Part III

Chapter 27: A new Dawn

Four days had passed since the awakening of Buu, his reign of terror on Earth and his final defeat. Since then, life on Earth had changed. The planet was littered with ghost towns and destroyed cities, as well as places that had been spared and had probably only heard of the monster. In some of the destroyed cities, chaos had broken loose. Hooligans and other criminals were freely roaming the streets, taking everything they could get their hands on, whereas in other cities people helped each other with vital things like water, food and medical attention. Most cities suffered a complete loss of power, meaning that they were almost entirely cut off from the rest of the world, only relying on rumors and news brought to them by messengers from other cities. No one knew how many had fallen prey to Buu's attacks, again they could only depend rumors. But of one thing everyone was sure – life on Earth would never be the same.


Jenny was kneeling on a stool, looking out of her window, even though she almost could not see anything. Dark, almost black clouds were dangerously looming over the land and rain was hitting hard against the window. But that did not bother her – she was too deep in thoughts to see anything that was going on outside. If her grandmother would find her like this, Jenny would be in big trouble. She had been confined to bed after she had collapsed in the lab. Her grandmother had said that she was first allowed out of it, when she had fully recovered. And she had not only been talking about her exhaustion, but also about the nasty gash at her arm that was only healing slowly. Jenny was sure that it would leave a scar, but what was one physical scar compared to her emotional scars?

The girl however was quickly growing bored, with only her thoughts as company. Her grandmother was much too occupied in the house to keep her company and Vegeta? Well, she had not seen him since the incident in the laboratory. Jenny had the feeling that he was avoiding her. He had not once checked on her and was spending almost all of his time in the gravity room. It was only once or twice a day that he left it to get something to eat, but other than that, she could always feel his ki in there. His ki was nearly constantly extremely high and only late in the night, when she was still awake, she could feel a drastic drop in his ki.

To be honest, Jenny was scared. She had been scared, when she had found out that he wanted to leave and was now scared that he would do something stupid in his training. She had meant what she had said four days ago – she did not want to lose him, too.

Sighing, she looked at the two empty and made beds on the other side of the room. Ever since she had woken up again two days ago, everything had been so quiet in this room, much too quiet for her taste. It was just never quiet in the room, except for when it was unoccupied. This silence was just eerie.

And it was giving her way too much time to think about things she would rather not think about. She was incessantly growing restless – she needed to get up and go out. She needed to know what was going on in the world, otherwise she would go insane. If only the power were back again, so that she could at least watch some TV or listen to the radio. Anything to keep her mind from wandering.

A tear ran down her cheek, when she thought of her brothers, Trunks and everyone else that had died and of everything that the people had lost. Family, friends, their belongings, everything. She wished things had been different. She could not help but wonder how the fight would have turned out, if she had not stopped Vegeta. Would he have been able to destroy Buu and spare the world all the suffering? Or would it have been the same or maybe even worse?

Suddenly feeling again the exhaustion taking over, she crawled back into her bed and almost immediately fell asleep, wondering what the others were doing right now.


The first days in the Afterlife had passed in a rush. Between all the planning that had to be done, the settling in at the Dai Kaiou's palace until the house for them would be finished and exploring the planet with the two boys on request of their mothers, Gohan had not had much time to think about what had happened back on Earth. But now, after a few days, Gohan found himself, probably for the first time since setting foot on that planet, not surrounded by family or friends. Standing on the balcony that connected his and Videl's rooms, he found himself staring at the night sky of the planet, a night sky so different from the Earth's. He wondered if he would ever see the constellations on the Earth's sky again, but knew deep down that the answer would most likely be never.

He had been present, when Kaiousama had informed them that, according to some law, the only way to use the Namek Dragon Balls would have been to travel to New Namek, but that this chance had now been destroyed with Jenny destructing the only spaceship that was capable of traveling this distance. Their only hope to return to Earth was gone.

At least, up here, they were safe. No more threats, no more evil to fight. Eternal peace. Had he not always longed for this? How much had he hated fighting, always sacrificing… And yet, knowing that if something on Earth was amiss, he would not be able to help, was killing him. There were so many new adjustments to make. He at least had the majority of his family and friends, as well as Goten and Trunks, though he knew that they all missed their remaining family on Earth… But what about Videl? She had been allowed to come to this planet because she was his friend, but what had she lost? Her father was still on Earth, still alive and he did not know about her other friends, the friends she had known much longer than him. There had not even been the chance for her to say goodbye to them.

And he had not been able to say goodbye to Jenny…

Gohan could not even start to imagine how lonely she must be feeling. The only family she had left on Earth was Mrs. Briefs and Vegeta. Everyone else was dead. Her parents, her brothers, her friends… Who would now calm her, when she had a nightmare? Who would play with her? He knew that Mrs. Briefs would not be around forever – she was not the youngest anymore and she also could not keep up with a hyperactive Saiyajin. That only left Vegeta and everyone knew all too well of Vegeta's non-existent qualification to raise children. It would not be easy for Jenny and the situation on Earth only made this worse. Gohan wished that he could help her somehow…

After everything they had done, why was life still so unfair to them?

"You look worried."

Gohan whirled around, when he suddenly heard the voice behind him and his eyes rested on the Kaioushin. The god was floating on the other side of the railing of the balcony with his hand folded behind his back and a knowing smile on his face.

"It's nothing," Gohan said and turned to look back at the sky. "I've only been thinking about the last few days and what will happen now… To us, to those left on Earth, to…"

"Jenny?" he guessed. "I'm sorry that everything had to be this way. Everything should be different."

"Whom are you telling that?" the Saiyajin asked grimly, without looking at him. "Everything is just so… frustrating! We have no idea what will happen, what will become of us, all of us!"

"I once heard a wise man say that it is our choices that determine our future and what we will become. I know that life on Earth will be hard, but Jenny is a strong girl with a strong will. She will make the right choices. Besides, she does have a strong guide."

"Vegeta?" the teenager snorted.

"Yes, Vegeta. We have underestimated him before and should not do that again."

Gohan sighed. He knew that the Kaioushin was right. Vegeta had changed. But enough to guide a small girl through a post apocalyptic world?

The Saiyajin turned around, when he heard the balcony door to Videl's room open and the girl stepped out. Gohan had to fight a small blush, when he saw that she was only wearing a pair of incredibly small shorts and a tight tank top. It seemed as if she had been sleeping already, because she was rubbing at her eyes and had to suppress a yawn. But when she spotted him and the Kaioushin, she suddenly got all business-like and asked, "Is something wrong? I heard voices."

Gohan smiled at that – he had misjudged her. She seemed to be emotionally stronger than he had thought. "Don't worry, Videl. Nothing's wrong. The Kaioushin and I, we were just talking."

"And I was going to make a proposition to Gohan, which I also wanted to submit to you," the Kaioushin said, now with a promising look on his face. Both Gohan and Videl looked at him curiously. "I already talked to Bulma and Dr. Briefs and they both want to participate."

"What kind of proposition are you talking about?" Gohan wanted to know.

The Kaioushin's lips curled up into a mysterious smirk. "I want to give each of you the possibility to spend some more time with a loved one you had to leave on Earth and then say goodbye properly."

"How are you going to do that?" Videl asked astounded. If she were able to see her father just once again and tell him how much she loved him, something she had last done when she was still a child, it would make her stay on this planet a lot easier.

"You will visit them in their dreams." The high god then proceeded to tell them about the ritual involved. The two teenagers listened closely, both not wanting to forget one important detail, if – when – they were going to do it. They were given a once in a lifetime opportunity, something, they were sure, not many dead were given. Who were they to refuse an offer like that? Was this not exactly what Gohan had been worried about, about not being able to say goodbye?

When the Kaioushin was finished with his explanation, he looked at the two young people expectantly. Videl nodded at once. "I'll do it."

Gohan, however, even though he had not been so sure about anything else in his life, took a few more seconds to think. "What about my parents?" he asked eventually. "Wouldn't it better, if they visited Jenny?"

The Kaioushin shook his head smiling. "I talked to Goku and ChiChi and they said that it should be you, since you have the strongest bond to your sister."

The Saiyajin seemed to accept this, but it would be unfair if he were the only one to have this privilege. Trunks would surely be with his mother, but Goten deserved to say goodbye to Jenny as much as he did. "I understand, but would it be possible, if Goten joined me?"

After having considered this for a moment, the Kaioushin nodded. "Wake him and then meet me in the gardens of the palace in twenty minutes."


Not even twenty-minutes later, Videl, now dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a sweater, and Gohan, followed by Goten and Trunks, arrived in the gardens. Trunks, who was sharing a room with Goten, had insisted on coming with them, since his mother was visiting his father alone, for obvious reasons, as he had said with a disgusted look on his face. He and Goten were still a bit tired, but overall excited, after Gohan had given them a short explanation.

In the gardens a huge fire was lit, with the Kaioushin, Bulma and Dr. Briefs standing next to it. Upon seeing the fire and feeling its heat, Videl immediately regretted her choice of clothing. Damn those Saiyajins, she thought, when her gaze wandered over the three Saiyajin, who were all dressed in lighter clothes, meaning sweatpants and T-shirts. She now wished she could take off her sweater, but seeing that she wore nothing but a bra underneath, it would have to do with rolling up her sleeves.

When they stopped next to Bulma and Dr. Briefs, who were both looking slightly anxious but interested at the same time, the Kaioushin instructed them to sit down around the fire and, after having been informed about Trunks' choice to accompany Gohan and Goten, also told Gohan to grab a hand of each boy. They did as they were told and formed a circle around the fire, one of the boys settling down on Gohan's right and the other on Gohan's left.

The teenager tried to ignore the heat that was emanating from the fire in front of them and closed his eyes as the Kaioushin instructed, evened his breathing and concentrated on a place in which Jenny, he, Goten and Trunks would probably feel the most comfortable. The almost hypnotic chanting of the Kaioushin was strong at the beginning but began to fade the longer they were sitting there, though Gohan could not say if the god was getting quieter or if they were just falling more and more in some kind of trance. This question was answered, when also the heat of the fire was getting less intense with each passing minute and second along with every other sensation.

Even though his eyes were closed, Gohan suddenly got the feeling that the world around him started to spin and blur. He fastened the grip on the two boys' hands, who were practically just along for the ride and had no say in how Gohan created the place where they would meet Jenny, and first loosened the grip again, when the spinning had stopped. Carefully the Saiyajin opened his eyes and smiled – everything was just as he had imagined it. "Goten, Trunks, you can open your eyes now. We're there."

He could feel Jenny already. She was in the backyard.


Vegeta was in the gravity room, pushing his body harder than he had ever before, even without the use of raised gravity. Sweat was running down his face and his back, drenching his training clothes almost completely. It had been the same procedure ever since the spaceship had been destroyed, after having found out that night that he could not find any sleep, that the girl's words always came back to him, making him think and doubt of what he had let himself become. Thinking about this inevitable led his thoughts to Bulma. Every time this happened, his heart would constrict painfully, making it difficult for him to breathe.

The only chance that his mind would let him rest at all was, when he was passing out from exhaustion. So he was working the whole day at his body's limits, taking blow after blow, straining it until it would start to protest and further. The only break he took was, when his stomach demanded for food and even that had become a rare occurrence.

Vegeta knew that he could not go on like this. It would do neither him nor anyone else any good. The girl had said that she needed him and yet he was avoiding her. Why? Because, as hard as it was for him to admit, he was scared of getting close to anyone, even though he also knew that nothing would be more painful than losing your bonded mate.

Shooting one large ki-blast from his hand, his body vanished and appeared again to take the full blast head-on. A mighty explosion shook the whole gravity room and the Prince of the Saiyajins fell to the ground, blacking out when he hit the hard floor.

Finally resting…


Hercule Satan, current world champion and self-proclaimed savior of the world, had not once left his mansion since he had returned there from the Budokai. When he had first heard of the attacks of a monster he had barricaded himself in his gym, declaring that he needed to prepare himself mentally and physically before facing this new threat for the Earth. But in reality he had been scared shitless. According to the ones who had brought him the news, this demon seemed to be even stronger and far more vicious than Cell had ever been.

The world was counting on him, but the world did not know that it had not been him, who had defeated Cell. It did not know that Cell had found his death by the hands of a boy. It did not know that Satan had taken the credit for this defeat, because it had been so convenient and had the nice side effect of bringing him even more fame. The world champion could only hope that the boy was still out there somewhere to once again save this unknowing world.

During this time of preparing, no one had seen Mr. Satan. He had been cowering in his cellar, which had been specially built for these kinds of situations after Cell, when Buu had chosen Satan City as new target. Miraculously his mansion had been spared and all in all the city had been lucky, since it had not held Buu's interest for long. The power supply had not suffered, as well as the local radio station. So, when he heard of Buu's defeat on the radio, he had dared to leave the cellar, but not the mansion, even though the survivors were lingering in front of the gates and calling out for him.

He had been thinking. For the first time in his life he did not know what to do. Obviously, there had been some true hero out there, who had been able to defeat the monster. But the people were still coming for him… Did they not know? Did they all just presume that he had once again averted the end of the world? But this time, he did not know if he should again take the credit for this feat. Before this all had begun, he was sure he would have, but now? So many people had died and were suffering. This time the world had been freed from a thing far more dangerous than Cell.

He had kept thinking about this night and day since the attacks, always hiding and waiting in front of the radio, not seldom without a bottle in his hands. But slowly, after two days, one more worry started to nag him. Videl – she had not returned yet. He had heard, directly after the tournament and before the attacks, that she had left with some people in a large yellow copter. One of those people was rumored to be Bulma Briefs, but how did Videl know the scientist?

However, that did not matter right now. His daughter was missing and he kept thinking that it was his fault. Satan knew that he could not have done anything against Buu, but he could have paid her more attention during the tournament and insisted that she returned with him to the mansion.

With each passing day and each passing hour without word from his daughter, his hope that Videl had survived was shrinking. In the end, the guilt had become too big to bear, so that he had started to drown his sorrows, just like he did at the night of the fourth day since the attacks. The whole day he had been sitting in his private cinema, watching old tapes from his and Videl's victories in tournaments, surrounded by empty bottles.

"You've always been a tough girl," he slurred, when there was a special scene of a young Videl sitting on his shoulders and raising a golden cup into the air, and took one more gulp from the bottle in his hand. "A tough girl…"

The bottle fell from his hand and landed with a soft thud on the red carpet, the golden liquid seeping out of it, as the world champion passed out.


Suddenly he found himself standing in the middle of the undestroyed ring of the Tenkaichi Budokai in broad daylight. Confused he looked around. The stands were empty, but on the other side of the ring, a person was standing. Satan could not believe his eyes, when Videl stepped closer with a shy smile on her face and said, "Hey there, dad."

"Is this a dream?" he asked astounded and rubbed his eyes. But his daughter was still there, dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt. It was then, that he noticed that he was completely sober and dressed in a clean gi. "Am I seeing ghosts?"

"Well, dad, you are sleeping and I'm dead, but this is real. To make a long story short, I was allowed to visit you in your dreams this one time." Her father looked at her in disbelief and Videl sighed, knowing that she would have to tell him the long story. "As you maybe know, I left with the family and friends of Gohan – that's the guy who gave me the bean – to a safe place. They had heard that someone wanted to resurrect a demon called Buu and Gohan, his already dead dad, who was allowed to come back for one day to participate in the tournament, and some of their friends went to prevent this, but it obviously did not work. Buu was revived, killed most of them and then found us. We were killed." She gave her father a sad smile, still keeping some facts from him. "Gohan's dad, Goku, managed to defeat Buu in the end before he had to return in the Afterlife. However, since Goku was already dead and had already saved the world a couple of time – yes, dad, I know about Cell. Gohan killed him," Videl added, when she saw the guilty look on her father's face. "This made him pretty good friends with some higher guys in the Afterlife and we were all allowed to keep our bodies and continue our unlife on a high god's planet – an honor only credited to great warriors. And in addition to this, all of us, who still had a loved one left on Earth, are allowed to visit them tonight."

"This is... I…" Satan spluttered.

"Unbelievable? You don't know what to say?" she laughed, but she was not mocking him. "Don't worry, dad, I felt the same, when they dropped this on me."

"So, you're really dead?" he asked, though he was sure that he did not want to hear the dreaded answer.

Videl nodded. "I am, but this doesn't mean I'm gone. I'm only on another plane and I already asked one of the highest gods that you may join us, when your time has come. But let's not talk about this now, dad. I'm here to spend some more time with you, time that had been so gruesomely taken from us."

"Okay…" Satan said sadly. "What do you want to do?"

The shy and uncertain smile was once again on her face. "Maybe something we've rarely done? Just talking?"

"Talking? Sounds good to me."

Father and daughter smiled at each other and sat down. And indeed, they started to talk, Satan for the first time since he had first won the world championship, taking actual interest in his daughter's life. They talked about school, her friends, her fight against crime in Satan city and even moved on to more embarrassing subjects. Videl had to blush furiously, when her father asked her, if she was in any way interested in this guy – what was his name? - Gohan.

Much too soon it was time for Videl to say goodbye. She hugged her father tightly and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, dad."

"I love you, too, honey," Satan said, actually feeling tears in his eyes, as he returned the hug. This would be the last time he would see his daughter for what could be a long time. "I'll miss you."

"Daddy, I miss you, too. But remember, this goodbye is not forever. We'll meet again." They let go of each other, both memorizing the other's face, when Videl suddenly remembered something. "By the way, I don't think the others will mind, if you told the world that it was you, who defeated Buu. It might give the survivors new hope," she said, while the scenery around them started to blur. Still smiling, Videl opened her eyes again and saw the sun rise in the south of the Dai Kaiou's planet, feeling happier than she had in days.


Vegeta had to blink a few times, when he was suddenly standing in his bedroom, but it had changed. The room was lit in the soft glow of hundreds of red candles and on the bed was lying someone he had never thought he would see again. His wife. Bulma, dressed in a long red silk nightgown. When he looked down at himself, he also saw that he was no longer wearing his battered gi, but black pants and a black silk shirt instead.

"You're not dreaming, well, not really," Bulma answered his unasked question. She got up from the bed and walked up to him.

He carefully and hesitantly rested his hands on her hips and breathed a silent sigh of relief, when he touched the soft material of her gown. He had been afraid that this was a nightmare and that she would disappear, as soon as he touched her. This was just too good to be true. Not being able to form any words, he looked at her questioningly.

"The Kaioushin offered some of us to visit one of those we left behind to spend some time with them and say goodbye," she explained shortly, her own hands resting on his strong forearms and then kissed him softly on the lips. She could feel his body tremble ever so slightly underneath her hands, mirroring her own emotions. "I needed to see you again… to talk to you again… to feel you again…" Bulma kissed him again and this time her lips lingered longer on his. She opened her mouth and granted access to his tongue, to which Vegeta complied eagerly. She did not need to hear his words to know what he was feeling - his touch alone told her all she needed to know.

When they finally parted, both in desperate need of breath, Vegeta found himself finally capable of speech again. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to know, how you're doing," she replied, not even thinking about removing her hands from his arms. As long as she was feeling him, she knew that he was there and she knew that her mate needed the same confirmation.

Vegeta hesitated with his answer, thinking about his attempt to leave Earth, about the girl's words, about his newly developed training habits and suddenly and probably for the first time in his life he felt ashamed. He lowered his head, not wanting to meet his woman's eyes.

Now Bulma finally took her hands from his arms and softly took his head, forcing him to look at her. "I know about everything, but you may not turn away from the others and especially Jenny. I know that you are hurting – I'm hurting, too. I also felt the bond break, but now I can finally feel you again," she placed her right hand on her chest, "in my heart. I know that you are feeling this, too. But even though the bond is gone and it feels like the pain will never end, I'm still sure of one thing – of our love for each other. And about the love of our friends. They will help us through this, but you have to let them. I do, and I know that it will get better."

Vegeta opened his mouth to say something, but only managed one word in a raspy voice, "Woman," before Bulma put a finger on his lips, shaking her head.

"Don't," she said smiling. "You don't need to say anything."

Slowly unbuttoning his shirt, she ran her hand over his chest, once again marveling at how her mate was built. In a small and almost shy whisper, Bulma asked, "Can you now only make love to me? One last time?"

A smirk crept on Vegeta's face, as he kissed her and picked her up, carrying her to their bed one last time, where he lowered her gently.

Hours later they were lying in their bed, Bulma snuggled up to Vegeta and the Saiyajin with an arm around her shoulders, holding her close. Both were not saying a word, but no words were needed after this night.

Bulma, however, had to break the silence eventually. "Our time is almost up." Vegeta only grunted in reply and pulled her even closer. She sighed in contentment, but knew at the same time that it would only last a few more minutes. "Please, Vegeta, promise me one thing. Don't shut Jenny or my mother out. They need you and you can't deny that you need them as well."

Even though it seemed to be hard to get those words over his lips, Vegeta eventually mumbled, "I promise." And he realized that he meant it. But there was one more thing that needed to be said, before their time was up. If it only were not so hard. He sighed. It was now or never. "I love you." It was barely more than a whisper, but in the silence of the room, it echoed in his ears like a scream.

She looked up, startled by his words and felt a tear running down her cheek. But she was smiling. This had been the first time that he had ever said those three words to her.

Suddenly Bulma felt a tugging feeling in the back of her mind and knew that it was time. As if sensing her thoughts, Vegeta kissed her on the forehead and whispered, "Goodbye, Bulma."

"Goodbye. I'll miss you."

Then everything around her began to blur and she was back on the Dai Kaiou's planet. She noticed that her cheek was wet and, with a smile on her face, wiped the single tear away.


Jenny smiled, as she opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. The sky was blue, birds were singing, a green forest was nearby and a house standing on a small meadow. This one was definitely different – and better – than the dreams she had had the previous nights. Even the bandages from her arm were gone and there was no gash, scar or whatsoever. Even her clothes were different, as she was now wearing a pair of sneakers, shorts and a tank top.

She knew this place, even though she had only been here a couple of times. It looked the same and yet it was different. For one the house looked as if someone was actually living in it and the garden was well tended. So this was how it had looked like, as her parents had still been alive. Jenny would have loved living here.

Walking along the cobbled path between the house and the garden like she had always done when she had been here with Gohan, Goten and Trunks, she ended up in the backyard. This had always been their first stop, when they had come here, always bringing fresh flowers. But this time, the girl noted sadly, she did not have any flowers. She looked around and her eyes landed on a few wildflowers at the path, which she quickly picked and then knelt down in on the graves, carefully placing the flowers in front of the stones.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry I acted the way I did at the tournament and during the fight with Buu. I hope you aren't angry with me."

"They aren't angry with you," she suddenly heard a well-known voice say. Startled she looked around and a huge grin appeared on her face, when she saw the three people behind her, all of them wearing their gis, but one looked different. With a squeal of delight, she jumped at her big brother's neck, squeezing him tightly.

"Jenny… need… air," Gohan, for the first time wearing a gi that looked like his father's, gasped smiling, as breathing seemed to become an issue, even though he was already technically dead and slowly pried the young girl from his neck.

Jenny beamed at him, Goten and Trunks, but suddenly her expression became a sad one. "You're not really here. This is just a dream."

"A dream it is," Gohan told her, crouching down on one knee. "But a special one. Thanks to the Kaioushin's magic we were allowed to visit one person in his or her dream to spend some time with him or her and to be able to say goodbye to that person."

"So you created all this?" Jenny asked, motioning with her right hand to their surroundings.

Gohan only nodded and got up again. He did not want to waste any time talking about the exact techniques of the magic the Kaioushin had used. That he and the boys were here, with Jenny, was all that mattered. "So, what do you want to do now?"

The three kids looked at each other and being true Saiyajins at heart (or stomach), they immediately agreed on one thing – a picnic! Gohan had been thinking along the same lines even before they had arrived here and taken the necessary precautions while creating this place. He quickly ushered the kids through the backdoor into the kitchen, where he started to prepare a huge stack of sandwiches, finding all the ingredients in the same cupboards and shelves where his mother had always kept them, while the children set out to explore the house. They were eager to know how it had looked like before Gohan had been forced to leave it with Goten and Jenny.

When they returned to the kitchen, all talking at the same time, so that Gohan had a hard time making out, what exactly each of them was speaking of, he had just finished preparing the sandwiches and had put them all into a basket along with a blanket. But one thing the teenager was able to understand from his siblings' (and step-sibling's) incessant and incoherent babbling – they loved this place already. Too bad they had to leave again in a few hours. How he would have loved to restore the house with the kids' help, so that he could live in it himself as soon as he was old enough and earned his own money.

Another thing that reached his ears was Jenny's statement, "Your room wasn't messy at all. This isn't normal." The boys were in complete agreement with her.

Gohan chuckled, as he lifted the basket from the table. "Mom had always been pretty strict about me keeping my room clean. Dad had always been more lenient, but Mom had the frying pan," he shuddered involuntarily, "so it was no use arguing with her." The children had also heard stories from Gohan about his mother and the frying pan and shuddered along with him.

The day was spent eating, sparring, playing Saiyajin-tag and Saiyajin hide-and-seek – both sometimes rather brutally games, partly involving having to spar with the one who was it, which had been invented after Jenny had managed to control her power – and talking, though this had been pretty rare. Gohan had always loved more playing with the kids than talking to them. He always told himself that the kids would learn soon enough to be serious and that they needed to have fun as long as possible.

But one of the rare times, when two of the kids had been talking with each other, had been, when Trunks was chosen as seeker in a game of hide-and-seek and he had found Jenny before the others. Now it was the two of them looking for Goten and Gohan in the woods near the house.

"Thanks," Trunks suddenly said and Jenny looked at him confused. The boy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "For saving dad. Piccolo had told us about his planned suicide attack. This… this was what your dream the night before the tournament and the battle had been about, wasn't it? You said that he was gonna die, killing himself… You dreamed about Buu, didn't you?"

Jenny looked to the ground, ashamed. She mumbled, "If I hadn't stopped your dad, he might have killed Buu and then you and all the others would still be alive…"

"But you don't know that," the boy argued. "Look, it isn't even that bad. I know that there's one spaceship in the lab and you can use this to go to Namek and use the Dragon Balls. Unfortunately a long-distance-call to Namek won't work… Some stupid law of the universe… But it would only take a couple of weeks and then…"

"The spaceship is gone…" Jenny said, barely above a whisper, but Trunks heard it. He gaped at her. He and Goten must have missed that part while eavesdropping on the grown-ups. "I destroyed it."

"How? Why?" the boy could only ask. His eyes were wide with disbelief.

The girl sighed. "It's complicated…" She did not want to tell her friend – wait a second! Friend? Yeah, somehow, over the last few days and especially the last night before the tournament, the two of them had truly become friends – that his father had wanted (still wanted?) to leave the Earth and the rest of his family behind for good. She did not want to tell him that the only thing stopping him had been the destruction of the spaceship.

Trunks opened his mouth, but no words came out of it, so he closed it again. There had been something about the way she had said this… It had told him that she did not want to talk about it. He looked at her from the side and noticed that her head was still hanging low. He had not wanted to fight with her, not on this day (or night). Suddenly, he thought he had spotted something orange behind a bush and tugged at her sleeve. Jenny looked up and he motioned with his head towards the bush, having a slight grin on his face and a gleam of mischief in his eyes. The girl understood and a small smirk appeared on her face. She nodded and together they jumped into the bush, holding onto a struggling and laughing Goten.

Just like for the others, the end of their time together in this dream had come too soon. Jenny was once again clinging at Gohan's neck, not wanting to let him go. She had so enjoyed these few hours – she had almost forgotten that they were dead. "Don't leave…" she mumbled, as her big brother gently rubbed her back, while the other two boys were watching them with equally sad looks on their faces.

"We have to, and you know this. And someday we'll see each other again, but hopefully this will be a long time from now. You have a long life ahead of you and even though it doesn't look like it now, it will get better. You only have to be strong. Will you be strong?"

Nodding, she let go of his neck and he set her down. Jenny wiped the tears from her eyes and stepped up to Goten and Trunks with a shy smile on her face. Suddenly and completely unexpected she threw her arms around them, almost crushing them in her hug. "I'll miss you."

"We'll miss you, too," both boys answered in unison. They then shot Gohan a short look, before they whispered something else into Jenny's ear, which let her smile turn into a grin that spread all over her face and she giggled.

They parted and the boys went to stand next to Gohan in front of the house that had once belonged to his parents. Jenny nervously shuffled with her feet, as they were waiting for the last minutes to pass. "I love you," she said eventually, smiling at her brothers and friend.

"We love you, Jenny," Gohan replied, speaking for the three of them and then added almost as an afterthought, "Please don't give your grandmother and especially Vegeta a hard time."

Jenny only grinned at him and winked at Goten and Trunks, just as the world around them started to blur and everything vanished.


When Gohan opened his eyes, he had a smile on his face and shook his head. This last grin on Jenny's face could mean no good and he was almost starting to feel sorry for Vegeta. His suspicions were confirmed, when he saw almost identical grins on Goten's and Trunks' faces. The terror of the Trio from Hell would continue with one girl on Earth, while the other two members were stuck in the Afterlife. Gohan did not even want to think about the mischief the two boys were already plotting.


Back on Earth, Jenny woke to the sun shining through the window, feeling better than she had in days. Even the stinging in her arm, which, as she noticed, was again bandaged, was not as bad. Looking around the room, she noted that it did not look so gloomy anymore. The sun was bathing the room and her in a warm light. Smiling and stretching, she turned to her left to see four red zeros blinking at her from her alarm clock. The power was back on!

Grinning, she nearly jumped out of the bed, completely forgetting that her grandmother had forbidden her to set a foot on the carpet, and flew down the stairs to the kitchen, where she could already smell the delicious smell of pancakes and hear her grandmother hum. As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, Mrs. Briefs turned around, but instead of looking at her disapprovingly, she, too, had a large smile on her face. "Good morning, dear. Sit down and have some pancakes. How are you this fine morning?" she asked, while she was already filling one of the plates and giving it to the girl.

Jenny just wanted to answer, when Vegeta came into the kitchen with a strange smirk on his face, sat down and started to devour the pancakes that Mrs. Briefs had placed in front of him. The woman only shrugged at the girl, turned her attention back to the frying pan, and eventually joined them at the table.

While they were eating, Mrs. Briefs chatted away about how her husband had visited her last night in her dream and how they had walked through the gardens, talking about everything and having a good time. She seemed to be almost completely back to be her old bubbly self, Jenny thought happily.

She was thinking about telling them about her visitors but decided after a bit of pondering that she did not want to share this with anybody, knowing that Vegeta and her grandmother had had their own experiences that night. No, the time that she had spent with Gohan, Goten and Trunks was theirs to remember and no one else's. This memory was something to cherish and cherish it she would by knowing that they were not really dead, but only spending their lives at another place, where she would join them someday.

When Vegeta was finished with his breakfast, he got up and announced to take a shower. Before he left the kitchen, however, he turned to Jenny, "As soon as you feel up to it, we'll continue with your training, brat."

"Aye, Sir," Jenny replied with a mocking salute and a smirk on her face. Vegeta only returned the smirk and left for his bathroom.

Gohan had been right. It would get better, eventually. They only needed some time, but the visits of their loved ones in their dreams and the possibility to say goodbye had helped them to take the first big step on this journey to heal.