Planet Exourus
A lonely space pod sped on along blackness of the North Quadrant with no particular destination.
Inside it lay a 11 year old boy, unconscious with a pained expression enveloping his features... Gohan.
'Dad' whimpered Gohan as he unconsciously shifted inside the assuming a comfortable position.
However Gohan's sleep was shortened as the pod entered a passing asteroid belt making it vibrate sharply.
Gohan awoke with a start as his hit the side of the pod. He looked around confused at his surrounding.
'Where am I? ... Is this the pod that Bulma was designing' thought Gohan as he familiarized himself with the controls trying to get a hang on his location.
'How did I get into outer Space when i was fighting Cell' thought Gohan as he recalled his battle.
His face lost its colour and tears formed at the corner of his eyes as he remembered Cell self destructing. He recalled the mental picture of the deep hole created by Cells blast.
He let the tears freely fall as he thought "Sorry dad, I failed you".
Darkness took over the boy as he drifted off to an uncomfortable sleep despite the violent shaking of the pod.
Gohan woke up a few hours later to a loud beeping sound that filled the pod.
He wiped the tear tracts off his face and faced then computer screen which seemed to be scheduling to land on a planet called Exorus in 2 minutes.
He fastened the seatbelt as the pod entered the planets atmosphere. The pod shook violently before landing in a deserted plain creating a huge crater.
Gohan jumped out of the pod and surveyed his surroundings. He just saw sandy bare ground for miles around him. There was some green vegetation far away near a huge mountain.
Extending his ki senses Gohan found a few weak ki's very far away from his location. He walked towards a huge rock nearby and sat on it comfortably as he contemplated his next course of action.
Tears welled in his eyes everytime he thought about failing his father and the rest of the Z-Gang.
An image of Bulma holding her newborn baby Trunks with Vegeta at her side wearing what was close to a smile flashed past in his mind.
'I will get them back ... but how?' thought Gohan as an idea popped up in his mind.
His mouth twisted into a hopeful smile as thought of a certain green planet called New Namek. The smile slipped away as soon as it came as he realized that the Namekian Dragon Balls could only bring back a single person.
Somewhere In Space
"Sire, we have captured the Elisian you wanted. We have also made him ready for the transfer" said a guard bowing low in front of his master.
"Very well, I will be there in an hour. Make sure to have everything ready" said a cold voice as the guard bowed before exiting the room.
"How much will power in increase after this one my lord" asked a voice as a sinister smile crept up on the face of Frost.
"By a hundred thousand" replied Frost.
"That's not very significant" commented the voice as Frost's smile faded into a scowl.
"That's true Nako, powerful fighters are rare to find these days. It's annoying. What new do you bring? You don't show up unless it's something important"
"It's about planet Earth my Lord" said Nako.
Frost's scowl went up a notch as she spat "What about that mudball?"
"I am here to inform you that Earth has been destroyed" said Nako as Frost's scowl turned into a happy smirk.
"How did you do it?" asked Frost eager to know how Nako had managed to exterminate the blasted Saiyan's who had finished off her family.
"I am sorry Sire, but it was not I who destroyed it. It seems to have vanished from its location, which means that it was destroyed." Said Nako awaiting Frost's answer.
"Any information on how it was destroyed" asked Frost as Nako nodded.
"It seems to have been due to the release of huge amount of energy. The ki residing in the planet shot up to huge numbers before it exploded, which means that it had to be a powerful attack released by someone on the planet since we have established that only the Cold's, which is only you have the ability to survive in outer space" finished Nako.
"That's true Nako, but from what you say it seems as though some moron sacrificed himself to blast the Saiyan's to oblivion" said Frost.
"That is the only case possible" said Nako.
"Fine its good riddance for me. Finally I have become the Strongest in the Universe" bragged Frost gleefully.
"That's true my Lord. With the next transfer you're about to make your power level should easily cross the ten million mark" said Nako.
"That's right Nako, this next transfer almost seems pointless to me with the Saiyan's gone though I do like the number. The powerful being next to me is you with your one million power level after which all power levels are well below a five hundred thousand" said Frost taking in her moment of pride.
"That's true my Lord, but … wouldn't your power have increased a lot had you battled the Saiyan's, at least for the honor of your family rather than …" Nako stopped as he saw the smile on Frost's face disappear only to be replaced with the look he knew all too well.
"I am not a fool like my brother's and father Nako" replied Frost icily.
"Frieza met his end because of his arrogance. He was able to pull my dad and Cooler into it because of their pride. They did not accept defeat when they were defeated. However I am not like them. I use my brains before rushing in out of sheer anger. I knew then that I could not defeat the Super Saiyan. I knew that I could rule the Universe without bothering him. My father could have left them alone after Frieza's defeat. But No... He went after them and got himself killed all because of his damn pride. I know that I cannot defeat so I left them out of my plans, but now with them gone I don't need to be cautious anymore" finished Frost voicing her thoughts to Nako.
Nako nodded and bowed before humbly excusing himself from the now strongest in the Universe.
With Gohan
'No he more … No more will I cry. I will not wallow in self-pity' thought Gohan wiping the tears off his face.
'What would dad do if he were in my shoes' thought Gohan as he suddenly felt a weak ki travelling in his direction.
Thinking quickly Gohan ran towards his pod, lifting it up with his bare hands, showing no signs of distress.
Carrying the pod over his head with both of his hands Gohan flew in the direction of some mountains, which were away from the ki's of the civilizations of the planet he had sensed before. Finding a mountain with a large enough cave, he placed his pod inside it before sealing the entrance with a large chunk of rock.
He marked the area near the cave with a small amount of his ki to identify it again before flying away from the spot.
He reached quite a distance from the cave, gradually increasing his ki for his stalker to detect him more easily.
Gohan reached a forest area and concentrated on lowering his ki, practically pushing it almost zero.
He waited, hiding amongst some trees to get the first view of his stalker.
After about ten minutes a man no a creature, covered in blue wearing an armor that looked similar to the one Vegeta wore when he came to earth with a green scouter on one of its eyes appeared. He also recognized the Cold emblem etched on the armor, he recalled seeing it on Frieza while in Namek
'Wait a minute, this thing doesn't look like a native of this planet' thought Gohan as he watched the creature check its scouter a couple of times before shaking its head and flying off to where it came from.
Deciding to investigate Gohan started sprinting after the creature making sure to keep his ki in check.
After half an hour he saw the creature enter a fort with the Cold emblem proudly displayed in a flag hoisted from the tallest building in the center of the fort, with Gohan perched in the branches of one of the many trees surrounding the fort.
He saw guards patrolling the high walls of the fort. If Gohan was doubtful of slavery it was confirmed when he saw the patrolling guards, each belonging to a separate race.
He observed a lot of human like beings being forced to work, a small bunch outside the fort with a few guards with guns watching them.
The natives whom Gohan assumed to be the humanoid creatures were all a slight tinge of pink more in color compared to the humans on Earth. They also had pointy ears with wild eyebrows. They also had relatively long necks.
'Maybe I was right … these people don't seem happy. Hmmm … I ought to infiltrate this place and find out more' thought Gohan as he saw the group of natives preparing to move inside the fort with logs of wood in their hands.
Using bare hands Gohan chopped of wood from some nearby branches balancing them in one hand. He saw a few pink flowers nearby and rubbed a few on his face. He regretted the action immediately as his face started to itch like hell.
Mustering up the determination, he slowly made his way towards the natives. He saw them entering the fort in three lines with their head hung low, while the guards chatted amongst themselves.
He joined a line and farthest away from the guards and hung his head low while chuckling internally at the stupidity of the guards.
Gohan entered the fort and was surprised to see a lot of what he could vaguely make out as mines. He saw a few advanced buildings with flashy lights farther away.
He absent mindedly started walking towards the buildings when a rough hand pulled him from behind. Gohan jerked back to see an old man whisper angrily to him "Kid, don't you know what happens if we go there. Now go on to your parents" shoving him towards what appeared to be a small slum along the walls of the fort.
Gohan nodded and walked along the road along the wall of the fort to find small cottages cramped together. He saw a lot of distressed women sitting outside the cottages wearing sorrowful looks while he saw children play on the outside.
He watched as the workers carrying wood walked into some of the many cottages receiving hugs from the females.
Using his ki senses Gohan sensed the barely detectable ki's of the planet's people. The very weak ki's of the natives extended till about 2 miles from the wall of the fort where he was situated.
On extending his ki senses further he sensed a few stronger ki's compared to the natives inside the taller buildings of the fort.
'Now what do I do' thought Gohan as he wandered into the maze of cottages.
He caught some natives staring at him. 'What are they looking at' thought Gohan when a rough hand grabbed him from behind.
He turned to come face to face with the Sharp edge of a spear. He gulped and looked at its holder to see one of the natives snarling at him with a few of his friends stood with spears of their own covering their friends back.
'I can't hurt this guy, and he possibly can't hurt me. He means no harm, but how do I get him to understand my intentions' thought Gohan contemplating his next move, when ….
"Abbot, let him go" yelled a voice and Gohan immediately felt the loosening of the native's grip on his collar.
"But elder, he's one of them" yelled the one now known as Abbot.
Gohan turned his attention towards an old man known as elder and was shocked to find his ki somewhat familiar. 'Wow ... his ki … it's almost like dad's ki … but no dad is dead ... Yet how is this possible' thought Gohan.
"No he is not. None of them have a pure heart" replied the elder before addressing Gohan "What is your name young one?"
"My names Gohan" replied Gohan still thinking about the old man's ki.
"Why have you come here? You should know that visitors aren't welcome here. The soldiers of the PTO will kill you if they find out" said the old man with a bit of concern.
"I ..uh … I …" stuttered Gohan as the elder smiled before saying "Where are my manners. My name is Vego and my people call me as the Elder".
Gohan nodded as Vego continued "Now, how about we find a nice place to talk?".
Gohan again nodded as he felt a hand on his back. Vego steered him through the maze of cottages and he arrived at a small house, which was much better than the rusty cottages.
Vego opened the door and allowed Gohan to step inside. Gohan sensed that the whole group of natives had gathered outside the Elder's house.
"Make yourself comfortable" said Vego pointing towards what closely resembled a couch.
Gohan sat down and watched as the Elder walked into what appeared to be a kitchen. He fidgeted in his seat nervously.
Five minutes later the Elder came out with two cups containing a yellow liquid. He placed a cup before Gohan and took a seat opposite to the demi-Saiyan sipping his cup.
"So, what brings you to planet Exorus my boy" asked the Elder.
"Ummm ... Actually my pod crash landed here, sir" said Gohan nervous ta the interrogation he was receiving.
"Are you the natives of this planet" blurted out Gohan suddenly before the Elder could say anything.
"Yes we are … But … as you may have noticed, our freedom was taken by force three years back. The soldiers of the PTO have taken over our planet and are currently extracting the mineral wealth out of it" said the Elder curling his hands.
"Oh .. But why don't you fight back" said Gohan and regretted it immediately after he realized how weak the natives.
The Elder smiled weakly before replying "We would if it weren't for those damn EM waves".
"Sorry ... I didn't quite understand that" said Gohan shooting the Elder a confused look.
"You see young Gohan, we the natives of planet Exorus are not physically strong and are one of the weakest in terms of brute strength. But … when it comes to psychic and mental control, I am proud to inform you that we are the strongest in the galaxy. You see our main potential lies in our psychic and mental capabilities. We can read minds and in some cases control them. We can fake our ki to be the highest and also make it go to zero. We can … There is a lot we Exorians can do... But the PTO knew about our abilities and used it to their advantage. Through scientific research and technology they managed to produce EM waves of a certain frequency that render our abilities useless. That is how they were able to easily defeat us without losing a single soldier of theirs" finished the Elder bitterly.
'Cowards' thought Gohan furiously. "Is there some way by which the EM waves can be turned off" asked Gohan wanting to help these people.
The Elder looked up at Gohan, his eyes full of hope before replying "Yes" with a heavy sigh.
"What's the catch?" asked Gohan almost reading the Elder's mind.
"None of us are remotely strong enough to fight the soldiers of the PTO let alone the Genral in charge of this planet" said the Elder heavily.
Gohan thought deeply for a few seconds, 'This is what my dad would do. I'll make you proud dad'.
He turned to the Elder and said "You can't … But I can" with a small smile indicating a Saiyan's lust for battle.
My second installment of 'A Twist of Fate', hope you liked it. I am expecting a good number of reviews. Please don't feel shy to point out any mistakes, which is assuming you are willing to spare my story a few minutes.
Until Next Time …