Chapter Text
Dreams, in a sense, could be likened to sea.
Most were often calm like the ocean on a sunny day, with sporadic ripples in the water representing the high and lows of the mind. The water feels warm and pleasant, and the feeling of the water lulls one into complacency, into a sweet dream that ultimately one will have to swim out of soon. However, the sea can change course rather quickly, too, and can transform into a roaring storm, just like how a pleasant dream can transform into a nightmare if one ventures into the unknown.
Goten didn’t know why he was getting so philosophical. It was hard enough having to paddle through this pink stained sea on his own, following a spirit that kept catching his attention every so often. Dark eyes narrowed at the thing skipping along the water with ease, and groaned as the water started running against the paddle in his hand. He didn’t know where he ended up, to be honest. In one moment, he was walking along the corridors of Capsule Corp, searching for a time machine that could help him with his current problem, and the next, this white-clothed spirit was seen skipping along the hallways. He didn’t know what got over him, but there was an unknown pull that led to him following the spirit and into a gateway into this purple and pink world where the floor was ultimately a stream that always gave him a hard time navigating, and the sky was peppered with a golden moon, golden lined clouds and glittering gold pinpricks that nearly resemble stars.
Now, how did he get himself into his unknown world?
It was a rather simple tale.
He woke up, hearing utter silence.
There was an absence of breakfast, judging from the fragrant-less morning. Goten didn’t know why he didn’t get the alarm bells ringing the moment he didn’t smell breakfast, nor felt the ki of both his mother and father around the house. Out of curiosity, and maybe a little worry, he went towards his parents’ shared bedroom to come across his parents sleeping deathly still on their bed. They were farmers at heart, he should have known that there was something off if neither his mother or father were up even after the sun had risen. Little ki was felt, never moved nor made a sound apart from light breathing, and Goten had unfortunately thought nothing of it at the time. He did incorrectly assume that they were sleeping in for the day.
And maybe it was the opportunity of a quiet day without his mom screaming at him and his dad causing who knows what in the background, but he flew away from his house as soon as he could before his parents woke up. Or so he thought.
But he was still hungry, so it was crashing at Gohan’s for breakfast. But the same scene was still present.
The kitchen was empty. Gohan and Videl laying still with little to no sound or ki, and Pan, curled up in blankets and plush animals, frozen into a splayed out position without moving. Goten’s eyes widened at the sight, and stepped away from his niece’s bedroom to sit on the couch.
‘ Everyone’s sleeping in…’ he thought, ‘ And I’m the only one awake. What’s going on? Why did I even bother to wake up early when everyone else is asleep... ’
He scratched his head, and got up from the couch. His stomach was still grumbling for food, and he probably needed to go somewhere to eat. Maybe at Capsule Corp? Everyone seemed to be awake at all hours over there, and it would be nice to eat whatever buffet they managed to make plus tease a barely awake Trunks.
He perked up at the thought of his boyfriend of three years, and got out of Gohan’s house as soon as possible. He can deal with his sleeping family later. Perhaps by the time he came back from Capsule Corp, they would all be awake and he would be worrying for nothing.
He flew towards Capsule Corp, where he expected noise to be made, either by the machines whirring in the background, or coming across whoever was in the kitchen making breakfast that day. There was a good chance that he would run into Vegeta, who would probably make a snide remark about his lack of training. There would be a lot of noise, and food would be made, and he wouldn’t have to worry about anything at what happened back at Mt. Paozu. Maybe Vegeta would probably have a solution towards their unexpected sleeping in, too. However, as his feet landed into the immaculate lawn of the Briefs’, his face fell.
No noise was heard. Neither by machines or people.
Nobody was outside, and when he came in, the rooms and hallways were devoid of people, and the silence sent him into a near panic. Goten didn’t bother looking into the kitchen, and he went towards the bedrooms. His footsteps were loud against the ceramic tile floor of Capsule Corp, and his eyes flitted for any movement or any sound, really, because the silence was really getting into him.
Unfortunately, he still came across the same thing.
Bulma and Vegeta were deathly still in their bed, with only the sound of breathing heard from the two of them. ‘This reminds me of a funeral,’ Goten thought with a wince, as he watched the two of them sleep still in their beds, with no movement ever made.
Bulla, like Pan, was curled up in the mess of stuffed animals, pillows and a variety of different blankets piled onto her. Goten had to get close to see if the child was just as still as her parents were, and sighed when he saw her state. Still, lightly breathing, and no signs of stirring when he came near her. Not wanting to see this anymore, he left the room.
Trunks...in all of his splayed out glory, was just as deathly still as the other members of his family, and Goten, in what seemed to be worry racking his frame, immediately tried to wake him up. Deep within him, he knew that he wouldn’t wake even if he tried to aim a Kamehameha towards him at full power, but it was worth a shot.
Whether it was through shaking him,
Tossing him out of bed,
Splashing the coldest water he could get onto him,
Or even lambasting him with the loudest sound he could make or could find,
Nothing worked.
Goten grew frustrated by the repeated attempts to wake up his boyfriend, and put him back where he was before leaving Capsule Corp. It was surprisingly easy, he found out, when he arranged him to be less splayed out and more curled up into his bed. But from what he knew, nothing could wake up people in that state. Which left wonders of how he managed to wake up on his own, if every person he knew succumbed to this spell, condition, or whatever else he could call it. However, as he turned around to look at the sleeping figure of his boyfriend, a soft expression washed over his face.
For a guy like Trunks, who seemed to wear a permanent scowl or a haughty smirk depending on his mood, he sure did look peaceful in his sleep. Nearly angelic, if he had to put words into it. For a moment, an urge rose inside of him, an unthinkable thought popped into his head, and he stood frozen at the doorway of his room. Stories did romanticize the idea of true love’s kiss, and if everything else didn’t work, would a kiss rouse someone from bed? He briefly pondered over it, with dark eyes flitting towards the prone body on the bed, and he shook his head of the thought.
He was well aware that their relationship was way beyond friendship. After all, he couldn't forget how the other confessed to him in the dead of night, and how elated Trunks looked when he accepted going on a date with him. But also, he wasn’t going to try something as stupid as kissing the other awake. Even if it worked, he still had to explain himself afterwards. Not to mention how dirty he would feel then, having basically kissed the other without his consent.
Or maybe he shouldn't be so afraid of kissing his boyfriend when he’s in this state. His foot was nearly out of the door by then, and he quickly turned around and sped towards the bed again. With a nervous expression, with his eyes closed, he leant towards Trunks and pressed a hesitant kiss on the lips. It was brief, fleeting even, but the touch of his lips against Trunks was practically unforgettable, with how surprisingly soft the other's lips were.
Yet...the other didn't stir, and Goten was left sighing after the fact.
Yeah, that was probably a stupid idea. Trunks was still asleep, and here he was, copping a kiss when the other wasn't even aware of it. He tucked the other in as much as he could, considering Trunks' limbs were still everywhere even as much as he tried arranging him back, and left the sleeping teenager to dream whatever was in his pretty little head. He stepped out of the room, and closed the door behind him before breaking out into a run out of Capsule Corp.
“Well, that was embarrassing,” he muttered to himself, and took off on a flight.
There was no point in waking the others, then. If both his and Trunks’ families succumbed to this kind of sleep spell or whatever, then he knew the humans probably had it worse. But he was still hungry, and Goten wondered if the nearest convenience store was open. He landed in an empty street in West City, made eerie by the lack of people and cars going around, and looked up at the store.
24/7. By the window, he peeks at a clerk who had fallen asleep at the counter, with arms wrapped around their head. They didn’t look to be moving much, and Goten felt bad as he walked along the sliding doors, and picked up whatever snacks he wanted under their nose. Already he was committing petty theft, but with no one making any food, and the insanity he would feel making his own in an empty and silent kitchen, he might as well grab from whatever grocery or convenience store he could find.
He snorted to himself. Snacks for breakfast...that was a first.
It felt really lonely eating dozens of chips and cookies from a bench, but Goten supposed he had nothing to do now. A sigh was heard, and he looked up at the sky briefly before sinking into the bench. So...now what? Everyone’s asleep. Whatever he wanted to do is thwarted by nobody being awake to operate anything (so much for going into the amusement park, or anywhere fun, really-), and chances that it wouldn’t be as fun if he didn’t do those things with Trunks, anyway. A sigh was heard again, and Goten listlessly looked ahead before spotting something strange.
A flash of purple.
Immediately, with thoughts drifting towards Trunks, he rushed towards it. But as much as he could run, as much as he could float above ground and fly towards it, he somehow couldn’t catch up to it.
White clothing billowed in the wind, and small hands held onto the large white sunhat. Dark eyes focused intently onto them, and he sped up his flying towards them (is it Trunks? Or someone else unlucky enough to be awake in a world where everyone else is sleeping?). But he still couldn’t catch up, and suddenly-
Where did it go?
Goten stopped in his tracks, and looked around briefly for it. It vanished in thin air, hadn’t it? Or was he so hyper focused on it that he actually lost track of them during the chase? Something caught his eye, and his eyes widened at the sight of water flowing throughout the streets of West City.
...It was pink.
He touched down briefly on the steadily rising stream. It flowed gently, not unlike the rivers at Mount Paozu, and Goten waded through the water to find the source of it. It wasn’t stained with blood, thank Dende, but he was oddly suspicious of it, and followed the stream as much as it could before it began to overwhelm him. As soon as the water rose up to his neck, Goten flew up, shaking himself to get dry. His eyes looked down at the steadily flooding city, and raised an eyebrow at the sight.
“...water? Where is it coming from?”
He flew across the steadily rising sea, and grew confused once he didn’t find the source. It was as if the water appeared out of nowhere, and spread out as fast as it could. Almost as if someone was well aware of his presence in the area and was trying to flush him out...literally. Goten pursed his lips at this, and flew up higher and out of West City.
He wasn’t going to deal with whatever vengeful being was out there to kill him. At least not the moment. Goten carded a hand throughout his hair and sighed, and flew back to Mount Paozu. Something was definitely in the water, then, and if he was the only one who had been awake while the rest of the world was asleep…
The day seemed to end quickly, too.
What was once morning now quickly faded into night, and Goten heard his stomach rumble again for the second time. Going back to one of West City’s convenience stores was a no, judging from that pink sea threatening to swallow him even when he was in flight. And the guilt of stealing from under those sleeping clerks’ noses was too much, so it was hunting for something quick. Or looking to see what could be taken and not be missed.
A roar was heard in the distance, and Goten snapped towards the sound. Huh. The animals seemed to be immune from this sleeping spell, and if that was a dinosaur he heard earlier...he could kill it and eat it for tonight. And save some for tomorrow too, if he’s careful enough. He trailed towards the sound, having made up his mind already. Dinosaur seemed like a good idea for tonight. And hopefully for tomorrow, the next day, and the days after that…
It wasn’t hard to find and kill one. His heart panged when he heard the beast roar and fall lifelessly onto the ground, but his own hunger was a top priority, and he made sure the poor thing didn’t have any babies with it. With a great sigh, he lifted the corpse and took it somewhere where the being probably couldn’t find him (that water was not a coincidence, he thought, to appear like that with no source and just after he lost the purple thing that he was chasing after). Some dry sticks and a ki blast later, he jump started a fire and sat down with a chunk of dinosaur to chow down on.
Should he even sleep?
Everyone was completely still from sleep. Chances are they wouldn’t wake up even now, judging from his efforts to wake Trunks. And if he is just the lucky (unlucky?) one to be awake, shouldn’t he make sure not to sleep? Not to fall into the same dreaming trap that everyone else was ensnared in?
The fire kept burning. Goten stared up at the night sky with hopelessness, and sighed.
“So now what?”
Here he was, stuck in an empty world, with no one to help him through this situation. Nothing could be done, and nothing seemed to work. What was the point of being the only one awake throughout this?
(Should he sleep?)
(Should he not?)
His eyelids suddenly felt very heavy, and Goten struggled to keep them open. He could feel something compelling him to close them, to lull to sleep and forget about this day and think about the dreaming world ahead of him. And as much as he struggled against it, he was still powerless against the spell, and soon drifted off to sleep…
And then he woke up once again.
He was back in his bed, in his room, with an absent smell of breakfast and an overwhelming silence. Goten blinked, and looked around with fear, and got up to check on his parents.
Still asleep. Not moving, with little sound.
He rushed to check on Gohan and his family.
Still asleep. Not moving, with little sound.
He rushed to Capsule Corp.
Everyone is still asleep, not moving, with little sound.
In a fit of desperation, he checked everywhere else.
Kame House was still.
Krillin’s house was still.
Yamcha, Tien and the others were still.
And he was the only one awake!
For the first time since Buu, a deep desperation rose up within him, as intense as it was when he witnessed his mother being turned into an egg and crushed into bits. He felt himself spill over into the brink of gold, screaming and crying in desperation, because out of all of the people that could have been in this shitty situation was someone who was probably the weakest out of all them, the one who hadn’t thought of battle for around ten years!
His memory seemed to blur all together, but Goten recalled himself causing untold destruction wherever he happened to fly across, watching the earth crack and smoulder under his power before he had to stop himself to eat.
It lasted a week.
Today, he finally calmed down, taking notice of the large swaths of destruction he caused on the wasteland. He still felt himself shake from desperation, and in a brief moment of clarity, he thought to check the time. With a hand patting around his back pocket, he pulled out his phone (it was a wonder how he didn’t even remember to check on it every so often as he did before), and black eyes widened at the sight of the screen.
“...it can’t be…”
He didn’t bother to check the time, and focused on the day.
It was still Friday.
Yesterday was Friday. Was the day before that Friday? Were the last few days Friday?
He didn’t know, and in his distressed state, a thought appeared inside of his head.
‘...what if I traveled back in time…’
It was a stupid idea, time traveling to get himself out of the now time loop, but Goten didn’t have any options in the end, did he? Either he travels out of this nightmarish time loop to another timeline where he could get help...or he lands himself at a day where this nightmare didn't begin yet.
His eyes steeled in determination. Abandoning the wrecked wasteland, he flew back into Capsule Corp. Hopefully, a time machine was still present in the labs. And if not, well...he was not going to be any less screwed like before.
He lands on the lawn again. His ears have grown used to the silence surrounding civilization, although he was still unnerved by the lack of sound coming from Capsule Corp. His footsteps are heard as loudly as possible throughout the empty corridors, and his eyes flitter for any sight of a blue and yellow machine. For a moment, he hears faint footsteps, but that's ignored in favor of looking for the time machine.
They grow closer, and yet despite the deafening madness, Goten still chooses to ignore it in favor of the time machine. He can hear them, the faint footsteps growing louder the more he explored the area, and it takes a lot for him to not turn towards the sound and towards it in relief.
It wasn't until he came across a pair of bare feet. They were the same skin color as Trunks, he noted, although the figure was dressed in a pair of white slacks and a shirt. Nothing Trunks would've worn. Not in that color. Their face was hidden by the large white sun hat in hand, and with Goten's shock…
Wisps of purple hair could be seen underneath the hat.
"Trunks…?"
With a swift turn, they began to skip along the hallways, with Goten's full attention on them. Black eyes were widened, and he felt himself rise from the floor, before zooming towards the being at the fastest speed possible.
"Was Trunks awake this whole time?" he muttered, "Or is this some sick joke?" He was definitely leaning towards the latter, for sure.
It was the same chase as before.
As fast as he could, he chased after the other. He couldn't catch up, the skipping being always just a sliver away from being caught. As frustrating as it was, at least Goten did not lose sight of it within the winding corridors, knowing Capsule Corp like the back of his hand, thanks to his frequent visits.
"Come back here!"
However, the slight sound of water rushing was heard from afar, and with his focus entirely on catching this stupid thing, Goten did not notice water appearing from the ground. The strange pink water began to rise up slowly as the chase continued throughout the winding hallways, and Goten only realized it appeared again once the water was nearly making him glide towards the being.
'No…' he thought, 'I can't escape this time, it's going to kill me-! '
There was no more roof to rise, the Capsule Corp roof suddenly being shrunken in an instance. The hallways began to mix together, with no exit to be found. And Goten felt the water overwhelming him completely, covering him, dragging him down towards the tiled floor in a sea of pink, and he felt his eyelids droop once again in an attempt to bring him to sleep. Or to death. Either or was bad in this scenario. He tried to resist as he did on the first day, only to find it a greater struggle overall.
He kept swimming, kept trying to keep his eyes open, no longer caring for the hovering being in front of him, and then...and then…
And then he woke up.