Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball / Dragonball Z / Dragonball GT / It's a Small World.

Have a good read.

The air was cold, but the overall weather was lovely and the landscape looked gorgeous. That was what Gohan loved about autumns.

Goten and Trunks were playing together on the field of gold, wrestling each other while rolling about and sending fallen leaves into the air. Sometimes Gohan could hear one complaining of the other playing unfairly, but that aside, they were having tons of fun. He totally understood it, though; in this eternity, this might well be the only time Trunks was given permission to stay over at their house without supervision.

As he watched his brother and friend now sitting on a pile of leaves and talking with each other, Gohan's mind began to traverse down the memory lane. As a child, he had never had the luxury of having a really close friend or even slack off for that matter, since he needed to share Bardock's workload in keeping the family intact as well as babysitting his then baby brother. Besides, he also had to study hard and hone his academic skills so as to increase his chance of success when enlisting into the Army in the future.

However, he was glad Goten didn't have to go through a difficult childhood like he had endured. Growing up without his parents were was more than enough of an unpleasant experience, and Gohan took it under himself to take him under his wing and ensure his happiness. It was true his brother could be a despicable troublemaker who would sometimes bring him into a shipload of trouble, but he could never bring himself to hate him. Gohan loved Goten more than anything in the world, and it was what drove him to always do his best for him.

In the middle of his reminiscence, Gohan caught some bit of the conversation between the boys. Finding it interesting, curiosity finally got the better of him and he focused his mind to perceive whatever it was that Goten and Trunks were talking about.

"Trunks, are we still gonna be friends?" asked Goten. Exhausted and looking ready to fall sleep, he made himself comfortable by lying sprawled on the pile of leaves he was sitting on.

"Whatcha talking about, Goten? Of course we are!" Trunks creased his forehead. Why his friend had to ask something whose answer was so obvious was beyond him. "You see, we'll be friends until end of time."

Hearing Trunks's answer, Goten produced a wide, innocent, happy grin. "Wowee! That sounds cool! Even later in the Other World?"

"Yup. You bet."

When Gohan heard the phrase 'Other World', his heart began beating more rapidly. Never before had Goten said something related to the afterlife, so why now? He found himself trying to shrug aside unpleasant feelings that had somehow gnawed their way into his heart; although it was just a casual conversation happening between two best friends, the fact that this was the first time Goten ever talked with someone pertaining to the Other World was enough to unnerve him.

"Hmm… do you think I'm gonna meet my mom and dad there?"

"Yeah, I guess. They must've been waiting for you."

"I wanna see how they look like!"

The mention of their parents made Gohan even more anxious. The unpleasant feeling he was experiencing became accentuated by the second, and somehow he knew something he didn't even want to think about was just around the corner. He needed to have a word with Goten, but suddenly it occurred to him that something strange took place when he walked over to reach him. Despite the steps he took, he didn't seem to cover any distance between him and his brother since it was as though he had only been walking on the spot. Gohan tried running, but for some bizarre reason the space was just impassable.

Not knowing what to do anymore—even his shouts seemed to fall on deaf ears—Gohan stopped trying. It was then when he saw Goten and Trunks starting to slowly fade away from existence; just like ghosts or spirits, he could actually look past their bodies and see the brown dead leaves beneath them. When he shouted again for them he was actually noticed by the kids, but they just smiled and flashed victory signs with their hands at him. From where he was standing, Gohan noticed they were becoming fainter by the second and were just moments away from completely disappearing.

"Hee-hee. I'm glad I got to know you, Trunks," said Goten as he lay down again with Trunks sitting by his side.

"So am I, Goten. Thanks for being my best friend," replied Trunks. Then, he ruffled his spiky mess of hair, an act of affection usually reserved for Gohan whenever he needed to comfort his little brother. "Now sleep well, buddy. I'm right behind you. I'll be there right after you arrive."

Goten grinned again and bid his friend farewell. Gohan, who was growing more and more frightened, could only stand there and watch as the boys started to phase out from his view. All of a sudden, the scene underwent a major change; the golden brown hue of dead leaves around them was replaced in a flash by flowers. Trees and buildings mysteriously disappeared into thin air, and all Gohan could see in the distance was a vast field of white and yellow extending far to the horizon.

Seeing the flowers, sadness and mournfulness surged through his body. He knew he had seen similar flowers in the past, and for some reason he had always associated those variants with a particularly dark moment in his life. Hands trembling and knees shaking, he squatted and plucked two stalks to examine them, secretly hoping he was wrong in determining their species… but his hunch was correct all along.

Although they were supposed to grow on trees and not close to the ground, the flowers were of the frangipani family, the same kind of flowers featured prominently in his parents' funeral. And that was when everything finally clicked inside his head.

Goten, and possibly Trunks as well, was off to see them, never to return again to the land of the living.

As realisation dawned on him, Gohan heard Goten calling out to him. "I'll be waiting for you too, Gohan!" he shouted from where he was, his voice terrifyingly cheerful and nonchalant.

"Wait, Goten! Don't go!" Gohan pled desperately as he tried in vain to approach his little brother.

This time he was replied by Trunks. "Don't worry, Gohan. It's not like we're gonna go anywhere over there, I guess. We'll be waiting for you until you get there."

"What do you mean, when I get there? You're not going anywhere, Trunks, Goten!"

The reason was beyond him, but Gohan was now able to close the distance between him and the kids who were getting fainter. However, despite giving it his all to run as fast as he could, he was afraid he couldn't get to them on time, and his fear proved correct; just as he was about to reach for his brother's hand, Goten turned to him, gave a radiant smile, and said one final sentence before he and Trunks were engulfed by an intense burst of light.

"I won't forget you, big brother."

"GOTEN! NO!"

Gohan shot awake and sat up on his bed, his cold sweat seeping into his shirt. Still panting heavily, he struggled to calm himself down as he slowly caught his breathing rhythm although his heart was still pounding furiously. He looked over to his side, expecting to see Goten sleeping, but of course he wasn't there. For all he knew his little brother was enjoying his time with Oran, his classmate.

With wobbly knees Gohan got off the bed and poured himself a glass of water. He still remembered his very weird dream, not only because the details were so vividly imprinted into his mind, but also due to the fact that he had dreamed the exact same thing for three consecutive nights; normally he would just dismiss whatever dreams he had dreamt, but this time he found himself thinking about each and every word Goten and Trunks had said, the sudden scene shift, the flowers, and overall what the dream meant. Symbolisms of death were very prevalent in the dream, and he admitted it made him extremely uneasy.

However, to him a dream was just that: a dream. Being an absurdly logical person he was, Gohan had never been convinced by people's anecdotal accounts regarding the sibylline powers of dreams and just shrugged it aside like it had been nothing. He stood firm in his belief that there was no single thing but own endeavours which could determine what time had in store in one's future. With that in mind, he pushed his worry to the farthest reaches of his mind and made up his bed, ready to begin his activities just like on any other normal days.

Even though it was Sunday, Gohan was up particularly late that morning. When he drew the curtains open, the sun was already shining its yellowish white beams instead of the usual orange, and judging from its position in the sky he had overslept for around two hours. Sure enough, when he turned around to check the clock, the numbers zero and eight followed by two fours were displayed. There was some grocery shopping to be done, and since the marketplace was more than just likely to get extremely crowded in the late morning, Gohan hurriedly took some clothes, frantically darted out of his room, and went straight into the bathroom for take a quick bath without even bothering to greet his grandfather who was in the process of dusting the furniture.

In record time—less than ten minutes, to be exact—he finished his bath. With heavenly efficiency he dried himself up and put on his clothes. Just mere seconds later, he was clad in a blue changshan with gentle magenta sleeves and a pair of trousers with similar colour as the sleeves. Suddenly it struck him as uncanny; this set of outfit was the exact one he had been wearing in his dream. As far as he could recall, he only took the topmost clothes when he opened his armoire and had made no conscious attempts whatsoever to choose among other available ones. However, since he didn't want to be troubled by such a trivial matter, he just shrugged and dismissed it as pure coincidence.

When he exited the bathroom, his grandfather was no longer in the living room. Gohan then remembered he had skipped something he had never failed to do every morning, so he approached the end table on which a wooden frame holding the photograph of his parents sat. There was something different today, though; when he quietened his heart to pray, he noticed a lace of frangipani flowers looping around the frame. As he noticed aspects in his dream manifesting one by one in the real world, Gohan couldn't help wondering whether someone was trying to tell him something, but he continued with his prayer nonetheless.

When Gohan was done praying, Bardock showed up from his room, possibly having just finished sweeping the floor. He figured this might be a good time to inquire about the flowers before he went out, so he said to his grandfather while showing the lace to him, "I didn't see this yesterday. Where did it come from?"

"What do you mean, where did it come from?" Bardock asked another question in reply, "Of course I bought it. Do you really think it just popped up out of nothing?"

Hearing the very obvious answer, Gohan felt really dumb for having asked his pointless question. "Whoa, easy there, gramps. I was just asking," he said, "But it's really not like you to buy decorations."

"Call me crazy, but I felt compelled to do so. Now stop asking questions and buy whatever you need to buy. You're extremely late."

Knowing his grandfather was stating the truth, Gohan didn't need to be told twice to do just that. At Bardock's command, he promptly returned his towel to the drying rack, grabbed his wallet from his room, and went out to get the shopping done, otherwise there wouldn't be anything to eat for dinner tonight. In a rush, Gohan got into his pod and drove off into the distance, almost completely unheeding of street manners in the process.

When he arrived at the marketplace, he parked his pod by the open space at which Goten and Trunks usually played together. Upon seeing the field with dead leaves thoroughly covering it, his mind once again homed back to the vivid images that had been haunting him since the morning. The resemblance between this field and its unreal counterpart in his mind was extremely striking, even the details; although he still believed this was nothing more than yet another coincidence, he had to admit he was starting to get more and more restless.

Intent on getting his duty done quickly, Gohan repressed his unease and strolled toward the marketplace, and that was when everything just turned uncanny. For a reason he wasn't aware of, he was more perceptive of the colours white and yellow, giving rise to the illusion that said colours were more prominent than the others. To make things even creepier, those were also the hues of the frangipani flowers in his dream.

His scepticism now swaying violently, Gohan felt urged by a compelling force of some sort and began making sense of the so-called signs appearing one by one before him. He knew the meaning behind the colours his eyes were particularly sensitive to today; in their culture, one of the aspects represented by white was purity or innocence, and by yellow, friendship. Combining those two together, the first thing he thought about was the abnormally high degree of friendship which had formed between his brother and the Prince. Gohan then put the flowers into the equation, but shortly afterward he wished he hadn't, since to him frangipanis were closely associated with the end of life due to their prominence during his parents' funeral. However, he couldn't get his mind away from one particular subject which had left a very strong impression: Goten and Trunks's discussion regarding the Other World.

Gohan navigated his way through the busy aisles while struggling to rid his mind of the rather troubling conversation stubbornly echoing inside his head, oblivious of the even more disquieting pieces of news buzzing from the mouths of people. Little did he knew, there was a very clear and strong correlation between what was in his head and that which was circulating around the marketplace. When he finally did notice what the people was so agitated about, his heart began to thump uncomfortably fast, almost painfully so, and he covertly focused his attention on a conversation taking place between a fruit stall owner and his customer.

"Have you heard, Cabash? Two gatekeepers were murdered this morning."

"Yeah? May their souls rest in peace. It's amazing what people would do just to gain access to the city nowadays…"

"Hmm, I don't think so. Some said there were witnesses during the event, and they said it was the other way around."

"What, you mean someone from the city actually wanted to get out? You gotta be kidding me, Spina."

"Except I'm not. They also said the killer brought along two children. One had purple hair like the Prince."

Gohan subconsciously cringed when the lady mentioned about someone who looked like Trunks was mentioned. If it really was the Prince, the other child had to be Goten, no doubt about it. Despite having visited the town every fortnight, Trunks had never made any contact with children other than his brother, let alone befriended them. Bracing himself for the next part, he continued eavesdropping on their conversation.

"What does the Prince have to do with it? Are you suggesting he might be involved?"

"Heck, beats me. But listen, I know it sounds crazy, but one of the witnesses said the guy… or girl, killed the children too."

That instant Gohan felt like being struck by lightning.

Those cruel words came rushing through his ears and straight into his brain without warning, and how he wished he could unhear it. For almost a full minute he couldn't even budge an inch from where he was standing now, although his muscles felt really weak and it seemed as though he was ready to collapse any second. His vision darkening and his heartbeat beating almost erratically, Gohan could only stand there as still as a stone statue.

However, he quickly rallied his courage, assuring himself of the fact that the lady hadn't witnessed the events firsthand. Gohan knew he was in the middle of something, but this was a more pressing matter which had to be investigated at least until he knew what really happened to Goten and Trunks. He returned to his pod and drove toward the gate connecting the two residential areas of the Kingdom, hoping very fervently that the lady had heard an erroneous piece of news.

While heading to his destination, he figured it was a good idea to check on Goten from the scouter, although he wasn't too surprised when he couldn't locate either him or Trunks thanks to their neat ability to hide their power levels. A second alternative was to give him a call, so he punched in his frequency and waited—anxiously, one might say—until Goten picked up.

After almost a minute of waiting, someone finally responded. "Hello?"

"Goten? Are you okay?" asked Gohan. He did that so nervously he almost jumbled his words.

"This is not Goten," replied the voice in a very dejected tone, "I'm Oran. Is this… big brother?"

Knowing it wasn't his brother who picked up his call, Gohan gasped in total surprise. "Oran? W-why… where's Goten? He's with you, isn't he? Please tell me that he is!"

There was silence for the first few seconds, and a loud cry followed. Over the line, Oran was bawling his eyes out for a reason Gohan was very afraid of being true, but that didn't stop him from his pursuit of truth. He parked his pod on the road shoulder to try to soothe the child, but it was to no avail. Fortunately, his mother came along and joined him in his effort, and the crying finally subsided. Gohan could hear the grownup very tenderly suggest that her son do something else and just let her handle the problem.

Oran's mother was the person from whom he learned about his brother's sudden disappearance. When she mentioned about the letter stating Goten's intent on meeting someone and that there was no need to worry about him, everything finally occurred to Gohan that the plan to stay over at Oran's house was a complete ruse; he didn't need further information to come up with a conclusion that Goten had had a hidden agenda after all. He felt really miserable and embarrassed of himself for having fallen victim to a child's trick, while at the same time getting even more agitated by the second. His presumption of Goten meeting Trunks gave the marketplace lady's second-hand account some degree of credibility, although he was quick to force himself into thinking that it was possible if, and only if, the purple-haired boy she had mentioned was really Trunks.

Appreciative of the efforts given by the family in trying to locate Goten for one whole day, although they had proved futile, Gohan thanked Oran's mother before hanging up. He then brought the engine of his pod back to life again and drove to the city gate, intent on finding out the truth behind Goten's disappearance. The possibility of his not being in this world anymore was there, but if so was the case, Gohan refused to believe it one bit before he had seen his brother's lifeless body.

As he made his way toward his destination, countless images of Goten flashed inside his head. He remembered all those times when he would take care of him when he was just a little baby, all the way until their last time seeing each other. Goten's innocent smiles and pouts invaded his mind and occupied it in no time, making it very difficult for him to focus on the road and keep his path straight.

After driving for a while, Gohan finally arrived at the gate. Along with a multitude of people gathering around it, he saw several Praetorians who must have been assigned to prevent Commoners from trespassing into the city or Nobles into the town. No doubt, something terrible must have happened here earlier today, consistent with what had been described by the customer lady.

He wasn't concerned with the fate of the two gatekeepers, though, and he quickly set out to verify the dubious claim of the murder of the Prince look-alike and another kid. He scoured the area for signs of Goten and Trunks and did the whole run again after doing it once, and there were absolutely no traces of them. Gohan didn't know how he should feel about this, but he let out a sigh of relief nonetheless for having learned with his own eyes that the lady's account was false. All he needed to do now was keep looking for his missing brother, firm in his belief that he was still out there somewhere, alive and kicking.

However, just when he was about to take his pod back and leave, a teenage girl possibly around his age approached him. Truth be told, she had been watching Gohan's every movement ever since he arrived at the gate and even harboured some kind of suspicion toward him which she so boldly confronted by carefully striking a conversation with him.

"You look… just like him…" said the girl. By doing that she succeeded in surprising Gohan who was in the process of getting into the car. When she was sure she had gotten his attention, she continued, "You don't happen to be… Gohan, do you?"

Having always kept a low profile, Gohan was dumbfounded at the fact that someone actually knew him by name, or at least knew his name. "I am, miss, but do I know you?"

"I need you to come with me," replied the girl in a very direct, no-nonsense manner.

"Whoa! Hold on a second, where are you taking me?" asked Gohan again, "I've got something important to do right now, you see."

"Just come. Someone's… dying to see you."

The girl's enigmatic response left Gohan perplexed, but as much as he wanted to leave right now, he felt obliged to comply with her demands. To save energy, he offered to take his pod to wherever they were going, but the girl politely refused, saying it wasn't that far from where they were now. Gohan just shrugged and carried on walking, and although the girl's motives were kind of questionable, he just brushed it aside and followed her nonetheless.

Little did he know, he had missed something in his search for signs of Goten and Trunks earlier: patches of dried blood of sickly brownish maroon hue, perfectly camouflaged by the colour of dead leaves scattered all over the place.

And he was about to pay the dear, dear price of his negligence.

"If you need some time, I'll leave you for a moment."

Gohan gave a nod without speaking even a single word, and the girl—she had introduced herself as Videl—acknowledged it by exiting her room, leaving him with two boys lying on the queen-sized bed. They were motionless, their expression totally relaxed and free from all worries of this world although slightly pale. Tears running down his face, Gohan held tight onto the smaller boy's cold palm and he finally lost it; with a restrained cry, he buried his face on his brother's chest and let it all out.

"Why, Goten?" Gohan sobbed uncontrollably although he managed to keep his voice down. He didn't want Videl, whom he just met moments ago, to see him in such a ravaged state. "Why did you do this to me? Why did you leave? Why?"

Of course Goten didn't answer his cries. Although he and Trunks were physically there with him, their souls weren't, and the pain was just too intense for Gohan to bear. The last time he felt like this was almost a decade ago when he learned about his parents' death, and that time he sure thought he wouldn't have to experience such emotional anguish again. But now, it had been proven to him that he was as wrong as he could get, and the now inanimate little figures lying before him served as a harsh reminder that nobody, despite his power and status, was exempt from having to depart from life sooner or later.

"Why didn't you tell me, Goten? Why did you have to lie? Was it because you were scared I might get angry?" asked Gohan again. He knew asking those questions now was useless and way too late, but he just couldn't help it. "I wouldn't, Goten… if only you'd told the truth… I'd find a way to help you… but why did you choose to do it your way? Dontcha know how I feel right now, Goten? I'm sad! More than sad, even! I feel broken…"

"No… no, it wasn't your fault. If it was anyone's, it's mine. I've failed in protecting you, Goten… I should've paid more attention to those dreams… if only I had, you and Trunks could've been around longer. I've failed you, Goten. I've failed as a brother!"

Videl, who was sitting on the couch in the living room, could only sigh in deep despondency when she heard Gohan's muffled of self-pity through the door. She had read Goten's and Trunks's letters—she planned to show them to the big brother after he had calmed down later—and believed no one as young as them deserved this. Besides, judging from what the older child wrote on his letter, she concluded they had been treated rather unfairly by the King himself although she didn't know the whole story.

After several minutes, Gohan finally went out of the room with red and bleary eyes. Wordlessly he settled himself down across Videl and continued to stay silent, and although he was offered some water and sweets to help him wind down to some extent, but out of distress he refused it and just buried his head in his hands. Videl knew she had to do something to ease the tension in the air, but at the same time she was afraid whether or not what she had in mind to say was going to offend Gohan and make everything worse.

However, the silence was deafening and uncomfortable and perhaps by striking a conversation, Videl would do them a favour. She sighed and finally spoke after another moment of quiet, "I'm sorry for your loss. You seem to be very close to them, especially the black-haired one…"

"He's my little brother. You have no idea," replied Gohan curtly. His voice was still shaky.

"Perhaps… but I'm no stranger to things like this," said Videl. Gohan wasn't sure if he wanted to listen, but she continued nonetheless. "I've been living all by myself for five years now. Someone has to pay for the bills and the maids, so I had to resort to making these paintings to earn money. It's not easy, you know. It's hard to find potential buyers, and I don't have enough to enlist the help of an agency," she said while eyeing the framed paintings hanging on the walls, "And life's a living nightmare without someone to care about you. You see, my dad was killed in action during his service in the Army and my mom… she died of broken heart, I guess. I know how it feels to lose someone very dear to—"

"But you don't know how it feels to lose almost EVERYONE very dear to you," Gohan suddenly glowered, surprising Videl.

"W-what do you mean? My parents were everything to me!"

"Listen, miss. Don't fill me in with the details your problem, I'm not interested. Just so you know, you still have your maids or whatever. I only have my grandpa now."

"Your… grandpa? Don't tell me your parents—"

At this point Gohan was seething with anger. "You think you've seen the true face of life, dontcha? Well, think again. You have no one to protect and care about, while I have Goten. You should be glad! After mom and dad died, I have to earn money too to ensure he's got the best for him, and do you know what I do for that? Do you?"

"… I don't. Sorry…"

"I sculpt, Videl. Statuettes, totems, charms, whatever you call them. That's the only thing I'm talented at. And you know what? The most I've ever been paid was fifteen thousand, and it's barely worth a full dinner. Do you have any idea how many statuettes I have to carve a day, not counting the ones that failed? And do you still think your life is a nightmare?"

"Gohan, I'm sorry, I—"

"Every time I sculpt, I think of Goten. Yeah, it's not easy money, but the profits were purely for him. It is I who paid for his tuition fees, cover his expenses and stuff. He was the reason why I sculpt and it made me love it with passion, but now? He's gone! What do I do now, huh? Who do I sculpt for? What purpose does it serve now?"

"I didn't know you've gone through so much for him…"

"Well, now you do, and I hope you understand it's just natural. Goten was more than just my brother. He was my friend… my best friend. Heck, sometimes I feel like he was my own son. He was more than everything to me! Now think, how does a father feel when he's not there during his kid's final moments? Or when someone isn't with his best friend in desperate times?"

"He'll feel sad, of course."

"That's just one possibility. Truth is, he's devastated. His world is ruined and you really have no idea how much he hates himself for that. You can't provide a complete answer to my question, but you said you understand what I'm feeling now? I'm telling you, that's a lie!"

Gohan's wall crumbled under the sheer force of his emotion and he exploded in fury. Videl could only stoop her head in embarrassment; everything he had said was true. She really had no idea about the hardship he had very willingly gone through in order to keep his brother comfortable and safe without having to worry about anything. Having been too self-centred, her attempts in consoling Gohan had ended very miserably thanks to her poor choice of words, and how she wished she could turn back time.

After venting out all of his anger, Gohan sat down again and yet another period of silence followed. No one dared to say anything, and the only thing they could hear was the soothing sound of tiny tubular chimes swaying gently in the wind. Feeling very apologetic, Videl stood up and approached Gohan, sat beside him, and was about to say something when the boy preceded her.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have burst out like that…" Gohan apologised, "You were just trying to cheer me up. I'm sorry. I appreciate it, Videl, I really do."

Videl just shrugged it aside, glad that the tension had diluted by itself. "Don't worry about that. I know a lot is going on inside your head right now," she said, "Now why dontcha take some sweet and drink the tea? Or you want me to make you another one since it's already cold? You know, just make yourself at home."

"No, you don't have to. I'll just take this one. Thanks a lot… and I'm sorry for bringing you into trouble."

"Nah, don't mention it. Um, yeah, I just met you… but you know… if there's anything you'd like to talk about, just shout. I'd be glad to help."

Once again Gohan thanked her for the emotional and mental support she had given him. Unlike Goten, Gohan had never had a true friend before since he had to keep himself busy in order to get life in the house going, and the presence of Videl and her willingness to help him in these particularly difficult times was more than just a godsend. He couldn't imagine how it would be like if he had no one to turn to; out of excessive self-pity and feelings of guilt, he might consider ending his own life for being a failure as he put it.

"I almost forgot," said Videl, breaking Gohan's train of thought. She then took two pieces of folded paper from her pocket and handed them to Gohan. "Here. These are for you…"

"Oh, thanks," Gohan took the letters from Videl's hand and unfolded one of them. Before he began reading, though, he was reminded of something he hadn't had the chance to ask. "Oh, and by the way, how did you find Goten and Trunks? When you found them, were they… um… you know…"

Videl was quick to spare Gohan the agony by promptly answering him. She knew what he was about to say. "I was jogging this morning before sunrise," she began, "I always jog along the city walls. I dunno why, but I just love it… but this morning everything was different. That was when I met them."

"You met them? Does it mean…"

"They were brave children, Gohan… their wounds were so bad, but they still clung tightly onto life. They couldn't move, so I brought them here. I thought there was something I could do, but…"

"But…?"

"It was too late… I should've taken them to the hospital or something instead. I didn't… I didn't know they'd lost so much blood. It's my fault they didn't make it!"

The table had turned. Gohan found himself side by side with a girl he had inadvertently dragged into his problems, and he didn't know how to handle it. Because of this, he felt guilty for having asked his question earlier. To top all that, this was his first time meeting her, and he couldn't think of a way to comfort her without ending in a rather awkward situation. With that in mind, he finally decided to rely on the power of his words to get the job done.

"Videl, don't say that. You've done everything you could," he said gently.

"I could've done more than that," Videl spoke between her sobs, "I'm sorry, Gohan. I'm really, really sorry!"

It was true he was still devastated over Goten and Trunks's loss, but he wasn't fond of the idea of bringing other people into what was supposed to be handled by him alone. Seeing no other way to calm her down, Gohan put his hand on Videl's shoulder and told her he accepted her apology and that she didn't need to blame herself. When her sobs finally subsided, he offered her his cup of tea to help her calm down, which she gratefully accepted.

"There. Everything's gonna be okay now, dontcha worry about me," Gohan assured his newfound friend as convincingly as he could manage, "Yeah, it's hard and it'll take some time to get over this, but I'll manage. I'm sure Goten doesn't want me to be like this all the time."

"Gohan, you're a strong one," said Videl. She couldn't hide the embarrassment behind her voice, but it didn't matter now. "I thought my life is hard, but you've opened my mind. Your love for Goten is just… I dunno, phenomenal, I guess. I'm sure he always looked up to you."

"I dunno if he did, but he sure had grown into a cheerful, happy boy…"

"And that's because of you. You made that happen. I don't really know how Goten was as a child, but what I do know is you've been a wonderful big brother to him. He was lucky to have you."

"I really wish you're right, Videl. I swear, if I ever find out about the one who had shattered Goten's dreams and my life…"

"… what will you do then?"

"I swear and I mean it. Whoever it was, he'll pay with his life. Maybe by my hands, maybe by my grandpa's, but I'll make sure he dies a painful and humiliating death."

Having read Trunks's letter, the reply Videl got from him filled her heart with genuine concern. "I really don't think it's a good idea, Gohan. You can't do that," she said.

"Why can't I? Watch me. Sooner or later I'm gonna find that bastard," Gohan growled, malicious determination brimming in his voice.

"The problem isn't whether you can find him or not. I'm telling you, you don't even need to think to know who did it to them. The problem is whether you can reach him or not."

"What… do you mean? Do you know something I don't? If you do, you better tell me right now before I get suspicious of you."

"That's why I passed those letters to you. One of them has your answer, but… brace yourself, Gohan. It's gonna be hard to believe."

Being too engrossed in his conversation with Videl, Gohan had forgotten about the two pieces of paper on his hand. He unfolded it and took a quick glimpse; the handwriting was quite neat—obviously it wasn't Goten's—but judging from the thickness of the strokes he could tell whoever it was who wrote the letter was very angry. When he read it, though, it didn't take more than one sentence to get him piqued, and with every period he saw he grew more and more incredulous and indignant at the same time.

Goten's grandpa and Gohan,

Get away from the town as soon and far as you can.
My dad's gonna get you just because I played too much with Goten.
Ask Fasha if you don't believe it.

That's also the reason why he chased us away from the Kingdom.
He even threatened to kill us. Can you believe it? It's not fair!
We've always been with Fasha, right? Our interactions are legal!

Plus, he framed us into meeting each other without supervision.
That way, he has a valid reason to catch us. I hate that jerk so much for that.
I hope his time comes really soon and he's gonna pay for what he's done.

I'm sorry.

Regards,
Trunks Brief

When he had finished reading, Gohan jawdropped in total disbelief. Never had it crossed his mind that the boys' killer was the King himself, and the fact that he had had them executed rather than exiled raised serious questions about his disposition toward his own people. How would they react, especially those Praetorians and Nobles, upon learning about this obviously radical and controversial decision taken by their ruler? And if Vegeta was really that heartless to the point he unjustly killed his own son, what could he do to his people? Or rather, what couldn't he do? It was only a matter of time until this horrible piece of news started leaking out, and Gohan could already see some kind of an uprising taking place in a very near future.

"I have to tell gramps about this," said Gohan mainly to himself as he punched in Bardock's frequency on his scouter.

"Wait, Gohan! It's dangerous!" Videl pled for him to reconsider.

"Videl, I told you, I don't care whoever it was, he's going down. The King is mad, and you've read the letter too. Do you wanna be ruled by someone like that, who didn't even give a darn thought about killing his own son?"

"I understand your point, but this is… this is a coup d'état we're talking about here."

"Let it be a coup if it really has to. I don't like either of them, but I'd rather live in a lawless society than under the rule of a madman—"

"Hello?" a voice from over the line interjected.

When the call was answered, Gohan promptly asked his grandfather to locate him and come over as soon as possible. Of course Bardock was irritated for being ordered around like that much less by his own grandson, but he was told there was something he needed to know. He pressed Gohan for an answer, but the boy was quick to insist that he come and see for himself before advising him to get ready for a major battle of insane proportions. Gohan hung up as abruptly as he had started the conversation between them; left with no other choice, Bardock let out a very exasperated grunt, obtained his grandson's position with his scouter, and prepared to leave although he didn't quite understand about the part where 'major battle' was mentioned.

Having heard the conversation, Videl could only look at Gohan and sigh. "I really hope you know what you're doing. You're just gonna charge to the frontline like that, without any preparation? We don't even know how strong the King and Queen really are!"

"Just so you know, my grandpa's even stronger than some of the Praetorians themselves," Gohan boasted rather proudly, "And we're not alone. As soon as the news leaks, we'll have all the help we can get."

"Hundreds of lives will be lost, Gohan. Don't tell me you don't foresee that."

"I know, but… sacrifices had to be made. This is for our rights to live in peace. To free us from a corrupt rule. It's all for a bigger cause, and the loss will be worth it. Your father was in the Army, so I'm sure you're familiar with this concept, right?"

"Yeah… but it doesn't guarantee you're not among those killed in action."

"Don't worry, Videl. I'll do whatever it takes for Goten, but I'll be fine. Trust me," Gohan assured Videl as he unfolded the other letter, "Now let's see… this one's… Goten's handwriting."

Contrary to Trunks's letter, Goten's was totally melancholy in tone. With every word he read, Gohan could feel the pangs of hopelessness his brother must have gone through when he wrote this letter. He struggled to refrain from crying, but it proved too much for him to handle and a drop of tear managed to escape from the confines of his eye when he reached the last paragraph.

The letter read:

Gohan,

You always pray for dad and mom every morning.
When I was a child I didn't know why you do that, but now I do.

Will you pray for me every morning just like you always do for dad and mom?
I promise I'm gonna watch over you too with them.

I'm sorry, Gohan.
I was selfish, and I think I deserve this.

But you don't need to be sad, because I'll never forget you.
So don't forget me, okay, big brother?

Love,
Goten

"He knew…" said Gohan as he finished reading.

Videl raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Knew about what?"

"He knew his time was almost up," replied Gohan without shifting his gaze from the letter, "That's why he wrote this. He knew he'd never meet me again in person…"

Gohan stood up and walked into the room in which Goten and Trunks lay lifeless on the bed. Once again he knelt by Goten's body and caressed his cold face which had started to pale and lose its light peach hue. He was suddenly reminded of those times in the distant past when he would do the same every night whenever his brother was about to go to sleep. While doing that, he subconsciously sung Goten's all-time favourite song, It's a Small World, and when he had finished one stanza tears threatened to spill again from his eyes.

"I forgive you, little brother. And you deserve better than this," believing his words could transcend space and time all the way to the Other World, Gohan whispered to Goten although his voice was slightly shaky, "I'll avenge you and Trunks so you can rest in peace. Just you wait, Goten. I'll do it for you."

Then, looking up at the heavens through the skylight, he said, "… I'll pray for you every morning, I promise. And I won't forget you, Goten… because I can't."

Post-note: Sorry for the delay between updates. Currently my hands are kinda full since there's a heck of a lot of work to do in the office (performance appraisal is in a few days), plus I'm in the process of moving to a new house! Yay me! Please bear with me for the time being, okay? And thanks for still staying with me!