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Dragon Ball Z: A Good Man - 10

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      Gohan was surprised when he came home to an empty house.  He knew they were going to visit the Briefs while he was spending a few days of quality time with Videl, but he had figured they’d be back by now.  It seemed they must have decided to extend the visit.  Scratching his head as he checked for a note and finally shrugging, he took to the sky, heading for the city and Capsule Corp.  As his boots touched the lawn, he immediately noticed something – it was strangely quiet, especially if his family was around there.
       “Mom?  Dad?  Goten?” Gohan called, his hands on hips as he looked around, gradually walking toward the mansion door, “You guys here?”  He paused as he heard the sound of trickling water and turned his head.  “Oh, hey there, Mrs. Brief,” he greeted the blonde woman, spotting her watering the plants, “I’m looking for my family, they still here by any chance?”
      Mrs. Brief hummed, pressing her cheek into a finger.  “Well, sorta,” she answered, “Your mother and adorable little brother are here.  But your father’s away, I’m afraid.”
       “Oh really?” Gohan blinked, “I wonder where Dad got off to?”
       “I don’t know, he left with those aliens and no one’s seen him since,” she held up her hands.
       “Aliens?!” Gohan cried, his jaw dropping.  He paused and then laughed.  “Well I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, Dad’s always been getting off to somewhere.  Do you know if he’ll be coming back soon?”
       “No one really knows,” Mrs. Brief sighed, resuming her watering of the flowers, “It’s actually been pretty gloomy around here lately – what with Vegeta being arrested and all.”
      Gohan’s jaw fell again, his head jerking forward.  “Vegeta got arrested?!”  Visions of Vegeta being lead off by police officers in cuffs filled his head before straightening up and laughing awkwardly.  “Oh I get it!  Good one, Mrs. Brief!  Hahaha…”
      He shook his head and went into the house, Mrs. Brief looking at him curiously.  “I wonder what was so funny…?”
      It didn’t take him long to find this family.  Goten and Chi-Chi where sitting at the kitchen table together, both looking oddly somber, Chi-Chi staring into a cup of tea and Goten idly poking at his breakfast with a fork.  Goten especially caught him off guard.  His mom was often worried about something, but Goten not eating?  Something was definitely wrong.
      Before he had a chance to greet them, they noticed him.  “Gohan!” they both cried.
       “Hey guys, is something—oo-h!” he grunted as Chi-Chi threw herself at him and hugged him.
       “Oh Gohan!” Chi-Chi whimpered, rubbed her face into his chest, “I’m so glad you’re here, Mommy’s been so stressed!”
       “Are you going to help Dad, Gohan?” Goten asked, scurrying up next to him.
       “No!” Chi-Chi snapped, shooting Goten a look, “He’s staying right here where he belongs!”
       “Uh, did something happen while I was gone?” Gohan blinked, starting to wonder just how serious Mrs. Brief had been after all.
       “Mm-hm,” Goten grunted a nod, “There was a fight and now Dad and Vegeta are gone.”
       “Oh it’s been awful, Gohan!” Chi-Chi lamented, continuing to hold onto her grown-up son, “These horrible aliens showed up and ruined the picnic I’d worked so hard on and now your father’s left me all alone while he chases after Vegeta!  I just wanted to have a nice family outing but instead we can’t even leave!”  She gave a big sigh, looking down.  “And I have no clue when your father will be back.  Bulma’s a wreck too.”
       “Woah, slow down!” Gohan protested, holding up both hands, “What aliens?  And where have Dad and Vegeta gone?”
       “Didn’t you sense their energy, Gohan?” Goten said, throwing up his arms, “It was huge!”
      Gohan’s cheeks turned a shade red and he looked away, rubbing his head.  “Maybe.  I might have been a little…distracted with Videl.”  He gave his mom and brother a serious look.  “Please, tell me what happened.”
      At last they sat him down at the table and explained to him all they knew between what they had witnessed and Goku had told them before he left.  Goten waved his arms around in the air as he described the giant ships that had filled the sky and dropping into sadness as he revealed how Trunks had been forced into hiding.  Chi-Chi went on about mostly how horrible and rude the aliens had been, praising Goku for not letting Goten join in on the fighting.  Gohan listened with his eyes wide and mouth hanging open slightly, hardly able to believe so much had happened just in the few days he’d been away.
      Gohan stared down at his hands resting on the tabletop.  “So that really all happened, huh?  You said they call themselves The Justice?”
       “Uh-huh,” Goten nodded again, “Dad said they’re really tough.  And they’re angry at Vegeta for all the bad stuff he used to do.  They even think Trunks is bad cause of it.”  He looked down, his lips wiggling a little.  “I really wanted to see him too, but now I can’t.”
       “Maybe we can visit him,” Gohan offered, “You said he’s with Piccolo, right?”
       “No Gohan,” Chi-Chi put her hand on him, “You gotta stay here.  With us.  Mommy needs you, what if they come back?  I don’t want your brother to have to fight them.”
      Gohan grunted and glared at the table, curling his hands into fists.  “I should have stayed with the family, if I hadn’t opted out on the picnic so I could see Videl…maybe things would have turned out differently.”  Though their faces were sympathetic, neither of them could argue with that.  He looked at his mother.  “Where’s Bulma?  I think I’d like to talk to her too.”
      Chi-Chi sighed again.  “She’s in her workshop.  She rarely comes out of there, not since Goku left.”
      He got up.  “I’m going to check on her.  It’s the least I can do.”  He walked across the house, feeling truly frustrated with himself.  Dad gone to go talk some angry aliens into returning Vegeta?  He had great respect and faith in his father as a person, even more so as a fighter.  But he would be the first to admit his father could be less than eloquent when it came to talking or making an argument.  He could understand why everyone was so somber, it didn’t sound like a very promising situation.  He sighed and opened the door to Bulma’s workroom, finding her busy working on something just as his mother had said she’d be.  “Hey Bulma,” he called to her, “It’s me, Gohan.”
      Bulma paused in whatever she was doing, pushing up her goggles onto her forehead.  “Hey Gohan,” she quietly answered, sparks flying as she resumed her work without a glance.
      Wow, Mom wasn’t kidding… he thought as he approached.  “I…heard about what happened.  I’m really sorry, Bulma.  But you really shouldn’t worry.  Vegeta’s really strong and if Dad’s with him…”  He lost his words at the sight of her unchanging form.  “It…is pretty bad, isn’t it?” he at last admitted.
      Bulma stopped again, dropping her hand torch on the desk.  “I’m not stupid,” she abruptly stated.
       “What?” Gohan blinked, “Bulma, I never—”
       “That’s what they think,” she continued, “The people who took Vegeta.  They think I’m just a stupid, love-struck girl who doesn’t know who she married.  Or is just too stupid to care.”  She reached up and began to tensely twist a lock of blue hair.  “But they’re not the first.  I think most everyone thought that at some point.  But I’m not.  I’ve always known exactly who and what he was.  I just didn’t care.  He was the first man to ever truly amaze me.  And I could tell he was more than he pretended to be.”  She tipped her head back and smiled.  “But, looking back, I guess most the guys I was attracted to all did have a bad streak.  I’d call that destiny.”
      Gohan rubbed his head and neck, not knowing what to say.  “I don’t think you’re stupid, Bulma.  You and Vegeta make a great couple.”
      She laughed a little.  “We didn’t always.”  She picked up a screw driver and started tinkering again.  “Things got pretty rough around the time Trunks was born.  Vegeta did everything in his power to convince me that he didn’t care about either of us.  He was more like a bad tempered guest around the house than a husband or father, when he bothered to show.  I almost locked the door on him more than a few times…things got better with time though.  I finally forced him to have a real wedding with me, he actually took an interest in Trunks…and it was really hard.”  Her shoulders fell and tears brimmed in her eyes.  “I don’t think anyone’s ever known just how much work it all took.  But I never regretted a moment of it.”
      Gohan sighed, again lost for words.  Vegeta…Bulma was right, they both could recall a time when he wasn’t half the man he was now.  Gohan especially.  It was because of Vegeta that Piccolo had trained him in the first place.  What a monster he was back then.  On Namek that fact had become even more apparent, the very sight of the Saiyan had sent chills of terror and rage down his spine.  But then Frieza had reared his ugly head and suddenly under that shadow even someone like Vegeta had become justifiable.  Still…he remembered the man who’s smile had made a little boy’s skin turn to ice.  He’d forgiven Vegeta for all he’d done a long time ago.  But he hadn’t forgotten.
       “…As much as I hate to say it,” Gohan finally spoke, “I can’t say I blame these people at all for how they feel.  I mean, we never really thought about it but it makes sense that there’s other people out there he would have hurt.  If I knew there was someone like that out there, I’d want him taken down and made to answer for the pain he’d caused.”
      He immediately regretted opening his mouth, however, because Bulma’s shoulders started to shake and finally she turned on him, screaming at the top of her lungs.  “And who are they to decide that, huh?!!”  She shook her fist up at him.  “Vegeta hasn’t hurt anyone in years – except that one time and that wasn’t his fault, he wasn’t himself!  What right do they have to show up here and ruin our lives?!  And what about my rights, I’m his wife, aren’t I?!”
       “Bulma, please,” Gohan held up his hands, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.  I’m just trying to help.”
      She turned away again, her face dark and hidden by her hair.  “Besides…they tried to take Trunks too…they even threatened the baby…”
      Gohan stopped.  “The baby?” he asked with shock.  It was only then he noticed Bulma’s swollen belly tucked under the workbench.  His eyes widened.  “Bulma, you’re preg…!  Well you already know that I guess.  No wonder you’re so upset.”
      She gritted her teeth as she grasped her blowtorch.  “They got something else coming to them if they think they can tear this family apart.  Vegeta dying, Trunks fighting to save the Earth, me getting eaten!  I didn’t go through all that for nothing!”  She lit up the torch and pulled down her goggles again with a vengeance.
      Once again, Gohan was lost in silence.  He stood there, trying to think of what else to say, finally just looking over her shoulder to see what she was working on.  “Ha!” he started in utter disbelief when he saw what looked to be a gun on the table.  “Bulma!” he cried, “Is that really what I think it is?!”
       “It’s a high-power laser,” she stated brusquely, “Vegeta and Trunks should have won that fight and they would have if it hadn’t be for those stupid things those kidnappers were wearing around their necks!  I don’t know what they are or how they work, but they were made of something tough enough that they’d take them into battle against someone like Goku or Vegeta.”  She gritted her teeth again.  “Well if they come around here again, I’m going to make sure they don’t have them!  No one’s taking Trunks from me and if they try they’ll be dealing with the full fury of Bulma Brief!”
       “You’re really serious, aren’t you?” Gohan marveled.  He continued to watch her, finally finding something worth saying.  “Hey I know how I could help.  What if I checked on Trunks for you?  Mom really doesn’t want me to leave, but I bet it would make you feel better if you knew how he was doing.”
      She stopped working, silent for a long moment.  “…Thank you, Gohan.  I really would appreciate that.  Let him know that Goku’s gone to get his father back and…tell him that I love him and hope he’s safe.  I’ve been worrying about him constantly.”
       “Don’t worry, Bulma, you can count on me,” he assured, touching her shoulder, “I’ll be back soon to help around here too.  We’ll all get through this together, just like we always do.”
      It was difficult for him to convince his mother to let him go, but Chi-Chi finally relented under the promise that he’d return again right away.  Goten wanted to come, but both Gohan and their mother agreed that it wasn’t an option, someone had to be there to protect the house.  So Gohan left on his own, taking to the skies once more as fast as he could without powering up.  He didn’t have instant transmission like his father, but he had a pretty good idea where he and Trunks would be.
      By the time he arrived on the other side of the world, it was morning there as well.  At first he was confused why he couldn’t sense their energy, then he realized they must be suppressing it.  It made sense really, Trunks was in hiding after all.  So he sought them out the old fashion way, sweeping through the maze of plateaus.  After a while, he started to think that spotting them wouldn’t be so easy.  Though, knowing Piccolo, he’d be the one to find him.
      And he did know Piccolo.  “Gohan.”
      Gohan froze as he floated in the air, turning around and smiling at his old teacher.  “Hey Piccolo.”
      The Namekian lifted a corner of his mouth.  “I had a feeling you’d eventually show.”
       “Yeah, I just found out about what happened.  I came to check on Trunks – you know, see how he’s doing.”
       “I hope you’ve come with some good news for us,” Piccolo stated, though not hopefully.
       “Oh that’s right…you probably haven’t heard anything since Dad brought Trunks to you.”
       “No,” Piccolo confirmed, glancing back over his shoulder, “But I sensed your father’s energy leaving the planet.  I assume he’s gone after Vegeta.”
       “Yeah,” Gohan sighed, trying to follow Piccolo’s gaze, “But it’s something I should really tell Trunks about too.  Is he nearby?”
       “Not far,” he answered, turning in the air with a flap of his white cape, “We’ve stayed low, just like Goku wanted.  So far there hasn’t been any trouble.  Still, Trunks hasn’t said much of those who attacked him.  Whoever they are, it’s not like him to be this frightened.”
       “Everyone’s out of sorts.”  Gohan folded his arms and sighed, thinking.  “I don’t think we’ve ever faced something like this before.  Most battles we fought had to do with stopping someone from hurting others, but Vegeta getting arrested by some kind of space police?  It’s just kinda hard to wrap your head around.”
       “I’m not surprised.  In fact, I find it strange it didn’t happen sooner.”
      Gohan laughed a little.  “You would, wouldn’t you?  You always had a way of seeing things coming before the rest of us.”
       “No,” Piccolo corrected, “Even I didn’t see this coming…I figured if someone was going to come for Vegeta, it would have happened years ago.  And even then I didn’t expect law officials – just old enemies.”
       “From what I heard, I think it’s a little of both.”  He rubbed his head, wanting to say more but knowing it could wait.
       “Come on,” said Piccolo, seeming to read his mind, “Trunks will want to hear whatever you have to say.”  He flew on ahead, weaving through the plateaus.
      Piccolo had chosen a good hiding spot – a cave hidden in a crevice between two plateaus, which made it difficult to spot, even from the air.  They floated down gently, Gohan following Piccolo’s towering green form inside.  Before long they came upon a camp fire where Trunks sat crossed legged, staring with glum frustration into the flames.
       “Trunks,” Piccolo called, “You have a visitor.”
      Trunk’s mouth opened and he turned his head.  “Gohan!” he smiled, getting up, more excited than he’d normally be to see his best friend’s brother, “We thought you might be one of the bad guys!”
       “Nope, it’s just me,” Gohan assured.  He bent about, giving Trunks a brief inspection.  “You look pretty okay.”  He paused, noting Trunks damaged clothing.  “Though…you look like you’ve been through a lot.  Must have been a pretty intense battle.”
      Trunks expression fell and he looked down.  “Yeah.  They were pretty tough.  But Dad and I could have taken them, but it wasn’t a fair fight.”  His hands tightened into fists.  “I wasn’t strong enough.  If I hadn’t gotten knocked out there’s no way they would have taken Dad.”
       “From what I heard,” Gohan carefully answered, “My dad had trouble with them too.  So I don’t really think it was your fault, Trunks.  Sounds like whoever these justice guys are, they’re pretty tough customers.”  He touched Trunk’s violet head.  “So don’t beat yourself up over it, all right?”
      Trunks just glared at the ground.  “I’ve been trying to train.  But I can’t do much cause Piccolo says we have to keep our powers hidden.”  He shot the Namekian a little glare out of the corner of his eye.  “But I hate hiding like this!  I want to go help Dad!”
      Gohan sighed and got down on a knee, grasping Trunk’s shoulders.  “Listen, Trunks, believe it or not I know how you feel.  There was a lot of times when I was a kid that my dad was away and I wished I could be with him so I could help him fight.  Some of those times he was in a lot of trouble and all I could do was hope we’d all make it home safely.”
      Trunks grunted, trying not to show how upset he was.  He looked at Gohan with a lowered brow.  “Well next time we fight those aliens, I’m gonna be ready.  I’ll be a lot stronger and we’ll beat ‘em!”  He plopped down on a stone by the fire again and thrust a stick into it, angrily poking at the coals.  “You’ll see, they’re gonna regret messing with my dad.”
      Gohan looked at Piccolo, who merely held him in a confident gaze before he looked at his fellow half-saiyan again.  “I can understand how you feel, but with any luck it’s not going to be like that.”  He sat next to him by the fire.  “My dad seems to think he can talk them into letting your dad go.”
       “We tried talking to them!” Trunks cried, jabbing at the flames fiercely, “Fat lot of good it did.  Besides, warrior don’t talk, they fight.”  He rested his fists on his legs and trembled a little.  “But it’s okay, Dad will make them let him go himself.  He’s the toughest there is.  He’ll fight his way back home and then this time I’ll help him finish them off.”
       “No, Trunks,” Piccolo finally spoke up, coming to stand by the fire, “As I said before, if everything you told me about these people are true, they’ll be more than ready for anything your father might try.”
       “I’m afraid I have to agree with Piccolo,” Gohan sighed, massaging his neck uneasily, “I mean, if it really was that simple, our dads would be back by now.”  He stopped when he saw that Trunks was shaking severely now, gritting his teeth to hold back the tears that brimmed in his blue eyes.  Gohan looked at him and hesitantly put his arm around him.
      Trunks accepted the gesture, glaring at the ground as some of the tears slipped out.  “Why are they doing this, Gohan?  We’re the good guys, right?”
      Gohan’s mouth hung for a moment, his mind drifting to his childhood battles once again.  “We are,” he finally said, “And your dad is too…I don’t think anyone ever talked to you about this before, but your dad…well he used to be a lot different than he is now.”
       “I know, Piccolo told me,” Trunks grunted, rubbing his eyes with a fist, “Dad used to work for a guy called Frieza, right?”  Gohan nodded.  “They’d take people’s planets from them.”
       “Yeah,” Gohan confirmed, “And he…he killed a lot of people.  Even in knowing that, it’s probably hard for you to imagine.  I know it would be for me in your shoes.”
       “But it’s not like that anymore…”  He put a hand to his shoulder to stay his own shaking.  “Frieza died a long time ago, back before I was born.”  He paused and laughed a little.  “Mom finally told me this year what I really happened – that another me from the future was the one who did it.  That must have been so cool, I wish I could have been there…well I mean the me me.”
      Gohan laughed.  “Yeah, it was something alright.”
       “So it’s stupid for anyone to think that Dad or me has been doing anything wrong.  Or the baby, that’s really stupid.”
       “I’ll…be honest about something, Trunks,” Gohan slowly stated, eyeing him, “Your dad used to scare me.  A lot.  And if he scared me that much, he probably scared a lot of people out there.  People don’t forget something like that easily.”  He paused.  “That’s why my dad’s gone to talk with them.  Cause fighting will only make them even more scared of him and more likely to do something bad.”
       “I want my dad back,” Trunks snapped, glaring down again, “And I want to go home.”
       “I want all that too, everyone does,” Gohan assured, “Your mom really misses you.  And Goten too, he really wanted to come visit with me.  The only reason he didn’t is cause he has to make sure nothing happens to your mom.  But don’t worry Trunks – it’s just like I told your mom, we’re going to get through this together.”
      Trunks grunted several times and finally bowed his head.  “Okay, Gohan.  I’m gonna keep training, though…Dad would want me to.”
       “If it helps you feel better, I say go for it,” Gohan nodded, “Just hang in there, okay?”
       “I will,” Trunks replied.
      Piccolo hummed a little, leaving the boys alone for the moment as he headed to the entrance to the cave.  Pressing his hand to the mouth, he looked up critically at the sky.  “Goku,” he spoke to the air, “You know it too, don’t you?  This isn’t a fight any of us can win.  No…it all comes down to Vegeta.  Only he can save himself.  There’s no other way.”
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It is with great joy that I present my original DBZ fan fiction.  As with my previous work, heavy research went into this as I always make serious effort to be true to the spirit of the show and the characters.  So you can look forward to enjoying what I always strive to offer my audience:  high quality fiction that feels like you're sitting in front of your TV watching the next exciting episode of Dragon Ball Z.

So go ahead and delve into my labor of love.  And as always, I will donate a :points: to anyone who leaves a well-thought-out comment sharing their responses with me, positive or negative, as it is essential to helping grow as a writer :)

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FaunCannibel's avatar
I don't agree with those justice people.
Vegeta: that makes two of us.
Shush! I might be heard!
Vegeta: grrr...
Goku: so, who's your friend?
DAMMIT GOKU GET OUT!

LOVE THE STORY. Good choice of dialogue! Makes me feel like I'm in the room! Keep it up!