Chapter 6. Mistake number one

Gohan watched as the stars flew by in high speed. The half-saiyan leaned against the cold glass of the window with his forehead. His legs were bent and his arms were wrapped around them. The boy was wearing a fresh new blue uniform and armor with the Suta Team logo on his right chest plate. The boy made an invisible circle with his gloved finger.

"I've got a feeling this will become your favorite hideout." Tobney's voice mentioned as the source of the sound stepped closer. Gohan ignored him and continued to stare at the outside world. "You seem sad." Tobney said as he eyed the half-saiyan.

"He was right." Gohan whispered. Tobney raised an eyebrow. "Comora was right."

"Yeah. He usually is." Tobney crossed his arms thoughtfully. "That can get quite annoying after a while. So, what's the problem?"

Gohan sighed. "I stayed on the left field the entire time." Tobney leaned against the wall. "I lost every match."

"Of course. You're just a rookie." Tobney answered with a shrug. "What did you expect? That you could come in here and beat us all?" He sneered.

"No." Gohan answered. "But I didn't assume I would be the weakest soldier here."

"We're the elite team, rookie. There is a reason for that. Vegeta knows who to put in the elite team." Tobney answered. "There is a reason why he placed you with us."

Gohan sighed. "Maybe he just wanted to bring me down." He muttered.

Tobney shrugged. "Maybe." He answered. "I don't think so though." Tobney continued. "Besides, you didn't even do that bad. Yes, they beat you but there were some close calls. You've got the others worried." He said as his eyes moved to the showers where the other warriors were.

"Have I got you worried?" Gohan asked as his eyes moved to the other warrior. "You're strong. You're the second strongest of the bunch."

Tobney gave him a wary glance. "How do you know that without consulting a scouter?" He asked.

Gohan shrugged. "I can feel it."

Tobney almost fell sideways and widened his eyes. "You can feel power levels?" He asked. "How?"

"It's easy. It's almost like breathing and walking to me." Gohan answered. "It's not as accurate as the scouters can do it. I don't feel a number but I can compare it with others power levels." Gohan explained. "And in comparison to you the other warriors all seemed weaker. Except for Comora."

"That's amazing." Tobney muttered thoughtfully. "The others will probably go to bed soon. If you don't want any company I suggest you fall asleep as soon as you possibly can." Tobney warned.

Gohan smiled. "Thanks." He answered as he jumped off the window sill. Tobney shrugged and walked out the room. Gohan sighed and fell down on his bed. The boy stared up at the ceiling as his mind went over the recent fights he had.

Itoro appeared in front of Gohan. The man eyed the fighting stance Gohan was in and tilted his head. "Almost perfect." He observed. "There is just one tiny flaw."

"Where?" Gohan asked as he looked down at his own stance.

Itoro smirked and appeared in front of him. "You're not looking at me." He sneered. Gohan's head snapped up and he blocked a punch from Itoro. The man nodded approvingly and pushed his knee right into Gohan's stomach. The boy gasped as the air was forced out of his longs. Itoro immediately grabbed a fist of Gohan's hair and threw the boy up in the air. He opened his mouth and a ki-blast was sent from his face. Gohan widened his eyes and only got time to cross his arms in front of him.

The blast burned at his skin as he was forced to bounce against the wall behind him. Gohan groaned as he pushed his energy away from his body and pushed the blast away. Gohan regained his breath as his eyes searched for his opponent.

"Right here." Gohan's eyes shot to the right only to be caught by a punch. Gohan was launched back and received another punch. The boy blocked the third punch but before he knew it a kick connected to his shoulder. The boy whimpered and tried to block the next punch but Itoro put too much power in it. He was forced into the defensive as Itoro launched attacks to his address and it seemed a second later to Gohan when…

"It's time!" Comora yelled. Gohan and Itoro ceased their match. The man smirked at him.

"I win." He said. "You didn't land a punch on me and I landed quite some punches on you." The man waved and moved to the field on the right. Gohan sighed as he placed a hand on his forehead.

Gohan closed his eyes when he noticed the others were walking in the room. He hoped they wouldn't notice he was really awake. Or that they would just leave him alone if they did notice.

The following morning Gohan was woken up by Tobney. The twenty-year old cheerfully led him to the bathroom and even offered to help him get dressed. Gohan kindly refused this mock offer but he did get the hint and quickly changed. He joined the others for breakfast. He tried to leave immediately after breakfast but Comora got to him before he could leave.

"Rookie. I need to talk to you." He said as he tapped against Gohan's shoulder. "Follow me." Gohan followed him to the room he assumed was the living room. There Comora sat down and produced a few sheets of paper. Gohan watched as he laid them out on the table. "You have a lot to catch up on. Our team is specialized in several techniques which only we know. You have to learn those techniques as well."

Gohan nodded in understanding and Comora continued: "We have to make a schedule for your training. But don't worry. You'll join our normal routine. We have two collective spars every day and one duo spar with another member of the team. During the duo spars we will teach you the technique and I'll revise them during the evening spar. Got it?"

Gohan's heart sank. Three training sessions every day? Was he supposed to be defeated three times a day? The boy sighed at the prospect and his body slumped in the couch. Comora didn't seem to notice as he wrote down a schedule and mentioned what Gohan was supposed to learn every day. The boy watched sadly but smiled when Comora looked at him and nodded to everything Comora said.

Comora left Gohan to think about everything. The boy leaned back in the couch and sighed unhappily. Gohan suddenly sat up and his senses moved around the ship. There were three warriors in one room which he gathered was the training room. Comora was walking around in the kitchen. Tobney was in their bedroom. Gohan raised an eyebrow. He was all alone and he could do whatever he wanted.

"I will destroy your planet if you escape." Vegeta's voice sounded in his mind. He wasn't planning on escaping. He knew he had to stay under Vegeta's command to keep his planet save. But that didn't mean he had to stay in this ship, right?

Gohan nodded. He was going back to Vegeta's ship and hope Vegeta would find it too much trouble to sent him back. Hopefully, he would let Gohan stay there.

Gohan didn't even consider the other option that Vegeta might send him back. The boy had a one track mind: Getting out of here. Gohan started running as he got closer to the door. The boy opened it and ran inside. He grabbed a remote and opened the door of a space pod.

The boy looked at the remote as he went to climb in the pod. Then he felt something and he looked up. "Crap." He muttered as he jumped out the space pod. He quickly pressed on the button to close the space pod and was about to put the remote down when the door opened.

Tobney walked inside. "Hey rookie. What do you say we…" Tobney's eyes moved to the still closing space pod and the remote in Gohan's hand. The half-saiyan quickly put it down but it was already too late. The half-saiyan watched with a hard beating heart as realization dawned on Tobney's face. "You're trying to get out, aren't you?" Tobney asked.

"No!" Gohan answered. "I was just... I was admiring the pods and…" Gohan stuttered as he motioned to the pod.

"And I caught you in the act." Tobney tilted his head. "Didn't Vegeta say he would destroy your planet if you ran away?" Tobney asked curiously.

"I didn't want to runaway. I just wanted to go back to Vegeta's ship." Gohan blabbed out. The boy closed his mouth and closed his eyes.

Tobney laughed. "The first thing Vegeta would have done is sending you right back." He sneered. Tobney stepped back and pressed on the button next to the door. The door opened and Tobney opened his mouth. "Hey!" He yelled loudly. Gohan flinched and shook his head. "THE ROOKIE IS TRYING TO RUNAWAY!" Tobney's voice barked through the ship.

Gohan felt like a heavy weight was placed in his stomach. "Please be quiet!" He hissed.

Tobney smirked as they heard footsteps running closer. Gohan stepped back when he noticed Tobney was gradually powering up. The older warrior suddenly disappeared to reappear behind Gohan.

Gohan whirled around and tried to punch him but Tobney grabbed his wrist and twisted the arm on Gohan's back. The boy whimpered in pain.

Gohan looked up to see the other warriors walk in the room. "I wasn't trying to escape." Gohan snarled at him. "Really."

"Cut it out. I can see it when someone is lying." Tobney answered as he looked down at the half-saiyan. "It's the motions someone unconsciously does when he or she is lying. You were displaying three of the seven symptoms just now."

Itoro raised an eyebrow. "Did you really think you would be able to get away?" He asked curiously. "Vegeta controls the whole universe."

"I've got you." Tobney teased in a sing-song voice. Gohan frowned as Tobney forced him to step closer to the others. "So, what now? Shall we ask Comora if we can punish him?" Tobney suggested cheerfully.

Gohan noticed some raised eyebrows at this suggestion. He didn't get the time to think about it since the others agreed with Tobney. "What?" Gohan exclaimed. "What do you mean? I didn't do anything wrong."

"Better save than sorry, right." Itoro answered as he turned around. Tobney forced Gohan to follow them.

Comora was slightly surprised when the group walked in his office. The man placed his pen on the desk. "What is going on here?" He asked as his eyes moved to Gohan.

"The rookie tried to escape." Itoro answered. "Are we allowed to help him understand his wrongs?" he asked in mock seriousness.

Comora chuckled. "You have one hour. Try not to do any permanent damage." He answered as he grabbed his pen.

"What? You can't do this!" Gohan yelled as Tobney turned him around. Gohan felt Tobney's fingers tighten around his arm when he tried to pull away.

"So what are we going to do?" Itoro asked the others as he eyed the half-saiyan. Gohan was pushed inside a room and Kaon closed the door and locked it. Gohan's eyes moved over the rest of the room. A window would only mean his doom and the only door was just being locked.

"A door won't keep me inside." Gohan snarled at them.

"You won't get to the door." Kaon answered as he crossed his arms.

"Then why did you lock it?" Gohan countered as he raised an eyebrow.

Kaon's fully black eyes moved from Gohan to the other warriors. "What are we going to do with him?" He asked them.

Gohan frowned and got in a fighting stance. He wasn't going to keel over just like that. Kaon walked to the closet and started rummaging in it. Gohan stepped back as Tobney and Suno closed him in. Kaon turned around and showed a black whip. Gohan widened his eyes. "Oh no. no. no." Gohan said with a frown. The shook his head. "That's not going to happen."

"I heard Vegeta showed you how to handle a whip." Tobney sneered as he stepped closer. Gohan stepped back again.

"Stay away from me." Gohan snarled back. "This isn't fair."

"Life isn't fair." Tobney answered as his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You should know." Itoro sneered as his eyes moved to Tobney. The younger warrior ignored this taunt and kept his eyes focused on Gohan.

"Who can do the honors?" Kaon asked as he twirled the whip in his hands. Gohan frowned and chose this moment to attack. He jumped up and pulled back a fist. He tried to punch the closest target but Tobney jumped out of the way. Gohan sent a blast to Itoro and the man was hit head on.

The others only got a second to blink at Gohan's power but they recovered very quickly. Gohan attacked Kaon and smacked the whip out of his hands. The man frowned and clenched his fists. Gohan punched the man in his stomach. Kaon gasped and stepped back while Gohan whirled around in the air and kicked against the man's head.

Gohan turned around to catch Tobney's fist. He pulled Tobney closer and kneed the older warrior in the stomach. Gohan pushed Tobney away and jumped in the air to avoid a punch from Kaon. A hand locked around Gohan's foot and threw him to the ground. Gohan landed on his hands and knees and tried to get up.

A foot was pushed into his stomach and forced his body up in the air. Tobney curled his hands together and slammed them into Gohan's back. The boy's body almost doubled over and he was thrown back to the ground. Gohan's body was already shaking in pain but he ignored the stings in his back as he got up.

The boy found himself surrounded. The other warriors didn't leave him any space to breathe as they gathered around his small frame. Gohan frowned and pulled back a fist but Kaon grabbed his elbow before he could even launch it. Kaon's other hand locked around Gohan's second arm. He pressed Gohan's arms against his sides. "That's taken care of." He said.

"Who is going first?" Itoro asked.

"Tobney." Kaon answered as his eyes moved to Tobney. "You are the one who caught him. You can make the first scars." Itoro held the whip out to Tobney as Kaon spoke.

Tobney accepted the whip and before Gohan knew it hands were attacking him from every direction. The bands of his armor were unlocked and the armor was pulled away from his body. Gohan stepped back and pushed every hand that came close away. The others gave annoyed growls when they noticed Gohan was defending his body well enough.

"I'll handle that." Tobney said with a smirk. The others nodded and Kaon and Itoro grabbed Gohan's arms. The boy frowned as they turned him around and walked to the metal table. They slammed Gohan's arms down on it and forced him to lean on the table with his arms.

Tobney extended one finger and a sudden light shimmered around it. The boy pushed Gohan's hair aside and moved the ki-knife to Gohan's uniform. "Stay still if you don't want me to cut you." He said as he grabbed the hem of his uniform.

"Like you're not going to do worse." Gohan snarled back as he struggled. His arms were able to move up a centimeter before the other two pushed them down again.

"Yeah. But hey. It's your call." Tobney answered with a smirk. Gohan swallowed when he felt the heat of the knife against his skin. He didn't want to obey to their orders but he did notice how close the knife was to his skin. Even breathing in too deeply would cause a new scar.

Gohan resisted the urge to arch his back as he felt the heat moving down. Tobney ripped the last part of Gohan's uniform and pushed it off his shoulders. "Good boy." Itoro released Gohan's arm with one hand to pat on Gohan's head. The boy frowned at him and tried to pull his arms away. Itoro quickly grabbed his arm and pushed it down on the table again.

Tobney stepped back and tightened his grip on the whip. Gohan was now breathing very quickly. The boy bit his lip until drips of blood ran down his chin. He still recalled Vegeta's punishment when he tried to leave Vegeta's ship. He could still feel the whip crushing his skin. Gohan's arms were shaking as he tried to power up. The others noticed it was getting harder to hold him. "Hurry up Tobney." Itoro yelled.

Tobney didn't need any more encouragement. The boy pulled back the whip and smashed it against Gohan's back. Gohan let out a strangled gasp. The boy didn't even get the time to recover as another lash landed on his back. Gohan let his head fall down tiredly. He groaned as another lash landed on his skin. He could feel warm drips running down his back and assumed it was blood. Tobney observed the damage the third lash had done and pulled the whip back once more. Gohan's whole body jolted once more. Tobney finished his turn by lashing one more time.

Gohan whimpered. "No more." He whispered.

"Oh come on." Kaon sneered. "Only Tobney has had his turn. We all want a crack at you." He answered. "We can all give five lashes."

Gohan looked up at him. He slowly shook his head and let his head fall down again. Tobney switched places with Kaon and he tousled Gohan's hair playfully. Gohan tensed and the high sound of the whip racing through the air was the only warning he got. The boy jumped as the whip connected with his skin once more.

A while later Itoro stepped back. "That was it. It's over, Rookie." He said cheerfully. Tobney and Suna released Gohan and stepped back too. They didn't really need to hold Gohan anymore. The half-saiyan was almost lying on the table by now. He was breathing heavily as his arms were spread over the table. Drops of blood were running down his back. The boy sighed as he tried to ignore the burning on his back.

"So what now?" Kaon asked as he grabbed Gohan by his shoulder and pulled him up. Gohan stumbled back and was caught by Tobney. The boy made sure that he was holding Gohan's shoulders and wouldn't get any blood on his hands. Gohan's legs trembled slightly and he hoped they wouldn't give out on him.

"We still have thirty minutes." Itoro answered with a shrug. "I don't really know what to do."

"Don't you think this is enough?" Tobney asked as he pulled Gohan's shoulders and made him arch his back. Gohan tensed as the wounds on his back throbbed painfully.

Kaon walked in with a cup. The man gave Gohan a push, forcing him to kneel down, and placed a foot on his back. The man tilted the cup and a white fluid ran down Gohan's hair and neck. "What the hell?" Tobney said as he raised an eyebrow.

Gohan gasped as the milk-like substance hit his body and he looked at the goo on his hand. The boy looked up. The warriors were all stricken by Gohan's ultimately shocked expression. Wanting to see that expression again; Tobney grabbed a bottle with juice and emptied the contents over Gohan's head too. The half-saiyan tensed as the liquid hit him and moved away from him. "Stop that!" He yelled.

Tobney snickered at his reaction and the others seemed to find some amusement in it too. Before he knew it they had collected different kinds of food and fluids and attacked him with it. A dough-like substance was rubbed against his skin; terrible smelling liquids fell down on his body. Every time he tried to get away one of the warriors would push him back to the ground until he just gave in…

Comora walked in the room. "Okay guys. Your hour is over. You… "The man widened his eyes at the scene in front of him. The five warriors were hovering over a small figure on the ground. The half-saiyan was curled up with his arms covering his head. The upper part of his uniform was missing and his body was littered with different colors of the different foods or other substances thrown at him. A small pool of a blood-red liquid was connected to Gohan's still bleeding back.

"What the hell are you doing?" Comora asked in a loud voice. The others all stopped and looked up.

"We're punishing him." Kaon answered as if it was obvious.

Comora closed his eyes and counted to ten. "Do you know how old he is?" He asked as he opened his eyes. The others exchanged glances and a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere settled in the room. "He's eleven years old, guys!" Comora snarled at them as he stalked closer.

The man grabbed Gohan's wrist. The boy flinched and looked up. He noticed Comora's face and a terrified expression appeared on his face. Was Comora here to claim is own turn in whipping him? Comora noticed this questioning glance. "Don't worry. It's over." He said as he pulled Gohan up. The man let Gohan steady himself and then gave him a small push as a sign that he could start walking. Gohan followed this order and looked down as they moved out of the room. The others stayed silent as they watched the two walk away.

Comora took a deep breath as he opened the rejuvenation tank. "Get out of those clothes and in this thing." He ordered as he eyed the half-saiyan. Gohan was trying to rub off some of the white paint on his skin but he was only making it worse. The half-saiyan did as he was told and climbed into the rejuvenation tank. "You are giving us more trouble than you're worth." Comora muttered as he gave Gohan an encouraging pat on his shoulder. Gohan didn't answer as he sat down and closed his eyes.

A while later the tank drained the liquid in automatically. Gohan opened his eyes and noticed he was all alone. The boy was thankful for that. He really didn't want to see any of the others at the moment. Gohan found a bundle of clothes neatly folded on the desk. He pulled on the black uniform and grabbed the armor. The Suta Team insignia was displayed vividly on the chest plate. A red circle was drawn around it, probably with a pen, to send Gohan a message: You're part of the team now.

Gohan pulled on the armor and turned to the white boots. He left the room and looked up his own little window sill. The boy leaned against the wall behind him with his head and sighed heavily. This was becoming too much for him.

Five warriors were sitting at a large table. They were all ready to eat and didn't waste any time to do this. The youngest warrior noticed an empty seat and he looked around. "Where is the rookie?" He asked curiously.

"I think he's angry at you." Comora answered as he leaned on the table with his elbows. The man eyed the other warriors.

Tobney looked at the other warriors. Kaon rolled his eyes. "He gets angered very easily then." He answered with a shrug.

"We were kind of hard on him." Tobney muttered as he looked at his plate.

"He should be able to take it." Kaon answered as he pushed a piece of meat around on his plate.

"You can go apologize." Comora suggested innocently.

"Apologize for a punishment?" Itoro asked with a frown.

"Apologize for a punishment that went wrong. You went a little too far." Comora corrected as he sent a strict glance to his comrades. They all exchanged glances and, after a sigh, Tobney got up.

"Fine. I'll go." He said before he turned away from them and walked out the room. The other fighters looked at each other and, one by one, followed Tobney's lead.

Gohan was sitting on the windowsill once more. He was staring at the stars and planets that raced by their ship on high speed. The half-saiyan glanced sideways when he noticed the familiar power levels. He wondered why they were all coming to the bedroom. It wasn't time to go to bed yet.

Gohan frowned as he watched them walk in the room. The group of warriors exchanged glances and Tobney stepped closer to Gohan. "Hey. We're sorry okay. We shouldn't have done what we did." Tobney said. "We went a little too far."

Gohan raised an eyebrow. "A little?" Gohan repeated.

"Okay. A lot. We won't do it again, okay?" Tobney answered. Gohan shrugged as he looked back at the window. Tobney extended his arm. "Let's get something to eat." He suggested.

Gohan eyed Tobney for a few seconds before he accepted Tobney's extended hand and jumped off the window sill. The following dinner went without any trouble. Gohan was silent as he ate his own food and kept a watchful eye on the others. They didn't really seem to be interested in him though.

Gohan was about to leave the table when Tobney placed a hand on his wrist. "Stay." Tobney said as Gohan looked back at him.

"What is wrong?" Gohan asked curiously.

Comora placed a small package on the table. "Hereby we invite you to be an official member of our team." Comora said as he pushed the package to the other side of the metal table. Gohan grabbed the package and eyed it. "What happened today was unfortunate but it did show us that you're a valid addition to our team."

"How did you find that out?" Gohan asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"You went through everything without crying or screaming." Kaon answered with a shrug. "That's enough evidence that you're a tough guy when you want to be."

Gohan looked at the package. "So what is this?"

"It's a present all the new members get." Comora answered. "Open it."

Gohan looked up at him. The half-saiyan grabbed the package and slowly opened it. The boy raised both his eyebrows when a small circular object appeared on the table. The white object had a dark blue circle in the middle. A small light blue button was visible in front of the darker circle. Gohan pressed on it and a blue light appeared from the dark blue circle. A figure slowly appeared in the light.

Gohan widened his eyes when he noticed it. A very small woman was standing inside the circle. She was wearing a yellow dress and a purple sash around it. Her black shoes almost disappeared in the grass on the ground. Her black hair was hanging loosely around her shoulders. The woman smiled at her son. "Mom." Gohan whispered as he reached out and touched the hologram. "How did you know that she looks like this?" Gohan asked as he looked up.

"We looked into your dreams. I did." Tobney answered with a shrug. "I can do that."

"That's good to know." Gohan muttered as he looked up at his comrade. "Thank you." He said as he eyed his small mother. Chi-chi smiled and waved at him. "Can she speak?" Gohan asked as he looked up.

"No." Comora answered. "She can only show emotions. She can adjust to what you're doing. If you are training she will be exercising too. If you leave her alone for a while she will go to sleep." Comora explained.

"Right." Gohan answered as he looked down at his small mother. Chi-chi was studying her son with interest. She grinned and showed a piece sign when he met her eyes. Gohan couldn't help but smile.

A while later Gohan entered the control room. The boy noticed Tobney was leaning on the window sill with his elbows. Gohan found out Tobney had a holographic person too. A small girl was sitting in his simulator. She looked up and her bright blue eyes studied the half-saiyan with interest. Her light pink dress accentuated her beautiful light blue skin.

Gohan leaned on the windowsill with his arms and eyed the small girl. "So this is your hide-out?" Gohan asked as he looked up.

Tobney glanced sideways and sent him a confused glance. "What are you talking about?"

"This is the place you go to when you want to be alone." Gohan clarified as he reached down his uniform and grabbed his Chi-chi simulator.

Tobney shrugged as he watched Gohan place his simulator next to Tobney's and switched it on. Chi-chi smiled at Gohan and got up. She looked around and noticed, after waving at Tobney, that she wasn't the only hologram in the room. The small girl and Chi-chi looked at each other and both reached out. They tried to cross the distance between them but noticed an invisible barrier was holding them back. They gave up and waved at each other.

"Who is that?" Gohan asked as he looked up at his comrade.

"My little sister." Tobney answered without looking at the hologram Gohan was referring too.

"Do you have a good relationship?" Gohan asked as he eyed the hologram.

"We did." Tobney answered as his eyes studied the darkness. "She was my best friend."

"Today. While everything was happening." Gohan muttered as he looked down at Chi-chi. "I heard the others make strange comments. They said that you might remember some things. That you knew how it felt." Gohan looked up and noticed Tobney had closed his eyes. "What happened?" He asked.

Tobney opened his eyes. "Do you know why Vegeta and Comora both agree that I'm the best person to look after you?" Tobney asked without looking at him. Gohan shook his head. "It's because I'm more like you than you think." Tobney continued. "When I was younger I was bullied a lot. My parents decided I needed to learn martial arts so I could defend myself. The moment I started taking lessons I noticed I liked it a lot and I was quite good at it too."

"One day flyers were handed out in my town. A martial arts tournament was held to find the strongest warrior on the planet. I had been training for years and I entered just to find out how I would do."

"How did you do?" Gohan asked impatiently when Tobney didn't continue the story. He watched as Chi-chi pulled out a picture album and showed the pictures to Tobney's little sister. They were having a silent conversation Gohan and Tobney weren't allowed to hear.

Tobney sighed. "I won." He answered. Gohan raised both his eyebrows. "I won and they shipped me off to Vegeta's ship. They told me the leader wanted to talk to me in person to give the reward. When I got there Vegeta offered me a position in his army. I refused and told him I wanted to go back to my planet. Vegeta told me that was fine but he told me to look out the window first. He said the view of my planet was too beautiful to miss."

Tobney scoffed. "I looked out the window just to in time to watch my planet explode." He said bitterly. Gohan gasped.

"He destroyed your planet?" Gohan asked in a whisper.

Tobney nodded once. "He told me to reconsider his offer and gave me three days to think about it. After that he placed me with a first class team so they could knock me into the right shape. When they couldn't handle me Vegeta decided that Comora would know what to do with me. I joined the elite team and they not too gently turned me into the warrior I am now."

Gohan looked up at him as Tobney continued: "Vegeta is a collector. He collects soldiers from every race. There are two other warriors from my planet in his army. You are one of his saiyan warriors." Tobney smirked. "He got lucky with you. He has a human and a saiyan in one package."

Gohan looked at his mother. Chi-chi was trying to comfort a sobbing little sister. Gohan recalled Comora's instructions that the small holograms could sense the feelings of their owners and would always display those emotions in the superlative form. Gohan looked up at Tobney again. "Vegeta is a jerk."

Tobney chuckled. "Everybody knows that. Nobody is stupid enough to say it out loud though." He answered amusedly. The twenty-year old turned to Gohan fully. "I know how you feel right now. Trust me. But it's just best to play by their rules. You will give in eventually and doing it now will save you a lot of misery." Tobney sighed out the last few words.

Gohan watched as Tobney shut down the simulator and the little girl disappeared. Tobney grabbed the machine and, after giving Gohan a last smile, turned away from him and left the room. Gohan looked down at his own simulator where Chi-chi was almost pulling out her hair in confusion.

"Everyone gather in the control room." Comora's voice called. Gohan pulled a face and shut off the hologram.

**** DBZ **** DBZ ****

"We're right on course." Comora said as he looked up at the large screen. Vegeta was leaning back in his seat as he eyed the occupants of the room. The soldiers were spread over the room. Gohan actually found a window sill he could crawl into and he was sitting there now.

Vegeta nodded approvingly. "Have you showed them the technique yet? It can come in very handy." Vegeta continued. Comora shook his head.

"Not yet. I'm going to start on it soon." Comora answered with a nod.

Vegeta's eyes moved to Gohan. "How is it going with the boy?" He asked as he looked back at Comora. Gohan looked back at them when he heard this reference to him. He'd been successfully ignoring the conversation until now. "Are you enjoying the trip so far?" Vegeta asked Gohan.

"How could you do this to me?" Gohan answered as he eyed Vegeta. Tobney placed his hand on Gohan's shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze.

"It's not all been going as smooth as I expected but we're working on it." Comora continued when Vegeta gave him a questioning glance. Gohan leaned back as Vegeta's eyes moved to him again.

"What happened?" Vegeta asked before Gohan looked away.

"He tried to leave the ship." Comora answered as he crossed his arms.

"You what?" Vegeta barked at Gohan. "Do you want me to destroy your planet right now? I can go there and let you watch everything." Vegeta threatened.

"I didn't want to leave your army!" Gohan yelled back. "I wanted to go back to your ship! I wanted to get out of this mission!"

"The first thing I would have done is send you right back." Vegeta answered. "It would have only cost you time."

"Told you." Tobney mentioned to Gohan.

The half-saiyan glared at Tobney for a moment before he looked back at Vegeta. "You can't blame me for thinking you wouldn't be a jerk." He snarled back.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow and looked at Comora. The man nodded and looked at Tobney. The twenty year old gave him a confused glance but then gasped and hit Gohan over the head. "Hey!" Gohan exclaimed.

"Part of the job." Tobney answered with a shrug. "Don't call lord Vegeta a jerk." He added strictly. Gohan scoffed as he rubbed over his head.

"Good. That's about it." Vegeta said as he looked back at Comora. The man nodded and turned to his soldiers.

"You are dismissed." He told them. They all got the message and left the room. Vegeta nodded to the window sill where Gohan was still sitting and staring out the window. Comora cleared his throat and Tobney looked back at him. Comora inclined his head to Gohan.

Tobney rolled his eyes and walked back to the half-saiyan. "Come on. I want to play a game." Tobney said cheerfully.

"I'll just stay here. I want to rest before we have another training session." Gohan answered.

Tobney grabbed Gohan's arm and pulled him off the window sill. "Come on. Let's go. I want to play." He pushed.

"Why don't you find someone else?" Gohan asked annoyed as he stumbled off the windowsill. Tobney appeared behind him and started pushing him to the door.

"No. You're the only one who can still be persuaded into playing it. Come on." Tobney continued cheerfully.

"Okay. Okay. I'm coming. Stop pushing me." Gohan answered agitatedly. He pushed Tobney's hands away and left the room. Tobney showed the piece sign to Comora by extending two fingers and followed Gohan out the room.

Vegeta looked back at Comora. "How big is the gap?" He asked.

"Not as big as I initially expected." Comora answered. "Our first training session de-motivated him greatly."

"That's good. It will humble him a bit." Vegeta answered with a shrug. "How long will the trip take?"

"We will land in two weeks."

"You know what to do when you're there." Vegeta continued.

Comora nodded. "Don't worry, lord Vegeta. When he gets back Gohan will be the perfect little soldier." Comora said with a determined nod.

"Good. I expect nothing less from your team." Vegeta answered as a smug expression appeared on his face.