DRAGONBALL: OTHER ROADS
~ THE LEFT FORK ~
A Young Man's Fancy
"You're sure you are ready to leave?"
"Yeah. Had a good time, thanks! But I think I wanna meet up with all my friends before the fight. Been a while, ne?"
"Yes, it has been almost three years." The dark-skinned genie chuckled. "Your friends will barely recognize you, you have grown so much since you came here!"
Son Gokuu tightened the belt on his gi and pulled on his heavy, weighted boots. At seventeen, the young man had gone from the squat, stocky barrel of a boy he had once been to a tall, lean, imposing figure. While not the tallest or largest fighter on Chikyuu by far, he knew in his simple, non-egotistical way that he was one of the strongest people on the planet, if not the strongest. After all, fighting was everything to him.
Well, he amended mentally, fighting and one other thing...
"Before I go, how 'bout dinner? I'm starving!"
Kami and Mr. Popo facefaulted.
* * * * *
Bulma sat on her bed at her home, staring out the window into the starry night sky. Everyone else was at Kame House, having a great big party; she had decided not to go, knowing full well what would inevitably happen when a roomful of boys got blazingly drunk. In truth, there was only one boy she knew who would never act that way.
That thought made her smile wistfully. How long had it been, almost three years? *Two and a half,* her mind informed her. *Thirty-six months since he took off into the sky, announcing he was going to spend three years with God.* Which only seemed fitting; after all, hadn't he been like a guardian angel for as long as she'd known him?
Oh, sure, he wasn't perfect. Far from it. But his faults were part of his charm...such a simple boy, so carefree, utterly lacking in the worries that made life complicated for city people. All he cared about was food, fun, and fighting.
As she stared off into the night, the sky lit up with a shooting star. Bulma smiled and made a wish; the star twinkled brightly for a moment before fading from view. Mentally, she chided herself for putting hope in such a silly childhood fantasy...
*But after all, I know for a fact wishes come true. Maybe even wishes that don't involve dragons...*
* * * * *
On the distant horizon, the sun was rising over lands far to the east. High above plains full of giant dinosaurs and wild tigers, a cloud floated serenely, its occupant frowning.
"Okay...sun rises in th' east, right? So...I wanna go this way..."
The tiny golden cloud began zipping in the opposite direction of the sunrise, dipping lower as it crossed the mountains below.
* * * * *
On an island far from civilization, where the sun had already risen, a house full of bachelors winced and groaned in pain as the early morning light roused them painfully from their slumber.
"Oi, Kuririn...can you get off my head?"
"I'm not on your head, and stop shouting!"
"You're the one shouting! Agh, my head..."
"Will you all shut up? 'm tryin' ta get some sleep here..."
* * * * *
A cheerful, vapid woman with frizzy blond hair hummed merrily to herself as she hung the wash out to dry. She knew she could just use the automatic dryer, but she preferred to let her laundry dry in the sun and the wind. Besides, she enjoyed being outside. Behind her, the golden dome of Capsule Corporation gleamed in the morning sun.
Suddenly, one of the fluffy clouds in the sky descended to the ground, and a young man jumped off. "Ossu!" he called cheerfully, waving.
"Good morning!" The blond woman said with a smile.
The boy looked up at the building. "This where Bulma lives?"
"Why, yes it is. Are you one of her friends? I'll go get her."
"Thanks," the young man said with a smile.
* * * * *
Bulma cursed as the circuit she was trying to repair spat a spark at her, burning her fingertips. "Damn interocitor," she groused.
"Bulma dear," her mother called from outside. "One of your little friends has come to see you!"
The young woman looked up, setting aside her soldering iron. "Who is it? It better not be that bum Yamucha after the stunt he pulled," she grumbled. Standing, she straightened her skirt and followed her mother out to the yard, still ranting. "I swear, he forgets the concert he was supposed to take me to, he doesn't pay any attention to me because of some stupid baseball game, and then he has the nerve to run off to Kame...House..." As the two women walked out into the yard, Bulma trailed off, staring at her guest with wide, disbelieving eyes.
He was tall and handsome. Muscular, but lean, with boyish features and laughing eyes and a bright, easygoing smile. The orange gi had at first made her think it was Yamucha, but the face and hair were different, and besides, he'd still be hung over if she was any judge...
The hair...the eyes...the smile...Bulma gasped.
"Oi, Bulma!" the strange young man grinned. His voice...
"Who—G...Gokuu?!"
"Un," the boy said as he walked toward her. "Been a while, what's up?"
"GOKUU!" Bulma rushed forward and caught the young man up in a hug. "It's great to see you! It's been so long!" Stepping back, she blushed a bit as she looked him over. "Really long...look at you!" *Oh my god, he's freaking handsome!* she thought, her heart racing.
He fixed her with that confident, reassuring, easygoing smile, the smile she'd recognize anywhere. "Yeah, I got tall." He chuckled. "You look th' same. Except hair's a little different, an' you're softer."
She giggled. "Same old Gokuu." She put an arm around him and walked him into the house, leaning unconsciously into his shoulder. "So tell me, what've you been up to?"
"I'll get some tea," Bulma's mother said as she disappeared into the kitchen. The blond woman smiled secretively. *Oh, she's brought home a real hunk!*
"Thanks," Gokuu said. He looked around. "Fuaa, this place is big!"
"Silly...you've been here before," Bulma said.
"I have?" The boy scratched his head. "I don't remember." He shrugged. "You know me'n' city places."
"That's true." Still giggling, the young inventor looked her friend over again. "Gokuu, I can't believe how much you've grown!" *And how gorgeous you are,* she had the presence of mind not to blurt out. Just as they were about to sit down, she noticed something else. "And your tail...it's gone again?"
Gokuu nodded. "Yeah, while I was with Kami-sama. Guess I just didn't need it anymore. Haven't had it for a couple years." He shrugged.
"Sou ka..." Bulma blinked. "With Kami-sama?!"
"Yeah. I told you that, didn't I? That's where I went after I beat Piccolo."
The inventor stared at her friend. "I didn't think you meant it literally!!" she exclaimed.
Gokuu laughed. "Yeah, I did."
"B-b-b-but you...you..."
"What?" Gokuu blinked.
"I mean...you're alive! Who wished you back?"
"Wish?" The young man continued to blink in confusion. "I dunno. I just got on Kinto'un when I wanted t' come back..."
"From the dead!?"
Gokuu stared at Bulma, then laughed. "Dead? I wasn't dead!"
"But...but you said you were with...Kami-sama..."
"Yeah. On Tenka." He pointed up. "It's a long climb to get there, but I got really good training!"
Bulma continued to stare at her friend as her mother came back with tea and cakes. "Do you like milk and honey in your tea, Gokuu?"
"Un," Gokuu replied. He looked back at the younger woman. "So Bulma, whatcha been up to? How's everyone? Haven't seen any of them in a long time either."
Shaking herself out of her shock and confusion, Bulma took her tea and sipped it. "Oh, it's been the usual around here. Working on inventions, various people coming and going..." She sighed. "That idiot Yamucha is off with the guys at Kame House. They had one of their parties last night..."
"That sounds like fun," Gokuu said. "Wish I'd known."
Bulma snorted. "I don't think you'd like their idea of a party. Not unless you like getting drunk and passing out..."
The martial artist frowned. "Oh, that beer stuff? I hate that stuff."
Taking a cake, since Gokuu had oddly not started devouring them all yet, the inventor smiled. "Good to hear. The boys, sometimes they drink a little too much of it...that's why I didn't go."
"Yeah...th' old man gets a little grabby when he's drunk. I know you hate that," Gokuu said, stuffing a cake in his mouth.
"So this is the boy you met when you went looking for the Dragonballs, Bulma?" Mrs. Briefs asked, looking Gokuu over. "He's quite handsome."
"Thanks," Gokuu said. "Wow, these're good."
"So, Gokuu," Bulma began, "I didn't expect to see you again until the Tenka-ichi Budokai."
The martial artist grinned. "Well, trainin' went so well I didn't think I could do much more with Kami-sama, so I came back down to see my friends. Anyway, I can keep trainin' down here." He tapped the ground with his foot; his boot made a heavy thunk on the floor. "Got heavy boots'n' stuff."
As they sat and caught up on old times, Bulma mused, *I was right...wishes do come true...*
* * * * *
Two old friends strolled around the grounds of the richest company in the world, chatting amicably about old times and catching up on the past few years.
"And so this rude grizzly bear started pushing in line," Bulma said. "And Yamucha was at the snack counter, so—get this—OOLONG turns into a great big dinosaur and tells the jerk to back off!"
"Uso!" Gokuu gaped.
"Nope, he really did! Of course, that scared off almost everyone in the line including the bear, so by the time Yamucha got back and we got our tickets, we pretty much had the movie all to ourselves." Bulma giggled.
"Sugee," the martial artist said.
"So, what have you been up to besides training? I can only imagine the kind of wacky adventures you've had."
"Well...nothin', really," Gokuu said, shrugging. "Last couple years I just been trainin' with Kami-sama an' Mr. Popo, eatin', and sleepin'."
Bulma blinked. "That's it? All this time, that's it?"
Gokuu nodded. "Un."
"Didn't that get...well...boring?" the inventor wondered.
The martial artist smiled. "Not really. You know me. Although...sometimes I missed the fun we used to have." He looked up at the clouds. "An' I missed all my friends."
With a girlish giggle, Bulma took hold of Gokuu's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm really glad to see you again, Gokuu."
He blinked at her, and smiled. "Glad t'see you again too, Bulma." Suddenly, he grinned. "Hey, why don't we go see th' others?"
Bulma frowned. *Why don't I want to share him with anyone just yet?* "Good idea, but...maybe we can wait a while? I mean, if the guys partied as hard as I think they did last night, they'll all be sleeping until noon and have terrible hangovers..."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Gokuu said. He put his hands behind his head and continued walking aimlessly. "So, whatcha wanna do?"
Bulma thought about it for a moment, before deciding on the perfect activity. "How about a picnic lunch?"
The young man reacted predictably. "Yosh'! Sounds great!"
"Great! Why don't you, um...go take a bath, and find some of Yamucha's clothes in his room so we can wash yours, and by the time you're done, I'll have lunch ready and we can go!"
"Okay," Gokuu said, letting one of the house robots show him the way to the baths.
* * * * *
"Ah, that was good," Gokuu said, lying back in the grass and patting his stomach.
"Yeah," Bulma said, wiping her mouth daintily with a napkin and giving a blissful sigh. She looked over at Gokuu, who looked so peaceful...it was hard to believe that he was the monstrously strong boy she'd first met over seven years ago. And yet...
"Oi, what's up, Bulma?"
The blue-haired woman blinked. "Huh?"
"You're lookin' at me funny. Do I got rice on my face or somethin'?"
Bulma blushed. "Oh—er, no, Gokuu. Sorry. I was just thinking."
"Oh." He cocked his head curiously. "What about?"
"Nothing," Bulma said swiftly.
"Oh, okay."
They sat in silence for a moment.
"I was just thinking about all the adventures we had when I first met you. You've changed so much since then, but you're still the same..."
Gokuu laughed. "Yeah, sometimes I see myself in th' mirror and wonder what happened. It's funny havin' t'look down t'talk t'you instead'a up."
"Yeah, you got big...but you're still the same in so many ways." She reached out and began running her hand through his stiff, wild black hair. "This hair—I remember when you were a little kid, and I used to wash this hair."
"Yeah, you broke a comb in it," Gokuu said, grinning.
Bulma laughed...then broke off as her fingers brushed against something that felt unnatural. "Eh? What's this?" she asked.
Gokuu looked at her. "What?"
"Sit up for a minute," Bulma instructed. Shrugging, Gokuu did as he was told. The scientist began digging through his hair with both hands, probing his scalp. She frowned. "Gokuu...did you get hit hard in the head or something?"
He blinked at her. "Not lately. Why?"
"There's a scar here—"
"Oh, that." Gokuu nodded, shifting slightly. "I had that when I was little. It's nothin'."
"Nothing?" Bulma repeated incredulously. "Gokuu, this is one seriously nasty scar. And it doesn't look like it ever really healed right. Does it hurt?"
"A little. Not really, though. Gettin' my tail pulled hurt a lot more."
Bulma frowned. "Gokuu...I know you think it's nothing, but I'd really like it if you'd let my dad take a look at this over in the hospital wing."
The tall youth froze. "Hospital?" He looked terrified. "There won't be needles, will there?"
"Oh, no!" Bulma laughed. "No, you won't feel anything. I just think we should get some X-rays and stuff of that scar. I really don't like the looks of it."
Gokuu shrugged. "Okay, I guess. But it's a really old scar. It can't be bad after this long, can it?"
"Well..." Bulma trailed off, shrugging. "Let's just see what we can see about it, okay?"
* * * * *
Dr. Briefs probed at the dented ridge of flesh with latex-gloved fingers, frowning. "How the hell did THIS happen?"
Gokuu shrugged. "Jiichan said it happened when I was a baby. I was little when he told me, so I can't remember, but I think he said I fell off a mountain an' landed on my head."
The scientist stared at him. "Off a mountain?!" He looked at the scar, frowning. "Well, that'd do it alright. Let me set up the scanners and find out how deep this thing goes."
Gokuu sat uncomfortably still for several moments while Dr. Briefs waved a wand-like probe around his head, took flash pictures with an odd camera, and stuck what looked like a metal salad bowl on his head, which became quite warm for a moment before it was removed. He then gathered up his instruments and left, saying he'd be back with the results shortly.
A half hour later, Dr. Briefs returned, peering intently at a sheaf of printouts and stroking his chin, brow furrowed. "Very curious," he said absently.
"What did you find, Dad?" Bulma asked.
The older man looked up, blinked, and then nodded. "Well...Gokuu, I'm afraid I've got some rather disturbing news for you."
The young fighter blinked. "What? What's wrong?"
Dr. Briefs began pinning the readouts he carried onto a small board, then lay it on a table which he pushed in front of Gokuu. Bulma took a seat beside him, and Dr. Briefs sat down opposite them. "Gokuu, these are some pictures of your brain."
"My brain?" Gokuu asked, looking at the thin plastic sheets. "How'd you do that?"
"Well, we do have the most modern technology in the world at our disposal," Dr. Briefs said with a touch of pride.
Bulma took a look at the readouts, and winced. "I don't know too much about medicine, and I'm no expert on brains, but if I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing—"
"Yes, dear," Dr. Briefs said, nodding. he took out a small silver pen and tapped one of the printouts with it. "You see this here, right where the scar is? There's a fissure in the skull from a badly healed break. But worse than that, there's a portion of the cerebellum—right here—that's been damaged."
"Damaged?" Gokuu asked.
"When you injured your head as a child," Dr. Briefs said, "you received permanent damage to your brain. It seems, based on this, that some aspects of your memory might be affected, and it also might affect the way your thought processes work. You might even have a slight degree of learning dysfunction. A sort of retardation—not to a severe degree, obviously, but—"
"So I'm not so smart 'cuz I hurt my brain?" Gokuu asked.
Bulma nodded. "That's about the size of it. This is why you've always been a bit—" She paused. "Simple. I don't mean that in a bad way! There's nothing wrong with you! It's just—"
Gokuu smiled. "I know what you mean. I can handle fightin' an' eatin' an' livin' in th' woods okay, but I don't do so good with city stuff an' all that junk. An' that's why?"
Dr. Briefs nodded. "Essentially." He frowned. "The bad news is that there's no way to fix this kind of injury, especially since you've had this brain damage for most of your life. The good news is that there's no reason to believe that you won't live a normal, healthy, happy life despite this. You've done just fine for yourself for all these years, so this really isn't something you need to worry about."
Gokuu tilted his head. "So I've got a messed up brain, but it's okay 'cuz it's not gonna kill me or nothin'?"
"Precisely," the scientist said, nodding.
"Hmm. Okay. Thanks!"
* * * * *
* * * * *
Gokuu and Bulma sat on the lawn of Capsule Corporation, drinking tea and looking at the pinkish clouds in the darkening sky. "You're quiet tonight, Bulma," Gokuu noted.
"Mmm."
"What's up?"
"I was...just thinking."
Gokuu glanced at her. "About?"
Bulma shook her head. "About what my dad said the other day. About your head."
"Oh." Gokuu sipped his tea. "You're worried about that brain damage thing, huh?"
"Well, it's just—" Bulma sighed. "I was just wondering how different things would be for you if you'd never hurt your head. If you—well—"
"If I could be smart like everyone else?" Gokuu asked. At Bulma's nod, he sighed. "I thought about it a little too. I mean, there's nothin' wrong with me th' way I am. I like my life. I'm happy. I've got a great life, an' I wouldn't change it for nothin'. But I do hafta wonder. I mean, I don't like that I'm stupid about city stuff an' all that. It's never really bothered me that much, but I wonder what it'd be like to not be—"
Bulma nodded. "I don't think I'd really want to change you, either. I mean, it wouldn't be right. But..."
"Yeah. But like your dad said, can't do nothin' about it anyway, right?"
"Well..." Bulma said, trailing off.
Gokuu watched her silently for a moment.
"I was thinking."
"Yeah?"
"I bet...I bet I know someone who could fix your head."
Gokuu blinked at her. "But your dad said—"
"Yeah, I know. We can't fix it with medicine, or surgery, or anything like that. But..."
"But?"
"Shenron could fix it."
Gokuu blinked. "Shenron...?! I didn't even think'a that." He frowned. "'Course, I'm not able t' think like everyone else does."
"Gokuu..."
The martial artist shook his head. "I'm not upset or anything. Like I said, I'm happy with things. But I wonder..."
They sat in silence for a long moment.
"We could get the Dragonballs, it'd be easy. And it'd be fun, just like old times. But—" Bulma sighed. "I'm not going to push you into this, Gokuu. It's just a wild idea I had. It may not even work. But it's your choice. It's your head, your life. You have to decide."
Gokuu nodded.
Twilight descended, and the first star of the evening appeared in the sky, dimmed by the bright city lights.
"If we can get back before th' Budokai, we might as well give it a try. It'd be fun, anyway."
Bulma glanced sidelong at the fighter. "Are you sure about this, Gokuu?"
The tall youth looked into the dregs of his tea. "No. But that's why I gotta do it."
"Gokuu..."
* * * * *
* * * * *
"Ide yo, Shenron! Soshite negai o kanae tamae!"
The sky darkened, the wind howled, and a massive column of light rose into the sky, twisting and snaking, attaining solidity. Within moments, a large, serpentine dragon was glowering down at them, red eyes burning.
YOU WHO HAVE AWAKENED ME, SPEAK YOUR WISH, THAT I MAY GRANT IT AND RETURN TO MY SLUMBER.
Gokuu swallowed nervously. "Shenron, when I was a baby, I hurt my head real bad an' messed up my brain. Nobody can fix it because it's been like that a long time. Can you fix my brain, so I can be normal?"
The dragon was silent for a long moment.
THIS, I CAN DO EASILY.
"Okay then," Gokuu said, nodding. "Shenron, please fix my brain."
The dragon's eyes glowed brightly, and Gokuu staggered slightly, clutching at his skull, eyes wide.
YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED. SAAAAAARAAAAAAABAAAAAADAAAAAAAAAAAA......
The dragon vanished and the Dragonballs streaked off into the distance, seven glowing points of light. The sky began to return to normal. Bulma rushed to Gokuu's side. "Gokuu? Are you okay?"
Gokuu stood up straight, nodding. "Yeah. Just a little headache." He shrugged. "Let's go home."
* * * * *
* * * * *
Bulma bolted upright in bed at the loud scream. "Gokuu!" Shooting across the room, she grabbed a bathrobe, stepped into her slippers, and rushed outside. She found him in the yard, crouched on the ground, clutching his head as if in agony. A wind stirred around him, the tangible aura of his awesome power.
As she approached him, she paused. Gokuu had a wild, animalistic look to his eyes...something was very, very wrong here. He looked up at her, breath coming in ragged gasps, and snarled. For a moment, she was afraid he was going to attack her... Then with a keening wail like a wounded animal, he sank to the ground, curled up in a ball. "B-bulma," he whispered. "Help..."
"It's okay, Gokuu. I'm here." With difficulty, she lifted him and half-carried, half-dragged him inside.
* * * * *
"I can't find anything wrong with the boy," Dr. Briefs said as he eyed the medical readouts. "According to this, he's healthier than anyone I've ever met!"
Bulma sat beside the bed, stroking Gokuu's hair affectionately. Her hand brushed across the area where the horrible scar had been before they'd made that wish. "He was...scared. I don't think I've ever seen Gokuu scared. It worries me."
"What was he scared of, I wonder?" The scientist leaned over the bed, stroking his mustache absently. Gokuu twitched in his sleep, hands clenching into fists and his face twisting into a scowl as he wrestled with the demons in his dreams.
* * * * *
"Hey, you're awake." Bulma had gone to get a cup of coffee; when she came back, she saw Gokuu sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes. "Here, want my coffee?"
"No thanks," Gokuu said absently. He frowned. "Where am I?"
"The hospital wing," Bulma replied. "Don't you remember? The other night I found you outside, in pain. We couldn't find anything physically wrong with you, but..." She took a sip of coffee, and looked Gokuu intently in the eye. "What happened?"
The martial artist shook his head. "I'm not sure," he replied. "I...had a weird dream, and it—" He looked up at the ceiling, at the bright, domed lights, then back at Bulma, eyes narrowed in concentration. "Bulma," he said softly. "You know when we made that wish to fix my brain?"
"Yeah?"
Gokuu looked away, eyes darkening, and his voice dropped to nearly a whisper. "I think we made a big mistake."
Bulma frowned. "Why?"
"Because...something was in my head," Gokuu replied. "Something's in my head, Bulma. When my head was hurt, it went to sleep...now that it's fixed, I...have weird thoughts in my head." He was clearly struggling to articulate the problem; the young woman took hold of his hand and squeezed it gently.
"Do you mean memories? Something you forgot when you hurt your head?"
A sigh was her response. "No..." He looked up at her, and she was shocked to see the haunted, frightened look in his eyes. "It's...a demon. There's a demon in my head, Bulma."
She blinked. "A what?!"
"A demon," he repeated.
"Gokuu, that's...that's crazy!"
He shook his head, and when he next spoke, he was more solemn than Bulma remembered ever seeing him. "No, Bulma. There's a demon in my head. I see him in my dreams." He poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher by the bed and drank it in one gulp. "Sometimes he's a big monster...I think maybe the one that killed Jiichan. But most of the time, he...he looks...like me." He swallowed. "A lot of times he's wearing this armor...I've never seen it but it looks...familiar somehow.
"He...he kills people, Bulma. He kills people and he burns their homes down and he stands on top of the bodies of children laughing. He comes to a town, and when he leaves, the town is gone. Everyone dead. And it's always my face, laughing as he kills everyone...kills people I've met...kills my friends..." He glanced up. "Kills you."
Bulma's breath caught in her throat. "Gokuu..."
"And the demon has a name...I hear it. He wants me to say it. He wants me to call myself by that name."
"What...name?" Bulma asked.
Gokuu looked down, crushing the water glass in his hand, his eyes smoldering with intense hatred the likes of which the young woman had never seen in the martial artist before. "Kakarotto."
* * * * *
Bulma sat at her computer, a half-empty cup of coffee at her side. She rubbed her eyes tiredly.
She'd been up all night, searching every file in the library, the Capsulenet, and anything else she could think of. The name "Kakarotto" wasn't anywhere to be found.
Calculating the time differential, she picked up the phone and dialed Kame House.
"Moshi-moshi," the voice on the other end of the line answered. It was Lunch.
"Lunch, is Kamesennin there? I need to talk to him."
"Oh, hi Bulma! Sure, just a second."
A pause, then the wizened voice answered, "Hello Bulma! What a pleasant surprise! How've you been?"
"Just fine. Listen, I have to ask you—well, maybe I'd better start at the beginning first."
* * * * *
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
The occupants of Kame House jumped in fright at the harsh bellow of the old master. They crowded into the living room to find out what was going on.
On the other end of the line, Bulma repeated, "We used the Dragonballs to fix Gokuu's brain damage."
"What in God's name made you do something like that?" Kamesennin thundered.
"Well, we WERE kinda thinking that maybe if Gokuu's head got fixed, it'd be a good thing for him," Bulma replied testily. She then sighed. "But...he's been having nightmares. And he says there's a demon living in his head. That's why I called, actually. Does the name 'Kakarotto' mean anything to you?"
"Mmm, no, can't say it does. But listen, Bulma...I think you should know that what you've done might have some serious repercussions. You need to keep a close eye on Gokuu. And call me if anything strange happens, you hear?"
"Okay, but...what is it you're not telling me, old man?"
Kamesennin sighed. "Not over the phone, Bulma. Come to Kame House when you have a chance. Don't bring Gokuu. I don't want him to hear this. Not yet."
"Well...okay. Goodbye."
As the old man hung up the phone, the others pressed in around him.
"What was that about?"
"Is something wrong with Gokuu?"
"What's going on?"
Kamesennin sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. "I can only pray that we haven't lost our Gokuu for good."
* * * * *
Bulma sat at the table with Oolong, Kamesennin, Lunch, Kuririn, Yamucha, and Puaru. The old man had a serious look on his face. "There's something about Gokuu you should know.
"Twenty years ago, my disciple Son Gohan found a baby in the mountains. The child was lying curled up inside a strange metal sphere. He had a tail, like a monkey.
"Gohan decided to adopt the boy as his grandson, and took him from the place where he found him. But the child was not happy with this...not at all. The baby was vicious, wild, savage. It took all of Gohan's formidable prowess as a warrior to withstand the furious tantrums the strange baby threw. The boy did his best to try to hurt, maybe even kill Gohan.
"One day, they were walking on a high mountain trail. The boy was as unruly as ever, and Gohan was trying to keep him still as they walked. But the infant escaped his grasp...and fell over the edge of the cliff, landing hard on the rough rocks below.
"Gohan was afraid the boy had died. He hurried down to find him, and was amazed that the baby was still alive, but he'd taken a terrible blow to the head. He was in a coma for days. Gohan cared for him diligently, tending his wound, forcing water and broth into him, applying compresses to his forehead.
"Eventually, the baby woke up. From then on, he had changed. He stopped being violent and became docile, caring. He went from a savage monster to a caring, loving little boy—the boy that we all know as Son Gokuu."
The group sat silently for a while, digesting the old man's story.
"You say Gohan found Gokuu in a metal sphere...?" Bulma asked.
Kamesennin nodded. "Yes, that's right."
"You wouldn't...happen to know where it is, would you?"
The old man frowned. "Not offhand, no...I'm not even sure it'd still be there. But...I could find out, I suppose. Why?"
"Because it may be important," Bulma said.
Kamesennin nodded. "I'll get right on it, then."
* * * * *
"That's pretty vague, Roshi," Uranai Baba said. The old man had summoned his sister immediately, and although it went against her usual policies, he was family, and hung out with a group of very interesting people...
"Yeah, I know. But you can ask Gohan directly, can't you?"
"Well, yes, that's true. I don't usually do something like this for free, mind you."
"This may be very important," Mutenroshi replied. "To everyone in the living world. Something feels wrong here."
"Okay...I'll see what I can do."
* * * * *
The plane landed in a clearing in the woods. Bulma, Kamesennin, Kuririn, and Yamucha stepped out.
A mound of earth stood in the middle of the clearing. "Well..." Kuririn said, looking around. "I don't see anything here."
Bulma sighed. "I should've known."
"No, it's here," Kamesennin said. He braced himself, then threw a Kamehameha at the mound of dirt.
Once the smoke and dust cleared, the group gasped.
"There it is!" Yamucha said.
"It was buried—but who buried it?" Kuririn wondered.
"Animals," Bulma said, kneeling next to the sphere. It was large enough for a tall adult to fit inside if he curled into a fetal position, and lay open. What looked like instrument panels and telltale lights on the inside were covered with dust and droppings, and a nest of frightened-looking baby rabbits sat trembling in a pile of stuffing which had spilled from a hole gnawed in the leatherette covering of the single seat inside.
Bulma looked around the interior of the sphere with a flashlight and nodded. "There's no doubt about it. This thing is a...lifepod of some kind. Or something. It's made for one person, and it doesn't LOOK like it could get very far on its own, but..."
The others stared at her. "Bulma, what are you saying?" Kuririn asked.
The blue-haired woman carefully extracted the family of rabbits from the pod, then brushed filth off the panels within, squinting at the odd markings. "This thing isn't from Chikyuu." She paused, standing up straight. "And neither is Gokuu."
* * * * *
* * * * *
"Gokuu," Bulma said as she sat down for breakfast, "There's something important we need to talk about."
Looking up from his eggs, Gokuu blinked. "What is it, Bulma? You sound kinda serious."
She nodded as she sipped her coffee. "Yeah, it's pretty serious." She looked her husband in the eyes. "It's about Panty's tail. We need to cut it off."
"Huh? Why? What's wrong with her tail?"
"Nothing's wrong with it, we just need to cut it off."
"It's not hurting anything for her to have a tail, is it?" Gokuu asked.
Bulma shook her head. "It's just..." She sighed. "Alright, I'll be honest. There's something I should have told you a long time ago. We all wanted to keep it from you because we didn't think you needed to know. After you lost your tail and the moon was restored, I guess...I guess we all forgot. But..."
"What is it?" Gokuu asked, taking Bulma's hand.
The inventor swallowed. "Gokuu, do you remember when we were all trapped in Pilaf's castle? How you woke up and saw the whole thing was wrecked?"
"Yeah, I remember that! Pretty weird," he replied. "But what's that got to do with tails?"
"Well, remember that you didn't have your tail for a while after that? And it grew back at the Budokai? And that's when Jackie Chun destroyed the moon?"
"Yeah..."
Taking a breath to steady herself, Bulma explained, "I...know it's gonna sound weird to you, since we never told you all this before, but...we had to cut your tail off at Pilaf's castle, and Jackie Chun had to blow up the moon, because you changed into a huge monkey monster when you saw the full moon."
The pronouncement hung in the air silently for a long moment...then Gokuu laughed. "Oh, Bulma! You had me going there."
Bulma slapped her palms on the table. "I'm not joking, Gokuu! Ask Yamucha, ask Oolong, ask anyone who was at the Budokai...we all saw it. We just...we didn't want to tell you, because we didn't know how you'd take it."
Gokuu was quiet for a moment. "So...I really turned into a big monster?"
"That's right. But we cut your tail off, and you changed back to normal."
"And it's the full moon that made me change?"
Bulma nodded.
The warrior sat contemplating. "Then the monster that killed Jiichan..." His eyes widened.
The inventor nodded in sympathy. "I'm sorry, Gokuu. That's why we didn't tell you."
"I...I understand," Gokuu sighed. "Thanks. I'm glad you told me. That explains a lot." He nodded. "Alright, cut off Panty's tail then. It's for the best anyway." He frowned. "Can you keep it from growing back?"
Bulma nodded. "I think so."
"Good." Gokuu dove back into his breakfast, but at a substantially reduced pace. His wife watched him for a long moment, then continued to eat in silence.
