38- Mission
Early Summer
Goten yawned and rubbed his eyes before he opened up the study and peeked inside. Trunks was already inside and sitting at his desk as he leaned over something.
"Hey," Goten said as he closed the door behind him.
It had only been a few months since he had truly gotten to know Trunks, but the had developed a friendship so quickly and naturally that Goten honestly felt as if he had known Trunks for years. It had been just a few hours ago that he had gotten his message to meet him in his study after dinner and Goten was curious as to what Trunks was being so secretive about.
Goten neared the desk and looked over Trunks' shoulders. It looked like he was looking at a floor plan of some sort. "What's this?" He asked curiously. Did Trunks was to build something?
"It's a layout to Frieza's ship," Trunks answered without glancing up.
"What?" Goten's eyes widened and he quickly leaned down to get a better look. "Where did you get something like this?"
"Years ago, I hacked into Frieza's ship and downloaded it. I never thought I would need it until now," Trunks murmured.
"And why exactly do you need it?" Goten raised an eyebrow.
Trunks let out a deep breath and looked up at Goten finally. "Panna," he said. "She has these dreams, and I know it might sound silly or unreal, but a lot of dreams come true. It's rare for someone to be gifted with foresight, but I truly believe she has it. She dreamed about me before we even met, and she's dreamed of other things as well. She told me the other day that she's been dreaming of your father."
Goten felt his eyes widened. He remembered when they were young Pan having dreams like that. Once he had fallen out of a tree, and Pan had started to crying, claiming she had known he was going to fall because she had dreamed it. He let out a heavy breath as his heart gave a heavy pound. "Really?" He whispered.
"Goten, tell me honestly," Trunks said. "You believe your father is still alive, don't you? That's why you came to Vegeta-Sei in the first place."
"Yeah," Goten couldn't force his voice to grow any louder. "I mean-" he shook his head slowly. "Frieza didn't even let us see his body. He just said he died suddenly and had him cremated. You're planning on something, aren't you?" He asked.
"Yes," Trunks nodded. "I think Panna's right. If that's the case, then your father is on Frieza's ship somewhere," he said as he looked back at the floor plan. "But I don't see prisons or anything labeled on this damn thing."
"You won't find them," a voice from the door made Goten and Trunks jumped. They turned to see Pan leaning against the door frame, her arms crossed as she pouted. "You two-" she narrowed her eyes. "You were about to plan something stupid and dangerous, weren't you?"
"Panna-" Trunks began.
"Stop it, right there, Trunks-" she pointed a finger at him. She walked in and shut the door behind her before she marched up to them.
Goten could feel his hair starting to rise. Pan was still tiny, but he had seen her in action and knew that she could be quite deadly, even if she didn't know how to handle that power yet. "Listen to me," she placed her hands on her hips. "I'm the one that has been having these dreams, don't you think you should ask me where they're at?"
Goten glanced at Trunks, whose mouth hung open slightly. "Well," Trunks cleared his throat. "I didn't want to get you involved to keep you and-"
"Trunks, it's my dreams that started it. I'm already involved," Pan said gently. She let out a deep breath. "I'll help you two, but I have some conditions."
"What?" Goten asked.
"For starters, you're only allowed one day," she told them seriously. "That should be all the time you need. Second, as soon as you grab Papa, leave. Don't stay there longer than you have to."
"Okay," Trunks agreed with a nod. He stood up and reached for Pan's hand and pulled her around the desk and sat her down in the chair he had been in. "Tell us everything you know, Panna."
Pan let out a deep breath as her eyes skimmed the map. "Here-" she placed her hands on the loading dock. "That's where you two will need to Instant Transmission. It'll be mostly empty, but for a few guards, and they should be easy to sneak past. It wouldn't hurt for you two to disguise yourselves, either. Follow this hallway-" her finger led to one heading towards the basement of the ship. "See these equipment compartments? Behind them is a large door. Open and it will take you down a narrow flight of stairs were you will come across more guards. These guards, you will have to kill," she told them with a small whisper. "Once they're taken care of, there's a door behind them that leads to the prison."
Goten's heart was pounding wildly inside his chest. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. They were so close to getting his father back, he could feel it.
"Pan, are you sure this is going to work?" Goten asked.
"Of course it will," she huffed with a roll of her eyes. "The best time to go will be the night after tomorrow. Frieza will be gone from the ship. And another thing," she said gently. "There's someone with Papa."
"Who?" Trunks asked curiously.
"I don't know," Pan shook her head. "I never can see their face very well. Papa knows them, though. I think they were friends before they ended up in prison together. Papa won't leave without them. You'll have to bring them too."
"That's fine with me," Trunks said. "If it were up to me, I'd bring all of Frieza's prisoners," he sighed. "Thank you, Panna," he leaned down and kissed her temple.
"I'm serious, Trunks-" she pointed a finger at him, and his eyes widened again. "One day only! As soon as you get Papa and his friend, you better leave and come back, and I mean it!"
Goten let out a low whistle. "Dang, Panny. When did you become so bossy?"
Trunks just chuckled and leaned down to kiss her again.
Trunks' heart was pounding nervously inside of his chest as he hid behind a large wooden box with Goten. It was hard to believe that the two of them were on Freiza's ship. It was even crazier to think that the two of them were there for a prison break. Trunks could feel Goten shaking beside him. They had left an hour ago while most of their family was sleeping.
For the last hour, they had been motionless behind the giant box after arriving. They knew their plan and they knew it carefully. Trunks trusted Pan more than anything and knew her plan would work, too. The thought of being on Frieza's ship though was enough to make him sick, though.
Trunks sucked in a deep breath. In through his nose; out through his mouth. He did that several times. They couldn't just sit there and wait. They had to take action.
"Are you ready?" Trunks asked Goten.
"Yeah, and no," he said before he swallowed hard. "Let's go."
They got up, and slowly they inched their way towards the exit. It was clear, except for the guards down the hall. The guards seemed distracted in conversation though, and not really paying attention. Trunks rushed out quickly, but quietly, and he could feel Goten behind him doing the same.
In Trunks' mind, he followed the hallway Pan had showed him and Goten. They had followed her advice and disguised themselves. Trunks had dyed his hair black and his eyes were black. Goten wore his old shirt with a mask. They had to force themselves to act as normal as possible as they walked down the halls since they had passed many guards. None of the guards seemed to think they were suspicious though, which was a relief. They made it to the equipment room and breathed out a heavy sigh.
Trunks shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair as he blinked his eyes several times so the disguise would go away. Goten pulled down his hood and looked around. He walked towards the back of the room and Trunks followed him. They came to a stop when a large door waited for them, just as Pan said it would. Trunks could feel Goten's nervousness from his spot.
"Remember the guards down here," Trunks said with a heavy breath. He met Goten's eyes, "Are you ready?"
Goten closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. "I've imagined this moment for years, but I never thought it would actually happen," he whispered. "I'm ready," he said as he reached for the door.
Quickly, Goten rushed forward and Trunks was right behind him. They flew down the stairs, and just as Pan had said, several guards were down there. Trunks and Goten were able to make quick work of them since it was a surprise attack. Trunks reached for the prison door and gave it a tug, but it didn't budge.
"One of them must have a key," Trunks turned to face Goten.
Goten shook his head, "Forget a key. I'm so tired of waiting!" He said with narrowed eyes. He raised his hand and shoot a small ki blast at the door. The door opened and instantly, a loud siren went off overhead, and the walls were shaking.
"SHIT!" Trunks cursed. "Come on!" He grabbed Goten's arm and yanked him into the room. "We have to find him now or else we might not get another chance!"
"DAD?" Goten yelled into the room.
The room was dark and damp. On both sides of the walls, small cages seemed to sit with small lights above them. Goten was practically running and Trunks was trying his best to keep up and look thoroughly for a man that resembled Pan or her brothers, but he saw no one like that.
"DAD?" Goten yelled again.
Trunks' eyes widened as he sensed a group of soldiers coming their way. It wouldn't be long before they reached the door and saw the others dead. "Goten, soldiers are coming," Trunks said.
"We can't leave- not yet!" Goten shook his head. "He's here! I can sense him!" He cried. He took in a deep breath, "KAKAROT!"
The sirens seemed to stop, and Trunks wondered if something had shut them off. It probably wasn't a good sign, though.
"I'm here," a voice said down the hall, and a pale arm stuck out of the bars. "I'm Kakarot." Trunks watched as Goten froze in place and he placed a hand on his back before he rushed over. Trunks gasped when he saw the man in the cell. His children really did resemble him, and his eyes were the same eyes that Pan had.
"Goten?" Goku's voice cracked as he looked at him. "You are Goten, aren't you?" He whispered.
"Dad," Goten was shaking. He reached between the bars and touched Goku as he started to cry. "I finally found you."
Goku was shaking his head in shock. "How?"
"We'll explain everything in a bit," Trunks said. "We have to go - now."
"Wait!" Goku gasped. He let go of Goten and turned around to wake someone up. "He's coming with us."
Trunks watched as the new man stumbled into the light and he let out a hallow gasp. He had to clutch the bars so he wouldn't fall and Goten looked at him worriedly. "Trunks? Are you okay?"
It was like Trunks was seeing a ghost from his past. Had he been alive this whole time too? Just how much had he suffered? He looked too thin and there were scars all over his body, too.
"Hyung," Trunks choked out.
Tarble smiled at him. "Look at you," his voice was hoarse. "You're taller than me, now."
There was so much Trunks wanted to say at the moment. He had so many questions for Tarble. How did he get there? Why was he there? What had actually happened that day? He knew now wasn't time though. He reached over and grabbed Tarble as Goten did Goku.
"Where are we going?" Tarble asked.
"Home," Trunks answered.
They disappeared right before a group of soldiers ran in.
Retrouvaille: the joy of meeting or finding someone again after a long separation.