To See the Old Neighborhood.....

Part 30

Gohan came charging into the small three room apartment the visitors to planet Vegita had been occupying for the past three days since the defeat of Lomen.

"So what's happenin'?" Turles asked, leaning over the back of his chair he was sitting in to better see the entering half Saiyan. Nappa was sitting across from him, munching some unidentifiable creature. Radditz, snoozing on the couch opened one eye to note the arrival. The other members that lived in the apartment were not to be seen. Goku had taken a stroll with Bardock, Goten and Trunks had gone off to the palace to play with little Vegita while big Vegita was sitting beside his father in the throne ment for him since birth, getting a chance to see what ruling was like back then. Pan and Bra were asleep in a back room.

"I'm on the VERGE OF BLOWING THIS WHOLE PLANET UP MYSELF!" Gohan said, his voice raising higher with each word.

The three Saiyans, each in a comfortable reclined position sat up at the out of character words.

"Jeez, what's eatin' YOU?" Nappa asked, shoving a large piece of meat into his mouth.

Gohan took a deep breath before answering, his voice a few ochaves closer to his normally calm tone, "Is there just some crazed thing about Saiyans that makes them want to automatically attack me or did someone write on my forehead 'PLEASE BEAT ME UP' while I was sleeping."

No one answered and Gohan continued, "I was attacked or challenged SEVEN TIMES from the time it took me to walk from the palace to here! That's hardly a kilometer in distance!"

Radditz snorted and closed both his eyes again to return to his Saiyan snooze. Nappa gulped his snack noisily while Turles shrugged and repeated, "So what's happenin'?"

Having let out his frustration, Gohan calmed and said, "I just got done talking to Noone. He said our time here was just about up and that we should be leaving soon."

"He didn't say anything about a time limit.........," Nappa said, taking time for another bite, "Did he?"

"I asked him the same thing," Gohan said in an exasperated voice, "And he said he must have forgotten to mention it."

"Sounds like him," Radditz said, eyes still closed.

"Yeah, so anyway, we'll be leaving tomarrow morning so pack your bags."

"I don hab 'ny bags," Nappa said with a full mouth.

"Swallow before you talk! That's discusting!"

"Sah-bee," Nappa appologized, his cheeks still packed. He gulped his bite down and repeated, "I don't have any bags."

Gohan groaned and said, "It's an EXPRESSION! Will you guys PLEASE get serious here? I'm having a disasteriously bad day."

"Chin up, kid," Radditz said, sitting up as he decided he wouldn't be finishing his nap, "You only have to tolerate this planet til tomarrow. I seriously hope you, heh, survive til then."

Gohan just goaned again and flopped down on the couch Radditz had just de-occupying to try to sleep away some stress.

****

And then it was time to go. The next day arrived unexpectedly quick, and found a large group waiting outside the palace walls. Goten and Trunks sat with little Vegita, talking about different fun things to do while fighting, while Goku and Radditz hung out agenst the palace walls saying their good-byes to Bardock. Gohan shook hands with the King, while Turles and Nappa were forced to put up with holding Pan and Bra. Vegita stood away, mildly secluded as he took his last looks at the planet he was about to leave behind. Again.

"So I'm really supposed to be dead then, huh?" Bardock asked, eyes downcast as the knowledge sunk in, "I knew it."

"We weren't supposed to tell anyone, but I felt you should know the truth," Goku said, his voice quiet. It was always hard accepting the fact that your dead.

"Hope Noone doesn't mind," Radditz said, carefully avoiding the hollowed out look in his father's eyes.

"Then....... You're not all from the future, this IS the future. Huhn. I traveled forward in time. Accually, this is sort of good news to me. Heartening. Heh, guess ol' fish face was wrong. The Saiyan's DON'T all die. My kids still live on."

Goku gave a weak smile. He wished there were someway he could bring his father back to Earth with him, he was sure his father would love to see what sort of a planet the Saiyans were now rooted on. Chances were that he would get along with everyone nicely, perhaps more so than Radditz or Turles or Nappa or even Vegita since he had never been an enemy in the past. He could meet Krillian and Chichi and Bulma and...........

He's not coming back, dummy! Stop making plans of introducing him! Goku had to reign in his imagination. It was true. Bardock couldn't come back with them.........could he?

Noone hadn't said they couldn't bring someone with them, but then again, Goku doubted Noone had remembered to mention all the rules to them. It probably wouldn't be allowed............

But probably was different from definatly, wasn't it? Either way, Goku stealed his mind to at least ask. It couldn't hurt.

And so, without further adue, everyone present was blinded by a spontanious flash of light, confusing those expecting it as well as those not.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Turles said through his haze of sightlessness, "Noone has arrived."

"Can't see!" the King complained.

"Your sight will return in a second," Gohan said, annoyed, as he waved his hand around without seeing it.

"But I CAN'T SEE!!" the King said, pressing the point of his discomfort.

"I really hate this part," Goten complained, fumbling around until he found a firm grip into Trunks's armor.

"That had better be you, Goten!" Trunks said, having a momentary fear that little Vegita would latch onto him.

"Of coarse it's me!" Goten said, glad that he accually HAD found Trunks and not little Vegita.

Little Vegita sulked at being alone.

"Does this always happen?" Bardock asked.

"When Noone's at the helm......," Goku grumbled, hoping his sight would hurry up and return.

A cheerful, genderless voice broke the rancid mood running rampant through the group, "Hello, everyone!! How was your trip!"

"Dammit, Noone!" Radditz crowed, turning toward the voice and looking more or less into the faceless being's eyes, "I thought we told you to warn us before you do that!"

"Do what?" Noone asked as the members present started to slowly gain back their eyesight.

"BLIND US-," Nappa started to yell, squinting to see the etchy outline of Noone in his momentarily dim eye-sight.

"Forget it," Gohan said, eager to leave, "Let's just book it."

"Oh, yes! That would be wonderful!" Noone cheered.

"What would be wonderful?" Goten asked, letting go of Trunks as his sight returned.

"Leaving!" Noone said. He had lost no pep since their last meeting, in fact, he seemed to have gained some excitment, "And I'm SO sorry about any inconveniance to you I caused by bringing back your former selves."

"It's fine, lets just-" Gohan began to say.

"Accually, it was a horrible, no good nusance," Goku said, eyes narrowed, feet apart.

"What the heck are you talking about?" Turles asked.

"Yeah, no good what so ever! I couldn't even enjoy myself," Goku continued.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" Noone lamented, rocking back and forth on his feet, "I'm so sorry! I wish I could make it up to you in some way! I really do!"

"Well........," Goku seemed to consider this appology, "I suppose there IS something you could do to make up for it.......... But it's nothing. Forget it."

"No really! Just tell me! I feel so bad!" Noone begged, hands folded.

"Well........it's just a simple something. Hardly worth mentioning but........ I suppose you could let me bring someone from this planet back with me........"

Noone seemed to deeply contemplate this, then said carefully, "It all depends on who it is, I guess......."

"What do you mean?" Goku asked, trying not to let himself sound thrilled that he just MIGHT be able to bring his father back with him.

"Well, if the person coming back is similar to one of you, it shouldn't be too hard. But I'm talking VERY similar. Similar to more than one of you would be better."

"Great! I want to bring my dad, Bardock, back to Earth with me!" Goku said, allowing himself to smile broadly.

Bardock nearly chocked on his own tounge.

Noone inspected Bardock closely, squinting his unseeable eyes and scratching his head in deep thought before finally saying, "Sounds good with me. He's a relative of five of you, Goku and Radditz's father, Gohan and Goten's grandfather and Pan's great grandfather. That makes it easy as pie to slip him in!........ But you'll have to keep him a secret. If anyone else from my world found out I let someone squeek by, they'd be super duper mad!"

"Um.......," Goten said quietly.

Noone turned his head to look at the little boy.

"Can........ do you think I could bring someone back, too?" Goten asked, squeezing his hands behind his back and nudging a rock with the tip of his toe, looking down. He was the pinicale of cuteness.

"Uh........ who?" Noone asked nerviously, looking over the many people that were already heading to Earth.

"Vegita!" Goten said, smiling adorably.

"I'm already going, idiot," Vegita said, snorting.

"Not you!" Goten said to him, then turned and pulled little Vegita infront of him, "THIS Vegita."

"You want me to bring the past Vegita back?" Noone asked, seeming fascinated at the concept.

"Uh huh!" Goten said.

"That would be great!" Trunks cheered.

".......Could I?" little Vegita asked, trying and failing not to be touched that Goten thought of HIM.

"That would be even easier to do than Bardock!" Noone said, causing Goten, Trunks and little Vegita to sigh in relief, "He IS Vegita, after all. Not just similar, he IS."

"Well, THAT all settled, why don't we all head out?" Gohan asked, turning from Radditz to Goku to Vegita, hoping they would agree it was DEFINATLY time to go.

The departing Saiyans sighed and each looked around at their surroundings one more time. Goku took in the color of the sky, the brightness of the suns, the sweet, Saiyan smell of the planet, the vibrating hum-drum of the Saiyan's chi as they unwittingly were moving their last. He let himself take in the Saiyan rush and excitment of the planet one more time, knowing full well that he would never again get the chance to feel so many Saiyans in the same place at the same time. The exhileration of the planet helped to squelch the depression seeping into his normally positive persona. It only helped a little, though.

A moment of silence went through the people, each to their own thoughts. Gohan noticed for the first time that all the rain that had come down had allowed for a wide variety of flowers and grasses to emerge, filling the air with a sweetness that would not last as the ground was once again wrought of it's moisture. But for now, it was beautiful. A fitting good-bye to those departing souls, some departing to Earth, most departing to Death. Gohan closed his eyes in quiet mourning, the first he had ever mourned for the millions of dead Saiyans that had parished so long ago.

"So sorry to interupt," Noone said sheepishly, "But you have to leave now or stay here forever!"

"Well.....UHem," Gohan's voice cracked with sudden emotion but he quickly got ahold of himself, "Guess that means us. Bye, King Vegita, too bad Tripnup and Lotus weren't here to see us off."

"If I find them, I'll say bye for you," the King said, not really thinking about it. His mind was elsewhere along with everyone else's.

"Truce, then?" Goku asked the King, putting his hand out offeringly and staring honestly into the monarch's eye.

The King hesitated an instant then accepted the Earth Saiyan's hand in his own, "Truce."

And then, the ten visitors Goku, Vegita, Radditz, Turles, Nappa, Gohan, Trunks, Goten, Bra and Pan, along with the two additions, Bardock and little Vegita, were no longer on the planet Vegita. No longer on Vegita-sei.

They were on Earth, standing on a lush grassy plain filled with flowers of its own.

"So our home's gone for good then?" little Vegita asked.

Reaching out with his chi feeling senses, Goku found the spot Vegita-sei occupied. And found no sign of life there at all.

"No," he said, "Your old planet's gone, but this is your new home."

THE END