Chapter 19: pile up.
Goku stretched as he stepped out side his house. He loved the early mornings, as it was the freshest time of the day. Everything was at peace before everybody had to get up and start training or working. He loved it.
Goku finished his stretches and then looked over to the house next door; Emily's house. Something didn't feel right. A ki was missing from the house and Emily seemed to be hunched over in the living room instead of going about making sure the twins were ready for school…
The hero frowned as he stared at the house and began to make his way towards it, noticing Gohan's ki coming out of his house.
"Hey dad, what's up?" Gohan called. Goku looked over at his eldest son and shrugged.
"I was about to go and find out." he called and then led the way into Emily's house.
Surprisingly the front door was slightly ajar. The two saiyans glanced at each other and then made their way into the living room. It was still a mess from the previous night. The fire gate was bent out of shape and there was a dent in the wall as well as a small bloodstain on the carpet below it. And by the sofa, crouched next to it with her head in her arms, was Emily crying softly.
Goku and Gohan hurried to her side to see what was wrong. Emily stared up at them with wet eyes.
"He left…" she muttered. Goku and Gohan exchanged another glance and then looked back at Emily.
"Who did?" Gohan asked. Goku knew the answer before she said it.
"Trunks…he just left…" she said hoarsely. Gohan stared at his sister and then at his father in shock. Goku sighed and held his adoptive daughter sympathetically.
"Shush, why don't you tell us what happened?" Goku asked softly. Emily sniffed and pressed against her dad, trying to take in comfort.
"He was dreaming…or something. It was a nightmare and we found it hard to wake him up. When he did he was furious. The things he said…" she muttered and felt new tears welling up. Goku was silent as he watched his daughter.
"You don't have to go on if you don't want to…" he said softly. Emily looked up at Goku.
"No…I…should tell. He said this family wouldn't bring him down again and then left…I don't understand why. I can't work out what I did wrong…" she replied and stared blankly at the floor. Gohan stared at his sister sadly.
"Is there anything we can do?" he asked. Emily stared at him and shook her head.
"No…the twins need to go to school though…" she muttered and moved to get up. Goku stopped her.
"You need rest. You look like you haven't gotten any sleep in ages. Gohan can take care of the kids and I have something to check up on." He said. Gohan started to complain then looked at his sister again.
But I need to get back to Pan and Videl…he thought and then mentally groaned.
"I'll help…" he said Emily smiled.
"That's nice but I wouldn't want to impose. I know I haven't been getting much sleep with the twins and Daisy and work but I wouldn't want to be a nuisance…" she protested and for a moment Gohan thought he was off the hook.
"Emily, you need rest. Don't worry about it; Gohan can look after things here whilst you rest. And I want you to rest." Goku insisted and Emily gave in
"Right, well now that that's settled, I have to go and see to something. I'll see you later." Goku said and then disappeared, leaving Gohan with no choice but to see to his sister and her kids.
Goku arrived in C.C's kitchen a moment later. Bulma was already by the counter, sipping her coffee that she nearly spilt when Goku materialised at her elbow.
"Kami Goku! You should know better then to just appear next to people like that!" she snapped as she started mopping up the coffee she spilt.
"Sorry Bulma, I just needed to see if mirai was here." He said apologetically with the famous son grin in place. Bulma looked confused yet concerned as she looked up at Goku.
"No…I don't think he is…" she started just as the saiyan in question walked through the kitchen door. He nearly collapsed on a stool, not even noticing Goku.
"Trunks? What's wrong?" Bulma asked as she hurried to her son's counterpart's side. Trunks sighed.
"I…just don't know…" he said softly. Bulma continued to look concerned as Goku took a seat opposite to Trunks.
"I spoke to Emily." The older saiyan said softly. Mirai nearly jumped at the sound of Goku's voice but ended up averting his eyes shamefully.
"I don't know what came over me…" he said. Goku frowned as he watched his son in law.
"Well why don't you tell me your side of the story? Start from the beginning." He said and Mirai nodded.
"Well…Emily and the twins sort of ganged up on me and blamed me for my Gohan's death…I kinda snapped after that…" he started. This confused the others.
"Wait? Emily and the kids did that?" Goku asked confused. Trunks frowned as he tried to think.
"Well…sort of. It was a dream…only not. More like a realisation, sort of. It was more then an ordinary dream, I could feel the blows they dealt me and feel the heat from their blasts and auras. Its…weird…"he tried to explain. It was hard to describe what had actually happened. It wasn't a dream but there wasn't anything else to call it. It had been so real…he had even found some blood in his mouth when he had been flying away from his house.
"So it was a dream but it wasn't…you're not making any sense." Bulma stated, confused and Mirai Trunks buried his head in his hands as he struggled to think of a better explanation.
"What doesn't make sense?" a tired voice asked from the door that led out to the corridor. Bulma and the others all turned round to see a very pale Zara. Even her eyes seemed paler as she stood there with her hair down. It was obvious that she had just woken up.
"Whoa, what's wrong with her?" Goku asked, wide eyed and forgetting everything about discretion. Zara frowned at Goku.
"Nice to see you to." She mumbled and stayed stoic in the doorframe. Bulma surveyed the girl nervously, almost afraid to catch whatever Zara had.
"Um…are you feeling any better this morning?" She asked. Zara shrugged.
"My head feels like it's a victim of a jack hammer that's on fire. And I can't sleep any more. Partly because my energy stores are empty and partly because I'll go crazy." She answered in monotone voice. And of course this got Bulma worried. Zara's energy stores were supposed to take weeks to empty out and Zara had gone with Trunks on a dinner date only two days ago.
"Strange…is there anything you can think of that could of caused this?" Bulma asked. Zara shook her head slowly.
"Not that I can think of. The head ache reminds me of when I was a kid and over used my mental abilities but that can't be the case here, I've barely even lifted a pencil in ages and I keep my mind reading in check." She replied and then rested her hand where the others assumed her energy storage organ was, just to the right of the stomach.
"As for my energy, it must be something to do with my headache. That's all I can think of and it doesn't make sense." Zara finished, confused. All of the others watched her, Bulma and Goku sympathetically but mirai looked at her in almost suspicion.
Could she of…no, I'm being silly. She's too sick…he thought and watched, as she seemed to struggle just to stand.
"Ok, Zara you are going to eat something and then I'll get my Trunks to take you home and watch you from there. We need to make sure you're not contagious. As for Mirai Trunks, he can go up stairs and rest and we'll figure out his problem later. I'm needed in the lab." Bulma instructed and set about making sure that everything got sorted. Goku stayed at the side and watched everyone filter out the room, deciding to take the time for a light snack. He was soon engrossed in rummaging through the fridge that he didn't notice an angry ki walk up to him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" a voice asked. Goku turned round with a mouth full of food and grinned his famous grin at the man that had addressed him.
"Hey Vegeta! I just came here to check up on something!" he said happily. Vegeta glared at Goku and folded his arms.
"Oh? And what pray tell is that? Tosee if myfood needs consuming or to check if I need humiliating?" the prince asked. Goku looked confused at his 'friend'.
"What? No, I needed to check on Mirai…" he started but Vegeta wasn't listening, he was instead growling deeply.
"Get out." the prince said in a deep voice. Goku just blinked.
"Why?"
"Kakarot! Get out before I throw you out!" Vegeta yelled and Goku had to dive out of the door before a blast blew past his head.
Vegeta stared out of the kitchen window as he watched Goku fly off. The prince cracked his knuckles at his sidesas he continued to watch his rival hurry away. Bulma came back into the kitchen having heard the commotion.
"Vegeta? What's going on in here? What happened to Goku?" she asked. Vegeta turned round and began to walk off.
"That freak isn't to come back here, do you understand?" he asked and then left leaving a startled Bulma.
"Okay…" she muttered with a raised eyebrow. Nothing was beginning to make sense around here.
Gohan sighed as he collapsed on the sofa. He had been babysitting a hyperactive Daisy and Pan all day and they were both currently locked in Daisy's room playing with dolls.
"How on earth do the girls do this everyday?" he wondered as he stared up at the ceiling. He could still hear the girls playing and he knew that in a few minutes the twins would be home and making even more noise. Just the thought of it made Gohan feel exhausted.
And then there was his sister. Emily had been in bed for most of the day, getting some well-deserved sleep. He had heard the occasional sob coming from her room but for the most part she had been asleep.
Sleep…I want to do that…he thought as he tossed a rag doll off of the sofa. Babysitting two very hyper saiyan four year olds was hard work. It had been the same with Goten and Trunks and had no doubt been the same with Gohan when he was a tot.
"I must of put mum and dad through this a lot." He muttered with a chuckle and slowly slid down into a lying position. The girls had worn him out more then he thought.
I'll just rest my eyes…he decided and then drifted off to sleep.
Gohan sat bolt up on the sofa. He hadn't meant to fall asleep but he had. He ran a hand through his hair and then noticed a young version of his mother standing over him with her arms folded.
"Son Gohan! Did I say you could take a break from your studies?" she asked angrily. Gohan blinked and then found that the sofa had magically morphed into a desk and chair with algebra notes all over it.
"But I'm 28. I'm too old for this." Gohan muttered as he frowned at his work. A hard and round something collided with his head and Gohan looked up to see Chichi with her infamous frying pan of doom raised high.
"That is no excuse!" she screamed and then started walking towards the door.
"Now hurry and get them done." She said sweetly and left. Gohan blinked and stared at the notes that seemed to triple. He blinked and rubbed his eyes. When he was done he had a towering pile of work stacked high on his desk.
"What the hell?" he asked just before the piles were pushed to the floor and Goku's grinning face met Gohan's.
"Hey son! I have a job for you, but don't tell your mother, ok?" he asked. Gohan blinked.
"But dad…I have all this work to do." He muttered. Goku looked over the piles of notes and shrugged.
"That's nothing, you'll be done in a sec. What I need you to do won't take long anyway." He assured and then pulled something out of his pocket. It was Cell, fully grown and in his perfect form. Gohan couldn't work out how Goku had managed to pull out a full sized Cell but he didn't have time to work it out.
"Could you deal with him? I would but I have a card game with king Kai and a dinosaur. See ya!" Goku announced and then instant translocated away. Gohan sweat dropped and watched as Cell started blasting random parts of the living room whilst laughing like an idiot.
"Great…" Gohan muttered and stood up to deal with Cell. Before he could get out of the chair, Chichi came into the room carrying a baby.
"Hang on Gohan, I have something for you." She said and placed the baby on the desk.
"Watch Goten, ok? I'm too busy being depressed." She said and then Videl, Emily and Bulma all came running in.
"Could you watch these for us as well? Thanks!" they all said in union and placed a baby of their own on the table as well as attaching some leads that were tied to the necks of Alex, Jake and the chibi versions of Trunks and Zara. Gohan stared at them all wide eyed.
"But I have to defeat Cell! And do all this algebra stuff! Guys!" he called but they were already gone. Gohan stared hopelessly at the kids who were all fighting amongst each other whilst Cell played dress up with the babies.
Gohan rubbed his eyes. It wasn't Cell but a Cell Junior but it was just as weird. Gohan slapped the little blue Cell away and then focused on the kids just as Dende and Piccolo decided to drop in, literally.
"Hey Gohan! I need someone to watch the earth whilst Piccolo and me go on vacation to new Namek. There's going to be a rap presentation!" the little god chirped excitedly. Gohan stared blankly at him.
"We want you to watch over everything while we're away." Piccolo finished, putting a lot of emphasis on 'everything'. Gohan gulped and for some reason Piccolo took this as a 'yes'.
"See, I told you he'll do it." Piccolo said happily and Dende jumped into the air as he cheered.
"Fo'sizzle" the guardian exclaimed and then they were gone, leaving Gohan to deal with the mess he was in alone.
"Hey Gohan, I have a problem." Goku's voice greeted Gohan's ears. The young hybrid gulped as he turned to his dad.
"What?" he asked with flat eyes.
"Well…" Goku started, "you see the dinosaur ate my cash and now I'm going to be stuck in other world for a long time serving as king kais personal servant. Do you mind looking after Chichi until I get back?" he then produced Chichi in a bridal gown.
"Why is she in that?" Gohan asked, turning different shades of white as he stared at his mother.
"Why she's getting married of course! How do you expect to take up husbandly duties with out a wedding?" Goku asked, stumped. Gohan felt like he would faint but didn't get the chance as Videl appeared.
"Gohan! What are you doing? You need to be getting a job so that you can earn lots and lots of money! I need that money, Gohan." She said angrily. Gohan felt like being sick. This was too much! He had to do homework, defeat Cell, look after seven kids – three of which were only babies – watch the earth, get a job and marry his mother! Things were getting messed up!
Gohan fell to his knees, crying as he realised that he couldn't keep up.
"Gohan! Get up! You need to help me!" about a thousand voices yelled at him at once and Gohan shut his eyes tightly and blocked his ears in a lame attempt to get rid of all of his friends and family's crazy demands. Surprisingly enough it seemed to work and Gohan could no longer hear anybody. He cautiously opened his eyes and looked up to see two golden orbs staring back at him.
"What now? Are you going to give me something else to do?" He asked angrily. Zara blinked and shrugged. She was now back in her teenage form with her hair in its classic high ponytail and her eyes looking confused.
"Why would I do that?" she asked, with her head tilted to the side. Gohan sighed.
"Because that's all everyone ever does. They take me for granted and I can't ever say no." he explained. Zara still looked confused as she watched him.
"Why can't you say no? Its only a syllable." She said. Gohan blinked.
"Well it is…but its hard…" he started.
"No its not, maybe taking the first step is. You just got to start standing up for yourself." She replied. Gohan blinked and stood up.
"You're right," he said just as Goku appeared in the room.
"Hey Gohan, I need help. The dinosaurs aren't behaving, do you mind disciplining them?" Goku asked. Gohan frowned at his father.
"No dad, I'm not a babysitter. Can't you do it yourself?" Gohan snapped. Goku stared at his son in shock and for a moment Gohan thought that he had broken his dad.
Then Goku burst into flames, screaming.
"Ahhh, Gohan!"
Gohan went wide-eyed but couldn't move.
"Dad!"
Gohan sat bolt upright on Emily's sofa. His father wasn't spontaneously combusting, he didn't have to defeat Cell, watch the earth and marry his mum. It had just been a weird yet scarily realistic dream…
Or was it? He had never had to marry his mother but he did have to take up his father's shoes. He had to raise Goten, be the dad and the husband as he comforted Chichi and he was the one that frequently had to either study or train to save the world even if he didn't want to. That dream had had a lot of truth to it, with a lot of weirdness mixed in. Even Goku bursting into flame had some truth. He was afraid of hurting his family and friends but he was going to go crazy if they kept dumping everything on him…
He couldn't cope…
"Gohan? Are you all right? I thought I heard you scream." A voice called and Emily walked into the room. Gohan looked shakily up at her and smiled.
"I'm fine, just a dream." He replied. Emily frowned.
"A dream? What about?" she asked. Gohan shrugged.
"I dunno, I'd prefer not to talk about it." He lied. Emily watched him closely and then nodded.
"OK then. Hey, I need some help with dinner if you don't mind…" she started. Gohan paled. He couldn't, not anymore.
"I can't." he cried and then hurried out of the house, leaving a very confused Emily in the living room.
Meanwhile upstairs, Alex was staring out of her window. Jake looked over at her from his homework.
"What are you doing?" he asked. Alex didn't reply at first.
"I sense that energy again." She replied softly. Jake blinked and hurried over to the sill to stare into the tree outside.
"Where abouts? I don't see or feel anything." He commented. Alex looked at her brother and then sighed, shaking her head.
"Never mind then. Maybe its just me." She mumbled. Jake stared at his sister and away from the tree, neither twin seeing the shadowy figure with the hollow gold eyes jumping down from it and disappearing…