Chapter 7

Gohan laid out on the sun warmed grass like a cat on a sunny window ledge. Icarus curled up next to him not minding that his thick tail was being used for a pillow. Overhead in the cooling desert air migrating to the mountains clouds drifted past as white chunks of cotton candy in an ocean of half melted blue slush. Late blooming flowers sparsely dotted the meadow filling the air with their sweet scent. The young Saiyan sighed contentedly. Having finished his chores and studies for the day he was allowed to hang out with his dragon friend on the promise he didn't go back to Mount Paozu. Apparently his grandfather was concocting some sort of surprise as the remodeling of the house was finishing up. It wouldn't be long before they moved back home with a new addition to the family though they had promised to visit the palace at least once a month. But it didn't stop Gohan from feeling a little homesick. He had spent much of his life in the relative solitude of the wilderness being surrounded by his mother, father, sometimes his grandfather or maybe the few friends that he had, and animals. As nice of a change palace life brought him he still felt more at home immersed in the simplicity of nature which he found himself doing not as often as he once did. Chi-Chi was crystal clear that none of the guards, servants, or nearby townspeople should learn of his abilities. It was part of being rich and famous. Just one little oddity could lead to the controversy bloodletting the media did so well. Not to mention she didn't want anyone to think her family was a bunch of freaks even if they were just that.

Suddenly that unknown ki flared to life, closer than it ever had before. Quickly Gohan sat up startling Icarus from his dozing. He saw no one. But the ki remained almost tauntingly. Whoever it was they were being bold. Either they wanted to talk or they were trying to call them out. From his vantage point on the hill he could spy the palace and surrounding area. A cluster of bright festive tents were slowly erected for the annual summer fair just on the outskirts of town. Vendors set up their stalls for when the crowds ambled by the next day. Circus animals lounged blissfully in their pens as their trainers and the performers rushed about with their tasks. More people were expected to attend the fair than usual as an embassy from Orange Star City would be appealing for the Ox King to agree to the renaming sometime tomorrow. It was rumored that Hercule would be one of the diplomats. Rumor or not it was enough to send Chi-Chi into a frenzy. Both Goku and the Ox King were now trying to talk her out of sitting in on the meeting. The whole town was bustling as everyone prepared for the next day. However nothing jumped out at him as the source of the odd ki. Icarus tugged at his white nehru.

"Hungry?" he asked with a smile. Icarus tugged even harder. Gohan laughed as he gave in to the silent demands. There was a citrus orchard nearby were the two 'barrowed' some fruit as a midday snack. Bees and hummingbirds flitted about extracting pollen and nectar from the pungent blooms. Using an empty crate Gohan sat to peel off the rind of his fruit while his purple friend had no problem ingesting the whole thing. He silently wondered if his father and grandfather had made any leeway with his mother yet.

"You sure this is gonna work?" a male voice asked. Gohan froze, suppressing his ki out of instinct that Piccolo had literally beaten into him. He immediately knew something was up. With tomorrow being such a big day there shouldn't be any workers in the groves or fields. Icarus too had stopped eating and crouched defensively next to him.

"Don't be such a pansy!" another male scoffed. "With that woman on our side well have the princess laying at our feet begging and pleading and apologizing for humiliating us like that!"

"I don't know." the nervous one said. "That Rakkyo doesn't seem right in the head."

"I'll say!" his companion snorted. "According to her she's some alien seeking revenge against some thing that destroyed her home world! Rakkyo's just a nut job who probably slipped out of her padded cell. But who cares! I say we roll with it until our business is done with!"

"Is she up to this though? This is the daughter of the Ox King we're talking about. It's not gonna be easy."

"What's harder, getting even with that bitch or having to pay for that fucking damn in that fucking village with our hard-earned cash? Now shut up and help me with this thing! Guns aren't light ya know!"

Gohan felt the bottom of his stomach drop out as the footsteps faded. Icarus cooed worriedly at him. The whole catastrophe with Garlic Jr. replayed in his head. How the whole planet was infected with the Black Water Mist bringing all living things under the Makyan's control, how he and Krillin and Piccolo had to risk everything just to free Kami then send Garlic Jr. back to the Dead Zone, and how he just destroyed the Makyo Star, the source of Garlic Jr.'s power, without a second thought for what ever lived on its surface. It was all coming back to bite him. Now his own mother was in trouble. Heck, the whole world could be in trouble. But why now? Why did it have to be now?

"Gohan…" The young Saiyan jumped and whipped around to see Piccolo and Vegeta standing there. He was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't even sense them approaching. They probably came to investigate the strange ki but got distracted when his own just disappeared from radar. Gohan tried to speak but found his throat too tight with emotion to do so. But he didn't have to. Understanding shone in their eyes. "Come on, we need to get your otousan."

xXx

Gohan sat guiltily on the couch of the informal living room like a child who's hand was caught in the cookie jar. Quietly he watched as Piccolo filled Vegeta and Goku in on the whole Garlic Jr. episode. His father paced, filled with too much nervous energy to stay still. Next to him his mother and grandfather listened in intently. Chi-Chi silently fumed. The judge who had sentenced the damn workers only gave them a few weeks behind bars before letting them go on good behavior. It looked like she was going to reform the justice system along with education. At least she was keeping herself busy. He could feel Chi-Chi's small hand trying to rub the tension from his back but his muscles just couldn't seem to relax. Absently he put a hand on her distended belly. It never ceased to amaze him, or gross him out, how pregnancy altered the female body. Organs were sifted as to allow room for the growing fetus, the abdominal wall had to stretch…there was no way it could be comfortable. Something bumped sharply into his hand through the layer of tightly pulled tissue causing him to pull it away as though he was burned. Chi-Chi grunted. Goku was at her side in a flash.

"Oh, the baby just kicked!" she sighed, waving her husband away. "It just surprised me is all! As much as I love being the center of your attention I'm don't need to be coddled! I'm no fine china! I am not going to break!"

"Gomenasai." Gohan said quietly. "It's all my fault. We wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for me."

"We wouldn't be here at all if it wasn't for you." Piccolo told him calmly. "There was no other choice. All Makyans are inherently evil and drew their power from the Makyo Star, a planet cloaked with darkness. Every century or so they would vie for all the souls of Earth and make them theirs. Even if you had somehow found a way to defeat Garlic Jr. without destroying the Makyo Star it would just leave room for another to try their luck."

"Yeah but now okaasan is…" He just couldn't bring himself to finish that thought. Goku kneeled in front of him and gripped his shoulders comfortingly.

"Nothing is going to happen to your okaasan. We are going to find this Rakkyo and hit her before she hits us."

"I'll put the entire palace on high alert." the Ox King said. "Nothing is going to enter or leave without someone knowing." Gohan looked hesitantly at his mother. She smiled warmly at him and squeezed his leg.

"I never liked it that you have to go off and fight. In my eyes you're just too young to be doing such dangerous things. A mother only wants to protect her baby from harm even if that child doesn't need it anymore. However asking you not to go would be like forbidding your otousan from fighting. Part of being responsible is doing things you don't necessarily want to because it's the right thing to do. Just be careful. And for Kami's sake will you two stop worrying about me? I'm not defenseless you know!"

xXx

"Does anyone else remember that being there before?" Goku asked in a slightly worried tone. No one answered. Jutting from the blistering sands of the Diablo Desert was an obsidian fortress. Wicked spires stabbed at the sky. Skeletons hung from pikes. Banners flew in the harsh dry wind. It was merely a stone's throw from the palace. How it went unnoticed for so long was anyone's guess. Down below a group of men were loading wooden crates into the backs of trucks and jeeps before driving off in the direction of the palace. Gohan felt his anxiety mount. Whatever the disgraced damn workers were up to was obviously big and undoubtedly dangerous.

"I think we would've remembered something like that." Piccolo replied dryly. Like silent shadows they landed. No plants graced the odd structure. Footprints and tire tracks left in the powdery sand all seemed to lead to the giant pair of iron doors. They only hesitated a moment before making their way in. The rusting doors gave a shrill shriek that echoed down the four branching corridors. Torches flickered in their brackets but did little to illuminate the nearly pitch black halls.

"Looks like we'll have to split up. If you find Rakkyo or trouble raise your ki."

Gohan reluctantly obeyed. To him splitting up didn't seem like a good idea. What if that was what Rakkyo wanted them to do, divide and conquer as they navigated their way through the unfamiliar halls. It certainly sounded like something Garlic Jr. would've done. His footfalls sounded much too loud as he walked alone. Every once in a while he'd some across grotesque images he guessed was supposed to be art that sent shivers down his spine. Off in the distance there was a resounding boom. His heart jumped in his chest. Was that an explosion or a trap being set off? But he felt no flux of ki signaling that any of the others were in danger. All he could do was continue forward. Without warning the floor beneath him just dropped away. Startled he instinctually hovered in place. In the shadowy pit where the floor once was came a robotic claw. Gohan cried out as it snatched him and dragged him down into the depths. Writhing mindlessly his ki practically jumped but amazingly he couldn't break free. Stale air stung his eyes as it whipped passed. Dark outlines zoomed by like cars on a highway. Coupled with the falling sensation his head was spinning as it tried to find a way to break free. Abruptly everything stopped, causing his head to snap forward painfully. Dazedly the young Saiyan hung there for a moment.

"I must say I'm disappointed. I was expecting more of a fight from the one who destroyed the Makyo Star so easily." a velvety voice purred. He looked up warily. In the middle of a bizarre room of strange mechanical components and circuitry was a woman who looked like she belonged in one of Roshi's magazines. Blood red eyes seemed to stare strait into his soul. Distinctive pointed ears poked out from underneath waves of raven hair. Studded leather armor that looked like it belonged in The Lord of the Rings hugged her generous frame. But Gohan felt more grossed out if anything. Bulma's 'talk' still hung in the back of his mind. The scientist had assured him such a reaction was normal upon first learning the facts of life though he was certain it scarred him forever. Sometimes he couldn't even look at his mother or father when they get lovey-dovey in his presence.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked with a tone of exasperation in his voice.

"You took everything away from me." she snarled quietly, fangs shining in the dim lighting. "I was queen of one of the most glorious people in the universe. My faithful subjects brought other planets under my domain. The day the Makyo Star was destroyed the whole empire had gathered to celebrate the day the queen was born. Garlic Jr. promised me the Earth as a gift to commemorate the occasion. But then you came along and tore it all asunder. Only I survived the blast. I drifted for a while, gathering my power until I was strong enough to make my way to Earth. Now you'll experience all of my pain as I destroy all that you hold dear. And when your grief has consumed you I'll make you watch as I make this planet into the New Makyo Star. My shadow will take hold and spread until this shining jewel becomes a seed of darkness that'll spread out across the universe." Primal emotion swirled in his head. Gohan wasn't sure if it was because his mother was in danger, knowing that if he failed the whole planet was lost, or if it was his pubescent hormones doing strange things with his Saiyan blood. Gritting his teeth he pushed it away. He wasn't going to loose control like he did at the Cell Game. Not today. Not ever again.

"Over my dead body." he snarled. Rakkyo grinned menacingly.

xXx

Omake

Chi-Chi sat on the couch with her knitting in her lap doing her best to ignore the four guards stationed around the room. Black eyes focused on the brightly colored yard as though it had said something unpleasant to her. Hands nimbly maneuvered the dull needles like a pair of gymnasts on the trapeze. Suddenly the door flew open. The guards pointed their pistols toward the disturbance only to lower them at the sight of the Ox King donned in his old leather amour and hefting an axe that could have fell a tree in one swing. Even as aged as he was he still looked every bit a formidable as he did in his younger years. Chi-Chi growled in exasperation.

"Otousan! I don't need protecting! Besides, don't you have to prepare for the envoy from Orange Star City arriving tomorrow?"

"Nonsense!" her father exclaimed. "Nothing takes precedence over the safety of my ojousan!"

"Your ojousan is thirty years-old, had competed in the Tenka'ichi Budokai and even made it to the semi-finals, and is the okusan of the strongest fighter in the world!" she pointed out heatedly.

"B-but you're pregnant honey!" the Ox King sputtered. "You can't fight in your condition!" Chi-Chi stood up, a fierce aura igniting around her delicate frame.

"I'll do whatever is necessary to protect myself and my family! Now leave me be!" The room was emptied in seconds as both guards and the Ox King alike fled from her wrath.

Translations:

Ki- energy

Nehru- waist length tailored coat made famous by the Beetles.

Okaasan- mother

Otousan- father

Ojousan- daughter

Okusan- wife

Kami- god

Tenka'ichi Budokai- literally the best martial arts tournament on earth.

Gomenasai- I'm sorry.

AN: Please review!