"You just got back and the first thing you ask is if you can take my son and train for three years? Make him forget his studies for a full three years?"
"C-Chichi, that's not really exactly what I meant..."
"NO! I won't let you ruin our son's life like this! Gohan is staying here and continuing his studies! You are not to get him involved in these, these, these STREET FIGHTS anymore!"
"But Chichi, this isn't a street fight, this is more important than that –"
"No, no, NO!"
Chichi could not take her eyes from the television. The laundry was getting rained on. But she couldn't look away. Her hand gripped at her chest. Gohan was screaming – pain, rage, terror. Oh God, why was he there? He was too young for this; why was he there?
Her lips moved in a prayer, over, and over, and over.
Let him come home. Oh please, let him come home. Goku, don't you dare not let him come home.
And that – that smirk on Gohan's face. This wasn't her son. What had happened to him? What had he turned into?
Goku, what did you do to Gohan?
Cell was going to explode. The whole world was going to die. No, no, no, Gohan, why couldn't she have Gohan at her side now?
And Goku appeared. Gohan's mouth dropped open, his eyes opened wide. With the shaking, cracked camera, it was hard to see exactly what was going on. It was impossible to hear what Goku was saying.
But inexplicably, he seemed to look at the camera. Straight at her. He smiled. He gave a two fingered salute.
He and Cell disappeared.
Chichi's hands clapped over her mouth, trying to still the scream. Goku had vanished. He vanished with the monster about to explode. Where had he gone? He was coming back, right? She still had to yell at him for taking Gohan there. Where was he? He could teleport, why wasn't he coming back?
On camera, Gohan started screaming.
"DAD! DAD!"
She could hear him through the camera. It sounded like the battlefield had gone dead silent.
"DAD! DAD!"
"Goku, where are you? Where are you? Come back, please, please, please," Chichi whispered into her hands. "Oh God, don't do this to Gohan. Don't do this to me. Stop playing, Goku. These – these fights aren't games."
Goku wasn't coming back.
A scream ripped from her throat. She clapped her hands over her mouth again, staggering to her feet. She fell backwards, hit the wall. The camera feed went out, the camera finally dead.
Dead. Dead. Dead.
Goku. Oh God.