AnimeWolfGirl16: Yes, I am hopefully going to be able to explain more in these later chapters; I just don't want to give everything away since I have a lot planned.

Seraphinit: Yeah, sorry it has been so confusing. I am going to try and reveal some more about this in the next few chapters. (Hint: "Haunting Past" is the prequel to this fanfiction, although it isn't complete yet for some reasons regarding this fanfiction; hopefully that might help some)

person345 (Guest): Thanks for the review! And congrats on being the 50th reviewer! :)

Chapter 25: Times to Ponder

Gohan eventually walked back to the house, leaving behind the strange flower and where he had last seen Kevin. One question had continued to echo in his mind: What happened? But everything was silent, giving him no answer.

Exhausted, he had stumbled through the open window and into his room, standing there for a few moments before going to sit down on his bed. He thought about going to sleep, but knew that it wouldn't come unless his mind stopped racing.

Sighing, he glanced down at where Kevin's belongings were, but then stopped when he didn't see anything except the Biology book they had been using earlier since his had gotten burnt.

Bending down, he picked it up and looked around again, wondering where everything else could have gone.

"Things just keep getting weirder," he whispered while he stared down at the book, feeling sadness fill him.

Gohan knew he should be used to weird things happening in his life, but for some odd reason, he wasn't.

My whole life practically screams strange, he thought, wondering why he wasn't used to things like this happening by now.

Gohan sighed, putting the book on his bed and closed his eyes. He opened them again when he heard a fluttering noise.

A piece of paper was slowly falling to the floor, apparently being the source of the noise. As the paper hit the floor, Gohan continued to stare at it, wondering where it could have come from.

Glancing over at the Biology book, he realized that the front cover was now open. His head tilted to the side in confusion as he looked at it. His eyes widened when he saw that where Kevin's name should have been in the book, his was there instead, written in sharpie.

He glanced at the book and then down at the piece of paper, picking it up a moment later. He flipped it over and realized there was writing on it. Taking a closer look, he recognized Kevin's hand writing, even though it was a bit sloppy.

Maybe it's the notes from studying earlier? Gohan questioned, hoping for an answer from his other self, but was disappointed when he didn't get one.

He was about to put the paper back in the book and forget about it when he saw two words that made him stop: Dear Gohan.

Confusion spread through him as he tried to come up with some possibility of why his friend had been writing a letter to him. Coming up with nothing, Gohan sighed as his eyes scanned over the page, reading the rest of the jumbled letter:

Dear Gohan,

I know my time is running out. I wish I had more to help you, but I don't think she can spare any more. Cell will be coming to get me soon, and I regret not being able to have helped you any more than I have. When she told me that you were going to help him, I knew I had to come with you both. You had all helped me so much that I wanted to repay you somehow. She said for me to tell you that she will be coming soon, but she is waiting for the right time to do so. Although she said you should already know all of this since our last meeting, I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget. I am going to have to leave soon, but-

Gohan scanned the words on the page, seeing that it ended before his friend could finish it.

"That must have been what he had been doing when he woke me up," Gohan whispered, still not finding any sense in this. His eyes scanned over the page again and realized that Kevin mentioned a "she", but that no name was ever referenced.

Apparently a lot of people must know her, or about this at least, he thought, hoping for some kind of answer, but still not getting anything.

Why are you so silent? He asked, still getting nothing.

He sighed, not wanting to make the night more complicated, and reluctantly fell asleep.

Usually, a bell ringing was considered for celebration, something that meant happiness. For Gohan, he felt nothing of the sort as he sat outside at a gazebo, staring at the wooden floor.

He figured that everyone else was inside the church, celebrating and eating, his mother and John included.

He didn't have much of an appetite; he was currently trying his best to get the memory of the wedding out of his head.

His mother and John had both said their vows to each other, and Gohan had tried to ignore the overwhelming sadness he had felt during the wedding. He had to look away at the last moment, and his gaze had fallen to his three year old brother.

Goten had come into his room the night before the wedding and sat on his bed, an unreadable expression on his face. He had looked as if he wanted to say something, but didn't quite know how to say it.

"Something wrong, Goten?" he had asked after his brother had sat like that for at least ten minutes.

Goten had shaken his head and stared down at the bed beneath him.

"What do you think of John?" Goten asked suddenly, startling him a bit. He hadn't been prepared for the somewhat mature question.

"What do you mean?" he asked, and Goten fell silent for a bit, his gaze shifting to the floor.

He had felt stumped, not sure of what his brother wanted. Gohan had his own opinions about the man his mother was going to marry, but he would never repeat them to Goten for fear of him telling them to Chi-Chi on accident.

"What do you think of him?" Goten repeated, and Gohan sighed, knowing that his brother didn't know how to phrase the question to a more direct one.

"Are you worried, Goten?" he asked, realizing that he was right when his brother nodded shyly. His gaze softened, and he wondered if his little brother was having similar thoughts to his.

"You don't need to be worried," he said as he scooted towards his brother on the bed, "Everything's going to be fine. Nothing's going to change much."

His own thoughts had been telling him he was wrong, but he didn't want his brother to know that.

Goten had nodded, a big smile coming onto his face a moment later.

"We're finally going to have a Daddy, right?" his brother asked naively.

The sentence made Gohan's breathing stop a bit, and sadness had entered him. He nodded slowly, his gaze drifting towards the floor.

Goten's small arms had wrapped around him in a hug, and he said a cute "Goodnight" a moment later.

Goten had looked up at him with a bit smile during the wedding, and he had briefly wondered if his brother actually understood any of what was being said.

As soon as he could, Gohan had slipped outside for some peace, not quite sure where his emotions were going yet.

He felt somewhat happy for his mother- she deserved to be happy after what he had taken away from her- but sadness had also invaded.

How can everyone just move on so quickly? He wondered, feeling like he was the only one missing his father.

He felt Piccolo's presence somewhere away from the celebration, and he knew his mentor had skipped out on the event, most likely not understanding the Earth custom so much.

Normally, Gohan would have gone to his mentor for some mutual understanding, but he figured their friendship wasn't in the best condition right now.

I kind of did shut him out, he thought with some regret, thinking for a moment about reopening the link.

He shook his head, not wanting his thoughts to be invaded at that moment.

He briefly thought about flying someplace more pleasant, but knew that his mother would have a fit if he did. Some part of him didn't care, but he didn't want to cause any more trouble.

I've already caused too much, he thought, wondering when he could go home.

His mother was probably too busy with the celebration to even notice he had left.

Footsteps sounded from behind him, and he glanced behind him, seeing Future Trunks. His friend came to sit beside him, and Gohan felt confusion enter him.

"You alright?" Future Trunks asked him after a moment.

"I guess so," he answered, not really knowing what to say.

He heard Future Trunks let a breath out, and he sensed worry from his friend's Ki.

"I know things have been changing rapidly, and that it can be hard, but you can talk to me if you need to, alright?" his friend's statement made him nod.

"I just don't know how to deal with this very well," Gohan answered after a while, staring at the floor.

"I wish I could help," Future Trunks stated with a sigh, "but I'm not much of an expert in this sort of thing."

Gohan smiled a bit, knowing his friend was trying to make him feel better.

Silence enveloped them for a while, and Gohan was somewhat grateful for it; it gave him a chance to sort out his thoughts.

"Goten was worried," he said, staring up at the sky.

"About what?" Future Trunks asked, and Gohan shook his head.

"About the wedding I guess," he answered, "Sometimes I can't tell what goes through his head."

"Some people are like that sometimes," his friend stated, and Gohan briefly wondered if Trunks remembered what had happened at Capsule Corp.

He figured he wouldn't bring it up, in case he didn't remember; that would just cause more problems.

They spent the rest of the day talking, and they finally went home when the sun had started to set.

First of all, I'm really, really sorry for not updating in a long while! Life got really busy and then I started another fanfiction which has a time limit on it (it's for a game coming out called "The Last of Us" so be sure to check it out if you like that sort of thing). This chapter was going to be a bit longer, but I wanted to get it out since I hadn't updated in a while. I promise that the next chapter will be out soon!

Please tell me what you thought and any ideas in a review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9