Disclaimer: The idea that Goku and Chi-Chi stayed in Grandpa Gohan's house in the early days of their marriage belongs to Lady Thundera. I did not steal the idea from her, as a reviewer accused me of doing. I meant to credit her in the previous chapter, I really did, but my computer problems drove it completely out of my mind. I'm sorry if anyone thought that I had stole it; I don't steal other author's ideas.
Author's Note: Okay, this is the chapter that most of you have been waiting for: when we get to find out how different the world is without Chi-Chi. On a further note, you'll see that I rewrote the battles and main events of DBZ to something almost beyond recognition. Think about it, what would have happened to Goku and the others if Gohan and Goten weren't there to help them?
Anyway, chalk it up to poetic license, I'm the one writing this fic. If any of it confuses you, please let me know and I'll clear up whatever questions you have in your reviews. I left out most of the little details of the past events because almost everybody knows what happens and I don't want this chapter to be boring. All right, with that said, on with the story!
Part Four
By mid-afternoon, Goku had no luck in his search for Chi-Chi's "family." This was no surprise to Chi-Chi because you can't find what no longer existed. But she wasn't about to tell that to Goku.
"I don't get it," Goku said as they flew over the woods on Nimbus. "You said your family lived in the woods. We've flown around maybe ten times, and you still don't see your house."
"I told you that we wouldn't be able to find it," Chi-Chi said tiredly. She really didn't like leading Goku on like this; he was being really nice, even though he didn't know her anymore. Besides, as gullible as he was, she was sure that he'd eventually find out that she was lying.
"Is there anywhere else your family could be?" Goku asked. "Maybe they went to look for you somewhere else."
"That could be it," Chi-Chi said slowly, careful not to do or say anything that would make him suspicious. She thought hard. "We do know some people in West City."
"Great!" Goku said cheerfully. "My friend Bulma lives there; maybe she can help us!"
"Great," Chi-Chi said less enthusiastically. Bulma can't help; she won't know me either.
As they flew out of the woods, she looked down at the snow-covered tops of the passing trees. The woods haven't changed at all, she thought. I don't know what Grandpa Gohan was getting at when he said to take a good look around. The world is exactly the same as I left it…
Just then, she spotted a figure sitting cross-legged on the ground, apparently meditated. At first, she didn't recognize who it was; the cape and turban the figure wore blended in perfectly with the snow… until she caught a glimpse of green.
"Goku, fly down there!" she exclaimed. "I think I know someone else who can help!"
"Okay, who is ---?" Goku started to ask, steering the cloud towards the ground. Then he froze, looking somewhat apprehensive. "Sorry, but I think we better keep going."
"Keep going?" Chi-Chi repeated in disbelief. "Why?"
He looked down at the ground. "There's someone dangerous lurking here, and trust me, you don't want to be around him."
She followed his gaze. "Don't be silly, Goku" she replied, shaking her head. "There's nobody here but Piccolo."
"That's exactly who I mean," he said, nodding.
Chi-Chi stared at him, hardly believing her ears. "What?" she sputtered. "But --- Piccolo --- isn't he supposed to be our friend?"
Goku looked as her as though she were crazy. "Piccolo --- our friend?" he asked in disbelief.
"Well, yes, he used to be evil," Chi-Chi said, not liking where this was going, "only he made friends with Gohan…"
Goku stared at her in shock. "You're crazy! My grandpa was never friends with a monster like Piccolo!"
"Not your grandpa, my son!" she yelled in frustration.
"Your son is friends with Piccolo?" Goku asked incredulously. "Why would --- HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
Without even thinking, Chi-Chi had jumped off Nimbus. Goku quickly dove after her. Luckily, this was not necessarily. The height they had been at wasn't very far, and she managed to land on her feet. Being a martial artist, even if it was for a brief period of time, had certainly taught her a few tricks.
If she couldn't tell Goku what was really going on, yet perhaps she could tell Piccolo. She only hoped he'd believe her without thinking she was crazy…
She ran towards Piccolo, who was still meditating under a tree. "Piccolo!" she called out. "Piccolo, you have to help me…"
Piccolo acted as though he hadn't heard a word she said.
"You probably don't know me right now," she went on, taking no notice of this, "but I know you. You see I made this wish…"
She faltered as Piccolo opened his eyes, glaring at her viciously. Before she could say or do anything else, he raised one hand and fired a ki blast at her.
Goku flew down just in time to grab her and pull her away from him. The ki blast blew up a tree next to where she had been standing. He flew her away from Piccolo as fast as he could and returned to the Nimbus cloud.
"What was he doing?" Chi-Chi asked angrily, struggling out of Goku's grip. "Why I never --- he could have killed me! Put me down, I'm going to go give him a piece of my mind!"
"Don't you dare!" Goku said landing back on Nimbus. Chi-Chi was shocked to see that he looked every bit as angry as she was. "What were you thinking? Going near Piccolo like that… do you have some sort of death wish?"
"Well, he's your friend, isn't he?" Chi-Chi pointed out.
"Look, I don't know what you've heard, but Piccolo is not my friend!" Goku said hotly. "Why would I be friends with that monster?"
Chi-Chi stared at him, astonished. This doesn't make sense, she thought. Piccolo was evil, only he changed when he trained Gohan ---
And then it hit her. Gohan had never been born. So of course he had never trained with Piccolo… then again, Piccolo had helped Goku defeat Raddiz. True, he had helped by killing both of them at the same time, but he had still helped. Wouldn't have changed regardless of Gohan?
"You need to be more careful," Goku warned her, setting her down on Nimbus. "I don't want to have to tell your family that you got hurt!"
"Okay, okay, I will," Chi-Chi assured him, still trying to take all of this in. It had taken her a long time to accept that Piccolo had turned good. After all, she hadn't forgotten the way he had brutally beaten Goku during their fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament. Now she was going to have to get used to him being evil all over again…
"But why did you just run off with me like that?" she asked curiously. "You're strong --- couldn't you just beat him up?"
"'Course I could!" Goku replied indignantly. "But I couldn't because you're with me… I think he'd try and use you as a distraction to me. And anyway, I can't kill him."
"Why not?"
"He's the other half of Kami; if Piccolo dies, then Kami dies. And if Kami dies, the dragon balls will go with him."
"Kami isn't the Guardian of Earth anymore, Dende is!" she corrected him.
He stared at her strangely. "Dende? No you must be wrong, Kami is the Guardian of Earth."
Chi-Chi was stunned. "But --- didn't Piccolo fuse with Kami?" she stammered.
Goku started laughing. "That's a good one… you're funny!"
"I'm not joking!" Chi-Chi shouted.
Goku immediately stopped laughing. "Are you crazy?" he asked incredulously. "Piccolo would never do that… it's a good thing too, because if he did, he'd be more powerful than he is now."
So Piccolo is evil and Kami is still the Guardian of Earth?
she thought, stunned. Kami, what else has changed?"Your son --- Gohan --- he isn't evil, is he?" Goku asked suddenly.
"Of course not!" Chi-Chi yelled. "How could you even think such a thing about your --- my son.
"All right, all right!" Goku said, holding up his hands in defense. "I'm sorry… but how else could he be friends with Piccolo? I don't think there are any other Nameks named Piccolo on Earth, are there?"
Chi-Chi bit her lip. Oh, great, how am I going to talk my way out of this one? she wondered frantically.
"I was wrong," she lied slowly. "I must have mistook him for another one of his friends! He's not evil, really!"
"Don't worry, I believe you," he reassured her.
"You do?" she asked in amazement. "Why?" Why do you trust someone you've apparently never met?
"Because you can ride Nimbus," Goku said simply. "You have to have a pure heart to do so. Most of my friends can't ride it, and they're still good people."
Chi-Chi couldn't help smiling. Good old Goku, she thought fondly. At least he never changed.
***
Not too long afterwards, they arrived at West City. All of the buildings were decorated with Christmas lights, wreaths, and all sorts of decorations.
"Wow, look at all of this!" Goku said ecstatically. "I've never seen the city like this before!"
"You've never visited the city during Christmas?" Chi-Chi asked, puzzled.
"I never even heard of Christmas until today," Goku reminded her. "And I don't come here much. The city is nice, but I like the woods better. It's more quiet."
"So do I," Chi-Chi said, thinking wistfully of her own house.
"C'mon, let's go see Bulma," Goku said.
Needless to say, Chi-Chi was nervous. It may be easy to convince Goku she was trustworthy, in spite of her constant blurt-outs of her previous life, but Bulma was something else. As air-headed as Bulma was at times, she was a mechanical genius and not one to pull the wool over her eyes. What was she going to do if Bulma found out she was lying?
They got off the Nimbus cloud when they arrived at Capsule Cooperation. Goku knocked at the door. One of the Briefs' robots answered it and led them inside. The Briefs were very wealthy, so their house was covered in Christmas decorations. Holly hung from the ceiling. Decorated trees were found in every room.
"Wow!" Goku said, amazed. "It's just like you said, Chi-Chi! There are presents under the trees just like you told me!"
They found Bulma working in the mechanic room. She immediately smiled at the sight of Goku. "Goku! I can't believe you're here; I haven't seen you in months!" she exclaimed, hugging him.
Chi-Chi immediately felt a twinge of jealousy. Bulma and Goku were just friends, only that was before she wished she were never born. Then again, she was probably still married to Vegeta… She looked around. Where was Vegeta, anyway?
"Say, who's your friend?" Bulma asked, noticing Chi-Chi glaring at her.
"Oh, this is Chi-Chi," Goku replied, introducing her. "She lives in the woods where I live. She got separated from her family."
"Really?" Bulma asked, raising her eyebrows. "Then what are you doing here?"
"She said they have friends who live here," Goku informed her.
"Where do these friends of theirs live?" Bulma wanted to know.
Chi-Chi bit her lip. Now, what? I can't just tell her that she knows them; she doesn't know them anymore!
"Um… I don't really know," she admitted.
Bulma snorted. "Some mother you are! You don't even know what kind of friends your children have!"
Chi-Chi was furious. "You've got some nerve!" she shouted. "I am a good mother… they're the ones who keep leaving all the time!"
"Well, at least I know where my son is right now!" Bulma shot back.
Goku quickly moved between them. "All right, that's enough!" he said sternly. "Fighting with each other isn't gonna help anything! Bulma, it isn't Chi-Chi's fault. People get lost all the time."
Bulma exhaled. "You're right," she said reluctantly. "I'm sorry, Chi-Chi."
"By the way, where is Trunks?" Goku asked, looking around.
For some reason, Bulma suddenly looked sad. "He's in the gravity room, training again. He hardly comes out now. Not since…" She broke off, turning away.
"But it's Christmas!" Chi-Chi said, frowning. "Why isn't he opening his presents or playing with his friends?"
Bulma gave her a strange look. "I'm afraid my son doesn't have any friends. At least none his age…"
"What about ---?" Chi-Chi started to ask, then stopped. Goten was never born either, she told herself. Surely, Trunks would have made some other friends…and what about Vegeta? I know he isn't the most open-loving father, but he still cares about his son, deep down… Goten told me that he took him to the park sometimes if he did well enough at training…
"Enough about that," Bulma said suddenly. "What are your children's names? Maybe we can ask around to see if anyone here knows them."
"Their names are Gohan and Goten," Chi-Chi said cautiously. "And I don't think that asking around would help… it's a big city, after all.
"Then let's call the police," Bulma suggested promptly. "We can give them a description and they'll be able to find them…"
"No!" Chi-Chi cried out. Bulma stared at her. "I mean, that's not necessary."
"Why isn't it necessary?" Bulma asked, narrowing her eyes. "Don't you want to find them?"
"Yes, I do," Chi-Chi said, trying to think of an excuse, "but my boys are strong; they can take care of themselves. And they might not be in West City. They could be visiting their grandfather…it's Christmas after all. I could just call him up to make sure."
"Okay," Bulma replied, eyeing her rather suspiciously. "You can use my phone… who is their grandfather, anyway?"
Chi-Chi hesitated. "The Ox-King."
"The Ox-King?" Bulma shrieked, stepping back.
"Yeah… why?" Chi-Chi asked nervously.
"Oh… no reason," she replied a little too quickly. "There's a phone by the gravity training room. Goku, you stay here, I need to have a word with you."
Chi-Chi, of course, had no intention of using the phone, but was glad to get out of the room anyway. What was Bulma's problem? Why did she speak about her father like he was something to be… afraid of? Her father had done some horrible things in his past… but now he wouldn't hurt a fly.
Well, it was obvious that Bulma didn't trust her. She just hoped she wouldn't convince Goku not to trust her either…
She went into the hallway and sat down next to the door of the gravity room. Bits and pieces of Goku and Bulma's conversation were audible from the other room.
"I'm only telling you what I heard," she heard Bulma telling Goku. "I don't know if it's true or not, but I'd still keep an eye on her, Goku."
"That's ridiculous, Bulma!" Goku's voice said incredulously. "Even if it's true, Chi-Chi's a good person!"
"How do you know for sure?" Bulma questioned. "You just met her! There's something fishy about her. She keeps making excuses for not being able to find her children."
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe she doesn't even have children. Maybe she's lying…"
"I know if she were lying. She wouldn't be able to ride Nimbus, but she can, so I believe her."
Chi-Chi rested her face in her hands. Kami, what mess have I gotten myself into? she wondered.
At that moment, Trunks emerged from the room, sweaty and smug from his training. He wore a glare on his face that made him strongly resemble Vegeta.
"Hello, Trunks," Chi-Chi said without thinking.
Trunks stared at her. "Lady, do I know you?"
Chi-Chi shook her head. Same smart-mouthed Trunks. "Probably not," she said grimly. "What are you doing training? Don't you want to go see what presents you got?"
"None of your business," Trunks snapped. "Besides, presents are for babies!"
Bulma, hearing Trunks's voice walked into the room. "Hi, honey!" Bulma said in a false cheery voice. "Why don't you take a break from your training? Dinner is going to be ready soon…"
"I don't care," Trunks said coldly. "I only came out to get a snack."
Goku stepped out of the room. "Oh, hi Trunks!" he beamed, waving at him. Trunks just ignored him. Goku's face fell.
Chi-Chi's confusion arose. What was wrong with Trunks? He seemed so… angry.
"Trunks, you need to stop this," Bulma said angrily. "I understand that it's been hard for you, but your father ---…"
"Don't talk to me about my father!" Trunks yelled. "My father was a great Saiyan warrior… and I won't stop training until I'm stronger than he was! I don't need you or anybody else!" He stormed back into the gravity room.
"His father?" Chi-Chi asked a distraught Bulma. "What about his father? Where is he?"
"He's… he's gone," Bulma said faintly, wiping tears from her eyes.
Chi-Chi stared at her, thunderstruck. Vegeta was dead?
"Um, maybe we'd better go," Goku said softly. "I'm really sorry about all this Bulma. Don't worry, though, he'll come around…"
"I hope so, Goku," Bulma said sadly. "Take care of yourself…" She lowered her voice. "And remember what I said…"
"Okay… bye!" Goku said hastily, and before Chi-Chi could ask or do anything, he took her by the hand and ran off.
***
It was sundown by the time they returned to Grandpa Gohan's house. "I'm sorry we couldn't find your family, Chi-Chi," Goku said, jumping off the cloud.
"That's all right," Chi-Chi said distractedly. Her mind was still reeling from everything she had seen.
"You're more than welcome to stay at my house until we find them," he offered.
"Thank you," she said softly. Even after whatever Bulma told him, he still trusts me, she realized, feeling a stab of guilt. Even though she only lied to him because she had no other choice, it still felt like she was taking advantage of him.
There was no time to dwell on this, however. She had to find out what was going on…
"What happened to Trunks's father?" she asked as they went inside.
Goku suddenly looked uncomfortable. "He was killed not too long ago. I'd explain, but it's a long story… and I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."
"I've seen a lot of things in my life that are unbelievable," Chi-Chi replied firmly. "Believe me, I can handle it. Just tell me everything."
Goku still looked uncertain. "I don't really know where to start," he said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Start after the World Martial Arts Tournament."
"The one that was almost a year ago?" he inquired.
"No, no… the last one you were in. With Pic --- I mean Ma Junior. I saw you fight in that one," she added hastily, telling the closest thing to the truth as possible. She wanted to know what had happened to Goku during all these years… from when they were supposed to have gotten married to the present. She had thought that everything would have stayed more or less the same without her. Yet now with Piccolo evil and Vegeta dead, she wasn't so sure.
"Well, after the Tournament, Kami wanted me to be Guardian of Earth, but it seemed too boring to do," Goku began. "So I just came back here… I'd been gone for years, and I didn't know where else to go…"
It had started out the same, with the exception of Goku and Chi-Chi getting married and having Gohan, of course. Instead, he had maintained a simple life of training (and eating) in his grandfather's home. He was more than able to survive on his own, and so he lived contently. He was invited to Master Roshi's house five years later for a reunion with his friends, Bulma and Krillin.
And then Raddiz came, revealing that Goku was a Saiyan sent to Earth to destroy it. He had offered Goku to join him, but he had refused, point-blank. Raddiz retaliated by threatening to destroy the entire planet unless Goku killed a hundred Earthlings within twenty-four hours.
Piccolo arrived on Master Roshi's island shortly after Raddiz had left. He and Goku teamed up and tracked down Raddiz. At the time, Raddiz had been too powerful an opponent for him, so Goku had to sacrifice himself to save the planet. He held Raddiz while Piccolo used his Special-Beam-Cannon to kill them both. Before Raddiz died, however, he revealed the future coming of two other Saiyans who were stronger than he was…
"Aha!" Chi-Chi interrupted triumphantly. "So Piccolo did help you!"
Goku gave her a funny look. "It was the only time he ever did. He only fought Raddiz because he was too scared to take him down when he first encountered him…" He smirked. "And to kill me too…"
"You mean he didn't help you fight the other two Saiyans?" Chi-Chi asked, surprised.
Goku shook his head. "No… at least, not until it was too almost too late. You know, you're taking this pretty well so far."
"What?" Chi-Chi asked, bewildered.
He smiled rather shyly. "I thought you would have freaked out if you knew I'm an alien."
"Actually, some of my good friends have been aliens," she said truthfully.
"Really?" he exclaimed. "Wow, I'll have to meet them sometime!"
"So what happened next?" she asked, although she knew.
Goku proceeded to tell her about his journey to Other World and his training under King Kai. A year later, Vegeta and Nappa arrived on Earth, seeking the dragon balls. Goku was wished back to life. He came to the battlefield, horrified to find that his friends, Yamcha, Tien, and Chaotzu had already been killed.
Krillin was the only survivor, so Goku made him go back to Master Roshi's. Vegeta killed Nappa so he could face Goku himself, and they fought. Vegeta used the full moon (which Piccolo hadn't destroyed, since Gohan was never born) to turn himself into a giant ape and crush Goku to death.
"What?" Chi-Chi exclaimed, horrified. "You died, again?"
"Uh-huh." Goku nodded.
"But that's not right!" she said, shaking her head. "You aren't supposed to die until…"
Until Cell came,
is what she intended to say. Fortunately, she caught herself and quickly said, "… until you're really old."Goku shrugged. "It happens."
"I don't understand," she said, confused. "If you died, than who stopped Vegeta from destroying the planet?"
"It was Piccolo," Goku explained. "He came just after he delivered the final blow. He used his laser beam to cut off Vegeta's… tail… and then he convinced him that the dragon balls on Namek were much more powerful than the ones on Earth. So he left Earth.
"My friends wanted to wish me and my dead friends back, so Krillin and Bulma built a spaceship and flew off to Namek."
"What did you do in the meantime?"
Goku grinned. "I just trained to get stronger so I could fight Vegeta again… and win. But King Kai didn't want me to go to Namek because of Frieza." He then explained how Frieza had been the one to destroy the Saiyan race.
Krillin and Bulma gathered the Namekian dragon balls and used them to wish Goku back to life and transported him to Namek. Goku fought the Ginyu force, and later fought Frieza after he had killed Vegeta… Frieza killed Krillin and Goku turned into a Super-Saiyan…
Here, Goku had powered up to a Super Saiyan to show Chi-Chi what it had looked like. Chi-Chi smiled and applauded him, remembering how freaked out she had been, seeing both Goku and Gohan in Super Saiyan forms…
To make a long story short, the story returned to the version Chi-Chi was used to. Everyone Frieza had killed, except for Krillin, was resurrected by Earth's dragon balls and transported from the dying planet by the Namekian ones. Goku defeated Frieza and escaped to Yardat just before the planet exploded, and so on…
It wasn't until Goku got to the part when the Androids came that the story took another unfamiliar turn. Mirai Trunks had arrived from the future to give Goku the medicine after Goku had returned to Earth and defeated Frieza and King Cold by himself…
"Why couldn't he beat Frieza and his father?" Chi-Chi demanded. "I mean, he was Vegeta's son, wasn't he?"
"Yes, but he wasn't strong enough," Goku replied. "In his timeline, no one had really given him proper training…"
Because Gohan wasn't there to train him,
she thought. Then she stopped. It was difficult enough to figure out how this timeline had changed without her. Thinking about the mirai timeline changing, now that would be mind-boggling."Go on," she urged him.
So Goku trained for another three years… then the Androids came, and Goku had come down with the heart virus. Then Cell came and absorbed the other Androids. Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks went into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to train for the Cell Games…
Except Goku had trained for many days, not just one. Chi-Chi supposed that he had nothing to hold him back from training this time. The only reason he didn't train harder for Cell before was because he wanted to spend time with his family --- and he'd also been counting on Gohan to be the one who would defeat Cell.
But Gohan had never been born, so Goku alone had to fight Cell, and nearly succeeded in beating him. Cell then attempted to blow himself up, along with the Earth, but Goku again sacrificed himself by using Instant Transmission to get Cell to King Kai's planet, where he died, again.
And here was the twist: just like in the "normal" Cell Games, Cell was able to use his cells to regenerate himself back on Earth.
"So how did you beat him?" Chi-Chi asked. "I mean, you were dead, and there was no one else who was powerful enough to stop him…"
"King Yemma let me go back to Earth to finish the job," Goku informed her. "Afterwards, my friends used the dragon balls to wish back the people Cell killed. They wanted to wish me back too, but I told them that they'd be safer without me."
Figures, she thought. Even without his family, he wants everyone to be safe.
"You're alive now, though," she pointed out. "How did you come back?"
"After seven years, Baba brought me back to life for one day so I could see my friends and fight in the next Tournament. Everything was going fine, until I met the Supreme Kai and Kabito…"
And now this was when history had really changed. It had been Goku, not Gohan, who had faced off against Kabito in the Tournament. It had been Goku's energy that was stolen by Spopavitch, the minion of the wizard Babadi.
Kabito and the Supreme Kai had healed Goku and told him about Babadi attempting to revive the monster Majin Buu. They, Krillin, and Vegeta followed Spopavitch directly to Babadi…
Babadi caused Vegeta to return to his evil self and forced Goku to fight, while transferring their energy lost to Majin Buu. Meanwhile, the Supreme Kai tried to stop the revival, but his attempt was in vain. Buu was revived.
Once Goku had sensed Buu's ki, he persuaded Vegeta to postpone their battle to beat Buu. Vegeta agreed, but knocked out Goku, preferring to take him out by himself.
When Goku regained consciousness, Vegeta was dead; he tried to blow himself up to kill Buu, yet Buu was able to regenerate after the explosion. After he recovered from his injuries, he tracked down Buu himself and defeated Buu in the form of Super Saiyan 3…
"Wait a minute!" Chi-Chi exclaimed. "That doesn't make any sense… you defeated him just like that?"
Goku nodded. "Yeah, let me show you." His eyes turned teal, as it had done when he was a Super Saiyan. This time, however, his hair not only went from black to gold, but also grew down to his waist.
"Oh my goodness!" Chi-Chi gasped, jumping back. She had never seen this form of Super Saiyan before; Goku looked more like an alien now than he ever did!
Goku, seeing her shock, powered down, his hair and eyes changing back to normal. "Sorry, did I scare you?" he asked, concerned.
"No, no…" Chi-Chi said, taking deep breaths. "I'm just not used to seeing you like that, that's all. But this doesn't make any sense… I thought that Super Saiyan 3 hadn't been powerful enough to defeat Buu."
"Sure, it is!" Goku replied. "I'm proof! Who told you that?"
Then how come it didn't work before? she wondered. Why did he want Goten and Trunks to fuse in order to defeat Buu? And then it dawned on her: He was probably holding back; he wanted Goten and Trunks beat him on their own… after all, he only had a day to be alive then, and he wanted to be sure someone would defend Earth when he was gone…
"Anyway, the Supreme Kai granted me his life as a reward," Goku continued. "He said the Earth needed me to defend it. We used the dragon balls to wish back all the people Buu killed… except for Vegeta. He'd already been wished back before."
"Why didn't you just use Namek's dragon balls?" Chi-Chi inquired.
Goku frowned. "We thought about doing that… but Bulma didn't want to," he said sadly. "She thought it would be better just to let Vegeta rest in peace. He died fighting, and she didn't think he'd have it any other way.
"Trunks took it pretty hard. All he wants to do these days is just train. I think he become strong enough to defeat me, just like his dad wanted to."
"Poor Trunks," Chi-Chi murmured sympathetically. "No wonder he's so angry…"
"He's mad at Bulma for not wishing him back and he's mad at me for not doing anything to help," Goku said grimly. "I guess I deserve it…"
"That is not true!" Chi-Chi said firmly. "You were knocked out; what else could you have done?"
Goku shook his head. "If I'd caught on to what Vegeta was going to do… he never wanted to work together with me." He forced a smile. "But there's no use dwelling on it. What's done is done."
"Okay, so you came back here afterwards," she said. "What about Piccolo? What's he been doing?"
Goku shrugged. "Training I guess. He still wants to kill me. I'd like to see him try." He looked out the window. The sky had turned from red-orange to dark blue. "It's getting pretty late; we'd better get some rest."
He took off his coat and boots and threw them carelessly to the ground. "I'm sorry I don't have a bed or anything…" He pulled out a couple of blankets that were underneath a small table and tossed one to Chi-Chi.
"It's okay, I don't mind," she said. She removed her own coat and shoes, placing them carefully on the floor. She lay down, careful to keep a distance away from Goku… although it was tempting to move closer to him.
"Don't worry, we'll start looking somewhere else tomorrow morning," he said, stretching out on the floor. "I promise that we'll find your family."
"Thank you," she replied softly. "Good night, then."
"Night!" he said cheerfully. Within moments, he was asleep.
Chi-Chi stayed awake, looking at the ceiling. So things were different without her… Grandpa Gohan had been right again. Still, everything that had changed was because Gohan and Goten hadn't been there. All she had done was give birth to them.
Is that all I am, the mother of two warriors?
she thought bitterly. She watched Goku sleeping. I love you, Goku, I really do, but I still don't know if I to anyone…especially to you.To be continued…
Mkh2: I hope this chapter answered some of your questions.
Sakura123: Goku is cute. : ) He is one of the funniest characters in DB/DBZ! What scene of It's A Wonderful Life were you thinking about?
Nisha: Isn't it obvious what Chi-Chi gave Goku? Oh well, you'll find out in an upcoming chapter…
I won't tell: I'm glad you thought Goku would be like that. Chi-Chi did teach him lots about common sense… let's compare Goku at the end of DB to Goku during DBZ. As you can see, he's matured a lot since then. Although he will always be trusting and naïve, I think that he knew a lot more about the world in DBZ than in DB.
Lady Athena12: Yes, Chi-Chi is wrong, and she will realize that very soon.
Lady Thundera: As you can see, a lot didn't happen because of Chi-Chi's absence. For example, in the battle of the Saiyans, Goku would have died if Gohan wasn't there to fight Vegeta; his body was broken and he didn't have a chance of defending himself. Coming up with what would have happened without Goku's family was really hard to do… I hope it's somewhat accurate though.
Kachie-chan: Thank you!
ChiChiko: I know Goku can take care of himself. He can live on his own, but he didn't know much about good hygiene. When he first met Bulma in DB, she asked him if he'd had a bath recently (because he smelled), and he replied, "What's a bath?" And he didn't know much about manners at the end of DB either… at least when it came to being tactful. Yes, there are going to be some very confusing situations for Goku very soon ;)
Jukka the Sling: Thank you!
SSJ Chika: Yes, a lot has changed… *evil laughter*
Abigail Marie: I hope you liked this chapter. About that special gift… well, I'll just say you're on the right track…
Black Cat: Too naïve? I don't think Bulma and Krillin taught him as much about manners as Chi-Chi did. Yes, Chi-Chi's frustration with Goku is funny… it's not Goku's fault though; he doesn't have any idea what happened or what's going on. He didn't make the wish, after all.
Jessica C: Yes, Vegeta and the other bad guys came to Earth, but the events of the battles changed without Gohan and Goten to help. Sorry, Krillin isn't going to be in the fic. Hmmm… can Chi-Chi reverse the wish? You'll just have to wait and see. Heh, heh, I love keeping secrets.
Sadako: Welcome aboard! If you think I'm evil now, you haven't seen anything yet! There's going to be a chapter that everyone will want to kill me for writing.
AphroditeMe: I haven't read the Buu saga manga yet, so I don't know what Goku does.
Moon girl 16: Can't tell you just yet. Sorry!