A/N: Short and kinda boring but necessary. I can't reply to reviews right now but thanks so much for your responses! I'm trying to speed things up but this is honestly shaping up to be a 40+ chapter story no matter what I do.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything affiliated with it.

-MalRev

Lethal

12: Heartstrings

Gohan brought me home later on that evening. Both Vegeta and Goku were absent for the rest of the party so Bulma grudgingly suggested that he escort me back to my house. I was surprised they were willing to let me go of my own accord. Dad might have not been pushed around as much as I thought. We gathered our things, including a tray of desserts Bulma set aside for me, and bade farewell to everyone before heading out. The night was cool; a perfect autumn evening. Even better: the moon wouldn't be full for nearly another month.

We walked instead of flying. Gohan kept his hands in his pockets and was strangely calm, occasionally closing his eyes to enjoy a nice breeze. I considered dropping the desserts a few times but Bulma would find them and be awfully pissed off that I ditched her gift. Leaves crunched beneath our feet as we walked in a comfortable silence toward the glowing city where my warm bed was waiting. I'd have to invest in some of those industrial locks Goku had to keep them all away from me at night.

An idea hit me as I lazily ran over the events from the night. They all claimed Chi-Chi was sick. It was half-hearted and both Goku and Gohan didn't look happy during the conversation. If I was careful, I could fly over to her house and see if there was any truth to their statements. Gohan was helping Bulma clean up after I was home safe so it wouldn't be too hard. They might know I had regained my memories, though. If I was clueless I should have no reason to check up on her. Was it worth the risk or would it be better to take them for their word?

"I'm all set," I said, stopping suddenly. "I can walk back from here, it isn't too far. I know Bulma wanted you to help her clean up so I don't want to keep you for too long."

"It's okay; she'd rather know you're home in bed."

"I don't need a babysitter." It was really starting to annoy me that they all wanted to constantly keep an eye on my whereabouts. "Seriously, go home and let me walk by myself. I'll tell my father and he won't be too happy. He did defeat Cell, you know. Some teenager would be an easy pummeling."

Perfect. Goku had enlightened me on Cell's demise but it only helped ad to my charade. Gohan looked like he wanted to say something but shrank back and shrugged. I stood with my hands on my hips until he finally turned and flew off in the opposite direction, going towards Bulma's house. When he disappeared and I was alone for a few minutes, I aimed my energy downward and floated awkwardly into the sky before getting my balance and flying towards Mt. Paozu.

The trip only took five minutes. I landed outside the house and knocked to see if she answered the door. Nothing happened, so I quietly pushed it open and slipped inside. When I shut the door behind myself and flipped on the living room light, I saw Chi-Chi lying on the couch with a compress on her head.

"Chi-Chi?" I asked.

She raised her head and turned to look at me. Her eyes were unfocused and confused, like she couldn't recognize me. She squinted. "Videl? What are you doing here?"

"They said you were too sick to come to the party."

"I guess I'm a little under the weather." Chi-Chi pulled herself up so she was sitting and panted heavily. "The truth is, I didn't want to see them make you a Saiyan. It was bad enough when they tried to do it to me. You're a nice girl and you get along so well with Gohan, but I think you should stay away from here."

"Wait, they tried it on you?"

"Yes. It didn't work the right way. All I got were the negative traits: short temper, aggression, and a metabolism that's too fast for my human body to keep up with. They think wishing on the Dragon Balls can solve everything, but it won't. You'll be just like me and they'll have to keep you hidden away from the rest of the world. No one can know about Bulma's experiments."

My body was numb. Chi-Chi was a botched experiment. It made her life a living hell and they all ignored her as a result. Bulma didn't try counteracting the transformation and making her friend's life a bit more comfortable. Everyone was single-minded. They wanted a Saiyan female and they wanted her soon. That meant I would probably wind up on the table sooner than I had imagined.

"Why do you sound so calm about this?" I asked.

Chi-Chi put the compress on her forehead and leaned her neck back. "There's no point in getting angry anymore. I've been mildly aggressive my entire life—I'm a fighter. But it got so much worse. That's why I'm telling you to stop hanging around Gohan. You can escape if you leave now and don't return."

"It's hard to scare me. I'm more concerned about your son than anything else."

"Gohan? Oh, he's fine. I knew it would be hard for him to make friends and so did he. It would probably be better to keep him out of school."

"He's going to start opening up soon. If he's going to ever be happy in life, he needs to integrate with other people. Holing him up at the base of a mountain in the middle of nowhere will just make him even shier. I know it's a risk because of the full moon but he can hide during that."

"You barely know us. Why do you care?"

It was a simple question that I had no answer for. Why did I care?

Someone started pounding on the door and Chi-Chi rose off the couch to lead me upstairs. She opened her closet and leaned down to pull up a latch, revealing a hole in the floor. When I looked at her quizzically, she waved a hand dismissively.

"It was for Goku under the full moon when we were married. Now go, and don't come out until I come for you. Well, you can't because it doesn't open from the inside."

Chi-Chi helped me into the grotto just as the door downstairs burst open. Once I was inside, she placed a finger to her lips and shut it softly before leaving the closet, shutting the doors behind herself. Even from my little prison I could hear her press a lock into place to make sure no one went snooping inside.

There was nothing to speak of in the hole. A small cot was sitting in a corner and a toilet was in the opposite one—it was supposed to last Goku for a long time. Chi-Chi apparently kept the place clean because there wasn't a speck of dirt to be seen. I opened a big fridge to see if she kept it stocked but other than a bottle of water, it was empty. All I had left to do was worry about who had broken in to the house and whether or not Chi-Chi was okay.

The talking upstairs was hushed so I couldn't discern anything from their chat. It couldn't have been Vegeta. He would have already figured out where I was and dragged me out by the hair. That left either Goku or Gohan, neither of whom were a much better option. The wait was killing me. If they knew I was at her house and wanted me to leave, why didn't they drag me out now?

A few more minutes passed and the other person left, leaving Chi-Chi alone in her room. She opened up the hole shortly and helped me out, effortlessly lifting me like I weighed nothing. After she closed the grotto and locked the closet again, she put her two bony hands on my shoulders, tearing up a bit. It was awful to see such a well-meaning woman so upset. I felt terrible, like it was my fault.

"Fly home," Chi-Chi said. "Go to school and don't come back. For me."

It wasn't really a request anymore. I nodded and we embraced briefly before I left. As I walked away from the house, I turned to see Chi-Chi sitting by her window, sobbing into her hands.