Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Wish For The Past ❯ Memories ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. I don't own Trunks or Gohan, but the two of them have kindly volunteered to help me write disclaimers and do other odd jobs around the house. ^_^

Somewhere out in space...

Vegeta frowned as he finished reading the messages on his ship's computer console. Nande kuso...? My father is dead? Frieza... gone? What the hell is going on here?! "Nappa," he said via the intership communications system. "Set a course back to Vegeta-sei."

"Hai, Vegeta-ouji!"

Two pods suddenly veered off their original course. The inhabitants of the world below saw only two comets swerve in an odd manner and slowly vanish into the night. The creatures that lived on that world would never know that they had just escaped extinction, for the planet had been scheduled to be cleared by the Planet Trade, which was run by the now-deceased Lord Frieza.

Until today, Bardock had not had any idea that someone could enjoy buying clothing as much as his grandson apparently did. The kid ran back and forth through the store, amusing the shop keeper and drawing annoyed looks from some of the shoppers. Goten had been absolutely thrilled when Bardock had told him that he could pick out the colors of the shirts, pants, and gi-like clothes that made up the casual wear of the everyday Saiya-jin. When Bardock had asked him about his enthusiasm, the demi-saiyan had explained that usually his mom picked out his clothing for him, not giving him any choice in the matter. Apparently, according to this Chi-Chi, Goten's taste in color was a little... too bright. Fortunately for Bardock, there were no 'bright' clothes in this store. At least, not on the order that Goten was describing. Neon orange with yellow and green flowers? Ouch!

In the end, Goten picked out two shirts, one a muted sea green, the other a soft, sky blue; two pairs of pants, one black, the other a sandy tan color; and two gis, one sea green, the other dark blue. They hadn't had anything in the orange that Goten favored, to his disappointment. Still, the fact that he now had a shirt and a gi that matched his 'father's' color of preference (sea green) more than made up for this failure. In addition to the other clothing, Goten now had two new pairs of Saiyan boots. The orange gi he'd been wearing had been discarded in favor of the brand new green one. All in all, Goten was one happy kid.

Goten insisted on carrying his new possessions back to the apartment himself. Bardock grinned. That had to be the Saiya-jin blood in Goten's veins. His grandson obviously didn't want to be thought of as too small and weak to handle it. Speaking of Saiyan blood...

Making sure Goten wasn't looking in his direction, Bardock surreptitiously slipped a scouter out of his pocket. Time to test just how strong the kid was. Not here, though. If he asked Goten to show him his power here, every active scouter in the vicinity would be able to read it. What he could do right now was see what reading his grandson had when he was supposedly tamping it down, then compare it to his actual power level when he got the chance to see it. How someone could hide their ki was beyond Bardock. He'd never heard of anyone with such an ability, except for changelings (and Saiyans) who gained power during a transformation. However, the boy seemed confident that it could be done.

Bardock slipped the machine over his ear, adjusting the eye piece, then looked at Goten and depressed a button.

Beepeepeepeep.

The scouter finally came to a stop after several seconds of beeping in Bardock's ear.

Masaka!!! No normal child could have so much power at that age! 1015?! Unbelievable!

"Kakarot." Goten stopped and turned his head towards Bardock.

"Nani, tousan?"

"Your power level is too high. If anyone read it right now and connected it with you, an eight year old kid, you'd attract more attention than a herd of wild chatanols running through the streets."

"Oops. Sorry, daddy!" Much to Bardock's surprise, even though he was expecting it, the numbers on his scouter started to slide downward, finally resting at 255. The older Saiyan let out a shaky breath. So it was true. Goten was suppressing his power. And if he had thought he was keeping it low enough when it was at 1015, Bardock was almost frightened to think of what the chibi-Saiyan's power must be when he was at full.

The rest of the trip back to Bardock's home was quiet, each Saiyan keeping his thoughts to himself. Goten's thoughts were blissfully free of anything negative. The kid couldn't have been happier. Well, that is, unless Trunks showed up, in which case he'd be even happier. He really missed Trunks. But the chibi wasn't going to let anything get him down right now. He had new clothes, a full stomach, and he was spending time with the grandfather he had never known. Life was great!

Bardock, on the other hand, was feeling somewhat depressed. With all the excitement of the past two days, the loss of his team had been shoved to the back of his mind, to be dealt with when he wasn't occupied with anything else. The walk home was just such a time. Toma, Totepo, Panboukin, Celipa.... They had been more than just teammates, really. Bardock wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but they had been friends. And now they were gone. Murdered by Frieza's lackeys.

Clenching his fists, Bardock angrily shoved his emotions back. If he let himself dwell on them, he knew that he'd only end up trying to find a way to get himself drunk. He had a grandchild to take care of and couldn't afford the luxury of drowning his emotions and memories in his cup. Goten...

Looking at Goten, Bardock realized his team had already been avenged. Frieza had sent his creatures to kill Bardock's team, and now Frieza was dead, killed by the hand of a child who was, in a sense, Bardock's own flesh and blood. A smile crept over the warrior's face as the two passed through the door into Bardock's home. Whatever else Goten might be, he was a great influence on Bardock's spirits. Bardock hadn't really had anyone who could prevent him from getting depressed merely by being present since... since...

Since his mate had died.

No! I will not get into that. I will not dwell on the past. I will spend time with my grandson and be happy. I can deal with all the emotional crap after I get Goten back where he belongs.

Bardock closed the door behind him with a sigh. Once Goten was gone, he didn't know what he would do with himself, or his memories.

Kuso! No one knows what happened to Frieza! All those idiots can tell me is that he attacked Vegeta-sei, then disappeared without a trace. Rumors of one survivor, but no one seems to know who he is. When I get back to the palace, there had better be some answers, or someone will die!

The ten year old prince scowled into the endless depths of space. Technically, he was king, with his father dead, but Vegeta would not accept the title until he was officially crowned. Nor would anyone call him King until the day of the ceremony. On Vegeta-sei, heirs sometimes didn't live long enough to inherit that which was theirs.

The little prince considered himself lucky that the planet he'd been assigned to was relatively close to his home world. In just a few short - or long, depending on your point of view - hours he would be able to breath the air of the planet that he'd been born on. Until then, though, he was stuck in this cramped little ship with barely enough room to raise his arms and only his loyal bodyguard, Nappa, for company. Ugh.

Somewhere out in space, in another time...

Trunks heaved a sigh as he gazed at the stars through his view port. He was boooored. He had no one to talk to, no one to play pranks on, no one to yell at him, no one to train with. He missed Goten terribly.

Once again, the young Saiyan looked over his supplies, making sure he had everything he'd need for when he got to Namek, and later, when he was in the past. He already knew he was as ready as he was going to get, but it was something to do. If Trunks wanted to keep his sanity, keeping himself busy was important.

Thank you for reading, and please don't forget to leave a review! (Woo! I said something other than "please review!" Aren't you proud of me?)