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Nowhere: 1
By : FelixMcKadden
Category: Missing Data > Missing Data
Views: 105 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Nowhere: XXXI

He sat alone in the empty, white room while being cushioned by an equally white sofa. Heaven's waiting room was a place for people who were lucky enough to be allowed council with the gods. Son Goku was one of these lucky individuals, made even luckier by the fact that he was still living for such a meeting.

There was a thrill to seeing the dragon. Witnessing the presence of a being with such immense power in such a limited space was galvanizing. It was like seeing an old friend in the way fondness and excitement spread through him at the sight. It didn’t bother him that Bulma was taking the lead. She often had in various situations in the past as well.

“Speak your three wishes and I shall grant them,” the basso profundo voice rumbled through the air.

“Shenron, please cure the mental damage done to Vegeta and restore his health and potential!”

He hated sitting still. He hated waiting. Goku had a propensity for action and idly pondering things tended to not work in his favor. It didn’t help that the older he got - and the more unattended his mind - the more sinuous and extensive his thoughts became. He felt the rules that barred him from travelling with King Kai were rather arbitrary and unnecessary. Though he would not be the first to say he wasn’t a rather intuitive person when it came to social niceties.

The dragon’s body continued to slowly coil around the sky, but he did not speak for several moments. “That wish,” it informed them, “cannot be granted.”

The pair of friends were gobsmacked. “Why not?” Bulma cried out.

“The one called Vegeta has not sustained any damage to his brain.”

“Then it must be something else with his body!” the human protested, “Can’t you heal him?”

“It is beyond my power to repair the psyche.”

“But… but you just said he had no brain damage!”

“Yes, his soma, his body is not damaged. It is his psyche, his spirit.”

They did not know what to say.

In turn, it sparked the fantastic creature’s impatience, “Now, speak a wish or release me.”

Goku looked to Bulma and saw that his friend was in a daze, quite obviously staring off into space. The young man quickly interceded, “We don’t need a wish right now. Thank you, Shenron.”

There was a faint noise at the end of the hall as a door opened and conversation consequently spilled out. It was too far away and too low for even his ears to make out but he watched intently as his old mentor parted ways with another person and slowly trudged in his direction. Goku normally would have leapt to his feet to meet him sooner, but a knot of atypical worry made its presence known in his gut. It inhibited his keen attitude.

Before he could attempt to process the latest revelation, before the afterglow of the dragon balls scattering finished fading, a voice filled the air between them.

“Goku?”

He knew that technically the “Other World” was on another plane of existence, but he couldn’t help but look up when replying, “King Kai?”

“It got my attention when you summoned the eternal dragon. I think it’d be best if you came here to talk.”

His eyes redirected towards his inventor friend. She looked as if she were on the brink of despair. Her posture, her expression, her pallor… everything indicated this development had demoralized her to the point that she was lost. Goku placed his hand on her shoulder and gently shook her, relieved when it seemed to jostle her - even a little - out of her melancholy stupor. “King Kai wants to talk to me,” he informed her, and it brought some light and brightness back to her eyes.

“Uh, okay. Okay… Sure.”

The Saiyan felt a little uneasy about leaving her in such an emotionally vulnerable position, but he knew it was also important to not keep the god waiting. After a gentle squeeze, he released her to place two fingers to his forehead. He wondered how much his sudden vacancy impacted her before materializing on a much, much smaller planet.

Goku sat at full attention, his back straight with his hands gripping his knees. King Kai’s expression didn’t change as he halted in front of him and slowly shook his head.

Worry was now confirmed and validated. Reason actually supported fear instead of inhibiting it in this regard, and the taller man felt an odd numbness.

How can I tell Vegeta? he thought.

The numbness abated in a flash and he felt a churning in his stomach. No, really, how could he? Vegeta’s condition was barely, feebly understood. It was solely a diagnosis. Everything beyond was unknown. What sort of results or consequences would occur if he informed the prince? Would it matter in the end?

In an uncustomary situation, he found his emotions likewise behaving uncharacteristically. This was not something he could fix with his fists, or Bulma could fix with her tech, or the dragon could fix with its magic. It had been so long since he last felt helpless he could not even recall what had last caused the sensation. It contended against his confidence, his assurance, his optimism, and it was performing splendidly much to his chagrin.

What was he supposed to do for Vegeta now? As an enemy, Goku would determine that rectification of such a status would be upon the bearer. As a rival, the path was obscured. The outright trust and chumminess that had been shown also persuaded Earth’s hero to not bypass the other, but to rather embolden him.

Those sarcastic smiles had been refreshingly different from the cold scowls, the sneers coupled with taunts or jeers, and the venomous threats made like punctuation. Now they would make his equivocal position stand out in sharp relief.

What a waste.

The echo of his past self erupted without warning. The request he had made and the liability he had assumed flagrantly came to the forefront of his mind. He had agreed to protect against Vegeta - that much was indisputable. Other than his thirst for a challenge he hadn’t offered Krillin or anyone else an explanation on why he didn’t want the older Saiyan dead. It had always been difficult for Goku to express himself, but all the more so in the past.

A small, ceramic cup was extended in front of his line of vision. He looked at King Kai for the first time in a couple minutes and the stout teacher insisted for the drink to be taken. The tea inside sloshed a little, and Goku gratefully took the offering. "Thanks," he spoke softly, and immediately took a sip. Whatever it was seemed to be good for nausea.

"I’m sorry," the god said as he took a seat next to him.

"No, you tried to help," Goku protested, “Thank you for trying.”

“I know how important this is for you,” King Kai replied rather flippantly.

The black-haired man paused while raising his cup for another sip. While he had said as much, at least to himself, hearing it from another seemed to unveil a depth beneath a veneer.

What a waste.

It hadn’t been austerity. He had viewed it as a type of selfish conservation. But people weren’t things. He knew that. He knew that, and still…

“I’m bound to him,” he proclaimed at the unceremonious cognizance. Sparing Vegeta meant more than salvaging him. It meant charging himself to an unspoken covenant. It was a responsibility he had gladly, brazenly, and (arguably) compulsively made. Yet as soon as the words left his mouth he cringed with embarrassment. It was a strange phrase to use despite how appropriate it felt to him. However, others often didn’t comprehend what he deemed appropriate or inappropriate, and that made him self-conscious in his disclosures.

His friend’s reply reinforced his reticence, “I know you don’t like to turn away from people who need help, but thinking you’re obligated to fix this is taking it a bit far.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Goku murmured a little hotly but with clear abashment. To prevent anything else from coming out that he may regret, he instantly took to the tea again.

“Well anyway,” luckily the god let it drop as just another moment in his pupil being eccentric, “only time will tell. If you feel you must do something, then keeping an eye on him is the best you can do for now.”

He nodded, acknowledging the sound advice. Goku slowly finished his beverage.

Only time will tell.

Vegeta could return back to normal. Or he could be irremediable.

The thought of that loss now diverged from that moment when he had lain broken and bloody on a bed of sand and rock.

I don’t want to lose you.
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Nowhere: 1	By : FelixMcKadden Category: Missing Data > Missing Data Views: 105 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Nowhere: 1