Title: The Invasion Saga
Author: AstroKender
Warnings: angst...sap.
Spoilers: none.
Notes: Takes place between the Cell and Buu sagas. Gohan centric.
Feedback: Welcome. Please review
Disclaimers: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Funimation. This fic is for entertainment purposes and is not in any way meant for profit. Don't sue me.
In the last chapter of Dragonball Z, Gohan was having some trouble sleeping! Plagued by nightmares, the young boy sought solace with his old friend Piccolo, but was too proud to ask for the Namek's help. The half-Saiyan tried to go on as usual, but the lack of sleep and horrendous headaches wore him out physically and emotionally, to the point where he fainted in front of Goten and Trunks. When will he wake up?
Chapter 2: Confession
Gohan moaned and opened his eyes. Unable to see anything, he panicked and warm hands quickly held him down. "Gohan! Calm down!" The young man quieted instantly.
"Mother?"
He heard ChiChi give a sigh of relief. "Yes, baby." The hands moved and gently plucked the cold washcloth from over his eyes. Gohan blinked rapidly, wincing at the dim light of his bedside lamp. How did he get in his room?
"Oh, Gohan!" His mother hugged him tightly. "We've all been so worried about you! You've been out for two days!"
"What?" Gohan sat up quickly despite ChiChi's protests and the dizziness that swept over him. "Two days?"
Dark eyes stared at him with worry. "Yes, you collapsed while playing with Goten and Trunks and they dragged you into the house, and we put you to bed. Then that Piccolo guy showed up and demanded to know what was wrong! I didn't let him in the house but he's been waiting outside the whole time!" ChiChi glared. "I guess Trunks told the others what happened because Krillin, Bulma, even Vegeta has been out here! I'm all out of clean dishes and Goten hasn't bathed in two days and that green freak is still sitting in out in the front yard-"
Gohan quickly hugged his mother before her rant could escalate any further. "Thanks for worrying about me, Mom. I'm fine now."
The truth was he still felt far from fine. Even now the beginnings of another headache lurked behind his eyes but he ignored it. He had worried his family enough. ChiChi hugged him back tightly.
"I was so worried about you." She blinked back he tears and smiled at him. "I bet your hungry. I'll go make you some soup."
His mother turned to walk out the door and slammed right into a large green chest. Startled, she followed it up to an equally green face. "Ack!"
"Piccolo." Gohan murmured.
Recovering quickly, ChiChi glared. "Just what do you think you're doing in my house, Piccolo? I told you I'd send Goten out to tell you when Gohan wakes up!"
Piccolo's eyes flicked dismissively over the woman before settling on Gohan's pale face. "He looks awake to me."
"That's not the point! I-"
"Mother, please, that soup is sounding wonderful right now." Gohan said in his most pathetic sounding voice. ChiChi sighed. Pushing past the Namek she muttered. "You better not stay long, he's still pretty weak and I don't want you tiring him out."
Piccolo nodded at her grudgingly and stepped into the room. He stared at Gohan silently for a moment, until the young man was squirming uncomfortably under the disapproving gaze.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong now," He asked finally. "Or are you going to torture your body some more?"
Gohan looked down at his lap in shame. "It's nothing I can't handle. I'm strong enough to learn to deal with it."
Piccolo quickly strode over to the young man, picking him up by his shirt and slamming him into the wall. Angry eyes blazed bare inches from his face. Gohan winced reflexively.
"You aren't alone, Gohan! You don't have to shoulder all your troubles by yourself. You have friends that want to help you. Friends like Krillin and Bulma who've been worried sick about you." Piccolo struggled with himself for a moment. "Friends like me. I-we all want to help you, kid! Don't shut us out because you think your problem isn't big enough."
The Namek released him and Gohan fell back onto the bed. He looked up at Piccolo with wide eyes before bowing his head. He clenched his fists around his blankets absently. "I've been have nightmares for weeks now. Every night until I stopped sleeping." His fists tightened. "They're horrible. Everyone was dead. I killed them all."
Piccolo watched him silently. Pulling himself together, Gohan looked back up at him. "Then there are these headaches I keep getting...." He shook his head. "Stupid huh?"
"Not at all. It sounds pretty serious, actually. Was-was the night you came to see me because of your nightmare?"
"Yeah... It was the first one." The half-Saiyan murmured. "They've gotten worse since."
The Namek stayed silent as ChiChi came bustling in, tray in hand. After Gohan assured her he could feed himself, she left. But not without giving Piccolo a meaningful glare. The large fighter watched Gohan eat a few bites, then push the tray away. Frowning, he spoke up.
"No wonder you're so skinny."
Gohan laughed, his heart lightening. He looked up at his teacher and friend. "Thanks for worrying about me, Piccolo. I'll go over to Bulma's later today and see if she has anything that will help me sleep."
Piccolo nodded. "And for the headaches."
"The headaches too."
"Very well." He walked towards the door. "You're welcome to come visit me again if you want. No matter what you think, it won't annoy me and it won't make you seem weak."
"Thank you." Gohan mumbled. He spoke up again before the Namek reached the door. "Piccolo!"
"Hm?"
"I never did ask: How did you know I was in trouble?"
Piccolo smirked slightly. "How do I always know? I was watching you."
"Oh." Gohan stared at the door dumbly as the Namek left.
***
"Gohan! You're awake!" Bulma shouted from her doorway. "How are you feeling? You gave us all quiet a scare. Does ChiChi know you're up running around?"
Gohan nodded. "She would only let me come if I had a chaperone." He grinned as said "chaperone" darted part him in search for Trunks. "Remember Goten," He called. "Mom said if we stayed out too long she'd come after us!"
Goten winced appropriately and nodded, before disappearing behind a corner. Gohan's smiled faded somewhat as he allowed some of his weariness to show. Shoulders slumped, he absently rubbed his temples.
"Gohan?" Bulma walked over to him. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Actually, I came here to ask a favor. I was hoping you could help me." Gohan smiled weakly.
Bulma ushered him gently inside her house. "I'll do my best, you know that. Why don't you have a seat in the kitchen and I'll get you something to drink."
Gohan let himself be lead into the lavish kitchen. "Thanks, Bulma."
"I see we're taking in strays now." A gruff voice muttered behind him as he sat down. Gohan glanced back and nodded.
"Hi Vegeta."
The Saiyan prince snorted and pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against. "So, you're finally up and about again. Imagine, a descendant from the great Saiyan race fainting while playing tag."
"Vegeta..." Bulma began warningly.
"Heh heh, that's alright, Bulma. I doubt Vegeta has ever played with those two heathens or else he'd have more respect for how much they can wear a person out." Gohan glanced over at Vegeta in time to catch a quickly smothered smirk.
Bulma brought Gohan a tall glass of water, which he accepted gratefully. The blue hair woman sat across from him anxiously. "So, what do you need, Gohan?"
Gohan took a drink of water while he gathered his thoughts. "Well I've been getting headaches a lot recently and I've had trouble sleeping. I was wondering if you had anything in your workshop that might help me."
"Well, I don't know about the headache thing, but the sleep problem...." Bulma ignored Vegeta's sneer as she thought, hard. She vaguely remembered something...stuck in one of the shadowy corners of her office, covered by paperwork...
Bulma brighten suddenly, and jumped up so fast the chair flipped over. "I'll be right back!" she announced, before running full steam down the hallway. Stunned, Gohan glanced at Vegeta, one eyebrow raised. Vegeta met his stare impassively, shrugging one shoulder.
Walking over, Vegeta grabbed the uprooted chair and righted it. Turning it around backwards, he sat himself down, his arms resting across the back as he stared at Gohan coldly.
"I'm stronger than you now, you know. While you've been spending your days playing big brother to my son and Kakkarot's little brat, I've been training. I could take you now with one arm behind my back."
Gohan's eyes narrowed. "I have no desire to test your theory. I never claimed to be a fighter. I just did what had to be done. I'm through fighting."
Vegeta laughed.
"Boy, you will never stop fighting. It is part of your Saiyan blood." His expression turned serious. "And what about when some new threat comes along? You don't actually think there will be peace forever, do you? If you do, you are a bigger fool than your father."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Gohan smirked. "Cause I know how much you respected my father, no matter what you say."
Seeing the Prince had no immediate reply, he continued. "I know this peace can't last forever. But power draws power. The stronger I become, the more likely monsters like Cell or Frieza will come to earth to fight me. Just as what happened with Father."
Vegeta shook his head. "Believe it or not, I understand what your saying. But allowing yourself to become weak will not help the Earth from people who want to destroy it. The universe will always have villains," At this the man smirked evilly. "But true heroes are harder to come by."
Gohan blinked as he let the words sink in. Did Vegeta just say--? Glancing up, he met the Saiyan's stare numbly. Vegeta let his smirk softened, but only slightly.
"I suppose you're not so bad of a role model for my son, even though you are a nerd."
Jaw dropping, Gohan stuttered incoherently for a moment. Just then, Bulma came barging in, something held tightly in her hands. "I found it!" She crowed.
The blue haired woman proudly displayed the object to her audience. Gohan stared at the device curiously. It was just a thin metal band with two small tabs that stuck out from it on opposite ends. On one of the tabs was a dial of some sort. Stamped on the front was the standard Capsule Corp symbol. The young man looked up at Bulma in confusion.
"What is it?"
"It's my father's Nap 'o' Matic!"
Gohan facevaulted. "Nap 'o'... Matic?
Vegeta took one look at the machine then looked over to Gohan. "Let me hit you on the head. It'll be safer."
"Guys!" Bulma whined. "This device really works! I've seen my father use it a dozen times!"
Gohan regarded her doubtfully. "How does it work?"
"Look, I'll show you." She headed toward Vegeta predatorily. Vegeta glared at her.
"Don't even think about it."
The Blue haired woman pouted for a moment before going to the doorway of the kitchen. "Trunks! Come down here, will you?"
"Woman, you are not using that contraption on my son!" Vegeta rose from his seat.
"Oh, alright." Bulma grumbled as Trunks and Goten came running into the room.
"Lunch?" the boys said hopefully.
"Trunks, you ate less than an hour ago." Bulma chastised. Looking over at Goten she grinned. "But I might be able to fix you something if you do me a favor, Goten."
The small boy grinned wildly. "Food? All right! What do you need?" Bulma smiled triumphantly.
"All you have to do is put this on for a moment." She held up the band so he could see it.
"That's all? No problem!" Ignoring his brother's frantic motions behind Bulma's back, the young boy let Trunks' mother slide the device onto his head. He giggled as it quickly adjusted to fit around his forehead, the side plates pressing gently against his temples. "I feel like and Indian!"
"You look silly!" Trunks laughed. Goten stuck his tongue out at him before looking back to Bulma. "Now what?"
"Now just hold still while I set the dial for one minute...done! Umm...maybe you should sit down for a moment." Goten obeyed and Bulma bent over him. "Now I just have to press this button and-"
Gohan watched as a purple visor extended from the band, covering his brother's eyes. The machine hummed for a second and the Half Saiyan watched in amazement as Goten slumped over, snoring slightly.
"Tha-that's amazing!"
Bulma looked over at him with a superior expression. "No, it's science. You see, the Nap 'o' Matic emits an electronic signal that makes a person go to sleep. The dial controls the length of time that a person will stay asleep." She looked at her watch. "Goten should be waking up any second now."
The others watched as the machine suddenly beeped and the visor was drawn back into the band. The small bubble coming from Goten's nose popped as he jerked awake.
"What happened?" He asked in confusion. Trunks pulled him to his feet.
"You took a quick nap!"
"I did? That's funny, I didn't feel sleepy..."
Bulma reached down and slid the circlet off his head before ruffling his black hair. "Thanks a lot, Goten. You go on and play with Trunks and I'll fix that lunch right up!"
"Yay!" Goten yelled, pulling the purple haired boy behind him as he dashed outside. Bulma turned and smirked at the two men as she spun the device on her finger.
"See, what did I tell you--Gohan?"
Gohan sat hunched over his chair, clutching his head tightly. Vegeta stood over him, dumbfounded, unsure of what to do. The glass in Gohan's hand shattered, sending shards of glass everywhere.
"Gohan! Are you alright?" Bulma cried, alarmed at the blood dripping down his hand. Grunting, Gohan slowly straightened, his clenched fist relaxing. He nodded, panting slightly.
"I'll be okay.... I'm sorry about the glass...."
Bulma grabbed his hand and began wrapping a towel around it. "I don't care about the glass. What happened? Was that one of the headaches you were talking about?"
"Yeah..." Breathing deeply, the young man struggled to his feet. Vegeta braced him with one hand.
"Get some help, runt, before you kill yourself."
Gohan pushed away from him determinedly. "Thanks for the concern, Vegeta. But Bulma's device should help plenty."
"Hnn..." Vegeta stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest, clearly unconvinced.
***
Will Bulma's Nap 'o' Matic be enough to help Gohan get over his insomnia? And what about his headaches? Can the young man finally overcome this dreadful situation and go back to living a normal, well rested, life? Find out on the next chapter of Dragonball Z!
In the next chapter of Dragonball Z, Bulma's device backfires, sending Gohan straight into his worst nightmares. There he faces all his past enemies, including a confidant Garlic Jr. Can the half-Saiyan stay alive long enough to wake up? What will the young man do if he does awaken? Stay tuned for the next DBZ. Chapter 3: Invasion.
Author: AstroKender
Warnings: angst...sap.
Spoilers: none.
Notes: Takes place between the Cell and Buu sagas. Gohan centric.
Feedback: Welcome. Please review
Disclaimers: DBZ belongs to Akira Toriyama and Funimation. This fic is for entertainment purposes and is not in any way meant for profit. Don't sue me.
In the last chapter of Dragonball Z, Gohan was having some trouble sleeping! Plagued by nightmares, the young boy sought solace with his old friend Piccolo, but was too proud to ask for the Namek's help. The half-Saiyan tried to go on as usual, but the lack of sleep and horrendous headaches wore him out physically and emotionally, to the point where he fainted in front of Goten and Trunks. When will he wake up?
Chapter 2: Confession
Gohan moaned and opened his eyes. Unable to see anything, he panicked and warm hands quickly held him down. "Gohan! Calm down!" The young man quieted instantly.
"Mother?"
He heard ChiChi give a sigh of relief. "Yes, baby." The hands moved and gently plucked the cold washcloth from over his eyes. Gohan blinked rapidly, wincing at the dim light of his bedside lamp. How did he get in his room?
"Oh, Gohan!" His mother hugged him tightly. "We've all been so worried about you! You've been out for two days!"
"What?" Gohan sat up quickly despite ChiChi's protests and the dizziness that swept over him. "Two days?"
Dark eyes stared at him with worry. "Yes, you collapsed while playing with Goten and Trunks and they dragged you into the house, and we put you to bed. Then that Piccolo guy showed up and demanded to know what was wrong! I didn't let him in the house but he's been waiting outside the whole time!" ChiChi glared. "I guess Trunks told the others what happened because Krillin, Bulma, even Vegeta has been out here! I'm all out of clean dishes and Goten hasn't bathed in two days and that green freak is still sitting in out in the front yard-"
Gohan quickly hugged his mother before her rant could escalate any further. "Thanks for worrying about me, Mom. I'm fine now."
The truth was he still felt far from fine. Even now the beginnings of another headache lurked behind his eyes but he ignored it. He had worried his family enough. ChiChi hugged him back tightly.
"I was so worried about you." She blinked back he tears and smiled at him. "I bet your hungry. I'll go make you some soup."
His mother turned to walk out the door and slammed right into a large green chest. Startled, she followed it up to an equally green face. "Ack!"
"Piccolo." Gohan murmured.
Recovering quickly, ChiChi glared. "Just what do you think you're doing in my house, Piccolo? I told you I'd send Goten out to tell you when Gohan wakes up!"
Piccolo's eyes flicked dismissively over the woman before settling on Gohan's pale face. "He looks awake to me."
"That's not the point! I-"
"Mother, please, that soup is sounding wonderful right now." Gohan said in his most pathetic sounding voice. ChiChi sighed. Pushing past the Namek she muttered. "You better not stay long, he's still pretty weak and I don't want you tiring him out."
Piccolo nodded at her grudgingly and stepped into the room. He stared at Gohan silently for a moment, until the young man was squirming uncomfortably under the disapproving gaze.
"Are you going to tell me what's wrong now," He asked finally. "Or are you going to torture your body some more?"
Gohan looked down at his lap in shame. "It's nothing I can't handle. I'm strong enough to learn to deal with it."
Piccolo quickly strode over to the young man, picking him up by his shirt and slamming him into the wall. Angry eyes blazed bare inches from his face. Gohan winced reflexively.
"You aren't alone, Gohan! You don't have to shoulder all your troubles by yourself. You have friends that want to help you. Friends like Krillin and Bulma who've been worried sick about you." Piccolo struggled with himself for a moment. "Friends like me. I-we all want to help you, kid! Don't shut us out because you think your problem isn't big enough."
The Namek released him and Gohan fell back onto the bed. He looked up at Piccolo with wide eyes before bowing his head. He clenched his fists around his blankets absently. "I've been have nightmares for weeks now. Every night until I stopped sleeping." His fists tightened. "They're horrible. Everyone was dead. I killed them all."
Piccolo watched him silently. Pulling himself together, Gohan looked back up at him. "Then there are these headaches I keep getting...." He shook his head. "Stupid huh?"
"Not at all. It sounds pretty serious, actually. Was-was the night you came to see me because of your nightmare?"
"Yeah... It was the first one." The half-Saiyan murmured. "They've gotten worse since."
The Namek stayed silent as ChiChi came bustling in, tray in hand. After Gohan assured her he could feed himself, she left. But not without giving Piccolo a meaningful glare. The large fighter watched Gohan eat a few bites, then push the tray away. Frowning, he spoke up.
"No wonder you're so skinny."
Gohan laughed, his heart lightening. He looked up at his teacher and friend. "Thanks for worrying about me, Piccolo. I'll go over to Bulma's later today and see if she has anything that will help me sleep."
Piccolo nodded. "And for the headaches."
"The headaches too."
"Very well." He walked towards the door. "You're welcome to come visit me again if you want. No matter what you think, it won't annoy me and it won't make you seem weak."
"Thank you." Gohan mumbled. He spoke up again before the Namek reached the door. "Piccolo!"
"Hm?"
"I never did ask: How did you know I was in trouble?"
Piccolo smirked slightly. "How do I always know? I was watching you."
"Oh." Gohan stared at the door dumbly as the Namek left.
***
"Gohan! You're awake!" Bulma shouted from her doorway. "How are you feeling? You gave us all quiet a scare. Does ChiChi know you're up running around?"
Gohan nodded. "She would only let me come if I had a chaperone." He grinned as said "chaperone" darted part him in search for Trunks. "Remember Goten," He called. "Mom said if we stayed out too long she'd come after us!"
Goten winced appropriately and nodded, before disappearing behind a corner. Gohan's smiled faded somewhat as he allowed some of his weariness to show. Shoulders slumped, he absently rubbed his temples.
"Gohan?" Bulma walked over to him. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Actually, I came here to ask a favor. I was hoping you could help me." Gohan smiled weakly.
Bulma ushered him gently inside her house. "I'll do my best, you know that. Why don't you have a seat in the kitchen and I'll get you something to drink."
Gohan let himself be lead into the lavish kitchen. "Thanks, Bulma."
"I see we're taking in strays now." A gruff voice muttered behind him as he sat down. Gohan glanced back and nodded.
"Hi Vegeta."
The Saiyan prince snorted and pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against. "So, you're finally up and about again. Imagine, a descendant from the great Saiyan race fainting while playing tag."
"Vegeta..." Bulma began warningly.
"Heh heh, that's alright, Bulma. I doubt Vegeta has ever played with those two heathens or else he'd have more respect for how much they can wear a person out." Gohan glanced over at Vegeta in time to catch a quickly smothered smirk.
Bulma brought Gohan a tall glass of water, which he accepted gratefully. The blue hair woman sat across from him anxiously. "So, what do you need, Gohan?"
Gohan took a drink of water while he gathered his thoughts. "Well I've been getting headaches a lot recently and I've had trouble sleeping. I was wondering if you had anything in your workshop that might help me."
"Well, I don't know about the headache thing, but the sleep problem...." Bulma ignored Vegeta's sneer as she thought, hard. She vaguely remembered something...stuck in one of the shadowy corners of her office, covered by paperwork...
Bulma brighten suddenly, and jumped up so fast the chair flipped over. "I'll be right back!" she announced, before running full steam down the hallway. Stunned, Gohan glanced at Vegeta, one eyebrow raised. Vegeta met his stare impassively, shrugging one shoulder.
Walking over, Vegeta grabbed the uprooted chair and righted it. Turning it around backwards, he sat himself down, his arms resting across the back as he stared at Gohan coldly.
"I'm stronger than you now, you know. While you've been spending your days playing big brother to my son and Kakkarot's little brat, I've been training. I could take you now with one arm behind my back."
Gohan's eyes narrowed. "I have no desire to test your theory. I never claimed to be a fighter. I just did what had to be done. I'm through fighting."
Vegeta laughed.
"Boy, you will never stop fighting. It is part of your Saiyan blood." His expression turned serious. "And what about when some new threat comes along? You don't actually think there will be peace forever, do you? If you do, you are a bigger fool than your father."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Gohan smirked. "Cause I know how much you respected my father, no matter what you say."
Seeing the Prince had no immediate reply, he continued. "I know this peace can't last forever. But power draws power. The stronger I become, the more likely monsters like Cell or Frieza will come to earth to fight me. Just as what happened with Father."
Vegeta shook his head. "Believe it or not, I understand what your saying. But allowing yourself to become weak will not help the Earth from people who want to destroy it. The universe will always have villains," At this the man smirked evilly. "But true heroes are harder to come by."
Gohan blinked as he let the words sink in. Did Vegeta just say--? Glancing up, he met the Saiyan's stare numbly. Vegeta let his smirk softened, but only slightly.
"I suppose you're not so bad of a role model for my son, even though you are a nerd."
Jaw dropping, Gohan stuttered incoherently for a moment. Just then, Bulma came barging in, something held tightly in her hands. "I found it!" She crowed.
The blue haired woman proudly displayed the object to her audience. Gohan stared at the device curiously. It was just a thin metal band with two small tabs that stuck out from it on opposite ends. On one of the tabs was a dial of some sort. Stamped on the front was the standard Capsule Corp symbol. The young man looked up at Bulma in confusion.
"What is it?"
"It's my father's Nap 'o' Matic!"
Gohan facevaulted. "Nap 'o'... Matic?
Vegeta took one look at the machine then looked over to Gohan. "Let me hit you on the head. It'll be safer."
"Guys!" Bulma whined. "This device really works! I've seen my father use it a dozen times!"
Gohan regarded her doubtfully. "How does it work?"
"Look, I'll show you." She headed toward Vegeta predatorily. Vegeta glared at her.
"Don't even think about it."
The Blue haired woman pouted for a moment before going to the doorway of the kitchen. "Trunks! Come down here, will you?"
"Woman, you are not using that contraption on my son!" Vegeta rose from his seat.
"Oh, alright." Bulma grumbled as Trunks and Goten came running into the room.
"Lunch?" the boys said hopefully.
"Trunks, you ate less than an hour ago." Bulma chastised. Looking over at Goten she grinned. "But I might be able to fix you something if you do me a favor, Goten."
The small boy grinned wildly. "Food? All right! What do you need?" Bulma smiled triumphantly.
"All you have to do is put this on for a moment." She held up the band so he could see it.
"That's all? No problem!" Ignoring his brother's frantic motions behind Bulma's back, the young boy let Trunks' mother slide the device onto his head. He giggled as it quickly adjusted to fit around his forehead, the side plates pressing gently against his temples. "I feel like and Indian!"
"You look silly!" Trunks laughed. Goten stuck his tongue out at him before looking back to Bulma. "Now what?"
"Now just hold still while I set the dial for one minute...done! Umm...maybe you should sit down for a moment." Goten obeyed and Bulma bent over him. "Now I just have to press this button and-"
Gohan watched as a purple visor extended from the band, covering his brother's eyes. The machine hummed for a second and the Half Saiyan watched in amazement as Goten slumped over, snoring slightly.
"Tha-that's amazing!"
Bulma looked over at him with a superior expression. "No, it's science. You see, the Nap 'o' Matic emits an electronic signal that makes a person go to sleep. The dial controls the length of time that a person will stay asleep." She looked at her watch. "Goten should be waking up any second now."
The others watched as the machine suddenly beeped and the visor was drawn back into the band. The small bubble coming from Goten's nose popped as he jerked awake.
"What happened?" He asked in confusion. Trunks pulled him to his feet.
"You took a quick nap!"
"I did? That's funny, I didn't feel sleepy..."
Bulma reached down and slid the circlet off his head before ruffling his black hair. "Thanks a lot, Goten. You go on and play with Trunks and I'll fix that lunch right up!"
"Yay!" Goten yelled, pulling the purple haired boy behind him as he dashed outside. Bulma turned and smirked at the two men as she spun the device on her finger.
"See, what did I tell you--Gohan?"
Gohan sat hunched over his chair, clutching his head tightly. Vegeta stood over him, dumbfounded, unsure of what to do. The glass in Gohan's hand shattered, sending shards of glass everywhere.
"Gohan! Are you alright?" Bulma cried, alarmed at the blood dripping down his hand. Grunting, Gohan slowly straightened, his clenched fist relaxing. He nodded, panting slightly.
"I'll be okay.... I'm sorry about the glass...."
Bulma grabbed his hand and began wrapping a towel around it. "I don't care about the glass. What happened? Was that one of the headaches you were talking about?"
"Yeah..." Breathing deeply, the young man struggled to his feet. Vegeta braced him with one hand.
"Get some help, runt, before you kill yourself."
Gohan pushed away from him determinedly. "Thanks for the concern, Vegeta. But Bulma's device should help plenty."
"Hnn..." Vegeta stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest, clearly unconvinced.
***
Will Bulma's Nap 'o' Matic be enough to help Gohan get over his insomnia? And what about his headaches? Can the young man finally overcome this dreadful situation and go back to living a normal, well rested, life? Find out on the next chapter of Dragonball Z!
In the next chapter of Dragonball Z, Bulma's device backfires, sending Gohan straight into his worst nightmares. There he faces all his past enemies, including a confidant Garlic Jr. Can the half-Saiyan stay alive long enough to wake up? What will the young man do if he does awaken? Stay tuned for the next DBZ. Chapter 3: Invasion.