Disclaimer: I do not own DragonBall, DragonballZ, or Dragonball Super
A/N: Sorry for the very long delay, but in all honesty, it will probably run that way for a while. I'm in the middle of getting my house sold and then moving into a fixer-upper. A small part of the hold up was the actual story but most of it was just life. This is a longer chapter since there's a lot of points to cover now between Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, and misc. pieces to tie in. The next one will be a long one as well, I'd like to cover the training for the androids all in one go. After that...Androids and Cell! Then I may swap to another project for a while, but nothing concrete that far away.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Goku sat opposite of his son in the throne room, still sore from their battle. Gohan's small frame looked almost laughable in the large chair completed by his wet hair hanging in his face, still damp from the rejuvenation tank. The memory of being pinned to the ground and nearly helpless mere hours ago served as a sharp reminder for Goku why it was almost laughable. Then again, he should probably be grateful he was considered a prisoner and not executed while unconscious.
"You've been looking for me all this time?" Gohan asked. His voice was low but firm in the deafening silence. Goku nodded and straightened up in his chair. His son had sent everyone out upon their entry. It surprised him how much authority his son wielded and how confident he was with it.
"Yeah, I'm sorry it's taken so long, bud," Goku apologized. His shoulders slumped a bit and he leaned back against his chair.
Gohan's head had snapped up at the nickname and corrected him, "My name is Gohan and I've worked hard to be called by that. I would appreciate it if you could respect that."
Goku gave a tired grin and shrugged and said, "Sure, Gohan. So, what now?"
Gohan seemed to deflate. Once again the child underneath the authority and power was showing through. Despite that, his tone was level when he said, "I'm needed here. Emperor Cooler trusts me to lead for him. We could use your help too."
Goku scowled and said, "I don't know what this Cooler guy has told you but no part of these Cold Empire people are good, Gohan. I'm going home, where your mother is. She's trusted me to bring you back safely."
They met each other gazes while tense moments passed. A shift gave way in Goku's favor when Gohan's glare softened and his shoulders fully slumped.
"I know I can't make you stay, and it would be a lie to say I haven't been curious about home," Gohan admitted, drumming his fingers on the armrests.
"So, you'll come home with me?" Goku perked up and said. His eyes had a new light in them.
Gohan gave a slow nod and said, "You know if I do that I'll be wanted by the King of the Universe, the Cold Empire, and Emperor Cooler? That could cause some issues. Especially since it seems Emperor Cooler wasn't entirely honest about not being able to find my home. I mean, if you could find me then..."
Goku scratched at the back of his head with a shrug and said, "We can deal with that when it becomes a problem. In the meantime, let's go home."
Gohan nodded with a vacant stare and said, "I'll leave a message for a couple of my comrades, they've been good to me. Then I can get us a ship."
Goku returned the smile and nodded. It was only a short wait while Gohan left with the tablet in hand towards the connected rooms. When he returned the tablet was nowhere in sight. The two-headed for the hanger. Everyone they passed gave a deep bow to his son and a polite bob to himself.
"It's great that they still have so much respect for you," Goku said.
Gohan gave an annoyed sigh and said, "They think I recruited you, it's the only explanation that they could think of for why we're both still alive."
Goku nodded, his mouth opened to speak but decided against it. When they reached the hanger, Gohan stepped forward and ordered, "I need the cruiser ready to deploy immediately. Fully stocked. Extra training gear. No crew is necessary"
"Yes, Lord Gohan, should I bump this ahead of your previous order?" the attendant asked with a nervous shake.
Gohan nodded and repeated, "Immediately."
Goku waited till he was done to quietly ask, "What other order?"
Gohan grinned, a new and mischievous expression that reminded Goku of his wife, and said, "When I left that message on the tablet I went ahead and issued deployment orders for everyone still here. Hopefully that will slows down anyone who may come here asking questions."
Goku gave a proud, surprised nod. It may not be how he was used to handling things but he couldn't argue with the speediness of his son's thinking. He watched as soldiers ran about. A large cruiser similar to Frieza's was landed and docked. Aliens rushed in and out of it with supplies. In minutes, it was ready to leave.
He entered and took a seat next to his son at the controls. Gohan was manually piloting it as they hauled through space. Gohan, at last, looked over and asked, "So, what're the coordinates for home?"
Goku chuckled. Gohan exhaled and stared dead ahead while he stated, "You don't know."
"Yeah...your mother kind of handled that part of the ship," he said.
Gohan asked, "Exactly what part did you handle?"
"The training, the gravity machine, and this thing called a cappuccino machine. That's this disgusting bitter drink that your grandpa loves," Goku said in one big breath, fully aware that none of that was of any help.
Gohan flicked some switches and released the controls. He said in an even tone, "I set it for the Milky Way on auto-pilot."
Goku grimaced. The lack of tone somehow made his son's words sting more. There wasn't any anger, just bland indifference. Bored disappointment filled his son's face as he stared out the window for a moment longer.
"I'm going to exercise. You may as well settle in, even in this ship, it will take a long time to planet hop," Gohan said as he stood up.
"I could help with that, you know. It's the least I could do for you defeating Frieza," King Kai's voice filled their heads. Gohan sank in on himself, ready for a fight, his eyes darting around the room.
"King Kai, right? You can tell us how to get to earth?" Goku asked towards the ceiling with a wide grin. Gohan glanced up as well, unsure what was going on.
"Sure thing, just enter these coordinates"
"Goku? Son Goku is your husband?" the young man stammered again. Bulma attempted to twist her arm free of his grip but found herself trapped.
"You heard her right, now let her go," Vegeta commanded as he strode forward and tore them apart. The young man turned on him with a frown only to find Vegeta already in his face with his own scowl.
"You got something to say, boy?" Vegeta practically spat in his face.
"No, I-I was just surprised, but it doesn't matter. I came here with a purpose," towards the end he seemed to be talking to himself more than Vegeta.
The prince fumed and demanded, "What are you blathering on about?"
The stranger groaned and said, "I guess at this point it'll be okay."
"Get on with it!"
"He's getting to it, try to breathe," Serene cut in. Her own voice was weary.
Vegeta opened his mouth to respond when Piccolo shut him down and said, "She's right, we're just going in circles, Vegeta."
"Shut it, Namek!" the Saiyan snapped. Still, he didn't say anything further and waited.
Another steady exhale and the youth started talking, "My name's Trunks, and I'm from the future. My world is in ruins from androids. I was sent back to try and help another timeline fix it so that maybe I could find a solution for my own time."
Vegeta raised his brows and said, "That is a grade-A pile of shit, but it is still a pile of shit."
Trunks grit his teeth and snapped, "Then why else am I here! Anybody?"
For the first time, no one spoke up. Trunks nodded and continued, "In three years on May twelfth, at ten a.m. Two Androids will attack Sasebo."
"The island?" Krillin asked.
Trunks nodded and went on, "In my time, they killed all of you. Gohan was the only survivor thanks to Piccolo."
Piccolo gave a small start but didn't say anything. It was Bulma who asked, "They even beat Goku?"
"That's just it. Goku never made it to the battle. He died well before then. In the coming years, a new heart virus will spread. It's actually fairly treatable to humans, but to a Saiyan it's lethal. I've brought the antidote. Four doses actually. One for Vegeta, one for Goku, and another for Gohan just in case," he paused and sighed, "I don't think you'll be needing the fourth one but I'll leave it for you just in case."
Krillin asked, "Why wouldn't we need it? Is something else wrong?"
Trunks chuckled, a nervous and pain-filled sound, and said, "Yeah, it was actually for me. The me of this timeline."
"Well, where should you be?" Krillin pushed. Trunks cast a nervous glance at Bulma. The blue-haired beauty uttered a small, "Oh…"
"Yeah."
The others caught on except for Yamcha who persisted, "I don't get it? Just because you're being born a little late doesn't mean you won't be. Right, Bulma?"
"I think it's a bit more complicated than that, you idiot. Goku isn't his father," Bulma snipped. Her eyes rolling while she spoke. Yamcha looked around for support to find none.
"But, he's a Super Saiyan?" Yamcha tried to reason. Vegeta huffed and looked aside with a scowl. Serene was staring hard at Bulma who was suddenly interested in straightening her outfit.
"Oh," the baseball player said in enlightenment at last.
Trunks pushed on ahead, "It doesn't matter. This is your all's timeline. Not mine. The important thing is to be sure that if any of them start showing symptoms that they take the medicine. Other than that, be warned: either of these machines is stronger than Freiza. Either of them are stronger than I am. Train hard and be ready. I'll try to come back and help."
He pulled a capsule out and threw it. While his strange ship materialized he reminded them, "May twelfth at ten a.m. in three years on Sasebo island."
The others watched as the ship started up but Bulma was watching the pilot. The young man's face fell once he was alone in the cockpit. The color washed away from him. She would've sworn that his shoulders were even shaking a little.
She wiped at her own eyes. She couldn't imagine the pain of knowing that in some way, somewhere, you don't actually exist and you never will.
The others had agreed on the need to train while she was lost in thought. She returned to the present just in time to see Vegeta taking off with Serene hot on his tail. Krillin and the others split soon after. It left just her and Piccolo.
"Do you have one of those planes with you?" he asked. His voice was gruff as usual but she accepted it as his standard of politeness and nodded. He made to leave.
"Wait a minute," she said. He turned back, his normal frown in place. She took a deep breath and said, "I've never thanked you for saving my son."
"I didn't. I died and your husband failed," Piccolo deflected.
She shook her head and argued, "You know that's not when I meant. When Gohan fell off that cliff, you saved him. You had no reason to but you did. Then you helped my husband against that monster, Raditz, and then again on Namek. I know it's not much but thank you."
Piccolo shifted but kept quiet. Bulma would've sworn that he looked nervous. She added, "I know you're not the materialistic type but if you ever need anything, a place to stay or somewhere to train or just some company even, you're always welcome at Capsule Corps."
Piccolo nodded and made to leave once more. Just before taking off, he muttered a gruff, "Thanks."
"You want to get some training in with me?" Goku chirped as he poked his head into his son's quarters on the ship. No response. He peered around to find it empty. He was surprised to sense Gohan at the control panel. It wasn't somewhere either had spent much time since taking off.
Of course, he had to admit that Gohan may have been there more than he knew. His son wasn't too keen on father-son time just yet. No. He had been polite, civil is what Bulma would've called it, but not much more. Still, there were glimpses every so often of the child inside but it seemed the hardened combatant won out most of the time.
Goku entered the room and saw Gohan studying a 3D map projected into the air. A blinking icon was traveling along a line. At the end was a familiar green and blue planet. Goku smiled and watched silently while Gohan stared at it. As always his face was neutral and his body language indecipherable. The only hint that something was off was the intensity behind his eyes.
"You thinking about home?" Goku asked. Gohan turned in an instant, ready for anything. Goku chuckled. They had been working on sensing energy, but there were times that Gohan seemed to forget that he had that power.
"It's not home, not to me. I haven't been there in a long time. It's just the planet I was born on," Gohan corrected.
Goku shrugged and approached while he talked, "Then it can become home over time. Don't you remember anything about living there? Nothing stands out that you miss?"
Gohan rolled his head, stretching his neck, and answered, "I don't know. I don't really trust it. I didn't even remember you, not really. Just some orange coloring and a smile."
"You tell me what you think you remember, and I'll tell you if you're right. We are getting close, right? Another two days? May as well get everything in order," Goku prodded.
"One day. We'll land late tomorrow morning by Earth's time it looks like. I guess it couldn't hurt," he conceded, "Okay. Mom, she has blue hair, right, and she builds stuff?"
"That's right, she's actually a scientist. One of the smartest people of our planet," Goku encouraged.
"The planet," Gohan corrected matter-of-factly, "My grandparents...are they, chefs? I remember these really sweet disks. They were tan and there were these melted bits of stuff scattered through them."
Goku thought for a moment before he laughed and said, "You're talking about chocolate-chip cookies! Yeah, those are great, but no they aren't chefs. Your grandma could be, though. Your grandpa is a scientist just like your mom."
Gohan nodded to himself and said, "What about-nevermind, it's dumb."
"Nah, tell me," Goku egged him on. It took a bit of convincing but Gohan finally said, "I remember some guy named Mr. Pickles. He was green. Maybe a Namekian?"
"Oh, Piccolo? Yupp, he's a Namekian. He saved your life when you were really little actually, and he died trying to save you when Raditz took you," Goku said.
"But you revived him with those magic Dragon Ball things, didn't you?"
"Mhmm. Anything else?" Goku asked. He was surprised at the amount already.
Gohan shook his head and switched the map off. The two were heading for the training room when he stopped and said, "There is another thing, actually. It's just a name, or maybe it's gibberish."
"What is it?"
"Del?"
Goku stopped and his smile faded into a worried frown. He spoke up, "It was your nickname for your friend. Videl. She was really torn up when everything happened."
"Did she get better?" Gohan asked in the same level tone as always. He had kept walking and just realized that Goku had stopped.
Goku shrugged a heavy motion, and said, "I don't know, Gohan. I-we kind of went off the deep end when it all happened. Your mom and grandpa threw themselves into building a ship. I trained around the clock. It took everything your grandma had to keep us all even partly sane. We kind of forgot about everyone else."
Gohan raised his eyebrows and said, "I guess we both have things to catch up on then."
The following morning found them sitting at the control panel and watching the planet come into view. The process was much smoother than in a pod. They experienced a controlled deceleration compared to the neck wrenching impact. The touch down was nearly feather-light as the legs absorbed what shock there was.
"Whew, that's much better than that ice-stuff," Goku chuckled. Gohan merely nodded. His jaw was clamped shut and the slightest signs of strain showed in the cords in his neck. Goku laid a hand on his shoulder.
"This is a good thing, son. Everyone's missed you," Goku assured him. Gohan nodded and let his hold remain until just before the hatch opened. Then he slid free and stepped aside. Goku gave one final smile before heading down the ramp.
They had landed in a field outside of West City and the group was already gathered. He smiled and waved while he headed down. To his surprise, his wife didn't rush them. Then he noticed Piccolo's hand laid politely yet firmly on her shoulder. Goku gave him a thankful nod. The last thing they needed was a nerve-wracked Gohan being rushed.
The Namek's hold didn't work for long but it gave Gohan enough time to come down the ramp at his own pace and get firmly on the ground before she rushed him. Goku and the others watched as she picked him up, his feet dangling in the air, and hugged him close.
"Hello," was all Gohan could muster. His arms bobbed in awkward motions under the embrace that had trapped his shoulders. His awkwardness was either brushed aside or unnoticed as she sobbed into his hair.
Most of the others went to Goku for the details of their trip and to inform him of their own news from Trunks. Goku could barely understand them all at once. What did catch his attention was three strong power levels heading for Gohan and Bulma.
Piccolo was going to see his secret pupil. Vegeta and Serene were going to see what all the fuss was about. Goku was unsure what propelled the others to revive Vegeta, but he was glad to see they had. He was even happier to see they all seemed to cooperate.
Gohan pried himself away from the figure clinging to him to return the stare of the three newcomers. He crooked his head towards the Namek and asked, "Mr. Piccolo?"
Piccolo grinned, the smallest lift to his mouth, and said, "Hey, kid."
With that, the Namek withdrew a short distance away, content to watch and listen while everyone else was around. Serene was next to step up.
"Hello, Gohan, I'm Serene. This feels like a meeting a long time in the making," she said. An attempted chuckle worked its way into the sentence but fell flat at the child's level gaze.
"Perhaps for you. I was unaware that this meeting could ever happen," Gohan said plainly. Vegeta chortled.
"You're Vegeta, aren't you?" he asked. Vegeta nodded and waited. Gohan continued, "So, you're the reason I was taken?"
"Inadvertently," Vegeta answered with disregard. Gohan's brow furrowed and a slight twitch passed through him but he didn't respond.
Bulma had plenty to say, "Inadvertently my ass! You could have given orders through those scouters you all wore and stopped all of this!"
Vegeta scowled and took an aggressive step and said, "Watch your tone, woman! I was fighting for my freedom! Nothing that you would understand."
"What's done is done," Gohan interjected. No malice or sarcasm was evident in his tone, just fact.
Vegeta nodded and turned on his heel to head towards Goku, his assessment of the child finished. Bulma was left fuming while she ranted, "Honestly, how do you tolerate that man!"
Serene pushed her pale hair out of her face and commented, "Obviously some version of you managed to."
"Not this again. Not today," Bulma groaned. The sound only served to point out to the alien woman and Gohan the exhaustion in the earthling's voice. The bags under her eyes were more prominent as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
Serene looked away for a moment before she focused on Gohan for a moment. She nodded at Bulma and said, "You're right."
"Thank you."
"I am happy for you, and for you, Gohan. Welcome home," Serene said before heading after Vegeta. Bulma gave a small smile in return alongside Gohan's deep nod of appreciation.
She laid a hand on her son's shoulder and said, "We should probably join everyone. You've come back at a busy time."
"Is something wrong?" Gohan asked and fixed her with a stare. Bulma flinched under the Vegeta-esque stare. It was the focused stare of a soldier, not the nervous boy walking down the ramp.
She made a small mental note of it and hurried to continue, "Nothing we can't handle. Come on."
They approached the group together where they endured the endless rounds of greetings and questions. Gohan managed to fire off a few answers but lost track of what the questions were as they kept coming. Everyone wanted to talk and nothing was in order. Only Piccolo, Vegeta, and Yamcha truly keeping their distance.
Piccolo cleared his throat and cut in, "I think that's quite enough. The Son's are ready to go and there's still the problem at hand to discuss. To make a big problem small, we'll be dealing with androids bent on killing you, Goku. They'll proceed to kill the vast majority of Earth. They're stronger than a Super Saiyan. We all need to keep up on our training and be ready. We can go over the rest later."
Goku let out a low whistle and said, "Wow, that's a new one." He started to look around and asked, "Hey, Vegeta, you up for a training buddy? Vegeta?"
"He's already left. His majesty is too good to train with us earthlings," Krillin said with his hands on his hips.
"Oh, then how about you, Piccolo?" the Saiyan tried again. The Namekian nodded.
The group had broken apart, everyone heading their own way. The Son's and Piccolo returned to Capsule Corps, a still nervous Gohan in tow. It was late and the elder Briefs had thankfully fallen asleep while waiting. After much-whispered persistence from Gohan, no one woke them.
The young halfling sat on the edge of the bed in what used to be his room. It was upgraded of course. No more toddler bed, it was a normal mattress and frame now. The toys had been changed, presumably with the new top-of-the-line ones. His mother had spared no expense upon hearing of his return.
Still, it wasn't his room. They weren't his things. He didn't have toys, he had a scouter and combat equipment. Tools that were mostly useless at this point. A single toy did remain that he remembered, though. A stuffed dragon, dark purple, and no bigger than his hand. It had a startling amount of water stains from what seemed to be droplets all over it.
"I see you found Icarus," Bulma said from the open door, "That little dragon has been with me ever since you...ever since you disappeared."
Gohan looked again at the tear stains and nodded. He held it out and said, "You can have him back if you need him."
Bulma shook her head and sat down next to him. She patted his leg and said, "I don't, since you're back home, I've got what I need."
Gohan set the toy aside with care and said, "This isn't- it's different. I barely remember anything. I'll be glad to get back to it."
"It?" Bulma asked with a slight shake.
"Training, a daily routine, you know, some normalcy? For the androids?" Gohan pointed out, head high and shoulders back.
Bulma reeled back a little. She shook her head and said, "No, no, you won't be fighting. Your father, Piccolo, and Vegeta can handle this. They have plenty of time to prepare."
Gohan stayed still and silent for several moments. He dry swallowed a couple of times before he nodded and said, "If that's what you all believe is best."
She took several deep breaths and stood to say, "It is. Thank you for understanding, and for being so mature about it. Now," she clapped her hands and rubbed them as though washing them, "I wasn't sure how much you would've grown so I bought all different sizes. Just pick you something out of the closet over there to sleep in. I believe it's about bedtime. I'll put that armor away for you first thing in the morning. You shouldn't be in need of it now."
Gohan ran a hand over his armor but nodded without argument. He stood to head for the closet and she stopped him again and said, "One more thing, the full moon is in a few nights. We'll have to do something about that tail by then. Can't have an angry monkey stomping around the city."
"Do not call me a monkey," Gohan corrected with some venom bleeding into his words despite his bland expression. Seeing her hurt face he added on a gentle, "Please. It's seen as very rude."
She nodded with a grimace disguised as a smile and said, "Right, well, goodnight. I love you."
"You too," he said. Bulma made a couple of awkward steps towards him but decided to withdraw when he continued to stand still.
Her lips stayed pressed together and she rubbed at her eyes gently all the way to her room. It wasn't until the door was shut behind her that she let herself sink onto the bed while the tears flooded out.
Goku was quick to rub her back as she sobbed. She hiccuped out, "He's so different, Goku."
"I know, but he's still Gohan. We'll get through this mess here and then we can all just be a family," he comforted.
"I told him he couldn't fight with you," she paused as her breath hitched, "He took it well. And the tail, he took that well too."
Goku's hand had stopped the repetitive circles and he asked, "I didn't know we talked about him not fighting…"
"For fuck's sake, Goku, we just got him back from being a child soldier," she cried, "How do you expect to just throw him back into it."
Goku didn't have an answer.
Vegeta rolled his shoulders as the ship he took from Capsule Corps hurtled through space. Serene sat against the wall opposite of him, her hands clutching her left hip.
"I'm done, you can train by yourself," she snapped in pain. Vegeta huffed and crossed his arms before remarking, "It wasn't that bad. If I'm too surpass Kakarot then I need to push myself, it's not my problem if you mistakenly thought you were up to the task."
"Excuse you?" Serene spat, "I'm only here because you would get yourself killed again otherwise."
Vegeta's scowl deepened while Serene's eyes widened. The words had been spewed out before she realized. She tried to salvage the situation and said, "I just don't want to see that again, my prince."
Vegeta ignored her and spoke, "Computer, take us to the nearest, survivable planet."
A simple chime followed his order.
"I didn't-"
Vegeta cut her off, eliciting a wince, and said, "When we land, you will use one of those capsules with the pods to go back. I need to push past this limit and you are no longer of any help with that."
With that, the prince walked to gravity control to resume training and said one last thing, "You can either go below deck or sit there and struggle to breathe. At least then you'd provide a new obstacle to step around."
Serene stayed quiet and still as the machine started to hum. As the weight on her body increased she finally asked, "Why? You seemed...I don't know, at ease, I guess. What changed?"
Vegeta kept his back turned and didn't speak. She finally started to drag herself up and leave.
"The boy, he surpassed me. I've watched my race die, I have died, and still, I am failing. I cannot let some half-breed welp beat me out of the running. I will not be saved again!" he was nearly yelling by the end.
"The boy? Do you mean Gohan? That boy has suffered the same childhood that you did. You shou-"
"Not him! The other one. My supposed offspring from the future. That whiny child who killed Frieza and his father so damn easily and but struggles with a couple of tin cans! Yet, despite his struggles with these androids, I cannot say a damn thing as he persists in being stronger. He was a child!" Vegeta roared.
"Raised in war and from a different timeline! Things should be different!" she yelled back. Her meek demeanor was gone as she now matched the royal Saiyan in decibel.
"A war? Bah! He has his home. His people. A mentor! I had nothing and no one better than myself to rely on! Gohan had no one! I could at least tolerate Kakarot's brat passing me, but that other one? He was protected and coddled until there was no one left to hide behind. How does a child like that surpass me!" Vegeta demanded answers that Serene couldn't give.
She flopped her hands and shook her head as best she could under the gravity and retreated below deck. Once free of the oppressive gravity, she sat at the table with her head in her hands. Above her, she could hear the ruckus that came with Vegeta's training. Her hip was still aching and she itched for a Senzu bean, but he would need them more. Bruises and stiff joints were nothing compared to the state his body was going to be in.
She pulled her old scouter out of the kitchen drawers and looked at it. It seemed like decades ago that these little devices were the main issues. Now there were people from the future; a long lost prodigal son returning; killer androids; and somewhere out there was probably a very pissed off Cooler with a large power level, a bruised ego, and an over-inflated sense of importance. She chuckled, "Must be a royalty thing."
A slight shift in the ship's course alerted her to yet another change in course.
"Computer, what just changed in our course?" she asked with a tired groan.
"User: Vegeta, canceled the temporary landing. Normal travel protocol has been reinstated," it buzzed back.
She nodded. It wasn't an apology, but it was the closest the prince could stand to giving one. She smiled and grabbed two Senzu beans for them, may as well get back to it if she was staying.
