DRAGONBALL Z

Path of a Warrior

What Power!

The desire to achieve perfection has been fought and spoken of for hundreds of years. People have driven themselves to great lengths to claim such a title; the overall strength to put others down, to rise up above all, conquer the weaker and rule the world, even the universe! These selfish actions can only be achieved by becoming the perfect, strongest being…a true tyrant. Villains and evil men of all shapes, sizes and races have risen up to try and claim that trophy…that title; to become perfect, undisputed and unquestionable rulers. But neither has ever succeeded in gaining such power…

The right to gain perfection can only be achieved through pureness and a strong mind. Only a single mortal who possesses these traits can achieve this. And if they do, they have the ability to set things right and make choices that would lead to a better future. But how can something like this be achieved if not one soul can rise up to the challenge?

A single, normal individual can strive as hard as he can to achieve his set goals to reach his main. These goals may appear simple or even hard, the limit to what one person can work hard to achieve. But those individual's who possess uniqueness to others, far beyond the comprehension of ethic and present knowledge, have been known to do great things.

Written in history, people like Goku, Krillin and even Piccolo are examples of unique individuals. Each of them has strengths unique to the other, but has also one thing in common: strength beyond your average man. This has been proven in the various World Martial Arts competitions and fights they have pulled themselves through. Their skills and strengths are defined by their will to train and get stronger. Just like others, they have that goal to become the strongest of them all. But only one of them succeeded.

Goku…

He may appear to be the greatest of all, but doesn't have the power to restore peace to the entire planet, no one can. He tried though, and got the rewards that came with it.

In the tournament in which he fought his greatest fights of all and won, he found love and married. To which life went on, Goku's wife Chi-Chi bared them a child. They named him Gohan.

Gohan was no ordinary child. Sure he was born as the son of the Ox-King's daughter and the son of the World Tournament Champion, but there were other things about him, secrets that lay dormant within the child's mental and physical being…even deeper then that. He had a potential no other person possessed. These gifts were unfathomable, and have yet to be discovered.

When his powers were discovered, it was a legendary moment. It was here where this amazing story begins…

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Some valley to the North West…

Far beyond Kame House

The landing area, where the space mercenary and Goku's brother, Radditz, had landed was scarred and battle torn. Not just by his Saiyan space pod, but also by the brawling and fighting that has been going on. It was unbelievable, the destruction and raw power that was displayed by the fighters that had participated. It was indescribable! No battle in history had ever been fought as fiercely as this. It was a fight between life and death, where the end would decide the fate of the planet.

However, the action was all over, just as quickly as it had come. The fight was brought down to nothing less than pain and suffering, an experience known very well in the line of a hero work.

Moving across the crater where the Saiyan space pod lay and where Piccolo knelt, shaking, battered and weakened, we are drawn to the sounds of screaming. These sounds of agony escaped from none other then Goku's mouth, untamed. This was so because the superior, stronger fighter, Radditz, was crushing the life out of him.

Goku was a wreck. In the fight that had taken place, the older Saiyan had suffered bruises and scars that would make any other man fall at the sight of first drawn blood. Battered and bruised, and bleeding from the mouth, the spiky haired hero had finally met his match. Lying spray legged and armed on the floor, Goku could do nothing as his evil brother brought his foot down on him, literally.

Radditz, dressed in a black spandex uniform and plastic armor, was the victor here. Chuckling through gritted teeth, the Saiyan invader mercilessly crushed his brother with his foot pressed down hard on his chest. He had suffered scars too, but they were only third degree burns and chips off his armor. This was all the proof needed to say that Goku and Piccolo's efforts to bring down the mercenary were futile. Radditz was dominating, and was right now taking advantage of the situation at hand to make his brother suffer.

The Saiyan laughed, his eyes flashing dangerously. "You are a fool, Kakarot! Did you seriously think that you or your friend could beat me?! My power far exceeds yours! It would have been something you could have achieved if you didn't go soft. So now you pay the price! SUFFER!!!" Radditz growled, pressing down harder on Goku's chest. He could feel Goku's muscles tear and his bones crack under the pressure. The weakened fighter could bear it no longer. Goku screamed out all the more.

Piccolo was unable to do anything either. Already exhausted from spending his energy on his last Special attack in an attempt to finish Radditz off, the Namek was forced to stand and watch as his short term ally was crushed by another. Although he was pleased that Goku was suffering, he felt a twitch of anger. Not only had he failed to defeat Radditz, but was not sharing the glory in Goku's defeat. Gripping the open socket where his left arm used to be, Piccolo cursed at the Saiyan, staggering off his knees and onto his feet.

"T-That wretch!!! I'll make sure he stays down next time! Grrhhh…" the Namek growled, his legs shaking, almost knocking him off balance.

As the torture and screaming dragged on, a very distant presence, which was confined to the space pod in the crater, was forced to watch the horror taking place, and hear the agony that was being had by the victim. Gohan, having been kidnapped by his uncle Radditz, was trapped inside the space craft, helpless and unable to do anything. Peering through the window, Gohan couldn't really see above the crater but only catch a whiff of the action. Even so, the space pod wasn't sound proof. For the past minute or so, he was forced to endure the pains and sufferings of experience as his father was mercilessly tortured by his brother. The Saiyan child cried.

"DADDY! NOOOO!!! DAAAADDDYYY!!!!" Gohan cried, banging on the glass with his fists. Crunching over, the child tried to block out the sounds of his father's cries, but it was no good. They continued to flow into the pod like water, traumatizing the kid.

His father's cries and screams of pain burned at his heart. It pained him, emotionally, making his body rattle and shake uncontrollably. Soon, his own bones and muscles began to ache, with a strange feeling of determination and anger beginning to rise to the surface. It bubbled and crack, with tears flowing down his cheeks like rivers. This brought about a new feeling…something he had never felt before…

Goku screamed louder. His voice carried for miles. He felt something splinter and break; a crack very audible to his ears. Radditz chuckled with a very evil grin in play. He increased pressure, stomping down again.

"Yes that's it. A bit more of this and you'll soon die!" Radditz growled, his fists tightening. Gohan gritted his teeth, trying to force in a scream. But the pain bottled up, before escaping his lips. This scream was the loudest of all.

That was all that was needed to get Gohan to break that barrier, in which he could not go back. The child's eyes shot open, letting out an angry, white glow. His teeth gritted and his hands fisted tightly. Gohan let out a cry of his own. This one though, was of both pain and anger. All his pent up energy and rage was released in that one mighty blow. A powerful, electrical blue aura exploded around him, expanding so rapidly that it began cracking the interior and exterior of Radditz's space pod.

Radditz was about to finish off his brother when he suddenly picked up something over his scouter. The yellow indicators beeped to light on his green visor, soon followed by a scream which sounded all too familiar to him.

"DADDY!!!"

Radditz's eyes widened with shock and he spun around, lifting his foot off of Goku's chest. His eyes landed on the crater not too far out from where he stood.

"WHAT! What was that?!" the mercenary shouted. Goku shook where he lay. One of his eyes opened up slightly, revealing the pain he had been experiencing moments before. It was from that moment that out of the corner of his senses, he felt an enormous power somewhere close by. It wasn't Radditz's that's for sure. No, this one felt all too familiar and was continuously growing and growing at a phenomenal rate.

Goku trembled, gulping in saliva. A smile spread across his lips. He knew who it was. "G-Gohan…"

Radditz growled and looked down at his wounded brother. "What! Your brat! That's not possible!" his scouter continued to beep, giving him a clear read out. The evil Saiyan warrior gasped and spun round, back towards the crater. When he did, he saw beams of golden light shooting up and out of the crater where his ship was. The combination of the power read out and the amount of light shooting out of the landmark made his limbs tremble.

"No! It can't be. The strongest being on this planet was my half-witted, backstabbing brother! And his power level is only 416! Wait…errggh…the beings on this planet know how to hide their power levels! But…the brat can't be generating that much power!!!"

His scouter read: 1,300. Even though that number flashed by, it still continued to climb. Radditz began to sweat, his eyes twitching and widening. When the energy readout surpassed 1,500, the Saiyan stepped back, legs barely holding him up because he was trembling so much.

When it seemed as though this light show would be continuing, there was a massive explosion and a huge gust of wind. The force of the explosion shook the valley in which every fighter stood or lay. Right on queue, a huge fire ball shot upwards and out of the crater, throwing flaming debris and ash everywhere. The fire ball took a mushroom formation above the crater, before it suddenly all dissipated into a thick, black cloud of smoke. The flaming debris fell at a radius of 50 meters away from the crater, scattering all over the plains.

The explosion and the force came as somewhat of a shock to Radditz. Even after the fiery mushroom had vanished, there was still a base burning at the bottom of the crater. It was so fierce it was as if a ton of gasoline was burning. Just as everyone thought that the person held prisoner within that space pod had been disintegrated in the explosion, a shadowed figure leapt out from the base of the crater. Bursting through the fire and smoke, the small person spun through the air before landing on both feet, five meters away from the crater. His landing made a crack mark, with his right knee embedded in the floor and his left hand slammed down, supporting him.

Seconds after the half Saiyan child had landed, Gohan stood up, fists balling at his sides and legs spread shoulder width apart. Radditz's mouth hung agape, silent as he was too shocked to speak. His brother's son, the so called, weakling brat, had just leapt out of a megaton explosion without a scratch, and was on fire, literally.

What appeared to be fire was actually a flaming aura. The blue energy output was fierce and unyielding. The forcefulness of the winds it created cracked the ground beneath its source's feet. To accompany this display of power was what looked to be a lightning storm. White bolts of hot electricity shot out from the young Saiyan's aura, striking the ground anywhere within an eight meter radius. Despite its lack of charging distance, it still looked dangerous. But that wasn't the only thing that looked dangerous. If you were to look into Gohan's eyes, eyes that once held innocence and kindness, was now filled with a burning hatred and anger of a warrior. Both his orb irises were glowing a brilliant turquoise, an unquestionable shade that stood out on his face.

Piccolo, who was standing a distance away from the action, was shocked as well. Just like Radditz, he stood there limply with his mouth hanging open and eyes wide. Never has he seen such a ferocious display of power. The energy lashed away at the air and earth, scorching it. Dust kicked up from the ground whenever a high electrical bolt struck, zapping it for a short period before disappearing.

Radditz stammered and backed off more, completely astounded. No hint of malice or the urge to taunt could be seen on his expression. All of it was replaced by fear and uncertainty.

"T-The brat i-is in…incredible!"

Gohan sobbed where he stood, eyes still shedding tears. Stricken with pain and totally out of control, Gohan leered at the one responsible for this. The one who had mercilessly tortured his father and the one who had caused him pain. Radditz…

The half Saiyan child hissed venomously. "You…you…STOP HURTING MY DAD!!!"

Radditz choked a yell and backed up. In a split second, Gohan shot straight at him, soaring through the air. In a cool twist and an awesome display of power, his blue aura turned into a fierce glowing fireball around him. With a bellowing scream, Gohan ripped through the air faster then a missile, on route to strike at his target.

Before Radditz could react, he got rammed in the chest by Gohan. First he felt and heard a distinct crack, but then he felt much worse, with good reason. On impact, Gohan broke his uncle's ribs and chest. Continuing further, Gohan went straight through his uncle, punching a clean, large hole straight through the villain. The blow and force was tremendous, throwing Radditz back in the direction Gohan was traveling, arms and legs failing him. Seconds after Gohan exited, he spun through the air and landed. He came to a skid like stop, entrenching his feet in the ground in an unfamiliar fighting stance.

Moments later, Radditz's body fell with a loud thud, his body crashing like a rock. A look of utter horror and shock was written all over his face. Dust rose and fell with the moment, and the silence dawned.

Shaking and trembling on the verge of death, Radditz moved his head to the side. Although he couldn't see Gohan, he knew he was there, somewhere.

"I-Impossible! H-he k-killed me! (Choke) B-beaten by a…m-mere c-child…!"

At the end of his sentence, the half Saiyan child in question stood up, tall and strong. Whirling around, Gohan's hatred filled eyes glared down at the fallen one. He still held the same energy and ferocity he had brought to the surface through intense emotions and pain. His turquoise eyes wavered in their place.

As soon as Gohan spotted his uncle Radditz, lying in a pool of red blood and his lips coated with it as well, the child suddenly relaxed. Letting out an exhausted sigh, Gohan's eyes turned back to their original color and texture before turning blank white. Then, with a deep out flow of breath, Gohan collapsed, losing consciousness and falling forward, flat on his gut and face.

Darkness now overcame his world…

TO BE CONTINUED…