Chapter 3: Sufferance.

Ox King paced up and down outside Ox-Hall while the villagers scurried about, making preparations for the expected Lil'Calf survivors.

He'd bet everything on Goku, and the boy had failed. The lack-wit hadn't even known his wife was kidnapped by the sounds of it, god! He gripped the knot tying his cape around his neck and tugged, ripping the thing clean off his shoulders. Disgusted, he tossed the tattered red fabric on the floor.

Damn thing was suffocating him! And he didn't even know why he still wore it in the first place.

Good riddance, he stomped on it with his massive boot. But it wasn't enough. Trampling on it was not nearly enough. He never wanted to see the stupid thing again. He picked it up, and ripped it, his arms bulging and contracting with each motion. He ripped apart the pieces and shredded all the fabric into infinitesimal bits. "What kind of husband was that Goku anyway, huh?" His jaw worked.

He balled the scraps of fabric in his hand and squeezed them in his goliath paw. "His wife missing, and he doesn't even know!" His hefty arm swung out, and then he tossed the ball of scraps into the air — hard, and, breathing heavily, he watched them smack against the curvilinear wall of one of the village houses in a dull thud, before bouncing off the wall and landing on the ground.

Someone gasped, but he didn't turn around to see who. He heard the hurried shuffle of their feet as they scurried away, cleverly getting as far away from him as possible. Which was a good thing. He'd probably resort to his old ways and tear them a new one.

Thinking better of his actions, Ox King stomped towards the dome-shaped house, cursing Son Goku as he crouched down to the floor and picked up the balled fabric. No point littering in plain view where his people could see him. Once he had it in hand, he straightened and clomped up and down the street with heavy footsteps until he spied a public bin near the entrance to the little post-office.

He tossed the fabric into the bin and palmed the wall, suddenly he couldn't breath again. Chichi. Oh god his little girl, in the hands of those animals. He took two deep breaths and straightened. He had to be strong. He had to be strong for what was coming.

Turning from the wall, he crossed the street, past the tile makers and pharmacy. He meandered through the greenery surrounding Ox-Hall and rounded the corner. He ought to be checking and supervising the preparations for the survivors, not feeling sorry for himself.

"Oi! Look, it's Goku and his cloud!" A villager exclaimed.

Ox King dug his feet into the ground and turned. Sure enough, hovering near the entrance to the hall, was the yellow little cloud.

"Thanks Nimbus," he watched Goku jump down, and ... at that, Ox King lost whatever calm he'd been trying to cultivate. The boy was smiling. Goku was smiling as he waved off that cloud of his. His daughter, in the hands of maniacs, and her husband — who'd failed to save her — had the gall to smile and wave and grin and ruffle children's heads?

Ox King moved.

The next thing he knew, he had Goku's throat gripped between his thick fingers. Squeezing.

Goku's eyes went wide, instinctively reaching around his neck. Ox King only squeezed further, his face distorted in angry folds. He was going to kill Goku for letting those freaks take his daughter. "You," he seethed. Squeezing and pushing his weight into Goku until the boy lost his balance and fell onto his back. His body trampling the unsuspecting blades of grass beneath him.

"Gak," Goku choked, eyes darting here and there in a panic. Ox King straddled him. His mountain of a body sinking his puny body into the ground. "Gack," he clawed at the hands around his neck, his face draining of colour.

"You let those maniacs take her," Ox King hissed. His face a contorted mesh of bulging veins and clenched jaws. "You let those backward, feathered pieces of stinkin' fowl take my little girl. You failed her you miserable, no good son-of-a-bitch. You—"

Ox King howled in pain.

His words and the rest of his sputtering speech all lost when Goku's fingers pressed into his own— hard. So hard something made a crisp snapping sound. Maybe the crunch of shattering bone. He couldn't be sure. The only thing he was sure of just then was the pain in his hand. The awful, thudding pain that made his giant body tremble.

"Sorry Ox King," Goku heaved, releasing his bone-crushing grip. "But jeez!" he coughed, and rubbed his throat as he struggled to his feet.. "I couldn't breathe," he laughed, and swallowed up big gulps of air like a greedy asthmatic on his pump. "Man you're strong," he shook himself off.

Ox King swayed on his feet as he stood up. He tried to flex his fingers but yelped out instead. God damn it! The boy had most probably broken them. How was he supposed to lead his men into battle with a goddamn broken hand!

"What's going on Ox King?" asked his incompetent son-in-law.

"I'll tell you what's going on you ... you," his cheeks puffed out, hollowed, puffed out and hollowed again. "The damn Ostrich have my daughter!"

"Wha...", Goku's eyes grew wide, his lips parted. "An ostrich took Chichi?

"Not an ostrich you blunt tool!" Ox King barked, spittle flying from his mouth. "The Ostrich. They're a clan of no good, marauding, pillaging rejects from the old ways!" He huffed. "They used to occupy some territory nearby some years back before I ran them out with my battle-axe!" He raised his arm behind his back and pulled out said axe, clenching his fingers around the handle. Only to yelp, and drop it, as pain danced from his fingers, straight to his brain, reminding him of his folly.

"A clan," the boy seemed to mull over the word. "Right. Bad guys?" He inflected.

Grr. Ox King grit his teeth. Which part of marauding pillagers did the boy not understand? "Yes Goku! Bad guys. They attacked Lil'Calf this morning, burnt down homes, crops, and razed down public property. They hurt a lot of people. They're very, very bad guys."

"Why'd they take'er?" He cocked his head. "What do they want with Chichi?" He asked, all innocent eyed and calm. Like it wasn't his young wife out there in the hands of maniacs!

Ox King closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Kami give him strength. "Here," he pulled out the ransom note with his good hand and shoved it at his son-in-law. "See for yourself."

The boy opened up the missive and frowned as he read it. "See-ll-vuh be .. bake?"

"Beak!" Ox King thundered. "Silver Beak!"

"Right. Silver Beak," Goku squinted and lip-read the note one more time, his brow creasing in folds. "What does it mean exactly?" He seemed to be thinking, hard. "For the Ox Princess' life?"

Ox King slumped. Oh Kami. What had Chichi done? What had he done allowing a marriage between her daughter and such a person. "It means Goku," he ground out. "I give them the silver beak or they kill Chichi— ",

Goku gasped, eyes wide. As if he were truly surprised by the meaning. His fingers curled around the note in a tight bloodless pressure. He crumpled it, piercing through its flesh with the dig of his blunt fingernails. His eyes shifted, and his mouth fixed in a hard line. "Kill her?"

His voice was different now, Ox King noted. It was low and threatening. Gone was all that cheer and guile and lightheartedness that had made him want to strangle him earlier. The boy's eyes were barbed with something dangerous.

Ox King froze, stunned by the ferocity of the emotion in them. Now this, was the face he wanted to see from him. This was—

"So hurry it up already!" Goku yelled. "Why haven't ya given him this Silver Beak thingy? Don't you want to get Chichi back?"

Ox King bowed his head. "I can't Goku. The Silver Beak was destroyed in the fire that took my castle all those years ago. I don't have it any more."

Goku blinked a few times, taking in the information. And then, "Right," he nodded. "We'll just explain the situation to these guys then. I'm sure they'll give Chichi back if you tell them the truth."

Ox King and all his men fell over. "Wake up Goku! Do you have any idea what kind of men we're dealing with?"

"Um, bad ones?"

"Animals! That's what." He spat. "They're heartless animals," he made a fist with his good hand and shook it. "Even if we did give them the Silver Beak they still wouldn't give Chichi back … at least, not unharmed."

"Well gee Ox King," said Goku. "How do you know?" All that throbbing anger he'd seen in his eyes just a minute ago already banked. God how he wanted to shake him.

"Because!" He blurted. "I was one of them once," he might as well admit the truth.

At that, Goku tilted his head and studied him, blinking as if unable to put two and two together.

"I was just like them," Ox King shook his head. God he'd been foolish. Abusing Master Roshi's teachings, using all that knowledge and strength to run wild and wicked. It had cost him, all his sins had cost him dearly in the end. "But I changed you know," though it had been too late to save his wife. "When Chichi's mother died," he admitted, "I changed."

"Right," said Goku, not a word about everything he'd just confessed. "If they can't be reasoned with," the boy merely cracked his fingers. "Then I'll just go and take Chichi back. After all that priest guy said she's mine after the whole bowels thing."

"Ahem," Ox King cleared his throat, sometimes Goku was just ... ugh ... what did it matter? He was Chichi's choice. "I think you mean vows Goku," he corrected. "Vows."

"Vows," his not so bright son-in-law nodded. "Vows."

Ox King shook his head, but put the matter of the boy's intelligence to the side. "Only one small problem with your plan Goku," said Ox King. Did the boy think he'd sit around and do nothing if he'd known where Chichi was being held?

"Problem?"

Ox King nodded. "We don't know where they're holding her. If I knew that," he clenched his fists, only to yelp once again. God dammit! "If I knew where my daughter was being held," he spoke between gritted teeth, as he frowned at his hand. It was swelling. "I'd be on my way with an army already."

He was perplexed when he looked up from his throbbing hand to discover the young warrior smiling.

"Is that all?" Goku smirked. "Then, I'll be right back," he winked. Actually winked at him good naturedly as if Chichi's life was not in jeopardy. Ox King opened his mouth to give him a piece of his mind about—

"Flying Nimbus!" Goku wasn't paying attention to him anymore, the boy was already calling for that flying cloud of his.

"Goku!" Ox King shouted, but the boy just ignored him. He just went ahead and jumped on that cloud of his and clean ignored him. "Goku! Where are you going?!" He bellowed.

"I'll be right back!" the wind must have carried the voice to him because Goku was already gone, his cloud a zooming billow of yellow smoke as it disappeared into the sky.

~0~0~

Chichi panted.

She was drenched in sweat, cheeks overheated and hair stuck to the sides of her face. It was no use, she had been at this for hours, but the blasted door wouldn't budge. Even now it mocked her efforts, not a dent or scratch on the thick slab of it's black-metallic face. What the hell was it made out off?

She wiped her brow in frustration, pushing back the damp tendrils of hair, scowling.

In one final, desperate attempt, she jumped back, gathered momentum and rushed it. She took a leap into the air, landed a powerful kick and … nothing. Her only achievement— a throbbing foot. Heck, her whole body was aching by now. The cold stone floor hard on her joints.

She slumped. It was pointless. She was tired, sore, hungry and dirty. God help her if she needed to go, the stupid room didn't even have a toilet. Was she supposed to do her business on the floor?

She smoothed her hair back, stomped back to the black wrought-iron bed and sat down at the base. The mattress screeched her frustration as her eyes darted from one corner of the stone-cold room to the next.

No windows, just four stone walls the colour of tea-stained paper, that towered up and up to forever. There was light at least, a sparse glow leering down at her from a dirt-crusted bulb. It dangled from the slab of concrete acting as a roof on a gnarled cord, giving her just enough light to see.

It was eerie how much her prison resembled her bedroom in her new home. The furniture was similar, while the finishing touches were actually hers. Knowing that her kidnappers had trampled through her home, touching and taking her things, made her skin crawl. Her clothes, pillows, throws, toiletries and cosmetics were all here.

They'd obviously gone to a lot of trouble to settle her with her personal belongings. Even her wedding picture was here. Why though? Did they plan to keep her here forever? She gnashed her teeth. Over her dead body.

Oh, Goku! Grief clawed at her throat. Would she ever see him again? She tried to chomp it down but the sob rose out of her chest until she couldn't control it. To never see Goku again? She could not bear it. To think she had actually been contemplating leaving him.

Goku! The thought of never seeing him again ... unconscionable. Throat burning, Chichi covered her face with her hands and cried.

~0~0~

Steam misting her skin, Baba hummed as she stepped out of the shower. She curled her toes on the plush softness of the bath mat, her feet sighing with content as they dried. Tossing her head back, she grabbed a white towel from the hook hanging extra low on the tiled-wall and dried herself off. That stupid brother of hers still owed her a favour from a hundred and fifty years ago. She ought to make him pay up, especially since his stupid student had bested her 5 warriors 3 months ago. That's ten million zeni she wouldn't be seeing anytime soon.

Yes, she nodded, she ought to pay him a surprise visit.

Crossing the towel across her chest, she stepped out of the bathroom. The drop in temperature in the corridor hit her pleasantly after the heat of the shower. She loved how it cooled down her skin in chilled swirls like the splash of warm beer sloshing into an ice-cold glass. In fact, a beer would be nice right about now. She traipsed past her bedroom, the tiles cool under her feet and headed towards the kitchen. It would—

Her front door shook in a loud rickety rattle, bursting wide.

"Ahhh!" Baba jumped and screeched to a halt, arms up in the air in fright.

Her heart thudded as gusts of hot air, over-reaching sunlight and Son Goku spilled uninvited into her living room in one miserable gush. The corners of her towel failed; they loosened, sending the flimsy thing down her ankles in a soft puddle.

Heat swamped her. Her face, her neck, and her ears felt impossibly hot as as her hands flailed, alternating between covering her chest, her crotch, chest ... "Goku!" hot air bottled her cheeks; indignation rising in her belly like a Develtime beam when all he did was just stand and stare. Kami! What was wrong with him?! He didn't even have the decency to to turn around. Or apologise, or react in any other normal manner.

Grinding her teeth, Baba turned around and picked up her towel. Ugh. Even with a young wife, Son Goku was still as rude and uncouth as he ever was! She wrapped the towel around herself and tucked it in nice and tight, securing it to her body.

"You!" she hissed, whirling back around. "You … rude … boorish," air was hard to take in as she shook. "Ill mannered … raving … pervert!"

"Hey Baba!" The imbecile had the audacity to greet her as innocently as you please. As if there was nothing amiss about walking in on her in the nude.

"Ugh!" She threw up her arms in frustration. Goku was the worst. He probably didn't think there was anything wrong. She could yell at him until she was blue in the face and she was pretty sure he wouldn't get it.

"I need your help Baba. Chichi— "

That. Was. It. "Need my help! Need my help!" She screeched, brandishing her finger at him. "Well!" She pursed her lips and folded her arms, when the towel threatened to come loose again. "Too damn bad Son Goku! You barge into my house unannounced. Leer at me with no sense of shame," she was puffing now. "And expect me to just bend over backwards and offer you my help!"

"Well, yeah!"

Grr. "Well. You can forget it! I ... Ahhh!" Goku snatched her. Picked her up in his large hands and—

"Eep!" Tucked her under his sweaty armpit; caging her in like a drum of ale. She kicked with her little feet, pounded with her short arms, but the boar didn't seem to notice.

Oh! Indignation was not just a Deviltime beam, it was all the attacks of her 5 warriors meshed into one. She gnashed her teeth. She was going to kill him! Kill him. She was going to crossover, find a true monster of an opponent in Otherworld and order him to kill him. "Put me down you— "

She glanced up to find that Goku was not only deaf to her protestations, but seemed to be genuinely occupied, rummaging through her belongings! "Son Goku if you don't— "

"There it is!" He cheered, snatching up her precious crystal-ball.

Baba froze, heart racing to near implosion. T-That ... that was her most prized possession. What was the idiot—

No. She held back a scream. He'd ... he'd just tucked her precious crystal ball under his other armpit. Oh god, she was going to be sick. If it fell ... "Goku! Wha—"

Her eyes flew wide as he ran. With her precious baby under his arm, he callously ran. Made a mad, reckless beeline for her front door. Oh, oh, the nerve. The audacity. "Put me down! Put me down!" She kicked, and thrashed but ... but, he didn't put her down.

He dashed out of her house and barrelled into the street, exposing her to all and sundry without a care in the world. Oh, she was definitely going to have him murdered. In the most painful way.

"Nimbus!" he called out, not at all fazed by the horrified stares of the people milling around outside. She lowered her head, hoping her neighbours would confuse her for a little girl.

Goku hopped onto the cloud, secured her nice and tight, and the next thing Baba knew, they were soaring upwards.

No. She curled her shoulders into her chest, mortified. The wind had just blown the towel clean off her body.

Forget the 5 warriors. Forget a monster from Otherworld. She was going to kill Son Goku personally, with her bare hands.

~0~0~

Chichi sobbed. This was surely her punishment for plotting to leave him, for being such a failure of a wife. If only she'd tried harder to win his sexual interest then—

She hiccuped.

She should have taken matters into her own hands, she should have seduced him, somehow. But she didn't know how to seduce, she was still just an inexperienced virgin. She'd been counting on learning from her husband!

She walked to the dresser and grabbed the metallic frame with their wedding photograph. She hugged it to her chest, "Oh Goku!" and sobbed. About to throw herself on the bed, her head snapped—

There were footsteps outside the door! Heavy clinking too, like giant chains were duelling each other to the death. The door groaned, slow and grating like old rusted pipes long since tired of pumping water. She blinked, and it burst open.

Warrior instincts kicked in. One minute she was standing in front of her dresser, tears streaming down her face, the next, her foot was planted across the face of the first individual attempting to enter.

She followed the kick with an elbow to the stomach. He doubled over, groaning, the feather in his hair staring at the ground. She clasped her hands above her head and brought them down, hard, on his plumed head.

He crumpled face first onto the floor.

She felt, more than saw, two others as they tried to grab her. She jumped back, avoiding contact, spread her legs into a mid-air split, and planted one foot on each chest.

They staggered back, grunting.

Back on the ground, Chichi swept her leg under the first guy. He tripped and fell sideways. She caught the fist coming her way from the second guy with her palm and crashed her elbow into his nose.

A cracking sound was followed by a loud yelp as he cupped his face, blood pooling between his fingers.

The first guy staggered to his feet, Chichi charged—

Clap. Clap. Clap.

She whirled mid-step towards the source of the clapping.

"Well, well, well," drawled a deep scratchy voice from outside the door. "I guess my men weren't exaggerating at all Princess." The voice was amused and, she shivered suddenly, vaguely familiar.

Chichi squinted, but saw nothing. She was positioned right on the threshold, and out the door, darkness hooded like a weeping tree at midnight. The glimmer of the pale light in the copy-cat room, her only lantern. Only the stale smell of stone and mold mingled with the odour of unwashed bodies, greeted her.

She had to tread carefully. She didn't know how many were lurking in the darkness. Just several bodies in the shadows, breathing, advancing ...

Yesterday at her house, ten of them had ambushed her in the garden. But even all of them combined had been no match for her. She had done away with them quickly, swiftly, just the exercise she'd needed for the day.

Out of nowhere, a dart had struck her in the neck. A few seconds later, her energy had been snuffed out. She'd managed one last kick into someone's ribs before passing out.

When she'd come to, she'd found herself trapped in the room.

A hulking silhouette emerged from the darkness. Chichi stepped back, falling into her fighting stance. She balled her fist and squinted, chills chasing up her spine. Was there someone waiting in that looming darkness to shoot a dart at her? She couldn't tell. She could only make out the far away scrape of metal against stone, shallow breathing and her own pulse throbbing in her neck.

The silhouette morphed into a solid figure as it stepped into the light.

Chichi gasped.

Scream for me Princess.

That scar! She knew that face. Claws of terror, scraped down her spine like talons on stone. She swallowed, taking an involuntary step backwards. Away from the figure, away from what every cell in her body screamed. Danger.

As soon as she realized that she was backing away, she gnashed her teeth, disgusted with herself. What the hell was she backing away for?

Her stomach knotted, warning her to back up. Chichi refused to listen. She took two steps towards the figure instead, and, from the corner of her eyes, she noted that more figures were pouring out of the shadows.

Great. She was outnumbered. Again. And this time, they had weapons. Swords, clubs, staffs, you name it. They were even sporting feathers of all things. Though, the feathers were possibly for decoration, since they were stuck to the side of their heads like embellishments.

She grit her teeth and took her stance. She would give it everything she had and more. She would not die before she consummated her marriage, that would just be sad and pathetic.

With a cry, Chichi threw herself into battle.

~0~0~

Ox King bounded down the stairs, his boots lound and thick like a stampede of frightened oxen. He pushed through the large hazelnut colored doors, ducking his head when the bright lash of sunlight blistered his eyes. The mid-morning air was filled with the scent of trampled grass beneath the overpowering odour menthol and other stifling disinfectants and antiseptics. Doctors, nurses, midwives, monks and other volunteers were busy at work, attending to the survivors from Lil'Calf.

Ox King's eyes took a second to adjust, "Goku!" He glanced up in time to catch the boy jump down from his cloud.

"Ox King!" Goku jogged forward, arms curved awkwardly over two giant balls under his arms. "Ox King! Baba can use her magic ball to show us where Chichi is!"

Ox King started, his eyes going wide. By Kami, the boy did have a brain! He jogged forward, closing the distance between him and Goku. Fortune Teller Baba! What a brilliant son-in-law he had!

He smiled, the first smile since he'd seen that ghastly emblem as his giant frame cut a swathe through the villagers arranging supplies. There was a big poof somewhere, as more capsules popped, assuring him that his people were getting in the supplies needed to fortify for the upcoming war the Ostrich had instigated.

"There Baba," Goku lowered the two spheres from under his arms and laid them gently at his feet.

Ox King jumped back, his jaw slackening. By all that was holy! W-Was that r-red and round, shrivelled up old thing Baba? By Kami it was! The woman was as bare and pink as a newborn piglet. Her skin as creased as an old and moldy curtain taken down from years of storage.

"Quickly, Baba," said the lack-wit married to his daughter. "Use your crystal ball to show us where Chichi is!"

Ox King glanced up sharply at his son-in-law to find him staring down at Baba expectantly, eyes all innocent and non-perplexed, as if the horrific sight of a naked and red-faced Baba did not phase him at all.

"Mogi!" Ox King bellowed, stifling the urge to throttle the boy a second time. Was Goku utterly without any sense?

"Yes my King," Mogi came running through the crowd, skirts clutched in one hand. She took one look at the huddled Fortune Teller and bristled. Good thing Ox King didn't need to explain. Mogi took matters into her own hands. She swiftly unwrapped her scarf and draped it down Baba's tiny body. She then scooped her up and darted away—

"Wait a minute!" Goku moved to intercept her.

"Goku!" Ox King stopped him. "Give them a minute to get Baba dressed will you?"

"But Chichi—"

"It will only take a minute!" Ox King gaped at him. Did he seriously expect Baba to perform her magic in front of the whole village butt naked?

"Fine," Goku scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. His fingers tapping against his bicep incessantly.

Luckily, they didn't have to wait too long. Mogi and Baba returned quickly with Baba fully clad in a little girl's dress. Her tiny, stumpy fists were shaking as they approached, crossing through the crowd. Her round face ruddy, with deep grooves of rage furrowing between her wrinkles.

"Alright Baba!" Goku grinned happily, seemingly unaware of the woman's rage. "Quickly, show us where they've taken Chichi!"

"You!" Baba whirled on him, purple hair shooting daggers as her crystal ball floated beneath her, raising her to Goku's level. "I'm gonna ki—"

Ox King moved to diffuse the situation. "Please Baba," he pleaded, a gentle hand on the woman's trembling shoulders. "Please, they have my little girl. Please."

Baba tensed, her eyes flashing daggers at Goku, but thankfully, her rage seemed to deflate. "My services are not free," she scowled.

"Anything you want Baba," Ox King agreed readily. "Just, please..."

"Oh alright," the wrinkled grouch agreed. She pulled up her hands and began to chant into her ball. The magical sphere spun and glowed, and the next thing Ox King knew, an image of Chichi began to flicker into view.

~0~0~

The tall figure with the large menacing scar stood to the side and watched.

Heh. One by one, his men fell to the expert onslaught of the Ox Princess. She had become even more beautiful than he'd imagined. More importantly she was more than just a pretty face, she was an accomplished warrior, a true daughter of the Ox.

He frowned, remembering the bitter betrayal by her father.

By all rights, she should have been his bride. They were ordained before she was even born. The treaty that had existed between their clans was clear: the first born male of the Ostrich Clan would wed the first born female of the Ox Clan. It was providence that the Ox King's only child was born female. If they had not been destined, she would have been born male or he born female. After all, he was the only heir and so was she. Everything in the universe had conspired towards their union. A clear sign that the Fates themselves had ordained the match.

But the Ox King had betrayed his father. He'd only signed the damn treaty so he could have access to the Silver Beak. And then, once he'd had it in his clasp, the bastard had chased them off their land and had his father murdered!

The same fate was to have befallen him as well. But the brute Kuri, had been sloppy. He'd left him for dead but, he'd only been severely wounded. He'd crawled on his little hands and knees that night, a pitiful spectacle, all shaky bones and bawling eyes, but, he'd escaped and lived.

Subconsciously, he traced a finger down his puckered, grotesque scar. Well, what doesn't kill you and all that.

A loud crunching sound brought him out of his musings, one of his men was cradling his broken arm protectively, backing away with wide eyes from the vicious Princess.

He licked his lips, staring at her. Her face was contorted in an angry snarl, eyes narrowed in feral fury. She looked like a rabid animal, ready to tear apart anything in its path. Truly, the Princess was utterly breathtaking.

It was a shame, such a beautiful, vicious woman would have made a great queen. The two of them would have made a deadly duo, plundering and conquering the remains of the smaller clans scattered throughout the region. But now, due to her father's betrayal, she had been married off to some backward peasant.

He shuddered. The thought of that simpleton having what should have rightfully been his ... it was enough to make him want to raze the Ox-Kingdom in its entirety.

She was soiled now, used up by a nobody. He couldn't marry her— his people would never accept her as queen. Her marriage to the abomination that was Son Goku was public knowledge. Pity.

As a bargaining chip though … well, the Ox King had gone soft in the last decade. He would trade the Silver Beak for his daughter, of that he was certain. And once he had it in his possession, he would have no further use for the lovely princess. What a damnable waste to have to kill something so enchantingly feral.

He could hardly wait to exact the full measure of his revenge on the Ox Kingdom. They would rue the day they'd betrayed the sons and daughters of the Ostrich. Lil'Calf was just an appetizer. Once the Silver Beak was secured … they would launch an attack that would make the Red Ribbon Army look like amateurs. He would not be satisfied until he'd burned the whole Ox Kingdom down. Until the entire clan was forced into extinction.

Although … he could always keep her though. Surely his people wouldn't be too put out if he took a concubine.

He licked his lips. All in good time. First, he would have a little fun, just like in the good'ol days. He did deserve a little compensation. And as his eyes followed the movements of the Ox Princess as she whirled and twirled, felling his men, the Ostrich prince couldn't help his smile.

"Enough!" he clapped his hands, his voice booming in the hallway.

~0~0~

Chichi squinted, shoving back her hair from her face. They were retreating. The cowards were actually retreating. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself. Retreat or no, she would not let her guard down. Not for a second. Their leader– the tall one with the scar, was up to something. She could feel it.

His eyes ...

She knew him. She didn't know how or where but she knew him. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind she knew that face. That scar.

Scream for me princess.

Bile rose at the back of her throat. Every cell in her body was screaming: "Stay away from him." She had to escape. Now.

She peered down the stairway, wondering how high it went. Could she veer to the left and take it all in one giant leap? Huh? What were they—

They were donning on masks. Her bruised and battered captors were all slipping masks onto their faces. What the hell were they up to?

Oh No! Now she felt it. It was some kind of gas. She tried to cover her mouth and nose with her hands but it was already too late. It stung her eyes and burned her throat and suddenly she was swallowing the strangled gasps choking her body.

She staggered, shutting her eyes. But it was in there. Stinging. Pricking. Burning her from the inside out. "Gak," she choked, her lungs screaming in agony. She stumbled, and collapsed to her knees, clutching her throat.

Oh Kami, her nasal passages were sieves, punctured by pins and needles of pain. She needed one breath, just one breath of clean good air, but all she got was the stinging and burning and—

Her eyes, her nose, her throat, her chest. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't catch any of the oxygen around her. Blindly, she crawled on her hands and knees, hacking and heaving, back into the bedroom she'd just been trying to escape. Once inside, she kicked the door closed with her foot and plastered herself against the door.

But it was no use, her body was heavy, her head swimming. She wrapped her hands around her throat and clawed, trying to dig out the burn from outside in. Ran her finger and nails down her eyes, inside her nose. She clawed and scratched and twisted—

Oh god. Oh god. There was no air. She pounded on her chest but a black swarm traversed all her efforts. She went slack, all feeling bobbing away from her like a flotsam. And then she was swept away on a sea of darkness. Her body crumpling onto the floor.

~0~0~

Chichi came to with a sharp pain.

Abruptly she opened her eyes. And came face to face with that terrible scar looming over her.

Scream for me Princess.

Her first instinct was to punch that lecherous sneer right off his face. But alas, she realised with horror that she was completely bound. She was sprawled out on the bed, half naked. Her wrists bound together above her head and onto the headboard. Her legs spread out and tied to the corners of the bed by some kind of thick woven rope. She snarled, straining against her restraints.

It was only then that she noticed it – the source of the sharp pain that had brought her to. She had an incision on the inside of her thigh. A clean, surgical cut that oozed and throbbed with pulsating blood.

Her captor sat casually on the side of the bed, a small surgical instrument in his hand. His eyes were dark and intent. Watching. Devouring her every breath with sickening, twisted anticipation.

Chichi's stomach churched.

She glared, nostrils flaring. She would not cower, she would not. She pulled and tugged at her bound wrists. The rope dug into her, chafing and burning into her skin. The knots were solid. Tight. They didn't give an inch.

She flinched violently. His large, calloused fingers were touching her. They ran leisurely along her inner thigh, caressing, coaxing. Evoking such revulsion it was all she could do not to gag. "Don't touch me," she hissed, and spat in his face.

He stiffened, veins bulging up and down his arms. His eyes thinned to small specks of something wild and gnarled, that settled a hot ball of dread in her stomach. Then he fingered the blob of spit on his cheek, scooped it up with the crook of his finger and sucked it into his mouth. His eyes glinted as he bared his teeth into a predatory smile.

Chichi shivered.

Scream for me princess. Memory flickered, but she would have none of it. She closed her eyes and shoved it back to that deep, dark place where it had always remained buried. Would always remain buried.

She tugged again at her wrists. Panic surging from every pore. She had to get out of here. Had to get away from him. A thick sheen of fear coated every inch of her as he scooted closer. So close that the heat from his body seemed to touch her skin as he leaned into her.

"You will scream for me," he promised. His voice harsh and ragged against her ear.

Chichi turned her face away, ugh, his breath repulsed her. A concoction of sour milk and stale sweat, a fetid stench that jerked at her gagging reflexes.

He pressed the cold surgical instrument against her skin. "Just like old times yes?"

She shook her head, her chest rising and falling as whips of terror slashed her skin. She wanted to sob, and beg him to leave her alone. But she would not! She would not. It would only get him off.

She swallowed, and vowed to never ever give him that satisfaction. Not this time. Not even as her skin misted with perspiration from the fear of him. The bilious disgust of him. She was the Ox Princess. She was a warrior, daughter of a feared conqueror. She would not cower. She would teach him to mess with her.

She flung back her head and rammed her forehead into his face.

"You bitch!" he howled, flecks and spittle flying through his mouth, landing on her skin. Revolting.

"Bitch!" he hissed, blood dribbling down his nose. He smacked her across the face with the back of his hand. Her teeth sank into the inside of her mouth, lacerating her skin. She didn't care, blood pooled down his face. His nose was broken for sure. She hoped it hurt like hell.

He moved towards the dresser and took care of the bleeding. All the while muttering curses of such profanity that she wished she had a bottle of bleach so she could ram it down his disgusting throat.

All too soon, he was cleaned up and back by her side. And this time he was armed with an even bigger, sharper instrument. It glistened in the play of light, and Chichi didn't know how much longer she'd have it in her to play brave.

She was feeling dizzy from bumping heads with him. She was tired from all the fighting and weakened from whatever gas they had used on her. And though she didn't want to dwell on it— her stomach was protesting conspicuously. She was hungry and thirsty. She hadn't eaten or had a drop to drink since lunch the day before.

And whatever remained of yesterday's lunch churned and threatened to disgorge as the thin tip of the blade pressed against the throbbing vein in her neck.

Oh god. It was cold and it burned. A flick of his wrist and her skin sliced open. It stung, making her shudder, her breaths coming in rapid bursts. Another flick, and the sharp edge bit into her, deeper, digging into her neck. She held herself very still. Holding back a scream at the back of her throat. Another flick and this time it didn't sting. It hurt. Hot and xx piercing like xx. Another flick and

"Scream for me," he purred directly into her ear.

Cold fear gripped her spine between the disks with an iron clad grip, holding her hostage. She couldn't move. Wouldn't dare move. She fought every instinct that urged her to tuck and pull and thrash against her restraints. She was terrified of making any sudden movements. She didn't dare. Not with that cold press of steel lodged against her throat.

The horror was not the pain or the sight of her own blood. The horror was in the not knowing. Not knowing how deeply he was cutting into her. Not knowing if she was even now bleeding to her death from a severed artery. The horror was in the not knowing if this was it for her.

Was she going to die here in this mockery of her bedroom, tied down by this miserable, cowardly monster. Would she never feel grass or sand beneath her feet. The cool breeze from the Mt. Paouzu mountains whipping gently against her face. Never feel the blissful crush of one of her father's bear hugs. Would she never again experience the thrill of tossing, of mixing and matching an array of ingredients to make mouth-watering scrumptious food? And worst of all, would she never see the child-like glee and beauty of her husband's face.

"So much skin," his eyes drank her in, another incision biting into her skin. "I'm going to slice into every inch of you until your screams are mindless with terror." He hovered. A putrid, leprous smile carving his face. "You will scream for me," he murmured. This time his voice was quiet and confident.

Her heart was beating too fast. Dangerously fast. She clenched her fingers in their binds to keep them from shaking. She locked her jaw in place and tried to wipe her face clean of emotion. She had to bite down on her swollen tongue to keep herself from screaming as her body rebelled, thrashing and recoiling with each consecutive nip of his blade.

With a patience and thoroughness that would make even the ever lurking shadow of death envious, the Ostrich Prince methodically sliced and carved his way down her body.

~0~0~

Fire mountain was rumbling. It rattled and shook, trembling with big thunderous raptures of shock. The mountain cracked, the force gouging the terrain in deep burrows.

Ox King and his men staggered, grappling to stay on their feet as his son-in-law's energy broke their home in two. "Goku!" Ox King yelled, wind whipping him back, wobbling his skin. "Goku stop it!"

His people were frightened damn him! Villagers were on their knees, looking around in terror. Their eyes darted to each other in a panic, as children whimpered and tried to crawl to their mother's. But the world was falling apart beneath their feet and their little feet kept stumbling, slipping as they failed to stay standing.

"You ungrateful imbecile!" Fortune Teller Baba screamed, her voice hoarse as she covered up her crystal ball with her body. "You want to break it?"

Ox King cursed. God damn the boy! "Goku!" But he wasn't sure if the enraged World-Champion could hear him. He was afraid his voice was just being swallowed up in the storm and chaos of his Ki.

They'd all followed the events of Chichi's incarceration on Baba's crystal ball. They'd seen her fight off her kidnappers with admirable strength. And then the gas had come. They'd seen her collapse against the door, and then the horror had truly began.

That abomination of an Ostrich Prince had taken his little girl while she lay unconscious. He'd taken her and undressed her, and tied her up. Coward. And then, Ox King closed his eyes. He didn't want to think about what that beast was even now doing to his daughter.

Goku had lost it right then. As soon as the Ostrich Prince had brought out his blade, Goku had really lost it. His Ki had spiked in a frightening burst of fury. And now ... if he didn't stop, there would be more tragedy than just Lil'Cal and Chichi's abduction. Fire mountain would collapse and take all it's inhabitants down with it. Damn the boy to hell!

"For god's sake boy!" He roared, not sure if his voice could he heard oveer the tremors. Fists clenched to his sides, his son-in-law had the look of a mad man. A man with two lions tearing each other apart in his head and splitting his brain open. He looked ready to tear something in two.

Ox King never thought the gentle boy capable of such a savage expression.

"That's it!" Goku spat. "I've seen enough!"

"Flying Nimbus!" he called out to his cloud. And as soon as the cloud appeared in front of him, he jumped on.

"Wait! Goku," Ox King called after him. "The plan!"

"I don't care about your plan," the boy growled. "I'm going to get Chichi right now! Nimbus, you saw the place in Baba's ball right? Let's go!"

Without looking back, the boy took off on his cloud, never looking back.

"Damnit all to hell!" Ox King stomped, his massive boots cutting another crack into the already abused terrain. He'd wanted to go with him. He'd wanted to be there personally to raze that Ostrich hideout down. He'd wanted to grip his battleaxe tightly and swoop it down that Ostrich Prince's head himself. Twice now, that lecherous fowl had gotten his hands on his daughter.

He could do nothing to stop Goku now. His bull headed son-in-law was already miles and miles away. Cradling his broken hand, Ox King could do nothing but watch, and pray.