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Chapter 2

As Piccolo floated above the soft blue grass, he basked in the invigorating sensation of Gohan waking up. It had surprised him how drained he felt whenever his friend slept. More than once, he had had to sleep rather than meditate at night to cope with it. Enjoying the flood of energy, he waited silently for Gohan to join him.

Gohan dove into the cool green water in search of his breakfast. New Namek had very few land-based animals. Fortunately, the ocean teemed with life. Catching the fin of a large eel, he jetted towards the surface. After his meal, he rose up to meet Piccolo for their morning meditation.

'No sign of It yet this morning?' Gohan asked as he curled into the familiar midair pose, facing his Namekian counterpart. He felt rather than heard Piccolo's growl of annoyance.

In the past couple of weeks, whatever or whoever It was, had been watching them. The discontenting sensation they had experienced, after checking in with those they had left behind, had just been the first time. At least half a dozen times, their unwanted visitor had spied on them. Unfortunately, all of their efforts to find It had failed. There was no ki signature, no physical body to look upon. Only the feeling of someone breathing down their necks, judging their activities, and based on the sense of irritation being broadcasted, finding them to be lacking somehow.

'Come on kid, you've been staying to your base form lately; it's about time you got a real workout in.' Piccolo stretched out and cocked a brow ridge. His demand to spar rather than meditate was clear.

Gohan grinned, knowing that that was about as close as Piccolo could get to admitting he was tense and needed something to get his mind of It. Lowering himself to the ground, the half-breed began sliding through an intense kata. He had learned long ago that it was a good idea to be as loose and limber as possible whenever Piccolo was in this kind of mood. Tossing off his training weights, Piccolo joined him in the exercise. Every motion down to the last breath was a perfect mirror image of the other.

Completing the final movement, Gohan lowered into an offensive stance. 'Are you ready?'

Narrowing his eyes, Piccolo bared his fangs in challenge. His heart sped as the anticipation for a long, hard fight filled him. He had been delighted to realize that Gohan could ignore the demands of his Saiyan stomach if a spar was intense enough. If he had anything to say about it, they wouldn't stop until after sundown.

Gohan groaned inwardly. 'Seriously, you plan on starving me today?' At his friend's answering smirk, he scowled. He might be the stronger of the two, but Piccolo was the more cunning. Flinging a ki sphere around them, he charged.

xxxxxx

Cargo cheerfully strode through the village. He planned to visit Piccolo and Gohan today. After Goku had come and taken Dende to Earth, he had missed his brother desperately. Looking forward to hearing stories and catching up on Dende's new life, he stretched out his senses.

The teen frowned as he searched for the ki signatures of his old friends. He had struggled with ki control back on Earth when the Z-Warriors had tried to teach him. Cargo blushed as he realized he was unable to locate them. Turning around, he sought out the Elder's help.

Moori chuckled inwardly at the embarrassed youth before him. Perhaps this would encourage him to practice his skills. Sending his own senses outward, Moori searched for the missing warriors. Blushing faintly himself, as he too was unable to locate them. "Cargo, I don't believe you will be visiting today."

"Why not sir, can't you find them?"

"No, I cannot. Gohan warned me about this before he and Piccolo left the village. I do not know all of the details, but apparently, they are able to somehow block their energy from others." Seeing the confused look on Cargo's face, he continued. "That means if those two wish to be left alone, we will not be able to find them."

"Can I try again tomorrow Elder?" Cargo looked up hopefully before sagging as Moori shook his head.

"You will respect their wishes by leaving them be child. I am sure they will visit sometime, you can wait until then." Patting Cargo on the head, he gave him a little push toward his friends. Moori dismissed the elusive Earthlings from his mind as he returned his attention to his responsibilities.

xxxxxx

Gohan raised his arms to block just as Piccolo unleashed a vicious Demon Wave. Piccolo's attacks had been hard and heavy from the first moment. Gohan grimaced as blisters bubbled along his skin.

'Is that the best you have today kid?' Piccolo snarled in challenge, his fangs gleaming in the unnatural light of their auras.

'Fine, you want to ride this train, we'll ride. Just be prepared to pay your ticket!' Gohan sent back. Screaming he let his power take him, intending to jump directly to the second level. He caught a flash of surprise from Piccolo that was quickly overtaken by a dark excitement. Before Gohan could question the sensations, his counterpart cleared his mind and charged.

Had anyone been present to view their activities, they would have been hard-pressed to call the battle taking place a friendly spar. Both attacked the other fiercely, each intent on gaining the upper hand. Piccolo charged attack after attack. His relentless assault pushed Gohan farther back each time.

Gohan knocked a Special Beam Canon back at his sensei. He had been avoiding using blasts, instead relying on speed and strength. His own Saiyan battle lust combined with Piccolo's made him reluctant to overwhelm his opponent, ending his fun.

As shadows began to creep through the valley, the two warriors fell to the ground, panting in exhaustion. Their once pristine gis were a fond memory. The flesh exposed by the tattered remnants of cloth was burned, bleeding, and bruised.

Laying on his back, Gohan looked lazily at the emerging stars. As one winked out of view, Piccolo's satisfaction filled him.

'What made you do it?' Piccolo asked. At Gohan's confusion he continued. 'Transformation, what made you decide to use it instead of your Super Saiyan form?'

Gohan sat up as quickly as his injured body would allow. What did he mean instead? He had powered into his Ascended form for the spar. Hadn't he?

Piccolo cocked a brow ridge at his friend's swirling thoughts. Forming a mental image, he showed his younger companion exactly what he meant. In that moment when Gohan had powered up, he had not undergone the standard transformation. His hair had lost its color, morphing into mane of pure white. His onyx eyes had paled, leaving them an almost colorless blue. While yes, his power level had been on par with his Ascended form, his physical state had not been.

Truthfully, Piccolo had been thrilled at Gohan's choice. He had demanded a hard spar and the kid delivered. He had assumed that that was all there was to it.

'I didn't mean to do that Piccolo.' Gohan's eyes were wide with alarm. When you have the ability to take out a solar system without undue effort, absolute control is essential.

'Go to the first level kid.' Piccolo demanded, standing to face him.

Gohan nodded as he rose to feet. Very deliberately, he raised his power. Sliding up to that familiar level, he let it take him. The concern in Piccolo's eyes did nothing to reassure him. Reaching up, Gohan took a hold of a lock of hair and held it in front of his face; white. Letting go, he watched as it darkened to coal once more.

'That's disconcerting,' Gohan mused.

'Let's get cleaned up, you need to eat, and then…' Piccolo allowed the thought to trail off. They could work together to trace the pathways of the kid's energy, but as to whether or not there was anything to be done about remained to be seen.

Nodding, Gohan dropped the ki sphere surrounding them. Enjoying the refreshing breeze now playing across his abused skin, he walked with Piccolo to the water. After taking care of their physical needs, the two settled into their respective meditative poses.

'You know what? I miss having a fire.'

Piccolo chuckled at Gohan's wistful thought. The Namekian people had a special relationship with their planet. As on the original planet, they raised trees, attempting to cover their planet in lush vegetation. Out of respect for them, Gohan and Piccolo had not gathered any wood. Instead, they relied on their ki for light, warmth, and for Gohan to cook with.

As the stars danced overhead, Piccolo and Gohan focused inward. Traveling along the pathways of Gohan's ki, they came to rest at the massive well of power at his center. Since the battle with Mavoy, it seemed to have deepened, reaching new depths of raw energy.

'This seems different,' Gohan noted. When he had searched his own power out before, there had always been a sharp outline, delineating the different levels he had achieved. Now it was one endless pool.

Piccolo grunted low in agreement. 'It's a different color as well.' Always before, Gohan's energy had been a deep golden color. Now it shimmered in a violet so pale, it was practically white. 'Vegeta never mentioned anything like this did he?'

Piccolo and Gohan searched through his memories, nothing. Everything they knew about the Super Saiyan forms came purely from the legends and their own experience. Gohan growled irritably. They did not know much about the Saiyan people, often to their detriment.

'Shake it off kid. Tomorrow we'll run through this new form and test its limits.'

Clearing their minds, the two friends floated in soft night. Enjoying the other's presence and gaining peace from their meditation.

xxxxxxxxx

After leaving his master for the evening, the servant transported close to his charges once more. He noted with disgust that they were again just hanging in the air. He had concluded that that was all those two ever did.

He looked around the pristine valley. In his experience, true warriors did not leave the landscape this clean. When real training was involved, it left scars upon the ground. Added to that, they seemed to lack the basic instincts of a warrior. He had been watching them now for a couple weeks. Not once had they overtly reacted to his proximity. Huffing irritably, he settled in to observe them once more.

xxxxxxxxx

'It is back,' Piccolo growled deeply within his chest.

'I've had enough, how about you?' Feeling Piccolo's affirmative, Gohan quickly gathered his ki. Weaving it swiftly into a net, he flung it in all directions. For the first time, he was rewarded. 'There!'

The two phased in at the point of impact and knocked the intruder out of his hidden state. They had only the time to note the ruddy skin of the man before the world blurred out of existence.