Author's Note: Well, I'm updating early! And if I finish this weekend, I will post the next, and last, chapter of this story. Read on.

Disclaimer: Shouldn't you all know by now?

Ch. 11: Mission

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." – Ambrose Redmoon

Gohan gazed at the figure standing a little ways away outside of the window next to his desk. He blinked a few times, and even squinted his eyes to try and focus better, but the appearance of the figure did not change. His orange outfit slightly swayed in the breeze, his black, spikey hair following suit. His hands were wrapped around his mouth as he called forth again, only this time, Gohan picked up on how his voice was exactly as he remembered it. "Gohan, come on! We don't have much time." The figure then waved his hand, trying to emphasize the point he was trying to make.

It was him. It was him. "Dad?" Gohan weakly tried to call, but the only sound that came out was an exhausted squeak.

"Hurry," was all his father replied, urgently. As Gohan stared dumbfounded at his supposedly-deceased father, he noticed how his form took on a certain degree of transparency. Gohan could see through his father's body, to the trees that stood their ground behind him. Oh, the teen rasped in his head, he's still dead…

But maybe, he's come for me… Maybe he's here, personally, to take me to Otherworld. So I'm dead? But I don't feel dead, I feel exactly the same - like shit. Gohan saw his father give another urgent wave. Do I have to follow him? Perhaps that's how some people's spirits get left on Earth… they didn't, or couldn't, follow after the one who came for them in time…

I need to go, Gohan concluded. He breathed deeply, turning his head up to the ceiling. Just the action of turning his head made the demi-Saiyan's stomach flip. He choked down a dry heave before moving any further.

Gohan's first attempt at raising himself from his bed ended in failure. As soon as he tried to sit up, his whole world spun and he ended up on his back once more. His eyes moved toward his father again, who remained right outside his window, giving him enough motivation to try his actions all over again. Gohan didn't take the slow route this time around. He hoisted himself from his bed and thrusted himself to the side. The dark-haired teen fell from his bed onto his hands and knees. His whole body shook with fatigue as his arms and legs supported his weight. Gohan breathed heavily and gave a jerk as his body convulsed, trying to silence a dry heave. Sweat already beaded on his forehead and leaked down his face. "Quickly, Gohan," Goku called out again. His urgency must've meant that his time here on Earth was running out fast. I need to hurry… before he fades and I'm stuck here… for eternity…

Gohan crawled his way forward, every movement tougher than the last, but he continued nonetheless. The thought of finally reuniting with his father, finally able to apologize for everything, gave the teen enough incentive to push through his pain.

After what seemed like a thousand-mile journey, Gohan reached the wall that held his window. He grasped at the window ledge and forcefully pulled himself up – his teeth clenching and his eyes clamping shut with the shear stress he felt with this action. When Gohan reached the top of the ledge, he threw his body over in one fluid movement. He summersaulted out of his room and landed on his back. The wind was knocked from his lungs, preventing any noise from emanating. Gohan looked helplessly up to his father and slowly raised a hand towards him.

"H-elp, Da-ad." Gohan sputtered in a whisper. Goku only looked at his son and backed away. Gohan's eyes opened wide, anxiety and fear eating at him until he heard his father's voice.

"This way… Gohan…" His voice was faint, like he was a further distance away.

"W-why can't you ju-ust carry me?" Gohan asked. Maybe he can't touch me because he's a ghost in the human world… Maybe he doesn't have enough power here…

Gohan rolled over onto his side and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He gasped for breath as he tried to summon up enough energy to make it to the Otherworld.

"Stand, Gohan. I know you can do it." Goku encouraged with a soft smile and backed away a few feet more. Hearing his father put faith in him, Gohan gripped the grass as tightly as he could and slid his feet under his body. He slowly stood, wavering a few times before getting his balance back. When Goku saw that his son was on his own two feet, he turned around and started running into the forest.

"Wait!" Gohan tried to yell, but only accomplished in speaking just above a whisper. His legs shook from the strain of just standing, how was he expected to run? "I c-can't-"

"You can. Quickly now… not much time." Goku replied. He then took off running again. Gohan looked around, taking in one last look at his home before concentrating on how he was going to run. He gently picked up his foot and brought it forward, slamming it back down on the ground like it weighed a ton. He did the same with the other, but seeing his father so much farther away pushed the demi-Saiyan to try it faster. He got a few feet ahead before one of his legs gave out and he toppled over into a nearby tree. He swallowed another gag and feebly wiped at the sweat running down his chin. There's no way… I can do this… Gohan gasped. Suddenly, he felt a firm grip on his shoulder. Gohan lifted his head to see who it was, and looked up into the kind, yet encouraging eyes of his father.

"I believe in you." Goku smiled warmly. Gohan could feel a strange sensation flowing from his father's hand that rested upon his shoulder. It was chilling, like an ice cube being placed on bare skin, but also comforting. Gohan closed his eyes as the sensation enveloped him, wrapping his mind and body in a sweetly frozen state. His breathing slowed until it was normal and the sweat ceased to fall. His mind abruptly cleared, forgetting everything for a brief second. Gohan let out a shaky, foggy breath as if it was below freezing outside. But then, Goku pulled away and everything clicked back on, like someone had flicked a switch. The teen demi-Saiyan expected some kind of miracle to happen when his father pulled away – maybe transport him to Otherworld or at least give him some strength to make it there himself. Although, that wasn't the case. Gohan felt like he was going to pass out on the spot; his eyelids feeling heavy and his legs shaking with his weight.

"Stay focused." Gohan heard his father snap. Gohan gazed up at his father, trying to understand what the point of this all was, and what exactly had his father tried to do. "I made you calm, cleared your mind. I can't give you strength - the dead have no strength – but this is important. We need to go. So move."

For the first time in a while, Gohan could think clearly. His mind was relaxed, like a weight was lifted from it. He still felt dizzy and weak, but he could piece together reality and see it like he used to. He shook his head from side to side quickly, earning a sickening flip of his stomach, and brought his hands up to his face. He eyed his hands, clenched them, and unclenched them. The teen then looked up to his father and said, "Dad…"

Goku took off sprinting further into the forest. Gohan took in some air and held his breath, hoping that would stop his stomach from convulsing. After he was sure no such thing would occur, he took off. Heavy steps soon turned into light trots and, without even realizing it, he was soon running as he desperately tried to catch up to his hero. The young teen wasn't running at the same speed as his father, he was running fairly slow still, but it was progress. Gohan's breathing became heavy, however he continued on. Every so often, Goku would turn around and face his son, making sure he was still following, and then continue to run.

Gohan felt as though his legs were going to fall off. His stomach began its upset protests once again and he felt light-headed. Perhaps Goku could sense his son beginning to falter and slow down, for he spun at that moment and urgently waved as he spoke, "Just a little more! Not much farther. I know you can do it, my son!"

The demi-Saiyan perked up at hearing those familiar words. My son. The last time his father spoke those words, he was picking up the mess Gohan had created. For years, those words held nothing but disappointment and regret – words only spoken to those who deserved to be severely reprimanded. But hearing those words spoken as an encouragement rather than a punishment caused something inside the demi-Saiyan to click. At first, it confused him. Why is Father encouraging me now, when before I had only disappointed him? Then, suddenly, his last words spoken to Gohan before he died took on a whole new meaning. It was like a door was opened, letting in cool water to wash away the filthy, tainted sting his counterfeit sin.

Never was Goku unhappy with his son. Never had he felt any shame as he looked upon his friends, his loved ones, for the last time before running to his son's rescue. Felt no regret when he looked into the sad, defeated eyes of Gohan and made the simple decision that would end up haunting his first-born for the next few years. It was Goku's choice to make, and his alone.

"I'm sorry!" Gohan belted out suddenly. His legs long grew numb with the exerted force, now feeling as if he were running on clouds. This made Goku stop for a moment, glancing over his shoulder at his son. "I'm sorry," Gohan continued, "for everything. I didn't mean for things to turn out like this! I don't want to feel hurt anymore, I don't want to be weak anymore! I'm sorry I've caused everybody so much pain, but I promise I'll change! I don't wanna die!" Tears streamed down his face as he confessed to his father.

Goku smiled softly at his son as he drew closer. Just before Gohan reached his father, Goku simply replied, "I know." His voice faded as he then stepped through a section of parted trees, disappearing into the bright light that shown through them. Gohan immediately followed after, tripping over himself and tumbling through the path.

Gohan landed with a thud and skidded to a stop on the ground. He tried to catch his breath as he lay on the grass, the sound of a roaring waterfall reminding him of peace and tranquility. But there were more sounds in close range, ones that didn't fit in with the serene tone.

"Gohan!" A familiar voice called out in confusion and fear. Gohan's eyes snapped open at the realization of whose voice it was. "What are you doing here?"

Gohan looked up to Trunks, noticing the petrified expression as he turned and looked at something. Gohan followed his gaze and felt as if the air was re-knocked from his lungs. His eyes locked on to the terrified, wailing child that is his baby brother, perched on a flimsy branch sticking out the side of a cliff. "Goten!" Gohan screamed. Goten ceased his crying for a brief moment as he looked to his brother.

"Go'an!" he called back. "Get me down, I scared!" Goten wailed again. Gohan stood up, albeit a little too quickly, and fell back onto his backside.

"Please, help him!" Trunks cried, shaking Gohan's shoulder.

"I can't! Where is my dad? He can help!"

"Your dad?" Trunks questioned, looking at Gohan like he was crazy. "No one's been through here! I've been trying to find a way to get Goten down!"

Gohan looked around desperately from side to side. The area around them wasn't that big, so it wasn't like it would've been easy for Trunks or even Goten to miss someone like Goku walking around. And not even Gohan could see him anymore. Come to think of it, Trunks could see him, which meant Gohan wasn't a ghost like his father – he wasn't dead. Is this where Father was trying to bring me –

Just then, the branch that held Goten cracked again, causing Goten to be shaken from it. "Goten!" Gohan screamed. Goten quickly latched onto the branch with his hand, letting his body dangle dangerously. It was, indeed, a good thing to be part Saiyan.

"Goten," Gohan called out calmly as he stood once more. Goten slowly looked to his brother, fearing any movement would cause the last piece of the branch to collapse and send him into the raging waters below. "Stay still and try not to move too much. And whatever you do, do not let go." Gohan then walked closer to the edge of the cliff and got into a stance he thought he'd never do again – he crouched, bringing his elbows in, head slightly bent downwards, and clenched his hands into fists.

I know now, Father… I know what you were trying to do. Though, I still don't know if you were really there at all. But, I know that someone didn't want me to die – whether it was my conscious mind or not – This is my test… And I will not fail!

Gohan then clenched his teeth and growled in his throat. He reached deep within himself, going far beyond his thoughts, his memories, frantically searching his being, trying to call upon the power that was locked up in the darkest depths. The teen demi-Saiyan tugged and tugged, struggling to pull the power forth. Gohan could hear the words his father spoke to him, if it was his father at all – I know you can do it, my son.

Gohan dug even further, clawing his way past the pain he felt for so many years, past his insecurities, finally coming to a door at the back of his mind – the word Murderer scrawled in something red across it. His heart raced, screaming at him that this wasn't a good idea. But nonetheless, Gohan reached forth and grabbed hold of the handle. As soon as his hand connected with the doorknob, a rushing sensation full of dread, fear, anxiety, and sadness filled the teen's heart. He quickly removed his hand and held it to his chest. It felt like a melancholy-laced electrical shock had ravaged his body, and suddenly, he was too afraid to look what was behind the door. The dark-haired teen abruptly began inching away from the door, a few sullen tears edging their way from his eyes.

"Please, help him!" Gohan suddenly heard echo throughout the dark abyss. Other fragments of sentences soon followed suit along with the memories that came with them.

"I scared… of the boom… so I sleep with you?" – Goten asking to share a bed with his brother, the one who would protect him.

"L-Leave me alone… I-I'm fine." – Gohan lying to the family that only wanted to help.

"Don't play games, kid. I want to know what your problem is." – Piccolo, trying to find out what was bothering his former student.

"Can you teach me to fly?" – Goten trying to get that much closer to his big brother by asking him to pass down what he had learned.

"There's no such thing as wishing." – Gohan yelling at his brother for the soul purpose of hurting him.

"Wise up!" – Piccolo trying to encourage his former student to try harder as they fought, just so he could release some pent up anger.

"It's nice to see you smiling again." – Piccolo happy with Gohan, even shortly after he attempted to kill his former teacher.

"Something is wrong with my son, Bulma." – Chi-Chi scared and seeking consolation in her friend.

"Gohan's the monster now! C'mon, Goten, run!" – Trunks and Goten wanting to play with Gohan, oblivious to his current state.

"Stop worrying so much. I'm fine." – Gohan telling Piccolo that he was alright, despite his growing weakness.

"I feel fine! Why can't we just go home?" – Gohan's attempt at running away from the people trying to help.

"You know something we don't, half-breed." – Vegeta's unnecessarily violent attempt at getting the young demi-Saiyan to talk.

"Get out! Get out! I hate you, don't you get it? Go away! I never wanna see you again!" – Gohan tearing out Goten's heart

"I am on your side, Gohan. We all are." – Krillin trying to convince the troubled teen that everyone was just trying to help.

"You really will die. Is that what you want?" – Piccolo bluntly, but truthfully, getting the message to his young friend.

"And… tell your father I miss him, when you see him." – His own mother letting her son die.

"Gohan, get me down! I scared!" – Goten desperately wanting his older brother's protection.

Gohan, unafraid, reached forth again, grabbed hold of the doorknob and flung the door open. What stood behind the door made Gohan's mouth drop open.

A tiny child stood on the other side. His pitch black hair tied back into a tiny ponytail. His shirt yellow with the families "Son" characters printed on the front and the green sleeves a shade darker around the wrists, most likely due to the tears that fell from the child's face. But the strangest of all was the thick looking substance that filled the door frame. Its colour was a dark, tainted shade and rippled about, like waves in the ocean, distorting the appearance of the small child on the other side. It looked to be the same consistency as the infected water he fell into in a long ago dream.

Gohan crouched forward, causing the smaller version of himself to take a tiny step back. "What's wrong?" Gohan asked casually. The tiny toddler just gave a soft hiccup and brought a sleeve up to wipe away more tears. "Are you scared?" Gohan asked, obviously aware that the child was, indeed, frightened. The child gave a small nod, hiding behind his large, green sleeves.

"I-I scared," the toddler version of Gohan trembled, "of being bad. I don't wanna do bad things." The child began crying softly again.

"You don't have to be scared." Gohan smiled gently. "Listen, right now, there is someone that needs our help. And we're the only ones who can save him. Do you know who I'm talking about?"

"Goten…" the toddler spoke softly.

"That's right. And I need my power back in order to save him."

"But… Daddy… and Piccolo…"

"I promise none of those things will ever happen again. Father knew what he was doing when he sacrificed himself to save the planet. And Piccolo has forgiven me for what I almost did. But I don't think I'll ever forgive myself if I don't save Goten right now. So, please?" Gohan pleaded.

"No more bad things?" The toddler questioned after a few moments of thinking.

"No more." Gohan shook his head and smiled. The mini-Gohan then held out his tiny hand, waiting for Gohan to pull him out of the dirtied water that trapped him. The older Gohan reached forth, passing his hand into the water barrier and grabbing hold of his toddler version. As soon as the child was released from the barrier, he transformed into a bright, warming light that wrapped around Gohan and filled him with an all-too familiar feeling.

Gohan's eyes snapped open as adrenaline coursed through his veins, his hair sparking and flickering before it stood on end, its colour switching from pitch black to a magnificent gold. He breathed deep, in and out, as his body caught up with his sudden power surge. He looked towards Goten who looked exhausted, to Trunks, in the same spot before he closed his eyes. It felt like he was inside of his mind forever, but from the looks of it, he couldn't have been absent for more than a minute or two.

"Go'an, I slippin'!" Goten cried as he tried to re-grip the branch. Gohan ran towards the edge of the cliff and, without hesitation, jumped from the edge towards Goten. But, instead of flying at that instant, he began falling. His hair flashing from gold to black and back as he tried to collect his thoughts. He could hear Trunks and Goten screaming his name as he fell.

Gohan tried to recapture how flying felt, and tried to figure out how he could do it before so carelessly. Think, Gohan, think, he repeated in his mind. He then looked up towards Goten, and just the sight of him being in trouble fueled him to push himself to the brink.

At that moment, he stopped falling and hovered for a few moments. He then blasted upwards towards his baby brother.

Suddenly, out of the sky landed five people, one being carried by Piccolo and the other being carried by Krillin. Piccolo set Chi-Chi down, as did Krillin with Bulma, but all five just stood, gapping at the sight before them. "Mom! Dad!" Trunks yelled and limped over to where his mother and father stood.

"Goten!" Chi-Chi screeched and put her hands on her face.

"Where is Gohan? I felt his energy just a second ago-" Piccolo called out.

Just then, Gohan appeared from below and wobbled his way towards his brother, still clutching the branch. "Help me, Go'an! My arm is getting' tired!" Goten cried.

"I'm coming, Goten!" Krillin yelled out as he powered up, but halted his actions when Piccolo threw his arm in the short man's path.

"Krillin, don't!" Piccolo shouted, looking at Krillin with a dumbfounded expression. "Look at him…" Piccolo trailed off.

"He's flying." Vegeta finished. Everyone stared in awe at the two siblings, trying to decide whether or not intervening would be a good thing. They then listened in, hearing that Gohan was actually speaking as he wobbled in the air, getting close to Goten, but then faltering, falling, and rising up again just to repeat the process over again.

"Hold on, just a little longer!" Gohan yelled. His body was still trying to figure out a flight pattern, not quite used to listening to Gohan's commands yet. He would think Get closer and accidentally ram into the cliff itself. He would then think Back up, only to fly backwards with such force and almost crash into the group of spectators he had no idea were there.

More to the left. Swaying just out of reach, almost able to grab the child, only to suddenly fall, hair flickering from gold to black, then back again.

Up. Soaring high up into the air.

Down. Soaring downwards towards the water.

"Go'an," Goten abruptly called out. "I don't want you to hate me."

This caused Gohan to stop dead in his tracks. "I don't hate you." Gohan replied. "Don't ever think that I do!"

"But-"

"I know what I said before, but I was just angry. Please, believe me – I love you Goten. And if you hang on, I promise that I'll be a better brother to you. I can't say that everything will go back to normal because I don't want it to. I want to be a better person, especially to you. And I'll teach you how to fly, just like you asked. Just please, hold-"

Snap.

The branch disconnected from the cliff's wall. Goten screamed, as well as everyone else. "Goten!" Chi-Chi screamed as she raced to the edge of the cliff and looked over. Her scream was the last sound made as everyone watched, holding their breaths.

Gohan swooped down, following his little brother, racing to catch him before the jagged rocks and raging waters did. Almost, Gohan thought as he reached out his arm towards Goten. He closed his eyes and gave one final push as he tried to grip at something, anything. When he felt something in his grasp, he immediately yanked back, catching the small child in an embrace that would make any Saiyan father proud.

Goten held his brother around his neck and cried. Gohan opened his eyes to see him and his younger sibling only a couple feet away from the bottom of the cliffs, the water slapping up against the sharp rocks and splashing onto the bottom of Gohan's feet. With his heart racing, he took a deep breath in through his nose, turned around, and headed up towards the cliff where a crowd of cheers and relieved smiles and sighs greeted the two.

Author's Note: How was it? You guys should all know by now that I'm such a review-whore. And, as I stated above, I'm gonna try and wrap up by this weekend. Probably gonna pull an all-nighter just to bring you guys the conclusion that will wrap up all the loose ends. So, keep a look out tomorrow for yet another chapter!