The Power Within

Hello! I typed this chapter up fast, so I'm in a good mood. It's my longest chapter! :D Just a heads up: my next chapter might come a little slowly, because I have writers block, so just be patient. Anyways, as always, enjoy the chapter!

SPLASH!

'Not again!' thought Gohan, picking himself up out of the muddy water. 'I'm sick of these dreams. This is getting old.'

After double checking his sopping clothes to make sure the water wasn't blood, he surveyed his surroundings and found them the same as they were the first time his dreams began to appear. Chiming leaves, shimmering trees, waterfalls, a bright blue sky...everything seemed normal. Or, as normal as his dreams usually turned out. Gohan sighed contently, letting his head drop in relaxation; everything was as it should be. There was no red sky, no black forest, no strange voice—

"Think again, my dear Gohan."

Gohan's head snapped up and he stumbled back a few steps. Right in front of him, sitting nonchalantly on a rock, was the same creature he met in the wood. Its red eyes made it seem as if it was staring right through him instead of at him, and it had an aura of death around it. The creature appeared so suddenly that the half-breed Saiyan didn't know what he was looking at at first, but he realized it a couple of seconds later. Falling into a fighting stance, he growled.

"You!" he barked. "What do you want now!?"

It opened its arms in a gesture of peace. "I'm not here to fight you, my friend. I'm here to talk."

"Talk?" Gohan chuckled dryly. "I see. Which is why you look like you're ready to murder someone." He stepped forward and, in a sudden rush of bravery he didn't know he possessed, demanded, "If you came here to fight then fight me!"

It laughed. "Poor, wayward soul. Why do you not listen to what I tell you? I came here to give you answers, not to fight."

This perked up Gohan's interest. "Answers?" he repeated. The creature nodded.

"Yes, Gohan. Answers to all of your questions." It gestured to the rock in front of it. "Drop your guard and sit down. I am not here to kill you."

The young boy dropped his guard, but only slightly, and remained standing. "No thanks, I'm good," he said. "Now, first question. What were you talking about when you said—"

"Uh uh uh," it scolded. "I didn't say you could ask the questions. I only said that I would give you the answers."

Gohan pressed his lips into a thin line but didn't respond. It was then that he realized that the cheerful scenery didn't change, which made the…thing contrast sharply with its surroundings.

'What is this thing? What does it want?' Gohan thought, eyebrows contorting into an expression of frustration and confusion. 'What's it going to say?'

When the creature felt that Gohan wouldn't say anything else, it began to speak.

"Now, my companion, I am going to start from the beginning," it said. Gohan frowned.

"Go on."

It smiled peculiarly. "Are you aware of the power that you possess within you?"

Gohan nodded. "Yes."

"Do you know the source of that power? What causes the rush of adrenaline through your veins that, like a lion and its prey, causes you to pounce so violently on your enemies?"

Gohan nodded again. "Yes. My emotions and my Saiyan blood."

"Wrong."

The hybrid's eyes widened. "Say what?"

A small chuckle escaped the creature's lips. "You have been deceived all your life, my friend. For it is not your emotions nor is it your blood that causes you to unleash your true potential; rather, it is something much more terrifying. Something that present day man still has yet to comprehend, and may never comprehend."

Its smile grew, revealing sharp teeth.

"Madness. This is what fuels thy power within."

The silence that ensued after its statement was deafening, both quiet and loud at the same time, as the creature let that piece of information sink. Gohan stared unbelievingly at it, unable to comprehend what it just said, but then he grew slightly angered.

"No jokes. Tell me the truth," he demanded, voice wavering slightly.

"I jest you not," it replied smoothly. "What I tell you is purely fact. I am not here to deceive you." It suddenly grew angry, its face darkening. "So if you would just shut the hell up and listen, I could continue with telling you the answers!"

It suddenly realized its mistake and calmed down immediately. "Ahem…now, to continue." It got up and walked around Gohan, making him feel uneasy.

"Madness. Insanity. This is what fuels you. This is what satisfies your Saiyan thirst for power. This is what is inside of you," it said. When it got another confused look from Gohan, it smiled. "I will elaborate in a minute. Let me explain something else first. Something that has confused you ever since you were able to do it. Yes, your strange piano skills. How oh how were you able to play so well?"

Gohan's interest perked up. Finally, he would get the answer. It was about time.

As if reading his mind, the creature's smile deepened. "I see I have captured your attention," it said. "From the beginning, your energy has been unstable. From your fight with your uncle Raditz, to the duel with the tyrant ruler Frieza, to the final battle between the cantankerous android Cell and beyond, you haven't been able to control your energy. Even though you and that Namekian Piccolo tried so hard, you couldn't do anything. You were scared, afraid of what would happen if you unleashed something like Super Saiyan 2 again. Afraid you would kill someone else, as you killed your father."

Gohan flinched, and was visibly hurt by this, but chose not to say anything. The creature then frowned.

"You had potential, and you chose to waste it," it said harshly. "You let your power rot away in your body, slowly deteriorating until it would have become nothing. You would have become weak and drained, and eventually died along with your father."

Another slap. Gohan clenched his fists. 'I will not cry!' he thought. 'I'm stronger than this.'

The creature looked into the distance, which was slowly darkening.

"I knew that your strength would eventually leave you, and that your power would eventually fade. When your energy became noticeably unstable—that is, it was beginning to affect your day to day activities—I knew that I had to step in. That is why I took it as my responsibility to make sure your power was stable."

The distance was becoming darker still, and the sky was slowly becoming stained with red.

"I tried to force your mind and body to cooperate with the sparring and the meditation, but alas, it wouldn't budge. Your stubborn persona caused the simplest efforts to be put to waste. Your body simply did not accept the, shall I say, 'Saiyan' treatment to level out your energy. So I improvised. I managed to get control of your dream world and threw in a melody as an experiment. After all, music does do wonders to the body."

It turned around to face Gohan, smiling strangely.

"Your body reacted immediately. I only had to wait until you had a piano until I could implement my theory. I simply instructed your body to play, and it played." It laughed. "And you began to think you had a natural talent! Ah, but it was my doing, not yours, that allowed you to play so well, my dear Gohan."

So many questions popped into Gohan's mind, but he pushed them down. He was afraid that if he spoke, the creature would stop giving answers. That was the last thing he needed.

"You began to develop a genuine love for the piano. The more you played, the calmer you felt, and the more your energy leveled out. Like layers on an onion, your dormant power slowly surfaced, peeling away layer by layer until you reached the center of the power within you. That center is insanity, which is what fuels your power. Your insanity was set free from its prison within your soul, just as a bird is released from its cage."

The scenery finished changing. Gohan recognized it as the same threatening scenery he witnessed in his past dream.

"And when your insanity was set free," it continued, smile stretching wide. "I was set free."

This caused Gohan's head to whip in its direction. "What!? What do you mean by that?"

Its smile morphed into a smirk. "Think about it."

Gohan stopped to think. He tried to remember his last encounter with the creature. Something immediately came to mind.

"You do not know? Surely you would know me," it said, its voice steady and calm. "I'm a part of you."

Gohan's eyes widened and he stepped back. "A part of me…" he whispered, taken aback. "I see! That's why you can manipulate my body. That's why you know everything about me."

It nodded. "That is correct."

The hybrid stopped to think for a second, then gasped. "Are you the reason why Piccolo was scared of my Super Saiyan 2 form?"

Another nod, then a smile. "You set me free. When you threw out every ounce of your power into that form, it gave me the opportunity to escape. You gave me a path to the outside world. I was able to take over your body for a couple of minutes. The same thing happened when you became a Super Saiyan 2 against the tyrant Cell, but that memory for both of us is foggy. Either way, it wasn't enough. Your energy still wasn't controlled enough, but I was making progress."

A drop of sweat dropped from Gohan's chin. 'Everything makes sense,' he thought. 'His explanation fits. Oh, God, it fits…'

"Then, the next day, after your piano lesson in the morning, your powers became stable again. I was desperately looking for another opening. When you offered to spar with the Saiyan prince Vegeta, I became ecstatic. I knew that the opportunity that I had been waiting for had arised. When you became a Super Saiyan in the battle, another path had been opened for me, only this time it was easier and faster for me to escape. So I reappeared again and managed to cause quite a bit of mayhem. Sadly, you became tired and passed out, and here we are now."

"Mayhem…" Gohan repeated distractedly. "What do you mean by that?" His anger rose. "What have you done!?"

The creature chuckled. "Oh, nothing big. I simply beat Vegeta up then killed a handful of people who were lying around in the forest. They must have been on a camping trip. Don't you worry; they are in a better place now. If you consider hell better, that is."

It began to laugh loudly.

"Look at your hands!" it exclaimed. "Painted crimson, tainted with the blood of innocents! Do you not feel the rush of a good kill? Is it not intoxicating?"

The hybrid, on instinct, looked at his once clean hands. They were stained in red. Gohan shut his eyes tightly, his mouth turning downwards in disgust and shame.

'It's just an illusion!' he thought to himself. 'Trickery! He's trying to deceive me. It never happened!'

"Oh, but it did!" the creature shouted gleefully. "And you set me free! You have yourself to blame!"

"Shut up!" Gohan yelled. "Just shut up! You have no right to say that to me!" With that, he lunged forward, about to strike the strange monster in the stomach.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," it said calmly.

Gohan froze. "What? Why not?"

"Because if you kill me, you will kill yourself. I am a part of you, after all."

Gohan's eyes widened and he backed away, defeat and helplessness evident on his face as he realized that he couldn't get rid of this strange creature. They stared at each other in silence for a few minutes before the young boy spoke.

"I know I can't kill you," he said quietly. "But at least tell me your name."

The creature smirked. "I would, but are you worthy enough to know my identity?"

Anger slowly washed over Gohan's face. Before he could say something, the monster chuckled.

"Oh, you are so much fun to cross," it said. "I will tell you my name."

It smiled, showing all of its pointy, jagged teeth.

"My name is Shadow."

"Shadow…" the hybrid whispered. Then, in a firmer voice, "Shadow, I have one more question for you."

"Proceed."

He stepped forward and clenched his fists. "What are your motives? Why do you want to escape my body, my soul, so badly?" he demanded. "If you are a part of me, and you want to have my power balanced, then why do you want to leave, when my power is slowly becoming level?"

Shadow smiled ominously. "That is a simple question to answer. I do not care about you nor do I care about your power. I do not want to stay and help you become a strong warrior. When your power is balanced, I can escape; then, my friend, will you know the true extent of my abilities." It stepped closer to Gohan. "I want to murder. To destroy. Destruction, pain, and misery; these are the only things that matter to me."

Shadow began to laugh.

"Destroy! Destroy! Destroy! I need to kill, to murder, to cause so much mayhem that there will be nothing left in the universe!" He frowned. "But you have caged me! You have prevented me from reaching this goal. From doing what is necessary. With creation, must come destruction. And who is there that will cause it then I, Shadow?"

Gohan growled. "Not on my watch! I'll stop you. I'm the protector of Earth!"

Shadow smiled. "We shall see about that," he said, slowly fading away. The hybrid gasped and reached out for him.

"No! I'm not done with you yet! Get back here!" he yelled. Shadow simply chuckled. Before he disappeared completely, however, he had one last thing to say.

"I shall see you again soon, my dear Gohan."

Everything went black.

Piccolo flew as fast as he could, scanning every bit of forest as he flew by.

"Where is Gohan!?" he thought aloud, head whipping furiously from side to side. "Stupid kid has me chasing him 24/7. When I find him, I'll—"

He stopped suddenly when he found a clearing in the forest, where trees had been ripped from the ground. The Namekian smirked.

"Found it!"

He touched down quickly and was taken aback by the sight in front of him. Piccolo frowned, walked around and stopped. He clenched his teeth and stared at the dead, mutilated camper lying by his feet.

'Kid's gone too far this time,' he thought grimly, turning away and walking in the other direction. He found three more maimed bodies and grimaced. The sight was disturbing, even for him. Then, he spotted Gohan laying a ways off, in the part of the forest that hadn't been destroyed. Piccolo strode up to him and shook his head, staring at his pupil with a look of disappointment on his face.

"Gohan," he said aloud. "Why?"

The Namekian picked his student up and observed his face. It was calm, with no sign of remorse or regret. His facial expression reminded Piccolo of when Gohan killed the animals in the forest. He shuddered and took to the air again, ready to return Gohan home.

'Why?' he thought again, flying at a slower pace this time. 'What has gotten into you, Gohan? I thought it was the voice in your dream that was causing this, but…I'm not so sure anymore. Either way, you'd better wake up fast, kid; I've got some questions to ask you.'

Feeling a vague sense of déjà vu, Piccolo flew towards the Son house to return his pupil home. Yes, when Gohan woke up, he would ask him many questions indeed.

Soon, morning came. The sun's rays peeked through the soft, white curtains in Gohan's room, effectively waking him up. He awoke slowly, but he didn't feel well and rested like a child his age should on a beautiful, sunny Saturday. The young half-breed felt horrible.

"Augh…" he groaned, blinking rapidly as the sunlight assaulted his vision. "My head is hurting…"

He pushed aside the blanket and got up, his movements sluggish and lethargic. He walked over and stood in front of his mirror, wincing when he noticed the black circles under his eyes.

'Oh, man, do I look awful,' he thought to himself, trying to smooth down his disheveled hair. When that didn't work, he sighed and decided to head over to the bathroom. There, Gohan filled his cupped hands with cold water and splashed it on his face, thinking about his crazy dream. Shadow's figure appeared in his mind, but instead of shaking his head and trying to forget about it like he usually did, he tried to focus on it. Unfortunately, when he did, the image immediately slipped out of his grasp as if it was made of butter. He sighed frustratingly; things never went his way.

After finishing his business in the washroom, Gohan entered his room again and sat on the bed. He felt uneasy, as if he were being watched constantly. The black-haired boy slowly placed a hand on his chest.

'It's hard to believe that a creature is lying within me,' he thought, closing his eyes and trying to sense out Shadow. He felt nothing except for his own, familiar energy pulsing within his body. 'I feel so…controlled. Watched. Trapped.' He gripped his shirt tightly, his knuckles turning white. 'Shadow will be a problem in the future, I can feel it. And to think that I could stop him right now, just by charging up an energy blast…Shadow would die, and I would—'

"Gohan! Are you coming downstairs or not? Do you want your food to get cold?"

Gohan took a sharp intake of breath and let go of his chest immediately. Having been snapped out of his trance, he glanced down at his clothes and realized that he was still wearing his fighter's gear.

"A-ah, coming mom!" he yelled to his mother. He quickly changed his clothes and ran downstairs, all the while telling himself off for thinking thoughts like that.

'Killing myself isn't going to solve this,' he thought, entering the kitchen. 'There must be another way.'

"Good morning sweetie. How are you?" Chichi asked, turning around. When she saw how Gohan looked, she gasped. "Oh, Gohan! You look horrible! Are you sick?"

Gohan managed a small laugh. "Aw, mom, you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine, really, I—"

"No, no," she scolded, walking up to him and placing a hand on his forehead. Chichi removed it after a couple of seconds. "Your forehead is hot, which means you probably have a fever." She ran a hand through his thick, black hair. "Poor baby…that's okay, I have medicine for you in the drawer that should fix you right up."

Chichi opened and closed the kitchen cabinets and drawers but couldn't find the medicine. She frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"Well, we've run out," she said in annoyance. "I'm going to go to the pharmacy and buy some more. Do you think you'll be okay for a couple of minutes by yourself?" she asked her son. Gohan smiled half-heartedly.

"Yeah, I'll be okay," he said truthfully. Chichi smiled back.

"Alright. I'll be back in about 10 minutes, okay? You can sit down and eat breakfast while you wait for me to come back" she said. Gohan nodded and watched Chichi leave, before plopping himself down on the living room couch and burying his face in the pillow.

"Unngghhh…" he complained. "My head is killing me…!"

Gohan thought about food and gagged. He really didn't feel like eating right now. His mind was full of thoughts about Shadow, but every time he focused on them they slipped away again. The effort made his head pulse even more.

'I know!' the hybrid thought, slowly sitting up. 'I'll do a bit of math homework to take my mind off of things.'

He dragged himself to his room and sat down at his oak desk. After opening his thick math textbook and taking out a fresh sheet of lined paper, Gohan got to work.

'Page 34, page 34…here it is! Now, question #5…5x+25(4-3^2)^5…'

Tak! Tak!

A sudden knock on the window broke his concentration. Gohan dropped his pencil and turned to see who it was.

Piccolo. His eyes narrowed. What was he doing here?

"Gohan! Open up!" said Piccolo. Gohan opened the window and Piccolo entered his room, an irritated frown on his face. The hybrid eyed him wearily; he looked angry, and Gohan felt too sick to argue with him again. A sudden realization hit him.

Did Piccolo know about Shadow?

He was a master of mind reading and telepathy, after all. It was hard to keep anything from him. Even so, Gohan tried to act innocent.

"Oh hi, Mr. Piccolo!" he greeted happily. "What are you doing here?"

"Enough with the act, kid," Piccolo barked, standing up to his full height. "I have some questions to ask you."

Gohan gave him a look of confusion. "Act? What are you talking about? Did something happen?"

"Something happened, alright," the Namekian said. "And it involves you." He crossed his arms. "What has gotten into you, Gohan? You've been bratty, annoying, and arrogant lately. Has Vegeta finally rubbed off on you?"

'What?' Gohan thought, surprised. 'Oh…that must be what Shadow acted like when he took over my body.' "I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Piccolo," he lied.

Piccolo scowled. "Of course you don't," he said sarcastically. "After blowing up two forests, beating Vegeta within an inch of his life, and killing five people, you're still clueless."

The accusation made Gohan flinch. "I-I didn't do that," he squeaked. The young boy was telling the truth; he hadn't done anything. It was all Shadow's doing. He couldn't tell Piccolo, though. The Namekian would just push further, and Gohan knew that he could handle this by himself. He was Goku's son, after all. He didn't need any help.

Right?

"Didn't do that!?" Piccolo shouted. "How can you say that? You killed innocent people, kid. That's just as bad as Cell. You've become your greatest fear!"

"Please, Piccolo…" Gohan said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "My head hurts. Do you think we could talk later?"

This made the Namekian angrier. "No, Gohan. We've waited too long. I want answers. Now."

The half-Saiyan sat down at his desk and picked up his pencil. "Seriously, Piccolo. Can this please wait?"

Piccolo slammed a hand on Gohan's desk, making his container of pencil crayons fall to the ground.

"What is wrong with you!?"" he yelled angrily. "I thought at first that it wasn't you causing destruction, that it was that voice I heard in your dream, but I'm not so sure anymore. Stop lying and answer my questions!"

Piccolo's yelling made Gohan angry. He turned to face his mentor and glared at him. "I'm lying!? You're lying! You never told me you knew about that voice!"

"Neither did you!"

"You snuck into my head!"

"You killed five people!"

Gohan's head began to throb again, and he suddenly felt really sick. He sighed exasperatingly and ran a hand through his unruly hair. "I'm not in the mood for this, Piccolo! Let's just—"

"Excuses, excuses!" Piccolo growled. "I've had enough of your excuses! You always feel sick, you always have to study, you always have to go somewhere, you always have some damn excuse!"

"I'm not lying! It's not an excuse!" Gohan defended. "And what about you? You always have to meditate, you always have to train! So don't you dare tell me that I make excuses!"

The Namekian clenched his fists. "You know what!? I—"

"Gohan, honey, I brought the—what in the world!?"

Gohan and Piccolo whipped their heads around. There, standing in the doorway with a look of shock on her face, was Chichi. Her eyes darted between the two for a couple of agonizing seconds, frozen in place, before she stepped into action.

"Piccolo! Stop harassing my baby!" she screamed, lunging for him. He stepped back as a reflex and gripped her upcoming fist tightly. A little too tightly, it seemed, for she immediately pulled back her fist and glared at him with fire in her eyes.

"Get out! Shoo! Just because I let you and Gohan visit each other doesn't mean you can just barge into his room!" she yelled. Then, grabbing his cape, she dragged him to the window. "Get out!"

The tall warrior tried to pull his cape away, but found he couldn't. 'Damn, this lady's strong…'

With one, final push, Chichi yelled, "Out with you!"

"Alright, I'm going!" Piccolo yelled back. Just before he left, he glared at Gohan. "We need to talk later, kid. Meet me at my waterfall tomorrow."

As soon as he left, Chichi shut the window. "Good riddance," she huffed irritatingly. Turning to Gohan, she smiled. "I hope your head isn't hurting too much. I've got the medicine, so don't worry."

"Thanks, mom," Gohan said, smiling half-heartedly back. His mother opened the bottle of pills and placed a pill in his hand.

"Do you need some water?" she asked. When Gohan nodded, she put down the bottle. "Alright, wait here."

Chichi left and came back with a glass of water. She handed it to her son, who threw the pill in his mouth and greedily swallowed all of the water. Chichi laughed.

"Well, someone's thirsty!" she said. After double checking his forehead, she said, "Maybe you should get some rest."

"Yeah, that would be nice…" the hybrid mumbled. "But it's the morning; I just woke up, and—"

"Hush, sweetie," Chichi interrupted. "It's okay. Sometimes, our bodies are worked too hard, and much rest is needed to get them back in shape." She frowned in mock anger. "So get to bed, mister! Come on! Git!"

Gohan chuckled weakly and hopped into bed.

"Thanks, mom," he repeated, wrapping the blanket around him. "My head is feeling a bit better now."

"No problem. I'll be downstairs, okay? Call if you need anything."

"Okay."

Chichi left. Gohan lay down in bed, disturbed. His fight with Piccolo was still fresh in his mind. Not to mention the fact that Shadow wasn't leaving his mind anytime soon, either…

God, this was just so frustrating!

The hybrid tossed and turned in his bed, unable to rest. His mind was racing, trying to make sense of many things at once. It didn't seem like he would get any sleep soon. Besides, he didn't want to encounter him again. Speaking of which…

'What am I going to do about Shadow?' Gohan thought. 'I know I can do this by myself, but…what if I'm underestimating his power?'

I shall see you again soon, my dear Gohan.

'What did he mean by that?'

No, Gohan. We've waited too long. I want answers. Now.

'And what am I going to do about Piccolo?'

With many questions swimming around in his mind, Gohan closed his eyes and tried to sleep. He would find the answers. He was Chichi and Goku's son, information prodigy and fighting prodigy. He would do it.

Just…maybe after he rested up a bit.

Well? What do you think? A lot got revealed in this chapter, and I hope I clarified a lot of things for you guys. If you have any questions or feel confused about something, feel free to review. I'm usually blind to my own mistakes, so don't be scared to point them out. I hope you liked the chapter! Adieu, and see you next update!