Gohan watched her stretch and yawn with an amused look on his face. Alihvan looked around sleepily as she tried to sort out her bearings. Finding nothing really familiar, aside from the rock that fit the rock shape indentation in her back where she had slept on it and Gohan, she sighed.
"You didn't happen to bring any food with you eh?" Alihvan asked curiously.
Gohan snickered and shook his head and was about to speak when something suddenly hit him. He looked at her more closely and smirked to himself causing her to get nervous. "You know Alihvan. You remind me of someone. I know a certain someone that does the exact same thing as you when they wake up. You two should meet, you would like him. He and my brother love to pull pranks just like you do… Actually they are known as the best in our reality and sought by many." Gohan said with a smile.
Alihvan eyed Gohan warily, "I'll ah…. Think about it." She said, "I don't really have any plans on leaving my grandpa or my people."
Gohan nodded and said no more on the subject, "I think we should get moving."
Alihvan nodded and sprung to her feet, "I suppose I'll have to wait until we get to Khaz'Hila to get anything to eat. I'm not really partial to tree bark and grass." She said as she eyed her surroundings.
Gohan chuckled and began to run towards the main gates. Alihvan caught up soon after and the two continued on in silence all the way to the gates. The gates looked as imposing up close as they did from afar… to normal people at least. Gohan and Alihvan were anything but normal. Gohan had wrapped his tail around his waist to appear human while Alihvan just covered her ears with her hair. There were many guards at the gates but the gates themselves were wide open to allow traffic to flow in and out of the city. It may be a fortress city but it still required constant re-supplying if it wished to stay that way. The guards looked at Gohan and Alihvan and stopped them before they could go through the gates.
"What business do you have here?" A tall burly human asked.
Gohan looked offended, "We are merely a father and daughter who come here in search for shelter and food." A grumble from both their stomachs reinforced their later statement, "We have no desire to eat tree bark and grass all the way from here to the next city." Gohan explained.
The guard looked at the two hard but couldn't detect any lies in what they had said. "What's up with the crazy outfit?" The guard demanded as he pointed at Gohan's saiyan battle armour.
Gohan smiled, "Well, I need to be able to protect myself somehow right? Try it out, swing your sword at my chest as hard as you possibly can." Gohan said as he proudly thrust his chest out.
The guard grinned, "Gladly, it's been a long time since I was able to swing at something solid." He said and swung his two-handed sword as hard as possible. A loud SNAP was heard as the blade of the sword snapped in two. The guard stared at Gohan in surprise.
Gohan grinned, "See, it is armour, and damn good armour as well. I would not part with it for anything." He said and proceeded to walk through the gates, "Nice meeting you… ahh… guard."
Alihvan hurried through after him leaving the stunned guard behind. Once they were outside hearing distance of the main gate Alihvan addressed Gohan.
"Was that really necessary?" She asked.
Gohan shrugged, "Not really, but I was bored, and now I am not. I'll have something to tell Vegeta when I get back. He will chuckle at it."
Alihvan shook her head, "And what about the lying? I'm not your daughter and you're not my father."
Gohan laughed out loud at that, "I did not lie. I said a father and daughter. You are a daughter to someone and I am a father of one, soon to be two, children. No word I said was a lie." Gohan replied and turned to look at Alihvan with a quizzical look in his eyes, "Do you not have some errands to run? I thought you were not going to accompany me the entire way."
Alihvan smiled at Gohan, "Oh yes thank you for reminding me I think I will…" Suddenly Alihvan's head snapped forward as she stared at the mountain in both anger and fear. "… Accompany you… Plans have changed." She said mysteriously.
Gohan looked at her questioningly. Alihvan caught his look and settled herself down, "Something's changed. I'm with you now… and I don't think you'll have to worry too much about what you kill in there." She said.
Gohan frowned and the two continued up the mountain in silence. When they reached the second gate Gohan immediately knew something was wrong. It wasn't until he used ki blanket that he was able to figure out the wrongness. The people guarding this gate were not human. They looked human but they felt like nothing he had ever sensed before. They weren't mortal.
Gohan looked over at Alihvan, "Stay behind me. We will get through; I will not let them hurt you. Not like last time..." He trailed off so low that even Alihvan had a hard time catching it. She looked over at Gohan and wondered what he meant by 'last time' but obeyed nonetheless.
The second gate was open like the first and the guards didn't bother trying to stop and question them. If they had gotten through the first gate then there was no reason they shouldn't be allowed through the second. The guards eyed everyone nonetheless making many nervous and wondering what they were walking into. Only two people out of the entire stream of people heading in had a clue.
It was on their way to the third gate that Gohan noticed something that had been bugging him since the very beginning, "Why are there not anyone coming out from Khaz'Hila?" Gohan asked Alihvan, "Do they have a second entrance for that?"
Alihvan frowned and shook her head, "No they don't… and now that you mention it, it is strange. The last time I was here people were flowing both ways…" She answered perplexed.
Gohan frowned and started to slowly power up so as to not let anyone onto what he was doing. Runes quickly flashed and disappeared around Alihvan as she too prepared herself for the worst.
The next two gates passed like the second. The guards merely watched the people flow by with hungry eyes and disturbed them not. Most weren't fully aware of what was going on, only that something odd was happening. Gohan looked back down to the first gate as he reached the main doors that led into the mountain fortress. The lower gates had been closed for the night and a few people were milling around outside, more then likely in frustration at not being able to reach the gates before they closed.
"Come on, hurry through, we want to close for the night!" A massive guard shouted from his post just beside the huge gates that led into the mountain.
Gohan looked at Alihvan and the two of them nodded in agreement. The two entered the gates to the city and Gohan gawked at what he saw for a moment before he recovered. The entire mountain had been hollowed out and the city sat within it. There were various levels to the city with the rich and powerful living at the top and the poor and weak living at the bottom. The entrance was situated exactly halfway between the bottom and top levels of the city.
Gohan looked over at Alihvan, "Do you have any clue where the sword may be?" He asked.
She nodded, "Yes, I know exactly where it is. It's on the top level in the very heart of the temple of Rage." She responded.
"Rage, is that not an emotion?"
Alihvan nodded, "Yes, rage is an emotion, but it's also the name of the god of battle." She replied.
Gohan nodded, "Well, no time like the present. I have already made it this far without any blood shed; let's see if I can go the rest of the way. If it had been Vegeta he would have just blasted the gates apart and then blasted the mountain apart not caring how many innocents he killed." Gohan mused to himself.
"I'm afraid there'll be a lot of blood shed before the night is through… and I hardly think many of the people here are… innocent." She said softly to herself, to softly for even Gohan to hear. To Gohan she said, "Yes, I know. He seems rather hot headed eh?" Alihvan said.
A thought occurred to Gohan suddenly, "You believe us do you not? That we are capable of blowing up entire mountains, yet your grand father does not. Why?" Gohan asked.
Alihvan phrased her words carefully, "Because he is blind. He's loveable, polite and powerful; the most powerful of his kind… but that power is what blinds him. He cannot see, or I should say rather, that he does not wish to see and accept that anyone can be more powerful then him." Alihvan sighed, "He has been cooped up in the capital city for so long that he hasn't notice the world changing around him. There are creatures out there whose power dwarfs his own. Who could kill him with a flick of their finger… you and Vegeta are two such examples, there are many others as well. Dragons, which have just been created recently, demons… well I should say demon lords, high lords and the emperor. The lesser demons couldn't touch him. Also the titans, gods, and tharkans are all more powerful. The gods and demons have always been here but the titans and Tharkans were brought here by the gods to prevent them from being completely wiped out. Whether you wish to believe it or not the weakest creatures are the ones that reside upon this world. As you get further and further out into the universe the creatures get stronger and stronger until they rival the very gods themselves. There are some planets at the very edge that even the gods fear to go to. I don't know why, they refuse to even talk about it. It makes me wonder what's there. Anyways I have a feeling we may very well see a demon tonight." She answered.
Gohan frowned thoughtfully, "How do you know all of this?" Gohan asked.
Alihvan giggled, "Unlike you I'm favoured by the gods. I don't have to do these quests to talk to them. I can talk to them whenever I feel like it. I've always been curious about everything." She said with a smile.
Gohan sighed, "Great, Trunks' female double… just what I needed to deal with. Let me guess you are also physic, telepathic and telekinetic?" He asked sarcastically.
She was startled by the question then sighed and nodded totally missing the sarcasm in the question, "Yes I am, although I can't read your mind, or any of the other saiyans. As for my physic power, it's not perfect, I can only see a short distance into the future and it's always just a possibility. Although the possibility of us meeting a powerful creature tonight is so high that it will be pure luck if we do not encounter it."
Gohan sighed, "Great… and here I was thinking we could do it without fighting… Oh well, bring him on!" Gohan said finally and a grin creased his face. He hadn't had a powerful foe to fight in a long time and his adrenaline had started to pump at the mere prospect of a good fight.
Alihvan shook her head sadly, saiyans… they've changed a lot… but it seems some things will always be the same. Alihvan looked up and concentrated. Runes flashed around her startling everyone within sight. The guards gaped at her as she revealed who she was, a rune mage. Only elves knew how to use rune magic safely and they were extremely distrusted here. With that she lifted into the air and flew upwards towards the top level. The guards down below started yelling at her to stop but she didn't heed them.
Gohan shook his head in amusement, "Well, I guess there is no point in hiding our presences any longer." He said to himself. Gohan let his tail unwind from around his waist causing some people to scream in shock drawing attention to him. Everyone stared at him as Gohan revealed himself as a species alien to their world. A roar of rage signalled Gohan's power up and a shockwave rippled outwards knocking everyone around him to the ground. A second later Gohan blasted into the air as he flew off to catch up to Alihvan.
The guards didn't even bother yelling at Gohan. The brief display of power had shaken the lesser demons in their boots. When a being exhibited power enough to rival their lords they knew well enough to stay away from him/her.
Due to the excitement caused by Gohan and Alihvan at the entrance it wasn't surprising when the city alarm sounded a minute later. Gohan looked over to Alihvan, "Let us get this over with quickly. The entire city will be arrayed against us soon. Once we have the sword I can blow a hole in the side of the mountain and I can fly us out of here." Gohan yelled over to Alihvan.
"Fly us out? Are you crazy!? What about the barrier?" She yelled back.
Gohan smirked, "I do not believe that will be much of a problem. I think I have figured out exactly how it stops people from flying… and let us just say that I have devised a way around it." Gohan yelled back.
Alihvan looked at Gohan hard for a moment trying to see if he had lost his sanity but all she saw was a smug look of satisfaction. She sighed as she replied, "Alright fine. It'll be easy to find the place, it's the biggest building on the top level and there are huge statues surrounding i…" She stopped as they crested the edge of the top level. The temple was there, and so were the statues… Only the statues were not of the god Rage, but were statues of demonic creatures.
Gohan looked over at Alihvan, "Seems there has been some redecorating since you were last here." He remarked mildly.
For some reason Alihvan exploded in anger, "HOW DARE THEY! HOW DARE THEY DEFILE THE TEMPLE LIKE THAT! I'LL MAKE THEM PAY!" She roared in a rune enhanced voice.
Gohan frowned, floated over to Alihvan, and clamped his hand onto her shoulder. "No you will not. We are here for one reason, to get the sword, not to avenge the changing of a few statues!" Gohan said firmly.
Alihvan glared at Gohan for a moment before she visibly calmed herself, "Alright fine, let's get this over with. I can't stand what has been done to this place."
Gohan nodded and flew towards the temple with Alihvan close behind, "You know…" Gohan started. "We are here to get the sword right? Well if we just say… happen across the defiler on the way there, or on the way out, I do not see any thing wrong with exacting a bit of revenge." He said with a small smile.
Alihvan laughed gaily and her mood brightened considerably, "You know, that made me feel a lot better. Thank you, I hope we do meet up with the leader here. He apparently has been consorting with demons and will make him the one who changed these statues." She laughed.
Gohan smiled, glad that she was happy, or at least happier. When they reached the front steps to the temple an idea occurred to Gohan.
"Hey, Alihvan, I have an idea. You go in and get the sword. I will stay here and guard our exit. The demon worshippers may have changed and defiled the outside of the temple but if this is a true temple then it would have been impossible for the inside to be defiled. You should be able to handle anything within; it is those out here that will require me to deal with." Gohan said.
Alihvan smiled happily, glad that one problem she had been worried about was solved. "Alright Gohan, take care. I don't want to come out to your corpse. I am after all getting this sword for you."
Alihvan rushed up the steps of the temple and disappeared inside. Gohan turned and kept an eye on everything else as he waited for Alihvan to return. Gohan stretched out his ki blanket and took stock of where everyone and everything was. Gohan's eyes widened immediately as he sensed what was happening. All of the darker life forces, the demonic forces, were rapidly moving all over the city while all the human, dwarven, hawken and elven life forces were winking out, not one by one, but hundreds every second. Gohan strained his ears and the sounds of screams faintly reached them. Gohan shook his head in grief; no wonder why there was not anyone leaving the city. There is not anyone left alive to leave the city. I really do not want to witness what is going on down there.
Suddenly a monstrous life force detached itself from the mass down below and rapidly approached the top level. Many other strong life forces followed the huge one while all of the lesser demons stayed below and feasted upon the scraps of the mortals they had slaughtered.
Gohan braced himself to face the monster of darkness was rising up from the bowels of the mountain. He didn't have to wait long because suddenly a large shape shot up over the rim of the top level and settled down in front of Gohan. The demon lord stood ten feet tall and looked quite humanoid to Gohan's surprise. The only thing that made him appear any different was the blood red skin, white horns, long black hair, and the various spikes jutting from various parts of his body. From the back of the demon lord two massive wings beat at the air lazily. A huge sword of fire lay strapped across the demon lords back between the wings. Soon after several hundred other demons settled down beside the demon lord as the demon lord pulled his sword out in front of him with one hand.
Gohan smirked, "My my, look who decided to join me up here." Gohan said in a low voice as his saiyan battle lust began to overcome reason, "And you brought some friends, how kind of you." Gohan said as a crooked grin split his face.
The creature eyed Gohan in curiosity, "You are… different. Most mortals would tremble at my mere presence but you are… excited by it. I have never met someone like you." The demon said in a quiet deep dark voice that echoed across the cavern. He suddenly noticed something waving lazily behind Gohan, "Ah, I see. You ARE unique. What are you? Some genetic mistake the gods made?"
Gohan arced back and laughed, "No, I'm no defect… I'm a saiyan. A pure saiyan and all saiyans love, no, thrive off the thrill of fighting the strongest beings in existence." Gohan replied.
The demon smirked, "And you think you can beat me? Listen 'saiyan'. I am willing to make you a deal. You intrigue me, I will admit that, and because you intrigue me I will give you a chance to surrender and serve me. It has its perks, even if they are not apparent at first." The demon said in his deep rumbling voice.
Alihvan had arrived, with the sword, just in time to hear the demons proposal and after seeing Gohan's face she feared for the worst. She decided to stay within the shadows of the temple. She did not want to face a demon lord underground where her powers were at their weakest. She looked at Gohan and was comforted and dismayed at his next words.
Gohan smirked right back at the demon lord, "I think you mistake me. My race thrives off battle… But I thrive off killing creatures like you. In fact, I'm preparing to fight a creature so powerful that it makes you seem like an ant beneath my heel, which is exactly where you will be once I am finished with you!" Gohan said the last coming out in a growl.
Gohan arced back again, but this time laughter didn't ensue. Instead waves of pure raw energy rolled off Gohan as he roared in rage and powered up. The demon lord backed up a step as he stared at Gohan in surprise. He did not expect any mortal to possess this much raw energy and it was trifling worrying. Gohan's muscles bulged to twice their size as his hair grew longer and wilder. The transformation scared all the regular demons and increased the demon lord's wariness. Soon the roar ended and Gohan stood before the demon lord as fully powered up ultra super saiyan.
No point in taking it all the way, Gohan though, I really do not want to take it to the next level because if I did the whole mountain is liable to collapse. Besides, this should be enough. Gohan looked up at the demon lord and grinned so evilly that it reminded the demon of himself. "Now, shall we get this party started?" Gohan said in a low voice.
Gohan didn't wait for an answer and shot forward at an incredible speed. A shockwave sounded as Gohan planted his fist under the demons chin sending him onto his back. No sooner had the demon lord hit the ground then he was back on his feet glaring at the grinning saiyan. "I have never met a mortal as powerful as you, but I'll make you regret the day you took your first breath!" The demon roared as he charged Gohan.
Gohan side stepped the swipe of the blade and kicked the demons feet out from under him. The demon reached out with his unburdened hand, caught himself and swung his feet around to slam into Gohan as his claws dug into the ground for support. Gohan hurtled through the air to smash into one of the demonic statues. The statue cracked and fell as Gohan went right through it but before it had fallen more then a foot it was incinerated as Gohan blasted forward through the place where it had once been. The demon caught Gohan's hand in his own as Gohan took a swing at him. The demon's hold was short lived as Gohan fired an energy blast into the arm holding his hand.
The demon roared and let go of Gohan, but not before breathing out a ball of fire at him. The ball slammed into Gohan and did nothing. The aura that surrounded Gohan was hotter then ball of liquid fire that the demon had spat at him. The ground was evidence of that as it glowed red whenever Gohan passed over it.
The demon frowned and snapped his fingers. Suddenly all the demons that had followed him jumped at Gohan. Gohan merely smiled and started to blast them apart one at a time. Dispatching the regular demons was an easy task for Gohan, or would have been if the demon lord hadn't decided to join the fray. Gohan suddenly found his hands full dodging the earth shattering blows from the demons kicks and punches as well as the multitudes of other demons around him.
Gohan suddenly frowned and shot high into the air only to stop at the very top of the cavern. He looked down and saw that all of the demons were following. A grin appeared yet again on his face as he raised his hands above his head.
"MASENKO-HA!" Gohan roared as he unleashed a massive torrent of raw energy downwards towards the demons.
The demons only had time to look on in horror before most of them were engulfed in the energy wave. The wave continued on through the demons, ripping them apart as if they were nothing but air. The demon lord stood his ground, determined not to be beaten by a mere mortal. The lord of demons stretched out his hands and grasped the sword tightly with both hands. When the energy wave slammed into the sword it was instantly destroyed much to the demon lord's dismay but he didn't budge from his spot. When the energy encountered his hands he clenched all the muscles in his body and summoned the darkness from within him and held the wave at bay.
Gohan's eyes widened as he sensed his energy wave halt before the demon lord. His grin turned into a snarl as he roared yet again pouring more energy into the blast.
The demon lord couldn't believe what was happening. It was not possible for a mortal to hold this much energy without their body exploding. He knew he could handle it but it would severely weaken him. Suddenly a cracking sound was heard. Gohan wouldn't give way, the demon lord wouldn't give way, but something had to, and that something was the platform the top level was situated upon. A resounding crack was heard by all in the cavern as the northern edge of the platform gave way. The demon lord suddenly found himself being carried away unwillingly by the energy blast due to the betrayal of the ground he had stood upon.
The demon lord snarled in anger and used his powers to levitate on the spot. The demon glared up at Gohan through the wave and snarled in anger. With a roar of anger he twisted the blast and sent it tumbling down towards the lower platforms. Gohan stopped pouring energy into the wave as soon as he felt the resistance end and frowned. He knew the demon wasn't dead. He could still feel his presences, and in fact flew to meet him.
Twin explosions rocked the cavern city of Khaz'Hila as the energy wave Gohan had fired slammed into the lower platforms killing scores of lesser demons and as the fists of the demon lord and Gohan collided together. The two began to hammer away at one another with increasing speed with the demon showing surprising agility despite his bulk and height. They continued that way for several minutes until the demon start to smirk.
"Well I must say this has been an entertaining fight. I haven't felt this good in a long time but I'm afraid I must end it… It's time to take it up a notch, to my maximum." The demon lord said as he brought to bear all his power. Gohan's eyes widened as he realized the demon now overpowered him by a lot. Soon all Gohan could do was dodge the blows that were coming at him much to fast for him to see. He had to rely on his instinct and reaction but both were greatly reduced due to his bulking up to ultra.
All of a sudden Gohan made a slip and the demon slammed a massive fist into Gohan's face that rocked him to the side an instant before the demons smashed both his fists into Gohan's skull. Gohan fell from the air like a falling star to land with a massive crash into the ground just in front of the temple.
The demon was all over Gohan before he could even respond to the impact hammering fist after fist into the young saiyans body. Alihvan watched in horror as her protection was brutalized by the demon lord and realized she had to do something to distract the demon lord long enough for her to grab Gohan and teleport them to safety.
A flash of light distracted the demon from his play with Gohan causing him to look over towards the temple. Suddenly his eyes widened as he saw a massive pillar of runes surrounding a young girl. The pillar of runes whirled around Alihvan and began to condense into a single ball of blazing energy as she drew more and more runes in the air before her. Suddenly she shot both her hands out in front of her as the ball of runes settled just in front of them. A massive pentagram of runes appeared before the ball of eldritch runes and suddenly the ball was sent flying through the pentagram and at the demon lord with god like speed.
The demon lord didn't even have time to move before it was all said and done and the energy ball slammed into his chest. The energy exploded into a wall of blue fire that wrapped itself around the demon lord where it exploded a second time. The second explosion ripped the demon lord from Gohan and threw him off the platform.
She started to run forward towards Gohan but stopped as a black shape dropped down between her and Gohan. Her eyes widened and she began to back up, "How… how did you recover to fast?" She gasped in surprise.
The demon lord grinned, "Because I am a demon lord! Not some pathetic mortal. It will take more then rune magic to hurt me, even if it's at a high level." The demon snarled out and began to advance on Alihvan.
As he got near her he stopped as he noticed her eyes A grin creased his face as he realized who he was standing before, "Well well well, what do we have here… The rune g…" The demon lord was cut off as a foot slammed into his face.
The demon lord flew several meters to the side where he slammed into the ground and skidded for several more. When he looked up he saw Gohan glaring at him with such hatred and rage that it left the demon lord speechless.
Gohan glared at the demon lord as his rage threatened to overwhelm him, "YOU! LEAVE HER ALONE! I WILL NOT ALLOW ANYONE OR ANYTHING TO HURT HER AGAIN!" Gohan roared, caught in the memories of the past. Alihvan and the demon lord were both thoroughly confused but they also realised that didn't matter right now because Gohan was on the verge of exploding.
Gohan's fists clenched together so tightly that blood began to leak between the fingers when suddenly he snapped. Gohan arched back and roared as rage overwhelmed him. Energy once again began to ripple out from Gohan but this time they were so intense that the entire mountain began to shake and tremble. Both the demon lord and Alihvan stared at Gohan in horror; the demon lord out of a current fear, and Alihvan out of a past. Suddenly a massive explosion, bigger then all that had occurred so far combined erupted from Gohan preceded by a massive shockwave. The results were the destruction of the mountain fortress. The entire thing exploded in a massive eruption of fire and death. Only Alihvan was spared due to her magic and a shield Gohan had erected around her and the demon lord who was strong enough to take the force.
When the smoke and fire cleared the two noticed a startling change in Gohan. His muscle mass had decreased and became more tone. His hair had grown longer and wilder still and lightning now rippled up and down his body. He glared at the demon lord and the only thing that resided within his eyes was death.
"I hope you are prepared to DIE!" Gohan yelled as he attacked. The demon didn't know what hit him as Gohan used instant transmission to appear instantly in front of the demon and began to hammer blows faster then the demon could see. The demon just floated there in the sky as he was pummelled from all directions by a being he couldn't see let alone catch. Finally Gohan decided he had had enough fun and slammed both of his feet into the demons face before he grabbed him by the arms and swung him into the sky.
"THIS IS A NEW TECHNIQUE I HAD BEEN SAVING! ENJOY!" Gohan roared as he spread his arms and legs apart and gathered energy in front of him. Gohan poured more and more energy into his attack as he drew upon the power of his rage for fuel. Energy seemed to gather at specific vortexes in front of Gohan and there were five in all. One in front of each palm, one in front of each foot and the last, largest one, in front of Gohan's chest. Once Gohan had deemed he had enough energy he roared out, "DARKNESS ETERNAL!" And let loose all of the energy he had been gathering.
The ball at the center of Gohan's chest shot forward into one massive wave of energy that kept growing and growing as it was fed by the four points at Gohan's hands and feet. The demon lord's eyes widened in shock a split second before the energy wave engulfed and incinerated him. He didn't even have a chance to defend himself and soon found himself careening back into the depths of the abyss.
When Gohan sensed the last of the demons life force wink out of this existence he stopped his attack and floated there in the sky breathing deeply. He suddenly remembered Alihvan and quickly looked down and there she was, staring up at him in shock and fear. Gohan shook his head sadly. He had over done it, he knew he had. He floated down to Alihvan, slowly as to not scare her anymore.
As he got near he put his hand behind his head and scratched his head sheepishly, "Ahh… I guess I over did it, I am sorry." He said.
Alihvan shook herself out of her stupor and was quick to reassure Gohan, "No no it's not that. It's just… I've never seen such power emitted by a mortal and it… scared me. It makes me wonder about the future and if others will possess that much power." She said and quickly continued catching Gohan's weird look, "No offence… but look what happened, you, a kind, considerate person who always helps those in need became lost due to the amount of power you possessed. What would happen if someone with bad moral values came into possession of such power? I shudder to think of the consequences." She said.
Gohan nodded sympathetically, "Yes… I know what you mean… We are here to get Arthain's body back so he can help us fight one such person… Only this person was good to being with but the amount of power she acquired it drove her insane." He said.
Alihvan nodded and smiled, "Well… I'm glad you can control yourself after the battle. That's a blessing I'm willing to count… I got the sword, let's get out of here. You said you could fly us out of here without the barrier hurting us right?"
Gohan nodded, "Heh… We will not be flying, but we will be outside the barrier really fast." Gohan said.
Alihvan looked up towards the sky that had begun to turn black, "Well either way I think we should leave, now." She replied.
Gohan looked up and quickly agreed. He suddenly appeared in front of Alihvan and grabbed her arm. He brought his other hand to his forehead and searched for Vegeta's life force, and when found, teleported to it.
----------------------------
Back at the palace in the capital city of Vihn…
Vegeta was following his nose as he headed towards the dining room when something, or rather someone, appeared rather abruptly in front of him. With a yell Vegeta stumbled backwards and was about to kill whoever it was until he recognized Gohan. A second later he recognized Alihvan and the sword she was carrying.
Vegeta smirked, "Hmph, so that's where she went. I see you two got the sword… That is the sword right?" Vegeta asked.
Alihvan nodded, "Yes, this is it, the Sword of the Avenger." She said as she presented the sword to Vegeta.
Vegeta smiled, "Finally, took you long enough Gohan. Why did your power spike like it did? Meet some unexpected trouble?" Vegeta asked as he took the sword from Alihvan.
Gohan nodded, "Yes as a matter of fact I did. Getting in to the city was much easier then getting out. Going in they welcomed us with open arms because they wanted to eat us. To get out we had to battle through a legion of lesser demons, several scores of regular demons and a demon lord. It was the demon lord that caused me problems. I had to go to my maximum to beat him." Gohan confessed.
Vegeta's eyes bugged out, "YOU MEAN I MISSED A GOOD FIGHT!" Vegeta yelled and Gohan nodded, "ARGH! I can't believe this, next time Gohan I am going with you. I'm not going to let you have all the fun!"
Gohan laughed, "As you wish my liege." Gohan said mockingly.
"Don't you start Gohan; I won't miss out on another good fight!" Vegeta declared as he waved the sword around.
Alihvan shook her head in wonder, these saiyans are all crazy!
Gohan looked over at Alihvan before speaking again, "Vegeta, I think we should keep our mental barriers up. Alihvan is a telepath and she can read our minds. It is not that I do not trust her with my secrets, it just there are some things I would rather no one know, and I am sure you are the same way Vegeta." Gohan said.
Vegeta eyed Alihvan, "Hmm…. I hadn't any plans on lowering the barrier but now I have even more reason not to. Thank you Gohan." Vegeta said as he looked down the hallway, "Now if you'll excuse me… diner awaits."
Suddenly twin growls shook the hall causing Vegeta to look back in amusement. Alihvan and Gohan laughed sheepishly. Gohan looked at himself and then at Alihvan before he spoke again, "Vegeta… tell Gahlanthas we will be there for diner but we will be late. I think we should clean up before we go, and after that I am taking a dip in the regeneration chambers. I would go there now but I am too hungry to heal." Gohan said and Alihvan nodded her agreement.
Vegeta shrugged, "Sure why not, it's not as if we are trying to eat him out of his and home… Oh wait we are. Oh well his tough luck." Vegeta said as he strapped the sword across his back and continued down the hallway.
Thirty minutes later Gohan walked into the dining room and took his place beside Vegeta. The food had just started to come out so he hadn't missed much. Gahlanthas shook his head from his position at the head of the table as he looked at Gohan. His daughter had arrived just a few minutes before him and had taken her place at his side. She didn't say where she had gone and no one else would give him any clue but he was intelligent enough to know that wherever she went was connected with Gohan somehow. He looked again at the sword he held in his hands and shook his head. He couldn't believe the story Vegeta had told him. A demon lord? Defeated by a pathetic monkey human? He wouldn't believe it. He figured Gohan had snuck in, stolen the sword, and snuck out before anyone had any clue as to what had happened.
The only thing that couldn't be explained by that thought was the ruins of Khaz'Hila. He had used his rune magic to look across the distance to Khaz'Hila and nothing made sense. Nothing he knew had the power to destroy a mountain fortress and he wasn't about to consider the possibility that Gohan had done it.
Either way how Gohan got the sword was irrelevant, what did matter was that he had gotten it and had returned with it and now he was forced to give the saiyans another quest. Suddenly a thought occurred to him and he began to smile once more. He had a quest that they would either go home before accomplishing or would die trying to. No one could find the main dragon hive and if one did getting in, snatching a baby dragon egg and getting out was impossible. Stealth wouldn't help them much in a situation where smell gave them away far more easily then sight and hearing. He was sure he could take a few dragons on his own with his powerful magic, but a whole dragon clan? Nothing short of a god could accomplish that feat.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two days later inside the council chambers…
"Just give us the quest already; you've had us cooling on our heels for over a day now! I want this over with so I can get home!" Vegeta snarled out in impatience.
The elder, Gahlanthas, looked at Vegeta with amusement, "Alright, you want a quest? Fine, you have one. I want a baby dragon egg." The elder said.
Vegeta looked at him in confusion, "A baby what?" He asked.
"A baby dragon egg. Dragon's live in clans located within huge systems of interlocking caverns deep underground. It's there and only there that you will find dragon eggs. I require a dragon egg to help appease the gods. Dragons are notorious for killing their favoured race, namely mine, and bringing one of their children will help to make them look more favourably upon you." Gahlanthas said.
Gohan frowned at that, "Gods hate them? I thought the gods were the ones that saved them from extinction… How can stealing one of their children help to 'appease' their anger towards us?" Gohan asked.
Gahlanthas frowned, "I do not know where or from whom you heard that rubbish from but I can assure you that dragons are evil." Gahlanthas said.
Gohan shrugged, "If you say so. I have my doubts. If demons are not evil, how can dragons be?" Gohan asked.
Tixx stood up straight and yelled, "WHAT! DEMONS ARE EVIL! THEY REPRESENT EVERYTHING THAT…"
"… does not agree with your points of view." Gohan finished for the elder as he glanced at him. "You must realize there is no such thing as 'good' and 'evil.' Demons do not see themselves as evil. They see themselves as good. They perceive you as evil because you represent everything they dislike and hate much like what they do for you. It is merely a difference of views. I believe that both sides are right and wrong and therefore neither is good and evil because both sides possess equal quantities of both alignments. I like using the terms, 'us' and 'them' because it sums everything up nicely and does not leave room for misunderstanding." Gohan finished.
The shocked looks on the faces of the elders displayed what they thought of Gohan's statements. Karie and Bardock had been nodding in agreement with Gohan throughout his speech while Vegeta just smirked at the elders as their looks grew more and more shocked.
Gahlanthas finally regained his composure after several moments and cleared his throat, "I do believe that you…"
"… Are too closed minded to accept what I have said. Let us go Vegeta. We have some dragon eggs to find and sitting here arguing about philosophical points of view with a bunch of set-in-their-ways elders will solve nothing." Gohan said as he left his seat and the council hall. Vegeta and the other saiyans left quickly not wanting to wait around for the explosion that was sure to follow.
When they had left hearing range of the elders all of them burst out laughing. "Oh my Gohan, I didn't know you had it in you!" Karie said as she held her sides and shook with laughter.
Gohan merely grinned and laughed, "Did you see their faces? It would not have shocked them nearly so much if it was not for the fact that everything I said was true. I think I just turned their world up side down and shook it. They are not going to be too happy about this are they?" Gohan asked, stilling laughing.
Vegeta snickered, the most composed of the five but on the inside he was laughing so hard he could die, "Heh, Alright we have a job to do like Gohan said. I'll head north, Gohan you head south because you know that direction. Bardock, you head east and Karie you head west. Arthain, I want you to stay here and keep an eye on things. We'll relay all our findings to Arthain and he'll keep each of us posted of what the others have found alright? Now move out and don't bother coming back until you find some damned dragons." Vegeta began to walk away before he stopped and turned to look at Arthain, "Oh, and could you go ask around and see if you can figure out exactly what a dragon is? It would be rather hard to find them if we don't know what they look like." Vegeta explained and Arthain nodded, "One more thing, if ANYONE starts the fun without me I will skin them myself when this quest is finished!"
Arthain laughed and headed off through one of the walls startling the people in the adjacent room. Vegeta just shook his head, "I honestly wonder if he does that out of enjoyment or habit." Vegeta said as he headed off. Gohan, Bardock and Karie nodded to each other before they too took off to head in their respective directions. The search for the dragons had begun.
To be continued…
Oh, if you are wondering how it was light when Gohan teleported to the capital of Vihn… well it's my story for one and two it's a different planet then earth and it's at the center of the universe. The suns, yes more then one, don't circle horizontally around the planet, and yes the suns circle the planet because they are smaller, well… one does but the other sun circles vertically giving rise to very odd day/night time patterns.
One thing, it's going to take awhile for Vegeta and company to find the dragons for several reasons. They can't use their life force detection skill because of several reasons. 1, the planet is too big and none of them, with the exception of Arthain, could stretch their ki blanket across the breadth of the planet. 2) even if they could do that it wouldn't help because dragons live underground and the ki blanket has to be directed specifically downwards to detect them but if they do that then they can no longer cover the entire planet but can only do a small portion and would take to long to do the entire planet and 3) they wouldn't know what to look for. They don't know what the life force of a dragon feels like so even if they could somehow get around 1 and 2, they wouldn't be able to get past 3. Once they find the dragon lair then they can get there instantly but they have to find it first :).
Man… I was going to add SO much more to this… Sheesh, was going to do another Trunks/Goten part plus the rest of the quests but if every quest is like this one... I think I may need to have more then a couple chapters.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the exceedingly long chapter; it's freaking 22 pages when it's in print preview. I truly hope none of you expected me to proof read this beast.