Chapter Two: Loyalties Lie
Gohan stood squinted happily with his wide grin at the form of the shadow that stood before him. Although his face was blurred out from the faint memory, Gohan could tell that the man was smiling back. A whisper of his words washed over the young boy as he sat in the sweet green carpet of ground.
"While your mom's preoccupied with the dishes, we can go out on Nimbus."
"Nimbus?" Gohan asked curiously sucking on his tender thumb. "What's that."
"I'll show you," The voice flowed back.
Gohan took a deep breath of the fine air that was filled with all sorts of heavenly smells that he couldn't even begin to describe. The man let out a shout for the strange item he spoke of only being answered by the whipping of wind fingers through his and Gohan's dark hair. Gohan giggled slightly as a small caterpillar crawled up his arm. He placed the caterpillar back on the grass and flipped over onto to his stomach watching it slink away.
"Bye Mister Caterpillar."
"Here he comes. He's a lot slower then I remembered," The man commented with a faint chuckle.
Gohan laughed too. He didn't know why, but this man was so friendly and so loving he felt more at peace then he could ever recall being.
A bright golden cloud descended from the heavens stopping at a halt before the two. Gohan was frightened at its sudden appearance and clung onto the man's orange pant leg. The man chuckled some more and wrapped his warm arms about Gohan placing him onto the cloud. The cloud let out a purr of comfort for having sure a sugar sweet innocence on its back. Gohan smiled and wiggled his fingers through the cloud's soft hair. It felt so airy, Gohan couldn't see how he was still afloat. Gohan hugged the cloud to his chest and laughed happily. He actually laughed.
The man laughed too taking a seat behind the small boy. He gave a command to Nimbus and it took off giving no warning to Gohan. Gohan cried out at first but he quickly got used to the wind whistling past his ears and the taste of the bitter sweet sky. He was seeing the world in a way he didn't think was possible. Even the books he had read didn't give him such splendor.
"I knew you would enjoy this, Gohan," The man smiled from above him.
Gohan looked up at the face lit up from underneath the burning sun. All Gohan could make out was his eyes… they looked exactly like his own.
"Daddy?"
"Hm, Gohan?"
"I…lo-love you."
"I love you too, Gohan." The man smiled happily, "And always will."
"No matter what?"
"No matter what."
Gohan giggled.
Suddenly everything went dark. Gohan spun about to see a large man blocking the light of the glorious sun. He was huge with a warrior face and long dark rugged hair that hung to his waist. He wore the strangest outfit, nothing like the kind that Gohan and his father had. And he had a tail wrapped about his waist. The Sayian… The one who always ended his dreams.
A bright light shot out from his palms striking though his father's chest. Gohan caught sight of his father's blank tear filled eyes as he fell. The cloud collapsed after its master died leaving Gohan with no support in the air. So he fell down the endless drop, screaming over the sayian's continual laughter.
"Not even if the sky fell down…"
Gohan sat up with a start bumping his head hard against the beeping computer that was supposed to wake him up. Most alarms didn't work on Gohan even in his dreamless slumbers. Gohan hugged his knees to his chest clutching the sliver space blanket tightly. It wasn't very warm but then again, fighters were supposed to endure with very little. Gohan had it better then most because he was a favorite of the great Lord Frezia. Frezia actually smiled when Gohan visited his quarters.
Gohan rubbed his sore forehead finding it slightly ironic he had hit his head in the exact same place of his almost invisible scar. The scar that had marked his beginning services to Lord Frezia those seven years ago.
"Good morning, Master Gohan."
"Good morning, Compti," Gohan greeted with his nickname for his hovering computer. "I had another dream last night."
"Not about your imaginary planet again?"
Gohan smirked slight as he held his palms above his knees in a calming notation. Dancing above his finger tips his ki energy flowed taking the shape of a delicate insect with glorious rainbow wings. It gently sunned itself in Gohan's sweet grip moving its wings slowly as it rested.
"Earth is so beautiful. I feel as if it really existed."
"It could be possible, Master Gohan," The computer beeped. "There are thousands of unexplored planets out there not yet rightfully claimed by Lord Frezia."
Gohan swiftly moved his hands causing the creature to catch the breeze in its wings and take flight above his head. Gohan sighed softly watching it soar around the room. He had completely zoned the computer out for several seconds. His dark amber eyes watched the insect fly as if he dreamed to move in such a way.
"I think my dreams are trying giving me hints of my past. Of my parents."
"May I ask why, Master Gohan, when you already knows what happened to your parents?" The computer piped causing Gohan to flinch.
The question of his parents had come a little while after he had turned six. He had asked Frezia and the answer was something that Gohan didn't like hearing. His parents had been traitors to the Frezia Empire and had teamed up with a Sayian named Raditz who was a spy on the space station. Gohan who had been born on accident was abandoned in a pod that was programmed to ram into the station and explode. But something went wrong and Gohan was saved from the program. Raditz attempted to guide Gohan into the station himself but it didn't work out as planned and he was killed. Frezia had raised Gohan since then…
But something didn't add up to that story. Gohan knew his parents loved him or was that all wishful thinking? Maybe Raditz had betrayed his parents and stole him away from them. When he offered this to Frezia, Frezia did comment that it was possible.
"I have to figure out what happened to my family. I need to clear their names."
"Yes, Master Gohan."
Gohan walked to a small mirror on the side of his quarters staring at the reflection that peered back at him. He was certainly an odd pear in the Frezia empire. He looked nothing of Frezia's other warriors except for Vegeta.
Vegeta… Gohan voluntarily let out a violent shiver at the sayian's name. The man had never been real fond of Gohan, and it didn't even matter to him that he was one of Frezia's favorites. He constantly pressured and bullied Gohan ever since Gohan was a tot. He expected so much out of Gohan that Gohan often ran to the shelter of Frezia's main room to avoid the man. It was no wonder Gohan was so thrilled to hear of Vegeta's mission to a unknown planet on the other side of the galaxy. As Vegeta's ship had taken off, Frezia and Gohan had to make an appearance to see him off. After his ship had left, Gohan had muttered spitefully,"Hope a space worm sucks your guts out."
Frezia had heard him and instead of scolding the boy, he laughed. It was something that not many could accomplish here or so many say. Gohan often made people happier without intending to. But he could never be as brave and as ruthless as Frezia. That is what he hoped to achieve some day.
"How is Vegeta doing?" Gohan asked lazily wondering if the Sayian had regained his health yet.
Only a week ago, Vegeta had returned in a beaten pod. He was so murderously slashed and beaten that even Frezia wasn't sure if he would survive. They managed to get him to a recovery tank but it would take a while for him to be completely back to shape.
"He has his health to full now, Master Gohan."
"He still has to tell us what did that to him," Gohan said unkindly. "It's not fair that he can keep all these secrets from us."
"Frezia already knows of Vegeta's attacker. And that is not of your position to know, Master," The computer beeped rashly.
Gohan bowed his head slightly embarrassed of his spoiled behavior. It was true that Gohan had no real right to know. But Gohan couldn't help but want to feed his curiosity. Then again, Frezia would fill him in when he felt Gohan was needed.
Gohan tried to flatted his mop of short dark hair that had curved on top of his head. It was rather strange to have awkward hair like this since the only other species to have such a defining cut was that of a Sayian. Gohan frequently questioned that of his heritage but no answer had ever come to his aid.
"Another day, another bore," Gohan griped with a slight smile. "I hope I can find the courage to ask Frezia about joining the Ginyu Force…"
"Vegeta is in a conference with Frezia at the moment," The computer beeped informatively.
"What?" Gohan cried with great annoyance. "You mean he stole my opportunity out from beneath me while I was sleeping? Argh!"
Gohan slipped his gold and white chest piece over his black spandex quickly hoping not to waste any more time this morning in his sleeping quarters. After his black and gold trimmed boots over his waiting feet, Gohan rushed out of the room. As he dashed down the hallway the computer's voice piped out after him, "I'll be waiting for your return tonight, Master. Don't forget your curfew."
Chichi clung tight to her little son as they watched as the ship dawned the sky orange. The flames of the rocket slowly faded out of their sight leaving all those who were behind with their hopes and prayers.
Chichi closed her dark eyes letting the obscurity shade her damp face. The little boy clung tightly onto her hand with his tiny one watching the sky with great curious eyes. The minute version of his father gazed up at his mother happily and piped in his sweet voice, "Dun worry Mommy. Daddy will get him."
Chichi looked at her son with slight confusion, "Get who? Get the dragon balls?"
"No," He grinned shaking his head.
Chichi could only blink mystifyingly at her seven year old son as he smiled peacefully up at her. She shook it off gently with a smile.
"I hope so, Goten."
Gohan rushed down the hallways of the crowded space station easily dodging through the larger crowd. He never had any problems with getting anywhere he wanted. His speed was one of his top points, not counting flexibility.
He flipped up into the air bouncing over tops of the many heads narrowing miss a punch that was aimed from one of his unhappy stepping stones. Gohan leapt down from his position nearly running head on to a tank to replace the one that Vegeta had crushed. Yelling out in surprise, Gohan slipped down to the floor and pushed himself underneath the tank shortly before the men dropped the tank in shock.
"Sorry!" Gohan called back causing the men to scowl and mutter his name irritably.
Finally Gohan skidded to a halt at his destination. He pressed his hand on the protection lock allow the lasers to scan his hand. In seconds the door was open, leading Gohan to a destiny that he was not yet aware of.
"He is a rebel, Lord," Vegeta snapped. "And not to be trusted. I met his father and Gohan is exactly like him. Bold with his thoughts of love and happiness. You can't pull this veil over him much longer. Soon he will find out you are suffocating him."
"He is one of my most loyal, Vegeta," Frezia hissed. "And he would follow me to his death. Could you say that you'd do th same, Prince?"
Vegeta scowled at that comment but he did not allow himself to be discarded so easily, "I suggest you snuff him out now before he becomes uncontrollable."
"And I strongly suggest that you mind your own business, Vegeta," Frezia hissed coldly turning his back on the prince.
"Gohan will be your downfall if you do not act upon it now."
"Why would he attack me?" Frezia asked enigmatically. "I am not of the race that stole him from his parents. If I were you, Vegeta, I wouldn't want to be around when he found you were the one who sent Raditz to Earth to recollect Kakarot."
Vegeta could not think of any comeback to defend himself anymore. Instead he cursed violently and crushed a control panel on the other side of Frezia. Frezia glanced over at the damage out of the corner of his eye, rather disgusted, "Tsk, tsk. Learn to control that temper better, my prince."
The door suddenly opened revealing the very boy that had spoken of only a few minutes before. Gohan bowed his apologies of intruding rather rashly showing he didn't care of Vegeta missing some orders or reward.
"You weren't interrupting anything, Gohan," Frezia smiled causing Vegeta to flinch. "What do you wish to ask of me?"
"Well, I was hoping I could go to the try outs for the Ginyu Force. That is, of course, if you think I am ready for it," Gohan stuttered rapidly.
"You are more then ready for joining, Gohan," Frezia nodded. "I could use a person of your status on the team anyway. Go ahead and join. Maybe you could teach Captian Ginyu a thing or two."
"Oh really? Wow!" Gohan cried almost forgetting to maintain his composure. "Thank you a million times over, my lord! A million times!"
Vegeta cast a side glance to Frezia who was positively beaming. The sayian prince rolled his eyes, "Sometimes I think Frezia loves hearing that out of Gohan more than out of his dying victims."
"I must go now," Frezia muttered looking at the time. "I have to go to Namek and meet my men. I will be back later, Gohan, and perhaps you could join me."
"That would be great, my lord," Gohan nodded as Frezia exited the room.
Once Frezia had left, Gohan turned to follow too. But he was stopped by Vegeta addressing him.
"Wait."
"What?" Gohan almost snapped in his irritation.
"Why would Frezia want to go to Namek?" Vegeta muttered dully though not really talking to Gohan directly. "It must be a special planet for him not to destroy it from afar."
"Not really," Gohan shrugged. "Normal land and water features. The Namek that live there are like any other. Normal primitive society. They mainly base their life around strength rather then technology. Perhaps Frezia would want to pick up some more warriors."
"That's not enough though," Vegeta hissed darkly. "There has to be something else there."
"Maybe he is interesting in the myth of the Dragon Balls," Gohan offered.
"Dragon Balls?" Vegeta gasped nearly choking on his words. "There are Dragon Balls on Namek?"
"Not technically. It's just a myt-"
"And I let Frezia start ahead of me!" Vegeta cried.
Abruptly, Vegeta turned on Gohan, swiftly pushing Gohan hard into a pinned position against the wall, "You speak of this to anyone, boy, and even Frezia won't be able to protect you."
Gohan gave a rough nod and Vegeta let go rushing from the room. Slightly stunned, Gohan stood rubbing his neck where Vegeta had held him.
"How strange," Was all he could utter.
To Be Continued…
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