Oi, okay, okay, already! Everyone's getting impatient with me…you all want Gohan to go to the past, AND you want to see everyone's reaction, AND you want longer chapters! *falls over and twitches* Too…much…can't…take it…@.@
MG: *rolls eyes, kicks her* Get up. It's not that much of a request.
*jumps up and whacks Gohan* You are being absolutely no help.
MG: *shrugs* I'm reading the reviews, aren't I? *goes back to flipping through reviews*
Yeah. Thanks. *growls* At least you're doing something productive. So anyways, since you all just can't wait for me to get to it, I've decided to combine what was supposed to be chapters 5 and 6 into one chapter. (I know, the thingy's confusing because it says this is chapter 6, but I had a prologue, so it's actually chapter 5.)
MG: You think too deeply into things. And whose idea was it to combine these chapters?
*sigh* Yours…I'm an old-fashioned authoress. I still write stories with a pencil and paper. So here ya go…I'm afraid he only meets Goku in this chapter, but that's still something! *ducks rotten tomatoes and one AFLAC duck*
MG: *whistling innocently with his hand behind his back* Huhwha? You think I threw that duck?
*glares* Yes. You are so terrible at cover-ups it's almost funny. *uses Authoress Powers to dump a truckload of AFLAC duck plushies on Gohan*
MG: AIEEEEE! *muffled* Help! Get these things offa me!
Ducks: AFLAC!!!!
*smirks* You asked for it. Now, on with the reviewer feedback.
Frying Pan of DOOM!: Here ya go!
Chibi Lauryn: Wow, Arizona? I've never been that far west…I've been stuck in the Southeast my whole life.
MG: *pushes the ducks away from his face* Yeah, she's a southerner, and proud of it.
queenie33: Same here, I always come up with great ideas after someone else has done them, but I got to this first! *does Happy Hamster dance* Thanks!
Kakkabrat: Thanks, and he's going to the past already!
Contrail: I think Gohan was about to kill me when I wrote that…and so was my friend, SSH…
gado: I'm trying, I really am…
MG: She just has big handwriting, that's all.
Knight's Shadow: Thanks!
Silver Warrior: Don't worry, this chappie's longer!
Android 71: I know, kawaiiness! I'm glad you like it, thanks! Oi, I need to see AI.
MG: *looks at A71, attatched to his leg* Uh… *sweatdrop* Yeah, I love you too…I'm okay…
Chirs-Redfield26: Another chappie, coming up!
MG: It's okay. Hey, food! *dives in* Thanks!
-_-; Like father, like son, ne?
A/N: Chapter 5 begins three years later. Gohan's 26, and the time machine, dubbed HOPE, is complete. He's only had a few minor run-ins with the Jinzouningen, and has a star-shaped scar on the right side of his chest. (I have a thing for guys with scars. So sue me. It explains my fetish with Mirai Gohan, Bardock, and my previous one with Yamcha…) Now, on with the fic!
*****
Chichi had been pleading with Gohan all morning, but to no avail. He was ready to go, and no amount of begging and crying would stop him. This was something he had to do—to save everything.
"Mom, don't worry. I'm not leaving for good," Gohan said. "It'll only be a few days. Maybe less." He was standing with his hand on the doorknob, as it had been for the past ten minutes as he tried to calm his mother. She shook her head.
"I know, but Gohan, you're all I've got left."
"That's why I have to go. I have to take the vaccine to Dad. I may not change what's already happened, but at least we'd have a chance in a different timeline."
Chichi swallowed hard. She tenderly placed her hand on his shoulder, then flung her arms around him. "Just be careful, sweetheart."
Gohan smiled. "Sure thing. I promise I won't get into any trouble." He bent to kiss her on the cheek before walking out the door. He readjusted the backpack slung over his shoulder, and called for Nimbus. He mounted the cloud and, with one final glance at his house, took off for West Capitol.
Chichi stood quietly, staring at the closed door with her hands clasped over her chest. "Hurry home, Gohan."
Gohan shivered as the cold wind stung his face and arm. "I knew I should've brought a jacket, but no…stupid t-shirt…" he muttered to himself. Nimbus screeched to a very abrupt halt above the domed building, nearly causing Gohan to topple off. He righted himself and glared at the all-too-innocent-looking cloud. "Gee, thanks, buddy. You did that on purpose." He stood and jumped off of the cloud, landing lightly just in front of the building. He started to open the door when it beeped at him and a voice crackled over the intercom. "State your name," the mechanical voice said.
Gohan raised one eyebrow. "Good grief, the security system still works?"
"State your name," it repeated. He rolled his eyes.
"Son Gohan."
The machine bleeped again, and the doors slid open. He entered, and let his eyes adjust to the unusual dimness as the door closed behind him. "Hey, Bulma?" he yelled. No response. He heaved a deep sigh, shuffled the backpack's weight to prevent it from sliding off his shoulder, and started towards the lab.
He hit the button on the keypad beside the laboratory door three times before it finally decided to work. The door rushed open, and his hand flew up to shield his eyes from the sudden brightness. "That would explain why it's so dark everywhere else—you're holding all the light hostage in here."
Bulma looked up and laughed. "Well, hello there." She stood up, dusted off her coveralls, and ran the back of her hand across her forehead, leaving a streak of grease in its wake. Gohan grinned, and Bulma gave him a somewhat quizzical look. "What?"
"Your face is just a little dirty, that's all."
"Yes, Gohan, that's what happens when you work on engine parts for five hours."
He nodded towards the towel in Bulma's hand. "Isn't that what that's for?" Said towel promptly flew across the room and smacked Gohan in the face. "Hey!" he yelled.
"Aren't you cold?" Bulma asked, quickly changing the subject. "It's only forty degrees out and you're wearing jeans and a t-shirt."
Gohan shrugged and sat his bag down. "Actually, it was almost fifty when I left the house."
"Well, you're making me cold."
"I don't have a jacket."
Bulma looked abound the lab a minute, then threw a letterman-style Capsule Corps jacket at him. "Here." Gohan grinned and pulled the jacket on.
"Hey, thanks." He looked at Bulma, who was staring at him sideways with an odd expression. "What?" he asked, his brow furrowing.
"You look exactly like your father."
"So I've been told." He crossed the room and placed his hand against the side of the bright yellow machine. "And you're sure this thing works?"
Bulma sighed and walked over to him. She looked up at the glass dome over the cockpit. "There's no way to test it, so no. I'm not sure it will work, which is why I should go, not you. We can't risk your life."
"We also can't risk our past selves recognizing us. You haven't changed that much in twenty years; I have."
"Gohan, you have to remember," she said, looking him square in the eye, "I can't control exactly when or where it lands, so you may arrive before Goku."
"And…?"
"A year passed between the time we returned form Namek and the time he did. A lot can happen in a year…and I'm afraid that if you arrive first, they'll think you're Goku, considering how much you look like him.
Gohan glanced away, his brow creasing again. "I hadn't thought about that. I just figured they wouldn't recognize me as Gohan, but if they thought I was Dad…" He shook his head. "I'll just have to lay low until he arrives. Or hope he's already there."
"You don't have to go."
"It's still safer if I go. They'll believe me if I tell them I'm not my father, but you'd be stuck. We have to keep interference with the timeline to a minimum, and I doubt that even my seven-year-old self will identify a battle-scarred, one-armed, 26-year-old."
Bulma took a deep breath and nodded, then looked back up at the cockpit. "So, you want me to show you the controls?"
"Sure." Gohan levitated up to the top of the time machine, closely followed by Bulma on the lift platform she had devised. She hit a button, and the glass dome slowly opened. Gohan climbed inside and sat down, paying careful attention to each component the scientist pointed out.
"You use this keypad to program your destination. Be careful—one wrong number and you could end up thousands of years or millions of miles off-course. This thing doesn't have life support systems, so if you end up in space…well, let's just hope that doesn't happen."
Gohan nodded once, and typed in the coordinates. The computer responded with several beeps, and a map flashed onto the screen. A blinking red dot indicated his landing point, and the day, month, and year appeared in the upper right-hand corner. Bulma smiled.
"You're getting this a lot faster than I expected."
"Just because I never went to school, it doesn't mean I can't program electronics and machinery. Anyways, I'm a fast learner."
"Okay, then this shouldn't take long. Bulma continued to go over every control and technical aspect of her invention until Gohan could've piloted the thing in his sleep. After an hour of explanations and directions, he was ready to go.
Bulma slipped the small bottle of purple pills into the side pocket of Gohan's backpack and tossed him the bag. He caught it, flung it over his shoulder, and pulled the yellow capsule from his pocket. He hit the button and tossed it, and in a puff of smoke, the time machine reappeared on the lawn. He lifted off the ground and landed in the cockpit. Bulma called up to him from the ground.
"Remember, when you take off, you'll experience a few minutes of unconsciousness and then arrive in your chosen destination. Hypothetically, anyways. Be careful, Gohan!"
"Don't worry. I'll bring it back in one piece," he said with a smile.
"You'd better come back in one piece, or your mother will kill me."
Gohan laughed, closed the cockpit, and waved to her. He pulled the lever by his knee back, and the machine rose into the air. He double-checked the coordinates, smiled with satisfaction at Bulma's work, and hit the small blue button near the keypad. HOPE's fins rotated faster around the fuselage, and the time-travelling vehicle disappeared from view.
The blackness slowly faded from Gohan's vision, and he shook his head to rid himself of his dizziness. A high-pitched beep rang in his left ear, and he turned and glared at the green light.
"Yeah, I know, 'Destination Reached!' Go off, already!" He slammed his fist down on the button and the noise ceased. "Jeez, as if my hearing isn't damaged enough already…" he muttered, then looked around at his surroundings. He could sense a group of people to the north, but couldn't yet see them. He landed the time machine—albeit, not that gracefully—and re-capsulized it, then shoved the little yellow object in his pocket. He slapped his forehead as he realized that if he could sense their ki, they could probably sense his. He worked to suppress his energy as much as possible, and walked towards the large crater that had formed only moments before a few hundred yards away.
A disc-shaped ship sat at the base of the crater. Gohan hid himself behind the rocks and looked out across the span. Directly across from him, the small group landed and hid amongst the rocks as well. Considering he could no longer sense them, he knew they must have suppressed their ki as well.
The ship's door opened, and about a dozen armored men, all of various species, exited. Gohan's heart pounded; he knew what was coming, but the others didn't.
"Damn! What am I supposed to do? God, I wish Dad would hurry up!"
No sooner were his words spoken than a new ki appeared a short distance in front of him. He gasped—it was Goku.
He accidentally let out a soft chuckle at the sight of his father in such a ridiculous outfit. Goku's ear twitched at this sound, and he looked over his shoulder in Gohan's direction. Gohan clamped his hand over his mouth and ducked lower behind the rock.
Goku glared at the ship as two more figures exited. Both beings looked up at him, a completely unconcerned look on their faces.
"FRIEZA!!!!" Goku yelled as his hair spiked upward. He charged forward, his hands drawn back at his side. He let loose a massive ball of gold energy, taking out all of Frieza's minions.
He skidded to a halt three feet from the tyrant. "Don't you think you've caused enough pain and suffering? What use was there in coming here?"
Frieza laughed. "Why, to find you, of course. But it seems you found me first. Oh well."
Goku growled and powered up again in an explosion of golden light. He glared at Frieza with a look of cold hatred. "I realize now that you can never change. I was always taught that there was some good in everyone, but I was wrong."
King Cold laughed to himself. "For a little monkey in a funny outfit, you sure can talk big. Do you have any more tricks up your sleeve? That was quite the light show."
Goku smirked. "Yeah, here's one—" He put his hand against the unsuspecting king's chest and fired. King Cold slumped back against the side of the ship and fell forward, dead before he hit the ground. Goku looked at Frieza, who was staring at his father in shock. "Sorry, Frieza, but your old man shouldn't've underestimated the 'monkey'."
Frieza whirled on the Super Saiyan. "You!"
"Yeah? What about me?"
"You're just a monkey! I killed the rest of your people, including your father! He was the idiot that tried to stand up to me! He brought the destruction of the Saiyans!"
Goku raised one eyebrow. "Oh? Then let me be the one to right his wrongs by ridding the universe of you."
Gohan smirked. He had forgotten how his father could be while in battle. "Yeah, Dad, take him out," he said to himself. He knew the fight wouldn't last much longer—in his timeline, it had only taken Goku a few minutes to dispose of the monster.
Goku calmly drew his hands back to his side and formed a blue-white orb of energy.
"What are you doing? I can see how you're going to attack. I could just block it."
"Do you, though?" He dropped and spun, kicking Frieza's feet out from under him. Frieza hit the ground, and was immediately caught in the face with a massive Kamehameha. He screamed, then was silenced forever.
The Saiyan's hair fell into it's normal position and faded to black. He looked up at the cliff where Gohan was watching, but made no move. The other Z-Senshi spilled over the opposite ridge, cheering and waving. Goku turned and grinned. "Hey, guys!"
The seven-year-old Gohan dashed forward and wrapped his arms around his father's neck. "Daddy! You're home!"
"Ugh, Kakarot, what are you wearing?"
Goku looked up at his old rival. "Oh, hi, Vegeta. The people on Yardrat gave this to me. They were kind of strange, but real nice."
Vegeta snorted.
The sound of rocks tumbling into the crater caught everyone's attention, and they all looked up at the source of the noise.
Gohan slid carefully down the crater wall, catching his balance as he neared the bottom. He was reluctant to fly, for fear of the Z-Senshi identifying his ki signature. His heart caught in his throat a half a second as he looked at all of them; it had been a long sixteen years since they all had been murdered in his timeline.
"Son Goku!" he called. It felt awkward calling his father by name, but calling him 'Dad' would have defeated the purpose of his previous caution.
Goku stared at him a moment, curious as to how this stranger knew his name. The young Gohan looked on in curiosity as well—the man that had just called to his father seemed eerily familiar.
"Son Goku," he said again, approaching the group, "may I speak you?" He looked at his younger self, then at Piccolo, and in a hushed voice, added, "In private, if possible?"
Goku hesitated a moment, then nodded and followed Gohan a good thirty yards away. Gohan turned and looked into his father's eyes. Goku stared back with the same intensity, and said, "Who are you? How did you know my name?"
Something caught inside of Gohan. He expected this—his father not recognizing him—but for some reason, it still hurt. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. You're probably not going to believe me, but I'm from twenty years in the future."
"The future?"
"Yes. A friend of mine—a scientist—built a time machine. Not for amusement, for necessity. You see, in my timeline, there are two beings wreaking havoc on the Earth. The world's population is down to a dwindling twenty percent of what it was before they arrived, and almost everything has been destroyed."
"Who are they? Aliens?"
"No, Jinzouningen. The inventions of Dr. Gero, the genius behind the Red Ribbon Army. I know it's in your character to give people second chances, but I wish you'd killed him when you had the chance. They've been terrorizing my world for over sixteen years, and there's no one left to fight them."
Goku looked over his shoulder at the other Z-Senshi, then back at Gohan. "What about them? Me? What do you mean, 'there's no one left to fight them'?"
Gohan shook his head. "They were all killed. Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, Chaozu, even Piccolo and Vegeta…the Jinzouningen killed all of them."
"And me…? Did I die fighting, too?"
Gohan looked away. "No. You died of a heart virus six months before the Jinzouningen attacked. I was only ten…"Gohan caught himself and looked back up at Goku. "There's no cure now, but in my time, there is." He sat his backpack down and pulled out the vaccine. He handed it to Goku. "In three years, you'll contract the virus. If you take this when you get it, you should be okay. Da—er, Goku, you're the only hope. If you don't beat the Jinzouningen, they'll all die."
Goku looked at the bottle, then back at the Z-Senshi. "What about Gohan? You didn't say that he was killed." He looked Gohan in the eye, and Gohan flinched slightly. He hadn't been expecting that.
"I…he…no, he didn't die."
Goku smiled. "Of course he didn't. Otherwise, I'd be talking to a dead man right now, and you don't have a halo."
Gohan facefaulted. His mouth moved, but there were no words coming out. He just stared at Goku a minute, then managed to find his voice. "How…did…but…" he stuttered. Goku laughed.
"Don't look so surprised, Gohan. You're my son. Did you actually think I wouldn't recognize you?"
"I…I don't know…Dad, don't tell them."
"I won't. Gohan, do you know when the Jinzouningen will attack?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Three years, at ten a.m. on May 12th. They will be released on an island nine miles southwest of South City. I'll never forget that day…" He clenched his fist and looked over Goku's shoulder at Piccolo. He shook his head. "I can't let that happen again. Dad, if I'm still alive in three years, I'll come back and help you fight. Or maybe I'll just recharge the time machine and only travel back seventeen years next time."
Goku smiled and nodded, then looked down at Gohan's sleeve. "Son, if you don't mind my asking, what happened to your arm?"
"Three years ago. I…sort of ran out of senzu beans…" He glanced down at the limp sleeve as well. "I hope I did the right thing. For all the good it did…he died a month later…"
"Who?"
Gohan looked up. "What?" He hadn't really been paying attention to what he was saying.
"You just said, 'he died a month later.' Who?"
"Dammit," Gohan muttered, slapping his forehead.
"Gohan," Goku said in an almost scolding manner.
"Sorry. I can't tell you; if I did, he might not be born. You understand."
Goku nodded, looked at the bottle in his hand, and smiled at Gohan. "Try to stay alive, son."
Gohan smiled back. "I will." He picked up his backpack and flung it over his shoulder, then pulled the yellow capsule out of his pocket. "I'll see you in three years, Dad."
He tossed the capsule and boarded the freshly materialized time machine. HOPE lifted into the air, and disappeared. Goku let out a long sigh and turned to tell the other Z-Senshi of the future they now had to prevent from becoming reality.
*****
Okay, that was a fairly long chapter, and Gohan met Goku. YA HAPPY?!?!?
MG: Chill out. They're gonna think you're mad at them.
…nana…hachi…ku…ju…Okay, I'm better now. Except my wrist hurts. Aiee, school starts back Monday, so updates may not be coming in as frequent. But Gohan will end up meeting everyone else. *rubs palms together and grins menacingly* If you think I make Juunanagou sound mean, just wait. By the end of this fic, you'll probably hate Vegeta, too.
MG: It's not like he ever liked me much in the first place, so it can't be that bad.
*innocent smile* I love you, Gohan-sama.
MG: *gulp* Android 71! Sunshine! Someone, help me!!!