• 1-Unbeaten Paths
• 2-2
• 3-3
• 4-4
• 5-5
• 6-6
• 7-7
• 8-8
• 9-9
• 10-10
• 11-11
• 12-12
• 13-13
• 14-14
• 15-15
• 16-16
• 17-17
• 18-18
• 19-19
• 20-20
• 21-21
• 22-22

Chapter 12

They got back to earth. Goku felt that it had taken eons to get there and his patience with anything had been exhausted by a certain long-haired person whom he detested more than he could detest any other living being (yes, Freiza included.) Vegeta agreed with him (finally.) When their ship touched ground the hatch opened immediately (because both him and Vegeta hit it as soon as they realized they were in the Earth's atmosphere) and they were free at last. Back on the green planet with space and air and birds and places they could bury Radditz if he didn't back off and leave them alone.

The boys (Trunks and Goten) were not there when they landed, but then, Goku didn't figure that they would be. Teenagers had other things to do besides come to see their father he he came back. He wasn't hurt by this.

"Not this planet again," Radditz said behind them. He followed Vegeta down to the ground. "It was bad enough the first time."

"You could always go back to HFIL," Goku said. He was trying rather hard not to pay attention to his brother's stupidity because he was rather happy to be back home where he could see what the hell Goten's problem was exactly.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey!" That was Goten. (Speak of the hormonally imbalanced son and he appears.) He came to a screeching halt in midair and cracked a breathless smile. His face was wind-chap and pink. "Hi Dad, I didn't know you were here."

"Why'd you stop?" that was Trunks, coming back (he had apparently gone by so fast they missed him entirely) he looked down at his father and got that really guilty look on his face that meant he had just finished doing something he shouldn't have done. "Hi...Dad..."

"Which one of you has the purple-haired child?" Radditz asked. He spoke with great disdain and disapproval over this fact, and he made a face as he said it too.

Vegeta turned slowly and looked at Radditz. It was one of those great looks that Vegeta gave that was either instantly arousing (for him anyway) or terrifying. He let his arms drop from where they were crossed over his chest to his sides with his hands balled into fists. "He's MY son," Vegeta said--quietly.

Radditz said nothing. But he was now amused.

"There you are!"

Oh. Look. People to distract Vegeta from killing Radditz. It was none other than Yamcha and Gohan! How great. Yamcha and Gohan. Why they were Vegeta's favorite people.

"Maybe we should just get back in the ship, 'Geta," is what he said. That place on the back of his head was starting to itch again and Vegeta was frowning and angry and Radditz was giving Gohan a strange look.

"That cannot be the runt."

"Hiya guys," Goku said lifting his hand up to scratch the back of his head nervously. He smiled big and hoped that his stupidity would benefit someone. "What's happening?"

"Oh, nothing," Goten said (again with the cheeky grin.) He drifted down to the ground and Trunks followed him. "How was the trip?"

"What do you mean nothing?!" Yamcha screamed, "NOTHING did not get me EVICTED from my home!"

"Evicted?" Goku asked.

"It means kicked out," Gohan supplied (but for the vfirsfirst time in forever he didn't sound condescending about it. He was just saying the definition and that was plain weird...)

Vegeta looked mildly interested in the conversation. Radditz was still looking at Gohan. So Goku started looking at him, trying to figure out just what the looking was all about. He was wearing normal clothes, without his glasses (WITHOUT GLASSES? What happened to Gohan while he was gone?) and there was nothing on his face.

"It's not our fault that Yamcha's a deviant bastard," Trunks said. He still looked guilty but he had a smirk on his face that was without a doubt his son's influence on the poor boy.

"I'm not a deviant!" Yamcha shouted, "I did not DUMP the MATTRESS in my trash! YOU DID!" He was turning red. It was incredibly disgusting to watch. Normally Yamcha wasn't that bad to look at it, but with the bulging veins and the aging and the red skin and splotchy...it wasn't a pretty picture.

"Yamcha," Gohan said in a 'don't-yell-at-my-brother' type voice. (Seriously, what happened to Gohan while he was go Did Did he get hit upside his head? Did Videl inherit Chichi's frying pan?)

"I'm homeless," Yamcha said and then he proceeded to pout.

Gohan shook his head and looked at him and Vegeta, then at Radditz and his expression was perfectly neutral. (Dangerously so.)

"Pleaell ell me you are not...fri...w...with these things," Radditz said (helpfully) from behind them.

~~~***

Gohan was starting to feel more and more like a side of beef on display before a pack of starving wolves. They were just staring at him. At first it was only Radditz, then his father’s mouth sort of dropped open and he was looking at him like he was trying to figure out what had gone wrong, then Vegeta started in on the ‘what the hell’ ness with one raised eyebrow (which promptly unraised once his interest was betrayed.)

“What?” he asked finally when the silence between Radditz’s question and Goten’s smirk had stretched on for too long. It was because of him. He could feel it in the air. Somehow he had struck the congregated masses silent.

“Uh…nothing…Gohan,” his father said, scratched the back of his head and turned to look at Vegeta nervously before facing him again. “Just…what happened while we were gone?”

“I’ve already heard this story,” Goten said from the side, “And its great you’re back Dad we really missed you but we need to go and…you know…have sex. Bye.” Trunks blushed but he disappeared in a super-sonic flash with his boyfriend nonetheless.

Vegeta smirked. Radditz smirked too. Yamcha sat on the ground, put his hands over his ears and started singing.

What had happened to him? Well, after his father’s last inspiring conversation, he had thought long and hard about things. Came to the same conclusion he had always come to: His father was a moron. Vegeta was potentially evil. His mother had selfishly allowed herself to die without care for what happened to others around her. He wasn’t angry anymore, not really, just bone-tired.

So, he’d gone home and a week later Videl left while he was a work saying that she just couldn’t stand to be in this relationship with him because he wasn’t the man that she had loved once. She was not willing to work through it as long as he dragged his ass in gra grass (so to speak) and refused to get over whatever it was that was making him a bastard. She was going to live with her father. Pan was living with her but he was more than welcome to come and see his daughter on weekends after nine and before seven.

Naturally, following that he’d gone a binge. When you realized you had nothing left in your life the only good solution was to become a slobbering drunk for a little while.

“Oh,” he said, “I never really needed glasses anyway.” He shrugged. As if he was going to get away with playing it down.

“Kakarot,” Vegeta said. But that was it. Whatever the rest of the sentence was only the two of them understood it because his father nodded and Vegeta left them without offering his intended whereabouts.

Radditz, then, stepped up and looked at him closer. He had forgotten how big the bastard was, and looking at him now he couldn’t really remember why he had been afraid of him. His power level was pretty damn low, really, and he was tall and broad but not really big. But then again, he had been like 4 or 5 when Radditz kidnapped him. That could have had something to do with it.

“But…” his father said, then closed his mouth, scratched the back of his head and looked like he was trying really hard to find the question he wanted to ask. Probably something like: “But Gohan you were such an ass. You inadvertently got Tien killed! How come you’re not spouting fire and hate and all that stuff now?

These questions, of course, his father would not ask him, but they were there anyway. So he turned and looked at Radditz, found that he wasn’t that impressed really. (Not that his own skills were greatly admirable anymore or anything. But he was going to work on that problem now.)

“Human alcohol is weak,” Radditz said. His nose twitched and he smirked. “You stink like it.”

His father turned and glared at Radditz, and it was no shock that they got stuck like that, with the glaring for a prolonged moment. “Shut up about my son,” his Dad said finally.

“Why? Do you fuck him too?” Radditz asked.

Which naturally, caused his father to punch his brother. (Vegeta was a bad influence.) The impact of Goku’s fist on Radditz’ face was enough to throw the taller man to the ground, and shove his face into dir dirt a few inches.

“How dare you!” His dad yelled.

“Dad,” he said, “Leave it.” Not because he had any love for Radditz (almost the opposite really) but he didn’t want to be stuck around his father when he started beating the shit out of people. He remembered what that was like from last time. Unpleasant. “Why don’t you go see Bulma? I’ll babysit the smelly bastard.”

Yamcha squeaked at that and scurried away from him.

“Take Yamcha with you

“I don’t know…” His father considered it for a moment, looked at Radditz (who was rubbing his jaw now and growling lightly without actually getting to his feet.) Then Goku sighed and said: “Okay, I guess. He can’t hurt you anyway.”

Ouch. Gohan didn’t even have a highly-developed sense of Saiyan pride and he knew that what his father said was incredibly painful to hear. (Again with Vegeta being a bad influence.) He knew his father had just said it because it would tick off his brother and make him feel petty and worthless.

“Thanks son!” his dad said then he reached down and grabbed Yamcha by the arm, raised two fingers to his forehead and disappeared.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~****

Radditz: *grabs Gohan hauls him away*

Gohan: Waaaaaaait…I don’t waaaaaaaaaaaaaant to be gay!

Goten: I do!~

Trunks: You ARE you mean?

Thanks readreading folks. Hope ya like the new chappie!~ And UGH. I've been putting together my website for my non-fanfiction endeavors that's why I've been so *blah* with the not getting things done.

Anyway if you want to check it out its at: www.geocities.com/unclesvencalled