A Strange Encounter
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters! I'm just a poor student with an overactive imagination. Don't sue me! All you'll get is a few mangy cats and my stuffed monkey. ^_^*
Ash looked at his 'Grandfather', Son Goku, in quiet amazement.
"So you're telling me that Vegeta started out as an evil alien who planned to take over earth?" His Grandfather nodded. "And that just before your friend Kurillin could kill him you asked him to be spared even though he tried to kill your son!" Again his Grandfather nodded with a sheepish smile on his face.
"Now that you put it that way I'm not sure I was entirely sane at the time. But as Vegeta would succinctly put it: 'Baka, Kakarotto.'"
"Well, it takes a lot of faith in a person to spare him after all the things he put you guys through."
Goku laughed and clapped a large hand on Ash's shoulder.
"Maa… I guess it does."
Ash couldn't help smiling. This man. He was so contagious. So sincere. So genuine. It was worth the fact that he had had to die to meet him. He felt like he had known him practically forever and yet they had met barely a few minutes ago…
****
Ash blinked at the too green grass that stretched around him for miles in each direction. Not even a tree marred the flawless green landscape. Now being in a green field – albeit a 'big', green field – is not necessarily strange. No, the strange thing was that he was completely and utterly alone. No Brock, no Misty, no Pikachu and most puzzling of all no Team Rocket to blame his predicament on.
"I guess sitting here really isn't that constructive." He said to one particular. "Maybe I should…"
BAM!
Ash dropped to the ground as the ground seemed to explode five feet in front of him. He kept still until the dust had cleared and his ears stopped ringing. When it did, he got up and looked curiously at the slightly dirty and very roughed up warrior that was standing in front of him.
"K'so, Vegeta." He shook his stiff, spikey hair and smiled. "Where the hell did you get that?"
"Unlike you, Kakarotto. My brain isn't defective – I learn things."
A smaller figure dropped down out of the sky and smirked at 'Kakarotto'.
"Well, you wouldn't have caught me off guard if I hadn't sensed him."
"Ceh. That's the weakest excuse I have ever heard from you, Kakarotto." 'Vegeta' gave Ash a frightening smile that revealed white teeth that were a little too sharp to be human. "We'll continue this later." And with that statement and a sonic boom, Vegeta disappeared from view.
"Maa… He's really something isn't he."
Ash was almost surprised that Kakarotto had finally acknowledged his presence.
"Uh… Yeah, he is I guess."
"He's a prince, you know." A long, brown, furry thing that Ash had thought was a funny belt uncoiled itself from around his waist and started twitching. "A prince with no people."
"That's nice." Ash said hesitantly. What on earth was going on?
The man smiled and Ash got the surreal impression that he was looking at an older, more muscular version of himself. 'This is getting weirder and weirder.' He seemed to be reading Ash's mind because he shook his head in sympathy.
"You're getting very confused now. No, I'm not your father."
"Oh…" Ash couldn't decide whether he was relieved or disappointed.
"I knew him though. I met him briefly before I died."
It was a few minutes before the meaning of Kakarotto's words sunk in and when they did Ash just couldn't believe it.
"You're dead! If you're dead, I'm dead and if I'm dead I'll never be a Pokemon Master." Ash felt numb. He couldn't be dead. He had too much to do. Too much to see. Too much to reach for. Oh god, he was dead!
"Don't worry, Ash."
"Don't worry?! How can I not worry? I'm dead! And I haven't even…"
"You're not completely dead." He cut Ash off mid-hysterical tirade. "I just pulled some strings so that I'd be the one to meet you and sort of guide you back to your body. You're not going to the afterlife just yet."
"So, I'm having one of those near death things?" How was this reassuring? Ash wondered incredulously.
"Well… It definitely proves your one of mine." Kakarotto smiled. "It seems to be an inherited characteristic of my descendants to have died more than once."
Ash stared at Kakarotto.
"Who are you?"
"Oh, that's right." Kakarotto said ruefully. "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Son Goku your great, great… hrm… one of your earliest ancestors." Goku started walking in a seemingly random direction. "Well, come on. We've got to move if you don't want to stay dead permanently."
****
Ash was so caught up in his thoughts he did not notice that Goku had stopped in front of what looked like a shimmering puddle of water. Upon closer inspection, the puddle actually seemed to be a window of some sort. It was showing a young boy dragging a limp figure out of a fast moving river.
"Wait a minute! That's Gary!" Ash couldn't help exclaiming at the familiar face of his soaking wet rival. Gary was shaking Ash's body by the shoulders and saying something. For a minute Ash wished that the window had sound.
"This is where I leave you Ash." Goku said slightly sadly. "I love being with Chichi here but I kind of miss not being able to meet all my descendants."
"I wish we could have spent more time together." Ash said sincerely. "If my real, father is out there I hope he's like you."
"I think that was the problem." Goku's face was unreadable. "He was too much like me." He bent down until he was eye to eye with Ash. "Most of my descendants seem to inherit my wanderlust. Try to forgive me for that."
Not knowing what to say Ash nodded and gave Goku a hug. Goku seemed a little bit surprised by the gesture and patted his head awkwardly.
"You try not to kill yourself permanently. Oh, and look after Vegeta's princess."
"Huh? Princess?" Ash asked.
"That girl you travel with is one of his descendants." He smiled. "He's always so protective over the ones that resemble Bulma."
Goku's smile was contagious and Ash almost wanted to laugh. From what he had heard of his ancestor's adventures in the short time they had walked to his body he could understand why Vegeta was worried.
"I will."
And he stepped onto the window.
****
Ash woke up with he feel of warm lips on his. He pushed whoever it was off and started coughing.
"Ash! Are you okay?"
His rival was looking at him worriedly.
'Gary, you still care…?'
"Yeah, I'm okay." Ash shivered. "What happ…"
"ASH!" A voice rang through the air preceding the owner like some sort of fanfare. Brock, Misty and Pikachu ran towards the two former best friends. When they reached them, Misty let her open calm connect with Ash's cheek before hugging him fiercely. "You jerk! Don't you ever, ever scare us like that again!"
"Pikachu!" Pikachu said just as angrily. "Pika pika pika chuu!"
Ash couldn't help wondering whether it was a genetic characteristic that when girls were worried about something they always got mad immediately after the show was over.
When Misty and Pikachu were done with scolding him, they both recruited Brock to come with them for firewood leaving Ash and Gary alone. Gary had been more or less ignored by Misty and Pikachu but Brock had smiled and told him to 'look after Ash'. So Ash was alone with the person who saved his life… and he did not know what to say to him…
"Thanks for saving me, Gary."
"It was nothing." He shrugged.
It was then Ash understood why Goku had told him the story of how he and Vegeta became friends. It was beginning to look like he had another person to forgive other than Son Goku.
"We need to talk…"
(TAMAT)
(THE END)
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