Choice to be Different
Chapter 10: Point of No Return
Disclaimer: Characters and Premise are the creation of Akira Toriyama, I’m just borrowing them for some non-profit fun.
‘Geta blinked. He stood up and looked around. “We’re not dead anymore,” he said.
“I told you not to worry,” Goku-chan replied. All the same his own expression showed relief as he ran his fingers over his arm and found it was there and in working order again. “Trunks and Goten’s plan must have worked.”
//People of Earth, can you hear me?//1
“Hey that’s Vegeta-jiji,” Goku exclaimed.
//Right now a warrior risks his life against Boo to save you. But the situation is grim. Boo is far stronger even than Cell.//1
“Who?” Goku wondered.
“Quiet,” ‘Geta snapped.
//We nee your help! Raise your hands to the sky!//1
Goku and ‘Geta did as they were told and a short while later they felt their energy being drawn away.
After a few more pleas for assistance, from the older Goku then from someone called Mr. Satan, the rest of the people on Earth followed suit and Boo was defeated.
“Everyone’s headed for Kami’s Look-Out,” Goku said. He cocked his head to one side as his sense tracked the other fighter’s ki. “We should go too. I want to see that everyone’s okay.”
“No,” ‘Geta said reflexively, but once he said it he was determined not to take it back. “I went along with your stupid ‘let’s get killed’ plan. Now we’re going back and we’re staying hidden until this damned Growth Phase is done with.”
Goku turned large puppy-dog eyes on ‘Geta. “Could we just stop by and say ‘hi’? Come on, we’ll go right past the Look-Out.”
“You look even more like an idiot than normal when you do that. It’s completely un-Saiyan,” ‘Geta declared. Still he knew his counterpart had been fighting to protect the Earth, had even died to do so. ‘Geta wondered if that morning over the island had been some sort of temporary insanity. Maybe he wasn’t really evil.
“Come on ‘Geta,” Goku whined.
‘I do want to know what changed with the older Vegeta,’ ‘Geta thought. ‘And it would be good to see Trunks, Goten and everyone again.’
“It’s just staying ‘hi’, no where near as big a deal as getting killed,” Goku continued.
‘Geta snorted at the absurdity of comparing the two situations. “Fine, just stop whining about it,” ‘Geta surrendered.
They arrived at the Look-Out just in time for the older Goku’s explanation of how the Boo they’d brought back from the Supreme Kai’s planet wasn’t evil. Once that was settled ‘Geta and Goku-chan became the center of attention.
“Look at you two!” Bulma exclaimed. “You’ve gotten so tall.”
“And skinny,” Chichi added worriedly. “You need to eat more. Where have you two been?!”
The two boys exchanged an uncertain glance. “Around,” ‘Geta stated. His tone made it clear that he had no intension of getting more specific.
Goku leaned over and whispered to Chichi, “He looks like me.” He nodded toward Goku-chan. “Do we have three sons?”
“He is you,” Chichi explained. “Trunks and Goten ‘borrowed’ Bulma-san’s Dragon Ball Radar. We haven’t had a chance to send them back yet.”
“Oh! And we used up all the wishes for another six-months,” Goku said. He scratched the back of his head. “Sorry guys, I guess you’re stuck here for a while longer.”
“It’s okay,” Goku-chan replied. “Bulma explained how being missing for a year doesn’t matter since we’re in the wrong time. A year and a half shouldn’t matter any more than a year. Besides, I don’t think I could train very well right now.” He stretched and grimaced. “Too sore.”
‘Geta nodded. “We were heading back to where we were anyway.”
“You two aren’t going anywhere,” Chichi said quickly. “Look at you! You obviously aren’t taking care of yourselves properly.”
“Well... We could probably stay for lunch...” Goku-chan suggested with a hopeful glance toward ‘Geta.
The promise of food was a powerful temptation for any Saiyan. “Just lunch,” ‘Geta agreed. “Then we have to go.”
“Why?” Chichi demanded. “What are you hiding from?”
Reflexively ‘Geta stole a quick glance at Vegeta.
“I’m not hiding from anything in particular,” Goku-chan said honestly enough. He glanced around at everyone. “It’s just, having everyone around is making me feel twitchy. It feels better being off on my own, like when I was a little kid.”
Goku nodded. “I remember that. When I was training with Kami-sama. I just didn’t want to be up here anymore. He told me it was okay to train on my own for a while. Only I grew instead of training for the first season or so after I left.”
“Let them go where they like,” Vegeta said, not looking at anyone. “It’s less stressful for them if they feel secure while they’re in their Growth Phase.”
Chichi looked at the boys skeptically. It was obvious she didn’t think that they knew what was best for them.
Bulma stole a sad glance at Vegeta, guessing that Frieza had made the phase absolutely miserable for him. “You’re sure you wouldn’t feel more comfortable staying with us?” she asked the teenaged Saiyans.
‘Geta’s gaze flickered nervously between the top Z-fighters. It was clear that the boy couldn’t trust the good intentions of anyone stronger than he was.
Goku-chan hesitated longer, but cities and crowds, even crowds composed of his own friends and future-family weren’t ‘home’ to him, not like the wilderness was. Besides he didn’t want to abandon ‘Geta and he could see which way the other boy would chose. “Thanks, but...”
“Alright!.” Chichi surrendered. “But you are staying long enough for a good meal and you will take proper supplies with you.”
“Thanks Chichi,” Goku-chan agreed with a happy smile. Even ‘Geta relaxed enough to mutter a quick ‘thank you’ when he realized that no one was going to try to force him to stay.
Three months later both teens had reached their adult heights and regained the coordination their rapid growth spurt had temporarily robbed them of. They were both eager to resume training and to test how much their strength had increased.
Bulma decided their return was cause enough for a celebration. Before the day was out she had invited everyone to Capsule Corps for a bar-barque.
As was becoming customary Gohan and Videl managed a few minutes of polite chit-chat with the group before withdrawing for more in-depth conversations with each other. Chichi observed the young couple with an air of satisfaction. Hercule Satan looked as if he were on the verge of tears every time he saw he saw his ‘little Sweetpea’ with her boyfriend.
While Trunk, Goten and Maron had been wary of Boo initially they couldn’t stay away once Boo started demonstrating the tricks he’d taught his puppy. 18 supervised the children and Boo, keeping a close and maternally nervous eye on all parties.
Meanwhile Goku-chan and ‘Geta were rapidly getting tired of fielding comments about how much they’d grown.
A brief lull fell in the conversation and Goku-chan saw his chance to escape. “Vegeta-jiji, wanna spar?” he asked. His naturally boisterous voice carried easily and the lull turned into a hush as everyone waited to see how Vegeta would react to being called ‘old man’.
‘Geta was the first to respond. “Don’t call him that,” the teen hissed as he smacked the back of Goku-chan’s head.
Gok rubbed the sore spot and shot ‘Geta an injured look. “But that’s what you call him,” he pointed out.
“Not to his face Moron!” ‘Geta replied irritably. Then he paled as he realized what he’d admitted.
Vegeta pointedly ignored the entire exchange. Most of the Z-fighters hid amused smirks, but Goku didn’t bother, he took one look at Vegeta’s expression and doubled over laughing. Vegeta uncrossed his arms long enough to shoot a weak ki bolt at his old rival. “It wasn’t that amusing idiot,” he said.
“Yes it was,” Goku insisted.
Everything was put on hold for a few hours when the food was served.
As the evening progressed Yamcha and Vegeta got into a heated quarrel which ended when Goku intervened and used Instant Transmission to teleport Vegeta away. The two Saiyans returned an hour later looking worse for wear but distinctly satisfied with themselves.
“If they were gonna go spar they could have asked us along,” Goku-chan complained to ‘Geta.
‘Geta nodded his agreement.
The months passed quickly and before long the Dragon Balls had regenerated.
After Bulma had the first Dragon Ball in her hands; “Just to make sure there was no temptation to cause mischief,” she put Trunks and Goten in charge of finding the rest. A few hours later the job was done.
While everyone waited for Mr. Satan and Boo to arrive Vegeta drew his younger counterpart aside. “You could stay here,” he said. “Until you’re ready to face Frieza you could stay here... There won’t be a repeat of what happened before.”
“You’re different since I came back,” ‘Geta commented frankly.
Vegeta shrugged.
“I’m you. Can’t you at least tell me why you decided to stop being an evil bastard?”
Vegeta grimaced.
‘Geta crossed his arms, stubbornly making it clear that he wouldn’t be satisfied with a non-answer.
“I accepted that my family was the best thing that ever happened to me. Happy?”
‘Geta nodded thoughtfully.
“So, are you staying or not?” Vegeta demanded.
“I need to think,” ‘Geta said.
Vegeta scowled. “Do not believe that you will survive if you return now. What I did that morning is nothing compared to what Frieza will do. And he will not permit you to run away. You know that.”
“I know,” ‘Geta confirmed.
Meanwhile Goku and Goku-chan raided the kitchen at Capsule Corps for a last minute snack.
While Goku dug through the industrial-sized fridge Goku-chan sat perched on the central counter. He caught various sandwich fixings as Goku tossed them to him.
“Um, Old-Me...”
Normally Goku would have chuckled at the odd form of address, but Goku-chan sounded unusually serious. Goku turned around and waited for his counterpart to continue.
“You should be careful and really try not to die again,” Goku-chan said. “It made everyone unhappy, especially Chichi and Gohan.”
Goku sighed. He sat down at the table. “I love fighting,” he said. “I really love it. The tougher the opponent the better. But other people get caught up in my fights and get hurt. I think I must do something to draw trouble; you know how much excitement we find. Gohan doesn’t love fighting, it’s not right for me to keep getting him into these things.”
“But you being dead made him unhappy,” Goku-chan reiterated. “They missed you.”
Goku frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. We missed Grandpa Gohan when he died, but we didn’t know about the Other World. I didn’t think I’d ever see him again after he died. Gohan and Chichi both know we’ll see each other again eventually.”
Goku-chan shrugged. “You remember about Bulma’s ‘girl-things’?”
‘It’s a girl thing’ had always been Bulma’s all purpose explanation for anything she did that didn’t make sense to Goku. It had only taken Goku a few days to learn to smile and go along with any weird thing Bulma proposed unless he actually had a reason to refuse... And just not understanding why she wanted something didn’t constitute a reason.
“Although missing people when you know they aren’t gone forever might be a ‘human thing’ not a ‘girl thing’,” Goku-chan continued.
“I remember,” Goku said acknowledging his younger self’s point. Not understanding why people felt a certain way or needed a certain things didn’t mean it was okay not to respect that they did feel that way. “Figuring the best path when they’re all bad is tricky,” Goku said. “I thought keeping them from getting drawn into my fights was more important to them than having me around.”
Goku-chan grimaced. “Chichi has some things to say about that.”
Goku smiled. “She’s strong-willed,” he commented. “Knows what she thinks.”
“Yeah,” Goku-chan agreed less enthusiastically.
“You’ll get to like that,” Goku said. “You never have to guess about how she feels.”
“I suppose... She’s nice, when she’s not being bossy,” Goku-chan admitted.
“She’s not quite so bossy when she’s not acting like a mother,” Goku assured his younger-self. It had been hard not to notice that Chichi treated the time-displayed boy like her third child.
Gohan leaned into the kitchen. “Mr. Satan and Boo are here,” he called.
The Gokus exchanged a grin. Summoning Shenlong was always exciting, especially when there were new people to show him to.
Goten and Trunks were staring at Bulma with huge puppy-dog eyes. “Alright,” Bulma surrendered. “You two can summon him, but just summon him, no wishes!”
“Yeah Mom,” Trunks agreed.
“We promise,” Goten added. He glanced at Trunks, “On three?”
Trunks nodded. “One.”
“Two,” Goten said.
“THREE... Shenlong! We summon you!” the boys cried together.
The sky went dark and the Eternal Dragon appeared. His scales glowed with supernatural light and his long body looped back and forth on itself in a nearly mesmeric pattern.
Even though Videl had seen this sight once before she gasped and clung to Gohan’s arm. Her father cowered behind Boo while the Djinn stared up at the dragon with a child-like look of wonder.
“Hi Shenlong!” Goten called cheerfully. “Did you have a nice nap?”
Shenlong blinked at the small mortal in confusion. “I will grant two wishes,” he intoned.
Chichi pulled her youngest son back. “Don’t chitchat,” she advised. “Shenlong doesn’t like being kept on this plane for long.”
Goku stepped forward. “Shenlong, could you please make everyone but us forget about Boo so they won’t be afraid of him?”
Gohan groaned. He’d been lobbying for the wording ‘forget everything since the day of the tournament’ so that his classmates would forget about him being revealed as Saiyaman too. Videl patted his arm sympathetically although she agreed with his parents that it was better that Gohan not worry so much about hiding himself.
“Your wish is granted,” Shenlong intoned. “What is your second wish?”
Before anyone could stop him Trunks shouted, “Shenlong! I wish my dad couldn’t die, not ever!”
“Dragon, do not grant that wish,” Vegeta ordered as he picked his son up by the scruff of the neck.
The assembled Z-fighters breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“Brat, what the hell were you thinking?” Vegeta demanded.
Trunks squirmed around in Vegeta’s grasp until he was clinging to his father. Before Boo Vegeta never would have tolerated such a display. Now he just sighed and stalked inside carrying his son with him. When Bulma went to follow them Vegeta firmly shut the door in her face.
“I don’t know if I should be annoyed at being shut out of my own house or delighted that Vegeta has finally stopped looking to me to act as a mediator between him and Trunks,” Bulma muttered.2
“Ahem,” Shenlong cleared his throat meaningfully.
“Er, right,” Goku-chan said. “About our second wish.” He wondered if they could ask not to be sent back immediately so they’d know if Trunks was alright.
“There’s only one wish and we both have to get back,” ‘Geta pointed out. “I better make it.”
Bulma put her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You really are welcome to stay here until you’re ready to fight Frieza,” she said quietly.
‘Geta grinned at her. His eyes sparkled with the mischievous sense of humor that so very rarely made it to the surface with her Vegeta. “If I stay here for too long I’ll be too old,” he said.
“Too old for what?” Bulma asked.
“Too old for you,” ‘Geta replied. “Dragon!” he shouted. “Send both Goku and I back to the place and time you took Goku from!”
The Z-Fighters stared at ‘Geta with expressions of jaw dropping shock. It only got worse when ‘Geta grinned at them and waved goodbye.
Goten waved back as Shenlong announced, “Your wish is granted,” and the two teenaged Saiyans vanished.
1: DBZ Viz Manga vol. 25
2: This story intersects with another of my stories: “Ignorance is Bliss”