Ack! Okay, minna, I'm back! *clasps hands together and bows* Gomen nasai…I should've updated sooner…well, you all have shadowphoenix and saiyanessonsugarhigh (SSH) to thank. SSH has been badgering me to update, and when shadowphoenix told me to, I figured I was inspired enough to write a little. Thanks, guys! *hugs them both*
MG: Don't ramble too long. We have a ton of people to give feedback to.
Hai, I noticed…O_O; I feel loved. Well, as Go-chan said, there's a bunch of reviewers to say hi to, so I'll get on with it.
Android 71: *pokes at the review* Look at all the smileys! Speaking of taking too long to update, I can't wait for you to update 'Inner Voices, Darkening Shadows'!
MG: Dangit, why is it so hard to stay mad at you guys? *hugs her and puts the eraser away* There's nothing wrong with 'Gohannie'; I just prefer to be called 'Gohan'.
Frying Pan of DOOM: *blushes* Thanks for all the compliments…I feel so loved!
MG: Yeah! It's more fun when I'm the one doing the whipping! *sticks tongue out at Ani*
Knight's Shadow: *does Happy Hamster dance for no apparent reason*
DBZ Chick: Thanks!
Goten's Guardian Angel: Yup, another scar story. Get used to it; there's probably more to come.
MG: *slaps forehead* Not you too! Okay, I give up.
Vejita-Girl: Yeah, it's been a while since I've heard from you. Don't worry; Bulma and Baby Trunks are gonna meet Gohan in this chappie. Vegeta already met him, remember? ^^; It wasn't exactly a pleasant meeting either…
shadowphoenix: Yay! I'm keeping them in character! *does Happy Hamster dance again* I feel so loved…I think maybe there will be more father-son moments later on, if you're looking for a reaction like that…by the way, I really like your fic!
Silver Warrior: P Hamsters are NOT pure evil! Don't you watch 'Hamtaro'? ^^; Pathetic, ne? I'm 15 and I watch a kid's show…then again, so does my mom.^^;;;
MG: I have no comment.
sakura117us: Yup! Stuff!
Davifflaelan: O_O;; Uh…that wasn't very smart…I hope you didn't mean any of that.
MG: O_O;; I…uh…I'm not sure if I should be PO'd beyond belief or just really confused… and anyways, I'm not a wimp. I could probably kick your butt, regardless of whether I have both arms. P
MT: *pokes head in* Loan me to fangirls? O_O;; You're gonna have to catch me first. *runs like the dickens*
Chibi Lauryn: *pats her on the head* Don't think too hard. Thinking can be hazardous to anyone's health.
MG: *smirks* You should know.
*smirks* As should you.
Chris-Redfield26: *laughs and rolls eyes, then grins sadistically* Oh, Gohan-sama…
MG: *swipes Chris's sugar and hides it* Yes?
BONSAI! *pounces on him and puts a Santa hat on his head, then pulls on a red and green elf hat* See? I'm Santa's little helper! *huggles him possessively*
MG: -_-;;;;; I give…
Alc: That's why I made a site dedicated to him! Thanks!
Kakkabrat: Oi, everyone wants to know why Gohan got all dizzy! Don't worry, you'll see. Yay! You updated! *does Happy Hamster dance* Fight scenes are fun—
MG:—And you seem to especially enjoy it when I'm the one getting beat up. P
manda: Thanks!
SSH: We've already decided that the world is ending, so what else is new? Poor Maliki…you're so mean to him. And you're reading my mind because he's about to have another run-in with Veggie-chan.
Well, that's everybody. Oh, and thank to everyone that read my poem, too; I'm glad you liked it. Uh…disclaimer…yeah…what do you think? Oh yeah, and telepathy is written like this: /blah/ Got it? Well, on with the fic!
MG: Wow. I do believe that was the shortest A/N she's ever done. As she said, on with the fic…
*****
The duo landed lightly on the lawn behind Capsule Corps. Gohan looked up and smiled at the sight of the domed building completely undamaged. Chibi's feet had barely touched the ground before he was running towards the door. He knocked enthusiastically and waited for Bulma's voice to crackle over the intercom. "Who is it?" she said, and Chibi hit the button.
"It's me, Gohan. Can we come in?"
The door slid open in response, and Chibi went in, shortly followed by Gohan. Gohan looked around—other than the fact that the building was still in one piece, nothing had changed from his timeline. "Hey, Bulma," he called, "Where are you?"
"Coming," she yelled back as her footsteps echoed up the hall. "Is that you, Goku?" She rounded the corner and stopped, then smiled and continued wiping the grease from her hands. "I'm sorry, you sounded just like a friend of mine," she said as she extended her hand. Gohan smiled and took her hand, then gave the snickering Chibi a look that said, 'Be quiet. You'll give me away.' Chibi stopped laughing and smirked.
"Close enough. I'm Gohan."
Bulma froze and stared at him, then looked down at Chibi. She looked back up at Gohan, confused. "What do you mean, you're Gohan? He's Gohan!"
"Hey, you were the one that built the time machine. I'm him, only about 15 years older."
Bulma's expression morphed from one of confusion to surprise, then to a smile. "I built a time machine, huh? Wait, I remember you! You were the one that showed up right after Goku beat Frieza! Wow, that would explain the looks on Goku and Piccolo's faces…"
Gohan grinned. "I can only imagine Piccolo's surprise." His smile faded as he looked around again. "Hey, Vegeta isn't here is he?"
Bulma gave Gohan a questioning look, then nodded. "Yeah, actually, he is. Why? He stormed in earlier muttering something about a one-armed brat telling him what to do and went straight back to the gravity chamber. I haven't seen him since."
Gohan smirked, obviously pleased with something. "I ticked him off that bad, eh? Good."
"What do you mean?"
Chibi snickered again at Bulma's confusion and the satisfied grin on Gohan's face. "I'm the one-armed brat," Gohan said, then watched as the realization clicked in Bulma's eyes. She smiled at him.
"No wonder he's in such a bad mood." A loud wail echoed from the back of the building, and Bulma rolled her eyes. "That kid is more demanding than his father, I swear," she said to herself as she turned and headed back to the nursery. Chibi and Gohan looked at each other, shrugged, and followed.
The pair rounded the corner to find Bulma gently rocking Trunks's crib back and forth in a miserably failing attempt to quiet him. The cries grew louder, so she picked him up and rocked him in her arms instead. She began humming softly, then sang quietly to him. "Hush, little baby, don't say a word…" Gohan stared at her a moment. He remembered her singing that to her dead son the night the boy had died as he headed upstairs, and the memory was not a pleasant one. However, the sight of baby Trunks also brought memories of the first time he had met the purple-haired boy flooding back. A gentle smile spread across his face as the baby stopped crying and blinked up at Bulma.
"Mama!" Trunks yelled as he reached towards her face. Bulma laughed and kissed his forehead, then looked over at Chibi and Gohan. Trunks looked at the pair as well, then pointed and mumbled "Goa!"
"I think he's trying to say 'Gohan'," Bulma said as she walked over to them. Gohan and Chibi both grinned as Trunks wriggled halfway out of Bulma's arms and reached for them. Bulma looked down at Chibi. "Would you like to hold him?"
Chibi smiled and shook his head. "No thanks. Anyways, I think he would rather be held by him," he said, nodding to Gohan. Indeed, the baby was stretching as far as he could towards Gohan. Bulma smiled up at the 26-year-old.
"Do you want to, then?"
Gohan grinned. "I'd love to, but I don't know how well I can hold on to him. Last time I held a baby, I had both arms, and that was trouble enough."
Bulma laughed. "Believe me, I know what you mean. There are times I wish I were an octopus so I could keep everything under control. It's alright; you can still hold him. I trust you not to drop him." She handed Trunks to Gohan, and he carefully wrapped his arm around the baby's body. Gohan smiled, and Trunks laughed.
"Yeah, you're gonna grow up big and strong, just like your father. I just hope you don't start acting like him," Gohan said. Trunks cocked his sideways and stared at Gohan intently, a wide grin broke across his face as he spread his arms across Gohan's broad chest in an attempted hug. Gohan's smile widened as he gave Trunks a gentle squeeze. "I'm Gohan, Trunks."
Trunks blinked up at him. "Goa!" he yelled again, and Gohan laughed softly.
"That's right, 'Gohan'."
"WOMAN!!!" An angry voice echoed down the hall, accompanied by heavy footsteps. Bulma rolled her eyes.
"Does that man not know that people have names, or does he just not realize that's how you're supposed to address people?" she said, just loud enough for both boys to hear. They both stifled laughter. Bulma calmly walked over to the doorway, then proceeded to yell back at him. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"
Vegeta stormed up the hall and glared at her. "The damn chamber broke again." He glanced up over Bulma's shoulder, and his eyes widened slightly as he spotted Gohan, then narrowed again. "And what, pray tell, is he doing here?"
"Visiting, sweetheart," Bulma replied sarcastically. "And as for the chamber…" She reached up and grabbed him by the ear; Vegeta winced slightly, but quickly fixed his usual expression on his face as best he could. Bulma turned back to Gohan for half a second. "Gohan, can you please watch Trunks for a minute?"
Gohan nodded and tried hard not to laugh as Bulma proceeded to drag Vegeta down the hall and out of Trunks's earshot. Chibi cringed as Bulma began thoroughly chewing Vegeta out, and pushed the door to.
Trunks's lower lip quivered and tears welled up in his eyes. Gohan gently rocked him back and forth, and he briefly wondered if Bulma and Vegeta had always been like this in his timeline. He shook his head—he hated to think that all Trunks had ever known of the father he couldn't remember was fights with Bulma.
"I can't believe those two ever got married. I though Bulma would've ended up with Yamcha for sure," said Chibi as he walked back over to Gohan.
"I think everyone did. To be honest, I think that the only reason Vegeta got Bulma pregnant in the first place was so that someone would carry on the royal bloodline." Gohan rolled his eyes and smirked. "He couldn't stand the thought of the title going to a 'third-class half-breed' by default if he died."
"Why does he even bother? Dad's the only other full-blooded Saiyan, and he always refers to himself as an earthling."
Gohan didn't have a chance to respond; Trunks chose that moment to reach up and poke Gohan in the nose for no apparent reason. Gohan blinked in surprise, and Chibi laughed. "What was that for?" Gohan asked, giving Trunks a playful glare. Trunks simply laughed.
"I guess you looked like you needed to be poked or something," Chibi said with a shrug.
Gohan raised one eyebrow, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Uh-huh. And what makes you think that?" Chibi grinned innocently, then reached over and poked Gohan in the ribs. Gohan automatically flinched at the touch, then glared at Chibi. "Don't do that."
Chibi tried to look innocent. "Do what, dear brother?" He poked him again. "That?"
"You know, if my hand was free right now, you would be in big trouble."
"Hmmm…lucky for me, isn't it?" Chibi said with a grin. Gohan just glared at him a second, then turned away, muttering something along the lines of 'you just wait'.
He stood over the crib a moment, smiling at Trunks. "…and when you get big, you're gonna give him a hard time, just like you always did to me, right?" Trunks laughed, then paused a moment as if he had just remembered something and let out a huge yawn. He blinked sleepily and mumbled something in baby talk, then stuck his thumb in his mouth.
Chibi walked over and looked at the baby a minute, then looked up at Gohan, who smiled back down at him. "Here, would you put him in his crib for me?" Gohan asked, offering Trunks to Chibi. Chibi unsteadily took him.
"Can't you…?" he asked, almost desperately.
"Nah, I'd drop him. I couldn't get a good enough grip on him." He chuckled softly, noting how uncomfortable his younger self looked with holding a baby. "Oh, come on. It's not that bad, is it?"
"No, it's just…I've never held him before…I've never held any baby before…" A small smile crept across his face, and he hesitated a moment before gently laying Trunks in the crib and pulling a blanked over him. Gohan smiled, first at the sleeping baby, then at Chibi.
"Shall we be heading back, or do you even want to risk trying to slip past Bulma and Vegeta?" Gohan asked, glancing sideways at the door. Chibi let out a long sigh, then shook his head. They both looked up as the door opened, revealing a strangely calm-looking Bulma and a somewhat miffed-looking Vegeta, who was standing against the wall opposite the door with his arms folded, looking off to one side.
"Thank you for watching Trunks for me," Bulma said, her voice thick with the syrupy sweetness of forced politeness. Clearly, she was still angry with Vegeta, but refused to take it out on the boys. "Where is he? Did he finally go back to sleep?" She asked, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. Gohan nodded. A quiet, buzzing noise reached their ears, and Bulma reached into her pocket, producing a cell phone. "Hello?…oh, hi, Chichi!…what?…no way! Oh, dear…mm-hmm…yes…oh, sure. No problem. Is that all?…alright, bye, then. I hope Goku gets to feeling better." She slipped the phone back into her pocket, then smiled at Chibi and Gohan. "That was your mother. She can't cook dinner tonight because of Goku, so it looks like you two are eating here." She looked over her shoulder at Vegeta, her voice regaining that syrupy tone as she spoke to him. "Is that alright with you, dear? Surely you won't mind them staying just a little while."
Vegeta hardly glanced at her. "Feh," came his only reply before he turned and walked on down the hall. Bulma rolled her eyes.
"Ignore him," she said.
"I try," Gohan replied. Chibi nodded.
Bulma smiled, then checked Trunks one more time before walking out into the hall. "Well? Aren't you coming?" she asked, looking at Gohan and Chibi. They smiled at each other and followed.
Gohan and Chibi seated themselves at the table across from Vegeta, who regarded them with his usual, cold glare before resuming the task of staring grudgingly at the wall. Bulma busied herself about the kitchen, gathering ingredients and such. "Gohan, why—oh, wait, how am I supposed to distinguish you?" she asked, pausing her activities momentarily.
Gohan pointed at his counterpart. "We've been calling him Chibi, so you can just call me Gohan."
Vegeta snorted. "What difference does it make? I'll call you both 'brat' and expect you to answer."
Gohan rolled his eyes. "I could've guessed that. Anyways, what were you about to say, Bulma?"
"Hm? Oh, I was just going to ask why you didn't tell me your father was sick. How bad is he?" She half-watched Gohan as she pulled a pot from the cabinet.
Gohan sighed. "I'm not sure. He just came down with it today. I didn't mention it because honestly, we were trying to get it off of our minds."
"Oh, I'm sorry, then."
"No, it's okay. I just hope that medicine works quickly. We can't risk him still being sick when the Jinzouningen arrive. It doesn't make any sense…" he said, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his temple. "He should've come down with that virus nine months ago. So why is it just now happening?"
Bulma stirred the pot as its contents stopped boiling. "Maybe your arrival your arrival caused a temporal disturbance in the time-space continuum. Think about it—there were a lot of variances between this timeline and yours just because of your initial arrival."
Gohan nodded, a look of deep thought on his face. "True; for one, Piccolo merged with Kami. That never happened in my timeline. So basically, you're saying that things we haven't even noticed yet could've been altered, right?"
"Yes. You may have even changed it enough that the Jinzouningen won't be released." She turned back to the table and sat bowls of soup in front of Chibi and Gohan. Gohan nodded slowly at this thought, then sighed again.
"I strongly doubt it. I may have even done just the opposite—they may be stronger, or there may be more of them. Itadakimasu." He ate at a fairly human pace, musing over this and occasionally glancing up at the ravenous Chibi or Vegeta. He found it almost amusing to see Vegeta devouring his dinner in the exact same manner as Goku. He shook his head as Bulma sat down. "But if that's the case, then what point was there in my coming back at all?" Vegeta glanced at Gohan and muttered something in his general direction. Gohan lowered his spoon. "I'm sorry, Vegeta, would you care to repeat that?"
"No. Had you been listening, you would have heard. Are you part deaf or something?"
Gohan glared at Vegeta. "Yes, actually, I'm about half-deaf in my left ear. Now, would you care to repeat that?"
Vegeta snorted at him. "I was simply trying to decide if it's genetic."
Gohan raised one eyebrow. "If what's genetic?"
"Not having the capacity to use your brain, or at least to think things through. After all, Kakarot is just like that."
"No, I don't think it is. Last I checked, I'm not related to you, so it can't be genes." He smirked, as did Chibi, though latter did so somewhat more subtly. Vegeta growled at Gohan, then went back to eating. Chibi looked sideways at Gohan, then spoke quietly enough so that Vegeta couldn't hear.
"Your hearing isn't really that bad, is it?"
Gohan glanced at him. "Nah; it is damaged, just not quite so much."
"So you heard him the first time?"
Gohan smirked again and went back to eating. Chibi grinned and did the same. The rest of their dinner was fairly quiet—well, as quiet as it could get with the way Vegeta was eating.
Chibi ran out the door, waving to Bulma. "Thanks for dinner! It was great!" he yelled as he lifted into the air and took off. Gohan stepped out the door, then smiled at Bulma.
"Gohan," she said, "I'm glad you stopped by. It was nice meeting you. I hope your father gets well soon."
"Me too. I'd better hurry if I want any chance of catching up with Chibi." He turned and lifted into the air.
"Wait—I have one question." She smiled in an odd sort of way. "Trunks isn't going to grow up looking like his father, is he?"
Gohan laughed. "No, don't worry. Had a few more years passed, I probably would've been beating the girls off of him."
Bulma smiled. "I'm not sure if that's comforting or not. Take care, Gohan!" She waved to him, and he nodded and took off after Chibi.
Hey, little bro, wait up!" Gohan yelled as he caught up to Chibi. He ran up alongside him and dropped out of Super Saiyan. Chibi raised one eyebrow. "I had to transform to catch up with you. You got too far ahead of me." Chibi mouthed and 'oh', then smiled.
"Sorry, I'm just anxious to get home. If you'd yelled at me to wait when I left, I would've stopped."
"No, you wouldn't've. You probably wouldn't have been able to hear me. Even if you had, you'd've ignored me."
Chibi shrugged. "Maybe. Are we going to head up the lookout to retrieve your jacket?"
Gohan shrugged as well. "Sure, why not? We've got some time to—" He was cut off be a huge explosion on the horizon just north of West Capitol. He came to an immediate halt in mid-air, instinct and habitual reaction causing him to turn Super as he stopped. "What the hell?" he muttered as he took off towards the glow. Chibi reached out to stop him, intending to grab his wrist, but catching nothing but his empty sleeve. The shoulder seam ripped slightly before Gohan realized Chibi had a hold of him, and he stopped and looked at him. "What?"
"Where are you going? Shouldn't we get some help first? It could be the Jinzouningen!"
Gohan nodded. "That's why I'm going. I've never run from a situation where innocent people are involved, and I don't intend to start now. Let go." Chibi dropped the sleeve. "Now, head on home."
"But why? I can help you!"
"No. I don't want you getting hurt. I can take care of this myself. It may not even be them."
"True, but what if it is? You're the one that'll get hurt—or worse—if you go alone! Let me go with you!"
"No! I can't!"
"Please!"
Gohan clenched his fist and snapped back at Chibi. "I've told you twice, I will not let you come! I don't care how tough you think you are, it's not enough, Trunks!"
Chibi froze and stared at Gohan, hesitating a moment before speaking. "You…you just called me 'Trunks'…"
Gohan blinked in confusion, then shook his head and turned away. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. It's just…I guess it just sort of slipped out…you sounded so much like him."
Chibi glided over to him and looked up at him. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly. Gohan glanced at him, then let out a heavy, almost frustrated-sounding sigh.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He gave Chibi a small smile. "Fine, you can come. But if I tell you the get out of there, you'd better fly like hell's on your heels, got it? Because if you don't, it will be, and it won't be in to form of any Jinzouningen." Chibi nodded and smiled, then followed on Gohan's tail as his future self dashed towards the source of the explosion.
As he was flying, Gohan opened a mental link to Piccolo. /Hey, Piccolo-san, can you hear me?/ He waited a moment for the gruff reply.
/Yeah, kid. Don't worry, I'm on my way./
Gohan smiled, though his expression was a dark one. He was sure that whatever they were about to find would not be a pleasant encounter, be it the Jinzouningen or not.
*****
Okay, that's another chappie! I know it's not anything spectacular, but I had to force myself to write even that much, so I hope it's decent. Anybody want to take a crack at who they're going to find? Yeah, it wasn't much of a cliffy, but I'll tell you this—I've got a pretty good guess as to what most of you are thinking, and the answer is no. It's probably not who you think, unless you think like me.
MG: In order to think like you they would have to not think at all.
Then you and I must be on equal wavelengths, right?
MG: Shut up.
Well, I'll try and get the next chappie out faster, and I'll try to make it longer. I tend to get carried away with battles, so that shouldn't be a problem…well, ja ne, minna!