Goku stared in awe of his son.
After Gohan had reluctantly let Frieza live, the father and son had made a harrowing escape via one of the Ginyu Force's space pods.
While Gohan had begun to panic, his Super Saiyan state faltering, Goku had kept a clear head. He had refused to leave his little boy when Namek had been evacuated, and he certainly wasn't going to let him die in the planet's pending explosion. With his only child jammed tightly between his knees, the Saiyan man had fired up the engine without knowing just where they were going. He figured anywhere would be better than nowhere.
He stared at his son while the shimmering golden hair faded to black, the strands falling back into their human hairstyle. Goku gingerly picked up his son and rested him in his large lap. He carefully checked the now unconscious boy for any signs of serious injury, only to find nothing worrisome. While the boy was covered in bruises and scratches, the upper part of his blue jumpsuit haphazardly torn off with the destruction of his breastplate, the boy appeared miraculously unharmed.
Sighing, Goku held his son closely to his own bare chest, happy to feel Gohan's warmth against him. His little boy had survived.
A bright flash of light burst through the transparent front of the space pod, and moments later a deafening boom followed. The pod jostled wildly as Namek exploded.
Gripping his son tightly, Goku sat stiffly in his seat, trying to ride out the turbulence. Mere moments later, debris hit the space pod, knocking him back into the surrounding metal.
Everything went black.
The months passed quickly. As Goku and Gohan recovered on Yardrat, life slowly returned to normal for the other Z-Fighters.
Well, most of them.
Just over a year later, the allies of Earth found themselves heading toward the northern wastelands.
Chi-Chi paused in her sweeping to close her eyes.
"Got it," she muttered to herself. She still had some trouble sensing life force, but she managed to track Krillin's slightly raised energy level.
Flinging the broom from her hand, she untied her apron strings and hurried to the door. Silently reminding herself to pick it up later, she rushed out the door, the apron falling from her slack grip.
With one powerful motion, she launched herself into the air.
Thousands of light-years away, Gohan sat on his father's lap.
"Yeah, you've definitely grown," Goku reflected.
"Really?" Gohan asked, innocently. "I guess I didn't notice."
The space pod, though decidedly more cramped than their previous journey, powered through the galaxy in no time.
Before he could comment on how much Gohan's hair had grown as well, Goku stiffened.
"Dad?" Gohan said, sensing the change in his father's demeanour. "What-"
Then he felt it. The undeniable spike in energy.
"Frieza," Goku said, his voice hard. "He's on Earth!"
Gohan tensed.
"We won't get there in time," Goku continued. "Not in this space pod, at least-"
"They're called Attack Balls, you know."
"What?" Gohan asked, turning to face his father. But Goku was nowhere to be seen, and neither was their pod. With a sigh, Gohan rubbed his tired eyes.
"What did you say, Bardock?" He asked.
The dead Saiyan currently stood in the same mysterious arena as before. His green and black armour made him stand out starkly against the off-white tiling. Bardock turned to face Gohan, eyebrows scrunched below the red strip of cloth tied to his forehead.
"The space pods, as you call them," he repeated. "They're Attack Balls."
"Oh," Gohan said lamely. "Okay."
"What's up with you, kid?" The grandfather scowled. "You seem… off."
While their interactions were few and far between, both males had grown attached to each other. There was something intimate about sharing a subconscious.
The boy hesitated before opening up. "All of my visions recently have been of training," he started. "But I don't know what we're training for."
"What do you mean?" Bardock snorted. "Earthlings don't just train to keep their skills sharp?"
"Well, we do," Gohan lamented. "But this… it felt different. It was like when Piccolo trained me."
"Oh?"
"There was a need," Gohan said, shaking his head. "There was a new threat coming."
Before Bardock could respond, a tugging sensation in his stomach brought Gohan back to reality.
Goku's instant transmission took the pair straight to the action. With a metallic clash, they watched in disbelief as a young man cleaved Frieza in half with a slim sword.
Several more strokes had the rest of the Z-Fighters enraptured as well. The youth with pale blonde hair had killed in Frieza with minimal effort. After a final blast of insurance, the young man obliterated the chunks of Arcosian flesh until the galactic emperor was no more than a memory.
With a soft clang, Trunks returned his sword to its rightful place on his back. Turning slightly to look behind him, he grinned. "Goku!"
The full-blooded Saiyan laughed guiltily, sensing that the danger had passed. "Hey, you know me?"
"Goku!" his friends cried. They rushed him all at once, peppering him with questions.
"GOHAN!" The crowd parted as Chi-Chi leapt to her son's side. Shocked at his mother's presence, she was able to knock him down rather forcefully.
"I missed you, Chi," Goku said, patting his wife on the back while she coddled their son.
She sent a hard look at her husband. "We'll talk later," she growled. Much to everyone's surprise, she didn't jump at the opportunity to immediately scream at him.
Gohan hugged his mother back without abandon, glad to finally be back on Earth.
"Sorry to interrupt," a voice said. "But we need to talk."
A blonde Trunks gently touched down in front of the Son family reunion.
"No, you can't be," Goku said, cocking his head to one side. "Are you… a super Saiyan, too?"
"Yes," he confirmed. Dropping his energy, the teenager's hair sagged against his head in a neat, purple haircut.
"We need to- Gohan?" Trunks said, suddenly noticing the child.
The little boy looked up, dressed identical to his father in Yardrat casual wear.
"How do you know my name, Mister?"
"You stay away from my baby," Chi-Chi hissed, trying to shield Gohan from view.
Trunks looked like he didn't know how to respond. After a moment, he collected himself and pressed Goku again. "We really need to talk, Goku. In private. It's very important."
"Sure thing, let's go."
"No way!" Chi-Chi reprimanded. "You seriously just got back with your family and you're already running away again?"
"I'm not leaving again," Goku said. "We'll just be over there!"
"Remember, that boy just saved us all," Krillin spoke up. "I think it's safe to say he's on our side."
Silencing the shorter man with a glare, Chi-Chi nodded to Goku. Kneeling down, she began to brush through her son's hair with long fingers.
Once out of earshot, Trunks confronted Goku.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Goku," he said. "I know you just got back, but I need to know. Can you transform into a Super Saiyan at will?"
"I'm still working on it, but yes."
"Working on it?" Trunks asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
"I only transformed a few months ago," Goku stated. "Gohan helped train me up to it while we were in space."
"Gohan? But… he's only what, six? Seven?" Trunks said, baffled. "How could he possibly be a challenge to you?"
"Well, he turned Super Saiyan first, right when he defeated Frieza on Namek," Goku said, as if it was obvious. "So he showed me how."
"Gohan is a Super Saiyan?" Trunks hissed, eyes wide. "He defeated Frieza?" After receiving a nod in affirmation, Trunks swore.
His expression growing serious, Goku asked, "What's wrong?"
"That wasn't supposed to happen," the teenager said through clenched teeth. "This is going to sound strange, but I'm not from this time. I'm from the future- about twenty years in the future to be exact."
"Whoa, what!" Goku exclaimed. "That's incredible! Are you serious?"
"Yes," Trunks said, solemn.
"Wait, so are you even born yet?" Goku pressed, completely enthralled with the thought of time travel.
After reluctantly sharing his heritage, Trunks brought the conversation back to its original purpose.
"I came here to warn you of a new threat. I knew coming back would inevitably alter some events, but this is… this is unimaginable," he said, clearly frustrated. "Any small change can make a huge difference, do you understand? And clearly something happened differently in this timeline, and early on, too."
"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it's fine," Goku said, trying to cheer the boy up.
Trunks was quiet for a while, before he finally spoke. "I suppose you're right. After all, this could be better- you're still a Super Saiyan like you were in my timeline's past, but now Gohan is as well. He could be a very valuable asset in three years."
"Three years," Goku said, thinking. "What you came to warn us about- it happens in three years?"
"Yes. And I need you to listen very, very carefully, Goku."
"I'm listening."
"In three years, on May 12th, two evil beings will show up on an island nine miles southwest of South City. They're cold, unfeeling Androids, Goku- monsters," Trunks said, his voice cracking slightly with emotion. "They will kill without remorse. You need to stop them, otherwise life as you know it will come to an end."
Meanwhile, Gohan was watching his friends intently. Vegeta stood in the back if the group, his scowl contrasting his lively pink shirt.
"So how long were you waiting for us?" Gohan asked Bulma.
"Waiting?" Bulma asked. "What do you mean? We just got here."
"Yeah, we came when we sensed Frieza," Yamcha confirmed, giving Gohan a puzzled look. "We didn't even know you guys were coming."
"What?" Gohan said, before quickly slapping a hand over his mouth. Choosing his words carefully, he asked, "So that other Super Saiyan guy, he just got here too?"
"Yes," Tien said. "He defeated Frieza rather quickly, too."
Gohan felt his hands begin to shake. His energy rose slightly in anxiety, but all of Goku's attention was too focused on the newcomer to notice.
His features fell as Trunks sternly informed him that showing Gero mercy would be the biggest mistake Goku had ever made. A chill ran down his spine as Trunks told him how his friends would die, one by one.
"Only one survived… my master, Gohan," Trunks said. "But eventually, they came for him, too, thirteen years later."
Gohan felt like collapsing.
"So, my vision of them waiting… it didn't come true?" he thought in a panic. "What happened? Did seeing the future somehow change it?"
"Gohan?" Bulma asked softly, not wanting to attract attention to the boy. But she knew something was up, and she had a feeling it was related to something he'd seen.
Gohan was worried- really worried. If one small event such as arriving early had changed an outcome, who knew what else could change? What else had changed without him realizing it?
Feigning exhaustion, he excused himself from his mother's grasp and sat next to Piccolo. Already having an idea of what happened, a large, green hand rested on Gohan's head for reassurance. Bulma sent him a small, nervous smile, but Gohan just looked away.
"Honestly, I shouldn't be messing with time like I am, trying to change the future," Trunks confessed as Goku pocketed a small medicinal vial. "And please, don't tell anyone about who I am. If mother and father catch wind of anything fishy… I might not be born."
"Your secret is safe with me."
"Thanks, Goku. I knew I could count on you."
"So is this goodbye?" Goku asked, already itching to fight this strong newcomer. Though he figured it might be rude to ask so soon after discovering the world was about to end.
"Perhaps," Trunks said, with a small smile. "But if I can manage another trip back, I will."
"Alright. See you soon, then."
The teenager turned, then stopped suddenly. "Before I leave…"
"Yeah?"
"Can you turn into a Super Saiyan for me?"
With a grin, Goku powered up.
The Z-Fighters watched in awe as Goku and the stranger both became Super Saiyans.
"Impossible," Vegeta roared, for the tenth time. "There's no way that boy can be a Saiyan… and now that third-class clown had managed to surpass me! Let alone a filthy half-breed toddler-"
"It's so much," Chi-Chi breathed. As a new energy user, she quickly became overwhelmed by the sheer influx of power. She fell to her knees, fainting in Krillin's arms shortly after.
Sensing his wife's intense distress, Goku cut his impromptu spar with Trunks short. He bade the teen farewell, and watched to make sure Trunks disappeared safely.
As soon as the mysterious ship had vanished, the group of fighters ventured toward Goku.
"Hiya!" Goku cheered.
Krillin gently passed Chi-Chi to her husband. Her eyelids fluttered open as she felt Goku's strong arms wrapped around her.
"Wow, Chi-Chi, you feel really strong," he said, cheery as ever. "We should spar when we get home!"
"Yeah, I made Krillin start training me so I could keep up with my boys," She huffed. "But really, Goku? I haven't seen you in forever, and you want to spar?"
"Well yeah," he said innocently. "We haven't done it in years!"
Her face turned red in exasperation. "How about we go make another baby- We haven't done that in years!" She responded sarcastically, yet earnestly.
"Mom?" Gohan interjected. He didn't know what she meant, but this sounded like one of those after-he-goes-to-bed conversations.
Before the married couple could argue further, Piccolo took charge of the situation.
"Well, Son?" he demanded. "Spit it out already. Tell us about the Androids."
"You mean you heard?" Goku asked, incredulous.
"My ears do more than just frame my face," the Namekian snapped, a faint purple blush gracing his cheeks. Did everyone forget he was an alien, too?
"Right," Goku said, carefully setting Chi-Chi on her feet. His face grew serious once more.
"Three years from now, on May 12th…"