HI. Yes, I'm alive. I know I have works that have been started and not yet finished. I swear I'm working on them! My partner and I worked on this together and now have the first half of this ready for consumption. I hope you enjoy! Hugs Kit

Note, I don't own any characters; I just like playing in other people's sandboxes. Yes it contains spoilers for super! If only small ones. Gohan WILL be in this and WILL be awesome. That scene just isn't finished yet.

Dark Goku

The first question anyone who survived being a villain, anyone who didn't become an ally that is, is how do you stop Son Goku from messing up all your plans. Seriously! How do you keep things form going absolutely south? HOW?

This Very Serious Question and many others like it circled the heads of the Pilaf gang in their latest attempt at getting the dragon balls and taking over the world. Or at least getting lots of money and living like kings for the rest of their lives.

It was from this desperate thinking that a clever idea was born.

If they couldn't stop Son Goku, they why not use him as a distraction? Why not make him into a villain? Why not make such a fuss about it that the other heroic types get pulled into the mess and prevent them from stopping the real plan from coming to fruition?

Of course there isn't really a way to accurately turn a hero into a villain. So the thought was resigned to never be used. After all, who was strong enough to turn Goku into a Villain?

It was after all this that Goku himself came and flopped down at Bulma's pool next to Mai, scaring her with his sudden appearance.

"Hey Goku!" Bulma shouted from the house "Vegetal told me you got here! Can you keep an eye on the kids for a bit? I'll get you some food."

"Thanks Bulma!" he sighed and settled further into the lounge chair he had flopped onto. Shu approached hesitantly.

"You seem down Mr. Goku. Are you ok?" his voice trembled a bit, the other members of the Pilaf gang where behind him looking at the forlorn hero with surprise and trepidation.

"Hmm? Oh, yea I guess. Since the tournament of Power I haven't felt right I guess." He sighed again and stared into the sky.

"What do you mean?" Shu took a bit of courage from the very obvious lack of focus of the hero in front of him.

"hgnh." The sound that replied was one of frustration. "I feel like something inside me hurt when I used instinct in the tournament. And no amount of work since then has helped. Nothing I have done to heal or to strengthen myself has done anything. At this point not even sensu beans have helped. What else is there? Beyond that, I'm kind of board. I fight Geets all the time, and there might be strong fighters in other places but I just feel like I'm not improving as much as I could be."

"Why don't you call that Hit guy again?" Mai asked, curious despite her trepidation.

"I would have to go to supreme Kai again, to ask Whis for me and he said he wasn't going to do that again for the net little while. Apparently I am taking advantage of his abilities." The frustration was mixed with exhaustion.

"Too bad there isn't a new villain to fight; everyone always gets strong in a hurry when a new villain shows up. Maybe Beras will spar with you again?" Pilafs question was sly. Not that the rather despondent Goku noticed.

"No, I need to bring him a food gift and Chi Chi won't make me something for him to eat. Too much extra work."

"Maybe you just need to summon the dragon to fix whatever broke in the tournament." The response caught Goku's attention quickly. Pilaf looked slyly at his friends before turning to Goku again. "We can help you find the dragon balls! I bet it will be easy! The radar is in the lab and everything!"

"That's a good idea! But I can't take kids like you with me, sorry. Bulma would be mad if I put little kids like you in danger. You are almost old enough to go on adventures, but not yet. In a few years you can go on your own adventure. But for now, thanks! I'm gonna grab the radar and get going! Bye!" with a jaunty wave the Sayan flew off to the lab before popping off to the sounds of Bulma shouting at him for theft of the radar.

Mai looked over at Pilaf.

"I take it that didn't go as planned?"

"No. It was worth a shot though." Pilaf sighed and got back to work.

XXX XXX

It didn't take long for the Sayan to gather all seven of the Dragon Balls. Being able to fly, withstand harsh climates, and move at incredible speeds made the task easy.

"Rise, Shenron! By your name I summon you!" the sky darkened exponentially and from the balls grew a bright light that formed into the eternal Dragon. It hovered over the lone Sayan who looked incredibly pleased with himself.

"I am the Eternal Dragon. State your wish, and if it is with in my power I will grant it." Goku smiled up at the dragon and called his wish.

"Shenron, I wish that you will fix everything that is wrong with me!" the dragon tilted his head and seemed to contemplate for a moment before his eyes started glowing.

"Your wish will be granted." The rumble reverberated through Goku, echoing in his ears and across the open space that surrounded them. With that he vanished, the dragon balls dispersing once more across the globe as round stones.

Goku tilted his head, before tossing some test punches.

'Hmph. I don't feel any different. Ah, guess I'll head home. I bet dinner will be ready soon.

XXX XXX

"Goten, darling, dinner!" the call was loud, though for the Demi Sayan in question, he could have been miles away and still heard.

"Coming Mom!" the pitter patter of little Sayan feet slowed to an obvious walk as he entered the house.

"Have you seen your father yet dear?" Gotens face twisted into a thoughtful expression before responding "No mum."

"Hmph, wash your hands. I'm sure he will be here soon." Goten scampered off to do just that, excited at the prospect of mountains food. It was during this that Goku appeared back in the house.

"Chi Chi! Is dinner ready? Awesome I'm starved!" his normal cheerful tones seemed flatter than usual as he took his seat and started eating. Goten shot into the kitchen like a rocket.

"Daddy! Save some for me too!" the two fell upon the food like a pair of starving animals; with Goten Copying his father's more aggressive movements. Chi chi would not have it. The waste was astronomical, they were fighting and growling like beasts, it was 10 time more disgusting than having all the sayans and demi sayans eating together at once. She gripped her trusty frying pan and descended on the pair. Goten fell easily with a sharp cry and a tearful apology.

Goku did not.

His hand shot up to block the incoming blow, crushing the pan like a paper ball with a sharp aggressive growl. She stumbled back, shocked at the actions of her husband.

"Are you ok chi chi?! I don't know what came over me! I'm so sorry!" he sounded earnest his hands flying forward to assist her. But something rang false. Chi Chi looked up at her husband. The man she had chased down, married, had two kids with, supported and loved to the best of her ability. The man she knew and trusted in word and action. Her heart felt cold as he helped her up and sat her at the table with a plate of food and an apologetic smile.

It was his eyes.

His eyes were wrong. They lacked the kindness that he showed naturally. It tainted everything he said, and made all his actions ring false. She felt a shiver down her spine as she realized he didn't mean his apology. He didn't actually regret what he did. Was it her fault? Was she too aggressive? Was he having a bad day? What had happened to the easy going (if fight happy) man she had married?

Goten too was watching. Young and lighthearted as he was, he carried the same natural talent as his father. He noticed the change, noticed his mother's reaction, and his father's smile in the face of her uncertainty. Something wasn't right and he didn't really know what to do. His father had never done anything like that before. Not even when he was angry. Especially not to his mom. He came to a split second decision. The person he knew knew more than him was trunks. If trunks didn't know then aunty Bulma would.

"Mom, can I go see Trunks tomorrow? After I do my school work?" his offer to do his work first startled Chi Chi out of her thoughts.

"How about we go over for lunch? You are doing well, one day off won't hurt." Her son looked enthusiastic at the prospect of no lessons the next day. Goku cut in right then with a deceptively mild tone.

"Will you be training tomorrow with Trunks? I have noticed you haven't been training as much as you should be after all." Goten gave a wide smile and answered with a giant grin.

"Yes daddy! We are working hard together!" Goku settled back with a slight grin and continued with the same mild tone as before.

"Good. I'm glad. Go to bed son. I'm sure you want to be well rested for your training tomorrow." He obeyed without question. Quickly finishing his food and scurrying off to his room, moments later he shot back and went up to his mom with big eyes.

"Mom, can you come tuck me in?" Chi Chi smiled slightly and nodded. Walking behind him into his room. The door closed softly.

Goten had the window open in an instant and was in the air with chi chi a moment later. He wasn't going to wait. Something was wrong with his daddy and they needed to go, NOW. No time to waste. He flew as fast as he could while keeping Chi Chi safe in his grasp. As soon as they were far enough away he slowed and shifted so she was hanging onto his shoulders and resting on his back as they flew. With that done, he increased his speed as much as he dared and went straight for Vageta's Ki, knowing that where Vegeta was, Bulma wouldn't be far away. He hoped.

XXX XXX

Vegeta was felling pleasantly worn out. A long day of training, a good meal made by Bulma's mother, and some time with his son definitely made for a good day. It was as he began to drift into slumber next to his wife that he noticed something odd.

Kaka Brat the younger was flying towards them at high speeds. Not unusual for the kid but it didn't feel like he was trying to escape the Pan of Doom. Nor was he attempting to sneak in any way. The kid was definitely capable of sneaking when necessary. But this was something else. The Sayan prince sighed at the celling, resigned to deal with whatever was up in the morning. Erratic Ki or not he was not getting up or waking his wife for anything less than disaster or invasion. Everything else could wait until morning.

His mind in full agreement he settled back towards sleep once more. Dreaming happy dreams of things he would share with gusto with his wife in the morning.

It was not to be.

Five minutes after Goten Landed at Capsule Corp. a crying sounds began to float down the hall.

It's just the boys. Vegetal thought, I don't need to deal with this until the sun is up. The crying started getting louder, like whoever was responsible was coming closer. Vegita resigned himself to getting up. Easing out from under Bulma's sprawled form, he headed for the door resigned to being the problem-solving parent for the night. The door opened and he blinked up at Chi Chi not expecting her to be comforting her youngest in his hallway in the middle of the night.

A quick check confirmed that Goku was still at home in the mountains, so why where his wife and kid here of all places? Both seemed to be in shock with Goten slowly calming the longer he was settled in Chi Chi's arms. She looked at the Sayan man in front of her, before coming to a conclusion he was not privy to and nodding firmly.

"Can we use a guest room for the night?" she sounded terrible to the sayan prince who looked at her in shock. Bulma spoke up sleepily from behind Vegita.

"Chi Chi, I have rooms set aside for you already. You're not guests you're practically family. Get Goten settled with trunks, he will get a kick out of having a super late sleep over, and I will show you to your room."

"NO!" all three adults blinked down at Goten for his outburst.

"Why, boy. You always sleep in Trunk's room when you re over. What id different now?" Vegitas voice came out harsh and demanding, harsher than usual definitely, and vegita ran a hand down his face before looking apologetic for his choice of tone.

"We have had a bit of a fright tonight; I think Goten will sleep better if he is close to me." Chi Chi croaked at the couple in front of her. Vegita and Bulma traded a frown at both the word choice and the sound of her voice. Rapid flight alone doesn't do that to a person; even when that person is being flown by someone who doesn't normally carry people. Bulma looked at the two in the hall and asked a question she never thought she would need.

"Bula's room is right next door to ours but the one across the hallway is empty now that Trunks sleeps as far from us as he can get without leaving the floor. Would you feel better being closer to us tonight?" there was no hesitation in the nods she was graced with in reply. The looks being traded between husband and wife where almost alarmed now as they dug around to find pajamas for their unexpected guests. Vegita finally decided that a quick check of the building would not go amiss, as he was already on edge from the sudden arrival and the subsequent strangeness and fear that he could feel now.

"I will be back soon." His voice was soft as he spoke to his wife. Usually reserved for times when it was just the two of them, his instincts told him that it was not a bad idea to try to help the others be more comfortable around him.

"Don't go far." Bulma responded in kind, gentle and loving. She had no idea what was going on, but the longer Vegita stayed the tenser Goten and Chi Chi got. It was also a note to tell him not to go see Goku tonight. He nodded and headed out the door, first check the perimeter then check on the kids, then bed for a few hours before punching the clown for whatever he did this time. It might even turn into a proper fight and not just a spar, small miracles. Maybe he would get a chance to take the clown down a peg or two. He headed off; keeping his energy low but not so low Goten couldn't sense him. If anyone asked him later he would just claim sayan instinct and leave it at that.

"Dad, what's going on? I sensed Goten, but he didn't come see me." Trunks blinked sleepy eyes up at his father as he passed.

"He is just tired son, go back to bed; you can play with him tomorrow."

"Ok!" Trunks headed back to bed, flopping down and snoring before Vegita even made it to the stairs to check the main floor. He smiled at his son, thought the boy didn't see it and headed off to do his rounds of the house.

End of part one.