Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Idomu ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 8 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT or any of the characters found in this fic. They are the property of TOEI ANIMATION in Japan and FUNimation in the U.S.A. I am not making any profit from this.
Rating - NC-17
Warnings - INCEST. And although I don't know that it is so much a warning for this group as it is an encouragement…Yaoi (M/M, M/M/M). Followed by, ice, fire, body modification, voyeurism, bonding, tails, S & M, slave/master, character death, lemons, limes, random Japanese terms, A/U, wishes. (And I apologize for any other warnings I have forgotten!)
Pairings - (stepping out on a limb here folks) Lemons: Prince Vegeta/Kakarott/Gohan, K/Gh, PV/K, Radditz/Gh, V/Gh, V/G.
A/N: THANKS FOR STICKING WITH ME HOSHI!
Idomu - Chapter 7
~o0o~
“You ready?” Kakarott heard Gohan's voice.
“Yeah, lets do this,” Kakarott said, turning around in the big metal room.
Gohan pressed the button to close the door before walking over to the control panel, “We're going to take it as slow as possible,” Gohan said. He knew they were both anxious to get Kakarott to elite, but he didn't want to kill him in the process. Even with a regeneration tank housed in the same building, there was always the off chance something could go disastrous. “Going to one g,” Gohan said through the intercom.
“Understood,” Bardock acknowledged.
Kakarott looked around as the machine began to hum, “Don't worry,” Gohan said, “Once we start training, it will become white noise.”
Kakarott nodded, suddenly feeling the effects of the gravity increasing, “Wow.”
Gohan smiled, “Good?”
“Yeah. Just, let me get used to this first,” Kakarott said, walking around. He levitated a bit, his landing a little harsh when he came back to the floor, not having set his legs properly. He tried it again with much better results, “Okay, I think we can go up another.”
Radditz frowned from outside looking at the monitors, but didn't say anything. Gohan increased the gravity by another level, “And?”
Kakarott grunted, “I think we'll stay here.”
“And I am going to go work on those schematics you drew up last night,” Bardock said over the intercom, “Since we don't have all the chemicals necessary for the senzu formula you were talking about.”
Gohan nodded his understanding and then matched his ki to Kakarott's, “Okay, we'll start with speed. Remember those katas I showed you at the palace?” he asked. He smiled when Kakarott nodded, “Okay, we'll start with those. Take it slow until I say so,” Gohan coached. He watched Kakarott go through the routine, monitoring his body carefully, “Flex your legs more, and don't over extend your elbows. You can get away with that under normal gravity, but it will sprain or tear something here,” he instructed. Kakarott nodded and focused more on those couple of things, making similar adjustments to his poses where he felt he was making the same mistakes.
“Okay, now, come at me,” Gohan said, crouching into a defensive stance.
Kakarott's first three rounds were slow and calculated, as he had to concentrate on what he was doing, along with what the environment was throwing at him. The forth one flowed a little smoother, but he was already sweating. “Faster,” Gohan coached, and despite his doubts, Kakarott picked up his speed.
A while later, Radditz' scouter beeped at him, and he clicked it on, “Report,” he heard Vegeta's voice over the link.
“They've been at it for an hour at two times gravity. Kakarott's showing signs of tiring, but Gohan is pushing him to continue, your Highness,” Radditz said.
“And your assessment of the situation?” Vegeta asked.
“I think Gohan is keeping Kakarott's best interests in mind,” Radditz said: yes, the kid was pushy, but Radditz could tell there was understanding for limitations in his training choices.
“The council was very interested when I told them what your father had been working on. They don't know that he has a working model yet though,” Vegeta told his commander, “I'd like to keep it that way for as long as possible,” he continued.
“Understood,” Radditz said.
“Report to me again when they are through for the day,” Vegeta commanded.
“Yes, sir,” Radditz said before signing off. The awe he had felt when the kid had first powered up was beginning to wear off and he found himself watching the other like he would any other normal sayian he found attractive. After a while, he also found himself critiquing the kid's training choices. If he had been in charge of this, it wouldn't be so easy for his brother in some areas, like he would have forced him up to three times gravity by now and other areas he wouldn't even be training. What was the concern with speed all about any way?
He cringed as his brother lost his footing, and took a knee, “Water break,” Gohan's clear, though accented, voice came over the intercom audio as he went to the control panel and turning the simulator off.
Kakarott stumbled to the door as he followed the other out, “Gods, only water?” he asked.
Gohan turned to look at him, and read his ki closer, “I guess a food break wouldn't be too bad for you either.”
“I got it!” Bardock yelled across the warehouse having heard this part of the conversation.
Gohan shook his head as the other flopped to the floor. That was certainly a characteristic his dad didn't have, “You'd better stretch,” he told the other knowingly. Kakarott groaned as he stood back to his feet and started stretching as suggested. “And this is the easy part,” Gohan sighed.
Kakarott blanched, “Easy?”
“This first week is going to be all about getting you up to level 50, and possibly 70. Next week, is when we start combating,” Gohan advised gravely.
“Ancestors help me,” Kakarott whispered, “One week to get to 50?”
Radditz frowned while listening in on the conversation. It shouldn't take that much to get his brother to the elite level, but he kept his mouth shut. Better not to argue with the teacher in front of the student.
“Believe me, you will be using the tank, despite not having any visible injuries,” Gohan stated.
“You're not making me feel any better about this,” Kakarott said back.
“Is it worth it?” Gohan asked and received a sudden harsh glare from the other.
“He is more than worth it,” Kakarott hissed back.
“Keep that in mind,” Gohan said before they were interrupted by a group of people carrying food trays and water jugs their direction. Kakarott tore into the food with quite an appetite, even for him.
~o0o~
Kakarott groaned as he literally crawled out of the G.R. Now he knew why the former slave had held no harsh feelings for him…he was going to take the compensation necessary out of his hide. They had finished at seven times gravity this first day, “Oh, gods,” he whimpered as a medical team laid him out on a stretcher to take him to the regeneration tank.
Gohan stretched as he listened to Radditz' report to Vegeta, “…made it to seven times gravity today…no sir, his ki is too weak at the moment to tell if there has been an improvement…probably would be a good idea sir…understood, your Highness,” Radditz said, shutting down the link.
Gohan grimaced at the look he received from Radditz as the older brother turned to him, “Vegeta's going to send an extra shipment of tank fluid,” the commander told him.
“That is a good idea,” Gohan said before bending down and touching his toes. He wasn't in the best shape himself, even though he had tried while he had no ki.
“You going back to the house?” Radditz asked.
Gohan stood and shook his head, “No, he'll probably be sleeping here tonight. I thought I saw some cots over there,” he said, pointing to the front of the warehouse.
Radditz grunted, “Those are usually for short naps during the hottest part of the day. It gets cold out here at night.”
“Oh…the tank is heated, right?” Gohan asked. It wouldn't do Kakarott's muscles any good to seize up.
“Yes, it is,” Bardock stated as he came back from the tank, “I increased the protein, potassium and sodium levels in the fluid,” he informed them.
“How much protein,” Gohan asked concerned.
“50 inks per cubic notch,” Bardock said confused.
“That's too much!” Gohan said, hurrying towards the tank, “He'll gain too much untried muscle,” he explained as the other two caught up to him.
“Hadn't thought about that,” Bardock acknowledged, “How much then?”
“15 inks today…we'll see how tomorrow goes,” he said as he made some quick adjustments to the fluid constituents control. He peered inside the tank's portal window at the person suspended in the fluid, and sighed.
“Will you be coming to the house for supper?” Bardock asked.
Gohan shook his head, “If you don't mind, I'll eat out here. He may be sleeping, but he can still feel my ki. He'll know I am here when he wakes.”
Both Radditz and Bardock looked interested in this information, “This is about the third time I've heard you mention this `feeling ki',” Radditz said, “Care to tell us a bit about it?”
Gohan grinned, “Sure. It's something I learned to do when I was very young. I was able to teach both Prince Vegeta and Kakarott how to do it, I am certain the two of you can learn also, if you are interested.”
Bardock grinned, rubbing his hands together, “I always like learning a new ki technique. I don't get to train often with the work I have going on here though,” he commented before turning to the entry of the warehouse.
“What's he doing?” Gohan asked Radditz.
“Probably ordering food for us to have down here,” Radditz said, relaxing his stance. “Mind training me when you are done with my brother?” he finally asked. There had been some interesting physical styles the young warrior had exhibited in the GR. “I am certain Prince Vegeta will grant me the time off needed.”
Gohan flinched. He would be happy to train the other brother…if he knew he was still going to be here, “Um, sure,” he lied quietly.
“Over here boys!” Bardock shouted as he came back into the lab, “We can eat and go over these capsule plans,” he said, “Hopefully, it won't take a whole army of staff to bring dinner down if I get the use of this technology correctly!”
Gohan smiled, leading the way to where Bardock stood at a workbench. Currently, the only things laid out on the table were a few thin pieces of metals and the quick drawings he'd jotted down the night before, “Do you have carbon alloys?” Gohan asked.
Bardock scratched his head; “I don't know that anyone has thought about adding metal to carbon for anything. Seems like it would be kind of brittle.”
“Well, it is. But it reacts well to rapid expansion and contraction,” Gohan told him.
“That seems sort of contradictory,” Bardock concluded.
There was suddenly a plate laid out on the table in front of him and one in front of Gohan, “Eat and talk,” Radditz said, biting into a turnover of some sort.
Gohan took a bite of the one that had been set out before him, “Well, carbon has a very fractal molecular structure,” he mumbled around his mouthful. Radditz rolled his eyes.
“Okay, and?” Bardock did the same thing around his mouthful.
“The point is to be able to break it apart at the molecular level, but also be able to program it to come back together in the same sequence,” Gohan explained, before taking a drink from the mug Radditz plopped on the table.
“How do you program carbon to do anything? Wouldn't silicon be better?” Bardock asked, wiping his chin with the back of his hand.
“That's why it has to be an alloy,” Gohan continued, “And, silicon actually fuses together…eventually.”
“Oh,” Bardock said thoughtfully, “What kind of metal?”
Radditz shook his head and left the conversation to the geniuses turned pigs.
~o0o~
Kakarott woke in the tank. He groaned and stretched everything slowly, even his tail. When he finally settled back down, he could feel several others outside the tank. He smiled as he felt his brother, father, and Gohan.
Radditz grinned, “I can feel him waking,” he whispered with his eyes closed.
Bardock nodded, “I…I think I may have always had an instinct for this,” he said quietly.
“Why's that?” Gohan asked.
“Well, he does actually feel stronger…and before today, if I hadn't known how to do this, I wouldn't have been able to make a comparison,” Bardock explained.
Gohan grinned, “Well, you are correct. He is stronger.”
Radditz got up and tapped at the plexiglass. He gave his brother a thumb up when he opened his eyes. Kakarott slowly closed and opened his eyes in acknowledgement. “I don't know about the rest of you, but this exercise has put me in a very relaxed mood. I am going to bed,” he said to the other two. The kid's voice instructing him gently while he had been in an almost meditative state had been incredibly soothing.
Gohan stretched his arms out, “Yeah…I think I am done for the day,” he said as he got up and headed towards the cots to pull one closer to the tank.
“Don't mean to be rude, but wouldn't you like to shower?” Radditz asked as they headed the same direction.
Gohan chuckled, “I hadn't even thought about it,” he told the other truthfully. He'd been in several battles during his life that had taken days…bathing hadn't been an option. Of course, with any luck, he'd be able to do this for a month…yeah, showers were going to have to be taken.
“I am going to go back to work on this,” Bardock said as he pointed towards the capsule lay out, “If you want to go up to the house, Kakarott won't be alone for a little while.”
Gohan grinned, “I'll take you up on that, sir.”
“What did I tell you about sir-ing me?” Bardock asked in disgust.
Radditz laughed and Gohan shook his head as they exited.
Radditz led the way up the stairs, before turning into his room, “You should take your blankets down to the warehouse for tonight,” he advised the other.
Gohan nodded, “I will,” he said before he stepped into his room. Of course, he didn't know how much use it was going to be to him…
He sighed as he entered his shower room. Someone had been kind enough to take his towel, but not kind enough to leave him another. He stalked out of his bedroom, “Radditz!” he said loudly, hoping to catch the other before he'd stripped down.
Gohan almost ran into the commander as the other came out of his room, carrying exactly what he needed. Radditz grinned, “Some of the help have a sense of humor?”
“I guess,” Gohan said taking the towel from the other, “Thank you,” he stood stone still as Radditz reached for the piercing at his neck.
“I think it would be best if you removed those before you start the combat training,” Radditz said quietly, fully aware he had the other's undivided attention focused on him.
Gohan shivered, and then chastised himself for his conditioned response, “G-good idea,” he had felt the odd pressure they added when the gravity had been turned up as well.
“I can help you, if you would like,” Radditz offered. The kid was beautiful…and dangerous. The combination sent a shiver down his spine, and he made a decision, he wasn't certain he would regret later or not. He wittingly used the hold he had on the other to pull Gohan closer.
Gohan's feet shifted forward without him giving them a conscious command to do so, “O-k” his response was cut short as Radditz leaned his head down and covered his lips gently with his own. He dropped the towel in order to push at Radditz' chest: well, he had meant for it to be a push, but it ended up being groping instead. He finally forced himself to step back, “I am not a slave any more,” he declared quietly; if the other thought he was going to be an easy target….
Radditz let go of the piercing, “I don't…I don't want the slave.” When had he become so infatuated with this youth?! The day you bought him. His thoughts teased him with the memory of seeing the kid getting rough housed by the guards. He should have known better; he saw that kind of shit everyday. Why had it bothered him that time?
Gohan reached for the towel on the floor as he saw the other was lost in his own thoughts. He had just turned to escape to his rooms when he felt both an arm and a tail wrap around his body, turn him, and then he was being picked up, held to the older sayian's body, as he was kissed forcefully.
Radditz picked Gohan up and crushed his lips to the other's as he hooked the young sayian's legs around his hips, tangling Gohan's ankles together with his tail. He turned towards his room while carrying the other, “Put me down!” Gohan gasped as he drew in a quick breath.
Radditz growled, “Make me,” he said before attacking the kid's mouth with his again. He threw his scouter on the bed as Gohan punched weakly at his shoulder, “Are you fighting me? Or your self?” the commander asked before he kissed down Gohan's neck.
Gohan whined as he fisted his hands in Radditz hair; if he really didn't want this to happen, he could make it stop. Why wasn't he making it stop? “I-I'm not ready,” he gasped. He hadn't even been out of the palace a full two days yet! His mind was screaming this was his uncle, but his body…oh how his body wanted this. What had he let himself become?
Radditz slowed his exploration of the other's skin with his mouth, and shook his head in hopes to clear it from the lust that had fogged him in, “Okay,” he whispered before he pressed his lips back to the other's as he set Gohan on his feet. He swore to himself he had tried to pull back, but the other kept their lips locked with the hold he still had in his hair, “Kid,” he mumbled around their kiss.
“Mmmmm?” Gohan asked. The kissing was nice.
“Don't tease me…please,” Radditz answered.
Gohan drew back, biting his lower lip, “Sorry,” he whispered before taking a steadying breath.
Radditz smoothed a rough palm over Gohan's cheek. Why was he rushing into this? “We….I…you are welcome to shower with me. I won't do anything,” he finally spit out. He was 48 for Ancestors' sake! He'd had whores younger than this man. Why the fuck couldn't he get hold of himself?!
Gohan pulled Radditz' hand from his face to hold it between his own, biting at his lower lip again as he thought. This sayian wouldn't know if he never told. It was a mutual attraction, other wise, right? “Okay,” he finally whispered, ignoring his moral guilt and caving to his carnal craving, drawing the other towards the shower by his gentle hold, and Radditz was the one to follow as though he was on the leash.
Gohan stopped when the shower door made him. He reached back to open it, cursing as it refused to collaborate with him. Radditz wrapped his tail around the other's wrist, pulling his hand away from the door, before opening it himself. He stepped closer so he could turn the handles, and then stepped back, “It takes a moment to warm up,” he explained as he closed the door and started to take his shirt off.
He watched as Gohan nodded, and followed his example. Radditz growled quietly at the nipple piercings; he may not want the slave, but those made his blood boil. He undid the holds of his shoes before chucking them into a corner. He finally stripped off his pants giving Gohan an apologetic look for the erection he was sporting, “Sorry.”
Gohan shook his head, taking his own pants off, “No, seems the feeling is mutual,” he answered.
Radditz shook his head as he opened the door to check the temperature, “You're sure…” gods, was he going to be able to control himself?
“I-If you're okay with it,” Gohan replied.
Radditz growled as he stepped into the shower, pulling the other with him. “Maybe…this was a mistake,” Radditz grit his teeth. There wasn't enough room in the shower for the two of them without rubbing against each other.
“Well, I am wet now,” Gohan said, blushing as he realized that the statement could be taken the wrong way.
Radditz closed his eyes, “Fuck…I am getting out,” he said, reaching for the door. Gohan's hand on his wrist stopped him.
“I-I'm not ready for sex,” he said beginning to lower himself to his knees.
Radditz growled, stopping the once slave now revealed warrior from going any lower than he had by a hand under the arm, “No…” he said, wrapping the other's erection with his tail, “We'll get through this, this way,” he said, squeezing gently.
Gohan gasped, but nodded, reaching for the other with his hand. Radditz growled, closing his eyes and leaning his head back on the wall behind him. He panted as that hand surrounded and jerked him off…so strange.
Gohan leaned his forehead onto Radditz' chest as the other continued to use his tail with great talent, “Oh, god…” he closed his eyes as hands started running through his hair, and finally kneading his shoulders. His gasps came closer together, each one more desperate than the last. With Kakarott, he'd had an excuse: survival. Now, when he had to power to remove himself from a similar situation, he found he completely lacked the desire to do so. The smell and the touch of the other were claiming him; threading through him…affecting him in ways neither the prince nor concubine had…how different from them would he taste?
Radditz grunted as Gohan did what he had stopped him from doing before any way. “Kid, you're going to kill me,” he whispered as the other continued to suck on him.
Gohan gasped, and then screamed around the cock in his mouth as he came. Radditz shuddered as he released into Gohan's mouth at the vibrations caused by the other's stifled noise.
They both stood panting as the water pelted unnoticed at their skin. Radditz was the first to move, groaning as he reached for the soap. He ran it lazily over the other's spine as Gohan leaned against his torso, before running it more fully over the rest of Gohan's body. He tilted the other's chin up to kiss him, licking his tongue along the other's chin before twining it with the kid's, and then passed him the bar of soap.
Gohan washed Radditz, noticing how the other would shiver when he trailed his fingers over certain areas. He was having a wonderful time exploring when his wrist was caught up in the other's large hand, “You want me to keep my hands off…you'd better keep this simple,” Radditz half growled at him. Gohan nodded, and became more serious about what he was doing.
Too soon for either of them cleanliness was achieved and Radditz was reaching behind Gohan in order to turn the water off. They both stepped out of the shower, Radditz grabbing a couple of towels and tossing one in Gohan's direction. Gohan stilled as Radditz reached for his piercings again, “Relax, kid. Just taking them off,” he coaxed, beginning again when Gohan nodded.
Neck, nipples and navel were easy to remove, although Gohan shivered as each ring was pressed into his hand. The one in the tongue was a little difficult for Radditz to get his big fingers around, so Gohan used the mirror to widen it so the spacer fell out. They both blushed when Gohan said, “One more.”
Radditz looked around the bathroom, before grabbing Gohan's hand, and leading him into the bedroom where he pressed the other to sit on the mattress. Gohan leaned back, shuddering as Radditz went to work on the last one.
Radditz pressed the last ring into Gohan's hand that already held the others, “You'd better go,” he stated, his voice rough with suppressed emotion.
Gohan nodded climbing unsteadily to his feet, “Thank you,” he said quietly before exiting the commander's bedroom.
Radditz closed his door after the other left, leaning his head against it, and punching at the wall, cringing at the hole he made, “Dad is not going to be happy about that.”
~o0o~
Radditz watched his brother and Gohan on the monitor again. This was the last day he'd be here for a while: tomorrow he would be going back to the palace. Kakarott's progress was amazing. There were times he couldn't even keep up with them visually, even if they were in an enclosed space.
There had been one incident with a tail sprain, but the senzu project his father had interrupted himself on the capsule project for had astounding results. Not only had it healed Kakarott's tail instantly, but it had also revitalized him. Radditz had been able to get a full ki progress report in the middle of the day, rather than the morning after.
Radditz was able to get a good look at the two of them in the room as Kakarott knelt on the floor, holding one arm to his side, “If you are going to give up now, I think I'll go back to the palace and claim Vegeta as my own.”
“Stupid move kid,” Radditz growled as his brother's yell and increase of ki caused shockwaves to go through the warehouse despite the fact the two of them were in the chamber.
The commander shifted uncomfortably at the next thing he could see in the room; Gohan grinning despite the blood pouring out of his nose and mouth, his brother pressing an elbow to the kid's throat, “Knew you had more in you,” Gohan teased as he licked his lips. Radditz had to turn away from the monitor as lust for the youth filled his mind and jealousy at his brother's proximity twisted his gut.
He growled at his father's knowing look, but left the building before the other could say anything. “Radditz! Report!” the link on the scouter suddenly halted his retreat.
“Kid said he was going to come and claim you. Kakarott got pissed,” Radditz told his prince. He should have known the other would have made contact at that last explosion of power.
“That was pretty stupid,” Vegeta commented.
“I thought so also,” Radditz replied, “But apparently it got the reaction he wanted.”
Vegeta chuckled, “I'll try to keep these pop ups to a minimum. I just get excited every time I feel an increase!”
Radditz shook his head. He was becoming more and more used to these little conversations with Vegeta when the prince wasn't acting like…well, the prince!
“So, why are you outside instead of monitoring the situation?” Vegeta asked, a sly catch in his voice.
Radditz growled, almost taking the scouter off and throwing it in the dirt, “You know why. I can't wait to get back to the capital!”
“Running away is not going to help. You'll have to see him again, sooner or later,” Vegeta advised.
Radditz growled, kicking at a helpless stone, “Hopefully he will have wrapped his mind around the idea…what ever that means!” This conversation was just weird. He was talking to the prince about the lover he hoped to have, that had been the prince's slave…that he had bought for him as a gift.
“He's a good kid,” Vegeta encouraged.
“I don't want to hear how good he is from you, Prince Vegeta,” Radditz growled.
“Radditz, I didn't know,” Vegeta said quietly. It had become apparent to everyone who knew these two that their chemistry was dead on.
Radditz sighed, “None of us did. I'll report later,” he said, signing off.
~o0o~
“And give this to Vegeta, please,” Kakarott said, pressing something last minute into his brother's hand.
Radditz grunted, “Okay,” he was reluctant to leave. Gohan hadn't made an appearance. The least the kid could do to show he cared was come to see him off, even if they weren't speaking. Radditz didn't know why Gohan kept pushing him away when it was more than obvious they wanted each other. He growled, and Kakarott hugged him in sympathy; which Radditz didn't care for. “Why's he got this stupid hang up?” he asked his brother.
Kakarott shook his head, “I don't know.”
“Son!” Radditz turned at the sound of his father's voice, “Ask Vegeta to send more calcium with the next shipment. Gohan says there is going to be more broken bones this next week.”
Radditz' eyes narrowed, and he quickly scanned the warehouse. If the boy were going to hide from him, he would seek him. He grinned, and took off. Both his relatives shook their heads, “They'll get over this phase,” Bardock assured his son.
“I am not certain they have much of a choice in the matter,” Kakarott answered, and Bardock nodded in agreement.
Gohan shuddered as he felt the warm breath against the back of his neck, “Radditz,” he whispered, closing his eyes. It was so fucking difficult to think or keep focus in the other's presence. He turned obediently as the commander's large hands rotated his shoulders.
“Look at me kid,” Radditz insisted. He sighed as the other's eyes opened to him, “I'll see you in a week or two,” he said as he pressed his lips to Gohan's.
Gohan shook with restraint, before giving in and wrapping his arms around the armored torso of the other, reflexively pulling him tighter. Even though he had made it clear he didn't want these advances right now, Radditz kept pushing. He was married and had a child, this was his uncle, he would be leaving soon; he knew all these things and yet he could still hardly control himself! “Go!” he said, pushing the other away as a last resort to combat his lust.
Radditz growled and started to comment about the immature action on the other's part, but stopped as the kid's demeanor changed. He was going to get himself hurt if he kept pressing. He sneered at the other's foolishness, fighting his instincts, before turning and heading out the door. He didn't even stop to say one last good-bye to his brother or father.
“Great! Way to piss him off before this first combat,” Kakarott spat at his brother's retreating back. He cringed at a yell from the front of the warehouse, and shockwaves that blew dust in every direction. “This is going to be painful,” Kakarott said, looking at his father before sighing at his fate.
Bardock grimaced, “Yeah…good luck son.”
~o0o~~o0o~
“What do you mean someone's sabotaged the radars?” Videl asked over her cell phone as she ran through the hallways at Capsule Corp. Less than four weeks before the dragon balls would be active again, and this happens?!
“I mean, they've been crushed, the custom parts for it have been destroyed and the plans have been stolen,” Bulma told her. How had someone gotten in here and done this? In her own lab!
“Do you know who?” Videl asked. If this was her daughter's doing, Pan would be living with her grandfather permanently. She couldn't even begin to express the anger the thought this could be Pan stirred in her.
“I have a team working on that,” Bulma said as she watched the crew dust the remains of the radars and everything around them for finger prints. She had thought this area secure and it had been coincidence she had to have come in here for something she couldn't even remember now.
“Found another print!” one of the crew shouted towards his boss.
Bulma could hear Videl sigh over the phone, “I'll run this through C.C.'s data base now. Hopefully it won't be another one of mine. I should have some sort of answer for you by the time you get down here.”
“Thanks Bulma,” Videl said, folding her phone up, and tucking it into her shirt pocket.
~o0o~~o0o~
Gohan leaned his head back against the tank's wall. Kakarott had only lasted against him for 15 minutes before having to be tanked. He looked up from his thoughts as his leg was nudged, “Here, have a drink,” Bardock handed him a mug with something steaming in it.
“Is it poisoned?” Gohan asked, almost wishing that it were.
Bardock shook his head, “No. Kakarott wants this, and you managed to stop in time,” the elder said.
“I almost didn't,” Gohan shuddered, finally taking a sip. His eyes snapped up. It was difficult to tell what kind of tea it had been with all the alcohol in it.
“You need to relax. I think he's going to be in there for a good portion of the day,” Bardock said before turning and heading towards the workbenches.
Gohan took another sip before placing the mug down on the ground next to him. He leaned his head back against the tank again, closing his eyes. It took some time for him to still his mind as thoughts of Radditz and Idomu tried to wedge their way into his thinking. He reached blindly for the mug again, and took another, longer sip, sighing as it burned its way down his throat. He placed it back down as he felt his shoulders relax. He gathered just enough ki to him, and threw his thoughts off planet; anything to get his mind away from here…if only for a little while.
With his ki to aid him, he no longer needed to use Namek as a stepping-stone, but he stopped briefly any way. He smiled at the calmness of the planet. Even Earth was never this still.
He finally shifted his attention to the planet he had been born on. The familiar constant change of the planet was extremely comforting, even if it was not as calm as Namek. Trying to keep his mind occupied for as long as possible, he went over the planet bit by bit. He smiled as he realized Bulma was on the move again. The stories his father would share with him about how you couldn't get the genius to keep still when she was younger.
Something drew his attention away from the woman's ki. He frowned…something familiar, but unexpected. His eyes suddenly popped open, and he clamped a hand over his mouth. He closed his eyes quickly, searching again, making sure he hadn't been over reacting. Videl! She was there! How? Gohan let a small chuckle escape. She had been born of course! Even if it were later than in his time line. Yes, there was Hercule's faint ki, right next to hers. His heart thudded in his chest, but he shook his head. Here, he was 28 years older, and galaxies away. They weren't meant to be in this time line.
He let his mind wonder away from the planet. The thought she was here kept him happy as he moved beyond, the concern about his energy failing him this far out no longer necessary with ki to aid him on his astral journey. The same feeling came over him though, as he moved further out from Earth. Something was wrong in this part of the universe. He was sure of it now. Alien planets he could feel as child weren't there. There was a blankness he could follow like a path. The direction he felt himself moving in was returning him closer to Vegeta-sei, but not by the route of Namek.
And then that gut twisting feeling hit him again. This time he boosted his ki in order not to pass-out, following the pain to a new destination, where he found his disturbing answer to what had been taking place, `Brolli,' he growled, his ki escalating in response. It seemed as though King Vegeta had failed to kill the child in this time line also.
He piggybacked as the other moved swifter than he thought possible from the destruction he had caused. It didn't take him long to finalize his conclusion. The other was headed back towards this planet. Gohan quickly drew his thoughts back to his body. He stirred just as someone nudged his shoulder. “I thought you were sleeping, until I felt you coming back,” Kakarott's concerned features peered at him.
“How long was I out?” he asked as he stood, the adrenaline kicking in.
“About six hours,” Bardock answered.
“Crap!” all that training time wasted. Well not wasted- if he hadn't been meditating, he wouldn't have known. He grabbed Kakarott's hand and sat back on the floor, “Follow me,” he instructed, sending his awareness out again.
“Slow down,” Kakarott said from besides him. He gasped as Gohan's awareness stopped, “Who is it?”
Gohan returned them before answering, “You remember me telling Vegeta a story about what his father had done?” he didn't want to talk about this openly, not even in front of Bardock.
Kakarott's eyes lifted as he thought about Gohan's statement, “You mean that story about a father and son?”
“YES! That's the son,” Gohan stated, “And he's coming back this way, and destroying everything in his direct path.”
Kakarott's nodded, “Well, we do claim planets…”
“No, I mean, he's destroying them. There is no planet left when he's done,” Gohan said, trying to emphasize his concern.
“Oh,” Kakarott said quietly.
Bardock spoke up, “Is he stronger than you?” he asked Gohan.
Gohan shook his head, “No…not yet any way…”
“Then you can handle him when he gets here?” Kakarott asked, but sounded unsure.
“Crap,” Gohan said, leaning his forehead between his lifted knees.
“What does that mean?” Kakarott growled.
“I may not be here,” Gohan mumbled. He yelped as his hair was pulled back.
“What do you mean, `you may not be here'?” Kakarott growled at him. He was certain this was a part of what Vegeta said when the prince had mentioned concerns about the truthfulness of the foreigner's stories. “You think you're going somewhere?”
Gohan sighed and closed his eyes, “If I do, it will be because I don't have a choice in the matter,” he replied. Coincidences were happening too close together to give an educated guess as to whether or not he would be here when Brolli arrived. Kakarott dropped his head in disgust.
“Well, that explains why Radditz thought you were training him harder than necessary to make the goal of elite in a year…you were on pace for what? A month?” Bardock asked.
Gohan gulped…he hadn't thought it would have been that obvious, “Yes. If I am leaving, it will be somewhere in the vicinity of a month…well, three weeks now,” he whispered. He stood, rotating his neck on his shoulders, “I guess we have to step it up even more.”
Kakarott growled, “Are you trying to kill me?”
It was Gohan's turn to growl, “He was born Legendary,” he hissed, “No one on this planet is close to his power. I have one chance, and one option. You!” he said with conviction, poking his finger at Kakarott's chest.
Kakarott shoved his hand away, “What kind of a choice is that? You need to get Vegeta here, and train him! I was born third class…”
Bardock cleared his throat and the other two looked at him, “Well…that may not have been true.”
“WHAT!” Kakarott screeched at him.
“Your mother died giving birth to you,” Bardock started.
“I know that!” Kakarott hissed. It had been a long time, but he didn't want to be reminded of the guilt he always felt about it. It wasn't his fault his mother had chosen to have him the natural way!
“And you barely survived the birth yourself,” Bardock stated.
“And?” Kakarott asked. This little bit of information was new to him.
“They took your ki reading minutes after you were out of the womb,” Bardock stated, “Your vitals hadn't even stabilized yet. They were in a hurry to get you into an incubator. They offered to take a second reading when you were out, but I declined.”
Kakarott gave his father a wilted look, “Why?” he asked quietly. His father had kept this from him for 27 years?
Bardock glanced over at Gohan trying to decide if this information was something he could trust the stranger that had seemed to have so many secrets of his own with, “There was a rumor…about a child I had seen in the same room with you,” Bardock whispered, “He was there the first hour I was there to visit you. The second time I came to visit, they were filling out a death certificate. I mentioned something about how it seemed rather odd that such a healthy baby would just suddenly die, with the technology we have: my main concern being about your chances of survival if the other kid hadn't made it. The doctors became nervous and thin lipped. Tails don't tighten that quickly if something was an accident. I had a couple of days to think about it, and hear rumors whispered in the ward halls before the doctors asked if I wanted to have you tested again when it was time to take you home. I decided I'd much rather have a third class son, than not have a second son at all.”
Kakarott's face paled, “Was…was his name…Brolli?”
Bardock's eyes widened, “How…” he looked over at Gohan as Kakarott pointed his direction. “You're being here just gets weirder and weirder all the time,” Bardock gave him a penetrating look.
“Weird doesn't cover it,” Gohan growled, he turned back to Kakarott, “You are going to have to believe me on this one. You can do it, and I am going to make sure you do!”
Kakarott sighed as he tightened his tail around his waist. Not only did his relationship with Vegeta depend on this now…but so did his planet's survival, “This is just fucked up,” he whispered while turning resignedly towards the open door of the gravity simulator.
~o0o~~o0o~
“Well, I can tell you it wasn't Pan,” Bulma stated.
Videl sighed. That was a relief, “But what are we going to do?”
Bulma smiled and tapped her head, “I do have a photographic memory. It's just going to take time to build another, with all the custom parts that have to be made. Relax while I make this my top priority. The remains left were all seven radars. The dragon balls will still be there, even if we are a week or so behind schedule,” Bulma patted Videl's knee.
“That's just so weird…who would go to all the trouble to sneak into your lab, destroy the radars and not take one to go in search of dragon balls?”
Bulma shook her head, “Probably some weird fanatic,” she replied.
“Well, I am going to go and pull Pan early from her training. I just want to go home. This has stressed me out,” Videl stated, standing from her chair.
“You have a good night and get some rest,” Bulma said as she watched the young woman leave. She waited a few more seconds before pulling a box of matches out from her desk drawer, lighting one and throwing it into the trashcan besides her desk. She had barely had time to wad the sheet up and throw it in there before Videl had been in her office. One question stood out more than any of the others, “Why would he do this?”
~o0o~~o0o~