Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Blinded ❯ Birthday Present for a Prince ( Chapter 10 )

Birthday Present for a Prince

Two seconds after Bardock had introduced himself and King Vegeta, Gohan registered the irony and pure humor of the situation and started laughing. He laughed his head off, eventually falling to the ground because he was shaking so hard. The two older Saiyan's were staring at the boy rolling on the ground laughing with expressions of bewilderment. Gohan just couldn't get over it! Vegeta's father and his dad's father were friends in the after life while their sons were rivals, and often time's enemies, on earth. Finally Gohan got control of himself and stood up, brushing the dirt from his gi. Bardock and King Vegeta eyed him warily, as if they thought he was a crazy person. Gohan gave a big smile and spoke.

"I'm sorry about that. My name is Son Gohan, son of Son Goku, whose Saiyan name is Kakarrot. I am a half Saiyan from Earth, and, at the moment, foster son to Prince Vegeta."

Bardock's eyes had bugged out at the mention of Kakarrot, and King Vegeta's had bugged out at the mention of Prince Vegeta. Of course Gohan, not being able to see, only felt their surprise and didn't actually see the severity of their reactions. Bardock was the first to speak.

"Kakarrot is alive? You're my Grandson? What do you mean by half Saiyan, boy?"

Then King Vegeta asked his own questions.

"Vegeta is on earth? Your foster father you say? What do you mean by half Saiyan?"

"Whoa!"

Gohan put up both hands in a warding off gesture.

"I can answer your questions, but it will take a minute. Everything kind of started with my dad landing on Earth, so I guess I should start there."

For the next twenty minutes Gohan briefly summarized everything that had happened; from his dad landing on Earth all the way up to Cell. By the time he was finished, he didn't need his sight to tell him that his grandfather and King Vegeta were shell-shocked. A few minutes passed without saying anything, then Bardock turned towards King Vegeta and said.

"Well, I can see why the boy laughed his head off when he heard our names, sire. It must have been extremely funny to find us together when Prince Vegeta and my son are constantly at each other's throats."

Then he turned to Gohan.

"I am sorry to hear that both your mother and father are now in Otherworld, but I am glad that at least you have one adult Saiyan to talk to."

King Vegeta finally decided to speak up.

"Boy, you said that you, my son, and your father are all Super Saiyans."

Gohan nodded and the King continued.

"That is absolutely amazing! There hadn't been even one in over three thousand years while I was still alive, but in such a tiny matter of years there are three! A dammed miracle is what it is."

"Well, actually sir; there are different levels of Super Saiyan."

Gohan had only briefly glossed over the Cell Game details, and had only told them that he'd defeated Cell with his dad's help - not that he'd gone level two.

Bardock looked interested.

"What do you mean?"

Gohan grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head before speaking.

"Well, something I didn't mention was that the reason I was able to defeat Cell was because I ascended. I went to the next level of Super Saiyan, which is far more powerful than the first level, and just recently I've felt another level above that. So far I haven`t reached that level, though."

King Vegeta just shook his head in shock. It was all so amazing, and yet it felt right. Though, from what he had heard about his son, Vegeta had forgotten some important aspects of being a Saiyan - especially one with royal blood. King Vegeta understood how it must have been for his son, having to serve Frieza, even after knowing that the ice-jin had blown up their planet. All of a sudden a grimace passed across Gohan's image's face. Bardock noticed and asked.

"What is it Gohan?"

Gohan grimaced again before answering.

"My body and mind are telling me that I have to go back now or I won't be able to return at all. Would you guy's mind if I came back to talk sometime?"

Bardock looked towards King Vegeta. He still followed the king's decisions after all these years. King Vegeta noticed Bardock's look and answered.

"Of course you may, boy. I would like to hear more about my son and his son."

Gohan nodded and waved a little goodbye before disappearing; leaving behind two grown Saiyans looking at each other with expressions of stupefaction and amazement, hardly believing everything that had just happened. King Vegeta finally shook himself out of his shock and turned to Bardock.

"Let's spar. There isn't anything else around here to do."

Bardock nodded, and they resumed the spar that had been interrupted by Gohan's arrival. But both were privately mulling over all of the information that Gohan had given them. Bardock was thinking about how proud he was of Kakarrot and the things he'd done with his life. King Vegeta's thoughts were on his son and how proud he was that Vegeta had managed to survive Frieza and turn his life around.

Back at Capsule Corps, Gohan's mind came rushing back to his body at almost super speed. It had taken his last bit of strength to talk to his Grandfather and King Vegeta for so long, and now he was exhausted. As his mind melded firmly with his body once again, he was aware of several presences in the room. His head was pounding and felt like it was stuffed with cotton, but he managed to realize that Piccolo, Bulma, and Vegeta were all there.

"What are all of you doing here?"

He managed to ask before succumbing to exhaustion and falling forward. He would have fallen off the bed, but Piccolo caught him in time and settled him back against the pillows. Gohan was out like a light, and it didn't seem like he would be waking up any time soon. Little did Gohan know that they had been there for four hours. Before, Gohan had always ended his mental training or meditation for dinner, so he usually had at least two hours to practice. When Bulma had called up to him that dinner was ready, she hadn't received an answer and Gohan hadn't come flying down the stairs. Worried - because, in her long experience, no Saiyan ever missed a meal - she had gone upstairs.

As she had entered his room, Bulma had seen Gohan sitting as if he were in meditation, and gone over to him to see if she could snap him out of it and tell him to come to dinner. When she reached out to touch his shoulder, something almost like miniature lightning had jumped out and burned her hand. Bulma had run and got Vegeta, who grumbled all the way back about Kakarrot's spawn not being his problem, until he had seen Bulma's hand. Then he had gone to Gohan's room to knock some sense into the brat. But he had gotten burned the same as Bulma and, even as a Super Saiyan, couldn't get into the barrier that protected Gohan. He'd then yelled at Bulma to get a hold of that damn Namek because, most likely, he would know what was up with the brat.

Bulma had sent a message to Dende, asking him to tell Piccolo that they needed his help with Gohan. Within a few minutes Piccolo was there and studying Gohan. Finally he had turned and spoken to Bulma and Vegeta.

"His mind is away from his body. That force field is protecting his body until he gets back. If his body is moved while his mind is away, he won't be able to come back."

Vegeta had scowled while Bulma had asked what they were supposed to do. Piccolo thought for a minute, then had said that all they could do was wait. Vegeta immediately started grumbling about wasting his time, but shut up when Bulma gave him a look. She then went downstairs and asked her parents to baby-sit Trunks and Goten while they waited for Gohan. On her way back up, she had brought a tray of food for Vegeta, and settled herself into a chair. Piccolo settled into his usual floating lotus position and started meditating. Vegeta scarfed down his food, then settled into his own meditation. Bulma took some sort of invention out of her pocket and began tinkering with it. They were still in the same positions when Gohan woke up two hours later. After Piccolo had laid him back on the bed, Bulma bombarded the Namek with questions.

"What's wrong with him? Will he be ok? How long will he sleep?"

Piccolo put his hands over his sensitive Namekian ears, as with each question Bulma's voice became shriller. Vegeta looked on with an almost sympathetic air as he too covered his sensitive ears. After the pain in his ears stopped, Piccolo answered as best as he could.

"He's just tired. He should be ok - his ki seems a little low, but not enough to be to worried about. I have no clue how long he will sleep, but by the looks of him, it'll be a while."

Bulma just snorted and went over to tuck a blanket around Gohan's sleeping form. Turning to face Vegeta and Piccolo, she began to speak.

"Piccolo, do you think you could stay here until he wakes up? I have to take care of Trunks and Goten. I would have Vegeta do it, but I'm afraid he would try and kill Gohan in his sleep."

Saying this she glared at Vegeta, who snorted and replied.

"No I wouldn't woman - there is no challenge in that. Although it certainly is appealing..."

Bulma opened her mouth to admonish Vegeta, but was interrupted by Piccolo.

"I will watch Gohan, Bulma. You go and do what you must."

Bulma glanced one last time at the sleeping Gohan before going out the door and dragging Vegeta with her. Piccolo could hear her screeching at the Saiyan prince all the way down the

hall. Piccolo looked over at Gohan for a minute before making a comment to the prone figure on the bed.

"Didn't I tell you to be careful kid? You're going to end up killing yourself one day if you keep doing shit like this."

When he got no response, Piccolo settled back into meditation to wait for Gohan to wake up. After about a half-hour Piccolo was disturbed out of his meditation. Gohan was tossing and turning in the bed wildly and mumbling frantically.

"Frieza.....no....let....hurt....everyone...Cell.....Dad.......m y fault......can't......save......anyone..."

Piccolo figured Gohan was having a nightmare. After Cell they had been frequent; almost every night, but after a while they had calmed down. The nightmares had always been about the variety of evil beings that the group had to face. Gohan had gotten better and, up until now, he would go months without one, and none were this bad. Piccolo decided he had better try to wake Gohan up. He reached over to shake the boy, but Gohan momentarily flashed Super Saiyan and Piccolo withdrew his hand. He didn't need a scared Super Saiyan waking up to someone leaning over him and decide to blast them to hell. Piccolo thought for a minute, then went downstairs to find Bulma.

He found her sitting in the living room with Goten and Trunks on her lap, both bawling their heads off. Vegeta was nowhere to be seen, so Piccolo assumed he was in the Gravity room. Bulma looked up from the crying babies as Piccolo walked in and, pitching her voice so she could be heard, she called out.

"What's up Piccolo, is Gohan awake?"

Piccolo's sensitive ears were beginning to hurt from the baby's cries, but he too pitched his voice over the noise so that Bulma could hear him.

"No. He is having a really bad nightmare, and almost turned Super Saiyan on me when I tried to wake him up. I was going to bring Goten or Trunks in since they usually calm him down, but maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea right now."

He indicated towards the still howling chibis with a clawed hand. Bulma looked thoughtful for a minute, then got up.

"Actually, that may be perfect Piccolo. The boys probably miss Gohan, and that may be why they're crying. Having the chibis with him might be able to hold off the nightmares."

She got up and, holding the wailing babies, started up the stairs with Piccolo trailing behind her. As they entered the room they could see that Gohan's nightmare had gotten worse. He was flickering between Super Saiyan and normal, yelling out unintelligible things to unseen enemies. As soon as Goten and Trunks saw Gohan they began wriggling and reaching out to Gohan, whimpering. As the sound of the whimpering reached Gohan, his movements became less frantic, and he stopped yelling. Taking the chibis from Bulma, Piccolo laid them on the bed beside Gohan. Immediately the two boys began snuggling around Gohan whose hair had stopped flickering and was remaining its natural black. Almost immediately, all three children were sleeping peacefully. Bulma motioned to Piccolo, and they left the room without a word.

Once out side the door, Bulma turned to Piccolo.

"Wow! That worked a lot better than I expected."

Piccolo just grunted in response. He too had been a little surprised, but wasn't about to admit it. Bulma ran her fingers through her hair as she sighed. It had been a long, long day. Deciding to snatch a little break while she could, she turned to walk down the stairs. At the top she turned back to Piccolo for a moment.

"Hey Piccolo, I'm going to take a little break. Want to join me?"

Piccolo was silent for a minute before following Bulma as she went down the stairs once more. Back in Gohan's room, everyone was sleeping peacefully, and Gohan had a tiny smile on his face as he hugged the two chibis closer to him in his sleep. That was the exact position Gohan was in when he woke up. He had one arm curled around each chibi, clutching them tightly against him. Gohan yawned amd stretched while sending his senses out. It was morning and, as Gohan slowly got his bearings, he remembered everything. His trip to Otherworld, his mom fainting, meeting King Kai and Grand Kai, then going to hell to check on Frieza and Cell, and finally meeting his Grandfather and King Vegeta out in the middle of hell and talking with them. Then he remembered the last thing he had sensed before falling unconscious the night before. He remembered sensing Vegeta, Piccolo, and Bulma all in his room. Goten and Trunks chose that moment to begin stirring and waking up. That was another puzzling detail. Why had someone put them in with him? Gohan gave a mental shrug and turned his attention to the two chibis, who were currently yawning and sitting up. Gathering them in his arms, Gohan swung his legs over the side of the bed, noticing as he did that he still had his clothes on from yesterday. Standing up and bouncing the chibis to make them squeal, Gohan walked out of his room and started down the stairs.

Meanwhile, Bulma was in the kitchen fixing breakfast, and debating whether or not it was time to try to wake up Gohan. Vegeta was in his usual seat, glaring out the window. Piccolo was there as well, but he was leaning up against a wall with his eyes closed. He had checked on Gohan several times through the night, and had been satisfied when he saw no return of the nightmares. Just then everyone heard the sound of feet hitting steps as Gohan came down the stairs. He stopped at the bottom and sniffed the air experimentally, his face breaking into a huge grin as he called out.

"FOOD!"

Rushing over to the table, he plopped the two kids into their high chairs and took his seat at the table, nose twitching as he drooled in the direction of the stove. Bulma and Piccolo chuckled at the sight, while Vegeta just looked disgusted. Bulma finished cooking and set the food down on the table. Immediately, Gohan and Vegeta dug in. Dishing up the two chibis in the highchairs, Bulma sat back to watch the spectacle: she and Piccolo both knew it was useless to try and talk to a Saiyan while they are eating. Food was flying everywhere, mostly from Goten and Trunks, but a fair amount from Gohan and Vegeta as well. Piccolo looked away, extremely glad that his species only needed water: if he had needed to eat, he probably would have immediately lost his appetite at the sight of four Saiyans eating breakfast.

Finally Gohan sat back with a sigh, as Vegeta and the chibis continued eating. Bulma finished her small plate and took it to the sink. Turning back and sitting down once again, she looked over at Gohan, who had a happy little smile on his face from eating all that food.

"Gohan, what in the world happened yesterday? You didn't come down for dinner, so I went up to get you, but some sort of shield burned my hand when I tried to touch you. Even Vegeta as a Super Saiyan couldn't get through the shield. Piccolo came and told us that your mind was away from your body, but what the hell were you doing? You were like that for four hours."

Gohan grinned a little sheepishly, putting his hand behind his head in an unconscious imitation of his father as he answered.

"I'm sorry Bulma. Wow, was it really that long? I didn't think I had been gone that long."

He looked thoughtful for a minute, but hastily continued speaking as he could feel Bulma getting pissed.

"Well, when I was practicing with my mind yesterday, I decided to see how far away I could reach to talk to someone. I started out slow, talking to you, Vegeta, and Piccolo. Then I moved on to Krillin and 18- by the way, they're having a baby. Next were Tien and Chaoutzu, and last on earth was Yamcha - who's playing baseball in America on some exchange thing. Anyway, then I decided I'd better try to reach someone a lot further, and the only person I could think of was Elder Murri on New Namek, so I searched for him. That was actually a lot harder than the others - it's a little difficult to find them in space with only my mind, but eventually I found him, and we had a short conversation."

Gohan paused for breath and took a sip of water before continuing.

"While talking to Elder Murri I had an idea. If I could go to other planets, then why not be able to go to Otherworld? Anyway, I asked Elder Murri about it and he said no one had been able to do it in, like, over a thousand years or something, and even then those people didn't exactly accomplish it - one went insane and the other died from using to much energy. But I decided why not try? It would most definitely be worthwhile. So I left Elder Murri and returned to my body and prepared to try and go to Otherworld."

Gohan made a face as he recalled what had happened.

"Let me tell you, it definitely isn't easy. The first time I tried it, a really weird thing happened with my body, and when I got there I lost my focus and got slammed back into my body. That was the most painful thing I've ever felt - my brain felt like it was on fire! Well, after that disastrous attempt, I waited a little bit before trying again. This time I was prepared for whatever that weird thing was, so I didn't lose my focus. To make a long story short, I got to talk to King Yemma, King Kai, Dad, Grand Kai, and some guy named Pikkon."

Gohan had decided to leave out the part about him visiting hell, and especially the part about him meeting his Grandfather and King Vegeta. He wasn't exactly sure how Vegeta would take it, so he thought it was better just not to mention it.

"At first everyone thought I was dead because, for some strange reason, my mind projected an image of me. It was a little indistinct and out dated since the last time I'd actually seen myself was before the Cell games, but Grand Kai was able fixed that up for me and showed me how to hold a solid form. Then I was informed that I was the first person to successfully make it to Otherworld by mental abilities alone in a couple thousand years. Unfortunately, I didn't get to talk to mom because she fainted right away, and I had to leave before she woke up. Well, that pretty much sums up what I was doing, guys."

Gohan couldn't see it, but his little speech had produced several varying degrees of shock among the adults. Piccolo was probably the most shocked, since he knew exactly how difficult it should've been from Kami's memories. Bulma was next because it was the last thing she had expected him to say, and because he had actually gotten to talk to Goku. Vegeta was either less shocked than the others or was hiding it better, though he was definitely shocked at how much power Gohan seemed to have - not to mention more than a little pissed. It was just one more thing that Kakarrot's brat could do that he couldn't.

Gohan ran his fingers through his hair and spoke again.

"Gee, by the way guys; thanks a lot for letting me start looking like Raditz. One of you could have told me, I would have cut it but now I am so use to it, it would feel funny."

Piccolo was the one to answer that.

"Well kid, it never occurred to me. Couldn't you tell by running your hand through it? I figured you wanted it that way."

Then Bulma put her two cents in.

"I think it looks better. It suits you. By the way, what did you mean when you said you got to talk to Goku again?"

Gohan's face became a blank mask, as if he wasn't acknowledging his emotions. When he spoke, his voice was very calm and controlled - almost a monotone.

"Well, he asked me how I died, but when he found out I wasn't dead, he was ok. He seemed to be excited by the fact that I was the first person to use my mind to get to Otherworld in a couple thousand years. After that, on the way to Grand Kai's, he asked how everyone else was doing and I told him. Then he was interested in who was training me, and I told him Piccolo and Vegeta. Once the Grand Kai fixed my image and solidified it, dad made the mistake of looking into my eyes to long."

Vegeta snorted with laughter. He remembered how stupid he had looked when that had happened to him, and imagined just how much more foolish Kakarrot must have looked.

"I'm guessing he was pretty creeped out by the whole thing, which I guess can't blame him. Then it was time to leave. He asked me if I was coming back soon, and I told him that no, I wouldn't come see him or mom for another year. He knew I could come sooner if I wanted to, so he asked why. I told him I couldn't deal with talking to my dead parents every week and then having to go back to reality. It would drive me insane. They are dead, and I don't need any more constant reminders of that fact. I told him I would talk to them once a year to check up on everything, but that was it. I'm guessing he finally understood, because he didn't protest anymore. After saying good bye to everyone, I left."

Bulma sighed. She could definitely understand Gohan's feelings about talking to his parents, but it still made her sad. Gathering up all the rest of the dishes and bringing them over to the sink, she turned around to find Vegeta and Piccolo gone and Gohan picking Goten and Trunks up from their highchairs.

"Hey Gohan, are you going to take care of the boys today?"

"Yeah Bulma, and we'll probably be outside. I'm still a little tired from yesterday, so I don't think I'll be sparring with Vegeta or Piccolo today."

Bulma just nodded as Gohan carried the chibis outside. It was a beautiful day, Goten and Trunks were very animated, waving their hands in the air as if they were reaching for the sky. Meanwhile, Gohan wasn't smiling. As soon as he walked out the front door, his cheerful smile was replaced by a pensive frown. Going over to a playpen that had been placed under a tree, he set Goten and Trunks inside with their toys. Settling himself under the tree, he withdrew into his thoughts, though still keeping one ear trained on the two chibis.

~~~~~~~~

Everything in life can be measured except for three things: love, hate, and pain. Just when you think you have reached your limit, you find that it wasn't the end. That there is still more. I thought I'd learned just how far pain could go when dad and mom died, but I was wrong. I was introduced to a whole new dimension when I talked to them and sensed them standing right next to me in Otherworld. It became even worse when I realized how happy dad was. For some reason, I had this vision of him regretting the fact that he chose to stay dead, because now Goten and I had no mother as well as no father. I found out differently. Dad was happy in Otherworld and, from what I gathered, he hadn't really thought of us at all. From what he said, mom had told him about me and about his new son Goten, but he'd forgotten it all.

Now tell me that wouldn't depress you or piss you off. Your own father, who chose to stay dead instead of live with his family, also forgot about them almost as soon as it passed the first anniversary of his death. While talking to dad, I had a revelation. I had a father, not a dad. A dad is someone who knows almost everything about their sons, and is around to play with them and be there to help with mistakes, and all the other things dads are supposed to do. A father is someone who is your parent by blood. Fathers aren't always involved with their kids, either because they don't care or because of their personality. A perfect example would be Vegeta. He is a father to Trunks, he isn't a dad. Vegeta shows little or no interest in his son. His reason would be his personality. Vegeta isn't the type to be affectionate, no matter who you are to him. Hell, he isn't even affectionate towards Bulma, and I know for a fact he loves her - I can feel it from him. I don't know what my father's reasons are, but I guess its his personality as well. Everything seems to be more important than his family.

I wish I could have lied when he asked if I could come back. I really wanted to lie, to say no, I wouldn't be able to ever make it back. But he would probably figure out I was lying. So I told him I would only come back once a year, and that it hurt too much to see him and mom. In a way, that's the truth, but what I really wanted was to be able to forget about him the way he forgot about us. I know that its impossible, but at least I'm going to subject myself to massive amounts of pain by seeing him regularly.

There are so many things he doesn't understand, and there are so many things I don't understand that in the end, it becomes too tangled to try and figure out. I've found its best left alone. I have a feeling that if he ever really tried to get to know me, he would be totally surprised, because I am not at all what he would be expecting to find. I wonder if that day will ever come, but until then I'll continue on as always. I will step in for my father so that Goten doesn't have to worry about the difference between a father and a dad.

~~~~~~~~~

Gohan heard a noise that interrupted him from his deep thoughts. He opened his eyes and, through the fog that was his vision, he could just make out two little figures standing up in something with their arms outstretched. Closing his eyes and spreading out his senses, he got a clearer picture. Goten and Trunks were standing up in their playpen arms, stretched out towards Gohan. They were both babbling nonsense in very insistent tones. Gohan gave a laugh. From his bond with the two chibis, he could tell that they wanted to be picked up and held. Picking himself up off the ground and dusting off his pants, Gohan walked over to the playpen. Picking Goten up in one arm and Trunks in the other, he bounced them a couple times while they giggled. Done with the bouncing, Gohan walked into the house, a bit happier than before.

After that first mind trip to Otherworld, Gohan established a pattern. Every Friday afternoon when he practiced with his mental powers, he checked up on everyone. First were all the Z fighters, including Piccolo. Then he went to New Namek to talk to Elder Muuri. Next he would go to Otherworld, and there he would visit with King Yemma, King Kai, Pikkon, and most often would have a longer conversation with Grand Kai. He was always careful to avoid the presence of his father and mother. He kept his ki suppressed so Goku wouldn't know he was there and try to find him. One thing he did notice, was after the first couple times talking to the Grand Kai, Gohan could sense someone else was there. He could never pinpoint the feeling though, and decided to ignore it.

After he visited Otherworld Gohan would go down to Hell (HFIL) and check on Cell, Frieza, and the other goons. Each time he talked to them, Cell would try and get him to say what he had meant by saying that Cell had gotten his revenge, and Frieza would make taunts about monkeys. After exchanging insults for a while, Gohan would then go out to visit his Grandfather Bardock and King Vegeta. They would talk about everything and anything. Bardock and King Vegeta started teaching Gohan about the Saiyan race, and in return, Gohan would tell them about things that had happened on earth and about their sons. He didn't go into to much detail, because he wasn't sure how much Vegeta or Goku would want their father's to know. Gohan enjoyed those visits the most. It was almost like having a Grandfather and an Uncle for real. Vegeta would probably blow his top if he knew his father had instructed Gohan, a third class half-breed, to think of him as an uncle. He never tired himself out like he had that first time and got better at transferring between the two worlds.

Months began to pass once again. Goten's second birthday and Gohan's fourteenth passed. Goten and Trunks continued to grow, and soon start forming words - one of their first was Go'an. They couldn't seem to form Gohan's full name, so they just left it at that. One of the funnier incidents was when Trunks first tried to say Vegeta. A little bit earlier, Gohan had been pointing things out to the boys and telling them what they were called. They had spent a lot of time in the kitchen with vegetables and fruits. So when Vegeta had walked into the kitchen that night, Trunks had sent Gohan an image of Vegeta in his mind with a questioning air. Gohan had told Trunks that the man was Vegeta, his daddy. Trunks had thought about it for a minute, then proudly pointed his finger at Vegeta and cried out.

"Vegetable!"

Everyone at the table had face faulted, and once they got up fell right back down with laughter, except Vegeta, of course, who looked absolutely mortified. Even the chibis had joined in the laughter, even though they had no clue what was happening - they just saw everyone else doing it. Eventually Trunks learned the right way to say Vegeta, but he used dad more often because it was easier. More time passed and Krillin and 18 had their baby. It was a little girl, which they decided to name Marron. At the party, Gohan talked Krillin and 18 into letting him do a mind bond with baby Marron, the same as with Trunks and Goten. Krillin was all for it, though 18 was skeptical. Finally, once Gohan pointed out that he would be able to sense whenever she was in trouble, no matter what, 18 relented. Gohan wisely left out the part about him dying if Marron did, and didn't let Bulma know that he had bonded to Marron. Both Piccolo and Vegeta noticed, but decided to keep their mouths shut - it was up to Gohan if he wanted to tie his life to the children, and it didn't hurt the chibi's, so there wasn't much they could object to.

More time passed, and it was coming close to being a year since Gohan's first mind trip to Otherworld. It was also almost time for Vegeta's birthday. Bulma had managed to retrieve some data from a broken scouter she had found, and on the scouter she had found out when Vegeta had been born. This year she was determined to throw a small family celebration with Gohan, Goten, Trunks, her parents, and herself. She didn't dare invite the other Z fighters, knowing that Vegeta would blast them before they could even get the words `happy birthday' out.

Finally the day came, and it was a couple days away from being a year since Gohan had made his mind trip to Otherworld. Lately, Gohan had been experimenting with bringing something along with him. He had started out small, bringing small objects like pencils, then graduated onto larger objects, small animals, and finally larger animals. He was confident that he could now bring another person's mind with him to the Otherworld. He'd had a really hard time thinking of a gift for Vegeta's birthday, but on one of his visits to see Bardock and King Vegeta, it had hit him.

Today was the day, and Gohan was extremely nervous. He really hoped that Vegeta would accept his gift, because he didn't know what else to do. Vegeta was unhappy that Bulma had made this huge a deal out of his birthday, and looked very uncomfortable while they celebrated. Bulma had made Vegeta's favorite meals and a really huge chocolate cake, which somewhat made it up to the prince. After all of the food was devoured, it was time for Vegeta to open his presents. The Saiyan Prince adamantly refused to touch the brightly colored packages, so Bulma opened them while he scowled from the wall he was leaning up against.

From Bulma's mother, he got about twenty different outfits. Mrs. Briefs had constantly been after Vegeta to wear something other than spandex, so she'd decided that she might as well get the stuff for him. Dr. Briefs's present was a new and improved training droid, ten times stronger than the last. Bulma's gift to him was a newly improved gravity chamber, and several more suits of Saiyan armor. Gohan had already told Bulma that he wanted to give Vegeta his present in private, so as soon as Vegeta opened hers, she directed the party back towards the living room. Everything finally settled down, and Gohan could sense Vegeta getting ready to leave to go to the gravity room, so he walked over to the Saiyan Prince.

"Hey Vegeta?"

Vegeta looked up from his boots to glare at the oblivious demi Saiyan and snarled.

"What do you want, brat? It had better be something important."

"Well Vegeta, I want to give you my present, but not in front of everybody. Will you come up to my room with me for a minute?"

Gohan said nervously, hoping that Vegeta would say yes. There was silence for a minute as Vegeta weighed his answer. Go with the brat and escape the noise and stupid humans, or stay and end up having to deal with wailing babies and Bulma's parents.

"Whatever brat, anything to get away from the rest of them."

With that, Vegeta started up the stairs, leaving Gohan to follow. As they reached Gohan's room and walked inside, Vegeta leaned up against a wall with his usual scowl and arms crossed.

"So, where's the present brat?"

Gohan sat down on his bed and fidgeted nervously as he tried to think of how to tell Vegeta about his present.

"Well, its a little complicated, can I explain something first?"

"By all means brat, as long as we get on with it."

"Well, there's something I didn't tell you guys about when I told you I visit the Otherworld. I don't just visit Otherworld, I visit Hell (HFIL) too. The first time, I wanted to see if Cell actually got a cage or not, but while I was there I learned that there was a certain person I was interested in as well, but in a different area. So I went to find that person, but when I found him, there was someone else there as well. We all talked, and ever since then, whenever I go to Otherworld I go visit them as well. The two people I met were my Grandfather Bardock and your father King Vegeta."

Vegeta's emotions were so strong that Gohan didn't even need his abilities to feel them. There was disbelief, shock, anger, pride, and shame. Just then, Vegeta came off of the wall and stalked over to Gohan and grabbed the boy by the shirt. Getting in his face, Vegeta's voice was clear as he said the words slowly, and with precision.

"Why the hell did you not tell me this before, boy?"

Gohan shrugged as much as he could while in Vegeta's grasp, and answered.

"Because I wasn't sure how you would react, and your dad thought it was for the better. He didn't want to disrupt your life with me carrying on about talking to him."

Vegeta let go of Gohan's shirt and resumed his crossed arm position.

"So what in Kami's name does this have to do with a silly birthday present brat?"

Gohan rubbed his head and gave a rather sheepish grin as he spoke.

"Well you see, that's the point. I had a hard time finding a birthday present for you, and I finally figured it out while I was visiting them. Would you like to go see your father, Vegeta? I already okayed it with him, and he's looking forward to talking to you. If you want, that is."

For the second time that night, Vegeta was completely shell shocked. This time he couldn't even form words. His mouth was moving, but no words came out. He had never expected to get the opportunity to see his father again until he himself died. Finally he regained the power of speech. The thought suddenly occurred to him that it might be some sort of a prank the brat was playing.

"Brat, this had better not be some prank you're pulling, `cause if it is, I will Final Flash your ass to join your father, and to hell with the woman's punishment."

"It's not a joke, Vegeta."

Gohan hastily assured him. Vegeta thought for a minute, then spoke again.

"What do we have to do brat?"

Gohan sighed. The hard part was over; now all he had to do was not let Vegeta flip out in Hell.

"Well, we have to get into our meditative poses, either on the bed or on the floor. I don't particularly care which, but some part of you has to touch me, whether it is a hand, a foot, or a knee, it doesn't matter as long as you touch me."

Vegeta sat down on the floor and assumed a lotus position. Gohan sat down next to him, and Vegeta moved until he was in front of Gohan with their knees touching.

"The next thing will be to relax your mind, but before you do, I have to tell you a few things. First off, we're only going to Hell, and we'll be stopping to check on Cell and the others in the cage with him. One thing you really need to remember is not to power up. Nothing can hurt you there because we aren't actually there. I know you're going to want to go Super at least once to show your dad, but tell me before you do it and you can only hold it for one minute, or I wont be able to keep us there. Do you get it?"

Vegeta glared at Gohan in anger at being given orders, but decided to let it slide this once.

"Whatever brat, just get on with it."

"All right Vegeta. Relax your mind and don't freak out when I come into it."

Both Gohan and Vegeta relaxed their bodies and minds. Gohan sent his mind searching and found Vegeta's. Getting a firm grip on it, he concentrated on getting them both to Otherworld. All Vegeta felt was Gohan's grip on his mind, and then a wrenching sensation in his body before everything in his mind went white.

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