Chapter 3: Farewell to Earth

            Robbie Barnes awoke at six A.M.  He quickly dressed and ate.  Dr. Malcolm Barnes did likewise.  They were about to leave when a dark shadow moved in front of the door.

            "Aren't you going to say goodbye to your mother?"  Catherine said.  A tear slid down her cheek as Robbie embraced her tightly.

            "I love you, Mom."

            "And I love you too, Robbie."  She was still crying, but managed a weak smile.  "Oh my, who would've thought my little boy would save the world?"

            "Catherine," Dr. Barnes said.  "We have to go."

            "One more minute!"  She choked out between sobs, "just give me one more minute with my only son before you send him off to war alone!"  Catherine glared at her husband with accusation in her eyes.  This hurt Dr. Barnes deeply, and he looked at the ground, praying to God that his wife would understand why he was doing this.

            "Robert, listen to me," Catherine continued, "I want you to be careful and come back alive.  I'll never forgive myself if anything happens to you."

            "Okay Mom, I'll be careful."  Robbie said as he and his father walked out the door.  Catherine ran to the window to watch them leave.  She watched wistfully as the men she loved got into the car and drove off, never to be seen again.

……………….

            Robbie and Malcolm Barnes drove in silence for the first half of their one-hour trip to the city of Las Angeles.  Malcolm was staring sternly at the road ahead, while Robbie stared at the sights along the highway.  It was Robbie who finally broke the silence.

            "Dad, I've got a question.  Why do I have to go alone?  Why can't you go with me?"  Malcolm thought for a moment, then spoke.

            "I honestly thought about coming along but two things stopped me.  One, the machine isn't good at delivering two people to the same place, which means we would send up wasting precious time looking for each other before our real mission could begin.  Second, I have an important job that I could be doing here.  I feel it is my duty and the duty of all scientists to find some way to hold back the advancing enemy.  Already I have devised several systems to do just that.  However, none of these systems will defeat the invader, but they will slow him down.  That's why I must stay here, and you must go on without me.  You are the only one able to completely stop him.  Understand?"

            "Understood."

            With their conversation ended, they finished the drive in silence until they reached downtown L.A. and pulled into the parking garage at FutureTech.  Robbie began to walk toward the door, when his father stopped him.

            "Hey, Robbie, aren't you forgetting something?"  Robbie turned around just in time to see his father pull a large crate from the trunk of the car and set it on the pavement.  Looking closer, Robbie saw that the crate wasn't all that large, and that he could only fit into it if he curled into a ball and lay on his side.  His father urged him on.

            "Hurry, before someone sees us."  Robbie took a deep breath, walked forward, and proceeded to get into the case.  Then his father closed the lid and Robbie lay in total darkness.  He felt himself lifted of the ground and carried along for a few minutes.  Then his neck began to hurt and he wondered how much farther it was to his father's lab.

           Ten minutes later, he felt himself descending down a flight of stairs and heard an electronic door slide shut behind him.  Just as he thought he couldn't take another minute of his aching neck, he was lowered to the ground and the lid popped open, revealing the face of a very winded Dr. Barnes.

            "C'mon….son…let me…help you….up."

            "Its alright dad.  I can handle this, and it looks like you need a breather."

            "I guess I do.  What has your mother been feeding you?"

            "It must be all the squid and chicken gizzards." 

            "Indeed."  They both broke out in laughter at the joke.  Then followed a moment of silence as they realized that this might be the last time they would share such a moment.  Dr. Barnes sighed and got up.

            "Well then, shall we begin?"

            "Yeah.  So where's this gate thingy?"

            "Right here."  Dr. Barnes pulled a lever, and from a doorway set in the floor, a strange machine emerged.  To Robbie, it looked like a giant stainless-steel shower stall with a mainframe attached to the left side.

            "Is this it?" he said, motioning to the strange machine in front of him.

            "Yes, this is the vessel that will carry you to the DBZ universe," he said as he inserted Robbie's tape into the machine and punched some commands, "Are you ready?"

            "Yes…Father."  Robbie walked over to his father and wrapped his arms around him one last time.  Without meaning to, he began to cry.  "I love you Dad!"

            "I love you too, Robbie.  You've been the best son a man could ever hope for and no matter what happens, I know you'll make your mother and I very proud.  You are the world's only hope now and I have full faith in you.  Now go, go and save our world!"

            Robbie straightened up and wiped the tears from his.  As he walked into the swirling energies, he called back "I won't fail you father!"  And with a flash of  dazzling light he walked through and was gone, leaving Dr. Malcolm Barnes alone in his lab.  Then, a buzzer sounded at the door and he went to greet his important guests.