Nine – The tale of the hidden village

He walked away. His back was becoming smaller and smaller and either way how much she screamed for him, he just kept on walking. It didn't matter either how fast she was running after him, she was just unable to catch him. He was…too fast. She saw her hand reaching out for him, but the only thing she saw next was complete blackness as she stood in the middle in nothing, alone, one name coming from her lips in a loud scream.

Someone touched her hand and grabbed it gently, pressing her fingers tenderly. "Shh, alright. I'm here." a voice whispered low. "I'm here, Chi. No need to be afraid."

Chichi's eyes stayed close until she found the strength to open them. Her vision was blurry but the familiar depth of those eyes looking at her made her heart skip a beat. "Goku…" she murmured and felt the pressure on her hand increase while another brushed over her head.

"Hey…" he smiled lovingly and earned a breathtaking – although tired – smile from the one who had saved him. She had saved him from the monster that lived within. A monster she was willing to accept. When she told him, she loved him he was speechless and happy and afraid and overjoyed and desperate and hopeful…it was a whirlwind of emotions inside of him. And it saved him from losing his mind.

"You're here, that's good…that's good…" she smiled and a tear rolled down her cheek. She was just so happy to have him still near her, she even forgot the pain she felt from her injuries.

"I'm here." He assured her once again before he tried to get away from her, telling her to sleep some more, she was hurt badly. Her eyes flew open again and a desperate look grazed her face and she grabbed his hand holding it. "Stay." She demanded and made him almost topple over. It went silent for a second and the only thing they heard was Krillin's loud snoring.

Sighing almost inaudible Goku made himself comfortable beside her, still holding her hand. "Chi, I'm sorry you had to see that…" he suddenly whispered, feeling ashamed of what he actually was. She smiled at him and snuggled as well as she could into him before she closed her eyes again and immediately drifted off to sleep before she could say what she wanted. Goku was troubled for a moment. He liked watching her tranquil face but…she didn't react to what he said to her.

And…Did she really say she loved him?

Why did she say that? What kind of love did she meant?

How could she even think about loving a monster like him?

And why was it that it wasn't allowed for him to say the same thing to her although he wished for it so badly?

Leaning his forehead against hers he whispered something into her ear that made Chichi smile daringly.

That night Chichi had the most beautiful dream caressing her sleep…

Vegeta was angry. He was more than angry! He was absolutely furious and tired! He looked for Bulma through the whole western empire but couldn't find even one clue. He stood at the beginning! He just stood at the damn beginning! Cursing under his breath he ordered his dragon to lift himself up into the air. He just had to look for her once again all over the place!

The only thing that would have taken his interest if he weren't occupied with finding Bulma were some bandits near the border to the Eastern Empire who were walking around like maniacs screaming and fighting each other in frustration. They looked funny in a way…And Vegeta seriously considered killing those guys for some kind of stress relieve, but did otherwise. He had no time for such bunch of idiots. He would get them sooner or later anyway…

He even ignored the fact that the dragonball in his pocket started to get hot at some point where he flew. He knew that it had to do with the girl of legend, but even that he ignored perfectly. No time for other things, the girl was only second to Bulma – a phenomena very mysteriously, considering that Vegeta was a cold, fighting being with no emotions whatsoever…well, he made people believe that was the way he was. Most of it wasn't even a lie, but as soon as it came down to Bulma he had the urge to change his personality 180°.

And he just needed her, more than in just one way…

"You…are….an idiot!" Bulma wheezed and earned a puppy look from her fellow. Both of them out of breath and just about to topple over. With small bleeding wounds here and there both of them actually made it into the eastern empire – unbelievably enough – just to get caught by the soldiers in the first city they crossed. What on earth did Bulma do to deserve this? Yes, she was safe for now because no one would find her here but…she was going from one disaster to another!

"But we needed something to eat!" Yamcha tried to excuse his doing while he leaned against the stony wall of the prison they were standing in at the moment.

"Did you ever think of paying for it? Maybe I was in deed having some coins!"

"You…you have?"

"I had, yes! Unfortunately they thought I stole them! Now we have nothing left!" Tired and near tears Bulma slid down to sit down as well. Her legs couldn't hold the weight on her shoulders anymore. Just one hope was holding her spirit up: Vegeta couldn't find her in here…But at some point she wished he would. Oh, this was so damn complicated to her! And she was a genius after all!

"Are you feeling alright?" Kata asked for the hundredth time now and Chichi just huffed. "I'm feeling perfectly find, Kata. Could you…just stop asking me? It's kind of getting on my nerves!"

"Hey, hey, no need to be so strict, Chichi. You should calm yourself down so your spirit can heal your wounds."

"Krillin, I have no need to hear your monk-like speech at all! Just look ahead and walk on!"

"Stingy woman…" Krillin whispered but before Chichi could say anything more Goku smiled and yelled in his boyish way. "Isn't it a beautiful weather today?"

"We are in a forest, Goku. We can't really see the sky. We just know it isn't raining." Chichi answered him but mysteriously her voice was much softer than moments before. Kata and Krillin looked at each other in confusion. Must be something they didn't understand...

Leaning her head against Goku's back she felt his warmth caressing her. The strong arms holding her up were so comfortable, she just wanted to drift off to sleep again. But she wanted to witness the fact that he was holding her so close, so she forbid herself to sleep. And therefore she was…very temperamental for the time being.

Krillin walked next to Goku and patted his shoulder. "What did you do to calm the beast?" And before Goku could answer anything a fist landed on Krillin's head in addition to a whining Chichi in pain who said thought her teeth "I can perfectly hear you!"

"Yeah, unfortunately…" and he earned another hit.

But although under all the smiles the group shared, they totally couldn't feel the sudden cold overcoming them, as they got further and further into the forest. It was getting darker and darker, and sharp eyes were looking from anywhere. Something was amiss, and Kata was the first to notice, as a cold shiver went through his body.

Standing still he rubbed his shoulders while the rest walked on.

"What's wrong, Kata? Come on!" Krillin yelled from afar and Kata looked with fearful eyes at him.

"I can't move…" he whispered over and over again. "I can't move…"

Goku, suddenly getting the serious situation, sat the now sleeping Chichi gently down and tried to feel the atmosphere. Why was it that there were problems around every corner? It was as if too much of those evil bastards were around…something ominous started to move.

"Hmm?" Chichi questioned while she rubbed her sleepy eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Shh…" Goku put his finger on his lips while he felt the hair on his neck standing up. "Kata, come here." He said with a deeper voice than he normally got and looked at the golden haired boy. Kata only shook his head and crutched down to the forest-ground. "I can't…" he whispered. "I can't…"

"Kata, what's wrong? Come to us!" Chichi demanded with a shaky voice. She was afraid, her body was numb, but she couldn't tell if it was because of her injuries or because of her fear. It just didn't feel natural at all. Krillin looked concentrated. "There are too much."

"Too much of what?" Chichi whispered, unsure of what to think.

"Shit…" Goku cursed, his body shivering at the tension. Every move of them now could kill them…

"Stay still." Krillin ordered them, put his fingers in front of him in a strange way and his lips moved so fast when he chanted his mantra, Chichi couldn't even hear one word clearly. When he finished speaking he made some more movements and suddenly held them in a special way. "This should help for a moment." He pressed out, while sweat was already rolling down his forehead.

"What did you do?" Goku wanted to know. It was the first time for him too, to see something like this.

"A protection spell. They should be unable to see us for now. We have to move fast, I'm only able to hold this shield for about fifteen minutes." Krillin had trouble speaking. This must be really exhausting.

"I don't get it, what's going on here?" Chichi was so afraid by now, her body was tensing up until everything hurt. The wounds on her legs were re-opening and Goku's mind was seeing red now. "Then let's move quickly." He said, grabbed Kata on his collar, took Chichi as gently as he could onto his other arm, and his tail took Krillin around his torso. "Up we go!" he said before he lifted all of them into the air and flew out of the forest.

"What in the world!" Krillin yelled and almost forgot to hold the protection spell as he earned a refreshing laugh from Goku.
"Are-are you strong enough to hold us all?" Chichi's eyes were somewhere between admiration, surprise and pride. God, this man was a mystery from the top of his head to his little toe! Kata just looked like….yeah he looked like his age: his eyes were so big; he looked as if he couldn't understand what he was seeing.

"Ah, I can't hold it any longer!" Krillin suddenly huffed and went limp in Goku's tail. He was sweating unstoppably but smiled in an exhausted way.

"You did well." Chichi said and patted Krillin's head like a little puppy, who looked just as confused as ever. Would he ever understand this woman? Probably…not.

Bulma was half sleeping when the door to her cell was suddenly opened. "Oh my goodness, they look awful!" a small voice was whispering before Bulma could open her eyes. She saw a small blond girl covering over the snoring Yamcha. "Such a handsome fellow in a cell….horrible."

What in the world was handsome on him? Bulma thought before she had to cough and the blond girl turned to her. "Oh you're awake! Are you alright?"

"How could I?" Bulma snapped at the girl. "It's filthy in here, I smell, my hair needs some shampoo, I'm stuck with this idiotic guy since about one week, my feet hurt, I walked about 300 miles and you have the nerve to ask if I was alright?!"

"Well I'm sorry…" the blond girl pouted and Bulma had a bad feeling immediately. Her temper was going against the wrong person. The girl wasn't at fault at all. She sighed: "Listen. I'm really annoyed right now…sorry for yelling at you, but I'm really tired and hadn't had something to eat for about five days."
"Oh, if it's something to eat, I can help. Follow me upstairs, I'm going to get you something." And the blond girl walked out of the cell. Bulma and Yamcha were looking at each other in confusion and Bulma ran after her first. "Sorry, you take us out of the cell? Just like that? But I thought we were prisoners?"

The blond girl stopped and turned around. "I scolded my father for getting you in here, because I saw everything with my own eyes. You were about to pay for the things you ate. Is saw you being pulled away screaming, although I didn't saw who pulled you exactly."
Bulma's burning eyes went to Yamcha who did as if he wouldn't hear.
"So I talked with my father and told him what I saw. And after some time he believed me. In addition: it is rare for strangers from the West Empire to enter the land of the East Empire. My father believes you are in need of help?"

"Who is your father exactly?"
"He's the king of this land."

Bulma couldn't believe what she heard. She was about to get shelter? From the king of the East Empire? Goodness, the world was still fair?

"And my name is Lunch, princess of the eastern empire, first daughter of king Luxor. Nice to meet you." She bowed beautifully and her long blond hair fell from her shoulders.

"How many dragonballs do we have?" Krillin suddenly asked the troop as they sat around the fire and rested for the night. "Two." Was the answer of Goku who looked into the flames with an empty look.

"No, one." Chichi looked at him in confusion and showed him the four-star which she got from Zero that time.
"Two." Goku repeated and showed the group the radar he got from Bulma. A point was blinking on it, not far away from their position. "I know where it is. Shouldn't be bad to get it, I will go alone." Goku stated and stood up. Chichi grabbed his leg on instinct and looked at him with big fearful eyes. He smiled down at her. "No worry, I will be back in a few hours."
"Promise?" she asked and showed him his pinky for him to make it clear. Although he didn't understand why she showed him his little finger he just nodded and suddenly flew off.

Krillin and Kata were sleeping already when Goku softly landed beside them. Chichi stood up as fast as she could, ignoring the slight pain she still felt and hugged him breathless. His face was dirty and bloody, but she noticed in relief that it wasn't his own. Grinning he showed her the still stony round dragonball which pulsated a bit as Chichi got near it. She knew what she had to do, but she didn't like it at all. The hot feeling it made her feel wasn't really comfortable. Goku watched her with his eyebrows hooked as she didn't touch it. Looking back to the sleeping two, she took Goku by his hand and walked with him a few meters.
"I don't want them to see this." She muttered her sorry as she slowly started to grab for the ball. And as soon as she felt it between her fingers, the ball started to get very hot. It felt like it wanted to burn her fingers away. It was even worse than the other time, but she wanted to stay strong!
Goku watched with worry and amazement as Chichi clutched the glowing ball between her hands. Her face was twisted in pain and he once again hated the fact that she had to endure this burden.
Like an explosion the ball glue in a bright white and then it went dark again as soon as it was bright and Chichi sank to the ground, exhausted. She didn't want to think about the fact that she had to do this gain. Five times….

Opening her palms she showed him the ball with seven stars in it. Without saying even one word he just looked at her face and brushed the sweat away that stood on her forehead. She was blushing a bright red and felt her heart bumping wildly. Since she had told him, she loved him she really wasn't able to stop this feeling anymore. And it made her….feet go wobbly. Luckily she was sitting already. But it upset her unbelievably as she didn't know what he was feeling. So caressing her like that with this look – she didn't know if he loved her like she loved him or if he just liked her like a sister. Something he had to protect.
Suddenly feeling very blue she pushed the dragonball into his chest and stood up. "Let's go back." Was the only thing she said and Goku watched her with his fists clutched. He had hurt her, he knew. But he wouldn't allow himself say what he wanted to say to her. He punished himself by not telling her. He felt like an idiot, but he couldn't stop it. It was illogical. But that is just how he was.

Bulma lay in big bed, feeling as comfortable as ever. She really was in the king's care. She still couldn't believe it, but it was true. She told about the situation she was in – well, almost everything but not really – and the king was giving her shelter. He also told her, that he didn't like the political situation the western empire was in at all. The old king dying suddenly, the crown taken away from the prince, the empire falling apart, those evil bastards suddenly showing up. King Luxor was afraid of his own land. What if it went out of control and his people were being attacked too?
"Oh, if this tale of the legendary girl could be true, I wished for her to appear right away…" he smiled sadly before Bulma was allowed to leave to rest.
"The crown taken away from the prince, eh?" she muttered to herself before she closed her eyes and cried herself into sleep.

"You think they're alive?"
"Of course, they're breathing…"

"What are they doing here? They shouldn't have been able to find us."

"Well…yet they are here. Two guys, a girl and a little boy. What a weird group…"

"Uh…wait. I only see one guy, Where's the other?"

"Alright, who are you and why are you spying on us!" Goku yelled angrily and the others woke up immediately. Goku was holding two young men up on their shirts who tried to wiggle themselves free from his grip.

"Wait, wait!" one of them yelled. "We weren't spying on you!"

"Let them down Goku, they aren't bad boys. They just wanted to look." A familiar voice suddenly came from behind and the group looked at the old wrinkled face from the witch Baba.

"Ah!" Chichi yelled as she recognized this face and pointed with one finger at her. "The old dragon!"

"Watch what you are saying!" the old woman shouted and almost fell from her flying glass-ball. "calling me an old dragon…impudence!"

"Baba." Goku talked to her in his serious voice. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Let us explain this!" one of the two guys suddenly yelled and they stood beside each other, with a big grin in their faces. Just now Chichi saw that they were twins. "Welcome to our little hidden village! The place full of willing fighters against the rule of Freezer! We're here in order to help the legendary girl and her protector to save the world and the dimensions!"

Everybody looked in disbelief at each other, to the twins and then to the witch. Goku wasn't happy to hear this at all. More people in this meant more deaths. How could Baba do something like this?

"Stop looking at me like this!" she said as she somehow read his gaze on her. "Your time is running away, you took too long. When was it that I last saw you? Three months ago? And what are you doing? You just found two dragonballs! Don't be blind Goku, the time is drawing nearer! I was just helping out a little. Don't let yourself be stopped because of everything that happened. I told you, destiny is making it's way. And all you can do is focus on your task! Stop trying to change everything, you can't do that."

Goku couldn't respond to that. So he just clutched his fists and looked rather frustrated. Chichi touched the back of his hand and looked worriedly at him. She just understood half, but she felt he didn't feel well. "Now come." Baba addressed the whole group and flew in front of them. "I have to show you something."

And all of them followed. Slowly more and more men and even women with children were showing themselves. Chichi slowly got the feeling, that something even more was awaiting them…