Chapter 29: The Sins of the Father
The dark, ethereal Dragon coiled itself around Pan, devouring her completely and melting her down to a pile of bones as she screamed out in unimaginable pain. Goten, unable to do a thing, screamed out as he felt his body fall deeper and deeper into a paralyzing despair.
"UWAAAAAAAAAARGH!" yelled the horribly agitated Goten as he awoke to find out that it was a dream. It was still the middle of the night, only a bit past 2:30 am, but it felt like it had been an entire year of torment. Panting and breathing heavily, Goten tried to lull himself back to sleep, still completely anxious over the vivid, horrible experience. However, each time he closed his eyes, the same hallucination would appear on the back of his mind: the hallucination of a dark Dragon rising from the Dragon Balls to attack random members of his family. Eventually, Goten punched straight through the wall of his house and ran frantically into the wilderness, vomiting into a nearby lake and seeing a reflection of himself that looked completely exhausted and devastated.
"J-Just what was that… It was no ordinary dream, I've never seen anything like it… Just what could it mean?"
It only came to him just then that Goten was still dressed in his boxer briefs and undershirt, and there was a large hole in the middle of the house.
"Guess I'll have to spend my day off fixing that…" said Goten as he scratched his head and then flew silently back into his room, getting dressed in his father's old farming clothes and preparing to fly off into a nearby town to procure supplies for fixing the wall.
Around this time, Bra had awoken in the attic of Tenshinhan's dojo, realizing that she was covered in bandages and placed underneath Tenshinhan's Manchurian-styled robe.
"H-Hey! What just happened? How on earth did -I- of all people pass out, w-was I beaten?! By that three-eyed baldy?!"
"Ten-san got you with his Shin Kikoho attack while you had your guard down. Considering how exhausted you were before, you're lucky you got off with these little scratches," said Chaozu, who had been tending to her at Tenshinhan's command.
"L-Lucky?! Just you wait, I'll get my hands on him yet – "
"Good, you're up," said Tenshinhan as he climbed up the stairs to the attic, "since your challenge directly led to the floor of my dojo being destroyed, I'll have you aid in fixing the floor."
"Y-You! You tricked me, I remember now! You got me to let my guard down with your little clone move, and then attacked me from above! T-That's a dirty move, I'll get you good in a rematch!"
"Which will have to wait until we've gotten the floor fixed. Remember, you challenged us and you lost, you're in no position to make demands. I'm willing to fight you again, but it'll be the same as before. Unless you let go of your pride and hubris, you'll never progress into the fighter you desire to become."
"Grrrrrr…. My dad did say a real warrior doesn't make excuses, so for now, I'll go along with fixin' your little floor… But if you're so great, why is your dojo filled with these weaklings that couldn't hurt a guy 1/100 of my dad's power? And how'd you release such a huge blast?! That kind of power shouldn't be possible from a weak man like you!"
"The Shin Tsurusennin-ryu prides itself on fighting with life-risking, highly powerful moves that deal great damage at the cost of one's stamina and life. We people of Earth could never attain the power of you Saiyans, so we have chosen to instead focus on strengthening the power of our Ki attacks to the absolute highest extent. Combined with your innate knack for great power, you could have potential for perhaps reaching the pinnacle of attacking power."
"T-The pinnacle? Ya mean, I could even defeat my dad and my sorry little older brother?"
"If you were to train hard enough, I don't see why not. But to do that, first comes building a proper work ethic. You look about 155 to 158cm tall, so you'll have to put on the S size uniform and work first on using concrete and planks to build the floor by yourself. Then, we'll meditate together for the next 8 hours, and the week after that, sixteen. By clearing your mind this way, you'll reach not only a higher level of Ki control, but perhaps even the next level of Super Saiyan."
"S-Super Saiyan 2? I-I've wanted to get there for a good 2 years now, but I couldn't get stayin' in the regular Super Saiyan form down right 'til now!"
"Because you lack the peace of mind to do so. I haven't that much knowledge of Super Saiyans, but I do know that Goku and Gohan both attained mastery of the regular Super Saiyan state before they ascended to higher forms, so your task for today will be to meditate for 8 hours in the Super Saiyan state, since controlling your power to the degree that you could build the entire floor back in a form you haven't fully accustomed yourself to will be tough."
"W-Wow! I looked down on you because you don't got a lot of power on ya, but you're really something else! I-It's like I see light at the end of the tunnel!"
"Shut up and keep things moving! The floor won't rebuild itself!"
And so, Bra began to diligently work and train under the watchful eyes of Tenshinhan and Chaozu. A day under these two unlikely masters turned to two, and then eventually two weeks, and Bra had soon become able to stay in Super Saiyan at all times, and had mastered the Dodonpa and Kikoho techniques. The sun rose, and as Bra spent the entire day meditating, came an all-consuming dusk…
"Say, when can I spar with someone more along my level? All this mental mind trainin' is good and all, but bendin' my Dodonpa in 45 different directions is about all the Ki control I think I'll need!"
"You do raise an interesting point… Your Ki control has indeed gotten extremely stellar, in just a couple of weeks' time. I think at this point, sparring against me would serve as a suppressing exercise for you if anything. I say we fly over to Kame House and begin to spar with your rival Pan," said Tenshinhan.
"Pfffttt! That little skank could never be my rival! I'll have her buried 6 feet under in a jiffy, you'll see!"
"Your habit of talking tough won't go anywhere, it seems… Well, I have faith you can back up your talk, we'll head there now."
As Bra and Tenshinhan headed to Kame House to test the fruits of their training, Goten, weary from having the same nightmare day in and day out, was weary of maintaining his rigorous training regime and collapsed upon returning home from West City.
"G-Grrrrrghhhhhh… W-Where's coffee when you need it, I'm sick and fucking tired of having that nightmare…"
Just as Goten headed inside the house grumbling, Chi-Chi was convulsing on the family couch along with Gyu-Mao, prompting Goten to frantically rush to their side.
"M-Mom! Grandpa! W-What happened to you two? Are you two okay?"
"D-Dragon… I saw… an evil… Dragon…" said Chi-Chi while gasping for breath, "I didn't tell you this because I didn't want to worry you over nothing, but I saw… a dark… evil Dragon… It went and killed you, killed Goku-sa… Killed us all…"
"Y-You too? D-Did you see it too, grandpa?"
"Y-Yeah… An evil, foul beast… One like I'd never even seen… Went and killed you all in my dream, right in front 'a me… For two whole weeks I've been subjected to this…"
"T-Two weeks? I-I've been seeing this shit too the past couple of weeks, it wasn't just my own nightmare? H-Has Nii-san been going through it too?!"
Goten went and called Gohan on his cell phone, prompting Gohan to answer, "Hello? G-Goten! It's been a while, are Mom and Grandfather okay?"
"T-They aren't in any physical danger, but Nii-san, did you happen to see a dark Dragon nightmare whenever you went to sleep the past couple of weeks? I-It's vivid, like I'd never seen before!"
"So you've seen it too, huh…"
"Y-You're serious? You've been subjected to the same nightmares?"
"Afraid so. Oob-kun's been calling me worried sick about the nightmares Pan was having too, it seems like everyone in our immediate family's been suffering the same visions."
"T-This can't be!"
"Goten, I'm afraid it can. I've postponed my conference schedule for the next few months because I couldn't get any work done with the insomnia I've been suffering from, but I can only take so many leaves of absence before it takes a toll on my career. I'll be leaving my study open, and it's got a book collection that's just about the largest in the world. You're free to use it however you wish, perhaps you'll want to take a look at a book series I've been working on called the Book of Dragon Legends. It chronicles everything from the birth of Majin Boo at Bibidi's hands to all the adventures that Dad and I, and you kids have had in our lifetimes, I advise you read through them closely."
"Right… What our family all has in common is our relation to Son Goku, the Champion. Dad did say back in the day that he's always felt like he's drawin' all the bad guys to Earth, this could be the work of something sinister, and his past could provide some answers."
"Right. I'd advise you to get some sleep, but I know sleep is the last thing that'll bring you any sort of tranquility right now. Just head here to West City – "
Before Gohan could even finish his sentence, Goten once again punched a hole through his house and flew to West City, muttering "I-I had better get to the bottom of this, the whole family could be at stake!"
"G-Goten! W-What do you think you're doin'?! Y-You do know you can teleport your way there, don'tcha?! W-When are you comin' back and fixing the wall?" yelled Chi-Chi.
Not long after, Goten had flown to the middle of the large capsule house that Gohan had been living in with Videl, where an underground study as large as a basketball stadium unfolded before his eyes.
"Greetings, fellow seeker of knowledge!" said a guide robot that emerged from the floor, "I see that you've yet to register to rent books from this study, perhaps I could be of help in – "
"Book of Dragon Legends, and all the volumes! Have it all ready for me, now!"
"The Book of Dragon Legends series is on the left-hand corner 14 meters from my location, it is suggested that – "
"To hell with your suggestions! I'll go grab it myself!"
Goten brushed off the robot's advisory attempts and rushed immediately into the corner where The Book of Dragon Legends series was held, and dug his nose into the volume titled, "The Boyhood and Teen Years of Son Goku," starting to read intently from the first chapter which chronicled Goku's meeting with Bulma.
"Right, Dad saw the full moon one night and killed our great-grandfather Gohan by accident, and met Bulma-san a few years later… I have to keep reading, there has to be something in his past that's linked to everything that's been happening."
Not long after, Goten reached the chapter titled, "The Red Ribbon Army," and muttered, "Right, that's the evil organization that modified #18-san and her brother into artificial humans, and was defeated by Dad when he was younger… He never told me much more than that about his childhood though, I need to research about this more closely."
In reading through this chapter, Goten found to his shock that his father, who seemed like he couldn't kill an ant in his later years, had killed not only countless foot soldiers in the Red Ribbon Army, but went on to murder their eventual leader Staff Officer Black. Goten kept reading to learn more, breezing through the next two chapters, "The Twenty-Second Tenkaichi Budokai" and "The Demon King Piccolo," muttering, "Right, that's the original Demon King, the one who left behind his essence in the Piccolo-san we know today to carry on his revenge… And Dad killed not only him, but three of his children?"
In continuing to read more about the Mazoku children of Piccolo Daimao, Goten found that the Mazoku, evil Namekians spawned from Daimao's malice, were able to trap those who killed in the living world forever as wandering spirits doomed to suffer in agony for all eternity. Goten began to piece the pieces together and said, "The Dragon Balls, which were created from Daimao's counterpart Kami's powers… Were always involved in the nightmares our family has been having… And my dad killed a few demons and hundreds of foot soldiers… This can't all be a coincidence. I have to go get the Super Radar right away!"
Putting the book down once he read up on Goku's climactic final battle against Piccolo at the Tenkaichi Budokai, Goten, who had calmed down a tad in his reading binge, teleported to where Trunks was, prompting Trunks to say in a sleepy trance, "Goten? What're you doing up, it's like 4 in the morning… You need me for somethin' urgent?"
"Trunks-kun, I'm gonna need access to the Super Radar you got from Kaiba 3 years ago, and fast! Tell me where it is, I don't have time to waste!"
"*yawn* The Super Radar should be on the bottom floor, where the other me and my mother have been working on the Time Machine with Gohan-san… But seriously man, you don't just teleport into a guy's room this time of night," said Trunks as he wiped his eyes before falling back asleep onto his heated water bed, as Goten again teleported to where he sensed Future Trunks and Bulma's Ki, and there, he saw the Super Radar placed on a desk next to the nearly-completed Time Machine, with a capsule case on the other end of the desk.
Goten then activated the Radar to find to his shock that none of the Earth Dragon Balls could be detected on the Radar, prompting him to say in panic, "T-That isn't possible! This radar… This radar is supposed to be able to read Dragon Ball signals even when they're in their stone forms! I-I still have to see if this is a malfunction, if I recall correctly New Namek was this way…"
Goten adjusted the coordinates of the Radar to find that where New Namek was, he could zoom into find seven Dragon Ball signals just fine. This was no malfunction. The seven Dragon Balls of Earth were nowhere to be found.
"N-Now I'm sure of it! T-The Dragon Balls have been possessed by some kind… kind of evil force! And it's gotta be the ghosts of the demons my dad slaughtered… Maybe even the ghosts of the Red Ribbon Army… Men with families… children! M-My dad's past… Or whatever else it is that's possessing the Dragon Balls, it's come back to bite us! I-I have no choice, I have to travel to New Namek right now to put a stop to this before it's too late!"
Goten grabbed onto the capsule case and strapped Future Trunks' sword, which was used to great effect in the final battle against Baby, and teleported to the front entrance of the Capsule Corp. headquarters, where he threw the capsule labeled, "GT," releasing the formerly-named OctoPUS 9000 spaceship.
"This spaceship brings back a lot of memories… Trunks-kun and I recovered it from Dende's Palace after we defeated Baby, and in celebration of Baby and Kaiba both being thwarted, we renamed it Spaceship GT, short for Galactic Tour! Knowing Trunks' mother, she's gotta have kept the fuel tank full since she's been to space before, I have to set off to New Namek right now!"
The present Trunks, kept awake by how odd he found Goten's behavior, came out onto the front yard of his company and said to Goten, "Hey man, you sure you're all right? The other me's sword on your back, and the spaceship… What's gotten into you? You sure you aren't taking the piss?"
"The signals of the Earth Dragon Balls have vanished into thin air, Trunks-kun. And everyone in my family's been having the same recurring nightmares, ones of a vivid vision of evil Dragons attacking and killing us. Since the Namekian ones on the other end of the galaxy appear to be alright, I'm going to use them to quell whatever's possessing the Dragon Balls, I'll be back in a couple of months."
"You mean that lame nightmare Pan-chan says she's been having? I think you're reading way too deep into this, man. If you're so worried about the Dragon Balls, why not go visit Dende? Should not even take a second for you to teleport there," said Trunks as Goten then replied, "No time! No offense to Dende-kun, but this is the kind of incident that's way, way, way beyond his ability to solve! The future you's sword brought us good luck, I'll need it! Goodbye!"
The spaceship set out into the far reaches of space as Trunks looked off into the distance and muttered, "Weirdo… Well, I gotta admit there does seem to be something going on, I better tell the other me and spar with him in the meanwhile since their dojo's lost the co-founder for the time being… And I better not tell Gohan-san, since if I were to tell him I need to hide the fact that there's two of me, he'll probably get me to dress up in one of his lame-ass Great Saiyaman suits…"
"Just you wait, Dad… I'll protect the planet and our family that you fought so hard to protect in your life, I swear it on our very blood!" said Goten intently as he started training by using the weights stocked up in the spaceship, not knowing that following him to New Namek were a trio of miscreants, themselves ghosts of Goku's past…
"Heh! Heheheheheheh! So, the son of Goku is going to New Namek to get his hands on the original Dragon Balls, with greater wishing power?! Those balls are ours for the taking! And with their power, we'll achieve world domination – no, maybe even dominion over the universe! Bwahahahaaha!" yelled the bumbling "evildoers" Pilaf, Mai and Shu, who had stolen the Namekian spaceship that Goten and the others brought home from New Namek on their way back from training with Redjic. Thus, the wheels of time and destiny, once concentrated on Goten's home planet of Earth, were now pointed toward the planet New Namek…!
To be continued…