Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball / Dragonball Z / Dragonball GT.
Happy reading!
That day some people were sure to make some money.
It was lunch time, and there were very hungry Saiyan brothers around the block. After that little skirmish they had earlier on the field, Goten and Gohan headed to a restaurant which students of Orange Star Schools frequently visited due to its affordable price and relatively delicious food. And that was not all; there was this challenge in which if one were able to finish two kilograms of steak in just an hour, the management would reward him with a generous amount of money—twenty thousand zeni, to be exact—but if he failed, he would need to pay the whopping twenty five thousand zeni price, enough to buy a new 24-inch computer monitor.
Upon learning there were two young boys actually stepping forward for the challenge, the restaurant manager was filled with pure joy. Easy fifty thousand zeni, he said… there was no way they could complete the meaty plate in just an hour, correct?
Well, shame on him. You can't blame him, though, since he didn't know two kilograms of meat was just a third the amount of their usual lunch.
"Aaahh… that's much better!"
"The steak's very nice, huh, Goten? If we keep doing this we can make easy money."
"No, you can't do that. Before our names are removed from the list, we can't take another challenge."
"Oh, too bad. But I guess it's to keep it fair."
So what had exactly happened? Well, here's what.
In just ten short minutes, Goten and Gohan had cleared not only the main course, but also the side dishes, gaining them incredulous looks from fellow patrons. 'Son Goten' and 'Son Gohan' were now displayed on the very top of the Wall of Fame, both in the first place and preceding the second name in the list by twenty five minutes; considering the sheer amount of food they had to clear, that twenty five-minute gap was just like an impassable abyss between heaven and hell. It was safe to say Goten and Gohan's names would never be displaced for the rest of eternity. As souvenirs, the very flabbergasted manager presented the twenty-thousand-zeni-richer boys two copies of their photograph.
"Wowee. Look at you, Gohan…" said Goten while enjoying his cold, refreshing lime juice, "I really didn't recognise you at first. You've grown!"
"It's been six years since you left, Goten," replied Gohan.
"Six years? Wow! So you're twelve now, arentcha?" Goten asked again. As a reply, he got a nod from his brother. He took a look on his copy of their photograph and made a remark on how they looked just like twin brothers. The only difference between them lay on the hairstyle; with that wild self-cut style, the past Son looked exactly like Gohan during the Cell Games period, while the present Son had reverted to that signature messy, spiky style everybody was familiar with.
Time passed with the brothers telling each other stories about what had transpired since they parted. Goten dominated the conversation despite the fact that it had only been about a month since his return to this timeline, while Gohan seemed to have very little to say about the six years he had gone through. This would continue on and on after they left the restaurant; even on their way to the outskirts of the city by bus, Goten still couldn't stop with his passionate narration. One of the few times Gohan would talk with a smile was when he was asked about why he had to attack Goten with all those attacks, to which he responded by saying actions were stronger than words. Since he had solid evidence, he didn't have to coerce Goten into believing he was indeed Gohan.
When he learned about Trunks's absence, Gohan exhibited surprise. Goten didn't miss this reaction; thinking it might have something to do with his reluctance to talk, he shifted a bit from telling stories to asking questions. "So, uh, I thought you wanna talk to me, Gohan? And howdcha come over here?"
"Yeah. There's something I gotta talk about…" Gohan replied with his head slightly stooped. He looked kind of sombre, and Goten wasn't used to seeing this. If he really was the Gohan from the 'other side', sadness should've been on the very bottom of his list of emotions to exhibit. "But do you mind if we go to somewhere less crowded? Like a park or something if there's one nearby?"
Although it meant they had to alight and transfer to another bus, Goten agreed to his brother's proposition. Besides, such places would probably be conducive for their conversation, since with nobody listening or loitering around they didn't need to whisper every time Super Saiyans, energy, time travel, or everything unfamiliar to normal humans was mentioned. And so that was exactly what they did; one bus ride and ten minutes later, they were seated by a quiet lake on Satan City's park, complete with two tall glasses of chocolate milk shake.
Five minutes had passed and Gohan still didn't say a single word. Goten started to get worried; was there something he was actually afraid to tell him? He knew, however, there was no way for Gohan to get over whatever it was he was feeling right now other than to just let it all out, so he urged him to do exactly just that.
"C'mon, little brother. You—"
Goten abruptly stopped. No, not like this.
He remembered Gohan was no longer a tyke, and this wouldn't be the best approach to get him to talk. He wasn't his 'little brother' who would latch onto his neck or climb onto his back every now and then anymore; instead, he was now his twin brother. It was quite awkward having to deal with someone who had grown so much—six years—in just a month seen from his frame of reference, but if he wanted everything to work, Goten had to quickly adapt and adjust himself. Obviously Gohan wouldn't want to be treated as a little kid, so perhaps he needed to act toward him just like how he always did toward Trunks… as a best friend, but even closer.
"Ahem… spill it out, Gohan. I'm here to listen and I promise I'll help you if I can," he said while lightly punching Gohan's back to ensure him everything was okay, "Plus, Trunks said you may get stomach ulcer if you keep your problems to yourself. C'mon, you're not someone who's like this."
At first Gohan was still unsure, but after being constantly urged by his brother and reminded about the very reason they were sitting right here he finally begin. The news he was going to break to Goten was far from a good one… would he be able to handle hearing it? Although he was a bit hesitant, at least they had made some progress.
"It was last week…"
"Gohan, c'mere! Look at us!"
"Yeah, Gohan! We can fly now! Wheee!"
15 November, Age 769.
Gohan was busy reading his organic chemistry and biochemistry textbooks in preparation for his final examination next week when high-pitched voices of two little tykes interrupted him. Seriously, sometimes they just couldn't tell when to and not to disturb him, but hey… they seemed particularly happy this time. Besides, they had been working so hard to be able to fly, so it wouldn't hurt to entertain those imps for a while and perhaps reward them, right?
Gohan got up and let out a huge sigh, visibly reluctant to leave his comfort zone. From the huge, solitary oak tree on a clearing somewhere in the depths of Mount Paozu forest, he made his way toward the source of the voice. On his way there, however, he was taken aback by two shadowy figures swooping down very quickly from the sky; he unintentionally flung one of his thick textbooks—which easily weighed two solid kilograms—into the air in response, hitting one of them on the head.
"OUCH!"
The little figure slowly made his landing on the grassy turf while sobbing and rubbing his forehead with tiny hands. Realising what he had done, Gohan quickly ran toward him, apologised fervently, and asked if he was alright.
"Oooww… that hurts! Whaddya do that for, Gohan?" the child whined, "Lookie! Now I have a bump on my head…"
"Sorry, Goten! I, uh… I didn't mean it! Really!" Gohan tried to defend himself. It was such a blessing Goten had Saiyan blood coursing through his veins; otherwise, he would have gotten more than just a bump.
Being a complete replica of his other self, the other child decided to butt in and further torment his mentor. "Gohan, you know what child abuse is, dontcha?" he asked with a mischievous smirk, "If you don't stop, social workers will come to get Goten."
Hearing him, tears started to well from Goten's eyes. "No! I don't wanna be taken away! Gohan, don't let them take me away!"
"Hee-hee! Goten the crybaby! Goten the crybaby!"
"Nuh-uh! I'm not a crybaby, Trunks!"
"Oh yeah? Then why are you crying?"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Stop it, you guys!" Gohan stepped in between the two chatterboxes to prevent them from further retaliating against each other.
Pacifying them wasn't exactly an easy thing to do, but he finally succeeded. After a minute of struggle, the twin terrors finally settled down. Gohan relaxed and sat between them, asking himself why he had volunteered to be the caretaker of those two little jesters to begin with. It was at times like this that he sometimes wondered how those two could still be very good friends despite quarrelling almost all the time. Perhaps the other Goten and Trunks's jovial and carefree spirits really dwelt in them; on top of that, they were only six weeks apart in age…
… and that was exactly why those two made a better team than their older counterparts. They thought in the same domain and wavelength.
Just as Gohan lay down, Goten and Trunks soared high into the sky and bombarded him with weak energy blasts, surprising him. When he looked up, he saw the crazy little kids laughing in insane glee. So they had just pulled a prank on him after all! That little drama they had performed earlier was just a sham to bait Gohan into dropping his guard. Really, they were no different from their namesakes.
"Dummy! Dummy!" they cried from high above.
Gohan saw this as a playful invitation to spar. "Ooh? Okay then, you may be able to fly now, but that doesn't mean you can get away from me!" he grinned, "You better get ready, because I'm gonna get you!"
With that, Goten and Trunks blasted into the distance with Gohan in pursuit. Feeling mischievous, he intentionally slowed down and let the boys dash ahead and hide. His agenda was to sense the little fugitives' energy signals and come at them when they least suspected it. He had one advantage: they would never be too far apart, so it was going to be a breeze… just like killing two birds with one stone.
After giving them a two-minute head start, Gohan commenced his search. "I can sense you very well, little brothers…" he whispered to the wind.
Sure enough, in no time, he perceived Goten and Trunks's energy signal from somewhere not so far away. To really take them by surprise, he suppressed his power level and stealthily made his way through the trees while making sure he didn't create too much noise at the same time. As he sneaked toward the kids, he could feel their power level shot up dramatically accompanied with the arrival of some other energy signals. Strong ones, he might say—he sensed his father, Piccolo, Krillin, Vegeta…
… and himself.
What was this about?
"Gohaaannnn!"
Before he could even think of what was taking place, a familiar voice screamed his name, alarming him… it was Goten's. Never before had he heard his brother cry out like that; something distressing must be happening. Did it have anything to do with the other Z-fighters' arrival? But what about the fact that he could feel himself? Unwilling to think any further, he shot up above the trees and quickly rushed to where Goten and Trunks were.
Gohan was almost rendered crazy by Goten's incessant cry for help and yet another heartrending scream bellowing past the trees… Trunks. What now? What the heck was happening? His brother's plea intensified and his friend seemed to get more and more agonised by the second. Okay… it wasn't a prank. This time the seriousness of the situation was unmistakable. There was nothing else in Gohan's mind other than getting to the kids as fast as he could possibly manage.
When he finally got close to the energy cluster, Gohan descended from the sky and quickly rushed to Goten and Trunks's aid. "Goten! Trunks! Are you okay?"
Seeing his brother, Goten ran toward him and bawled his eyes out, the look of pure horror visible on his face. "G-g-gohan! It's… it's Trunks! He… he's hurt real bad!" he sobbed, "W-we got s-s-separated, and when… when I met up w-with him, he was… he was in p-pain. He t-told me to run and then fell down! Uh… waaaahhh!"
To Gohan's horror, Goten was telling the truth. When he looked ahead, he saw the lilac-haired boy lying face-down and motionless on the grass. At the sight, unpleasant thoughts began to bombard the poor Saiyan's mind which was still struggling to make sense of what exactly had transpired within that very short interval of time when he gave the children a head start. It felt so surreal… he almost felt as though he was floating and lightheaded when walking toward Trunks.
Feeling totally insecure and afraid, Goten didn't let go of Gohan's leg. "I… I dunno what to do! Gohan, I'm s-scared! Is… is Trunks okay?"
Even without Goten asking the question that was exactly what he would do: finding out if Trunks was alive. He turned the poor boy over and was relieved upon learning he had only lost his consciousness. That being said, Gohan could almost feel what Trunks had gone through; his twisted face just screamed pain and fear. Was 'losing consciousness' adequate to describe Trunks's state? Unable to stand the sight, Goten buried his face on his brother's shirt and sobbed uncontrollably.
Trunks was still breathing, albeit in an erratic manner, and his pulse was just as irregular. It seemed as though he had been electrocuted or had ingested a huge amount of dangerous chemical; considering he was sweating excessively, the latter was more likely to be the case. Knowing the basics of medicine, Gohan gently parted Trunks's eyelids and examined his pupils, and he was more than just shocked upon learning they were dilated several times the normal size. They failed to respond to a painful stimulus as well; when he created a somewhat bright sphere of energy and brought it near his eyes, the pupils didn't shrink.
"H-h-how is he, Gohan?" asked Goten.
"He's… totally unresponsive…" said Gohan, despair audible in his voice, "Where are the others? What the heck happened—"
"I happened."
Gohan was interjected by a voice from nearby. When the brothers turned around, a figure revealed himself from within a dense cluster of foliage. No wonder they couldn't see him at first; he had green skin with spots of brownish black, allowing him to blend in with the leaves and shrubs in what one might call a perfect forest camouflage.
This being had menacing features. He was intimidatingly tall, on his head were two horn-like protrusions extending upward like a top hat split down right at the middle, and he had these black wing-like flaps on his back. Upon first seeing him, however, one couldn't possibly miss a long and ridged tail, and on its tip was some kind of a thin but sharp capillary tube which vaguely resembled a hypodermic needle used for infusion. And on top of that, the energy signals Gohan had felt earlier all came from just one source… which was this horrifying creature.
Alarmed, Gohan stepped in front of Goten to shield him from danger. "W-who are you? What do you want?"
"Oh, is that how you greet me, Gohan? I just want to pay a visit to my parents, that's all," replied the creature with a cold, deep voice full of confidence and—strangely—dignity.
"Your… parents?" puzzlement was present on Gohan's face, "You're crazy! Who are you, really? How do you know my name, and what have you done to my friend?"
"Hmph… that's right. You, that little friend of yours whom I believe is called Trunks, and the little boy behind you… Goten, right?" he pointed at the terrified little boy, "All of you have given me life, and so have your father, Trunks's father, Krillin, and Piccolo. What are you if not my parents? Quite strange, though, since my database states Trunks and Goten should at least be twelve years old, but oh well. It doesn't matter, now, does it? Hmhmhm…"
Gohan's eyes widened at this revelation as everything started to make sense. "What… are you talking about? Is that why I can feel their energy from you?"
"G-g-gohan… I'm scared…" Goten shuddered uncontrollably behind his brother.
"Now, to address your next questions," the creature gave a creepy simper, "If you really want to know who I am, my creator said my name was Cell, but he renamed me as Vanitas after some modifications. As for what I've done to little Trunks over here…"
Quicker than the eyes could see, he disappeared from Gohan's field of vision. In less than a second, he reappeared where he had stood before, but this time he wasn't alone; his right fist was firmly clutched on the back of Goten's shirt, suspending the poor kid in the air. During that split second he had somehow Afterimaged behind Gohan to snatch Goten away.
Flailing and thrashing violently, Goten struggled to free himself. "Aaaahh! Lemme go! Gohan, help meee!"
"… why not I just re-enact it to spare ourselves the explanation?" said Vanitas, "After all, actions speak louder than words. Oh, and don't worry, he won't die."
"No! You monster, put my brother down NOW!"
But of course, complying with Gohan's demands wasn't in the agenda of this wretched monster. In fact, he was more than willing to present the elder brother a sight more terrifying than anything he had ever seen. He held his tail between the brothers; before Gohan could even think to rush toward him, Vanitas plunged the needle-sharp tip of his tail into Goten's neck and injected something into his bloodstream, eliciting an agonised and heartrending cry from the kid which would make even the hardest of hearts cringe.
"NOOOOO! GOTEEENNNN!"
"He was laughing, even when torturing my brother… I can't forget that face!" Gohan growled. It was evident he was holding back his tears, but he couldn't afford to cry. Not in front of the person who had fought for him years ago, the person who also believed in his strength of heart. "I tried to save Goten, but before I could do that Vanitas threw Goten away. He… he was in the same state as Trunks… unresponsive, unconscious… and that monster just left like nothing ever happened! Darn it, it's my fault Goten and Trunks got hurt! I can't protect them!" he stomped the grass in frustration.
Now looking deeply concerned, Goten could only look down. "That's… awful, Gohan… what happened to them?"
"They went into a coma… and are now being treated at my home… our home. Bulma said they had been overdosed with some kind of dangerous drugs…" the past twin clenched his teeth, "I dunno what to think about it. They're alive, but they just won't wake up, Goten. You know people can be in a coma for years, right?"
"And even decades for more severe ones…"
An uncomfortable silence followed. Goten was beginning to worry that he had said something inappropriate, so he quickly apologised to Gohan who just brushed it aside and said it was no problem. However, the tension in the air was quite heavy by now; seeing the empty glass on his brother's hand, Goten offered his milk shake to somewhat ease him a bit, which he gladly and gratefully accepted. He also said it was okay if Gohan didn't want to continue, but he did anyway.
"That was just the beginning. Vanitas said our encounter was just a taste of what was gonna follow, and everything started to go downhill since then…"
Goten was absolutely appalled upon learning about how the Z-fighters, even Vegeta and his dad, fall victim one by one to Vanitas. Even Piccolo wasn't exempted from the killing spree… Gohan told him the Namekian had fused with his counterpart prior to his death, so even if they brought him back to life with the help of Porunga the earth Dragon Balls wouldn't be revived since Kami no longer existed. When it came to Gohan's turn to face the abominable being, he managed to hold his ground for a good amount of time although he still lost in the end; Vanitas was impressed by Gohan's tenacity and decided to let him live a little bit longer, making him the sole survivor of the conflict.
There was still one chance, though. Perhaps Gohan could emulate exactly what had transpired over here after Piccolo and Kami's fusion; Goten suggested that he go to Namek with the spaceship—it still served as Vegeta's training grounds, so it should still be able to be used as what it had been intended to be—and recruit a Namekian to be Kami's successor, recreate his own set of Dragon Balls, and wish everybody else back. Gohan thought it might be a good idea, but he also pointed out his effort might be in vain if it was done too early; according to him, it would result in wasted wishes since the monster would simply kill the others again, which would mean they needed to vanquish Vanitas before proceeding with that move. In other words, Gohan was slated to face Vanitas all by himself.
He consulted Bulma and enquired about the next step they needed to take. After countless hours of brainstorming with the scientist and his mother, they couldn't come up with better ideas other than to travel through time and enlist Goten and Trunks's help. It was very fortunate of them that Bulma decided to disassemble their time machine before repairing it when they arrived from Namek; because of that, she was able to reverse-create a blueprint, enabling her to create another assembly of the time machine which she originally intended to keep a secret. Although it was only a prototype, it proved enough to take Gohan through time and to the future.
"And that's how I ended up in this timeline. I landed in West City, inside the Capsule Corp compound, but your energy signal brought me to your school."
"Wowee… Auntie Bulma did that?" Goten began to get amazed, but bewilderment quickly got the better of him. "But… I don't understand. You've never been here before, so how can you get here? I mean, you need to know the temporal and spatial coordinates of this timeline."
"I dunno, too. It looks like Bulma transferred the information from your time machine's IC into ours, so it keeps those coordinates in the memory," replied Gohan with his hypothesis.
"She's awesome…"
"That's beside the point, Goten. I didn't come here to just tell you our situation. Vanitas is on the loose, and we can't win against him… the future is our best bet…"
"But… Trunks is not here. He told me not to disturb him, because that event is so special for his family…"
"In that case, I guess YOU are our best bet now. There are no warriors left, and we need someone stronger than myself to end this nightmare…"
At this point Goten was starting to show concern. With his visit a month ago, he had derailed Gohan's timeline; it could be said he and Trunks were the root cause of this horrible event, and now he had to return there? "But Gohan… by bringing someone from here, you'll destabilise the space-time fabric of your timeline… and by that I mean for the second time. You know that… right?"
"Of course I know, Goten! I agree that the stakes are high, but there's no hope left over there and this is our last chance of survival!"
"But I dunno if—"
"YOU HAVE TO HELP US, GOTEN!" Gohan roared furiously, sending the trumpeter swans on the lake swimming away in fear and earning him a terrified reaction from his twin. He was so angered he had unknowingly ascended. "Look, there's always that other path not taken. That path is the timeline where I didn't make the decision to come over here. And you know what's gonna happen to that universe? It's as good as dead, Goten! Vanitas will destroy it! I don't want my world to follow that same track! Think about little Goten and Trunks!"
Again, silence followed. Gohan was now looming over his brother in a very intimidating manner, his viridian eyes radiating a peculiar mix of sadness, desperation, and anger. Goten was unsure what to say; even in this timeline, he had never seen his brother act like that… perhaps the violent events he had seen over there had influenced his personality. However, the past Son quickly realised his mistake and calmed down, seating himself once again beside Goten and stooped his head in embarrassment.
"Gohan… I'm sorry, I—"
"No, Goten. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that," Gohan interjected and apologised as he untransformed, "But please… I need you. Mom and Bulma needs you. And Goten and Trunks need you. I dunno if they will ever wake up again, but they deserve to at least live in a world of peace." Then, in what seemed to be a desperate plea for help, Gohan said plaintively—very much unlike himself, "Please, 'big brother'… I can't do this alone. Come with me."
Goten was now filled with uncertainty. He was torn between helping his brother and not wanting to further destroy his world; a classic battle between the heart and the head, albeit of much more epic proportions. It seemed the heart was winning, though, when he remembered everything that had happened during his stay in the past for six months: their first confrontational encounter. Giving of gifts. Working together to fight Frieza. Gohan's first transformation. His death and revival. Those times of training and fun. Their final day together. And finally, their parting.
He couldn't imagine how brokenhearted Gohan would be if he got turned down after everything he had done just to get here. He had to voice out his decision… right here, right now.
"… okay, Gohan," he said in a resolved tone. He had decided to shove his worry aside and save the thinking for later. "I dunno what my interference would cause, but I'm sure it won't get even worse than what's happening now. I'll help you, brother."