A/N: And the finale! Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. Be sure to check on my new story, "Project Oozaru."
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything affiliated with it.
-MalRev
Spectre
26
Clouds gathered around Capsule Corp., shrouding the entire city in darkness as the Dragon Balls pulsated in unison, casting an orange glow on everyone's faces. This was it. Mom had picked up dad from the hospital and was holding his shoulders a Goku stepped back from the gathered Balls to put his arm around me, completely ignoring Chi-Chi's still horrified expression. Goten had come to consciousness now and stared blankly at the ground as his brother summoned Shenron.
The Dragon Balls exploded with light and a long twisting figure spiraled out of them into the black sky, causing Bulma to start crying happily. None of us thought we'd ever see Shenron again after the Balls went missing so many years ago. The Radar couldn't even detect them. Luckily, Piccolo and Dende never gave up hope and succeeded in creating a new set so irreparable things could be reversed.
Goku smiled down at me. "I was thinking I could wish to be your age again. Maybe Krillin won't be as upset and everyone will feel a bit better about all of this."
"No," I said flatly. "Changing your physical body won't make it any better. You still have the same memories and thoughts and honestly, you could pass for being in your mid-twenties. We're going to have to steel ourselves and face dad as is."
"Aww man." Goku scratched the back of his head, frowning. "I guess you're right. I don't think he'll be very happy with us, though. He might feel better if I let him hit me a few times."
I laughed as the Eternal Dragon came to rest in a corkscrew pattern amongst the clouds, bright red eyes scanning the group for a wisher. His scales were a beautiful deep shade of emerald that refracted light back in all the colors of the rainbow. It set a better background for wish-making—Shenron truly looked like something out of legend as he flexed his long talons expectantly.
Mixed fear and excitement coursed through me as mom stepped forward. Dad would regain his health and perhaps the memories of what mom had been telling him. He'd turn around and see his best friend with an arm around his daughter's waist, which would probably make him angry enough to bring back the brain damage permanently. I nervously bit my nails until Goku pulled my wrist away and held it firmly at my side. He was right. I needed to calm down.
"What is your wish?" Shenron boomed. Straight to the point as always.
Mom turned to gesture at dad and cleared her throat. "I wish for my husband's sickness to be taken away, and that he regain all memories of the past that he lost."
There was a pause. We all waited with bated breath for Shenron's decision. Surely he could grant a simple wish like fixing a human's memory? He'd rebuilt entire planets and resurrected the dead on numerous occasions. Goku threaded his fingers through mine and squeezed gently.
"It shall be done," Shenron said.
Everyone started cheering as the dragon's red eyes glowed brightly, fixated on my father. Dad looked up in confusion at the shining orbs and mom wiped tears away from her eyes. I looked up at Goku to see him hurriedly rubbing at his eyes, so I carefully hugged him around the waist. It was okay to cry. Dad was going to be back to normal and all of us could carry on with our lives. Everyone would be happy again.
Shenron vanished a few moments later and the Dragon Balls rose into the sky, scattering across the globe once again. The sky began to clear up as mom knelt down in front of dad and held his shoulders. Goku and I were standing behind him so I couldn't see his face but from the way mom suddenly embraced him, I imagined he was crying. I waited with growing fear for him to turn around and see us.
It was a slow process, though. People began carefully coming forward to greet dad and they were all chattering excitedly about how he was healed and how wonderful Shenron was. He leaned up on his tiptoes to look over everyone, probably scanning the crowd for me, but began to give up. My hand shook in Goku's and he massaged the top of my palm with his thumb, murmuring for me to relax.
Mom smiled at him, still kneeling on the ground, and slowly turned him around to face us.
Goku went stiff as a rod under dad's curious grey eyes. He looked at me first and grinned widely but his gaze didn't linger for very long. It gradually roamed down my arm to my hand, which was still tightly clutched in Goku's. Dad's brow furrowed in confusion and he looked up to his friend for an explanation. He still seemed happy so he must have not put the pieces together yet.
"We're glad you're back, daddy," I said. "But we have something to tell you."
I had a feeling Goku's terrified facial expression gave us away. Dad's already flimsy smile morphed into an angry scowl and he pushed up the sleeves of his shirt, though mom easily held him back. Bulla was standing between her parents behind him with a smug smile on her face.
"What did you do?" dad hissed, glaring at Goku.
"I… I… we…" Goku stuttered.
"I told you to take care of her, not…" Dad closed his eyes as the rage built in him. "I regain my memories just to see you holding hands with my fifteen year old daughter."
"I-It just s-s-sort of hap… happened. I wasn't after her or an-anything." Goku pressed closer to me like he was seeking protection from dad's wrath. He fingered the hem of my shirt.
Dad whirled around to face everyone else. "Why didn't any of you do anything about this?! I hoped bringing Marron here would give her a bit more safety than the last place we lived but apparently I was wrong. If your mother wasn't so busy taking care of me she would've—"
"Krillin, I gave them my blessing," mom said.
Everything fell into silence. Goku's heart was beating so hard I could feel it through his chest as he slowly sidled behind me to hide from dad. Poor guy. He could face invaders from outer space but conflicts with people he cared about scared him beyond belief. Dad stared at mom unblinkingly for a while and she didn't back down or explain herself. He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers.
I stepped forward and Goku was right behind me, afraid of being left behind. "Daddy, I know this is hard for you. We were together a lot and talked about some things that made us realize we had a lot in common. I pressured Goku into it. I told him to think of his own happiness for once and he equated that with me in the end. I'm sure you'd understand if you knew the circumstances."
"Under what circumstances would a middle-aged man fall in love with a teenager? I'm pretty sure I know and they aren't good intentions. I've known Goku my entire life and this is just another passing fancy for him. He has an attention span and mind like a little kid. He doesn't understand the implications of what he's doing and even if he did, he wouldn't care. I forbid this, regardless of what your mother decided to believe. There is absolutely no way I'm letting this happen."
"I already granted Goku legal guardianship of her," mom said offhandedly. "He can marry her if he wants to and neither of us can do anything about it. I was worried about Marron and decided she would be happier living amongst humans rather than watching you slowly fading away."
A vein bulged in dad's forehead. "You WHAT?! How could you do that?! You just gave our daughter away like that because I was sick? Doesn't Marron mean anything to you? Were you going to hand her over to whatever guy came for her first? She needs to finish high school, not get married. I'll go to whatever court I have to and make sure this doesn't happen."
Mom eyed him coldly. He had his warm welcome back so she went back to business. "Are you questioning my authority as a parent? I care enough about our daughter to know when I am no longer fit to support her. I was in the hospital with you on a constant basis, waiting for you to remember even the tiniest details, while poor Marron sat at home alone. Goku was never pursuing her in the way you've convinced yourself he was. We had a long discussion while beating his youngest son.
"Admittedly, Marron is very young. But Goku's age is only scarcely reflected on the outside and completely absent in his mental and emotional capacities. He's so loyal he's almost masochistic and he would be more than happy to facilitate Marron continuing her education. Love happens. It's messy at times and doesn't always seem to flourish between the right people, but it should still be tended to and cultivated like any other romance. My decision stands. They will marry."
"Why are you so hell-bent on them getting married?" Dad asked. He had significantly calmed down after mom's speech and the vein in his forehead disappeared. "Can't that wait until she's older?"
"I was intending on leaving the area with you until Piccolo returned with the Dragon Balls." Mom eyed Goku and I but shrugged indifferently. "I wanted her to have ties to someone before I was gone and I know I can trust him to take care of her. However, in light of recent events, I suppose it could wait. He still has divorce proceedings to go through."
That was fine with me. Fifteen was way too young to be married anyway. Goku stepped out from behind me with a relieved sigh and tried to ignore Chi-Chi staring at him. I found it a bit difficult, too. But things would be better this way. I could live at home with mom and dad like a normal teenager and still see Goku after school and on weekends. I'd prefer that to losing my entire family.
Mom puckered her lips in thought. "But there is the issue of Goku taking Marron's virginity. That was another reason why I pushed him to—"
Goku quickly pushed me out of the way as dad flew across the space between us and tackled him to the grass. I scrambled to my feet when dad started mercilessly punching Goku left and right across the face but mom put a hand on my arm and shook her head. Vegeta powered up to his gold aura and stepped forward with an angry growl but Bulma likewise blocked him from helping. It was silent as dad repeatedly punched his friend, saying everything he needed to with each impact.
A few minutes later, dad stopped. He straddled Goku as he caught his breath then laughed. Goku reached up to wipe the blood from his mouth and winced in pain.
"You still hit like a girl," Goku said.
They both started laughing and dad got up to help Goku to his feet. Thankfully the damage was minimal—some cuts and blood but no significant bruising. Mom wrapped her arm around me and smiled as Goku scooped dad up off the ground in a hug.
"I think this is better than your father believes," she said. "In time, he'll understand."
The group converged. Everyone was smiling and telling stories. Trunks approached dad with Pan and dad hugged her, too. Vegeta punched Goku in the arm for good measure while Bulma examined the lacerations of his face and offered him a capsule. Gohan stared at his daughter as she giggled and listened to dad with Trunks's arm around her waist. Videl tried her best to comfort him.
I looked up at Goku's beaming face and he turned his sparkling black eyes to me. We both smiled and he winked at me over the heads of our friends. In time, we would be accepted. I didn't care. I was willing to wait forever.