A/N: Ok, so just for reference even if I don't do this every chapter, I would like to establish some power levels:
Vegeta base: 2.1 Million, Super Saiyan: 100.5 Million, Enraged SS: 200 Million
Gohan base: 1 Million, Super Saiyan: 50 Million, Enraged SS: 115 Million
Androids: 375 Million
Vegeta's eyes roamed over the endless wasteland that was the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, the endless white with the increased gravity pressing down on them. Gohan stood behind him, his black eyes taking in everything just as he was. The young halfling had become as driven as himself, demanding strength to come to him. Vegeta knew what it was like to live in a world where people were just so much stronger than you. To have that person who was so much stronger than you kill your mother and let you live because you weren't worth killing, because they were simply that much stronger.
Vegeta turned around and slowly powered up, his white aura crackling with gold before he transformed into a Super Saiyan and Gohan nodded before powering up to his max, turning into a Super Saiyan as well. He was still weaker than Vegeta by a sizable amount, but he looked to be creeping up.
Vegeta blurred out of view, before slamming his fist into Gohan's stomach, causing the boy to spit up saliva and bend over, his hands grasping at his stomach. Vegeta followed up by spinning around and kicking Gohan in the face, sending him sliding across the ground. Phasing above the brat. Vegeta blasted a small ki blast down at Gohan, who casually ripped through it as he launched himself at Vegeta.
Vegeta hissed as a fist grazed his cheek, before his knee swung and crashed into Gohan's block. Gohan used his smaller form to slip around Vegeta's leg, his knee finding its way into Vegeta's stomach, before he used an overhead two hand axe hammer hit to send Vegeta crashing to the ground.
Smirking, Vegeta powered up even more as he blitzed Gohan, his hand backhanding Gohan, sending him stumbling backwards. Then a knee to the chest caused the boy to wheeze, before another backhand to the back of Gohan's head sent him crashing to the ground.
His feet crashed down on Gohan's back and the boy collapsed, his lack of power was preventing him from giving Vegeta or the Androids a real challenge. Vegeta could feel the ache in his bones as he remembered the beating that he took on that the hands of them. He knew that he was still trailing them even at this point, he needed to get stronger as well.
His eyes travelled back to the young halfling and he thought about leaving him on the ground knocked out, but thought better of it as he reached down and grabbed the back of the kid's gi and left him on one of the beds in the main chamber room, before he turned around and flew out into the vast void of the hyperbolic time chamber, seeking a more fitting place to train.
3 Months Later:
Being this deep into the chamber had led them to finding an area filled with intense heat and gravity made every breath heavy, every movement laborious. Vegeta stood, his golden aura crackling around him as he faced Gohan, who had just transformed into a Super Saiyan as well. Their eyes locked, the air between them thick with tension.
"You're holding back, boy. Do you think I can't see it? If you think you can take me down by being cautious, you're dead wrong!"
Vegeta's voice was sharp, dripping with disdain. He flexed his muscles, power surging through him as his aura flared even brighter.
Gohan took a deep breathe, despite the battle ahead, his heart was conflicted. He didn't want to hurt Vegeta, but he knew the Saiyan prince would not relent.
"You're just like your father, weak minded and weak spirited. But I'm not Kakarot. I'll make you fight me!" snarled Vegeta as he sensed the hesitation from Gohan. With that, Vegeta launched himself at Gohan with lightning speed, the ground beneath him cracking from the force of his takeoff.
Gohan barely had time to react as Vegeta's fist collided with his forearm, the impact sending shockwaves through the chamber. The two exchanged blows at a blinding pace, each strike creating sonic booms that reverberated through the endless white expanse. Vegeta pressed the attack, his movements precise and brutal, while Gohan countered with grace and power, holding his ground.
"What's the matter, Gohan? Where's all that hidden power of yours? Show me!" Vegeta's voice was a growl as he drove his knee into Gohan's gut, sending him skidding across the ground. Gohan quickly recovered, wiping a trickle of blood from his lip.
Gohan grit his teeth, "You want to see my power? Fine!"
With a shout, Gohan's aura exploded around him, his power surging as he pushed himself to his max. The temperature in the chamber seemed to rise even further as Gohan's energy radiated outwards. His power skyrocketed through his previous high and was rapidly approaching Vegeta's
Vegeta's eyes widened slightly, but he quickly masked his surprise with a grin as he was still not at his max. "That's more like it!"
He charged again, this time meeting Gohan's power head-on. Their fists collided with such force that the ground beneath them shattered, chunks of white tiles flying into the air. Gohan pushed through his guard and hit him in the face, but Vegeta recovered quickly and grabbed the extended limb.
Using his grip as leverage, Vegeta slammed his fist into Gohan's face repeatedly, before finishing the brutal assault with a powerful knee to the stomach. Gohan backed up before he tried to restart his attack on Vegeta. But Vegeta weaved in and out of the punches, noting that the assault was growing more and more wild with each mounting miss.
Finally, Gohan overextended himself to the point that Vegeta had no choice but to punish the young boy. His knee slammed into Gohan's chin, before he spun around and landed a hammer like kick into the boy's back. Gohan shot down to the ground, but he was still a Super Saiyan, and he landed on his feet before he cupped his hands together.
Vegeta smirked as he felt the boys power shoot up, before he extended his hand and he poured an equal amount of power into his attack, making sure to match Gohan's power.
"KA ME HA ME HA!" chanted Gohan
"BIG BANG ATTACK!" countered Vegeta
The two attacks slammed into each other and both of them felt the Ki based attacks refuse to budge, Gohan tried to pour more power into his attack, but Vegeta made sure to keep up with the energy before he huffed and powered up more and overwhelmed the boy.
Gohan's form was overtaken by the attack, but Vegeta was never worried as the Kamehameha wave had taken most of the power out of his attack. Still had the boy covered in gashes and panting on the grown, the once golden form of Super Saiyan no longer around him.
Gohan powered up, but Vegeta noted that he was not able to transform again, his eyes narrowing as the boy rushed at him. Dodging, Vegeta simply gave him a powerful chop to the back of the neck, knocking him out.
Catching him before he could hit the ground, Vegeta couldn't help but feel a burst of pride in the young boy. He had come so far in the last couple of months, the young boy had never once complained about the daily beatings, never once complained about the brutal schedule that they kept.
"Let's take a day off brat" said Vegeta to the unconscious boy as he flew back to the entrance, depositing the boy on a bed.
6 Months since entering:
The pair of Saiyans sat beside each other, Vegeta and Gohan both powered down, but trying to remain in their Super Saiyan form. After months of fighting each other daily, Gohan had been the first to notice that their stamina in the form was not getting better. Vegeta felt that the boy might have been onto something, but he wasn't sure of it himself.
He had powered up and didn't try to fight the boy, instead just remaining fully powered up and found that after a couple of minutes, he was drained as if he had just finished an intense sparring match. Thus, the two of them had decided that they could take a break from sparring and instead master the form, it was the best way to preserve the power.
Vegeta opened his eyes and glanced at Gohan, the now 10 year old Saiyan, had his eyes closed and was mediating as if it was second nature. Probably due to the fact that the Namek was known for the practice back when he was alive, he must have passed the skill along to the boy when he trained him back in the day.
"Vegeta, I have a question" said Gohan
Vegeta thought about shooting down the question, but anything was better than sitting there trying to mediate, "Go on boy, ask away"
"I am just a bit curious about the Saiyan pride that you're always talking about, what is it?" asked Gohan
"It reflects the strong sense of self-respect, honor, and warrior ethos that Saiyans, hold dear" started Vegeta. " The Saiyans are a warrior race, and our pride is deeply rooted in our combat abilities and history as powerful fighters. We have always taken immense pride in our strength, battle skills, and ability to overcome any challenge through sheer willpower and effort. Fighting is not just a necessity for survival for Saiyans; it's a way of life. The thrill of battle and the pursuit of becoming stronger are central to our identity"
"My dad liked fighting as much as he liked anything else" commented Gohan
"Kakarot, while raised here on Earth, was as much a Saiyan as I am" admitted Vegeta, "Now that he's gone, it feels weird that I will never get to fight him again"
"I wanted to be just like him" said Gohan, his voice growing softer and there was a hint of vulnerability in his voice, "But now that it's just you and I, I don't know if I want to spend the rest of my life seeking out the next battle, the next big fight"
Vegeta mulled over the boy's admission, and he reflected on him own thoughts of their current situation, "You have the right idea brat"
Gohan's head snapped up, his spiked up hair swaying with the motion, "Really?"
"Yes" confirmed Vegeta, "The Saiyans while having all that pride, all that strength, the reputation of being a warrior race, it didn't stop them from getting destroyed. If they had the foresight to simply enjoy what they had, they might still be around. Frieza destroyed our planet because we were always chasing something, chasing strength, chasing battles"
"Then why bask in the Saiyan Pride?" asked Gohan
Vegeta closed his eyes as he felt his power spike momentarily as he grew conflicted by the question, because as much as he wanted to give the cliché answer, the younger Saiyan deserved the truth.
"Because I am all that is left of Planet Vegeta" admitted Vegeta, "I am the Prince of all Saiyans and right now, it's just you and me brat. It's a way to remember that there actually was a Saiyan race once upon a time. There was something worth having pride in, even if it's gone now"
The answer hung in the air, neither of them speaking after that answer and Gohan allowed the answer to soak into his brain, thinking about the answer. After several minutes, he smiled and spoke.
"I think we should create our own Saiyan pride then, fighting for the peace of our world, training until we can barely walk, then resting and enjoying life like there is no tomorrow. Do every aspect of life to the fullest, not just fighting" said Gohan
" That sounds rather interesting, 'Living life to the fullest' huh" said Vegeta, "I kind of like the sound of that"
"What is the first thing you're going to do once we defeat the Androids?" asked Gohan
"I want to try this thing called 'ice cream' that Bulma is always going on about missing" replied Vegeta as a confident smirk appeared on his face
Gohan let out a chuckle
"And you?" asked Vegeta
That question was expected yet it still caused Gohan to pause, because it was a great question. What would he do once they won? He had no home to return to, his mother was gone. His father was gone, Piccolo was gone. He had still felt Master Roster before he came into the chamber, but as far as he knew, he could be dead.
He had no one, he was all alone.
"I don't know" admitted Gohan, "Everyone is gone"
Vegeta's smirk disappeared and he looked quite soured, "Then you will come live with the woman and I. I will hear nothing but you accepting my offer"
Gohan nodded
In OtherWorld:
Goku was panting on the ground, a trio of Krillin, Tien, and Piccolo all around him, panting even hard than him. They had done their best to beat him, but they found that it was harder than believed to beat him in a fight, even three on one.
"You're something else Goku" said Tien
"Thanks, you guys gave me quite the work out" admitted Goku, "I'll have to increase my training"
King Kai watched them from window of his house, shaking his head, "When are you guys going to get off my planet?"
"But King Kai, how are we going to come back to life? Piccolo is dead, we don't have dragon balls" replied Goku
"You already served that problem before" countered King Kai, "New Namek has dragon balls that are more powerful than Earth's"
Piccolo grit his teeth, he knew that his other half had tried his best when he had made the dragon balls, but them being split had made him weaker and unable to create dragon balls like the ones on Namek and now New Namek.
"You're right King Kai" exclaimed Goku, "But how are we going to get there? We're all dead"
Krillin nodded, "Actually that's a good point, we're dead. How could we make a wish?"
King Kai sighed at the question, "I can telepathically communicate with the Namekians, just like I did originally when Goku and you guys were on Namek"
"Huh, why didn't we think of this sooner" thought aloud Piccolo
King Kai resisted the urge to mention the groups lack of common sense in a lot of their situations, but kept his mouth closed.
"I have no idea, but I guess the question would be who get's to go back" noted King Kai
Krillin, Tien, Piccolo, and Goku all looked around at each other, that was something that they hadn't even thought of. Again, they hadn't thought of using the dragon balls on New Namek to begin with, so they were completely caught off guard.
"There is three wishes, you know that one of you will have to stay" continued King Kai, "Do you need a moment to talk it over?"
Piccolo nodded, "I have to be wished back, that brings back Kami and the Earth dragon balls"
"Ok, but then who among us gets the second and third wish?" asked Tien as he pointed at himself, then Krillin and Goku
Goku rubbed his chin in thought, but Krillin cleared his throat and said, "It has to be me"
Everyone turned to look at him in confusion, but he just shook his head, "If we get wished back, we know that we are going to have to fight the androids again. We also know that at this time, I am not much of a fight for them. I can remain here with King Kai a little longer if that means that Goku gets to go back and help wipe out the androids"
"Are you sure about this Krillin?" asked Goku
"Yeah, this is a big decision to make" added Tien
"We need the best chance to beat them, Goku is way stronger than me" conceded Krillin, "It has to be me"
"That's a rather big decision to make" commented King Kai, "However, there is a problem, even as powerful as the Namekian Dragon Balls are, they cannot bring Goku back to life. He passed away from natural causes, he cannot be brought back"
The silence on the planet was even more crushing than the extra intense gravity and nobody wanted to the first person to speak after learning that Goku could not return back to life, but eventually Piccolo said what everyone else was thinking,
"Returning without Goku … would not end favorably for any of us" said Piccolo
"What do you mean?" questioned Tien
"If Gohan and Vegeta are not strong enough to take on the Androids, us returning is not going to do much other than give the androids a higher body count" admitted Piccolo, "We should remain training here until we are either as strong as Goku or we absolutely needed. Showing up as we are now, it isn't going to help"
Tien grit his teeth in anger, "Dammit, we should be out there fighting for our planet"
King Kai's face took on a rare serious look, "Then I guess I will have to kick you boys into shape, who here knows what the Kaioken is?"
Goku looked at King Kai, "Are you sure that their bodies will be able to handle it King Kai?"
"There is only one way to find out" answered King Kai, "You all need to start mediating to become more in tune with you Ki"
There was no arguments as the Trio of Earth Warriors immediately got down onto the ground, each one of them attempting their own version of mediation.
"While you guys do that, I am going to contact the Namekian Elder Moori to have the Namekians gather up the Dragon Balls to make sure that they are ready to make the wish when we need it" said King Kai
They needed to be ready for everything, they could not afford to make a mistake and ruin the future.
Back on Earth:
It had been a full day since the pair of Saiyans had entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and when they emerged from the chamber, they could feel the mass dropping of power levels in North City.
Vegeta glanced at Gohan who nodded, both of them already in their Super Saiyan forms although they were relaxed.
Powering up, they flew off towards the city being attacked, never noticing the pair of red eyes that had caught sight of them on the Lookout. The small green skinned being smirked as he recognized Gohan, even with his blond hair.
"The brat has grown up it seems" noted the small being, his words only landing on the frozen form of Mr. Popo, his magic wrapped around the once upon a time Genia.
A small black portal opened up behind him and four more beings walked, each one of them were on of his four Monarchs.
"Go fetch me the Black Water Mist, we need to be ready to strike as soon as we can" ordered the small green being
"Yes, Lord Garlic Jr" chanted all four of the Monarchs
A/N: Here we go, another chapter in the book. I never understood why they didn't contact Namek to get people brought back, so I had to create one.
Also, the Androids are going to be the main villain, but Garlic Jr is still gonna be part of the story.
If you have any questions, feel free to drop a review or send a PM.
As always, please think about joining my discord, lots of conversations and just overall good vibes in there. Join using invite code: 5fw6aXK3
Until next time