Beginning with an End
Part 2
"Gohan and this
girl, Nahmi, they really did all that? Wow, that's amazing!"
Gohan opened
his eyes groggily. What seemed to be a
rich, brown, possibly timber cabin swirled in his eyes. The sound of a young man's voice had awoken
him; but perhaps it had just been in his dream. He couldn't be sure. Another man's voice could now be heard. He pushed himself up, attempting a sitting position…when suddenly – whoosh – the entire room blurred and he
landed with a thud on hard timber. Pain
shot through his left shoulder, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.
"Whoa Gohan,
take it easy." He heard the young man's
voice once more. Three chairs scraped
noisily on the grained floor and light footsteps tapped quickly towards him. The timber he had landed face-first on
suddenly came into focus. His mind
began to clear and his memory was returning. He pushed himself up with his hands. He recognised the young man's voice…
"Trunks!" The
short lavender hair, the piercing blue eyes, the purple Capsule Corp. jacket;
the teenage Saiyan crouched beside Gohan.
"You bet-ya
bud," he extended his hand towards Gohan. He took it and stood up, some white canvas draping over his hair.
"Hey, watch the
hammock Gohan!" Yamcha laughed, standing behind Trunks, with Piccollo by his
side. "You don't want any more
accidents." He had been the owner of
the other voice Gohan had heard.
Well that makes sense, thought Gohan, rubbing his shoulder
tentatively, a hammock. He frowned at it, and Trunks grinned.
"Feeling
alright?" he asked, in a soft, nurturing voice. With those two words, a sudden rush of thoughts, questions, and
memories overcame Gohan and he stumbled backwards dizzily. Trunks, still holding his hand, pulled him
forward so as to avoid another accident and held him tightly around the
shoulders. He lead him towards a wooden
table and chairs across the room.
"Trunks," Gohan
mumbled, "…you're alive?" A terrible
thought suddenly stuck him and he tripped. Trunks once again managed to grab him and sat him down in a chair… "Or
are we all… dead?…" he murmured,
voicing his concern slightly hysterically. He quickly gazed around the room, which was slipping in and out of
focus. "…Was it all just a dream?"
"Drink this,"
said Trunks with slight urgency, and put what looked to be a silver flask to
Gohan's mouth. A warm liquid fell into
his mouth and a feeling of strength surged through his body. The room slowly came into focus and his mind
began to slow to a normal thinking pace. Trunks looked at him with concern.
"Don't worry
Gohan, I'm alive and so are you. We all
are…except -" Gohan cut him off.
"My Dad," He
looked down at the ground. Something
warm trickled down his cheek. Trunks
quickly wiped Gohan's tear away.
Trunks, like
his father, Vegeta, had never felt comfortable when faced with the emotions of
others. He watched Gohan look
searchingly around the room. What's he looking for? I hope he doesn't
still think it was all a dream and that Goku will walk in here any second. Poor
kid… even I couldn't know what he's going through. He gazed at the ground resolutely. I
have to say something to at least reassure him that it wasn't just a dream.
"Actually," he
paused and looked up at Gohan, "I was thinking more along the lines of Cell…"
Perhaps this will distract him from his
father, even if only momentarily. "You and that Saiyan girl Nahmi defeated him."
"Nahmi!" cried
Gohan, pushing back his chair as he stood to his feet, "how is she?…where is she?" Trunks' mentality had been successful in distracting Gohan
thoughts of his father. Gohan wiped his
face with his sleeve. "Where is she?"
he demanded, "is she alright?"
"She's right
over…" but Trunks was interrupted as he turned to point to Nahmi's
hammock. His and Gohan's eyes were met
with a bright purple.
Gohan felt a
hand on his shoulder, "I'm right here…" Nahmi's voice was soft and husky. A pearly tear fell from her closed eyes and
spattered on the wooden floor.
Gohan stared at
the small, wet droplet at his feet. Why's she crying, he thought, and was
suddenly rushed back to the memory of the battlefield, where that was the last
thing he remembered thinking before falling into a deep slumber. Her balance wavered and he caught her and
assisted her to his chair.
Nahmi didn't
want Gohan to know why she was crying; she didn't want to upset him. She had lain awake in her hammock since a
loud thud had awoken her. She listened
to everything that happened after that, but her thoughts dwelled on one thing
only: Gohan's words, My Dad. A long silence had followed, after which
Gohan had directed all his attention to discovering her whereabouts and
condition. He's so caring…why did he, of
all people, have to lose his father?
"Hey, don't worry. It turned out for the best." Nahmi
suddenly opened her eyes.
"What's the
matter?" asked Gohan with concern.
Trunks handed
her the flask, but she simply gazed at the table, trying to make sense of what
she had just heard. "I… I heard an unfamiliar voice," she looked up at the three,
to her, complete strangers, "but it was transmitted telepathically. It was a man's voice; he sounded rather
cheery." She cast her gaze at the table
once more and ran her fingers over a knothole. Cheery for someone speaking about
another man's death, she thought to herself. Unlike Gohan, she had had much experience in telepathy and could
always distinguish a voice transmitted so.
"But you don't understand; it wasn't
another man's death." She heard the man's voice again, but what he
said made her reel with confusion and disbelief.
"So… so you mean you're…" - she couldn't think straight.
"Yes, that's right, I'm Gohan's dad;
Goku."
"Dad!" shouted
Gohan, "I knew it was you!" He too had
heard this last sentence. The word
'Goku' echoed through his mind; it hadn't been his imagination after all.
"Hey listen guys, don't be sorry that I
died. It worked out for the best."
"How did it
work out for the best?" asked Nahmi, still slightly confused but under control.
"How can you
say a thing like that dad? I let you
die!" Gohan shouted angrily.
"Hey," said Goku sternly,
"I thought I told you not to be so hard on yourself. There's no one to blame, especially not you son. It all happened for the best."
Trunks,
Piccollo and Yamcha all stared at Gohan and Nahmi, who were both talking to the
roof, one of whom was shouting.
"Yeah, I worked it all out. If I didn't die, there was no way that the
two of you could have truly awoken your hidden power and defeated Cell. It was your anger for my loss and the fact
that Cell provoked it that became his downfall."
Nahmi was angry at Cell for killing my
dad? Gohan looked at the ground. He was in disbelief…Is that
why she was crying? Because Cell killed
my father? Amid his confusion,
a promising thought suddenly struck
him.
"Dad!" he
cried, "You have to meet Nahmi," he
smiled at her and she blushed scarlet. "Yeah, now we can wish you back with the Dragon Balls; I mean, Dende
made a new dragon so it might work now."
Here, Piccollo
understood what was happening. "Uh,
Gohan," he said tenderly, "we've already been to wish with the Dragon
Balls. Shenron undid all the damage
that Cell had caused, but it was beyond his power to restore Goku."
"Oh," said
Gohan disappointedly, his mind working overtime as he searched for ideas. "I know! How about we go to the new Namek and use their Dragon Balls. Parunga can restore you dad, being the
original dragon and all!"
"Uh, hang on a sec Gohan, before you get too
excited… I think I'd prefer to stay here."
What? Thought Gohan and Nahmi at the same instant. Nahmi began to concentrate with all her
might. She wasn't sure she had heard
correctly.
"Yeah," Goku continued, "I realised that even
thought I was sent to Earth to destroy it, and I have spent my life doing the opposite,
in a way I always have been
fulfilling my original mission…"
"But how
dad? You gave up your own life to save
the Earth!"
"I know, but think about it Gohan, all the
people who have tried to destroy the Earth have been doing it to get to
me. If I stay up here, there will be no
more threats to Earth and it won't need me anymore."
"But that
doesn't mean I won't!" Tears began to form in Gohan's eyes. He blinked them away furiously.
******
"Right, that's
it Goku! I'm cutting off the link! I've go to talk to you! Hurry up and say good-bye; and make sure
that Gohan knows that it isn't for the last time."
Goku blinked at
King Kai. "Uh, okay, whatever you
say." He stared at him for a second in
his surprise. King Kai cleared his
throat. "Oh, right…"
"…Listen Gohan, King Kai wants to talk to me
urgently, so I'll talk to you about this more later son…Good-bye, Oh…and it was
nice meeting you Nahmi, I'm really proud of both of you."
King Kai turned
on him in a storm of anger, "WHAT ON SNAKE WAY DO YOU THINK YOU'RE
SAYING?"
Goku blinked
again, rubbing the back of his head, "Gosh King Kai, you know that's what I
think, I had to tell him some how."
"YES! BUT NOT
LIKE THAT!!!" He took in a deep, claming breath. "… Goku," he said more softly, "sometimes
you forget that he is still just a little kid."
"I know he'll
understand that it's for the best though."
King Kai began
to pace and Goku watched him, still a little startled. "Listen Goku, he's only eleven and he still
needs you as a father. And what if the
world is under a greater threat than he can handle? Now before you say anything, listen, I think I know a way that we
can get the best of both worlds and make both Gohan happy and take away your
threat to Earth. And then there's
Chi-Chi with how she is and all. Uh-huh, mmm, you'll be needed on Earth more than you think, and you'll
be wishing that you hadn't made this choice before long. Oh-yeah;
I can guarantee it." King Kai stopped
still and nodded severely at Goku.
"I don't know
what you mean," said Goku questioningly.
"Don't worry,"
King Kai scratched his chin, "you soon will."
******
Nahmi continued
to concentrate, but suddenly slid sideways off the chair towards Gohan. He grabbed her swiftly and eased her into a
sitting position. Still blinking
furiously, he gazed at Trunks, who seemed to be at a complete loss for words.
"What's…" he
took in a deep breath and wiped his eyes. Trunks' gaze was full of pity and understanding. Gohan began again, "…what's wrong with her?" He stood behind her chair, supporting her by
the shoulders.
"She's weak at
the moment," he said. By the look on
Gohan's face he too now understood what had been going on, and he had an idea
of what Goku must have said. Poor kid… this is just too much for him to deal
with. "Telepathy takes a lot out of
you," he continued with what Gohan wanted to know, "she'll need to drink some
of this and rest for a little longer." He handed Gohan the flask, who put it gently to Nahmi's mouth. She stirred, a look of discomfort on her
face, but she did not awaken.
"I'll take her
back to her hammock," Trunks offered and reached towards her. Piccollo put his hand out in front of
him. "Huh," he stopped and gave
Piccollo a searching glance.
"You're too
weak Trunks," he said gruffly.
"Oh," Trunks
took a step back and cast his gaze to the floor, "right."
"Yamcha, you
take her. I would, but she doesn't know
me well enough and…well…" Piccollo was
unable to finish.
"Oh, I get ya,"
said Yamcha, hurrying towards Nahmi. He
lifted her with ease. "You don't want
her to wake up in the arms of a big, unfamiliar green guy. Yeah," he walked carefully towards the
hammock, "come to think of it, if I didn't know any better I'd be pretty scared
if I woke up in your arms too– I mean… don't take that the wrong way or anything – I
don't mean like that." Trunks and Gohan
laughed. Good, he thought, that's what
I want to see, Gohan…. He lowered
Nahmi softly into the hammock. "Hey
guys," he whispered, "I think we better let her get some sleep; we better
go. Hey yeah, you haven't seen this
place yet, have you Gohan? It's real
neat; c'mon, we'll show ya."
"Uh," Gohan sat
down in the chair, "I think I'd like to stay here," he said softly.
Piccollo gave
Trunks and Yamcha a warning glance, and established a telepathic link. "We
can't let him sit here dwell on his father's death."
"Yeah, but if we try to force him to
come it will only upset him more,"
interjected Yamcha.
Trunks was
pondering another situation, "I wonder
what Goku told him? Maybe we should try
to talk to him and let him think about it."
"Yeah," agreed Yamcha, "I mean, we're only delaying it; he'll have to think about it
sometime."
"He'll talk about it when he's good and
ready;" Piccollo glared
at them, "we will not try to talk to him
about it, he is obviously still having trouble handling it."
"Mmm," they both agreed and looked at the ground, ashamed of
their foolishness.
"Well, maybe by distracting him, we will
actually be making Goku's death harder for him to face up to," Trunks pondered once more, "Maybe we should just leave him be." Piccollo broke the link.
"Alright
Gohan," he said, "we'll come in and get you when supper is ready."
They all filed
out of the room, each giving Gohan a concerned glance before exiting. Gohan continued to gaze at the table,
running his fingers over the knothole as Nahmi had done. Tears began to form in his eyes once more
and he put his head to his arms, which were folded on the table. The darkness enveloped him and his mind
began to wander, as a small puddle of salty water formed beneath his nose.
Dad, how could you? How could you make such a sacrifice? I know it's for the good of the
Earth….but….argh… He
banged his fists on the table… I wish I
could be so caring for others Dad….I know this is selfish…but I need you. How can you do this to me? Gohan's mind was in turmoil. He was angry with himself for being unable
to choose the needs of the Earth above his own as his father had done. Argh,
it's not you to blame; it's me. How can
I be so selfish? He suddenly heard
a familiar voice in his head.
"It's not selfish to wish you had your
father with you." The voice he heard was Nahmi's. He wiped his face and looked over at
her. She was sound asleep, her chest
rising and falling with her slow breathing. How is she doing that? thought
Gohan, slightly confused.
"It's a little complicated," she tried to explain.
She heard me? Gohan thought, taken slightly aback.
"Yes I did, I'm sorry Gohan I heard everything
you've been thinking, I'm really sorry, I had no idea that you were included
until you started talking about your father. I had to say something."
Gohan was
slightly angry; he didn't like that she had been listening in on his thoughts, "Included in what?" he glared at her
sleeping body. He suddenly remembered
what she had said to him -'It's not selfish to wish you had your father with
you.' "I'm sorry," he looked downwards and fiddled with the knothole once
more, "I shouldn't be so angry with you."
"No gohan, I'm sorry. If there were anyone's thoughts in the world that I wouldn't want
to hear; they're yours. But it was an
accident, I really didn't mean it to happen."
"How did it happen?" he questioned.
"Well, when I first began to learn the
art of telepathy, I discovered that when I fight to keep a telepathic link to
the point that I faint, the link remains connected until I awaken." Gohan suddenly understood what had been wrong with her. "I
only fainted this time because it was so difficult to keep the link between
dimensions."
"So it happened by accident." he said, ashamed of the anger he had
displayed towards her, "Gosh, I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it's me who should be
apologizing to you. I really tried not
to listen…" she trailed
off.
"Yeah, I know. But I'm glad you heard me…what you said really helped."
"But Gohan wait!" she said, "I don't think that there is any need for you to be so…" she
trailed off again.
"Upset?" he finished questioningly. Her voice had been slightly excited and he
had even sensed a hint of hope.
She continued, "When your father formed the link, he had
used the powers of someone named King Kai. It was because of him that he had to break it. Your dad suddenly became confused because this King Kai was so
angry at him."
"You could hear my dad?…And King Kai?" asked Gohan, astounded.
"No, not King Kai. But the next thing that I knew, your dad was
amazed by something that King Kai had said. I didn't have to wonder for long as to what it was…he began running over
it through his head. King Kai must have
told him that there was a way that he could save the Earth from his threat of
being there, but still be with you…and…Chi-Chi?" she questioned, "He was very worried about her."
"I wonder why he was worried about my
mom?" Gohan pondered,
but was distracted, "How could he be away
from Earth and be here at the same time?"
"I don't know," Nahmi answered, "It seems that King Kai didn't reveal that much, possibly so as not to
get his hopes up."
"Oh," Gohan replied disappointedly.
"But at least there's hope," Nahmi added.
by Lolli
