Goku had gone back to the ship. He wanted to train without being disturbed. Besides, Gohan and Bulma had everything taken care of.

On his way to the gravity room, he looked down at Goten's bag. It was such a shame that his son had left them. Even now, he didn't understand the boy. It just seemed odd to him that his son didn't want to fight. Sure, Gohan didn't really care for it either, but his eldest understood the gravity of the situation.

He picked up the bag and opened it. It wouldn't hurt to see what his son had left behind. There was the usual clothing and toiletries, but there was also something odd in there. Why did Goten pack a gi? Hell, where did his son even get one? It threw the fighter for a loop. Why didn't Goten just wear it? He could have just said that he wanted to train…of course, Goku knew that he could be reading it wrong. It may have just been an extra for himself and not for his son at all.

He sighed, putting the bag away. It was best that he forgot about what he had seen. Goten wasn't a fighter. He remembered when Chichi told him that Goten wanted to grow up to be just like Gohan. Goku didn't hate the idea…he just disliked the fact that unlike Gohan, Goten didn't want to train. It seemed so strange for a saiyan, but his son never brought it up, so Goku just decided to forget about it.

He walked out of the room, only to hear some beeping from the front of the ship. The fighter made his way to the front of the ship to find a red button blinking. He pushed the button, only to come face to face with his wife. "Chichi?" he asked, but noted that she didn't look happy at all.

"Goku, do you know what that apprentice of yours has been doing?!" Chichi snapped.

He shook his head. "He's supposed to be looking after Earth. Is he slacking on his duties?"

"Instead of looking after Earth, he's been busy deflowering Pan!" Chichi almost snarled.

Goku blinked up at the screen as he took in those words. He shook his head. "Uub…he wouldn't…"

"I finally cornered him a few hours ago and got him to spill the beans," Chichi shouted. "Between Me, Videl, and Piccolo, the boy will be in pain for a while, plus he's not leaving this house until you get back!"

Goku growled low in his throat. "I can't believe that Pan's never brought any of this up." He looked back up at his wife. "Where did you find out about it?"

Chichi smirked, crossing her arms across her chest. "Goten called me and told me everything."

Goku looked down, then froze. "Goten…called you?"

Chichi laughed. "Yes, he called me about a week ago when you were busy." She sounded super proud of Goten. "Just imagine when Gohan finds out. I bet that boy will be a dead man."

"You said that Goten called you," Goku said once more. He thought Goten was at home, but then remembered what Chichi had said. His son had told her that they were busy. But from the sound of it, Goten had called before he had gotten to Earth…which he should have already been at by now.

"Well, yes. He called me last week," Chichi said with a smile. "Goku, dear, why do you look so pale?"

This couldn't be right. Goten had run off to go back home. At least, that's what he thought. Now Goku felt guilty. He had written off Goten so easily and now he had no idea where his son was. He wanted to panic, but he couldn't do it in front of his wife. If she knew that Goten had gone missing, he would never hear the end of it. "I just didn't get enough sleep last night. That's why I came back to the ship," he lied.

She gave him a nod. "Just tell the boys hi for me," his wife said before disappearing.

Goku backed away from the screen and against the wall. He was wrong. All this time, he thought that Goten left to go back home, but now he knew better. Either his son had hidden his Ki from him or he was taken. Guilt began to go through him. He immediately thought the worst of his son and now there was no guarantee of finding him. Space was far too vast for that.

"Dad, what are you doing down there?" Gohan asked, he had come back to the ship to grab his clothes.

"Your brother called your mother," Goku said quietly.

Gohan rolled his eyes. "What did he want?"

"He called her from somewhere in space…he never went back home," Goku muttered.

Gohan froze. "He…what?"

"He spoke with your mother for a few minutes…she said that he told her that we were busy when she asked about us," the fighter said to his son.

Gohan couldn't believe it. "He…he should have been back on Earth by then…" Didn't Goten leave to go on that date of his? If that wasn't the case then…his little brother was lost in space. He thought back to that day. Goten had wanted to go with him. His brother must have been enticed out of the ship. Goten didn't want to stay with the ship. His brother must have had a fascination with the new planet and got curious. "He could have been kidnapped."

"I…I know." Goku looked down. "I really thought the worst of him." What kind of father was he?

"We all did," Gohan said. "We'll make it up to him when we find him."

Goku sighed. "Now we have to find Vegeta and Goten." It was then that he remembered why Chichi had called. "On another note, we should be keeping an eye on Pan."

Gohan gave his father a puzzled look. "Why? She seems to be doing fine with this trip."

"Goten ended up spilling the beans to your mother. Apparently, Pan is dating Uub." Goku waited for his son to respond.

"No…if she was dating anyone…she would have told me." Gohan was trying to stay calm, but the idea of his little girl dating at her age was not sitting well with him at all.

"That's not everything," Goku said, closing his eyes. "They may be active as well."

Gohan snarled, "That boy dared to touch her?!"

"He's already been attacked by your mother, Videl, and Piccolo," Goku said. "I'll be having a stern talk with him when I get back."

"Pan isn't leaving the house," Gohan growled, then he wondered why Goten didn't just tell him. Why was Goten saying this now? "Do you think that Goten is mad at Pan or Uub?"

Goku shrugged. "I don't know why he would be mad at either of them. All we can do is ask him…that is if we can find him."

"We'll find him, Dad. All we got to do is retrace his steps," Gohan said with a smile.

"But what if he doesn't want to be found?" Goku couldn't help but feel wary about his youngest son's fate. If Goten had lied to Chichi, then maybe he was somewhere that he didn't want to leave.

"He'll want found. Besides, he's got to come back and go after all of the ladies," Gohan said, trying to get his dad to laugh.

Goku gave his son a smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I bet he's at some bar right now, living it up."

Gohan gave him a nod. "We can focus on finding Vegeta and the others, then we can look for Goten."

Goku sighed. He wished that Goten hadn't run off, but at least now he knew the truth. He just hoped that his son didn't catch some disease out there. That would be horrible.

Goten just barely dodged out of the way. Vegeta's punches were going a lot faster than they did before. The half-blood panted as he made to throw a punch of his own, landing it right in the prince's gut.

Vegeta drew back a bit with a grin on his face. "That's the first time that you've gotten a hit on me."

Goten stared at his fist. "I didn't really do much damage though."

Vegeta flew down to the floor and motioned for the boy to follow. The half-blood did just that and he looked over the boy. "I believe that we've reached a stopping point for today."

"But, Vegeta, can't we train for another five or ten minutes?" Goten asked.

The prince smirked. "How about I just go over some changes you need to make?" The half saiyan nodded and the prince moved around. "First, your stance is a little off." Vegeta walked around, putting the boy into a better fighting position. "This stance will prepare you for any kind of attack you need to use, plus it keeps you defended as well."

Goten took in what Vegeta was saying. "So, I need to practice this? What else?"

The prince walked over and pushed a button. There were a lot of targets that shot up. "Try to hit them."

Goten was sending blasts at them but they all moved too quickly. "Why don't they stay still?"

Vegeta chuckled. "You think that your enemy is going to just stand there and let you attack it?"

Goten turned red. "No…"

The prince closed his eyes, firing at each target and hitting them without fail. "You'll be able to do that as well with some proper training."

The half-blood looked over at the prince. When had Vegeta become so cool? "But I thought that our training was done for today. You know that it's going to take me forever to be as good as you."

The prince chuckled. "I won't be teaching you that."

"But you said that I…" Goten started.

"Mata is our sniper. If you want to know how to hit those targets, then train with her," Vegeta said with a grin. He could see the gears turning in the boy's head. "But until then, how about you give me some pushups?"

Goten dropped to the ground with a smile on his face. He could feel himself becoming stronger with each training session. As he started to do each of his pushups, pushing himself up with one finger as the prince made him do, a new fear filled him. What if he had to leave? If things went back to the way they used to be, then he would never get to train again. His fears drove him forward, his body felt weird as he continued his pushups. He couldn't go back to that. He didn't want to go back to that classroom or the disappointment from his parents and brother. He wanted to stay here with the horde.

Goten froze mid-pushup. Was this really what he wanted? His friends and family were probably worried about him. 'You know that they're not worried. They would have tried to look for you.' That voice inside of his said.

"Kid, why did you stop?" Vegeta could see the torn look on the boy's face. Goten had something on his mind.

"I don't know," Goten said. "I'm so tired of that."

"You're tired of not knowing?" Vegeta chuckled. "Welcome to adulthood."

"So it never becomes easier?" Goten asked, looking up at the prince.

Vegeta thought it over. "No, I don't think so." The prince kept his eyes on the half-blood. "But what is it that you don't know now?"

Goten sighed and looked down at the floor. "I'm just not sure about what I'm going to do." The prince stayed quiet so he could elaborate. "I was thinking about home…but I'm not sure if I want to even go back."

Vegeta smirked. "You're learning about yourself out here. If you ever go back, it will never be the same."

"What do you mean?" Goten asked.

Vegeta chuckled. "You can get out of the position, just follow me and I'll explain."

The half-blood pulled himself up from the floor. His shoulder stung a little from holding him up. He was already all ears. Anything the prince said to him, he took seriously.

"You've been in the dark for too long, kid," Vegeta said, walking up to the door panel and leading them out of the gravity room. This was going to be an important lesson. The prince moved quickly, punching a panel that turned off the power to the downstairs.

"Why did you do that?!" Goten asked in shock.

"Calm yourself. Are you afraid of the dark?" Vegeta asked.

"I…I'm not a child." It was strange, as he looked around the pitch-black darkness, he couldn't help but have images rush him. His mother was standing at his side, yelling at him about homework. He looked out the window of his room, only to find Uub training with his dad. The two of them looked happy. Goten's eyes went down to his test paper, there was a giant F on the front.

Voices surrounded him, his father, Trunks, Piccolo, and finally his mother. "What do you have to say for yourself, Young Man?!" "Really, Goten, why are you so dumb?" "You had to get that from your father." "Why can't you be more like Gohan?"

He closed his eyes. He couldn't even sense Vegeta in the darkness. He was alone. The half-blood started to walk forward, but felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look, only to find his father standing there. "Goten, you need to listen to your mother."

"But Dad…I want to train. I want to fight," Goten growled, his fears were turning into a new emotion. Rage.

"But I have Uub for that. You're too weak," Goku said with a smile.

The half-blood threw a punch, striking his father in the face. Making him disappear into the darkness.

Now Uub stood before him. "Come on, Goten, don't be like that. Some people aren't made for battle."

"Says the worthless human," Goten said, snarling. He dove forward, his fist hit Uub's head making him fall to the floor. The half-saiyan pounced on the human with a twisted grin as he pummeled him. Goten began to laugh as his fists felt wet, but he kept going. Goten only stopped as he felt a light on his back. He stood, not looking at anything in front of him. He only turned to find Vegeta standing there.

He was going to talk to the prince, but then realized what he was seeing was a flash back. He had to be six, his father was still dead. Vegeta had just called Trunks into the gravity room. It was time for Goten to go home. The small boy looked down at the ground, he wanted to cry. Only for someone to ruffle his hair. "Just get in there, kid," Vegeta said. "I will not let your potential be wasted while Kakarot's six feet under."

The older Goten was stunned. How had he forgotten this? Did this mean that Vegeta was always on his side? It was strange that the only one that took interest in him was the prince, even now.

Goten began to walk through the darkness, finding the stairs and taking them up to the second floor. His eyes burned as he walked into the light. The first thing he came face to face with was the horde. Vegeta grinned at him. "I wondered why you were taking so long. What were you doing down there?"

"I…" The half-blood blushed, then looked down at his hands. "Where did this come from?" There was a green ooze all over his hands and clothes.

"Maybe a pipe is broken down there?" Turles said, looking at the prince. He could clearly smell what was on his nephew.

"Goten, why don't you go clean yourself up before dinner?" Cilica said. "There should be a couple of new jumpsuits in your room."

"Thanks, Cil." He left and everyone turned to look at the female saiyan.

She giggled. "He's coming along quite well. Isn't he?"

Vegeta smirked at the green blood on the floor. "I guess the mechanic I ordered ran into my apprentice." He couldn't help but feel proud. "Let's go check out the body." Cilica and Turles followed him. The others stayed behind in the mess hall.

Turles moved over to the breaker, fixing it in seconds. He knew that Vegeta must've planned this; they never needed techs from the main base out here.

The group made it downstairs, only to come across what looked like a hunk of meat on the floor. The green blood was everywhere. Vegeta grinned darkly. "I knew it." He prince kicked the former tech, but the hunk of meat groaned, making the prince frown. He blasted the man in the head, killing him. "Tomorrow his training will intensify," Vegeta said.

Cilica laughed. "Anything for your apprentice."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow at that. "I didn't say that."

"You did." She laughed. "Does that mean that you care for the boy?"

Vegeta turned around and blushed. "He's just a kid. Nothing more."

Turles was looking around at the blood spatter. "It looks like he gave into his fury."

The prince grinned. "I told you that his fury will be powerful."

"Powerful enough to be your right-hand man then?" Turles teased. Vegeta growled, but Turles continued. "You do spend a lot of time with him."

"He's the only other super saiyan," Vegeta argued.

"I don't think that's it," Cilica said. "You like having him around. Just admit it."

Vegeta grumbled something under his breath.

"And from the look of it, I would say that he sees you like a son would see his father," Turles said. "Considering what the boy got."

Vegeta didn't know why, but he felt warm at that idea. The kid was what he wanted in a son. The boy was strong, and with each day he grew stronger. The boy talked properly and took to any challenge with ease. Finally, the prince caved. "The boy is growing on me, that's all." Vegeta walked over to the wall and slid his finger through the blood on it. "Besides, he's going to join the horde, it's best that he grows on me."

"So, he's really going to be one of us?" Turles said with excitement. The fact that his nephew was getting this much praise from Vegeta was kind of exciting.

Vegeta smirked. "Without a doubt."

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

Finally, we get a development with Goten. Lets see where this leads.