Chapter 29
Akira was confused. Actually it seemed like he was always confused when he dealt with his past, but this time he was super-confused. Mega-confused. Ultra-confused.
"What do you mean, 'Welcome back Goku'?" he asked.
Kabitoshin's eyes were twinkling with excitement, "Well, in a sense you're not really Goku, but in another sense you're him in a very real way."
"Okay...that made basically no sense what-so-ever..." Akira looked like he thought the Supreme Kai had probably gone insane.
"Alright," Kabitoshin said, "let me see if I can explain it to you." He paused as he tried to put a very difficult concept into words that a mortal could understand, "Whenever a new being is born into this universe, it has a body, spirit, and soul. The body, obviously, is your physical being. The spirit is the non-physical parts, such as your mind, it's what truly makes you who you are; it's also the part that you generally see in the after-life. The soul is..." he paused again searching for the right words, "it's not really you're ki...it's... the essence of who you are. Ki flows from the soul. Usually in the after-life the body is gone (except in special circumstances), but the spirit and soul remain. However, it seems that when Goku was taken by Shelong, his soul was separated from the rest of him. Whether he no longer needed it or if his entire being simply ceased to inhabit any sort of plane of existence in this universe, I can't say.
"Under normal circumstances when a soul is separated from the body and spirit, the soul is lost forever, as are the body and spirit. This time, however, it seems that Goku's soul somehow knit together a new body and spirit, modeling them after Goku's. That's why you are a Saiyan, that's why you have picked up so many of King Kai's techniques so easily, and that is why you are so powerful."" Kabitoshin took a deep breath and then said, "You are still yourself Akira, you can do as you please with your life, but apart of you is and always will be, at least in a way, Goku."
Akira was quiet for a long time, finally he said, "Thanks for your help Kabitoshin. I need to thing about this... about what it means." Then, without waiting for a response, he flew away from King Kai's planet and headed towards Snake Way.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
"Launch will commence in five minutes."
"Copy that Bulma, I'm prepping the engines now," Pan said as she began punching buttons and turning switches. Her body was shaking with nervousness and excitement, not because of the launch, she'd done that often enough with her grandfather that it had lost its thrill, but because in about a month she was going to be seeing Akira again. She tightly clutched the bag containing the last two Senzu Beans that Yajirobe and Korin had had on them the last time Gohan had visited the lookout.
~This is stupid,~ Pan thought, ~I spent less than one day getting to know him. Why do I feel like this? We don't really even know each other. I don't even know his favorite color, or favorite food, or anything about him... except that he's a good kisser.~
"Launch in one minute Pan," Bulma's voice announced through the speaker.
The thrusters began to shake the ship as they powered up. Then, the ship lifted off and Pan's journey began.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Akira sat on the tip of Snake Way lost in thought. He didn't see the clouds or the tiny dot that was King Kai's planet. All he could see was the Supreme Kai saying, "Welcome back, Goku."
~Is it so bad to be Goku or at least some sort of creation of Goku's soul? Does it mean I'm just a puppet? Forced to try and be a hero, Earth's champion, just because he was. What about my schooling, the stuff I knew before I started school, reading, writing, math. I didn't really learn any of those; it was just decided that I needed to know them when I was created. I don't have many memories, but the ones I do have are all fake, meaningless.~ He punched the road in frustration, leaving a huge dent, ~And what about Pan? What do my feelings for her mean? Do I only care for her because she was sort of my granddaughter at one point? What would she think if she ever found out? She'd probably think I'm some sort of sick pervert...maybe it's for the best that I'm dead, at least now she doesn't have to deal with all of this.~
"Akira?" a deep voice called quietly from behind him. Akira didn't bother to turn, now that he wasn't lost in thought; he could feel Piccolo just a few feet away. "Look, I'm not good with all this emotional crap, but if you'd like to talk, I'm here. I kind of understand what you're going through."
"No one understands...no one could know what it's like to find out you're not a real person. That everything you do, every idea you've ever had, probably came from some one else."
"That's not true," Piccolo said, "maybe the way you look, you're fighting ability, even some of the things that you know came from Goku somehow, but ever since you woke up on that island you've been making your own choices. Goku didn't decide which school you would go to, Goku didn't decide that you should enter the Tenkaichi Budoukia, and he didn't decide you should sacrifice yourself for your loved ones."
"But those are all decisions that he would have made! See? Even when I think I'm in control, its still Goku that's really driving. I'm just living life the way he would have."
Piccolo was quiet for a moment, then he said, "My... father, for lack of a better word, hated Goku. He wanted to rule the world, to kill anyone that dared oppose him. But Goku fought and defeated him, fatally wounding him in the process. Before my father died, he poured all of himself into an egg and launched it far away from the battle. I was born knowing that I hated Goku and that I was supposed to take over the planet, because that's what I was made to do. However, I changed, I didn't do or act the way I was supposed to. I ended up as a friend of Goku's and of his family's, I became a protector of the earth. Whenever anyone is born or made there are certain things that their parents (or creators) want them to do, but in the end we all make our own choices.
"Take a look at Uubu. He is a reincarnation of Buu, one of the greatest evils the universe has ever faced, but Uubu is not evil. He acts nothing like Buu, but the two have the same powers, the same strength. They are essentially one in the same, but you would never know it by the way Uubu acts."
Piccolo stopped and thought for another moment before continuing, "You say that even when you thought you were making your own decisions it was still Goku, well, Goku wouldn't have lost control in the matches against Sike and Gohan. No my young friend, you're responsible for your mistakes and for your successes, no one gets off that easy. Your choices are your own and no one else's, your fate is yours to make. No one chooses your path, but you."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Pan had cleared the asteroid belt and would soon be leaving the solar system. For the hundredth time she rechecked her course and made sure that everything was exactly as it had been when she first took off; then she climbed out of her seat and began her workout. It would be about a month and a half before she got to Namek and Ammit would be coming not too long after she got back, she had to train as hard as possible while she was travelling. Plus, if she didn't train she knew she would just spend her days pinning away for Akira and that wouldn't help anyone.
Pan set the gravity to 75G and began her warm ups. After a few minutes she went up to 100G and began her training, not transforming until several hours later, when her body was nearing exhaustion. Her father had suggested that she try remaining a Super Saiyan for long periods of time, as she had done when training for the tournament, so after her training for the day was done, she did not allow herself to return to normal. Pan also decided to keep the gravity at 100G even while she wasn't training, figuring that it would force her body to work even when she wasn't necessarily exercising.
Maintaining the Super Saiyan form was hard work and Pan found herself feeling tired a lot, but she knew that as the weeks went by things would get easier. She was determined to ascend to the next level before Akira was wished back.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Vegeta had not left the gravity room in three days; he was pushing himself harder than he had since the days when he was first trying to become a Super Saiyan. He knew that at his current power level he would have been beaten by Xellos; meaning that he would be no match for the next two threats that were coming. He had to become stronger and fast. Bulma still had the Brute Ray, but Vegeta wasn't sure it would be a good idea to rely on it, machines were too easy to destroy. Plus, he had no intention of allowing his wife anywhere near this battle.
A/N: For anyone who has read Orson Scott Card's Ender Quartet, in particular, "Xenocide" and "Children of the Mind," you may have noticed some similarities between Peter Wiggin's relationship to Ender and Akira's thoughts on his relationship with Goku. This was intentional, as I couldn't think of any other way to explain the situation. All the credit for the idea should go to Mr. Card who is, in my humble opinion, one of the best Sci-fi writers of all time. Those of you who haven't ever read any of the Ender books need to turn off your computers right now and go buy "Ender's Game."
Akira was confused. Actually it seemed like he was always confused when he dealt with his past, but this time he was super-confused. Mega-confused. Ultra-confused.
"What do you mean, 'Welcome back Goku'?" he asked.
Kabitoshin's eyes were twinkling with excitement, "Well, in a sense you're not really Goku, but in another sense you're him in a very real way."
"Okay...that made basically no sense what-so-ever..." Akira looked like he thought the Supreme Kai had probably gone insane.
"Alright," Kabitoshin said, "let me see if I can explain it to you." He paused as he tried to put a very difficult concept into words that a mortal could understand, "Whenever a new being is born into this universe, it has a body, spirit, and soul. The body, obviously, is your physical being. The spirit is the non-physical parts, such as your mind, it's what truly makes you who you are; it's also the part that you generally see in the after-life. The soul is..." he paused again searching for the right words, "it's not really you're ki...it's... the essence of who you are. Ki flows from the soul. Usually in the after-life the body is gone (except in special circumstances), but the spirit and soul remain. However, it seems that when Goku was taken by Shelong, his soul was separated from the rest of him. Whether he no longer needed it or if his entire being simply ceased to inhabit any sort of plane of existence in this universe, I can't say.
"Under normal circumstances when a soul is separated from the body and spirit, the soul is lost forever, as are the body and spirit. This time, however, it seems that Goku's soul somehow knit together a new body and spirit, modeling them after Goku's. That's why you are a Saiyan, that's why you have picked up so many of King Kai's techniques so easily, and that is why you are so powerful."" Kabitoshin took a deep breath and then said, "You are still yourself Akira, you can do as you please with your life, but apart of you is and always will be, at least in a way, Goku."
Akira was quiet for a long time, finally he said, "Thanks for your help Kabitoshin. I need to thing about this... about what it means." Then, without waiting for a response, he flew away from King Kai's planet and headed towards Snake Way.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
"Launch will commence in five minutes."
"Copy that Bulma, I'm prepping the engines now," Pan said as she began punching buttons and turning switches. Her body was shaking with nervousness and excitement, not because of the launch, she'd done that often enough with her grandfather that it had lost its thrill, but because in about a month she was going to be seeing Akira again. She tightly clutched the bag containing the last two Senzu Beans that Yajirobe and Korin had had on them the last time Gohan had visited the lookout.
~This is stupid,~ Pan thought, ~I spent less than one day getting to know him. Why do I feel like this? We don't really even know each other. I don't even know his favorite color, or favorite food, or anything about him... except that he's a good kisser.~
"Launch in one minute Pan," Bulma's voice announced through the speaker.
The thrusters began to shake the ship as they powered up. Then, the ship lifted off and Pan's journey began.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Akira sat on the tip of Snake Way lost in thought. He didn't see the clouds or the tiny dot that was King Kai's planet. All he could see was the Supreme Kai saying, "Welcome back, Goku."
~Is it so bad to be Goku or at least some sort of creation of Goku's soul? Does it mean I'm just a puppet? Forced to try and be a hero, Earth's champion, just because he was. What about my schooling, the stuff I knew before I started school, reading, writing, math. I didn't really learn any of those; it was just decided that I needed to know them when I was created. I don't have many memories, but the ones I do have are all fake, meaningless.~ He punched the road in frustration, leaving a huge dent, ~And what about Pan? What do my feelings for her mean? Do I only care for her because she was sort of my granddaughter at one point? What would she think if she ever found out? She'd probably think I'm some sort of sick pervert...maybe it's for the best that I'm dead, at least now she doesn't have to deal with all of this.~
"Akira?" a deep voice called quietly from behind him. Akira didn't bother to turn, now that he wasn't lost in thought; he could feel Piccolo just a few feet away. "Look, I'm not good with all this emotional crap, but if you'd like to talk, I'm here. I kind of understand what you're going through."
"No one understands...no one could know what it's like to find out you're not a real person. That everything you do, every idea you've ever had, probably came from some one else."
"That's not true," Piccolo said, "maybe the way you look, you're fighting ability, even some of the things that you know came from Goku somehow, but ever since you woke up on that island you've been making your own choices. Goku didn't decide which school you would go to, Goku didn't decide that you should enter the Tenkaichi Budoukia, and he didn't decide you should sacrifice yourself for your loved ones."
"But those are all decisions that he would have made! See? Even when I think I'm in control, its still Goku that's really driving. I'm just living life the way he would have."
Piccolo was quiet for a moment, then he said, "My... father, for lack of a better word, hated Goku. He wanted to rule the world, to kill anyone that dared oppose him. But Goku fought and defeated him, fatally wounding him in the process. Before my father died, he poured all of himself into an egg and launched it far away from the battle. I was born knowing that I hated Goku and that I was supposed to take over the planet, because that's what I was made to do. However, I changed, I didn't do or act the way I was supposed to. I ended up as a friend of Goku's and of his family's, I became a protector of the earth. Whenever anyone is born or made there are certain things that their parents (or creators) want them to do, but in the end we all make our own choices.
"Take a look at Uubu. He is a reincarnation of Buu, one of the greatest evils the universe has ever faced, but Uubu is not evil. He acts nothing like Buu, but the two have the same powers, the same strength. They are essentially one in the same, but you would never know it by the way Uubu acts."
Piccolo stopped and thought for another moment before continuing, "You say that even when you thought you were making your own decisions it was still Goku, well, Goku wouldn't have lost control in the matches against Sike and Gohan. No my young friend, you're responsible for your mistakes and for your successes, no one gets off that easy. Your choices are your own and no one else's, your fate is yours to make. No one chooses your path, but you."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Pan had cleared the asteroid belt and would soon be leaving the solar system. For the hundredth time she rechecked her course and made sure that everything was exactly as it had been when she first took off; then she climbed out of her seat and began her workout. It would be about a month and a half before she got to Namek and Ammit would be coming not too long after she got back, she had to train as hard as possible while she was travelling. Plus, if she didn't train she knew she would just spend her days pinning away for Akira and that wouldn't help anyone.
Pan set the gravity to 75G and began her warm ups. After a few minutes she went up to 100G and began her training, not transforming until several hours later, when her body was nearing exhaustion. Her father had suggested that she try remaining a Super Saiyan for long periods of time, as she had done when training for the tournament, so after her training for the day was done, she did not allow herself to return to normal. Pan also decided to keep the gravity at 100G even while she wasn't training, figuring that it would force her body to work even when she wasn't necessarily exercising.
Maintaining the Super Saiyan form was hard work and Pan found herself feeling tired a lot, but she knew that as the weeks went by things would get easier. She was determined to ascend to the next level before Akira was wished back.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Vegeta had not left the gravity room in three days; he was pushing himself harder than he had since the days when he was first trying to become a Super Saiyan. He knew that at his current power level he would have been beaten by Xellos; meaning that he would be no match for the next two threats that were coming. He had to become stronger and fast. Bulma still had the Brute Ray, but Vegeta wasn't sure it would be a good idea to rely on it, machines were too easy to destroy. Plus, he had no intention of allowing his wife anywhere near this battle.
A/N: For anyone who has read Orson Scott Card's Ender Quartet, in particular, "Xenocide" and "Children of the Mind," you may have noticed some similarities between Peter Wiggin's relationship to Ender and Akira's thoughts on his relationship with Goku. This was intentional, as I couldn't think of any other way to explain the situation. All the credit for the idea should go to Mr. Card who is, in my humble opinion, one of the best Sci-fi writers of all time. Those of you who haven't ever read any of the Ender books need to turn off your computers right now and go buy "Ender's Game."