Inner Workings of My Mind
Chapter 4
Gohan flew through the air in his Super Saiyan transformation, his golden tail wrapped tightly around his waist.
"Gohan! Get back here! We are removing that tail!" Piccolo came in after him, right on his tail... literally.
The young Saiyan hybrid streaked through the sky and over the city. Piccolo, however, kept up with him; after all, the Namekian warrior wasn't a weakling.
Gohan continued powering up and suddenly whipped around, teal eyes flashing, and slammed a knee into the Namekian's gut, catching him off guard. Piccolo doubled over while heaving for breath, but still hovered in the air.
"I don't want my tail removed, Piccolo, I like my tail! It helps me feel more balanced," Gohan tried to explain.
The boy slipped into a defensive position. He had no desire to have his tail removed. With it, Gohan felt right... whole. The hybrid understood why Saiyans prided their tails so much.
"It is too dangerous, kid. We only wished back the moon because none of the Saiyans had a tail; we can't run that risk."
Gohan shook his head and his tail unwrapped from his waist. He smoothed out its bristled fur in an attempt to calm himself.
"I'll be careful. I'll never go outside on a full moon," Gohan reasoned.
"Gohan, that's not-" Piccolo stopped as he sensed a rapidly approaching power level.
Vegeta.
Gohan groaned aloud. Great! Now Vegeta was going to get involved and who knew what side he would choose?
The Prince of Saiyans rapidly approached, hair golden and a scowl on his face.
"What are you two doing chasing each other all over the city? You're disrupting my training!" he growled.
Piccolo glared at the Saiyan Prince and gestured at Gohan. "The kid's tail grew back," the Namekian said.
"And he wants to cut it off!" Gohan exclaimed.
Vegeta looked at Gohan with an assessing gaze. The Prince focused on the golden tail that Gohan had swaying in the air behind him. At the Prince's look Gohan wrapped his tail tightly around his leg and glared; the hybrid wasn't going to let anyone cut his tail off.
"Leave it alone, Namek," Vegeta decided. "Let him have his tail."
"Yeah!" Gohan cheered. If Vegeta was on his side, there was no way Piccolo would get his way.
Piccolo frowned. He had expected Vegeta to see reason. "What if he transforms?" the Namekian asked. "He can't control his Oozaru form."
Vegeta smirked. "I guess he'll just have to learn how to control it then. Won't he? We can't have the brat destroying the planet."
Gohan blinked in surprise. "Hold on, Vegeta. That's too dangerous to be messing around with."
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "It is better to be prepared, brat. And, we can go off the planet to train. There are plenty of deserted planets that have moons."
Gohan raised an eyebrow. "We?"
Vegeta look disgruntled. "Yes. Unfortunately, I am the only one who can train you and has any hope of controlling you if you go on a rampage."
Gohan's shoulders hung. "Good luck convincing my mom to let me go off into space again. Namek was a total disaster."
"My baby is not going off into space!" a eight month pregnant Chichi exclaimed as she brandished her frying pan, waddling forward menacingly.
Bulma moved to hide behind Vegeta. "But Chichi," she reasoned, "you don't want him to destroy the planet while he is training, do you? Plus, it will only be for a couple of weeks."
Gohan hovered off to the side, an apprehensive expression on his face.
Chichi gestured at him. "Just remove his tail and be done with it!"
Vegeta stepped forward. "He is not getting his tail removed, damn woman! He is a Saiyan and if he wants to keep it, then he keeps it!"
"Don't you dare tell me how to raise my son! If I-"
"Mom," Gohan interrupted, all apprehension and indecision gone from his face. "I'm not removing my tail."
Vegeta grunted in assent. "That settles it."
"Entering the atmosphere of Planet 62N in five minutes. Prepare for landing in seven minutes."
Gohan and Vegeta both strapped themselves in as the ship approached the surface of the globe. Planet 62N was a planet that Frieza had purged over 10 years ago and the space tyrant had not sold it. It was absolutely deserted and was devoid of all life.
As Gohan stepped out of the ship he saw the crumbling ruins of a city far off in the distance. The boy glanced over at Vegeta to see his reaction and saw that the Saiyan Prince had an impassive expression on his face.
"So, Vegeta, what first?" Gohan asked.
Vegeta scanned the area as he answered Gohan. "First, we spar to tire you out. We will spend a majority of the day sparring and meditating. Then we wait for the full moon where you will transform and attempt to find yourself," the Saiyan replied.
"This planet is very unique in the fact that a full moon occurs every three days. The first one is tomorrow night.
"When a Saiyan transforms, they lose a part of themselves in the process and their instincts take over. Saiyans are naturally destructive, even more so when in our Oozaru forms. You need to gain enough control to not lose your mind when you transform. This will require you to be able to override your Saiyan instincts while transformed." The warrior's eyes narrowed to slits as his gaze fell on Gohan.
"Many Saiyans, even adults, were unable to do this and could not control themselves. That is the difference between an Elite and a third class like your father. Because you are so young, it will be especially difficult for you. Additionally, gaining control over your Oozaru form will give out a boost in your ki and your control over it."
Gohan frowned. It seemed like it would take a lot of effort. "Alright, Vegeta. Let's spar." Gohan slid into his beginning stance.
Vegeta smirked as he powered up.
Gohan flopped down on his bed in the ship, his hair still wet from his shower. He had to admit that Vegeta was a lot stronger than Piccolo and a lot more cruel in a fight, judging from the bruises and bumps that now decorated his form.
Vegeta entered his room. "Get up, brat, we aren't done yet."
Gohan lifted his head to see the scowling prince. "What more is there to do? You said we meditate in the mornings and the full moon isn't until tomorrow."
Vegeta grunted. "Your mother is always bragging about how much of a bookworm you are. It's time to hit the books."
Gohan sat up in surprise. "You have homework for me to do?" the hybrid asked incredulously.
Vegeta snorted. "Unlike that crap your mother gives you, the stuff you will be learning is actually useful." The Saiyan Prince then turned around and walked out the door, gesturing for Gohan to follow.
Gohan stood up from his bed reluctantly and followed Vegeta to the main room of the ship. On the table he noticed a notebook and a stack of papers. Gohan walked over to the paper and inspected the pages with curiosity. They were covered in a foreign and elegant writing.
"Sit, " Vegeta commanded. Not wanting to piss him off, Gohan quickly complied.
"Earth is one of the many planet in the universe that speaks Galactic Standard Language. There is a reason that we could understand all of the other races when we came across them. There are there are three main languages throughout the universe: Standard, Saiyan, and Cold." The black-haired man explained, using his fingers to keep count.
"While Standard is spoken on Earth, a very different writing system is used. However, these papers show the written language for Standard. You are to learn to read and write in Standard. The alphabet is very phonetically based, so you should be able to learn it very quickly."
Gohan flipped through the papers, paying close attention. He noticed that the pronunciation of each symbol was written out in neat writing.
"This will probably take me a day or two to learn. What's after that?" Gohan asked.
Vegeta gave a small grin.
"It's about time that you learn something about your heritage. Next, is the Saiyan language."