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.
The sun was finally beginning to set on what had to have been the longest day ever. All in one day he had been kidnapped by his insane uncle, watched as his father died in front of him, been kidnapped again by his dad's greatest enemy, and now he was in the wilderness by himself with nothing more than a set of clothes and a sword.
He was currently sitting in the middle of a clearing, still trying to process it all. He had yet to move. He had been sitting in the same spot for a few hours at least, arms hugging his knees to his chest and occasionally shivering due to the wind.
It was starting to get cold.
He had originally hoped that one of his dad's friends would eventually find him if he stayed where he was. He didn't want them to not be able to, if they came looking, because he had wandered off. 'When they come looking.' He corrected in his head. They had to be looking for him by now right? They wouldn't just leave him out here right?
Even Piccolo coming back was better than being all by himself.
He let out another shiver. He had draped the clothes that Piccolo had left behind for him over his shoulders like a towel. His original clothes were still slightly wet due to being dropped in the pond earlier, and now that it was starting to cool off, they were starting to get uncomfortable.
His stomach let out a growl. 'Mom should be making dinner by now. I wonder what it'll be…'
He wanted to see her again. So much. He wanted to cry. He probably would have too, if he could anymore. The emotional roller-coaster that was his day had left him out of tears long ago.
He had expected to hear the sound of his mom's voice several times in the last few hours. Yelling and berating him for his state of dress, and for all the trouble he had caused her. Grounding him, and banning him from doing anything other than study for the next month. She had an infamous temper that even his dad had feared.
It didn't seem so bad thinking about it now. He'd never take her for granted again.
But her voice never came, no matter how much he wanted to hear it. With his dad gone too, he was now truly alone.
He leaned his back against the small boulder behind him and let out a sigh. Looking up, he could tell that the sun had dipped below the horizon completely a while ago. It'd be dark in about an hour or so.
He didn't know what to do. So he continued to wait. Somebody had to be looking for him, all he could do was hope that they came soon.
All he could do was wait for someone to find him.
"You really are pathetic you know that kid?" The voice startled him. He looked around frantically for the source. It sounded familiar, and filled him with terror hearing it. He stared wide-eyed at the source a moment later. It was Piccolo.
"What happened the last time you waited for someone to save you?" Gohan was still too shocked that Piccolo was here, to answer.
"Your dad was killed." He continued. "As far as I'm concerned, you as good as killed him yourself." Gohan winced. That one hurt. It was enough to get him out of his momentary shock at seeing Piccolo again.
His uncle had come to this planet earlier to get his dad Goku for some reason. Something about joining a team was all that he had managed to hear before he had been knocked out. Things only went as bad as they did because he was too weak, and got himself kidnapped. He was his father's greatest weakness. His dad died, not because he was a weak fighter, but because he had a weak son. One that he was willing to die for. Piccolo was right. He was responsible for his father's death.
He looked down at the ground, ashamed.
"The mere act of you being alive, presents another weakness that your father's enemies can target. Is that what you want?" Piccolo asked.
No. Of course it wasn't. This could very well happen again in the future. There were other saiyans on their way here that could use the exact same tactic that his uncle did. Get to Goku, through his weak, and useless son. It wouldn't even matter how strong his dad would be at the time.
Gohan smirked sardonically. How useless and pathetic could a person get? Getting your dad killed on two separate occasions for the same reason. Being too weak.
But what was he supposed to do?
"It's exactly as I said before. You can solve this problem in two ways. Either sit back and die, or fight for your place at your father's side. Either way, you won't be a problem for him anymore."
Fight or die huh? He wasn't a fighter by any means. He had spent his entire life so far with his nose in the books, studying. Because that's what his mom wanted. A scholar, not a fighter.
He was afraid. Maybe it would be best if he just sat back after all. He was almost five at the moment and he had a great family that he wouldn't want to give up for the world. He had a great life. But did he really deserve it?
He had gotten his father killed once. He couldn't bear seeing it happen again.
What was he supposed to do?
"I don't know what's best for you. Nobody else does. Only you do."
He glanced back up at Piccolo. That was the reason why he was taken here, to this place. To decide whether or not he was strong enough to keep going. Strong enough to fight for his place in the world. Strong enough to not be a burden anymore. To be able to stand on his own feet with his own strength.
It was a tall order. Despite how simple he made it seem. His dad and Piccolo were already so strong. They had trained all their lives, and were promptly defeated by a saiyan weaker than the ones coming in a year. He'd have to find a way to get strong enough to fight alongside them in the future. Was that something he could see himself doing? Could it even be done in a year? He was just a kid after all. A weak kid.
What was he supposed to do?
If he decided to fight, he first had to find a way to survive out here after all.
What would his dad want? Was he happy that he had him as a son? Would his dad be sad if he decided this was too much for him to handle, and gave up? Did he have the strength to find a way to survive way out here? Did he even want to?
"If you do decide to quit, are you comfortable knowing that you will greatly lower the chances of the Earth surviving in a year? Your power is vast. If you learn to control it, to depend on it, you could make a huge difference."
Was he really that important? Was the world really counting on him that much? Would his absence in the future really be that noticeable? Truly?
"Did you really think that I would bring you, the son of my greatest enemy of all people, all the way out here if you weren't important? If you didn't have the potential?"
That made him pause.
Piccolo was taking a pretty big risk here if he was really as powerful as he was told. He was the son of Piccolo's greatest enemy, and could very well stop him from taking over the Earth in the future. Yet Piccolo had brought him here. He was even planning on training him.
Maybe he really could do it after all.
What was he supposed to do?
He was supposed to make a decision. He could decide that he wasn't strong enough to live in this world, and leave it by his own accord. Or, he could decide that he was strong enough to fight, and to survive, to see his family again.
He could try his best and go as far as he could. Thinking about it that way, made it a simple decision.
He didn't want his father to die because of him being too weak. Not again. Never again. Letting himself die is just another form of weakness that could just as easily cause his father's death by not being there if his dad ever needed help. If he could really make a difference in the future, then that's what he wanted to do. The only way to ensure that his father wouldn't be killed because of him again, was to get strong enough to prevent it himself.
His dad had protected him for long enough. He wasn't ready to let go of his family. He would fight for them. He would fight for the Earth, and he would fight for his place in it.
He would find a way to live.
He glanced back up at Piccolo, to see that he had a smirk on his face. Piccolo walked towards his still-sitting form. When he finally reached him, Piccolo extended his arm for him to take.
After everything that happened, he was finally ready.
Gohan abruptly jolted awake to find himself still sitting against a rock. He glanced around the clearing only to find that Piccolo wasn't there. The sky was dark now too. He could see the moon. Half of it was blanketed in shadow. It seemed as though he had drifted off, and fallen asleep.
'It was all a dream then…' He thought to himself. He glanced down at his feet, only to see two large red apples on the ground in front of him. He smiled. 'Maybe not all of it…'
It didn't matter anyways. Dream or not, he had found what he was looking for. With a smile on his face, he picked up the apples. He placed one in the pocket of his new gi that Piccolo had given him, and took a bite of the other one.
His original clothes had dried for the most part, so he stood up and put on his new gi, over his clothes, to add another layer for warmth. He picked up the still-sheathed sword that was also given to him, and strapped it over his shoulder, before turning and walking towards the forest in the distance.
He had read a good number of books on how to survive in emergencies, and his dad had taken him out for long walks in the woods around his home, so he was comfortable navigating through a forest. He would head there first. It would be a challenge, but he had to believe that he could do it. For himself, for his dad, and for the Earth.
He would survive this.
Piccolo was confused.
After leaving the kid to fend for himself several hours ago, he had come back to check up on him from a distance.
He had found exactly what he expected from a weakling. The kid cried for a while, and waited around for someone to help him. The kid had yet to leave the clearing he had been dropped in.
The kid made such a pathetic sight that Piccolo had found a pair of apples to tide him over, and dropped them at the kid's feet when he had fallen asleep. It was the only time he intended to intervene.
So he was a bit confused when the kid woke up with a confidence that he had never displayed before, grabbed the apples with a grateful smile, and left the clearing without looking back. He had no idea what had gotten into the kid to cause such a drastic change. It had to have been huge.
He found an amused smile on his face. It was sooner than he expected, which was good news. The kid had finally gotten his act together.
'It was about damn time…'
A/N: Please excuse any grammar and spelling errors, as I have no beta reader at this time.
- LeviTamm