Rest, Recovery And Farewell

"Oh, my brave little warrior. He should have never gotten involved with this stuff in the first place."

"Mummy, where's Daddy? I haven't seen him since yesterday."

"Oh Goten."

Gohan groaned softly as the people talking slowly registered in, followed by loud sobs. The next thing he noticed was that he was laying on something very soft, which his mind recognised a moment later as a bed. Finally, the third thing, which made his eyes snap open, was that the crying voices were those of his mother and brother.

"Mum, Goten?"

"Gohan!" Chichi and Goten cried, their teary faces whipping from each others' to Gohan, smiles crossing them as they jumped at him, hugging him tight.

"Oh, my sweet little baby, you're ok and you've finally woken up." Chichi sobbed, pulling a confused Gohan's head onto her shoulder.

"Yay, Gohan's awake!" Goten cheered, rubbing his face against his older brother's chest.

"Huh? What's going on? How long have I been asleep?" Gohan asked, though his mother was too busy going on and on about how he should never been at the fight and how worried she was about him to hear him.

"About fifteen hours, not that we expected any less." Smiling, Gohan pulled his head up and looked around Chichi to find Roxas grinning in the doorway with the clothes he'd left at Capsule Corp. in his hands.

"Roxas, good to see you're fine." Gohan grinned, pulling away from his mother completely. "What happened at the battle? The last thing I remember is yelling at Garlic."

"You went ape on us, figuratively and literally." Roxas smiled as he walked in. "You became more powerful than Way Big, nearly killed the two hundred foot alien and then blasted Garlic into the Dead Zone before helping us blow up a mini planet and turned back to normal. Gave Namine something to panic about at the end."

"Huh? Why?" Gohan asked, raising an eyebrow. "I would have thought the ape part would have done all the scaring, especially if I was as bad as you say."

"True, but her telepathy got you thinking right." Roxas shrugged as he dropped the clothes on Gohan's bed. "But what she wasn't prepared for was seeing the big bad Gohan in his birthday suit. Check under the sheets buddy."

His hands instinctively following Roxas' order and finding only bare skin around his hips, Gohan's eyes widened and he turned as red as a tomato as realisation set in.

"Namine...of all people...saw me..."

"Yeah, and had pretty much the same reaction." Roxas nodded with a small smile, partly sympathetic and partly amused. "Don't worry, she didn't stare. Too much. She got really embarrassed and closed her eyes. She won't say anything about it. Though Ryo might."

"Ooh, a girl saw Gohan naked." Goten teased, putting his face right in front of Gohan's. "And isn't Namine the name you were muttering in your sleep the other night?"

"GOTEN!" Gohan shouted, his blush only becoming darker as Roxas heard the boy. Not knowing what else to do, he pushed Goten off of him and threw the sheets over his head, hoping Roxas didn't get angry at him.

"Well, doesn't that make this even more interesting." Roxas commented, holding back a laugh. He was tempted to act like an overprotective big brother, but decided that Gohan had suffered enough over this. He couldn't think of anyone better for Namine anyway and silently hoped that he'd win his 'twin's' affection. But maybe it's time to change the subject.

"You'll be happy to know everyone's ok." Roxas called as Chichi tried to get the sheet off of Gohan's head. "Namine's healed everyone and they're currently either hogging all the showers in this place or sending messages to their families while they drink their weight in caffeine."

"Thanks Roxas, that's a relief." Even more so since you don't sound like you hate me now. Gohan added silently, finally letting the sheet fall again to reveal the appreciative smile on his still pink face.

"You're welcome." Roxas replied, before his face turned sombre as he noticed the grief starting to return on Chichi's face. "I'll leave you to get dressed and be with your family. I'm sure you won't want the rest of us standing around for a while. We'll be in the lounging area if you need us. My condolences Gohan, Chichi, Goten." With one last sad smile, he turned and left the room, just as the full weight of what he'd lost hit Gohan's chest like a mallet.

"Daddy." He muttered, tears forming in his eyes again. "Mum, Daddy, he's..."

"I know sweetie, I know." Chichi sobbed, wrapping her arms around both of her boys as they all cried. Even Goten knew that his father was gone and wasn't coming back, though he had trouble believing it, and let his tears mix with theirs.

"He said to say he loves you two." Gohan muttered, though he wasn't sure whether or not his words registered in his family's heads. With nothing else to say, the three of them just sat there and cried for the part of their family that was forever gone.

...

The other Z Fighters weren't much better off as they sat in the lounge room with their families, the Guardians, Ryo and his friends. None of them were talking when Roxas rejoined them, drying his hair as he finally got to bathe himself, and he just sat next to Danny, not saying a word, and bowed his head.

Snuggling within her father's arm, Videl cried silently, burying her face in Hercule's shirt. Goku was like a fun loving uncle to her and knowing that she had led Junior Co. right to him, not to mention everything else she'd done under their control, was drowning her with guilt.

Vegeta wasn't much better off, though he refused to let anyone see him cry. Goku had been a very cherished friend to him, though he'd never admit it, and not just because they were both the only pure blooded Saiyans in the known Galaxy. Goku was kind, compassionate, self sacrificing and incredibly strong. Everything Vegeta found himself wanting to be.

Piccolo was brooding up on the roof, sitting in his meditative position, but unable to clear his mind. His own guilt from being one of the two who actually killed Goku, even if he wasn't in control, refused to let him calm down enough to clear his mind.

I'm sorry Goku, Gohan. I wouldn't be surprised if you never want to speak to me again kid.

Back in the lounge room, Bulma was crying rivers. With the crisis over and her father taking Trunks out for the day, she was completely free to finally let her emotions run free. Goku had been like a little brother to her and the fact that he was gone almost killed her. It was like if Vegeta or Trunks had died. But in addition to that, she, like the seven Valour Guardians in the room and Ryo's group, also felt her heart breaking for Gohan, Chichi and Goten. She was confident that even she didn't feel nearly as horrible as they did right now. Despite the arguments that frequently occurred between Goku and Chichi, usually over their clash in parenting choices, it was clear that their family was an extremely loving one.

"Funny, isn't it?" Rai muttered, his voice echoing in the silent room. "Garlic represented one of the biggest potential disasters any of us have ever seen and the only casualty on our side just happened to be the most powerful of us all."

"It just goes to show that even the best of us aren't invincible." Takato muttered, thanking Mrs Briefs as she handed him a glass of lemonade.

"But he still found a way to help us out in the end." Ryo snorted, looking up at everyone with a mix of sadness and amusement. "He scoured the next life and found a guy who could telepathically link with the living. The only way that could have been better was if he warned us that Gohan was going to turn into an out of control, supersized gorilla."

"That's Goku for you." A slightly amused voice said from the doorway. Looking up, the group found Chichi and her sons walking through the door, a sad smile crossing her face. "He always did love to just drop surprises the size of King Kong on you."

"In this case, literally." Ben forced a grin, turning to Gohan. "How are you feeling monkey boy?"

"Heh, as good as can be expected." Gohan nodded, looking at him appreciatively through bloodshot eyes. "How about all of you?"

"We're all pretty upset and all of the previously infected are guilt ridden, but other than that, we're fine." Gwen answered, Ryo and the other Guardians nodding their heads while the other heroes looked away. "Between Namine and Roxas' healing magic and a good, twelve hour sleep, we're all as good as new.

"We're only still here to be here for you guys." Danny added, gesturing to the Z Fighters and their families, his eyes staying on Gohan.

"And we wanted to apologise." Henry said, rubbing his arms nervously before he, Takato and Rika bowed to the Son family. "We're very sorry for our involvement in what happened."

"If you need anything, just let us know." Takato added sadly. Gohan just stared at them for a moment before shaking his head. He couldn't forgive them for their involvement as far as he was concerned, there was nothing to forgive. Besides, without their armour, weapons and the deep purple eyes, even Henry looked nothing like the corrupted, bloodthirsty warriors he'd seen. However, it was Chichi who responded first.

"Don't feel bad. Even I know you had no control over yourselves." She said as she approached them, surprising everyone as her watery eyes looked into Takato's reddish brown ones warmly. "Just try to stay away from psychotic people with mind control powers ok?"

"S-sure." Takato stuttered, caught off guard. He thought she'd rant and rave and try to kill him for what he'd helped to do. But all she did was look each one of them in the eyes reassuringly before turning the look to Vegeta and Videl before the restraint she'd had disappeared again and she broke down again, right into Bulma's arms, Goten diving onto Videl and staining her shirt with his tears a moment later as he wrapped his arms around the surprised girl in a hug. A few seconds later, after registering the desire for affection with no sign of resentment, she hugged him back and cried with him.

"It's ok Goten, just cry. I promise it'll get better one day." She said between her own sobs, ruffling his hair.

Watching his family, Gohan was tempted to follow their example and cling onto Ben or Roxas or one of the other Guardians, blushing deeply at the thought of Namine, especially after...never mind, but there was one person in the room that needed reassurance almost as much as he did, as well as one on the roof. Sniffling, he walked as calmly as he could to the wall Vegeta was leaning on and leaned on it next to him, just close enough that their arms were touching.

Shocked, but very grateful at the reassurance and comfort Gohan was showing him, Vegeta grunted. He refused to let anyone know how he felt...however, he did lean into Gohan a little, showing his appreciation. Gohan just grinned at him as he let his tears fall again.

"Well, I think it's time we took our leave and let you all be." Kim said softly, rising from her seat, the other Guardians and Ryo's group doing the same.

"We'll send Piccolo in on our way." Namine added, giving the mourning family and friends a comforting smile, blushing deeply when she got to Gohan, causing him to blush with a great deal of embarrassment, but never letting her smile falter as he grinned sheepishly back.

"But...let us know when the funeral is please?" Rika asked hesitantly, her hand fiddling nervously with her hair. "We'd like to pay our respects."

"Not a problem." Rai nodded as he approached Ryo. Grabbing the blue eyed boy's hand, he placed a rectangular, metal device in his hand. "That's a V com. It'll allow you to communicate with here, our satellite or any and all of us. It also gives you access to our files on both heroes and villains we know and allows you to find any of our V coms anywhere on Earth. Basically, we'd like it very much if you joined us as a Valour Guardian. You definitely have the talent and heart. Plus, linking another team of heroes with the Guardians is beneficial for everyone."

"Wow, Ryo! You're being given the chance to be labelled as one of the greatest heroes of our generation." Takato exclaimed, staring wide eyed at the device.

"Great, like he didn't have a big enough head already." Rika said sarcastically, though the expression on her face was one of pride.

"What do you say Ryo?" Ben asked, coming up beside Raimundo.

"I'd have to say that I'm honoured that you think that I'm worthy." Ryo started, a little breathlessly. "And I thank you, but I'm not sure I'm ready to do what you guys do. Monitoring the entire world from orbit, jumping into each others' conflicts, just dropping everything at all hours of the day and night, it's kind of overwhelming for me. It's difficult juggling my current hero life with school and downtime and my Dad's close enough to a stress induced heart attack already thanks to me. So, sorry, but I have to decline." He said sadly, holding the device back up to them.

"Keep it." Danny told him as Kim wrapped Ryo's fingers around it. "If full membership is too much for you right now, how about we set you as an honorary member?"

"That means that you can call us for assistance if your team ever needs backup, you won't do monitoring duty and we'll only call you in case of a potentially apocalyptic emergency." Kim explained.

"This way, your team is still connected to ours and if you ever decide to change your status to full member, we're only a few buttons away." Gwen finished.

"Guys." Ryo said softly, touched by the offer. They were offering him a position that would give him all of the benefits of being part of the team without the extra effort on his part except in situations that his conscience would demand he help with anyway. "Thank you. And I promise, some day, when I am ready, I will pull my share of the weight on the team as a full member."

Nodding in acceptance and pride at Ryo, the group gave the Z Fighters and their families one last comforting smile before going on their way, Namine only stopping long enough to force Piccolo into a portal and through to Gohan before heading home, Ryo's team getting a portal from Rai before he created one for himself to the temple while Danny took the others home with the Fenton Jet. With the loss of the hero they all admired, both by reputation and by meeting him, if only once in most cases, they figured the Earth could go without a Guardian watching over it for a few days.

...

Even Gohan and Chichi were amazed at the number of people who showed up at the cemetery five days later, paying their last respects to their fallen hero. It was amazing how many hearts one man could touch. The seats were all taken and people were forced to stand around nearby tomb stones as the priest began the funeral, standing before a large, stone Z. On the bottom of the headstone was the inscription, reading 'Here Lies Goku Son. Loving Husband, Father, Friend and Selfless Hero. You Shall Be Deeply Missed By All'.

"My brothers and sisters, we are gathered here today to say farewell to our brother Goku." The priest said loudly, wishing he had a microphone so everyone could hear him. "Throughout the course of his life, he did nothing but show kindness and compassion to every person he met, touching the hearts of every one of us and protected us whenever there was danger. A purer soul is impossible to find and is one that will be greatly missed in our world. But let us remember, just as God's unseen hand is never far from our reach, neither are the souls of those we love."

As the priest continued, Gohan just let his tears fall. He was determined that this would be the last day he cried for his father. From tomorrow onward, he would only smile at his father's memory and live forever by his father's values, kindness, compassion, and doing whatever it takes to help the people who needed him.

I promise Dad, I'll live my life in a way that you will be proud of. You'll see, I will never slip up again. I love you Daddy. Closing his eyes as the priest spoke of keeping Goku's memory alive in their hearts, Gohan wrapped his arm around a bawling Goten and held him close, resting his head on top of his baby brothers.

"You know, I can't find words for how bad I feel for them." Kim said softly, sitting with the other seven Guardians a few rows behind the sobbing Z Fighters and their families. "Our only casualty and it was the kindest, most compassionate hero on Earth. And Gohan's father! He didn't deserve that and they don't deserve to be suffering like this."

"I know what you mean." Roxas nodded, his own eyes watering.

"He was also the most powerful and skilled hero on Earth." Ben said softly, but seriously, catching everyone's attention. "And all of us that were involved, excluding Namine, nearly died that day too. We can't let ourselves get that close to it again."

"And how do you propose we stop that from happening?" Raimundo asked, raising an eyebrow. "Death is a huge possibility in our line of work."

"Yes, but in most cases, we all could have been spared a lot of major injuries if we actually were capable of proper teamwork." Ben responded. "You and I were far more powerful than Ryo's friends and Kim was a far more talented fighter, but we couldn't use our full strength for fear of accidentally hurting or getting each other's way. A true team can fight at full strength and use that power to help and enhance each other's abilities. We need to know how to combined our powers and accurately predict each others' moves far beyond the kid's stuff we do now. We need to train together, become a true team, not just an organisation or random reinforcement solution like we are now."

"You're right." Gwen agreed with a sigh. "We do need to step up. If we had proper experience together, with Ryo's help, Danny and I probably could have taken care of Vegeta quicker and maybe even had some strength left to fight Garlic. Instead, we never even got the chance to see him."

"And we never will." Danny stated quietly, placing a finger to his lips to quiet down the others. "Gohan said that with the Makyo Star destroyed, Garlic's power is crippled. Without anyone to fight against and grow stronger in the Dead Zone, he'll be trapped there for all eternity, even his soul won't escape."

"This is all important, and I agree with Ben, but can we talk about it later?" Namine asked, frowning at the group. "This is Goku's funeral, let's make it all about him and comforting his family, like it's supposed to be." The group all turned sheepish at that and turned back to the priest just as he was speaking about Goku's spirit standing by God's side.

"I still can't believe that Gohan forgave me so easily, even with his intellect." Piccolo muttered at the back of the funeral beside Kami, his apprentice Dende and Mr Popo. "Logic and reason rarely come into play when someone's grieving as hard as he is."

"Yes, Gohan is unique." Kami said with a small grin. "He has inherited the amazingly strong light that has always dwelled within his father's heart and has even less darkness than he did. Though his time as our hero is over, he has brought someone who will one day surpass even him."

"Yeah." Piccolo nodded, his eyes never leaving the messy, black haired head of the boy sitting up front. "And I have a feeling he'll be there soon. And I'll do everything I can to protect him until that day and beyond it Goku. You have my word, my old friend.

As the ceremony ended and everyone began to leave the graveyard, Gohan walked up to the stone Z and placed his hand on it. Despite all the pain this stone represented to him, he couldn't help the small smile growing on his face.

"You died the way you lived Dad. Doing everything you could to save us. As a Saiyan or a human, I can't think of a more honourable way to leave this world. I love you and I miss you, but I refuse to say goodbye. There's no point, your nearby, I know it. So, I'll see you when I see you." He finished, looking up into the sky. For a moment, he could have sworn he saw Goku smiling down at him. He faded away a moment later however, and Gohan couldn't quite figure out whether or not he'd imagined it, but he didn't care, his smile grew stronger anyway.

"Gohan." Namine's soft voice called from behind him. Turning around, he grinned at the sight of his family, Bulma, Vegeta, Trunks, Videl, Hercule, Piccolo, Kami, Dende, Popo, Ryo, Takato, Henry, Rika and the other eight Guardians staring concernedly at him. the sight only made his smile grow. His father may be gone, but he still had a very big family there for him, biological or otherwise. He'd get through this. "Are you ok."

"Yeah, you know what, I really am." He nodded, walking towards them. "Life won't be perfect without Dad, but I have all of you. That'll make it good enough until I see him again."

"You seem a lot happier than I'd expect." Videl stated, worry for his mental health etched in her voice.

"I've cried and raged for almost a whole week. I refuse to feel upset over Father's memory any longer." Gohan replied, looking her in the eye reassuringly. "For now on, his memory will only make me happy, like it should. That's how he'd want it. Besides, he's not really gone, is he?"

"Not at all." Roxas grinned warmly, nodding his head.

"Not to ruin the moment or anything, but with Goku gone, all of the dark forces, whether they knew him or not will get more active." Piccolo interrupted sombrely. "And they will only get stronger."

"True, but so will we." Gohan replied, getting nods from the other Guardians. "You'll see, one day I'll become as great a hero as my Dad is and I will surpass him. That way, Dad's life will have even greater meaning, having brought in and raised another great hero for the world. And who knows, maybe someday we'll be able to finish what he started and bring peace to the planet."

Something tells me it won't be long before you reach his level Gohan. Piccolo thought, proud of the boy for how he was handling himself. And I get the feeling that the Valour Guardians might just be the power that will realise your father's dream one day. He added as all of the Guardian surrounded and hugged the young Saiyan.

Up from the Heavens, Goku couldn't be prouder of what he saw. Though his time was at an end, he knew the Earth didn't need him anymore and his death had brought on changes to many of the teenage heroes that would make them all far stronger very soon.

"Even in death, I do something that will benefit all of the Earth for years to come." He muttered as he watched Gohan and his friends and family leave the cemetery, chuckling as Gohan hesitantly put his arm around Namine's shoulders. "I couldn't ask for a better way to go."

...

Gohan: Our compassion can sometimes allow the worst possible situations to occur and that very trait can become lost. But it is a trait that we must hold onto with everything we have, for while it can lead to death and destruction like Garlic Junior's return, it can also lead to the discovery of true friends hiding within the shadows, Like Roxas and Vegeta. No one is pure evil, some have just lost their way and if you give them the chance, you might just find a diamond in the rough. Always look for the good in people and give them the chance we to find it. That's what my Dad believed and it's what I'll forever stand by.

AN: And that wraps up another story. Thanks again everyone who reviewed, subscribed and put my stories or me on their favourites lists. the next one will be in Kingdom Hearts if you haven't checked out my plans for future stories on my profile. Watch out for Valour Guardians 5: Rise of Maleficent