A/N: Hey hey! I'm finally back with the second installment of the Gohan's Legacy series! If you haven't ready "Gohan's Legacy: Legacy Through Courage" yet, I highly recommend that you read that first since some of the stuff in this story won't make sense otherwise.

A TON of events have been going on in my life recently which have lead to this not getting out until now. One of the biggest ones is the fact that I am in Pharmacy School and have had to focus the majority of my attention on that for the past 5 months. It was an extremely challenging semester, but I got through it somehow...

The next event that took up my time for the past week after I got done with the semester is my brother's graduation from college as well as moving him into his new apartment. It's been bittersweet for me since he is moving on with his life and will no longer be home, but he will still be somewhat close, which I'm incredibly thankful for.

The biggest event however took place just this past Friday: my ani got married! I honestly couldn't be happier for him and wish both him and his wife the best for the rest of their lives. I also had the honor of being the best man at his wedding and I had my mind occupied on this for the past two weeks rather than writing.

But now everything is slowing down and I can finally focus on writing once more. This is just the prologue of the story, so it basically introduces the current situation. This is an idea that I believe has been done before, but not to the extent that I am going to take it. I really hope that you enjoy what I have planned for you!

Also, just a note: there is a ton of medical concepts in this chapter. If anything confuses anyone, please let me know via PM and I will try my best to explain what I'm saying or what something means.

I would like to give a shout out to both silverstardust17 and ani (who doesn't have an account on here) for beta reading my story. I also would like to give thanks to Pranktical Joker, who has helped me out in more ways than he probably knows throughout this entire process.

"dialogue"

thoughts/mindscape

"telepathic communication"

~change in setting~

*actions*

flashback

Prologue

~South 987 District, Age 771~

"…the next thing he knew, the boy was no longer in pain and the mean boy was all the way across the room! It was incredible how the memory of someone could heal him!" the voice of a boy no older than fourteen rings through the room. The room is fairly small, the size of a normal bedroom which is exactly what it is. The room has a light, sky blue color on the walls with a mural of a long, green dragon coming out of seven glowing yellow orbs as if the dragon were a genie of some sort. The furniture in the room is nothing special: just a dresser against one of the walls with a small bed that is made for small children. An end table is right next to said bed with a small, white table lamp which is currently lighting the room in a soft, cream glow. Currently, the storyteller is sitting in a rocking chair in front of the window with a view of the ocean, gently rocking back and forth holding a small child that's cuddled close to him in his lap.

"Wow!" an excited squeal from a little boy is next to fill the room with sound, his bright onyx eyes shining in the soft light. The just turned teenager boy smiles down at the little boy in response to his reaction. "What happened next daddy?"

"Ah ah ah!" the older of the two softly scolds, wagging his index finger side to side. "That's a story for another time. Now it's time for you to go to bed. After all, tomorrow is a special day so I want you to get plenty of sleep so you can enjoy it to the fullest."

The little boy's expression drops, disappointed that he isn't able to hear the rest of the story. "Okay daddy…" he responds dejectedly.

The little boy always loves to hear his daddy's stories! His stories are always so exciting and they always leave him wanting more. The best part of his stories though is that they all actually happened! He has heard many stories of how a group of fighters fought against all of the bad guys and how even a few of the bad guys ended up joining the good guys! His daddy even said that one day he would be able to meet these people! The thought of that excites the little boy greatly. He can't wait for that day to come!

Seeing the little boy's attitude change, the older boy starts to feel bad. He really should stop leaving his stories on such giant cliffhangers. However, it's already past the little boy's bedtime and he doesn't want to keep him up any later, especially when tomorrow's such a big day for the little guy.

"Hey cheer up!" The older boy encourages, wrapping his arms around said child and giving him a gentle hug. "That just makes the story that much more exciting for tomorrow. Now common, let's get you tucked in."

The little boy nods and wraps his tiny arms around the elder's neck. The teen gets up, one arm holding the boy close while the other supports his weight. He strolls over to the bed and lays the boy on the bed and draws the covers up to his chest. As soon as he's tucked in, the little boy lets out a huge yawn, signaling how tired he actually is.

"Goodnight daddy," he says softly as he lays his head back onto the nice, fluffy pillow. "I love you."

"Love you too Goten," the elder boy responds, leaning down and planting a loving kiss on the boy's forehead. "Sleep tight squirt." He gets up from his kneeling position and shuts off the table lamp before making his way to the door. Looking at the boy one last time, he smiles before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. The little boy closes his eyes as soon as the door closes and falls asleep within minutes, letting his mind flood with pleasant dreams of everything that he's going to do tomorrow.

The teenage boy sighs as soon as the door closes. This teenage boy is none other than Gohan. The demi-saiyan has grown a lot over the past three years: he has grown a good three inches as it seems that he has finally hit puberty; his hair is much longer, going all the way down to his mid back in a similar style that he had before when he was training for the androids.; his muscles are becoming much more defined and apparent. His biggest change though is his growth in maturity.

Gohan has been raising Goten on his own for the past two and a half years, and has done a remarkable job for a kid his age. He is able to care for Goten as if he is his own son and loves him with all of his heart. This is shown in Goten's personality and actions. The little boy is one of the happiest boys in the world and is rarely sad. He treats Gohan as his own father, calling him 'daddy' whenever he talks to him. He's very energetic and adores his daddy just as much as his daddy adores him.

Gohan puts a palm to his face and shakes his head before walking down the hallway to his own room. Normally he would go straight to the lab and continue to work on his latest gadget, but he's extra tired this evening and he wants to be fully energized for the big event tomorrow.

Goten's birthday.

Yes the little demi-saiyan will turn three tomorrow. Gohan has big plans for the chibi and he needs all of the energy he can get to keep him entertained. Once again, just like last year, it will only be the two of them celebrating. The now teenaged demi-saiyan glances down at the wristband around his right wrist as he thinks this. He didn't particularly want to leave, but he really had no other choice. Just looking at the members of the Z-gang brought back too many painful memories of when everything had been simpler; of when everything was right.

Almost three years ago is when everything started. Right after his father announced that he wasn't going to return from Other World with him and right after his children went back to the Mirai Timeline, his mother fell into depression. Gohan was left to care for a one month old Goten while his mother was locked away in her bedroom, crying over her lost husband. Gohan had gone to Bulma about the problem, but it was surprisingly Vegeta that had answered his questions.

He told him that saiyans have an incredibly strong bond with their mate, and if anything happened to them, they would be completely devastated from the sudden break in the bond. He also had told him that saiyans mate for life and that they will never have another. When Gohan had asked if it had the same effect on humans whose mate was a saiyan, the saiyan prince had responded that it is most likely, but that he's not completely sure. Nevertheless, Gohan had found out why his mother was in such a distraught state and had willingly agreed to the spar that the saiyan demanded for the information.

For a while, this made Gohan feel a little better about the situation since he knows that she's gone through this before and come out completely fine. He remembers that when it happened the first time that he wasn't even there since he was 'kidnapped' by Piccolo in order to train and beat the saiyans, so he had no clue how bad it could get. He figured that what she was going through at the time was as bad as it got back then, and that she will eventually come out of it.

However, Chichi's depression never lightened up at all. Even Vegeta had told him that this was not normal, even for saiyans, saying that while they would be devastated for a while, they would eventually move on and continue to live, confirming Gohan's suspicions, although they would never mate again. This concerned Gohan, and with Bulma's advice, he took his mother to a psychiatrist. Chichi had protested profusely, saying that she refused to go to a shrink, but finally conceded after Gohan reminded her what happened with her pregnancy.

She had gotten recently diagnosed with General Anxiety Disorder (GAD) right after Goten was born. Her OBGYN had heard her rant about how much she worried about her husband and son during the few hours after the birth, and after seeing physical symptoms of anxiety disorder, had quickly fetched a specialist to find out. It was confirmed after a few tests, and they gave her a prescription for Buspar, a common treatment for anxiety, in order to treat it. Initially she refused to take it, but at the insistence of both Bulma and Gohan, she finally conceded and soon found herself to be feeling much better. The week before the intergalactic tournament, she had been much calmer and had fewer worries. In other words, she was happier than she had been ever been in a very long time, going all the way back to before Raditz arrived.

Her visit with the psychiatrist proved to be useful as well. The psychiatrist was easily able to diagnose Chichi with Major Depression, which she was able to deduce came from the recent death of her husband. Of course Chichi had left out that this is the second time he died. And so, the mental doctor had prescribed her Anafranil, a tricyclic antidepressant, for the treatment. She also scheduled a follow-up in a month to see if her depression was improving.

It was much easier to get Chichi to take the Anafranil than it had the Buspar. However, the new drug didn't seem to be doing the trick at all. In fact, it only made the depression worse! Three weeks after her diagnosis, Gohan had noticed that his mother seemed even more lethargic than before. She barely left her room at all except for meals and to use the bathroom. It was a good thing that Gohan had asked his mother to teach him some simple dishes during the period after the Cell Games since his mother was in no condition to cook. Finally fed up, he took his mother back to the psychiatrist in order to find out what happened.

The psychiatrist had told Gohan and Chichi that antidepressants can sometimes make symptoms of depression worse, and that that was probably what was happening with Chichi. She quickly took Chichi off of the Anafranil and prescribed her a more frequently used antidepressant instead, Celexa. She explained that the way that Celexa works was different than the way Anafranil does, and that it might work better. The psychiatrist had also explained that she needed to taper off of the Anafranil for approximately a week before starting the Celexa in order to prevent withdrawal symptoms.

She then scheduled a follow up with the Son matron for a month later and also suggested that she start scheduling appointments with a psychologist since it usually helps with depressed patients to talk about what they're feeling. After a heated argument, Chichi finally agreed to the psychology sessions, although Gohan had a few rather large lumps on his head from his mother's infamous frying pan of Armageddon.

After about three weeks, Chichi had returned to her normal self. It was amazing the progress that she was making. The psychologist had said that she was seeing vast improvements after their very first session, and things finally seemed to be going back to normal. However, things seem to never turn out alright in the world of Gohan Son and fate had decided that it was time to once again bring the poor demi-saiyan crashing down.

~Mount Paoz, 439 Mountain District, Age 768~

Gohan has just finished another one of his training sessions with Piccolo. After his mother started improving with her depression, she was able to take care of Goten more, which freed up more time for the young demi-saiyan, and through some miracle he was able to convince his mother to let him train with the Namekian. She had first profusely refused to allow it, but once he told her that he needed to keep up his training to defend the Earth in honor of his father, she couldn't refuse. She knew that she couldn't keep him from training and that it was in his blood. She was also secretly proud that he was keeping his father's memory alive.

Gohan had found that his lust for battle had increased ever since he merged with his saiyan side, so much so that he now needs a daily outlet in order to keep himself sane. He wonders if this is how both his father and Vegeta feel and is the reason why they both train so intensely.

He is currently flying back to his house at a leisurely pace, thinking to himself about how much his mother has improved recently. She finally is out and about again, and although she still breaks down occasionally, she seems a whole lot happier than she had been the last month. The demi-saiyan's favorite part though is that she finally is able to take care of Goten much better and is glad that she finally gets to spend time with her newest son.

Taking care of Goten hadn't been easy for the demi-saiyan. While he was good with his kids from the future, he was no expert when it came to infants. While Goten had never cried while in Gohan's care, he was constantly whining when he needed something. Whenever he needed to be fed, the young demi-saiyan would end up consuming ten bottles of milk, and after every bottle, he would need to be burped, which usually resulted in spit-up on Gohan's shirt. Gohan also swears that he needed to change his brother's diaper at least ten times a day. He really didn't like that part of it.

Still though, he loved every moment he spent with his brother. He truly adores the chibi and wouldn't trade him for the world. This is the reason he didn't mind taking care of him while his mother recovered from her depression. Still though, it was a ton of work and he's thankful that the burden isn't his alone anymore.

He however has noticed some differences in his mother. While she never complains about it outwardly, something about her has seemed a bit off over the past three weeks. True, his mother has been returning to her old self, but he couldn't help but notice that she appeared to be sweating a lot more than he remembers, as if she's just got done with a light workout, when in reality she hasn't done much other than clean. She also seemed to be more tired after doing chores around the house.

Gohan however gives his mom the benefit of the doubt on this. He figures it's probably due to the fact that she hasn't really done any work for the last couple of months. Being depressed probably got her out of shape and she just needs to exert more effort to keep up the pace that she set previously. After all, she is human and she does do a ton of cleaning, which the demi-saiyan admits can be quite tiring at the pace she does it at.

Besides, she seems so much happier now! She's finally over her depression! This thought makes Gohan smile once more.

His thoughts are suddenly interrupted when he feels a dramatic drop in his mother's ki. This shocks Gohan, and the demi-saiyan panics, knowing all too well what that indicates. He quickly puts two fingers to his forehead and Instant Transmissions to his brother's familiar ki since his mother's is too low to feel at the moment.

When he arrives in front of his brother, the little tyke is surprised by the arrival of his brother, but quickly stops crying. Gohan can tell that his brother was crying by the tear tracks on his cheeks and the unshed tears in his eyes. Over the last two months, Gohan has stopped questioning why his brother never cries in his presence and thinks nothing of it. His brother isn't his main concern anyways; his concern is his mother's dangerously low ki level.

He quickly picks up his brother, much to the chibi's delight, and quickly rushes down to the kitchen where his mother's ki is. Gohan looks at the scene in horror as he finds his mom collapsed on the floor with pots and pans scattered everywhere. Knowing that she needs quick medical attention, Gohan quickly adjusts his hold on his little brother and makes sure his mother is making contact with him before bringing two fingers to his forehead and Instant Transmissioning to Capsule Corps.

~987 South District, Present Time~

Chichi had died of a stroke that day. The explanation that he got from the doctor was that the major artery that supplied blood to the brain had burst, not only cutting off the blood supply to her entire brain, but also because the blood was spilling into her head, it increased the pressure inside her head so much that her brain ended up being shoved against her skull. Either way, there was nothing the doctors could do to save her.

Gohan was devastated and immediately left after making sure his brother was taken care of. He went to the place where the Cell Games took place and then exploded with raw power, transforming right away into a super saiyan 2. This sudden explosion of ki quickly drained the demi-saiyan of all of his ki and he collapsed out of ki exhaustion. Luckily Piccolo was nearby and quickly recovered the demi-saiyan and brought him back to Capsule Corps. He saw what had happened to his mother from the lookout and he knew that that was the reason he was set off.

Gohan was so depleted of ki that it took him two days to come to. Once he did though he immediately remembered why he was out cold in the first place and he starts crying harder than he ever had. First his father refused to come back to life and now his mother died of a stroke. He however stopped quickly when Bulma entered the room, an extremely sad, yet relieved expression on her face carrying his little brother in her arms. Goten had immediately gestured towards his older brother, causing a small smile to creep its way onto both Bulma's and Gohan's faces as she quickly handed the four month old to Gohan.

As soon as Goten settled in Gohan's arms, Bulma had started apologizing empathetically to Gohan about the loss of his mother. She had without hesitation told Gohan that she would adopt both him and Goten as soon as she could. All Gohan could do is nod numbly, the death of his mother still on his mind.

He needed an explanation as to how she could have had a stroke. That part is what the demi-saiyan couldn't understand. His mother had been doing so much better lately! If she were to have a stroke, this week would have been the least likely time to have it. It would have been more understandable a few weeks ago when she was truly distraught, but she was happier than she had been in a while all week!

He quickly voiced his concerns to Bulma and she agreed. She had wondered the same thing ever since she found out about it as well. Bulma had approached the doctor that had treated Chichi when she arrived and asked him what could have possibly caused the stroke. She told Gohan what the doctor told her and it made his blood boil.

Apparently, Chichi came into the ER with a ridiculously elevated blood pressure. While a normal person's blood pressure is 120/80, Chichi had a pressure of 186/122, and the doctors had said that it probably was much higher before the artery burst! The doctor had explained to Bulma that what this says is that the pressure on her blood vessels when at rest was extremely high, significantly higher than a normal person's at rest and even higher than a normal person's when at its highest pressure! This put a lot of excess stress on her blood vessels, and it was the constant stress on the blood vessels that caused the artery in her brain to finally burst.

This confused the doctor however because the artery would have had to have had this high of a blood pressure for a prolonged period of time in order for it to burst, and Chichi's medical records didn't show any signs of chronic high blood pressure. He promptly asked Bulma what medications the Son matron was taking. Once Bulma told him however, a look of understanding crossed the doctor's face and he figured out exactly what happened right away. When he asked the Briefs matron when Chichi had started the medications, her answers confirmed his suspicions.

He explained that Chichi underwent a 'hypertensive crisis' (a period of induced high blood pressure) due to a condition called 'serotonin syndrome' caused by drug interaction between her two medications. He told her that the active ingredient in Buspar, buspirone, interacts strongly with the active ingredient in the Celexa, citlopram in a way that causes the blood pressure to rise, and that the effect is rapid. He explained that it is most likely that it was because these two drugs were taken at the same time that caused her elevated blood pressure, but it was because they were consistently taken together over a longer period of time that kept it elevated and eventually lead to the CVA, or stroke.

The doctor showed surprise that not only the psychiatrist didn't catch this when she prescribed the Celexa, but also that the pharmacist didn't catch it when filling both prescriptions. He told Bulma that this could be grounds for medical malpractice since this interaction is an obvious interaction for the two fields of medicine those two are in; the psychiatrist should have known about the interaction when prescribing the medication and the pharmacist should have caught it as well when going through Chichi's medication list before verifying the order.

At this point, Gohan was seething. His mother died because the psychiatrist didn't know what she was doing? His mother was dead because the pharmacist was too lazy to go through him mom's medication list? He really wanted to go out and show those two the meaning of true fear, but the sight of his brother brought him back to his senses. Goten, who had been sleeping when Bulma was explaining the reason behind his mother's death, had stirred in his arms and had reached his tiny arm towards Gohan's cheek, grinning at him cutely. This adorable little gesture was enough to quell Gohan's rage… for now.

Bulma, as soon as she saw Gohan calm down, quickly told him that she hired the best lawyers that money could buy and took the doctor's advice, suing both the psychiatrist and the pharmacist on the grounds of medical malpractice. This made Gohan happy. Those two will get justice served though the judicial system.

Over the next few months, the case played out. Bulma, as she promised, adopted both Gohan and Goten into the Briefs family, although she allowed them to keep their family name in honor of their fallen parents. This really pleased Gohan since he wanted the world to know who his parents were since they both were such amazing people when they were living.

Eventually, Bulma won the case. Apparently, the psychiatrist hadn't bothered to obtain an updated medication list from Chichi when she first visited and this resulted in her error. The pharmacist however had the full medication list but was extremely busy at the time and rushed Chichi's order, not bothering to look at the medication list and only verifying that the correct drug was dispensed. The result of the case was that both medical professionals lost their professional licenses and they each had to pay Gohan 200 million zeni in financial compensation for the death of his mother, not to mention that her death weighed deeply on their souls.

After everything went down, Gohan's life would never be the same. While Bulma had told Gohan over and over again that she would gladly help in raising Goten, the eldest demi-saiyan had refused, continuing to care for his baby brother on his own. It wasn't that he didn't trust Bulma with Goten, but he knew she already had a one year old Trunks to take care of. No matter how many times Bulma had told him otherwise, Gohan believed that both he and Goten were just an extra burden that she was forced into taking.

Another reason he refused help with Goten was because the little guy was the only one who made the demi-saiyan feel whole anymore. His mother's death had affected him much more than his dad's ever had. Sure, he loved his dad with all his heart, but like his dad had told him before, he wasn't always there in his life. He could always count on his mother to be there for him though, no matter how strict she was about his studying, or how much she discouraged fighting. His father he kind of accepted was going to die eventually from a battle, but not his mother. She was always a constant in his life. Now he's making sure that he's the same to Goten. He will revolve his whole life around the infant demi-saiyan, just as his mother revolved her life around raising him and Goten.

The final reason he refused help with caring for Goten is because he knew he would end up running away eventually. Right after his mother died, he suddenly noticed feelings of guilt he never felt before when around the Z-gang, especially those that were closest to his father. They were slight, but present nonetheless and he knew that without his mother there, they would only grow in time. After his father died, his mother became his confident: he could talk to her about anything, so her absence forced him to bottle everything up. No, Gohan was using this time for practice raising an infant on his own since he knew that he would eventually take off on his own with him.

Ever since his mother died though, he's been thinking about how he could have prevented what happened. He should have seen the signs of the induced high blood pressure in his mother. He should have questioned it more when the first medicine didn't work out. In the end, he feels like he should have been more aware of his mother's condition.

This led to other lines of thinking. Over the last months before he ran away, this led to thoughts of his helplessness to save others. The night that his mother died, Gohan had a nightmare about his father's demise at the hands of Bojack. At first he accepted the fact that his father left for the safety of the planet. Goku knew that Gohan would be well taken care of with his mother and his other friends, and that Gohan would be an excellent male role-model for Goten growing up.

Gohan just attributed the random nightmare to the stress at the time, but the nightmare kept on reoccurring. No matter how much he told himself that his father's death wasn't his fault, after seeing it over and over again, after seeing him cower from his fear, basically accepting death, he could only come to the conclusion that he left his father no choice but to do what he did.

That's why everyone made him feel guilty when he was around them. That's why he wanted to run away. Every one of the Z-fighters had a strong connection with Goku, and seeing them all makes him remember that he could have prevented his death. It makes him feel like he's the one that took a great friend away from them. He wanted to run away to save his sanity. He knew that if he stayed around the Z-fighters for any longer that he would completely revert back to his old self. His line of thinking was to stay away from them until he worked out these feelings.

So he planned his escape.

Over the last few weeks before his great escape, Gohan had been helping Bulma work on a ki inhibitor wristband that allows one to conceal their ki completely. Both of them thought it would be a good idea in order to use it to their advantage in case another enemy makes its way to the planet. The last part that they were working on though was to make it so the wristband conceals one's ki while still allowing them access to their ki. This had been the hardest part for both of the geniuses to figure out.

No one had thought that Gohan had an alternate motive for building the ki inhibitor wristband. No one knew about his plan to run away. They all thought that he was just stressed from recent events. They thought he was just trying to cope. No one knew how the demi-saiyan truly felt; how he couldn't even stand to look at them anymore.

One night after Bulma had retired for the evening, Gohan had finally found the secret to make it work. He however never told Bulma so she would be less suspicious to what he was doing. He used two of these ki inhibitors to conceal both his and his brother's kis and took off for parts unknown. Eventually, Gohan settled in a cave in the area where he was stranded when he was only five years old. He camped out there with Goten for the night and the following morning went into the nearest town to buy a capsule house as well as other supplies using the money he won through the medical malpractice case.

Once he was finished with this, he headed far away from where anyone would expect him to go and eventually ended up in a nice secluded place right by the ocean in the 987 South district. It turned out to be a nice area since the closest city to him where he would get his groceries and other necessities was Satan City, a city where none of the Z-fighters would ever go thanks to the city's allegiance to Hercule Satan. The area where the house was located was also perfect because it was isolated from all other human life. And so, this is where the two Son demi-saiyans have been for the last two and a half years.

Bulma, once she found out he and Goten were gone immediately had the rest of the Z-gang go look for them. They all thought he was just suppressing his ki and that eventually they would find both of them since both Gohan and Bulma still hadn't worked out the bugs to those ki inhibitors for him to be able to use them properly. They had no knowledge that Gohan had actually figured out the secret, so they figured that they would catch a spike in his ki eventually when he was desperate to use it. The search for Gohan and Goten had gone on for months, but there were no signs of either of them. Eventually, the gang had conceded defeat and stopped their search, figuring that once they're ready that they will come back.

This made Bulma furious. She had taken Gohan and Goten in as two of her sons! Heck, she was legally their mother and she was Gohan's godmother! She promised that she would take good care of them and the fact that they were missing was destroying her. When she had found out that the rest of the gang had given up searching for them, she exploded in a fierce tirade, demanding that they continue to search, but it all was in vain. They had been searching for almost a year straight, but have had no luck. They knew that if he wanted to stay hidden, that Gohan definitely had the capability to.

Bulma however refused to give up and continues searching even to this day. She knows for sure that they are still alive and she'll find those two even without everyone else's help. She just has to…

Gohan enters the master bedroom of the capsule house that he is currently living in. As hard as it's been, he doesn't regret leaving. He figures that they are all better off without the constant reminder of the one they all cherished most. As the demi-saiyan lays his head down, he prepares himself for another night filled with nightmares.

To Gohan, when he's not with Goten, it seems he reverts back to his old self, the time before his merger. Gohan's starting to find that he didn't tackle the main issue by running away. He thought that if he were to get away from the Z-gang that the issue wouldn't get any worse. He thought he could handle the current pain he was in and eventually work it out. However, he never took into consideration how much those feelings of regret and sadness would play with his thoughts.

It started out as just sadness and regret. He would feel that pang of sadness every time he saw Bulma or Krillin or any of the other Z-members. However it only got worse as the nightmares persisted. What started as reliving his father's death turned into reliving his father's decision to not return. As the regret and pain started to overtake Gohan's mind, his memory of the explanation his father gave him for staying dead became cloudier over the last two and a half years. Eventually, the demi-saiyan started to believe that his father stayed dead for the wrong reasons, such as simply training in Other World.

Then his mind would shift from the other times he's left, such as after he died the first time yet stayed to train with King Kai, and staying in outer space after Namek exploded. It's getting to the point now where it doesn't matter to Gohan if he needed to train to fight the saiyans, or that he was learning a technique on Planet Yardrat that would prove extremely useful in the coming years; he just wasn't at home with his family where he belonged. This is gradually shifting his thoughts about his father from sadness to anger to outright betrayal, which is leading him more towards resenting the man.

As he gets into his own bed and closes his eyes, a small smile creeps onto his face as he thinks about the next day. Goten is turning three tomorrow and there's no doubt in his mind that he will be incredibly excited about spending the day with him. This is one thing Gohan doesn't resent his father for leaving. He never resented the man for leaving him with Goten, just for leaving him.

Goten.

The little demi-saiyan has been the light in Gohan's life. If it weren't for him, the teenage demi-saiyan probably would have reverted completely back into his old self, filling him up with so much negative ki that he would likely go insane. It's absolutely amazing how one little boy that didn't even exist a few years ago could mean so much to him. There isn't a single thing in the world that Gohan wouldn't do for the little guy. It is with these thoughts that Gohan finally falls into the land of unconsciousness otherwise known as sleep.

The sun is shining brightly in the deep blue sky. Not a single cloud is out and about as Gohan watches his little boy run around outside. The demi-saiyan smiles at the sight of pure excitement and glee on his brother's face as he excitedly chases a butterfly around the garden. This is how life should be: simple, content, and not a care in the world.

Goten continues to chase and laugh as he has his innocent fun. He has a net in his hands that is taller than he is, trying with all of his might to catch the butterfly. Surprisingly, the size of the net doesn't seem to be a handicap for the three year old. He already showing signs that he is going to be one of the strongest out there. The tiny demi-saiyan seems to be gaining ground on the flying creature and in a desperate effort, attempts an all-out dive at the butterfly, swinging his net down in front of him. Unfortunately, the butterfly is able to evade the net once again and flutters away in the distance.

However, this doesn't discourage the little guy at all. He just laughs it off and gets up in pursuit of the creature once more. He stops however when he sees his daddy looking at him out the window in the kitchen with a soft smile. He beams at Gohan, completely forgetting about his mission to catch the butterfly and waves enthusiastically at him. This causes the elder demi-saiyan to grin back in return.

"Daddy! Come out and play with me!" The energetic three year old yells enthusiastically to the older boy.

Gohan looks down at the dishes he was doing. There are still dozens of plates to be washed since their last meal and he needs to get lunch started soon. However one look at his brother's pleading face makes him melt and he finds himself walking out the front door without a second thought.

I really need to learn how to resist that look Gohan internally comments. He makes his way out the door only to be tackled by a very excited Goten.

"YAY! Daddy's gonna play! Daddy's gonna play!" The chibi shouts, grinning his million dollar half toothed smile, making Gohan chuckle. "Let's play hide and seek daddy!"

Gohan pries Goten off of his chest and sets him on the ground before returning to his feet. He smiles at the little boy and ruffles his hair making him giggle. "Okay squirt. Do you want to start off hiding or seeking?"

"Hiding!" The little demi-saiyan instantly replies, bouncing up and down in excitement. "Close your eyes and count to ten!"

Gohan chuckles at the amount of energy the kid has and quickly complies as to not make the chibi wait. Said chibi giggles and runs off into the surrounding woods, none too softly trying to find his way to a good hiding spot that will take his daddy a while to find.

Once he hears Goten run off into the distance he quickly counts to ten. The funny thing is that Goten doesn't even know how to count to ten yet, so Gohan could really just count to a different number and say ten at the end to make it believable. However, Gohan counts to ten truthfully this time, wanting to give the chibi a realistic indication at how long a ten count really is.

It really won't be that hard for Gohan to find the little chibi, even if he can't sense his ki. The teen demi-saiyan already knows all of his brother's hiding spots so he could probably find him very quickly. However, to humor the boy, he usually walks around the forest for a good half-hour pretending to look for him.

And that's what Gohan does. Once he's finished counting, he starts walking through the forest, right past hiding spot number one behind the pile of giant boulders he collects to train with. He continues to wonder around the forest, making a loop past the rest of Goten's favorite hiding spots, making sure to make as much noise as possible so that Goten knows he's coming. Usually this makes it even easier for him to find the boy since the chibi usually has a hard time suppressing his giggles when he gets close.

After a while, Gohan feels enough time has passed that he can now actually look for Goten. He starts thoroughly checking the normal hiding spots Goten uses. He figured out that Goten usually has a pattern to where he hides and as such, Gohan has a good idea as to where the little tyke is hiding.

However, Goten is nowhere to be found. He continues to check around the forest and he still can't find the chibi. He figures that Goten found a new hiding spot. However he starts to get worried as he continues to search and still can't find him. He starts calling out Goten's name, hoping to get a response from the demi-saiyan. He knows that this would get a response since he told Goten that he would only do this if he couldn't find him.

Still nothing.

Now Gohan is panicking. What if something happened to Goten? He's only three so it's not out of the question that an animal could have hurt him. Gohan doesn't know if he could go on if something happened to his precious Goten! He continues to frantically search the area, shouting out the boy's name so that he knows he's looking for him.

Suddenly, Gohan picks up a ki… a strange, yet familiar ki. It's been a long time since he's felt this ki but he knows he knows it. He also knows it's not a good ki either. Is this what captured Goten? The demi-saiyan immediately sprints in the direction of the ki and is shocked at what he finds.

"Oh my, it's been so long Gohan…" a creepy, unisex voice eerily rings throughout the forest. "My, how you've grown from that pesky brat that I fought eight years ago."

Frieza.

How is this possible?! Gohan silently screams. He's dead! Dad and Mirai made sure of that! "How are you here? You're dead!" Gohan shouts indignantly out loud.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Frieza retorts, completely calm and at ease. He just radiates confidence and it unnerves Gohan. The tyrant has seen what the demi-saiyan is capable of when he fought Cell in Hell almost three years ago, so the fact that he's so confident really makes Gohan nervous. What's up his sleeve?

"You're no friend!" Gohan fiercely states. "What did you do with Goten?! I know you have him somewhere around here!"

"Oh you mean that little whining twerp?" Frieza mockingly responds. "That's none of your concern."

Gohan's furious! How dare he mess with Goten! "I have no idea how you got here, but I'm going to send you back to Hell!" Gohan then starts to power up only to find that he can only power up to half of his base ki. What's going on?! He anxiously shouts in his head. Why can't I access my ki?!

Frieza smirks after seeing Gohan struggle to unleash his power. "Oh, what's the matter monkey boy? Can't gather you're ki? That may be because we planted ki drainers all around this planet so that no one can use more than half of their ki. How very unfortunate to you since you will never be able to beat me without being able to become a super saiyan! Hahahahaha! Frieza then smirks and dashes towards Gohan.

The demi-saiyan tries his best to block and dodge Frieza's attacks, but it's of no use. Not only can Gohan only access a certain portion of his ki, but Frieza has gotten a lot stronger since even the rebellion in Hell! He would have a tough time against the tyrant in his full power super saiyan form!

Frieza sends a roundhouse kick to Gohan's abdomen, sending the demi-saiyan flying across the forest. He flies through six trees and smashes into a seventh one. However, before Frieza is able to continue his onslaught a new person makes his presence known.

"You can't have all of the fun Frieza! Let me take it from here," the new presence commands. He then smirks at the sight of Gohan. "Look at you! You're pathetic! I can't believe I let you beat me… twice! Now I will get my revenge!"

"How the hell did you get here Cell!" Gohan shouts once again. Where are they all coming from? Is there a gate from Hell around here? And where is Goten?! What did they do to him? Is he crying and screaming for him? The mere thought of his little boy scared and possibly hurt makes the demi-saiyan's insides churn.

"Wow Frieza you're right. He has lost his manners," the green android states. "Let me show you what happens to those with no manners!"

Cell starts his own entourage of attacks on the poor demi-saiyan. Gohan knows how powerful the android is personally and he knows he stands no chance against him at this ki level. A bunch of painful punches and kicks later, Gohan finds himself as a bloody pulp on the ground, unable to move any of his appendages. He is gasping for air painfully and can barely keep his eyes open.

Both Cell and Frieza cackle evilly at the sight. There lays the one who was responsible for both of their suffering. Now he is suffering for himself! Cell makes his way towards Gohan to finish him off when yet another new presence interrupts him.

"Wait!" the new presence commands the android. Cell stops in his tracks and glares at the one who dare tell him to stop. "Why don't we let him say goodbye to his little friend here before we send him to oblivion. It's only proper." He then lets off his own evil cackle.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about the little runt. Thanks for reminding me Bojack!" Cell replies, now with an evil smile gracing his face.

"DADDY!" cries a terrified Goten. "Daddy help me! I'm scared!"

"Goten!" Gohan shouts, also horrified. He forces himself to his feet and forces himself to look at Goten and he immediately wishes he hadn't. Goten is all beaten and bloody and looks like he went through a hard time. The thing that scares Gohan the most though is the terrified look on his face; it's a look of pure fear and terror and the sight breaks the demi-saiyan into tears.

"Daddy?" Frieza indignantly comments. "Aren't you too young to have a child? Oh my, Gohan really has changed! I didn't think you had it in you! Hahaha!"

"DADDY!" Goten continues to shout and cry to Gohan to save him. Gohan tries desperately to get to Goten, but is held down by both Cell and Frieza.

"Now say goodbye to daddy little boy!" Bojack says in a tone that is supposed to be gentle, but comes out menacing as he draws his free fist up in in the air. He then points out his index finger and starts gathering ki in it, pressing it against Goten's temple.

"NO! Goten!" Gohan triples his efforts to escape the grasp of Frieza and Cell but it's no use. He can only helplessly watch as the ki beam gets brighter and brighter. Bojack now has the ki and is about to unleash it upon Goten's temple. Gohan just looks on at the scene with wide, teary eyes and can see a single tear track its way down Goten's left cheek as Bojack unleashes the blast.

"GOTEN!"

Translations:

ani- my older brother

chibi- cute child, dwarf