Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, or anything else related to the Dragon Ball universe, or any of its characters. They are all owned by Akira Toriyama.
Piccolo stood at the edge of a pond with an annoyed scowl on his face. He had been flying around for a while, searching for a location that was far from any civilization, and most importantly, far from the sensing range of any of Goku's friends. He had found the perfect spot for what he had planned, yet despite flying for a good three hours, the kid under his newly regenerated arm was still fast asleep.
"Wake up you little brat." He was quickly becoming annoyed with the situation.
No response.
His gaze lowered, and he raised the still-sleeping child up to eye-level.
Hearing the kids quiet snores sent him over the edge. He wasn't in the mood for this. Not after everything that happened today.
After glaring daggers at the kid for a moment or two, he turned and found himself glaring at the pond in front of him.
After transferring his glare between the kid in his hand, and the pond one final time, he found himself smirking.
It would have been obvious to anyone watching, what he was about to do.
He couldn't breathe. The freezing-cold liquid sensation brought Gohan back to consciousness immediately, running through his entire body like a shock.
After thrashing wildly for a moment or two, and breathing in a mouthful of water, he found himself on his knees in a shallow pond. His chest and head just breached the surface of it, and he was coughing madly, trying desperately to replace the water in his lungs with air.
Realizing that the edge of the pond was only a meter or two in front of him, he desperately crawled his way over to it, coughing and panting all the while.
After crawling onto dry land fully, he had to take a minute to finish depleting the water in his lungs before he could even begin to question why he woke up at the bottom of a pond.
Getting a few, good breaths of air, He found his mind reeling with questions.
Where was he? What happened? Why was he in a pond? When did he fall asleep? He knew literally nothing about his situation, which caused him to panic.
He looked around wildly, hoping to catch a glimpse of his dad, or anyone for that matter.
What he found turned his blood cold.
Piccolo, his dad's greatest and strongest enemy was standing a short distance away, looking right at him, and he looked mad.
His eyes filled with tears, and he started to cry out in fear. Where was his dad? The big and mean Piccolo had him! He needed his daddy to come rescue him, but he couldn't see him anywhere!
"SHUT UP!" Piccolo's shout froze him to the spot out of fear. "I CAN'T TAKE THAT NOISE ANYMORE!"
He let out a few sniffles but managed to stop crying out loud for the most part, out of sheer terror. He didn't want Piccolo to be any angrier than he already was.
"Good." Piccolo continued. "I'm not going to hurt you unless you do something stupid like start crying again."
Gohan wiped his eyes and took another glance around the area. It was a clearing with huge mountain-like boulders littered throughout, and a forest could be seen way off in the distance. The clearing was silent aside from the wind, and his own silent whimpers.
"Wh- where's my dad?" He asked fearfully, after taking a few moments to calm down. He was cold and wanted to go home.
Piccolo let out a sigh. "Listen to me carefully kid, because I'm only going to explain this once." Gohan managed to shakily climb to his feet, and looked up at Piccolo. Whatever he was about to hear sounded really important. Maybe he knew where his dad was!
"Earlier today, your dad and I had to team up to fight against a powerful warrior called a saiyan that was far stronger than either of us. Do you remember what happened?"
He did.
Hearing Piccolo's explanation caused it all to come back at once. His uncle from space grabbing him, seeing his dad come to rescue him with Piccolo, seeing his dad get defeated and crying out in pain…
It made fresh tears come to his eyes. 'Daddy…'
Abruptly waking up in that pond, and his current situation had made him forget about it all, until now.
"Stop that. I don't want to hear you cry and whine like a spoiled brat." Seeing Piccolo's glare was enough to turn any would-be crying, into much quieter whimpers.
"I-I remember." Gohan sniffled. How could he ever forget? That battle, everything that happened, would probably be the subject of his nightmares for a good while.
"Good." Piccolo continued. "Do you remember what happened to the saiyan that your dad and I were fighting?"
Thinking back, he remembered seeing his dad get hurt by that saiyan, and then… nothing. He woke up in the pond after, and now he was here.
His mind raced. Where was his dad? What happened? Was he okay? Panic and worry were the only things he knew in that moment.
"No! What happened? What happened to my dad?" He had to know.
"Your dad is dead."
The words stopped him cold. It felt like his heart stopped. "What?" He asked out of reflex, his voice full of confusion. There was no way that could be right. His dad was the strongest there was. There wasn't anyone capable of beating him, not even Piccolo.
"I said that your dad is dead."
'No. That… that can't be…' His dad couldn't be gone… but then where was he? Even if his dad was resting somewhere surely he would have sent someone to look after him in the meantime, right? He wouldn't have let Piccolo grab him, right? He looked around the clearing. It couldn't be true. Could it?
Realization hit him all at once, and his heart filled with dread. He wanted to deny it, but at the same time he knew that it had to be true, or at the very least it was incredibly likely given the current situation. It was the only reason that he could think of on why his dad, or one of his friends, wouldn't be here with him now. His dad wouldn't allow someone as mean as Piccolo to grab him, not in a million years. If his dad didn't let his mean brother take him without a fight, he definitely wouldn't let his evil rival do so unless he was… unless he was…
'No… daddy…' He felt more tears threaten to break free, and in a matter of moments he was letting out all of his grief, frustration, and despair in another fit of sobbing.
His dad was gone, and it was his fault. Every time that he was ever sad, or upset, it was always his dad that cheered him up. Whenever he was stuck, or bored, or his mom made him study for too long, it was always his dad that swooped in and saved the day. Never again would his dad sit beside him while they went out fishing. Never again would his dad take him through a walk in the woods to explore the mountains around their house, or tell him incredible stories of his adventures in the past with all of his friends.
His dad was his constant. The one thing that was always there when he needed him to be. The culmination of everything that he wanted to grow up to be like. But none of that would ever happen again because his dad was -
"SHUT UP!"
Gohan's head snapped back to Piccolo and his eyes widened out of fear. His eyes were still leaking out tears. His train of thought had immediately ground to a halt hearing the anger in Piccolo's voice.
"Your dad was killed by that saiyan because your dad let him!" Gohan's eyes widened further in surprise.
"Your dad had a perfect opportunity to take him out but he decided not to. He showed mercy, and died because of it."
Gohan's mind was whirling. He remembered seeing the fight. Remembered seeing his dad grab his uncle's tail, and his uncle falling to the ground helpless. He recalled the few times in the past where his own tail was either stepped on, grabbed or hit with something, and remembered how painful that was. Piccolo was right. Why had his dad let go?
"Now there are two more saiyans on their way here now, far stronger than the one we just fought." Piccolo continued in a quieter tone. "We need to be ready for them when they get here. Your dad will be back in a years' time after he gets wished back to life with the Dragon Balls."
'That's right! The Dragon Balls can bring my dad back! I almost forgot about them!' Gohan thought to himself with unending relief. His dad would be back in no time at all! They just had to gather the magic Dragon Balls and ask the dragon!
"You have an incredible power within you that you need to learn how to control. If you don't, when your dad gets back, he will die again. And nobody can be wished back to life twice. The dragon won't allow it." He finished with a serious look.
"But my dad is going to come back though right?" He asked with worry. He knew about the Dragon Balls and their restrictions. His dad had told him about them when he was younger.
"Yes. I have no doubt that your dad's friends will wish him back in a year's time. But, whether or not he stays back is up to you."
"What? Why?" The relief at hearing that his dad was going to come back later had completely taken over his thoughts, and he was only just now starting to catch up to what Piccolo was telling him. There were more saiyans on their way here? He had some kind of hidden powers? What was he talking about?
"I have powers? What powers?" He was confused. What was going on? This was all just too much. He didn't know about any hidden power. He was just a kid.
Piccolo smirked a sadistic smirk. "I'll show them to you kid."
What?
Before he knew it, Gohan was flying towards a mountain sized boulder at an insane speed, screaming at the top of his lungs. Piccolo had grabbed him by his head, and threw him at the large rock like a football, with incredible force. One moment he was standing next to Piccolo trying to make sense out of what he had just been told, and the next, he was flying towards a huge mountain-sized rock.
The mountain grew closer and closer before time seemed to slow to a crawl and he knew no more.
The kid's power was just incredible. Even though he expected it, it still surprised him.
Gohan had been frankly, disappointing. He had expected a lot more from the kid personality-wise. He had thought that being the son of Goku meant that the kid would be a fighter. Not this little crybaby who couldn't do a thing without his dad holding his hand.
His only redeeming quality was that power of his.
Piccolo had determined from the moment the kid woke up and started crying, that he was not apprentice-worthy. At least not yet.
His original plan had been to train the kid as a potential ally in the future. He was going to use the impending saiyan invasion as a way to thin out the Earth's defences. Goku and his friends would no doubt meet the saiyans in combat when they got here, in order to defend the planet. They'd do their part, some of them would likely get killed, and then he'd step in to finish off the weakened saiyans with the kid at his side.
With the saiyans gone, and the earth's defenses weakened, he could finally achieve what his father never could.
World domination.
He had been planning to strike in a few more years after he was certain that he had finally surpassed Goku, but this situation with the saiyans greatly accelerated things.
He was already leagues above everyone else on this planet in terms of strength. All of Goku's friends, despite being far stronger than all other martial artists on the planet, were no match for his own strength. Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, even his other half, Kami… he was confident that he would be able to fight all of them off at once and win.
He had nearly done so five years ago at the last world martial arts tournament, and he had trained like mad since then. Goku was the only one who could match him on this planet.
This difference in strength would still likely exist in a year, after they had all gone through with their respective super-intense training. As such, he expected Goku to either be as strong as himself, or maybe even slightly stronger in a year.
He expected the kid to be even stronger than that. Especially with that hidden power of his, and the training he had originally planned for him.
Goku would be weak, or dead, from fighting the saiyans. If the saiyans were still alive at that point meaning Goku had failed, he'd point the kid in their direction to finish the job. If the kid seemed like a liability at that point, he'd take him out while he was recovering from the fight. The same applied to all of Goku's friends, and especially Goku himself.
Anyone who survived the fight in a year would be in a weak enough state for him to finish off with ease. All that he would have to do is make sure he arrived at the battlefield after the main fight was over and everyone was either weak, or dead. If he had the kid's loyalty at that time, he'd be a useful subordinate in the future, if not, he'd take him out when he was weakened and unprepared.
All of this depended on Gohan gaining control of his hidden power though, or at least, it would be so much easier if that were the case.
His plan would work either way, the kid being there just made it simple. He was like insurance. If the saiyans that arrived were stronger than even he anticipated, strong enough to fight everyone at once and win, then the kid might just tip the scales in his favor.
He was wrong about him though. The kid wasn't a fighter who could be trained. He was just a child with hidden abilities that he didn't even know about. He couldn't be trained. Not yet at least.
The kid needed to grow up first, and it just so happened that he had a plan to do exactly that.
He had taken a gamble, throwing the kid like that. He figured that his power would only show itself when the kid was in mortal danger.
He was right, judging by the massive crater that seemed to stretch out for miles. The mountain was gone completely, along with everything behind it as far as the eye could see.
Piccolo himself would have extreme difficulty replicating such a feat.
He walked over to where the kid was sitting. Gohan appeared to be both surprised and confused. It would seem that he had no memory of moments where he used his power to that extent.
"What happened? Did I do this?" Gohan asked as Piccolo finally reached him.
"Yes. That was the power that you used to kill that saiyan earlier." Hopefully, it would be the power he used to kill the other two saiyans later as well.
Gohan seemed surprised at that revelation.
"You were too late however. By the time you intervened, your dad was already beyond saving."
There was a moment of silence as Gohan looked deep in thought, and Piccolo examined the smoking crater in front of them. It was time for him to initiate his plan.
"It's rare for someone as young as you to have such power. That's why I've decided I'm going to teach you how to use it." If he survives first, that is.
"What?" The kid sounded confused and afraid again. It was really starting to get on his nerves.
"You heard me. I'm going to teach you how to use that hidden power of yours so you can be ready to fight against the incoming saiyans." He has two choices, fight the saiyans or die. It really is that simple.
"What? Why? I'm too young to fight anyone. I don't know how." The kid's tone practically screamed weakness and fear.
He had a long way to go.
'He doesn't know what's at stake here…' Piccolo thought to himself. It was time to change that.
"Do you want your family to die? What about your friends? The planet? You?" He has to realize that he doesn't have a choice in this. If he thinks that his friends are depending on him he might just cooperate, and make things a bit easier.
"What? No!"
Piccolo sighed.
"Let me put this simply. You have more power hidden away than I do. You are currently the strongest being on the planet. The best shot we have against the saiyans. If you don't fight, your family will die, your friends will die, this whole planet, everything you have ever known or cared about. It will all die. There will be nobody left alive to use the Dragon Balls. All because you didn't want to fight."
'He needs to find a reason to fight, in order to be useful in the future. Even if I have to greatly overstate his importance to do it.' He concluded in his mind. He glanced over at the kid, who was taking in everything with a fear-filled gaze.
"But maybe you're right. Maybe you don't have what it takes. We're both about to find out." He took a few steps over to his left where a small boulder was conveniently placed, roughly knee-height.
He pointed at it. Concentrating on his Ki, he warped and manipulated it to his will. Magic materialization was a technique that allowed the user to create physical objects from the user's Ki alone. Imagining what he wanted to create, he willed it into existence, draining an infinitesimal amount of his reserves.
There was a bright yellow light for a moment, before it faded, leaving a pristine orange fighting gi, identical to Goku's in everything but the symbol at the back, folded, on top of the boulder. In its place, Piccolo's own symbol was printed.
Next to the folded gi, was a simple long sword in a red and gold sheathe, and a pair of boots that were also identical to Goku's.
He glanced back at the kid, who looked both confused and intrigued.
"Go ahead, take them." He stated, gesturing to the newly formed items.
Gohan looked at the items, before taking a few hesitant steps towards them. He picked the gi up and examined it for a moment, before looking up at Piccolo with confusion.
"You are too weak, and afraid as you are now. I can't teach you anything yet. Not until you can face down those fears and laugh at them. I am not giving you a choice in this. You will either learn how to live on your own, or you will die." With that, he turned and started walking away.
"I have my own training to get to, so if you are alive in six months, I will be back to teach you how to fight." He lightly took off from the ground and started floating into the air.
"What? Where are you going? Don't leave me alone please!" Gohan pleaded, as he started trying to run after Piccolo.
Piccolo turned back towards the kid. He was roughly twenty meters above the ground now, floating silently.
"Survive on your own." He called down to the kid. "That is the first part of your training. Stop depending on others to solve your problems. All you seem to do when you're in trouble is cry and wait for your dad to come in and save you. You're in the real world now, and your dad isn't here. You can either learn how to depend on yourself and learn how to survive, or sit back and die. This is the path that fate has chosen for you. The sooner you accept it, the better." With that he took off into the distance.
The kid was filled with way too much fear. He was too dependent on others. These six months would hopefully rectify that.
A/N: The first major change to the story occurs very soon. Please excuse any grammar and spelling errors, as I have no beta reader at this time.
- LeviTamm