18Hey guys! 123GOHANZ here again with another new fanfic! And again it's Gohan centric! Oh boi!
Now some of you may be thinking, "123GOHANZ, what about A Demi-Saiyan For A Familiar?" Do not fret people! I HAZ A PLAN! I'm already at work with the third chapter. I planned on releasing it on New Years but I found myself unsatisfied with my earlier interpretations of how the scene would break down after the reveal so I had to do multiple revisions and now that I've found a proper tone it's safe to say that the next chapter will come along not to long after this goes up. Give or take a week or so.
Anyways, let me get down to why I wrote this fic in the first place. Honestly I was inspired a bit by This War of Mine by Sivam-Surprise, the recent episode of Dragon Ball Super 80, and also by my need to educate some of the Dragon Ball fandom on Gohan's character. As a big fan of the character it's often frustrating to see when people claim that Gohan's previous state of weakness (cuz now he's buffed up and is actually more powerful than ever) in Super was due to Akira Toriyama's lack of skill in writing, ChiChi's meddling in Gohan's life, or him being a bitch ass wuss. All of which is BS in my mind. Gohan was never a fighter, sure he had skill in fighting but never did he had that spirit to continually strive to become stronger when no force opposed him. The only time we, the viewers, see Gohan possess this was in his true timeline counterpart who sadly dies in a battle against the androids.
Gohan needs to a have a reason to fight otherwise he will slack off in favor of living a normal life and that got me thinking after reading This War of Mine. What if things had turned out differently? That Gohan was placed in a situation when the need to continually get stronger would be constantly present? A force that existed to constantly set out to threaten not only his life but those he loves? What better world to do that in than RWBY? So I set out to create a tale, one where the beloved son of Goku learns to live with fighting spirit born out of need.
Which brings me to the deuteragonist, Jaune Arc who mainly wishes to become stronger because of a petty want. He's my favorite character of the RWBY cast thus far and mainly because of his desire to become strong and his potential to become something greater than a warrior. Maybe become the hero perhaps? Though his initial desires where relatively shallow, only wanting to become a reknown hero for his family names' sake, as the series progress I sense a great deal of development out of him and want to explore that further with yet another person who desires the same thing yet for possibly different reasons.
He could hear it, the wailing his father made in pure agony as his supposed uncle crushed what was the strongest man on Earth. Tears welled in his eyes as he merely sat there, in this strange pod that served as his cage.
Gohan cried as the weight of the situation finally broke him. He tried to resist, even banged his tiny little hands in an attempt to break out of his jail but to no avail. He'd done all he could to stay strong and do as what his father would've done but now he felt utterly powerless.
"AHHHHHH!"
Another muffled scream and a sad whimper escaped him. Why? WHY DAMN IT?! Why was this happening to him? He was only a child, four to be exact, and this day was meant to be one where he bonded with newer people, not have his father's cries torture him. His eyes closed shut, a wealth of anger building inside of him. Nothing but blind rage consumed Gohan as his father's screams continued. His tiny body shook, ready to explode with an awesome power but before he could leap into action, before he could reap vengeance on the man who's brought him this pain and suffering, the sound of silence met him.
All thoughts ceased in his head save for one. It was hard to believe, but in the face of such an overwhelming force his father held no chance, no likelihood of ever winning. And this haunting sound, this lack of noise was telling of what the outcome of their battle had been. Of who had died not but a few hundred feet away from him…
All of his hate. All of his anger dissipated in an instant, replaced by a soul crushing sadness. Even when the sounds of battle continued he could only make out the noise of two men fighting, his father's voice not once heard midst the fight. Gohan collapsed on the padded seat, a downcast expression on his face and worsening thoughts as the seconds passed.
A cry of pain, a loud explosion, and the fight seemed to have ended. Gohan scampered over to the pod's glass, hoping against all hope that it was his father, heck even Piccolo that stood over the crater's edge. He waited with baited breath to see who had been the victor, praying to god that the worse had not come to pass. A figure finally made themselves shown, however that elongated hair clearly did not belong to his father and the man owning them was quickly making his way back.
Panic crept into the the boy's heart and he found himself backing away from the pod's entrance to in an effort place any amount of distance between him and that man. The boy began frantically searching his surroundings to try and find something, anything to help him escape. However, only buttons with unknown characters were ever present which left him with little options. The crunch of earth was getting louder and louder, an indicator that the man was fast approaching.
'I hope this works…' He pondered before moving to what he assumed was the controls. He pressed every button he could find, trying to get the machine to do what he commanded: get him away from here.
"Oh look at that, the little runt is afraid," A voice outside mocked. Gohan's head slowly turned to face the crouching form of the murderer peering through the glass. "Don't be, boy. So long as you do as you're told I won't kill you. Worst case I sell you into slave work. No doubt you'd be a weakling like that joke of a father you've got so I'd be having no need for thrash like you. Heh, to think that my own brother would be so pathetic."
The man laughed at that. As if the notion of killing his own brother brought him amusement. Soon his cackling died down and he made a move to open the door. This was it, this was the way Gohan would die. Either by serving this man or working himself to death, Gohan's life would end here and now the moment the barrier between them opened. However, that never came to be as the man made a confused expression.
"What the? Why won't this blasted thing open?!" The alien roared. His fist slammed into the pod but the metal didn't give. The man growled in annoyance, patting himself over as if in search of something on his person. "Where is it? Where is it?!"
His anger made apparent, Gohan could only watch as the man fumbled around in search of something. "Where the hell is my damned remote!"
Gohan perked up at that. Slowly his eyes scanned the pod, looking for anything that was detachable. It took him a few seconds but without the overwhelming pressure to find a solution right away, he took account of everything his settled on and found something peculiar. He reached over to it and pulled harshly before it came out its socket forcing the boy to fall down. The noise was not lost to the man who looked in curiosity before his face shifted into a mortified look.
"H-hey now. Don't be reckless with that kid…." He told Gohan. As the boy stood, the man tried (and failed) to look calm and collected. "Now, why don't you press the third button there?"
The child looked at the tool in his hand and back at the monster before backing away, earning him a scowl from Raditz. The man made more urges for Gohan to do what he was told but never did the boy yeild.
"DAMN IT KID! OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR OR I SWEAR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
At this point Raditz merely began hitting the space pod but like Gohan had no success. It could take atmospheric entry and survive the cold reaches of space for essentially forever. It'd take more than a few hits from even a saiyan warrior to crack. Even then Gohan feared that his cage turned into haven would fail anytime soon and as such began scanning the machine in his hands.
The remote was his only ticket out of here. He had no idea what would happen if he pressed any button save for the one instructed by Raditz. Gohan looked back up to see the furious expression on Raditz's face and the desperation in his eyes. Steeling himself, Gohan fumbled with the remote pressing a number of buttons before a beep was heard.
"Destination: Sector 16, Caltin galaxy, Planet 302. Warning: Planet is unexplored. Would you like to travel there still?" A synthesized voice called out. His remote lit up to lights, prompting him to decide. One click later and the voice returned. "Understood. Making Plot Point to marked destination. Assault Pod making take-off preparations…...systems check. Take off."
A feeling of vertigo hit Gohan as the floor beneath him shifted. Raditz made an angry look and reached backed. Energy crackled in his hands as he powered for an attack to stop the pod but before he could fire the machine blasted off into the air, flying faster and faster till it left the Earth entirely….
Gohan's mind drifted in what felt like nothingness. The sense of self serving as his only indicator that his little body still held life. Other than this fact the child had no clue as to what was going on beyond the confines of his mind. Time had become irrelevant and the emotions he felt was weak and dull compared to the whirlpool of feelings he had moments ago. If words could describe what this sensation was like it was not unlike sleeping, yet somehow different all the same. It was no lucid dream as visions failed to form and the empty void was all that greeted him, however he was still aware of his body positioning and the feeling that he was inexplicably moving despite not having moved a single muscle.
Suddenly a blaring noise, a continuous flash of red tore the child away from this oddly peaceful state to see an orb coming closer and closer from the sea of stars. The orb itself was small at first, it's details barely noticeable until it's size suddenly began to shift.
"No...it's not getting bigger. I'm getting closer!" He realized and no sooner than those thoughts entered his mind, the same synthesized voice sprang back into life.
"Reanimation of suspended subject complete. Vital signs….optimal. Passenger successfully reawoken. Mission status: Attack pod had reached target destination. Target destination's atmospheric entry will commence in T-Minus Ten...Nine…" The voice began to drone off though as it continued this the child clambered back into the cushions, bracing himself for what was to come. The planet was becoming noticeably larger at a greater rate and within seconds all he could see was the vast oceans and five major landmasses.
The pod shook violently eliciting a fierce cry from the boy. His mind wandered to the idea of death and whether or not he'd survive this ordeal. The glass providing his view was lit ablaze obscuring his vision. Not that he would have paid it much mind as the final seconds ticked down and the child forcibly shut his eyes expecting the worst.
"...One," The voice finalized before a sudden movement rocked Gohan's world yet again, this time rendering him unconscious.
Relatively short I know but that's how I function I guess. If people get hooked on the first chapter then great and it's short enough that it sells the idea and set up without a loooooong as heck exposition.
If you guys like the idea leave a comment regarding your thoughts and whether this is something worth pursuing. I'll catch ya next time, 123GOHANZ OUT!