Hmmm… Oops, I seem to have forgotten a disclaimer! Oh well, not like anyone's gunna sue me, but whatever. Since I'm not as disclaimer crazy as Lexi, I'm just going to do this once: Dragon Ball/Z/GT are not the property of me – if they were. *chuckles evily* lets just say Gohan wouldn't be quite so wimpy and clueless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Chapter 2~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All Good Things Must End
(aka G.S. Phone Home)
Gohan had been in space for almost six months, and the feeling of homesickness had been getting steadily worse. Sure, he had Goten to keep him company - but a robot hardly takes the place of a mother. Honest-to-god, he really wanted nothing more than to talk to his mommy - despite the fact that he was pretty sure he'd just turned nine. There was one rather large obstacle in the way, however: he'd used nearly 90% of the communication system in his droid, and he wasn't at all willing to dismantle his friend.
=^.^=
Gohan lay back on his bed, sighing heavily as he regarded the ceiling of his room. It wasn't long before Goten floated over, beeping in curiosity. Gohan sighed again and closed his eyes. "I miss my mom, Goten. I want to talk to her! At the very least I'd like to let her know I'm alive. She must be worried sick about me…"
Goten processed his words in silence, just as he'd done on so many other occasions. He wasn't necessarily the most complex droid ever built - he was nothing compared to the creations Dr. Gero was currently being built on earth - but he had been programmed with plenty of love and wisdom. He wanted to help his master - well, as much as a machine can actually want something…
**Master, why don't you just talk to her via the computer?**
Gohan sighed in exasperation. "But I can't Goten! I used the parts to make you!"
**…then use me**
Gohan opened his eyes to regard Goten in confusion. "Nani??? I can't do that!!! You'd lose everything you are! The personality you've formed over the past few months would be erased, your memory would go dead, you yourself would be taken apart… You're my friend Goten, my child - I just can't! It's barbaric!"
But the silver sphere had other ideas. **No, you said you used the parts in me - I bet if you connected more parts, like a long range satellite and formulated my screen to be input/output, then we could send a message!**
Gohan sat up and frowned in speculation. In theory, it could work... Already planning out the details and which tools he would need, Gohan sent a grateful smile towards Goten. "That's a really good idea, why didn't I think of that? Thanks, Goten!"
Goten bleeped a few times in response. **It's nothing Master - You've been distraught. It really is a good thing that you imbued me with your intelligence…**
Gohan grinned at the silver droid's honest-to-god statement and nodded. "Sure is 'Ten!" Laughing happily, the young boy took off to look for the parts he would need.
=^.^=
Smiling ecstatically, Gohan adjusted the collar of the shirt he'd picked for the message he was going to send to his mother. When he'd first left, he'd taken mostly gis and fighting clothes with him, but he'd been trained by his mother well enough that he'd thrown in some nice clothes out of habit - he was grateful for that now, because he figured his mother would take this a lot better if he was dressed in nice khakis and a white dress shirt than she would if he was dressed in a miniature version of his father's outfit.
"Alright, I'm ready when you are 'Ten!"
**Activating recording mechanism, Master. 3…2…1…Action!**
"Hi mom! How are you? I'm doing pretty well. It's pretty lonely up here, to tell the truth… I miss you, and daddy, and everyone else. Has daddy gotten back yet? I hope so… It was really stupid of me to leave like that, and I want to tell you I'm really, really sorry. I love you very much, and I want you to know that you're a great mommy: I can't wait until I get back home! I don't know how long I've been out here since there really isn't any way to keep track of days or months or anything, but I think I'm 9 now. I really missed getting a birthday hug from you, and I definitely miss your cooking." The recorded Gohan grinned and rubbed the back of his head as he said this, chuckling slightly. "Tell Miss Bulma that I'm sorry I took her ship without asking, and tell her that it's doing its job well." Another grin. "I've almost reached the coordinates I set in, so I'll stop and restock the larder, then turn back for home. I should be back in the same amount of time it took me to get this far, but I don't know how long that was, so I can't give you a good estimate… Oh yeah! I also wanted to tell you that I'm still studying, though I'll have some questions for you when I get back - somehow quantum physics doesn't make quite as much sense as normal physics. I love you soooo much, mommy! Bye!"
**beeeeeep**
"Did you get all that, Goten?" Gohan asked in excitement, grinning from ear to ear. The silver droid beeped again in confirmation as it finished processing everything that Gohan had just said.
**Yes Master, and it's now on it's way to Chikuu!**
Gohan laughed happily as he changed out of his "mother" clothes and back into his training clothes. It was time to let loose some of this pent up excitement as he waited for a reply!
=^.^=
Almost a month later and still without a reply, Gohan had gotten worried. Had the message failed to get through? He really wanted his mom to know that he was still alive and well, and that she didn't have to worry about him! He was preparing to try again, in fact, when the ship's computer sent out a loud beep, alerting its passenger that they were exactly 1 minute away from landing.
Gohan yelped slightly and scrambled for one of the seats in front. Goten, who had just been switched into 'record' mode, followed him, recording his actions. Suddenly the ship began to shake and it was all Gohan could do to keep from throwing up. He hadn't realized that planet entry would be so difficult!
It was all over in less than a minute. Gohan climbed out of the crater the ship had caused and looked around in unadulterated curiosity. Goten followed closely behind, recording both his master's actions and the planet's scenery. The sky was an odd shade of purple, the sun white, and the ground was crusty black sand. There was a bit of blue, mossy material growing in patches, and all in all, the planet looked surprisingly similar to a giant bruise.
In fact, the people he could see approaching him from strange black huts didn't look a whole lot friendlier than their planet. For the most part they were tall beings, broad shouldered and reminiscent of Nameks. However, if they were Nameks, they were ones that had gone horribly, horribly wrong. Their skin was a very dark purple, bordering on black, while their eyes were bright blue. Their clothing consisted of ragged tunics made from the blue moss, and they were unshod. They ambled toward the young demi-Saiya-jin, and he realized that he must look awfully out of place here with his pale skin, black eyes, dark spiky hair - as opposed to their shockingly white hair that hung straight down - and bright orange outfit.
"Um… Hello?" He said in a very hesitant voice, speaking in Universal Standard rather than Japanese. (1) "Uh… My name is Gohan, I uh, was wondering if you could perhaps tell me where I am?"
The creatures frowned down at him and jabbered to each other in a language that reminded him strongly of Ethiopian, but they obviously didn't understand him any more than he understood them. Suddenly one of the larger ones near the front began to smirk, and said something that caused the others to look him over speculatively. Gohan gulped slightly and began backing up toward the ship again.
"Um, on second thought... I'll go somewhere else. I believe I saw a friendlier planet back thataway…" Spinning on his heel, Gohan sprinted back toward the ship, but too late. The one in front had him pinned down at an extremely odd angle, and Gohan was panicking. What should he do??? He sized up their ki and knew that none of them were a match for him - alone. All of them together? Who knew.
Gohan began to struggle, knowing it would be useless to call for help - concentrating on kis now, he could feel nothing but malevolence radiating from the planet. Why had he been so stupid? He should have checked ki before he'd gotten off the ship! He knew in his mind that it was because he'd been too anxious to see other life, but in his heart all he could do was cry.
And then he let out a shattering scream as he felt the Bruisers break his arms and legs in quick motions. He hadn't stood a chance - he'd lost through hesitation before he'd even had a chance to fight.
=^.^=
Goten knew that everything had gone wrong. He began to run a series of programs as he prepared for what he knew to be the end. First he sent the recorded message en route to Chikuu, a message that Gohan would be heartbroken to know his mother had received - one that ended with him screaming in pain while surrounded by obviously evil beings. Second he triggered a program that sent the blueprints of himself to Chikuu as well, knowing how proud Master Gohan had been of him. Third he capsulized the ship, locking it so that only Master Gohan's DNA could open it. Finally, with a mental farewell to his master, he flew into the midst of the creatures and triggered a program that Gohan had added only as a last resort. He ceased to exist in a brilliant flash of light, a huge explosion, multiple injuries to many of his master's assailants, and the death of at least one Bruiser.
Goten felt only peace as he flickered out of being.
A/N: (1) The note about the languages… I thought it odd in the series that everyone spoke the same language – so I came up with a theory to provide some legitimacy to my own story. Gohan speaks Japanese, but on the way to Namek in Kami's ship, Bulma, Krillin, and he learned to speak Universal from the computer. He speaks it with an accent, but he can speak it well – it's like an inborn skill that many races are born with, and Saiya-jins are one of those races. Thus, it was way easier for Gohan to learn than Krillin or Bulma, and it also explains how Goku knew how to speak it on Namek – he learned when he was a child being sent to Earth, and it was always at the back of his mind: when the people around him started speaking it, it reawakened memories without him really knowing it. Ok, did that make any sense? I need to make the universe this way so that it will be a bit more of a challenge for some people to communicate with each other… *shrugs* Besides, it just seemed odd that everyone was able to speak the same language without a thought, even the humans who technically didn't have any interaction with extra terrestrials…
Lexi: *sighs* ya know something Kat…
Kat: *warily* what is it Lexi?
Lexi: Your author notes are hella boring.
Kat: =.= Gee. Thanks. I'm in awe of your overwhelming confidence in my skills.
Lexi: *small grin* No problem Kitty-chan! Tell ya what, just because you're my friend and you're younger than me, I'll take over the author notes from now on.
Kat: *looks horrified* you wouldn't!
Lexi: *malicious grin* I would. I also can because you don't have my password, and I have final say in what gets posted.
Kat: Damnit… I knew I should've posted under my own name…
Lexi: *laughing evilly* Oh! And for the record, the Goten paragraph was my idea, though Kat rewrote it. *glares at Kat*
Kat: *gulps nervously and smiles at readers* Er, anyways, the next chapter will be out in a week or so… And thank you for all your reviews! It makes us happy. ^___^
