Chapter 20 – Recovery
Chiri did not head downstairs as instructed by her mother, instead choosing to sit by herself in the small, quiet room she and her father'd recovered in. For a while she sat leaning against the wall with her knees to her chin, looking at nothing in particular and letting her thoughts run riot. Then eventually she'd taken to watching her father sleep, curious as to whether or not he really was getting better. He didn't seem as uncomfortable as he had done previously, plus his breathing seemed calmer. Her mother also reckoned he was recovering. That was something positive at least; she still had no confirmation about the identity of either of the two ki signals that had been fighting yesterday, even if Gohan reckoned one had been Piccolo. It had been a guess, it wasn't based on fact and Chiri was never satisfied until she knew herself it really, really was a fact! She had to see it for herself!
A low groan broke the rhythm of the waves and pierced the near-perfect silence, Chiri's eyes widened with surprise at the noise, unsure of what it was at first! It was then the body under the covers of her father's bed moved a little, one arm rising out of the thin sheet and resting on top of them. Chiri kept her eyes glued to her father, jaw almost agape as her heart began to pound in her chest, not entirely sure if what she was seeing was real or her mind playing tricks on her. He was conscious at the very least; was he waking up? Almost on cue the Saiyan's head rolled back as his jaw widened, a loud and deep yawn escaping his throat as the free hand rose and wiped his eyes. One dark orb emerged as his eyelids lifted half-lidded.
"... Da..." Chiri could barely get the word out – or finished! She stared dumbfounded as her dad shifted and slowly rose to a sitting position, stretching and letting out another loud yawn like a lion waking from a long and well-needed nap. "... Dad..."
Goku seemed to sense his daughter's presence and passed her a gentle, reassuring smile which only served to further the welling of emotion inside the six-year-old child. Her father, whom in Trunks' alternate time had lost the battle against the heart virus he had presently been crippled with, was now awake, sitting up and smiling at her in the same warm way he always did. She'd been determined not to give into her fears but couldn't deny she'd wondered if he would ever make it through even with Trunks' medicine. Now she knew all those fears were untrue. He was finally awake!
Chiri rushed to her feet and leapt forward at a fast pace, throwing her arms around her father's neck with a terrific howl. "DADDY! DADDY YOU'RE AWAKE!" Naturally she quickly burst into fits of tears, something to be expected of a child her age! She couldn't contain the sudden overwhelming feeling of sheer joy and worry, relieved that he was finally conscious, finally awake. All those thoughts that had raced through her mind about what it'd be like to not have her dad around anymore to look after them, how she and her mother and brother would cope, whether the fight against these androids would be truly lost as it had been in Trunks' time. Those concerns had been bottled up inside her and to now feel as if everything would be alright because her dad was ok was enough to set off the torrent that had been held back. The walls had crumbled under the weight and were now gushing out through her eyes, her wails and the strong grip of her arms around her father's neck. It was made all the more intense when Goku's strong arms wrapped loosely around her back holding her in a light hug and allowing her to sob all over his dark blue undershirt!
"Hey, what's wrong, Chiri?" The cheerful Saiyan asked in the concerned-daddy tone he often used with his two offspring.
The sudden stomping of footsteps rushing up the stairs on the other side of the door did not go unnoticed by either of the two present within the room; both sets of eyes turning to face the door. Sure enough it was almost pushed off its hinges as a panicked Chichi burst into the room, startled by her youngest child's cries. Her eyes immediately fell on her conscious husband who merely gave a small wave. "G-Goku!" Chichi shrieked with joy, suddenly squashing Chiri between her and Goku as Chichi embraced her husband in a tight hug for a few seconds, until the thought of injuring either of them crossed her mind! "Goku, are you feeling better?" She asked, eyes glistening as small beads lined her eyelashes. She too was overwhelmed by her husband's recovery and relief washed over her face, brightening it up.
"Sorry I scared you," Goku gave a nod, gently pushing his daughter away who was taken by her mother, Chichi's hands resting on Chiri's shoulders. The small child quickly rubbed her red eyes and tried to control her hiccupping; she didn't want to show her tears in front of her mother, no matter if they were tears of joy or sorrow! Both females reacted with alarm as the Saiyan warrior rose out of his sheets and onto his feet.
"Y-You shouldn't move around so much after recovering from what you had!" Chichi protested rising back to her own feet and following her husband as if the slightest movement would cause him to collapse! Fortunately Chiri could sense her dad's ki signal was a lot stronger than when he'd been sick, so she knew he would not fall. He was as energetic as ever!
"It's alright, I'm feeling as good as new," Goku sent her a reassuring smile.
Her mother would not be satisfied with that; Chiri watched silently as Chichi approached her father, "Are you sure? You're not feeling light-headed or weak?" The woman inquired, brushing her husband's bangs from his forehead and checking his temperature. Their daughter sat quietly watching with a mixture of disbelief and concern whilst her mother satisfied her own need to clarify her husband was not running a fever or about to pass out from overstraining himself. She was so relieved to see her dad back on his feet, it was like a large weight had been lifted off her mind and she could breathe once more.
It was only then she began to realise Gohan had not rushed up with their mother. "Where's Gohan?" She inquired.
"Your brother went off with everyone else looking for that Cell monster," Chichi answered, the expected note of anxiety present in her voice and written in her expression. "They all went off in Yamcha's big aircraft, something about masking their own movements so they couldn't be sensed."
Chiri nodded in understanding but was surprised Gohan had gone along with the others. Or rather she was surprised he'd been allowed to! Then again, who was this Cell monster? It had only just occurred to her she had no clue what her mother was talking about. "Who?"
"Oh, right," Chichi realised her daughter hadn't been downstairs once since she'd woken up from her sleep. "Well, Krillin and Trunks came back while you were asleep. They said something about some green bug-like monster being the one responsible for all those people vanishing. Piccolo was fighting him. His name was Cell apparently and he's supposed to be another one of the Red Ribbon Army's creations. They think Cell was the thing that came back in the time machine Bulma called about."
Chiri was astounded. Not necessarily because of the volume of information that had just come out from her mother's lips, it was the mere fact her mother had engaged her in the current situation and could tell her all she needed to know! Chiri'd always thought since her mother hated all this training and fighting, she'd also not pay any attention to the current foes or any information about them. It had surprised and impressed Chiri to see her mother did share a level of interest in the issue at hand. Still, she had never expected this vital information to come from her!
Goku strode across to the opposite end of his futon where his clothes had been piled up. Reaching down for his orange overshirt, he began to get dressed back into the rest of his fighting attire.
"You're getting dressed already?" Chichi spluttered with concern and disbelief, still struggling to come to terms with her husband's sudden energy levels. Not so long ago, he'd been weak and wrestling between the throws of life and death with a virus that supposedly could take down someone as powerful as he. Now she was supposed to believe he was suddenly completely ok? "I know you're eager to fight an' all but allow yourself to rest a little longer!" She insisted.
"G-Goku?!" Master Roshi's aged face popped around the edge of the door and he slid into the room. "S-Surely you aren't well already? What are you doing?"
"Daddy?" Chiri inquired, rising to her feet and approaching him a little. Was he going to suddenly take off without saying another word? It didn't sound like a wise idea. She'd seen him struggle against that marshmallow-looking Android Nineteen and from what she understood, Androids Sixteen, Seventeen, and Eighteen were all supposed to be much tougher than Nineteen. She'd seen it with her own eyes; Vegeta had beaten Nineteen but had lost to Eighteen... and this Cell-monster who Chiri could only assume was one of the power levels she'd sensed yesterday whom now all her dad's friends and her brother were looking for...
"I heard everyone talking in my dreams," Goku spoke not really bothering to make eye contact, too busy focusing on slipping his wristbands on. "I have a pretty good idea of what's going on. The Androids were unleashed, everyone fought them and lost... and now something terrible has happened again. A bizarre and terrifyingly large power level that feels like several different foes has appeared."
"Y-You can't fight again so soon!" Chichi protested voicing the thoughts her daughter and Roshi chose not to speak out loud, even bothering to lower her stance as Goku sat himself down and slipped his boots on! "You'll die!"
"Don't worry, I won't fight just yet," Goku responded sensing the level of worry his wife was now in, rising back to his full height and towering over the others in the room. Goku wasn't the tallest of people, some of his friends towered over him. Fortunately for the others, there was some sense in his decision not to fight immediately, the blunt and honest truth could almost always be found in Goku's words unless he was protecting someone's feelings, which didn't happen when talking about himself! "If Vegeta can't win against these androids, then neither can I. I don't need to fight them to know that... No, I'll conserve my strength and transcend the Super Saiyan state."
Chiri's eyes widened at the last part of her father's sentence. Her immediate first thought was 'What does transcend mean?' Her first proper thought was about the Super Saiyan transformation itself. She'd been told by Gohan that the Super Saiyan was a legendary transformation that only the Saiyans could do. She'd rarely had to face her father in that terrifyingly impressive state, his strength and speed usually too much for her to handle. It had seemed to provide her dad with invincibleness... until she'd seen both he and Vegeta and Trunks lose to the androids despite being Super Saiyans. It had no doubt been a humbling experience for everyone who'd witnessed it... Still, what did her dad mean by transcending the Super Saiyan?
"Is that even possible?" Master Roshi asked, blown away by his former pupil's suggestion.
"I don't know," Goku responded, "but I won't know until I try. I can't win any other way. I'll train for one year and if that's not enough, then I'll give up."
"One year?" The turtle hermit repeated, rhetorically adding, "Do we even have a year?"
"They'll destroy the planet for sure if we wait that long!" Chiri cried panicked.
"It's fine, I know of a place where I can train for one whole year in the space of a day." Goku smiled down at his daughter before turning to his wife, the smile replaced by a small frown, "Hey Chichi, is it alright if I take Gohan with me?"
Chichi scowled at her husband the instant Gohan's name was brought up. Chiri was wary of her mother when she was in this mood; she had always been very adamant on her views about her children training to fight monsters and murderers. Chiri wished her mother would see the bigger picture but all she seemed to care about was their education! As ever Chiri expected her to put up a big fuss about Gohan training.
"Not on your life..." The words spilled out of the woman's lips but were surprisingly followed by: "... is what my first reaction would normally be... but I know I can't stop you, Goku. You're always too insistent on putting our children's lives in danger! As much as I hate it, I'll have to give in..."
Chiri's eyes widened with astonishment.
Had that really just happened? What had happened to her real mother, this one had to be an imposter! First she'd given them information about this latest threat and now she was letting Goku train their children without putting up a fight! What was going on? She'd never known her father to be so uncertain about fighting an enemy and now her mother was letting Gohan be trained to fight these androids? Something was very, very wrong.
"You'd better make him as strong as you possibly can while you're at it!" Chichi added, lightly nudging her husband in the cheek with a fist. "I don't want our babies dying because you didn't train them hard enough!"
"... Chichi," Goku smiled, both surprised and relieved at how little resistance he'd encountered. His wife never failed to surprise him at times and it was such a large relief to know she'd given him her blessing to train Gohan. What had intrigued him was her reasoning in letting Gohan train; this quickly vanished as he grew excited about the prospect of getting a decent sparring partner. If what he had planned worked out then Gohan would become one of the greatest warriors on the planet.
"But," Chichi added, "You have to promise me once all the fighting is over, you'll get a job! I won't let you interfere in Gohan's studies again after this: our son – and our daughter – they're both going to get a good education, understand?"
"Sure," Goku nodded. She hadn't fully lost her will to get what she wanted; Goku wasn't really sure how much he'd enjoy the prospect of having to look for a job after the fighting stopped but if it meant he could train up his son... Maybe he could get a job doing what Master Roshi did and start to train up martial artists? The challenge wouldn't be great at first but who knew where it could take them? The money would keep Chichi happy and Goku could pass on his wisdom!
"Um..." Chiri butted in anxiously, "What about me, Daddy?" He'd mentioned training Gohan up; he hadn't said anything about training her as well. That did not sit too well in her stomach and suddenly she felt threatened by her lack of inclusion. Was she being sidelined?
Goku looked down at his daughter once more, a mixture of uncertainty and a smile on his face. He'd been thinking so much about Gohan's potential as a fighter, he'd forgotten about his daughter. She was an odd case; Goku knew Gohan had a fantastic potential inside of him, something he'd proven time and time again. The hidden abilities he had were incredibly valuable to them now, Goku had seen first-hand the kind of damage and magnitude of power the sudden outburst did to his son's ki signal. He'd turned from a boy with a small power level to a monstrous ball of untamed power, capable of damaging his own uncle Raditz with one strike, something neither Goku nor Piccolo had been able to achieve during their fight! If that power could be harnessed...
So what about Chiri? Goku hadn't seen anything similar in his daughter compared to Gohan's power, though she did have some favourable characteristics. For one she seemed very enthusiastic in training and fighting and always gave her all. She'd been a fast learner with ki manipulation. Furthermore she had that all-important unyielding spirit to always keep going, to never give in. On several occasions Chiri had kept on fighting until her body forced her to stop, often she would knock herself out with exhaustion and often Goku was having to carry her back home rather than her returning on her own steam. She had a lot of drive and determination in her, even if her childhood innocence still played a large part in her personality. She'd also participated in one serious battle prior to their latest problem and had pulled through without major injuries...
"Hold on," Chichi's voice cut through her husband's thoughts; the woman knelt down to her daughter's height so they were eye-to-eye, placing her hands on Chiri's shoulders. "Chiri, do you realise what your father and brother are about to do?"
"Yeah," Chiri nodded, "They're going to train to get better than the androids. I wanna do that too, Mother. I wanna get stronger so I don't have to be scared of them anymore. I can do something, I know I can. I really don't wanna not do anything, I wanna help too."
Chichi's face wrinkled a little as the frown on her face intensified, a small panic slowly bubbling away. She'd agreed that her son could train, knowing her husband would do all he could to make him as strong as possible. Chichi had faith in her husband and son; they'd both been in past battles saving this planet and other planets. Her daughter was a different matter. This was her first real and engaging battle, her first proper threat to her life... and as she had done with her son, Chichi wasn't sure she could let her younger baby go off into the fray.
"Chiri's the only one that fought against the other androids, right?" Goku asked.
Chiri nodded, "Yeah, I couldn't do much against them I'm afraid," She mumbled with embarrassment and shame. Having to admit her failures was one thing but to have to admit them to two of the people she most wanted to impress was a humiliation in itself. "... I tried my hardest but they were too much for me... That's why I wanna train too." She looked across from her father to her mother a couple of times. "I don't wanna be useless; I don't wanna keep on losing in fights. I wanna get better so I can beat the bad guys and help save everyone."
Chichi took in a small breath and looked into her daughter's eyes. "... You're just a child, Chiri." She spoke.
"I know... but..." Chiri looked away, averting her eyes to her father. "I can do something; I wanna do something to help. I don't wanna be left behind." The last few sentences had been directed more towards her father than her mother. Chiri was afraid her dad didn't see any point in training her and it scared her; she didn't want to be left while he and her brother continued to grow stronger.
"... If you're willing to work harder than you've ever worked before, I'll take you along," Goku answered finally. He wasn't sure how fitting Chiri into his plan was going to work, perhaps he could ask someone like Piccolo to train her, or maybe Tenshinhan? It would be a tough call but he could see the drive and willingness in his daughter's eyes and knew she would not let him down. However, he couldn't shake off the feeling he was dragging her into this. She wasn't like her brother, she was far more innocent and naive. Would this be one of the biggest mistakes of their lives? Goku hoped not. His daughter had to pull through.
Chiri nodded her head feverishly, "I'll work harder than ever before, I promise!"
"... Chichi?" Goku looked to his wife.
Chichi sighed and slowly rose to her feet, a dejected look on her face. "... She'll go even if I say no, so make sure you really do train hard, Chiri."
Chiri beamed with relief. "Thank you, Mother!"
"Grab hold," Goku held one hand out, his other clenching into a fist except for his index and middle fingers which were pinned together. They pointed straight for his forehead, lightly brushing it as he began to concentrate on locating Piccolo's ki, feeling his daughter grab onto his other hand with both of her smaller hands. He gave a quick smile to his wife and former mentor before suddenly he and Chiri vanished from their view.
Chiri's stomach felt bizarre and whirled around, body reflexively jolting as the scenery around her suddenly changed! It took her a moment before she realised the sound of engines were because she was inside an aircraft, or to be more precise, Yamcha's transporter craft! Several exclaiming voices hit her ears, most of them crying out her father's name.
"Dad!" Gohan gasped with joy, half surprised and half relieved to see his father fully recovered and on his feet. The Saiyan's appearance had brought many weights off of hearts and his friends were overjoyed to see him. Krillin even rushed up and hugged him, almost pushing them through the back hatch of the craft! Chiri watched without saying a word, just enjoying seeing the happiness on everyone's faces. It was the first time she'd seen all of them look this pleased and it gave her a warm feeling in her stomach.
"How did you even get here so fast?" Krillin asked baffled. "Man, that Instant Transmission technique of yours is awesome! I don't think I'll ever get used to it!"
"Are you really feeling all better now, Dad?" Gohan asked.
"Yep, I'm as good as new!" Goku responded, raising one hand a little to his stomach. "To tell the truth, I'm pretty hungry. I haven't eaten anything since that senzu bean you gave me, Krillin." His gaze averted away from them and fell upon the Namekian, who'd remained seated against the side of the craft. Without another word he approached him, hesitant and contemplating something before a smile emerged. "Kamicollo? ... Or would it be Pickami?"
"Don't merge the names too!" The Namekian growled. "I'm mostly still Piccolo anyway."
Chiri pulled a face wondering what her father was talking about! "What's he mean?" She whispered to her brother. "I thought Dad knew Piccolo's name..."
"Piccolo fused with Kami," Gohan began to answer, then realised his sister hadn't actually met Kami before! "Kami's the guy Piccolo used to be split from... it's a really long story! Anyway, Kami and Piccolo rejoined to create the person you see here. He even fought the monster we've been looking for! You remember that weird ki signal we felt before you ran off after Trunks and Krillin? That power belongs to another android called Cell."
"... Mother said about that." Chiri mused, pleased to see the look of disbelief on her brother's face. "I was really surprised when she told me all about it!" She turned her attention back towards her father and Piccolo; Goku seemed to be in the middle of a suggestion from what she could tell. She still couldn't get over how relieved she felt knowing her dad was now once again a valuable asset to their team; things always felt so much better when he was around. Chiri hadn't realised just how much she needed him to be there for them all and just how unsettled she'd felt over the past few days whilst he'd been ill.
"I don't think I could beat the androids or Cell with my current power," Goku was saying. "I'm going to go train with Gohan in that room where we can get a year's worth of training within a day."
"What? There's a place like that?" Tenshinhan asked intrigued.
"How is that even possible?" Yamcha asked, a little sceptical.
"So you wish to use the Room of Spirit and Time?" Piccolo asked confirming his suspicions, Goku giving him a nod. "... Of course... but you do remember your last ordeal in that room, right? No one has been able to stay in there for the entire year. You yourself spent barely a month inside the chamber – you didn't even make it out onto the outer world of the dimension!"
"I know," Goku sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, he remembered the struggles of the room very well. Scorching temperatures quickly plummeted to freezing blizzards; he recalled spending most of his time attempting to get used to the strong tug that the outside world had on him, something he wouldn't come across again until his journey to Kaio's planet. He now understood that tug to have been gravity – specifically ten times Earth's normal gravity. He could handle it now with little problem; he'd trained in far higher gravitational pulls on his way to Namek. "I was thinking of taking Vegeta and Trunks too, they should be able to handle it. Chiri would like to give it a try as well, if someone will take her in there."
Chiri felt her stomach twist itself in knots, hoping someone would indeed train with her in this strange place. It was beyond her to work out just how a year inside would work out to be a day outside... whatever that was supposed to mean!
"Then you'd better go quickly," Piccolo nodded. "Cell grows stronger and stronger every minute. He's already killed thousands of people and we can't afford for him to get a hold of one android, let alone both of them!"
"Right," Goku nodded, turning his gaze back to his children who had not removed theirs from him. "Gohan, Chiri, take my hand."
Gohan was about to reach out when something out of the corner of his eye stopped him. A glint of light dimmed the insides of the craft, light pouring in from the port side of the plane.
With that little bit of warning, the craft suddenly rocked violently, erupting in a large cloud of debris and smoke as the engines caught fire and exploded.