When The World Calls Again

Chapter 2

Over the course of the next few weeks, the father-son duo began to settle into and enjoy a familiar routine of training, eating, bathing their tired muscles if they weren't too exhausted, and sleeping. Interspersed amongst this arduous regime were whole days that were devoted to each of the fighter's interests outside of training. These activities soon became a wholesome goal to mark the passing of each week.

But for Goku, once he could feel his son's soft and steady ki as the boy had fallen asleep, each night he would take himself back out into the bleak domain and continue his gruelling training again. Only when the Saiyan found himself thoroughly exhausted would he call it a night. But just before that, in the time that he took to finish his cooldown routine, he met his wife in an imagined place caught between his memories and his desires. Goku indulged in brief but somewhat comforting conversations with his life partner before heading back to the living quarters to rest his body and attempt to rest his already weary mind.

This simple timetable kept Goku and Gohan moving forward, kept them expanding their bodies and muscles, and kept them pushing their limits. And regardless of the relentless stress of the regime each and every day, both father and son understood how important it was to uphold this.

Today's day off started as usual: the pair awoke, ran through their morning stretches, and scarfed down impossibly large bowls of oats. Beyond that, they became engrossed in their own activities. Gohan sat down at the table in the kitchenette and spread out his pens and paper, determined to work on his written education, as Goku made his way outside to sit and meditate just beyond the threshold into the expanse. The Saiyan wanted to remain close by on these designated days, showing Gohan that he was there to reach out to if the boy wanted, while also maintaining space and giving his son room to indulge in his own free time activities.

After the bulk of the day had passed and Goku returned to the living quarters, they casually acknowledged each other while carrying on with their respective tasks. But as Goku glanced over Gohan's shoulders, he could see that the boy was doing something different from usual. The man didn't pretend to understand half of what Chi-Chi and Gohan had been learning together, but he was roughly aware of the kinds of work that the boy did, and this was something entirely new to him.

He peered closer, trying to make sense of this grid of numbers with numerous empty spaces. Gohan seemed to be filling them in with random digits; he scrunched his eyebrows together and asked, "Whatcha doin' there?"

Momentarily surprised; he hadn't expected his father to be in such close proximity to him. He followed the man's eye line down to his workings and back up again.

"Oh this? This is sudoku."

"Su-do-ku?"

"Yeah. It's a game." Seeing his father's slight look of confusion, Gohan began to explain. The boy had taken to the puzzle in his father's absence, but he now realised that he probably hadn't shown the man, as Gohan typically used it to pass the time after homework but while he was waiting for training.

"That sounds, uh, interesting." Goku scratched the back of his head; he didn't quite understand this game, but it seemed to make his son happy.

"You can give it a go if you want?"

"Uh, well…"

"I'll help if you get stuck." The boy beamed brightly, happy to be able to share something with his father in return for all that his father shared with him.

Goku nodded and sat down in the chair next to his son as the boy drew out a new grid for him. Goku started somewhat okay, but he quickly found it confusing and a little bit frustrating.

Gohan had been trying, but he quickly found his father pulling away from wanting to try more, and just before the boy was going to call an end to it, Goku abruptly stood up.

"I've, uh, got to get somethin' ready for dinner. Otherwise, we ain't gonna be refuelled for tomorrow's training." He chuckled humorously, and he promptly made his way to the pantry, leaving Gohan a little saddened and concerned that he had offended his father.

However, by the time that dinner was ready, the whole thing seemed to be over, and they resumed their normal conversations and discussed their plan for tomorrow's session.

Crashing down to the boundless ground, Gohan cried out in pain at the impact before coughing and spluttering at the sudden pressure change in his lungs. When it abated, Gohan turned over and pushed himself back up onto his knees - this wasn't the first time this had happened today alone - and he could already feel the sweat stinging the newly sustained injury as he watched the liquid drip down onto the blank floor below. The half-Saiyan attempted to regulate his breathing while he focussed on the couple of drops of crimson that fell and dispersed, tainting the small puddle in front of him. Seeing this, Gohan clenched his fists, frustrated that he was at the edge of his ability yet again today. It had been days of this. With little progress in his eyes, the boy was looking forward to his down time that must be due again soon - his awareness of time passing was already beginning to wane.

Landing down behind him, he could hear the telltale sounds of his father's footsteps approaching him.

"Hey Gohan, that was great! Although, you took a bit of a hefty fall there. You alright?"

Gritting his teeth, the boy stood back up with a slight wince at the final thrust upward. "Yeah, I'm okay," he answered with an almost despondent tone.

"Good to hear. Now I think that's you done for the day. Let's eat!" Goku smiled broadly and clapped his hands together.

With a feigned smile in return, Gohan turned and walked ahead; his mind was awash with concerns and feelings of his own woeful inadequacy. His father had told him weeks ago about some hidden strength that lay within him, yet the young boy just couldn't begin to fathom what it was that his father was seeing in him. As far as Gohan was concerned, over the last couple of weeks, he had only been holding the man back. He already knew full well that his father had gone back out to train after he went to bed every night. So why does he keep on with this charade in the daytime? Is it just to make me feel better?

Gohan still found himself haunted by what he considered to be his mistakes from years before. All the times he froze in response to threats, the times he wasn't strong enough to protect those he cared about - these moments had been a driving force over the past couple of years ahead of the androids' arrival, but he still couldn't shake the residual feelings of that bygone time.

Locked deep in his thoughts, the young half-Saiyan loosely trudged in the direction of the living quarters, only vaguely aware of his father nearby.

Just as they were approaching the steps, Goku called to Gohan, "What's up, son?"

Turning to look at his father, Gohan was surprised by the man's sudden question, furrowing his brow as he opened his mouth to answer. But before he could utter a syllable, the boy stumbled on the steps, and with his tired legs staggering to catch him, he fell straight to the ground, the force cracking the flawless white tiles in the process. In an immediate reaction and with his mind clouded by the careless misstep, Gohan swiftly hit his fists down again, inflicting more damage as he shouted out in anger.

"Dammit!"

"Woah, take it easy there. You just tripped. It's okay."

Turning to face his father with tears brimming his eyes and a face that was pained beyond just a 'trip'. Gohan lashed out at the man with whom he felt safest, saying, "No, it's not okay! None of it is okay, Dad. I'm not strong like you, and even if I were, it still wouldn't be enough!"

That hurt.

Goku felt the pain in the boy's voice. He knew that his son didn't mean it, but it was obvious that it was certainly what Gohan was feeling in this moment. He could see that his son was trying his utmost every single day in this place, progressing in ways that the boy couldn't see yet for himself, but Goku knew that he would get there; he was certain of that.

But ultimately, his son was right; as strong as Goku is, it still wasn't enough. The Saiyan was pushing his own limits too, and he felt a brief tension well within him as he remembered just how far they both still had to go.

With a slow breath and a small, understanding smile, Goku reassured his son. "It's just a bad day, that's all. We all have them. I promise you, tomorrow will be better."

"It's not that…" Gohan released his fists and took a deep breath as he pushed himself up to sit.

"Huh?" Goku was still standing, eyeing his son, wondering what else had been worrying the boy.

"You know how Trunks already said that I eventually became a Super Saiyan in his time?"

"Yeah, that future you really is somethin'. He even did it without me or any other Saiyans around to help him."

"That might be true, but the androids still killed him… me."

Goku's expression immediately changed in response to his son's words. His mouth was now taut, and his eyes were steeled on the saddened form of his young son sitting in front of him. That information was incredibly painful and hit him harder than he realised when Trunks had first told him, so much so that he had tried not to think about it since, but now he was being confronted with it - the prospect of his only son dying.

That's what all this training was for, so that doesn't happen. I can't let that happen, I won't let that happen to him.

Looking up at his father, Gohan asked, "Will doing all this even be enough?"

Goku walked towards Gohan, placing a hand on each shoulder, and crouched down to his son's eye level. "Is that what's been bugging you?"

The boy nodded his head, trying to stifle the sob that was slowly constricting the back of his throat, before casting his gaze downward.

"Y'know, so much has already changed about the future that Trunks talked about. I should've died from that heart virus already, and we've already given the other androids a run for their money. Now we're facing our toughest challenge yet, one that none of us - not even Trunks - knew about." Goku squeezed on Gohan's shoulders, prompting the boy to look him in the eyes again. "I know we'll be ready; that's why we're making the most of our time in here. That's why we're gonna make you a Super Saiyan in here."

"M-Me, a Super Saiyan?!"

"Uh-huh."

"Is that what you meant by hidden power?"

Looking firmly, Goku wanted to assure his young son, "You can do it, Gohan. Don't you forget that you're a descendant of the Saiyan race too."

"I guess I am, but Dad, being a Super Saiyan at my age, do you really think that's possible?"

"Yeah, I do, son. I truly believe that, and I think there's even more than that beyond the level of a Super Saiyan for both of us. And we're going to find that in here together."

The following day, the father-son duo worked on Gohan's ability to fly under the gravity of this dimension.

While he had been able to learn to handle the intense environment to be able to use his manoeuvres freely now, the boy's ability to fly was still a struggle, and as a result, he was tending to avoid it in favour of gaining a close combat advantage.

This behaviour was certainly noticed by Goku. The Saiyan was hoping that his son would work out how he needed to improve and gradually increase his flight stamina; however, the boy seemingly shied away from it.

That ain't gonna help him. Gonna need to do somethin' about that. Goku scratched at the back of his head before instructing Gohan to fly up as high as he possibly could.

The Saiyan watched as the boy confidently left the ground and pushed up to the heights that he had managed to achieve before. But the immense strain soon became apparent on the boy's face, as even from this distance, Goku could see the flushing of his face, the veins protruding, and the tautness in his jaw.

"C'mon Gohan, you can do better than that! Keep going!"

Gohan let out a small grunt as he tried to propel himself further upward, but he was only making small gains.

Before long, as the half-Saiyan attempted to travel higher, the air around him felt like the water of the deepest lakes, weighing every part of his body down like a crushing force that was yanking him back down to the ground. The further he flew, the more it felt like his first day in this dimension. And in the back of his mind, if he even breathed wrong right now, he would be hurtled back down to the surface without any respite. And the injury would surely be far worse this time than a split chin and damaged pride; he needed to handle this situation carefully, or that could be a very real prospect.

Releasing the staggered breath from the exertion, Gohan allowed his body to descend back down to the blank surface below. The momentum at which he fell was harsher than anticipated, and he landed with a loud thud, with his legs buckling under him and carrying him further down towards the ground.

Walking over to him, Goku called out, "It looks like we really need to work on your flyin' here."

Grateful for the reprieve from enduring the harsher effects of the gravity, Gohan snorted as he stood up. "I can fly pretty well in the outside world. Shouldn't I be focussing on getting stronger and better harnessing power in my techniques?"

Goku stood with his fists on his hips, watching the young half-Saiyan. "There's more to unlockin' Super Saiyan than that."

"But you don't need to fly to do that. I know what you're saying, Da- Sir. I'm fine. I just really want to make the most of it here."

Breathing out with a sigh, even as formidable as Gohan was, especially for his age, Goku was well aware that his son still had a lot to learn. "There'll always be things that you might find harder than others, and sometimes they can feel impossible, but there's always a way to overcome every challenge. You just gotta find it. I'll be here every step of the way until you do."

With one last flare of his tantrum, Gohan growled out, "But I won't be able to do any of that if I keep having days off!"

Goku walked closer to his son, ready to offer his thoughts, knowing that Gohan was troubled by his own abilities, but before the full-blooded Saiyan could open his mouth, Gohan stomped straight past him in the direction of the living quarters. Well, I guess that's it for today then. Hope he's in a better mood tomorrow; I've got an idea.

Looking up from his papers, Gohan watched his father gather the sheets and pillows from his own bed. His eyes tracked the man as he then collected two of the chairs from the kitchenette and brought them to the small pile of bedding on the floor. What is he up to?

Goku could feel his son's gaze on his every movement, but the man wasn't going to give in to it; he wanted to pique the boy's interest first.

For a moment, Gohan was going to inquire and opened his mouth to speak, but he promptly closed it again when he remembered the argument that they had over the flying yesterday. That had already run on into the evening last night, and if he was going to be forcibly grounded from training today, then he wasn't going to let it taint his day off. Instead, he simply chose to quietly immerse himself in his studies. As far as Gohan was concerned, tomorrow, when they were back out in the white abyss, they could fight it out then, but right now, the half-Saiyan had work to catch up on.

Goku stood, having arranged the chairs to act as a support, and pulled the sheets taut, tying them off before throwing the rest of his pillows on the floor under it and bundling himself inside with a child-like smirk.

Gohan looked on in surprise, now only able to see his father's bouncing bare feet poking out the end of the structure. It certainly didn't look like it was going to last long, but his father seemed content with it. Gohan looked back down at his work, trying to refocus on the equations he had set for himself. However, every now and then, he found himself looking over to see his father's toes wiggling to some silent beat. It was really becoming off-putting to the young boy, and on the spur of the moment, he stood up, ready to comment on his father's activities. But the sound of his father's voice stopped him in his tracks, freezing him in place.

"You can come in here, or you can make your own. I don't mind."

Gohan looked from the bedding-clad structure housing his father to his own neatly arranged and tucked-in sheets on his bed and back again. He blinked a few times, wondering what he could possibly make with it. After a few silent moments, with a wry smile passing the boy's lips, he stood from the table with a thought now in mind and walked over to his bed to begin grabbing the resources he would need.

On hearing his young son shuffling around with some clattering and pulling of material not too far from him, Goku's mouth spread into a warm smile.

A short while later, after some frustrated sighs and a couple of muttered words - some of which Goku was sure was the boy cursing - Gohan spoke up, "There, it's done."

The Saiyan quickly scrambled out of his makeshift shelter to view his son's handiwork, and from what he saw, the boy did not disappoint.

"Gohan, this looks really good!" Goku clasped the boy around the shoulder as he stood next to his son and praised him. "Great job, Kiddo."

Gohan blushed a little. He was proud of his structure, and it did seem to be vastly better than his father's. He allowed himself to smile over it; the activity had already broken any lingering feelings from the prior disagreement between the pair.

He looked over to his father and asked, "Do you wanna go in?"

"It's your place. You first."

Gohan carefully slid himself under the sheets, but as he started to move, the structure quickly destabilised and fell down on top of him. All that could be heard was the small, muffled voice through the bedding, "For Kami's sake."

Scratching his head, Goku was fairly certain where his son had gone wrong. He started to pull the sheets - which now layered the boy - back, and extended a hand to pull him up. Quickly seeing Gohan's eyes on his own creation, he made a suggestion. "You know what, Gohan, let's make one together, huh?"

Taking the time to work together, the father and son now stood back and looked over their new construction.

"It's good, but after mine…"

"Hey, let's try it out. And if it falls, we'll just keep buildin' it back up better again."

With a big smile creeping over the boy's face at the reassuring words, Gohan began to carefully enter the sheet-clad den.

Once they were both inside, Gohan followed his father's actions and laid himself back onto the pillows, looking at the sheets above them that gently moved with their breaths.

Gohan whispered, "Woah… It's just like camping, Dad."

"Yep, it sure is." The Saiyan smiled with his eyes fixed above - glad to look at something different - and his arms resting behind his head.

They spent the rest of the day on the floor of the living quarters, laughing and telling stories in their new den. It was a positive experience for the both of them, and an opportunity to move on.

"Dad?"

"Yo!"

"Can we sleep in here tonight? Like, pretend we're camping."

"Y'know, that sounds like a good idea Kiddo. But teeth and pyjamas first."

With a silent cheer, Gohan quickly leapt to action, before the pair quickly regrouped, ready for bed. As Goku turned out the light, they made their way into their camp for the night.

"Watch this; I learned it from Yamcha years ago."

The Saiyan let a trickle of ki form into a small ball and sent it out of the makeshift tent and guided it to above them, hovering just above the taut material.

Gohan's eyes widened in wonder as he watched his father's actions. "It's definitely like camping now; it looks like the moon!"

The corner of Goku's lips twitched as a conflicted smile developed. While he was happy with the thoughts and memories of camping with his young son and family, the thoughts of the moon itself always brought about a solemn mood.

The pair lay on their backs, side by side, on a cushion of blankets and pillows, basking in the lunar-like glow. It was an unusual feeling shared between the two of them. They were both familiar with the subtle effect that moonlight usually has on their bodies once a month.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you miss your tail?"

While the Saiyan hadn't expected to hear this question, it didn't come as too much of a surprise, as it was always one of the first things he thought of at each new moon. And in this moment, he had already wondered whether his son felt the same way.

"Sometimes. Do you miss yours?"

"I think so, especially when the moon is out. It makes me feel kind of weird, like my entire body is bubbling, and it always starts at my tail stump." Gohan shifted on the spot as a small shock-like sensation briefly shot through the tender area at the memory of the lost limb.

The Saiyan rolled his head to look over at his son and explain. "That's 'cause the moonlight used to trigger our transformation into the Great Ape form, back when we had tails." Goku's face looked back up at the soft glow above, but his brows knitted together in a mixture of sadness and regret. "That kinda light brought out the monster in us."

"I don't really remember much about mine, but I do remember what Vegeta did." The boy grimaced slightly. While the Saiyan Prince was on their side now, it didn't allow the boy to forget the terror he had experienced back then or what witnessing the things that had happened to his father felt like.

"I don't remember transformin' either, but I'd see the destruction and devastation it caused after. The lives that were… destroyed."

It was a fact that there were casualties from the many battles to save the Earth littered all around the world, but thankfully, in most cases, the Dragon Balls were able to help rectify that. However, there were some occasions where that simply wasn't possible, and Goku immediately thought of the one person that he would have wished to bring back a thousand times over.

Pressing his face up against the transparent wall of one of the enormous hourglasses that stood either side of the living quarters, Gohan watched intensely as the grains of sand fell and swirled in an ethereal dance down to the newly forming mound at the base.

His eyes were wide, staring intently as he pondered the nonsensical physics of its movements. If allowed, he knew he could easily spend a lifetime learning and attempting to figure out the natural laws of this dimension. It was truly fascinating, but neither his studies nor the pressing matter of training would allow him that opportunity. And he breathed out deeply, knowing that he may never have the answers to such a place.

"You ready to-" Goku's voice stopped abruptly as he walked out of the living quarters - rejoining his son after his impromptu bathroom break - and caught sight of the boy. "Y'know, I did exactly the same thing as a kid. They're weird, ain't they?"

Peeling himself off the glass, Gohan looked at his father. "It sure is, and we'll probably never know why."

"You wanna know why? Let's ask Mr Popo when we get out then."

Gohan looked up at the man's face and answered him with a smile. It always intrigued the boy to hear about his father's unique childhood experiences that seem to mirror the variety of his own these past few years. Although these tentative and infrequent snippets of his father's past were far too often cut short, sometimes by the man himself.

The half-Saiyan had been waiting patiently for his father - the boy was still instructed to never cross the threshold without him - so that they could venture out into the abyss together.

After running through their katas, the pair began sparring, gently at first, but as with all their fights, it quickly became intense. Throughout, Goku had been incrementally increasing the heights of their fights in a hopeful encouragement to improve Gohan's flying capabilities.

This lighter and more considered approach from Goku was certainly beginning to have the desired effect on Gohan, as the boy became more receptive to pushing his aerial combat skills further. That, combined with a positive atmosphere, allowed the duo to push further ahead.

Goku had been lying on his back awake for a while now, mulling over the day's training. It was obvious that Gohan had given everything he had and more, as the boy was so exhausted by the end of the day that Goku had to carry him straight to bed.

The Saiyan was continually pushing and encouraging him in both mind and body, hoping to see that glimmer of power that he had seen in his son a handful of times before. Goku knew it was within the boy, yet it was proving to be difficult to draw out.

In the meantime, the man's own gruelling training was progressing steadily, but he was well aware of how far it was from what would be needed to take on that monster. Cell.

He frowned at the ceiling, envisioning the day's fights and his own manoeuvres. Goku's thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the faintest of cracks in the stark white canvas above him and wondered if it had always been there. It wouldn't have surprised him if it had been caused by the heavy forces that the both of them had exerted in and around this dimension, but he couldn't say that he had noticed it before. He squinted his eyes, looking at it intently. It's not too bad. I hope Mr Popo doesn't notice. Kami always said this place was sacred and that it was disrespectful to damage such a place.

With his eyes still fixed on the tiny crack and his arms resting behind his head, his ears were suddenly pricked as he heard the soft thud of feet. They moved quickly as they padded closer to the side of his bed. Goku turned his head towards the noise, sat up on his elbows, and spoke out to the figure in the darkness. "Hey Kiddo, what's up?"

Gohan stood there in his pyjamas, yawning and rubbing one of his eyes. His small voice croaked slightly as he asked, "Umm, Dad, can I sleep in here tonight?"

Goku smiled fondly at his son. Gohan was still a young boy despite everything he had already lived through, and it was easy to forget that at times. The Saiyan shuffled over and beckoned his son into his bed. Gohan quickly snuggled up against his father, wrapping his arms around the man's broad, vest-clad chest. Just as Goku instinctively brought his arm down to rub his son's back, comforting the boy just as he had done as a baby, it was actually quite soothing for the man too, but it had been a while, and he had almost forgotten just how nice it was.

Out of the quiet darkness, Gohan asked, "Dad, do you miss Mom?"

Goku was caught off guard by his son's question; he didn't know what the right thing to say was or how Gohan was feeling right now, so he answered tentatively. "Yeah, of course I do. But this is something that has to be done, and she knows that. We both do."

It was silent between them for a few minutes, and Goku thought that Gohan might have gone back to sleep.

Breaking the silence, Gohan spoke with a slight hoarseness. "I miss her too."

Goku squeezed him and nuzzled his nose down to his son's full head of hair.

Gohan continued, his tears threatening to fall as he opened up, glad that his father felt the same.

"...and I miss our home and our lives. I know we've been training to fight the androids, but having you around again and then Mr Piccolo being there too has been kind of fun."

"You liked having Piccolo around, huh?"

"Mmhmm, he's like having a brother around," Gohan sleepily mumbled, before the soft sounds of the boy's snores filled the room again.

Goku's eyelids became heavier and heavier as he thought on this. A brother…