Happy New Year readers. I know it's been quite some time since I last updated this story. Kind of blame my inability to update this story due to writer's block, work, school, and life kind of getting in my way.
Thankfully, I finally found some much needed inspiration to continue the story from where I left off. The direction I previously attempted did not satisfy me and I was grateful I did not update the story until I wrote something to be happy with. I believe that this is the direction will suffice and leave many avid readers wanting more. I want to thank everyone for your support and patience, and hopefully, those who have been waiting patiently will be greatly rewarded.
Lastly, I cannot promise that this chapter will not end without another plot twist and cliffhanger since I tend to do this quite a lot with my stories. Sorry, not sorry, to all of the readers in the community who are more than likely reading this and wondering why this chapter might end abruptly. I do look forward to hearing from you all and hope that this makes up for my long extended absence from this tale.
~Chibi Mirai Gogeta
Deception
Chapter 8
Chi-chi wringed out the cloth and dabbed it against Goku's burning forehead for what felt like the hundredth time since she brought him back to their abode. Exhaustion weighed heavily on her consciousness and the only thing keeping her awake was the dire news that Dende had given what felt like days ago to her now. Something was inside of her husband and she had no idea if they could get it out of him without killing him. That was the last thing Chi-chi ever wanted to happen to Goku; especially after everything that happened in the last few years when Raizen came to Earth.
Gohan had to drag Goten away to bed since it had grown late, but Chi-chi refused to abandon her duty to care for her ailing husband. She had no idea what she was going to do besides try to be at his side as much as possible. Her head drooped slightly and she shook what sleep her body needed.
'I need to take care of him…' Chi-chi thought, but she felt like she was reaching her limit. Her hands were numb and painfully ached from the coldness of the water. She began to lift it from the basin again when it fell out of her hand and landed on the floor. 'Oh no, I lost the rag I've been using…'
She leaned over and began to pick it up when she saw a glimpse of light streaming through the door. A part of her knew she had to prepare breakfast for the others, but with her husband in bad shape, all she could do was be there for him.
'Maybe… I can afford to take a little break…' Chi-chi gave up her pursuit of caring for her husband and laid down at his side. She took one of his hands in hers and closed her eyes.
Piccolo growled and slammed his balled fist into the rock. It cracked under the pressure, whereas if he had used his full power, it would have easily shattered under such a blow. He restrained himself since he knew it would do no good ruining the shabby hut that he and Dende were provided. Both of them did not really need the shelter, but accepted it since they had more than their fair share of stares whenever they walk through the city.
"Why would Son keep this from us?" Piccolo questioned angrily. He had often pondered about Goku's character in the past, but it seemed that what he had been keeping under wraps this time did not justify his current condition.
"He probably had his reasons," Dende attempted to persuade with no effect.
"Really? He had been in Raizen's hands and they did something to him that put him in this situation. If he hadn't convinced us to keep the dragon balls from being reactivated, we could have dealt with the situation before it started to affect him physically."
"Whatever it is, there is a low chance it can be removed from his head. If we try to remove it, then chances are he might not live."
"Damn it… Son knew something like this might come up…" Piccolo's cape swished as he turned towards the exit. Dende knew the Namekian's anger was justified and did not stop him in the slightest. If anything, he was probably going to go blow something up far enough away from the city so it did not scare anyone.
Right when Piccolo was preparing to fly off, an explosion rattled the outskirts. Screams filled the air and that was when one of their worst nightmares suddenly appeared.
A large warship hovered overhead and blanketed the sunlight.
"Dende! Get underground!" Piccolo roared angrily. "I'll meet you there!"
Dende knew that if he died again, then their chances of resurrecting anyone after this would be moot. Quickly, he pulled on his hooded cloak, grabbed his staff, and picked up the small bag of Senzu beans he happened to have on hand. If worse came to worse, they would need these for whatever laid ahead.
Chi-chi was jarred awake from the earth-shattering explosion as debris rained from the ceiling. Instinctively, she shielded her husband, fearing the structure would collapse on him. Gohan burst into the room a moment later.
"Mom, we're under attack!" Gohan yelled. "We need to get out of here and into the shelter!"
"We need to get your father in there first," Chi-chi exclaimed. She had no idea what was going on and began to lift Goku's body on her back. Gohan helped support the unconscious Saiya-jin while another rumble shook the shack. Quickly, they made their way out of the building and saw other people running. There were so many people in the streets that even the dusty sidewalks were obscured.
Someone shoved Chi-chi from the side and she lost her grip on her husband. She felt Goku's weight nearly buckle down on her, but Gohan managed to hold him steady.
"I'll carry dad! You go on ahead to the shelter!" Gohan yelled to his mother over the screams and cries that surrounded them.
"Stay safe!" Chi-chi yelled back as she allowed her son to take the full weight off her shoulders.
Rounding the corner, Chi-chi began to move towards one of the shelters when an explosion hit just at her left side at a nearby building. She was thrown to the ground from the blast with other people falling on top of her in a symphony of groans and cries. They shoved and pushed against her as she felt smothered by the others. Her ears rang as she attempted to get up, but she felt disoriented from the blast, and the weight of others piled on top of her was not helping in the slightest. From the smell of burnt flesh, there were people dead or dying.
'I can barely breathe…' Chi-chi thought while pushing her way out. Her footing was uncertain while she kept pushing forward. Another explosion came almost directly in front of her and she shielded her vision. More screams filled her ears and her heart ached at the thought of her sons and future daughter-in-law trying to make it underground.
Unlike their previous shelter, they managed to reinforce it better after the sewer systems were all but decimated from Raizen's troops. It could easily protect the citizens underground much better. Unfortunately, they had not been successful saving enough food in an event like this due to the poor harvests and bandits taking a toll on their supplies.
A hand roughly grabbed her wrist and Chi-chi suddenly found herself face-to-face with one of the masked soldiers. She tried to break free, but a swift hand hit her neck from behind. As her vision darkened and her consciousness faded, she saw more soldiers landing ahead of her as people began to scatter in different directions.
Gohan felt a jolt against his back and a soft moan against his ear. He had nearly made it to the shelter when he felt his father stirring. Stopping, Gohan leaned Goku against the wall and carefully lowered him to the ground. The younger Saiya-jin was surprised when he saw fear on his father's face—something he never truly witnessed before.
"Dad? Are you…?" Gohan gasped when he saw his father's eyes open. The life in his eyes seemed non-existent.
"I… I can't feel your mother…" Goku spoke with grief in his voice.
"Dad, I'm sure she's…" Goku stood up as he stumbled. "Dad! Where are you going?"
"I need to find her…" Gohan blocked his father. The eldest son knew that if he let his father had his way in his weakest condition, he might not be alive much longer.
"You can't right now. The city is under attack and we need to evacuate to the shelters."
"Chi-chi…" Goku muttered weakly. Gohan pulled on his wrist and lead him to the open manhole.
"We'll find her, I promise," Gohan encouraged. Reluctantly, Goku followed his son down into the sewer, not knowing his wife's fate.
Chi-chi awoke in on a cold, metal floor on her stomach. She felt her arms restrained from the back and struggled to break the metallic bindings to no avail. Whatever was binding her arms was robbing her of her energy as she attempted to reach out to her husband…
…only to feel nothing on the other end. That in itself sent a wave of panic through her.
'Goku! Oh god, Goku!' Chi-chi tried sending her thoughts to her husband, but she heard nothing in return. 'What… what if he… he…?'
A beeping sound was heard and the female's thoughts were interrupted when the door hissed open. Two soldiers walked in flanking her sides as Chi-chi recalled with horror that they had captured her earlier while she attempted to reach the underground. Were they planning to execute her? Use her like her husband had been years ago when Raizen vowed to take over the Earth?
"Seems the prisoner's finally awake," a feminine voice came from the darkness. Chi-chi was surprised when she saw the white-skinned, black-haired female approach her from the doorway. Her heels clinked against the floor and she stopped a foot shy of where the bound human laid helplessly.
"Where am I?" Chi-chi questioned.
"You are in no position to ask any questions," the woman spoke in a demeaning tone. "The machines found that you possess a high amount of energy for a native of this primitive rock. I want to know if you are familiar with a masked man."
Chi-chi's eyes widened in fear. A pleased smirk crossed the alien woman's face and in seconds, the human felt completely exposed.
"Tell me about the masked man," the woman demanded.
"He is my husband." The words slipped out of Chi-chi's mouth against her wishes. The woman's lips pursed in a sly smile, almost though she were pleased by what the human had spoken.
"Really? Tell me more about him. I want to know everything."
"My husband's name is Goku. From what I know, he is an alien from another world, but I love him all the same…"
"An alien… yes, that makes sense. Tell me his characteristics."
"He has black hair that never seems to grow, looks like a human, and…" Chi-chi stopped herself from saying anything else.
"There's something you're hiding. Tell me…" the woman seemed like she had a short amount of patience when it came to trying to figure out something, but whatever it was, Chi-chi was uncertain. The only thing she knew was she could not afford to share anything else.
"I… I won't betray him…" Chi-chi muttered. She was feeling something attempting to probe her for more information, but she knew she had to protect him. If he was still alive, Chi-chi vowed that she would make sure that her husband would remain safe wherever he was. She had to or else the fate of the world itself would be endangered yet again.
Malvolia was surprised. Not once had anyone attempted to defy her like this human was managing. She only had a few things about the masked man and this human was denying her what she needed to know.
"Tell me!" Malvolia demanded. She was so close to finding out more about what happened to Raizen that the key was literally dangling in front of her face. Yet, this key refused to yield anything else.
After several minutes of silence, Malvolia raised her energy in retaliation. It whipped throughout the cell, causing the once smooth floor to buckle slightly. Even then, this woman remained an enigma. The pressure returned to normal and she chuckled.
"Fine, keep your petty secrets for now, but I will learn more about this "Goku" you are trying to protect," Malvolia vowed. "Guards! Take her to her quarters and watch her! Until I figure out where the other energy wielders are hiding, we will use her as a bargaining chip to drive them from hiding."
Goku knew the pain in his head was the least of his worries at the moment. When he realized his wife was not among the others, he retreated in a corner of the sewers where he stared at the ground. None of his friends or sons could bring him out of the state he was currently in.
"Vegeta, my dad's not responding," Gohan told the prince.
"I bet it's whatever is inside of his head," Vegeta sneered in disgust.
"No, he was saying something earlier about not being able to feel her, whatever that means," Gohan shrugged.
"Not being able to…" Vegeta muttered something else under his breath. Gohan only heard the last part of it. "…damn idiot."
"What does this have to do with my mom being missing?"
"Everything. Kakarrot did something that he cannot take back, and because of his actions, he might believe that he cannot feel his mate due to the technology those bastards are using."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your mother and the idiot you call your father somehow completed a rare ritual that only a few Saiya-jins managed in the last several decades," Vegeta attempted to explain. "How Kakarrot had been able to do it without the knowledge makes me wonder how he learned about it."
"What will happen to him?"
"Usually, if Kakarrot cannot 'feel' his mate, he will go through three stages of grief," Vegeta summarized. "This is just the first stage-despondent. It will only get worse from this point."
"What are the other two stages?"
"The second stage would be insanity, and the last would be where he becomes suicidal."
Gohan's eyes widened in shock. It would not be a far stretch if his father's condition progressed quickly.
'Mom, I hope for dad's sake that you are still alive,' Gohan prayed silently.
The quarters that Chi-chi was taken to were similar to when she was previously held captive by Raizen. Her wrists were still bound behind her back as she sat upon a very uncomfortable bed. She had thought about sleeping on it in order to rest, but the faint sounds of tortured cries echoed within the halls. Not knowing what her fate, she only napped for short periods of time, but she knew that very soon, she would be forced to do something against her will in order to survive.
Trying to break the bindings on her wrists, Chi-chi suddenly felt lightheaded when she felt her energy drained from her body forcefully. Moaning in discomfort, she felt her power being siphoned through the cuffs as the cell itself brightened slightly. The cable that she was tethered to glowed an unearthly white color and within moments, it faded altogether as Chi-chi collapsed on her side completely spent.
'Goku… if you're still alive, please save me…' Chi-chi last thoughts of her husband slipped through her mind as she once more lost consciousness.
"The female energy wielder's power was drained my queen," Nihil observed.
"It seems she has a lot of it, but we should not drain her entirely," Malvolia commented while looking at the monitor that had Chi-chi's biology displayed. "If and when I finally break her will, she could be of use to us."
"If not, what are your plans with her?" Borvo asked.
"Probably make sure she is used as an energy conduit until she expires." Malvolia replied casually. "She would serve the Daza-jin Empire in either case." She walked out of the control room and made her way to the barracks where the soldiers were assembled. "Find more of the energy wielders and bring them to me alive."
The soldiers saluted her and walked off the ship to do Malvolia's bidding. What she had no idea was that the very warriors she was looking for were beneath the city biding their time.
To Be Continued…
