Disclaimer: Dragonball (Z/Kai) is owned by Akira Toriyama
Thanks to everyone who has read/alerted/favorited and reviewed!
Warning: OOC-ness, Crap quality, Alternate Universe, Time Travel cliche, Post-Cell Games Cliche
Nada: My apologies for the long delay. Really didn't mean to hold it up like that. Anyway, I want to thank everyone who've taken the time to check this story out and especially thank those who reviewed and followed the story. I just want to say that this story in particular is an experiment.I plan on writing more fanfiction for this fandom and I would very much like to keep everyone in character as I possibly can, so I would very much like to hear opinions on how I can improve on them and where my faults in them are. I post on this site not only to share stories I feel others would enjoy, but to improve my skills as a writer, so help me out guys! x3
Chapter One
Out of the mass of blurring colors, a mechanical object flashed into existence in a desolate rocky plain. The machine hurdled across the sky and crashed roughly across the plain until parts of metal, moss and rust broke away from the tumbling mass.
Gohan braced himself for the impending impact. The time machine rolled and rolled until it finally fell into a crater and crashed at the bottom with such force it propelled the boy's body forward. He smashed his forehead against the broken windshield, shattering it to bits.
He groaned groggily, feeling a spot on his forehead throb painfully as something warm and wet trickled down the bridge of his nose. So much for a smooth landing. He mentally quipped, using the back of his hand to wipe away the offending blood from getting into his eyes.
Gohan crawled out of the smoldering wreckage, careful to avoid the bigger pieces of glass that didn't properly shatter. He floated out of the massive crater, one that looked oddly familiar to him, and landed just outside of it. His eyes caught sight of an eerily familiar spaceship, or what remained of it, still smoking with fire and collapsing under the pressure of the flames. He blinked for a moment, feeling the waves of déjà vu overcome him briefly when it suddenly clicked. That was Frieza's spaceship.
"Wha-" he stopped cold, his eyes widening in shock the moment he felt a various group of ki heading his way. "Uh oh!"
He frantically looked around for a place to hide. He spotted a cluster of rocks not too far away from the crash site and made a dash for it, stumbling to his knees and crouched down low enough to conceal him completely. He pushed his ki as far down as it could; hoping it was low enough to keep the others from spotting him.
Gohan peeked through the small opening between the rocks and felt his eyes widen again in shock. Trunks, with his visibly short hair and his sword and sheath strapped on his back, stood boldly and curiously beside Goku, who was still dressed in those awful Yadrat clothes he arrived in just a mere three years ago. They were all standing by the edge of the crater, eyeing the smoldering mess at the very bottom of it as though they were waiting for another unwanted enemy to appear. But when none did, Gohan saw their eyes scan around the surrounding area.
"This is bad," he murmured quietly. "This wasn't the time I wanted."
What else could go wrong!?
He watched the others cautiously, keeping his body low to the ground whenever he felt someone was glancing his way. He couldn't hear them from his distance and could only watch their mouths move like a silent film. He had no doubt in his mind they were discussing his untimely entrance and just when he thought things couldn't get worse, the time machine at the bottom of the crater exploded with a loud bang. It shook the ground beneath their feet, startling the hiding child, who fell back flat against the ground. The past Z-fighters jumped away in caution, bits and pieces of smoldering, twisted metal scattered throughout the rocky plain.
Gohan groaned in disbelief. "Things just went from bad to worse." He grumbled.
He peeked in between the rocks again, but the others were already gone. Their ki signatures departed in various directions. With a sigh of relief, Gohan stepped out of his hiding place and wandered toward the massive crater to assess the damage. To his horror, though he pretty much expected it, there was no trace of a time machine to assess, only a hunk of twisted, melted metal.
"Now what am I going to do? If Cell isn't in this era, I'm officially in trouble!" I'd hate to see what Vegeta's reaction would be if he ever found out about this.
"First things first," he told himself, using his arm again to wipe the blood away from his forehead. "I should get myself cleaned up and bandaged." He took a look down at his tattered purple gi covered in a mixture of blood, dirt and dust from the day's events. "And maybe some new clothes to wear too." he added sheepishly.
-x-X-x-
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! This isn't my time. I can't just waltz inside, even if it still is my house! The boy berated himself from his hiding spot.
It seemed like a good idea at the time when he was cleaning up at a nearby river. His body apparently had agreed with him since he found himself in the familiar sight of a small secluded house in the middle of the woods. He didn't realize, until now, just how incredibly stupid his whole plan was. There was absolutely no way any of his clothes were going to fit him in this time period. He was much taller and slimmer than he was at the age of seven, nothing in his entire wardrobe would fit him even if he checked.
It's not like I can ask Piccolo for a new gi either. He mentally sighed.
He hid himself behind a rather familiar looking boulder that stood so close to the house, he was able to see the three figures inside from his distance. He watched them cautiously; an unconscious part of him slipped into his memories of this moment.
He remembered this. He remembered how his mother vehemently opposed Goku's suggestion of training their son for the next three years. He remembered how she yelled and screamed that studying was more important than the safety of the planet. Sometimes his mother was so unreasonable. For some odd reason he couldn't remember how the argument had been settled, though, he felt it had something to do with the tree in front of his hiding spot and the boulder itself.
The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly erected, sending his whole body into alert. It ripped him out of his memories and brought him back to reality. He didn't know why he hadn't realized it before. Someone was watching him and he had a good idea as to whom.
"If you're planning on attacking, your opponent is right here." the familiar gruff voice growled behind him. "I don't care what reason you have for being here, but if you're planning on picking a fight with the Son's, I suggest you come up with a better plan."
Gohan slowly glanced over his shoulder. Sure enough, there he stood, tall and green as ever; his white cape fluttered ever so slightly in the gentle breeze and his burly green arms crossed over his chest like always. The pre-teen swallowed thickly.
Just then, a loud crash resounded from the house, interrupting Piccolo's interrogation. A woman's scream soon followed, along with something that sounded like tree branches snapping and a loud thud that sounded eerily close to Gohan's hiding spot.
"Sorry Chichi!" Goku cried sheepishly from the hole on the side of the house. "I tried holding back. I guess I'm still too strong."
Oh yeah, that's what happened. The eleven-year-old mentally sighed at the scene. He raised his guard again when Goku and his younger self began to approach the boulder.
He was about to make a run for it, but Piccolo had closed the distance between them and grabbed the boy tightly by the arm.
"Going somewhere?" the Namekian questioned, his eyes narrowed dangerously. He yanked the boy's arm, forcing him out from behind the hiding spot and into Goku's and Gohan's line of sight.
"Mr. Piccolo!" the seven-year-old greeted happily, though his smile fell into confusion at the sight of the older boy.
Goku, who had picked up his unconscious wife bridal style, greeted the Namekian warrior just as cheerfully, but like his son, found himself staring at the intruder with curious eyes.
"Piccolo, I didn't know you were training another student."
"He's not one of my students." the green alien threw the pre-teen forward. "I caught him spying on your house."
"Oh. Really?"
Gohan stood rigid in his spot, his head bowed low and his eyes fixated on the ground. He couldn't believe his luck. First, the time machine breaks in an era he's not even sure Cell really is in and now he's already been caught by the three people he had been hoping to avoid in the first place! He couldn't help but wonder how altered this timeline would be from this.
Silence passed between them. Goku eyed the child carefully; from his unruly pitch black hair to the small injuries decorating the boy's rough skin and those tattered worn clothes that bore an uncanny resemblance to Piccolo's gi, he seemed - he felt familiar. Though, there were some differences Goku noticed. His curiosity peaked as a thought filtered into his mind.
Goku turned to his young son unexpectedly and said, "Gohan,"- he carefully noticed how the stranger seemed to tense slightly at the name-"Take your mother inside for me, okay?" he passed on the weight of the woman gently into his son's arms.
"But Dad-"
"If she wakes up before I return, tell her I'm sorry."
Before the seven-year-old could protest, Goku took off into the air. Piccolo, with his hand on the intruder again, lifted to the skies and followed.
-x-X-x-
They landed not too far from the Son house somewhere deep within the woods. It was unusual to say the least, but Gohan kept his mouth shut throughout their flight and was determined to keep from saying anything no matter how hard they tried to interrogate him. When they landed in a secluded opening, Piccolo remained behind the boy, but finally released the hold on his arm just as Goku faced the duo with a friendly smile plastered on his face.
"Time travel sure is popular in the future, huh?"
Gohan's jaw suddenly dropped. "Wh-what-"
"I'm right, aren't I?" the elder Saiyan's smile brightened. "You're Gohan from the future!"
"What?" Piccolo gaped in shock, though he quickly regained his composure with a light cough and eyed the two Saiyans with serious eyes.
"Ho-how did you know?"
"You really didn't think I wouldn't be able to recognize my own son did you? Your gi looks a little different than Piccolo's but I could still see the resemblance and as far as I know, Piccolo's only ever taken on one student." Goku's smile quickly turned from cheerful to serious. "It looks like you came from a closer future than Trunks. Did something bad happen, like the androids?"
"Uh, I can't tell you." Gohan lowered his head nervously. "It's, um, time travel confidentiality?"
Goku blinked. "Lying is a bad habit to pick up Gohan."
"If we're still not strong enough to face those androids in the future, you should tell us now." Piccolo ordered, though his voice didn't sound very demanding.
"I'm sorry," the boy sighed heavily. "I'm not here because of the androids." He hesitated for a moment, glancing up to see Goku's curious eyes and Piccolo's furrowed brows. "I'm looking for someone. He escaped from my timeline and I'm not exactly confident that he's here too, but my gut tells me I'm right about this. I have a hunch he's somewhere in this era, hiding."
"Is that so?" the black haired man crossed his arms thoughtfully for a moment, much to Gohan's confusion. "Okay then, we'll help!"
For the second time that day, Gohan felt his jaw drop in shock. "Huh?"
"We won't be of much help in our current state, at least until we start our training, but if we see something suspicious, we'll let you know."
"But-" Gohan's concerns were cut short by yet another presence. He turned to the sky and spread out his senses for the approaching ki signature. He suddenly spotted the familiar round face of his younger self floating through the trees.
The young boy landed a little ways from the trio. He was no longer dressed in the space armor he had worn during his stay on Namek. Instead he wore casual denim blue overalls and a striped white and black shirt with actual sneakers and socks. (Gohan had a feeling his past self dressed that way to ease his infuriated mother.)
"Mom's really angry, Dad." the boy stated the moment he landed. "She says if you don't come home straight away, she won't make you any lunch."
"Aheh heh heh," Goku laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head habitually. "I guess it's time I head home then." He stopped in his tracks and turned to the quiet eleven-year-old curiously. "Hey, you haven't eaten all day right? Why don't you come with us and have lunch? I'm sure your-uh-Chichi wouldn't mind the company."
"Uh…" I really shouldn't. I have to find Cell and get back Trunks's time machine as soon as possible. But- his stomach suddenly growled, startling the pre-teen out of his thoughts. The younger boy chuckled in amusement and Goku flashed him a knowing smile. (Unbeknownst to him, Piccolo also gave a brief smirk before his solemn mask fell into place again.)
Gohan realized he had no choice, at least not when it came to his stomach. "Okay," he murmured. "I'll stay for lunch."
"What's your name, kid?" Piccolo interjected. "Unless you rather we call you by that name."
"Uh, call me…um…Bei."
"Bei?" the three of them repeated in perfect unison, as though they couldn't believe that was really a name.
"Uh, yeah! Bei." He laughed weakly, raising his hand automatically until he stopped himself halfway and allowed it to fall limply to his side. Goku and Piccolo might have already figured out his identity, but his younger self certainly didn't need to find out. He didn't know exactly what would happen to the timeline if his younger self discovered who he was.
"If you're going, you should change your clothes." the Namekian advised, much to Gohan's surprise. Piccolo held out his hand, his long green fingers spread wide. "Anything in particular you want?"
Gohan took a moment to examine his battle worn gi. He never did get the chance to change out of his clothes before he left on this journey. He was lucky his pants weren't as battle damaged as his shirt, or at least what was left of his shirt anyway.
If wearing Piccolo's gi gave me away then I have to wear something else. Oh I know!
"If you don't mind Pi-uh-sir"-jeez, that feels weird-"I want a gi that's black and red."
Piccolo complied with the boy's request and shot a bright yellow beam that engulfed the child's body in a magnificent glow. With a quick flash of light, Goku and Chibi Gohan gawked at the "stranger" with surprise.
Gohan examined his clothes carefully. The style was something he was familiar with; his pants were baggy and comfortable and the shirt was a low-V neckline that revealed a bit of his chest, or at least it would have if it weren't for the midnight black shirt that hugged his torso and his forearms snuggly. The gi itself was a rich shade of red that reminded the pre-teen of blood and the sash wrapped around his waist, as well as the sweat bands adorned on his wrists, were the same midnight black to match his shirt. He half expected to keep those comfortable orange flats he used to wear to complete Piccolo's gi, but to his surprise, Piccolo had changed them into onyx black boots with thin red designs outlining the boots in very much the same way Goku's boots were outlined.
He grabbed the flabby material of his pants and tugged on it. "So much for fashion sense…" he murmured.
"What was that?" Piccolo's eyes narrowed.
"Uh, I mean, thank you Mr. Piccolo sir!"
"Hmph, yeah, that's what I thought." the man smirked.
Gohan took to the air alongside his past father and spun around to see his younger self still rooted to the ground, his attention focused solely on the Namekian.
"Are you sure you don't want to come, Mr. Piccolo?"
"I'm sure," Piccolo gave his former pupil a reassuring smirk. "Remember, we start training for the androids tomorrow morning."
The Son's (with the exception of the pre-teen) nodded in agreement then took to the skies.
Nada: My spell check says that everything is spelled correctly (save for everyone's names) but if there's an error some where in here, please let me know!
Comments? Criticisms? Questions?
Leave me a review and I'll get back to you!