A/N: This is something a little different than the usual "Tree Of Might" concept I hope you'll enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of its' characters. Akira Toriyama does!
…..
Krillin sighed as he looked off into the distance, there was still no sign of Gohan. The bald former monk had planned to camp in the forest of Mount Pazu along with Bulma, Oolong and Gohan. But what was keeping Gohan? Had Chi-Chi changed her mind about allowing her son to join them?
Oolong tried to get a fire going beneath an enormous pot. He leaned in too close as the flames ignited and promptly singed his nose. Krillin and Bulma burst into laughter at the sight of his soot covered nose.
At that very moment Gohan arrived, " Hey! Sorry I'm late..."
" Mmmm! What's that delicious smell? " Gohan asked eagerly. " It smells just like Mom's kitchen in the morning!"
The pig swallowed hard and turned ashen. Oolong muttered under his breath as he became the target for Bulma and Krillin's laughter once more. He decided to direct attention to the enormous backpack Gohan carried.
" What was your mother thinking when she sent you out with that thing?" Oolong gasped as he pointed to the monstrous backpack.
" That is SOME backpack, Gohan," Bulma mused.
" Uh, Mom packed it for me," the son of Goku explained.
" That figures!" Krillin sighed.
Bulma, Krillin and Oolong held their sides as they laughed and teased a sheepish-looking Gohan about the contents of his over-sized backpack. It seemed as if the half-Saiyan child would never stop pulling out items.
" Not only does he look like he's going on safari, but he brought everything with him but the kitchen sink!" Oolong guffawed.
" Just how LONG did Chi-Chi think you were going to be out here?" Bulma questioned as she tried not to snicker.
" You could keep an expedition fed with all that food!" Krillin declared as Gohan pulled stacks of canned goods and even MORE items out of his backpack.
...
A probe sent from Turles's ship crashed into the Earth causing an explosion. The spider-like craft scuttled away but left flames in its wake that rapidly spread to the forest where Bulma, Krillin, Oolong and Gohan were camping...
...
Krillin awoke to the sound of terrified forest creatures and the smell of smoke. Stepping out of his tent, he saw that the forest was ablaze. He quickly roused the others. At Krillin's suggestion, he and Gohan set out to blow away the inferno using power blasts.
Great trees began to fall to the ground. Gohan had to lift up a fallen tree to free a small purple dragon pinned beneath it. Soon the roaring fire was extinguished but sheer devastation was left behind by the flames. The beautiful forest was reduced to nothing but scorched tree trunks. Helpless denizens of the forest milled about unsure of what to do or where to go.
"All these poor animals have lost their home! We have to do something!" Gohan exclaimed.
"I know! Bulma, you have the Dragon Radar, let's use the Dragon Balls and wish back the forest!" Krillin shouted.
"Yeah!" Gohan agreed excitedly.
...
The sky darkened and the great dragon Shenron appeared and promised to grant the group of friends a single wish. Gohan had to stop the small dragon he had rescued from attacking Shenron. The small creature wouldn't have stood a chance against the great dragon.
In no time at all the forest was restored to its former beauty. With their campsite and supplies ruined, Bulma, Krillin, Oolong and Gohan decided to cancel their camping adventure.
...
Turles's probe sent back information and visuals to his ship. The dark-skinned Saiyan stared at the screen in disbelief. Instead of a bare lifeless sphere, the planet Earth was a thing of beauty and it was absolutely teaming with life.
'What became of you, Kakarot? Why didn't you complete your mission? ' Turles wondered.
"What are your orders, Master Turles?" the huge orange- skinned being that piloted the Saiyan's ship questioned.
"It seems Kakarot has failed to carry out his duty to purge this world. This planet will be perfect to plant the seed of the Tree of Might. We'll harvest the fruit and the tree will fulfill Kakarot's mission. It's the least we can do since he left the planet for our use," Turles declared.
The laughter of the two pirates echoed through the ship.
...
Gohan sighed with disappointment. Not only had he lost the competition with his father over who could their breath the longest in their outdoor tub. But he'd had to endure a thorough scolding from his mother because the little purple dragon he rescued had followed him home. The sight of the creature had terrified Chi-Chi. His furious mother had demanded that Gohan take the beast back to the mountain.
...
Turles stayed behind in his ship as the Crusher Corps team walked out on the Earth to plant the tree whose voracious roots sucked out the very life-giving energy of the unfortunate worlds it was planted upon. The pirate commander examined his charts to decide which hapless planet would be the next victim of the Tree of Might.
...
Amond, the massive orange -skinned pirate gave a great cry as he sent a powerful blast into the Earth. The resulting explosion created a great chasm.
An evil smile crossed the face of the long dark green-haired Daiz as he tossed a seed from the Tree of Might into the chasm. Each of the team expressed their hopes that the tree would sprout and quickly bear fruit.
...
Gohan played with his new friend, Icarus the dragon until Chi-Chi called him in for supper.
...
As Yamcha bragged about his expensive hover-car to Puar, he felt an ominous power. Suddenly the pair were knocked from the sky by the force of the explosion caused by Turles's second -in -command. The scar-faced former bandit could only groan in despair over his costly ruined hover-car.
Far away, Piccolo also noticed a power that brought a sense of pure evil.
...
The seed from the Tree Of Might sprouted almost immediately. Its monstrous roots tore through the forest uprooting trees and frightening the animals. Even a nearby city suffered devastation as the roots continued their ravage of the planet. Soon the enormous tree stood high above the ruined forest. The other trees were left as nothing but lifeless husks.
"Soon the tree will bear fruit,"Amond chuckled.
"After we eat the fruit, we'll be invincible!" Rasin and Lakasei declared.
The bulbous-headed purple Beenz brothers were delighted with the prospect of gaining power from the fruit once more. Daiz wholeheartedly agreed. Cacoa, the cyborg added his assent.
...
At the Son home, Goku, Bulma, Oolong, Master Roshi and Gohan listened as Yamcha bemoaned his misfortune with his expensive hover-car. Tien and Chiaotzu were also rapt with attention to his tale of woe. Chi-Chi just shook her head as she served tea to each of their guests.
Bulma leapt up from her seat in absolute fury " You bought that flashy car to catch the eye of some girl! DIDN'T YOU?"
"N-n-no! Of course not!" Yamcha protested.
"Did you even THINK before you bought that EXPENSIVE CONTRAPTION?" Bulma screeched.
Master Roshi was thoroughly enjoying the show. Tien and Chiatzou merely gave each other knowing looks. Bulma and Yamcha's spats were legendary.
There was a sudden tap on the window, Chi-Chi was livid when she saw the small purple dragon trying to get Gohan's attention.
"Didn't I tell you to get rid of that thing?" Chi-Chi fumed.
" Actually Chi-Chi..." Goku began.
" OOOHHH! I should have known! You two went behind my back! GET RID OF HIM NOW, GOHAN!" Chi-Chi ordered.
Gohan went out and shooed away the protesting little dragon away.
"Maybe something's wrong. He was acting kinda strange," Goku observed.
"Nonsense! He just wanted to play and distract Gohan from his studies," Chi-Chi insisted.
...
A voice suddenly called out to Goku.
"King Kai?" Gou said in surprise.
"Goku, Something horrible has happened to the planet Earth. A monstrous plant known as the Tree of Might has been planted on Earth. When it bears fruit it will drain all the energy from the planet and reduce it to one huge lifeless desert. I'm afraid it's already too late for the Earth," King Kai sadly informed him.
"No! I can't just give up!" Goku protested.
Goku quickly explained the situation to those seated at the table. All of the Z- fighters agreed that they would combine their powers to destroy the tree. Gohan tried to join them.
"YOU ARE STAYING RIGHT HERE, GOHAN!" ChiChi demanded.
Gohan watched sadly as his father and friends went to blow away the tree.
...
"What good did it do to wish the forest back?" Krillin groaned when he saw the forest's lifeless trees.
As a group, Goku, Yamcha, Krillin , Tien and Chiatzou fired their ki blasts at the tree. When the smoke cleared, they were stunned to discover there was no damage to the tree whatsoever.
Harsh laughter rang out from the top of the tee. Goku floated to the top of the tree followed by the others.
"You CAN'T destroy the Tree Of Might!" Amond declared confidently.
"Get in our way and you'll end up dead!" Diaz chuckled.
Soon the battle was on. Cacoa quickly brought Yamcha to the ground and the combined form of the Beenz brothers took down Chiatzou. Tien stepped into his small friend's place.
Krillin took on Amond and Daiz chose to fight Goku.
...
Gohan had gone to the cave to play with Icarus. The little purple dragon was nowhere to be found.
"Maybe he got mad at me for shooing him away," Gohan sighed. Suddenly Icarus was right before him. The dragon seemed frantic to show Gohan something. Gohan climbed on the little dragon's back.
"Show me what it is, Boy!" Gohan exclaimed.
Gohan was taken to the site where the battle raged on between the Z- fighters and the Crusher Corps. He leapt from Icarus's back to join in the fray. After bringing down Tien, the Beenz brothers attacked Gohan.
...
Turles watched Gohan on his ship's visual screen with great interest.
"Could it be?...Yes! Yes! The brat is a Saiyan!"
The commander of the Crusher Corps face lit up with a cruel smile. He had plans for the boy.
...
Gohan bravely defeated the Beenz brothers but he cringed with horror as he looked about. Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and even Chiatzou were lying lifeless on the ground.
"NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Gohan screeched in horror.
Tears filling his eyes, the half-Saiyan backed into someone standing behind him.
"Dad?" Gohan asked in confusion as he looked up at what seemed to be a mirror image of his father.
But why would his father be wearing silver and black Saiyan armor?
"You're not my dad!' the little demi-Saiyan exclaimed.
"I am Turles. You must be Kakarot's brat. Come with me. I can teach you to live as a true Saiyan."
"I'm not going ANYWHERE with YOU!" Gohan snarled.
"You don't really have a choice!" Turles smirked as he snatched Gohan up.
Gohan sighed with relief as Piccolo suddenly appeared. But his relief quickly turned to horror as Turles blasted the Namek. The demi-Saiyan gave a piteous cry as he realized Piccolo had also been slain.
"Let go of my Gohan!" Goku roared. He had disposed of the Crusher Corps and he planned to rescue his son.
Turles threw a power ball up into the sky and forced Gohan to stare at the shimmering ball of light.
"NO! DON'T LOOK GOHAN!" Goku cried out.
Poor Gohan was completely helpless as his eyes were held open against his will by the cruel pirate. His eyes grew red, fur sprouted ...
...
Gohan awoke feeling strange. He flushed with embarrassment as he realized he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. A strange garment and a set of Saiyan-like armor were thrown by his feet.
"Put those on and be quick about it!" the imposing figure of Turles demanded.
The son of Goku looked around frantically " DAD! DAD, WHERE ARE YOU?"
Turles sighed,"Ah, Yes! You don't remember what happened after your transformation."
"W-what a-are y-you talking about?" Gohan stammered.
His eyes followed Turles's outstretched hand. He gasped in horror at the sight. An indistinguishable bloody mass lay on the ground but there was no mistaking the blood-soaked orange gi with his father's insignia.
"SO kind of you to get rid of your sire for us during your time as an Oozaru. He really was quite the pest!" Turles said casually.
"NO, I DIDN'T! I WOULDN'T!" Gohan choked.
"No?" Turles smirked "Look under your feet, boy!"
The trembling youngster lifted up his left foot and blanched in absolute disgust. His foot was stained red with bits of sticky black spiky hair with chunks of flesh attached. His stomach threatened to heave.
"Tough break, Kid," the wounded Diaz said. He was the only surviving member of the Crusher Corps.
"I'll give you a choice, brat. You can come with us or stay here and die!" Turles announced.
"NNNOOOOOOOOOO!" Gohan screamed...
...
Chi-Chi leapt out of the bed she shared with Goku "I'll bet that dragon's back and he's trying to eat Gohan!"
"Aw, C'mon, Chi-Chi!" Goku sighed.
They both hurried to Gohan's room. He was sitting up in his bed, tears rolling down his little face.
"Oh! My poor baby!" Chi-Chi exclaimed.
"Look's like someone had a bad dream!" Goku mused
"You're alive! Turles didn't win!..."
Goku hugged his son tightly," Turles will never hurt anyone again, Gohan."
...
Gohan stretched and smiled as he chased the sleep from his eyes. What a nightmare he had endured! He lazily sniffed the air for the scent of his mother's cooking and his face froze in horror as he realized he wasn't in his room at home. Stars whizzed by in a small window on the far wall.
The scowling figure of Daiz appeared in the room " It's about time you got up! Better get moving! The commander won't appreciate you sleepin' in!"
A tear ran down Gohan's face as he realized that the nightmare had been reality. He had only dreamt about his parents still being alive. But Gohan's nightmare was only beginning….
...
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of "Turles's Triumph! " Reviews would be greatly appreciated!
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