Review Responses:
To Ushindi: To answer your questions…
My favorite arc is actually the entirety of Gohan's life in Dragon Ball Z. Gohan's life, both in original Z, it's filler, and Kai touched my heart. This is a kid who hates fighting but chose to do so in order to protect the life that he holds dear. It's a compelling story. And him going off to college, getting married, and being there for his daughter fulfills his true desires; to live a normal life.
...Guess. The cover of the story is on Wattpad, so that's a dead giveaway.
Battle of Gods, hands down. It's much more focused, well-paced, and the animation is beautiful.
That's all for now, on with the show.
Last time on Dragon Ball Z: PRIMAL, Gohan as the Great Saiyaman had a brief showdown with the malicious Tao Pai Pai, which resulted in the mercenary fleeing the scene. After a heart-to-heart with Videl, Saiyaman agreed to aid in teaching the young crime fighter how to use ki in exchange of being her partner. Finally, Gohan had confirmed his dual identity with Sharpner and Erasa, who swore to keep this revelation on the down-low until he was ready to share it with Videl. What will come next in our hero's new life? Find out, now!
Dragon Rock, Mount Paozu, Age 774
It was now Friday, meaning four days had passed since the hostage situation occurred in Hercule City. That also meant that Gohan's identity was now known to his two blond(e) friends and that Gohan, as the Great Saiyaman, was now Videl's unofficial partner and teacher of ki.
Speaking of which, during the last four days, Gohan had been teaching Goten how to fly as a way of preparing himself for his lessons with Videl. Of course, he had to explain this to Chi-Chi...which resulted in him getting an earful.
Chi-Chi believed that teaching Videl while in his alter ego would cut into his studying. Gohan turned this around, stating that by teaching Videl how to use ki, she could properly defend herself and could make it so that Saiyaman wouldn't be as needed, giving him much more time to study.
Thinking about it for a moment, Chi-Chi reluctantly agreed and allowed him to do so on the condition that he brought Videl over more often before ending the conversation while humming "Here Comes the Bride", much to Gohan's embarrassment.
Videl was in her jetcopter, flying around where Gohan lived. Of course, her immediate train of thought pointed to Gohan being the Great Saiyaman and took a mental note of the coordinates the helmet-wearing vigilante gave her.
'...This place is near the 439 East District. What are the odds that Saiyaman has similar coordinates to the address Gohan gave me? Come to think of it, Gohan looked like he was in a rush to get home... All the more reason to suspect him.' Videl said as she flew to see large pillars of stone and rocky mountains.
From there, she found a caped figure standing on top of a rocky cliff, facing away from Videl.
"There you are!"
Taking her jetcopter, she landed a few meters away from the cliff and hopped out. Videl then took a moment to realize how high up she was when viewing the landscape. The air was also thinner, forcing her to breathe more. But that didn't deter her in the slightest.
"Good afternoon, Miss Videl." Saiyaman greeted in a low-pitched, mature, and confident manner. "I take it that school treated you well?"
Videl said, "Forget about school, let's get started on this ki business! You're going to teach me how to fly!"
Saiyaman smiled similarly to his civilian identity, taken aback at the girl's persuasive attitude. He quickly bounced back and coughed to recompose his "hero" demeanor.
"Why of course," The vigilante agreed. "But that may take a while to learn, so let's learn how to walk before running. First, you must learn how to harness ki."
Saiyaman walked to the center of the rock formation and sat with his legs crossed on the smooth surface, prompting Videl to do the same.
"Before we start this training, I've got to ask. Why'd you choose the mountains?" Videl questioned.
'And now it begins…' Gohan thought to himself, not surprised by Videl's antics at this point.
"That's a good question. Let me answer that with a question of my own," Saiyaman explained. "Would you be able to concentrate outside, out in the open where the paparazzi could catch you?"
"...Shit, you're right." Videl cursed. "Okay, so where do we begin?"
"As I said before, ki, or energy, is the life force that exists in every living thing. And deep inside of yourself is an internal hidden reserve, a pool of power deep inside of you."
"A pool of power…?" Videl echoed, looking at her right hand.
"That's right," The helmet-wearing hero stated. "Ki resides inside all, but not everyone is gifted in gathering and using it. Many masters of the martial arts had spent their entire lives conditioning themselves into producing a ball of ki. For others, they created abilities centered around ki-manipulation. Though, I can sense that you have enough power to do so. But first, I need you to watch me."
Getting her complete focus, Saiyaman took his hands to put them together as he slowly poured his ki into a flashing orb. While the hero did this, Videl noticed how the guy sat straight up. His breathing was focused, yet constantly relaxed.
Saiyaman kept himself as calm as possible to the point where he barely moved.
Once he finished, Saiyaman said, "Alright, now you try it. While attempting this, you must empty your mind of all thoughts and relieve all tension that you have in your muscles. When you're ready, start to slowly draw out your ki from within."
Videl, flexing her hands, did what her partner said and tried to draw out her ki forcefully. Saiyaman watched as she struggled for the next two minutes, which made him feel pity for the daughter of Mr. Satan.
"Miss Videl… I see that you're trying, but forcing it out isn't the way. Try to calm yourself before you get worked up." Saiyaman said gently.
Looking up at the hero, tears appeared in the corner of the tomboy's baby blue eyes. This shocked Gohan, always being the one to picture Videl as usually being strong and fierce. To see her like this didn't sit well with Gohan, while his skillfully hidden tail twitched uncomfortably.
'...I can't see her like this. It's not right.'
Saiyaman got up, saying, "Okay, how about we take a break. We've got all day for this."
Saiyaman floated to another side of the rock formation, where a basket was prepared. Flying back, Saiyaman gave Videl a bundle of peaches, plums, and apples for Videl to eat. The teenage girl blinked, then formed a beautiful feminine smile toward her partner.
"Thanks… You know, you're not so bad, Buckethead." Videl said before biting on a peach.
Saiyaman chuckled as he started to slowly eat the fruit, which was so due to Gohan already eating at home before going to Dragon Rock. During this time, Videl used this opportunity to start asking more questions.
"Hey, Great Saiyaman?"
"Hm?" Saiyaman said, making that noise since he was in the middle of feasting on the flesh of a plum.
"I still want to try and figure you out. But if I get you to trust me enough, will you ever tell me who you really are?" Videl asked in a rather personal manner.
Swallowing the fruit, Gohan sat where he was in thought.
'Do I trust her, should I trust her? I mean, I've only known Videl for well over a month. She only now discovered that ki is real. She already knows that my father was the previous World Champion before mine. And as Saiyaman, she knows that I'm different from others… So why am I so hesitant? Why is it so hard for me to just tell her the truth!? ...I...I don't know what to do! I...No, this is my friend. Videl is a good person with a great heart, so she deserves to hear the truth from me. Just not right now. Not until I'm ready.'
Videl glanced at the silent hero, who seemed to be having an internal fight. She could tell from the way he moved his head slowly from right to left almost guilty. Usually, the caped vigilante would keep a smile all day, which he didn't have on.
"One day," He said, raising Videl's head and excitement from his answer. "When I am ready, I will let you take off my helmet and I will tell you everything. And that's if you don't figure me out beforehand."
Videl smirked, stating, "Interesting. I'll hold you to that, partner. Though, there's got to be a better name to call you aside from 'Great Saiyaman'. It doesn't have to be your real name, I'll figure that out later."
Saiyaman stroked his chin, thinking of a pseudonym that Videl could call him.
'What kind of name would she call me? Hm… Think, Gohan, think! Oh, a Saiyan name would do! All Vegeta ever calls me is "boy" or Kakabrat...If Dad's real name is Kakarot, and if his father's name is Bardock...then I'll be Ziam!"
"Ziam," The Great Saiyaman, also called Ziam, said. "For now, call me Ziam."
When the pair finished eating their food, Videl went back into her ki control exercise. Before starting she took deep breaths, as Ziam/Gohan instructed. From there, he spoke to her.
"Remember, don't force it out. Stay relaxed and let the power flow out naturally like a river."
Doing so, Videl focused until she felt a new power start to pour from within her center out of her hands. From there, a low humming can be heard. She turned to see Ziam, the Great Saiyaman, smiling at her with a proud grin.
Blinking, she looked at her hands to see that a small ball of ki radiated. Her heart skyrocketed in joy.
'I-I-I did it! I can use energy! I can use my ki!' Videl cheered on the inside before snapping out of her thoughts from the sounds of clapping.
Ziam, the Great Saiyaman said while clapping, "Congratulations, Miss Videl! You can now use your ki! You managed to do that in under a day! That's an amazing gift to have."
A tinge of red fell on Videl's cheeks, though it left as soon as it appeared.
"Was there any doubt? You're looking at the strongest young woman alive!" Videl said with a proud smile.
'Bravado aside, you got to admire that passionate fighting spirit that she has. It kind of makes me want to keep training.' Gohan thought to himself, feeling his heart jumping around a bit.
"Since you now know how to utilize ki, we can move right along and get down to flight!"
Videl sprang up from the ground with a determined expression written on her face.
"What are we waiting for? Lay it on me, Buckethead! I can take anything you can throw at me!"
Ziam/Gohan started to explain how flying functioned in the world of martial arts.
"Bukujutsu, or the Art of Sky Dancing, believe it or not, is a very simple and useful technique. My father's tribe had taught their young this ability early on before...the genocide-" Saiyaman said, mentally kicking himself for nearly letting an important piece of information slip up.
'Wait what?! Genocide!? What does he mean by that? Did something happen to Ziam's race or something? Urgh! The questions just keep on piling up!'
"A-Anyway, basically what you have to do to perform this skill is that you take the ki you have and send it towards your feet. From there, you control the flow of that energy, then push yourself off of the ground."
Videl nodded, saying, "Take my energy to my feet and push off. Got it."
The girl blacked her arms on her sides as she closed her eyes. She breathed in and out, in and out. Since the air was thin, it forced her to control her breathing. She did this for about a solid minute until she started to focus again. Gathering her ki, Videl allowed the power to travel from the center of her being down to her the bottom of her feet.
Saiyaman could tell that it was working because of the energy flow emitting around her. That caused a low wind to surround her, making little stones and pebbles blow away. After three minutes of this, Videl's feet began to levitate, lifting her body a few inches away from the surface of the rock formation.
Gohan couldn't believe his eyes! The hero of Hercule City made leaps and bounds in under a day.
'Woah! This girl's amazing!"
"Atta girl, Videl! Look at you, you're floating!" Ziam/Gohan cheered, excited at her progression.
Irritated, Videl barked, "Quit your gushing, Buckethead! Can't you see that I'm trying to concentrate!?"
Just like that, she lowered herself down to the surface. Tired, Videl collapsed to her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Saiyaman applauded his crime-fighting partner once more.
"That was incredible! You got basic ki control and your first flight down in less than a day! Give yourself about a week or two and you'll be soaring high in the air just like me. How do you feel?"
Videl got into a crouch out of weariness, saying, "That was...intense. Yet, satisfying. Ugh… I'm too tired to stand."
Ziam/Gohan, the Great Saiyaman, took it upon himself to carry the teenager bridal-style and place her in her jetcopter. Usually, Videl would kick the crap out of any boy that would even look at her the wrong way. However, Videl mentally made an exception with the Great Saiyaman as she watched him carefully put her in the driver's seat. She was grateful to him, not that she would admit it outright. She then noticed a brown belt that seemed to look a bit furry.
'...Huh, neat belt.' Videl thought absentmindedly due to her fatigue, thought stowed that little tidbit in the back of her mind.
"Does your vehicle have an autopilot feature?" Ziam/Gohan asked, making sure that she doesn't drive while she could potentially pass out from energy exhaustion.
Videl slowly nodded positively, saying, "Yeah, I got that installed three months back. I only use it for emergencies."
The girl set her coordinates to her home.
"By the way, we're doing this every Friday for the next three weeks. Since the tournament has been pushed from May to December due to renovations, it gives me plenty of free time to practice." Videl stated in finality rather casually before smirking. "See you next week, Ziam."
Just like that, Ziam/Gohan watched as her jetcopter flew back home. Once her ki was far enough, Saiyaman changed back into his civilian identity and started to fly back home.
'Wow… I can't believe how fast Videl had managed to pick that up! Goten is one thing, given his Saiyan heritage, but Videl's just a human. And she seems to trust Saiyaman a little more too! Talk about social progress! Are you watching me, Dad? Things are looking up for the better! Hopefully, these peaceful times can last a little longer.' Gohan thought before blasting away in the direction of his home.
?'s Ship, Unknown Planet, Universe 7, Age 774
Out on a deserted planet was a flat, yet circular spaceship with a purple and black color scheme. Inside of the ship, three aliens wearing armor similar to what Saiyans typically wore were manning the controls and monitoring activity in the vehicle.
One of the aliens looked similar to a human Earthling. He was a slim Brenchian with turquoise skin. He had red eyes with short blond hair that curled to the left. The Brenchian shared the same upper body armor as his other two comrades, under a full-length bodysuit that was a deep violet. The soldier wore a green scouter over his left eye.
This soldier's name was Salza.
The next one was also a humanoid. Unlike Salza, he was a large Beppanite soldier that had a body akin to a bodybuilder. The Beppanite had a green-skinned humanoid alien with long black hair that went past his lower back. Aside from having the same attire as his fellow soldiers, the dark-eyed alien wore a white helmet that had a brown center. The soldier was also equipped with a yellow scouter.
This was a soldier named Doore.
The last person on their team was a tall alien that appeared to be a brown reptilian humanoid, making him the least human-like out of the trio. The being possessed big yellow eyes and pointy ears. And although he generally wore the same kind of attire as his squad mates, he had a partial purple jumpsuit that covered his torso to his thighs.
This was Neizu, the final soldier.
Salza, the leader, was monitoring the cameras over security when one of his comrades came into the room.
"Oi, Salza! I was looking all over for you, mate!" Doore spoke rather loudly, with his accent resembling a person who's Cockney.
Salza sighed, asking the muscle head in a French-like accent, "Whaht ees eet, Doore?"
"All rebelling forces have been eradicated completely. I even crushed a bloke's skull with my bare hands. It was fun watching him squirm before the mess was made. Too bad it ended rather quickly..."
"Ugh! Why deed he decided to ahssign you to ze team, I'll nevair know." Salza groaned, facepalming while hearing Dore laugh.
"Hahaha! Don't be like that, captain. Without me, time sitting on this dirt ball wouldn't be nearly as fun, not to mention how boring missions can be at times." Doore nudged before looking around. "Have you seen the boss around? I figured he would be here or in his sector."
Salza replied, "Doore, ziss ees Lahrd Coolair we're dealeeng with. He doesn't like any of us to stand idly ahround for too long. Heemself included. When eet comes to ze meession at hand, he likes to be prepahred; both een ze body and ze mind. Right now, he's mentahlly conditioning heemself."
Speaking of which, below the ship stood a tall mountain. Sitting at the peak of the mountaintop was one last alien. His appearance bore an uncanny resemblance to a certain galactic tyrant's Final Form, though the mystery being's skin was deep-purple and his build was much more fitted. He was also much taller and mature with an even longer tail. His body also sported several armor-like carapaces on his chest, shoulders, shins, and head.
There were cool, yet focused features on his face as he sat crisscrossed with his arms folded.
In his mind, the alien came into contact with an unknown being shrouded in darkness by creating a telepathic link.
(...Hehehehehe!) The disembodied entity cackled almost child-like.
'What is the meaning of this!?' The alien demanded in a low, yet firm tone as he prepared to attack the darkness that interrupted his Image Training.
(Looky-Looky here! Have a look!)The dark entity urged as the eyes in the shadows flashed his eyes.
'Huh? What the…!?'
Just then, flashes of a certain galactic tyrant on a lush green planet appeared in his mind.
'...Frieza!' The alien spat, repressing the urge to vomit from the sound of his name.
From there, the entity in darkness showed the alien snippets of what had happened on this green planet. From the rebellion of the Namekians, the betrayal of Vegeta IV, the arrival and the defeat of the Ginyu Force, all the way up to Son Goku confronting Frieza.
'Saiyans, huh? My my...isn't this rich? The supposed ruler of the universe couldn't even finish killing off a bunch of monkeys. Any space hick with a shotgun could have done that in one sitting! And he calls me a failure...tch!' The purple-skinned alien mused.
After that, it cuts to a bald human Earthling getting detonated by the power of Frieza's telekinetic powers. That triggered Goku's rage, transforming into the first Super Saiyan in a thousand years.
'What the devil!? What happened to him? He's different, he changed!'
The dark being showed the rest of the fight, which included Son Goku ultimately dominating Frieza while Namek was reaching it's due date of being completely destroyed. In the end, after being cut in half by his own attack, and being given mercy, Frieza tried to kill Goku, only for Goku to defeat him in the end.
'...Intriguing. Perhaps those Saiyans were onto something about their legends. Still, I doubt Frieza would die from that alone.'
And like that, the dark entity viewed the death of not only Frieza but King Cold by the sword of Future Trunks.
'...And there it is.' The alien thought sarcastically. 'To think that pinnacle members of our race, wiped out because of hindsight and hubris. Weakling, they deserved death. But these Saiyan monkeys are perfect candidates for potential soldiers with power like that. Whatever you are, creature! I want you to show me where these remaining Saiyans are residing as of late!'
The being's grin increased within the darkness, causing him to view the planet Earth in all its marvelous beauty along with its people and the basic technology.
'Ah…perfect wonder to add to my growing empire. Not too primitive, yet has an abundance of resources to sustain a base. And if these Saiyans are as strong as what I've been shown, I may get a decent challenge out of it yet.'
Cackling for one last time, the dark entity disappeared while giving the alien coordinates to the blue planet before the telepathic link was severed.
Suddenly the alien opened his blood-red eyes as he put on his red scouter, now standing up.
"Salza, Doore, Neizu. This is Lord Cooler speaking," The alien spoke, now identified as Cooler while gaining a hard expression. "Activate the Robot Soldiers using the Big Gete Program and set the spaceship to these next coordinates. We've got ourselves a new target. And it's quite the catch!"
To Be Continued…
It looks like our hero has spoken too soon, for a new threat has come in the form of Cooler, brother of the fallen Frieza. Will Gohan, his friends, and the rest of the Dragon Team be prepared for this monstrous force? What will become of the planet Earth? And how will the people of the world react to another potential alien invasion? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z: PRIMAL!
Author's Note: Hey guys. I'm a little tired so I'll keep this brief.
A lot of the characters in this alternate universe are a lot stronger than in canon. This includes the Dragon Team, the main villains, and Videl. For example, Cooler here can flex on Frieza's Final Form (before Super) in his Fourth Form and his Final Form is stronger than Perfect Cell after Goku's sacrifice. Another is that Videl is slightly stronger here than in canon, which is why she mastered flying faster here.
Gohan has another alias. Why? Because I'm tired of writing Saiyaman or Great Saiyaman constantly. So I decided to go for the Superman route and give Gohan a Saiyan name as a pseudonym for Videl to call him under the Saiyaman guise until his identity is revealed. The concept will be dropped after, only being used as a joke or a callback. Fun fact, Ziam is maize without the (e); corn.
Remember to focus on the "dark entity". That is the key to the final arc of the story.
Anyways, let me know what you guys think in the comments. Comment if you also have questions or suggestions. See you guys later! Have a blessed day!
-DarkShadowGames451