.

Chapter 3:

IS THIS THE LIMIT?

Note: Hey all you readers and followers :). Am kinda busy these days but am trying to translate the already written chapters. This is the 3rd chapter... read it to the end. As I have said, the story is starting to develop, so some parts do overlap with the original DBZ plot. Don't be disappointed as they only serve as the basis for character growth and progression :). Just need to set the basis for future plots and surprises :P.

Several weeks have gone since Gohan's first attempt at becoming a Super Saiyan. Their training only consisted of fighting/sparring and the little Saiyan was making progress; becoming faster, more agile and trying to learn from his mistakes as much as he could. So... his father started thinking that maybe it was time for Gohan to try transforming again.

After they were done with their sparring, he walked to his son and said: "Are you ready to try transforming again?"

"Yeah, I think I am dad," answered the young demi-Saiyan full of hope and optimism.

That brought a little smile on Goku's face, so he took a few steps back and observed. Gohan assumed his power up stance; his aura was soon visible and his power started rising fast. He remembered what his father had told him about using emotions to transform, so he remembered the most painful moments of his life, hoping that would be enough to push him over the edge. The ground started shaking and Gohan let out a scream when pushing himself as far as he could. His aura enlarged and Goku's reaction suddenly changed... Gohan's hair and aura became yellow... and it looked like he had done it, but a moment later, all that disappeared and Gohan regained his black hair color, falling to the ground, breathing deeply.

"That was so close Gohan. You're almost there," cheered the older Saiyan and then added with his typical voice: " Let's stop for a few hours and get something to eat. I'm starving."

Gohan could only smile at him since he was exhausted from all the training and trying to transform, but on the inside, he was very disappointed.

I failed again. I'm being a burden to dad. I'm slowing him down because I can't become a Super Saiyan. Maybe Vegeta was right... Piccolo should have come instead of me. He'd be a perfect training partner for dad. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'm not like you dad.

Since it was time (again) for filling up their bottomless stomachs, they went inside and grabbed some food. This time Gohan went to the fridge and brought back loads of delicious food. You can imagine the look on starving Goku's face when Gohan put all that food on the table. Now... fast forward a couple of minutes... and they were done; all the food was gone. Rice, meat, vegetables and fruit, fish, soup, countless glasses of water, all devoured by just two people in a matter of minutes. The result: both fell asleep on their chairs. Goku was the first one to wake up and silently leaving the kitchen, wanting to train a little on his own.

As soon as he had cleared the building, he transformed into a Super Saiyan and started training on his own way and style: fighting an imaginary opponent, performing attacks, defensive stances and recoveries. Like always, he completely forgot Gohan was taking a nap, so he fired a Kamehameha which exploded not that far from him, causing a shockwave. As soon as it had reached the building it startled Gohan, who fell from the chair, looking all confused.

"W-what's happening?" he said in confusion, than quickly ran out to check what's going.

Goku had just transformed to normal and landed at the entrance where Gohan was.

"What happened dad?" his son asked.

Goku grabbed the back of his head and laughed: "Oh yeah, sorry haha. The Kamehameha exploded a little too close to the building."

"That's not funny dad." Gohan responded a little angry.

"Oh come on son, I didn't do it intentionally... Heeeeey, I just got an idea. How about I give you a haircut? I mean look at all that long hair. When you become a Super Saiyan it's just gonna fall down over your face."

"It is getting kinda long isn't it?" Gohan laughed back, now being in a better mood.

Goku brought a chair and some scissors and started cutting his son's long hair.

"A little here and little bit here. Hmmm... and this and this, oh can't forget this," Goku mumbled through the complete makeover. Quite a few minutes have passed and he was done, finally.

"Well, it's done. It's not perfect but I guess It'll do. Check it out," and gave Gohan a little mirror.

"Wow dad, you're really handy with the scissors. Mum's never given me a haircut like this before."

"You know how your mother hates me giving you a haircut. She always says it makes you look like a savage Saiyan and not like a ummm, what's that word... teacher, no... SCHOLAR. Yeah, that's it."

"Hahaha," laughed Gohan, "That's mum alright." "My head feels lighter than ever," cheerfully smiled the little Saiyan, walking away from the chair.

"Wait just a minute young man," Goku stopped him with a serious tone.

His son stopped walking: "Is something wrong dad?"

"It sure is," he answered and waited for a few seconds then added: "You gotta clean all this hair here. Gosh, it's tons of it," he teased Gohan.

For a moment he thought something was very wrong, but Goku will always be, well, Goku. He turned around and smiled back: "You got me dad. Sure, I'll clean up."

After operation Cleanup was successfully completed, they both returned to their regular schedule: more training.

Another fortnight has passed and the little Saiyan still hasn't become a Super Saiyan. He was ashamed, not be able to achieve this even though he had trained so hard and Goku keep lifting his spirit and believing in him. That feeling of disappointment slowly began changing into anger and which started affecting Gohan's moods and behavior. He was frustrated and annoyed, only thinking how to become a Super Saiyan and finally do some real training; surpassing his limits. He constantly repeated in his head:

I need to become a Super Saiyan. Without this, I can't become stronger, or dad for that matter. I'm so ashamed, I hope he's not too. If I also knew what my son could do, I, too, would be annoyed by this "getting nowhere" training. And because of me, dad cannot train like he should, because he doesn't have the right sparring partner. I wish Piccolo had taken my place.

One day, Gohan got up really early and decided to train alone. He was so obsessed with the Super Saiyan, he couldn't bear it anymore. He began training with all his power, far away from the building. The landscape changed into a land of heat and fire (these condition wary in the ROSAT, from freezing levels to extremely hot) , putting more strain on the boy's body, making training more effective. The training continued under these conditions for quite a few hours. Desperately wanting to break this wall he had been behind for far too long, he stopped and landed on the ground. The inferno-like surrounding subsided, just the usual white void remained.

"Why? Why can't I transform? What am I doing wrong?" he kept asking himself.

A small tear came from his eye, the result of his sadness and shame. Another one dripped from the other eye; more and more tears started flowing from his eyes. He clenched his fists, becoming frustrated and angry with himself. His mind started projecting images in his head how the androids are killing all his friends, one by one, slowly and with no mercy. After they had killed them, his family was next; killing Chichi first like she was just an object to have fun with. Goku was next... but not killed... they decided to torture him and have a little fun until his breathing became erratic, had slowed down... until he was breathing no more. There were tears in his eyes, because he wasn't able to protect Chichi, his son, his friends.

The androids were enjoying like this was a game, a form of entertainment. Gohan knew his father had always believed in him, in his hidden power, wanting him to protect the Earth when he couldn't, to protect the innocent lives, his friends and his family. Gohan couldn't stop imagining this. His mind just wandered on itself, displaying these horrible images as if they had actually really happened; and it started getting worse. Tears were pouring from Gohan's eyes and he was getting angrier and more frustrated than ever. The emotions continued to get more powerful; anger and sadness had merged together into a feeling of hopelessness and endless sorrow.

Goku had just finished his breakfast and decided to see how the young Saiyan is doing. As soon as he saw him from afar, he knew something was odd, but decided not to make a big deal out of it. He noticed a shift in Gohan's behavior lately so it was just a matter of time before all those emotions would pour out of him. He knew his son needed some time alone, so he just stood there and watched him getting all those bad feelings and frustrations out.

"I know this place takes a toll on both the mind and the body... hang in there Gohan, we'll get through this together," he talked to himself.

Note: Well, you've made to the end of this chapter :), congratulations for your curiosity and support. I deliberately ended this chapter like this, trying to keep the hype and suspense. I know, from the reader's point of view, this is an annoying thing :D, but I can't just tell you everything right away hehe. Don't worry, the next chapter is already in the works :), but I'm not giving any sneak peaks this time :P. Stay tuned for more and... any feedback and comments are much appreciated.