This takes place roughly two years before Dragon Ball Super. Just wanted to let you know before you started.
Enjoy!
Chapter: 1
Things weren't looking good for them.
21 looked around the field, noting with a small amount of despair how terrible everyone looked after attempting to stop her evil half. Tien, Yamcha, and even Piccolo were unconscious with Krillian barely holding on as 18, with tears of pain falling from her face, held onto her husband while glaring holes into their opponent. Gohan and Vegeta were the only two still standing with the later holding his arm in pain. 21 was worried it was broken.
Looking back to the ongoing battle, the pink-skinned android watched the two fighters clash once more, the force creating a shockwave that forced the conscious observers to take a step back. Goku was giving it his all while the evil 21 almost seemed to be toying with the Saiyan if that psychotic smirk was any indicator. She winced after watching the man double over in pain after taking a powerful strike to the gut, his eyes were wide while both arms moved to cover the injured area.
The android felt her eyes widen in fear as her purple twin began to charge a pink beam at the tip of her fingers. Laughing with maniacal glee, she fired the beam at Goku who was only able to instant transmission away at the last minute, appearing behind the android, his leg already moving to kick his opponent in the head. It landed, but the woman's head bent only a little, and the Saiyan failed to react in time before she grabbed his leg and began to repeatedly slam him into the ground.
21's eyes narrowed with determined anger, failing to notice a link between herself and Goku form, and before anyone could react, she dashed forward with a ball of energy forming in the palm of her hand. The woman reached her evil self within a second, unleashing the energy she had been gathering, point blank, in her opponent's face, blasting her away from Goku as the man struggled to get up from the ground.
"We can't keep fighting her like this." 21 said as she reached down to help the saiyan to his feet. That one attack had drained most of the energy she recovered during that short rest but being linked up once more was helping her recover much faster.
"I know," he agreed, watching the area the evil half landed, frowning when he sensed her energy spike, "but nothing we do seems to do any lasting damage to her."
Together, they watched as the dust was blown away, revealing their opponent to them. Android 21 felt her annoyance flare at seeing her counterpart without a scratch after taking a surprise attack like that.
"I'm going to enjoy consuming the both of you!" The psychotic declaration was followed by a powerful aura flaring to life around the evil 21, forcing the two fighters to raise an arm to block the dust and debris. "Now stay there like food is supposed too!"
She kicked off towards them, shattering the ground in the process, flying at the two with incredible speed. 21 prepared to brace herself against the incoming attack, but an arm around her waist made her turn towards Goku in surprise, realizing instantly what was about to happen as she watched him place two fingers on his forehead. The two disappeared from view a moment before the evil half could reach them, causing her to crash into the ground with great force.
The evil 21 screamed in frustration at having her meal escape once more. "Food should know that it's pointless to escape!" She searched the area, and quickly spotted her targets high above, flying away. Making her anger known with a loud yell, the android shattered the ground around her once more as she gave chase.
"It's not going to take her long to catch up." 21 screamed as they continued to play a dangerous game of cat and mouse. The two of them had an arm around the others waist to serve as a form of support, conserving as much power as they could while dodging the multiple energy blasts the evil 21 was launching at them.
Goku looked back to see for himself, "We just need a few more seconds!" he said while diverting their course slightly to begin flying higher.
"On it," the android called out, sending a barrage of ki blasts towards their pursuer. It did nothing more than create a few explosions, but it served its purpose of slowing the evil 21 down enough for Goku to finish his preparations.
The two stopped flying a moment later, turning around to face their opponent whose glare was nothing short of murderous. She must have thought they were giving up from the satisfied smirk on her face. 21 restrained herself from smirking as well, her evil half had no idea how wrong she was.
Goku removed his arm from 21's waist and positioned both hands beside his head.
"Solar flare!" the Saiyan called out, causing a blinding ray of light to shine down below him.
Screaming out in pain, the evil half covered her eyes as she tried, desperately, to regain her sight.
"This is our chance!" Goku cried out as his hair suddenly grew several inches past his waist as his aura flared in response to going Super Saiyan 3. 21 charge her power in response, preparing to attack with everything she had. Their auras intermingled for a moment before combing together to reach new heights with small rocks began to rise as they continued to power up.
"DO IT NOW!" the Saiyan roared, diving down with 21 right beside him. Goku threw his fist forward, the android mimicking his actions, and together they yelled out the technique,
"DRAGON FIST!"
A ball of light surrounded the two momentarily before shaping itself into the image of a golden Shenron, blocking out most of the sky with how large it was. The dragon roared out as it continued their previous path towards the still recovering android who managed to clear her vision in time to see a giant dragon, its gaping maw mere feet away, before it crashed into her with great force.
The dragon roared as it continued to fly down and slam into the ground, creating an explosion that scattered large chunks of land, uprooted multiple tries from the resulting winds, and caused a large plume of smoke to rise up from the point of impact.
Two figures flew out from the smoke, crashing into the ground and carving a small trench in the process not even a moment later, revealing both Goku, now in his base form, and 21. Injured and beyond exhausted at this point, the two fighters struggled to stand up, resulting in them leaning on the other for support.
"Did we… did we beat her?" 21 panted as she struggled to focus enough to sense their opponent's energy. "Please tell me we beat her."
"Sorry… but I don't think… that did it." Goku answered as he struggled to keep one of his eyes open. A strong gust of wind blew away the remaining dust and smoke away, allowing them to see the state of the evil android.
Struggling to maintain an upright position, their opponent slowly walked out of the crater. Even as far away as they were, the two were able to see steam rising from the evil 21 as broken bones snapped, forcefully, into place before mending themselves while deep gashes sealed shut without so much as a scar left behind. Soon, the only indication that they had done any damage was from the tattered remains that made up the purple-skinned android's attire.
"I don't suppose you have another, stronger, technique you can use, do you?"
"There's-" Goku started but wasn't able to finish as the two of them were forced to leap back to avoid the powerful strike from the evil android, the impact ruptured the earth beneath their feet and forced the fighters to use their free arms to block the incoming rocks. "She is not happy."
21 had to resist the urge to roll her eyes as they landed, only to jump away once more has the evil half appeared above them with a massive ball of energy being thrown where they just were. The shockwave from this attack however held enough force to knock the two of them too the ground.
"Ow…" 21 groaned as she attempted to push herself up, only to freeze when a shadow fell over her. Looking up, blue eyes met red as the evil 21 gave the woman a mocking look even as a familiar power began to charge at the tips of her fingers. The android felt someone grab her hand, and just as her evil half launched the attack, 21 suddenly was looking up at 18, who was looking back in surprise.
"Phew," Goku sighed as he released 21's hand, happy that his desperate escape attempt had worked. "Almost didn't make it there." He laughed nervously, only to clutch his stomach in pain.
"Congratulations Kakarot, you managed to piss her off even more." Vegeta said while looking off towards the distance where those still conscious could hear a high pitch scream echo all around them. "She was difficult enough to deal with before…" he muttered, glaring down at his broken arm.
"No kidding." Goku agreed. "We hit her with everything, and it didn't even keep her down for a minute."
21 was able to catch the faintest amount of excitement in the saiyan's voice.
"Which means we'll have to hit her with everything the planet has if we want to end this." Goku continued, drawing everyone's attention.
Vegeta was the first to realize what his rival was planning. "The spirit bomb." He, along with everyone else, turned their eyes as a very powerful energy signature began speeding towards them. "Kakarot, have the soul link up with me, we both know you will need time to gather enough energy to defeat her!"
"I'll help," Gohan said, stepping forward to stand alongside the Prince. "You'll need as much time as you can get.
"Even without your help I'm more than capable of holding off that android."
18 had to resist the urge to scoff as she felt a sense of déjà vu at watching Vegeta ready himself to fight against another female android with a broken to boot. With that in mind, 18 gingerly place Krillian's head on the ground, before stepping forward to stand by Gohan's other side. "We don't have time to waste, not to mention you're more injured than the rest of us, so I'll fight alongside Gohan while you recover."
For a moment, 21 worried Vegeta was going to refuse, insisting that he was more than capable to hold his own, but he surprised her when the Prince merely growled in displeasure while stepping back from the duo.
Gohan nodded to Vegeta out of respect before glancing over towards his father who was already slowly rising in the air with eyes closed and arms raised towards the sky to begin gathering the planet's energy. He suddenly shivered upon feeling the soul reach out to connect with him, noticing 18 do the same beside him, and smirked as he felt power begin to swell up from within. Just in time too, because the evil 21 was almost on them, flying low to the ground with her energy flaring sporadically in response to her raging emotions, tearing apart the land as she came at them with blinding speed.
Gohan and 18 flew off immediately, engaging the rampaging android halfway in a desperate attempt to buy Goku all the time they could.
21, meanwhile, couldn't help but watch Goku, completely mesmerized by the ball of energy that was steadily growing in size while the saiyan kept his eyes closed even as the sounds of his son crying out in pain echoed around him. The android felt her eyes widen as she realized something. "Vegeta," she called out, earning a grunt from the Prince as he glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, "offer Goku your energy!"
"Have you gone mad!" Vegeta demanded, turning the full force of his glare towards 21. "Why the hell would I do something like that?!"
Instead of a verbal reply, 21 merely pointed a single finger towards the ongoing fight, just in time for them to see her evil half easily overpower a combined beam attack from 18 and Gohan, the scale of which was far higher than anything either of them could produce individually.
Vegeta's scowl deepened as he turned away from the kind-hearted android and raised his hand towards his rival, causing the spirit bomb to nearly double its size a moment later.
Then, much to her surprise, the ball of energy grew exponentially twice more, reaching epic proportions as it nearly blocked out her view of the sky. Where did…? The silent question was answered as 21 looked over towards those still lying on the ground, where she saw both Tien and Piccolo with their arms raised towards their friend. They went limp not long after, having given everything to aid the spirit bomb's formation. Their contribution decreased the amount of time needed significantly, and Goku's eyes shot open not long after, just in time to see Gohan and 18 crash next to the group after taking a nasty hit from the evil 21.
"It's ready." Goku said, his voice eerily calm as it travelled across the battlefield.
The evil 21 took a step back as her eyes finally looked up towards the massive ball of energy. "W-what is that?!" she questioned, her voice laced with a good amount of fear.
"This is the end!" Goku called out, his gaze unwavering, and with a shout, he hurled the massive sphere at the stunned android.
Its descent was slow, but the sheer size of the spirit bomb prevented any form of escape for the purple-skinned android.
"NO!" the evil 21 shouted as she held up both arms to hold back the sphere.
Its speed may not have been impressive, but the amount of force behind it was more than enough to force the android back several feet as the bottom of the orb began to carve an ever-widening trench in the ground. Victory seemed to finally be within grasp for the desperate party as they watched their opponent slowly but surely lose her footing against the unrelenting power of the spirit bomb, but a collective gasp came when they saw the attack slow down to a stop.
"She's… pushing it back?!" 18 shouted in stunned disbelief while everyone else felt a pit of dread form as they heard the confident laughter coming from their opponent as she took another step towards them.
"Damn it, come on!" Goku yelled as he felt the spirit bomb being pushed back towards him. Using even more energy, he pushed the orb down even harder than before, watching as it began to descend once again only to be immediately pushed back by the much stronger 21.
This is bad. 21 knew, along with every else, that if the spirit bomb failed then it would be all over for them which was why she was desperately trying to think of a way to help. However, before anything could come to mind, 21 felt the soul link her to Goku, confusing the android greatly. As she was about to question why it would do such a thing, the connection suddenly deepened, something she didn't know was possible, allowing her to experience the saiyan's near limitless determination and his frustration at having the spirit bomb failing to eliminate her other half. Once more the connection between the two deepened, and 21 felt knowledge flood into her mind, she now knew what the spirit was trying to tell her.
Slowly, painfully, the android flew up towards Goku, stopping right beside him while the saiyan in question looked at her in surprise.
"Let's finish this."
Goku blinked at her as if she had grown a second head, but when he saw her take up his current stance everything became clear, and although the question of how she knew what she was doing lingered between them, Goku knew it could wait until the fight was over.
They powered up together once more, Goku struggling to turn into a super saiyan while 21 ignored the screaming pain throughout her body. With a shout, the two pushed down with everything they had, shoving the spirit bomb into the evil 21. Surprised by the combined assault, their opponent was unable to do anything to defend herself in time, a fact that was made all-to-clear when everyone heard her shouts of agonizing pain. The attack detonated, forcing all those still conscious to raise an arm to block out the blinding light that followed.
The moment passed, the sound faded, and everyone held their breath in anticipation.
Gohan was the first to notice the malevolent energy was now gone from the area, along with the debilitating waves suppressing their power absent as well. The pure joy coursing through his body caused him to cheer in victory. 18 and Vegeta were far more subdued, the former allowing a small laugh while the latter laid back with a small smirk on his face.
The others celebrated by staying unconscious.
"We did it…" 21 breathed, her arm slung over Goku's shoulder with him doing the same as the two of them floated down, collapsing immediately upon touching the ground. "I can't believe… we actually won."
Goku chuckled. "It wasn't easy, but it's finally over." He turned to her with a curious look. "How do you feel?"
There were so many ways 21 could have answered that question. Overjoyed at finally ridding the world of a monster like that, exhausted after using all of her energy, but there was something that was far more noticeable to the android. "I'm not hungry anymore."
Her stomach decided now of all times to rumble; a sound so deep and loud it echoed all around them.
Goku outright laughed while 21 covered her abdomen with both arms, a very noticeable blush covering her cheeks. She turned to the saiyan and stuttered a response to his amusement. "Y-y-you know what I mean!"
"I do, I do!" Goku said through his laughter, wincing in pain every now and then. "That was just too funny!"
Despite her severe embarrassment, 21 felt the corner of her lips twitching, followed quickly by her joining Goku, their laughter conveying far more than just happiness. 21 even began to cry, her joy far too great to be displayed by laughter alone. But after a while, they calmed down enough to begin talking again.
"I guess we should go check on the others." Goku moved to sit up, but a hand on his arm made him pause to look at 21, who's eyes were closed.
"Please," she quietly requested, her voice far quieter than the saiyan had ever heard before, "let's just… I want to enjoy this moment a little longer."
He opened his mouth to ask her why, but then the soul within him hummed in the corner of his mind. Goku paused as an overwhelming feeling of peace wormed its way through his body. Understanding immediately, Goku rested his head on the ground beside the android, smiling as he felt a gust of wind soothe his pain.
Satisfied with its work, and knowing it was not needed anymore, the Soul departed from the saiyan.
"Hmm?" Goku peeked a single eye open to see what was going on, relaxing once he saw it nothing to worry about. "I guess it doesn't need to help us anymore."
"I guess so." 21 agreed, simply sensing what was happening beside her.
Silence surrounded them once more, but the two welcomed it with open arms. After what felt like several minutes, the two decided it was about time to head back to the others where they were greeted warmly by Gohan, 18, and Piccolo – who had woken up once again – while Vegeta merely gave a grunt to acknowledge their arrival. Goku then had everyone gather around him, instructing them to put a hand on his shoulder. Once they were all connected, the earth-raised saiyan placed two fingers on his forehead, and everyone suddenly found themselves on top of Dende's lookout.
The Guardian of Earth was startled by their surprise visit to say the least.
Goku explained everything to the best of his ability to the young Namekian, saying they were really there to see if Korin could spare them some senzu beans. After another short rest, Dende returned to the group with a small bag in his grasp, saying there were just enough for their entire group.
21 hesitated, being the only one who had never had one before but was able to consume it after watching everyone else do so as well.
"I'm just happy its finally over." Krillian said after Gohan got everyone up to speed.
"No kidding," Yamcha agreed, "no offense 21, but I really hope you're the last android we ever have to deal with."
"Believe me, I understand how you feel." The pink android brought a hand up to her chest and smiled, happy to know everyone was ok now. "I'm almost certain, Dr. Gero didn't have any additional plans on his super computer."
"Almost?" Tien questioned.
Running a hand through her hair and laughing nervously, 21 replied. "Maybe we should go back and check his lab, just to be sure."
"It can wait." Vegeta argued, facing away from the group with his arms crossed. "Even if that man did have another android being built, I doubt it would be ready any time soon."
"Well that's good to know." Tien then turned towards their newest friend, a curious look on his face. "So, what do you plan to do now?"
"I…" 21 hesitated as it finally occurred to her that she spent so much time and effort focusing on fixing her mistakes that no time at all was spent on what she was going to do after everything was done. "I don't know."
"You could talk to Bulma and see if she could get you a job." Goku suggested. "She's a scientist too, so I'm sure there would be plenty of stuff you two could work on."
"Kakarot, do you even know what kind of scientist my wife is?"
"… There are different kinds?"
Vegeta just stared at his rival for a good, long while. "I'm going home." The Prince said, flying away while ignoring Goku's protest at his sudden departure.
"Yeah, we should probably head back too," Krillian added as he shared a look with his wife, "so we can check on Maron. If you guys plan some kind of celebration let us know, okay?" he waved goodbye, and left the lookout with 18 right beside him.
One by one the others began to leave as well, until it was only Goku and 21 left on the courtyard.
"I should probably head home too. Goten will probably want to know what happened, and Chichi should have dinner ready by now as well!" Just the thought of his wife's cooking was enough to make the Saiyan giddy as he prepared to teleport home, but as he looked over towards his companion, he paused. "Something wrong?"
21's head was down, her hand raised towards her chest out of habit as something clearly weighed down on her. "Goku…" she looked up to him with uncertainty plastered across her face. "If it's alright, would it be possible to stay with you for the time being?"
Goku cocked his head to the side. "With me?"
21 nodded. "I understand your house is far away from everything, right?" she waited for him to nod before continuing. "After everything that's happened: the resurrected villains, my other half, and… and 16's destruction. There hasn't been any time to relax or even think about anything other than what was happening at the moment. So, more than anything, I would like to stay somewhere where I can enjoy a quiet evening away from technology. It wouldn't be permanent." She hastily added. "Just long enough for me to…to…"
Seeing her trail off without any signs of continuing, Goku decided to answer her previous question. "I don't see why not, we'll just have to ask Chichi first, but I can't see any reason why she would say no."
I can think of a few reasons. 21 stepped towards the Saiyan when he motioned for her to place a hand on his shoulder. She looked down at her current state of attire, frowning at the huge tears in her baggy pants along with the minor cuts in her black top. Oh man, Chichi would get the wrong impression if she showed up in this! "Do you think we could stop at a-"
Goku performed Instant Transmission at that moment.
"-clothing store…" 21 sighed as she spotted the cozy looking house just walking distance from them. "Never mind."
The door to the house flew open, and the android was able to see a flash of orange before it crashed into Goku, knocking the man back a few feet.
"Hey Goten!" the man greeted his son with a laugh.
"Hi dad!" the boy matched his father's enthusiasm easily, Goten's excitement reached new heights however when his eyes landed on the android. "21!" Separating from Goku, Goten flew to the android and wrapped his arms around one of her legs to give the woman a big hug.
"Hello Goten." 21 temporarily forgot her worries as she knelt down to give the child a proper hug. "How have you been?"
"Good," he answered once they separated, "but mom's been making me help around the house lately, and it's soooooooooo boring!"
"Not everything in life can be exciting, Goten." Another voice wisely stated, catching drawing every ones' attention to the woman approaching them as she dried her hands on her apron. "Now go back inside and finish setting up the table," she glanced over at 21 who subconsciously began fixing her hair under the woman's scrutiny, "and make sure to prepare an extra plate as well."
"Okay…" Goten gave an exaggerated groan, dragging out every footstep so it took as long as possible.
"Now, young man!" the mother commanded.
The child went stiff as a board. "Yes ma'am!" he nearly flew back into the house.
"You too Goku, go inside and get cleaned up, I don't want you eating at the table with that torn Gi."
Goku grinned ear-to-ear at hearing that, more focused on the food than anything, and eagerly left the two women behind to do as he was told.
Now that it was just the two of them outside, 21 felt her previous anxiety flare to life as the woman continued to stare her down. She certainly has a commanding presence, the android remarked to herself as she struggled to keep eye contact with Chichi.
Finally, Chichi ended the long stretch of silence. "Goten's told me quite a bit about you." The stern look from before faded away, being replaced with a gentle smile. "I was actually hoping to meet you in person, so I could properly say thank you." She then bowed to the android to which 21 hastily shook her hands, trying desperately to wave off her praise.
"It really wasn't a big deal…" 21 laughed nervously as her hands moved to try to get rid of the wrinkles in her pants, the android still didn't like how messy she looked. Out of the corner of her eyes, 21 could see Goku step outside with a towel in one hand and a bar of soap in the other, before he disappeared around the corner. "But, if it's not too much trouble, I would like to ask a favor."
Chichi listened as the android explained her currently predicament, remaining silent as 21 made the request to live with them, making it absolutely clear to the wife that it would only be a temporary thing. The request wasn't outlandish in all honestly, but Chichi was a cautious woman, and took some time to mull over the idea with secretly looking over the android in an attempt to find any ulterior motives 21 may have tried to hide. Finding none, Chichi smiled as she nodded to their new house guest.
"I don't see why not, Gohan moved out not too long ago, so his room should be more than big enough for you to use." The woman frowned as she noticed something. "Do you have any bags or extra clothes?"
Lowering her head, 21 shook her head, both sad and frustrated she didn't have any personal items.
"Hmm…" Chichi's thoughtful hum and the sound of water running just beyond their view was the only noise for several seconds, but with a snap of her fingers, Chichi gestured for 21 to follow her inside.
21 followed after a brief moment of hesitation, stepping inside while closing the door behind her. She followed the woman down a small hallway, past the dining room where Goten waved at her as he continued to set the table, through another hallway where they then entered the last room. The android then watched the housewife step around a large bed, entering a walk-in closet that was clearly separated with a mere fraction of the space filled with nothing but orange Gi's and blue under clothes while the majority held a vast array of dresses and outfits befitting that of a princess. 21 felt even more self-conscious, not to mention stupid, when she remembered Chichi was, in-fact, a Princess.
Chichi spent a little bit of time rummaging through her clothes, occasionally poking her head out to glance at 21 with an outfit in hand, only to shake her head after a moment of consideration. Finally, after a couple more minutes of searching, Chichi emerged from the closet with a folded set of clothes in hand along with a fresh towel on top.
"Here," she said, handing the items to a stunned android, "when you get cleaned up, you can change into those for the night until we can get you some new clothes in town tomorrow." Chichi held up a hand to halt the protest her new house guest was about to make. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not just giving you these things for free, I fully expect you to pull your weight around here during your stay."
"O-of course!" 21 was a little relieved to hear that, she didn't like the idea of simply being given things.
"Good." Chichi nodded in satisfaction, only to tilt her head to the side to glance at the pink tail casually swaying from side to side. "Although, I forgot about that when I gave you that outfit."
21 looked down at the appendage and narrowed her eyes. "I wonder…" she mused to herself, setting aside the items in hand, before closing her eyes to concentrate. The android was then engulfed in a white light that quickly faded to reveal 21 was now back in her human form, still wearing the tattered outfit from her true form.
"Maybe you could warn me the next time you do something like that." Chichi gently scolded as she took in the woman's new appearance, secretly pleased since this development would make things much easier tomorrow.
The android had the decently to blush.
Deciding not to push the matter any further, Chichi shooed the android out of the room just in time for Goku to step in, the two fighters having to step around the other in the hallway. The saiyan smiled at his wife as he stepped into the closet to put on a fresh Gi, depositing the damaged one into the nearby hamper in the process.
"So, what's for dinner, Chichi?" Goku asked as he stepped out with an excited look.
"Everything. Like usual." The woman joked, the humor and light-hearted sarcasm lost to the saiyan.
"Great, because I'm starving!"
After cleaning herself off and putting on the new set of clothes, 21 joined the Son family at the dinner table, her eyes comically wide at the huge spread before her. The woman felt her stomach rumble in anticipation of the glorious meal she was about to partake in.
Chichi was the first to fill her plate with food, but 21 suspected that was the signal to dig in as both Goku and Goten began eating with vigor, each finishing their first plate before she had time to blink. Deciding to join in, 21 carefully picked a few pieces of food to fill her plate – just enough so they wouldn't think she was uninterested but not so much that would seem greedy. She picked up her utensils and brought the first bite up to enjoy.
"You don't need to hold back, you know." Chichi stated, causing 21 to pause and look over to the Princess with a stunned look. The woman laughed upon seeing it. "Don't look so surprised, I can tell when someone is holding themselves back. Go on," she encouraged, "it's nice to know when someone appreciates your cooking, especially strangers."
Having received permission to let loose, along with her stomach demanding to be filled at this point, 21 threw away every table manner in the book to begin scarfing down just as quickly as the saiyans.
Chichi's smile widened ever so slightly at the sight.
It didn't take long for all the food to disappear off the table with a mountain of plates being the only indicator of its existence.
Simultaneous sighs made Chichi smile as she used a napkin to wipe her mouth, having eaten only a little more than a plate full of her cooking. "I'll take that as a sign that you enjoyed it."
"As I always do." Goku was tempted to undo his waistband to allow his engorged stomach the extra space, deciding not to since his wife would probably scold him if he did.
"Good, then you should be more than willing to help clean up this mess."
The man began to whine. "Aw… but Chichi…"
"Goku…" her tone held the slightest bit of warning in it, however, it was more than enough to get the saiyan moving to pick up the various plates and bowls to stack them next to the kitchen sink. Chichi then looked over to Goten with slightly narrowed eyes, her gaze alone holding enough authority to get the child moving just as quickly as his father.
"Oh! I can help…" 21 swiveled her head back and forth to find something to do, deciding, after seeing nothing else, to help clean the table, only to stop when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Not you," Chichi said, sounding more like an order to the android, "because tonight, you're our guest. Tomorrow will be a different story entirely." A thoughtful look appeared on the woman's face, fading away as she focused once more on 21. "Why don't you go ahead and go to your new room – it's the first door on the right down the hall. If you need anything just let me know."
Thanking the Princess once more for her generosity, 21 headed off to her new living space. Opening the mentioned door, the android found herself in a nearly empty room with the only features worth mentioning were the desk right next to the window, and the multitude of books along the top of it. A little curious, 21 read the cover of each book, mildly disappointed when they turned out to be nothing more than old school books.
Makes sense though, she thought to herself, running a finger along the desk and frowning at the smudge of dust that coated her digit afterward. This room would need to be properly cleaned. Tomorrow though, 21 decided after feeling a wave of exhaustion that drove her to fall unceremoniously onto the bed, not even bothering to rest under the covers this night.
21 flipped onto her back and formed a tiny energy ball at the tip of her finger, manipulating it so it would hit the light switch – without causing any damage of course – to throw the room into nearly complete darkness, with the only light source coming from the stars shining bright in the sky.
The android felt herself smile as she yawned. Just a few hours here and already she could tell it would be a wonderful stay. It wasn't so much the good food, warm welcome, or even the generosity – all of which were definitely appreciated, it was a simple fact that warmed 21's very soul to the core. Something no one else her in small group of friends could have done as easily as the Son family did.
They made her feel like part of their family.
21 is such a fun character, which is one of the reasons why I decided to write a story for her. That, and the fact there are almost no stories involving her to begin with.
If you're wondering why I'm having this take place before Super, it's so I can give her some time to bond with everyone a little more, and to see how her existence influences the coming events.
Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this, and I'll see you next time!