| GOHAN�S UPGRADE Part 1 Azulesan A short one, I know. But it gets the point across. It�s certainly not a happy one, so be prepared for glumness. Sitting atop a grassy hill overlooking what was left of Western Capitol were Gohan and Trunks. After a morning of hard training, both were more than willing to kick back for a little while. Their mission: to make the thirteen-year-old son of Vegeta into a super saiyajin. So far, however, no luck. Trunks tore his blue eyes off the leveled buildings and focused on the slabs of rock off to their right. He�d come to know each grave well, from his own father to Piccolo. As the name of the late namekian popped into the demi-saiyajin�s head, he felt a stab of pity towards his young master. Out of all the warriors lying dead beneath the earth, Piccolo was mentioned the most. Gohan had idolized him from the time they trained for the arrival of the saiyajins and still to that day. The 22-year-old son of Goku still hung on every word his mentor had said to him and continued to bear his emblem on the back of his orange shirt. �Gohan-san?� Trunks finally broke the long silence. His sensei turned to look at him, his soft black eyes meeting the hard orbs in the boy�s face. �Hai?� �Can you tell me what it took for you to become a super saiyajin?� Suddenly, Gohan�s face paled and a great sadness worked its way over his features. Standing up, he walked silently off to one of the gravestones, motioning for his younger student to follow. Trunks immediately regretted asking such a question. Though Gohan talked about his old mentor frequently, it only brought him to the point of wanting to cry. Gohan laid his hand on the cold, hard rock, gazing down at the mound of earth that covered Piccolo�s remains. It was now covered with shin-high grass and the flowers had been robbed of their lives. As Trunks stopped and stood behind him, Gohan slumped to his knees. �Gomen, Gohan-san,� Trunks began to apologize. �I shouldn�t have asked..� �No.� his sensei broke in. �It�s important you know. It�ll help you understand.� Looking up at the darkening evening sky, he took a deep breath as the old memories returned. �����.. �YAMCHA-SAN!! YAMCHA-SAN!!� Gohan stumbled over the rubble, ignoring the stabbing pain in his stomach from where the female android had kicked him. Piccolo was already there, standing silently over the body of a once noble warrior. Yamcha lay face-down in the city debris, arms scrunched under him and around his punched-in chest. A great pool of crimson blood was slowly growing beneath him. The small boy swallowed the lump forming in his throat as he learned of his friend�s horrible end. Out of the 7 warriors defending the demolished cities, Yamcha was the first to die. And it was only the beginning. A great deal of laughing echoed through the leveled street, making Gohan�s fists clench in anger. Squeezing his eyes shut, he hissed, �Those�those..!!� �Gohan, calm down!� Piccolo cautioned, peering around the remains of the building. He had begun to feel a huge power erupting in the depths of his young friend. The last thing they needed was for those damn androids to find them. Sensing the child was having trouble calming down, he came closer and rested a large hand on his shoulder. Gohan shook violently for a few minutes, until the image of Yamcha�s dead body set in. The golden aura that had started to engulf him disappeared and he spun around, wrapping his arms around Piccolo�s legs, sobbing uncontrollably. Despite the namekian�s dislike of such emotion, he simply stood still, with a hand atop Gohan�s head. The day was far from over, however. Within a few hours, the charred and mangled remains of the rest of the z-fighters were located, strewn about the city. Each time, the rage boiling inside Gohan threatened to overwhelm him. Now only he, Piccolo, and Vegeta were left. That night was spent at the Son House, where the three exhausted fighters met up with Chi Chi, Bulma, and Baby Trunks. After forcing down some dinner, Gohan stumbled back outside. By now, it was dark, the beautiful stars lighting up the night. Their appearance almost made the boy forget the horrible day he�d experienced. Piccolo was in the first clearing in the woods behind the Son House, meditating in mid-air. He opened his eyes as his little friend came into view, �What�s wrong, kid? Did you let today get to you?� Gohan nodded miserably, though determined not to cry. �I just keep seeing them in my head. All lying dead.� He plopped down in the tall grass, the dry leaves rustling beneath him. Piccolo lowered himself to the ground until he was sitting beside Gohan. It took him a long moment, but he finally spoke. �Vegeta and I were talking a little earlier.� Gohan sat up with a quick jerk, staring at his mentor. �What�s the word?� �We�re going to fight the androids tomorrow.� He declared, his deep voice lower than usual. �Before they have another chance to attack.� The child�s tired eyes widened. �I�m coming too, then.� Piccolo glared down at him. �Do you know what would happen I told your mother that you died?� �Hai, but..� �No buts. You�re the biggest hope we�ve got, kid. No surrogate son of mine is going to get killed senselessly in battle.� �But then why are you going?!� Piccolo looked up at the night sky for a long moment. Taking a deep breath, he answered. �To defend those who will die without our help.� �No! No! NO!� Gohan cried, angrily. Never before had he thrown a tantrum and Piccolo wasn�t quite sure how to react. Tears began glittering the boy�s eyes. �You can�t make me stay here, Piccolo-san!� Immediately, he expected his mentor to be furious with him for acting so childishly, and he drew back, nervously. But no anger darkened the alien�s expression. Instead, a large hand reached down to tousle his unruly black hair. Another sigh escaped Piccolo. �Fine.� He muttered softly. �You can come.� A grin lit up Gohan�s face. Finally he would have a chance to avenge those who died in battle. Morning came and Gohan awoke with a start. He found himself lying in his own bed, the sheets tucked securely around him. �That�s funny.� He murmured to himself. �I thought I camped out with Piccolo-san�THE FIGHT!!� Leaping out of bed, the young demi-saiyajin took off to South City, where great plumes of black smoke wormed their way into the already-gray sky. A battle had already taken place�and it was obvious who the winners were. Rain began to fall in torrents as Gohan circled above the burning wreckage. �PICCOLO-SAN!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!!!� with a purpose. Instantly, the golden aura flared up all around him and it turned his hair gold. Falling to his knees once more, he pounded the ground with his fists. TO BE CONTINUED... |