Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ

Thanks for the reviews!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Earth's Protector

Chapter 22: Never Your Enemy

Hearing the door open to his room wasn't enough to pull Gohan's face out of his pillow. He sensed the familiar ki standing there, but wasn't ready to sit up after his little outburst. All he needed was a few minutes in his dark bedroom so he could focus on composing himself. Just a few minutes and Namek would all but be gone from his thoughts.

It was not to be though as a warm body was soon hitting the mattress right next to him.

"How much did you hear?" Gohan's muffled voice asked.

"All of it." Bulma replied, twisting onto her side so she could look at the boy. "I never would have imagine such trauma hiding under all your sarcasm and teasing. You hide it well."

"There isn't another choice. I'm a warrior. I'm so busy training or fighting for my life. I can't deal with trauma. I have to get up and move on."

Bulma hummed, bringing a hand up to Gohan's spiky locks. "I haven't had the same experiences as you. I don't know much about trauma, but what I do know is that you shouldn't let it all pile up, instead of dealing with it. Eventually, it is going to hit you all at once and bring you down, hard."

"I'm fine," Gohan insisted, even as he relaxed under Bulma's gentle caress. His godmother had always been like a second mother to him, spoiling him rotten behind Chi-Chi's back with everything she bought him or gave him to help with training. If she wasn't giving him something, she was helping him in his studies or lecturing him about something. If his mom couldn't be there for him, she would always be willing to step up.

It was actually quite reassuring that she had come to the base at just the right time when he needed her since his own mother couldn't be here.

"I'm fine," Gohan repeated. "I shouldn't have brought it all up. The memories just hit me hard. I recently had someone else stomp on my head to crush it and I guess that didn't help with the memories. And then having to see the Ginyu Force again. It dredges up old memories. I wasn't prepared to face any of this when I came here."

Bulma's gentle caress stop to rest lightly on Gohan's head. She barely knew this boy, only met him twice, but she still wanted to help him. Even more so after hearing his outburst a few minutes ago. She never considered herself the motherly type as she spent most of her time working as a scientist and not looking to build a family, but she found she couldn't turn away from this child. No child should have to go through what he did when he five. No child should have already lost both his parents and be alone in the world. And yet, when she met him both times, he was so excited with his bright smile and sarcastic quips on his lips. "You are far stronger than you realize."

Hearing the line he just gave Dende had an amused smile gracing Gohan's smile.

"Anyone else would have given up to the demons of their past. Instead of that, I see a child ready to take on the world. It takes amazing strength to stand up after what you've been through. Hell, you even went to face the Ginyu Force and did so without even the slightest bit of hesitation."

"Because I'm a reckless idiot, according to my friends at least." Gohan pushed himself up to his knees, knocking Bulma's hand off his head as he did so. "I don't think. When I was younger, I always charged into the battlefield without a thought to my well-being. All I could think about was that my friends and dad needed me. Charging into battle time and time again to face enemies far stronger than me has left me with more injures than I can count. I know pain. I'm not scared of pain. It has become second nature to me, but when I think of Frieza, I get scared. And it is just so frustrating. I have been on so many battlefields in my life. I'm not scared to fight anymore. I'm not scared of getting injured. My dad told me to conquer my fears, and I did. Or, I thought I had no fears left to conquer."

Bulma sat up herself, staring into the black orbs of the child. "There is nothing wrong with fear, Gohan. It doesn't need conquering. It tells you where the edge is." She leaned forward, resting her forehead against Gohan's, her eyes never leaving his. "Perhaps Frieza is so prominent in your mind because you met him at such a young age and went through a harrowing experience. It was when your fear was at the highest so nothing can beat that and now that he is back, you are remembering that experience."

She wasn't exactly wrong. Nothing he went through after Namek matched the fear he felt in the face of Frieza, not even Cell. Instead, he simply didn't see the point in fighting Cell and by the end of the fight, he didn't care if he died at Cell's hands. It was only his father telling him not to back down that brought his fighting spirit back up. There was never fear in that battle, just a lack of will. He was scared fighting Vegeta and Nappa, but they didn't hold a candle to Frieza who he fought after them.

It was no wonder there was usually zero or very little fear in him during all his battles after Namek. Frieza was the pinnacle of fear in his life. If he could survive Frieza, he could survive anything.

"Having Frieza back in my life has opened past wounds. He is the thing of my nightmares, but he also one that holds a lot of my rage. Yet, I have very little regrets from that battle. I was only five when I met Frieza, but you can sure as hell bet that I did the damn best I could in that fight. I fought the hardest I could, but it still amounted to nothing. I couldn't stand up to Frieza. His power was so strong that it took my breath away." Gohan closed his eyes, imagining the image he had of Frieza in his final form. "I was terrified. I went through so much pain that day, but you know, I never ran. I stood my ground because I had to. Running would have just gotten me chased. It is why I never run in battle. I stand firm and turn to face my enemies. It is after the battle that I find hard to deal with because all the adrenaline is gone and I have to deal with what just happened. I don't want to do that so I always jump headfirst into the next thing going on."

The image of Frieza in his mind morphed to the sight of him seeing his father as a super saiyan for the first time standing off against Frieza, allowing a slight smile to cross his face as he opened his eyes to Bulma again.

"But remembering seeing my father as a super saiyan for the first time gives me strength. It terrified me at first because his power was just as overwhelming as Frieza's, but the moment he spoke to me, I realized he was still in there and that the rage he was feeling hadn't blinded him completely. I knew he was never going to hurt me so instead of fearing his power, I choose to draw strength from it. It brings a new light of hope to me."

Bulma looked at the child curiously. He was so young, and yet, he spoke like he had a lot of battle experience. "Do you get into a lot of fights, Gohan?"

"More than the average person that is for sure." Gohan replied, a bit of amusement touching his voice.

Bulma smiled, leaning back to rest against the wall. "When I met you I thought you were just some innocent little kid with an interest in martial arts and science. To think, you were actually a saiyan." She tilted her head, considering, as she examined the child. "Did you come to Capsule Corp. that day just to steal my wallet?"

Gohan shook his head. "I had no intention of stealing your wallet. I did that without thinking. My original intention of coming to Capsule Corp. was just to get some answers."

"Answers to what?" Bulma asked curiously.

The halfling shrugged. "Everything."

At the vague answer, Bulma scowled at the boy. He seemed to be back to his normal self, and his normal self was annoying with not answering the questions the way she liked which was telling her everything. "Well, trauma is nothing to scoff at, kiddo. You should talk to someone."

"I just talked to you." Gohan pointed out.

"I meant in more detail."

Gohan narrowed his eyes as he examined the scientist before him. "Not you. I'd rather spare you the details."

Bulma could somewhat agree to that. While she dealt with warriors daily, she wasn't a fighter and thus, couldn't understand what it was like on the battlefield or how Gohan felt going through what he did as a child. He needed someone who could understand and relate. "That's fine, but find someone."

That wasn't going to happen, but Gohan just nodded like he agreed that he was going to do that. He was a warrior. He didn't need coddled just because of his harrowing experiences on the battlefield at a young age. Right now, he just needed Frieza defeated and he would be fine. Once Frieza could do no harm to anyone else, this nightmare would be over.

"Great," Bulma clapped her hands together. "Now for the reason I came out here." The scientist jumped down from the bunk and pulled a capsule out of her pocket.

Gohan rolled over in the bed to peek over the edge to watch her click the capsule and toss it to the ground in a puff of smoke. At least some things were the same in this dimension.

In place of the capsule was a white container that Bulma flipped open to reveal a whole wardrobe worth of clothes.

"Uh, Bulma, I didn't need that many clothes, just one outfit would do."

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Bulma looked up towards him with a glare firmly planted in place and hands resting on her hips. "And what? You wound wear it every day? It is bad enough with the saiyans here that only wear that fashion disaster."

"So, not a fan of the armor, eh?"

"I'm just saying they could try to dress a bit more casually once in a while."

"A war is ongoing. They just want to be prepared for battle at a moment's notice."

"That is no excuse to wear the same thing over and over again. It is disgusting." Bulma looked up towards him, taking in his bloody, dusty, ripped, and probably sweat drenched clothes. "You need a shower and a change of clothes."

Gohan pulled his shirt up and sniffed it. With everything going on, he knew he hadn't showered in a while, but that wasn't too odd when things were going downhill pretty fast. Taking care of himself wasn't a top priority when people were trying to kill him.

*DBZ*

Bulma was a wise person. Of course, he was sure he just smelled and that was why she wanted him to take a shower, but regardless, the shower did him wonders. He was able to get all that sweat and grime off of him which made him feel fresh and new. It was the chance to face the oncoming battle with a new perspective. Or, at least, it felt that way now that he was clean of the all the previous battles.

By the time he was finished in the shower, he found his destroyed clothes gone. Bulma wasted no time in disposing of them it seems. She had probably set fire to them with how offended she seemed of them so there was no way Gohan could put them back on. To replace them was a pair of black cargo pants, a navy blue t-shirt, black gloves, and heavy duty black boots.

He was done dressing, but didn't leave the bathroom as he chose to instead lean against the sink counter and stare into the mirror. Leaving meant facing everyone again after his little outburst earlier. It was easier to face Bulma who wasn't a warrior who would judge him for his rant.

Unfortunately he didn't have time to hide in the bathroom forever. He had to get the saiyans ready to face Frieza and they were pretty much out of time. Hiding for a few extra minutes was not something they could spare. Though that was the case, he didn't actually have a plan. Frieza was on Earth, or at the very least, his space ship was in the Earth's orbit, and soon everything was going to go to hell in the search for the dragon balls. The saiyans didn't have time to achieve super saiyan and train to master it.

He still didn't even know if they believed him about it.

No time.

He had no time left to be fooling around like this.

Earlier he vetoed the time chamber, but perhaps there wasn't another option if they didn't want killed by Frieza. It would require Kami agreeing to it though. Would he though? Kami didn't know Gohan here to likely listen to him and he wouldn't be willing to hear Piccolo out with how he hadn't had a change of heart.

If Gohan took the saiyans to the lookout, it would be realized that Kami didn't know Gohan. This would start the downfall of everything Gohan has told them since arriving here. He told them all this information he had from his dimension, but none of it could be verified in this dimension. Well, it could, but when it was realized no one actually knew who Gohan was, that would lead to mistrust. He had only just started to build up the trust in these people. If he lost that little bit of trust they had in him, everything would go to hell real fast and waste more time.

Gohan's eyes slid shut as he breathed out deeply. He supposed that he knew all along that he couldn't keep it secret forever. It was just something he wished he could have kept to himself just a bit longer so he could enjoy his time as a mysterious child just a bit more.

Too bad life wasn't fair.

"So, how do you like it?"

"Huh?" Gohan's eyes snapped open to see Bulma leaning against the door frame in the mirror's reflection.

"The clothes." Bulma clarified. "I tried to match what you already wore, color and style wise."

"Oh, right," Gohan tugged at his gloves, spotting his ID watch under the right one. "They're comfy, Bulma. Thanks." He brushed a hand through his hair before nodding to his reflection and turning away from the sink. "I want to ask your advice on something, Bulma, but it will be easier to explain this to everyone in one go."

Bulma raised a brow, but nodded and followed the preteen back to the common area.

They never made it though as in the hallway they found Kakarot leaning against a wall. At their approach, he looked over towards them. Well, Gohan. It seemed he only had eyes for Gohan, who was staring right on back at him.

"I'll just continue on then?" Bulma suggested, but didn't get a reply. As she was walking pass, Gohan at least gave a slight tilt of his head towards her so at least she wasn't being completely ignored.

Neither saiyan moved or spoke until Bulma was out of earshot.

"So?" Gohan asked. "What is it that you wanted?"

Kakarot pushed off of the wall and walked forward a few steps so he was standing right in front of the kid, forcing him to tilt his head back to stare up at him. He looked down at the kid taking in his dark eyes, the determined frown, then looked past that to see his physique. "You are something I can't figure out, kid."

"I like a good puzzle." Gohan replied, twisting his watch over his wrist.

"Fighting Frieza at five and surviving is no small accomplishment."

"Frieza toyed with us." Gohan retorted, frustration coloring his voice. "There were times where it seemed that we were matching up or even surpassing him, but each time he had another form he could morph into that made him so much stronger than us. I managed to get zenkai boosts when I got healed that gave us the power needed to keep up, but it never lasted. It felt like Frieza's power had no end in sight at times. Have you ever fought Frieza?"

"I've never met him."

Gohan gave a weak smirk. That was not going to last. "So you're fighting a faceless enemy."

"I've seen enough from his men." Kakarot furrowed his brows. "But how did you meet him? That Chi-Chi woman said you lived your whole life on Earth and Frieza's never been here."

There was a strange satisfaction in Gohan that Kakarot remembered his mother's name. Surely that meant something. Kakarot didn't seem the type to commit anything to memory that wasn't important. It was a win in Gohan's book that he still knew the name. "Miss Chi-Chi assumed that. I never said anything to confirm or deny it."

"Lying by omission. I can respect that."

"I didn't lie. You guys didn't ask so I didn't answer a question that wasn't posed." Gohan sighed.

"Then let me ask this. Are you really that traumatized by what happened with Frieza?" Kakarot asked.

Gohan's eyes narrowed, staring up at Kakarot as he examined him. "Trauma is one word for it. But it's like I told Bulma. It is fear and rage I feel for Frieza. We fixed what happened, but the time spent on the planet facing off against Frieza still exists in my memories. I thought I had moved past it, but with Frieza back in my life, it just shows me how not past it was. Not that long ago, but before I met you all, I fought a person. He had been burned badly by Frieza's actions and has been looking for revenge for years, but he went about it the wrong way."

"Is there a wrong way to go about getting revenge?" Kakarot interjected.

"Yes!" Gohan snapped. "He was stealing power from other people and planets to get stronger. He killed a lot of people. It made him no better than Frieza. Anyway, at one point in our fight, he stomped down on my head like Frieza did years ago. A familiar pain woke those memories up. I thought I was fine after I killed him, but coming here where Frieza still is and being told of all the horrible things he has done is bringing my memories of Namek to the forefront of my mind. It's just something I'm going to have to deal with."

Kakarot's brows furrowed in confusion again. "Namek? Did you get brain damage from getting your head stomped on the head so much? You said you fought Frieza when you were five. Namek was attacked and destroyed by Frieza three years ago. That would have made you nine, right?"

Gohan didn't reply right away as he just stared at Kakarot, frowning deeply. Three years ago was the Cell Games. They had long moved passed the terror of Frieza to face instead the horror that was Cell. It was strange to think that Frieza still reigned somewhere while Cell existed at the same time. The only saving grace was that it was in a different dimension. A team up of Frieza and Cell was not one he wanted to see.

"You've only scratched the surface of the story." Gohan said before walking pass Kakarot. "If you care, I'm going to explain because sadly this can't be kept quiet any longer if I want you guys to listen to me. We have no time left to let this charade continue."

Kakarot turned to follow him with his eyes. "What charade? Are you actually an enemy? If Raditz was right about me being a fool for letting my guard down around you, I'll never live it down."

Gohan stopped walking to turn to look at the familiar face of his father. Even when he was mad or upset at his father in his dimension, his dad never worried about letting his guard down around Gohan. Even if they got into arguments, which was rare, Gohan and Goku would never hurt each other out of anger. It was only during training that they threw punches at each other. "I am no enemy of yours, never to you."

The older saiyan stared at Gohan's retreating back once more. The way that he said that made it sound like he wasn't just referring to their side in the war, but speaking directly to Kakarot about that. Why? They did not get along that well, but they weren't out to make enemies of one another, but it wouldn't be odd for them to fight. It was actually surprising that they haven't thrown fists at each other yet. Despite that, this kid was telling him directly he would never be his enemy. It felt like there was another meaning to that one sentence that he was missing.

*DBZ*

"Real talk," Gohan announced his presence when he stepped into the room with Kakarot, drawing all eyes to him. "We're going to ignore my minor freak out–"

"Minor?" Piccolo scoffed.

Gohan glared at him. "Yes, minor. I've had worst outburst then that. Though those ones usually end with people bleeding." He said thoughtfully, but shook it off to focus on the issue on hand. "Ignoring my minor, yes, Piccolo. Minor! Freak out earlier because we are out of time and I need you all to understand the situation." He pulled his glove down to show off the watch on his wrist. "This is my ID watch, my inter-dimensional travel watch created by Bulma."

Whatever story the kid wanted to tell just took an interesting turn. Shoving pass the kid, Kakarot dropped onto the couch next to his father so he could relax as he listened to whatever crazy story this kid wanted to tell.

"What?" Bulma walked to him to look over Gohan's shoulder to get a better look at the watch. It didn't look that special for what Gohan was claiming it to be. "I never created that. It sounds like nonsense, kiddo."

"You're right. You didn't create it. My Bulma did." Gohan turned his head slightly to look at Bulma out of the corner of his eyes while still being able to see everyone else. "I'm from a different dimension."

"Bullshit."

Gohan rolled his eyes as he shifted to look towards Vegeta to see him and everyone else giving him the most non-believing looks. They probably thought he was crazy which would make it hard to convince them it was true. He would just have to explain properly. He didn't need them deciding what he said wasn't worth their time and ignoring his advice. "It's true. Things worked out differently in my dimension. It's why I was so confused when I got here. For me, Frieza and his men were killed seven years ago. He hasn't been a threat for a long time. I mean, he is still one of the top rank of most powerful people I've fought, but he is no longer number one. I've fought far more dangerous people."

"Stronger than Frieza? Now I know you're insane." Yamcha said, shaking his head.

"I know you don't want to believe, but it's true. It just seems the stronger we get, the stronger the enemies that come to face us." Gohan jumped onto the back of the couch and sat down, resting his feet between Kakarot and Bardock.

"Supposed I did believe you," Vegeta started, eyeing the preteen with one of the most serious stares that Gohan has ever gotten from the prince. "What happened to the saiyans in your dimension? If you're here…"

Gohan bit his bottom lip as his eyes scanned the room to take in all the different races in the room that ranged from warriors to healers to scientists to simply civilians that got displaced by Frieza destroying their homes and were here just doing what they could to help. "What I know is what Vegeta told me. My Vegeta." He clarified, dragging his eyes back to the prince to address him since he was the one to ask. "They didn't refuse to work for Frieza. They joined his army and relished in purging planets of all life so they could sell them. But Frieza knew of the super saiyan legend and feared it. He saw the saiyans getting stronger and stronger and feared the legend would one day come true, so he decided to destroy Planet Vegeta. Bardock found out about this and tried to warn the saiyans, but they wouldn't listen. In the end, he went to face Frieza alone and died in the ensuring destruction. Only a handful of saiyans survived, and now even that number is lower."

Bardock leaned back farther into the couch, knocking Gohan's knee, but neither said anything about it. The older saiyan was thinking too much about what Gohan said. It didn't seem that far fetch. When Frieza originally made the offer to join him, it wasn't a simply and immediate no from the saiyans. King Vegeta had given it much thought. Some of the saiyans were actually excited at the prospect of getting to purge planets since it meant they might find a good challenge. They were all about a good fight and getting stronger. In the end, the answer had been no and they still got that good challenge by going to war against the Cold Empire. The only thing that didn't make much sense to him was that he would go up against Frieza, knowing that he had no chance and was still going to die.

"You really made that sacrifice?" Kakarot scoffed at his father. The idea of attempting something so foolishly stupid was ridiculous to him. There was nothing to be gained by going to fight Frieza alone when none of the saiyans believed him and were doing nothing to deal with the oncoming destruction of their race. Doing what his father did in this kid's supposed alternate dimension would only lead to him dying a lot of faster. It was a complete waste of his life.

"At least he went down trying to fight." Turles argued. "Better than the rest of those idiots who just sat there, waiting to die."

"Hey! Those are our saiyan brethren." Tora snapped at him.

Turles rolled his eyes. "Who clearly had no sense of self-preservation since they wholly believed in Frieza not wanting to kill them."

"We don't know the full situation of what or how this happened." Tora retorted before shooting a glare towards his friend. "But what the hell were you thinking, Bardock? Fighting Frieza alone? Now that was a stupid move. None of us how the power to face him."

Bardock glared at Kakarot and Tora. He hadn't done anything. Gohan was telling the story of an alternate Bardock that went down a different path. He supposed it might be hard to tell them apart since it seemed like Gohan was associating the people here with the people in his dimension. It would be hard for him since the people here have the same faces and names as people he probably knew in his dimension. Though if Bardock really died at the hands of Frieza, what were the chances he knew the kid? He didn't say how long ago Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta.

"His team had just been slaughtered. According to Vegeta, it was by Dodoria too so I guess Bardock thought there was nothing else to lose." Gohan interrupted before the conversation could go any farther.

"You sure know a lot, don't you?" Fasha snapped, glancing at Bardock and Gohan. If their teams were the same in Gohan's dimension, she would guess that means she was one of the ones to die.

"Vegeta never talks about it all at once. You have to figure it out and piece it together from the little bits he says at a time." Gohan leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I doubt he wants to think too much on it. He did grow up in Frieza's army after all. Can't imagine that was fun. Vegeta was a real bastard the first few times I met him. Well, he still is, but he's not as horrible as he was when I met him years ago. I think he's finally getting used to life on Earth."

"Wait! I grew up under that son of a bitch?" Vegeta demanded.

"Hmm," Gohan hummed. "Yeah, though from the time I met you, you were all about gaining immortality so you could kill Frieza. So I think you were just biding your time."

"That doesn't make it any better!"

Gohan held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. Geez, you and mine really are similar."

"Are you saying some of us act differently in your dimension?" Tien asked.

The halfling had to resist the urge to turn to look at Kakarot. Honestly he was the most different. While Piccolo was different, it was because he hasn't changed from Gohan's influence. It was a familiar Piccolo to him from his training as a child though. Kakarot, on the other hand, was not something he was familiar with at all and it was grating on him not being able to fully separate Kakarot and Goku. "In a way."

"What does that mean?" Krillin asked, but Gohan only shrugged, not wanting to go into it.

"How many of us did survive? Who?" Raditz asked.

Gohan raised a brow. Raditz was the one most frustrated with Gohan in all this. Was he actually starting to believe Gohan? Or was he just curious to see where Gohan's story was going? "Vegeta, Turles, Raditz, Nappa, and my dad."

Shocked silence followed that response. That was all that survived in the other dimension? Their race was practically extinct.

"But now, Vegeta is the only one left."

"What do you mean?" Vegeta demanded. "How could all the others have died? Was it Frieza? Did he come after us?"

"Considering he didn't even know my dad existed until they fought on Namek, no. Frieza did not hunt them down."

"Namek? So it met the same fate where you're from?" A soft voice asked, causing Gohan to twist his head around to see Dende had come into the room. With his hearing, he probably heard what was going on and came to hear the story properly.

Gohan stared at Dende for a moment before turning back to Vegeta to answer him first. "Raditz was killed by the combined force of my dad and Piccolo."

"I thought you said your father was a saiyan?" Raditz said, annoyed that his counterpart fell at the hands of a fellow saiyan.

Gohan glared back at him. "Considering you kidnapped me and then tried to kill my dad and Piccolo, you can't really be annoyed at the outcome."

Raditz blinked in confusion. "Why did I kidnap you?"

"Why does anyone do anything?" Gohan retorted before continuing. "Nappa lost to my dad in a fight. My dad wouldn't kill him though so an annoyed Vegeta killed Nappa."

"I thought we were comrades?" Nappa snapped at Vegeta.

Vegeta rolled his eyes.

"You guys need to remember that my dimension is different from yours. I'm just pointing out the differences. They, in no way, effect you at all so don't get mad at each other here." Gohan snapped towards Nappa and Vegeta. Not that Gohan was doing any better in separating some of the people here from the people in his dimension. It was actually a lot harder than he expected it to be. "No time for that bullshit. Anyway, Turles was killed by my dad and my dad died as a result of a mistake I made a few years ago so Vegeta is the only one left." Before anyone could respond or think more on what he said, Gohan turned to Dende to explain. "When I was five, we went to Namek to find the dragon balls. My dad followed after us a month because he was injured and not able to leave with us. When we got there, Frieza was already there with Zarbon and Dodoria looking for them. We were in a race to keep Frieza from getting all seven, even though we didn't really know who he was at the time. It's how I met you. Krillin and I watched Frieza terrorize a village, slaughtering everyone in the process. I kind of lost it at one point and slammed Dodoria through a building to save you. Krillin was so mad at me for revealing ourselves, but in the end, it was one of the best things I did. Grand Elder Guru unlocked your healing abilities so you joined us on the battlefield to heal us every time we fell so we could get back up and fight Frieza again. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have lasted until my dad got out of the healing chambers on Frieza's ship."

"Was I really that useful to you guys?" Dende asked, hope shining in his eyes. He wasn't a fighter. He could never fight, so having to stand back and watch his people get slaughtered while not being able to do anything was one of the hardest thing he ever had to face in life. But, if Gohan was saying, that he was able to contribute at least something in the battle somewhere, even if it was a different dimension, he would be thrilled. All he wanted to do was try to help a little bit to make up for being useless when Frieza killed his people and then destroyed his planet.

"Yeah, up until Frieza realized what was going on and killed you." Gohan replied, pausing to take into account the horrified look that overtook the hope on Dende's face. "Wait! Wait! You aren't dead in my dimension. See? We originally went to Namek to find the dragon balls to revive Tien, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Piccolo who were killed as a result of Nappa and Vegeta when they came to Earth. During that time, Vegeta showed up on Namek shortly after we did and he killed Zarbon and Dodoria. As a result of that, Frieza called the Ginyu Force there, and oh boy, they kicked our asses. Eventually my dad showed up and took care of the lot of them, but in the process, he got really injured and had to go in a healing chamber on Frieza's ship since you hadn't met up with us yet. But then you did show up and we had all seven dragon balls at that point so we used them to revive Piccolo which would revive Kami and get the Earth's dragon balls back then we used the second wish to bring Piccolo to Namek so he could help us with the oncoming fight. Guru died as a result of heart break of his people being killed by Frieza so we didn't get the third wish."

Gohan took a moment to pause in the explanation to take a few breathes before he continued, "Then Frieza showed up, everything went to hell, we fought, you healed, then you got killed, my dad showed up, and then Vegeta got killed. A long battle ensured. Krillin got killed. Piccolo got shot with a death beam that took him out for a while. My dad went super saiyan. I got ordered off the battlefield to take Piccolo back to the ship and to find Bulma. During all this, Mr. Popo found the dragon balls on Earth and they were used to revive all those killed by Frieza and his men, bringing all the Namekians back to life, as well as Vegeta. Unfortunately, the Earth dragon balls can only revive a person once so Krillin couldn't come back since he was already brought back before. My dad and Frieza started to fight. Frieza got mad that he was losing so he decided to destroy the planet and Dende went to Porunga since he was back as Guru came back as well. Dende made the wish to transport everyone except Frieza and my dad to Earth so they could continue to fight. Guru died on Earth and Moori became the Grand Elder and made a new set of dragon balls that he allowed us to use a few times to revive all of our friends and then they used them to create a New Namek for them to go live on."

At the end of the long winded explanation, Gohan was breathing heavily while everyone just gave him blank stares, blinking a few times at him as they all tried to process that story.

"It really was one hell of a week." Gohan muttered.

"And Frieza? What became him?" Kakarot asked, mind still trying to process that story. That happened seven years ago in his time? What made his dimension so different than theirs? They were nowhere near the strength to contend against Frieza. How did this kid's dimension deal with him seven years ago?

"Oh," Gohan rubbed his forehead. This was taking too long, but he got it that they would be curious and if telling them his story got them to believe him, he would do it. "My dad won the fight, but Frieza somehow survived the destruction of the planet and was found by his father. My dad ended up on Yardrat after he escaped Namek. Frieza and his father raced my father to Earth after that and got there before him with the intent to kill us all before my dad got home. Lucky for us, Vegeta's son traveled back in time to give us a warning and managed to kill Frieza and King Cold with ease."

"I'm sorry. Time travel now?" Bulma interjected.

"Isn't time travel easier to believe than inter-dimensional travel?" Gohan asked, wondering why that was the focus instead of the fact that he just said Vegeta had a son!

Bulma rubbed her temple. This was all getting ridiculous, but she had to admit she was quite curious. If what Gohan was saying was true, she would have to see it for herself. He was telling her that she created the ID watch. Now that was something she wanted to attempt if it was indeed possible. Perhaps looking at that watch on his wrist could give her some answers, possibly even verify all of this.

"How do you time travel?" Bardock asked.

"Ask Bulma. She created it." Gohan jerked his head to the blue haired genius. "I'm not here to teach how this stuff works since I don't know. I'm twelve."

"Speaking on that, why would I let a kid test the ID watch out?"

"Well, you trust me a lot, Bulma." Gohan replied, smiling nervously. And he could not lie to his godmother. "And she doesn't actually know I have it. I happened to be in her lab without her and started playing with the watch when I saw it and ending up getting stuck here by accident."

"Excuse me?" Bulma growled, glaring over at the boy.

Gohan slid down from the back of the couch to sit between Kakarot and Bardock. He slid down to slouch in the sit to hide from the genius. "Please don't give me a lecture about not touching things in your lab. I hear it enough times already and I know I'm going to get an even bigger lecture about it from my mom and Bulma when I get home. I don't need one right now."

The blue haired genius stared down at the top of Gohan's head for a moment before sighing. "I don't think it's my place to lecture a kid I don't know. And wait, I thought you said your mom was dead?"

"Uh," Gohan winced, slouching down even more. "I may have said that just to build up my story a bit more so you guys wouldn't ask too many questions. My mom is alive and well with my little brother at home. Although, she is probably thinking of some new punishment for this little escapade. Her and Bulma are a scary combination."

Vegeta scoffed. "If you are truly a saiyan, act a bit more like it, brat."

Gohan glared at him. "Excuse me, I'm twelve. I may be a saiyan, but sadly, I still have to listen to my parents, and Bulma. Bulma does not take any shit from me or anyone really."

Bulma crossed her arms. "Damn right I don't."

"Wait! Are we actually going to believe this nonsense?" Raditz demanded, glaring at Gohan. "He hasn't told us anything about him in the days we've known him and now all of a sudden, he's all willing to tell us about himself?"

"Probably because we're out of time with Frieza being here?" Yamcha suggested.

Krillin scratched his head. "It does sounds so far-fetched, and yet, I feel like we should believe it."

Raditz could feel his disbelief growing. How could they all be this stupid? "Why am I the rational one here? He's had days to come up with this story!"

"Exactly," Bulma replied. "He's had days to come up with a believable story, and yet, he chose to tell a story involving inter-dimensional travel. If this was just about gaining trust, a more believable story would be better." She turned to look at Gohan with a smirk. "And he also wouldn't admit to being half-saiyan since you guys look down on half-breeds."

A tight frown formed on Gohan's face. "I was hoping no one would notice in that mess of a story."

"Half-breed?" Fasha sneered, looking down at Gohan like he was the lowest scum on the planet.

Gohan felt Kakarot and Bardock shift beside him and felt irritation spike through him, but didn't look at either of them as he didn't want to see their reactions.

"When did he say that?" Yamcha asked.

"He didn't." Master Gohan frowned at them. "All of you need to learn to listen to what is being said underneath. He only named saiyan males that survived Frieza blowing up the planet and then said Vegeta grew up under Frieza's reign, telling us that it happened when Vegeta was young. Putting that together means it is impossible for Gohan to be born unless his mother was something other than a saiyan."

"What is your mother?" Vegeta demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Gohan asked tightly. "I mentioned Krillin and Bulma in my story earlier. Wouldn't that point to my home being Earth?"

"A human? Your father mated with a human?"

"Married." Gohan corrected annoyed. "And considering you married and had a child with Bulma, you can't really speak, Vegeta."

"WHAT?" Bulma and Vegeta screeched, looking at each other than looking back at Gohan.

Their screech had even those without enhanced hearing wincing in pain.

Gohan rubbed at his ears. "Yeah, I never really got how it worked out between you two since you fight and yell so much, but according to Vegeta, the angry make-up sex is amazing."

"Gohan!" Bulma whacked him upside the head, face completely red probably from a combination of humiliation and anger. "You're too young to be talking about sex."

The half-saiyan rubbed his head, though the slap didn't even hurt. "Vegeta just says stuff during or after we train together. Honestly, I think he just said it to embarrass me or to get Bulma mad enough that they would fight and have angry make-up sex later since she happened to be passing by when he said it."

"Gohan!" Bulma screeched. "That's enough. There is no way in hell I would ever have sex with that arrogant prick!"

Vegeta snorted. "It's the other way around. I would never have sex with you, woman. You would be so willing given the chance with the looks I've seen you giving me behind my back."

Bulma jabbed the prince in the chest. "You are such an ass."

"Is this what unresolved sexual tension looks like?" Gohan asked.

"I'm going to kill him!" Vegeta snarled. "The half-breed is dead! You think you can distract me from your origin?"

"Worth a shot." Gohan replied, frowning at the prince. "Vegeta never mentioned half-breeds being looked down upon in my dimension and even if it was a rule, it no longer matters. Your race would die out real soon if my dad and you didn't get married and have kids."

"It hardly matter. Even if you have a kid and your kid has a kid, the saiyan bloodline will become heavily diluted."

"Even if it's only ten percent of their heritage, they will still be a saiyan." Gohan argued, but he didn't see any agreeing faces among the saiyans around. The Namekians and humans clearly didn't care about Gohan's heritage though. It was the pride of the saiyans as a great warrior race that created the stupid law in the first place. Their disagreement with him on the science of it didn't hurt.

No, what hurt was finally looking to his right at Kakarot and seeing that look of disgust on his face.

It made Gohan's blood boil. His father never cared about blood. To him, it didn't matter what they were. He cared more about a person's actions. Having his father's face show disgust at him hurt so much. As a child, all he cared about was making his father proud of him. It was why he agreed to fight Cell when Goku asked him to, even though he had no desire to. Staring into his father's eyes before his fight, Gohan saw the pride and absolute belief his father had in Gohan.

He didn't want that faith his father put in him to be wrong.

He didn't want to lose that look.

So, he fought.

Even when he screwed up in his fight with Cell, Goku never loss that look of proud in Gohan when he disappeared with Cell.

Getting this look of disgust now for something that wasn't his fault….hurt….more than any wound.

And he wasn't going to accept it.

It's time these saiyans learned just how strong a half-breed was.

Gohan sprang to his feet, jaw set in determination, eyes locked on Kakarot. "You and me in the ring. I'll show you real quick why it's a mistake to look down on me for my bloodline."