Life With You

Part 24: The Long Wait

I have to escape. I have to get home.

Freeza's ship was too damage to fly. He had to find another ship to escape on but time was running out. Namek was seconds from exploding. Every few moments the planet would shake and lava would spew from an open fissure. Goku flew, narrowly escaping lava spewing from lakes of fire that was once land Namekians lived, farmed and played on.

Goku frantically looked for another spaceship. He refused to accept he will die like this. He'll die on his terms. No one else's.

There! On a small spot of land slowly being swallowed up by lava, Goku spotted five round pods. Whoops. Four now watching one of the pods roll into a pool of lava. Goku hopped in a pod and press all the buttons, hoping one of them activate the engines of the ship.

The interior of the pod lit up, engines hummed and Goku found himself thrusting in the sky. He pressed his hands on the glass to view the final seconds of planet Namek from space. He looked in awe how this green and lush planet was now a lake of lava colored in ominous red and purple.

He only had a moment to breathe a sigh of relief he escaped Namek before it blew up.

He only had a moment to think he survived and somehow someway will get home.

He only had a moment before everything went to hell.

Namek exploded in a violent roar of destruction. Millions of pieces of Namek shattered across space, creating ripples of shockwaves.

"Shit!" Goku gripped the ship's interior. He tried to hold steady as the ship was caught in shockwaves. Everything around him rattled violently. Lights flickered as the ship spun in circles. He winced hearing the ship get pounded with debris. He hoped whatever hits the ship took wouldn't be catastrophic for him.

Eventually, the ship passed through the rings of shockwaves. The spinning stopped and with things finally calm, Goku's exhausted body relaxed. Hours passed as Goku drifted in and out of sleep. Awake, he stared in the darkness of space lost in his own thoughts as this ship took him to somewhere he knew wasn't Earth.

Will I see them again?

He thought of Gohan, how he raised his voice at him; threatened him. He never did that but he was so full of rage he could barely control himself. ChiChi was right. Gohan shouldn't have been in this situation. He'll make it up to him somehow. Goku thought of ChiChi and their last moments in the hospital. If he'd known when she left for the mall, that was the last time he'd see her....

This time, I know Gohan is with her.

Goku was going to drift to sleep again when he saw a planet coming into view. As he entered the atmosphere, lights on the control panel blinked, the interior lights flashed and the ship shook violently.

Instead of slowing down for a landing, Goku felt himself speed up. Goku braced himself for impact and hoped that luck he had when escaping Namek helped him one more time when he crash on this planet.

****

I'm alive.

Those were Goku's first thoughts as he viewed the blue sky above him. No, not a sky he corrected himself. A blue ceiling. He blinked a few times as his groggy mind tried to focus. His body was a mess. He didn't feel any broken bones but his body ached all over. He felt as if a mountain was dropped on him. Slowly, he sat up and noticed he wasn't wearing his clothes but a gown.

Looking around, Goku noticed he wasn't alone. A small person stood next to the bed staring at him. He? She? Goku wasn't sure but this person had a large bulbous aqua colored head with spots, sharp ears, wide eyes and whisker like appendages on the side of its head.