Oh finally- hey wait a second this isn't plot, whoops

Oh also, if you wanted to check AO3 for one second I finally figured out how to add pictures so there is now art. I've put several things in AO3's ch99

arkon3321: Yeah, I much prefer the idea that Bulma gets there purely with the power of Bulma. (theres also the fact that she never officially gone up there until after Kami is gonezo, but it's also just treated as casual, assumably because power of Bulma)
Also yeah, that's why I never had him question the talking cat, he only really questioned the entire land being claimed by him

JCINNABAR: Thanks ^.^

Krillin

Krillin had to talk about it. It- he just had to. He hated gossip and he didn't want to spread any weird rumors or ideas but the thoughts just kept bouncing around his head and he needed someone else's opinion.

The problem was determining who. He really didn't want to push Gohan. Maybe once he got his mind about it right he would but as it was, he just didn't want to push it. Especially since she's just told them about the reincarnation thing and that was obviously hard for her and even though he still felt kinda weird about it it wasn't enough to want to push for more answers.

And, he didn't really want to bother Eighteen with it either. She was great and logical and would probably come up with a perfectly reasonable explanation. But it still just felt too much like gossip to him.

Which, that would obviously remove Bulma on principle.

Goku or definitely Chichi wouldn't work. It'd just be too weird since they were Gohan's parents. (Did they know about the reincarnation thing actually? He couldn't imagine Chichi did. And Goku, even if he did, would he even care?)

Yamcha, Tien, or Chiaotzu didn't really know Gohan well enough to have much input. And with Yamcha, it'd feel like the gossip thing again.

Piccolo, we'll honestly if something was going on with that he wouldn't be surprised if Piccolo already knew. Besides, either way, Piccolo would probably just cover for Gohan and then probably tell her directly.

He wanted to think about this carefully. He needed to figure out someone who knows Gohan well enough to give input on it. And who he was reasonably certain wouldn't spread the idea.

Or at least wouldn't care enough to.

…

Krillin could probably count the number of times he's talked to Raditz on one hand.

It was weird, he was Goku's brother, it'd only make sense to talk with him sometimes. But Raditz was always, well he was kinda rude. And standoffish. And that alone probably wouldn't have deterred him, but nothing ever quite clicked for him.

He's talked to Vegeta more than he has Raditz. Though admittedly Namek did skew those numbers.

But, technically he did fulfill the qualifications he set before. And, he was the only person he could really think of that did.

It just felt wrong in an entirely different way to talk about it with someone that, objectively speaking, he barely knew.

But what he did know was clear enough. Gohan was one of the few people he tolerated. He only really interacted with a handful of people. And he just didn't seem to be the type to spread rumors. If anything, Raditz probably held onto too much information without sharing.

Also, he was really easy to find. Most of the times he'd seen Raditz in the past eight years had been at Capsule Corp. Krillin wasn't sure if he ever left when he didn't need to.

Not that he would know either way really. He didn't really know the guy. Which was the issue. Since he also had no idea how to approach him.

Finding him was easy. He was like an irritable beacon of ki, quite noticeable in comparison to the average worker here. The only other ones around that surpassed his were Vegeta's, Nappa's, and that scary woman, Zangya.

He was in one of the labs just, alone. He wasn't sure if it was his, most labs had multiple people working in them, but he couldn't imagine the guy was super sociable.

He also couldn't really have imagined Raditz like, working on mechanical stuff, but that's probably just due to the not knowing him thing.

"What do you want?" The man asked, already sounding irritated.

"Ah, well, I was just wondering… had Gohan ever seemed…odd to you?"

"Recently or in general?"

He, did not hesitate. At all.

"Uh, in general..?"

Raditz looked at him, unimpressed.

"I kidnapped the brat, and essentially killed her father. She then went out of her way to bring me back to life. The fact that that's even a question is the strangest thing here."

…why did Gohan do that? It was already weird enough that she did that before, but knowing that she was an adult-

Not the point. Anyway.

"Uh, right. Well, that's not really what I meant. I meant like, sometimes she seems to, know things? Like, things she shouldn't know."

That caused Raditz to pause. He tilted his head as he seemed to reevaluate Krillin.

"Elaborate."

That, was the issue here. He came here. He knew that that would be the thing that'd be said. And yet he still felt like it was some betrayal to talk about behind her back.

If there was something up with it, she obviously didn't want people to know, and he could totally get why.

But he still just had to talk about it.

Well, a while ago, I was telling some old stories about Gohan, and I realized that one of them just, didn't seem, right? It's hard to explain…it's like, way back, when Gohan was just five, we had been in a hospital and-"

"Get on with it," Raditz interrupted

"Uh, right. So, long story short then, a nurse had asked if there was anything Gohan was afraid of and, she said something along the lines of, grey aliens, green bugs, and pink bubblegum."

Raditz slowly sat back, nodding his head at an equal leisure.

"This was before your run-ins with Frieza I assume?"

"Uh, yeah?" Krillin was surprised he hadn't questioned the statement, or even thought it was stupid to be focusing on.

"Well that's just impressively blatant," Raditz said under his breath.

"Wha-"

"You talk to anyone else about this?"

"N-no. Of course not."

"Good good. You'd ruin the fun of it if you did."

"Fun?" Krillin asked, incredulous. He didn't know how he felt about Raditz treating it like some kind of- some kind of game.

"Yeah, fun. Because I finally get to talk about this. 'Cause that kid definitely ain't normal, and I've been sitting on this for almost a decade." A conspiratorial smirk grew on his face, and Krillin wasn't sure if he regretted this choice or not.

It might have been good that Raditz agreed at least.

"The most blatant example I ever overheard was during the Cell fight," Raditz started explaining, "it was nothing too outright but just a few comments that were obviously made thinking no one else could hear. Of course, she just so happened to forget that Scouters can amplify noise." Raditz started pulling something up on his computer. "Let's see, in order was, an apparent quote from Cell that the brat repeated despite not being able to have known it as she was in the time chamber, and then knowledge of some final attack Cell had planned that she did not allow him to follow through on. There was also a comment on The Ultimate being masc, which I assume is some kind of slang for masculine, so there's that.

"There's also the matter of The Ultimate itself. Under normal circumstances, I would have just assumed it was luck, but considering the prior information: she just so happened to want to learn the power ball, seeming confident that it would help when defeating Cell when by all means it should not have. After mastering control over the Oozaru, she just so happened to keep working with it and adjusting the power ball instead of calling it good, when she reasonably should have had no reason to think it could go further. She did specify when she was trying to convince me to learn it that it required the mastery of the Oozaru, which one, confirms that she had already done so, and two, implies she knows more about how it works than she should since there would be no way to know that with one herself as an example."

"You- you have that on your computer..?" Krillin asked. He wasn't sure how to process the actual concept yet. It felt so, lecture-y. It didn't feel like he was talking about someone they knew.

Or the fact that Raditz had just been, collecting all this information. For what? Just the fun of it? That's how he seemed to be acting.

"It used to just be a mental list, but no one but me uses this one, and it's password protected so," Raditz shrugged as he scrolled further. The entire time he'd been speaking as if it was just casual information.

"Then you can go back slightly further in that week. The brat had known more about the man Mercenary Tao than Kakarot seemed to. She guessed his name before he'd introduced himself and knew he had faced Kakarot. Kakarot later called him General Tao and was surprised when it was stated that he had tried to kill him."

"The brat could not have cared less about the threat of the androids, but was then on the edge of a pinprick the second Cell was even hinted at.

"The future woman was far more subtle but she too was more focused on Cell than the androids despite the fact that from her perspective they still should have been the more pressing threat."

Krillin stumbled over the fact that Raditz just, knew that the future woman, Shaylan, was Gohan previously. (Actually, was Shaylan Gohan's prior name then? Or was it just a random alias?)

Raditz just moved on as if it wasn't even a footnote.

"Going back even further, she casually stated that the Super Sayain form was a fifty times multiplier after assumably seeing it only once. Even if it had been more though, there be no reason to be able to be that specific without scouters that she doesn't use, and even if she had none at the time would have been able to measure it properly."

"The entire lead-up and interaction with the first interactions with the future version of Vegeta's brat."

"As I said, it's nothing quite so blatant as your example, rather smaller things that added up over time, the most blatant being towards the end."

"So- so what? Gohan can just see the future?" Krillin didn't even know how that would be possible. He knew Fortuneteller Baba could, but that was with magic and her crystal ball. Gohan had neither of those things.

Raditz clicked his tongue. "No, I don't think so. Not quite. That wouldn't explain knowing the multiplier at least. And she has seemed genuinely surprised by things. Like with the future version of Nappa's kid. I don't think I've ever heard genuine surprise in the brat's voice more than when she'd first seen her.

"And then that also wouldn't explain knowing more about that Tao man than Kakarot. That information would not have been revealed in that interaction- and even if it had she sounded far too amused and surprised for her to have been expecting it."

Raditz seemed to consider his next statement before saying it. "And I don't think it has anything to do with the earth either. Or anything to do with her life specifically. She had reacted too, noticeably to Gine's name. If I wasn't already suspicious I probably wouldn't have thought much about it, but as it was, I took notice."

"Gine's name?"

Raditz looked back at him through the corner of his eye. "It was my mother's name," he admitted after a moment's contemplation. "The only time I'd ever mentioned it as such on this planet was off-hand once to Kakarot. And I don't think he would have thought to share it."

Krillin also didn't really think that was the kind of thing Goku would share.

"The way I see it, either the brat just knows a set path of things- that can be changed without her knowing, hence her being surprised. Or she knows a few random, sporadic things and simply recognizes them as they happen, if they happen. Or if happened in the past. I can't quite tell what the parameters of the things she knows are quite yet."

"Why- why are you so casual about this?"

Raditz looked back at him, as if apprasing him once again. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Krillin sputtered as a response.

"What difference would it make if I were more concerned? If I were to confront her about it perhaps? Most of my evidence is circumstantial so it could be easily denied if I were to mention it. And if it weren't, well that'd defeat the fun of it, now wouldn't it? It'd be quite boring to have the answers handed to me, and it would all but eliminate the effort I'd gone into tying things together myself."

He was treating it like a game. Like it was just some kind of puzzle.

"There has to be a reason," Krillin insisted, "at the very least as to why you didn't care initially."

Raditz looked back at his computer, his chair not swiveling to match his head's movements.

"There has to be a reason, huh? You know, I'd asked that once. About why Gohan went out of her way to bring me back to life. When asked why all she'd say was "Why not." Hardly a satisfying answer."

Raditz seemed to be deliberately looking at his computer now. "This, however, provides an answer. Either she did so because that was what was supposed to happen, or she did so to deliberately change something. As a test to see if she could, or what it'd affect, or out of simple curiosity. That's the version I lean towards being the case."

"You…think you were supposed to stay dead?" Krillin asked. It made him, more uncomfortable than he would have thought. That, and the fact that he was so, cynical in his reasoning. What if she'd just wanted to bring him back because he was her Uncle?

Technically. However much reincarnation still counts for that.

"Is there any reason I shouldn't have? Vegeta never would have brought me back, and Nappa wouldn't go against Vegeta. And obviously none of your group would have done so. The only thing tying me to this planet was my relation to Kakarot and he's hardly sentimental enough to have wished me back to life, especially as our only interactions to that point would have been negative."

He stated it as a clinical fact. As if he had no relation to it. As if he were talking about something entirely impersonal.

Krillin knew for a fact that he'd feared death. At the very least he had back when the Androids were a threat. Krillin couldn't believe that he'd think of it so impartially now.

He supposed acting impartial may have been some kind of coping strategy? Or maybe he just thought of it as a separate scenario.

Did Gohan purposely change things? Even though the idea made him, uncomfortable, he didn't really think Raditz's thought process was wrong…

Well, Nappa did really like the idea of bringing Raditz back, so with Vegeta around less he might have-

It was Gohan who had saved Nappa too.

The thought struck him too quickly for it to feel quite real.

But, she had. It had never made sense. Gohan had disdained Nappa. Understandably so considering he'd just killed Piccolo.

She had always claimed it to be an accident. That Vegeta had simply annoyed her too much.

Was it like Raditz had thought with himself? Either she'd done it because it was supposed to happen, or because she wanted to change something?

Or was it actually a mistake, but one that was made because she knew what was about to happen?

And what did that mean for the things that did happen? Were those just inevitable? Or consequences of things she'd changed?

Or did she let them happen?

Or was he just overthinking it all, and he's allowed himself to be drawn into Raditz's conspiracy theory because it agreed with what he'd been thinking?

Krillin wasn't quite sure if talking with Raditz helped at all, or if just made things worse.

…

I sat in front of the mirror for probably too long. As time passed I'd started to spend more time over at Seventeen's and now was no exception.

The more time passed the more I noticed I was squinting at things too.

"I think I need glasses," I stated, half just to say it out loud.

"Hm?" Seventeen glanced over, a moment later he seemed to catch on to the implication, "ah."

I fiddled with the hem of my- the shirt I was wearing. One that I had, acquired from Seventeen.

"I tried on frames once, when I was a lot younger here. Just to have empty frames. They just, never looked right," I shrugged.

"You don't have to you know. You could just get contacts, or get it fixed surgically."

I cringed. "I could never keep up with contacts. And surgery- I don't, I mean it could work but, the idea of surgery, even just one that fixes eyesight wigs me out."

"You've traveled through space," Seventeen pointed out with a smirk.

"And hated every second of it."

I looked in the mirror again. "Maybe, it'll be different this time."

But that wasn't the only reason I'd been looking at the mirror. Not really. That was just the easier thing to mention. And it was probably dumb anyway.

But still, I was supposed to be talking about things more, right? And it was just a dumb little thing. So it was probably fine.

"Do, you think I'm too muscular?" I asked. The shirt I had, acquired was short-sleeved. I generally did prefer short-sleeved shirts but I'd usually wear a jacket over it. I liked extra pockets.

It usually didn't bug me, but sometimes it just felt too uncanny.

"What?" Seventeen asked, sounding incredulous. I guess I was right about it being a dumb question.

I shrugged.

"What brought this on?"

"I dunno. I think I'm trying to talk about things more."

Seventeen slowly nodded, "alright…then talk," he prompted.

He ended up sitting next to me, which made it even more uncomfortable actually. I ended up alternating between looking at him through the mirror and glancing over through the corner of my eye. He had no such issue.

"I dunno, it's pretty dumb," I said, then frowned. I kept doing that.

"It's just…" I tried again, "When I was a kid, the first time, I always liked the idea of being strong, and having muscles, know? But even then it was never, not this much. And, I never could, either. I was always too small, and got tired too easily to ever build any muscle. When I was in middle school I ended up dropping out of my martial arts classes because I couldn't punch through a board. So I gave up on the concept entirely."

"I hated being small as a kid. It made me a target- for teasing and the like, never anything physical. But the older I got, and further from school I got, the more I didn't mind. I usually just found it amusing.

"But here, I never really had a choice. Sure, technically I probably could have backed away after Namek- or if I really tried I probably could have backed out before Vegeta and Nappa ever showed up. But knowing- what kind of things were out there, and being able to be strong in a way that I never could before, I, kinda had to? And I like being strong. I like being the strongest. But I don't get to feel small anymore." I stumbled as I almost slipped up. I'd gotten so used to him just, knowing things that most people didn't I almost forgot that he didn't know about the future thing.

"What about the Ultimate then? That makes you more muscular and taller, yet you seem to enjoy that? And it's not like you're all that tall. You're even shorter than Vegeta." Seventeen asked, sounding casually curious. And then almost teasing with the Vegeta comment.

"Yeah, but that's temporary. I don't have to look like that all the time. And I'm still taller than I used to be."

Seventeen considered that. I' expected a joke about me being shorter but he did not take that bait. "Do you think I would have asked you out if I didn't find you attractive?" He asked.

I shrugged. It was weird to think of myself like that. Especially now, with a face that wasn't really mine.

Except, it was. I'd lived here almost as long as I'd lived before.

I, didn't like thinking about that either.

Seventeen sighed, facing forward as he leaned back on his hands. A smirk grew on his lips as his eyes slid back over to me.

"Hey, you wanna know who the first woman I found attractive was? When I was first woken, I mean."

"Huh?" I frowned, looking over at him. What did that have to do with anything?

"Let's see," he leaned forward, as if he was going to have said it regardless of my response. "I don't think it was even a full week after. And I wouldn't go so far as to have called it a crush. I'm pretty certain she hated me even. At the very least she never once directly looked at me.

"But, there was certainly an initial attraction. There was simply something captivating in someone so gallantly fighting such a, monster, despite the odds being so heavily stacked against her, and holding her own far better than she had any right to."

Seventeen paused, exaggeratingly thinking, "Did we ever establish that the woman from the future was you? Because I'm not sure if we ever clarified that. Even though it is super obvious in hindsight."

I wasn't sure how to respond. It was a reassurance, especially since if anything she had been more muscular than I am now. I wasn't even really sure if this was new information. Something about it sounded familiar, but I couldn't place what.

And it felt kinda weird since I never really established how I felt about the future me in the first place.

"What if, I wasn't?" I asked.

"Hm?"

"What if I wasn't strong, or brave? I'm nothing like I used to be. And most of what I've done is only because I've had to."

"How should I know?" He shrugged, "If that were the case we probably wouldn't have crossed paths in the first place- certainly not if you were in your alternate earth. Besides, would you have liked me if I hadn't helped you with your wish?"

I shrugged. "I always thought you were pretty at least…"

I almost regretted the statement as a glint grew in his eye. "Oh? Really now?" He smirked as he tossed an arm over my shoulders. I felt my face heat as I tried to shrink away. "Oh come on now? You wanted to talk about things more right? Surely going into extensive detail on just how long you've found me irresistibly attractive qualifies?" He teased.

"That is not what I said-" I pushed away. But, unfortunately for my ego, his tactic worked in dispelling my previous concerns.

"Hey, it makes sense that you'd be concerned about think kind of thing anyway," he shrugged, "after all, being a normal person then forced into your position would naturally lead to such things. At least I would think."

I frowned, fiddling with the hem of my shirt. The shirt. The shirt that is not mine that I certainly intend to return. At some point eventually.

"You keep saying that… me having been a normal person before. But so were you, weren't you?"

For a moment his face fell, and I was concerned that I'd crossed a line I shouldn't have. After all, I talked about past things when he asked, but he never did the same. Maybe there was a reason.

His face quickly regained an air of casualty, though one that felt more artificial. "I suppose you're right. But I think it's a bit different for me. I can't remember much of what things were like before. I know the doctor messed with my head, and from that future timeline, I'm pretty sure he was going to mess with it more. I remember bits and pieces, but it's like remembering a dream." He gazed over at me with an unreadable smirk, "Your past is much more interesting. I'm sure it would be even if I did remember properly."

I blinked. "My life was entirely ordinary before. Boring even."

"You think so because you lived there. Everything about that other earth seems entirely bizarre. Honestly, how did you ever adjust to this version of earth?"

"I had other priorities. By the time I remembered things were weird, I was already over it."

Seventeen exhaled in almost a laugh. He pulled me close again and this time I leaned into the contact. "Now, with all that being said, I do have one other question," he leaned in until he was all but speaking into my ear. "You wouldn't happen to know where my missing shirts have gone, now would you?"

"I dunno what you're talking about."