Duo Halfbreeds

Chapter Nine: Unexpected Help

Gohan woke up in his cell, a confused look emerged on his face as he could only remember the gist of yesterday's events. He tried to recall more but failed to do so. He got up from his bed and walked outside his cell. He couldn't figure it out but the atmosphere was strange…

Gohan went outside to the yard, with having nothing to do in his own cell, he was thirsty and hungry but already knew there was a low chance of him ever getting anything. He could feel eyes stare at him down even the subtle ones and the ones that weren't looking, he could still sense the staring coming from them.

Gohan paced slowly forward, waiting for someone to come after him, more specifically Keylo's goons. To his surprise however, he was met by someone with a more friendly look, but Gohan was hesitant to this face, skeptic of him.

"Hello." The man said. He was an eight foot tall, white feathered, blueish grayish skinned owl, with a short blue beak on his face, and broad shoulders. He held out his hand to Gohan and gave a gentle smile. "My name is Priamus."

Gohan swallowed hard with a confused look expressed on his face. "A-Are you coming to give me my daily tasks?" He asked.

Priamus moved his hand away and shook his head. "No." He gave a short but hearty laugh. "I am not part of Keylo's goons. Trust me I'm a friend, come with me, I wanna show you something."

Gohan looked hesitant as Priamus started to walk away. Priamus stopped after a few steps and turned. "Are you coming?" He asked. Gohan was hesitant for a couple seconds more but then shook his head to snap himself into reality.

He followed Priamus to the other end of the yard, through the inner prison and going down a short corridor off to the left. This corridor had a large metal door at the end of it, Priamus walked towards it and opened it.

The door led outside but strangely not to the same yard as before. This yard was very different, as Gohan walked past the door, he saw dozens of other inmates, some were lifting weights, some were running what seemed to be some kind of obstacle, and others were sparring.

Among that all were various exercise equipments, wooden dummies, and other equipment. Gohan had a confused look on his face as he turned to Priamus.

"W-Where is this?" Gohan asked.

Priamus looked back at Gohan with a serious look on his face. "I want to ask you something, do you want to return home?" Gohan's face became more confused in response. "Well? Yes? No?"

Gohan nodded. "I do want to return home b-."

"Then if you want to survive here, return home, I'll train you." Priamus answered. "Teach you how to fight."

"T-Teach me..how to fight?" Gohan bit his lips, a look of uncertainty formed on his face. He wasn't sure if he could trust Priamus, he wasn't even sure if he was telling the truth, but to be able to go home? To get out of here? He wanted so badly to leave and see his father and mother again. He swallowed hard then nodded. "What do I do?"

Priamus walked forward with Gohan following him before stopping near one of the wooden dummies. "Fighting, real fighting, is based on principles. So to teach you how to fight, we're gonna keep things simple." He answered. "Throw a punch as hard as you can."

Gohan looked at the dummy then to Priamus who nodded and gestured to Gohan reassuringly. Gohan pulled his fist back and hurled it at the dummy's face. The dummy's upper portion spun and the wooden panels attached to it swung with it, hitting Gohan in the face and sending him flying.

Gohan nearly crashed in the wall forty feet behind, having slid across the ground the last few feet. When he went to stand up, Priamus gave his hand out, which stunned Gohan for a second. Gohan looked hesitant but pushed it off a second later and grabbed it.

"That hurt…" Gohan whined, rubbing his right cheek.

"That's your first two lessons. One, always keep your guard up." Priamus said as he walked up to the dummy and reseted it.

Gohan tilted his head. "What's the second?" He moved closer to the dummy when Priamus gestured him to.

"Never trust the words of others, search for their intent." Priamus explained. "When you throw a fist, never pull it back. Watch…" Priamus moved Gohan off to the side and took a stance in front of the Dummy. "Have both of your fists ready and leveled with your upper chest, when you're ready, do not hesitate to strike!"

Priamus hurled his fist against the dummy so powerfully, causing it to go the full fifty feet of the track it was connected to. Gohan stared with shock and awe, even having felt the powerful shock wave generated. Priamus pressed a red button on the floor, causing the dummy to reset itself and rush back to the front.

He moved off to the side. "Take a shot and this time keep your guard up."

Gohan swallowed hard and nodded, taking a stance. "L-Like this?" He asked. Priamus adjusted his right arm up, and his left leg an inch closer.

"Like that. Your stances should be firm and your attitude should be firm." Priamus answered. "Now try again."

Gohan nodded and hurled his fist against the dummy again. This time the lower portion of the dummy spun, kicking Gohan's legs and causing him to fall towards the side but before he could come to the ground, the center portion had spun and smacked him in the face, causing him to go the opposite direction.

Gohan flew a couple feet away and then slid for eight feet more. As Gohan stood up to his knees, he rubbed his face again, wincing in pain.

"That's another lesson, always watch your surroundings. Which is also part of keeping your guard up." Priamus said. He motioned for Gohan to come back over. "I want you to continue for the next hour, doing this."

Gohan looked confused. "What? Throwing a punch?"

Priamus shook his head. "No fighting the dummy." He answered. "You're gonna wanna do more than just throw punches and you'll instinctively react when fighting it after a good amount of practice."

Gohan sighed and frowned. "Okay." He said. Again, Gohan took another swing at the dummy and it spun quickly at the top, hitting Gohan on his right cheek and causing him to go back eight feet. Gohan sat up a couple seconds later, rubbing his face again. "That really hurts, how am I supposed to fight it if it's just gonna keep hitting me back."

"Well you'd get hit in a real fight wouldn't you?" Priamus asked. Gohan's eyes moved away as he thought for a second then nodded in response. "Then a little pain is surely worth the gain."

Gohan sighed and got back up. He took a stance then threw a fist at it again, the top part spun again, and this time Gohan attempted to dodge it. The top portion moved too fast and Gohan couldn't react fast enough, again he was sent back.

"Come on, again." Priamus said. "Just keep at it for an hour, alright?" Gohan sighed and nodded in response. "Good."

Every time Gohan swung a fist at the dummy, one of the three portions would spin, and one of the two wooden panels attached on each side of it would strike Gohan. The thing was strong enough to send Gohan each time anywhere from eight feet to twelve feet away.

Gohan would get back up and swing another fist, each time the swing got more and more painful. After about thirty minutes had passed and it looked as if he was getting frustrated. Gohan walked up to the dummy and kicked it frustratedly only for it to send him back.

Priamus walked up to Gohan from the bench, giving him a hand to help him up. "You seem frustrated."

"Yeah cause every time I throw a fist it goes too fast for me to do anything!" Gohan whined. "It's stupid!"

Priamus raised a brow. "You don't want to return home?"

Gohan moved his gaze up to Priamus, his head tilted. "I do..I didn't say I didn't."

"Then what are you complaining about?" Priamus replied. "Let me ask you a question, how badly do you want to leave here?"

Gohan gave a confused look. "How badly?" He said. "What kind of question is that? I want to return home."

Priamus repeated himself. "Then why are you complaining?" He asked. "If you really wanted to return home, you'd do everything in your power to make that happen! Remind yourself why you want to return home, got it?"

Gohan sighed and nodded, moving back to the dummy. He stared at it for a moment as he reflected on Priamus's words, his gaze lowered towards the bottom. "Remind myself…why I want to return home?" Gohan moved his gaze back to the top of the dummy and his demeanor remained impassive. "I want to return home cause…"

His fist started to clench as he thought about all the comforts of home, all of his memories with his family. He couldn't simply return home, he NEEDED to return home and he was going to make sure that happened. Gohan hurled his fist again, a bit more powerfully than before and the top spun, Gohan managed to duck and his face lit up.

"I d-.." Before Gohan could say anything, the lower portion spun causing him to fall to the side and the center portion smacked him in the face. Gohan spent another hour going up against the dummy, the result was somewhat of an improvement from before.

"Where are we going?" Gohan asked. The two left the training yard and moved back to the inner prison, turning left.

Priamus turned his head. "To meet a couple friends." He answered. They exited out of the most south-west entrance from the inner wall, walking around the corner, to where a few individuals were playing cards.

"Oh Priamus, where ya been?" One of them asked. He was short, red-skinned, had a small long arrow-pointed tip red tail, and a very pointy long nose. He resembled that of an imp in some way. He was quick to notice Gohan beside him. "What's with the kid?"

Another resembled that greatly of a Human or Saiyan. He had a punk rock look, dark teal hair with a ponytail and an earring on his right ear. He gave Priamus an annoyed glare, making obvious what he was thinking.

"I've been helping him out." Priamus said. "He needed some guidance, so I'm giving it to him." He looked down at the cards. "You guys playing five card?"

The imp nodded. "Yea, cept Daiz over here keeps cheatin!" He looked at the human-looking man.

Daiz rolled his eyes. "I'm not cheating, you just suck, Kukmop." He replied. He moved his gaze to Priamus. "And what do you mean by lending him some guidance? Explain yourself, you're not thinking what I'm thinking you're doing."

Priamus shook his head, and gave a signaling nod. "I'm not doing anything more than helping him out." He explained. "I came because I was hoping, perhaps either of you would like to give him pointers?"

Daiz looked at Gohan then laughed. "Let's be real, the kid's a goner." He said, bluntly. "No amount of training will allow him to survive."

Gohan's mouth hung open. "W-What?! A g-goner?!"

"Come on, Daiz, you saw what he did yesterday and the past two other days." Priamus pointed out. "He's got some serious potential."

Daiz moved his gaze to Priamus then back to Gohan and sighed. "Seriously?" He rolled his eyes. "Fine, what do you want me to do?"

There was an annoyed look formed on Daiz's face, his left hand up against his face and his left elbow placed on his right hand as he shook his head with embarrassment. "How did I get roped into this?" He sighed heavily. "You get one hour to beat the obstacle course."

Gohan tilted his head. "What if I can't?"

Daiz smirked wickedly. "Well..you better hope to not find out." He answered. Gohan swallowed hard as he looked at the obstacle course itself. It looked basic at first but quickly got complicated with thin balance rods, taller walls and what seemed to be pseudo-traps. "I'll be back in a bit to check on you."

Gohan looked confused. "You're not gonna stay here?"

Daiz raised a brow. "Stay here? And watch you? I'm not your babysitter." He replied. "Now get started, count is already ticking."

Gohan froze for a split second. "W-What? Ticking?! I haven't even st-"

"Tick tock!" Daiz shouted as he walked away.

Gohan hurried to the start of the course, where he had to run a hundred and fifty yards across sand, reaching the end in about ten minutes. The next part of the course was these wooden poles, which were leveled differently with each one and made a path to a tall wall.

Below the wooden poles was a floor of mud. Gohan grimaced at the mud, the thought of getting dirty grossed him out. With only having so much time left, Gohan hopped on the first pole, only to narrowly grab it by the ledge and fall into the mud.

He stood up a second later and felt disgusted. "Aw man…now I got mud all over me." A look of revolt formed on his face. He moved out of the mud to try again before he could, someone called his name out. Gohan turned to the direction of the voice, he noticed a bull-like stranger and he had the most confused look on his face.

"You." The man repeated.

Gohan swallowed hard. "M-Me?"

The man got closer to Gohan. "You have some chores to do." He answered. Gohan's face looked further confused. He didn't recognize the guy and the only people that made him do stuff around the prison was Khang, Keylo, and their goons. "That outburst of yours yesterday needs to be punished, so I need you to clean every stall of the lower east wing. Spotless. That means the toilets too."

"T-Toliets.." Gohan gulped. "How am I supposed to clean all that, I don't even know which part is the east one."

Taurus rolled his eyes. "Follow me, I'll lead you to the east wing, after that you are on your own." He answered.

The hall of the east part of the inner prison was completely empty, the cell doors were wide open, and quite a few of the cells were absurdly disgusting.

"I want every single one of these cells, spotless." Taurus said. "The sheets and pillowcases can be taken down to the laundry hall, which is near the main building. I want it done in two hours."

Gohan gulped and nodded in response. Taurus quickly left afterwards, and Gohan walked into one of the cells, wondering to himself how he was gonna clean it without tools. "Maybe I could at least take the sheets and pillowcases away to start at least."

Gohan quickly started to collect as many sheets and pillowcases from the cells as he could. After taking several, it started to not only get heavy but the smells collected together, creating one revolting massive smell.

He struggled to bring them outside of the inner prison but kept determined to take them to get cleaned. He walked towards the main building, and looked around til he found what he thought might be the laundry hall.

There was a narrow building off to the left of the main building, Gohan reached for the door handle, nearly dropping the stacked sheets and pillow cases he held. He let out a sigh of relief once he got a stable balance then walked inside.

When he walked inside there were several cloth-lines and small tubs. Some were unused and empty, others were full but with no one around, then there were a few here and there that were nearby. Some of those who were here gave stares at Gohan, others minded their own business.

As Gohan continued to walk down the hall, one of them quickly put his foot over, tripping Gohan and making him drop all of the sheets and pillowcases from his hand. All of the other inmates laughed at Gohan.

Gohan got up and dusted himself off, ignoring them as he frowned. He continued till he saw what seemed to be a completely unoccupied wash rack and tub. He noticed a faucet right by the wall and pushed the tub a little closer to fill it.

The water took a few seconds to come through once he turned the handle and after it was full, Gohan turned it off. He dumped all of the pillowcases and sheets into the tub, getting them to soak in all of the water.

"If only I had some soap.." He scratched the top of his head. Gohan decided to go look for some but when he turned to the right, he noticed some by his feet, a more confused look on him formed. "Where did this come from?" His head tilted in confusion for a moment before he brushed it off. "Oh well!"

Gohan dumped a cap full of the soap in the water and mixed the sheets and pillowcases in the soapy water really hard. "It smells pretty bad, I'll let these soak and come back with the rest." He got up and moved out of the building, heading back to the inner prison.

Once he made it back, he collected the rest of the sheets and cases, then took them to the laundry hall, putting it with the rest in the tub. One by one, Gohan would take the sheet or pillowcase on the washboard, scrubbing any stain he could off.

For the next hour, he would scrub, toss it back in the soapy water, drain excess and scrub it off some more. Once he was done, he drained all of the water out of the tub and into the nearby drain. He rinsed the tub out and filled it back with fresh water to rinse the sheets and pillowcases best he could before attaching it to a clothes-line.

Something quickly dawned on Gohan. "Wait…am I the only one without pillowcases and sheets?" He muttered. "Maybe they earned it or something?" He shrugged and brushed it off for now, continuing to finish his task.

Once all of it was drying, Gohan ran back to the cells quickly realizing he only had an hour left. He looked at all of the cells and sighed, wondering how he was going to clean it up. He noticed something strange in one of the cells, near the toilet was a brush, a sponge, and some cleaners.

Gohan looked confused. "I know for a fact there was nothing here before…so..where did this come from?" Gohan blinked a couple of times. He scratched the side of his head and shrugged again. He quickly got to cleaning the cells, wiping down the sinks, and scrubbing the toilets.

Each one was more disgusting than the last and Gohan was ready to just quit. However, he didn't, he knew if he did, he'd have to do more chores. So Gohan toughed it out and powered through, cleaning it as quickly as he could.

Within forty minutes, he managed to clean every cell of the east side of the inner prison. He quickly ran back to the laundry hall, grabbing and folding all of the sheets and pillowcases. With the remaining time he put all of the sheets and pillowcases back to each cell.

Taurus came back the second it had been two hours, checking each cell and assuring they were clean. "Alright…I admit I'm pretty impressed." He said. "It's actually spotless." Gohan's face lit up in response. "Still, I need you for another task." As quickly as it had gone up, it went down and turned into a frown. "I need you to sweep the outside of the top level."

Gohan nodded in response and quickly headed outside, going up the nearby flight of stairs. He started from one end and pushed the dust and dirt off the edge. It took him a couple of hours to finish and once he was done, he was expecting Taurus to come by but he was nowhere to be found.

Gohan noticed it was beginning to get late and decided to return to the training yard. He was hoping that he would see Priamus and Daiz there, however, instead he bumped into a certain someone.

"Well." He cracked his knuckles. "If it isn't the brat." It was Keylo, with Van and Boulger behind him. "I still haven't had the chance to pay you back after what you did to me!" An angry smirk formed on Keylo's face.

Gohan swallowed hard. "P-Please, I-I didn't mean to, I-I'm sorry!"

Keylo scoffed, his smirk looking angrier as he took a step forward. "I don't give two shits about what you think, you little brat!" He snarled. "I'm gonna put you in your place today." He hurled his fist, aimed at Gohan.

Gohan flinched, embracing for the impact, gulping fearfully, to his surprise however, it never came. Priamus had appeared in front of Gohan, and caught Keylo's hand. An unamused angry look formed on his face, as he stared at Keylo.

"I recall telling your boss that the kid is under my care." Priamus growled.

Keylo's smirk turned into a raged frown. "You know the rules! You mess with one of us! You mess with all of us!" He snarled. "The brat being under your care is irrelevant! And you know that, Priamus! You don't mess with the hierarchy!"

"Might I remind you that your boss still owes me?" Priamus replied. "Or are we gonna have some trouble?"

Keylo sighed angrily. "Whatever. I'll let it slide this time but next time I won't hesitate to crush the both of you!" He turned and walked away, rolling his eyes with Van and Boulgar following behind him.

"T-Thank you." Gohan stuttered.

"You really shouldn't let people walk over you like that." Priamus replied. The two walked further inside the training yard.

Gohan gulped. "S-Sorry." He frowned.

Priamus shook his head. "You have nothing to be sorry for, kid." He said. "Stand your ground and fight back. Don't let someone like that bully you around, got it?" Gohan nodded in response. "Good. You need to return to training for another hour."

The two walked further into the training yard. "I want you to run the course and see how far you can make it in ten minutes, okay?" Priamus asked. Gohan nodded and walked up to the start of the course, once Priamus gave a signal, Gohan ran the track.

The sandy ground made it difficult for Gohan to run at his fastest speed, even though he managed a hundred and fifty yards in ten minutes last time, this time it was much more difficult from low energy levels.

It took him about eight extra minutes to make it to the end of the track before reaching the pole. At that point, Priamus stopped Gohan.

"You're way too slow, if you want any chance of survival, you're gonna need to be far faster." Priamus pointed out.

Gohan tilted his head in confusion. "I ran as fast as I could though."

"Then I guess we got a long week ahead." Priamus replied. "If you want to be able to win your next fight, you will have to be able to complete this entire course in a matter of seconds!"

Gohan's mouth hung open. "S-Seconds?! I can't do that! That's impossible!"

Priamus laughed. "Impossible? Nothing is impossible, kid. Before your week is over, you'll be an entirely new person!" He answered. "Got it?"

Gohan bit his lips in hesitation. "Y-Yes." He stuttered.

Priamus shook his head. "No, I wanna hear some enthusiasm! Don't be afraid to shout! So when I say got it, I wanna hear it!"

Gohan swallowed hard. "Yes! Sir!"

"Better. Now go and rest for the night." Priamus said. "In the morning, we'll start." Gohan nodded in response and headed towards his cell.

Step..Step..Step, a splash of water in a completely pitch black room could be heard echoing. Quickly a torch had been lit, revealing Priamus in a strange area. Priamus continued to walk straight for several minutes more before reaching another room.

This room was brightly lit by several torches around the wall, there were some old chairs and a cracked table. At the table were Kukmop and Daiz, who seemed to have annoyed looks on their faces. Priamus raised a brow, giving a second of thought as to why they had the looks on their faces.

"What?" Priamus asked.

Daiz tapped the table with his fingers, his eyes moving over to Kukmop who looked at Priamus. "The kid.." He answered.

Priamus crossed his arms. "What about him?" His look became more confused.

"Thing is Priamus… We already know what you're thinkin." Kukmop replied. "And we don't want any part of it. The plan will never work."

Priamus sat down. "What does that have to do with the kid? The plan will work…"

Daiz leaned forward. "Don't play dumb, Priamus." He growled. "The only reason none of our plans have worked before was because accessing the security systems led to a…small problem."

"So because I'm training the kid, you think I'm going to use him for our plan?" Priamus answered. The two nodded in response. "Nonsense! That is irrelevant, I didn't even think about that! I took the kid in because I felt sorry for him!"

"Maybe..but it was only a matter of time before you brought him into our plan anyways." Daiz pointed out. He leaned back. "And if I recall correctly, we only have room for the three of us. That's why we couldn't bring Taurus into it, remember?"

Priamus sighed. "Yes I'm aware of our predicament, Daiz." He said. "But I swear I had no intention of bringing him into the plan."

Kukmop rolled his eyes. "Then why bother training him? Why bother promising him a way to return home."

Priamus's eyes went elsewhere. "Well, you've seen that kid. That power…that potential, is unlike anything I've ever seen. And if anyone can get out of here the proper way, it's him." He moved his eyes back. "He could go beyond this sector.."

"And end up in the Frieza Force!" Daiz snarled. "Did you forget that?" He stood up from his chair. "You realize that is far worse than just leaving him? You could've left him alone, never spoke like everyone else, let him die, and instead you give him the doors to something worse?!"

Priamus formed an angry smirk. "I did what I thought was right! Besides! It's better than the alternatives! A slave with no freedoms or a slave of partial freedoms, you tell me which is better!"

Daiz scoffed. "A slave is still a slave even if you put all the money in the galaxy on it!" He pushed his seat out of the way and disappeared from the room, leaving behind a small cloud of dust. Priamus planted his face into his hands, sighing.

"Sorry, Priamus. I have to agree with Daiz here." Kukmop shrugged and got up from his seat, leaving the room.

To be continued…

A/N: Yes I forgot to upload yesterday, sorry I've been busy. Hopefully it won't happen again. Casting Call links are on my profile!