Stay

Stay

"I'm proud of you son...but now it's time for me to go."

"Dad no please don't go! I-I just met you! Daddy please!" Desperation and fear made the child's voice sound even more shrill.

"I'm sorry Goten! You're the man of the house now...so...take care of your mother for me." The man gave a warm smile, his eyes filling with sadness.

Goku stood, giving one last affectionate hair ruffle to his youngest son. "I'm proud of you." He whispered. Then slowly, so very slowly, Goku began to ascend into the sky. The small boy instantly began to cry, "Daddy! NO!" Desperately, the child tried to follow his father into the otherworld but found he was being weighed down by some invisible force. Loud sobs penetrated the lookout's relatively calm atmosphere.

A gentle woman's hand placed itself on Goten's shouder. "Shh...Daddy will come back another day! If not that then, you'll come to him. Everything will be o-" Chichi's words of comfort hung from her mouth, her throat making a strange gurgling. The young boy shook like a leaf, a rock hard lump forming within the confines of his throat. He turned around slowly, not wanting to see the cause of the noise.

"Times up!" A raspy voice cheered bitterly. The pink monster's antenae coiled tighter and tighter around Chichi's throat. Goten opened his mouth to scream, but it took several seconds for his voice to cut through his fear. "MOOMMYY!!"

Immediatley the boy was paralyzed as he watched his mother's face contourt in agony. "STOPITSTOPITSTOPIT!!" Tears violently striked his rosy cheeks. Guilt weighed upon him like a namekian dragonball. He couldn't even keep his own mother alive for Kami's sake!  He failed his father's last wishes. Goten fell to the ground, along with his now deceased mother.

The traumatized child let out a defeaning cry, while the monster let out a hearty, pridefilled laugh. "Y-Y-You bastard!" The monster did not stop laughing. The terrified cries of Goten fed into Evil Buu's happiness. His laughter mocked Goten, encircled him. He was a failure to his whole family, his friends, the people of Earth. A let down. His face was red with all his screams, his eyes puffed. Feeling a presence hovering over him, the orphan looked up to find the eyes of the souless beast burning into Goten's. "That's enough you whining brat. It's time for you TO DIE! HAHAHA!"

~

The boy's eyes shot open. His body felt sweaty and slightly sticky. He expected to be on the lookout. With its elegant carvings, and decorations. It's open, clear pastel sky, and flowers in an assortment of colors. Instead he could only make out a window, with a stream of moonlight pouring through it. Outside, he could see thousands of clusters of stars adourning the velvet night sky.

The young boy tried to calm himself, his breathing ragged and uneven. 'It was only another stupid nightmare!' Tears blurred Goten's vision. He covered his mouth with his hands in an attempt to quiet his sobs.

It had been two months since the Evil Buu's defeat, but occasionally he still experienced terrifying and nightmarish dreams. He wished Gohan were there to comfort him like so many times in the past, but he was gone. Married and now living with his new roomate; Videl. The room never felt the same without him. It was so empty. It was a feeling he'd hoped to get use to, but feared he never would.

After several minutes of contemplation, Goten decided there was no way he'd be able to sleep, not with that traumatic nightmare engraved into his mind.

Finally feeling more composed, the boy wearily wiped his moist eyes with his nightshirt. 'The nightmare felt so real..' The child mused, 'What if Daddy and Mommy actually did leave me while I was asleep?' Biting back more tears, Son Goten slowly built up his resolve, determined to find out for himself.