"They're still going at it?"

The boy grabbed his heart as if he were about to faint while his grandfather's soul rolled his eyes. Gohan was still getting lectured by his mother as Videl tried her best to speak over her and explain the incident. The louder she became, the angrier Chi-Chi became.

"Where the heck did you go!?" Goten looked up at Bardock, who was lazily rested in a tree branch he hadn't tried to impale Videl with. "I thought maybe you finally went back to the Red Bastard."

A snicker could be heard even though Goten couldn't see his grandfather's face. The spirit was studying the orange fruit growing side by side with the leaves.

"I tried. I thought I sensed the Old Bat in this world, but she was gone by the time I got to that island. What kind of fruit is this?"

"Oranges. What island?"

"Are humans that moronic they couldn't come up with another name-" Bardock stopped mid-insult when his youngest living grandson plopped onto his branch down by his boots. "Did you just crawl up here?"

"Yeah-huh."

"Why in the hell did you do that!? Saiyans don't crawl, they fly!"

Goten blushed as his eyes continued to blink rapidly. "Gohan's s'pose to teach me..."

"I've got a premature brat and a fruitcake as my next of kin..." Bardock mumbled under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. "My visions didn't have this bullshit."

"You have the daydreams too!?" Goten smiled so brightly that Bardock nearly squinted at the pearly whites. At least the boys' mom kept them clean. "Why didn't you say something earlier when I told you 'bout the pink monster?"

The grandfather shook his head and revealed his profile to the boy. He was eyeing the fighting trio on the grass; the mother finally backing up and claiming she would make lunch as long as the teenagers trained and didn't make out again.

"Go train with your brother, kid. There's not much a spirit can help you with."

Goten could hear the change in Bardock's voice and frowned. This usually happened to his mama when she talked about his dad. The boy decided to help him the same way he helped Chi-Chi.

His warm, small hands connected with one another when his arms wrapped around Bardock. Although Goten couldn't feel him, he knew it would make his grandpa feel better. The seven year old rested his cheek on his grandfather's chest plate and talked in a deep, goofy voice like the purple dinosaur on the morning TV.

"It's okay, Grandpa! Daydreams aren't scary because they're not real, just like nightmares! And don't worry, I'll do my very best to do something heroic so you can go back home soon!"

"GOTEN! IF YOU WANNA TRAIN WITH US, NOW IS THE TIME TO GET OUT OF THE TREE!"

"I'MMA COMING!" the little brother shouted back. Luckily, Gohan wasn't close enough to see him hugging a tree branch. Goten pulled back and grinned at his grandfather, who was looking even more uneasier than before. Having more strength than any normal seven year old should have, Goten gave Bardock another embrace around the neck before jumping out of the tree.

Frozen on the branch with his arms behind his neck still, only Bardock's eyes moved as he watched Goten skip to where his brother and that strange girl were. A few things weren't right.

The more he thought about it, this situation didn't add up. If this child was the 'bad' spirit, why was he so damn innocent? Sure, there were sudden bursts of evil like when he tried killing that circus freak, but all Saiyans had a little bit of that in them.

It took seven whole years for the red bastard to let him know why his spirit was still around. How in the hell could Bardock, the destroyer of everything nice, be the 'good' one?

Seven years of being a soul trapped in a void. If King Yemma had just given him his body right after the incident and allowed him to travel to Other World, Bardock could have been with his son already instead of this crappy world. To make it even worse, every good deed the child and himself had done together wasn't good enough for the red bastard.

"Son of a bitch," Bardock cursed under his breath. His fangs revealed themselves while his fists curled into a tight ball that would break his skin if he had a body. "I'll kill him the moment I set my eyes on him. He's making a fool out of me."

Goten looked over his shoulder when he heard the sound of boots colliding with the grassy ground. His grandfather was stomping away. He opened his mouth to call out to him, but decided it wasn't worth having Gohan's new friend think there was something wrong with him.

"Hope you feel better soon, Grandpa..."

She was pretty, but not pretty-pretty like his mama. She was more like a dog that he would pet but wouldn't want to bring it home or have the responsibility of owning her.

"You stare too much, little boy! Is there something you wanna say!?"

She was feisty like one, too!

"Are you just mad Videl because I can do this-" Goten made a figure-8 in the air and flashed a peace sign at the scowling teenager. "And you can't?"

"You've been giving him extra lessons behind my back!" Videl punched the previously laughing Gohan on the shoulder, making him wince. "I thought we had a deal! Do you know how quickly I can dial Erasa?"

The other teen, never catching a break these days, rubbed the back of his neck. "No, no, no! My brother's just very advanced for his age. Drinks plenty of milk, ya know, and man those oats! I mean... Uh..."

Goten couldn't believe how red this girl made his big brother. Gohan could out run and even mess with a pack of hungry wolves and not shed a tear. Frankly, the older Saiyan looked like he could pee his pants any minute when Videl was around.

"LUNCH TIME!" came their mother's call. Goten was just grateful it wasn't meat loaf this time. He was fixing to race his brother and Videl to the picnic table on the other side of the house when a strong hold on his collar kept him in place. He threw his messy hair of spikes back to see a familiar pissed off face.

"Be there in a minute, Gohan!"

"ALRIGHT BRO! NO PROMISES ON ANY FOOD LEFT FOR YOU!"

"Awh, man!" Goten growled and crossed his arms over his chest when he turned to face Bardock. "This better be quick... Hey, where'd you go off to anyway!? That island again?"

Bardock snarled back and pushed the child back. "I needed some time to myself is all. You get pretty annoying with all that touchy-feely crap."

"Then why'd you come back!?"

"We really need to talk about those daydreams you've been having..." Bardock raised a dark black eyebrow at the tiny raised fists and smirked. "Oh, I see how it's gonna be. Think you're a tough little shit now just because you can barely get in the air?"

Goten mimicked a stance he witnessed his brother taking in one of their pre-Videl training sessions. He crouched down with one foot outward and the knee on his other leg was bent. One palm was pulled backward to search the energy of his opponent while a threatening fist was lowered to his side.

"And you think you're a tough little s-h-e-e-t just because you don't have a real body!"

"I can't believe this! You're so dumb, kid!" Bardock snorted and jumped backward when Goten leaped towards him. It kept going on like that until Bardock flew up into the air with the 'happiest' smirk such a miserable person could muster. "I'm really loving that killer look in your eyes, though. Reminds me of me."

"Rrrrgh... You gonna talk or you gonna fight!?" Goten tried connecting his fist to his grandfather's jaw, but the adult dodged everything to make the boy feel slow.

Which made him feel angry.

"Why not both!?" Bardock kicked Goten's chin with the heel of his boot and made him cry out. "Your daydreams aren't just daydreams, kid. They're visions. They hurt like hell, right?"

"Yeah," Goten sniffled and rubbed his sore spot. "W-Why did you hit me, Grandpa!? Grandpas aren't suppose to do that to their grandsons!"

"I ain't your average grandpa," Bardock snickered when Goten began to growl again. "Before you wet yourself, just listen to me. Those little daydreams of yours? They're going to happen eventually. I don't know how, but you can see into the future like I use to be able to."

Goten lowered his fists and blinked. It was like the moment he fully absorbed Bardock's words, someone pointed a remote at him and set him on slow motion. His eyes widened first and then his lips began to quiver. The sudden change in ferocity to plain fear concerned the spirit of the Saiyan warrior.

"There was something more than just that pink freak walking towards a purple and black haired boy, wasn't there?"

Bardock reached his hand out when the seven year old gripped his head and began hunching over. Still in the air, his body was shaking all over. Not sure what he could possibly do, Bardock shook his head and brought his hand back to his side.

"Stand up straight, boy. Whatever you say, now isn't the time to have a little breakdown. I'm you, you're me. Remember? Saiyans don't act like this. Get your pathetic self together."

Surprisingly, his words of encouragement didn't work. Once the screaming started, Bardock rubbed the back of his neck. Just as he predicted, the other grandson and the pain-in-the-ass women appeared.

"What's wrong, bro!? I swear I didn't eat your food!"

"He really didn't, sweetheart!"

Videl made no comment. If Bardock didn't know any better, he swore she was piercing him with her sapphire eyes like she knew he was there making the situation worse. The warrior's spirit groaned and tried again.

"Now they all think you're throwing some sort of temper tantrum over lunch. Why don't you-"

"I WON'T LET HIM KILL MY MOM!"

"...What the... hell?"

Bardock lowered himself slowly to Gohan's side as the blackened hair of Goten began moving upwards in little golden sparks. Soon, it was standing all the way up and glowing brighter than the sun. His dark eyes had turned icy green, so icy that it even gave a spirit the chills. He looked to his older grandson for answers, but the teen was just as shocked as he was.

"He's...He's uh...SUPER SAIYAN!?"

"A Super Saiyan!?" Bardock shouted in his ear as if he could hear him. "Are you sure!?"

Chi-Chi rubbed her temples and shut her eyes tightly. "Oh, not again, not again! I told Goten not to turn into a little monster anymore!"

"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS!?" Gohan continued his hysterics, completely forgetting who his guest was. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!? MY SEVEN YEAR OLD BROTHER IS A FRIGGIN SUPER SAIYAN!"

"My grandson is a Super Saiyan..."

"MY SON IS A MONSTER!"

"Th-There's two golden fighters...?" Videl had nearly spaced out but was brought back to Earth now. "The one I saw was much taller... and...Hmmm..." Her dark brows knitted together as she turned her attention to Gohan.

"Wh-What!?" the poor young adult couldn't think at this moment, and it made it even worse she was looking into his eyes. "I had no idea about this!"

"Gohan," Chi-Chi interrupted Videl before she could even open her mouth. "The girl already knows too much. Just tell her the truth but make sure she gives you some of your rightfully earned money."

"MOM!"

"SPILL IT, GOHAN!" Videl grinned from ear to ear, pointing him hard in the chest. "You lied about being the Golden Fighter as well as Saiyaman! Right, right!?"

"Videl, I-"

Bardock backhanded the girl's head with a rock but was still nice enough to help her to the ground. At least this way, she'd wake up thinking it was a dream.

After seeing Videl go down, Goten went back to his base form and hurried down to his family. He had his little fists balled up and tears from earlier were in the corner of his eyes as he glared up at Bardock.

"How could you do that to her!?"

"Do what!?" Gohan shot back. He was already picking Videl up in his arms to bring inside the house. "I didn't do anything! She blacked out from seeing you turn into a Super Saiyan! I'm impressed... BUT THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT! You know better than to transform into a Super Saiyan in front of people! Especially this people!"

Goten frowned and looked down at his navy boots. It wasn't his fault. Sometimes it just comes out on its own and he can't control it. Just the image of his mom...

He didn't want to think anymore.

When she began scolding him for what he had done, he toned her out and just studied her face. How could it be real that he might not see it anymore? Couldn't anyone understand just how painful that is? He was just happy seeing her in front of him that he wrapped his little arms around her leg as tightly as he could and cried into the material of her dress. It silenced her completely.

Chi-Chi was holding her young son while Goten held the knocked out Videl, bringing them to their small, but love-filled home. Bardock just stood there in the grassy field, mouth agape and eyebrows furrowed.

"What the hell just happened!?"

Bra had her hands pressed to her mouth out of shock. Goten was able to get these words out so easily although what she was picturing in her head was so painful, even though it wasn't happening to her.

"I had no idea you saw awful things, too... I'm so sorry, Goten..."

The young man rubbed her hand instead of the other way around. One thing he learned from Bardock was to not let others pity him. "Eh, no worries. It's a curse and a blessing."

"What happened with Videl?"

Goten snorted. "She rode my brother's ass for weeks about it, but the three of us kept making her believe she dreamed it all. I mean, she discovered the truth eventually, but at least we got away with it when we really needed it."

Bra silently admired the way his head moved to the side when he laughed and then shook her head. There was something even more impressive about him. "You say this all happened before I was born..."

"Yeees..?"

"That was more than fifteen years ago... How do you remember all this so clearly?"

Goten grinned and tapped his temple twice. "I have no idea, but there's more than my memories up here. I have all of his, too. And he's seen some crazy stuff. Disturbing. It would make a good bedtime story, though."

"Just keep going, stupid."

"He's dragging me away from the phone as we speak," Goten's neck was becoming strained as he fought to hold onto the wall with one hand and the phone clutched in the other. "He doesn't want me to introduce him to anyone but you just gotta believe me, Trunks! Please!"

"You little shit," Bardock seethed. His wrapped a rope around Goten's ankle as he struggled to drag him away. "I told you not to go around blabbing your mouth about this!"

"Trunks, you gotta ask your dad again, okay!? Ask him! It's Bar-dock. Baaaaardock. Got it?"

"Got it dude," a voice came from the other end. "OH! I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you! Gohan was here earlier changing his outfit or whatever, it's still lame but anyway your da-"

The phone and Goten went flying towards the shut door, falling to the floor with a loud thud. Chi-Chi immediately came out of her bedroom and shook her head at the sight of her young son sitting on his head and smiling nervously. A broken phone was next to him in pieces.

"I don't know what's been wrong with you lately, but surely you're not that mixed up that you forget we can't afford things like new phones!" Chi-Chi sighed heavily and brought her son up right and then picked up what was left of her phone. "Come on. After all the training you've done with your brother, I know you're hungry."

Goten pouted. He wished he could blame all his hardships on Bardock since it was the truth, but his mom already had too much on her mind to worry about a ghost in the house. The boy sat down at the table and looked at his currently empty place mat.

"Mama?"

"Hm?"

"What if... I fought in the tournament too and won the money? Could we get a new phone then?"

Chi-Chi was in the process of tying her hair back before serving the hot soup but stopped midway to smile at her young son. It was always so hard to stay mad at him. "Oh, I don't know honey. We'll see. Having both of my boys in it does give us a greater chance, though."

Goten smiled gratefully when she placed the bowl in front of him and thanked her immediately. The smile disappeared though when he noticed Bardock was giving his mom a strange look.

"Ahem!"

"You need some water, sweetie?"

"No, Mama! Thank you!" Goten grinned and then scowled at Bardock when his mother looked away again. The grandfather rolled his eyes.

"Relax. I'm not going to do anything to her. I'm just wondering why she looks... different today."

It was obvious to Goten that it was the hair; his mama always had a neat bun but today it wasn't even holding. It had dropped down until she'd grown tired of it and let it hang down. She always looked much younger that way.

And still prettier than Videl the dog.

"How in the hell did she grow all of this in one night...?" Bardock raised an eyebrow and began moving some of her locks off her shoulder. He froze when Chi-Chi gasped and looked right up at him.

"...Mama?" Goten swore she saw him, but when she looked down at her bowl of soup her eyes were watery. She blinked them away so her son couldn't see.

"I just thought I felt someone familiar, honey. That's all."

When her voice broke, Goten glared at Bardock for getting her upset but the grandfather awkwardly walked away. Her shoulders began shaking, but she still wouldn't let Goten see her tears. She always did that.

"Mama! It's okay, Gohan's coming! I can feel him!"

The door burst open wildly, sending the unsuspecting and now cursing Bardock onto the sofa. In his new helmet-less, bandanna-fied costume, Gohan began jumping up and down like a child who had just received a year's worth of candy.

"Mom! With everything that happened the other day with Videl, I completely forgot to tell you!" Gohan grabbed his previously crying mother by the hands and pulled her up. He began jumping up and down, his red cape doing the same behind him.

"What, that your outfit could get even more heinous..."

"Just spill it, Gohan!" Chi-Chi laughed a true one. "I've never seen you this excited!"

"DAD'S COMING HOME! I mean, it's just for a day but STILL! He's going to be in the tournament and then with us and it's going to be so great!"

"AHHHHH!" Chi-Chi screamed so loudly that this time Goten fell over in his chair. Her and Gohan were both jumping up and down now, squeezing each other. Once Goten stood up again, Chi-Chi rubbed his head and beamed. "Isn't this great, honey!? You get to finally meet your father!"

Goten held his hands together in front of him as if he didn't know what to do. His mother and brother seemed so happy though, so he knew it was a good thing. But there was a strange feeling in his tummy. He looked up at Bardock who was scowling harder than ever. "What is it now?" the boy whispered.

"That's some bullshit!" Bardock hissed. "If he gets to fight in the tournament that means he has his damn body! What the hell are they doing up there!? They couldn't give me my body for a damn day!?"

"To be fair," Goten continued whispering, but at this point it didn't seem to matter. The other two members of his family were screaming their heads off. "My brother said my dad saved the world... What have you done?"

Bardock just made incoherent noises while Goten pulled on the sleeve of his mother's dress for attention. She was crying happy tears this time.

"Yes, Goten?"

"Can I go see Trunks for a little bit, Mama? I promise I'll give you a call when I get there and another one when I leave and that I'll be okay out there I promise just pretty please..."

Overwhelmed with joy of her husband returning for even twenty hours, she nodded. "Of course! Have a blast! I think I have to start preparing all of your father's favorite food tonight!"

Goten faked a chuckle and headed out the door with his notebook clutched to his chest. Bardock was storming after him, of course, and followed him into the reddening sky.

"Why in the hell are you going to that brat's house!? I told you I don't want you to keep blabbing your mouth about me!"

Goten raised his notebook in the air and shook it twice. "This has all the pictures in it from the daydreams I've had! I'm not going to tell any of them the truth, I just wanna see if his mama recognizes anything. She's real smart! Maybe his dad, too. But he kinda scares me."

"I swear if you try anything-"

Goten shook his head. "It's not what you think, Grandpa! I also really gotta see Trunks. The black and purple haired boy really has something to do with him, I think. I just gotta make sure."

"What makes you think that?"

"He's the only person I know with purple hair!"

Bardock hooded his eyes. He actually thought the boy was onto something. The two only flew for one minute in silence until Bardock's gears began turning, something that very rare for a full-blooded Saiyan warrior.

"What about that pink thing you've been seeing?"

"I don't want to talk about him," Goten pouted. "Please. I'll get angry."

"I'm just trying to figure something out kid. Look, let's add this all up," Bardock struck out a fist and began raising a finger after each sentence. "We know there's a pink guy coming to Earth. We know he's going to do bad things. We know your father is coming. We know there's a tournament. Don't you see? It's all coming together for a reason! Your dad's just going to be here for moral support!"

"For what?" Goten really didn't know, but Bardock was sounding more and more excited after each word he spoke.

"This has to be it," Bardock snapped his fingers and grinned wickedly, something that Goten had never seen before. "You defeat that pink freak and save the whole damn world! Not your father, not your brother, you and me! I'll go to where I rightfully belong and when your time comes, I'll see ya there. Damn, kid. I'm actually excited for the first time in three decades!"

Although his smile was creeping Goten out, at least it was a smile and not a smirk. He raised his little fist in the air while continuing to fly next to the spirit of the Saiyan warrior. "Woohoo! I'm gonna save the world!"

"That's right!" Bardock's fangs flashed despite the setting sun. "My Super Saiyan grandson is going to kick some ass!"

"Haha, yeah- Oh..." Goten scratched his head with his free hand. "But... I'm not really sure I know how."

"It's all in your bloodline, my boy. You're going to do great. We'll just out train your brother in every aspect."

"Gohan's real strong, ya know... Stronger than my dad, I bet!" Goten waited for Bardock's response but never got one. He looked over his shoulder to see the spirit of the dead Saiyan warrior had fallen behind due to thinking again. "What's wrong, Grandpa? Is it my dad? Don't worry, I'm scared too!"

Bardock shook his head and caught up with his grandson easily. "I'm not scared, moron. I'm just concerned for several reasons that-"

"It's okay to be scared!"

"I'M NOT SCARED!" Bardock squeezed his eyes tightly so he wouldn't backhand the brat two days in a row. "I just have a feeling since he'll still be dead, he can see me. I don't think I'm ready for someone else besides you to see me. Especially him."

"Don't you love him?"

"What?"

"He's your son, you gotta love him!"

Unsure of what he was talking about, Bardock still knew he didn't like that tone of voice. He snickered evilly and looked at Goten through his peripherals. "I'm not sure any of you are going to recognize your father when he returns to Earth."

"Why not? They all say he looks just like me! A big me!"

"Mmhm, that's true. But he'll come back in a dead body. You know what a dead body looks like, right? After it's rotted and eaten out by worms..."

"N-No..."

"Remember that movie your mom wouldn't let you watch but you did anyway a few nights ago? What was it, again? Zumba, zebra... Eh, whatever. Catch ya at your friend's house, kid!"

Goten was left hanging in the air, watching the spirit of his grandfather cruise through the air faster than any jet. He started trembling where he stood.

"D-D-Die You Zombie Bastards..."

"You ever hear the story about The Fox and the Hound?"

"Mm..no. Why?"

"It sounds like yours and Bardock's relationship! Not aware of your natural boundaries!" Bra revealed all of her perfect teeth to the man sitting across from her and winked. "I hope your story ends better than theirs, though."

Goten crumpled the waxed paper that contained muffin crumbs and chucked into the trash can across the room. A child paying attention to their table the whole time gasped loudly and clapped his hands. Goten gave him a thumbs up and laughed before bringing his dark eyes back to Bra's blue ones.

"How did their story end?"

"They promised they'd be friends forever, but the hound gets pissed at the fox for getting this old dog he lives with get hit by a train and break his leg so the hound goes out to kill the fox but the fox ends up saving the hound and the owner from getting killed by a bear but the hound still can't be friends with the fox and they go their separate ways."

"...And this is a children's story?"

Bra rolled her eyes. "You're missing the point entirely! Obviously with him being dead already you two can't be best friends forever. One goes up there and one stays here. The bear is Majin Buu, you're the fox, and Bardock's the hound. Makes sense, right?"

"Mm...Way off. But I appreciate your predictions," Goten winked. "Tell me this, how can we ever be apart if we're one in the same?"

"What do you mean?"

"I am him, Bra. I see it in the mirror, I see it when I'm fighting, I see it in my dreams. I'm what he could have been if he never died in the first place. You see, you don't age in Other World. I'm older than him at this moment. Crazy, huh?"

Bra nodded her head while flipping through the pages of his notebook. It's been touched so many times that she couldn't believe it had managed to stay together. She thought that name Majin Buu sounded familiar, but the only pink guy she could think of lived with Videl's dad and she couldn't remember his name. Besides, that one was fat. In all these drawings, he was thin.

He could have just let himself go after all these years.

"It's starting to get a little crowded in here, Goten. Do you think we could go somewhere else to finish your story?"

The hybrid grinned. He had been waiting for her to ask that. "I'll take you to the island."

Bra blinked, but snapped her fingers when she remembered that Bardock said something about an island while searching for the 'Old Bat'. "And what's on this island, exactly?"

"Papayas."