Time Distorted

BY MARA ROBERTS

Chapter 1

A Random Meadow

Year 686

"What are we going to do?" Gohan asked as they walked through the meadow.

"We are going to help your grandfathers."

"Oh."

They walked a moment in silence, save for the birds' song.

"Wait a minute.

"Wait a sec, how can my dad be born then?" Gohan panicked. "And you killed my grandpa!?!"

"He was already dead, for your information!"

"But if he was already dead, how can I be alive?"

"If you'll shut up I'll explain!" Mie sighed. "A long time ago your grandpa died when he was eighteen, and he was sent to, well, not exactly Heaven and not exactly Hell. I guess you would call it Purgatory. Anyway, I was learning how to teleport. I was trying to move a cup from the Halls of Purgatory and I was supposed to teleport it to right in front of me. Unfortunately, Bardock was standing right next to i"Wait a sec, how can my dad be born then?" Gohan panicked. "And you killed my grandpa!?!"

"He was already dead, for your information!"

"But if he was already dead, how can I be alive?"

"If you'll shut up I'll explain!" Mie sighed. "A long time ago your grandpa died when he was eighteen, and he was sent to, well, not exactly Heaven and not exactly Hell. I guess you would call it Purgatory. Anyway, I was learning how to teleport. I was trying to move a cup from the Halls of Purgatory and I was supposed to teleport it to right in front of me. Unfortunately, Bardock was standing right next to it, and since I was aiming for a small, inanimate object, and because Bardock had much more mass and was, well, not as dead as that cup, he landed far from where I had intended. He ended up in the Corridor of Time.

"I tried to correct my mistake by sending him back to Purgatory, but I sent him through the wall instead, and it was different than when the dragon revived you, Gohan. Shenlong knew what he was doing. I didn't."

Gohan winced in sympathy with his grandfather. It had been bad enough when he crossed the barrier – not awful, but not pleasant either.

"Was it very painful?" Gohan asked in a worried voice.

"Oh, no! It wasn't painful at all, just the unpleasant feeling I'm sure you remember. I meant that by going through the wall the way he did, Time is somewhat imprinted on his memory. He'll have visions from now until the day he dies… again."

"Oh. But that doesn't explain how my dad is born. Bardock is too far into the past."

"We'll worry about that after we defeat Bibidi, k?"

"Okay."

Forest Trail

Year 686

A young man in his late twenties was hiking along a forest trail in the early afternoon. He wore a dirt-stained knapsack and well-worn hiking boots, signifying he'd been on the move for quite sometime. He walked at a reasonable pace, as though he had come quite a distance, and had quite a distance yet to go. A white bandana graced his forehead, keeping hair and sweat out of his eyes. His clothes were all brown, and could use a washing. Heck, the man himself could use one, which is probably what the man himself was thinking as he wandered by a stream. He passed, then on second thought turned back. He stripped and jumped in for a nice, cool swim. A lard of soap was removed from his knapsack and the hiker scrubbed dirt and grime off his body before floating around, allowing his aching muscles some respite.

Then it was time to walk again, and off he went after cleaning his clothes as best he could. It was then that he met the strangers. These were no ordinary strangers; it was as though they were expecting him.

The hiker stopped and loosened his sack a little on his back, prepared to go into fighting stance while making sure his own pose was relaxed. He didn't want to start trouble, just be prepared for it.

"Greetings," the girl spoke.

"Hello," Gohan replied in kind.

The other, a boy, inclined his head in greeting. He seemed very aloof, and very wary. Gohan walked past them and kept on going. Suddenly a warning sounded in his head. He ducked, just in time, for the boy had attacked him. Energy flew over Gohan's head as he was tackled to the ground. He quickly rolled so that he faced the boy. Green eyes glowed bright, and the skin had turned sharply blue, whereas before there had been but a hint of it. Fangs protruded now and the demon tried to bite Gohan. Moving quickly he freed his arm and pushed the monster away, giving him enough time to regain his feet.

The woman chose that time to attack. Her skin was now green, and her eyes red. She had fangs to match the boy. She jumped on Gohan's back so quickly his knapsack went flying, and then bit him in the shoulder. Gohan didn't panic – he knew he could defeat these two, but not without energy. While they were weaker than he, they had the numerical advantage and surprise on their side.

Just as suddenly as she was there, the woman's weight was gone form his back. Gohan heard her slam into a tree, which splintered from the impact and hung lopsidedly over. He went to kick the man but before he could raise his leg the being was already ten feet out in front of him, skid marks from here to there. The monster sat on his rump, very stunned. A massive bruise was forming on its chest. Neither fighter would get up anytime soon. Gohan heard wind moving behind him and whirled around quickly to face this potential threat. There stood a boy, hands raised in a gesture of peace. Gohan relaxed his stance but stood prepared.

"Don't worry; I mean you know harm."

"You defeated those two?" Gohan asked, pointing to the two stunned demons.

The boy nodded. "They were hurting you."

"And how did you become so strong? You seem only five years old."

The boy grinned. He knew Gohan would question him, and he knew he had to answer honestly. Gohan could read hearts the way Roshi read minds. "I'm six. And I had a tough teacher, a demon for a sensei."

Gohan stepped back, arms partway raised to defend himself. "So you just defeated your own team?" He asked, voice rough.

"No. I don't side with evil."

"And yet you were trained by a demon," Gohan said sarcastically.

"He felt guilty for killing my father dishonorably. He was evil, but had a sense of honor. The two had allied themselves temporarily to defeat a greater evil. My dad did it to protect me. My sensei wanted to beat the guy for having been defeated by him earlier. They teamed up knowing they wouldn't win on their own. As it turned out, the only way to beat him was for Dad to hold him and sensei to shoot him both. My dad died smiling, glad he was able to protect me. Sensei was not proud to kill Father. He had wanted to beat him in a one-on-one all out match so all would know he was the greater warrior. That's why he trained me – to try and make up only a little for killing my dad," the boy said, trying to soothe Gohan's worry. "Not all demons are truly evil; it's just all they know. My sensei is – was, a great man. He died protecting me later on, in battle. I'll always be grateful and I'll never forget all he has taught me."

Gohan apparently believed the story and relaxed. "Perhaps your sensei was not a demon at all. Perhaps he was possessed, as my village once was."

"Perhaps."

"What is your name, boy, and why did you help me?"

"You are fighting the same person I am. Or, you would, if you knew just who the enemy was. It was that evil being that possessed my sensei. It was as you said. I had heard of you and thought we could join forces. When I saw you were attacked, I rushed to help."

"And your name?"

"I'm sorry, it's not that I don't trust you, but I'd rather not give my real name. You can call me Kakorott if you like."

"Kakorott?"

"My father's name."

"And why not yours." The boy, Kakorott, looked uncomfortable.

"I don't want my family to be destroyed." Or erased, Gohan added silently to himself.

"Then why give your dad's name if you are trying to hide yourself?"

Kakorott started walking down the path. "It was his birth name, and no one else knows it. They only know his adopted name – he was orphaned, and he only learned his birth-name when my uncle came looking for him."

Gohan nodded. "Alright, I'll buy that for know but I don't know if I can trust you yet, young as you are."

"I wouldn't expect you too. I'm sure you've met many seemingly harmless folk on your journey. Hell, that boy and girl seemed normal enough at first, physically at least."

"What other way is there?"

"Their Ki was off. You know what Ki is, don't you?"

Gohan nodded. "Of course. I'm surprised you've heard of it. Not many have."

"I was trained by a demon, remember."

"Right. Why haven't you asked me my name yet? Or anything about me?"

"I know your name, it's Gohan. I came looking especially for you when I heard about you from the village at Mt. Frying Pan. And I've heard the stories; your experience mirrors mine."

"You speak very well for a five year old."

"Six. And my mother was big on learning. She wanted me to be a scholar. I only learned how to fight when Dad died, when I was four. But I've studied my whole life."

So, Gohan thought. If he's lying he's very good at it. He remembered his age and his training when spewing back answers to my questions. And everything is possible, but still highly unusual…

"What are you thinking, Kakorott?"

"I'm thinking I wish you could trust me, but only time will take care of that."

"You give out a lot of information for someone who's trying to be secretive."

Gohan shook his head. "I want to tell you what I can without risk, because there is so much I cannot." He gestured down the path. "My friend, Mie, is over this way. If you don't mind, we'll travel with her."

Gohan became suspicious. "Why wasn't she there when you showed up?"

"She didn't approve of my helping you; she wanted to see how you fight. Besides, wouldn't it be awfully coincidental if you were attacked by a boy and girl, and then saved by another?"

"Isn't it 'awfully coincidental' now?"

"No. I gave you time to get to know me and judge how much of a threat I am, if you have judged me to be a threat, and gave warning about Mie. So there are no surprises from my side."

"Yet."

"Ever. At least, no bad ones," Kakorott grinned as though laughing at a private joke.

Gohan looked at him curiously, but said nothing. Eventually they caught up with Mie. She said nothing; spoke no words of introduction or even acknowledgment. Kakorott knew she was very serious about what they were doing here and upset he had interfered with Gohan's fight. She spoke up, "We shall have to meet up with Bardock, soon. Convince him to join us."

"Why?" Kakorott asked, anxious. "He's a Saiyjin; they're violent!"

"He's your blood."

"Even so. I doubt he'll help us, anyway. Saiyjins look out for themselves."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do. Ever since they encountered Frieza and became his private army-"

"Bardock has never met Frieza, remember. He is from before then."

"Even so, selfishness is in his blood. It's why Frieza recruited them in the first place."

"I have reason to believe he will help." At that, Kakorott looked curiously her way. "And this way we can keep an eye on him, keep him safe before sending him to where he's supposed to be."

"As if we'll be able to do that anyway," Kakorott muttered under his breath. Mie ignored him; Gohan was very confused. Who was Bardock? Why did they need him?

"Furthermore," Mie went on, "He has military experience that could be very valuable to us. Unless you think Bibidi has no guards or defenses on an alien world about which we know very little?"

"I suppose so, but I don't really like it. What if he recognizes me, or that I'm part Saiyjin?"

"We'll deal with that if that comes. Right now we need to concentrate on defeating Bibidi before he can release the ultimate terror."

"Fine, but I'll need a new name then. He'd certainly recognize 'Kakorott' as a Saiyjin name."

"Keep it. That would be a good thing. Besides, why should he be the only Saiyjin around? Things could have changed for all he knows since his day."

"But they haven't."

"He doesn't have to know that."

Gohan could keep silent no longer. They were talking of things he knew nothing about. He had trusted them this far, it was time they trusted him! "Just who is this 'Bibidi', and what is the ultimate terror?

"You're right. We need to share information," she said. "Bibidi is a powerful wizard that can control the evil inside anyone. The terror I speak of is his creation, Majin Buu. Buu has destroyed countless homes and people, including my own family. He must be stopped, but the few who know he even exists also know his power and thus are too afraid to step up. That's why I'm here, as is Kakorott. Someone has to stop being a coward, might as well be me."

"He can control the evil in people? That's very… disconcerting."

"Yes," Kakorott spoke up for the first time since his complaint.

Gohan stopped in his tracks, curious at the dejected tone in his voice. He was about to ask, but Mie sent him a pleading look, asking him not to.

Instead, Mie made the first comforting gesture Gohan had seen. She draped her arm around Kakorott's shoulders and gave him a hug. "Don't worry. I won't let him get to you."

Kakorott still seemed tense, but not as much. He must have faith in this girl. "Thanks."

"Anytime, little bro."

Kakorott looked up, slightly shocked at such terms of endearment.

"I'm… I'm honored you consider me family," he said with quiet sincerity. "It means a lot, coming from you."

Mie blushed before straightening and letting go of Kakorott's shoulder. She walked briskly. "Let's get going. We have much ground I want to cover before twilight."

Gohan almost blanched. They meant to walk until midnight? Kakorott looked shocked but didn't seem to mind. But Gohan, he'd been up since dawn, and he wanted a meal before bedtime. As though she could read his thoughts (which she could), Mie spoke up. "Don't worry. We won't push this pace for long, but I want to catch up to Bardock before he moves on again. He's just wandering from village to village, and I don't want to go too far out of our way to find him."

Kakorott nodded; it made sense to him. But he worried about his grandfather. Sure, he knew all these martial arts techniques but he may not have acquired the stamina he would later in life. In fact, Kakorott knew he hadn't by judging Gohan's Ki. Quickly, Kakorott checked to make sure his own Ki was firmly suppressed. He didn't want to frighten Gohan, after all. Or let on how powerful he was to the foes they would surely face.