Disclaimer: Dragon Ball and all related characters don't belong to me.
We belong to him.
By
Dr Facer
Chapter 2
First day on Planet Hipra.
0-0-0
The Space pod landed perfectly in the middle of the intended cushioned area and immediately started adjusting its settings to allow its occupants to awaken from their suspended animation. This process would normally be done instantly but given the extra two passengers, the safety program in the small shuttle required a little longer to run the med-scans it was already relaying to the main computer of the clinic in this base, so that the doctor here had the opportunity to prepare in case something was wrong.
The pod's female occupant was the first to regain consciousness. Her mind was foggy, and she couldn't really muster the will to open her eyes, because she felt warm and quite comfortable, and the strong arm she noticed circling her shoulders made her feel safe and content. She smiled as she pressed herself against the man holding her, certain that Goku wouldn't mind if she rested close to him for a little longer; she could go and prepare breakfast later, after all. She then felt something moving on top of her, and she lazily brought her hand up to examine it. What her hand found was hair and cloth, then a small hand and a chubby, warm face. Gohan, she realized, must have climbed into their bed during the night.
Chi Chi slowly opened her eyes, deciding to take her son to his bedroom so she could go back to snuggling at Goku's side for at least an hour more. What she saw when her vision adjusted to the light, however, crushed her intentions and made her skin crawl with fear, because all around her were the white walls of the small pod she had slept in along with a tiny porthole to her left. It was then that her memories of what had happened the day before came back like a landslide: she was now a widow and had been forced to travel to another planet so her son wouldn't be taken away from her.
The young woman trembled at how alone she suddenly felt. What would she do now? All she had left was Gohan. Could she still look after him here, in this strange place? The uncertainty which had filled her life in just one day was terrifying, and as reality sank in she discovered that she simply didn't know what to do.
Busy with her thoughts, she didn't notice when the Saiyan Soldier woke up and was startled as the arm around her, Raditz's arm, suddenly tightened its embrace and pulled her close to him. The next thing she knew his lips were on her ear and she could feel his warm breath tickling her skin.
"Make sure you don't speak to anyone until I've fixed things, woman!" Raditz ordered, his lips moving softly over her earlobe. "Because right now we are the weakest on this planet and if you make even one mistake we'll all get killed on the spot, got it? So keep that pretty mouth of yours shut."
"Don't you ever do that again, you disgusting creep!" Chi Chi, repulsed and alarmed at the lustful memories feeling his lips on her skin brought back, hissed as she tried to put some space between her and the soldier, only to find that the limited space made that impossible. "And I will speak if I want! You are not one to tell me what to do, damn it!"
"You'll wake up the brat, not that I care," Raditz observed, fairly amused at the strong reaction he had gotten from the woman. He quickly pushed his amusement aside, as he had better things to do, like coming up with a decent lie to cover the origins of his nephew. He knew the doctor here was already aware that he hadn't come alone, so he really had to think of something fast. In the end Raditz decided to chance it and just go with whatever happened once he was in front of the doctor.
"Can't you at least tell me the name of this place or what I'm supposed to know? You're not making any sense!" she insisted with an angry murmur, for as much as it annoyed her, she had to agree with Raditz that it was better to let Gohan sleep a little longer. In the back of her mind, though, the young woman was already considering stealing this same pod in order to escape this place and return home.
"Fair enough and I guess you do deserve to know, since you're the kid's mother and all. We're on Hipra," the long-haired Saiyan supplied. "We'll be here for the next few years. I brought the kid here to train him, but you already knew that. And I was not joking when I said we are the weakest here, so do keep your mouth shut unless you want someone to kill you on the spot… you'll find the soldiers stationed here have much less patience than I do."
"I find that difficult to believe, and I do have a few things to say about my son training with a barbarian like you," she replied, still trying to keep Gohan and herself as far away from her brother-in-law as the limited space allowed. "Can't you open the pod or something? I don't want to be so close to you!"
"You have no say in how I'll train Gohan," Raditz answered flatly while putting on his scouter. "And yes, I can open the pod, but I'm sure you won't like it outside, Earth girl."
Before the Ox Princess could complain about him calling her that, Raditz took in a deep breath and pressed the button which opened the pod. He unceremoniously pushed the young widow out, following immediately after her. Much to Chi Chi's surprise she stumbled a step and quickly fell on her back, Gohan on top of her, and no matter how much she tried she couldn't move at all! She could feel her chest collapsing under the massive weight her son seemed to have gained, her knees cracked and her arms felt like if they were made of lead! Gohan awoke then and found his body was now so heavy he couldn't even lift a finger. All he could do was wail at the painful weight crushing his back.
"What… the hell… did you do?" Goku's widow managed to get out, struggling like mad against the incredible force pushing her down.
"The gravity here is fifteen times stronger than on your planet, which I think is at a standard of zero," Raditz stated. He was used to training in gravity four or five times above the standard, but for him this was a massive increase and he was finding that even moving his head required an added effort. He didn't like it.
"This is… crazy!" Chi Chi yelled. "I can't even… breathe… I'm going to… die here!"
"If you can't breathe then how can you scream like that?" Raditz asked, smiling mockingly despite the effort he was making to stand. "Don't worry too much; gravity should be close to the level that you're used to inside the base."
"How are we… supposed to get there… you jerk?" she growled. "We can't…move!"
Raditz stood silently for a moment and wondered if he should leave her there as punishment for being so obnoxious. In the end, however, he realized that it was better to keep the woman happy so she wouldn't tell any crap to his nephew during training breaks. Understanding this, the Saiyan warrior crouched down and picked up his brother's widow and son as carefully as he could.
"Fine, I'll help you and the kid… but just this time," Raditz muttered, his arms and back already protesting at the added weight he was forcing on them.
Saying no more Raditz took a deep breath and tried walking. He found that while carrying Chi Chi and the kid he couldn't move much. He was now visibly straining, drops of sweat crowning his forehead as his muscles bulged under the titanic effort. He looked at the glass doors in front of him. They were very close, less than thirty steps away. But under these conditions the distance seemed insurmountable. And the soldiers waiting inside the base kept smirking mockingly as they watched him. Azurian bastards, thinking he wouldn't be able to get there by himself!
Not willing to go through the humiliation of asking for help, the Saiyan flared his power in order to boost his strength, enclosing himself in an aura of burning energy and forcing his legs to take one heavy step after the other.
Chi Chi, who was too surprised first by Raditz actually helping them and then by the way he had ignited his ki, decided to remain quiet. She wouldn't admit it, but the way his energy cocooned her made her feel oddly safe and protected, and a quick look at Gohan told her that her son was feeling the same way.
Several minutes later the long-haired warrior finally reached the glass doors. He was pretty sure he had given himself a whiplash injury in the process, but he didn't care; the incredulous faces of the two soldiers on the other side of the crystal made it all worth it. That would teach them to underestimate a Saiyan warrior!
"Now… you two remember… to be quiet," Raditz ordered as he waited for the soldiers to open the gate for him. The Saiyan didn't look well; his breathing was labored and he was sweating profusely.
Goku's widow simply nodded and hushed Gohan, who obviously wanted to ask plenty of questions, telling her son to wait until later. The Ox princess had considered giving Raditz a piece of her mind in the loudest manner possible as soon as they were inside the base but after the way he had just helped them and how terribly drained he appeared, she simply couldn't find it in her to cause him trouble.
The door finally opened and Raditz stepped inside, a sigh of relief escaping him as he felt an enormous weight lifting from his shoulders, all thanks to the miraculous gravitational dampers which controlled the gravity inside the base. He placed Chi Chi on the ground and regarded the soldiers, who were shocked by what he had just done.
"We weren't told you would bring company," one of the soldiers said. "I'm impressed that you managed to get all the way here carrying the woman and child, considering your power level."
"Yeah, well, we Saiyan are full of surprises," Raditz said, clearly annoyed by the comment. "So tell me, where's this place's clinic?"
"Go straight and then turn left on the first fork, it's the fifth door," the second guard informed him. "Oh, but before you go, we need your scouter. Standard procedure, you know."
"I've never been asked for my scouter before," the Saiyan complained sourly. "Cut the bullshit and tell me why you want it."
"It's not bullshit," the soldier replied. "In other bases you don't turn in your scouter when you arrive, but here at 'Advantage' you have to do it; orders from the doctor, and he's the one in charge."
"You even gave this garrison a name, how cute," the Saiyan smirked as he removed the machine from his face and handed it to the expectant soldier. Not saying more to the guard, Raditz motioned for Chi Chi to follow him as he started walking in the direction he had been instructed.
Goku's widow, however, didn't move from where she stood. She had been trying hard not to stare at the two soldiers in a very obvious manner, and wondered if she looked as odd to them as they did to her; sure, she had seen strange creatures such as Piccolo before, but nothing like this. The two tall soldiers in front of her were humanoid in shape and wore a uniform almost exactly like the one Raditz had on, down to the odd mechanism on their faces, but their skin was blue and grainy, they had no hair, no ears nor eyelids, their heads were crowned by a yellow dome and their eyes were red slits completely lacking pupils. Their appearance, however, was not the reason why the princess was unsettled by the two aliens; it was the power she felt emanating from them which fueled her unease, as she had never imagined creatures with such a powerful ki could exist.
"What are you waiting for, woman? We don't have all day!" Raditz called, not bothering to mask the annoyance in his voice while addressing her.
Startled by the harshness on the Saiyan's voice, Chi Chi bowed to the soldiers and rushed to catch up with Raditz, who had not stopped walking. It did cross her mind that Raditz was extremely inconsiderate for not waiting for her, but there was nothing she could do about it.
"Why are those men so ugly?" Gohan asked once they had turned at the corner. The boy was still being carried by his mother, and had twisted so he could keep looking at the strange looking soldiers for as long as possible. Gohan had considered asking why he didn't feel so heavy anymore, but his curiosity for the alien creatures was greater than for that detail.
"They're not men. They're Azurians and Azurians aren't pretty," Raditz answered while remembering the numbers he got when he analyzed the guards, just before they had entered the building. "But don't tell them that to their face unless you want them to kill you where you stand. Got it, kid?"
"He's not lying, Gohan, those blue creatures are at least five times stronger than him. Do make sure you don't bother them," Chi Chi told her son warningly.
"Huh…ye-yeah…" the child said, the words of both adults scaring him so much that he sank into his mother's arms, hoping to find some protection that way.
"How did you know that?" the Saiyan asked suddenly. "You don't have a scouter, how did you know the Azurians are that strong? Because your guessing about their strength is actually pretty accurate."
"I felt their ki and compared it to yours," the Ox Princess explained. "I'm not very good at it but I'm good enough to tell that you didn't lie when you said we are the weakest here. I'm impressed that you were able to admit that."
"Ki, what the hell's that?" Raditz asked, ignoring the last comment she made. "Is it related to how that green freak could hide from my scouter and raise his attack power at will? How does it work?"
"Yes, well, it is very simple; ki is the energy your body produces and the stronger you are, the more you can generate," the woman explained. "The point is that with a little training you can learn how to manipulate and feel the ki of others. I haven't fully mastered the technique yet, though."
"That seems like a very useful skill," Raditz observed, quickly realizing that if he managed to convince his brother's widow to teach him that technique he wouldn't need to rely on a scouter so much, and that could be a great advantage in battle. The Saiyan grinned at this new information. It seemed having the woman here wouldn't be such an annoyance after all.
"Gravity inside the base is still stronger than Earth, right?" Chi Chi asked after a few moments of walking in silence. She had noticed that the force pulling her down was not as excessive as it was outside, but was still slightly uncomfortable.
"Three times that of your planet," the Saiyan pronounced as he stopped in front of a white door, the sign above it clearly indicating it was the clinic. "Now, what did I say about not talking to others?"
"I know, I know," she answered him with a frown. "Don't worry; we won't talk to anybody until you say we can, even if I think it's a stupid order."
"Oh, and before we go in, there's something else you need to know, woman," Raditz started. "I'll have to register Gohan as my son; otherwise he'll be executed… probably."
"WHAT? I won't let...!"
Whatever Chi Chi was going to say was interrupted by a hand covering her mouth with great force, and in a flash, Raditz had her pinned against the wall again. He had also grabbed Gohan, whom he kept hanging upside down from his little tail. The woman shivered with fear and anger; she couldn't just let this man adopt Gohan, she couldn't!
"Listen well because I will only explain once!" Raditz whispered on her ear while applying a little more strength to his grip to make sure she couldn't move. "My scouter has a transmitter and my… supervisors can listen to everything I say or hear… so guess what happened when Kakarot refused to join me? He became a traitor to the Planet Trade Organization we Saiyans work for! Do you know what the punishment for treason is? No? Well, the punishment is death! And unless I register this kid as my own, they will start asking us questions and if we don't answer, they'll fucking torture us until we say what they want to hear… and once they've squeezed the truth out of us, all we will be guessing is which one of us they kill first!"
The Saiyan warrior paused and, when he was sure that the woman had processed what he had just told her, risked removing his hand from her mouth and jaw, sliding it to her shoulder so he could keep her pinned to the wall.
"Everything you told me... it's not a lie, is it?" she asked after a moment, tears sliding down her cheeks and her hands trembling in despair. "We'll die unless we do as you say."
"Don't cry; you have to admit it could've been worse. I could've taken Gohan without letting you come with us, right?" Raditz asked, finally releasing her and letting her hold the little boy again. "Now just make sure you play along and we should be able to live through this, got it?"
Chi Chi, pressing her slowly recovering son close to her chest, nodded back at the Saiyan.
"Good, and if they ask you, just tell them I picked you and the kid up on my way here and stick to that story. That should be enough to keep you both out of trouble once the registration is made," the dark-haired Saiyan said.
"Even if you adopt him, Gohan will never be your son," Chi Chi told him firmly. "I'll never let him forget about Goku!"
"Sure, right, whatever," Raditz replied waving his hand dismissively. "I'm just doing what I was ordered, it's not my fault that the kid'll be my son and you'll be my wife… so stop talking and come with me, we don't have all day!"
"I'm not your wife, I'll never…!"
"I like this as much as you do but I'll do what I have to! So shut up and walk!" the Saiyan interrupted with an angry growl.
Normally the Ox Princess would yell back and argue until she had made her point clear and gotten what she wanted, but not this time. In ordinary circumstances the shock of a man daring to talk back to her like that, coupled with the stressful situation she was in, would have been enough for her to jump at Raditz with the intention to claw his face off. His previous statements about how Gohan would die if she disobeyed, however, were enough for the woman to keep her temper under control, and she finally decided to quietly follow him into the clinic.
0-0
The medical center, Chi Chi had to admit, was acceptably clean and the ample windows allowed it to be well-illuminated. She had ended up sitting down on what resembled a couch, and to her surprise it was quite comfortable. None of this changed her mood, however, and she continued to seethe with unreleased rage.
"Is Raditz going to be my new daddy?" Gohan asked suddenly. "If he's my dad then I hope he stops pulling my tail, it hurts a lot when he does that."
The boy had been quiet and thoughtful for a few moments already and Chi Chi, too busy being angry at her current situation, was not expecting him to ask precisely that question. "Don't say that again, Gohan. That man will never be your father! Your only father is Goku!"
"But uncle Raditz said…" the child started.
"Don't call him uncle!" Chi Chi interrupted, upset that her son would dare to consider that arrogant, long-haired barbarian, family. "The only reason we're doing what he says is that the people in this place will do bad things to us if we don't, Gohan. All you need to do is to make sure you never forget who your real father was."
"I promise, Mom," the child said with a nod and sank down in his seat; his mother's words had reminded him of his father and the horrible way Goku had died. Gohan also remembered when his dad had been buried, and that was the one memory that finally brought tears to his eyes. "Sorry… I know I mustn't cry because I'm a Saiyan like dad and Raditz but… I…"
"Gohan, it's ok," Chi Chi whispered softly as she hugged her son, drying his tears with the sleeve of her jacket. "It's ok to cry and it's ok to be sad, don't hold back and cry all you want, because mommy is here with you."
0-0
"So, you're here for training?" The head doctor of the base, an elderly humanoid with a white short beard, pointy ears and shiny pink skin, commented once Raditz sat in front of him.
"Yes, that's why I'm here," Raditz said, hoping this registration thing wouldn't take too long.
"I see you've brought company with you," the doctor continued as he started typing on his computer. "Who are the woman and child?"
"They're mine," the Saiyan answered quickly. "I picked them up on my way here."
"Why? I have no audio, but the security camera on the hallway showed me that you didn't bring them here to have some quality family time. So tell me the truth, who are they?" the doctor probed.
"They really are mine! And what you saw happened because the woman was being stubborn about not letting me train the kid!" Raditz explained, since this wasn't a full lie, his voice came out far more confident than what he expected. He hoped that would convince the doctor to finish filling out the damned registration form already!
"Understandable, but try to be nicer to your wife," the doctor advised while turning his scouter on. "You see, her power level is of only 59 units, you could easily kill her or gravely injure her, same case with your son, as he only has a power level of 8. Be careful how you treat them, I haven't yet analyzed them and programmed the rejuvenation tank for them."
"I'm not here to take a lesson in manners, old man," Raditz shot back. "Just finish the registration process so I can start training."
"I will in a moment," the doctor assured him. "I just need to tell you that your family will stay here at the clinic until tomorrow. I must make sure they are healthy and I also need to do a medical check-up on them. It's for the best."
"Fine, as long as I can take the kid into a gravity room to start teaching him how to fight tomorrow I don't care," Raditz agreed.
"Alright, just one more question before I complete their registrations," the medic told him, starting to type again. "Are both the woman and child to be registered as soldiers for Lord Frieza's army?"
"Yes, because that allows me to use the facilities as I please while I train them, right?"
"Yes, it does," the doctor recalled. "But your woman won't train with you; I'm sending her to train with the other female soldiers we have stationed here. You'll see her after her combat lessons are finished, of course, but she won't be with you for most of the day. Does that bother you?"
"No, it actually works for me. What about our bunkers?"
"Since you're here with your family a bunker won't do," the medic stated. He was slightly surprised that his plan to annoy the Saiyan by separating him from his woman hadn't worked, so he decided to try something different. "You're actually lucky, my young Saiyan friend; I do have a few rooms on the top floor designed for families. I never thought I would use them, though, so they are, let's say, incomplete. I'm sure you'll be happy to fix one for your woman and kid, won't you?"
"Are you fucking kidding me? I have no time to do that!" Raditz yelled. "Just give us separate bunkers and that will be enough!"
"Not possible, young man," the doctor smirked, pleased that his second tactic had worked. "I have very firm rules and you are to occupy one of my made-for-families rooms. The tools and materials you will need to make it inhabitable will be left at your assigned room later today, which is room 398; you already know it's on the top floor. Now the registration is complete."
"I'm going to remember this," the Saiyan swore under his breath. "Alright, I'll finish your damn room. Is the registration process really complete or do you want me to dance for you?"
"I said it's complete. You may go now, Raditz," the doctor answered. "And my name is Ygrus. Since we're surely going to be seeing a lot of each other it's best that you know how to address me."
Raditz didn't reply and, grumbling his irritation, simply stormed out of the room.
0-0
Chi Chi was surprised when Raditz left the clinic without even looking at her or Gohan, as she had expected him to at least tell them the paperwork was done. Not knowing what to do, the young woman stood up, wondering if she should go after the Saiyan.
"Don't worry about him, he's just a little upset," a voice called. "Besides, you and the child will be required to stay here until tomorrow."
The Ox princess turned to find an old man with shiny pink skin and wearing a white robe staring at her with what she imagined was great curiosity. She assumed this man was the head doctor, and was relieved to see that his appearance was almost human; she didn't think she could tolerate letting a strange-looking creature like one of the Azurians examine her or Gohan.
"I'm not worried about that idiot," Chi Chi said, thinking she could at least call Raditz that without getting into trouble. "Are you the doctor in charge? Why do we have to stay here?"
"I admit Saiyans aren't exactly bright, but as far as surviving ones go, Raditz is the least obnoxious of the three," Doctor Ygrus joked. "And I need you and the child here for the rest of the day to make a few tests and calibrate the rejuvenation tanks for the two of you."
"Rejuvenation tanks?" Gohan asked from the couch. "What're those?"
Ygrus frowned. "Don't tell me you don't have them on your planet?"
"No, we don't," the princess admitted. "We don't have those scouter things either; is that a problem?"
"No, of course not," the doctor assured. "It's just that I'll have to teach you both how to use them, and that will take a while. Oh, well, it doesn't matter, we have enough time for that. Come into my office, please."
Chi Chi, and Gohan to a lesser degree, spent the next hour answering the many questions the doctor asked them, covering everything from something as common as previous injuries to things as weird as if they had the ability to grow extra limbs or even breathe fire.
Once Ygrus had finished gathering the information he required from his two new patients he left his seat and opened another door, which led to an examination room full of advanced looking machines. "Let's now start with the physical exams."
Inside the examination room waited a nurse, a young and thin woman with skin as pink and shiny as that of Doctor Ygrus, which made Chi Chi realize they were probably from the same planet, and her guess turned to be correct once she asked.
"Please do the check up on the woman," Ygrus instructed the nurse as he picked Gohan up. "I'll take care of our little friend here."
"Certainly, Doctor," the nurse agreed. Once the doctor took the child to one of the many machines in the room, she addressed the other woman. "Hello, my name is Prim. Please follow me."
A little wary about being separated from her son, Chi Chi hesitated before finally following the nurse into an adjacent room, which had a strange device that reminded her of a big washing machine and several other apparatuses to which she couldn't think of any equivalents.
"Your name is Chi Chi, right?" the nurse confirmed as she read the information on her data pad. "Alright, please undress so we can start the tests."
"Hm… why do I have to take off my clothes?"
"They would get in the way of the scanner," Prim explained. "Now, can you please do it? We have a few tests to do and the bio-scan will take the longest to complete."
"Fine," the young widow agreed and did as the nurse requested, but stopped once she was down to only her underwear. "Do I have to remove these, too?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Can't you hurry?" Prim demanded with a bored tone, she had walked to a panel in the wall and was typing something there.
"Done," the princess announced, covering her nudity as best as she could with her arms. "But I don't see why I had to do this."
"I told you, clothes would get in the way; now come and stand here," the nurse directed and pointed at a platform, which was more like a circular, thick lens that slowly extended from the floor, just a couple of inches above the ground.
Once Goku's widow had stepped where she had been asked to, the nurse turned on the bio-scanner, causing another lens to lower from the ceiling, right above Chi Chi. Before she could ask about it, several lines of light rained down over her, bouncing from the lens at her feet and back up, effectively scanning every corner of her body.
"What is this?" Chi Chi asked irritably. The light beams moving up and down her body were somehow making her feel itchy, which in turn made her quite uncomfortable.
"The scanner is confirming the information you gave us and it's also checking for other data we might need," Prim told her. "Now please stand still, this will still take a couple minutes more."
Unnerved at being naked and fearing Doctor Ygrus or worse, Raditz, might decide to enter the room right then, Chi Chi did her best to tolerate the situation until the scanner completed its job.
"Ah, the bio-scan is done!" the nurse informed her a few minutes later when the lights turned off and the machine emitted a soft beep. "Alright, computer, tell me results and also send a copy to my data pad."
"Request accepted," the computer replied with a monotone voice and started reciting the information it had gathered. "Subject is a carbon based life-form. Gender is Female and still within the fertile age. Body type is standard ningen with no scales, feathers or other hidden appendages such as horns or tail. No traces of known or unknown harmful viruses, bacteria or parasites detected in subject's body. Subject's inner organs are all functioning efficiently. Subject power level is confirmed to be 59."
"Well, it seems you're quite healthy," Prim declared. "That's good; it'll save us a couple of the tests I would've had to perform if you weren't. Ok, now I'll need a blood sample and then we'll check how acute your vision and other senses are."
"Can I get my clothes back?" Chi Chi requested, tired of covering herself with just her hands and also resenting how cold the room was once the warm scanner light had stopped bathing her.
"I'm sorry, but we'll have to dispose of those to prevent any possible health hazards or allergies which the materials they're made of could cause the other soldiers," the pink skinned woman said while quickly grabbing the princess' clothes. She then nodded apologetically and offered her patient a green robe. "But don't worry, you will get your uniform and armor tomorrow; in the meantime please wear this."
"You can't be serious! Those clothes are perfectly fine and made with the best fabrics from the Ox Kingdom. Nobody would be allergic to something like that!" Chi Chi complained. "Don't force me to take them back!"
Prim laughed. "Oh, please! I have a power level of 1,160! I could squash you like an insect in less than a second, don't make stupid threats and simply do as you are told. It'll make things easier for you."
Chi Chi pursed her lips and rudely reached for the robe, which she hastily put on. She didn't know why everyone here was so fixated on flaunting their power levels, but it was certainly a very annoying way to establish a chain of command.
"Don't be angry at me," the pink woman said with what the princess identified as a calming tone of voice. "I actually like your attitude, and I really wish I could give you back your dress, but rules are rules and I don't want to risk losing this job; it's much better than going on missions with other squads, you know?"
"No, I wouldn't know," the princess answered while smoothing the green clothes. "My life was pretty much perfect until yesterday, when Raditz suddenly said he wanted to train my little Gohan and we ended up here."
"Yesterday? Don't tell me you don't know about space travel…" Prim's brow knit as she noticed the other woman's confused, but still sort of angry, expression. "You… you really don't know how it works?"
"So what if I don't know anything about it?"
"Nothing… it's just that according to the data we got from your space pod, you spent almost eight months in hibernation," Prim stated. "Yesterday you were sleeping in your pod and barely entering this solar system."
"A-almost eight months?" Chi Chi felt her knees wobble at this new information. All she could think about was how her dead husband, her beloved Goku, had already been buried for two-thirds of a year and how she didn't even get to pray for his soul the following days after his demise. She remembered her father then, what would he be doing now? How was he feeling after months of searching for her and Gohan and not finding them? Chi Chi dropped onto a chair and brought up a hand to massage her forehead. She suddenly didn't feel well. "I-I can't believe this… Raditz stole so much time from my life?"
"Steal? Not at all! Thanks to the hibernation process your body only aged about two days. You didn't lose that much time," Prim said, feeling a little sorry for the way the woman was reacting to learning about how long it had taken to arrive here from whatever planet she had been living on. "Take it in a positive way, your friends aged almost a year and you didn't!"
"Prim… that's exactly the problem…" Chi Chi answered, trying really hard not to cry out of despair and only just managing it. "My father… he doesn't know that I'm here… nobody knows! I'm… I'm alone."
"You aren't alone. You still have your son," the nurse reminded her. "And your man is also here. You have your family with you… keep in mind that on this base only you have such luxury."
That caught the princess' attention. "What do you mean?"
"What I said, Chi Chi. The other women here left everything behind when the joined the Planet Trade Organization's army; same with the men. Nobody here has seen their families in years; I haven't seen my parents in decades," Prim sighed. "Even though my race can live a couple of centuries, twenty years is still a long time without seeing them. Do you realize now just how lucky you are?"
"I-I think I do," the Ox princess whispered. Prim was right, even if she had left everything else behind, she still had Gohan with her, and as long as she had her son she would never be truly alone. As for Raditz, he could go to hell as far as she was concerned. "Thank you, Prim… I'm sorry for being so insensitive… it's just that… everything is happening so fast and I-I'm still trying to find a way to deal with all of this."
"Don't mention it. Just remember that you're not alone and that your kid needs you with a steady head on your shoulders, ok?" the nurse patted the princess on the arm then. "I still need that blood sample, and to do those other tests I told you about. Are you ready for them?"
"Yes… yes I think I am," Chi Chi said, and for the first time that day, she actually felt a little like her usual self.
0-0
Raditz was very hungry; he hadn't eaten his full at Chi Chi's house before traveling here, and his stomach was protesting the lack of nourishment. Because of this Raditz was already in the Mess Hall, standing last in line and waiting to get some food.
"Just my luck to find this place when everyone else is also eating," he murmured, arms crossed as he moved slowly towards his objective. It was unfortunate that most of the soldiers were eating, as that would prevent him from openly asking for a second or even a third ration. His only chance to get a decent amount of food would be to pay extra, and he didn't have that much money on him.
A few minutes later Raditz finally was about to get a food filled platter, and his stomach eagerly growled in anticipation. The food didn't seem too appealing, of course, but he trusted that the taste would be good, as it was the norm for the meals on bases like this one.
"So, a Saiyan," the chef muttered, looking at the long-haired warrior warily. "Good thing you're alone; I don't think I have enough food to sustain three of you. The other troglodytes aren't here, are they?"
"No, Vegeta and Nappa aren't here," Raditz answered, he then leaned closer to the cook and smiled crookedly. "Say, any chance to exchange two thousand PTO credits for some extra food?"
"Planet Trade Organization Credits for more food?" the chef smiled. "Normally, it would be acceptable; but just two thousand? No, thanks, give me five times that and I'll consider it."
"I don't have that much, can't you at least give me half a portion more?" the Saiyan insisted, discreetly showing a small, shiny red card which he kept partially hidden between his fingers. "It's enough to buy something nice, no?"
The overweight chef stared at the card for an instant, his little yellow eyes shining with greed as he considered his options. Finally the little green creature's avarice won out. "Alright, give it here and I'll give you the extra food."
"Food first," Raditz smirked, pleased that he managed to get what he wanted.
"Ok, ok…" The chef sighed, placing a big piece of meat on Raditz' platter, and an extra portion of what looked like mashed vegetables. "Happy now?"
"No, but this will do for now," the Saiyan warrior smiled and handed over the card at the same time he reached for his platter. "Nice doing business with you, chef."
"Just get out of here, you're holding the line."
"Are you sure? Because I was the last one," Raditz chuckled then and went to find a place to sit.
0-0
Chi Chi sat at a table opposite her son, and was busy both eating the surprisingly tasty food Prim had brought them and looking attentively at her child, wondering how he was dealing with all of this. Their grim situation obviously hadn't hurt Gohan's appetite, as her boy was already starting on his second plate of soup.
There were a couple of good things as far as Chi Chi was concerned, of course; one would have to be that Gohan appeared to be feeling fine and in a good mood, which was reassuring considering how sad he had been just a couple of hours ago. The other was that her son had perfect health according to the medical check-up, something which had relieved Chi Chi a lot, as she had feared her child would have been affected by space travel.
Feeling a bit calmer now, the Ox Princess sighed and tugged at the neck of her robe. She really didn't like it or the color. She also didn't like the fact that Prim had taken her underwear. The sandals the nurse had provided were comfortable, but nothing compared to the sturdy boots she preferred to wear. She wasn't exactly happy that they had likewise taken Gohan's clothes just to give the kid a horrendous yellow robe. She had complained to Doctor Ygrus about that, and he had reassured her that the rules established that no foreign materials brought by new soldiers of the Planet Trade Organization could be kept in the base after the medical examination. If the situation had been different, Chi Chi would have asked about this organization and what its purpose was, but given the current state of things the young woman had not even thought about it.
"The food is good," Gohan said once he finished his soup and reached for something that resembled mashed potatoes. The child smiled the moment he put a large chuck of it in his mouth. "This is good, too!"
"Slow down Gohan, don't forget your manners," Chi Chi reminded her son, "I know the food is fine, but that's not an excuse to eat like a pig. And please, sit up straight."
"Ok, sorry, Mom… I'm just hungry and I forgot," Gohan said with a smile, immediately doing as his mother had told him. "Do you think we'll see Raditz again today?"
"I hope not," the princess answered. "Why do you want to see him?"
"I promised to be stronger," Gohan said. "I think I've got to train for that, right?"
"Yes, you need to train if you want to become stronger," the young woman agreed. "But you still have to study, don't forget that."
"There's no books here, mom," the kid said, suddenly realizing that his mom couldn't make him study as much as before if she didn't have all those books with her.
"We'll surely get new books eventually, and in the meantime I can teach you myself," Chi Chi countered. "You still need to practice your calligraphy and learn basic math; we can do that without books."
Gohan sighed. He had imagined that this would be like a camping trip and his mom would forget about studying. "Ok, Mom."
Chi Chi nodded, pleased that her son was willing to obey and continue his education. She had feared Gohan would be convinced to turn into a wild delinquent with no future by that raven-haired brute, but it appeared that would not be the case as long as she reminded her son about the importance of studying. She could only hope Raditz' influence wouldn't ruin that.
At that moment, and despite herself, the young woman started wondering where the Saiyan was, or what he was doing. She crushed the thought as soon as she realized whom she was thinking about, replacing him with a memory of Goku and herself enjoying an afternoon in the mountains.
0-0
Raditz had eaten his portion in a matter of seconds and, while still kind of hungry, knew he could wait to get more food at least until the following day, so he just leaned back on his chair and focused on the sweet task of relaxing. His eyes started to lazily scan the Mess Hall, going from table to table as he observed the soldiers sitting there. It was the usual thing, teams of warriors from many races who had been sent to this base to wait for missions invading planets in the nearby Solar Systems, and then there were the many others who were here only making a stop on their way to a purge mission, all of them chatting and exchanging tales of battles past.
That was something Raditz normally didn't do; not because he didn't want to talk to other soldiers but because he was simply not allowed to do so more than what was absolutely necessary. That isolation he and Nappa had to put up with was, of course, courtesy of the massive stick Vegeta had shoved up his royal ass, which was most likely the reason the Prince was always reminding them of how they were the last Saiyans and how they shouldn't mix with garbage and all that other crap about keeping their legacy alive. Not that Raditz disagreed with the legacy part, he was very proud to be a Saiyan and actually agreed with Vegeta on that completely. But not mixing with the other soldiers? That was as stupid as it was inevitable! Besides, even if he respected them, Nappa and Vegeta were boring as hell, and Raditz had discovered that playing cards or chatting with people from other squads was much more entertaining than trying to start a conversation with his two teammates, who mostly ignored him or had him do things for them.
The problem with being Vegeta's errand boy was that it cut into his training time a lot. On the other hand it did have some benefits, such as allowing Raditz to learn more about PTO's technology than the average soldier. Sure, the other two Saiyans knew the basics like everyone else, but Raditz could take apart and put back together a scouter in less than two minutes, and he could also fix Space Pods and even rejuvenation tanks, all of these things his partners could only dream of doing.
But now that he wouldn't have Vegeta and Nappa on his back for a few years, he would be able to properly train again, something he had actually missed but had been too busy to truly notice. Raditz scratched his chin in thought as he realized it had been a while since he had the opportunity to reflect and contemplate things like this. Being busy doing errands for the other two Saiyans had denied him the chance to really think about a lot of things and he was somewhat looking forward to having time to spend time doing just that. Perhaps he would be able to finally finish that training regimen he had started developing a few years back; he had based it on the one his father used and he was convinced it would be very effective. He might even try it out with his nephew.
Raditz's thoughts drifted to Gohan then; the way the kid could raise his power so dramatically for short periods of time was quite interesting, as well as puzzling. If he could somehow help his nephew learn how to keep that strength stable it would mean that Gohan could start his real training with a top power level of about 800 or 900 units, which was nothing to scoff at for a child his age. The question was how to do that? How to make the kid unleash his strength?
Analyzing the moment Gohan had attacked Piccolo, Raditz concluded that the kid must have been extremely afraid, so perhaps forcing the boy to experience great stress would be the key to help him release and then control his power. That was unlike any other Saiyan he had ever met; Saiya-Jin were naturally able to control their energy to achieve a lot of different feats, from strength boosting to shooting energy blasts to even flying. Why was the kid apparently having difficulty doing that? Could it be because he was half human?
"Hm… at least the brat has a tail, so I guess he can transform," Raditz muttered, still busy contemplating his nephew's hybrid status. "I guess I'll have to figure out what other differences there are between us while we train."
"And speaking of training..." Raditz mumbled to himself. "I'll need to get a good power increase very fast if I want to take the child outside soon. It's a shame it's going to hurt like hell."
Not really looking forward to doing what he had decided was necessary, the broad-shouldered Saiyan walked out of the Mess and headed for the nearest gravity room.
0-0
"...And that is how you set the scouter to a different frequency."
"Like this?" Chi Chi asked, looking at Prim while she followed the nurse's lead and pressed the hidden buttons on the scouter she now wore. At her side, Gohan seemed to be having an easier time with the smaller scouter he had been given, and which he apparently considered some sort of cool new toy.
"Yes, that's fine. Ok, now, I want the two of you to turn your scouters off and then on again, and then read Doctor Ygrus' power level," Prim requested. The nurse had been teaching the woman and child how to use a scouter for about half an hour, and was happy that they both seemed to have gotten the hang of it.
"Wow! Mister Ygrus has a power of 3,000?" Gohan asked. The kid had, unsurprisingly, finished the exercise first.
"I imagine he used to be a soldier before," Chi Chi guessed, pressing the button and getting the reading on the old doctor, confirming what her son had just said.
"Yes, Doctor Ygrus had his own squadron back in the day," Prim informed. "Well, that's basically all you need to know about how to use a scouter. Any questions?"
"Not me, this is easy!" Gohan announced. He had taken the device off and was looking at it with glee. For the child, the scouter was the neatest thing he had ever held in his hands.
"Do you have a manual available?" Chi Chi asked. "I would like to read it, and perhaps Gohan could read it later too."
"I guess I can print a copy for you," Prim promised. "I'll have it sent to your room tomorrow, if you're settled in by then, of course. Aren't the scouters great? I love how useful they are!"
"Well, they are certainly easier to use than the healing tanks," Chi Chi answered. "I didn't think it would take me almost an hour to get everything right. That thing is complicated!"
"Not healing, rejuvenating; and don't worry too much about it. It's a matter of practice when it comes to the R. Tanks," the pink skinned woman said with a serious nod. "But I suspect you'll get to practice a lot."
"Probably. Can I have the manual for the rejuvenation tanks, too?" the princess wondered. She really wanted to master the use of the tank, as she suspected Gohan would need it soon.
"I don't see why not, and we actually have a few copies here," Prim recalled. "I'll tell Doctor Ygrus you want a copy; I'm sure he'll be fine with it. I'll give it to you in a moment."
"Thank you, Prim," the young woman said with a small smile. Chi Chi had not missed what Prim said about how Ygrus had gone from being a soldier to a doctor, something she found quite remarkable and which gave her hope that Gohan would not end up like Raditz. True, being a doctor was not as good as being a scholar in her opinion, but it would have to do until she found something better.
And the whole thing about Gohan being a soldier? Chi Chi had placed it on the back of her mind and hadn't dared even contemplate it; she simply couldn't, because she knew she would lose her mind if she did, and that she would do something irrational as a result. And doing something like that would put her only child's life in danger.
"Hey, Mom, isn't this awesome?" Gohan asked, showing her what he had just discovered after tinkering with his scouter a little more. "This thing even has a game!"
"Yes, Gohan, it looks like fun," the young woman said while patting her son's head. "Say, how would you like to be a doctor when you grow up?"
"A doctor? Well..."
Whatever the child planned to answer was interrupted by a loud noise and screaming signaling that someone had abruptly entered the clinic, making such noise that both Chi Chi and Gohan sprinted out of the recovery room they were at in order to see what all the commotion was about.
What they saw were two grey-skinned aliens, carrying Raditz and demanding medical attention for him. The Saiyan warrior was in a pretty bad shape and blood trickled from his mouth, nose and ears. Raditz' arms and legs hung lifelessly and were covered in bruises. Despite herself, the woman felt a pang of compassion for him, and briefly wondered who had punished him so severely.
"Poor Raditz…" Gohan gasped. The only reason why the child did not rush to his wounded uncle were his mother's hands keeping him firmly in place.
"What happened to him?" Ygrus asked. The doctor didn't seem surprised by the Saiyan's wounds but he did appear to be concerned. "Damn these Saiyans! He hasn't been here one day and he's already in need of a rejuvenation tank!"
"He did something in one of the gravity rooms," the first soldier informed. "I still can't believe what he did, this guy's insane!"
"You can tell us later, we need to give him medical attention now!" Prim urged. The nurse noticed Chi Chi and Gohan peeking from the door and she called for them. "Come with us, it's your chance to practice with the R. Tank!"
"Me? But I…" Chi Chi started, not really sure that she could do anything, as she didn't feel confident enough about programming a rejuvenation tank.
"Let's go, Mom!" Gohan urged, freeing himself from her grasp and rushing to his uncle's side. "He needs help!"
"I… alright, let's see what we can do," the princess agreed, reluctantly joining her son, the nurse and doctor as the soldiers carried Raditz to the closest R. Tank.
0-0
"So, what happened to him? I think we have a right to know," Chi Chi insisted. She had just finished programming the tank for Raditz, with some assistance from Prim, and was still curious about what had happened to the uncivilized barbarian she was now stuck with.
"He had an accident in the gravity room," one of the soldiers said.
"No, that was not a damned accident!" the second soldier corrected. "He did that on purpose."
"He did what, exactly?" Doctor Ygrus asked.
"He set up the gravity room for voice command and then went inside," one soldier started, tipping his fingers on the horn growing out of his chin in a nervous gesture. "He walked to the very center and then commanded the room to up the gravity thirteen times above the standard."
"Then he flared his energy to sustain the added weight," the second soldier provided. "And after a minute or so, he ordered the computer to raise gravity to fifteen… he fell to his knees but somehow managed to get back up."
"He kept increasing it until he was at twenty," the first soldier continued. "He then ordered the gravity to be increased to twenty five."
"And that's when he couldn't take it anymore. His energy gave out and he was crushed like a bug," the second soldier said. "It was pure luck that we were there to turn off the gravity room and take him here."
"That explains why he has so many broken bones," Ygrus realized. "And why one of his lungs collapsed."
"Will he be alright?" Gohan asked then. The child was sitting opposite his uncle's rejuvenating tank, and had been staring at it with honest concern.
"He should be fine in a few hours," Prim promised. "His wounds are serious but not life-threatening when you have an R. Tank close by."
"That's good," Gohan seemed relieved, and promptly started to stare at the tank again. "I'm happy he's going to live."
Chi Chi tried hard not to cringe at his son's words, for her son worrying about Raditz' health was something she simply wasn't ready to acknowledge or accept.
0-0
Raditz woke up feeling perfectly healthy and completely rested; courtesy, of course, of the fantastic healing job done by the R. Tanks. The Saiyan waited for a couple of seconds and, as he expected, the alarm rang, alerting whoever was in the room about his treatment being complete. He opened his eyes then and saw the same doctor, who was already pressing a series of buttons on the tank's control panel. Almost immediately the healing liquid drained and Raditz finally removed the many wires attached to his body. When the tank opened he stood up and stretched as much as he could.
"I wasn't expecting you would need the R. Tank so quickly," Ygrus scolded while turning off the machine. "I should have known better."
"I need a scouter," the Saiyan demanded, paying no attention to the medic.
"She can let you use hers," Ygrus said and pointed at Chi Chi. "According to the tank's report you are completely healed, so I'll be in my office if you need me."
The doctor left and Raditz's attention fell on Chi Chi, who was sitting in a nearby couch half covering her eyes with her hand. An embarrassing blush tinted her face, which was not surprising considering Raditz was completely nude. Gohan, luckily, was sound asleep.
"Quit staring and do a reading on my power level," Raditz ordered, still not bothering to cover himself.
"Put something on and I will, you disgusting pervert!" she responded aggressively.
"What for? I know you like what you see," the Saiyan responded with a smirk while resting his hands on his hips. "Do the reading and I might even let you put your pretty hands on my chest."
"I'd rather sleep outside than touch you!" Chi Chi stated, her eyes low to avoid looking at the naked man in front of her and fighting the memories his exquisitely sculpted body were bringing back to her mind.
"Last time you changed your mind quite quickly about that," Raditz recalled. "I'm pretty sure I could make you change your mind now too."
"Don't you dare!" She responded with a furious glare. "Look, I'll do the reading, just don't touch me!"
Raditz laughed and crossed his arms. "Hurry up, then, 'cause even in that green bag you're wearing you still look quite fine to me."
"Just get dressed while I do the damned reading!"
Laughing again, the Saiyan picked up his uniform, neatly folded on a table, and started putting it on. "I wasn't lying about you looking fine, Chi Chi; those legs of yours are pretty darn inviting."
"Your power level is 2,043 units," the Ox princess informed him, ignoring as best as she could the Saiyan's attempt at flattery. At least she hoped he was flattering her, and not mocking the way the stupid green cloth looked on her. "I did what you wanted, can you leave now?"
"A 500 units increase?" Raditz smiled, quite pleased with the news. "Not bad!"
"I repeat, can you leave now?" Chi Chi insisted. "We are the ones who're supposed to stay here tonight, not you!"
The Saiyan, still too happy about the way his strength had increased, paid no attention to the woman and instead started throwing rounds of punches, just to test his new speed.
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Yeah, I heard you," he answered. "But why should I go? The Zenkai factor we saiyans have never gave me a power boost like this one; I think a celebration is in order!"
"Well, go celebrate somewhere else!"
"Oh, and why would I?" Raditz asked, moving closer to Chi Chi until he had her cornered against the table, quickly placing his arms at her sides to preventing her from getting away from him. "I think we could do that right here, it's not as if the doctor will come back, and Gohan won't wake up if you're quiet. So, interested in having some fun?"
"Of course I'm interested," the princess whispered at him, "in getting you off me right now!"
Taking advantage of how her words had distracted the Saiyan, Chi Chi proceeded to punch him in the throat as hard as she could. Her fist, surprisingly, hit its intended target, and Raditz stumbled back a step, coughing repeatedly as he tried to open his windpipe again.
"You damned tease!" he growled with a hoarse, low voice. "You still need to learn respect, Earth girl!"
"Oh, I know respect, it's just that you don't deserve it," she shot back with a prideful smirk, feeling very good about herself after managing to hit the lustful barbarian like that.
"And I was feeling so good that I was really gonna be gentle with you," he told her. "Give you a nice kiss an' carry you to the next room and all that romantic crap you women like. But now I'm just going to discipline you!"
"Try it, you hairy beast!" she challenged, readying her fighting stance and already planning to use the cramped space to her advantage as much as possible. Chi Chi was sure she would be easily defeated, but her previous success had made her feel bold and she was confident that if she was smart she would be able to hit the Saiyan in really weak spots at least a couple of times.
"Raditz! You're healed!"
The toddler's voice stopped both adults before they could start fighting; Chi Chi immediately lowered her defense and approached her child, while Raditz simply crossed his arms and decided to ignore the woman's behavior for the moment, since he could always teach her what her place was later.
"Yes, I'm all better now, kid."
"I'm glad! I was really worried!" Gohan answered, rubbing the sleep off his eyes. "They said you had an accident but that you did it on purpose?"
"Accidents don't happen on purpose," Raditz said, smirking at the boy's question despite himself. "I was training, and I overdid it a little."
"I think it wasn't enough," Chi Chi interjected; she was sitting at Gohan's side now, and was keeping a protective hand on his shoulder. "It's late, why don't you go? Gohan needs to sleep a full night."
"It's not late, it's not even night!" Raditz argued after loudly clearing his throat.
"Look out the window, idiot," Chi Chi told him while pointing at said window.
Raditz did what she requested, and found that it was indeed completely dark. He hadn't noticed before.
"Well?" the young woman asked. "Do you believe me now?"
"Yeah, it's night alright," Raditz cleared his throat again; damned woman was weak as hell but somehow still managed to pack quite a punch in her. And perhaps she had a point, if he wanted to test the kid as much as he could the following day it was best to let him sleep now.
"Fine, I'll go, but I won't forget what you did, or the fact that we have our wedding night pending, my pretty in green, because in case you forgot, you are my woman now, and the kid is my son."
Not waiting for her answer the Saiyan walked out of the recovery room.
0-0
Chi Chi couldn't sleep. Raditz' words continued haunting her deep into the night, keeping her awake as she considered their implications. Gohan, meanwhile, was sleeping comfortably in his bed. He hadn't seemed to mind their situation much, and had seemingly already made his mind up about letting his terrible uncle adopt him, but she couldn't blame her son for that. Son Gohan was still an innocent child, obviously in desperate need of a father figure and ready to replace the one he had recently lost for what he considered the only option available. Not to mention that like all children his age, Gohan was quite adaptable.
It pained her that her son would be so willing to do something like replacing Goku with such ease, but as she thought about it, it wasn't really such a big surprise. Goku had spent more time training in the forest than sharing time with Gohan, scarcely playing with or teaching anything to his child. It wasn't that Goku had been a bad father or husband, he had been caring and responsible when he was there. The problem was, however, that Goku had been… absent. Always absent for long periods of time, going on training trips to prepare in case Piccolo attacked and other nonsense like that. Was it so surprising then that their child would act like this? No, it wasn't surprising at all.
"Damn it Goku," she cursed at her reflection on the window. "Why couldn't you spend a little more time with Gohan when you had the chance? Making sure he doesn't forget you will be almost impossible…"
Chi Chi ran a tired hand over her face and neck, finally noticing on her reflection that the mark she had tried to hide was almost gone. "But… how? It would normally take two or three days for a hickey like this to start fading… it-it was true then! I really slept for eight months while my body only aged a few days."
Despite everything which had happened to her or that she had seen since arriving to Hipra, Chi Chi had still kept a tiny glimmer of hope that she had been gone from Earth for just one single day, clinging to the belief that maybe, with some luck, she could escape soon from this place and return home and to her father before everyone noticed her absence.
But the mark on her neck, now almost gone, was the last piece of evidence she needed to see. She could doubt what Doctor Ygrus and Prim had told her, she could doubt her instincts and she could even doubt what common sense dictated. She couldn't however, ignore the physical proof presented by her own body.
"Father… I-I made a mistake," the distressed Ox Princess whispered, despair filling her heart in a way she hadn't felt since her mother died. "I'm… trapped here… and I don't think I'll be able to see you again… I'm… I'm so sorry…"
Chi Chi crumbled on the couch behind her and found herself both cursing Goku for dying and fervently wishing he was there so he could save her. Trapped in a pit of anguish, the young widow slept very little that night.
0-0
Yamcha had been walking by the side of a river close to Mount Paoz and had been contemplating the last eight months of his life. The former bandit had spent most of that time training like a madman, just as every other fighter on their group had done since they learned about Goku's death.
It had been he and Krillin who had applied themselves the most, though, with Yamcha learning the Sky Dancing technique from Ten and Chiaoutzu first and then going through more and more demanding exercises. The reason for all of this training, however, was not just Goku's tragic passing.
It had actually been the result of a warning from Karin himself, who had been promoted as the Kamisama of Earth shortly after the previous one died along with Piccolo. Karin had told them all, before leaving Yajirobe as his replacement, that stronger enemies of Earth would surely arrive and with Goku gone it would be their responsibility to protect the planet.
As a result, Krillin, Yamcha, Ten Shin Han and Chiaoutzu had decided to practically kill themselves training as much as possible. Yamcha had to admit he had started to believe training so much was unnecessary, but then something happened which changed his mind about it.
That something had been Garlic Jr. an evil Makyan from another world who had tried to usurp Karin's place as the new Kamisama and turn Earth into a world of darkness. This crisis had taken place just three weeks ago.
Garlic and his men had actually succeeded in capturing Kamisama's Lookout and the battle to recover it and save Karin had been extremely fierce, as Chiaoutzu had been incapacitated before they managed to defeat Garlic's men and confront the Makyan face to face.
In the end they forced Garlic Jr. to transform, which gave the evil overlord an increase of strength with which he almost defeated them. It was only when Yamcha, Krilin and Ten Shin Han combined their most powerful ki attacks that they finally managed to incinerate the evil Makyan, saving the Earth and earning their place as the planet's protectors.
That victory however, had nearly been a defeat, and it deeply affected the four friends; convincing them all not only of the need to train harder, but also of the need to do things they had kept postponing. Krillin, for example, had started risking asking girls out in an effort to find the wife he had always wanted. Ten Shin Han and Chiaoutzu had located Lunch and were now living with her and as for Yamcha…
"I was starting to believe you'd chickened out!" Krillin said as he touched ground in front of the former bandit. "Everybody else is already at Goku's house! What are you doing here?"
"I'm just thinking, Krillin; going over everything that has happened since Goku left us," Yamcha admitted. "I just realized how easy we had it. With Goku here we could concentrate on other things. Take me, for example. I wanted to try pro baseball, or maybe another sport… always taking things for granted and not making as much of an effort as I could. But this protector of the Earth thing… it's going to demand that I put all that to the side so I can concentrate on doing the best I can."
"Do you want to postpone the ceremony?" The former monk asked. "I'm sure she'll understand, won't she?"
"Yes, she would. But I won't postpone this, Krillin; I can't put Bulma to the side anymore," Yamcha said with steely resolve. "Our battle with Garlic Jr. helped me see that we could get killed the next time an enemy shows up and… well, life is too short, you know? I really want to be happy with her, even if it's for a short time, before something bad happens again."
"If that's the case and you're so sure then I guess we should go back… Just one question, my friend, why did Bulma choose Goku's house for the ceremony?" Krillin asked. "She could have done this somewhere really fancy instead of here."
"Because this is the place where it all started, and it just seemed right to her, as if Goku would be watching us today," Yamcha explained. "I… I must say that I agree with her.
"Oh… I guess it does make sense," the short martial artist conceded. "So, when do I get to congratulate you for your wedding?"
"After Bulma says 'I do', of course," Yamcha smiled. "And after I've kissed her."
"Now you're just rubbing it in my face," the shorter warrior laughed. "Modesty, Yamcha, it's a nice quality."
"I know. Anyway, let's go back, I can't be late for my own wedding, can I?"
Krillin nodded and joined Yamcha, who had taken off and was flying slowly back to their fallen friend's home.
Moments later Yamcha stood before the altar placed in front of Goku's restored house as he waited for his bride. His friends were, of course, sitting in the front row, as were his parents and a few people from his town. Many of Bulma's friends were there, too; all in all, at least fifty people had attended. The nuptial march started playing then, and Yamcha almost lost his breath at the vision of beauty that was Bulma in her wedding dress.
-End-
Notes:
First of all, extra thanks to Adam for beta reading this chapter.
The final scene with Yamcha is probably going to be the last time the regular cast is mentioned in the story, but I decided to include it just to give Yamcha and Bulma, as well as all the others, some sort of conclusion before focusing exclusively on Chi Chi, Gohan and Raditz.