Disclaimer: Don't own it, never will.
By now Kakarot and Vegeta had found a cave in the mountains. Kakarot proudly declared it to be their base of operations. He comes in every night with hi-tech equipment that Gohan doesn't know how he got. But Gohan really doesn't want to know. Gohan's job everyday is to hunt for food and guard their base.
One day, while Kakarot is gone again, and Gohan is guarding the base, he tries to think of a way to get his father back to normal. Sketching little plans onto the sand of the cave, he thinks, {What if I just push him off a cliff? No, he knows how to fly,} he crosses out that plan. He draws a new one with two figures and one of them carries a boulder. {What if I throw a boulder at him. That won't work. He'd blast it before it hit him,} he crosses out that one too. {How about if I got him when he's slee-}
His thoughts are suddenly interrupted by a loud, "Hey! Gohan! We were looking all over for you!" Gohan looks outside and to his surprise he sees Trunks and Goten flying outside of the cave. Trunks stops immediately when he sees Gohan, but Goten charges wildly at Gohan, overloading him with hugs and 'I missed you's. Trunks slowly flies up to Gohan, staring at him. Or more specifically his tail.
Gohan asks, "What are you doing here?"
Goten answers, "Well you were missing for two weeks, Gohan. And Trunks heard that Mr. Vegeta is gonna hurt Kakarot, whose really Dad, only a little confused. So we came here to get you, so that you can stop Mr. Vegeta."
Gohan says, "Look, you two have to get out of here! He could be coming back any second! Trunks, he'll recognize you! And Goten...well, let's just say you look like him, only smaller."
But Goten suddenly feels someone's ki coming closer to the base. Gohan hisses, "Too late! Quick, hide behind those rocks. Suppress your energy, and Goten, don't say anything!"
Goten and Trunks nod and quickly obey, and narrowly miss being seen by Kakarot, just as he flies into the cave. This time Kakarot is carrying a hologram projector.
Gohan says, "Hello sir. You're back early."
Kakarot scowls, "What are you talking about? I come back whenever I want."
Trunks grows a deathly pale as he sees the figure of his nightmares...Kakarot. He remembers unfocused images of the night Kakarot came to their cabin. He remembers the ice-cold blade, piercing his neck. He remembers how Kakarot was licking his lips and relishing the sight of what seemed to be Trunks's death. Every night after that, he'd have nightmares of Kakarot watching him bleed to death, with that greedy look in his eyes. Trunks shivers in spite of himself.
Meanwhile Goten just noticed that both Gohan and Kakarot have tails. He pokes Trunks and points to their tails. Trunks throws a 'duh' look at him, but continues to shiver.
Kakarot sets up the hologram projector and turns it on, showing a 3D image of Earth. Kakarot pokes the place where they are now and it shows up as a little red dot. He demands, "Where's the food you got?"
Gohan points to the fridge, that Kakarot also got, and says, "It's in there."
Kakarot opens it up and takes out a ham leg. He asks, "Could you roast this for me?"
Gohan's mind suddenly flashes back to the time when he and his father were in hyperbolic time chambre together, training to fight Cell.
**********
"Gohan, time to eat." Goku walks up to Gohan and asks, "Could you roast this for me?"
Gohan says, "Sure Dad."
**********
He remembers how he blasted the food, but when his dad caught it, it disintegrated in his hands and his hair caught on fire. Gohan chuckles lightly at the memory.
"Helloo. Vegeta. I asked you a question. Could you roast this or not?"
Gohan snaps back into reality, "Huh? Oh, sure Dad." Kakarot stares at Gohan and drops the meat onto the ground. Gohan suddenly realizes, {Oh no! I called him Dad!}
Kakarot asks, stunned, "What did you just call me?"
Gohan knows there is no way to lie out of this. "I called you Dad," he says meekly.
"And why did you call me that?"
Gohan gulps, "Um...Because you look just like my father."
"And who might that be?"
"Well, um...it's...it's Turles."
Kakarot yelps, "Turles is your father?!"
Gohan replies, "Uh...yeah."
Kakarot is so overcome with shock he has to sit down, "I thought you told me you met him once on our home planet."
"Well yeah. He discarded me because when I was little I got into a fight with Veg- I mean Goku and I got my tail cut off. I spent most of my childhood looking for him, but when I found him, he still rejected me."
Kakarot eyes Gohan strangely, "Then what did you do?"
"I got a spacepod and flew to Earth to live out the rest of my life." Gohan knows it's a long shot, but he's desperate here.
Kakarot sighs, "I wouldn't know what Turles is like. I never actually met him. Space pirates kidnapped him before I was born. He sort of sounds like a perfectionist. But why did you get into a fight with Goku?"
Gohan answers, "Because my name's Vegeta and he didn't think I was worthy enough for it."
Kakarot says, "Ha! That is so typical. Well it was brave of you to fight a much more experienced saiyan. Especially a prince. You were lucky you weren't killed."
Kakarot looks Gohan over and thinks, {No wonder I'm so fond of this boy. I can see it now. He has a little but of my father in him. That also explains why he's fond of me. I do look a lot like Turles. Although I may be a more handsome version. Hmmm...What if I adopt this boy? I think we get along well enough. But what if he wants to go back to my brother?}
He asks, "Why don't you go back to Turles now that you have a tail.?"
Gohan gulps, "Well, you see, he's...uh....he's, he's dead."
"WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENED?!"
Gohan answers, "Well, someone called Goku killed them," totally forgetting Kakarot is calling Vegeta Goku now.
Kakarot frowns, "Why didn't Raditz help him?"
"Uh...he got killed too."
"By the same person?"
"Yes, the same one," Gohan says, unknowingly sealing Vegeta's fate.
Kakarot thinks, {Well, that solves the problem about adopting. But Goku... He killed both of my brothers...He's going to have to pay. Killing him is too good for him. I'll merely torture him for eternity. And I know just the move to do it.}
He picks up the ham leg from the ground, wipes it off and begins to eat it, raw. Gohan makes a disgusted face, "You do know that's raw right?"
Kakarot scowls, "Of course I know it's raw! What am I stupid?!" But he actually thinks, {Damn, now I have to eat or else I'll look like an idiot. Yuck, this is disgusting.} As he nibbled his food, Gohan cooked his own. Gohan remembers about Trunks and Goten and brings his food over for them while Kakarot isn't looking.
That night, after Kakarot went to sleep, Gohan got Trunks and Goten out of their hiding place to give them instructions. "Look, Mom and Bulma are going to be worried about you two. You better head back now. Goten, I need you to tell Mom and Videl I'm okay and that I'm working on a plan to get Dad back to normal. Trunks, can you find out more about this fight for me?"
Trunks nods, "Yeah, I can do that. It's not going to be easy. Not with my dad anyway."
Gohan says, "Alright, now hurry home. And one more thing. Tell everyone not to freak out if I come home with a tail, okay?" Trunks and Goten nod enthusiastically.
Gohan waves them off, "Alright, now go. Don't forget what you have to do."
By now Kakarot and Vegeta had found a cave in the mountains. Kakarot proudly declared it to be their base of operations. He comes in every night with hi-tech equipment that Gohan doesn't know how he got. But Gohan really doesn't want to know. Gohan's job everyday is to hunt for food and guard their base.
One day, while Kakarot is gone again, and Gohan is guarding the base, he tries to think of a way to get his father back to normal. Sketching little plans onto the sand of the cave, he thinks, {What if I just push him off a cliff? No, he knows how to fly,} he crosses out that plan. He draws a new one with two figures and one of them carries a boulder. {What if I throw a boulder at him. That won't work. He'd blast it before it hit him,} he crosses out that one too. {How about if I got him when he's slee-}
His thoughts are suddenly interrupted by a loud, "Hey! Gohan! We were looking all over for you!" Gohan looks outside and to his surprise he sees Trunks and Goten flying outside of the cave. Trunks stops immediately when he sees Gohan, but Goten charges wildly at Gohan, overloading him with hugs and 'I missed you's. Trunks slowly flies up to Gohan, staring at him. Or more specifically his tail.
Gohan asks, "What are you doing here?"
Goten answers, "Well you were missing for two weeks, Gohan. And Trunks heard that Mr. Vegeta is gonna hurt Kakarot, whose really Dad, only a little confused. So we came here to get you, so that you can stop Mr. Vegeta."
Gohan says, "Look, you two have to get out of here! He could be coming back any second! Trunks, he'll recognize you! And Goten...well, let's just say you look like him, only smaller."
But Goten suddenly feels someone's ki coming closer to the base. Gohan hisses, "Too late! Quick, hide behind those rocks. Suppress your energy, and Goten, don't say anything!"
Goten and Trunks nod and quickly obey, and narrowly miss being seen by Kakarot, just as he flies into the cave. This time Kakarot is carrying a hologram projector.
Gohan says, "Hello sir. You're back early."
Kakarot scowls, "What are you talking about? I come back whenever I want."
Trunks grows a deathly pale as he sees the figure of his nightmares...Kakarot. He remembers unfocused images of the night Kakarot came to their cabin. He remembers the ice-cold blade, piercing his neck. He remembers how Kakarot was licking his lips and relishing the sight of what seemed to be Trunks's death. Every night after that, he'd have nightmares of Kakarot watching him bleed to death, with that greedy look in his eyes. Trunks shivers in spite of himself.
Meanwhile Goten just noticed that both Gohan and Kakarot have tails. He pokes Trunks and points to their tails. Trunks throws a 'duh' look at him, but continues to shiver.
Kakarot sets up the hologram projector and turns it on, showing a 3D image of Earth. Kakarot pokes the place where they are now and it shows up as a little red dot. He demands, "Where's the food you got?"
Gohan points to the fridge, that Kakarot also got, and says, "It's in there."
Kakarot opens it up and takes out a ham leg. He asks, "Could you roast this for me?"
Gohan's mind suddenly flashes back to the time when he and his father were in hyperbolic time chambre together, training to fight Cell.
**********
"Gohan, time to eat." Goku walks up to Gohan and asks, "Could you roast this for me?"
Gohan says, "Sure Dad."
**********
He remembers how he blasted the food, but when his dad caught it, it disintegrated in his hands and his hair caught on fire. Gohan chuckles lightly at the memory.
"Helloo. Vegeta. I asked you a question. Could you roast this or not?"
Gohan snaps back into reality, "Huh? Oh, sure Dad." Kakarot stares at Gohan and drops the meat onto the ground. Gohan suddenly realizes, {Oh no! I called him Dad!}
Kakarot asks, stunned, "What did you just call me?"
Gohan knows there is no way to lie out of this. "I called you Dad," he says meekly.
"And why did you call me that?"
Gohan gulps, "Um...Because you look just like my father."
"And who might that be?"
"Well, um...it's...it's Turles."
Kakarot yelps, "Turles is your father?!"
Gohan replies, "Uh...yeah."
Kakarot is so overcome with shock he has to sit down, "I thought you told me you met him once on our home planet."
"Well yeah. He discarded me because when I was little I got into a fight with Veg- I mean Goku and I got my tail cut off. I spent most of my childhood looking for him, but when I found him, he still rejected me."
Kakarot eyes Gohan strangely, "Then what did you do?"
"I got a spacepod and flew to Earth to live out the rest of my life." Gohan knows it's a long shot, but he's desperate here.
Kakarot sighs, "I wouldn't know what Turles is like. I never actually met him. Space pirates kidnapped him before I was born. He sort of sounds like a perfectionist. But why did you get into a fight with Goku?"
Gohan answers, "Because my name's Vegeta and he didn't think I was worthy enough for it."
Kakarot says, "Ha! That is so typical. Well it was brave of you to fight a much more experienced saiyan. Especially a prince. You were lucky you weren't killed."
Kakarot looks Gohan over and thinks, {No wonder I'm so fond of this boy. I can see it now. He has a little but of my father in him. That also explains why he's fond of me. I do look a lot like Turles. Although I may be a more handsome version. Hmmm...What if I adopt this boy? I think we get along well enough. But what if he wants to go back to my brother?}
He asks, "Why don't you go back to Turles now that you have a tail.?"
Gohan gulps, "Well, you see, he's...uh....he's, he's dead."
"WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENED?!"
Gohan answers, "Well, someone called Goku killed them," totally forgetting Kakarot is calling Vegeta Goku now.
Kakarot frowns, "Why didn't Raditz help him?"
"Uh...he got killed too."
"By the same person?"
"Yes, the same one," Gohan says, unknowingly sealing Vegeta's fate.
Kakarot thinks, {Well, that solves the problem about adopting. But Goku... He killed both of my brothers...He's going to have to pay. Killing him is too good for him. I'll merely torture him for eternity. And I know just the move to do it.}
He picks up the ham leg from the ground, wipes it off and begins to eat it, raw. Gohan makes a disgusted face, "You do know that's raw right?"
Kakarot scowls, "Of course I know it's raw! What am I stupid?!" But he actually thinks, {Damn, now I have to eat or else I'll look like an idiot. Yuck, this is disgusting.} As he nibbled his food, Gohan cooked his own. Gohan remembers about Trunks and Goten and brings his food over for them while Kakarot isn't looking.
That night, after Kakarot went to sleep, Gohan got Trunks and Goten out of their hiding place to give them instructions. "Look, Mom and Bulma are going to be worried about you two. You better head back now. Goten, I need you to tell Mom and Videl I'm okay and that I'm working on a plan to get Dad back to normal. Trunks, can you find out more about this fight for me?"
Trunks nods, "Yeah, I can do that. It's not going to be easy. Not with my dad anyway."
Gohan says, "Alright, now hurry home. And one more thing. Tell everyone not to freak out if I come home with a tail, okay?" Trunks and Goten nod enthusiastically.
Gohan waves them off, "Alright, now go. Don't forget what you have to do."