PART TWENTY-SIX: MEMORIES

"Memories are bullets. Some whiz by you and only spook you. Others tear you open and leave you in pieces." - Richard Kadrey

Keeping true to their word, a few days later, Vegeta, King Vegeta, and Goku were able to gather all seven of the dragon balls. As the three of them gathered on the lawn, the dragon balls lit up and waited for Goku to summon Shenron. With two wishes left, they used the first wish to bring Clara back to life. As they wished her back, she noticed the halo above her head disappear and her body become alive. With the second and final wish, they wished for Clara's memories to be returned. Still on King Kai's planet, Clara fell to her knees in immense pain and covered her eyes with her hands. My head's about to explode, she thought to herself as tears filled her eyes. King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory stood behind the young Saiyan, feeling completely helpless. Within a few seconds, Goku used his instant transmission to appear next to her. As he knelt down on his right knee on her left side, he wrapped his right arm over her back and pulled her close to him as she screamed and cried from the pain.

"I'm right here," Goku quietly said to her as he sat completely on the ground and pulled her over so that she was laying on her left side in his lap with her back towards him. With his right hand, he reached over and rubbed her forehead as she continued to hold her fingers over her eyes and convulse in pain. After about forty-five seconds, she dropped her hands from her eyes, and her body quit trembling. "Hey, are you alright?" Goku asked, sounding concerned at he continued to rub her forehead.

"Is she okay?" King Kai asked after witnessing the event that just happened right in front of him.

"I'm not sure," Goku admitted as he looked down at the young Saiyan who was laying her head in his lap. "She's still breathing though."

"I'm gonna get her out of here," Goku finally said after a few seconds of silence. He picked up the unconscious Saiyan and carried her bridal style. With his right hand under her legs, he pulled his hand close to his forehead and used instant transmission to take her back to the Capsule Corp front lawn.

"What happened to her?" King Vegeta demanded to know as he saw Goku arrive back with the unconscious Clara in his arms.

"She's fine," Goku said quietly as he walked past the Saiyan King and Vegeta. "She just needs to rest."

"Her room is on the second floor on the right," Vegeta told Goku.

"Got it," Goku replied quietly as he continued to look at Clara and walk through the front doors. "Please be alright," he whispered to her as he started up the stairs. Once he reached her room, he heard Vegeta walk in behind him.

"Hey," Vegeta said as he walked up to Goku who was still carrying his sister.

"She's gonna be fine, Vegeta," Goku said as he went to lay Clara down on her bed.

"I know she is," Vegeta scoffed. "Hang on a second." Vegeta moved Goku aside and turned back the blankets on the bed so that his little sister would be covered up. "There," he said as he moved away from the bed and headed back towards the door. "Now she won't be cold."

Once Vegeta closed the door after walking out of the room, Goku gently laid the unconscious Saiyan on the bed. After he had her laid down on her back, he took her tennis shoes off and set them on the floor by the bed before covering her up with that blanket.

"Hey, beautiful," he said quietly as squatted down by her bed and pushed her hair out of her face. "Is that wrong of me to say?" he asked as he crossed his arms on the edge of the bed and laid his chin on them. "I guess not – especially if it's true," he answered his own question. "I know you'll pull out of this, it's only a matter of time. And when you do, I'll be right here," he continued to tell her as he stroked her hair. "There are so many things that we need your help with."

"Like what?" Clara asked silently as she began to open her eyes and turn her head towards Goku.

"Hey, you're awake," Goku said quietly with a smile.

"Clearly," she chuckled.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as she closed her eyes again.

"I'm not sure," she said quietly as she turned her head back in the center and took a deep breath in. "Confused, I guess."

"Confused?" Goku asked curiously. "I thought Shenron returned your -,"

"He did," Clara said as she cut him off.

"I'll be right back," Goku said as he began to stand up. "I'm gonna go get your father and brother."

"No, don't," she said as she turned her head back towards him, opened her eyes, and grabbed his right arm. "Don't get them yet."

"Okay," he said quietly as he knelt back down by her bed. "What do you remember?"

"Everything," she whispered with a half-smile. "But what's most important is that Gurki is stopped."

"I know," Goku replied as he nodded his head. "We kinda already came up with a plan to take care of her."

"Really?" Clara asked with disbelief on her face. "The only time she's able to go into a female Saiyan is the moment they are born," Clara explained. "You'd have to somehow get a newborn Saiyan female."

"Yeah," Goku chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "About that. We kinda already -,"

"Wait," she interrupted Goku. "Don't tell me that Bulma told you guys that she's pregnant. Goku, that's not true."

"Yeah, we figured that out," Goku confessed. "Vegeta caught onto her, but none of that matters anymore."

"Well then, what did you guys come up with?" She asked curiously. "If only it were possible to put her back in me – I could control her, but I doubt she'd take the bait."

"Huh? Why do you say that?" Goku asked.

"Because," Clara began to explain. "I was able to control her 100%. I was able to tap into her power when and if I needed it, but I also knew how to not let her take control of me. That's why she left when she did. She knew that if I regained my memories before she left my body, then she would lose her chance to be free again, but she also wanted to make sure that I was dead in the process."

"Then why didn't she leave when you first forgot how to control her?" Goku wondered.

"Because she craves power. She stays in the body for as long as she possibly can – absorbing the power that the host gains, and then leaves when the host dies to move on to the next newborn female; however, she didn't plan you coming in to take me to King Kai's planet or wishing me back to life."

"Well, do you think she'd take the bait if there was a newborn Saiyan female?" Goku asked curiously.

"Absolutely," Clara confirmed. "She's a Saiyan above all things. All she wants is to feel like a Saiyan again and to gain as much power as she can for as long as she can, but there would have to be a newborn Saiyan female first."

"Yeah, that's what King Vegeta said," Goku nodded. "We may have come up with a plan to get one while you were gone."

"Really?" Clara said as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "How?"

Before Goku began explaining the plan that had been agreed upon, he grabbed Clara's hand and held it close to him. "Bulma has come up with a way to guarantee that you and I to have a girl," he said simply.

"What?" Clara asked, sounding as if all her breath escaped her.

"We aren't completely sure if Gurki can inhabit the body of a half-Saiyan, and it's too big of a risk to take," Goku explained. "But we know for a fact that she can take inhabit the body of a full blood, and since you and I are the only full bloods that aren't family, it has to be us."

"Goku," she said, still sounding out of breath.

"I know it's a huge decision, but it's for the sake of the planet and everyone on it," Goku began to ramble. "It took me a little bit to finally -,"

"I can't," she cut him off – catching Goku by surprise and at a loss for words.

"But, Clara -," he began.

"That's not my name," she quietly interrupted him again. "It's Kali – Queen Kali Erebus."

"Queen?" Goku asked quietly with shock on his face.

"Yes," she quietly confirmed. "My husband is King Cretos Erebus."

"Husband?" Goku asked, still having shock on his face.

"Yes," Clara nodded. "We are the King and Queen of a race of people called the Sroids on the planet named Erebus."

"I've never heard of that planet," Goku confessed, still shocked.

"You wouldn't have," Clara chuckled. "It's at the far end of the Western galaxy – almost at the end of the universe."

"Well," Goku sighed. "I guess we'll have to find some other way to handle Gurki. I'm sure you'd like to go back home."

"You really are an idiot sometimes, aren't you?" She chuckled. "Aren't you forgetting? I came here for a reason. I came here to get help killing my husband."

At the sound of her statement, pure disbelief and shock came across Goku's face once again. "Killing your husband?" He asked, making sure he heard her right.

"Yes," she confirmed as she swung her legs over and stood up out of the bed. "I think it's time to clue the others in."

"Hang on," Goku said as he grabbed her right arm while she was heading for the door. "What did he do to make you want him dead?"

"Just follow me," she said quietly. The two Saiyans walked out of the bedroom and started down to the kitchen where the Saiyan Prince and King were pigging out on lunch.

" 'You know the things you put in your head stay there, right?'

'Yeah, but you remember some things, don't you?'

'Yeah, you remember the things you want to forget and forget the things you

want to remember' " - Cormac McCarthy, The Road

"So, why do we need to kill your husband?" King Vegeta asked as he and his son continued to eat their food.

"I don't need to give a reason," Clara told them bluntly. "I just need him dead, and I'm not strong enough to do it on my own."

"Frankly, I don't care what the reason is," Vegeta scoffed. "Whatever he did must have been bad enough for you to come all this way for help."

"It was," Clara quietly confirmed, almost in tears

"I never would have guessed," King Vegeta scoffed. "My daughter – the Queen of the Sroids."

"You talk like you know them or something," Clara pointed out.

"Because I do," King Vegeta said casually before taking a bite of out of the chicken leg that he was holding. After seeing the other three Saiyans looking at him, waiting for an explanation, he put down his chicken leg, let out a sigh, and began to explain. "Long ago," he began, "The Saiyans and the Sroids lived together on Planet Sadala – the planet that the Saiyans had before Planet Plant and then later Planet Vegeta. The Saiyans and the Sroids became enemies, and a war broke out that caused each race to go find a new home before the planet exploded. The Sroids moved the Planet Erebus, and the Saiyans moved to Planet Plant, and lived with the Tuffles until I took it from the Tuffles. That's all you need to know," he finished before picking his chicken leg back up and taking another bite.

"I knew the Sroids didn't like the Saiyans, but I was told that the Saiyans forced the Sroids to leave Planet Sadala," Clara added.

"More like the Sroids blew the planet up," King Vegeta scoffed. "But anyways, I've got no problem in killing the Sroidian King."

"Same here," Vegeta added with his mouth full.

"Aren't we forgetting what's really important here?" Goku butted in. "What about Gurki?" The eating Saiyans stopped eating at the sound of the name and looked at each other before looking at Clara and Goku who were standing at the head of the table still.

"Clara, or Kali, or whatever you want me to call you -," King Vegeta began.

"Clara," she interrupted bluntly. "And if you're going to tell me about what you all planned, then I should tell you that I already know about it, but I can't do it. I'm sorry."

"Do you realize that the planet will be blown up if we don't contain her?" Vegeta asked as he stood up from his seat and walked towards his daughter.

"I know that, Vegeta," Clara said sternly. "I just can't."

"Is it because you're married?" King Vegeta asked. "Goku's married, and he still agreed to it."

"It would be a mistake, trust me," Clara quietly insisted as her father stood in front of her. "The last thing you want is a child in my possession." After the words left her mouth, tears began to fill her eyes, and even though she did everything in her power to keep them from falling, her willpower was no match for the pain she felt. As she stood there with quiet tears running down her face, Goku placed his left hand on her right shoulder and wiped her tears away with his right hand.

"Can you take me to my ship?" She quietly asked Goku as she sniffled.

"Sure thing," he said with a half-smile.

"Dad, Vegeta, stay here," she told them as she and Goku headed towards the front door. "We'll be right back."

"Can you fly?" Goku asked her as they stepped outside.

"No, not anymore," she admitted. "I was only able to fly if I had Gurki's power."

"Alrighty then," Goku said as he bent down and picked Clara up bridal style. "This is much faster than walking."

"There it is," Clara said as they came up on the crash site. "Do you think they'll ever move it?" She asked as Goku landed.

"That's a good question," Goku said as Clara jumped down from his arms. "I'm sure Bulma could have had some people sent out here to move it."

"Yeah, I don't trust her," Clara scoffed as she made her way towards the destroyed ship with Goku following.

"Bulma can be kinda…stubborn, I guess would be the word," Goku began. "She likes to get what she wants."

"You don't say?" Clara said nonchalantly as she neared the busted out windshield that had been used as the entryway. As she and Goku got inside the ship, they had to duck in order to not hit the ceiling.

"Sheesh," Goku said as he took in the surroundings. "How did you survive this?"

"I wish I knew the answer," Clara said as she made her way to the back of the ship. "I guess it was just luck," she said quietly. "Here they are," she said as she got to the back of the ship and saw her belongings that she had dumped out on the floor. Once she got to the pile of keepsakes, she sat down on one side, and Goku sat down on the other side across from her.

"What is all this stuff?" Goku asked as he began to look at all the different objects. Before she began explaining, she took the little red cape out of her back jeans pocket and held it in her hands.

"This is my cape," she said with a short smirk on her face. "It's what my dad wrapped me in when he sent me away as a newborn. When I landed on Earth in 1882, the elderly couple who found me kept me for a few years – until I was six, before finally deciding to send me back to where I came from because I was too much for them to handle, and because I had a tail, they were embarrassed to be seen with me. Since my ship was programmed to go back to the time and planet that I came from, all they had to do was press a button, and voila, I was out of their hair. What they didn't know is that Planet Vegeta had been destroyed, so the machine took me to a random planet in a different time. I ended up on Planet Erebus in their year 552 which translates to 1998 on Earth. When I landed, they knew exactly what I was due to my tail that they eventually cut off and my cape that I used as a security blanket that symbolized me as royalty, and as you know, they aren't exactly a fan of the Saiyans. From the time I landed until the time I was eighteen, I was a servant for the royal family. They knew about Gurki because they had lived with the Saiyans when my great-great-grandmother was taken over by her. The one good thing that they did for me was teach me how to keep her under control. They trained me in weapons so that I never had to use energy – which is why I can't fly or use blasts – I've never known how. When someone uses energy for anything besides necessities and has Gurki in their body, Gurki is able to take over. Once I was eighteen, I married the Sroidian Prince, Cretos. Two years later, his parents, the king and queen, died from unknown causes, and we took our throne."

"Woah," Goku said in surprise as Clara stood up from the keepsakes and walked over to the wall.

"There's another hidden compartment in here," she said as she ran her hands along the wall, and eventually opening up a secret cubby about the size of a safety deposit box. "This was taken on our wedding day," she said as she took a picture out of the small compartment and sat back down. The picture depicted a younger Clara and a young Prince Cretos at their wedding, standing in front of the king and queen's throne in a close embrace. The picture showed a gorgeous eighteen-year-old Clara in a beautiful white gown with gold accents on the collar. Her face was flawless as she looked up to her new husband with loving eyes. Her hair was down and looked beautiful with a white rose in it, and on her right wrist was a gorgeous corsage. Her husband, Cretos, wore the traditional prince's uniform – a black body suit with white armor accented in gold and a red cape hanging down behind him. His light brown hair went down to his collar bone, his ice blue eyes looked right towards the camera, and on the left side of his face, crossing over his lips, was a long scar.

Wow, Goku thought as he looked at the picture. She's so…

"You look so gorgeous," Goku uttered without thinking, but then soon realized what he had said. "So, uh, how did he get that scar?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Nice save," she chuckled, making Goku blush. "He got that from me," she began as a smirk came across her face. "He was seven when I landed there, and one time, he got on my nerves while I was training and so I cut him with one of my kunais."

"So, I'm guessing that's why you have these?" Goku asked as he put down the picture and picked up the knives.

"Those are my best weapons," she nodded. "My aim is nearly perfect every single time. I have other weapons, but they're at the palace."

"That's Cretos' necklace," she said as Goku went to grab the necklace with the skull and sword on it.

"Why do you have it if you want him dead?" Goku asked. "It's precious to him – it symbolizes him as a warrior. He took something that was precious to me, so I took something that was precious to him."

"What did he take?" Goku asked quietly, sounding concerned.

"This," she said as she held up the small tube with ashes in it.

"What is it?" Goku asked as she held the tube up to him. After he asked, Clara looked at the tube again, held it close to her chest with her left hand, and tears began to fill her eyes once more. As she looked at it, her heart fell to the floor and breathing became almost impossible.

"It's the reason why I want my husband dead," she said with coldness in her voice.

"Clara," Goku said quietly as he reached his hand out to her and grabbed her right hand. "What's in there?" Without answering him, tears began to roll down her eyes once more, and yet again, they were wiped away with Goku's free hand. "Hey, you can tell me anything," he said, sounding assuring.

"Camilla," she said quietly as she took a deep breath in and closed her eyes to stop the tears from flowing. "Her name was Camilla – Princess Camilla," she continued with a calm voice. "Our daughter, our little girl."

"What did he do to her?" Goku asked with a worried tone.

"He didn't want to risk Gurki leaving my body to take hers, so he did what he felt he had to do – he killed her two days after she was born – the one time I didn't have her clinging to me. That's why I can't be a mother to another daughter, or child for that matter. The second I turn my back is the second that something will happen."

"That's not true," Goku said in a semi-stern voice as he picked Clara's head up under her chin with his right hand to get her to look at him. "Listen to me, you can't blame yourself for his actions. The way I see it, he's a coward. He's a sorry excuse for a king, husband, and father, but the woman I see sitting across from me is strong, beautiful, and a kind hearted person who I'm sure is the best queen to a race of people, wife to a cowardly husband, and mother to a princess who did and still does love you. You're not the one at fault for what he did – he is."

"You're the first person to tell me that, ya know," Clara said quietly as she looked back down. "I left our planet to come here five days after she was killed because I had learned some things that I wasn't supposed to know, and that's when I decided that I needed to get help to get rid of him. During those five days, everyone from him to the cooks, maids, and even members of our military told me that if I had been watching her, she wouldn't be dead."

"Well, I'll say it again," Goku said. "You're not the one to blame, and I promise you – I promise on my life that absolutely no harm will come to our daughter," he said with seriousness in his voice.

What is it about you? Clara asked herself. What is it that makes you so…trustworthy? How is it that whenever you speak, everything just seems to get better?

"You know, if…if you wanna go through with the plan," Goku nervously chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, I know Bulma's already got everything she needs, and all you really have to do is go see her so she can do what she has to do to get things going."

"Who all is going to know about this?" Clara asked as she looked up and interrupted Goku's rambling.

"Uh…you, me, Bulma, Vegeta, and your father," Goku answered.

"What about your wife?" Clara asked with suspicion. "You're just gonna keep something this big from her."

"I'm actually not sure," Goku answered with all honesty. "I mean, I'm technically not cheating on her, and it's to help save the planet, but then again, she might not appreciate another woman carrying my child."

"Well, if I had two children with a man that I was married to, and it turned out that he had to have another child with someone of the same species as him in order to save the planet that my children and I live on, then I'd send him with some candles, rose petals, some expensive champagne, and money for a nice hotel room with reservations for two," Clara slightly chuckled.

"I've actually been wanting another one," Goku nervously confessed with a slight chuckle. "I missed out on a lot of years with my sons, and I kinda want to have a redo."

"Then why not have one with your wife?" Clara suggested. "I mean, don't let the one that we have to have stop you."

"Trust me," Goku smirked. "I want to, but apparently after a certain age, women can't have kids anymore or else it gets too dangerous when they go to have them."

"Huh, that's strange. I know that Saiyan males and females age at a much slower rate than humans, and can have them at any time without consequences," Clara casually replied.

"Yeah, I know," Goku nodded. "I love our two boys completely, but I just wish she would have given me one more, you know? Who knows what he or she could have been like."

"I guess you've forgotten about me," Clara chuckled. "If Bulma knows what she's doing, then I'm giving you a girl," she reminded him with a half-smile.

Her smile, Goku thought as he looked at the half-smile creep across Clara's face.

"I know," Goku assured her with a smirk. "And I'm thankful for that, I am, but I just don't like how I won't be able to show her off, let everyone know that I'm proud to be her father, and have to keep her secret from ChiChi and the boys."

"You can do those things," Clara insisted. "It's your choice whether you keep her a secret or not – I know I'll be proud of who her father is."

"If they find out, it'll ruin my marriage and maybe even my relationships with my sons," Goku noted.

"If I had a spouse that would have a problem with me doing what was necessary to save the planet, they wouldn't be my spouse for much longer," Clara began. "And if my children were actually a part of me, they'd be understanding. I don't see why they would be upset anyways. It's not like you're having an affair with me. I'm the last full-blooded female Saiyan and you're the only full-blood male that's not family. We aren't doing this for the fun of it. We're doing this to save the planet – including your wife and sons, and we're also putting a new full-blooded female Saiyan out there who will in turn produce half-breeds. It's part of life – it's procreation – it's how a species grows, especially one that's on the brink of extinction."

"You're right," Goku nodded in agreement. "But it would take more than one full-blooded female Saiyan to help start restoring a species."

"Well then after this one is a couple years old, I'll have another one," Clara casually shrugged as she looked back down to the floor.

"Really?" Goku asked sounding surprised. "Just like that?"

"If it means producing Saiyan warriors and cementing a future for our species, then yes, I'll do whatever it takes," Clara said with determination.

"Yeah, but I don't know if I can do that cup thing again," Goku said as he blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "It was really weird the first time."

"Then how about we save that one for another time?" Clara said in a suggesting tone as she looked at Goku who had his eyes closed and looked like he was trying to keep words from coming out of his mouth.

I can't take this anymore, he thought as he opened his eyes and saw the gorgeous young Saiyan looking at him. Without warning, he quickly moved towards Clara so that he was mere centimeters from her face.

"What're you-," she began, sounding breathless but was then cut off when he gently put his right hand against her left cheek. With his left hand, he gently moved all of the keepsakes out from in between the two of them, and after all of her valuables were out of the way, he leaned her back onto her back and laid his body on top of her with only about six inches separating the two.

"I think they can hang on for a few more minutes," Goku chuckled in her ear as he leaned down to her neck.