Chapter 7: The Tail's Tale
Goku continued to star blankly at Vegetto, completely confused at the fusion's statement.
"Father? But the only sons I have are Gohan and Goten!"
Vegetto smirked, crossing his arms and studying the boy sitting in front of him.
"Maybe with Chi-Chi, but you do have more than just Gohan and Goten."
Goku gasped, slightly panicking.
"Oh no! I didn't cheat on Chi Chi, did I?"
Vegetto chuckled, quickly shaking his head.
"Oh no, Kakarot. I wasn't created by that kind of, well...reproduction."
Goku blinked, before leaning back and scratching his head.
"Well, then who are you?"
Vegetto pinched the bridge of his nose, before raising an eyebrow at Goku.
"You mean you haven't figured it out?"
Goku stared him blankly, his silence serving as a response. Vegetto rolled his eyes, before uncrossing his arms.
"Think about it, Kakarot."
Vegetto sweatdropped as he noticed Goku's determined expression.
"Ok, not too hard. Try not to hurt yourself."
Goku hummed to himself, rubbing his chin as he took a more insightful look at Vegetto.
He looks just like me...
The boy scrunched his face a little.
Except for the hairstyle, and those Saiyan gloves and boots. But he is wearing the same outfit I did a long time ago, except with inverted colors.
"Kakarot."
Goku blinked, snapping out of his trance. He glanced back up to Vegetto, who had a deadpanned expression.
"I know your simple mind is deep in thought, and I'm sure you're close to a breakthrough. But since it has taken this long, I can only assume you are forgetting one, tiny, little detail."
Vegetto leaned forward, his expression showing his annoyance.
"My voice! Do you notice anything different?"
Goku blinked, the lightbulb finally switching on inside his head.
"Oh yeah! Your voice!"
The boy blinked.
"What about it?"
Vegetto pinched the bridge of his nose once again, sighing heavily.
"Did you ever notice that it isn't just one, single voice? But rather a pair of two different voices?"
Goku furrowed his brow, taking in the information.
"Go on..."
"And did you notice that one of the voices is yours?"
Goku rubbed his chin, before happily nodding.
"That's right!"
Vegetto nodded in response, grinning slightly as he held up his hands.
"Alright, good good! Now keep that thought while I show you this."
Vegetto began to reach up towards his ear, making a warning gesture with his other.
"Don't forget that thought, Kakarot."
Goku deadpanned, slightly annoyed at the fusion's comment and the reaction caused Vegetto to smirk in triumphant. The Potara fusion then pulled off the earring from which the title came from, showing the boy the earring.
"Do you remember what this is?"
Goku rubbed his chin, studying the item. He then glanced back up, and grinned.
"Yeah, those are the Potara earrings!"
"Do you remember when you used them?"
Goku's eyes widened slightly in response, the pieces finally falling into place.
"You're...you're...the fusion! The entity that fought Buu when he had the others absorbed!"
Goku then raised an eyebrow, bewildered once again.
"What's your name? I'm not sure what you would call a Vegeta and a Goku..."
Vegetto chuckled, recrossing his arms as he smirked down at the boy.
"Vegetto sounds alright. I was a little worried about the two of you sharing a body, but it looks like it came out pretty good."
Goku's expression lit up, the excitement from his conversation with the Kais returning.
"Wow, this amazing! How can you even exist, since Vegeta and I are separated."
Vegetto kept his smirk, raising an eyebrow as he shot back with another question.
"Do you know why the Potara earrings create what is supposed to be a permanent fusion, Kakarot?"
Goku shook his head in response, staring up at Vegetto in anticipation.
"No, why?"
Vegetto then reached up to his ear, putting the earring back on as he continued.
"It is because the fusion process with the earrings themselves creates an entirely new being altogether, using the two fusees to create a perfectly balanced result. So, to put it simply, I became my own man once you two fused in order to beat Buu."
Goku nodded.
"Right! So when we separated back inside Majin Buu's stomach-"
"I literally died."
Goku blinked, glancing up at the space above Vegetto's head.
"But, you don't have a halo!"
Vegetto chuckled, and nodded.
"I should be thanking you for that one. The fusion split was technically caused by Majin Buu, making me another one of his casualties. So when you used the Dragonballs to wish back every victim killed by Majin Buu and wipe their memories, I fell under the wish's jurisdiction."
Vegetto then gestured towards the Kais.
"After I regained my body, the Elder Kai immediately called me back to their home planet, where he has me serving as their peace keeper ever since."
Goku nodded, taking in the information.
"Wow, this is incredible Vegetto! From what I heard Dende tell me about the fusion, I heard you were beating down Majin Buu without even transforming. And that's when he had the power of two fighters that were far stronger than I was!"
Vegetto chuckled once again, nodding.
"Don't forget he also had Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo."
Goku nodded in return, grinning from ear to ear.
"Have you been training ever since?"
Vegetto nodded.
"Besides the open planet for training, the Kai's have also shown me a separate dimension where I can test my abilties. It's remote, and unconnected with this universe so I can easily test my power without anyone noticing a thing."
Goku nodded, his interest finally getting the best of him.
"And how strong are you?"
Vegetto uncrossed his arms, his expression blank.
"We'll get to that. But first, a question for you Kakarot."
Goku blinked, raising an eyebrow.
"Sure, what is it?"
Vegetto's smirk returned, and glanced down at the boy with a quizzical expression.
"Did the Kais ever tell you what their training was for?"
Goku shook his head.
"No, they only told me it was for releasing my latent power."
Vegetto rubbed his chin, nodding in return.
"It is, and the overall result is quite simple."
Goku's eyes widened as a brown, furry appendage unwound from under the Potara fusion's blue sash. It swished back and forth behind Vegetto, and Goku grinned in recognition.
"Your tail! You regrew your tail!"
Vegetto sighed.
"Yes, from the Kai's training. The training itself was me standing on top of a giant coffee bean grinder, churning the beans for the elder until my tail eventually grew out on its own."
Goku frowned, slightly pouting.
"Well that doesn't sound too fun. Besides, I don't have time to go through that long process!"
Vegetto's smirk returned, and the Potara fusion reached behind his back.
"I know you don't..."
Vegetto chuckled to himself darkly as he pulled out a massive pair of pliers out of thin air from behind his back, clamping them together a couple of times for good measure.
"That's why we're going to have to do it manually."
