Goku's feet were stiffly placed into the soft soil that had been recently disturbed by his daughter's fight with his younger self. He could tell that it had been a forceful fight for, just by him stepping in it without much weight, caused them to dig deep into the dirt. He kept his face forward and eyes on his daughter. He immediately took notice in the power differences in all of the girls. Including Ami. He wondered how long she had been training for. But for some reason, she was not the only change that had taken place. Even the other three had a substantially high powerlevels. Something big must have just gone down. It was obvious by the amount of land damage there was.
He quickly shook his thoughts away and walked at a rather fast pace to meet up with his daughter. Her power had grown immensely. She was over a half step higher in power then his Super Saiyan level one. Her muscle mass hadn't grown much either. He didn't quite understand that. Though it still amazed him. His daughter was on the road to becoming stronger then him. There were no words to explain how proud of her he was at that moment. But that was to be thought of later. Now was the time to try to save her from her own power. It was eating away at her and would consume her if nothing were done. Still, he wondered how this could have happened. What possibly could have upset her THAT much?
~*~*~
Rei bowed her head and closed her eyes. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't trust anyone anymore. She could only trust her friends and Mamoru. No one in this time seemed to understand them. Usagi was in grave danger and there was no way to stop it. No way that they knew of, at least. 'Why did this have to happen? Why didn't I say anything when they came to the temple to get me? I should have told them that it was too dangerous.'
She opened her eyes and looked down to Usagi. Her power was fluctuating. One moment it would be rising, and then another moment it would dissipate. But when it did drop, it never dropped enough to really do any good. She glanced over to Goku to let him know that she didn't appreciate what he had done. She figured that he didn't even care. She turned her direction to look at Makoto, who was holding Usagi's hand.
Makoto looked down at Usagi. She took numerous amounts of gasps and barely got any air in her lungs at all. Her power was feeding off of her life energy. If it kept up, Usagi would die. Then they would have to use the Dragon Balls to resurrect her. If they would let them, that is. She didn't know if this would be considered of natural causes or what. "Hang in there Usagi. Come on, calm down. We can get through this. Please. Your dad loves you in his own messed up way."
~*~*~
Gohan shot his head in the direction of a new powerlevel. It was very familiar, yet, at the same time, very foreign to him. 'Who is that?' He squinted to get a better look. He gasped when he could finally make out who it was. It was a man who looked an awfully lot like his father. He slowly approached HIS father and poked his back. "Dad, look. Who is that?"
Goku looked down to his son and then what he was pointing at. "Huh? That looks like me. But how? And who? Gohan, I know you want to know what's going on, but stay here." He started to walk in the direction of the mysterious man who was nearing his daughter.
~*~*~
Minako let go of Usagi's head and stood up. She was the first to feel Goku's energy. "Look you guys." She pointed to the Goku she knew best. "It's OUR Goku. How did he get here?"
Ami turned her head and could have cried. "It is. He really IS here."
Rei and Makoto stood up to meet Goku when he arrived at their location. Rei watched as her friends backed away. She did not though. She wouldn't. She didn't know if he could be trusted. He was, after all, the same Goku in which had just attacked them. He was the one who had made Usagi transform. Even if it wasn't exactly HE who did it, it was still his younger version. They were totally alike, thinking wise. "Don't come any closer, Goku." She wasn't about to let him harm her. She knew that he was angry with her. She knew how he could easily bet her up without a thought. She had just witnessed it. He would have to prove himself in order to get near her.
Goku stopped. He gave Rei a puzzled look. She had never spoken to him with that tone a voice before. She wasn't normally one to be disrespectful. "What are you talking about Rei. Please move."
Rei held her ground. "What is your purpose of being here? If it's to hurt Usagi for leaving then…"
"Whoa. Hold on there. I'm not here to hurt her. I could never do that. I'm here to help her, before it's too late. I was brought here by the guardian of time." He looked to his right at the younger version of himself, and his son. They both looking dazed and confused. He would have to explain to them after he helped his daughter. Then, he would demand some answers as to what had happened. What had made Usagi transform before she was ready?
~*~*~
Piccolo, Mamoru, and Krillin arrived on the scene together. They had been in the middle of a spar when they felt a sudden burst of Usagi's power. Mamoru had an idea of what it was for he was the one who had told Goku what to do. He was well aware of Goku's plan. Piccolo was sure he knew what it was, too. Krillin, on the other hand, was totally clueless. "What? Usagi's power is much bigger then Goku's power even. And who is that over there by the girls? Is that…another Goku?"
Mamoru smiled. Usagi would finally get her wish to see her father. He felt sorry that she was in such pain from not seeing him. But, his sudden appearance did interest him. "That's the Goku from the future. That's Usagi's real father."
"You can feel his power. It has a lot more of a potential then the Goku of this time." Piccolo wanted to know how Goku could have become so powerful. He was already a Super Saiyan. What could have possibly been beyond that?
~*~*~
Goku waited for Rei to move out of the way. He sensed her severe anger. He wondered what could have been generating it. "Please Rei." 'Why isn't she letting me get near her?'
Rei looked down at her suffering friend. She couldn't let her go on like that anymore. Goku appeared to be there to help her. She looked up to Goku. "Fine." She stepped to the side, by her friends, and looked on to Usagi. She would make sure to watch very carefully.
Goku smiled as he looked down to his daughter's mangled body. What he saw frightened him. She couldn't breathe, her life energy was being used to keep her powerlevel high. Too high for such a small girl. She wasn't ready for this kind of power. Usagi was different then any other Saiyan that he had ever met. He had to be careful around her for if he did not, something like this would happen.
He sat down on the ground and pulled her head up to his lap. "Usagi…" He pushed away some of her hair that strung over her face to reveal her fresh wounds. "I'm here now."
Usagi barely opened her eyes just enough to see her father. She didn't notice any difference between her father of the future, and her father of the past, therefore, she still thought that this was the man who had just caused her pain. "Get away from me! Go away! Ohhh…" An acute pain gushed through her head.
Goku didn't know what to think. She had never told him to get away before. She had always wanted him near when something was wrong. "What's wrong Usagi? Don't you know who I am? It's me, daddy."
She opened her eyes more and finally noticed the change in cloths. "Huh? Daddy?"
Goku nodded. "Yes. It's me. I've missed you sweetheart." Goku would go about calming her down the best way he knew. He would try to talk to her and not let on that he was, in fact, trying to calm her down. She may not have calmed down after that. He rubbed his hand around her un-wounded cheek.
Usagi closed her eyes to the warm touch of her father's hand. It felt so familiar, yet, so far away. She knew what he was capable of now. She knew that if she didn't live up to his expectations that he would attack her again. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Her eyes bolted open. "Am I dead? Is this a dream?"
Goku could feel her powerlevel rising. He had to keep her from getting even more excited. "No, this is all very real. I'm really here for you. Everything is going to be ok now." He hated to see her like this. This was nearly as bad the time he had found her lying in the middle of the parking lot. Only this was worse. Her life was on the line this time. Every second that he did not calm her down took just that much more of her life energy away from her. "Have you learned anything new while your time here? I'm curious to here about what you've done." She closed her eyes again. The pain was too much to handle. Every inch of her body ached.
Rei, Minako, Makoto, and Ami held hands as they hoped for their friend's safety. They had never seen her like this before. They had never seen her in this much pain. But what really got them was her energy. It was amazing. Minako could have cried at that moment. She didn't want Usagi to be like this. It pained her to see her like this. It reminded her so much of the time they had first met Makoto. Seeing her on the ground with Goku, crying and all. It was horrible. 'Usagi, please, calm down. You can't leave us. You're the first friend I've really ever had.'
Usagi took a deep breath. It was hard to even talk. "I don't know. I've missed you a lot. The guardian of time won't let us go home. I wanted to go home so badly daddy. I wanted to see you and mamma again. But I couldn't. I…I…I…" She grabbed her head. Her eyes swelled up with tears.
Goku cringed. It was almost as if he could feel her pain within his own body. Seeing her in this kind of trauma did cause him his own pain, though. It was a pain that could only be cured by one thing. The well being of his daughter. And he just realized that he shouldn't talk about what she had done in the past. He should probably talk about happy times. "Hey, don't worry about it kiddo. Remember what I always tell you? Everything works out in the end. And, everything did. You got your wish. I'm here. So let's wipe those tears away."
She smiled. He was right about that. "Will you promise to stay with me?"
Goku hesitated to answer. He couldn't promise that. The guardian of time had only granted him the time to stay for one day. But there was one other alternative. "I'll promise to stay as long as I can."
That was good enough for her. She wouldn't have to put up with the younger version of her father. She wouldn't have to listen to him telling her how weak she was. Though, she did prove that she was good enough to be his daughter. She could feel her muscles beginning to relax. "Daddy, if I wasn't able to become as strong as my potential…would you still love me?"
Goku blinked with confusion. Now, what would bring a question like that up? "Of course. I will always love you. Don't forget that ok? I don't care how strong you are. The only thing I care about is that you try your best and have fun while you're doing it."
He would never know how happy those words had made her. But, that was one thing that wasn't happening. Yes, she had tried her best, but she was experiencing everything from it but pleasure. But, she believed him that he didn't care how strong she was. Maybe she was nuts. For some reason, she could feel that he was sincere. "Daddy, my body hurts, and I feel really weak."
Finally, he had gotten her to a position in which she was comfortable. He was making some progress. "I know Usagi. This power is too much for you. If you relax, the pain will go away."
~*~*~
'How does he do it? He seems to have a way with kids. Especially this one. It's amazing. He seems to connect more with her than Gohan. I know they love each other, but gees, they never show it like these two do. It's amazing. I don't think I've once heard Goku say that he loves Gohan like he just told that kid." Piccolo looked over to Mamoru. They never really exchanged those words at all. It was understood that they cared for one another with words.
Krillin was pretty impressed too. Though he couldn't hear what either of the two Saiyans were saying, he pretty much got the gist of what was happening. "Look at him you guys. Goku is acting more…"
"Mature?" Mamoru, much like the other children, had heard many stories form Bulma and his father about Goku's old adventures. He had also heard, many times, about how mature he was being.
"Exactly. It doesn't fit him. He needs to be carefree. You know…"
"I know, but I don't think he could be carefree with Odango. In the two and a half years in which I have known her, I've noticed that Goku is very protective of her. Hell, he once punched me because I nearly started a fight with her."
"Wow. I guess he is. It's not like Goku to just go and hit someone because they make him mad."
"Lemme give you a bit of advice. If you ever want to mess with Odango, you had better be prepared to deal with her father. Even if he knows that she can take the beating or whatever, he will step in. Like that fight with me, she could have easily taken the beating that I could have given her. Though, before I nearly killed her. But still, she could have handled it. Oh and the joy it will be to watch what happens when he finds out who did this to his little Odango."
Krillin looked to Mamoru. He hadn't known who did this. He felt Goku power up to his fullest extent and then boom, Usagi had surpassed him. "Who did this?"
"Your very own Goku did this. He wanted to bring out her power."
Krillin couldn't believe that. He wouldn't believe that. He would never stoop so low as to doing something like that. "And how do you know this?"
Mamoru grinned. He was quite proud of his idea. "He came to me one day and asked me how to get her power out. You know, I'm the one that did it the first day that we were here. So I told him. You just have to make her good and mad. Or in this case, really upset. Well, it worked."
~*~*~
Gohan ran up from behind his father. He knew that he was told to stay, but he couldn't stand it any longer. It was unbearable. He wanted to know what was going on. "Dad, can't we go over there?"
Goku looked down to his son and shook his head. "No. This is for them to work out. I don't think she wants either of us over there anyways."
Gohan grinned. "Or maybe you're just scared that she'll beat you up."
"Yeah. No kidding."
~*~*~
Usagi's power was rapidly dropping. Goku had finally been able to get through to her that she should relax herself. She had been reluctant to at first. She didn't tell him why. But she had her reasons. She was afraid that if she did, the younger version of her father would attack her. But she had convinced herself that if he did, her real father would protect her like he always did. She felt safe with him now. The fear of him had disappeared. He was the same old man whom she had grown to love in her life. "Daddy, thank you."
Goku watched as his daughter's aura dissipate into the air as her hair began to fade into its normal color. "Good girl." He looked down to her tail. It had also returned to its normal color. Her power level was returning to normal as she calmed down. He could feel her tenseness going away. He sighed in relief. He had done his job. Now, he just needed to teach her how to use that power without it consuming her. That wouldn't be an easy job. He didn't know any way that he could do it unless he used his alternative.
Usagi scooted herself further up to lean her head into his stomach. For the first time since he had returned, she felt completely comfortable. Her pain had disappeared just like he had said it would. "I'm tired now."
Ami walked back to the Saiyan duo and knelt down in front of Usagi. "You should be after what you just went through." She began to look at her wounds. Nothing appeared to be broken as none of her appendages were bruising. But that didn't mean that her ribs were not broken. She would need medical attention before the day was out. But she figured that she would want to spend some time with her father first. She looked up at Goku. "You came just in time."
Goku smiled. And it was all with the help of the guardian of time. "Would somebody please explain to me what's going on here? What happened that made Usagi burst out like this? She's only blown up like this once, and that was with good cause. But even then, it wasn't to this extent."
Minako and Makoto looked at each other. They knew exactly what would happen if Goku were to find out what had actually just taken place. They had seen how he got when Mamoru was messing with her. He wasn't even as bad as what the past Goku had just done. Makoto decided that she would step up and tell him. He had a right to know. Plus, Usagi would have told them in they refused to. "Usagi got upset because for the past ten days, you and Gohan have been treating her like dirt. We don't know why. All of a sudden they acted out at her. And then today, you challenged her and pretty much beat her up. Then you beat us up when Usagi was down for the count because we didn't want you to hurt her anymore."
"This was after you turned Super Saiyan, mind you."
Goku looked down at Ami. "What? Super Saiyan? You guys can't defend against that? What was he thinking?" At that point, he didn't consider himself to be the Goku who was standing not too far from him current position. He knew that Usagi must have already felt awful with him and her brother treating her so horribly. But to beat her friends too? That was pushing it. He looked down to his daughter. "Is this true?"
Usagi nodded. "Yes." It was still very painful for her. But, it really didn't matter. He wasn't her real father anyways. He was just someone from the past. He must have changed somewhere along the way. "He said that he wanted to see if I was worthy of being called your daughter. Then, he beat me up, just like Ami said. He grabbed my tail and swung me around. It REALLY hurt. Then, after Makoto, Rei, and Minako were hit to the ground, he fired his biggest Ki blast at me. I wasn't able to block it and I got scared. I didn't know what to do. I froze. I know I could have done the teleportation, but I couldn't. I know I should have, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Everyone gets scared sometimes. You had justifications."
Usagi smiled. He always knew just the right thing to say. "Then something happened. I got real mad. I was mad that he was treating me like this. I didn't know what I did. He never said I did anything wrong. Gohan acted that way too. He was mean. So was Piccolo. I was mad that he beat me up for no reason. I was mad that he beat up my friends. And then my head hurt and I guess I snapped and then I got a lot of power and the Kamehameha was going towards you instead of me. The only think I remember after that is seeing my hair color and tail color change to silver. Why?"
"Usagi, you do realize that you went Super Saiyan right?" Goku looked to Minako and Makoto. They had only disappeared a few hours before. "Glad to see you two are all right." He had a hunch that somehow they had been taken to the past. Where else could they have gone?
Minako giggled. She wished that she could have seen their faces after they had left. "Yeah, we're fine. Usagi wished us here with the Dragon Balls."
"Ahhh." He looked past the girls onto his younger version and frowned. 'I don't care if he is me. He shouldn't have treated MY girl like that. It was too much for her to handle. Kiro specifically said that she has pure innocence. Her energy is not capable of holding the capacity of hate energy. Or even energy created by anger. That's why I was letting her reach it on her own. She was making such good progress. Now he had to go and ruin it. I really was an idiot when I was younger.' "Right. You four take care of Usagi while I go pay my respects to myself." He gently picked Usagi up off of his lap and let himself slide out from underneath her, placing her back onto the ground. "I'll be back soon." He slowly began walking towards himself. It was weird for him. He would have to give himself a lesson in raising children.
Ok for my own sanity, I'm going to write F. Goku for Future Goku, and P. Goku, for past Goku. Sound good?
P. Goku crossed his arms as he watched himself approaching. "Gohan this could get kind of heated. I think they told him about what happened."
F. Goku stopped just in front of his past self, and son. Seeing Gohan like that sure did bring back memories. He hadn't seen him like that in about thirty years. "Strange." He still couldn't forgive himself for staying dead when he very well had the chance to be wished back. He had missed so much of his boys' lives.
Gohan gave his future father a confused look. "What's strange?" He knew that it was directed towards him.
"Seeing you so…well…young. I haven't seen you as a kid for sometime now. Brings back great memories." He directed his attention to the boy's father, who stood in front of him. "I need to talk to you about what just happened."
"Hey, look. I know what you're going to say. And, while I know it was harsh, it did her good. I just didn't think that she would react so poorly to it. But you seemed to have fixed that problem so all is well." He got his normal goofy smile on his face as he put his hands behind his head.
"No you don't know what I'm going to say! You don't just take someone like Usagi and do something like that to her? Were you not thinking? Wait, I should be able to answer that question. No. You were, in fact, not thinking. You know how I know that? I used to be you. Now I see what everyone has been talking about. I have matured. You still have a lot to learn. Usagi is not just someone that you can do that to. She is so much more sensitive. Even I have to be careful about what I do to her. Any one false move and she'll think I hate her. As it was, she was resisting my comfort back there. So don't you ever think that you know what I'm going to say."
"Wait a minute. Don't go thinking that you can tell me I don't know what I'm doing. That's pretty much what you're saying. I took the consequences into consideration. I knew it would hurt her, but she will forgive me. Mamoru said she would."
F. Goku's eyes widened. "You consulted Mamoru?! No wonder why you did it. That boy is so full of crap most of the time that you can't trust anything he says.!" He couldn't believe that he could have been that naïve at any point in his life. But he was and thank god he wasn't anymore. "I don't want you to ever train her like that again. That power was too great for her body to handle anyways."
"With all due respect father," Gohan butted in, "Usagi should have been able to hold that power. We talked about it before hand and decided that we should do it. You know. Just to get her power to show so when we fight the androids..."
F. Goku looked down to Gohan. "And you. I would have expected much more from you." His family was probably one of the only things that could get him riled up this way. Most of the time, he would let things slide, but this was just too big. They had put HIS daughter's life on the line. He wouldn't stand for it. He would have to have a talk with Piccolo when he got back to the future about Mamoru's behavior.
Gohan shut his mouth. That was the first time his father had ever scolded him like that. Except the time he was on Namek, but that was a different story. He looked up to his own father. He didn't seem to have any feeling what so ever about this situation. He, himself, was beginning to feel bad about what he had done. "Sorry."
"Look, when you get to know Usagi a little better…" 'Which I hope you don't until she is born here. I want her home as soon as possible.' "You will understand how fragile she is. I didn't really find this out until I first trained her."
P. Goku sighed. He still didn't see a problem with what had happened. "I know what I'm doing. You know that I know what I'm doing. You went through this too."
F. Goku got closer to his younger self. He wanted to make sure that nothing like this would ever happen again. "You may know what you're doing, but you keep your ideas to yourself. Don't be trying anything with my daughter. Got that? You don't know how she works. You won't understand until you get older. I don't want her coming home beaten to a bloody pulp. If she does, I will cut a deal with the guardian of time and come back here. She seems to look out for Usagi's safety anyways. That's why I'm here. Then you and I will have a little chat."
P. Goku was stunned. He had never threatened anyone before. He was acting a lot like…a responsible parent. Kind of like Chi-Chi when she was in a really good mood. Of course, he did just beat the crap out of the man's daughter. "I just wanted to bring out her power."
"Well don't you do it with making her hate or be scared. Now I have to go and fix the problem with teaching her how to use her power." Without further conversation, he turned around and began walking back to the girls. He was dead serious about his threat to his younger self. He didn't care who it was, no one inflicted pain on his daughter. He vowed to himself the day she was born that he would always be there for her and he planned on sticking to that. If that meant kicking his own ass, then so be it. But he was sure that wouldn't happen. He knew himself pretty well and knew that when someone told him not to do something, he did his best to not do it. But, just in case, he would be on the lookout.
~*~*~
Piccolo once again could not believe his ears. "What happened to him?"
Krillin had only watched what just happened. It didn't look too interesting. There were just two Gokus talking together. When you're best friends, with a Saiyan, you come to expect things like that. "What happened Piccolo? What did he say?"
"Pretty much that he'd find a way to return to the past and kick our Goku's ass if he tired anything else with Usagi."
Mamoru snickered. "Kind of like when he punched me when I nearly hit her. See, I told you he's protective of her. I think it's a father thing. I over heard Gohan talking about it one day. He…whoa, a little too much info on the future thing here."
That caught Krillin's attention. "What was that? Something about Gohan and talking about being a father of a girl? Tell us Mamoru. Does Gohan have a girl for a child when he gets older?"
Mamoru shook his head. "I can't say."
"I'm guessing that's a yes."
~*~*~
As F. Goku walked back to his daughter, he watched as her friends talked to her. They were always there for her when she needed them most. She was very lucky to have them all. Yes, she had to wait to build their group, but it was well worth it. They were true friends. None of those girls would ever betray each other. They were friends for life whether they liked it or not. There was a special bond that held them together. Another mysterious thing about all five of them. But he was happy for her.
He stopped in front of the group and looked down at them. They were all talking about what had happened. Usagi still looked rather weak. There was no way that he could train her to use her power in her current condition. He needed more time. "Usagi, come with me. We need to talk."
Usagi groaned. She knew what this was about. It was time to stand up and face the music for what she had done. She just hoped that he wouldn't be too hard on her. "Ok." She stood up and walked to her father.
Goku put his arm around her shoulder and looked to her friends. "You guys go on and do what you want. We'll be back in a while. Be ready to train when we get back though." They nodded in compliance as he looked down at Usagi. "Let's go."
(Ok, that's it for this part. What do you think? Was it good or bad? Please tell me. It would be appreciated, as it always is. Thanks.)
He quickly shook his thoughts away and walked at a rather fast pace to meet up with his daughter. Her power had grown immensely. She was over a half step higher in power then his Super Saiyan level one. Her muscle mass hadn't grown much either. He didn't quite understand that. Though it still amazed him. His daughter was on the road to becoming stronger then him. There were no words to explain how proud of her he was at that moment. But that was to be thought of later. Now was the time to try to save her from her own power. It was eating away at her and would consume her if nothing were done. Still, he wondered how this could have happened. What possibly could have upset her THAT much?
~*~*~
Rei bowed her head and closed her eyes. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't trust anyone anymore. She could only trust her friends and Mamoru. No one in this time seemed to understand them. Usagi was in grave danger and there was no way to stop it. No way that they knew of, at least. 'Why did this have to happen? Why didn't I say anything when they came to the temple to get me? I should have told them that it was too dangerous.'
She opened her eyes and looked down to Usagi. Her power was fluctuating. One moment it would be rising, and then another moment it would dissipate. But when it did drop, it never dropped enough to really do any good. She glanced over to Goku to let him know that she didn't appreciate what he had done. She figured that he didn't even care. She turned her direction to look at Makoto, who was holding Usagi's hand.
Makoto looked down at Usagi. She took numerous amounts of gasps and barely got any air in her lungs at all. Her power was feeding off of her life energy. If it kept up, Usagi would die. Then they would have to use the Dragon Balls to resurrect her. If they would let them, that is. She didn't know if this would be considered of natural causes or what. "Hang in there Usagi. Come on, calm down. We can get through this. Please. Your dad loves you in his own messed up way."
~*~*~
Gohan shot his head in the direction of a new powerlevel. It was very familiar, yet, at the same time, very foreign to him. 'Who is that?' He squinted to get a better look. He gasped when he could finally make out who it was. It was a man who looked an awfully lot like his father. He slowly approached HIS father and poked his back. "Dad, look. Who is that?"
Goku looked down to his son and then what he was pointing at. "Huh? That looks like me. But how? And who? Gohan, I know you want to know what's going on, but stay here." He started to walk in the direction of the mysterious man who was nearing his daughter.
~*~*~
Minako let go of Usagi's head and stood up. She was the first to feel Goku's energy. "Look you guys." She pointed to the Goku she knew best. "It's OUR Goku. How did he get here?"
Ami turned her head and could have cried. "It is. He really IS here."
Rei and Makoto stood up to meet Goku when he arrived at their location. Rei watched as her friends backed away. She did not though. She wouldn't. She didn't know if he could be trusted. He was, after all, the same Goku in which had just attacked them. He was the one who had made Usagi transform. Even if it wasn't exactly HE who did it, it was still his younger version. They were totally alike, thinking wise. "Don't come any closer, Goku." She wasn't about to let him harm her. She knew that he was angry with her. She knew how he could easily bet her up without a thought. She had just witnessed it. He would have to prove himself in order to get near her.
Goku stopped. He gave Rei a puzzled look. She had never spoken to him with that tone a voice before. She wasn't normally one to be disrespectful. "What are you talking about Rei. Please move."
Rei held her ground. "What is your purpose of being here? If it's to hurt Usagi for leaving then…"
"Whoa. Hold on there. I'm not here to hurt her. I could never do that. I'm here to help her, before it's too late. I was brought here by the guardian of time." He looked to his right at the younger version of himself, and his son. They both looking dazed and confused. He would have to explain to them after he helped his daughter. Then, he would demand some answers as to what had happened. What had made Usagi transform before she was ready?
~*~*~
Piccolo, Mamoru, and Krillin arrived on the scene together. They had been in the middle of a spar when they felt a sudden burst of Usagi's power. Mamoru had an idea of what it was for he was the one who had told Goku what to do. He was well aware of Goku's plan. Piccolo was sure he knew what it was, too. Krillin, on the other hand, was totally clueless. "What? Usagi's power is much bigger then Goku's power even. And who is that over there by the girls? Is that…another Goku?"
Mamoru smiled. Usagi would finally get her wish to see her father. He felt sorry that she was in such pain from not seeing him. But, his sudden appearance did interest him. "That's the Goku from the future. That's Usagi's real father."
"You can feel his power. It has a lot more of a potential then the Goku of this time." Piccolo wanted to know how Goku could have become so powerful. He was already a Super Saiyan. What could have possibly been beyond that?
~*~*~
Goku waited for Rei to move out of the way. He sensed her severe anger. He wondered what could have been generating it. "Please Rei." 'Why isn't she letting me get near her?'
Rei looked down at her suffering friend. She couldn't let her go on like that anymore. Goku appeared to be there to help her. She looked up to Goku. "Fine." She stepped to the side, by her friends, and looked on to Usagi. She would make sure to watch very carefully.
Goku smiled as he looked down to his daughter's mangled body. What he saw frightened him. She couldn't breathe, her life energy was being used to keep her powerlevel high. Too high for such a small girl. She wasn't ready for this kind of power. Usagi was different then any other Saiyan that he had ever met. He had to be careful around her for if he did not, something like this would happen.
He sat down on the ground and pulled her head up to his lap. "Usagi…" He pushed away some of her hair that strung over her face to reveal her fresh wounds. "I'm here now."
Usagi barely opened her eyes just enough to see her father. She didn't notice any difference between her father of the future, and her father of the past, therefore, she still thought that this was the man who had just caused her pain. "Get away from me! Go away! Ohhh…" An acute pain gushed through her head.
Goku didn't know what to think. She had never told him to get away before. She had always wanted him near when something was wrong. "What's wrong Usagi? Don't you know who I am? It's me, daddy."
She opened her eyes more and finally noticed the change in cloths. "Huh? Daddy?"
Goku nodded. "Yes. It's me. I've missed you sweetheart." Goku would go about calming her down the best way he knew. He would try to talk to her and not let on that he was, in fact, trying to calm her down. She may not have calmed down after that. He rubbed his hand around her un-wounded cheek.
Usagi closed her eyes to the warm touch of her father's hand. It felt so familiar, yet, so far away. She knew what he was capable of now. She knew that if she didn't live up to his expectations that he would attack her again. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?" Her eyes bolted open. "Am I dead? Is this a dream?"
Goku could feel her powerlevel rising. He had to keep her from getting even more excited. "No, this is all very real. I'm really here for you. Everything is going to be ok now." He hated to see her like this. This was nearly as bad the time he had found her lying in the middle of the parking lot. Only this was worse. Her life was on the line this time. Every second that he did not calm her down took just that much more of her life energy away from her. "Have you learned anything new while your time here? I'm curious to here about what you've done." She closed her eyes again. The pain was too much to handle. Every inch of her body ached.
Rei, Minako, Makoto, and Ami held hands as they hoped for their friend's safety. They had never seen her like this before. They had never seen her in this much pain. But what really got them was her energy. It was amazing. Minako could have cried at that moment. She didn't want Usagi to be like this. It pained her to see her like this. It reminded her so much of the time they had first met Makoto. Seeing her on the ground with Goku, crying and all. It was horrible. 'Usagi, please, calm down. You can't leave us. You're the first friend I've really ever had.'
Usagi took a deep breath. It was hard to even talk. "I don't know. I've missed you a lot. The guardian of time won't let us go home. I wanted to go home so badly daddy. I wanted to see you and mamma again. But I couldn't. I…I…I…" She grabbed her head. Her eyes swelled up with tears.
Goku cringed. It was almost as if he could feel her pain within his own body. Seeing her in this kind of trauma did cause him his own pain, though. It was a pain that could only be cured by one thing. The well being of his daughter. And he just realized that he shouldn't talk about what she had done in the past. He should probably talk about happy times. "Hey, don't worry about it kiddo. Remember what I always tell you? Everything works out in the end. And, everything did. You got your wish. I'm here. So let's wipe those tears away."
She smiled. He was right about that. "Will you promise to stay with me?"
Goku hesitated to answer. He couldn't promise that. The guardian of time had only granted him the time to stay for one day. But there was one other alternative. "I'll promise to stay as long as I can."
That was good enough for her. She wouldn't have to put up with the younger version of her father. She wouldn't have to listen to him telling her how weak she was. Though, she did prove that she was good enough to be his daughter. She could feel her muscles beginning to relax. "Daddy, if I wasn't able to become as strong as my potential…would you still love me?"
Goku blinked with confusion. Now, what would bring a question like that up? "Of course. I will always love you. Don't forget that ok? I don't care how strong you are. The only thing I care about is that you try your best and have fun while you're doing it."
He would never know how happy those words had made her. But, that was one thing that wasn't happening. Yes, she had tried her best, but she was experiencing everything from it but pleasure. But, she believed him that he didn't care how strong she was. Maybe she was nuts. For some reason, she could feel that he was sincere. "Daddy, my body hurts, and I feel really weak."
Finally, he had gotten her to a position in which she was comfortable. He was making some progress. "I know Usagi. This power is too much for you. If you relax, the pain will go away."
~*~*~
'How does he do it? He seems to have a way with kids. Especially this one. It's amazing. He seems to connect more with her than Gohan. I know they love each other, but gees, they never show it like these two do. It's amazing. I don't think I've once heard Goku say that he loves Gohan like he just told that kid." Piccolo looked over to Mamoru. They never really exchanged those words at all. It was understood that they cared for one another with words.
Krillin was pretty impressed too. Though he couldn't hear what either of the two Saiyans were saying, he pretty much got the gist of what was happening. "Look at him you guys. Goku is acting more…"
"Mature?" Mamoru, much like the other children, had heard many stories form Bulma and his father about Goku's old adventures. He had also heard, many times, about how mature he was being.
"Exactly. It doesn't fit him. He needs to be carefree. You know…"
"I know, but I don't think he could be carefree with Odango. In the two and a half years in which I have known her, I've noticed that Goku is very protective of her. Hell, he once punched me because I nearly started a fight with her."
"Wow. I guess he is. It's not like Goku to just go and hit someone because they make him mad."
"Lemme give you a bit of advice. If you ever want to mess with Odango, you had better be prepared to deal with her father. Even if he knows that she can take the beating or whatever, he will step in. Like that fight with me, she could have easily taken the beating that I could have given her. Though, before I nearly killed her. But still, she could have handled it. Oh and the joy it will be to watch what happens when he finds out who did this to his little Odango."
Krillin looked to Mamoru. He hadn't known who did this. He felt Goku power up to his fullest extent and then boom, Usagi had surpassed him. "Who did this?"
"Your very own Goku did this. He wanted to bring out her power."
Krillin couldn't believe that. He wouldn't believe that. He would never stoop so low as to doing something like that. "And how do you know this?"
Mamoru grinned. He was quite proud of his idea. "He came to me one day and asked me how to get her power out. You know, I'm the one that did it the first day that we were here. So I told him. You just have to make her good and mad. Or in this case, really upset. Well, it worked."
~*~*~
Gohan ran up from behind his father. He knew that he was told to stay, but he couldn't stand it any longer. It was unbearable. He wanted to know what was going on. "Dad, can't we go over there?"
Goku looked down to his son and shook his head. "No. This is for them to work out. I don't think she wants either of us over there anyways."
Gohan grinned. "Or maybe you're just scared that she'll beat you up."
"Yeah. No kidding."
~*~*~
Usagi's power was rapidly dropping. Goku had finally been able to get through to her that she should relax herself. She had been reluctant to at first. She didn't tell him why. But she had her reasons. She was afraid that if she did, the younger version of her father would attack her. But she had convinced herself that if he did, her real father would protect her like he always did. She felt safe with him now. The fear of him had disappeared. He was the same old man whom she had grown to love in her life. "Daddy, thank you."
Goku watched as his daughter's aura dissipate into the air as her hair began to fade into its normal color. "Good girl." He looked down to her tail. It had also returned to its normal color. Her power level was returning to normal as she calmed down. He could feel her tenseness going away. He sighed in relief. He had done his job. Now, he just needed to teach her how to use that power without it consuming her. That wouldn't be an easy job. He didn't know any way that he could do it unless he used his alternative.
Usagi scooted herself further up to lean her head into his stomach. For the first time since he had returned, she felt completely comfortable. Her pain had disappeared just like he had said it would. "I'm tired now."
Ami walked back to the Saiyan duo and knelt down in front of Usagi. "You should be after what you just went through." She began to look at her wounds. Nothing appeared to be broken as none of her appendages were bruising. But that didn't mean that her ribs were not broken. She would need medical attention before the day was out. But she figured that she would want to spend some time with her father first. She looked up at Goku. "You came just in time."
Goku smiled. And it was all with the help of the guardian of time. "Would somebody please explain to me what's going on here? What happened that made Usagi burst out like this? She's only blown up like this once, and that was with good cause. But even then, it wasn't to this extent."
Minako and Makoto looked at each other. They knew exactly what would happen if Goku were to find out what had actually just taken place. They had seen how he got when Mamoru was messing with her. He wasn't even as bad as what the past Goku had just done. Makoto decided that she would step up and tell him. He had a right to know. Plus, Usagi would have told them in they refused to. "Usagi got upset because for the past ten days, you and Gohan have been treating her like dirt. We don't know why. All of a sudden they acted out at her. And then today, you challenged her and pretty much beat her up. Then you beat us up when Usagi was down for the count because we didn't want you to hurt her anymore."
"This was after you turned Super Saiyan, mind you."
Goku looked down at Ami. "What? Super Saiyan? You guys can't defend against that? What was he thinking?" At that point, he didn't consider himself to be the Goku who was standing not too far from him current position. He knew that Usagi must have already felt awful with him and her brother treating her so horribly. But to beat her friends too? That was pushing it. He looked down to his daughter. "Is this true?"
Usagi nodded. "Yes." It was still very painful for her. But, it really didn't matter. He wasn't her real father anyways. He was just someone from the past. He must have changed somewhere along the way. "He said that he wanted to see if I was worthy of being called your daughter. Then, he beat me up, just like Ami said. He grabbed my tail and swung me around. It REALLY hurt. Then, after Makoto, Rei, and Minako were hit to the ground, he fired his biggest Ki blast at me. I wasn't able to block it and I got scared. I didn't know what to do. I froze. I know I could have done the teleportation, but I couldn't. I know I should have, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. Everyone gets scared sometimes. You had justifications."
Usagi smiled. He always knew just the right thing to say. "Then something happened. I got real mad. I was mad that he was treating me like this. I didn't know what I did. He never said I did anything wrong. Gohan acted that way too. He was mean. So was Piccolo. I was mad that he beat me up for no reason. I was mad that he beat up my friends. And then my head hurt and I guess I snapped and then I got a lot of power and the Kamehameha was going towards you instead of me. The only think I remember after that is seeing my hair color and tail color change to silver. Why?"
"Usagi, you do realize that you went Super Saiyan right?" Goku looked to Minako and Makoto. They had only disappeared a few hours before. "Glad to see you two are all right." He had a hunch that somehow they had been taken to the past. Where else could they have gone?
Minako giggled. She wished that she could have seen their faces after they had left. "Yeah, we're fine. Usagi wished us here with the Dragon Balls."
"Ahhh." He looked past the girls onto his younger version and frowned. 'I don't care if he is me. He shouldn't have treated MY girl like that. It was too much for her to handle. Kiro specifically said that she has pure innocence. Her energy is not capable of holding the capacity of hate energy. Or even energy created by anger. That's why I was letting her reach it on her own. She was making such good progress. Now he had to go and ruin it. I really was an idiot when I was younger.' "Right. You four take care of Usagi while I go pay my respects to myself." He gently picked Usagi up off of his lap and let himself slide out from underneath her, placing her back onto the ground. "I'll be back soon." He slowly began walking towards himself. It was weird for him. He would have to give himself a lesson in raising children.
Ok for my own sanity, I'm going to write F. Goku for Future Goku, and P. Goku, for past Goku. Sound good?
P. Goku crossed his arms as he watched himself approaching. "Gohan this could get kind of heated. I think they told him about what happened."
F. Goku stopped just in front of his past self, and son. Seeing Gohan like that sure did bring back memories. He hadn't seen him like that in about thirty years. "Strange." He still couldn't forgive himself for staying dead when he very well had the chance to be wished back. He had missed so much of his boys' lives.
Gohan gave his future father a confused look. "What's strange?" He knew that it was directed towards him.
"Seeing you so…well…young. I haven't seen you as a kid for sometime now. Brings back great memories." He directed his attention to the boy's father, who stood in front of him. "I need to talk to you about what just happened."
"Hey, look. I know what you're going to say. And, while I know it was harsh, it did her good. I just didn't think that she would react so poorly to it. But you seemed to have fixed that problem so all is well." He got his normal goofy smile on his face as he put his hands behind his head.
"No you don't know what I'm going to say! You don't just take someone like Usagi and do something like that to her? Were you not thinking? Wait, I should be able to answer that question. No. You were, in fact, not thinking. You know how I know that? I used to be you. Now I see what everyone has been talking about. I have matured. You still have a lot to learn. Usagi is not just someone that you can do that to. She is so much more sensitive. Even I have to be careful about what I do to her. Any one false move and she'll think I hate her. As it was, she was resisting my comfort back there. So don't you ever think that you know what I'm going to say."
"Wait a minute. Don't go thinking that you can tell me I don't know what I'm doing. That's pretty much what you're saying. I took the consequences into consideration. I knew it would hurt her, but she will forgive me. Mamoru said she would."
F. Goku's eyes widened. "You consulted Mamoru?! No wonder why you did it. That boy is so full of crap most of the time that you can't trust anything he says.!" He couldn't believe that he could have been that naïve at any point in his life. But he was and thank god he wasn't anymore. "I don't want you to ever train her like that again. That power was too great for her body to handle anyways."
"With all due respect father," Gohan butted in, "Usagi should have been able to hold that power. We talked about it before hand and decided that we should do it. You know. Just to get her power to show so when we fight the androids..."
F. Goku looked down to Gohan. "And you. I would have expected much more from you." His family was probably one of the only things that could get him riled up this way. Most of the time, he would let things slide, but this was just too big. They had put HIS daughter's life on the line. He wouldn't stand for it. He would have to have a talk with Piccolo when he got back to the future about Mamoru's behavior.
Gohan shut his mouth. That was the first time his father had ever scolded him like that. Except the time he was on Namek, but that was a different story. He looked up to his own father. He didn't seem to have any feeling what so ever about this situation. He, himself, was beginning to feel bad about what he had done. "Sorry."
"Look, when you get to know Usagi a little better…" 'Which I hope you don't until she is born here. I want her home as soon as possible.' "You will understand how fragile she is. I didn't really find this out until I first trained her."
P. Goku sighed. He still didn't see a problem with what had happened. "I know what I'm doing. You know that I know what I'm doing. You went through this too."
F. Goku got closer to his younger self. He wanted to make sure that nothing like this would ever happen again. "You may know what you're doing, but you keep your ideas to yourself. Don't be trying anything with my daughter. Got that? You don't know how she works. You won't understand until you get older. I don't want her coming home beaten to a bloody pulp. If she does, I will cut a deal with the guardian of time and come back here. She seems to look out for Usagi's safety anyways. That's why I'm here. Then you and I will have a little chat."
P. Goku was stunned. He had never threatened anyone before. He was acting a lot like…a responsible parent. Kind of like Chi-Chi when she was in a really good mood. Of course, he did just beat the crap out of the man's daughter. "I just wanted to bring out her power."
"Well don't you do it with making her hate or be scared. Now I have to go and fix the problem with teaching her how to use her power." Without further conversation, he turned around and began walking back to the girls. He was dead serious about his threat to his younger self. He didn't care who it was, no one inflicted pain on his daughter. He vowed to himself the day she was born that he would always be there for her and he planned on sticking to that. If that meant kicking his own ass, then so be it. But he was sure that wouldn't happen. He knew himself pretty well and knew that when someone told him not to do something, he did his best to not do it. But, just in case, he would be on the lookout.
~*~*~
Piccolo once again could not believe his ears. "What happened to him?"
Krillin had only watched what just happened. It didn't look too interesting. There were just two Gokus talking together. When you're best friends, with a Saiyan, you come to expect things like that. "What happened Piccolo? What did he say?"
"Pretty much that he'd find a way to return to the past and kick our Goku's ass if he tired anything else with Usagi."
Mamoru snickered. "Kind of like when he punched me when I nearly hit her. See, I told you he's protective of her. I think it's a father thing. I over heard Gohan talking about it one day. He…whoa, a little too much info on the future thing here."
That caught Krillin's attention. "What was that? Something about Gohan and talking about being a father of a girl? Tell us Mamoru. Does Gohan have a girl for a child when he gets older?"
Mamoru shook his head. "I can't say."
"I'm guessing that's a yes."
~*~*~
As F. Goku walked back to his daughter, he watched as her friends talked to her. They were always there for her when she needed them most. She was very lucky to have them all. Yes, she had to wait to build their group, but it was well worth it. They were true friends. None of those girls would ever betray each other. They were friends for life whether they liked it or not. There was a special bond that held them together. Another mysterious thing about all five of them. But he was happy for her.
He stopped in front of the group and looked down at them. They were all talking about what had happened. Usagi still looked rather weak. There was no way that he could train her to use her power in her current condition. He needed more time. "Usagi, come with me. We need to talk."
Usagi groaned. She knew what this was about. It was time to stand up and face the music for what she had done. She just hoped that he wouldn't be too hard on her. "Ok." She stood up and walked to her father.
Goku put his arm around her shoulder and looked to her friends. "You guys go on and do what you want. We'll be back in a while. Be ready to train when we get back though." They nodded in compliance as he looked down at Usagi. "Let's go."
(Ok, that's it for this part. What do you think? Was it good or bad? Please tell me. It would be appreciated, as it always is. Thanks.)