In otherworld, King Kai and Goku were rushing to tell the bad news to the Grand Kai.
Goku rushed into the older Kai's chambers without warning, startling the man before running up to him.
"Goku, show some respect!" King Kai barked as he entered, bowing.
"What's wrong Goku?" The Grand Kai questioned.
"It's my son. He disappeared from the universe. He doesn't exist anymore," Goku answered hurriedly.
"What's that?" Grand Kai questioned. "North Kai, is this true?" He asked the little, blue Kai.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. The warriors of earth even summoned the Eternal Dragon, Shenron, to wish him back. The Dragon couldn't even help," King Kai answered.
Hmm. I'm gonna have to report this to Supreme Kai, Grand Kai thought as he stroked his beard.
"Grand Kai, is there anything you can do to get my son back?" Goku questioned.
"I'll look into it, Goku. I'll see what can be done. However, I can't make any promises," the Grand Kai spoke with a strong tone that signified the end of the conversation.
Where there's a will, there's a way. Goku thought as he turned and left the room in a hurry. He needed a quick fight to calm himself. Has anyone seen Pikkon around?
The Grand Kai left his planet in a hurry and went to the one being he knew of that was above his head; the Supreme Kai. He quickly informed the superior deity of the situation.
And though the loss of a being from the universe was of great importance and probably of equal importance to finding Majin Buu, he was certain that Babidi had found the pink monster, meaning that the Buu situation outweighed the loss of a person from the universe.
The grotesque wizard was currently on his way to a small blue planet called earth, which was coincidently the same planet the disappearance occurred.
The short, slim blue Kai promised to look into it further at a later time but not now. His utmost importance was keeping the universe safe from Majin Buu.
He also may have had to report this to his higher up. He didn't know how or where to find Lord Whis so he'd have to be patient. Whoever this missing person is, surely they could wait.
Sokka, the best warrior in the entire Southern Water Tribe; the only warrior in his tribe, had nothing to do right now so he did what he normally did when he had nothing to do… throw his boomerang.
Leaving his igloo, he walked past several people until he was in a less crowded area of the tribe. He reached back and pulled out his weapon of choice. He got into position to throw it, pretending that he was aiming for a Fire-Nation soldier as he threw it.
Sokka watched as the boomerang flew through the air but was surprised when a flaming blue disk opened in the sky. He gaped at it and started to mumble incoherent non-sense, drawing the attention of everyone in the village.
Katara ran over to her brother and asked, "Sokka, what's wrong?"
Getting no response from him, she followed his line of sight to the flaming blue disk thing. She too gaped at the sight. It wasn't every day that something this bewildering happened.
Soon, the entire village was under a trance like state while gazing up at the flame.
The inside of the disk portal was extremely hot and the flames were burning Haru's skin. The burns wouldn't hurt under any normal circumstances but this was far from normal.
There wasn't much air inside and Haru was suffocating from the lack of oxygen. He tried to concentrate his energy but it wasn't bending to his will.
Behind him, the magical Nimbus cloud was trying to catch up to him. It could endure the heat for now and only wanted to save the life of Haru.
He soon lost consciousness and began tumbling like a fool on a hill. Fortunately for him, an exit was close.
His body was about to exit the portal when an object flew into the portal and hit him in the head, causing him to start flipping in the opposite direction. It slowed him a little but not enough for him to be caught by Nimbus as they continued towards the exit.
He and the object fell out of the portal at amazing speeds. He crashed right into the edge of the tribe. It created a huge crater that rocked the entire area.
The Nimbus cloud floated in the air next to his body to wait for him to wake up. The cloud wasn't aware of the people approaching.
Every villager warily made their way over to the crater. No one saw him fall. The speed was too great. But they did hear and feel the impact.
They saw a half-naked boy with unruly Black-hair and tattered clothing that was hung off his body but still managed to cover up all the right parts. He had scorch marks, burns, cuts, gashes, and scrapes all over the visible parts of his body with the boomerang impaling his left shoulder. But the thing that stuck out the most was the yellow puffy cloud next to him.
The villagers began to ask questions about the strange cloud and boy. Most of the common ones were:
"Who is that?"
"What is that?"
"You think this is possibly a ploy by the Fire Nation?"
They all began to feel scared, anxious, and panicked. They were afraid of the person before them. If this person was Fire Nation, and he had Fire Bending, they were doomed. There were no Water Benders, known, in the Southern Water Tribe.
"Everyone, be calm." Kanna, village elder, Grandmother of Katara and Sokka, tried to keep everyone from panicking.
"Gran Gran, who is that guy?" The thirteen year-old Katara asked her Grandmother. "What is that thing?"
"He's obviously Fire Nation," Sokka growled, indicating the pitch-black hair color and cream skin color. He wasn't sure what to make of the cloud.
Haru began to stir awake. He winced when he felt an immense wave of pain wash over him; his legs felt crushed, his arms like jelly, and most of his body felt burnt.
He tried to get to his feet but only gasped in pain when he felt immeasurable pain in his left shoulder. He moved his right hand to the pained shoulder and felt a metal object sticking out of him.
He stood onto his feet on shaky legs as he probed the metal object with his fingers. He opened his eyes to see a boomerang protruding out of his shoulder. He looked up to see dozens of scared looking people staring down at him. He was very confused and slightly scared of the situation he was in. Why did he end up here? Last thing he knew, he was trying to use his Ki.
He looked down at the boomerang again and pulled it out of him. He dropped it to the ground, trying to take a step. But he was extremely unbalanced and fell on his face, soon losing consciousness from exhaustion.
"What do you think, Gran Gran?" Sokka asked as he looked Haru over." You think he's Fire Nation?"
"No, look at that cloud," she pointed at the yellow cloud. "He must've been sent by the spirits. That must be a spirit cloud," she said.
"But if he was sent by the spirits, why is he so injured?" A random elder questioned.
"Perhaps this is a test from the spirits to see whether or not we would help this boy. That cloud must be a spirit guide," Kanna deduced.
"So what are we to do with him?" Another villager asked.
"For the time being… tend to his wounds," She said before turning to her grandson. "Sokka, get him and put him in your igloo," she ordered.
"Awe! Why mine?" He complained.
She gave him a stern look that said, "Do-as-you're-told" and he grumbled before jumping into the crater to retrieve him.
The next day, Konna treated and bandaged Haru's wounds. They were intense but he'd be better sooner or later. She did all that she could for him and only time would tell if he would make it or not.
Sokka didn't like the fact that Haru was in his igloo. Why couldn't he be put in Katara's igloo? Besides obvious reasons? And what was with the Monkey Tail? The weird thing was discovered when Kanna was tending to his wounds.
"You better hope you're not Fire Nation, buddy," Sokka threatened as he began to flex in what he felt was an intimidating manner.
Haru began to stir after the words left the Water Tribesman's mouth. Sokka stared at Haru.
Sitting up, Haru mumbled," What happened?" before he noticed the Water Tribe warrior looking at him. "Hey, where am I?" he asked.
Katara was walking by Sokka's igloo when she heard him speak and bursted in without warning. "You're in the Southern Water Tribe," She answered his question.
He looked confusedly at the two. They were people he had never met before and they were staring at him.
"I'm Katara and this is my brother, Sokka," she introduced herself and brother.
"It's nice to meet you, Katara. I'm Haru," he introduced as he tried to extend his left hand in greeting. But he winced and looked down at himself. He was covered in bandages and felt that he had a few broken bones. Nothing major now that he replenished his energy to—nowhere near full power!
It was then that he realized that he did lose most of his power and it did upset him. He earned his power through training and fighting in tough battles. His already almost nearly nonexistent Saiyan Pride felt broken.
"You were in pretty bad shape. But you're better now," she told him. She noticed the sad look on his face and asked," Are you ok?"
"I'm fine." He sighed.
"Are you Fire Nation?" Sokka asked while reaching for a weapon.
"No. I don't know any Fire Nation," he said as he got to his feet. Come to think of it, I don't know any Water Tribe either. This must be a different planet. No! They're humans so this must be an alternate reality. It can't be the past. I'd have read about it, he thought as he tried taking a step forward, only to stumble into the bed.
He looked down and around at his backside. His tail was swaying gently behind him.
"My tail grew back?" He questioned aloud as he tried to regain balance.
"Why do you have a tail?" Katara asked.
"It's hereditary," he answered easily. Not a complete lie. He didn't know whether or not they knew what an alien was.
"What, are you part monkey?" Sokka laughed. He didn't know it but he struck a nerve. However, Haru didn't let it get to him. How could he possibly know about what Freeza called the Saiyan race monkeys?
"Sokka!" Katara glared at her brother. Why was he being rude to such a nice boy?
"No, but thanks for taking care of me... What are you guys wearing?" He asked when he saw that their clothing was big fur coats and pelts.
"Well, it's cold here in the South," Katara started, "we need to stay warm so we layer up. You should be wearing these too," she said before turning to Sokka," give him a pair of yours," she ordered.
"First my room and now my clothes," Sokka grumbled as he turned to grab some clothes. He didn't want to give the boy he barely knew some clothes but knew it was the right thing to do.
I wish this was a dream, Haru mentally sighed. I can probably make the best of this situation. And I'm sure the others will wish me back with the Dragonballs, he thought with a smile. And if that doesn't work, I'm sure Bulma can get me back.
"Here," Sokka handed Haru some clothes. "Katara and I will be outside," he said as he pulled his sister out.
"So," Katara began, "what do you think about Haru?"
"Well, I don't think he's Fire Nation but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna watch him," Sokka told her.
"I think we can trust him. I mean, he seems like a nice boy," she said.
Haru silently chuckled at their opinions of him from within the igloo. He winced because it hurt as took off the clothes that hung loosely to him.
He kept his underwear on though as he began to get dressed in the clothes Sokka left for him.
He noticed something had rolled out of his pants pocket and knelt down to grab it, wincing as he did so. A capsule. He examined the capsule in his hand as he remembered the gifts he received on his birthday. They could all come in handy some day.
He put the capsule in his pocket as he left the igloo.
"Haru, what are you doing?" Katara questioned him, drawing a crowd near.
Haru began to sweat at the intense look she was giving him. Did he do something wrong?
"You shouldn't be on that injured leg," she told him as she started towards him, pushing him back into the igloo and onto the bed. "You should rest until you're all better," she said in a much more softer tone.
"Gosh, Katara, let the man get some breathing space," Sokka told her as he entered the room.
"Thanks for letting me borrow your clothes," Haru told Sokka." I really appreciate it," he said.
"Don't mention it," Sokka said as he sat on his floor. He wanted to lay on his bed but Haru did suffer some serious injuries and probably needed proper rest.
Katara blushed furiously when her brother walked in and made his comment and turned away so they wouldn't notice.
The hours passed and the three began to make small talk and surprisingly, Haru didn't feel as hungry as he normally did. He almost felt human because he was significantly weaker and if it wasn't for his tail, he would've guessed he was transformed into a full blooded human.
Sokka soon fell asleep and Katara left to her igloo to do the same. Haru was left awake on the bed.
While lying there, Haru let doubt creep into his mind. He let it trick his mind into believing things he knew weren't true.
Mom, Naru, Grandpa, Bulma, Trunks, Piccolo, Krillin, he listed the people he would never see again. It hurt him emotionally.
A fourteen year old boy alone without knowledge of this strange new world or any guidance to help him out. He lay there on the bed and silently weeped until he fell asleep.