Rewrite: A Half-breed's Life 1

by Xj9

New Version: At age four, Gohan is taken by Raditz and brought to a camp where Gohan is taught how to fight. Five years later, Vegeta, Raditz and Nappa are back to take Gohan away again, and they expect the half-saiyan to help them purge planets. Gohan resists from the beginning, but as time progresses he finds out that playing by his comrades' rules is the only way to survive.

7. Chapter 7: Plan Gone Wrong

Hey guys!

Two chapters in one day! That must be some sort of record for me xD

I've got a nice and long chapter for you~

Previously on A Half-breed's Life:

His father's screams rang through his head. Raditz's laugh as he tortured his father. Vegeta's last words before he left…

"If he can't survive, he's not worth our time."

Fine. They wanted him to toughen up? He would toughen up. Those specialists wanted him to work and train? Fine. He would do just that and he would become the strongest warrior in this camp and once those three saiyans returned…

Gohan narrowed his eyes at the wall in front of him as he leaned on the sink.

"I'm going to kill them."

*** DBZ *** DBZ ***

"Someone is getting picked up today." Judin responded, shrugging. "They might want to give the person time to say goodbye to his group."

"Lucky guy." Gohan muttered as he looked ahead. "Let's head for the training rooms."

"Do I detect jealousy?" Judin teased as he appeared next to Gohan.

"Do I detect foolishness?" Gohan countered, raising an eyebrow at his friend. "You know how I think about those goons. I don't want them to pick me up."

"But you don't like that they haven't picked you up either."

"When they pick me up, I will kill them." Gohan replied, nodding once.

*** DBZ *** DBZ ***

"Does anyone know who is getting picked up today?" Gohan asked, glancing at his friends. "Is it someone of our group?"

"Nobody really knows." Oriko replied, frowning a little. "It's a secret."

Gohan sported a mischievous expression. "We could sneak into headmaster's office and see if we can find out who is leaving." He suggested.

"I don't think that's necessary." Oriko was looking at something in front of them. Gohan was looking at Judin when Oriko spoke and the boy glance at his older friend, who was still staring ahead. Everyone suddenly fell silent and looked ahead.

"Why not?" Gohan asked before finally looking ahead to see what made everyone look so surprised.

The boy's mouth fell open as his eyes landed on the people in front of him. The color drained from his face and the boy stepped back.

"Good day, half-saiyan. Long time no see."

**** DBZ **** DBZ ****

"No! I don't want to come with you!" Gohan clenched his fists. "Why did you even come here today? Why couldn't you just wait for a few more days so I could escape from this place?"

Vegeta stopped. "Escape?" He repeated.

"Yes." Gohan sounded miserable now. "I had it all figured out. I had a plan. We were going to try it out tomorrow. But thanks to you I've done all that work for nothing!" Gohan realized what he was saying and he placed a hand in front of his mouth. He was not supposed to tell all this to an outsider.

Vegeta thought about this for a moment and then headed for the door. "Fine. You're staying here." He stated briefly.

Gohan looked up. "What?"

"I don't want a comrade who runs away from his problems. I can't count on you if you're gone when I need you. You're worth nothing to me like that. Stay here. I have no business with you." Vegeta stated before he left the room.

**** DBZ **** DBZ ****

The half-saiyan eyed the beautiful blue sky. "Maybe we could go out and swim in the lake this evening." He suggested as he looked at his two friends. "The weather is beautiful."

Oriko and Judin exchanged glances, somewhat uncomfortable. Gohan noticed the silence and he sent them a questioning glance. "What?"

"We… ehh… It's group night tonight." Oriko said hesitantly.

"Oh…" Gohan nodded. "Right. Sorry. I forgot."

The groups were a large part of the social community of the camp. There were four groups in total. Thunder. The strongest warriors and therefore the most influential group. Lighting. The warriors who were fast as lighting. This was the smallest group because their standards were very high. Nobody was fast enough for them. Water. Warriors who were smart enough to work their way around any obstacle. Air. The warriors with special powers like transformations, psychic powers etc.

Gohan was entirely ignored by the social system. He was the only warrior who was not part of a group and thus the only warrior who did not have plans on group night.

**** DBZ **** DBZ ****

"Why don't you come over and spent the evening in our lounge." Crimon suggested.

"I have plans." Gohan replied automatically. It's not that he hated the specialists but spending time in their lounge often made other cadets think that he got special treatment. He wanted to stop those rumors, which is one of the reasons why he stopped going over to their quarters lately.

"It's group night." Crimon raised an eyebrow. "You're probably the only cadet who does not have plans tonight."

Chapter 7. Plan Gone Wrong

The following morning Gohan woke up feeling excited. This was it. This was going to be the day that he was going to free himself of this hell. The half-saiyan was not the first one to wake up today. Judin was already standing at his bed, shaking the boy awake before moving on to Oriko.

The three warriors made their way to the cafeteria where they had their breakfast. Gohan's eyes ran over the cafeteria. The large room was rather intimidating to him when he first came here. Many warriors off different shapes and sizes were sitting at the long tables. Cadets often sat together with members of their own group. Everyone was talking, laughing or yelling. People were eating and burping. Stronger warriors were pushing the weaker ones aside. There was always at least one fight going on. The large windows offered the warriors some natural light from this galaxy's sun.

Gohan's gaze moved up to where the specialists were sitting. He was not surprised when he realized that Hitora was leaning on the balustrade with his arms, studying the cadets. The specialists liked to keep an eye on their little warriors.

"Incoming." Oriko whispered right before Gohan heard some commotion behind him.

Judin smirked as he watched the group come closer. "Good luck." He whispered to Gohan.

The half-saiyan returned the smirk before a hand landed on his shoulder. Gohan looked back to find Himona glaring at him. "You!" The older warrior snarled. "I know it was you! You've crossed the line this time, monkey boy!"

"I didn't do anything." Gohan replied, sounding rather annoyed. "Get lost, pest." The boy turned away from Himona but the older warrior grabbed the boy by the shoulder band of his armor and pulled the half-saiyan off the bench. Himona pulled back a fist to punch the younger warrior. Gohan blocked this punch with ease and spit into Himona's face.

This only angered the older cadet even more and he swung at Gohan again. The half-saiyan stepped back to avoid this one and he motioned for Himona to come at him again. "Come on, Himona. Give it to me." He yelled. "All you do is talk. You can't defeat me. You can't even hit me."

Himona yelled and attacked Gohan. The half-saiyan decided to fight back. He needed to draw the attention of the guards. The two easily drew a crowd. Fights were appreciated around here, and Gohan was a good fighter.

It did not take the other cadets long to jump in the fight. Oriko and Judin gladly joined, taking part in the fighting eagerly. Gohan bumped into someone and he was forced to step back. He frowned in annoyance. He wanted to get closer to Himona. The half-saiyan tilted his head sideways when someone wildly tried to punch him and he brought up his leg to knee the man in the stomach.

Stepping aside, Gohan's eyes searched for the person he wanted to fight. Himona. He wanted to settle the score while he still could. Gohan gave a sigh when he felt a cadet trying to attack him from behind. The boy leaned forwards to avoid it and the cadet, finding no resistance, flew over the half-saiyan and landed on the ground in front of him.

Gohan ignored the curses from this cadet as he studied his surroundings. All he really saw were backs and fronts. The boy was standing in the middle of the crowd. He was too small to see anything around him. The half-saiyan decided to fly up but a hand curled around his ankle. Gohan looked down, raising an eyebrow when he realized a guard was holding onto him.

The corners of Gohan's mouth moved up. He might as well. The boy whirled around and kicked the guard in the face. He chuckled when the man fell back and Gohan landed on his chest. "Just what I needed. A stool." Gohan mocked as he looked around.

The guard growled in anger and tried to grab his foot but the half-saiyan jumped up to avoid him and landed on his chest again with some extra force, making the guard gasp in pain. "Now Now. Stools don't try to kick off their masters." Gohan said as he glanced at the man coldly.

"Get off me, you beast." The guard ordered, still sounding out of breath.

"I stopped obeying you guys a long time ago." Gohan muttered as he tried to look over the cadets. He couldn't find Himona. Damn it.

"Be thankful that I don't have the remote, boy!"

The half-saiyan gave up on finding Himona and he now glared down at the guard. Gohan brought up his leg and stomped down with one foot. He smirked when the guard let out a pained shout.

Gohan decided to jump off now and search for Himona. All around him guards started to jump in but Gohan kicked them off easily. He was not in the mood for a fight with the guards. There was only one person whom Gohan wanted to fight…

There.

Gohan's gaze locked onto Himona and he ran closer to the cadet. Gohan pulled back a fist and punched Himona right off his feet. The older cadet stumbled back and landed on the ground. He looked up to find Gohan standing over him. The half-saiyan jumped in the air, made a loop and landed on Himona's stomach. The cadet was forced to let out all the air in his lungs.

The half-saiyan jumped to the ground and kicked the man in the side, forcing Himona to roll over onto his stomach. Gohan kicked him again and Himona landed face-up on the ground. The half-saiyan studied the pained expression on Himona's dark red face. This is what he lived for. Revenge.

Himona suddenly kicked at Gohan's feet. The half-saiyan jumped up to avoid being swiped off his feet but this gave Himona enough time to get up fully. Gohan let his body sink into a fighting stance. It didn't take Himona long to attack. Gohan watched as the man tensed the muscles in his legs before jumping at Gohan.

The two exchanged punches. During their fight, Gohan realized that the crowd around them was thinning. The guards were overpowering the group of cadets. Gohan stumbled back when a hand locked around his shoulder. He glanced back and noticed there was a guard standing behind him.

The boy kicked backwards and the guard stumbled back, clutching his stomach with his hands. Gohan turned back to Himona only to catch a punch. He let out a breath. Himona almost got him there.

Two guards were standing behind Himona but they did not do anything. Gohan only got a moment to be confused at that before two strong arms locked around his frame and pressed his arms against his sides.

The half-saiyan assumed it was a reckless guard and he powered up to break the man's grip on his body but the force behind him was too strong. That could only mean one thing. The boy looked over his shoulder and realized he was not captured by a guard, but by a specialist.

"Look!" Hitora said cheerfully. "I caught a monkey!" The guards laughed along with a few other cadets.

Gohan gave an animalistic growl and he elbowed the specialist in the abdomen. The man did not expect this and he was forced to release the half-saiyan. Gohan jumped away and landed on the ground, turning to Hitora immediately.

"Oh?" Hitora's expression changed somewhat and he lowered into a fighting stance. "You want to fight, Saiyan? Let's go then."

Gohan hesitated for a moment. This was not part of the plan. His gaze shot to Oriko and Judin, who were watching from the sidelines, but his friends could only watch in shock. The specialists weren't supposed to get involved with their escape attempts.

"What are you waiting for?" Hitora urged. Gohan looked back at him. He would have to. He was not going to turn down a fight.

Gohan powered up when suddenly the cadets around him started to scream and fell to their knees. Gohan and Hitora looked around in a confused manner until the golden bracelet on Gohan's wrist let out a spark and Gohan felt the intense pain of the electricity that ran down his arms and over his entire body. The half-saiyan could feel it penetrating every pore of his skin and crawling deeply into his body.

Gohan tried to keep standing but his knees were shaking so heavily that he had to fall to the ground. Hitora's mouth tightened for a moment as he watched four guards grab the half-saiyan and restrain him. The specialist crunched up his nose at their fear for the boy. They always seemed to treat Gohan with extra caution and extra manpower. If you asked him, that wasn't necessary at all. It was just a brat.

Hitora let out a sigh and flew back to the balcony of the specialists. Headmaster and Crimon were standing near the balustrade and they sent Hitora questioning glances.

"Saiyan started a fight." Hitora explained as he landed on the balcony. The man reached up to tie his black hair into a tail.

"Why didn't you finish it?" Crimon asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hitora shrugged. "That's okay. I've got his group for the first two hours today. I'll get my chance to get back at him." He responded cheerfully.

The three specialists watched as the crowd was sorted out by the guards. Gohan was still kneeling on the ground when one of the guards took the lead. "Who started this fight?"

Silence.

"Who?" The supervising guard screamed. "Tell me who started this or we'll beat you all up!"

One of the cadets pointed at Gohan. "He started it." He announced. Other cadets backed up this accusation.

Judin shook his head. "That's not true. He did not start the fight." He said to defend Gohan.

One of Himona's followers frowned. "Wait. This doesn't make sense. Why would his own friends accuse him…?" The boy could not finish his sentence because another cadet elbowed him in the side. The two exchanged glares but the sentence was never completed.

"Well. Whether he started it or not, as long as we punish someone this will be done with." One of the guards muttered to the other. "Besides, the brat always causes trouble. There's a chance that he really started it."

Gohan tried not to show a satisfied smile when he heard the guards' conversation. Their hatred for him would help them this time.

The supervising guard moved up his hands to beckon for the cadets to be quiet. "SILENCE." He yelled. "Let his punishment be a warning to you all once he returns to you after days of torture in the dungeon!"

The man grabbed his black stick and brought it down on Gohan's shoulder harshly. The half-saiyan fell forward to the ground. He tried not to show them how much that hurt, but when the other guards stepped closer he realized that he would have to try a lot harder.

One of the guards gave a mean kick to Gohan's ribcage. The other guards created a circle around the bounded half-saiyan and they all let out triumphant howls and yells as they kicked and stomped at the half-saiyan. Gohan's hands were still tied behind his back and he tried to curl his body into a ball, defenseless against the attacks that were coming from every angle.

Oriko and Judin exchanged uncertain glances. On the balcony Headmaster leaned on the balustrade with his arms. "The guards are in a good mood today." He said.

"They shouldn't be. It's not like they caught the boy." Hitora complained. The man rolled his eyes. "They let someone else do the hard work and walk away with the prize. We really need to train them better."

After nasty kick to his face, Gohan spit out some blood. He waited for the next blow but the supervising guard ordered the other guards to back off.

Oriko landed on his knees next to Gohan. "This is getting way out of hand." He whispered to the half-saiyan as he studied the boy's injuries.

"Those jailers can't hurt me." Gohan responded in a whisper before he spit out another batch of blood.

"Yes. You look peachy." Oriko replied sarcastically. The supervising guard hit Oriko away by bringing his stick down on the boy's shoulder. After this he ordered the other guards to pick Gohan up and they did.

The half-saiyan grimaced momentarily but he forced his face to return to a solemn expression. The leader of the guards looked at all of them. "This is what happens when you disobey us!" The man pointed at Gohan with his stick.

"What?" Gohan licked his lips to clean the blood off them but only managed to smear more of it on them. "You'll give me more of your sweet kisses?" He mocked.

Some laughs were heard in response to this. The supervising guard eyed Gohan for a moment and lowered his stick. The man nodded to the doorway. "Let's go." He said and he started walking. "We'll personally bring this monkey to the dungeon."

Hitora, Headmaster and Crimon watched as the guards walked away with the half-saiyan. "Something is going on today." Headmaster stated. "Why did Gohan's friends rat him out?"

"Judin and Oriko hardly defended him either." Crimon added, frowning a little. His lilac hands tightened around the bar of the balustrade. "That's not like them. They would rather get beaten up themselves than watch their friend go down and they certainly don't mind getting thrown in the dungeon as long as they're together."

"They're planning something." Hitora grabbed the balustrade with his hands. "What do you say we put some pressure on the two musketeers?" He suggested.

Crimon grinned and nodded. The two specialists jumped off the balcony so that they could fly down. "Keep them in one piece!" Headmaster called after them. The man sighed. "Children. All of them."

Oriko and Judin watched as the remaining guards spread around the room. Oriko turned to Judin. "I knew I should have taken Gohan's part in this." He complained.

Judin shook his head. "No. Himona wouldn't just accuse you of that prank without proof. Besides, the guards are prejudiced against half-breed too. He was the best option. I didn't expect this to happen though."

Oriko sighed. "Let's just focus on our part of the plan." He responded and he was about to turn back to their table when Hitora and Crimon landed on the ground in front of them.

The two cadets saluted. Crimon waved their salute away. "At ease." He stated. The man placed his hands on his hips. "So, guys. What just happened here?"

"You saw what happened, sir." Judin responded innocently.

"Don't play me for a fool, boy. You three have been living here way too long for me to fall for any of that." Crimon responded in a louder voice.

"I don't know what you want me to say, sir." Judin replied. The boy seemed a little intimidated. Gohan might have an easygoing relationship with the specialists but Oriko and Judin did not have that and they just recently started getting into real trouble to such an extent that the specialists would personally deal with them. The guards usually took care of the disciplining.

"Hmm." Hitora stepped closer and grabbed Oriko by the collar of his purple uniform and pulled him closer. "What about you? What are you three planning?"

"Nothing, sir." Oriko sounded surprised and Hitora could not figure out if he was pretending or not.

"We were just as surprised as you were." Judin added. His bright green eyes seemed serious. "Gohan was set up."

Hitora released Oriko. The two specialists exchanged glances. They didn't buy it.

Crimon smirked as he eyed the two young warriors. "Okay, kids. I think it's time we had a stern word with you two." He said as he stepped closer.

Hitora followed his example and the amused gleam in his eyes was enforced by the hesitant looks on the faces of Oriko and Judin. The two cadets stepped back.

Meanwhile Gohan forced his body to keep walking so that he would not have to lean on the arms of the guards. They reached the dungeon and the supervising guard opened a cell door. He did not immediately close the door behind Gohan but reached in his armor and tossed a small cloth at the boy.

Gohan caught it and sent the man a confused glance. The supervising guard nodded at Gohan. "When you came here five years ago I thought you would never survive but you did and you've become more of a man than most of the warriors here." He stated before he turned to the open area outside the cells. He grabbed a bucket and filled it with water before walking back to the cell. He placed it on the ground and walked away again.

The man closed the cell door. "Clean yourself." He ordered as he locked the door. "You're a brave kid. We need people like you in this universe."

Gohan smiled a little and watched the man walk away before he knelt down next to the bucket and dipped the cloth in the water. The half-saiyan decided to sit down and he could finally show a pained expression. Oh man, his head was hurting.

The half-saiyan spent the next half hour cleaning the blood off his face. His nose wouldn't stop bleeding, which made Gohan rather worried. Maybe his body had gotten too many beatings in the last few years and it wouldn't heal anymore. Was there an end to the healing ability of the body? Gohan wouldn't know. His knowledge of the human body was limited. He knew saiyans healed easily and quickly but he wasn't sure if that applied to half-saiyans as well.

Gohan just lay down on the stone bench when he heard a voice near the entrance of the dungeon. Yells were accompanied by the sounds of fighting and Gohan sat up. He walked closer to cell door and wrapped his hands around the bars as he tried to see what was going on.

Judin appeared a few seconds later. He was accompanied by another cadet who was a member of their Freedom Group. Gohan stepped back when Judin opened the door.

"What took you so long?" Gohan asked while Judin pulled the door open.

"The specialists." Judin replied, frowning a little. "I think they're on to us. They kept asking us questions about you getting caught in a fight today. They think we're planning something."

Gohan made a worried face. "But how…" He realized that he told Vegeta about the escape attempt… Would Vegeta tell the specialists? Gohan shook his head. "It's too late to stop the plan. We're going through with it."

Judin nodded and they walked to the airshaft and climbed into it. Landing in the library, Gohan smirked when he saw that it was deserted, except for two other cadets. They nodded to Gohan and Judin and followed the two cadets to the hallway. Another cadet joined them later on.

The five knelt down near a corner and Gohan glanced around the corner. Two guards were guarding the security room. Gohan looked up when Oriko appeared on the other side of the hallway. The boy came walking in Gohan's direction and he was about to pass the security room. Another cadet crossed his path, and the cadet randomly pushed Oriko, laughed and started running in the direction that Oriko came from. Oriko gave a frustrated yell and he ran after the offending cadet.

Gohan made a face at the acting of the two cadets, but when they all heard the sounds of fighting, the two guards near the security room exchanged glances and decided to go check it out.

Luckily, the guards were stupid. The half-saiyan waited a moment. Silence. Oriko and the other cadet appeared and they signed that it was clear.

Gohan and Judin quickly entered the security room while the others kept watch. The two knocked out the guard inside the room. "Go ahead." Gohan whispered as he stood by the door.

Judin nodded and he looked at the machines. He studied all the buttons for a moment before pressing one. "This should disable the force field."

The two boys looked up when an alarm went off. Gohan shook his head. "This wasn't supposed to happen." He muttered. "Stop it!"

Judin got the alarm to stop but they both knew that the damage was already done. Now the specialists definitely knew something was happening. Gohan looked up at the camera that kept an eye on the dungeons and he saw that Crimon was there, looking in the cells, searching for Gohan. The man said something and ran out the room.

Gohan bit his lip. If they found him. He would be in so much trouble. The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Get your act together, Gohan. This is not the time to be scared. He opened his eyes again and looked up. "Okay." He opened the door and looked at Oriko. "Plan B." He said and Oriko nodded. His friend ran away.

Gohan looked at the others. "You heard me. Get to your post! Tell everyone you see." The cadets followed his orders and scrambled.

Judin appeared next to Gohan. "We might have to fight them." He said. "They were already suspicious of us. They're going to track us down."

Gohan shook his head. "No." He said. "Let's go."

The two waited for the alarm to set off again. Gohan knew that this time the alarm was triggered by a fire in the cafeteria. A fire started by Oriko. A distraction for the specialists and the guards. The cafeteria was near the main entrance, so while everyone was rushing to the area of the fire, the Freedom Group would be sneaking out through the backdoor.

A large group of cadets was hanging out in and near the library now. Most of them were studying, reading or silently talking. They all looked up when Gohan and Judin appeared in the doorway. The half-saiyan motioned for them to follow him.

Oriko joined them. Gohan smiled at his friend and the three friends led the rest of the group to the back entrance. Classes were about to start so they avoided the area where the classrooms were. They started running so that they could surprise the guards who were guarding the backdoor.

Gohan was the first to run around the corner. He looked ahead and skidded to a stop, his eyes wide. His mouth fell open.

Specialists. All seven of them. A special welcoming committee for the group of cadets who all stopped right behind him. Gohan slowly shook his head as he stepped back. This couldn't be happening. Not now.

"Look who decided to grace us with their presence. The three musketeers and their little entourage." Aiku taunted.

"It's over." Headmaster stated in a clear voice.

Gohan narrowed his eyes as the happenings of the previous few days ran through his mind and he slowly got in a fighting stance, ready to attack.

"Half-breed. What are you doing?" Oriko whispered as he glanced at his friend. Gohan had been the one who always persisted that they should not attack the specialists. It was a line he did not want to cross, until now.

"I'm getting out of here." Gohan stated. The specialists could see the desperation in his eyes. It was something they'd never seen there before. "And you're not going to stop me. Not this time."

"Gohan. Think about this." Headmaster said slowly. His seal-like face was stern. "You can't defeat all of us."

Gohan stepped closer. "I'm not alone, am I? I'd say it's you who can't defeat all of us."

"But we will definitely try." Headmaster stated. "You see, there is a group of guards waiting right behind you." Gohan didn't look over his shoulder like most of the others. He could feel their life forces. Where did they come from? How did he not notice them, hiding somewhere? "I'll tell you how this is going to go. The guards are going to catch the first timers. My esteemed colleagues will take care of the regulars. Two of us volunteered to catch Judin and Oriko." Gohan noticed how his two friends stepped back. "Two others were eager to take care of catching you."

Gohan did not have to guess which two. He already noticed that Hitora and Crimon were keeping a close eye on him. Headmaster was silent for a moment before he continued. "You can't protect your friends when you're fighting off two specialists, Gohan."

Gohan hesitated for a moment, his gaze shooting to his friends behind him. This was what the specialists were waiting for. Headmaster pointed to Gohan, and Hitora and Crimon immediately grabbed their whips. They made their whips lash in such a way that the whips wrapped around Gohan's ankles.

Gohan looked down just in time to realize what they were planning. Right before they pulled on their whips, Gohan turned around so he would land on his hands. The two specialists were prepared for this and they pulled on the whips again to make Gohan lose his footing.

"RUN." Gohan yelled at the group as he looked up, straining when the two specialists playfully pulled on the whips around his ankles again. The half-saiyan was very clear about what they had to do when they got caught. Gohan, Judin and Oriko would most definitely get caught, and a few regulars would be recognized, but the first-timers could run for it and escape the wrath of the specialists because they weren't really seen, and that was what they had to do now.

Headmaster realized that there would be problems. Half of the group was obeying Gohan's order and were running away in all directions, but the main core of the group was coming to Gohan's rescue, despite his complaints.

"Guards! Grab them!" Headmaster called as he got into the frenzy.

Oriko and Judin made a grab for Gohan, who had gotten on his hands and knees again, but Hitora and Crimon pulled on the whips again, forcing Gohan's knees from under him and making Oriko and Judin grab for thin air. The two specialists started to pull Gohan closer and closer.

Gohan flew up and tried to fly away from them. He looked back when he felt the strain of their whips against his ankles and met their rather amused gazes. Gohan clenched his fists. He would not lose this time. He was going to resist them all the way down. He extended his hands and prepared two blasts. The half-saiyan heard screams and yells and sounds of resisting students around him and he glanced sideways to realize that two separate specialists were holding Oriko and Judin down already.

Suddenly, the bracelet around Gohan's wrist sparked and he screamed when a dosage of electricity shot through his body. The boy fell to the ground instantly, gasping when he realized this did not stop Hitora and Crimon from reeling him in.

The electricity that was still running through his body kept him from resisting and it wasn't long before he could feel how the whips were untangled from his ankles and two pairs of hands grabbed his arms and roughly pinned them behind his back. Hitora and Crimon high-fived behind Gohan's back and congratulated each other on a great catch, as if they'd just been fishing.

Headmaster surveyed the students that got caught. Not all of the offending students were there. The man walked to Oriko and Judin, grabbed them by their arms and started back to where Gohan, Hitora and Crimon were standing.

"The first-timers will go to the dungeon for two weeks. The regulars will spend three days in the ice room before they go on to the dungeon." Headmaster ordered. The man stopped and released Judin and Oriko when they were standing near Gohan.

"I guess you're not done scrubbing our toilets yet, are you little brat?" Crimon placed both hands on Gohan's shoulders and leaned over him from behind.

Hitora roughly ruffled Gohan's hair. "We'll let you scrub our toilets every day from now on." He said cheerfully.

Crimon stood straight again but kept his hands on Gohan's shoulders. "Don't worry. Hitora's just joking. You'll be so busy scrubbing our floors, tables, windows and everything else to clean the toilets every day."

Gohan clenched his fists but he didn't say anything. That would only make this all even worse. Hitora grinned at his comrade. "Our little cleaning monkey."

"Stop it, you two." Headmaster said as he signed for the guards to come closer. "Six guards are to escort these three to isolation." He stated. "Keep a guard on them at all times." He said when the guards walked closer. "They'll stay in there until I decide that it's time for them to get out."

Crimon and Hitora were somewhat hesitant to let Gohan go. Especially Crimon always insisted on punishing Gohan and he wasn't done with the half-saiyan yet.

"But…" Crimon tightened his grip on Gohan's shoulders when the half-saiyan was pulled away by one of the guards.

"Let him go, Crimon." Headmaster ordered, rather amused by Crimon's antics.

The half-saiyan stuck out his tongue to the specialist before he was dragged away by the guards.

"Just you wait, brat." Crimon yelled at him. "This is not over!"

Gohan, Judin and Oriko exchanged miserable glances as they were pushed out the room. They were silent as the guards brought them to the isolation cells. The three boys were allowed to stand together for a moment while the guards got the three cells ready.

"Keep your chin up. At least there won't be any noises to disturb your hypersensitive ears." Oriko whispered after Gohan let out a miserable sigh.

"We failed, Oriko. This was our last chance. They warned me." Gohan replied, keeping his voice low. "They're not going to let us get away with this."

"Oh come on. We're going to be put in the hole. What more can they do to us?" Judin shrugged. "They can't break us apart and they can't break our spirit. We're everlasting, remember?" Judin tried to catch Gohan's eyes but the half-saiyan didn't look at him.

"Seeing those saiyans really got you down, little saiyan." Oriko muttered when Gohan continued to stay silent.

The half-saiyan opened his mouth to reply but a poke of a guard's stick to his shoulder silenced him. "Shut up, your piece of saiyan trash." A guard snarled at him. The young warrior let the guard push him into the small cell before untying his hands.

Turning around, Gohan could only watch as the guard closed the cell door and then turned to walk out the room. The only light that Gohan could see now came from the hallway, but the boy knew that as soon as the guard would close the door, that light would be gone as well. Complete darkness.

Several hours later, Gohan was woken up by a cold sensation, all over his body. The boy gasped audibly and tried to crawl away. He fell off the bench and shied away under it, crawling from one side to the other to escape the mercilessly strong beam of icy water that was directed at him. Eventually he curled himself up and moved up his arms to protect his face. "Stop it already!" He screamed at the water beam.

The beam of water listened. Gohan gasped for air again and wrapped his arms around his torso. His wet uniform felt cold against his skin. He narrowed his eyes because of the light. After spending hours in this completely dark cell, his eyes weren't used to the light.

"Good afternoon, Saiyan." A low voice said cheerfully.

Gohan got up, gritting his teeth. "Don't you have anything better to do than harassing your students?" He snarled as he curled his hands around the bars of his cage. The bars were made of the strongest metal in the universe. Not a blast could scratch them and it took a lot of power to bend them. Even if someone would try to bend them, a high-dose of electricity would come free and knock-out the person who was trying it.

"You're a special case, aren't you?" Hitora was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed while Crimon was putting away the hose.

"Lucky me." Gohan leaned against the bars with his forehead, closing his eyes. He honestly didn't mind that they were visiting him. It was nice to have someone to talk to. He was supposed to be locked up in complete darkness all day. The room was way too small in his opinion and having nobody to talk to was horrible. The fact that he could not train or run or get out his energy in any other way made the whole thing a horrible experience for the boy.

A finger appeared in his vision, curled itself under Gohan's chin and pushed his face up. "You look tired." Crimon stated as he studied the half-saiyan.

Gohan pulled back. "It's been a rough couple of days." He continued to hold the bars, leaning back a bit now. That was an understatement. He was still recovering from the harsh fight he had with Hitora and Crimon. Aside from that his limbs were stiff because of the beating the guards gave him and his legs were hurting more than usual, especially near his ankles. Also, he'd been under the influence of the electricity bracelet twice in one day. That took a toll on his body.

"What are you two doing here?" Gohan considered his own words for a moment and a scared look appeared on his face. "You're not here for a spar, are you? You can't do that to me. I'm not in shape right now."

"That doesn't matter when you fight us, does it? You'll never be strong enough to beat us." Hitora replied. "Honestly, I would love to spar with you right now."

Crimon nodded as he went to open the door to Gohan's cell. "I agree. I wish we could train right now. Sadly, we're here for something else."

"Something else?" Gohan asked while the door finally opened. He stepped out the cage and gave the two an expectant look. "What?"

"It's a surprise." Hitora turned his back on the boy and started walking. Gohan decided to follow him.

"Last time you 'surprised' me I ended up strapped to a table while the guards were putting an electricity bracelet on me." Gohan replied, giving Crimon a pointed look.

"It's not like you to hold a grudge." Crimon tousled Gohan's hair.

Gohan glanced back to the doors. "Are Judin and Oriko still in there?"

"Yep." Crimon did not look back. "We'll keep them there for a couple more days. We're feeling lenient."

"What about me?" Gohan looked up at them.

"That's a surprise." Hitora closed the door and was now catching up to them.

"Hmm…" Gohan quickly glanced around. He clenched his fists as he gradually powered up.

Suddenly, he whirled around and started in the opposite direction of where they were going. He was about to turn the corner when headmaster appeared in front of him. "Stop." Gohan skidded to a stop. He widened his eyes a little. "We figured you would try something like that."

Gohan turned around when headmaster motioned for him to turn around. He made an annoyed sound when Headmaster gave him a push against his back, and started walking.

Crimon and Hitora waited for him to reach them. "Nice try." Crimon complimented when Gohan appeared next to them.

"Thanks." Gohan gave a little smirk as he started walking again. "So, where are we going?" He tried to run once and now he was ready to face whatever they had in store for him. It must be some kind of punishment. He knew they weren't going to let him get away with what he did.

"And he keeps asking the same question." Crimon said out loud.

"No matter how many times we give the same answer." Hitora added, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe it.

"Tssk. Maybe if you would give me an answer I can work with, I will stop asking questions." Gohan replied, frowning up at them.

"Patience is a virtue, Gohan." Headmaster gently tousled Gohan's hair.

"Didn't you hear Crimon's speech the day before yesterday? Saiyans tend to rush into things." Gohan replied innocently.

"You gave the Saiyan lecture?" Hitora asked, looking at his colleague.

"Hey, he was leaving. Do you know how little Saiyans we get here? Aside from Vegeta, he's been the only saiyan cadet. And he was only born because there was a saiyan crazy enough to breed outside their proud race. The chance that any of the remaining saiyans reproduce is very small. Even if they do decide to get kids they won't place the cubs here. I took advantage of the moment that we still had one to talk about."

Gohan suddenly stopped walking. The others looked at him. "You're taking me to the saiyans, aren't you?" He asked.

"Don't be silly. Keep walking, Gohan." Headmaster pushed against Gohan back again but the half-saiyan didn't walk this time.

"I'm not going back to them. They decided to leave me here. They said they would leave me alone." Gohan said, shaking his head slowly.

"Are you really that gullible?" Crimon asked, raising an eyebrow. "Vegeta just wanted to see how you would try to escape."

Gohan looked at him. "They told you we were going to escape, didn't they? You've known all along."

"Yes, we did. Now walk." Headmaster now gave a harsh push against Gohan's back but the half-saiyan shook his head again.

"So all that crap about wanting to take me as an apprentice was just a farce." Gohan said, as he stepped back. He realized that he was hurt. Emotionally hurt by their lies. "I'm not going back to them. I'd rather die."

Crimon chuckled. "Well, if you keep behaving like this Vegeta will probably be happy to give you that wish. For now," The man moved up his arm as if he wanted to hit Gohan, and while the half-saiyan moved up his arms to protect his head, the man's other hand shot to Gohan's waist and grabbed his tail, "you can choose." Gohan realized that Crimon tricked him and he was now glaring up at the man. "You can come with us on your own feet or I'll drag you all the way there by your tail."

"Let me go." Gohan hissed at him.

"I will. Once we're there. Let's go." Crimon playfully tugged on Gohan's tail and started walking. The half-saiyan considered trying to pull his tail free but he knew that once Crimon would get one good squeeze in, he would be at their mercy, and that was not a good position to be in.

Gohan followed Crimon. "Good boy." Hitora cooed as he tousled Gohan's hair. The half-saiyan hit his hand away.

"The only good thing about those goons picking me up is that I'll be rid of you!" He snarled back at them.

They reached the room that Gohan was already dreading the moment he could feel those three familiar power levels. The half-saiyan looked up at Crimon. "Can you let me go now?"

"Almost." Crimon replied as he watched headmaster type in a password to open the door to the spare office. The door opened and Crimon gave Gohan a push against his back, forcing the half-saiyan to stumble inside the room.

Gohan immediately caught sight of the three saiyans, sitting on the other side of the small desk. The door closed behind him and Gohan turned to it. He punched in the code to open the door but nothing happened.

Gohan placed his hands on the closed door. Why did it not open? He used to right code. What was going on?

He could hear Crimon's voice coming from the other side of the door. "I knew he had our master code. I told you so! That's how those brats have been getting into our offices so easily."

"How did he get it?" Headmaster asked. "We should change the password just in case he told it to any of his friends."

"Brat." Vegeta's voice made Gohan look sideways. The half-saiyan stepped back to create distance between them. This room was way too small for his taste. "Did you enjoy your time in the hole?" Vegeta smirked at him. "Had a nice nap?"

The half-saiyan crossed his arms over each other as his eyes ran over the windows. Maybe he could jump through one of them. "What do you want?" He asked as he looked back at Vegeta.

"You." Vegeta said without missing a beat. "Why don't you sit down?" He nodded to the chair that was standing on Gohan's side of the desk.

Gohan tensed when Raditz stepped away from his comrades and approached him. "I'd rather stand." He said as his eyes followed his uncle.

"You're soaking wet." Raditz reached out to grab a chunk of Gohan's wet hair. "What happened?"

Gohan pushed the man's hand away. "The specialists pulled a prank on me." He replied before he looked back to Vegeta. He'd gauged his uncle's power and realized that Raditz wasn't all that scary. Vegeta was the strongest one. He was Gohan's main concern. "Why don't you just leave? I don't want to come with you."

"You cost us too much to just let you go." Vegeta shook his head. "Why would we put you here if we weren't planning on picking you up later? I would have killed you otherwise."

"I cost you? You cost me five years of my life!" Gohan snarled at them.

"You should have expected us to come for you sooner or later." Nappa added as he stepped closer as well.

"Why didn't you take me yesterday? Why did you let me think I had a chance to leave this place when in reality you sabotaged my plan all along? My friends are being punished right now because of you!"

"I don't care about your pathetic friends." Vegeta snarled back as he got up. Gohan stepped back. Vegeta only leaned on the table with his hands. "As for why we let you perform your little plan; I was curious to see what you came up with. According to the specialists, you are one of the driving forces behind your little gang." The man's smirk appeared on his face again. "I must say I was impressed. Too bad they caught you."

Gohan clenched his fists as he glared at the man. Raditz suddenly placed his hands on Gohan's shoulders and forced the boy to walk to the chair. "Why don't you sit down?" He suggested as he pushed Gohan down on the chair.

The half-saiyan moved up his hands to push Raditz away but the man already released him and was making his way back to the desk. Vegeta was seated once more and opened a rather thick file.

"I have to admit your life here has been interesting." Vegeta stated as he flipped through the pages.

"That's my file." Gohan observed, frowning a little.

Vegeta nodded. "Every breath that you took during your stay here is documented in these files." The man stopped at a certain page. "I have to say that these pages are the most interesting." The man leaned on the desk with his elbows and he curled his fingers together, leaning his chin on his entwined hands. "In these past few years you made several escape attempts. Starting at age six when you managed to get passed the gates by hiding in the garbage, and ending several months ago when you riled up an entire group and attacked a couple of guards when they were escorting some guests out the gates."

Vegeta's piercing eyes moved up to meet Gohan's gaze. The man just stared at the half-saiyan so Gohan decided to take the lead. "I never said I would stay here." He stated. "You never asked me anything."

"I didn't bring you here so you could escape and run back to you planet." Vegeta snarled back.

"You kidnapped me!" Gohan yelled back. "Did you expect me to stay here quietly and not try to fight back?"

"Don't raise your voice against me, half-breed. It's rude." Vegeta said calmly as he turned another page. Gohan clenched his fists but he did not say anything in response. The boy leaned back on his seat and crossed his arms over each other so that his hands would stop shaking in anger. "We left you here so you could become stronger and eventually help us do our job. Your little attempts to escape were not part of our plan."

"I don't care about your damn plan."

"Honestly, Nappa," Vegeta said, turning to his older comrade, "I remember you telling me that ten years would be the best age because the brat wouldn't be in puberty yet, but the only thing I encounter here is bad manners and a big mouth. I guess human puberties set in earlier than saiyan ones." Vegeta said, sounding like he was teasing Gohan.

The half-saiyan got off the chair and turned his back on the saiyans. He walked to the doorway and bounced on the door with his fist. "Let me out of this room!" He yelled at the specialists, who were still outside. "I don't want to spend one more second with these disgusting horrible..."

"Disgusting eh?" Vegeta's voice whispered in Gohan's ear. The man was standing right next to him and Gohan stumbled back, bouncing against the wall with his back in his eagerness to create distance between Vegeta and his own body.

The man ignored Gohan's wishes and only stepped closer. "You dare call me disgusting? You're nothing more than a filthy hybrid. In our culture we are taught that hybrids are the most despicable beings in this universe. There's no sign of pure blood in your system. It's all distorted and mixed into this pathetic little piece of garbage that is standing in front of me." The man placed his hand on the wall to stop the half-saiyan when Gohan tried to move aside.

"If you call me a name one more time I will personally rip out the one object guilty of pumping that disgusting blood through your veins, got it?" Vegeta hissed into Gohan's face.

"You don't scare me." Gohan growled back.

Vegeta stared at Gohan for a moment, still keeping this uncomfortably close distance. The half-saiyan met his gaze without fear.

"You're really not afraid of me." Vegeta stated, somewhat surprised at the young boy's strength. Most grown soldiers would have backed down by now. "Hmmm…" The man could not help but smirk as he leaned in even closer. "Give me time." He whispered before he pulled back.

The man saw a sparkle when he first approached Gohan and he now turned to the golden bracelet around Gohan's wrist. The half-saiyan resisted when Vegeta grabbed his wrist and looked at the bracelet.

"What's this?"

"I found it." Gohan lied immediately.

"You found it?" Vegeta's face was still tilted forward to study Gohan's bracelet but his eyes now moved up to look at Gohan's face. "Really?"

The door opened and Crimon stepped inside. "It's an electricity bracelet." He explained. "Saiyan and his friends were too much for the guards so we had to find a way for the guards to be able to keep the kids under control." Crimon explained as he reached inside his armor and pulled out a remote. "It sends a considerable voltage of electricity through their veins, making it almost impossible to move."

Vegeta held out his hand and Crimon handed the remote to the man. Gohan tried to pull his arm free from Vegeta's grip and the man let him go. "I don't recognize this. It's is a new development." Vegeta said as he looked up at the specialists.

"Of course. Otherwise, you would have definitely been one of the first candidates for the bracelet, kiddo." Crimon replied cheerfully.

Vegeta was not pleased with this reply but he decided to focus on Gohan again. "You lied to me. Why?"

"I'm not going to tell you how to hurt me." Gohan replied before he sent the specialists a glare. "Traitors."

Crimon turned to Vegeta. "Please take him with you once and for all." He said as he pointed to Gohan with his thumb. "Five years is more than enough."

"With pleasure." Vegeta placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder and pulled the boy away from the wall. "Let's go. We're leaving."

"No!" Gohan pushed them all away and walked to the middle of the room, far away from them. "There you go again. You're all just making decisions for me without asking me anything. That's over!" He made a wild gesture with his hands as he said this. "I'm not going anywhere and I'm not doing anything for anyone anymore."

Vegeta glanced at the remote in his hand and he pointed it at Gohan while pressing the button. The half-saiyan widened his eyes for a moment before he fell to the ground with a scream. The boy was shaking heavily as he released a few grunts and growls. Raditz stepped closer and tried to touch the half-saiyan. He widened his eyes when a spark of electricity ran through his entire body and he pulled back with some difficulty.

"I felt that." Raditz muttered as he looked at his hand.

"It's not a pleasurable experience." Crimon admitted. "And I have to admit that we've never really had them on this long. We just use the bracelets to immobilize them temporarily so we can tie them up."

"He can take it." Vegeta stepped closer and reached out. He placed his hand under Gohan's chin, ignoring the sting of the electricity and forced the shaking half-breed to look up at him. Gohan tried hard not to grimace, not to show them how horrible this was. He had to stay strong. Gohan's shaking hand moved up and with a groan he managed to push Vegeta's hand away. He realized that he used up all his power in that one push and he wouldn't be able to catch his fall. He fell forward, landing on the ground. It was okay. He made his point. Even when he was under the influence of the electricity bracelet, he would not let Vegeta mess with him.

Vegeta pressed the button again, turning it off, and got up. He tossed the remote to Crimon. "You were saying?" Vegeta asked as he glanced at Gohan.

The half-saiyan slowly got up. He did not reply. He'd never experienced the pains of the bracelet for such a long time and knowing that Vegeta would easily let it on for such a long time scared him a bit.

Vegeta turned to Crimon. "Let's get everything settled. I don't want to spend any more time in this hellhole."

"At your service, my prince." Crimon said as he bowed in an exaggerating way.

Raditz was reaching into his armor. He pulled out a blue uniform and a basic white armor with two extending shoulders guards. Gohan accepted the clothing when Raditz held it out to him. He might as well cooperate for now.

Crimon, Headmaster, Hitora, Nappa and Vegeta left the room and only Raditz stayed behind to keep an eye on the half-saiyan. He was still holding a pair of gloves and white boots.

"Change." Raditz ordered.

Gohan obeyed the order and he placed the clothing on the table. He ignored Raditz's eyes as he unclasped the bands of his armor before pulling it off. Raditz watched as the boy pulled off his uniform. The man narrowed his eyes for a moment as he studied the boy. It was easy to see that Gohan had been through a lot on this camp. There were no rejuvenation tanks so everything that ever happened to Gohan had to be healed naturally. The man's gaze ran over the many whip scars on the half-saiyan's back, obviously given to him by the specialists. Vegeta had a few of those too. Aside from that Raditz noticed a strange scar that looked like someone carved it into his skin, on the boy's shoulder. There were other scars, smaller ones. Accidents maybe. The moments that Gohan failed to defend his body. That's what happened to fighters.

Raditz decided to focus on the bruises on Gohan's back. The half-saiyan was also sporting a black eye and the boy's nostrils were still a bit red from a recent bloody nose.

"What happened?" Raditz asked.

Gohan looked up at him. "What are you talking about?" He snarled.

Raditz smirked as he stepped closer. "The bruises." He said as he reached out and tapped on Gohan's bruised shoulder. The boy tried to hide a winch, but Raditz caught it.

"The guards got lucky." Gohan replied, shrugging. Gohan decided that he was done showing off his body and he grabbed the blue uniform.

"Wait."

The half-saiyan stopped when Raditz spoke up. "Your legs." The man knelt down and studied the wounds on Gohan's lower legs. The half-saiyan knew he got them when Hitora and Crimon's whips wrapped around his skin tightly. Gohan realized that they were bleeding somewhat. He remembered that his legs were bothering him earlier that day. He forgot about the pain when the specialists and the saiyans distracted him. His boots had been hiding the blood loss.

Gohan allowed Raditz to reach out and grab his lower leg, pulling the leg closer somewhat to check on the wounds. The man studied his leg for a moment but then released him. Gohan looked up when Raditz stood up and turned to the doorway.

"I need a bandage over here." Raditz stated after opening the door.

"Why?" Gohan recognized Vegeta's voice.

"The boy has been whipped recently and his wounds opened again. I need to take care of it." Raditz replied.

Vegeta entered the room and glanced at Gohan's ankles. The man let out a growl. "Leave it to those jerks to damage the boy like that right before we leave." He complained. The man looked Gohan over and Gohan realized that the man's eyes lingered on his shoulders, where a few lines from his past whippings could be seen. Vegeta ordered Gohan to turn around and pull his hair aside. The man laughed when he saw Gohan's back. "I can see that Crimon didn't go easy on you." He stated. "Good. I wanted them to toughen you up." Gohan turned back to the man and Vegeta grinned. "Your skin was looking way too unscathed when we first met each other. Now there's some character in there."

Gohan glared at the man but he did not really know what to say. Vegeta was right. When he first arrived here Gohan's skin was soft and clear. No scars. No bruises or wounds. He had never suffered through pain or real injuries. Once he turned six, Crimon had already whipped him once to warn the half-saiyan never to cross the specialists. Gohan still remembered how much that had hurt. His first encounter with real pain. It wasn't like a fight. There was no adrenaline to numb the pain. There was no defending himself. He was tied up at the time. Only pain and the knowledge that there would be more. Three lashes in total.

Afterwards, Headmaster scolded Crimon. Apparently, Crimon told the others he would only lash Gohan once but he decided to add two others when Gohan was still conscious after the first one, wondering how far he could go, wondering if Gohan would cry, but the boy didn't. Gohan remembered running his hand over his own back and being horrified when he realized that the wounds left long strikes on his back. At the time, Headmaster told Gohan the marks would stay and he mentioned that it was such a waste to see Gohan's unscathed back go. Crimon snorted and attested that it was time for the boy to grow up and that there would be more to come, either by his hand or by the hands of others. It was part of a warrior's life.

The ten-year-old felt way too vulnerable like this. He grabbed his new armor and pulled it on over his naked chest. It wasn't all that much but it was better than nothing. Vegeta did not look at him anymore though. The man walked to the window and looked outside. Nappa told Gohan to sit down on a table so it would be easier for Raditz to reach his legs.

Raditz returned with bandages and sat down on a chair opposite Gohan. The man told Gohan to place his foot on Raditz's lap. Gohan did so and Raditz cleaned the wounds before bandaging it up. No words were said while Raditz took care of the half-saiyan. The room was entirely silent.

Gohan did not really know where to look so he focused on his feet. It was interesting to see how quick Raditz worked. The man seemed to know what he was doing. Gohan wrapped his arms around his body. Even though the sun was shining brightly, Gohan's body felt cold.

The half-saiyan tensed when he realized that Vegeta moved behind him. The man reached out and pushed aside the band of Gohan's armor so he could look at the small scar on Gohan's back. The half-saiyan straightened and Raditz sent the boy an annoyed glance when Gohan's leg moved.

"Sit still." Raditz ordered. "You're holding me up." Gohan looked down at him and wondered whether to follow the order, but Vegeta was already holding his other shoulder in a tight grip.

"I'm just looking." Vegeta stated when Gohan resisted.

"Sit still." Raditz snarled again.

Gohan froze. Vegeta's hand moved away from his one shoulder and Gohan could feel how Vegeta's fingers moved over the scar on his other shoulder. The half-saiyan tried not to shiver. "What is this?" Vegeta asked.

"The mark of the Thunder group." Gohan replied.

Vegeta scoffed. "Don't be smart with me, boy. What is it doing on your shoulder?"

"All cadets who join Thunder are branded with that." Gohan lied.

Vegeta's fingers moved away from Gohan's shoulder and the half-saiyan quickly readjusted the band of his armor again. "That wasn't a tradition when I joined them." He stated.

Gohan shrugged as he looked back. "That was a long time ago. Things change."

"Done." Raditz said. Gohan moved his legs up and looked at his bandaged ankles.

The boy jumped off the table and smiled as he walked a small circle to feel how the bandages walked. "Thanks." He said.

Raditz shrugged. "It had to be done. We can't let those wounds get infected." He replied before he gently pushed against Gohan's shoulder. "Get dressed." He ordered.

Gohan nodded and turned to the table. He pulled the armor off and quickly changed into the blue uniform. After pulling on the armor, boots and gloves, Gohan felt a lot better. If only he could take a shower, that would make it even better.

The half-saiyan realized that the others were already leaving the room. He followed when Raditz glanced back at him. "Where are the specialists?" Gohan asked curiously.

"The specialists' quarters." Raditz responded briefly.

"Are we going there as well?" Gohan asked.

"Yes."

"What are we going to do there?"

"We're going to sign the papers so that we can take you with us, nephew of mine."

"What are we going to do after that?"

Raditz glanced at him. "Are you ever going to stop asking questions?"

"You can't answer my question with another question. That's not how it works." Gohan replied indignantly.

"Can you imagine having to listen to that voice all day?" Nappa mentioned to Vegeta, who snorted.

"We'll just have to tame him well." Vegeta replied. "So that he knows not to ask questions all the time."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Gohan complained.

"Don't talk." Vegeta replied, frowning at Gohan over his shoulder. The half-saiyan sent the man a glare back and crossed his arms over each other in an angry manner.

The group was silent while they walked to the specialists' wing. Headmaster took the three adults to the balcony where they would go through the paperwork. Gohan was told to wait in the specialists' lounge. The half-saiyan watched them go and it suddenly hit him. They were going to take him. He was going to leave the camp. He would never see his friends again. He didn't even get to say goodbye.

The half-saiyan lowered his shoulders and looked down. His tail slumped, the tip landing on the ground sadly. A hand landed on his shoulder and Gohan flinched.

"Not being very vigilant, are we?" Crimon stated while Gohan turned around. The half-saiyan wiped his eyes in case they were watery. He couldn't really tell.

"I was thinking." Gohan muttered in response before he turned to walk away.

"Not so fast." Crimon grabbed hold of Gohan's long spiky hair and Gohan yelped as he stopped walking.

"What the hell?" The half-saiyan complained when Crimon released him.

"Saiyan. I want to say something so be quiet for once and listen." Crimon responded. Gohan realized that the man was serious so he decided to obey. "Vegeta is serious business. He is aggressive and gets angered easily. He won't be as forgiving as we are."

"Forgiving?" Gohan exclaimed loudly. "You nearly whipped off my entire back!"

"Quiet." Crimon snarled. "We might have punished you but we always kept you alive because we had to. Vegeta doesn't. If you continue to behave badly he will kill you, do you understand me?"

"What do you care?" Gohan sent the man a frown. "What do ANY of you care?" His voice was rising as his emotions took control. "You don't. For you I'm just a tool that you can use for your own benefit. That's all I ever was to you and that's all I'll ever be to them!" He pointed at the balcony where the saiyans were.

Crimon looked somewhat surprised. "Where is this coming from?"

"You never wanted to take me as an apprentice, did you?" Gohan's lower lip started to tremble. When the specialists were talking about his future on this camp he felt like they wanted him here. Like he belonged. But it was all a joke to them. "You were just messing with me!"

Crimon placed a lilac hand on his forehead. "Saiyan. We can't do anything about this. You belong with them."

"No. I don't! I refuse to." Gohan stomped on the ground with his white boot.

Hitora decided to help Crimon out. "If we had any say in this, Saiyan, we would keep you here." He said. "The thing is that we don't have a say in this, and we've known that you were going to leave at some point since you arrived here." The man shrugged helplessly. "We usually keep our distance from students because we know they're going to leave. You were a special case. We've never had such young cadets."

The ten-year-old looked down. "I don't want to go with them." He whispered. "Don't make me go with them." These were the voices he heard in his nightmares. The men who visited him in his sleep and tortured him almost every night. Now his nightmares were becoming real.

Crimon and Hitora exchanged glances. Crimon knelt down so he could look at the young warrior. "What are you?" He asked as he cupped Gohan's chin and pushed his face up.

"Crimon." Gohan muttered tiredly. "Not now..."

"Answer my question."

"A saiyan."

"And Saiyans are?"

"The strongest warriors in the universe." Gohan sighed out.

"So?"

"So I'm strong and I cannot let anyone put me down." Gohan said automatically.

"Now remember that." Crimon placed his hand on the side of Gohan's neck. "Whenever you're sad or when you're having a hard time, remember this and we'll be with you in spirit. You're not alone, saiyan."

Gohan stared at Crimon for a moment and he nodded. "Thank you." He said softly. Crimon showed a hint of a smile that looked terrifying but it comforted Gohan in some way.

"Now now, Crimon. I've never seen you be so gentle." Vegeta's voice mocked from the direction of the balcony. Crimon got up fully and released the half-saiyan. "It's hard to imagine that you were once the most feared warriors in the universe. All tamed by a little brat."

Crimon chuckled. "Everyone knows that's not true. We are still known for being the strongest warriors aside from the Ginyu Force, and as I remember it correctly the Ginyu Force still overpowers every single one of you as well."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Not for long." He responded before he looked at the half-saiyan. "Let's go." He ordered.

Gohan looked at his teachers. He looked at the room where he spent the last five years in. He was not ready to leave yet. Still, he followed the saiyans. His body followed almost automatically while his mind was screaming at him to do something. Stop this. Fight them.

But he didn't know how. What was he supposed to do afterwards? He couldn't defeat Vegeta. That much he knew. For now, he would just have to be quiet and obey orders.

Crimon placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder and Hitora briefly tousled the boy's hair. The others nodded at the half-saiyan when he walked passed them. Only Headmaster walked with them to walk them out.

Once they reached the doorway, Vegeta stopped and turned to Headmaster. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Take off the bracelet." He said.

Headmaster looked up. "Are you sure?" He asked. Gohan was already standing in front of him, holding out his arms with a grin on his face.

"Yes. I can do without it." Vegeta responded.

Headmaster smirked when he saw the happy expression on Gohan's face while he removed the bracelet. Gohan rubbed his hands over the skin where his bracelet used to be. That felt so good. He would never be entirely rid of the bracelet though. There was still a burn mark created by the heat of the electricity that shot through his body every time, but it was better than having that bracelet on.

Headmaster took Gohan aside and knelt down to whisper something to the boy. "Be strong, Gohan. Good luck out there. Oh, you should take a look at the windows while you're in the front garden. The sun will make them shine bright. Especially the ones on the third floor." The man winked at the half-saiyan and Gohan could only give the man a rather confused look.

Raditz called the boy over and Gohan ran to keep up with them. As he walked out into the garden he thought about Headmaster's words. The boy looked up to the third floor and he grinned. There, Hitora and Crimon were standing, but they weren't alone.

Oriko and Judin were there as well. The two were chained together by their wrists but they each had one hand free and they waved at the half-saiyan, grinning as well. The half-saiyan used both his hands to wave at them as he walked backwards.

The boy suddenly reached up and showed his wrist. 'Freedom!' He mouthed to them. He showed the official Freedom Group sign by locking his thumbs together and spreading his fingers. The wings that represented their way out of this place. For now, Gohan was the only one who received the wings, but he knew the others would get them soon as well.

The half-saiyan looked over his shoulder when Raditz called out to hurry up. He gave his old friends one more glance and realized that Oriko and Judin created the Freedom Sign together, awkwardly locking each other's thumbs together since they only had one free hand. Gohan grinned as he studied the four familiar faces one more time before he gave one last wave and turned to the gates. He ran to catch up with the others.

Gohan was going to enjoy walking out of the camp he'd been trying to leave for so long.

**** DBZ **** DBZ ****

I hope you enjoyed it! Please review and let me know what you think!