The Lookout

"You heard from Goku?" Bulma asked, her blue eyes wide. "Really?!" She laid out a spread of food on the table that Gohan sat, carefully placing the portions in stacks around him. He could hear his stomach growling and when Bulma had backed away, he began to quickly eat a few bowls of rice and chicken before he stopped to swallow.

"I did," he said, hanging his head a little low. "I was...in a pretty low spot and his voice spoke to me. He didn't really explain how he did it, but he said that there was a way that we could defeat the cyborgs. I just have to go to someplace called 'Kami's Lookout'."

"Hm," Bulma said, rubbing her chin as she paced around the room. "I think that's where the guys trained in preparation for the Saiyans. At the very least, it's a safe place away from the damn things. But, I don't know why your father would tell you to go there for training."

"Apparently," Gohan said in between mouthfuls, "there's a guy named Mr. Popo up there that knows something that can help Trunks and I." Bulma seemed to freeze in her tracks, take a breath and continue pacing.

"So you're definitely going to train him then?" she asked, turning towards him. Gohan nodded and she sighed. "I know you can't make any promises to me that everything will be fine and that you'll bring my son back to me. I don't want to put that weight on you. But, Gohan…"

"Yeah, Bulma?"

"Promise me that you'll do whatever you can to make him stronger," Bulma said.

"I'll do everything in my power to increase his. I don't know how this Mr. Popo will help us get stronger but I trust Dad," Gohan replied. He had no choice but to trust his father at this point. He didn't know how hard it must've been to contact him from beyond the grave but given that his father hadn't spoken to him the last fourteen years, Gohan wagered that it truly had to be something they could do to get stronger.

Gohan continued eating until there was nothing left but empty bowls on the table and he felt his strength had been restored. Bulma tended to a few of his wounds, leading him to her makeshift laboratory.

"I was able to isolate the DNA of the Senzu we use from one of the ones you gave me. From it, I may be able to clone the plant to some degree. We'll see if the properties are more magical than science-based," she said, showing Gohan her lab equipment and notes. "But for now, I can put some of this ointment I made on a few of your cuts. I theorize it'll take a few hours to fully heal you rather than it being instant, but it's better than flying around handicapped just in case those cyborgs catch you again."

With a grim smile, Gohan thought, Yeah, that'd be just our luck…

Bulma rubbed the ointment on Gohan's cuts on his arms and he could feel a slight tingle. "I feel it burning a bit. Maybe, it'll work."

"When it does," Bulma said with her old matter-of-fact ferocity, "I'll have more to go on to try to replicate the Senzu themselves." Gohan dipped his head in acknowledgment and sighed.

"I guess I should be leaving soon then." Bulma pointed behind Gohan.

"Trunks was asleep in his room when you got here. Either he still is or he's been eavesdropping on our conversation this whole time. If I were a betting woman…"

"I wasn't eavesdropping!" a voice called out. Gohan chuckled and Bulma rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Trunks, come on out here," she said. Gohan heard the creak of a door opening and footsteps approached. A blue-haired teen stared up at the two of them and Gohan could see the passion in his eyes.

"Gohan, is it true? There might be a way that we can beat the cyborgs?" the boy asked.

"Yeah, there might. I'm going to train you as best as I can and we're going to go do it in a location that I'm fairly certain the cyborgs don't know about," Gohan replied. Trunks' face lit up and he smiled.

"Really? That sounds awesome!"

Gohan shifted the tone of his voice. "I just want you to promise me one thing in front of your mother as a witness." Trunks nodded and Gohan continued. "No matter what, you'll fight until your last breath to protect the Earth and those most precious to you. You won't give up on our training no matter how much I push you. And," Gohan said more darkly, "if we're ever in a situation where you have to choose between saving me and saving yourself, choose you. No matter what."

"No matter what…? But, Gohan…"

Gohan folded his arms. "If you can't agree to those terms, then we can't fight together. You have to recognize that one dead fighter is a tragedy however if the both of us die, there's no hope left. If the cyborgs end up cornering me and you have a chance to escape, leave me." Gohan watched as the boy stared down at the ground, seemingly coming to terms with the weight of the oath he was taking. He had to understand. If Trunks could reconcile with that fact and understand the sacrifice, then he'd be ready to train.

"Okay," Trunks said. The determined look hadn't left his eyes but had instead firmly rooted itself. "I promise. I won't let you down."

Gohan let himself smile. "I believe you."

-/-

Chi-Chi sat in her chair, knitting and sewing. The gi she was making was small enough to fit a small figurine. She had done her best to recreate Goku's old gi as best she could. Not his orange one, but the blue gi he wore when they first met. Looking down at her creation, she felt tears begin to well in her eyes.

The man that she loved was gone. Nearly fifteen years later and the pain hadn't yet waned. Especially not with her only son risking his life constantly trying to defend the planet as Goku had. That is if Gohan was even alive still. There weren't any news stations that she could turn her attention to and the only source of information that she had came from a crazed radio personality named Jimmy Firecracker who reported the latest cyborg attacks and he hadn't done so in months.

Goku...please look out for our son… Chi-Chi thought.

"I am," a voice replied. Chi-Chi froze and her grip on her knitting needles faltered. She couldn't possibly have just heard what she thought she did.

"I-I must be going crazy," Chi-Chi whispered out into the air.

"I mean, if you're referring to me, you're not," the voice said again, unmistakably the voice of Goku.

"Goku. My Goku," Chi-Chi said. "This can't be…"

"It is. I don't have a lot of time to talk but I wanted to let you know that I talked to Gohan and gave him a pep talk and some instructions. I think he's gonna be okay. Don't worry about him or me. Take care of yourself, ok?" Goku said. Chi-Chi began to cry and dug her face into her hands, her body shaking uncontrollably.

Then, she felt a hand touch her shoulder. It was a firm but tender grasp and when Chi-Chi looked up, it faded away. But again, there was no mistaking that it belonged to Goku. Still tearful, still in disbelief, she sat back down in her chair and continued to knit. This time, instead of in grief, with added purpose. This would no longer be a memorial. But a symbol of hope.

-/-

Gohan still loved the feeling of the wind blowing through his hair and hitting his face. He rarely got a chance to experience the pure joy that flying brought when he spent nearly all of his time flying into battle with the cyborgs. Beside him, Trunks had a more thoughtful look on his face.

"You okay, Trunks?" Gohan asked. His freshly minted student suddenly looked at him and then looked forward again.

"I'm just a little lost in thought, I guess. I just don't know what to expect from training with you. I'm…"

"Nervous?" Gohan asked. Trunks nodded. If Gohan were to be honest with himself, he had no clue what they'd need to work on first. He wasn't an experienced fighter by any stretch of the imagination and had never really won a straight one by his own merit his entire life. Fighting the cyborgs had only him taught all of his inefficiencies and none of his strengths. He had to figure out the first thing that he needed to learn and in doing so, he had to teach Trunks as well.

"Yeah. I just want to get strong enough that I face them with you. When you fight by yourself, I just know that they team up on you. You've got to be stronger than either of them individually," Trunks said. Gohan blinked at him and Trunks looked away, blushing. "Sorry…"

Gohan smirked and looked ahead. He might be right… he thought. He had never had a chance to test the theory with no way to separate the cyborgs from each other fighting alone. They worked perfectly as a tandem and their moves were always coordinated so well that they moved as one. If Gohan could figure out a way to get them separated…

"Well, I think we can figure everything out once we get to the Lookout. Apparently, it's where the old team trained when the Saiyans first arrived," Gohan said.

"When they arrived?" Trunks asked.

"Yeah," Gohan nodded. "I guess Bulma hasn't really had time to give you that history lesson, huh?" Gohan ran through a list of reasons why and immediately settled on the fact that Trunks' father was involved. Acceptance and honesty… "So, initially, the only Saiyan that was on Earth was my father. The Saiyans were a race of space pirates that were sent as children to planets to conquer. Dad didn't end up destroying the Earth and my uncle came looking for him. After he was defeated, two stronger Saiyans arrived and one of them was your father, Vegeta."

Trunks nodded. "So, my father was a...space pirate?"

Gohan laughed. "I guess it's a bit of an oversimplification to call them just 'space pirates'. Saiyans were, and through us still are, warriors. Your father was the prince of them. He and my dad were fierce enemies at first and even greater rivals, pushing each other constantly until…" Gohan trailed off.

"Mom doesn't talk about him much at all," Trunks said, picking up the conversation.

Probably because it was more of a fling than it was love. Bulma's pride matches Vegeta's so she probably wouldn't admit to it. Gohan thought. "Maybe when all of this is over, she'll be less stressed and more willing to tell you about him." Saying "when" when I mean "if", came the bitter follow-up thought. Sighing, he continued. "At any rate, you and I are all that are left, two half-Saiyans fighting to save the world rather than destroy it."

"I understand," Trunks said.

As they flew further, Gohan looked below him and noted a tiny village with strange teepee tents. Gohan narrowed his eyes. We must be in the Land of Korin. Which means… Through the clouds, Gohan could make out the base of a tower. He glanced over at Trunks.

"Let's go higher, Trunks," he said. The blue-haired boy nodded and Gohan led him up the height of the tower. They ascended quickly until they reached a stone canopy. Gohan looked at Trunks and nodded then the two entered.

Gohan looked around. "I wonder if this is the Lookout…" he said, thinking out loud.

"If it is, why the cyborgs haven't destroyed it yet," Trunks commented.

"They only seem to target highly populated cities and don't revisit them much after destroying them. It's why you and your mom have been safe where you are all this time. They also don't seem to be able to sense energy," Gohan replied. The two half-Saiyans looked around and Gohan began to have his doubts about whether or not they were in the right place.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a white cat walk out of a room and his first thought was to pet it. Kneeling down, he said, "Hey, little guy. Where's your owner?" he asked. Trunks came over and knelt next to Gohan, reaching out to pet the cat on the head.

The cat's ear twitched and it looked up at him. "What do you mean 'owner', kid?" the cat said. Trunks and Gohan both gawked.

"T-the cat's talking…" Trunks said in disbelief. Again, the cat's ear twitched and it seemed to summon and staff into its hand, whacking Trunks on the head. The boy fell back and winced.

"The cat has a name you know! And it wouldn't hurt for you to show a little respect!" the white-furred feline hissed. "You stand in my tower, Korin Tower." He then stopped and stared at Gohan, looking him over before finally settling. "Ah, I see now. You must be Goku's boy."

After Trunks got back to his feet, Gohan turned back to the cat known as Korin. "You knew my father?"

"Of course, I helped train him at one point. Judging from what I can sense from you both, doesn't seem like there's much I can offer you if that's why you're here," Korin said.

"Actually, we're looking for the Lookout and someone named Mr. Popo. Do you know where that might be?" Gohan asked. Korin pointed one of his paws upward. Gohan and Trunks blinked.

"The Lookout is right above us, you just have to fly past the clouds. It sits between outer space and the Earth," the cat said.

"Ah, thank you, Korin," Gohan said before turning to Trunks. "Let's go."

"Wait a minute," Korin said, raising a paw. He opened up his free paw and revealed a small satchel. "It's been years since anyone's visited here and I feared that the fight was over. However, I still grew Senzu. Inside of this bag, there are six of them. Three for both of you."

Korin handed the bag to Gohan and the half-Saiyan nodded in appreciation. "Thank you."

"Good luck." Gohan and Trunks leaped from the canopy and began their ascent. The higher they climbed, Gohan could feel the air beginning to thin and looked down at Trunks. His mentee didn't seem to be weakening so Gohan pushed and climbed higher faster. The clouds themselves began to grow sparse and Gohan could see the blue of the sky above them as well as another levitating platform.

This must be it…

The two flew past the platform and hovered over it. Gohan scanned the area, noting the trees that spotted the perimeter and the others that led to a building near the back. The square panels that made up the layout of the circular floor. If the place didn't look mystical, it at least felt that way. Gohan thought he felt an odd energy blocking sensation but couldn't tell if it was coming from below or above the clouds. Regardless, he beckoned Trunks to land with him.

"Doesn't seem like anyone is here," Trunks murmured.

Gohan nodded. "We can't see anyone with our eyes anyway. Do you sense any ki?"

"I don't know how," the boy replied, embarrassed. Gohan smiled.

"Don't worry, we'll run through those lessons. As far as I can tell, I think there's someone here but they're trying to hide their energy signature. Probably scoping us out," he said. He turned. "My name is Son Gohan and this is Trunks Briefs. We're just here looking for a Mr. Popo. This is a desperate time for the Earth and we need his help stopping them."

A few seconds passed by that stretched into half a minute before Gohan heard the creaking of a door opening. Stepping out of the shadowy void was a short and stout humanoid with skin as dark as the night sky and a blank neutral expression on his face. He stood at the precipice of the doorway and rested his hands behind his back.

"Is it true that you are who you say? You certainly look like Goku," the figure asked.

"It is," Gohan said. He began to walk forward. "All of my friends died trying to save the Earth from the cyborgs fourteen years ago and I've kept up the fight since then but to no avail. But, my father contacted me from the Other World and told me that there was a way to defeat them and that you could help." Please tell me that you can.

The dark figure...smiled. "Ah, yes, I can help. You seek the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"The what?" Trunks asked.

"The Chamber is a void with a ten times increase in gravity and adverse conditions that fluctuate in temperature. There's also the time dilation. In essence, one year inside of the chamber equates to one day outside of it," the figure said. Gohan fought to keep his mouth from dropping.

"That means that we could train uninterrupted for years in the chamber and only allow days to pass outside," he said.

The figure nodded and said, "Once inside, you will be supplied with food every day that passes. Gohan looked down at Trunks. If they could train together for at least three years, Gohan was confident that they'd be stronger than the cyborgs by then. If this was what his father had intended for them, then Gohan had to capitalize on it.

Thanks, Dad. "Mr. Popo, count us in."