Chapter 2: Vegetasei

            Gohan looked dazedly at the two Saiyan men in front of him. Confusion shone in his obsidian eyes.

            “What the—“ his companion said, but stopped short as the man fell to the ground.

            “What happened!?” the man said, looking down at his falling friend.

            “He…he…” Gohan whispered.

            “Look, brat, help me here. We have to get him out of here—NOW!” the Saiyan man said, taking off.

            Gohan looked up in the direction in which the man had gone, and without anything else to do, picked up the unconscious Saiyan and headed after him.

            Gohan looked at Toma, the Saiyan man that led him to the house he was in, as he seated himself next to the bed where the other Saiyan man laid, still unconscious. He was very tall, lanky, and thin for a Saiyan. His hair was a mess on top of his head, sticking out even more so than Goku’s…

            “Bardock’s done this before,” Toma muttered, more to himself than Gohan.

            “What happened?” Gohan asked.

            Toma looked at Gohan and smirked.

            “He has a gift, brat…he sees things before they happen, and it’s helped me from getting my ass killed quite a few times. When he gets large visions that are pretty much a big thing, he just collapses,” Toma explained.

            “Why does he look like my father?” Gohan asked.

            “Well, who’s your father?” Toma replied.

            “His name’s Goku, but Vegeta called him Kakarott.”

            Toma gasped and froze.

            “Vegeta? Kakarott? You better tell me everything you know, brat…everything.”

            Gohan told him everything, starting with Radditz arriving on Chikyuu and ending with Goku’s battle with Frieza on Namek. Toma listened quietly as the young half-Saiyan told his tale, never interrupting.

            “How could all this be?” Toma asked, to no one in particular.

            “What do you mean?” Gohan said.

            “Prince Vegeta…he was just taken into Frieza’s service last month…and I doubt he’s ever been to a place called Namek, wherever that is. Kakarott…that’s the child Bardock’s woman just took out of the incu-pod. He’s going to be sent on a purge mission tomorrow,” Toma said.

            “Tomorrow? That’s all the time left!?” Gohan cried in dismay.

            “All the time left? What are you—“

            “Frieza blew up Vegetasei on the same day my dad was sent to Chikyuu! Every Saiyan accept for Vegeta and my dad are going to be blown up!” Gohan shrieked.

            Toma looked up at him with wide eyes and shivered for a second before regaining himself and asking his question.

            “How…what…What’s happened? Are you from the future or something?”

            “I don’t know. All I know is that I was knocked out on Namek and when I woke up I was in the desert. THAT’S IT!” Gohan yelled.

            “Will you shut up?”

            Bardock had woken up in the middle of the conversation.

            Gods, who is this kid? He looks exactly like me…Bardock thought quickly before going on.

            Gohan looked down and rubbed his head. He looked up as he was doing it, though, because it felt strange. His hair had gone from the neatly cut style his mother had given him before Namek to the unruly hair that belonged to his father.

            “Toma, we got problems,” Bardock said.

            “I know. Frieza’s gonna blow up Vegetasei tomorrow,” Toma said.

            “How—“

            “I told him,” Gohan interrupted.

            “How did you know?” Bardock asked.

            “Do I really have to tell this story all over again?” he complained.

            “Let’s just put it this way: He’s from the future, I think. He was on Namek with his father—who just happens to be named Kakarott—with Prince Vegeta and Frieza. His father was fighting Frieza and the Prince had been killed. He was knocked out and suddenly woke up here,” Toma said impatiently.

            Bardock looked over at Gohan, who was now pacing around the room.

            “How old are you, brat?” he asked.

            “I’m six,” Gohan answered.

            “How old was your father when he was in this fight with Frieza?”

            “Ummm…I think about…26,” Gohan said.

            “You’re from 26 years in the future?” Toma asked, more disbelieving than before.

            “Yes…and I have to find a way to get back to where I came from,” Gohan said, distressed.

            “Well, that might take some time. First, we have to go see the King about his plans to—“

            “To what?” Gohan asked, suddenly frantic.

            “To rebel against Frieza,” Toma said simply.

            “NO! That will trigger everything! Frieza is going to kill the King when he gets on the ship and then blow up Vegetasei and everyone on it!” Gohan screamed.      “Calm down, brat!” Toma said.

            “NO! THIS IS IMPORTANT! YOU CANNOT REBEL OR YOU’LL ALL GET KILLED!” Gohan yelled, almost in tears.

            “OK! EVERYONE SHUT THE HELL UP!” Bardock shouted over them with surprising volume.

            Toma and Gohan stopped yelling and looked at the other Saiyan.         

            “We are going to rebel whether you like it or not, brat. That’s the only way to become free of Frieza’s reign.”

            “There has to be some other way!” Gohan said, quieter now.

            “There isn’t…” Bardock said.

            “Well, I’m not going to let you!” Gohan yelled.

            “Yes, you are,” Toma sighed, and knock Gohan out.

            Gohan woke up in a dark cell.

            “Where…am I?” he asked the darkness.

            ::They’ve trapped you, Son Gohan::

            Gohan jumped as a soft female voice rang in his head.

            “What?” he asked again.

            ::You’re in a cell. Bardock and Toma have put you in here to prevent you from interfering with the rebellion::

            “But they’ll be killed!” he cried.         

            ::Then you have failed::

            He looked around him, but saw nothing but darkness. The voice was now entirely gone…it had just vanished.

            “Hello?!” he yelled. He let tears fall out of his eyes then and gave up.

            He sat there crying for a very long time. The whole ordeal was very confusing to the young half-Saiyan and he didn’t know what to do. He stopped crying after a while and absently ran his hand through his thick, spiky hair. He felt so cold and alone…

            Ok…so I’ve managed to fail at something else. What’s new? But this time…this time Dad isn’t here…he can’t fix it for me. What am I going to do? He thought.

            ::You’re going to try again::

            The voice was once again speaking to him.

            “Who are you?” Gohan asked the voice.

            ::That is of no concern right now, little Saiyan. What you need to do right now is try and get out of the cell. Pay attention to your surroundings and try to create as much of a scene as possible. I will help you as much as I can, but it won’t be easy. We have probably failed to do what we needed to this time, but we are going to go out kicking and screaming. Right?::

            Gohan thought for a second that he was going insane, but just said, “Right.”

            ::The door is about three feet to your left. Don’t touch it until you get a signal…you’ll know it when you see it, understand? When I say, just ki blast it. That’ll create the biggest scene. If you make a big enough ruckus, then the entire Saiyan race will come down to see you. Believe me…just try and get to the door and don’t waste any more time! GO!::

            The voice faded out and Gohan was left alone. He obeyed the voice and turned left. He walked forward for a moment and stopped as soon as he saw the door. He waited for his signal in complete silence. There was a long stretch of that silence…the kind that is just too quiet.

            Screams rang out from in front of the door. The guard must have been killed. Gohan waited more still for his signal.

            ::You baka! You missed your signal! Oh, must I do—::

            The voice could not finish. Just then, all of Vegetasei went up in flames.

            Gohan woke in a dazed state, wondering whether he was dead or not. He opened his eyes fully and looked around.

            He was back in the desert.