It was a peaceful afternoon on a little island occupied by a pink house. The inhabitants and their guests were enjoying a barbeque get-together. A smiling, diminutive man with short black hair manned the grill while an adorable blond girl in pigtails played by the shoreline with a sea turtle. An old man in sunglasses lounged in a chaise with a book in hand, enjoying one of his favorite pastimes. Within the house, the rest of the attendees were enjoying the TV and socializing.
Two figures approached the island from the skies, the two men on the beach gazing up as they sensed the approach. They concurrently cocked an eyebrow of confusion as they recognized their green Namekian friend accompanied by a woman they had never seen before. The pair landed on the beach, one strolling into the house wordlessly while the other gave a friendly wave and a smile as she quickly followed the other into the house. The men on the beach watched them enter the house, then exchanged a glance. The one at the grill returned to his duties, taking a look at how those hamburgers were coming along, while the other resumed his reading. Both repeatedly glanced towards the house in curiosity, debating whether to follow them inside and find out just what was going on, and who that woman was. Inside the house, the new arrivals were greeted by the pig, the flying cat, and the black-haired ex-fighter who were lounged around the television.
"Piccolo, I thought you were sparring with Goku?" The scar-faced man asked with a curious expression as he checked out the new guest. She was certainly a looker. Her shoulder-length black hair was a bit spiky and jagged-looking, but it had a sort of rocker-style vibe. Her face was flawless, her big black eyes attractive, and that body! The man smirked and gave her a nod, as the woman frowned cluelessly at him. Piccolo frowned towards the man, clearly disturbed by the entire interaction. "What?" He asked the Namekian defensively. Piccolo crossed his arms.
"We were sparring. Goku had…an accident." Piccolo grumbled. The two men from the beach immediately shot through the front door in alarm.
"Goku had an accident? Where is he? Is he okay?" They both rattled off the questions as Piccolo stared back exasperatedly.
"One question at a time!" Piccolo yelled, immediately ending the tirade of questions. The woman suddenly gasped in surprise as the old man yelled out in pain and flew into the wall.
"Ow…ow…ow…ow…" The old man muttered from the hole his body had created from the force of the elbow he just received.
"Master Roshi! I'm so sorry!" The woman apologized, looking apologetic and completely uncomfortable at the same time. "I just…didn't expect that." She complained, frowning deeply as she rubbed her backside self-consciously and shuddered.
"It's okay." Master Roshi responded with a dizzied and pained expression and slight smile as he crawled out of the wall slowly. "But you pack quite a punch, young lady. You must be a fighter!" Master Roshi said with clear amazement and disbelief as he rubbed his swollen cheek. The woman smiled broadly.
"Yes! Of course I'm a fighter." She laughed. The other men in the room, still completely confused and without answers about Goku, glanced at each other, then returned their attention to Piccolo.
"Piccolo, how could you leave Goku alone when he had an accident? What happened to him?" The shorter man said, clear anxiety in his voice as he thought the worst of what might have happened to his friend.
"I didn't leave Goku, Krillin." Piccolo growled with a pointed nod towards the woman. The others looked around the room, clearly not understanding Piccolo's communication.
"Then where is he?" The short man finally asked.
"Right here." The woman said with a sheepish smile, waving her hand in the air.
"I don't get it. Did he shrink? Is he in your pocket or something?" Krillin asked, smiling mockingly at the woman as he expected some ridiculous explanation from her.
"Yeah." Piccolo chuckled. "He could only be so lucky. I'm sure he knows how to handle being shrunk."
"Krillin…" Master Roshi said slowly with a serious expression set on his face as he absorbed Piccolo's information and used his senses to find Goku's ki, "Piccolo is telling us this woman is Goku." All parties set their eyes on the woman, scrutinizing her doubtfully. Mouths dropped in shock all at once as they processed the possibility of it.
"Well, that would explain the strange attire." The tall scarred man said, scratching the back of his neck as he observed the very-loose and much too long orange and blue gi that the woman wore, which he initially thought was eerily similar to Goku's usual clothing. The woman scratched the back of her head, looking uncomfortable as all eyes were on her, then sniffed the air and smiled with satisfaction.
"Krillin, I think those burgers are ready. Can you get me some? I'm starving!" She exclaimed as she rubbed her stomach.
"G-Goku?" Krillin asked, his eyes bulging as he finally recognized the personality of his lifelong friend in this woman. Goku nodded furiously, answering as quickly as possible to get those burgers.
"Yeah, sure." Krillin gulped as he walked past Goku to head for the grill, wordlessly eyeing the woman all the way out the door.
If there were any doubts remaining about the identity of the woman, they were long extinguished by the end of that meal. No one, besides perhaps the Saiyan Prince, could match that appetite but Goku. Goku rubbed her stomach in satisfaction and leaned back in her chair, all others staring at her in shock.
"How did this happen?" Krillin finally blurted, completely flabbergasted.
"We were training in a deserted mountain region. We got careless with the landscape, because we were sure there was no one around." Piccolo explained as all eyes fixated on him with their full attention. "There was an old, abandoned house on one of the mountains. It's been there for decades. I'm familiar with the area because I go there often to meditate. I've never seen anyone there, and we couldn't sense any presence in the house." Master Roshi nodded thoughtfully, stroking his beard.
"But there was someone in the house." Master Roshi surmised. Piccolo nodded.
"I kinda…blew it up with a stray ki blast. The old lady flew out just in time." Goku admitted guiltily. Piccolo patted Goku's shoulder comfortingly.
"Don't blame yourself, Goku. It could have been me just as easily." Piccolo consoled.
"So how does that explain Goku becoming a woman?" The scarred man finally asked.
"The old lady was a witch, like Baba." Goku said, nodding towards Roshi as he indicated his sister. "She kinda…put some sorta spell on me." Goku said with a shrug.
"She turned you into a woman because you blew up her house?" Yamcha asked incredulously. Goku and Piccolo nodded.
"Actually, she put the spell on us. But, seeing that my species is asexual, it really hasn't affected me." Piccolo said smugly. Goku looked at Piccolo with something between a pout and a glare. She leaned forward with her elbows on the table, not realizing the tasty view she was giving to the men in front of her as her loose gi slid down her chest.
"I didn't know what the spell was supposed to do, but I tried to explain things to her, offer to fix her house. But she just disappeared before I could say anything. Poof!" Goku explained, jumping in her seat and throwing her hands up in demonstration of the 'poof'. Master Roshi, Oolong and Yamcha grinned broadly at the motion, enjoying the way Goku's chest bounced.
"How was it that she disappeared again, Goku?" Oolong asked with a lecherous smile. Piccolo placed a heavy hand on a surprised Goku's shoulder before she could repeat the motion, glaring warningly towards the three oglers sitting in front of his friend.
"Krillin!" Came a feminine voice from upstairs, as footprints could be heard padding down the steps. "Who is watching Maron?" The blond woman asked from the stairs as she came into view and scoured the living room to find all parties accounted for inside.
"Uh…" Krillin said nervously as he glanced outside.
"Unbelievable!" The woman exclaimed as she headed towards the door to retrieve her daughter. "You just left her alone out there?"
"Turtle is with her, 18! He wouldn't let anything happen to Maron!" Krillin exclaimed with relief as he realized he did not technically leave his daughter alone. His wife was already outside, and either did not hear him, or chose to ignore him. Krillin was certain it was the latter. 18 walked back inside with Maron in her arms, cooing fondly to her daughter before glancing towards the table surrounded by the others.
"Who's that?" 18 asked as her eyes set on Goku.
"Hey, 18. It's me. Goku." The woman said with familiarity. 18 cocked an eyebrow in disbelief, and glanced at the others for confirmation or arguments. They all nodded in agreement, to her surprise, and she smirked with amusement.
"Yeah, sure." She said with a shrug.
"Hey, 18! Could you lend Goku some clothes?" Krillin asked, sounding like a child asking a parent for permission. "He…" Krillin shook his head with a perplexed expression, having trouble comprehending using the other pronoun to describe his friend. "She doesn't have anything else to wear, and I really think she needs something a little more appropriate." Krillin said as he cast a reproachful eye on Master Roshi and Oolong, who continued staring at Goku's partially exposed chest. 18 glanced at the scenario with amusement, then gave a permissive nod.
"Alright. Come on, Goku." She said as she headed for the stairs.
"Aww, do I really have to wear women's clothes?" Goku complained as she reluctantly began to follow 18. "18, can you give me something comfortable to wear? Women's clothing doesn't look comfortable." Goku and 18 ascended the stairs until they disappeared from the view of the others.
"Wow." Yamcha finally said after a long silence. Piccolo only nodded in agreement, while the others remained stunned silent.
"We came here first because we thought if we asked your sister, there'd be something she could do about this." Piccolo said to Master Roshi. "But she won't be able to help, will she?" Master Roshi nodded solemnly. He had been thinking about the same thing since the problem was mentioned.
"My sister is just a glorified fortune teller. She has no powers like that, Piccolo. She might know someone who knows something, but she'd have to go through a lot of channels before she could make a difference. And knowing my sister, she'd take her time about it. The unreliable old bag." Master Roshi remarked resentfully as he glanced up the stairs thoughtfully.
"Maybe Bulma can help!" The flying cat squeaked excitedly. The others turned to face her, and Krillin and Yamcha smiled brightly.
"Yeah! That's a great idea, Puar!" Yamcha said. "Bulma should be able to work something out!" A commotion was heard upstairs, and everyone glanced towards the ceiling curiously.
"What do you think she's going to wear?" Oolong asked with a perverted smile.
"I can't believe you guys are checking out Goku. I mean, it's Goku." Yamcha said, scowling as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
"Yamcha." Puar said reproachfully. "I saw you looking, too. You really should all be ashamed of yourselves." Puar scolded the three guilty parties. Yamcha blushed brightly and scowled, refusing to respond to Puar's accusation.
"You really are good. Tell me, how difficult was it to steal one of Goku's gis?" 18's voice could be heard descending the stairs, and the men stopped talking to listen to her conversation.
"I…didn't." Goku responded honestly. 18 chuckled.
"Okay, I am impressed with how incredibly strong you are. You must have trained like crazy in order to convince these guys that you really are Goku." 18 still had Maron in her arms, and Goku followed in a pair of flat boots, red cargo pants, and a fitted white tank top. Oolong and Master Roshi frowned in disappointment, as Piccolo and Puar smiled in approval.
"…Not really." Goku responded with a shrug, looking very confused. She turned to Piccolo, noting that the Namek was standing and had a look of determination. "Piccolo! Where are we headed?" Goku asked excitedly, knowing the Namekian had something in mind.
"Capsule Corporation. It seems Bulma might be able to fix something up for you. Baba is a dead end, Goku." Piccolo informed gravely. Goku frowned for only a moment, then smiled at Piccolo.
"Alright, let's go then." She said cheerily. Krillin placed a hand on Goku's shoulder, a solemn expression on his face.
"Goku, I'm really sorry this happened to you. This must be really bizarre for you." Krillin said seriously. Goku waved him off.
"It'll be alright, Krillin. I'm sure I'll be back to my old self soon. Until then, this won't be a big deal." Goku crossed her arms and looked pensively towards the ceiling. "I'm not sure how well I can fight in this body, though. My power level feels about the same, but my movements will probably be completely different. I'll need to do some training." Goku smiled with determination, seemingly happy with the new challenge.
"Goku, are you ready?" Piccolo asked impatiently as he headed towards the door.
"Yeah, Piccolo!" Goku replied, quickly stepping by Piccolo's side. "But let's do it this way." She said as she reached for Piccolo's shoulder, frowning as she had to settle for his shoulder blade with her limited height. "It'll be faster." She said as she placed two fingers to her forehead and disappeared with one last wink at her other friends. The others stood in the room, staring at the empty air where Piccolo and Goku just disappeared from.
"Damn! That really was Goku!" 18 exclaimed in astonishment. The others nodded dully. This was certainly going to be interesting. They could only hope that Bulma could help.