Tony Montana, thank you for such an informative review!! I knew that I needed stats like that but was too lazy to look 'em up myself. Thank you thank you thank you. ^_^ And thank you, all my reviewers who answered the questions posed at the end of the last chapter. Here are the results:
Vegeta-sei doesn't get blown up, unless I change my mind at the last minute (sigh... and I sooo wanted to blow it up. ^_^). Nappa dies *crowds cheer* (that was already decided, hehe) but you'll have to wait until I actually write the chapter he dies in before you get to find out how he dies. Radditz, in this story, will end up being 15 years old. My reason for this is... *reaches hand into her Magic Bag O' Excuses (TM)* because Barney was a purple dinosaur... What the Hell?! What kind of excuse is that?! *hastily stuffs Magic Bag O' Excuses (TM) under her desk* *coughs* My reason is because I want him to be older than all the other chibis, but he can't be too old, because Bardock is still a young man (guessing he's really closer to 33 than 25) and I want him to be teenage (not telling why!). And it looks like I'll probably bring Radditz to the Future. Can't promise that, though, because it all depends on where the story ends up when I finish it.
A few notes from the author about this fiction: I have never written a violence oriented fic before. I spend more time on doing things and going places and developing my characters than I do on fight scenes. I have never written a hand to hand combat scene. Until now, all fighting I've written about has been with weapons such as swords, knives, bows and arrows... you get my point. Fight scenes are not my specialty, though I'm sure I can write a good one if I spend time on it. Lots of time. I also do not write pointless fight scenes. My characters will not go out and pick fights. The only fights that will be present are the ones I deem necessary to the story. To sum up what I'm saying: For a DBZ fan fic, this story is going to lack somewhat in the violence department. You want violence? Read Chelsee's "Contradicting Mission." Great story. Lots of violence.
The other thing to note about this story is that this story is a prequel! It is not the main story, though that doesn't mean I'm going to skimp on it. Since the main story could not be written without Bardock, I am writing this story to explain how Bardock ends up where he needs to be for the next fic. (Trying reeeaally hard not to spoil the story, though it's probably a lost cause already.)
Last thing! Then I'll let you get on with the story, I promise! Chapter length is the result of two things. I usually have a certain set of events that I plan on happening in a given chapter. Once all those events have occurred, the chapter is done, regardless of length (though I may add a few extra events). The other major factor is time. It takes time to write a good chapter. I'm sure you've all noticed that I've been putting out chapters really rapidly (one a day, minimum, and even had one day where I posted two chapters). If you want me to write longer chapters, then you're going to end up waiting longer for each chapter. My other stories I've written had chapters easily two or three times as long as the chapters I write for "Wish For The Past", but I would only post once a week. I'm fairly sure I can guess which option you all prefer. *smiles wryly* So you can keep wishing that I'd write longer chapters, but keep in mind the benefits you're getting from not-so-long chapters. And if you still feel gypped, compare my chapter length to most other stories out there on ff.net. Some people only write one page chapters. Many people double and triple space between paragraphs. Many also concentrate on dialogue, rather than description, so they have fewer words per line. Their chapters may end up appearing to be longer, but in reality that isn't true.
*draws a huge breath* And now that I'm done talking your ears off... let's get on with what you're really here for!
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, Trunks, or Gohan. But I just got back from shopping at my favorite anime store and I got a wall hanging with teen Gohan on it! ALL RIGHT! Too bad they didn't have any starring just Gohan. But I'll settle for what I got. ^_^
Gohan: Woo hoo! Brenda has a wall hanging with me on it! Haha! We're
even now, Trunks!
Trunks: Hmph! But at least her wall hanging of me only has me
on it! You have to share your wall space with Goku, Goten, Gotenks, and
the Eternal Dragon!
Gohan: *glares* So? You heard her! If they'd been selling wall hangings
with only me on them, she would have gotten one of those instead!
Brenda: Guys! Guys! Enough! The readers don't wanna hear you two bickering,
they wanna read my story! While they're doing that, why don't we all go
hang out at my house? *grins and promptly drags the two demi-saiyans off*
Wish For The Past
(Wishful Thinking)
For what seemed like an eternity, Trunks waited by the hatch until he felt the ship settle onto the ground. It was all he could do to restrain himself from tearing the door off its hinges. He didn't know if he'd need the space ship intact or not, so it was better to be safe than sorry. At last, the movement of the ship ceased and the little green light next to the door blinked on, indicating it was safe to open the hatch now. Trunks hit the button next to the door to open it, dashing out before it had even completely slid to the side. Dragon radar in one hand and a pack of supplies on his back, the purple haired demi-saiyan burst into flight. A white aura surrounded him, humming in his ears, as he clicked the button on the radar to locate the first dragonball.
What luck! Trunks mentally cheered as the radar blipped the dragonball's location. There's a dragonball only a short distance away! Trunks dove down and started searching through a clump of bushes or scrubby trees until he came up with the beach ball sized dragonball. The orange-red sphere was nearly as large as Trunks's head and had two little red stars floating within. As he picked the ball up, the chibi realized he'd come across his first dilemma.
"How am I going to carry all the dragonballs?" he thought out loud. One dragonball was fine, but seven? This would require some thought, so Trunks sat down cross-legged, next to the two star dragonball, his brow furrowed in concentration. The tip of his tail twitched back and forth rhythmically in time to the pace of his mind. I could just bring each dragonball back to my ship when I find it, he mused silently. But I'd really rather not leave them unattended, or grouped together like that, in case someone else finds them. Maybe I could rig some kind of net to carry them in...? No, that's no good. I don't have anything that would work as a net big enough for seven of these balls.
Trunks's train of thought was interrupted as his stomach informed him that thinking on an empty stomach was generally not a good idea, nor was it very conducive to coming up with solutions to one's problems. Well, starving never did anyone any good, so I might as well have some breakfast! He pulled out one of the capsules that he'd packed with food, depressed the button on the top, and gently tossed it away.
BOM!
In a puff of smoke, a huge mountain of food appeared, which the boy attacked eagerly, ready to greatly diminish its size. Boy, was he glad he'd remembered that huge feast that had been left sitting out in the middle of nowhere! And here he'd thought Goten had wasted a wish. Trunks had put the food to good use, encapsulating all of it before it spoiled. It made good addition to the rest of the food he'd managed to pilfer from his mom's pantry, which was quite a lot.
Trunks was about half-way through the mountain of food when something dawned on him. Carrying the dragonballs would be easy! All he had to do was use one of his empty capsules and encasuplate the dragonballs until he needed them. No worries about stashing them someplace or nets or anything!
See? his stomach seemed to say. I knew that you'd find a solution once you got a full belly!
The demi-saiyan felt no need to argue the point. He finished eating his meal, putting the leftovers back into the capsule they came out of, and then encapsulated the dragonball he'd just found. Now to find the rest of the dragonballs!
~*~
Only one more ball to go, and then he could make his wish! There really hadn't been much in the way of challenges during the journey. The worst that he'd had to go through was coming a little closer to a volcano than he normally preferred. Trunks guessed it was because Namek was sparsely populated and its inhabitants were peaceful farmers for the most part. It was nearly night time (according to Earth's system of keeping time) of his second day on Namek. With his speed, travelling to each dragonball took very little time. He'd only stopped for food and sleep, as needed. There was no real way to tell time here, since Namek had no night.
Slowing as he approached his destination, the location of the final dragonball, Trunks noted with interest that it appeared to be within one of the settlements the Nameks had built. He checked the radar as he descended towards the buildings. The dragonball would probably be... there, in that large hut. The demi-saiyan landed lightly, ignoring the green beings who stopped what they were doing as they caught sight of him. He made a beeline to the building that he guessed housed the final dragonball.
Two of the Nameks, well built and dressed in loose clothing, stood in front of the only entrance into the structure, obviously guarding whatever or whoever was within. Trunks decided he should probably be polite, so he stopped in front of them. The two looked down at the pint-sized purple haired boy with amusement.
"What is your name, kid?" one of them asked curiously.
"I'm Trunks Briefs," the Saiyan answered proudly, drawing himself up to his full height, which only brought him up to a little bit above the Namek's waistline. He should probably explain what he was doing here, or he might not be let inside this building. The boy really didn't want to have to hurt anyone. He only wanted to get the final dragonball so he could rejoin his friend. "I'm looking for a dragonball with seven stars in it."
Surprise flickered across the visages of both Nameks and something unspoken passed between them. "Wait here," the first one said, disappearing through the doorway of the hut.
Trunks shrugged and stood patiently. While he wanted to get the last dragonball as soon as possible and make his wish, he knew better than to rush things that shouldn't be rushed. He knew from his experience with Piccolo that Nameks could be tough opponents and he had no real desire to find out how good these Nameks were. The only thing on his mind right now was making that wish.
As it turned out, it only took a few minutes for the first Namek reappeared, a solemn look on his face. "The Elder will see you, Trunks Briefs."
That was a surprise. He didn't know exactly what he'd expected, but Trunks hadn't realized that he had managed to bring himself to the doorstep of the Elder of the Nameks. Suddenly finding himself more than a little nervous, the half-breed followed his Namek escort inside the darkened building. The 6 foot plus green man strode down a short hall, then paused outside the entrance to another room. "The Elder is within." Trunks nodded his thanks and walked into the room hesitantly.
The first thing to catch his attention was the old and large Namek within. No offense, but he was huge! Beyond his sheer size, his presence alone seemed to fill the room completely, barely leaving room for the boy to breath, or so it seemed. Fortunately, the aura that the Elder projected was a calming one, filled with wisdom gained through years of life. To one side, a younger Namek child about Trunks's own height stood in attendance.
"I'm told you are searching for the seven star dragonball," the Elder's voice, kind and wise, seemed to be absorbed by the walls of the room. "May I ask why?"
Cuts to the point, doesn't he? "My friend, Son Goten - he's Goku's son - used the Earth's dragonballs to wish to meet his grandpa. I don't think he was careful enough in how he said his wish, though, because instead of bringing his grandpa to Earth, the Eternal Dragon took Goten to his grandpa. Goku looked for Goten in the Afterlife, but he wasn't there, either. I think he's been sent to the past, before his grandpa died. The Earth dragonballs won't be able to grant a wish for another year, so I came here, to Namek. I need the dragonballs so that I can find Goten." Trunks paused in his explanation. He looked up at the Elder hopefully. "Do you have the last dragonball, sir?"
The Namek seemed to pause and consider his answer for a moment. "Yes, I do. Every time a wish is made upon the dragonballs, a search is made to bring one of the dragonballs to the current Elder. Thus at all times the wishes the Eternal Dragon may grant are guarded. Only by gaining the dragonball the Elder possesses can a wish be made."
Excitement flooded through Trunks's veins and his eyes lit up. "Please, sir, may I have the dragonball? I only need one wish, so that'll leave two for your people to use. Please?" The chibi could only hope that he didn't sound too pathetic. It was a good think his father, Vegeta, wasn't here now. He could only imagine what his father would have to say about begging for anything from the Nameks.
Silence fell as the Elder considered once again. He eyed the Saiyan boy thoughtfully, then smiled. "Sanail, would you please go get the dragonball for our young guest?" The young Namek at the Elder's side, Sanail, nodded and left the room for a few moments, returning with the seventh and final dragonball in his arms. Sanail handed the sphere to Trunks. Trunks heart leapt into his throat. This was it. Now he could make his wish and find his friend, Goten. He hoped Goten hadn't gotten into too much trouble, wherever or whenever he was.
~*~
Bardock was wondering if things could possibly get worse. A moment's reflection brought him to the conclusion that, yes, things could get worse. At least Goten hadn't accidentally slipped up and revealed that he was from the future. Bad enough that he'd just shown that he outstripped every Saiya-jin on the planet, power-wise. There was no need to let everyone know that he wasn't even really supposed to exist yet, or that none of them were supposed to exist at all (barring Vegeta, of course).
They were currently in the middle of a standoff. Vegeta refused to back down, despite being outmatched by the little demi-saiyan, because of his pride. The guards were hovering around them all nervously and wouldn't act unless given orders. Bardock was no longer kneeling. Sometime during the exchange, protocol had flown out the window, so the 30 some odd year old Saiyan saw no real need to remain in the uncomfortable position. It certainly wasn't the worst scandal that had occurred that day. Might not even be the last.
No one knew what they were waiting for. A wary silence had ensued after Goten's astonishing announcement that Frieza had been killed by accident. It was almost as if the world was waiting for some signal before it would start functioning again.
~*~
Trunks took a deep breath. Before him were the seven dragonballs of Namek, glowing faintly in the sun's light. Behind him a group of Nameks had gathered, no doubt to witness the summoning of the Eternal Dragon (Porunga, not Shenlong). The demi-saiyan's heartbeat was unsteady as he looked over at Sanail, the acting translator. "I'm ready," he said, proud that his voice remained steady.
Nodding, Sanail turned to the dragonballs and said something incomprehensible in the language of the Nameks. In response to his words, the sky darkened to pitch black and a large muscular dragon emerged from the center of the dragonballs. The Dragon spoke in the same tongue Sanail had used, his voice rumbling and echoing. Sanail looked at Trunks. "What is your wish?" he asked simply.
Taking another steadying breath, Trunks replied, "I wish to be where my friend, Son Goten, is, and I mean the Son Goten of this time in whatever time or place his is... er.. now." It was hard to be accurate with a wish that might very well span more than one timeline or reality or whatever. It was important, though, to end up where his friend, Goten, was. The chibi-Saiyan looked at the chibi Namek to make sure he understood. Surprisingly, Sanail nodded in utter comprehension. He turned back to Porunga and spoke a long string of Namekian sentences. The dragon's eyes flashed and he uttered one phrase.
Trunks's vision swam as everything around him changed.
~*~
The throne room was suddenly filled with a bright light and everyone present cried out and covered their eyes to keep from being blinded. When it dissipated, everyone blinked in an attempt to clear the afterimages away. There was something odd, though. Sometime during the flash of light, someone else had somehow entered the room. A boy. A very odd-looking boy with purple hair.
"Goten!!!" A child's voice shouted, filled with sheer joy.
"Trunks!!!" Goten shouted back, the grin on his face spreading to half the size of his head.
Oh Kami, no! Bardock gripped his head in his hands and groaned. No, no, not Trunks, please let it be someone who only looks like Trunks. Wait. He knew who Goten was. Damn it, it is Trunks. Kami, why now? Things were already messed up enough as it is, they really don't need any help from another demi-saiyan from the future. Again, the Saiyan felt the strong urge to find a bar and drink himself silly. He could tell that another headache was looming over the horizon.
Unaware of the stares they were receiving, the two little time-travelers rushed forward with glee and did a strange victory dance of some sort, laughing the whole time.
"Trunks, how did you get here?!" Goten exclaimed, still grinning the famous Son Grin (TM).
"I went to Namek and used their dragonballs. I thought you were in Hell, Goten! Your dad went to Hell to look for you 'cause your mom was worried and I wanted to go too but my mom wouldn't let me. And I thought that they wouldn't let me go to Namek when I realized that you had to be here instead of in Hell, so I went to Namek without telling anyone and I found the dragonballs and I used them to get here." Trunks was practically babbling in his attempt to tell everything that had happened to him as quickly as possible. "And what about you? What have you been doing? How long has it been for you? Did ya find your grandpa? What-"
"What the Hell is going on here?!" Chibi Vegeta roared, shutting both Trunks and Goten up.
"Cool!" Trunks's eyes were wide and a smile crossed his face. Not the happy-to-see-you smile he'd been wearing a moment ago. No, this one was much different. This one looked a lot like the smirk his father tended to wear. "Vegeta's here!"
~*~
Aaaaah!!! Cliff hanger! I'm soooo evil! Mwahaha! Sorry if the chapter seems a little short. I was having writer's block (minor case) and I didn't get to spend the afternoon working on it, since I was shopping for my Gohan wall hanging. *blissful expression* Oh, Gohan, I finally have something of you!
Two chapters in one day! Wow! That's twice in one week that I've done that. Lucky lucky readers. ^_^
Ahem... a few last things. Lasaire, good review, good points, but I don't know if I will ever even touch this alternate past unless I leave Radditz behind. I may do a B/V, but that's really secondary. My goal in writing this story is to pave the way for my next Bardock story. Don't get me wrong, I like Vegeta and all, but I like Bardock better. ^_^ And there's a much higher demand for Bardock stories. I'll keep the B/V for this alternate timeline in mind, though, in case I feel like a change. As for Bardock coming and raising Goku in this alternate time... that's not an option. Can't say why. You'll have to wait and find out for yourself. ^_^
Bardock Story Advertising!
Every once in a while, when I find a Bardock story worthy of being advertised, I'll put a note at the end of a chapter. One that several people have mentioned and that I took the time to read for myself is "The Lone and Level Sands" by Logan, storyid = 442153. Extremely good story! 50 years post GT, Bardock goes in search of his missing son, Goku/Kakarot, in the Afterlife. Author hasn't updated in a while, so go read it and review and maybe he'll write another chapter.