Author's Note: I really like the concept of Gohan having this side adventure up in space while the other heroes have to deal with things on their end. It not only shows the breadth and scale of the universe as a whole, but also gives the child an opportunity to grow in an environment that supports his passions.
Gohan's going to be stuck in space for the foreseeable future of course, due to the fact that the Z-fighters need to use the dragon balls to wish back Goku to help them fight back against the Saiyans. They have to prioritize the safety of the world and if they manage to defeat the Saiyans, then afterwards they can wish back Gohan. However, with the way things pan out in the original series with the deaths of almost everyone at the hands of Nappa, things won't be as simple.
Plus, you can't wish Goku and Gohan back from two different circumstances at the same time. That counts as two wishes, same as with Cheelai wishing for 'Broly to be saved' and 'send him back to the planet he grew up on'.
However, with the addition of Raditz, anything is possible at this point.
You're going to find this version of the Saiyan Saga to be quite interesting, especially with what I have planned.
Dragonball Z
Alter Age
Trial by Fire
(Three weeks later)
(Earth)
With Krillin and the rest of the combative members of the Z-fighters training up on Kami's Lookout in anticipation for the arrival of the Saiyans, the task of locating and finding the dragon balls had fallen into Bulma's hands. Being the most experienced hunter in the group and knowing full well that a journey across the planet in search of the seven mystical orbs would be a long and perilous one, the scientist recruited the assistance of Oolong and Puar to help her out.
This meant that for the first time in a while, every single member of the Dragon Team was now busy working towards the same goal- to defend the Earth from the threat that was to come.
Since they already had the four-star ball in their possession and already knew where two of the others were, this left only four more dragon balls to locate. Unfortunately for the adventurers, the two balls that Bulma already knew the location of happened to be at the one place that very few people wanted to go at this stage- and that was Goku and Chi-Chi's place.
After finding out that her husband had been killed and her son had been shot up into space to Kai-knows-where, the mother had spent most of the past many days locked up in her house, kicking up a fuss, and worrying to no end as to what was happening to her beloved family members. Though her father- the Ox King- had spent the last few weeks comforting his daughter and counseling her whenever her moods went completely off the rails, there was only so much the poor old lord could do for the person who was technically considered the strongest human female on the planet. The fits that she threw often led to great amounts of destruction around the household and, due to the fact that she wasn't the most agreeable person to deal with- even at the best of times- it made approaching her with any legitimate reason quite the hazard.
She was a spoiled little princess after all. If things didn't go her way, you could bet there was going to be a lot of hell to pay.
The grief at losing the two boys in her life had left Chi-Chi with a short fuse, a grief-stricken heart, and an axe to grind. Since she was constantly calling up on Master Roshi and demanding to know what the progress was on the dragon ball hunt, it was safe to assume that all of the Z-fighters needed to tackle this situation with as much care and caution as they could muster. This was why when Chi-Chi had once again confined herself to Goku's childhood home- Grandpa Gohan's house on the far edge of their property- the Ox King told Bulma to come over to collect the two dragon balls that Goku had previously collected.
Sneaking up to the front door and greeting the kindly old man at the entrance, the blue-haired woman in the traveling pants and jacket, along with an appropriately dressed Oolong, smiled in relief when the Ox King handed to them the magical jewels that they were seeking.
"Make sure you summon the dragon as soon as you can," the Ox King whispered, smiling at the delightful looks that came over Bulma and Oolong's faces.
"Don't worry, sir. We will," the young researcher replied, smiling as she gazed down at both the three-star ball and the six-star ball glistening in her hands. "Alright. If we add these two with the ones we already have, we have four balls in total."
"Oh? You already managed to find another one?" the Ox King asked excitedly.
"Yeah. The two-star ball. Fortuneteller Baba managed to find it lying just outside of her desert and brought it over to us," Oolong said, grinning up at Chi-Chi's father when he glanced across at him. "I gotta say, it was very kind of her."
"Well… I hope your search for the rest of them goes smoothly. The last thing you need is another problem slowing you down," the burly man with the beard, horns and glasses said, his expression remaining ever hopeful as he nodded to the pair. "I wish you guys the best of luck."
"Thank you," Bulma said back, giving the old king a bow before quickly turning her attention westward. When her eyes landed on the familiar, oriental style hut that was Goku's old house sitting at the top of the hill alongside the bamboo woods, the woman's expression fell slightly. Noticing her averted stare, both Oolong and the Ox King also looked in the same direction, where they too spied the same little house. "How's Chi-Chi? Is she… going to be okay?"
"Hmm…" the Ox King murmured in a low voice before shaking his head. "My daughter is fine for now. But it will take some time before she can really get back on her feet."
Bulma blinked when she heard this. "She's still upset over her husband and son being gone, huh?" She wasn't surprised. If she was married and had a kid, she'd probably be pretty distraught as well if she learned one day that the two of them had either been kidnapped or killed.
"Yeah," the Ox-King sighed, his look also saddening as he looked upon the lonely little house at the other end of the footpath. "I really miss my grandson. The brave little tiger… always scurrying about the house on his hands and feet, looking for things and animals to play with. He's such a little scamp." He then turned to the woman and smiled at her. "As soon as you wish Goku back to life, make sure you bring Gohan back as well."
Bulma looked back at the elderly male and smiled. "Of course. That's the plan."
Upon saying their fondest farewells to one another, Bulma and Oolong parted from the house, leaving the Ox King standing at the front door, waving them off. While the pair were climbing into the yellow jet-copter the woman had parked out in the field, over in Grandpa Gohan's house, through the tiny window into the main room, Chi-Chi could be seen kneeling beside the bed and with face lying atop the neatly laid out sheets.
Having been lying in that position for quite some time, the woman had had plenty of time to meditate on her thoughts. The rollercoaster of emotions that'd gripped her had sent her into frequent bouts of anguish, frustration, and resignation, as the Son mother did everything she could think of to reason with herself that things were going to be alright. But after all the things that'd happened, she just could not see any reason to be calm.
After all, her husband was gone and so was her son. Since the dragon could only grant so many wishes- the total being one- and bringing back both of her boys would count as two separate ones according to Master Roshi, Chi-Chi knew that getting back one of them would take another year.
And seeing as how the group had even bigger problems to worry about in the form of the coming Saiyans, the mother knew that her husband's friends were going to have to wish Goku back first. There was, after all, no other option.
Despite knowing that the love of her life was going to be coming back within a year's time, the knowledge still left her feeling incredibly broken up.
Turning her head around and laying it on the mattress on its side, the mother with the swollen red eyes breathed out a heavy sigh. During which her fingers clenched tightly against the sheets spread out on the mattress beneath her.
"Gohan," Chi-Chi whispered, her teeth tightening as images of her son and his happy, smiling face appeared in her head once again. "My sweet, little boy." Lifting her head off the bed, she then looked up towards the ceiling, where she knew that far beyond the tiny little roof, lay a vast, uncharted wilderness that stretched on infinitely in all directions. "He's out there… all alone… lost on some distant planet. He must be absolutely frightened."
She could only imagine what kind of terrors her poor son was facing right about now and how scared he had to be. Being so young and innocent, she was sure her delicate baby was in danger and needed his mother.
OOO
(Meanwhile)
(Cooler Planet 113)
Down on the large, blue and green planet covered in swirling layers of white clouds, situated atop a large, rocky outcrop in the middle of a wide valley, stood a white, multi-towered fortress of an unusual, alien design. Serving as one of many facilities under the control and jurisdiction of the Cooler Force, as well as a key ground base for its enormous and well-funded military, this station was currently serving as a testing area for one of the army's newest members. It also happened to be one who was currently assigned to its most elite, tactical fighting force.
Confined to a chamber on the bottom floor of the base's largest tower, in a massive, dome-shaped room covered in white plated walls and red tiled floor, the tiny, seemingly unimpressive form of one Son Gohan was currently standing in the center of the chamber and glaring across the space. Wearing a set of slim, purple spandex shorts and short-sleeved shirt, along with a pair of white boots and gloves, the boy with the furry brown tail waving behind him and head of long, messy black hair that grew past his shoulders, found himself facing off against a very familiar yet intimidating menace.
Circling his spot in the center of the brightly lit training room, with a gravity setting cranked up to around ten, a group of about twelve, angry-looking Saibamen could be seen slowly edging in on the youngster's position. Their red eyes gleaming brightly as they shuffled around their stationary target, the collection of green creatures with bulbous heads and clawed hands sneered and hissed as they attempted to get a rise out of their prey. However, after about a minute of snarling and slowly converging on his location, they weren't able to get a single thing out of him.
All he was doing was standing there- his eyes narrowed sharply and an unperturbed look slapped across his face. Even though he was surrounded by creatures that were slightly bigger and heavier-looking than him, the half-Saiyan, half-human child was unafraid.
I mean, why would he? Despite there being twelve of them, there were already over a dozen other Saibamen lying dead and in various states of dismemberment around the room. Their green blood could be splattered all across the walls and floors, indicating that a round of mayhem and carnage had already taken place within the arena- spelling a very grusome end for the first wave of aliens.
Sneering once again when the group of twelve synthetic aliens stepped in a little closer, four of them decided to make their move. With a screech and a cackle, the critters standing in the kid's blind spots jumped at him from multiple directions- extending their claws and lashing out at him at once. However, just when they thought they were about to catch him in a pincer maneuver, the boy effortlessly slipped between them- his body transforming into a haze as he deftly avoided the four creatures' charges by moving from side to side.
When the group failed to hit him, two of the Saibamen on the boy's newly acquired right leaned forward, cracked open their heads, and fired two green beams of energy towards him. Despite their speed, the lasers were effectively smacked away when the boy spun around and batted them aside with his arm, sending the attacks shooting across the room to slam into the far wall.
The moment the blasts detonated, another Saibaman flew at Gohan from the left and attempted to slash him across the back. But just before it could even begin swinging, the child's hand suddenly snapped out and caught the critter by the neck. A strangled screech then left the alien's thin lips as the Saibaman was held a foot above the ground- its clawed feet kicking at the air uselessly as its wide, red eyes looked down at its foe.
A nervous chitter left its throat when it saw Gohan look up at him and an excited, yet very feral grin tugged at the corner of the boy's lips. For any normal child, being confronted by such horrifying imps would've terrified them to no end, and sent them crying to their parents. On the contrary however, Gohan wasn't the least bit scared of these creatures.
In fact, as he was now, he was having the time of his life.
While the boy was holding the Saibaman at his mercy, on the other side of the far wall, peering through the lenses of the various cameras built throughout the chamber, the small group of soldiers watching the session were completely stumped.
"Holy moons of Kiora! Did you guys see that?!" one of the men- a green alien in a black RIT armor, uniform, and a white helmet exclaimed in disbelief.
"I… I think so. Although… I think I might have blinked," the yellow and orange scaled alien in similar armor sitting beside his companion also exclaimed. From the way his eyes were bugging out, it was clear he was quite shocked by the display being shown on screen. "How in the heck did he do that?!"
"His back was turned to them, yet he was able to dodge their attacks like he knew they were coming!" the green alien shouted again, his jaw slack as beads of sweat ran down his skin. "Th-There's just no way!"
As the soldiers on the computer were trembled in awe at the sight of the child tangling with the Saibamen, leaning against the wall towards the side of the monitoring station, the sole female member of Cooler's Armored Squadron- Myra- was also observing the battle. Her pink scouter sitting comfortably over her eye, the adolescent with short hair and the one earring hanging from her lobe smiled when she saw how casually Gohan was handling his opponents by himself.
The same could be said for her companion Neiz, who was also in the room with them and standing directly behind the soldiers at the control panels and computer terminals. With his hands on his hips and posture fully straight, allowing him to tower over all of the people present, the Zalt-seijin couldn't help but grin broadly at everyone's reactions.
"You ain't seen nothing yet, boys," the amphibian elite stated, catching the group of soldier's by surprise and having the two who were speaking glance at the elite warrior. "Just keep watching."
As all the Cooler soldiers posted in the room turned their gazes back to the child in the center screen, which offered them a full view of the facility space he was occupying, they saw for themselves the full capabilities of the young half-Saiyan come into the light.
In the room, after throttling the Saibaman in his grip for a solid minute and feeling it squirm helplessly, the four-year-old Gohan decided to finish it off by swinging its body back, before slamming its head straight into the floor. A sickening splat then rang out as its skull literally ruptured against the tiles and splattered over the ground and the child's cheek, leaving a puddle of goop and brains in the middle of the room.
The moment the others saw its comrade get taken out in such a decisive and brutal manner, many of the Saibamen who were previously thinking about taking a swipe at the kid, took a terrified step back in alarm. Sensing their fear and noticing their moment of hesitation, a crouching Gohan looked up at the aliens with a very bestial sneer, before suddenly vanishing in a crack of wind. The instant his form disappeared in a flicker, an indiscernible blur darted between the group of Saibamen in front of him, a full second before the boy reappeared on the other side of the room in a standing position and a wide smirk on his face.
When the squad of aliens managed to spot the half-Saiyan kid a moment later, the entire group turned around to face him. The second they did however, eight of the eleven remaining Saibamen suddenly stopped, before multiple cuts opened up all over their bodies and began spraying green blood into the air. The next thing they knew was their bodies literally cascading to the ground in a shower of chunks and cubes, having been cut apart so fast that they didn't even realize that they were dead until the floor literally became covered in eight separate piles of limbs, torsos, and heads.
Once the deed was done, Gohan slowly turned around and leered at the three remaining plant aliens in the room, all of whom took several steps back at the feral grin the child shot their way. When they faced off against the kid with the glowing eyes, the three remaining Saibamen then gave identical, angry snarls, before they then flew into action.
With one of the aliens grabbing its comrade by the arm, it then threw his friend towards the Saiyan, while the second one darted to the side and came at the kid from the side. In the blink of an eye, as Gohan turned around with an intrigued look on his face, he found his body suddenly locked down when the Saibaman thrown at him snapped it limbs around his frame and got him in a bear hug.
A split second later, as the boy looked back at the Saibaman snarling at him, the other two green monstrosities also jumped on them- dogpiling the child and attempting to bring him down. When that didn't work and the hybrid remained standing perfectly still and unperturbed, the three genetically created aliens decided to take matters into their own terms. Their bodies simmering for a couple of seconds, the trio of Saibamen then detonated, engulfing the boy in a flash of fiery gold and causing the a deafening bang to echo throughout the room.
The soldiers watching from the monitors in the room over literally jumped out of their seats in shock when they saw the Saibamen suicide bomb the kid. They were flabbergasted, not only at the fact that they saw it happen, but that the boy that they were targeting didn't even bother to defend himself as he literally became engulfed in flames.
However, while the sight of the smoke billowing in the center of the chamber stunned the observing soldiers, both a watching Neiz and Myra were unaffected. In fact, they were simply staring at the screen with bored looks on their faces.
When the air eventually cleared moments later, it revealed Gohan standing perfect still in the center of a chipped and damaged floor, which had been scorched black in an outward direction from the explosion. The area still hot with tiny wisps of fire burning against the rocks, the demi-Saiyan simply stood there, surrounded by the smoldering remains of his last opponents.
Aside from being covered in a little bit of soot, the child was perfectly fine. He made this fact apparent by simply lifting his right hand and casually brushing a tiny chunk of Saibaman carapace resting on the side of his shoulder.
"Is that it?" Gohan asked, at the same time cocking an eyebrow around at the corpses of the thirty Saibamen he'd effortlessly slaughtered. "Hmm… that was pretty boring."
Over in the other room, the still-standing soldiers gaped at the monitors.
"He's… He's still standing," the yellow and orange scaled lizard alien in the helmet stuttered. "I don't believe it!"
Neiz chuckled when he heard this comment from the grunt. "I told you. But if that's not enough to impress you three, then consider this: that runt hasn't even shown half of what he's truly capable of." When he saw the man standing in front of the center computer turn to gawk at him, the amphibian elite crossed his arms proudly. "To him, fighting those walking plants can barely even be considered a warmup."
"Seriously?" the same reptile male choked out. Shakily looking back at the monitor to see Gohan picking at his ear, the soldier blinked. "And… you said he was only four years old, right?"
This statement also caused the green-skinned alien on the seat to the left to swallow nervously. "My gosh. If he's this strong now, what's he going to be like when he's full grown?"
All of these questions caused a listening Myra to snicker from her side of the room, with the Hera's back remaining propped up against the wall as she observed the screens. "Nobody really knows that for sure. But since he's part of our squad now, you can bet in just a few short years he's going to become even more incredible." She then promptly raised a hand and pointed a finger towards the group of soldiers at the computers. "So a word of advice… stay on his good side."
"Shoot. Yeah… guhh…" the soldier stammered back, at the same time the third in the group turned to face Neiz.
"What would you like us to do now, sir?" the Sergeant asked, the humanoid-looking alien asked inquisitively. "Should we cancel the simulation?"
Tilting his head momentarily, the tall Zalt-seijin scrunched his brow up thoughtfully before shaking his head. "Not just yet." He then unfolded his arms and pointed towards the scaled alien stationed at the center computer. "Bring up Test Subject 74."
Wheeling around in alarm, the yellow soldier Neiz was addressing gaped at the warrior through his fanged mouth. "B-But… Test Subject 74? Isn't that… isn't that going a little bit too far? I mean… the boy may be strong, but I doubt even he could stand up to that beast on his own. We haven't even fully tested the-"
"Just do it," Neiz responded, a smile still in play as he gave the soldiers beneath him a hard stare. "And crank up the gravity setting to seventy while you're at it."
At first appearing hesitant, the men at the terminals immediately went about making preparations for the next phase. Multiple beeps and hums rang as they typed into the keys, accessing a new system that would allow them to modify the room in front of them to the elite commando's specifications. All the while Myra remained where she was, intrigued by what was now going on.
Back in the training room, just as Gohan was starting to think that his trial was over, a loud clank followed by the low whirring of metal drew the youngster's attention to the area behind him. Eyeing the bloodied floor in the center of the room, the demi-Saiyan felt the gravity around him suddenly triple, before seeing a large hatch open a dozen feet away from him. As the sound of engines moving below continued to echo throughout the enclosed battle arena, Gohan then watched as a large, silhouetted figure rose up from the bowels of the structure. When the lift stopped and a loud hiss rang out, locking the platform into place, the child was then given his first, good look at the creature that'd been summoned.
Standing on all fours like an animal and looking as big as a bull, was a creature that was very alien and bestial in appearance. Covered in green skin and carapace plates exactly like the Saibamen he'd fought before, the creature had a very lean, yet muscular build, with a large head at the front, with veins pulsing all over its skull, two horns protruding out of it, and a long, plated tail with a sharp point at the end of it. It also had three claws on each hand and foot.
Overall, it looked like some sort of overgrown, mutated Saibaman. But from the mandibles over the snout it had protruding from the lower portions of its face, it was anything but. The moment its eyes landed on the kid staring at it strangely from his spot in the room, the enormous, bug-like creature stomped forward, inhaled sharply, before hissing menacingly at the young Saiyan- at the same time sending a blast of wind ripping from its body and across the room.
Myra, watching the action comfortably from her place by the wall, blinked when she saw the massive, four armed creature step off of the platform it'd used as a lift. "What the heck is that thing?" she asked, the scouter units installed into the training room screaming as the numbers suddenly skyrocketed. "Some kind of Saibaman on steroids?"
The sergeant at the computer terminal turned to the orange-haired elite and spoke up. "That monster is called Test Subject 74- or what Kikono nicknamed a Saibademon- an evolved, mutated form of Saibaman, modified and enhanced through genetic engineering. Cooler-sama demanded the research and development team to create a new, heavy-class of artificially grown soldiers for his forces, which could be sent to outlying planets to wipe out dangerous animal species in preparation for expeditions. So the scientists developed that freak of nature as a result."
Looking at the screens, Myra's eyebrow cocked in surprise. "It has a battle power of 30,000? That's even stronger than Frieza's top two generals, Dodoria and Zarbon."
A gulp echoed from the sergeant sitting in the chair as he observed the monitor. "Yes. The strength it has is astonishing… probably the most powerful specimen we've ever created. But because it's a prototype and prone to ignoring commands from its masters, we have yet to put any of its kind into mass production. That's why we've confined all the units we managed to create into solitary confinement cells beneath this tower."
The yellow scaled soldier stared nervously at the screen as he watched the lizard of a monster whip its tail behind it angrily. "I sure as hell wouldn't want to be in that room right now. A creature like that is more than capable of wiping an entire planet's population out in a single night if it ever got loose."
Despite these comments and statements being made by the troops in charge of monitoring the fighting chamber, neither Myra nor Neiz seemed worried in the least. In fact, both of them were actually keen to see how Gohan would handle himself.
The demi-Saiyan was somewhat intrigued. Not just at the beast's size and presence, but also its appearance. Though he initially mistook it to be a Saibaman mother, after getting a good whiff of its power and its scent, he knew right away that it wasn't. In fact, the air that it was currently giving off was not normal in the least, and that it was a species of creature that was not found in nature.
This was more than enough to get him to tilt his head at it as it approached him. When he heard it give a low snarl and its throat quiver as a result, Gohan smiled. "My, my… you're a big wolfie, aren't you?" The child then straightened up. "So. What can you do?"
The moment he asked that question he suddenly felt a spike in the beast's energy, before its threw its head forward, opened its mouth, and unleashed a torrent of bright green sludge straight at him. Reacting instinctively, Gohan darted out of the so fast that his body disappeared, a split second before the tidal wave of liquid struck against the back wall of the room, splashed against it, before combusting in a blast of flames.
Closing its mouth, the Saibademon gave a low growl as it watched the outer wall of the gravity chamber melt under the corrosive nature of its Acid Blast. Upon which its ears twitched before its body turned and eyes snapped upwards.
There, crouching on all fours against the arc of the ceiling and gripping the narrow, shallow edges of the tiles with his fingertips, Gohan was smiling down at the creature. Watching the wall and floor of the training chamber sizzle and melt in a wide arc, with many of the metallic edges actually burning from the acid catching fire from the high concentration of oxygen in the room, the child then dropped from the ceiling and touched down lightly on the floor with a tap. Upon which he straightened up and grinned at the beast.
"That was impressive," Gohan chirped, watching the creature lumber about to face him, before bearing its fangs and twitching its mandibles angrily. The demi-Saiyan took immediately notice of this and chuckled. "You seem like you're in a bit of a bad mood. Must be from being locked up underground for so long. How about I take you out for a walk? Would you like that?" He then bent over and clapped his hands at the animal, before then beckoning it towards him playfully. "Come on, puppy. Let's go."
Huffing angrily at the cocky grin the child was throwing it, the massive Saibademon slammed its clawed feet into the ground before, with a sharp inhale, roared loudly at the youngster. Its scream bounced off of the walls and caused the floor to tremble, with Gohan merely remaining where he was with a calm smile on his face.
Feeling his hair billow under the hot wind, the child smirked. "Oooh. Scary. So it's a roaring contest you want, huh?" Straightening up and widening his foot positions, Gohan took in a deep breath of air, clenched his fists, before then throwing his head forward and unleashing a mighty bellow from his throat. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" His scream was punctuated by a loud bang of a shockwave and a violent rumble, which caused the tiled floor beneath his feet to cave in and form a crater. This sudden show of force sent a wall of wind tearing out in all directions, causing the ground around him to warp as he sent the blast of wind towards his foe.
The Saibademon was unprepared for the child's sharp increase in power, which hit it head on and sent its entire body skidding backwards at great speed. Its claws digging into the surface and sending sparks as it attempted to stop itself, the creature's body eventually came to a screeching halt near the melted wall.
After the boy's scream finished echoing throughout the chamber and deafening all those within earshot, the startled Saibademon's head snapped up. With a low growl, the beast then barked before darting forward- its claws slamming and scraping against the tiles as it charged towards Gohan with all the fury and agility it could muster.
Closing the gap in a heartbeat, the beast then lashed out at the boy with its clawed hand, only for the boy to casually evade it by leaping to the side. When the Saibademon skidded along the ground to a stop, it then wheeled about and lashed out at the child with its tail. While Gohan ducked under its initially swing, he then darted out of the way when it whipped over and slammed into the floor, missing him when he jumped out of its path.
The moment Gohan vanished, the green, armored beast followed- also disappearing into thin air. The chamber soon became filled with the sounds of loud thuds and shockwaves, as the two oddly matched aliens began clashing with one another at high speed. Every so often their forms would flicker into view in random locations all across the dome-shaped chamber, before then disappearing with a crack of wind as they carried on their respective pursuits.
Eventually, after crisscrossing one another several times, a loud bang then rang out as the Saibademon was suddenly smacked out of thin air and sent crashing to the tiled floor. The moment it plummeted from the air and slammed into the metallic surface back-first, Gohan's body reappeared out of thin air above the arena- lowering his leg from the kick he'd smashed across the mutant's jaw. Upon which he then dropped to the ground, touching down gently and smirking proudly.
"You're good. But not good enough, I'm afraid," the child chirped, his eyes flashing in a very cocky, Saiyan manner. "Sorry, wolfie."
Rolling back onto its feet and showing off a smashed jaw that was bleeding heavily, as well as several shattered teeth, the red-eyed, reptilian synthetic beast gave a shaky snarl, before then letting out another, angry roar. Ignoring the various wounds covering its body and the stinging sensation in its fractured jaw, the Saibademon then bolted forward at an incredible speed. Feet pounding against the metal floor as it built up to ramming speed, the creature then dipped its head forward and slammed its horns into its target.
A loud bang echoed throughout the room when the creature collided with the demi-Saiyan head-on- the child taking the full brunt of its charge right in the torso, which caused him to skid back along the floor for a few feet. The Saibademon's momentum was then halted a couple seconds later when the boy's feet dug into the tiles, his boots screeching as he absorbed all of its force and bodyweight.
At first the creature thought it'd impaled the child through the vitals with its crown's protrusions. However, when it glared up at him to assess the damage, it discovered to its shock that Gohan had simply stood there with his hands up and taken its horns to the chest, which he was now holding back with nothing but his muscles. Despite hitting the Saiyan boy with the force of a locomotive traveling at hypersonic speed square in the body, all its horns did was press into the youngster's flesh, while doing absolutely no damage whatsoever.
Smirking at the stunned look that came over the mad creature's gape, Gohan then decided to put an end to it. "My turn." With a quick swipe of his hand, he struck the beast across the face with a hook from a sharp angle, smashing one of its horns off and sending green blood flying from its mouth. Upon stunning the Saibademon, the child then snapped his arms around its neck, yanked the beast towards him, and shoved its massive body into the floor.
Upon getting the beast into a crushing headlock, the young Saiyan then took a hold of the top and bottom parts of its jaw with both hands and slowly pried its bloodied mouth open. Ignoring the beast's screeches and hisses as it flailed about in his grip, the boy positioned its head so that its mouth was pointing upwards. Then, as its talons lashed out at his tiny, iron body in a last ditch effort to free itself, Gohan leaned back, took a deep breath and- with a sharp increase in ki- opened his mouth over the Saibademon's and hocked the biggest of all loogies down its throat in the form of a full-power Mouth Energy Wave.
The golden and orange beam erupted from the child's mouth and poured down the Saibademon's throat, causing its entire esophagus to be engulfed in a raging inferno. Blasting its throat for a full two seconds, Gohan felt the mutant squirm its last in his grip, its limbs falling to the floor before his energy wave incinerated its insides and burned a tear through the creature's neck, causing the head he was holding to detach from the rest of its body. The moment its flaming corpse dropped to the floor, the child stopped his attack, allowing its lifeless head to dangle from one of his hands as he lowered it and straightened back up into a normal position.
After looking down at the Saibademon's headless corpse and seeing its body start to burn from the inside out, the bored-looking Gohan breathed out a tiny, cute puff of smoke, before then tossing the beast's smoldering head to the side. He didn't even look when its skull bounced across the floor as he reached up and stretched his arms in the air.
"I'm hungry," Gohan remarked.
Back in the computer room, the initially stunned soldiers staring up at the monitors found themselves completely and utterly speechless.
Noticing the stumped expressions on the trio's faces, Neiz let out a boisterous laugh before leaning forward and clapping both the sergeant and his subordinates on the shoulders. Shaking them firmly, yet failing to get any kind of a response from them, the amphibian male spoke. "That was a great test, you guys. Good show. But I think at this point we can officially consider the "Super Saibaman Project" a complete and utter failure."
Myra, letting out a giggle of her own at the slack jawed look on the soldiers' faces, stood up from her wall and wandered over to where the training room's main door was. "Nothing beats good, old-fashioned, naturally born manpower. Make a note of that for when Kikono-san asks about where his little pet has gotten to." She then waved for the soldier to open the vault entrance, which the yellow and orange alien at the station did, while at the same time still gaping at the screen with eyes that were practically bugging out.
With a loud hiss and a metallic snap, the large door to the training room opened. With the engines working inside humming to a stop, signifying the gravity setting was returning to normal and that the simulation had been completed, Myra waited with her hands on her hips as the perfectly fine Gohan ambled out of the chamber. When he stepped into the control room, the Hera noticed to no surprise that the child was carrying a Saibaman's arm, which he was currently in the process of eating.
Seeing the child stop in front of her, Myra shook her head. "Couldn't you have waited until we got to the lunchroom?"
Gohan, swallowing the bits of arm he had in his mouth, grinned happily. "I could've. But I was really, really hungry before the fighting even started and I couldn't wait anymore. Plus this meat has a very interesting flavor. It's like… carrot mixed with very stringy beef." Opening his mouth and taking another bite out of the bicep, the boy chewed loudly on it while looking up at his roommate, who he saw was gazing down at him in amusement. "So? How did I do?"
Myra smiled and nodded at him, "You did great."
"You totally killed it in there, kid. Literally," Neiz also remarked, having moved over from the computer terminal to stand beside his smaller companions. The Zalt-seijin grinned broadly. "Heh. If only Salza and Dore had been here to see yah."
Feeling a sense of pride well up inside of him from the praise he was receiving from his fellow Armored Corp members, the grinning Gohan allowed his tail to wag behind him before glancing over at the Hera. "What's next on the list? Another training session with one of you guys?"
Sharing a glance with Neiz, the beguiling Myra looked back down at the child and gave him a more excited look. "Maybe later. But for now… I think it's time we sent you on an actual mission." When she saw the boy's expression change from smiling to shocked, the adolescent female then pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. "First, we'll get you cleaned up. And after that we'll go see Lord Cooler. He's waiting for us."
OOO
(Sometime later)
The training that Gohan had undergone over the past month had, in all honesty, been some of the most intense and interesting regiments that the boy could remember ever practicing. The routine that the members of Cooler's Armored Squadron followed was completely different to the exercises that his father did when he was polishing up his martial arts in the valleys outside of their home in Mount Paozu. Not to mention their routines were a heck of a lot more strict and structured. All of their training was done on the clock and followed an incredibly specific timetable, as to be expected of any well-oiled military group.
Discipline was key… and Gohan was given that in spades. In spite of that, the past few weeks in which the child had been beaten into the ground and picked back up again, had been the most fun and exciting times the child could remember experiencing. It allowed him to see and do so many things in such a short time. He also had four awesome teachers and role models at his disposal- an opportunity that very few kids in his age group were ever given the privilege of shadowing and learning from.
Every day ran pretty much the same way, which Gohan was able to arrange into a basic eight day cycle, due to the fact that he was in a completely different galaxy and time zone.
In the mornings the boy would wake up, have breakfast in the mess hall with Myra- sometimes accompanied by either Dore, Neiz, Salza or two of them- before then heading to the specially designed gravity room for several hours of hard grinding. On the periods the child dubbed Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, he was personally tutored by Myra and Salza.
During her sessions, the female Hera showed Gohan how to draw on his energy, conjure it, and use it in a variety of different forms, including flight, firing blasts, forming shields and barriers, and manipulating it to augment certain parts of his body to increase his striking power and defenses. Clearly the hybrid found these skills to be incredibly useful and, with his versatility and talent for the arts giving him a big advantage over ordinary people, was able to pick these techniques up very quickly and begin formulating moves of his own.
Salza would then take over the boy's training in the afternoon sessions, helping the hybrid polish up his energy augmenting and manipulation abilities, and apply them in less orthodox ways. As expected, the Captain taught Gohan how to focus his ki around certain parts of his body to create cutting edges, giving him a new branch of techniques in his arsenal to explore. It also provided the team leader a new, experimental dueling partner to practice his moves with, in which the man used the past month to instruct the boy in the time-honored art of blade-to-blade saber fighting.
Gohan absolutely loved these refined, civilized combat lessons- though he did end up getting cut a few times by the Captain, partly due to his carelessness and partly due to the man being a little harsher with his training than Myra was. The Brench-seijin was a very fearsome and disciplined warrior after all, despite all appearances to the contrary.
Working with these two made up three of his regular training days.
On Tuesdays, Thursdays and some other day Gohan aptly decided to call Tokenday, he received guidance and training from both Dore and Neiz.
The green Beppa-seijin, being the most gung-ho of the group, would always begin and end his sessions with Gohan with vigorous, spirit-enhancing exercises- including his infamous Delinquent Squat sets and Tough Guy Swagger laps. The first exercise was obviously a textbook squat technique that strengthened the boy's legs, spine and tail bone, allowing the child to duck attacks with poise, as well as block and absorb crushing blows from above with little effort. The second exercise was a type of 'swagger' like stride, which taught Gohan how to perform more effective side-step dodges while moving in close to the opponent. Since jumping back was a rookie mistake for fighters and often led to them getting cornered, Dore taught the Saiyan how to put pressure on his enemies with his defense.
He also had the child practice various grappling and wrestling techniques, including locks, takedowns, pile drivers, suplexes, and hold breaks. Due to being so much smaller and weaker than Dore, Gohan at first struggled with learning all of these. But with some adjustments to his style and timing, he was able to perform several of the techniques the man taught to him to an appropriate level. Still, this didn't stop him from getting taken down and tossed by his muscle-bound trainer on occasion, who made it his mission to hammer his teachings into the boy's head his way.
After Dore, Neiz would take over for the second half of their routines. Being a bit smarter than his brutish teammate, as well as far more unorthodox in terms of his fighting style, the amphibian taught Gohan how to use his environment as well as his speed to his advantage. His less than textbook approach to combat meant the child had to quickly adapt to his routines. Aside from running laps, practicing to manipulate his ki to amplify his speed, and weight practice with combat, Gohan also learned how to dodge more effectively while fighting with Neiz. This was good for him since this kind of practice focused a lot on him using his animalistic senses and instincts to avoid attacks, which was fantastic practice.
Neiz had also started teaching him how to alter the elemental properties of his ki. But like with Salza's ki sharpening skills, he still had a ways to go before he could even get close to their level of mastery. Right now he still only knew the basics, which was good enough for him.
While each day was allocated between two of the four members of the team accordingly, the squad would always come together in the afternoons and study new formations and tactics together- with Salza reserving a slot in the evening for all of them to practice new dance techniques. It was an arrangement that every single person in the squadron greatly enjoyed and had very few complaints.
The weekends provided a different stretch of recreation and exercise for the demi-Saiyan. During the Saturdays for the odd eight day cycle he was now in, Gohan was free to train and spend his time in whatever productive session he saw fit, whether it was studying or exercising. The child wisely decided to use it for studying with Myra, as there was much about society and the universe that he had yet to know, and the boy was keen to learn about. Sunday on the other hand was the team's mandatory rest day, in which the Cooler Squad were able to hang out on the ship or down on the planet they were orbiting to relax.
Overall, it was a pretty solid and reasonable calendar. It not only allowed Gohan to develop and refine his fighting skills, but it also helped him to build his character, increase his knowledge, and mold him into a functional member of the crew. His animalistic tendencies too, while still present on account of his heightened Saiyan attributes, had also been reigned in a little bit.
All of his training eventually led the child to this point. After going through a final test administered by Myra and Neiz down on the planet Cooler's ship was orbiting, the boy had now been given a green light by his two squad mates to join them on their first mission. However, since he'd ended up covered in ash and blood after his skirmish with the Saibamen and their mutated counterpart in the training room, he desperately needed a wash.
While the child was washing up in the locker room, the boy was able to take notes of his condition in the mirror. At the moment, the four-year-old was still in perfect, physical condition. However, aside from having developed his young muscles a lot more, he also had multiple, light scars crisscrossing his body in multiple places. Aside from having a bunch on his forearms from his intense power sessions, he also had one over his right shoulder, a second one going diagonally over his chest with a smaller one cutting across it- courtesy of Salza- and a big, white, jagged spot over his abdominals and on his back, which had been given to him by Lord Cooler shooting him through the gut on the day they met.
That one was the first scar he'd ever been given in his entire life and it was one that Gohan knew wasn't going to be going away anytime soon.
Once the boy had cleaned himself up, he did his long, back-length messy hair into a ponytail to tidy himself up, threw on his purple spandex, white gloves and boots, and the squad's trademark body armor, and then stepped out of the changing room. Meeting up with Neiz and Myra in the corridor, the group then hopped onto the base's inbuilt travellator and made their way to the flight decks outside of the base.
Stopping to grab a quick snack from the cafeteria, the trio then reached the middle levels. After passing through the automatic doors at the end of the hall, they found themselves out on the flight platforms where the military's Attack Balls and transport ships were located. Once there, not only did they see a bunch of soldiers running all about the main platform, moving crates and loading small freight saucers, the group also saw that Salza, Dore, and the army's head scientist Kikono, were waiting for them along the footbridge.
After walking up to them, the group's resident Saiyan was greeted with a big grin from Dore and a smile from Salza.
"Hey, little man! How did it go in there?" the Beppa-seijin asked in his usual, booming voice. "Was it hard? Did you crush it?"
Gohan grinned back at the green warrior and raised his fist. "Oh yeah. Big time. Those chumps didn't stand a chance."
"Haha! That's what I'm talkin' about!" Dore laughed, stepping towards the boy and raising his hand. "Give me some!" He then watched Gohan spring several feet into the air and slap his palm hard, causing a loud 'clap' to ring out before the boy dropped back to the floor. "WOO!"
The Captain of the squad, his green scouter flashing as he flicked his hair back, looked across at the grinning Myra and Neiz. "I take it then that he passed?"
A nod was the Hera's immediate answer. "With flying colors. He took out all 30 targets with no effort whatsoever, including the boss. Though, instead of having one of us go in there to administer the final test, Neiz went a bit off the books and brought up one of the Saiba mutants Kikono and his boys were working on."
The small, yellow alien with the antennae and modified RIT armor, catching wind of this, took on a nervous look while stepping forward. "S-Saiba mutants? You mean… the prototype soldier units locked up in the tower's lower levels?" When he saw Myra nod, the chief scientist gulped. "Is… is it okay? Did it do well?"
The news the Hera had to share wasn't good.
"Gohan-kun killed your strongest one," Myra said straight away, causing the yellow alien's jaw to drop.
"S-S-Subject 74?" the man stuttered. "The Alpha?"
The adolescent Hera shrugged at him apologetically. "Yeah. Sorry."
Neiz on the other hand was completely reeling. "Oh, man! You should have seen the way he took that last one out!" The tall amphibian stepped over to Dore and tapped his friend in the shoulder with his knuckles. "He grabbed the thing by the jaws, shoved it into the floor, pried its mouth open, and fired a mouth energy blast down its throat until its head dropped off! It was freakin' brutal, dude!"
"Seriously?!" Dore asked, gaping at his teammate and seeing him nod. "Holy shit! Awesome! That's our little monkey boy!" the Beppa shouted, at the same time enthusiastically reaching down and ruffling Gohan's hair, messing up his locks and drawing a playful laugh from the child. Upon which the warrior looked back at Neiz. "Please tell me you have that fight recorded?"
The Zalt warrior nodded back with a wide grin. "Yep. We got it all."
"Sweet! I'm gonna check that shit out as soon as we get back to the ship," Dore said while clenching a fist tightly in front of him.
Kikono, upon recovering from learning about the fate of his prized bull, cleared his throat as he stepped in between the jazzed up members of his boss's elite fighting force. "I'm afraid kicking back and catching up is going to have to wait. For now, Lord Cooler has instructed me to fill you in on the specifics for your next mission." He then stepped to the side and gestured towards the platform. "If all of you would kindly follow me, please."
As the little alien scientist proceeded to move, Salza, Dore, Neiz, Myra and Gohan followed after him, being sure to stay behind the man as he made his way over the flight decks. Along the way the young hybrid Saiyan was able to see once again all of the soldiers operating on duty, with the guards that they passed saluting them as they marched out into the open. The group didn't have to move too far from the main bridge, as only a few minutes later they eventually stopped in the very center of the platform, where a large ship was waiting for them.
"Huh. I didn't notice this ship when we landed here this morning," Neiz remarked, remaining beside Dore while setting his hands on his hips.
"Is this part of our fleet? I don't recognize the model," Myra also observed, tilting her head as she and the others proceeded to study the vessel from the side.
Measuring about a seventy meters in length, the craft that Gohan and the other members of Cooler's elite found themselves looking at was a large, sleek vessel with a very striking design. Unlike the saucer-shaped scout ships and freighters that made up the bulk of the emperor's forces, this interstellar craft was streamlined, possessing a very bullet-like shape that got progressively thinner towards the nose, and was covered in mostly white armor plating, with a single black line looping around the ship, and brown, grooved plating along the top.
Standing on eight retractable landing legs designed like all the other vessels in the force- four on each side- the ship's hull was lined with round, blue viewing windows, large yellow anti-gravity floaters between them, and large hangar doors on both wings, which had the insignia of Cooler's Armored Squadron painted on them. Beneath the vessel towards the front, there was a drop down stairway allowing access to the craft from below, and a third hangar door towards the back- placed there for the loading of cargo and other things. And at the top of the ship in front of its engines was the bridge, which stood elevated above the rest of the craft, and had a purple glass dome canopy at the front, providing a good view of the entire length of the ship and the surroundings.
From a design standpoint, it looked like a compressed, sleeker, and stream-lined version of Cooler's capital ship. However, thanks to all the specifications mentioned above, it was far more than that.
"Is it brand new?" Myra asked curiously while pointing towards it.
It was at this question that Kikono proudly stepped forward and smiled back at the group of five warriors gathered behind him. "Why, yes it is my dear. I designed her myself." He then gestured towards the long craft and proceeded with the introductions. "I call it the Comet. A Raider/Strike I-class corvette designed based off of the old Cold Force's large troop carriers. 70 meters in length and streamlined for speed and radar deflection, the vessel was built specifically for infiltration and assault missions, as well as extended deep space expeditions to multiple worlds. Outfitted with the most advanced computer systems and technologies available to the Cooler Force, the ship is equipped with dual heavy laser cannons and photon missiles- perfect for dealing with asteroids and enemy vessels- and a powerful cloaking device to shield passengers and crew from scouters and other sensors. Additionally, the ship is also fitted with the latest slip-space drive, which can allow the corvette to cross entire galaxies in a fraction of the time it would take an Attack Ball to traverse." Kikono straightened up as a proud grin crossed his face. "You could say she's the fastest ship in the fleet."
Salza smiled. "She's an impressive girl."
"Shame that we don't have something like this for our crew," Myra muttered, a look of disappointment coming over her as she reached up to massage her neck. "Seriously. I'm getting really sick and tired of flying across the entire universe in a pod the size of an aerobics ball. Every time I get out to stretch my legs, it feels like I'm unpacking myself from a shipping crate."
"Heh. You and me both," Neiz remarked as well. He could definitely get on board with his teammate's complaints. After all, he was the biggest and tallest son-of-a-bitch around these parts- standing over half a body taller than Dore and twice the size of Myra. It was ridiculous.
It was at this point that Kikono flashed the group an amused smile. "Yes. She's a one-of-a-kind beauty alright. The only ship in her class." Placing his hands behind his back, the yellow alien turned to the squadron and nodded. "And best of all… I'm giving her to you."
At that point, expressions of astonishment and shock quickly appeared over the four warriors' faces, with Gohan simply listening in from between them. When Kikono's announcement was finally processed in the group's heads, Dore was the first to speak.
"Wait. Y-You mean…" the green warrior stuttered before pointing up at the ship in front of them. "This ship… is ours?"
"That is correct," Kikono chirped happily. "Why else would your group's insignia be painted on the side? Surely not just for decoration."
Almost as soon as he said this, as the boys in the group felt their eyes bug out, Myra- giving a very girlish squeal with stars in her eyes- suddenly sprang forward and landed splat against the side of the vessel's leg. From there, the squad and many of the soldiers patrolling the flight platform watched with odd looks on their faces as the adolescent girl giggled and rubbed her cheek against the leg of the craft, all the while keeping herself firmly pasted against the metal.
"HAHAHA! Yes! Yes! YES! Thank you, Kikono-san! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Myra laughed, looking back at the group with a red face and a big smile in play. "This is the best birthday present ever!"
While Gohan snickered at how his roommate was now acting, Kikono- shaking himself out of his daze- smiled back at the Hera. "I'm glad that you like her." He then turned towards the rest of the squadron, leaving Myra to continue showering affections upon their brand new toy. "Cooler-sama ordered me earlier this year to have a ship designed and built specifically for your team that would allow all four of you- now five of you- to go on deep space missions as a single unit. And not just towards the outlying regions of the empire's territory, but also to explore new worlds and reinforce current ones across all systems. In order to avoid any catastrophic mishaps or separations while on route, the young emperor believed it was best to have your entire team travel together in the same ship… and with all the necessities required to complete your assignments."
Salza, placing a hand over his chest, bowed gratefully to the scientist. "Lord Cooler is a very wise and generous leader. Our squad is very grateful to have him as our emperor and our commander."
"The entire vessel has been fully stocked and fueled- ready for her first voyage," Kikono explained, while proudly pushing his chest forward. "The five of you can set out immediately."
At this point, the Captain of the Armored Squadron gave the man a serious look. "While we're on the subject- since this vessel is brand new, it probably has a whole array of setups and facilities that we are unfamiliar with. Is it complicated to fly?"
"Not at all," Kikono replied, while at the same time smiling across at the blond captain. "The ship's primary consoles and computers should follow the same blueprints as the systems you're already accustomed to. However, should you have any troubles with engaging any of its programs or equipment, the five of you will have the assistance of your vessel's crew members." The man then gestured away from the ship to another part of the platform nearby.
When Salza, Gohan and the others looked, they saw a group of six naval officers in modified RIT uniforms- four women and two men of mixed alien races- standing by and at attention. The woman standing at the end of their formation was noticeably the tallest of them- close to the same height as Neiz- with smooth orange skin and long, flowing red hair, and was wearing a black spandex suit similar to a one piece, white boots and gloves, black and gold armor, and a green scouter over her left eye. The moment the squadron noticed the crew, the woman stepped forward and saluted.
"I'm lieutenant Shira- pilot of the Comet. It's a pleasure to have you with us, sirs," the woman, obviously the ship's main pilot, spoke.
Dore grinned at the sight of the vessel's crew members. "That is super cool."
"Shira will give you a tour of the vessel as soon as you're all underway," Kikono informed, before then turning to Captain Salza. When Myra detached herself from the ship and ambled back over to her squad, the scientist continued to break down the group's newest arrangements. "She and her team will take your squad to wherever you need to go, as well as monitor the ship's condition, and make repairs and supply stops whenever necessary. They are yours to command." Kikono then handed the squadron leader a white USB disk. When the warrior took it from him, the yellow alien scientist stepped away. "Lord Cooler has given your newly revised group its first assignment. There is a warlord holed up on a planetoid called Quaren- a resource rich world orbiting Star 115 in Messier 82. The rebel forces have dug into the capital city like ticks, with the leader claiming to possess a weapon that can destroy entire planets. Our emperor wishes for you to remove him personally and have the world ready for sale on the planetary trade market."
Hearing this put a smirk on Salza's face, who then nodded to the scientist affirmatively. "Consider it done." He then turned and looked down at Gohan, who he saw was staring up at him inquisitively. "Isn't this great, kid? We're finally going to put those skills of yours to good use. Are you ready?"
Gohan, feeling more jazzed than ever, punched a fist into the air excitedly. "Yes! Absolutely!"
A giggle left Myra's lips as she reached over and patted her friend on the head. "I'd say he's raring to go."
"As are all of us," Salza said, pocketing the chip before then turning to his squad and newly assigned crew. "Alright! It's been over a month since our last assignment! Time to put our new dance moves and attack formations into action! Let's get this circus on the move! Go, go, go!" the man shouted, at the same time clapping his hands.
Almost immediately the members of Cooler's Armored Squadron and their flight team immediately scrambled towards the ship and up its steps. Once Salza had given a final nod to Kikono and received the last of the man's instructions, the captain himself made his way to the craft. The moment he started climbing the steps, the engines fired up with a loud hum, with the man raising the walkway the moment he was inside.
Kikono and the rest of the soldiers on the platform then watched with anticipation as the newly created, mobile headquarters of the squadron lifted off of the pad and floated up into the air. Upon rapidly gaining altitude, the vessel then pointed its nose skywards, drifted forward for several yards, before its back thrusters fired up and shot the ship straight into hyper speed- leaving a multicolored vapor trail in its wake.
OOO
(A few days later)
(Back on Earth)
High above the planet on Kami's Lookout, the Z-fighters were continuing their intense training. With a month and a half already come and gone, the human warriors were doing everything they could to hasten their development. This meant harder workouts, heavier weights, longer sparring sessions, and refining their energy manipulating skills.
After just a few weeks of work, the most experienced members of the group had already far surpassed the level that Goku had received when he fought Raditz. And now, with that goal line getting further and further behind them, the planet's defenders were now entering uncharted territory.
Out in the open, both Yamcha and Tien, wearing an even heavier set of clothing than Goku had worn back in the day, were engaged in a vicious sparring match. Working on their combinations and techniques, the pair traded blow after blow with superb skill and precision. Their grunts filled the air and mingled with the sounds of heavy thumps and rushing wind generated from their rapidly swinging limbs. Following a lightning fast exchange of punches, they then changed it up by adding knees into the mix, forcing their partner to alter their blocks and parries to accommodate for the change in pattern. By repeating these changes in sequence, the pair were not only steadily getting used to the enormous weights on their hands and feet, but also adjusting their senses to cope with the increased strain.
While the two of them were hard at it, over in the space nearby both Krillin and Launch could be seen sparring with one another. Once the woman had gotten used to the weighted clothing she was forced to train with, each of the male Z-fighters had taken in turns to teach her how to fight using a couple of different martial arts styles. After she'd picked one to master, she then began sparring with each of them in regular intervals. Based on how hard she was now working with Krillin, dodging his attacks and countering with her own, it was clear she was still determined to catch up to them.
After giving out a few grunts as she laid into Krillin's guard with a blur of punches, the short, bald fighter retaliated with a solid kick to the woman's stomach, before then driving forward with a flurry of straight blows. While Launch had the wind knocked out of her from the heel blow to the gut, she was quickly able to recover and deflect the man's punches. Diverting a right straight, the woman stepped in and delivered a sharp elbow into the warrior's face, which he managed to catch with his hand, locking the two of them in a standstill.
Growling as they pushed into one another with varying degrees of force, causing the soles of their feet to skid along the floor, Krillin gave the woman a smirk.
"Not bad, Launch. Not bad," the short warrior exclaimed. "You've gotten a lot better since yesterday."
The tough, blonde fighter chuckled as she pushed back against her friend- who she felt respond in kind. "I'm not planning on letting you guys stay in the lead. Just you wait. Sooner or later, I'm going to blow right past you chumps," Launch stated, with no short amount of grit and courage on her part.
"Heh. Now that I can't wait to see," Krillin laughed back, clearly impressed with the woman's resolve.
Following a fierce struggle, the pair then went right back to it, breaking off and continuing to trade blows at a rapid pace.
As all of this was going on, with the two pairs of fighters scarcely noticing the sparring match that Chiaotzu and Yajirobi were having just a few yards away, an explosion in the sky overhead shook the air around them. Though all of them ignored the blast in favor of focusing on their own training, they wouldn't have been able to see what was going on even if they wanted to. Because fighting each other in the skies over the Lookout and moving in the form of two barely visible blurs, both Piccolo and Raditz were engaged in a savage battle.
With the Namekian sporting his turban as well as only the neck portion of his cape, and the Saiyan wearing his trademark spandex shorts, a set of weighted boots, and large weight bands around his arms, the duo engaged in a game of high speed, aerial cat and mouse. Their forms crisscrossing the air in the form of multiple black flickers, the two met in several locations at once- colliding with one another repeatedly and causing multiple shockwaves to ring out across the stratosphere. Every time they crossed paths, the pair would ram into one another with their arms or legs, lash out at one another with a flurry of combos, before then breaking off after scoring a hit or two.
This sparring match between the pair had been going on for an hour already and in all that time, the pair of them had inflicted quite a bit of damage on one another. As it stood, Raditz was already sporting several cuts across his chest, a bleeding lip, and a bruise above his eye, while his demon of an opponent had received multiple purple bruises and wounds to his face and body. Though the Saiyan was still clearly the strongest out of the two of them, with each passing day the gap was getting narrower and narrower, which forced both warriors to train and fight extra harder to stay ahead.
It was pretty good motivation for both of them. Ever since Raditz decided to join in on the Z-fighters' training in preparation for the arrival of his former comrades Vegeta and Nappa, the man was able to see for himself just how much progress these earthlings were able to make in such a short amount of time. While most of the past few weeks he'd begrudgingly spent training with Piccolo- since he was the most powerful of the group and the only one capable of giving the mercenary a real challenge- the Saiyan warrior was still quite thrown at their growth.
The Namekian's especially. Even after only a few short weeks, with increased weight training and sparring, the man was actually starting to gain ground on him. This worried about Raditz's position in the pecking order and prompted him to begin putting more effort into their workouts.
Following a few more minutes of trading hand-to-hand blows across the sky, Raditz and Piccolo decided to finish up- both sticking their hands out and firing an energy beam at the other. With a gutsy yell from the two men after putting some distance between them, they each fired an orange and purple energy blast at one another respectively. The lasers collided midair and locked with one another in a momentary tug of war match, the center mass rapidly growing large before then detonating with resounding force.
A bright flash of fiery light then filled the atmosphere, forcing Piccolo and Raditz to separate, and sending both men spinning back down towards the Lookout's surface. Locking their bodies up into balls, they both performed aerial tumbles, before opening up and dropping down on the tiled surface of the floating palace. The instant they landed, the fireball in the sky faded, leaving only a light cloud of smoke hanging in the air.
Both panting heavily and dripping with sweat, the pair of men glared across at one another over the stretch of platform. About a minute later and after getting the necessary amount of oxygen back into their lungs, Piccolo then straightened up and wiped the blood dribbling down his chin.
Raditz also did the same, only he wiped his blood off with his thumb. He then winced at the stinging sensation in his jaw. "Damn, green man. Is it just me or are you starting to hit a lot harder these days?"
"Hmph," the demon of a warrior grunted as he turned his shoulder to the warrior. "It probably seems that way because I'm upping my levels every chance I get." He then narrowed his eyes on the warrior and smirked. "If I'm going to be fighting against your comrades in a few months' time, then I'm going to make sure I'm as ready as I can be. So if I were you, I'd watch my back. Otherwise I might just end up killing you by accident during one of our spars."
"Same to you," the long-haired mercenary stated, his own foul smile remaining as he glared across at his training partner. "I don't plan on letting myself get undone either. By you, Kakarot, or any of his friends." Though the two of them had agreed to work with one another, it didn't mean that the relationship between them was any good.
Obviously there was still a great deal of distrust between Piccolo and Raditz. Not to mention there was a lot of problems between the human contingent of the Z-fighters and their alien visitor. While they were working with one another now, once this whole Saiyan problem was over and done with, there was no telling what would happen afterwards.
Whether Raditz decides to up and leave the planet was entirely up to him and how this next battle went. So until that time comes, the Dragon Team planned on keeping a wary eye on him.
Upon shooting smirks at one another, both Piccolo and his Saiyan partner broke off, each walking away to their respective sides of the Lookout. It was about this same time that the other Z-fighters stopped too, with Krillin rushing over to the side to grab the water bottles and towels that were lying there. After jogging back to Tien, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Yajirobi and Launch, he quickly handed each of them a cloth.
"Here you are guys," the short man chuckled, keeping one for himself as soon as he'd passed around the towels.
"Thanks, Krillin," Tien sighed, flapping one open before proceeding to dry his face. Once he was done lathering his face, he was able to extend a hand in time to receive a bottle passed over to him from his teammate, Yamcha. "That was a pretty good round, wasn't it?"
"Yeah. You bet it was. I can't remember the last time I worked that hard. Not since the last tournament when I was training under Master Roshi," the scar-faced bandit replied, taking a swig from his bottle and gasping. "As soon as the two of us have caught our breaths, we're going again! What do you say?"
"Heh. Sounds good," Tien replied with a grin, at the same time flicking the towel over his shoulder. "Let's change it up this time. Take it to the air?"
While everyone was busy patting themselves on the backs and congratulating each other, Launch, who was about to crack open her bottle of water, noticed Raditz walk over to the other side of the Lookout and sit down on the very edge of it. Seeing he didn't have anything with him, not even a towel, and that he was all by himself and looking pretty beat up, the blonde woman in the blue training T, wrist bands, spandex pants, and boots, glanced down at her bottle before glaring back over at the Saiyan.
After a moment of thought and listening to her friends chatting amongst themselves, the former thief and renowned gunslinger decided to throw caution to the wind and walked over to where Raditz was sitting.
The Saiyan mercenary, with one leg dangling over the side of the palace platform, groaned as he massaged his sore forearms and chin. Feeling the stinging sensation of multiple bruises and damaged muscles resonate back to him, Raditz then shook his head and scoffed to himself a little.
"Damn. Even though I've gotten a lot stronger that freak is still able to keep up with me," the warrior muttered to himself, removing one of his wrist weights and setting it beside him. "What the heck is his deal?"
"Maybe it's because he's determined to beat your brother someday," a woman's voice spoke from behind, causing Raditz to jump a little and glance behind him. When he did, he saw the cool-form of Launch standing in his blind spot, a towel slung over her shoulder and a bottle of water in hand. The moment he noticed her, the female huntress smirked. "Careful. You might fall off."
Blinking, Raditz then noticed where exactly he was sitting and grunted. "Hmph. You guys might actually like that- seeing the big, bad alien invader fall to his death." He then let a somewhat amused smile cross his lips. "It's not like I blame you. After all, I did kill your friend."
"Yeah. True. I mean, personally I wanted to shoot you the second I saw your face up here on the Lookout," Launch remarked, causing the Saiyan to give her a bit of a dirty look, especially when she smiled back at him. "But, after hearing what you had to say to us, I realized it would be better to save the bullets."
"Hmph. Well… I'd say that's a smart choice," Raditz replied, closing his eyes as he reached up to rub the back of his neck. Feeling his bones click a little as he stretched it, the warrior then glanced behind him again. "So… what's this about the green man wanting to beat Kakarot one day?"
"Oh. That," Launch chuckled, at the same time waving a hand in the air in front of her. "Piccolo and Goku have had this rivalry going on between them for years now. Ever since the spiky haired runt killed the green guy's father and wiped out all of his children ages ago, Piccolo has been determined to beat Goku and kill him. After that… well… he plans on taking over the world and building some sort of kingdom, I don't know. I didn't really pay attention to that part." When she looked back at Raditz and saw the somewhat owlish look he was giving her, the blonde woman shrugged. "It's a long story. You can ask the others about it." She then leaned forward and held out the bottle of water to the guy. "Here. You look like you could use it."
Blinking at the plastic bottle being offered to him, the Saiyan hesitant reached up and took it. Slowly remembering his manners, the long-haired mercenary nodded to the blond girl. "Th-Thanks." When he saw her grin and turn to walk away, Raditz- feeling as though he had some sort of chance- quickly held up his hand. "Hold on. About Kakarot… I mean… Goku. What was he like with you guys?"
Stopping and looking back at the man in surprise, Launch tilted her head. "You want to know a bit more about your little brother?" When she saw the Saiyan nod, the woman turned her head upwards and made a murmuring sound. "Hmm. Well… from what I can remember of him, the guy was the bravest, strongest, and kindest man I'd ever met. My other half thought so too, based on what the others told me." She then looked back at Raditz and smiled at him. "Goku was so great that he defeated every single creep, monster and demon that crossed his path… even Piccolo over there."
Glancing across at the Namekian standing on the other side of the Lookout, the long-haired man blinked. "Is that so?" No wonder the green guy had such a great deal of contempt towards his sibling.
"Yeah. You can ask the guy yourself," Launch chuckled, placing a hand on her hip while giving the man a wide smile. "Goku wasn't just a great fighter, but he was a very loyal and honorable warrior at the same time. That's not something you'd find in a lot of men these days… especially ones as strong as that guy was." Noticing the incredibly impressed look that came upon Raditz's expression, the woman then gave him one last smile before waving him off. "Anyway… good luck with your training. You're gonna need it." She then headed back over to where the others were standing, noticing that some of the boys had been watching her interaction with Raditz.
The Saiyan warrior meanwhile was floored in a way. Upon hearing this little nugget from Launch, giving him an extra glimpse into what his younger sibling had been through while on this planet, and sensing the great deal of respect and admiration the woman had for him, the lone mercenary was left to ponder. Not just over his brother's choices, but also his experiences as well.
Needless to say, there was a lot to process.
TO BE CONTINUED…