The Legend of Gohan
Book the First
Chapter 4
Disclaimer: I do not own DragonBall Z or any characters that appear therein. This story is for no monetary gain and all characters, names, places, species and ideas etc belong to Akira Toriyama.
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3 Years Later
Deep in the forests of the 439 East Mountain Area a small boy wearing brightly colored traditional Chinese robes is seen hanging from a tree, the only thing that is peculiar about this scene is the fact that the boy is hanging from the tree by his tail. Now on a planet like Earth populated with different humans and manimals it is quite uncommon to see a boy with a tail, let alone seeing a boy hanging from a tree by it. The fact that it was uncommon did not make it any less possible, because on the entire planet there was a boy with a tail and he was currently hanging from a tree.
The boys name was Son Gohan but to be even more specific it was Son Gohan II, because he had been named after his grandfather Son Gohan. Another aspect that set the boy apart was his deep obsidian eyes which had no discernible pupils. The superficial aspect of his eyes complemented the boy quite well because they were so expressive. The warmth seemed to come from the depth of his soul and his smile would melt the coldest of hearts.
He had been out exploring, looking for anything that might be of interest to him and while he was an intelligent boy he was still rather precocious. Landing himself in all sorts of jams, and to his credit he was usually able to get himself out of those jams and the ones' he couldn't get out of were usually taken care of by his daddy. The current situation he found himself was very difficult, he had come to the biggest tree he had ever seen and rather than be just watch it he had decided to conquer it although conquer might not be the word he would use. He had been doing fine, displaying surprising agility in one so young , he even managed to make it to the last branch and just when he thought he was safe the branch he was on swayed and with that he lost his balance and began a head first decent to the ground. Quick thinking had averted disaster because he managed to reach out and wrap his tail around a branch before he crashed into the ground. Self-preservation had overcome the basic need to protect his tail from all harm and abiding by the initial excruciating pain he was able to reach a state where he was able to think clearly without the jolts of pain lancing his spine. After a while he was surprised to find that his tails strength was increasing and although it was by no means comfortable it was still bearable, and from there things could only go up. Gohan's logic had told him not to endanger his tail but his instinct had made forced him to endure pain which would be beneficial to his survival and so he had went with his instincts. True learning could only be gained through a trial by fire and instinct was key to his survival.
Goku had been tracking the unique Ki signature of his son ever since he had gone on one of his excursions. He had realized that the boy liked to explore and that it was good for him but that realization did not lessen his vigilance, after all he was still a 3 year old boy and nature was indifferent to all matters. So each time Gohan went out alone he would track him and he would make sure that he did not get into any danger. His wife had seen the situation in a different way, she had passionately objected to Gohan's trips insisting that he was only safest at home under her watchful supervision and it had taken some considerable effort on Goku's part to convince her otherwise. Even though her overall Ki had diminished after Gohan's birth she had kept on training and she had brought it back up to a good level. She also kept tabs on Gohan, and with every rise or dip in his Ki she would immediately imagine a number of horrible yet improbable scenarios, happening to her baby and these would be passed onto Goku through their mental link and he would then send calm thoughts and reassurances across to her, to calm her down.
Chi-Chi was not to keen on Gohan's little adventures but the counter point to that was that her son at three years old could travel by himself through a large dense forest and still only get into minimal trouble. Gohan had been a special child and she knew that from the moment she had felt him beneath her heart. His birth had been surprisingly easy and the mid wife had commented so, but she knew that part of it went to her own training and the Ki that Goku had been providing to her. Supplementing her waning reserves which were all directed towards her baby. She had been distressed when she did not hear her babes cries but that all vanished when the mid wife presented the baby to her. He had a mop of dark black hair and a smile on his face and his eyes seemed to be saying to her hello. As if he had known her for a long time and he was just now officially saying hello. The same smile had been directed towards Goku and her father and they had all been in wonder of this small baby boy who reflected the sun in his warm, soft baby smile.
Something else that had occurred when Gohan was born was the puzzling energy they had first felt three months prior, the only difference was that this time it had been on a wide scale, a much wider scale. After that event they had been visited by Kami-Sama himself and he had told them that he had come to give the boy a blessing seeing as he was the child of the Earth's defender and the strongest woman on the planet. Gohan had regarded Kami-Sama quizzically, seeing as it was the first time he was seeing something different from the ones he had been around.
A distinguished green Kami, that was how Chi-Chi would describe him, and she wondered how her son perceived him being newborn. Kami-Sama had then closed his eyes and he had said something in a language she could not understand but she instinctively knew it was the High Tongue of The Earth, an ancient language first spoken by the people who stood tall and built dwellings of stone and wood on the Earth, beings who had first raised their hands in worship of their Birth Spirit and later to the First Kami selected to watch over them. He had then pierced his index finger with his thumb nail and he had drawn a pattern on Gohan's chest, the child giggled softly at the contact showing his approval of such an action. The pattern itself had promptly disappeared but Chi-Chi had been able to make out a partially stylized completed 'K'. She had asked Kami why it was incomplete and he had smiled softly saying that it was because he was incomplete.
Kami-Sama's visit had been strange but it was not the only one. The small house in the 439 East Mountain Area saw many visitors that some strange and others non-descript, all claiming to be travelers whose road had led them to this house and the boy who was in it. Gohan had held up well to the scrutiny bearing it all with a smile on his face which surprised Chi-Chi seeing as he was newborn. That had not been the only surprise her son would have for her, he had started talking at 6 months, walking at 8 months, which was thanks to his tail and Goku had informed her that it offered great balance. The tail itself had started growing when Gohan was 4 months and it was well developed when he started walking. Another thing that had not only surprised her but gave a small hint of satisfaction was that Gohan had started reading at 18 months, and this one fact convinced her that her son was a genius.
Goku was extremely proud and happy at his son development and he had not been shy about voicing it, but he had not only seen his sons natural development he had also felt his Ki development, going from a soft indistinct source to a very noticeable one in a short time and he had also seen Gohan's affinity to the Four Star Dragonball. The boy seemed drawn to it and Goku felt that maybe something of his Grandpa did live on in the Four Star Dragonball. This and everything concerning his son brought a smile to Goku's face.
It was because of Gohan's unique Ki that they could keep a such good track of movements and while tracking their son's movements the two parents would perform other tasks as well, Chi-Chi would continue with some house work or with whatever meal of the day was necessary and Goku would train, occasionally helping his wife with the chores.
They had been hanging the laundry when the first Ki spike came from Gohan and Goku had immediately recognized it for what it was, excitement on his son's part and Chi-Chi had been a step behind him to come to that realization. After a while they resumed what they were doing with Chi-Chi teaching Goku the subtleties of clothes hanging. The next Ki spike was significantly larger and accompanying it was a sense of distress and that sent the two into over protective parent mode. Forgetting all about the laundry both parents rushed to specific direction of Gohan's Ki and arriving just in time to see him catch himself on a tree branch with his tail. Goku had wanted to go to Gohan knowing first hand how delicate a tail was but Chi-Chi had held him back seeing a look of determination on her son's face she knew that what was happening now was important, but that did not help with the feeling of anxiety she experienced when she was the pain disrupt that determined look. But a bit later it seemed that the pain had subsided and a while after that it seemed he had mastered the pain and that he was actually lifting himself by his tail. Slowly but surely Gohan was overcoming the previous over-sensitivity of his tail and both parents were stunned.
With one final flex of his tail Gohan successfully flipped himself onto the tree branch and then he made his way down the trunk and finally landing on the ground and dusting himself of he made a bee line for his parents who had been standing just out of visual sight but not out of his developing Ki sense. He had a big smile on his face and running to his parents he grabbed their hands and guided them back home not once saying anything about the tree. It seemed that the experience was something they did not need to qualify it for Gohan, he had gone through it and it was ultimately for his benefit. The Son Family made their way back to their home to enjoy a pleasant day in each others company.
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Piccolo let out a hoarse scream, as he released his energy in a devastating energy attack called the Shogekiha that caused the air itself to be a weapon by quickly expanding his Ki from every part of his body he caused a violent displacement of air that made a mini hurricane in any direction he wished and channeling his extra Ki he could literally triple the speed of the winds. Over the past three years he had trained intensely to achieve a power greater than Goku's so he could defeat him and ever since that day above his house he had been subtly changed. He had found his blood thirsty nature waning and he had also not actively thought of engaging Goku in a rematch, being content to just train and be stronger so that if they did indeed fight then he would be the one who would win. He had to admit the man was a good fighter but he would prove that he was better. The whole time he had been suspended in the air panting from the grueling training regime he had just undergone and so he did not immediately sense the energy ball that came from directly below, he just moved. Finally tracing where the origin of the ball he was less than amused by the Ki he sensed from the attacker. It was not Goku or any of his do gooder friends, it was someone he did not recognize but before he could gauge the true extent of his attackers power he suddenly felt another to his left Ki impinge itself on his senses and this was slowly followed by a third Ki to his right and another Ki directly in front of him.
Multiple targets, this should be interesting Piccolo thought to himself and he immediately went into action. Channeling his Ki he sent an energy ball into the air and maintaining hi Ki contact with the energy he let it spin around his form, gradually increasing its speed until it became a blur. All the time he was gauging his opponents, they had yet to fully commit themselves to a battle but that did not matter he had locked onto their Ki and he was just waiting for the moment when one of them dropped their guard. Suddenly the one who was to his left seemed to back off and Piccolo seized the moment.
The swirling energy ball separated from its orbit around Piccolo and headed straight to his left at an extremely fast speed and it seemed that figure realized the danger and he brought his hands up charging his Ki and getting ready to block.
Perfect. Piccolo thought with a mental smirk.
The energy ball suddenly shot up and went over the figures head and as he realized his folly turned around to be instantly met with an energy ball that exploded in his face. Piccolo was grinning now… Piece of cake he thought.
The others seeing their comrade struck down instantly converged upon him. Three opponents, three different directions and one target.
This is going to be fun
The figure below him tried to grab his legs and by some unspoken agreement the one to his right was going to attack and the one directly in front of him was going to be support. Piccolo had read their movements and the speed they were using was nothing special, his only disadvantage was the fact that he had just finished training so he was not at full, but didn't matter he would take them out no problem. He was Piccolo Jr. the successor of the self claimed Demon King Piccolo he would not be taken down by underlings.
He allowed the one below him to grab his legs and he ducked the punch from the one to his right. Pathetic, was the thought in his mind. He delivered a fist to the main attackers mid section knocking the breath from him and he followed that upon with a sharp elbow to the base of the now doubled over assailants neck causing him to plummet to the ground. The assailant who was in front of him tried to deliver a swift kick to Piccolos face but the warrior leaned back and he let attackers momentum carry him into a 180 turn and before he could face him Piccolo grabbed him into a neck lock. The one below him had not let go the entire time ands Piccolo was feeling a little inconvenienced so he gathered his Ki and transformed it into an electrical energy field that sent a thousand volts into both his attackers. It was a variation of his Tsu no Beam and he was charging it all over his body, it was good a defense if ever he was in a pinch. The one below him let go and once his feet were free Piccolo stomped on his head sending back down. One he held onto was not faring any better than his comrades, Piccolo was slowly squeezing him in the hold and making sure not to break the foes neck yet. The others were not out of commission yet and he could always do with a good shield and in this kind of hold his opponent could not raise his Ki enough to break free. The pressure piccolo was applying was enough to force the assailant into pouring his Ki into his neck area to stop it from snapping in two.
As the others recovered, they took to the air again and prepared for round two. Slightly cautious they began to raise their Ki for the next wave of their attack. These guys are nothing he thought. Because of that thought he decided to let the one he was holding go free. That one slowly joined his comrades in the air. Piccolo was uninterested in their appearance and he distinguished them only by their color. Yellow, green, blue and red that's all that mattered nothing else except their destruction.
"Alright boys now that the warm up is over lets get to the main event" He said in his deep, gruff voice.
"Indeed we shall" a slimy, sibilant voice said and Piccolo realized his folly he had been solely concentrating on the four in front of him and he had discounted their leader.
Garlic Jr. the son of Garlic the ancient evil warrior who tried to died fighting Kami for the title of Kami saw Piccolo Jr. realize his mistake and he smiled to himself as he channeled his Ki into a Seasoning Blast, and before Piccolo could try and defend he released it and watched as it struck Piccolo causing a massive explosion. Not many could survive his signature attack and Piccolo stood no chance caught off guard. Garlic threw his men a look of disgust and he turned and then flew away contemplating his next move. One obstacle had been removed and now his Immortality awaited, by critically injuring Piccolo he had also struck Kami with a critical blow and now if he made his wish before the old fool died he would obtain his wish and then the Earth.
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Kami sensed the attack on Piccolo and he felt the injury inflicted by the treacherous Garlic Jr. At the moment Piccolo's thoughts were trapped in a violent storm of curses and vengeance and so it fell to Kami to prepare he retrieved a Senzu bean from his own personal stash and he threw it towards the motionless Piccolo thousands of miles away, using his on Ki as the guide and informing Piccolo of the help on its way. He knew that the bean would restore Piccolo but whether Piccolo's strength would help in this coming battle he did not know.
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Gohan sat outside reading a geographical book his mother had gotten for him, he was reading all about the different cloud formations and all other sorts of interesting facts. Knowing his love for the outdoors his mother had set up his desk so that he could read outside in the sun among nature's beautiful flora and fauna(words he learned from the book he was reading). He was just finishing the section on clouds when he heard a car bell. Knowing that his grandpa was the only person who visited with a car he went to the driveway to greet him. He also knew that whenever his grandfather visited he would always bring him a present, it was usually books but occasionally he would get some action figures and comics and all sorts of things. The car itself slowly came to a stop and out stepped the enormous Ox-King. He saw his grandpa reach into the car and when he stepped out again his arms were full of books stacked up all the way to his face. Gohan was a bit disappointed that all he got was books but he books were okay too, especially fantasy books. Ox-King carefully made his to Gohan and he stopped just short of him. He looked down and smiled.
"How's my grandson doing on this beautiful day" he said in his thunderous voice.
"I doing great grandpa" Gohan replied.
It seemed as if the OX-King saw the slight disappointment in the young boys eye and knowing why he whispered to Gohan "Don't worry the real present is in the boot"
Gohan was so thrilled that he started jumping around in a circle making all sorts of funny noises. In his wild capering he noticed that his mom had stepped outside of the house and she was currently wiping her hands on her apron and she had a smile on her face. Not wanting to blow the secret Gohan stopped jumping around and he turned to his grandpa. It was then that he noticed something wrong with his grandpas expression, it seemed as if he was struggling with something and it was all he could do to stay up. Gohan was quick enough to escape the falling books that were dropped by his grandpa and even as the giant man swayed Gohan hesitated a it and as the Giant man leaned over he seemed like a huge falling tree and the young boy sprang out just in time as the giant man landed with a deep thud. Suddenly his mother was at his side a grim expression having replaced her smile and she held him by his arm and she stepped in front of him, placing herself in the line fire. Gohan still wanting to see what was wrong with his grandpa peeked around his mother legs and that was when he was assaulted by waves of strange malicious Ki. His undeveloped sense were confused by all the different beings and he was feeling more than a little scared, for his grandpa, for his mother and for himself. His fear transformed into awe as he suddenly felt his mother's Ki drown out the bad Ki's and he saw her take a weird stance and she seemingly disappeared in front of his eyes and then he saw her appear behind one of the bad people and deliver a blow to the base of his neck. The bad man went down. Just as suddenly as she had disappeared she was back in front of him, still in her unfamiliar stance. It seemed his mother had it under control. That was how it seemed until the leader stepped forward, his Ki filling the entire area. His mom though didn't back down.
"Gohan, go into house and hide" she said to him and the little boy was torn, how could he leave his mother behind to face such bad people all alone?
"Gohan go into the house, mommy has some things she has to take care and once she's done we'll check on grandpa." She said in a gentler tone. This offered some reassurance to Gohan and he slowly walked towards the house. As he approached the house he was shocked by a strange Ki that was inside and that Ki. His mom had not noticed and he thought he should shout a warning but it was already too late. His mom had started fighting with the strangers, attacking one of the weaker enemies. He saw that she wanted to get rid of those and so he knew not to distract her, so he ran to the side of the house away from the fighting and from the bad man inside the house.
"Get the Dragonball!" the leader shouted and the man in the house came out and he headed directly for Gohan.
"Mommy!" he shouted
She turned and saw the danger and immediately rushed towards the man approaching Gohan and she successfully engaged him in battle driving him back and maintaining Gohan's safety.
The enemies backed off giving Chi-Chi some breathing room, but it was short lived as they seemed to be making way for the leader. Seeing this is as a chance to strike a decisive blow against this unwanted attack she gathered her Ki and charged her opponent sailing gracefully an inch off the ground and having a blazing white aura covering her form giving her the appearance of an avenging angel. Gohan knew she was going to win. The leader raised a hand and released a powerful Shogekiha attack packing immense power changing it from a weak attack to something unimaginably potent. He saw her go down and he was scared, his mother had been blazing with an aura of power and now her light was out. His young, yet brilliant mind could not fully encompass what was going on. His vision clouded, everything seemed to freeze and in his mind he was flying towards a Light, it was so warm….
Goku Chi-Chi screamed as she went down.
Garlic Jr. suddenly looked to the boy who had the precious artifact that would give him absolute power and he was shocked at the power emanating from the boy. His shock turned into fear as he felt it continue to rise and before the situation got out of hand he zanzokend to the boy and aimed for the boy's neck which he gave a quick jab, knocking the boy out. This boy would be interesting
"Take him!" he shouted to his henchmen.
Sparing not a glance at the women and the giant man he and his cronies departed with the boy and his prize.
The clearing in the 439 East Mountain area was still, with not a single being disturbing the peace, it was a beautiful scene. The beauty was disturbed when a young man carrying an extremely large fish burst into the clearing, the high speed at which he was moving was punctuated by harsh winds that followed in his wake. He took the entire situation in at a glance and he rushed towards his wife his thoughts racing at a million miles a minute.
"Chi-Chi" he softly said cradling her still form while gently shaking her awake.
"Gohan" she said in a groggy voice and Goku was comforted when she opened her eyes and focused on him
"What happened here Chi-Chi?" he asked
"Some men, came and they wanted the Dragonball"' she shook her head to dispel any left over fog. "I tried to fight them Goku but… I wasn't strong enough to take them all on" she sobbed into her husband's chest
"Shhhh… Chi-Chi" Goku whispered "its not your fault, I should have been here to protect all of you"
"Goku" she said in a distressed voice "where's Gohan? I can't sense him anywhere"
"I don't know Chi-Chi I thought you might know" he replied
"The last thing I remember was facing off against their leader, Goku he was so powerful. What if they took Gohan!" she exclaimed.
"Don't worry Chi-Chi I'll find and I'll get Gohan back that's a promise" The young man said the determination evident in his voice offering his wife some comfort. He gently picked her up and went into the house depositing her into their bed and then going to check on Ox-King who was still knocked out. Finding out that he was fine Goku picked him up and took him into the house. He then went to check on his wife again and seeing that she was asleep, he wrote a small note telling her not to worry and placing a kiss on her forehead and picked up his Nyobo and went outside. He moved a distance from the house and he then shouted
"NIMBUS!".
A small gold cloud zoomed into view and promptly stopped in front of the warrior and he hopped on. Goku had a plan and soon he would make the one who hurt his family pay. The Nimbus cloud sensing his distress and eagerness lifted off the ground.
"We need to go to West City Nimbus, get me there as fast as you can". Without hesitation the cloud took off at full speed reaching its top speed of Mach 3 in 10 seconds. Reaching West Capitol City in a very fast time Goku then directed the cloud towards Capsule Corporation. Bulma had told Goku where she kept the Dragonball Radar and Goku did not waste any time going straight to Bulma's bedroom window and towards her wall safe he quickly entered in the code and he jumped back onto Nimbus leaving the area. Once they were in the air Goku switched on the Dragon Radar and he saw that all seven Dragonballs had been gathered in one location and he knew that was where he would find some answers. He directed the Cloud to the south and it took off….
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A young woman was trapped in a nightmare shadows were converging upon her and her son and each time she would strike at them they would disappear and reform. She was unable to stop them and she was getting weaker and weaker. They finally knocked her down to her horror she saw them advance on her son. He was screaming for her but she could only watch in anguish as the Shadows approached her beloved son. She was so scared when they took him that she did not know what to do to save him. He was a small boy he had done nothing to them yet they were taking him away from his mother. She knew pain greater than any physical wound and so she did the only thing she could do, she screamed. In her dreams and in the real world the grief of a mother was heard.
"RETURN MY GOHAN!"
A.N Whatever!
