Vacation Part 1

"Do you have everything Goten?" Chichi asked looking him over.

"Yea mom." Goten said with some irritation mixed in with his rapidly growing excitement. "You've asked me like 20 times. I got everything."

"I know, I know. You just know I worry."

Goten sighed. "I know mom." He smiled. "Everything will be fine. Trust me. Besides, me and dad will be a few seconds away tops."

Goten was glad to see much of his mother's concern vanish at his words. He knew the trip had some symbolic meaning; the beginning of a new stage in his life where his mother would be less involved and hands on. Where he'd branch out to make something of himself by himself. He knew it scared her – truth was it scared him too. Where did he go from here? Trunks' future was pretty much made and set already (if Trunks wanted it to be), but his own was much more uncertain. But Goten shook his head. This was far too heavy and deep to be thinking about right now. The next 2-3 weeks were to be spent with minimal thinking and worry, and he wanted to make sure he was in the proper mindset before leaving.

"When did Gohan say he'd be here?" Goten asked. His father was already ready – Goten could tell because he was napping on the couch – but Gohan's energy was still at the University.

"Shortly Goten, he had some paper work to deal with before he headed over."

Goten took a few hops up and down, keeping his excitement down. As he did so however, he felt Trunks energy rapidly approaching. Although surprised at first (Trunks had seemed just a little angry that he wasn't coming on this trip when Goten told him a few days ago), Goten guessed he must have been here to see him off. Or at least that what Goten hoped. Goten made for his bedroom window to meet Trunks- it'd be faster than using the door after all – but a quick throw of ChiChi's voice stopped him.

"Goten Son! How many times do I have to tell you to use the damn door if you need to go outside? It's not just there for decoration you know." She scolded, reminding Goten of the numerous times she had reprimanded Goku's attempts to use the windows to get in and out of the house. He found his hand moving to the back of his head as he pulled his leg off the windowsill and back into his room. He grinned to his mother nervously.

ChiChi merely sighed as she looked at her son.

"Do try to not get in too much trouble while you're away will you Goten?"

"I'll do my best. I can't be worse than Pan." Goten replied, losing the nervousness from his grin. He saw his mother's features constrict slightly – he had reminded her that she would be looking after the teen titan after school while Videl was at work. Before she had a chance to speak further, he was already out of his room and bolting towards the front door of the house.

Goten skidded on the slightly moist grass of his yard as he attempted to stop himself before running into the just landed Trunks. He was able to do so, but only just. Another half a foot and he would have skidded right into Trunks.

"Well looks like someone's excited." Trunks smirked.

"Heh, you noticed huh?" Goten said grinning broadly as he stood upright from the position he had stopped in.

"Yea, it was pretty hard to tell though." Trunks replied with heavy sarcasm.

Goten continued smiling for several seconds before Trunks spoke gain, forcing Goten to take on a more serious look.

"So about the other day…" Trunks began.

"Yea, look Trunks, if this wasn't just a family thing…"

"Nah." Trunks interrupted, motioning for Goten to stop speaking. "I understand man. I totally overreacted. It's a family thing, I get that."

Goten grinned once more. "So you're apologizing?"

"Well… I don't know if I'd go that far…" Trunks returned Goten's grin. "But I was out of line. Anyways dude, have a good time."

"I will. Don't worry Trunks, I'll annoy you again as soon as I get back."

"You better."

"Alright!" Goku said rubbing his hands together in front of himself, grinning broadly to Goten and Gohan. "Where are we headed Goten?"

Goten grinned back up at his father. He'd been looking forward to this for weeks, and had thought long and hard about where the three would be taking their long overdue vacation. He had elected somewhere he himself had been only a handful of times, but that he knew held special significance for his brother and father. It was about the most remote place Goten could think of – well within reason of course.

"Namek." Goten said, watching as his father's expression switch from confused to excited.

Lunex breathed in the namekian air, relishing in its purity and cleanliness. The green skies and oceans, and the sweeping blue grass were just as serene and captivating as they had been in his astral observations of the planet. The air felt invigorating and calming – any air would have been after millions of years in a sterile isolated prison – but this air in particular was a pleasure to breathe.

It had been nearly three weeks since Lunex had escaped his ancient prison. The breach in the walls that had become his reality was courteous of a local turf war that had escalated into the void of his prison. A misplaced energy blast had created a tiny rift in his prison, but that was more than enough for Lunex to free himself. It seemed the outer walls of his prison had become incredibly degraded since their erection, no doubt due to the death of most of his imprisoners.

The two combatants in the turf war had quickly turned their aggression on him, but he disposed of them without the slightest bit of difficulty despite the lethargy and sluggish battle skills that had become deeply rooted within him. Lunex had considered ending the brutal conflicts in the western galaxy – it would be a great way to retrain his body and mind for battle – but it would also take several years to rebalance the galaxies. His curiosity in meeting the Saiyans of the eastern galaxies had seemed a more attractive option, and so Lunex had left the Western galaxies for the time being. He was thankful his body still knew how to "jump" – a technique he found similar to Goku's Instant Transmission, except faster and without the need to find a target ki signal. Combined with his still readily available ability to project his vision countless light years, most of the known universe had become within his ability to reach. He had paused briefly in the Northern Galaxy, laying siege to the ruling empire there. He had done so as he was disgusted with the oppression the empire laid upon its citizens, as well as a need to satisfy his shadow side, and retrain himself in some basic battle techniques.

Lunex was amazed how well his body had fared during his long imprisonment. Though it was difficult to gauge how his power compared to his previous self, much of his battle instincts, strength, and repertoire of techniques remained intact. His body still knew how to battle instinctually – albeit at a slower and less effective rate – and he still recalled the correct way to perform most of the techniques he had known. He had even started using the vast amount of knowledge he had gained during his imprisonment to develop new techniques and improve his old ones. Combining "jumping" with his wide vision was the only technique he felt confident with so far however.

Because of that technique, he now stood on Namek, a single jump from Earth, on the far side of the universe from his new origins. He was hesitant however; unsure if now was the proper time to make himself known to the Saiyans of earth. While he had no intention of fighting them (beyond perhaps a friendly spar with Goku), he knew well enough to account for as many scenarios as mentally possible. If a confrontation did occur, he was not yet convinced he could win against the Saiyans. He was confident he was significantly stronger than Goku, but without having seen Goku fight at his maximum in the better part of a year, there was always the off chance Goku's power had improved more than he accounted for. Additionally, the half dozen other Saiyans could be problematic – Vegeta and the fusion of Goten and Trunks in particular could certainly turn the tide in Goku's favor.

Lunex crossed his arms as he continued thinking, still breathing deeply and rhythmically. He would need several more weeks to restore his power back to the point of not being threatened by the Saiyans. Namek seemed an ideal place to use as a makeshift home. He could not go unnoticed training at full power here, but he was a mere three short jumps out from the galactic core of the Milky Way. As long as he was not careless, he could remain undetected as he trained there – the numerous super massive black holes, intense radiation and energy would provide an ideal veil, masking his energy signal. Additionally, the numerous dyeing stars and black holes would make ideal targets for practicing his energy techniques – so long as he didn't get carried away and destroy too many.

As Lunex prepared to take a more thorough scout of the planet and locate sites for a temporary residence, he was interrupted by his energy senses picking up the sudden appearance of 3 strong energy signals. Lunex was not left wondering their identity long – he senses quickly told him it was Goku and his two sons. With great haste, Lunex plummeted his energy as low as possible. He was unsure if the three Saiyans would have had time to discern his energy signal. It was possible – Goku was quick after all. He remained motionless for several moments, ready to jump should he detect their energy signals heading towards him. There sudden appearance made Lunex question if they had somehow sensed him all the way on Earth – that seemed unlikely, but he was unsure why else they would be here. Maybe he should have been keeping closer tabs on them – but he had been enjoying his freedom too much.

"Dad?" Goten asked, looking to his father curiously due to the sudden serious look his father acquired just a moment after the three had touched down on Namek.

Goku didn't answer, his serious look turning to a frown briefly as he scanned the landscape with his senses. He knew he felt… something. Something very powerful and out of place here on Namek, but no sooner had his senses picked up that energy then it had vanished. Even now, given time to focus and engage his full senses to the task, he could discern nothing out of the ordinary – a few moderate power levels in groups – no doubt namekian towns and cities – but no power levels that were out of place. Goku was pulled out his observation by a gentle hand placed on his shoulder by Gohan.

"Something wrong Dad?" Gohan asked, his look also having become quite serious.

"No…" Goku began. Though he knew for certain he felt what he did, it was gone now – and he didn't want to disturb this vacation before it even got started. He had been looking forward to this as much as his sons, He'd just be certain to be more vigilant then normal – in case the energy decided to make a reappearance. "Everything's fine." He concluded, dropping the slight frown in favour of the Son smile. "So what do you boys feel like doing first?

"Hm, well I suppose we should find a proper place to set up camp…" Gohan replied, scratching the side of his head lightly as he took in the landscape. It had been some time since his last visit here, but the world still look as serene and peaceful as he remembered.

"Gohannnn… that's boring." Goten objected, pouting slightly much as his childhood self would have. "Let's doing something fun first!"

"Well what would you suggest then little brother?" Gohan asked, quirking an eyebrow at Goten.

"Welllll…." Goten began. The glint in his eye clearly revealed he wasn't just thinking this up right now despite his attempts to make it appear so. "How about a training match Gohan?"

That seemed to pique Goku's interest as he focused solely on the conversation between his sons, temporarily neglecting his concern about that mysterious power level.

"Uhh…" Gohan began, slightly taken back. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised – fighting was one of Goten's favorite things to do just like their father.

"What's the matter Gohan? Afraid you'll get beaten by your little brother?" Goten smirked as he taunted Gohan.

"Well…" Gohan began. It wasn't that he was necessarily afraid, but it had been years since he'd taken his training seriously. Gohan really only fought when he needed to, but Goten and his father fought because they truly seemed to enjoy it. Gohan knew years ago, he could have taken Goten without much difficulty, but he had no idea how he stacked up to his little brother now a days. It would be a bit embarrassing to lose to him.

"Goten, how about you give Gohan a little time to get back into the swing of things before you two start throwing fists?" Goku asked, sensing the hesitation of his eldest.

Goten frowned slightly. "Okay okay, I just really want to know if I'm stronger then you now Gohan."

"Well how about a rain check till next week squirt? Then we'll see." Gohan said to Goten with a grin.

"Okay Gohan. I'm going to win though - just so you know."

"Heh we'll see." Gohan mirrored Goten's wide grin.

"Hm… okay so no fighting… how about…" Goten paused as he looked around himself. He immediately caught site of the vast expanse of crystalline green water near where they had touched down. The reflection and sparkling of the namekian sun made it all the more enticing. "swimming then!" Goten said excitedly, barely waiting from acknowledgement from his brother and father before he was rushing towards the water's edge, his shirt and pants momentarily swept up in the wind from his speed as practically tore them off himself.

"It's almost like he's 10 again." Gohan said happily to his father as he watched his brother jumping into the deep green water with a spectacular splash before disappearing below its previously calm and undisturbed surface.

"Heh… I've missed this sort of thing." Goku replied.

"Me too dad. Me too." Gohan began, grinning for a moment. "Race you Dad!" he added before bolting off towards the water just like his little brother had.

"He.. Hey! No fair!" Goku protested, quickly following in Gohan's wake.