I'Narn En'Gohan
Sounds of joy and laughter could be heard throughout the forest that rested just west of the base of Mount Paozu. The animals grazed in the open fields around the gathering and the birds chirped from their perches in the trees above the heads of the large group of jovial friends. Some would have called the sight a great time of peace and tranquility, but nothing can be labeled 'tranquil' when there are Saiyans involved.
In attendance was the last of the full blooded Saiyans, Prince Vegeta of the destroyed planet Vegeta. Though the prince did not willingly choose to attend the gathering, he was currently enjoying himself as he ate everything in sight, but the food did not come to him without competition this day. Also present at the party were two half blooded Saiyans, Son Gohan and Briefs Trunks, son of the future version of Vegeta. Trunks fought for as much of the meal as he could gorge himself with, as he was not used to having this much food readily available to eat. In the future timeline, food was scarce due to Humanity's conflict with the androids. Gohan was not eating in his usual manner, but he was eating a reasonable sum to try and please his mother and make her feel as happy as possible.
To tell the truth, the Son family had not been the same since the death of their most beloved member, Goku. The hero had chosen to remain dead after he had been killed in an effort to abort the suicide attempt of Cell two months earlier. Goku believed that the Earth had undergone much strife over the last few years due to his presence there, so he had decided that it was in the best interest of his adopted home world to remain in Otherworld, much to the dismay of his wife and son.
Chi-Chi's pain had eased somewhat, but it was still there, as it had been for many of the years she had been with Goku. She was used to her husband being either dead or off training somewhere and she regarded the incident with false hope as only temporary. But Gohan was another story. As was his mother, Gohan was used to his father being dead or away, but this time, he believed that he had caused the death of his beloved father. He ate enough to remain strong for his training, but his appetite had not returned to the same way that it was before the Cell Games.
The young Saiyan spent most of his time off in the mountains with Piccolo, meditating and training. Training seemed to be the only thing that managed to take Gohan's mind off of the Cell Games and he used it as a tool for the majority of his days. The act of fighting and training had not always been easy for him though. There was a time in which the boy would have refused to do a thing but homework, which he hardly did any of, much to his mother's dismay. Chi-Chi had allowed him to continue on with his training routine since she knew that it was the only thing that could help him cope with his father's death, but once he was over it to a certain degree, the first thing he would be doing would be hitting the books.
Ever since his transformation to the second level of Super Saiyan, it was as if he had awakened his natural Saiyan urge to fight. The boy had never felt this way about fighting before and did not know what to think about it at first, but decided to accept it rather than fight it. That would not do him or his sanity any good at all. Vegeta once likened the idea of a Saiyan going against his natural urges, to fighting an entire army of Aisu telepaths. It wasn't good for the mind or the body.
Today was not a day of mourning though. It was a gathering of friends and family to celebrate the peace that Earth was experiencing.
"If you touch that turkey leg again baldy, you won't have to worry about that robotic lover of yours anymore. All that will be on your mind is how to spend the rest of eternity in Otherworld."
Well, about as peaceful as a planet with a handful of Saiyans on it could get. No matter how good of a heart the beings had, things would never be normal with them around.
"Dad, calm down. There's plenty of food for everyone," Trunks explained through mouth fulls of fried rice.
"Shut up brat, or you'll be joining cueball over there."
"All bark and no bite..." Murmured the Namek in attendance from his spot on the far end of the table. He had no reason to fight over food since he had no use for it. All that Piccolo needed to survive was water, which he was currently enjoying a large glass of.
"What was that, Namek?" Vegeta questioned as he pushed himself back from the table to get a good view of the alien being. The two had never come to serious blows since Vegeta had first landed on the planet, but the there was always a strong rivalry between the two.
"I believe you heard me, Vegeta," Piccolo said, a bit louder than before. The sound of a chuckle could be heard from the youngest occupant of the table. Gohan sat across from Trunks, between his mother and Vegeta.
"Something funny, boy?" Vegeta glared at the demi-Saiyan.
Gohan shook his head, grin still present on his face, "Nothing at all Vegeta. Nothing at all..."
"I didn't think so," the prince turned his glare from Gohan to the boy's mentor, "Do you want to settle this like a man rather than sitting here bickering like women."
Piccolo nodded, getting to his feet, "Thought you'd never ask."
But before the duo could leave, Bulma interrupted them, "Vegeta, at least finish your lunch before you go spar."
A grunt could be heard coming from the Saiyan, "I'm done woman, now leave me be."
"Don't talk to me like that, you pompous-"
A groan coming from Vegeta cut her of before she could finish her sentence, "Woman, I need no more food."
"Fine, see if I care if you starve to death," Bulma said with a wave of her hand, dismissing her unruly husband.
Without another word, Vegeta, clad in his usual blue spandex looked over to the Namek to see if he was ready. Piccolo nodded and the pair shot off into the distance without hesitation, destroying the forest above them in the process. Though this was a peaceful, friendly gathering, all parties involved knew that you couldn't get this many fighters together without some kind of conflict going on.
"I hope Piccolo creams his ass..." Krillen muttered underneath his breath and was rewarded with a slap to the back of the head from Bulma.
"Hey, that's my husband your talking about, buster."
"I know that, but your husband's an ass-," but he was cutoff by another slap before he could finish his sentence.
Again, Gohan chuckled under his breath. Though he loved to get under Vegeta's and Krillen's skin, the boy usually decided to opt out of conflicts involving Bulma. He had learned from experience that it was not a good idea to be on her bad side.
"Watch it!"
"Okay, okay..."
Loud booms could be heard in the distance. It startled the non-warriors at first, but the quickly became accustomed to the noise.
Sounds like Vegeta and Piccolo have started up. From what I can tell they're even right now, but Vegeta hasn't gone super yet, so he'll most likely get the advantage there, Gohan though with a grimace. Every now and then, he liked to see Vegeta lose to someone besides himself. It kept the man's inhuman ego in check.
Gohan turned to Marai Trunks, "So Trunks, would you mind helping me work on my sword skills a little bit before you leave?"
Ever since he was a child, Gohan had always loved fighting with weapons, mostly swords, and he had approached Marai Trunks about the subject at an earlier date. He had asked the elder teen to help him work on his technique before he left for his own time. Trunks had readily agreed to help Gohan since he deeply respected him. After all, the future version of the boy had taught him everything he knew about fighting. He thought he owed Gohan something, even if it wasn't the same one he knew and loved.
"Of course Gohan. Did you bring a sword with you?"
"Yeah, I managed to find the one from my childhood that Piccolo gave me. It's a little small, but it'll work for today, I think." Gohan unsheathed the sword from it's resting place against a nearby tree. Trunks nodded approvingly.
"Yeah, that one will do for a while, but you'll need to be getting a new one if you plan on fighting with it on more of a permanent basis."
"I think I can handle that. So should we move farther into the forest or is here good?"
Trunks gestured toward the group that accompanied him with a sweep of his hand, "I think we should get as far away from here as possible. We don't want to chance hurting them."
Gohan nodded, "Okay, let's go." He turned to his mother before he left, "We'll be back in a few hours mom. If you guys are gone by the time we're finished, I'll meet you at home."
"Okay Gohan, I just want you to be careful."
"Yes ma'am, I will."
Chi-Chi pointed a finger at the elder of the pair. "And you, mister, better take care of him."
"Yes Miss Chi-Chi, I will, but I don't think he needs any taking care of."
The woman put a finger to her lips to silence him, "He's eleven years old. Just say that you'll do it."
Trunks smiled, "Okay, I'll take care of Gohan. I'll make sure nothing happens to him."
She folded her arms over her chest in triumph.
"Thank you very much. Now shoo! Go do your little sword thing."
The pair laughed at her antics. No matter how strong her son was, Chi-Chi would always be the same. They began walking to a clear spot to take off from, rather than destroying trees as Vegeta and Piccolo had done. Gohan waved over his shoulder to the group seated at the table. "Okay, we'll see you guys in a bit then."
In a flash of blue and purple auras, the duo of demi-Saiyans took to the sky. Before long they were out of sight, heading toward the direction that the sounds of Piccolo and Vegeta's sparring match were coming from. Since they knew they would be sparring today, both had come in their usual fighting clothes.
Krillin didn't hesitate before grabbing the turkey leg that he had desired from earlier. The monk took a large bite out of, savoring it's rich taste. He shook his head and muttered, "Saiyans. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em."
The very air around the two combatants shook with the force of their blows as they danced through the sky above Mount Paozu. Piccolo was currently locked in close combat with Vegeta, matching the Saiyan blow for blow, but it did not last for long. Vegeta pushed the Namek away from himself, putting him off balance. He followed with a roundhouse kick to Piccolo's head, sending him flying backwards through the air.
The Saiyan disappeared with a feral smirk on his face and suddenly appeared directly in the flying Namek's path. Vegeta interlocked his hands, forming a large fist and raised it above his head. As Piccolo reached him, he brought his hands down on his chest, sending the green warrior flying into the ground, throwing up numerous rocks and dirt at the impact. A small crater formed, which Piccolo laid at the bottom of, attempting to get to his feet as the Saiyan floated down to stand on the edge of the crater, arms crossed over his muscular chest.
"Come on Namek! You were no where near this weak the last time we fought. I know you can do better than this."
Piccolo grinned as he got to his feet at the bottom of the crater, "So you're tiring of this warm up too, eh Vegeta?"
"Very much so, Green Bean."
"Time to raise the stakes a little then," said Piccolo, removing his weighted turban and cape, allowing them to fall to the ground with a thud. He dropped quickly into the stance that he favored for powering up, knees slightly bent with his arms at his sides, fists clenched tightly. With a scream that shook the trees around him, a white light exploded from around the alien being. Vegeta smiled, anxious to begin the real fight. With a burst of what seemed like golden flames, his hair erupted with the same color and his eyes turned turquoise. The two took to the sky again, exchanging hundreds of blows per minute. It was obvious to anyone around that the real fight had begun.
Gohan and Trunks landed next to the Namek sized crater, ready to begin their sword training. Gohan gazed to the sky after the duo, following their rapid pace with quick movements of his eyes.
"It looks like their even now that they both powered up," he murmured to himself.
Trunks nodded, agreeing with his younger counterpart, "Yeah, Piccolo's giving him a run for his money today. Dad's not powered up all the way, though."
"Neither is Piccolo."
The older Saiyan cocked an eyebrow at him, "What do you mean? From what I'm sensing, he's giving Dad his all."
The boy shook his head, disagreeing with Trunks, "He can hide his ki better than almost anyone around. After all, he does spend most of his time meditating in the woods working on his ki control."
"Yeah, that does make sense now that I think about it," muttered Trunks, wincing as Vegeta landed a powerful right hook across Piccolo's face. He fell back for a moment, but didn't hesitate to jump on the Saiyan after regaining his balance.
"So, where do you want to start?"
The hours of the day passed on quickly between the two groups of men in the forest. Each duo followed through with their respective goals, Vegeta and Piccolo sparring above the forest as Trunks further trained Gohan in the use of his sword. It was nearing sundown around the mountain as the sparring pair decided to draw their match to a close above the peak of Mount Paozu.
They had both fought hard, but neither had been able to definitively beat the other. It seemed that Vegeta had the upper hand throughout the fight due to his Super Saiyan ability, but every time he increased his power, Piccolo had been able to match it until they both topped out at their maximum strengths. The Saiyan had a small margin of power over his opponent, but he was also slightly outmatched in skill.
"So, Namek, have you had enough yet?" Panted Vegeta high above the mountain's peak.
"I could ask you the same, troll," Piccolo managed to get out between labored breaths. It was understandable that they were both tired. Their match had been going on for roughly five hours, now. Both were very bloody and bruised. Vegeta guessed that he had at least seven broken ribs and possibly a few broken fingers, but it was nothing that a regeneration tank couldn't fix. Piccolo wasn't in any better shape either, though.
Elsewhere below the fighters, the two demi-Saiyans were sitting atop a huge boulder, overlooking the setting sun. They had completed their tasks a few minutes earlier and they were both content to rest themselves from a long day of training.
"It's too bad you have to leave tomorrow, Trunks," said Gohan from his sitting position, leaning back on his hands. Friendship between the pair had come before the Cell Games and had lingered ever since, but both knew that the lavender haired Saiyan must return to his time to stop the demonical androids.
"Yeah, but I'm glad that I gave you a starting point for your sword training. You'll be on my level in a few weeks time if you keep up the practice."
"You think so?"
Trunks nodded his head silently, "I know so. Now how about we go find my dad and Piccolo? I'm interested to see who won."
"Okay, let's go," Gohan agreed, getting to his feet to take flight. Lifting off from the boulder, they angled their flight path towards the two specks that they knew were Vegeta and Piccolo. They were just barely visible in the waning light, but Gohan and Trunks were there in no time.
Vegeta regarded the new arrivals indifferently, not greeting them at all. Piccolo nodded a hello at the two, but said nothing. It was obvious that they were both still catching their breath from the fight.
"Wow, it looks like you two really went all out," Gohan observed quietly.
"No shit, boy."
Gohan ignored his comment, since he was used to such things coming from Vegeta, "What are you guys planning on doing now?"
Piccolo shrugged, "I'll probably go see Dende for a quick healing session later on, but I'm not sure about right now.
"Now that sounds like a good idea."
Three heads turned to the source of the new voice. But one did not. Piccolo was totally frozen in place, completely unmoving. Highlighted by the setting sun, there flew a human sized dragon flapping it's wings, wearing a pair of baggy blue jeans and an oversized tee-shirt that read in huge bold letters, 'The Man can't hold me down'.
Trunks's face paled instantly. His worst nightmare had come true. Malcolm had not been bluffing when he visited the Saiyan before. The dragon grinned a mouth full of pearly white teeth at the Saiyan's obvious fear.
"Thought you could get away with it, eh old boy?"
End Chapter 1
Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter in my new series, I'Narn En'Gohan. It will follow Gohan through many adventures, this being the first one. I know that Gohan is a bit out of character, but I believe that it fits with the description of how he took the results of the Cell Games. If you want to dispute me on that though, please review or e-mail me and I'll be happy to talk about it. I'd also recommend that you read my short story, Consequences before you continue reading this though, as you won't understand Malcolm's role as well without having gone over my previous story.
Please review, since I'd like to know how I'm doing capturing the characters so far and how well I write, so it would be much appreciated if you tell me.
Revision Notes: Not much changed in the revision except for a minor part with a certain character. I just felt like this needed to be done.