Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Wish For The Past ❯ Family Reunion ( Chapter 26 )

Imp. Auth. Expl. continued...
Goku was still sent to Earth as an infant. That means that he was sent several years before Frieza's attack on Vegeta-sei. I will not explain why until later in another chapter. I am well aware that this isn't how it happened. Just pretend that Goten and Trunks ended up in a timeline that was more different from theirs than they realized.

A/N: For you dubbies out there, Kinto'un is the Flying Nimbus. I don't like the name Flying Nimbus, so I'm using Kinto'un. ^_^

Disclaimer: *writes this after she finishes the chapter* Don't own DBZ. Now go 'way an' lemme sleep. *falls asleep with her head on the keyboard* *drools on the keys* Mmmm... Bardock.... zzzzZZZzzz.....

(A/N: *sweatdrop* Don't ask.)

Goku was excited. He had just had the time of his life, fighting against the most powerful fighters in the world at the Tenkaichi Budokai and now he was off on another adventure. The dragonballs had regenerated by this time, which meant he would be able to find the four star dragonball that his grandfather had left him. With the aid of Bulma's Dragon Radar, he was sure to find it in a relatively short amount of time. Not that he cared how long it took him. After all, the journey is half the fun of getting somewhere. In the meantime, he simply enjoyed the feeling of riding Kinto'un, the wind rushing through his spiky black hair, the sights, scents, and sounds of the world, everything. For the monkey-tailed boy, life couldn't be more perfect.

Down below, something interesting caught his eye. It was one of those funny things that Bulma liked to make, a car or an airplane or something, but it was a lot bigger than any he had ridden in yet. Except maybe the plane he'd ridden in to get to the Tenkaichi Budokai. He couldn't really be certain. But that wasn't what caught his interest. There were two boys outside the vehicle playing what looked to be a rather intense game of tag. And they were flying! Without a magic cloud or anything! If Goku had been excited before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now. Deciding that his dragonball hunt could be delayed for a while, he directed Kinto'un over to where the two boys were playing, determined to satisfy his curiosity, and perhaps learn how they knew how to fly.

"Hey, Trunks, d'ya think my grandpa has gotten Vegeta and Uncle Radditz up yet?" Goten asked, hovering in mid air. Their landing on Earth had been rather rough and Vegeta and Radditz had somehow been knocked out cold. The rough landing probably had something to do with the fact that Goten and Trunks had gotten bored waiting for the ship to land and had started up a game of tag. During the game, they had accidentally crashed into a computer console, sending sparks everywhere and causing the ship to plummet like a rock. While the two culprits had somehow managed to come out relatively unscathed, Bardock now sported a few bruises and the other two boys were unconscious. The older warrior had sent Trunks and Goten outside to play as a way to keep them out of his hair while he tended to the other two victims of the crash. His only instructions to them had been to stay close so that he could find them when it was time to start their search.

"I dunno, Goten. I think I can feel Vegeta's ki moving around, but your uncle's not moving at all. I'll go inside and check, 'kay?" Goten nodded, and Trunks darted inside the ship. The game of tag had gotten boring, so both chibis were eager to leave. He sighed and fiddled with his tail, waiting for his friend to come back.

"Ossu!" a cheery voice called out from behind Goten, startling him. He had been so preoccupied that he hadn't noticed the small ki come up close to him. He turned around to see who it was and found himself facing a boy in an orange gi riding a yellow cloud. His eyes widened in surprise as he noted the other boy's tail. "I'm Son Goku! What's your name?" Goku asked, oblivious to the fact that the boy he was talking to could be a mirror image of himself.

Tousan? This is my daddy when he was little! Wow! This is sooo cool! Goten blinked and focused on his look-alike. "I'm Son Goten," he greeted, smiling broadly. I get to meet my dad when he was little, like Trunks got to meet his dad! This could be lots of fun!

"Really? Wow! We have the same family name!" Goku crowed in delight. He glanced at what Goten was holding in his hands and his eyes widened. "Hey! You have a tail like me! I thought I was the only one who had a tail, 'cause everyone I've met doesn't have one. Hey, do you think we're related or something? I mean, we both have tails and our names are alike!"

"Umm...." Goten hesitated, suddenly unsure of what to say. Should I tell him I'm his son? He placed his hand behind his head sheepishly, trying to think of what to say. In the end, it didn't matter. Goku continued chattering on without waiting for an answer to his question.

"You can fly! That's so neat! I can only jump real high, but Kinto'un can fly and it lets me ride on it." The seven year old was ecstatic about finding such an interesting friend and perhaps a long lost family member all in the same day.

His earlier trepidation forgotten, Goten grinned. He knew all about Kinto'un, since the little cloud was something like a friend of the family. He had ridden the magical thing many times himself, before Gohan had taught him how to fly. "Can I ride it?" he asked, trying to be polite.

"Well, sure, you can try," Goku chirped. "But Kinto'un only lets people with pure hearts ride on it." He watched with interest as Goten easily hopped on the cloud without falling through. "This is so neat!" he exclaimed.

"Hey, wanna meet my grandpa and my uncle and Veggie-chan and Trunks?" Goten suddenly asked, his whole face lighting up. Grandpa would want to meet his real son, and Radditz would like to meet his brother. And Vegeta-san in the future was always trying to spar with Goku, they must be friends, so they could be friends in this time too! "I bet they'll love you, Goku!"

Grinning enthusiastically, the younger of the two boys directed the magic cloud over to the ship's door, pausing so the boys could hop off. Goten led Goku inside and down the hall, following his ki sense to where the other four Saiyans were gathered. He found them in Bardock's and Radditz's bedroom, Radditz and Vegeta lying on the two beds while Trunks and Bardock were apparently talking about something. Vegeta wore a bandage around his head where he had slammed into the wall, but he was at least conscious. Radditz, on the other hand, was still out like a light. Three heads turned to face the doorway as Goten entered the room, pulling Goku behind him.

Bardock felt his mouth drop open as he looked from one boy to the other. Besides the clothes, they were exactly the same. Right down to the identical grins of delight they were wearing. "Goten?" he questioned the boys, uncertain which one was which, despite the fact that they wore different clothes. After all, knowing Goten's penchant for mischief, they might have switched clothing to confuse him.

"Grandpa, this is Goku," Goten grinned. Beside him, Goku studied the four new faces, noting with increasing excitement that everyone in the room had a tail just like him.

"You mean Kakarot?" Bardock's eyebrows shot up in surprise. He didn't know why he hadn't realized it sooner, but there could be no mistake. Not considering the remarkable resemblance the two shared.

"Carrot? What? Where?" Goku looked around for the mentioned food as his stomach growled in anticipation. Thoughts of a day not so long ago where he had seen a boy who looked exactly like Goku did now, wearing almost the same clothes, and saying those exact same words caused Bardock to start laughing. Eventually, he sat down on the floor, holding his aching sides and wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "I don't get it," Goku said. "What's so funny?"

Shaking his head, Bardock replied, "Nothing. I'm just happy, that's all." He glanced at Goten quizzically. "Er... Goten? Did you tell him?"

It took Goten a moment to figure out what his grandfather was asking him. He scratched the back of his head in thought, then shook his head. "Uh uh, grandpa. I didn't know if I should."

"Tell me what?" Goku asked curiously.

Goten and Bardock glanced at each other nervously. Trunks stood by his chibi-father's bed and out of the conversation. It was a family reunion, and he didn't really belong in it just now. In the mean time, he gave Vegeta a glare that would make his father proud, letting the other chibi know in no uncertain terms that he should leave the matter in Bardock's and Goten's hands.

"Well, um, K-Goku?" Bardock stammered. "You see, I'm really your dad."

The seven year old boy blinked in surprise, then looked at Bardock in confusion. "You are?"

"Uh huh," Goten confirmed. "And I'm your son from the future. Me and Trunks are both from the future and we're trying to get home."

Tilting his head to one side, Goku contemplated these revelations for a moment. "Cool!" he chirped happily. "I always wondered what my dad looked like! And you're my son? From the future? I thought you looked familiar!"

'Familiar'? They could be twins and he says Goten looks 'familiar'? Goku-san, you are one clueless baka. Trunks sweatdropped. Goku sure is taking this a lot better than I imagined, though. The father he never knew suddenly shows up and not only does Goku believe him but he just thinks it's cool! Shaking his head, he clamped a hand firmly over Vegeta's mouth as the prince opened it to say something, probably a jibe at the carefree Saiyan's apparent lack of intelligence.

"So if you're my tousan, where's my kaasan?" Goku asked innocently. As soon as he asked the question, the youngest chibi knew that it had been the wrong thing to say. A pain filled look entered Bardock's eyes and the adult's shoulders sagged.

"Sereri, your mother," Bardock began, nearly choking on the words as tears involuntarily slid down his cheeks. "Sereri.... died. In a battle. It happened soon after you were born." His voice had sunk to a whisper and he shivered as the memories of that day crashed in on him in full force.

Lightning flashed in the blackened, stormy sky, illuminating everything with a pale, sickly light. Bodies lay everywhere, some fairly intact, others blasted into pieces so small they could hardly be recognized as having once been a living being. The odor of death and decay pervaded the air, making him want to retch, despite being accustomed to grisly scenes such as this. A sickening feeling weighed in his gut as he trudged through the mud and blood of the battlefield, ignoring the rain that poured down all around him.

She was there. She had to be there. Somewhere in this mess, he could feel her life force ebbing away like a sand castle being ravaged by the tide. Near. So near. And yet she was fading... fading... No! He had to find her, to keep her from vanishing. Where was she?!

There. A figure on the ground, more like a bundle of rags and flesh, unrecognizable as the one he sought. But he knew. It was her. Almost gone. Tears mixed with the rain on his face as he broke into a sprint, madly dashing to the downed warrior. His attention flickered to another figure, this one standing not more than a few feet away from her. It was one of the planet's inhabitants, a creature that looked more like a living rock shaped like a person than any real living thing. The creature noticed him and turned his head to smirk at him. At least, that's what it felt like that expression was. It was hard to tell, what with the dim light and the alien features of the thing.

Light became a moot point as the thing lifted a hand and formed a ki blast in one rocky palm. Fear fluttered in his heart as he looked at the enemy's forming attack, not fear for himself, but for the one who lay on the ground at the alien's feet. The creature completed the ki bomb and, with a mocking laugh, tossed it at the limp body on the ground.

"NOOOOOO!!!!"

Grief that had long been bottled up inside him washed over him and he found that he was rocking back and forth, sobbing. He hadn't been able to save her. If only he had been faster, or stronger, or stayed by her side during the fight, she would still be alive. But he had failed her, and now she was dead. All because of him. Tears flowed freely tightly shut eyes, falling into the carpet and disappearing. He barely even noticed as a hand reached out and wiped the tears from his face.

"I'm sorry," Goku said honestly, sitting down in Bardock's lap so he could give the older man a hug. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

As simple as this gesture was, it was enough to reach through the grief Bardock was drowning in and touch the man inside. Instead of pushing his emotions away, bottling them up once more 'to be dealt with later', he did something he had never done before. He embraced the anguish, the grief, the sorrow, the loss, the pain. He accepted that he had loved Sereri more deeply than he had ever willingly admitted, even to himself, and that he had lost her. He found that his arms had wrapped themselves around the young boy in his lap, clutching him tightly to his chest as he continued to mourn the death of his beloved mate. For once, he didn't care that there were others witnessing his open display of emotions, didn't even care that he was showing 'weakness' in front of his prince. The only one who existed for him at that point was his newfound son, the last piece of herself that Sereri had left him with.

*sighs* Bardock's reaction to Goku's question came off badly out of character. My only excuse is that I was under a lot of stress when I wrote this chapter.

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