Looking at the boy's sleeping soul, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity. Perhaps I would go easy on the punishment bestowed on him. He was a child after all. A child of a murderer, but a child nonetheless. I brushed the thick bangs away from Goten's face. He looked peaceful when he slept.

Perhaps I misjudged my motives for killing Goten. I swore at the beginning I wanted him dead because he looked so much like Goku and the fact he was loved by the man would be the ultimate punishment when he was ripped away. But now as I look at him up close, I questioned that. Slowly, as I take in more of his peaceful sleepy face, I realize I want him as my own. I want to raise him with Shin-kun and be a family like I couldn't have done in life. I ran my hand down his ghostly cheek and he stirred. He blinked the sleep out of his bleary eyes and focused on me. He seemed scared for a moment, but suddenly he relaxed and reached out to touch my cheek.

"I get it now. You weren't angry at all, were you? You were sad. You liked my daddy a lot, didn't you? That's why you were so angry at him when he didn't save you. Daddy's sad too you know. He's saved a lot of people lots of times, but I think that's because he feels guilty because he didn't save you." I was shocked to feel tears rolling down my cheeks. It was true. I did like Goku a lot. It hurt so much when I didn't matter enough to him to enquire further about his grandpa's suspicious behavior and by extension save me from my death. I turned that hurt into anger and the anger slowly changed to hate. I sobbed freely and clutched Goten closer to me.

"Why Goku-kun? Why didn't you save me? Did I matter so little to you? I liked you a lot! I wanted to get married one day and have kids, but I can't do that because you didn't save me!" I lamented thinking only Goten could hear me. I was wrong.

"I'm sorry." I gasped and whirled around to see Goku's guilty face. Obviously he'd come looking for Goten and stumbled upon our little tender moment.

"I really am an idiot. I didn't want to believe my grandpa could do something like that. I ignored it thinking grandpa wouldn't lie to me about that. I'm a fool. I liked you too Sakuya-chan. It hurt when I realized I couldn't see you anymore. I guess I buried the memory and covered it with pretty lies just like grandpa buried you and covered it up with pretty flowers. I made myself believe that you really were just busy feeding the flowers and that one day you'd come up the mountain saying you were done and we'd start playing together again. God Sakuya-chan I'm so sorry! Can you ever forgive me?" A whole new wave of tears flooded down my face and tried to scrub them away without letting go of Goten.

"You idiot! I can't stay mad at you when you say things like that! It won't change anything!" I sobbed desperately. I froze up when I felt Goku's strong arms wrap around me.

"I know it won't. Nothing will ever change what I've done to you. I've saved so many people, but even with the memory buried, I still remember the one person I failed to save. I'm wrong to ask for your forgiveness, but please don't punish Goten for my sins." I slowly broke apart from the hug and looked down at Goten who was patiently watching us reconcile things. I gave a watery smile and said,

"He looks like you." Goku huffed affectionately and agreed. "Yeah. But he got Chi Chi's eyes." I felt guilty again. I not only hurt Goku when I took his son, but I hurt this Chi Chi woman as well.

"Daddy? Can I stay with Miss Sakuya?" Goku looked surprised at Goten. What brought that on, and why did he want to stay when he already has a family?

"What? Why little buddy? Don't you think you'll miss your mommy and Gohan? They'll miss you too you know."

Goten paused to think of a good way to answer, and spoke. "I know. I'll miss mommy and Gohan a lot and I know they'll miss me too. But mommy and Gohan have each other. Miss Sakuya doesn't have anyone. You took everything away from her including her chance at becoming a mommy like mine. I want her to have something too. Isn't that what retribution means? You took something from Miss Sakuya, so let Miss Sakuya take me. It's only fair, daddy." Goku and I were both stunned at Goten's selflessness. Goku could only ask,

"Are you sure?" When Goten nodded with a serious face, Goku let out a shaky breath.

"Okay Goten. You can go with Miss Sakuya. Take care, okay little buddy?" Goten smiled sadly and nodded. "I will daddy."

"What are you gonna do now?" I asked in reference to how Goku would handle explaining things to everyone involved. Goku looked seriously at me and said.

"I guess I'll go tell everyone that you got away and that King Kai said it's impossible to wish Goten back because of your claim on him. It'll be hard, but it's nothing we haven't handled before. Take care of Goten, Sakuya. You're his mother now." I nodded and told him I would. I decided at the last minute to be bold and kiss Goku on the cheek.

"Goodbye." I whispered as I sprinted off in the opposite direction. I was running towards Shin and our new life together with Goten as our son. Goku lightly traced his cheek and blushed. "Goodbye Sakuya-chan." He whispered back though I was long gone. Goku stared off in the direction I ran in for a moment or two, then he turned back and sprinted away to tell his friends and family the news.

As expected there was a lot of waterworks and mourning when Goku broke the news of Goten's permanent death. Chi Chi wailed to the heavens and cursed me for taking her baby from her. Gohan comforted his mother as best he could while shedding his own tears. The Z senshi bowed their heads in respect and remembrance of the sunny boy who looked like his father. Goku stared up at the heavens and wondered if he did the right thing letting Goten go. He answered his own question with a sharp reminder of what he'd done to me.

"It'll be hard, but it's only fair. I've saved thousands of people in my life, but I'll never be able to make it up to the one person I didn't. Sakuya? If you're listening, could you take care of Goten for me? He's the only thing I could give you that could even begin to make up for what I did. This is atonement. I took your chance at having a family from you, so it's only right that you take some of my family in exchange. Be happy you guys. I'll do what I can down here to make sure Majin Buu never makes it to Otherworld to destroy it. You just enjoy yourselves until I come up there for good okay?" Goku could have sworn that when the wind blew just then, he could hear Goten giggling happily. Yes, Goku thought. This is how it should be.

This is true retribution.


AND WITH THAT I AM DONE. finished, no more, fin, hasta lavista, NOTHING ELSE~ whew. sorry about the cockblock of a wait guys. i got grounded and my mama cut the internet for the duration. she smart. she don't need the internet to do her thing, but she knows i can't live without it. XD;;

so whatcha think? Goten still got "kidnapped" but it's now a consensual kidnapping. XDD i hope this made you all think a bit. i wanted it to be a sort of controversial ending. i told you guys there's a method to the madness~

Notes about the story:

i realize Sakuya's little motive change was a bit rushed and weird, but i've watched a special on investigative discovery channel once where some women who committed crimes (felonies that may or may not be murder) had a clear cut motive in the beginning but slowly realized their ' motive' was far from what they thought it was. in one case a woman was kidnapping children 'for the money' she got from illegal orphanage transactions. but she stopped one day and looked at one of the children she was kidnapping and realized her motive was actually a way to 'save the children' she kidnapped. she looked back on all the other children she kidnapped and realized their parent's were shitty ones. that kinda happened here when Sakuya looked down at Goten and thought 'wait, he DOES look like Goku, but at one point that would have been a GOOD thing...' i guess in a span of five seconds she figured 'this should have been MY child with Goku' and fell in love with him so to speak.

speaking of Goten he really got eloquent in this chapter didn't he? i mean at the WMAT i just wanted him to sound like a happy 7 year old. but then i pull this 'wise beyond your years' shit out of nowhere. XD; then again, i always wondered how Goten didn't get messed up as a child... he's GOT to have some identity issues right? he's a mini me of Goku for christ's sake! everyone's always telling him 'wow Goten! you look more and more like Goku every day!' there's gotta be some soul searching going on in that little spiky head of his trying to figure out where Goku ends and Goten begins... then again, Akira Toriyama could've delved into A LOT of the character's psyche's but he didn't. so who knows? Goten could have a mystical side to him and we would never know in cannon~

that part where Sakuya and Goku say goodbye was symbolic. they both split up and went back to their separate lives. they 'turned back in opposite directions' to cement the goodbye and say 'this chapter is closed for good.' don't look back at the past, but look forward to the future. Goku kinda looked in the direction Sakuya went off in for a moment to symbolize 'i'll never forget you or Goten, but i have to move on.' there's all this crazy symbolism going on in this scene that i felt i had to explain it lest it get lost in translation. XD;

Response to the Reviews:

BrokenSilence47: yes the snapping of necks makes me shiver. XD; i may crack my knuckles, but i cringe every time i do it. XD;; still can't break the habit though... anyway i hope this wasn't AS depressing as the last chapter. at least there's some kind of reconciliation right? Goten got kidnapped, but it's not like he's gonna get hurt or anything. plus he agreed to it so it's not really 'kidnapping' anymore. i hope this ending won't depress anyone... it was kinda meant to be a controversial ending where it's still 'bad' but there's some 'good' thrown in there to shake it up.

dark angel: yus. if Goku hadn't went after Sakuya to get Goten, he would have been lost for good. but i guess he still is 'lost' because Goten chose to go with her. XD; no turning back now.

and with that folks, i close up this story for good. no sequel here. i don't think there's any way there COULD be a sequel really. i COULD do a 'what's Goten and Sakuya up to?' kinda thing, but that'd be boring and useless information because Goten wouldn't be able to DO much on the planet of the Kais. it'd most likely just be a bunch of family time fluff and that's not a story worth reading without some kind of twist. anyway, bye bye everyone! maybe one of the other five fics i'm working on at the moment will be finished eventually and i'll post them. but until then, nekotama out~