Chapter 2: Set to play!

Goku noticed several chess pieces down on the floor: and soon he was down on his hands and knees watching them. They were walking about two by two and some of the knights were fighting.

"A Red King and a Red Queen, I guess," Goku said "and the White Queen. And I think they're castles." (He caught sight of the two walking into each other a couple of times, indecisive of where they needed to go.)

"At least that's what Gohan told me-" He watched them for a while longer.

"I don't think they can hear me," he went on, as he put his head closer down, "and I don't think they can see me either, I'm invisible to them huh?"

Not really thinking Goku picked up the White Queen and placed her up on a table next to him. The Queen seemed to stagger before falling over. It started to speak but the pieces were so small that he could hardly hear them.

"Shame, I wanted to know if they really could see me or not" said Goku with a smile. Then he stood up and looked around for a door or something, just so he could leave the room. Luckily for him he saw on in the corner and made his escape out of the desolate room.

"Can't believe I didn't notice that before" he said to himself as he shut the door.


Goku ran down stairs - well, it wasn't exactly running, but something strange happened instead. He kept his hand on the rail but was surprised to find himself flying down the stairs without using ki or anything at all. Strangely, despite the amount of times he had flown before, he was a little disoriented with so much floating. He was happy to be outside, on foot, once again.

He had not been walking for long and before he knew it he was face to face with the Red Queen. Goku froze in shock.

"Who's she?" he gasped, stunned at the Queen before him. "Why does she seem so... familiar?"

"Where do you come from?" said the Red Queen smiling at him. "And where are you going? Close your mouth sir, you aren't a fish are you?"

Goku attended to all these directions and explained that he'd lost his way and gotten lost.

"Not your way, I'm afraid' said the Red Queen: "all the ways about here belong to me - but why did you come out here at all?" she added in a kinder tone.

Goku was a little startled at all the questions and in awe of this woman. Many questions filled his own mind, such as how she had grown into full size. Back in the room she had been just a chess piece. Now she had taken human form; a young woman with soft, gentle eyes much like his own, black hair like the night and wearing an elegant red dress with a big ruby crown on her head.

'I've got to be dreaming' he thought 'I've just got to be...'

"I'd like an answer please," the Queen said with a smile: "And remember to say "your Majesty."'

"I wanted to explore the outside, your Majesty-" Goku replied, it was the only excuse he could manage.

"Alright then," she replied patting him on the head, which Goku didn't usually like. But it was different when she did it, it felt motherly. "But you see the outside all the time, why would you bother exploring something that you see every day? It gets boring."

Goku couldn't think of an answer and they started to walk in silence up a small hill.


For some minutes Goku stood on the hill without speaking, looking out in all directions over the country. A chequered pattern ran across the whole of the country; dark green grass against the light green grass, marking out the pattern on the ground. And a series of small brooks connected each square to the other. Many of the squares seemed to be covered in woodland areas and Goku could even see a few buildings on the squares as well. What was more bizarre was that people were making their way around the squares in turns. As if waiting for their move.

"It's like a chessboard!" Goku said at last. "It's like a huge game of chess played all over the world..."

Goku continued to stare wide eyed unable to imagine something so big.

"Imagine playing something like that" he said as he glanced at the Red Queen, but his companion only smiled pleasantly, and said, "That's easily managed."

Goku went wide eyed. "What?"

"You can be the White Queen's Pawn if you like," continued the Queen "you're in the Second Square right now. Unfortunatley you'll be against my team, but you'll do fine."

"Thanks, but I'd rather not play..." said Goku, a little shyly. "After all I'm just trying to get back..."

"I know outsider" laughed the Queen. Something felt off about her laugh, she sounded worried. "This is your key out of here."

"Key?" asked Goku. The Queen nodded and gave Goku a wink. He couldn't help but feel like she was someone important to him, someone from his past. But he just couldn't place her anywhere.

"Get to the eighth square and you'll be able to go home. Failure to do so..."

And from the silence that followed, Goku didn't want to know. He smiled and nodded "I guess I need a challenge. I'll accept this game then!"

She was about to walk off when Goku called for her to stop. "Uh... I don't know how to play."

The Queen faced him again. "Well a pawn goes two squares in its first move. So you'll be through the Third Square quickly, by railway definitely..."

"Railways in chess?" asked Goku, getting more confused by the second. He looked at the ground again and noticed a railway track with a train moving around the edge of the square. "Gohan would be surprised at this..." he added to himself.

"And you'll find yourself in the Fourth Square in no time." continued the Queen, ignoring Goku's question "Well, that square belongs to Tweedledum and Tweedledee, those two will definitely want a fight- the Fifth is mostly water, I'm sure you can swim - the Sixth belongs to..."

"Story book characters?" Goku exclaimed, not hearing her last comment. "This is so hard to believe. I wish I hadn't started reading that Alice book..."

"Believe what you want. No one's stopping you. Am I able to go on?"

Goku couldn't help but feel that he had offended her and apologized. The Queen only smiled and continued.

"The Seventh Square is all forest - oh and be careful of the Proud Knight - and in the Eighth Square it's all fun from there! Who knows, you might achieve the rank of King."

'That's more Vegeta's thing' Goku thought, laughing a little (He didn't know much about chess so he didn't know that the promotion to King was impossible.)

The Queen smiled and coughed to get his attention.

"Sorry" apologised Goku, "It seems easy I guess." All he had to do was go through the squares. Simple! The Red Queen nodded back and said "Super Saiyans aren't used for a fight - Right is left and left is right. And Kakarot, remember who you are!"

She did not wait for Goku to nod or agree this time but walked on quickly, saying her goodbyes as she ran in her dress. Goku watched her run, wide eyed at her speed and what she just said.

"She knows about Super Saiyans!?" he exclaimed "How...? Unless... she resembled..." His hand covered his mouth in shock. "She resembled my mother..."

But the Queen had vanished, whether it was into thin air or not and Goku was left alone, wondering if this was true or not.

"So that was my mom huh?"

Soon he remembered that he was a Pawn, and that it would be his move at any moment and the game for freedom would begin.

"I have to play the game" he sighed as he sat on the grass. "My freedom depends on it."

Suddenly he cried.

"Wait... Which way do I go!? Left, right or forward?"