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Last time...
"But if I don't kill the monsters they're gonna hurt innocent people, and if I do it will set Keeper free." Gohan sank to his knees as this new revelation hit him harder than Cell ever could. It was a no win situation. And the first evil was already on the way...
Chapter 4: The First of Many
For the past seven months the young half-Saiyan, known as Gohan, had been training very extensively. Not just his body, but his mind also. His mother saw to that, obviously. He also meditated more often to strengthen his mind's defences. After the revelation on the look-out, Gohan was very depressed. Somehow he had managed to lure this diabolical evil. He had never felt that bad in his entire life. And the fact that his father had left him made it even worse.
Flashback:
When he finally touched down next to his dome shaped home in the East District 439 mountain village he went inside only to be grabbed by his mother in a Chi-Chi hug. That basically meant that Gohan couldn't breathe for at least two minutes. When she finally let go, Gohan breathed a sigh of relief and then looked up at his mother with a determined expression on his face.
"Mom, I want to continue my training!" He said with a tone that said: Even-if-you-say-no-I'm-gonna-do-it-anyway!
"WHAT! ABSOLUTELY NOT! NO, NO, NO!" Yamcha and Krillin were visiting and had just walked in and were crouching with their hands protecting their heads. Gohan just stood there, his determination never wavering.
"What if someone like Cell shows up again? I have to be ready mom." Gohan was talking very calmly, but inside he was screaming. "What's more important, my studies or the fate of the universe?"
"Don't be so dramatic Gohan!" Chi-Chi was getting angrier by the second. She stood with her hands on her hips and glared at the boy before her.
"Then how about we strike a compromise? I'll study the same amount of time that you allow me to train each day. How does that sound?" Gohan was hoping his mother would be willing to compromise. He stared her down, determined to not give in to his mother this time. For the first few minutes she just stood there. Then, finally...
"At least eight hours of studying each day. No less! Understand!" After the conversation Chi-Chi disappeared into the kitchen. Soon after that, the furious chopping of a knife could be heard.
Gohan couldn't believe his ears! She didn't actually say that he could train, but she didn't say he couldn't either! To be on the safe side Gohan decided to stay out of the kitchen for a while.
"Gohan? Eh...what just happened?" Yamcha and Krillin were now on their feet and each put a hand on one of Gohan's shoulders. They looked down at him with awe.
"I think mom just agreed to me training, just as long as I do eight hours of studying each day." They started laughing and pat Gohan on the back for standing up to Chi-Chi! That was something not even Goku would have dared. Gohan on the other hand didn't smile. He knew what was coming and he didn't want his mother and friends to know about it, not just yet.
The next day his training began...
End Flashback.
As he was flying back home he wondered if he did enough training these past few months. He always worried. Even though he had made incredible progress with both his training and studying he still felt uneasy, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He had trained under heavy gravity and in the harshest of conditions. After debating with himself, he finally put it down to nerves. He honestly didn't know what to expect.
His little brother had been born two weeks ago. They named him Goten. He looked just like Goku. Gohan couldn't help but smile as he thought of his little brother. Goten just had the ability to make him smile.
Vegeta had requested, more like demanded, Gohan's presence at Capsule Corp earlier that day. He wanted to spar with him, to see how much Gohan had improved. And honestly, Gohan needed to get away for a little while. Now, he was on his way back home, and for some reason he felt very uneasy.
Halfway between his house and Capsule Corp, Gohan suddenly felt an enormous energy emanating from his home! Gohan's heart nearly stopped, when he felt the unfamiliar energy shoot skyward! A strong feeling of dread overcame Gohan as he powered up to his maximum and shot forward as fast as he could. The rest of the journey would take him at least 60 seconds.
The ground beneath him was just a blur. Even if he tried he wouldn't be able to make out the landscape. He was flying faster than he ever had before. The green fields and barren deserts soon gave way to the ocean as he sped towards his home. Calm blue waters turned violent as his giant aura pushed the water to the sides in huge waves.
Gohan then realised that his dread was not misplaced. His family was in grave danger…and he wasn't there to protect them.
'Oh no! Mom! Goten! I have to get there! That thing is incredibly powerful, they don't stand a chance!' Gohan had never felt a need more powerful than this, the need to protect his family. Then…"NO! He's attacking!" The rage began to build as he felt his mother's energy dwindle and then...disappear.
With tears in his eyes he remembered the previous night's events…
Flashback:
Gohan went to bed early. Vegeta told him to get his but over there as soon as the sun was up. As he closed his eyes he found himself back at the wasteland. Keeper was there.
For the previous seven months Gohan had not once found himself there. Not once since Piccolo and Vegeta told him about that myth. But now, after seven months he found himself once again face to face with Keeper.
Only this time, his demeanour was much different. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, so tight that the grey skin on his knuckles turned a ghostly white. His face was contorted in a vicious scowl and for the first time, Gohan could see his malicious eyes. They were completely black, without any shine to them, no sparkle. It looked like two black holes that sucked in all light it received, it looked…dead.
"I should kill you." Keeper stated in a cold voice filled with malice as he barred his fangs. Gohan looked surprised.
'How would Keeper know that I know that he's evil?' Gohan thought. And then to his shock the answer came, in the form of a question.
"How would you know that I know that you know that I'm evil?" He asked with a malicious grin as he took a step towards Gohan.
"You can read minds!" Gohan felt the fear creep up and took a step back from the malicious sociopath while transforming to the second level of Super Saiyan and taking a defensive stance.
"Exactly! I should have known my myth would never die. I have been trapped here for millennia. And you're the first to survive the shift!" he was sounding happy and evil. "Oh, but don't worry. I won't kill you. Not yet. First I need you to set me free. Then I'll kill you! Hahahahahhahaa! But not before causing you severe pain." he laughed his evil laughter and threw his head back.
"I'll never set you free so you might as well kill me now!" Gohan was yelling, trying not to shake with anger, or was he shaking because of fear?
"You WILL help me, because you do not have a choice! I will keep on sending evil to your ridiculous planet. So if you don't stop it your planet dies. HA ha ha hA ha! And as soon as you destroy enough evil I WILL be set FREE! Quite the predicament you have, hmm?" He flashed his evil grin.
Gohan didn't know what to do. Then Keeper lift his hand and Gohan was thrown, painfully, against one of the 'trees'. The instant he touched the 'tree' the world started swirling and he knew he was being sent back. The last thing he heard Keeper say was, "Next time we see each other I will be free and then you will die. For now, watch you back, Saiyan! The pain soon begins! Ha ah ha ha ha ah ha!"
Gohan woke with a start and realised he'd only been 'asleep' for twelve minutes. He was covered in a layer of cold sweat and breathing hard. Even though he was exhausted he didn't sleep the rest of the night. Instead he meditated; he knew he needed to increase his mental defences. If Keeper was able to read his mind, he needed to be able to block him.
End Flashback
Gohan was still about 20 seconds out as he felt his mother leave this world. It was only as he felt this that he realised that the 'pain' Keeper mentioned was not physical. In that moment he realised he had been sucked into a war, caused by a tyrant that would mercilessly kill the people he cared about, just to cause him pain. He vowed then and there, as he was flying over the ocean, that he would defeat that monster.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Back on the edge of the lookout, Piccolo and Dende watched as the scene unfolded. The young little guardian asked the older and wiser Namekian, "Piccolo, it has begun, hasn't it?"
Piccolo looked down at the boy and said, "Yes, unfortunately it has Dende. Contact King Kai and tell him to make sure Goku trains harder than he ever has before. I have a feeling that we'll need all the help we can get once this, Keeper, is released. Also make sure that this information goes up the chain. The higher powers will no doubt want to know."
"Then, you are sure that he will be released?" Dende asked with concern.
"I think it's a great possibility. And even if it doesn't happen, we have to be prepared." Piccolo jumped off the edge of the lookout and flew as fast as he could to his student's aide.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Tears began to well up in Gohan's eyes as he let out mighty yell and his power exploded. Then his body couldn't handle the stress anymore and his features began to change. His hair grew, his eyebrows vanished, his strength increased dramatically, and then...he felt the monstrous energy advancing on his two week old little brother. Now that his mother was gone, all that mattered was that he protects his little brother from that monster.
Yelling madly he instantly found himself right next to the monster that had done the terrible deed. He destroyed the beast before it had time to turn and face Gohan. He used the same green energy wave he used to defeat Cell. All Gohan saw of that monster was the blackness of its skin, the blood-red horns all over its body and its evil grin.
When the smoke cleared and he was sure the monster was dead Gohan reverted back to his normal state and fell to his knees, crying. He saw his mother vanish before his very eyes. She was obviously being allowed to keep her body, but her sudden disappearance made it seem...final...and it made Gohan even sadder. He cried and he couldn't stop. Then the rage started to build up again and he started hitting the ground with his fists, craters and cracks formed around him as sparks of energy jumped from his body.
He wanted to rip Keeper apart.
He suddenly stopped hitting the ground as he heard someone cry. He ran to the wreckage that used to be his home and found his baby brother, hidden beneath his bed. Slowly Gohan picked up the last member of his family. He cradled him, and Goten stopped crying. But Gohan couldn't, the tears just kept coming. And in that moment Gohan made another vow, a vow that he would protect Goten against the kind of life that he himself was forced into. He didn't even notice Piccolo, Vegeta, Krillin and 18 land behind him. Gohan was shaking with grief. Krillin slowly stepped forward and was the first to speak.
"Gohan...?" as gently as he could Krillin got Gohan's attention. Gohan got up and turned around, he didn't realise how long he had sat there, crying. The sun was setting and the first stars had already come out.
"You okay buddy?" Krillin asked sympathetically. "We met up with Piccolo while flying over here. He told us about, everything. I'm gonna alert the others. We're gonna train and help you in this Gohan. We may not be as strong as you or Vegeta, but every little bit helps, right?" Krillin tried to say reassuringly to the destressed boy. Gohan's breathing became gasps and he felt angry and weak. Krillin walked over to him and took Goten from him since he was still shaking uncontrollably. Then as the sun disappeared behind the mountains, Gohan jumped into the sky.
He rose to a point above the clouds and released all his remaining anger in a furious yell as he ascended to the new level. Energy crackled around his body, his eyes glowed and his yellow aura was four times bigger than usual. The extreme power quickly exhausted him and he plummeted back down to earth, reverting back to normal. He was vaguely aware of a pair of strong arms catching him. He could've sworn it was Vegeta, but before he could check if he wasn't just hallucinating, he drifted off to sleep.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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