Krillin and the others watched dumbfounded as the reincarnation of the demon king flew off with the sweet little boy named Gohan. Krillin gulped once they were out of sight. "So... uh who has to tell Goku's wife Chi-Ch what happened?" He asked as he rubbed the back of his head. The others immediately fled leaving Krillin all on his own. "Oh boy." He mumbled and slowly flew to Goku's house, to tell her how Goku had sacrificed himself to save his son by working with Piccolo. He dreaded telling the part about Piccolo taking her only son though.
Krillin shrank back from Chi-Chi's anger. The energy coming off her was even scarier then what he felt from Raditz. "You just let that demon fly off with my son!" Chi-Chi screamed.
Krillin gulped thinking she'd kill him. "Well... Piccolo thought he might be the only way to stop them, and think about it Chi-Chi. If Goku's brother Raditz was after Gohan, then the other Saiyans might be too. At least this way Gohan can defend himself." Krillin pleaded.
"Humph." Chi-Chi said and slapped Krillin. "Don't tell me what's right for my son." She growled.
"Yes Mam!" Krillin said straightening up.
"How long till they get here?" She asked.
"About a year." The bald man said.
"Then that's a year you can train me to fight for my son!" Chi-Chi said grabbing him by the ear and dragging the little man into her home. The next day Krillin took her to master Roshi's place to train with him and Yamcha. Tien and Chiaotzu trained in the wilderness together, but made frequent visits to Roshi's to test their skills against the others.
Not long after, Mr. Popo walked up to Kami. "Can they beat them?" He asked.
The old guardian shook his head slowly as he watched the best fighters of earth continuing to train. "Not in their current state...we must train them, invite them here to the lookout...even that might not be enough, but hopefully with king kai's training Goku may be able to do it." Kami said.
Mr. Popo nodded. "I'll invite them at once...Umm... what about Piccolo?" He asked scared.
"No...not yet" Kami said thinking as his antenna moved forward. "That boy...he's changing him just as much as piccolo is changing him." Kami said.
"Wait the evil demon king change?" Mister Popo asked. Kami simply nodded. Mister Popo made the arrangements to summon the best fighters of Earth to the lookout.
Later that evening, a caped figure watched as Gohan sat timidly atop a mountain. Piccolo's green skin shown some by the glints of moonlight coming through the clouds. Piccolo grunted in annoyance. He had proven to the kid several times now that he was strong. He had planned to let Gohan have about half a year's worth of survival training to get him in shape for the real training to start, but at this rate the kid wouldn't make it past a week. Since it all started the kid hadn't stopped crying and now he was stuck on a mountain. Piccolo sighed. Quicker then Gohan could see he left some fruit behind Gohan for him to eat
"Humph...that's the last bit of help you get from me kid, I've got my own training to worry about." He mumbled.
Gohan looked behind him. His tail wagged excitedly seeing the fruit behind him as his belly growled. He ran over to it and began eating, very thankful for it, but wondering where it came from. He looked up into the sky as the clouds began to part, revealing the moon. It instantly drew Gohan's attention, the full moon mesmerizing him. It was the first time the half Saiyan had seen a full moon. It awakened a terrible power with in him. As all Saiyans do when in the light of a full moon, Gohan began to transform into a great ape, several times larger then the carnivorous dinosaur that chased him onto the mountain he was now stuck on.
Piccolo gawked as Gohan transformed. He felt his power skyrocket. The weight of Gohan's form crushed the mountain beneath him. The beast got up and went on a rampage like a rabid animal. Piccolo however quickly connected the dots of how the transformation occurred. "Got to end this soon or else there won't be a planet left to defend from these invaders." He said before charging his energy as he dodged a few of Gohan's wild attacks. At full power he shot a powerful energy wave towards the moon that kept accelerating and building in strength. A little while later the attack slammed into the moon, disintegrating it. Piccolo looked back to Gohan to see if it worked. The grate ape roared in frustration and slowly changed back to an unconscious Gohan. Piccolo landed beside him. Piccolo took a minute to calm down before making up his mind on what to do. He reached down and yanked off Gohan's tail, seeing it as a liability.
"Alright kid, you got my attention, I'll give you another chance." Piccolo pointed his arm at Gohan and used the clothes beam on him. He gave him a Ji similar to his father's to replace his clothes that were all destroyed by the transformation. He also formed him a sword to use. "There, I added my kanji to your clothes to recognize me as you as my student. You better not disappoint. That's the end of my help. You're on your own now." He added. He took one last look at Gohan before flying off to do his own training.
Back on the Look out, the ones Kami had summoned arrived. Goku's best friend Krillin, Chi-Chi, Yamcha, the thick boned samurai Yajirobe, the former Krane students Tien and Chiaotzu. Puar also came along to help cheer on Yamcha. They began training immediately.
Almost a month passed. In that time Gohan had gotten more used to life in the wilderness, though he still ran from any creature larger then himself. Though today, that changed. Gohan spotted what appeared to be a purple baby dragon. He smiled watching it, making mental notes, but then he heard a familiar roar. It was the carnivorous dinosaur that'd chased him so many times before. Gohan was well hidden, but the baby dragon was a sitting duck. It flapped it's wings desperately, but it appeared too young to yet fly. After a short chase the dragon was cornered. The dinosaur licked its chops ready for a good meal, when suddenly it felt a rock hit its head. "Hey you big bully, leave him alone!" Gohan yelled. The dinosaur thumped it's tail and roared before proceeding to chase Gohan. The small dragon used this chance to escape back into the forest as Gohan followed his escape plan, running at high speed and using a vine to swing over and then back behind the hungry dinosaur. However this wasn't the first time Gohan used this trick, and the dinosaur had caught on. Gohan yelped as he narrowly avoided a swing from the beast's tail. The dinosaur roared again stepping towards him, when a small blast of fire came out of a nearby tree and hit the dinosaur in the face. It howled in pain and quickly retreated to find relief. Gohan tilted his head confused and then smiled seeing the dragon he helped slide down out of the tree, the sun set reflected off his scales a little. Gohan giggled and ran up to the dragon and hugged him. "I think I'll call you Icarus, cause it looks like the sun is on you." Gohan giggled. The dragon tilted his head but let out a happy little roar.
"Like that name huh? How's about you and me stick together?" Gohan asked. The dragon seemed to almost purr as it nuzzled it's head into Gohan. "Oh yeah, my name is Gohan, nice to meet you." Gohan added, and then led Icarus to the camp he had set up. The two began building a solid friendship. Icarus would come and go from the camp as he pleased, but as time went on he more reliably stayed at the camp and came whenever Gohan called. The two even took to play fighting as puppies might do, further providing training for both of them.
One night, Gohan's stomach woke him up, growling for food. He quietly got up, now wanting to disturb the still sleeping Icarus and went to find some fruit or try catching a fish. However the night was extremely dark. An owl, larger then a full grown man spotted him and swooped down to grab him. Barely missing his flesh it's talons grabbed the sheath that was tied to his back. Gohan yelped as he left the ground, catching the attention of a large pterodactyl, a massive carnivorous bat and an eagle that was almost as large. An epic fight of air superiority took place as the winged creatures fought over who got to eat what the owl caught. Eventually the fighting escalated to the point Gohan was dropped and the predatory fliers were to busy fighting to catch him. Gohan cried out as he fell but landed on the back of a sleeping dinosaur and slid down its back and off its tail like a slide, waking it up. It roared as Gohan tumbled in the air and then landed on something soft and furry.
Gohan opened his eyes and gasped, looking at the saber tooth tiger he was sitting on. The other sabertooth tigers around them woke up and growled at him. Suddenly Gohan found himself running for his life from a pack of sabertooth tigers, an angry dinosaur that woke up on the wrong side of the bed, as well as the four winged creatures that realized their prey was escaping. Busy avoiding the animals trying to eat him, he failed to see the crevice in the ground in front of him. He fell into it and hit a rock side, before falling down into a cave system. Right before he hit the ground he managed to jump up on thin air and dashed to the side, avoiding a rockslide that fell behind him.
"That was close." Gohan said softly but then whimpered because he was in complete darkness. He felt around and eventually felt a piece of tree branch that had fallen. He struck his sword against some rocks, creating some sparks. After several attempts he managed to catch the branch on fire giving him some light. He found himself in some ancient ruins. He quickly spotted an ancient torch and lit it. He used it as a replacement for his branch which had already nearly burnt up. He found a few more torches he lit to add more light to the tunnel he explored. He turned a corner and jumped back seeing something reflect the light of his torch. He came closer and found an old robot, partially buried in the ground. He set his torch into a small crevice in the ground so it'd stay upright. He then began to examine the robot and managed to turn it on.
"Who woke me up from my stand by mode?" The robot asked, seemingly upset.
"Umm I did sir, my name is Gohan." He said shyly.
"Well go ahead and turn me off and then get out of here before you cause a cave in." The robot said.
"But how do I get out of here?" Gohan asked.
"There's a path behind me." The robot said.
"Wow really? Thanks mister Uhh?" Gohan asked.
"You can call me C-6" It said.
"Alright bye." Gohan said and picked up his torch.
"Stand bye mode?" C-6 asked exasperated.
"Right." Gohan said coming back. "Goodnight C-6." He said and turned him off. He followed the path behind C-6 looking for the exit. He saw some light coming in and ran to it. He jumped out and found himself on a ledge over a canyon. He cried out and barely made it back in to the cave before falling. His cry echoed through the canyon and woke Icarus from his sleep. The dragon flapped his wings and managed to get airborne as he went in search for Gohan.
Gohan returned to C-6 and activated him again. "What now?" C-6 asked annoyed.
"It's a ledge out there, and I can't fly." Gohan said.
"Well I can't even see or move, get over it and find a way." C-6 said. His sensors indicated his wiring was suddenly exposed. "Hey what are you doing?" C-6 asked.
"Trying to give you your sight back sir." Gohan said and as he examined the wiring inside C-6. "Looks like this one got unconnected." Gohan said.
"Hey be careful..." C-6 said as Gohan accidentally zapped himself. "Tried to warn you, this needs an adult." C-6 said.
"Oh yeah?" Gohan asked and connected a few wires. C-6's optical sensors flashed on, appearing as two large flashlights.
"Well well well, I was wrong, good job lad." C-6 said. Gohan smiled proudly. The two talked a while as C-6 opened up more to Gohan, revealing he was an old capsule Corp robot assigned to study archeological sites. He also told Gohan how he had been trapped by an earthquake down here for almost a century. A while later Gohan heard a distant roar that was familiar.
"Icarus!" Gohan said excitedly and went to the ledge to see if he could spot Icarus. The dragon began searching for Gohan's scent once he had gotten to the canyon and had found the cave leading into the ruins. "Icarus, you found me, and you're flying." Gohan smiled happily. Icarus tackled him playfully and Gohan pet him. "Come with me to meet someone." Gohan smiled and led Icarus to C-6. Icarus sniffed the robot curiously, he jumped behind Gohan and hissed when C-6 spoke up, scaring him.
"Looks like you found your ticket out of here..I'm not that scary am I?" C-6 asked.
"It's alright Icarus, he's friendly like you. What do you mean though?" He asked C-6 as Icarus relaxed.
"Well your dragon friend flew here yes? If so he could probably fly you out too. So if you'd just let me go into standby mode when you leave me behind I'd be grateful." C-6 said.
"You're right.. but... I don't want to leave you behind." Gohan said and began trying to dig C-6 out. The cave grumbled as Gohan struck the ground to loosen it.
"Careful!" C-6 said, afraid the ruins might collapse. Icarus gently shoved Gohan out of the way and used his claws to dig more efficiently and without disturbing the integrity of the cave.
"Oh I get it, slow and steady." Gohan said and helped. It took a while but C-6 was eventually freed. Now out of the ground his body was shown to be egg shaped. He had one long pincer arm and two ski like feet. C-6 spun his body happily, glad to be free.
"Let's get out of here." C-6 said and waddled to the exit. Gohan and Icarus followed. "You two first." He said as Gohan got on Icarus.
"What about you?" Gohan asked.
"Don't worry, simple calculations." C-6 said. Icarus struggled some but managed to take off and flew Gohan to the top of the canyon and landed exhausted. C-6 steamed ahead and attempted to use his one good arm to pole vault himself onto the top of the canyon. However as he landed, the sudden impact of his landing caused the ledge to giveaway, making C-6 begin to fall. Almost on instinct, Gohan hopped between falling rocks and pushed C-6 back on top beside Icarus. Gohan then hoped up the side of the canyon to reach them. Gohan panted some from the exertion. "Most impressive... if you could do that you did not need our help to escape." C-6 said to Gohan.
"I don't know, I just did it." Gohan said softly. "But now what are you going to do?" He asked C-6. C-6 twirled his body thinking.
"I suppose I could attempt to walk to the nearest Capsule Corp site." He started but noticed Gohan beginning to cry. "But.. that would take a while, so I'll just stay here with you until I come up with a better plan." C-6 said. "The hug is not needed." The robot said and gently patted Gohan with his good arm as Gohan hugged him. The trio set up a new camp and continued to survive in the wilderness and grow closer. C-6 used his knowledge to help teach Gohan some lessons at night or during their down time. Icarus would play and train with Gohan during the day and help him gather what was needed for survival. Thanks to the help of his two new friends, Gohan grew both in body and mind.
A few more months passed. Piccolo was in a massive desert, finishing the last bit of his private training before he went back to check on the kid. He had used multi form often to train himself, fighting his copies. Now he was meditating and practicing managing how much ki he could use and build up. He focused intensely as he levitated in the air and powered up. Using his mind and power he began testing himself as he levitated the massive pyramid behind him. The sands shook as the the pyramid floated upwards. Piccolo focused harder and raised it higher. Some nearby pyramids also started to shake as their foundations were loosened. Piccolo roared with power as all the pyramids lifted off the ground. They continued to rise, the first one just barely touched the clouds above before Piccolo ran out of strength. The pyramids came crashing down. Piccolo narrowly avoided the tsunami of sand that followed the pyramids landing. Piccolo looked at the desolate land scape and nodded. "That'll do for now." He grumbled to himself and went to find Gohan.
He found Gohan avoiding a hungry dinosaur, he seemed to just be messing with the beast as he easily out paced it. Gohan let the dinosaur think he had cornered him. However Gohan easily jumped over the dinosaur as it jumped up and tried to snatch Gohan in its jaws but missed and fell down as Gohan landed behind it. "Haha that was fun, see you tomorrow." Gohan said and ran off with a giant fish he had caught. Piccolo followed from a distance as Gohan went back to his camp and cooked the fish. He and Icarus began chowing down. Piccolo tilted his head spotting the small dragon and the damaged robot.
"Gohan, we aren't alone." C-6 said. Icarus looked up and growled at the shadows. Gohan grabbed his sword.
"Alright who is there?" He asked. Piccolo smirked and stepped into view out of the thick vegetation.
"Mister Piccolo!" Gohan smiled and ran forward to greet him, but was met with a slap. Icarus roared and C-6 buzzed annoyed, but a glare from Piccolo shut both of them up.
"It looks like I should have returned sooner. No matter... now your training truly begins." Piccolo said as Gohan rubbed his red cheek and nodded.
(Author's Notes)
And so it begins, this is my first time writing a fanfic, so any advice is greatly welcomed.
With this story I'm trying to make a lot of characters relevant to the overall story of DBZ. Eventually Piccolo will truly get his own family as well. Full disclosure though, Piccolo will be getting the most focus in this story, I cannot help it if he's my favorite. However other characters like Chi-chi, Chiaotzu, Android 16 and many more will get their characters expanded upon too. Piccolo will take the role as mentor to many of these characters eventually. He might not be the strongest, but his students just might become the strongest in due time. That's not to put down Piccolo though, for most of this story he'll be able to keep up with Goku at his best.
Most of my knowledge comes from DBZ Kai, and I have a pretty good handle on the Saiyan Saga to the end of the cell saga. Up to that point this story will stay pretty true to the original story, the Buu arc will probably be very different. I will be using some filler moments in the story as well as the movies too if they fit well with the continuity in my story. I will strive to make the story as believable as possible when it comes to character actions and progression.
As for power levels, I'll use them some in the earliest chapters, but after Namek I'll just use comparisons to show how strong characters are in comparison to their original selves and enemies.
I am going to introduce a new version of Fasha, a female Saiyan who was in Bardock's squad, into the story during the Namek Saga. There'll be some other new characters that will play minor roles, as well as bringing back a villain or two from DB to cause some challenges.
Finally thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy it as I enjoy writing it.
Disclaimer: All credit for this little thought experiment goes to the makers of dragon ball, DBZ, DB Super and other related stories. Without them we wouldn't have such great material to imagine about. This holds true for this chapter and those following.
