Ch.2

Goku knew he didn't have a moment to spare. He began to search for a ship in a hurry, knowing it would be a narrow escape. He saw Frieza's ship first, and was dismayed to see how damaged it was. Landing on top of it, he figured he'd try his luck anyway.

As he entered the ship, he tried several rooms before he managed to find the control room. He looked at all at the dials, and prayed that the ship was still in functioning order.

"Come on baby, please work!" Goku began to press buttons hoping to get the ship running. All the lights began to turn on, but nothing else happened.

"Work you sorry piece of junk!" Goku shouted angrily. He felt the ship start to sink, and quickly changed his tune.

"No, wait. I take that back. You're not a piece of junk." Goku felt the ship begin to fall, and knew he couldn't get it working in time. He quickly escaped out of the top of the ship, before it began to free fall into a pool of lava. Looking around, he immediately saw a second ship not far off. Wasting no time, he quickly flew over and got into it, pressing a few buttons, and hoping to get it started. He sighed in relief as the ship took off upwards, away from the planet.

'I did it.' He thought as he saw the deep depths of space ahead of him.

'King…Kai. Can you…hear me?' Goku could feel his energy draining fast. He was quite injured from the battle with Frieza, and he could feel himself fading into unconsciousness.

'Goku. I can hear you. It seems that Gohan is approaching a planet called Yardrat. Where are you?' Goku looked at the controls and sighed. His ship had been programmed for that exact location. Maybe they were synched? Relieved, he allowed sleep to take over.

'Goku?'

…

King Kai tried again to connect with Goku when suddenly, he felt a shocking energy wave. Namek had exploded. Had Goku made it off the planet?

"King Kai, what's happening down there?" Yamcha asked.

"Namek has exploded." King Kai replied. Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu stared back in horror.

In a panic, King Kai searched space, looking for the saiyan. He almost fell over in relief when he sensed him in a space ship, headed in the same direction as Gohan. It was a good thing he knew that Gohan was headed that way, or otherwise he'd have never have thought to look there.

"Well, at least they seem to be going the same way." King Kai muttered. He turned towards the other three and let his shoulders drop. "Frieza has been destroyed, and everyone got off the planet safely. I'm getting too old for this." The three warriors broke out in cheers as King Kai let a small smile cross his features.

…

Gohan was out cold, and didn't hear the ship warn him of his approach to the planet Yardrat. He also didn't feel the impact as the saiyan ship hit the ground hard, onto the alien planet.

The citizens of Yardrat approached the ship uneasily. When no one got out, they examined the ship until they found the button to open the door. A few brave Yardratians peered anxiously at the young newcomer in the ship. It was obvious that he was in need of medical assistance. After a heated debate, they took the young boy out of the ship, and brought him to their main headquarters.

….

An hour later, another crash could be heard some distance away. The same group that had appeared at the first landing headed over to see what had caused the second disturbance. Much to their surprise, a second ship had arrived on their planet. This time, the door opened on its own, and the inhabitants stood fearfully watching as a man with spiky blonde hair got out. This man was just as injured as the boy, and only managed a quick look around and a few words in an unrecognizable language, before falling to the ground, unconscious. His hair turned black as he fell. Noting his appearance was similar to the boy's, it was decided that he would be brought back to headquarters as well.

…

"There." Dende said as he finished healing Piccolo. He gave the other Namekian a small smile as Piccolo opened his eyes and looked around.

"Where am I?" He asked in confusion.

"We are on earth." Dende replied. Piccolo stared at Dende in shock.

"What? How can that be?" Piccolo asked. Bulma approached Piccolo nervously, ready to answer his question.

"You came here with me. Gohan said that Krillin didn't make it…he was bringing me to the ship, when an explosion pinned him under a rock. He told me I had to get you here safe, so everyone could be wished back. The planet was going to explode, so… I left with you, and we arrived this morning." Bulma wiped a few tears from her eyes, before she continued. "When we got here, Mr. Popo, that genie guy with the carpet came to find us, and told us the Namekian's were here as well and that they had healing powers. He brought us to them. And Dende here healed you, and now here we are."

Dende watched as Piccolo tried to absorb this information.

"But wait, what about Goku and Gohan? And Frieza? Where are they? Did Goku win the fight?" Neither Dende nor Bulma had an answer, and silence rang out for a few moments before a quiet voice spoke from further away.

"We were revived using the earth's dragonballs. Once this happened, Porunga was able to grant one last wish on Namek. That wish was used to wish everyone on Namek except for Goku and Frieza, to the planet earth. The one they call Goku bravely remained behind, to finish what he had started." Guru said. Piccolo, Dende and Bulma turned towards Guru and walked over.

"Do you know who won Guru?" Dende asked.

"I'm afraid not my son. I am no longer able to sense what is going on on Namek." The elder replied calmly. "And by now, I'm sure the planet is no more." At this, all the Namekian's gasped in horror.

"That doesn't explain why Gohan isn't here." Piccolo stated.

"I can answer that." A voice said from above. Piccolo recognized it as King Kai's voice.

"King Kai, what's going on! Is the fight over?" He asked.

"The fight is over Piccolo. Goku was able to successfully defeat Frieza." All the Namekian's began to cheer at this. Bulma smiled and fell to the ground in relief.

"Unfortunately, both Gohan and Goku barely made it off of Namek alive. They both found ships that took them to an alien planet. They were in poor condition when I last connected with them. I haven't been able to detect them in some time now. But I will keep trying."

Piccolo frowned. He hoped that the two saiyan's were alright. An alien planet could mean friends, or foes. And if they were in bad shape…

…

Goku opened his eyes slowly. His body was painfully sore, and he felt quite groggy. He slowly became aware of his surroundings, but he couldn't remember how he had gotten to this strange place. What happened? It took several minutes before he remembered his fight with Frieza, his narrow escape, and his son's predicament.

"Gohan?" Goku muttered. Suddenly, an alien-like creature entered the room. It had a big round head with no hair, and pink skin. It's face was wrinkly and it had pointy ears. It wore an unusual outfit; a beige ruffled collar and a white long-sleeve shirt, beneath minimal black armour that only covered one shoulder. The pants were baggy and maroon, and puffed out at the bottom.

"I need to find my son. Can you help me?" Goku asked.

"You are quite injured sir. Why don't you start by telling me your name." The creature responded in a high-pitched, squeaky voice. Goku sighed. His head was starting to throb.

"My name is Goku. And my son Gohan might be in danger. I have to find him." Goku struggled to sit up straight, but the weakness caused him to fall back. This creature was right, he wasn't well enough to move.

"Can you describe your son to me sir?" Goku thought it an odd question, but obliged.

"He's got short black hair. He's wearing saiyan armour with a blue body suit underneath. He's only 5 years old. Please, I have to make sure he's okay." Goku tried yet again to sit up, but couldn't do it.

"Rest sir. We had another creature land on our planet before you. It sounds like your son, though I can't be sure. He was in critical condition, just as you were. He hasn't awoken yet. When you are well enough, I will take you to him." Goku relaxed at this. It had to be Gohan, it just had to be.

"Can you heal him? Will he be alright?" Goku asked concerned.

"We're not sure. Let's wait and see. Rest now." Goku felt worried but couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. Suddenly, all he could see was darkness.

…

Gohan could feel his body before he opened his eyes. His head hurt the most, but his chest hurt pretty badly too. He tried to move his arms, but was unable to do so. Deciding to take it slow, he started to concentrate on just opening his eyes. Slowly but surely, they opened, and he felt blinded by a bright light as he woke up. Gohan began to look around the room. Immediately, he noticed that he was in some kind of hospital bed, surrounded by machines. He was wearing a white long-sleeve shirt with what felt like baggy pants. Beside him, a sleeping Goku sat in a chair, looking pale and wounded, and sporting the same shirt. Gohan started to cry as he felt waves of relief wash over him over his dad's safety. At this, Goku stirred.

Goku opened his eyes, and saw Gohan staring tearfully back at him.

"Gohan! You're awake. How are you feeling son?" Goku asked. He'd been so worried. As soon as he'd been able to sit up, he'd demanded to be by his son's side. He didn't even have the strength to get out of the chair he currently sat in, but he felt better watching his son sleep and knowing that for now, he was safe.

"I…I can't move. My head and chest really hurt. But I'm okay. What about you dad?" Gohan saw that his dad was struggling. He seemed to be in pain, and quite drained of energy.

"I'm fine kiddo. Nothing a little rest won't fix." Goku slowly raised his arm, wincing as he did. He gently ruffled his son's hair, making sure not to shake his head too much and cause further damage. 'The doc' as he'd come to call the creature that had been coming to speak to him, had informed him that his son had a pretty bad head injury.

"Dad…did you beat Frieza?" Goku frowned and looked away. Had he defeated Frieza? Yes. But he knew he had a lot of work to do if he was to gain control of the super saiyan transformation. He had almost lost himself during that battle. It frightened him.

"Yes." Goku offered no other comment. Gohan closed his eyes in relief.

"Thank goodness. I knew you could do it dad. You were incredible." Goku winced at his son's praise. He wouldn't verbalize how he felt about what had transpired on Namek. But it didn't matter, because suddenly, he could hear his son's soft breathing, indicating that he had fallen asleep yet again. Goku rested his head back, glad that he had no more questions to answer. He had to continue to rest so he could get stronger.

…

Goku opened his eyes as a hand rested on his shoulder. He looked up at Shelt, or 'the doc' who had been caring for him and Gohan since their arrival.

"Sir, I think you should come and rest in bed for a while. We have moved you to the room next door to your son. You will hear him if he calls." Goku looked over at Gohan and nodded. He wasn't feeling fully rested with these chair naps and he supposed Gohan would be alright if he was right next door.

"Okay." Goku stood up slowly, aided by Shelt.

"Is Gohan alright? He sure has been sleeping for a long while." Goku asked concerned.

"Your son suffered a great many injuries." Shelt replied.

"I guess he's just always recovered so fast." Goku muttered.

"Children are built differently than adults. In some cases, they heal quicker. But in other cases, they are hit harder by certain illnesses and injuries. I can tell your son is quite mature by the way he has spoken during his periods of wakefulness. But the fact is, he is a child, and his injuries have affected him greatly." Shelt began to escort Goku out of the room as Goku felt guilt begin to weigh down on him.

"You're right. He's just a child. And already he has done and seen so much. Maybe too much." Goku answered. He thought about Gohan's experience on Namek. Shelt was right, he was just a child. But he had been treated like anything but, just as he had when he was little.

"Goku, I noticed the two of you landed here in separate space ships. You didn't seem to know if your son had landed here or not. Why travel apart?" Shelt asked as he helped Goku into his room.

"The planet we were on was going to explode. Gohan escaped in a ship, but he probably didn't know how to work it. The ship left the planet in time. When I found a ship, I programmed it the best I could, but I wasn't familiar with the ship either. I believe the ships belonged to the Ginyu force, and if I had to guess, I'd say that they always travelled together. So somehow, the ships synched destinations." Goku replied as he slowly got into bed.

"That must have been frightening for you. Knowing your son was in a ship headed to an unknown destination." Shelt replied as he began to fetch blankets and pillows. Goku closed his eyes.

"I'm always worried about Gohan. But yes, you're right." Shelt covered the saiyan in blankets.

"Goku, before you drift off, I have a suggestion to make." Goku opened his eyes in curiosity.

"Go ahead." He encouraged.

"On our planet, we are trained in a variety of techniques. We are not fighters, far from it. Our population is skilled in evasion more so than fighting. We are peaceful people. But there is one technique that I think would be of great benefit to you. Once you mastered it, you would never have to go looking for your son again. Once you locked onto his energy, you could be by his side in an instant, no matter where he is." Goku sat up on his elbows. This had piqued his interest.

"Sir, I would love to learn such a technique!" He replied enthusiastically. Shelt chuckled.

"Well then, it is settled. It will take time for us to prepare a ship for the two of you in any case. When you are healed, one of our elders and myself will teach you the technique. And your son as well, if you wish it. Now get some rest." Shelt left the room as Goku laid back down. Goku felt an immense relief as he closed his eyes. They were lucky to have landed on Yardrat, of that he was certain.