Gohan attempted to piece together what time he was thrust into, and, as his adrenaline from seeing his father alive was finally wearing off, he noticed he felt nauseated again. He assumed that the nausea affecting him now was most likely a remnant of the nausea he felt after being shaken like a ragdoll in the time vortex. Realizing that he couldn't stay on the roof the whole night, and risk either vomiting there or being spotted at some point, he decided to fly off into the island's thick, deep forests to find shelter.

He raised himself into the air and chose, at random, a direction to fly in. Shortly after he started, he found it incredibly difficult to keep aloft, even flying at a slow pace seemed to intensify his nausea and as a result, he drooped lower and lower until he made contact with the ground where he immediately collapsed. He tried to sit up, supporting himself with his arms, but even that proved too strenuous. After a few attempts, he caved and reluctantly laid down on his back.

He felt awful, just like he did when was out in the open years ago, in the first days of Piccolo's training for the Saiyans. But the thought of those days hardly crossed his mind, the only thoughts that really consumed him, before his nausea caused him to pass out, were of his younger self fishing and playing with his father in their favorite spring, under the only apple tree in their valley.

The morning sun rose up to meet the sea causing a gentle light to make the ocean waves shine. The lovely golden light had also made the surrounding island forests even more lush and beautiful, highlighting the many types of flowers and flora that were sprinkled across the landscape.

Gohan's piercing scream broke the peace of that early morning.

"DADDY!" He screamed.

He had experienced night terrors before but this was no ordinary night terror, it was far worse. His dream was vivid and real, he could physically feel Cell squeeze the life out of his father, crushing every bone in his already weak and exhausted body. Gohan, seemingly displaced outside of his own body, watched himself just sit there. He was weeping as Cell finished off Goku and killed the others, laughing with pleasure after each one he killed.

Goku, thanks to his enhanced Saiyan senses, could hear the boy's cries from within the forest. He quickly leaped from his bed, threw on his turtle hermit training gi, and ran outside.

"Flying Nimbus come to me!" He called out, and almost instantaneously the fluffy yellow cloud appeared in front of him. "C'mon nimbus somebody's in trouble. We've gotta help them!"

Once Goku stepped on the cloud, it wasted no time in adhering to his command and flew off to where the screams emanated from.

When the nimbus stopped, Goku peered over its edge to see a small clearing in the forest, a point where the trees seemed to thin and light could break through the treetops. In that small clearing, he saw a purple outfitted boy rolling in the dirt, asleep and yet still screaming, like he was in agony. He hopped off the cloud and ran over to the crying stranger. He knelt by his side and shook him.

"Hey! Hey! what's wrong? Did somebody hurt you?" Goku asked, so concerned over the possibility of enemies being nearby that he didn't even get the chance to look at the boy he was trying to help.

Gohan's nightmare suddenly ended and he stopped his screaming. He sat up, breathing heavily, still trembling from his nightmare as his blurry vision faintly determined the outline of his father.

He snatched at him crying, "Oh Daddy! You're here! I missed you so much! It's been so awful without you! I... I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for- for everything. I never meant to..." He held onto him even tighter as he pushed his face against his father's gi.

Goku, surprised at the boy's strong and nearly painful grip, lightheartedly exclaimed, "Hey silly, I'm not your dad! My name's Goku. And if you needed a hug all you had to do was ask." Goku wrapped his arms tightly, but caringly, around the crying boy and soothingly said, "My grampa, he always told me that a hug was way more than just a hug. He said hugs were about warmth, comfort, and showing that you care. He was always telling me stuff like that, he always knew just what to do to cheer me up."

As Gohan calmed down, he began to realize his mistake; this was not the Goku he knew. This wasn't the strong-shouldered man who was able to carry him on his back wherever they went, or hold his hand as they walked through the woods together. This was just a boy looking to comfort a stranger.

While still held in his father's familiar embrace, he sniffled as he said, "I-I'm sorry, I get nightmares and I guess in the morning light, I thought you looked like someone else".

Goku replied, "That's okay, sometimes I get confu-" A sudden smell caused him to leave his sentence unfinished. This stranger smelled strange. He sniffed him, almost animalistically, his Saiyan senses confused by the odd yet familiar sweetness of his scent, it was nearly identical to his own.

"Huh that's funny, you smell just like me," Goku said as he gently pulled away from the hug. When he could clearly see Gohan's face he was bewildered. "Woah! You look just like me too! You've even got some pretty crazy hair, how strange!"

Gohan blushed as his father touched his hair and then his own comparing how long and similar each black lock seemed to be. He thought his father seemed a little overly friendly, considering they had just met each other, but he allowed him to continue touching his hair. Gohan knew he had always been that way with everyone; his innocence was part of his charm.

"Yeah, I guess we kinda' do look a little alike." Gohan said while looking away from his investigative father.

Goku paused for a moment and took in the oddly familiar facial features this stranger had, creating an uncomfortable silence as he observed him.

Hmm, he seems so familiar... Have I seen him before?

Why he was out here all by himself? Maybe I should bring him back to Kame House...I'm sure Master Roshi can figure this all out. Too much of this thinking stuff makes my head feel weird.

Before Gohan could break the silence himself, Goku posed a question: "Hey, do you wanna come meet my friend Krillin? He and I are training with Master Roshi to compete in the World Martial Arts Tournament! I actually think today is the day we leave for it."

Gohan knew he had no way out of this, he couldn't think of a single excuse that was anywhere near plausible. He didn't even know the name of the island he was on so posing as a local was out of the question. He only thought of one response, to agree. "Uh.. o-okay, sure".

Goku was ecstatic but before he could show him the way to Master Roshi he asked, "Oh, and hey, what's your name?"

Immediately Gohan began to sweat.

I can't tell him my real name. That's Great Grandpa's name. He'll figure me out for sure.

He tried to think of a good alias and, suddenly, a memory came to him. He thought back to a show he'd seen once while his mother wasn't forcing him to study. It kind of had a similar plot to the predicament he found himself in now, he hesitantly responded: "Uh..my name is..Jack".

Goku laughed, "Jack, huh? Your name is funny, it reminds me of jumping jacks. That was one of grampa's favorite warmups".

As Goku began to lead the way, Gohan couldn't help but feel ashamed that he was caught up in some strange lie. Both his mother and father hated lying and he had always been taught never to do so. But, knowing how time travel worked, he didn't want to risk messing up this timeline's events and he knew he'd need to lie a little to do that.

After around fifteen minutes of walking, they reached the vicinity of Kame House. Launch had already gotten up and was cooking breakfast, the aroma of burning toast permeated the air. The two happened to walk through the front screen door just as Master Roshi and Krillin were walking down the steps.

"Good morning Goku." Master Roshi tiredly muttered, still rubbing his eyes as they adjusted to the summer's bright and early morning sun. Krillin, who had just gotten off the last step, looked behind Goku and saw what looked like to be almost his perfect clone.

"Uh, G-Goku do I have a fever? Because I think I'm seeing two of you."

Goku happily and energetically explained, "Definitely not a fever. I found him outside in the forest, he was scared so I thought I would bring him here to see you guys! His name is Jack."

Master Roshi, focusing on the upcoming World Martial Arts Tournament, thought quietly to himself.

Hmm, familiar name hehe...although... he really is strange. He looks so similar to Goku that if he wasn't wearing that purple gi I might have trouble telling the difference between the two.

Krillin asked inquisitively, "So is he fighting in the tournament too?"

Goku took a minute to respond, unsure of how to answer. "Hmm, I don't know. Hey, Jack, are you going to compete?"

"I don't know...do you think I'd do well?" Gohan asked sheepishly, still standing in the front doorway.

Goku smiled and said, "Yeah absolutely! Even though you were scared when I found you, I feel like you are really strong too!"

Although Gohan knew he outclassed everyone there by leagues, he still took note and appreciated that same caring and genuine praise that his father always gave him. "Thanks, da-...Hm, Goku" Gohan felt his face get warmer, but thankfully, no one seemed to notice his slip up.

"Breakfast!" Launch announced loudly, bringing the first plate of food to the table.

Quickly, everyone excluding Gohan, sat around the table as she brought out pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns, slightly burned toast, and bacon. Gohan's stomach rumbled. That nausea of the night prior was definitely gone now; he felt like he hadn't eaten in days.

Goku heard the rumbling and laughed. "Hey, why don't you join us! Krillin doesn't like much and I promise I won't eat everything."

Gohan, still minding his manners despite being so hungry he could feel his knees wobble, stated, "As long as Master Roshi says it's all right."

The still tired master could tell he was just trying to be polite and so he took pity on the poor boy. "Oh, sure you can. And, since you are competing, I might as well give you a lift to the tournament; although, I don't have a suit for you as I do for Krillin and Goku."

Gohan's smile formed and widened. "That's more than I could ever have asked for, thank you so much, Master Roshi."