Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Kingdom Come ❯ Chapter 26: No Place Like Home ( Chapter 26 )

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

WARNING: See Chapter 1

Kingdom Come
~ Chapter 26There was light. Such bright light that even closing one's eyes wouldn't dim it, even if one -could- close one's eyelids. So bright it was nearly blinding. And then there was darkness. Blinding darkness.

Without warning, they appeared on a white tiled veranda, causing a new explosion of light before allowing the midnight atmosphere to once again rule. Their own entrance was blinding, as they were left almost dumb with blossoms of colors dancing within their sight. Those fire blossoms died down until there was nothing but a void of everything. And then their eyes adjusted, and the inky blankness turned into something softer.

The sky was no longer a clean slate, as it had been magically transformed into ebony velvet scattered with diamond dust. The area around them stood in perfect ivory elegance, simple yet exotically beautiful. There were a few hanging lamps, adding their illuminations to the shimmer granted by starlight. There were several powerful, familiar powers nearby. And none of them held any detectable form of animosity. It was peaceful. It was familiar. It was home.

It was home.

They collectively breathed a deep sigh of relief. They were alive. And they were home. Piccolo closed his eyes for a moment, letting the truth of it sink in. Yamcha tried to pick himself up from where he had fallen on one knee, but the Look-out was spinning madly under him, causing him to fall down again. Krillin, after he registered that they were home, began to laugh and cry at the same time.

"We're home! We're home! We're finally home!" Krillin exclaimed as he knelt down to the ground, kissing the white tiles.

"Dammit, can't these magical things work without blinding us all?" a familiar voice cursed in vexation.

The three fighters spun around, or rather Piccolo spun around and the other two merely moved so that they were looking in the direction of the voice. As they moved, they discovered that the Mirror of Janus -- their universe's mirror -- was behind them and to the side, another note of familiarity. There was a small welcoming party gathered for them, but many were rubbing their eyes, trying to recover from the glare. When the dancing lights had cleared even from their eyes, there was still a moment of hesitation as everyone simply stared and waited for someone else to make the first move.

It was Dende, the young namekian Kami, who finally broke the growing awkwardness of the moment. He smiled brightly and turned to the short, dark, plump figure beside him. "See, Mr. Popo! I told you they were smart enough to figure out how to get back. And you said they were goners!"

"But, Dende," Mr. Popo said, and there was such blatant confusion on the gardener's face that Dende's words were automatically thrown into suspicion. "It was -you- who said..."

"Wow. You guys look like shit," Trunks said, breaking into Dende's and Mr. Popo's conversation.

"How very observant of you," Piccolo remarked dryly. He shifted on his feet, taking notice of all who were in attendance. Dende was already moving to go help Yamcha, who obviously needed it. Trunks was sitting on a low railing with the youngest Son almost sitting in his lap, while Vegeta stood leaning with his arms crossed in a nearby doorway. And then 18 walked into the room.

"18!" Krillin exclaimed excitedly, watching as his lovely wife came striding inside. She was wearing her favorite pair of jeans and a white shirt. It was a plain outfit, but one she enjoyed for the comfort. She pushed her blonde hair out of her face, and there was a familiar quirk to her lips that made the ex-monk nearly weep.

"Well, where have you been?" 18 asked, her arms crossed over her chest. She leaned her head down, letting her recently tucked in hair fall forward as she declared, "Marron's been worried sick!"

Krillin climbed to his feet, his eyes shining with unshed tears. He didn't care who else was there. HIS 18 was there! And she had obviously been worried about him. He flung his arms open wide and ran to her, burying his face into her abdomen. "Honey! Oh, honey. I love you. I will never, ever, ever leave you ever again. Never!"

The cybernetic female grinned softly down as she wrapped her arms around her husband, and for a moment, all was well. But as she looked down into her own reflection, she couldn't help but ask, "What happened to your hair?"

Piccolo watched the tender scene for a moment, but was suddenly tackled to the ground by a heavy mass of muscle and over-excited demi-saiyajin. Piccolo grunted as he hit the ground, having been caught completely unaware. Blinking up at the young man who straddled his waist, Piccolo felt his stomach sink down through the floor to the spinning globe beneath.

"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan exclaimed, feeling incredibly light as he sat on his mentor. He didn't even question the fact that Piccolo's clothes were torn and tattered; instead he merely pressed his hands down onto bare patches of green flesh. His smiled brilliantly, and was opening his mouth to further greet the namek when another heavy body hit -him-, causing him to crash into the far wall.

The room was quickly illuminated with the flickering light of a very angry super-saiyajin. It took the startled group a moment to realize that the stranger wore a very familiar face. The tail was what threw them, though. Once the newcomer reverted to his normal state, the light died down as Gohan looked up, pure shock on his face as he looked at the curled up tail. Prince Goten stared down at the older demi-saiyajin, and somehow managed to growl elegantly, "Stay away from him."

Unobserved by everyone else, Vegeta looked at the newest member to join them. He knew he wasn't the only one suffering from shock. But he was rather certain that his was the only world to come crashing down around their ears. 'He's... He's from my dreams!' Vegeta's breathing turned ragged as he tore his eyes away from the tailed warrior to look at Yamcha who was being healed by Dende. Could those dreams have been something more? Could they have been... real?

"Wow," Trunks sounded, looking at the regal form before him. It -looked- like his Goten. Sort of. But there were also elements of his father.

"Yeah..." Goten agreed softly. His eyes were focused solely on the curled up brown tail that seemed to glimmer in the low light. It looked incredibly soft. He had never known what it was like to have a tail. His had been cut off soon after birth, though he still carried the scar from it. The youngest Son couldn't help himself as he took a few quick steps forward and gently grabbed at the furry appendage. "Whoa. It's so--"

"ARGH!" Prince Goten screamed, in pain and in outrage. Spinning quickly, he delivered a high kick straight at the other Goten's head, clocking him smartly. Goten flew a few feet away, but Trunks moved faster, catching his lover. Unfortunately, Prince Goten hadn't been holding back, and Trunks misjudged that. They both ended up crashing into a wall, leaving a shallow crater where they impacted. "Don't you EVER touch me again!"

The two demi-saiyajins fell out of their crater and crouched onto the ground next to Vegeta. The short saiyajin looked at the two young half-breeds, and the outright indignant expressions on their faces, and couldn't help but laugh at them. Though, if he was honest with himself, he'd also admit that he was in a state of shock himself. But it wasn't for the same reason that the rest of the group was. "You idiots. You should never touch anyone's tail unless they give you permission."

"Well, we didn't get to keep ours," Trunks muttered, a bit miffed, as he stood up, holding out his hand to his lover.

Prince Goten growled as he spun back around to face off with Gohan again as the elder demi-saiyajin pulled himself out of the rubble. He was about to pounce when Piccolo's soft voice prevented him. And all it took was a single word.

"Goten."

The prince immediately relaxed, falling out of his fighting stance, and turned to look at the rising Namek. He grinned at the green warrior and responded in a voice filled with relief, "Piccolo."

Quirking an eyebrow ridge upwards, Dende looked between the elder namek and the young demi-saiyajin. "I think we missed something here."

If the prince was going to say anything more, no one would ever know. The great and fearsome Piccolo opened his arms, and the young prince suddenly found himself in a tight embrace. He couldn't remember Piccolo moving. He couldn't remember moving either, for that matter. He didn't even know how he got there. All he knew was that he had been looking at the large glowing -sun- of energy that his brother had created hurtling forward towards him, and then a bright flash of silver, and then he was in a dark room with a single doorway that led out. He had exited the room, and found a small hallway that he followed until he came upon the scene of Gohan straddling Piccolo. But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered as Piccolo leaned down and gave him a kiss that had his toes curling.

"Oh. Now I -know- we missed something here," Dende declared.

"Holy shit!" Trunks and Goten exclaimed at the same time, while Gohan was struck speechless.

"Wow," 18 remarked. She tilted her head to the side as she watched on, stroking her hand over Krillin's bald head. "They seem to have had lots of practice."

Vegeta couldn't help the small giggles of delirium that sprung forth, but was grateful that no one else was taking notice of them. Yamcha saw Vegeta laughing through the mirror, and turned without thinking to hug the shorter male. "Geta!"

The full-blooded prince turned to stone in the warm embrace. He had fought the ghost of Yamcha in the human's own home, while embracing the man himself at night. Vegeta was sure of it. And standing there, with the scarred warrior's scent and heat pressed up against him, the proud prince had to do all that he could just to keep from ravishing Yamcha on the spot.

Yamcha felt the man in his arms stiffen, so he pulled back and took notice of what this Vegeta was wearing. It was a black business suit with a black satin shirt and tie, definitely -not- the black guard's uniform that his Geta was wearing when last seen. Blushing profusely, Yamcha backed off, raising his arms to his side and trying to apologize. "Oh. I'm sorry, Vegeta. I... thought you were somebody else."

"Hn. I'm sure you did," Vegeta managed to remark, though it came out a bit strained. He watched with hooded eyes as the human slowly backed away from him, allowing him the opportunity to regain -some- control, if not all. He grimaced slightly as he shifted his weight to the other foot, wishing he could shift his already hardening sex into a more comfortable position while knowing that there wasn't one. He doubted he would ever be in complete control of himself around the human ever again.

Yamcha didn't hear the retort, though. He was too busy looking around. Normally, he would have been a bit flustered around Vegeta. But that was before he had found Geta and fallen in love with him. 'But where is he?' He saw Piccolo and Prince Goten holding onto each other. And he could see Krillin holding onto his 18. But he didn't see Geta anywhere. "Hey! Has anyone seen Geta?"

Krillin poked his head out from where he had buried it and looked around the room. He didn't see the wayward guard either. He noticed Yamcha heading his way, so Krillin released his hold on his wife. He grinned as her arms slid away from him, and he was reminded all over again of how much he missed her. "Dude. I haven't seen him since we were on the other side of the mirror, when Piccolo first started fighting Gohan."

"Piccolo... fighting Gohan?" 18 asked, but Krillin gave her a look that said he would explain everything later, which caused her to quiet down.

"He had to have come across with us," Yamcha muttered, anxiety washing through him. He was still unable to locate his lover as he looked around the room, and out onto the veranda beyond. He couldn't even sense Geta's chi. He grew increasingly worried. "Oh, man... Piccolo!"

The Demon Lord moaned softly as he had to break the kiss, but he could practically feel Yamcha's fear radiating out towards him. In his arms, Prince Goten leaned forward, gasping for breath. Piccolo knew that the other three demi-saiyajins were still watching them, but he didn't care. He had -his- Goten in -his- arms, and he felt like celebrating. But, he was also aware that he wasn't the only one who was home. "What is it, Yamcha?"

The scarred human approached the two, continuing to scan the area for his lover. In the back of his mind, he noticed Piccolo release Prince Goten and moved to meet him halfway while also granting the prince time to regain his composure. Licking his lips, Yamcha asked nervously, "Have you seen Geta? Do you know if he came through?"

"I don't know," Piccolo replied, trying to recall the events prior to their leaving. He shook his head as he continued, "I was fighting. I didn't see."

"Dammit!" Yamcha cursed as he turned around, clearly panicked. He ran a hand through his hair anxiously as he tried to think. But he couldn't form any coherent thoughts other than that his Geta was missing. "What the hell happened to him?"

There were no answers forthcoming. In his reckless fear, Yamcha grabbed at Prince Goten, the only other person who had been there, and demanded to know, "What happened to him? Did you see?"

"I know what happened to him. I did see." Prince Goten's eyes turned sad, remembering the guard's last words, and his tail flicked behind him before dropping low. He leaned in forward, placing his hands on the human's shoulders, and explained what he had seen in a tone of voice that not even Piccolo was able to overhear. His grip on Yamcha's shoulders helped the prince guide the human's eventual collapse.

"No... No..." Yamcha whispered, pulling his knees up and burying his face in his hands. "You're wrong. You've got to be wrong."

"I am not," Prince Goten replied, his tail lashing out behind him at the very thought that he could have been in error. No one had questioned him in ages. Well, no one other than Piccolo. But that was different.

Krillin looked at the huddled form on the floor, and then at the gathered crowd. This was not the place or the time. He walked over to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey... Yamcha..."

The one time bandit choked on his own breath, trying to keep himself under control. He bit his lower lip against the pain and shook his head. This wasn't a battle he was going to win. "I... I want to go home."

Krillin nodded and was a bit taken aback by Vegeta stepping forward, as if he were about to pick Yamcha up and carry him off. "I'll take him."

18 was the one who offered up a plausible explanation, however. "Vegeta's been staying in Yamcha's condo."

"Oh, um... I don't think that would be such a good idea, then," Krillin muttered, rubbing his hand over his friend's back. "Hey, Yamcha, why don't you come home with us? Just for a little while. We'll sort everything else out later, okay?"

Yamcha wasn't listening, though. He merely nodded his head and, like a child, was easily led away.

Vegeta watched them leave and continued to watch until there wasn't even a ghost of their passing. His insides were twisted in unimaginable ways, and it frightened him. He wanted Yamcha; there was no denying that. But... there was more to it than that. The look in the human's eyes, so lost and alone, had him wanting to -protect- the human. He hadn't even felt that over Bulma, and they had shared a bed for many years. Hell, she had even sired him a child. This was the same human he had killed when he first arrived to earth! The irony left a bitter taste in Vegeta's mouth. With a sigh of frustration, directed at only himself, the last pureblooded saiyajin returned to the drama playing out in front of him.

"Well," Trunks mumbled, clearing his throat as he stepped forward. "That was uncomfortable."

"And -that- was inappropriate," Prince Goten snapped, glaring at the bulky, lavender-haired youth. It was definitely Trunks, but this one was different. That didn't mean he had any respect for the elder demi-saiyajin, though. It just meant that he'd have to learn new rules. "Have you no respect for your friends?"

"I have respect for my friends," Trunks retorted, tossing his head to throw out some of his longer bangs out of his eyes. He wanted to get a good look at this tailed warrior.

"Could've fooled me," Prince Goten replied acerbically.

"All right, then," spoke Trunks loudly. All eyes turned to him, but he had eyes only for the vision in front of him. "Who are you?"

Prince Goten smirked slightly, tilting his head in such a manner as to use the shadows and tricks of light to their utmost usefulness. "I am Prince Goten."

"I'm a prince," Goten grinned, giggling a bit. "Check it out. Prince Me. Heh."

"Are you equating yourself with me?" the prince scoffed. He moved forward then, inspecting this 'regular' version of himself, taking in the sights and smells. Noting the baggy jeans, the tight t-shirt, the shaggy hair. Sniffing. Realizing this other 'him' was more muscular and slightly shorter; he also slouched, which made him appear all the shorter. After circling around the other male, he took a step back and clasped his hands behind his back just above his tail. Lifting his nose slightly, he stated, "You slouch, your clothing is sloppy and ill-fitting, your hair is unkempt and unwashed, and you reek of sex and dirt. You actually have dirt on your face, did you know? What exactly were you doing before you came here? No. Don't answer that. Allow me to rephrase. Appearing as you do, you think we're the same? You must be kidding."

Off to the side, from where he had chosen to watch the proceedings, Vegeta laughed outright at this new version of Goten. Dende did his best to hide his soft snickering, but Piccolo merely chuckled darkly. Trunks looked at all of them indignantly, offended on behalf of his lover. "Dad!"

"What?" Vegeta called back, continuing to laugh. "He's just being honest."

The elder man's laughter called Prince Goten's attention to him, and the demi-saiyajin rounded on him. His tail curled around his waist as he practically stalked around the full-blooded saiyajin. At the menacing steps the youth used, Vegeta's laughter died down, though he remained amused. "Do you want to try me, brat?"

Goten looked at this version of Vegeta, noticing how he carried himself and what he was wearing. He stood tall and proud, his head held high. And though he stood a full head shorter than Prince Goten, there was something to him that wasn't there in his alternate self. A sense of... command. Pride. Power. Goten wasn't sure, but he knew that this Vegeta wasn't one to bow down to anything. Or to anyone. "You're acceptable." Then smirking, he added, "Still really short."

Vegeta jerked back at the mockery, about to retort using his fist, when he heard his son snickering, "What, Dad? He's only being honest."

Piccolo laughed at that, shaking his head. "Goten, come here."

Goten nearly complied, but was restrained by his royal alternate. "He means -me-, idiot."

"You know," Dende piped in, a slight quaver of uncertainty in his voice, "we're really going to have to decide what to call them. I mean, there can't be TWO Goten's. I may be a Kami... but that'd confuse even me."

"Oh," Goten said as he looked slightly upwards to the dark brown eyes assessing him. He grinned, trying to be friendly with the prince, but he didn't think that his other self was going to be all that amiable. With a laugh he said, "Why not everyone just call me 'Chibi'? I mean, Trunks already does."

Prince Goten stared at his other self in mute horror for a moment before turning to walk towards his lover. Under his breath, he muttered, "Apparently, there are other size differences aside from our heights."

Vegeta snickered at that, having better than average hearing. He looked over at Piccolo and saw the namek's own mischievous grin. Smirking, Vegeta's gaze landed on Gohan. The most powerful warrior among them was staring in almost open-mouthed stupefaction as Piccolo embraced Prince Goten again. Vegeta caught the elder demi-saiyajin's eye, and there was a silent message shared. 'So, what are you going to do now, Gohan?'

Gohan blinked his eyes and then shook his head. He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it. His Piccolo was with someone else! Granted, there wasn't any reason for Piccolo -NOT- to be with someone else. It was just... Gohan had always thought that that would never happen. He had always thought that Piccolo would remain perfect. Untouched. Chaste. For him. But, Gohan knew his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. And he knew that Piccolo deserved to be with someone, someone who made him happy. And it seemed that that someone was Prince Goten.

What possessed him, he wasn't sure, but Gohan suddenly found himself moving forward towards the two. He was quite aware of Goten's soft growl of warning, but instead of offering a fight, Gohan managed to smile. He was surprised by how even his voice was when said, "Hi. I'm Gohan."

"I know who you are," Goten replied, his voice betraying none of what he was secretly thinking or feeling. He gave his brother's doppelganger the same kind of inspection that he had given Vegeta, only he didn't bother to leave Piccolo's side. He took notice that this Gohan was a bit shorter than his brother but bulkier. He was dressed in a black fighting suit with a green jacket and white boots and belt. And his hair was cut in a different style. He also didn't have an obnoxious tail. Then again, none of them had tails. But, as he looked at this version of Gohan, he felt no kind of jealous rage. And he didn't feel that much power radiating off of him, either. Of course, that didn't mean anything. Goten knew for a fact that Piccolo and the others could mask their chi, so why not everyone else?

Goten narrowed his eyes as he took notice of every minute detail of the elder demi-saiyajin. He stared for longer than was decent, waiting for Gohan to say something else, but he didn't. He remained quiet. That fact did not bother the prince. He merely took the opportunity to -look- at him. To study him. And to judge for himself. Gohan was jealous. But at the same time, he was a bit... hurt. That confused the prince. How could Gohan be jealous and hurt and not be raging at the same time? It didn't make any sense!

"Well," he began but paused. Gohan squirmed under the intense gaze of the tailed prince. He thought he rather understood what a small creature felt like as it lay under the unflinching gaze of a microscope. Turning to look at Piccolo, he found that his bravado was quickly evaporating. He just could not deal with this right now. So, instead of trying to come up with some more inane conversation, as he knew that would just annoy Goten, he decided that it was perhaps time to leave. Simply nodding to both of them as he kept his eyes lowered to the floor, Gohan swiftly moved away from the scene.

Chibi and Trunks watched as Gohan left the Look-out. They were about to try and talk with Goten again but suddenly felt a strong hand gripping them by the collar and dragging them towards the edge of the Look-out veranda. Vegeta shoved them to the exit, snapping at them, "Don't you two have some place better to be? You can give your apologies tomorrow."

"But, Dad! You told us that we had to make them tonight!" Trunks said as he hovered in the air. "And that's the reason you came. And I quote, 'Just to make sure you two don't fuck it up'."

"Well... I lied. You can do it tomorrow. No, you -WILL- do it tomorrow," Vegeta snapped, jumping into the air. At the look he gave the two demi-saiyajin's, they immediately turned to face the earth and sped out of sight. Before he did likewise, the full-blooded saiyajin turned to look over his shoulder. The two royals made eye contact for only the briefest of moments, but it was long enough for Vegeta to warn him, 'Tomorrow.'

"You must be exhausted," Mr. Popo suddenly spoke. "Is there anything you'd like before you retire for the night?"

"That's all right, Mr. Popo," Piccolo answered, nodding his head in the shorter man's direction. "We'll be fine."

"As you say," Mr. Popo responded, bowing before he turned and began to walk with Dende away from the two. "Then we shall leave you for the night."

"Good night, Piccolo! Good night, Prince Goten!" Dende said, turning around so that he could wave over his shoulders before he was led around a curve and out of sight.

Piccolo brought a hand up to brush a lock of hair off Goten's forehead. Giving him a small smile, he asked, "Shall we?"

"Where are we going?" Goten asked quietly, leaning forward, reluctant to move at all. He knew he needed a bath. He was filthy. But... it was so nice where he was. They were finally alone again. Goten took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the larger warrior before releasing it with a soft sigh. He could feel his aches and pains slowly beginning to demand his attention.

"My room," Piccolo replied. He smiled softly. He was going to have his lover in his bed tonight. In -HIS- bed. For the first time in his life, Piccolo wondered about his room. What would Goten think of it? It certainly wasn't the palace...

"You live here?" Goten asked, drawing back. He looked around at the structure they were in, and thought that it seemed rather... open. No place for proper defense.

"Yes. Is something wrong?" Piccolo wondered. He had barely turned to lead in the right direction before he had come to a stop at the tone in Goten's voice. It wasn't one he was used to.

"No," Goten started, turning to follow Piccolo. He yawned slightly, testimony to how very tired he was. He grinned as he stood next to the taller male. His tail swung through the air before wrapping around Piccolo's wrist. "No. I just... didn't know."

Piccolo nodded once, rubbing his thumb lightly over the captured tail in his hand. They walked together towards one of the outer structures, one connected only by a single, narrow pathway. As they reached the doors, Piccolo paused. He looked at the door, and then at Goten.

They were home.

***

Yamcha stepped into the dark room. He didn't see the stacks of books lying around, or the overflowing CD towers, or the various posters that littered the walls. He didn't see anything other than the window that overlooked the yellow comforter of the small single-bed. He didn't even bother to pull off his grimy clothes. All he wanted to do was sleep. Sleep forever and never wake up.

The tall warrior collapsed onto the bed. He pulled the pillow to him, burying his face. It was a small bed, but it seemed huge to him. And foreign. And he felt so utterly alone.

Yamcha began to cry into the captured pillow, sobbing in jagged spasms. In a fit of useless anger, he began to hit the mattress, though it did no harm.

Tiring himself out quickly, Yamcha had just fallen asleep when the first rays of the new year were peeking through the bedroom window.

***

"Seriously. Excuse the language, but," said Krillin to his audience, Mr. Popo and Dende, "can you believe that shit?"

"Can he believe what shit?" came a gravely voice from behind the short human.

"Don't -do- that, Piccolo!" Krillin exclaimed, jumping up and grabbing at his heart. "Give a man some warning next time, huh? Sheesh. But what I was saying was... While we were gone, Vegeta opened a bar. Like a drinking bar. With actual customers! I mean, people -pay- to drink at a -bar- owned by -Vegeta-. And on top of that, he hired my bro-in-law as a disc jockey AND my -wife- to manage the friggin' place! Can you fucking believe that?! Um, excuse the language again, Mr. Popo, Dende."

"Vegeta owns a bar?" Piccolo asked. "When did he venture out on his own?"

"Bulma kicked him out," Krillin smirked.

"Oh."

"That's also why he's living at Yamcha's condo," added the former monk. "I swear, this world? It went nuts while we were gone. Absolutely nuts."

"And to think your arrival in my world only brought chaos. Trade off, I suppose," Goten finally said, seating himself on a bench next to Piccolo. He wanted to question the fact that Vegeta had been living with Mistress Bulma, but he thought that perhaps he should do that later. In private. When he could ask Piccolo more questions.

Goten was dressed in a clean version of his outfit from the previous day, thanks to Piccolo. His dark hair was still slightly damp from his recent shower. He was still amazed at Piccolo's room. It was -huge-, and the bathroom was in equal proportion to it. The bathtub itself was larger than some beds the prince had seen. But it did offer some interesting ideas for later 'recreational activities'. The prince could see a few problems with the room, like the fact that it was so easily accessible by everyone else, but it was Piccolo's so he wasn't going to say anything to him about it. For now.

Piccolo placed his hand behind the demi-saiyajin, absent-mindedly stroking his tail. He grinned as he felt Goten lean against him. "So what are you doing here, Krillin?"

"I dunno," he shrugged, noticing how very relaxed Piccolo was. He doubted he had ever seen Piccolo relaxed, and here he was... just chilling with his... 'What exactly do I call him? Boyfriend, I guess. Weird thinking of -Piccolo- with a -boyfriend-.' It was strange. But it was strange in a good way. "Mr. Popo here just dropped by and asked me to come back with him to the Look-out. So I did. I'm... just... kinda waiting to see what's going on."

The tall namek turned his gaze to the rotund figure standing opposite him, asking pointedly, "What's going on?"

Mr. Popo didn't get a chance to answer as Vegeta, Trunks, and Chibi suddenly popped over the edge of the Look-out and landed not far from them. The two younger males were both in jeans, but while Chibi wore a simple t-shirt, Trunks wore a nice dressy button-up shirt. Vegeta wore his regular day attire of a training outfit, looking haggard with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't gotten any sleep in days. In truth, he'd had a very fitful sleep the previous night. But this time, it wasn't because of the dreams. It was because he knew they were real.

"Well, weren't you busy this morning," Piccolo stated flatly to the d'jinn.

"I didn't ask--" Mr. Popo began hesitantly, raising a dark hand up towards his face, as if to hide a mistake.

Vegeta cut Mr. Popo off. "The brats have to apologize. I'm just supervising."

"What do they have to apologize for?" Krillin asked.

"For the whole mirror thing," answered Trunks. Sliding his hands into his pockets and trying to look anywhere but at the demi-saiyajin sitting next to Piccolo, he huffed. "We're sorry. We didn't mean to get you guys stuck in the other place, wherever it was. And we don't know what happened, even though we asked the dragon..."

"You what?" Vegeta interrupted. He knew he sounded suspicious of them, but after almost a full year of getting hardly any sleep, he rather felt entitled to be more short-tempered than usual.

"Um, we got the dragonballs, and-and... you know... made wishes," Chibi supplied.

"What wishes?" demanded the older but shorter male. He'd known the dragon had been summoned. He'd known wishes had been made. He even vaguely recalled them having to do something with knowing how the three fighters were doing. But details... The details were missing.

"Dragonballs? Wishes? What?" Goten queried softly to Piccolo.

"Long story. I'll explain later," assured the namek, taking Goten's nod as acceptance.

"We, um... used the dragonball radar thingy, and um... got the dragonballs," Chibi continued to explain, clearly uncomfortable at being put on the spot. He looked between Vegeta, Piccolo, and Goten, and then to the floor where he toed the ground. "And we summoned the dragon and asked him if we could wish you guys back or something, but he was all, 'Hell no'. Well, no, he didn't say that -exactly-, but that was the gist. Um, anyway, so, like, then we didn't know really what to wish for, so Trunks was like, 'Huh. I wish we knew what to wish for'..."

"Oh, my Kami, you didn't," Krillin snickered, though he knew it was something that Trunks would do. Well, this version of Trunks, at any rate.

"Well, it was an accident," Trunks tried to defend himself. Instead, he ended up with a hard cuff on the back of his head by Vegeta. "Ow. Sheesh."

"Um, so, then," spoke up Chibi again over the laughter of the small gathering, "of course we knew what to wish for, so we wished that one of the gang would know what was going on there to know how you guys were doing. But... we weren't specific, and... um... I... well, we didn't know who knew what was going on or how. And we still don't because nobody we knew said anything about knowing how you guys were doing. We told everybody about the wish. Well, not about the first wish... But about the second wish."

"Why weren't you specific?" inquired Krillin, still laughing heartily as he wiped a tear from his eyes.

Trunks thought that over for a moment. "I guess we weren't really thinking."

"You're never thinking. Who made the wish?" Vegeta demanded sharply. He suddenly had a pounding headache. "-Who-!"

"Me, me! I did!" responded a very flustered Trunks.

"You're dead, boy," the saiyajin growled, lunging for his son.

As Vegeta started chasing Trunks around, with Chibi trying to break it up, the other five just sat there and watched. Krillin busted out laughing all over again, his stomach muscles becoming sore. A little confused by the proceedings, Mr. Popo and Dende remained silent, standing off to the side as usual, watching the flight of the three. On the other hand, Piccolo looked highly amused, his trademark smirk in place, while he still petted Goten's tail, whose owner's face wore an expression that could only be described as skeptical. To put it mildly, Goten seriously questioned the sanity of the people in this dimension. 'They're all crazy.'

"100 zeni says Vegeta was the recipient of the second wish," Dende said in a half whisper, leaning toward his gardener.

"No bet," replied Mr. Popo. He turned from the scene before him to look at the young Kami beside him. "That is quite obvious, Dende."

"You're no fun," the small namek sighed. "You never take my bets."

"Because you always bet on sure-things."

"Hmmph," Dende grunted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Goten rested his chin on Piccolo's shoulder, still watching the chase scene. In a half-joking, half-serious tone, he queried, "Are things like this a common occurrence around here? Trying to kill one's own offspring, I mean."

"Not really. Vegeta just has a bad temper," Piccolo answered. "He won't really kill Trunks. Although... that boy does deserve a good kick in the rear fairly often."

"Now, -that- I believe," smirked his companion, looking at the lavender-haired youth. He knew for a fact that this version of Trunks was nowhere near as beaten down as his version. That was blatantly clear. But it was also obvious, just from the two meetings, the boy was very good at getting into trouble for being too obtuse to realize he was out of his depth.

All at once, Vegeta finally caught Trunks by the back of his shirt as he tried to dodge around a large fern and delivered a swift kick to his backside. "You're to blame, you little--"

"You knew!" Chibi suddenly proclaimed, stopping his own chase of the older man. He was silenced for a moment as he was forced to catch his lover as Vegeta tossed Trunks at him. "You were the one who got the second wish! How come you didn't tell us what was going on?"

"I ought to wring -both- of your necks," Vegeta spat, looking between the two youths.

Krillin piped up then. "Hey, wait, wait, wait. Vegeta... Did you see... -everything-?"

"It's none of your business what I know," snapped the saiyajin, stalking back towards them.

"Well, no, no," conceded the short human, "but... It -would- be cool to know... you know... -how- it worked. Yeah."

"I'm not telling you shit," Vegeta snarled, crossing his arms defensively. There was no way he was telling -anybody- how that wish had worked out. No way this side of hell. And even if he was sent to hell again, it was highly doubtful that he'd tell even then.

Turning to Piccolo, Krillin frowned. "You know, I liked the other Vegeta so much better. He was kind of sad but not quite the asshole our Vegeta is."

"Do you -want- to die?!" Vegeta screamed, falling into a fighting stance.

"No, thanks. Not today," grinned the human.

Piccolo cleared his throat then, calling attention to himself easily. "All right. Trunks. Go--er... What are we calling you again?"

"Chibi," answered the demi-saiyajin in question.

"Right. Chibi. You've apologized. That's great. Whatever. But... Mr. Popo actually called a meeting," Piccolo stated.

"Oh, should we leave?" Chibi asked, pulling Trunks up to his feet.

"No, no," replied Mr. Popo. "You may stay if you'd like. I only wanted to converse about the mirror. My people have long studied it, and I wished to gather more information."

"Cool!" the two standing demi-saiyajins chimed. They quickly sat on the floor next to Krillin, looking up at the dark-skinned d'jinn. Vegeta, opting to stay as well, merely folded his arms over his chest and leaned against a well-pruned tree near Piccolo and Goten.

"So, where do you want to start?" Krillin asked, looking around to make sure the device in question wasn't anywhere near him. Not that he was afraid of it or anything, as he knew it wouldn't work until New Year's Eve, but that didn't mean he wasn't cautious.

"How did your people learn about all this stuff? And where are the rest of your people?" inquired the lavender-haired demi-saiyajin. "I mean, can I ask that?"

"Ah. History lessons," the ex-monk noted. "History lessons are good."

Mr. Popo stepped back a bit and sat down on the short stairs behind him. "My people are spread throughout the universe. We're wanderers, but we originated here. I am the last of my kind on this planet, as I was to keep the mirror safe. Many millennia ago, my ancestors stumbled upon the mirror and inadvertently discovered its properties. Hence began their studies of it and use of it."

"Nifty," breathed Chibi. He leaned over until his head was resting on Trunks' thigh. He always did get sleepy around story time. "So tell us about the mirror. How does it work and stuff?"

"The mirror has many forms and many names, but the Mirror of Janus is its most common name," the d'jinn said. "To use it, one must look upon it precisely at midnight between the years. It is that precise moment when there is no specific time and walls between universes are traversable. If you look upon the mirror at that moment, you will be transported to the place that fulfills you inner-most desire."

Trunks's nose crinkled as he glanced over at Piccolo and Goten on the bench. There was a sudden spike of pride and jealousy as he looked at how Goten responded to the green warrior. "So, you mean, all this time... Piccolo's been wanting to hook up with Chibi?"

A few eyebrows and eyebrow ridges raised at that, except Krillin, who shook his head at that, understanding that Goten was -NOT- anything like Chibi.

"No, I didn't, I swear," Piccolo insisted, pulling Goten closer to him at the same time.

"I'm afraid you mistook me, young Trunks," Mr. Popo clarified. "The inner-most desire is usually one's foremost subconscious thought. The mirror recognizes that and transports the person to a place that would satisfy that craving. The odd part of this use of the mirror is that Piccolo, Krillin, and Yamcha all visited the same universe together, meaning they must have all had the same subconscious thought. It is very rare occurrence, indeed."

"What were you thinking?" Trunks queried, suspicious, still looking at Piccolo.

"I was bored," answered both Piccolo and Krillin in unison. Krillin sighed as he leaned back on his hands. Looking at the two demi-saiyajins next to him, he shrugged at Chibi's confused face.

"Well, that explains that," Dende shrugged. "Everyone's bored. It's the problem with this planet. This whole world is bored."

"Dende," interrupted the taller namek, "save your rant for later."

"Fine. Sheesh."

"Is he...? I was wondering," Goten began, turning to look at his lover, "is he your son? It's not that... You don't -really- look alike, but the way you talk to him..."

Piccolo looked like he might faint. Dende, on the other hand, was laughing his Kami rear off. "That's rich!" he laughed. "Piccolo my father! Ha HA! I'd rather have Vegeta for a father!"

Vegeta blinked. He looked at Piccolo, and then at Trunks. "I don't know if that's compliment or an insult."

"No. I am most definitely not that brat's sire," scowled the namek. "Stop laughing, Dende."

Dende snickered still but ceased to guffaw. "Fine, fine. Ruin my fun."

"Hey, hey, let's get back on topic here. What about the return home?" Krillin then asked. "I mean, I can honestly say I was thinking, 'Oh, shit, we're gonna die' because, you know, evil, evil Prince Gohan was about to blow the Look-out to kingdom come."

"Subconscious thought," Piccolo mused aloud. He remembered his despair at the thought of failing to get home, the thought of failing to get them all home. He had been the responsible one, after all. They depended on him. "Underneath it all, I was thinking 'home'."

"I wasn't thinking about my home," Goten said. "I was thinking about Piccolo."

"I think I'm going to throw up," snorted Vegeta mockingly.

"Well, 'home' is a state of mind, but I will not expand on that as I do not wish for Vegeta to destroy my azaleas," Mr. Pope interjected.

Krillin breathed a deep sigh of relief. "Man, I don't care just so long as I'm home. And you know, that Prince Gohan won't be coming to look for our asses since I'm pretty sure that mirror was toast."

"What did you say?" asked the d'jinn, his face contorted with perplexity.

"I don't care as long as I'm home?" Krillin asked, his head tilted to the side, as if to say, 'Well, who wouldn't be glad to be back home?'

"No. After that."

"I'm also glad Prince Gohan won't be coming after us since I think he destroyed that mirror?"

"He destroyed the mirror? Are you sure?" Mr. Popo asked, standing up.

Krillin scratched his still bald head. "Well, he was kinda blowing the Look-out to smithereens, and the mirror was -on- the Look-out, so yeah, I'm pretty damn sure the mirror is gone."

"As is that universe," Mr. Popo sighed sadly, shaking his head as he wrung his hands.

"Excuse me?" Goten said, his attention sharpened, and focused on the dark figure. "What do you mean?"

"A universe only exists as long as the mirror itself exists within it," explained Mr. Popo. "If the mirror of that universe is gone, then so is the universe."

"Oh, that sucks," Chibi sounded. His eyes wandered over to the other version of himself leaning against Piccolo. "So, um, you could never go back, huh?"

"Why would I want to?" returned Goten, honestly curious. At that moment, with Piccolo's warmth pressed against him, and Piccolo's hand petting his tail, he couldn't think of a single reason why he would want to return. He understood then, how difficult it was for Piccolo to know he had to return, and to follow through with it. It was as hard as it had been for him, to let him leave.

"Um... It's where you're from? It's your home?" Trunks elaborated, waving his hands for emphasis. He kept his eyes on the prince, studying how his body moved. He somewhat reminded the demi-saiyajin of his father, on the rare occasions he had seen his father relaxed enough to lounge anywhere.

"I am home," he responded, rubbing his cheek against Piccolo unconsciously. He felt so content, not caring what anyone thought and not -having- to care about what anyone thought or what was proper. Those rules didn't apply here. "Wherever Piccolo is... That's home."

"Stop it. Please," Vegeta nearly pleaded, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "The warm and fuzzy feelings are killing me. Or maybe I should just kill you."

"Touch him and die, runt," Piccolo stated in a warning growl, looking over Goten's head to stare at the shorter male.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Vegeta retorted, his lip curled slightly. He respected Piccolo. He even liked him. Somewhat. But that didn't mean he wouldn't still antagonize him when the opportunity presented itself to him. Besides, it was fun to tease the green warrior.

"What else do you need to know?" asked the short human, directing attention back to Mr. Popo. It was time to get back on task because he knew he had places to be. Or rather, he wanted to get back home. He had to do things. See his wife. Make sure Yamcha was okay. The small things. The important things. "I mean, did you have any specific questions for us in mind?"

"Tell me about the mirror itself," Mr. Popo answered. "What did it look like in that universe?"

"It was a bigass rectangle," Krillin said as he thought aloud. He didn't really know what the dark gardener was expecting, so he tried to think of what he wanted to know. "At first, I was like, 'Holy crap, this isn't the right mirror' because it didn't look like the mirror we have here."

"That was the only difference?"

"No. Um... It was as big as Piccolo, I think," he explained. "I dunno. I've kinda got an off point of view. Height thing and all, you know. What else though? It was silver. Oh, and it had little writings on it, but we couldn't read them. You said it was the history of the mirror, but I don't really know 'cause I couldn't read it."

The d'jinn's eyes grew wide. As far as he knew, this was the first time he had ever been in an alternate universe. "-I- said it?"

"Oh, I guess we forgot to mention that, huh?" Krillin grinned. "Yeah. The Mr. Popo in that universe -- who looked nothing like you, by the way -- had the mirror. He'd been keeping it for Kami knows how many years."

"How did you find him?" inquired Mr. Popo.

"He found us," the small bald man answered. "Tracked us down at Lord Crappalot's big martial arts tournament. Told us about the mirror and all that. Gave us instructions on where to go when the time was right and stuff. Really informative little fella."

"Little?" Mr. Popo asked, leaning back involuntarily. Yet another shock!

"Mr. Popo was -little-?" Dende snickered as he looked at his rotund keeper.

Krillin chuckled. "Like I said, he looked nothing like you, man. I think he'd been starving himself in the desert for a few decades, hiding out from the Big Bad and hanging onto that mirror. I think that mirror was his -life-, what with Kami dead and all."

"Did you just call my father 'Lord Crappalot'?" Goten frowned slightly as he leaned away from Piccolo.

"Kami was dead again?" asked the d'jinn. He couldn't help the slight quaver in his voice at the mere mention of the previous guardian of earth.

"Aw, man," sighed the human. "It's all a really long story. And, um, sorry about the 'Lord Crappalot' bit, Goten. He just seemed kind of... like he was a crappy emperor. And it rhymed a little."

"No. He was not the best ruler," Goten admitted then smirked. In honesty, he hadn't been paying that close attention to the conversation. He was much more intent on Piccolo's hand touching his tail. Touching his tail in public! Which, he admitted, felt nice, but it was still distracting. He wasn't used to any kind of public displays of affection. "I was just making sure I heard you right."

"This is all -so- much to absorb," mumbled Trunks finally. "I mean, we're talking, like, an entire universe's history here. And it's all like crazy and changed and different. You know what I'd like to know? What the turning points were. Like, what made that place different?"

"I would also like to know that," Mr. Popo nodded.

"Goku," stated Piccolo without hesitation. Truthfully, he had thought enough on it that it came to him automatically. "That universe was changed entirely because Goku never existed there. Kakarrot did."

"Freaky demons," Chibi whispered. "But wait. Some things stayed the same right? I mean, hey, there's proof right next to you. So that means Mom and Dad still got together and had a Gohan and a Goten."

Piccolo shook his head. "I won't go into the details now, but it's not at all like you think. You're better off not knowing."

"Kami, that place sucked," Krillin said, shaking his head and heaving a deep sigh. "No offense, Goten."

"I'm -here-, aren't I?" the demi-saiyajin returned.

"Good point." The ex-monk stretched out on the tiles of the Look-out and gazed over at Mr. Popo, yawning a bit. "Anything else, my good man?"

"For now, no," answered the dark-skinned man. "If I have any more questions, I'm sure I could ask Piccolo or Prince Goten."

"Okay, then." Dusting himself off, Krillin stood up from his seat on the floor. He was in an old pair of khaki pants, and he loved it. Loved that they were his, pulled out of his closet, washed by his wife. Loved just wearing them! He knew he wouldn't take anything that he had for granted again. Ever. "Well, if that's it, then I gotta get back home."

"Speaking of that," Goten interjected as he sat up, "how is Yamcha?"

"He's okay," nodded the human. His voice was quiet as he spoke of his long time friend, out of respect and a little bit out of concern. "A little out of it... but okay."

"What happened to him, anyway?" Trunks asked. "Embarrassing moments aside, what was he going on about last night? I didn't understand."

"That's because it's none of your business," spat Goten. He knew that Trunks was only seeking information, but the boy went about it so crudely. And he knew his own response was a bit quick, but he felt somewhat responsible for the human, as if he was the reason Yamcha was in the state he was in. Though he knew he wasn't, that didn't matter. "If he wants you to know, I'm sure he'll tell you when he's ready. But until then, why don't you keep your ignorance to yourself instead of waving it around for everyone to see?"

"Hey!" Trunks exclaimed, putting his hands in the air as if to surrender.

"Goten," Piccolo scolded a bit even though it was clear he was trying very hard not to laugh.

Vegeta nodded as he considered Goten. 'Smart boy. Obviously a prince. Exactly the right attitude. Reminds me a little of myself. And we can always use more saiyajins around. Well... One good thing came out of this debacle.' Sighing, his thoughts turned over to Yamcha. 'Maybe I can make it two.'

Krillin waved to everyone as he moved away from them. "I'm off. Call me if you need me."

"I'm leaving as well," Vegeta announced. "Come along, brats."

"Actually, we kind of wanted to stick around and see if Piccolo and Goten would tell us about the other universe," Trunks said. Turning to the two seated individuals, he continued, "That is, if you don't mind."

Goten shrugged before he returned to his position against Piccolo again. "That's fine. Whatever."

Vegeta accompanied Krillin to the edge of the Look-out when he grabbed the shorter man's arm to stop him. "Is he really all right? Yamcha."

Krillin regarded the saiyajin for a minute. The proud prince seemed to be... different. More mellow, in his own way. Still a bit high strung, but he was reacting strange. He realized Vegeta did know what happened in the other dimension, but it was plain that he had not seen the very last day. Knowing that, the human offered him a little extra information. "Not really. He's grieving. I think he's freaked out by what happened."

Vegeta blinked, releasing the arm he held. He turned to look around, as if trying to see something that wasn't there. He didn't like asking things. He'd rather just -know- them. But he also realized that asking was the only way he would get anywhere in this situation. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Don't let him see you for a while," Krillin suggested quietly, looking at the saiyajin. This truly was a different Vegeta. It must have been a subtle change, as no one else seemed to have picked up on it yet. Krillin didn't know if that was a good thing or not, but he knew that no matter what, Yamcha didn't need to know. "I don't think he could take it."

Vegeta nodded, watching Krillin leap into the clouds surrounding the Look-out. His heart felt heavy in his chest, but he didn't know what else to do. Jumping off the edge, he plummeted straight down, letting the natural air currents pick him back up before settling into flight. Deep down, he began to realize it was going to take a miracle to make a good thing out of what he had figured out to be a travesty. Randomly blowing up rocks and trees on his way home didn't make him feel any better, either. No amount of destruction really cleared his mind of the miracle he knew it'd take. At least he did come to a conclusion.

'I'm the prince of all saiyajins. If anyone can do this, I can.'