CHAPTER 29: Time's Running Out


Looking forward three years seems like a long time; looking back it goes by in the blink of an eye. Keiko couldn't believe it when she looked at the calendar to see that is was May 9th, and in three days the androids would be arriving. The only signs that she had that it had been three years was the fact that everyone was now three years older. The little Gohan wasn't so little anymore, as now he was ten years old and would be eleven very soon. Three years hadn't aged Keiko very much except for the fact that she had allowed her dark hair to grow out to the middle of her waist. The years hadn't really touched Goku either, but the three years did do something for one of her friends. Bulma still looked as lovely as ever, but now she was balancing a baby on her hip, and for that reason Keiko hadn't seen her very much since the little boy had been born. Keiko had suspected that something was going on between Vegeta and Bulma, but the birth of their son five months ago just proved it. Everyone was shocked at the news, but for some reason Goku wasn't very surprised. After hours of pestering, whining, bugging, and being flat out annoying Keiko got Goku to tell her why. Apparently the boy who came back from the future was actually Vegeta and Bulma's son, so the baby Trunks Keiko had held was the same Trunks that had come to warn them of the androids. Keiko was blown away by the news, but she promised to not tell Bulma, or anyone else for that matter.

Time had been moving quickly anyway, but things seemed to catapult forward after the birth of Trunks. Keiko had completely lost track of time, because now she was not only thinking about training but her mind was also focused on being Trunk's newly appointed godmother. The past month had actually calmed down some, after all the stress of training everyone decided that they needed to make sure they were well rested and ready for the androids. They kept training, but it slowed down enough to allow Keiko to catch up with Bulma and finally be able to spend more time with her and her adorable, lavender haired boy.

Although everyone else had begun easing up on the training, Piccolo wasn't just going to take it easy for the last month before the androids arrived. Piccolo had already begun training more on his own, considering he didn't stay around during those months where training occurred at Keiko's. Even though he wasn't around as much, Piccolo still trained at the Son house, and as the years past he began a secret campaign that focused on Keiko. The Namek and Keiko had never been close, but as the androids arrival was quickly approaching, he knew that a lot of the pressure to win this fight would be put on Goku, and as far as he knew Keiko had yet to take the Namekian's advice.

The Namek saw the uncertainty between Goku and Keiko, and it made him sneer in frustration. He had explicitly told the woman that she needed to figure it out, but from what he concluded Keiko had figured nothing out. Piccolo wondered what would drive the two to live in such uncertainty, they had brought this upon themselves and now they needed to deal with it. No one else seemed to see how the Saiyan and the female acted around each other, and this just further frustrated Piccolo. He was sure that if nothing was figured out between the two, then someone would catch on and this would cause unnecessary drama. They were already preparing to fight androids, the last thing any of them needed was Chi-Chi in tears and Goku torn between two women.

At first Piccolo decided to be subtle, only bringing the subject up with Keiko every once in a while, but this plan had issues. Keiko was hardly ever alone, and as soon as Piccolo would try to talk to her someone always showed up. When Keiko wasn't with Goku, she was with Gohan, and the only time she was alone was when she was sleeping, and Piccolo knew better than to try to talk to her then. He wanted to convince her to figure out her relationship with Goku, not creep her out. The first time he finally got to talk to her, it was a short conversation, and Keiko simply said 'I'm working on it'. A year later and nothing had been worked on and Piccolo was getting tired of trying to play matchmaker, and although he just wanted to give up he wasn't willing to risk the safety of the Earth all because some Saiyan and a human couldn't figure out their emotions. In vain Piccolo continued trying to talk to Keiko, or to give her hints that she needed to take this seriously, but no matter what he did the human female didn't seem in any rush to come to conclusions about her relationship. Piccolo thought about possibly confronting Goku about this, but he realized that it would be hopeless because the only way the Saiyan's mind would be eased was if Keiko talked to him, not Piccolo.

Finally Piccolo was done beating around the bush, he was exhausted, anxious, and above all he was fed up with being matchmaker for the sake of humanity. He had been training out in the desert, trying to mediate, but unfortunately he couldn't calm his mind. He kept thinking of all the possible scenarios that could happen in the fight, and one possibility kept playing over and over. Piccolo knew for a fact Keiko wouldn't just stay home when the fight would be occurring in three days, which made this scenario all the more likely. The same thing that happened on Namek could happen again, meaning that the androids could take Keiko. If the androids had half a brain then they too would be able to detect the relationship between Goku and Keiko, and when Goku began winning they would turn to desperation. They would hold Keiko hostage, threatening that if Goku tried to attack they would kill her. Due to the unresolved feelings, Goku would be left helpless, not knowing what to do and his decision making would be clouded. Cities could be destroyed, countless people murdered, all because Goku would value Keiko's life over anything else. After playing through this scenario countless times Piccolo's eyes finally snapped open and he flew up into the sky and towards Keiko's house.

"Hey Piccolo!" Goku, Gohan, and Keiko had been sitting out on the grass in the front yard, taking a break from their light training by drinking lemonade and watching the sky. Goku had been the first to sense the Namek heading their way and as he sat up and looked to his right he saw Piccolo quickly flying towards them, "So you decided to show up to the party! Well sorry to break it to you but you're a day early," Goku laughed as he watched the Namek land in front of him, "And at the wrong place. We're all meeting at Roshi's tomorrow remember?" Considering what they would all be facing, everyone thought it would be nice to spend one day with each other where they didn't have to worry about the androids. Not everyone would be able to go, like Bulma who said Trunks had been coughing recently so she needed to stay home with him, but for those who did go it would prove to be a nice day of relaxation.

"I'm not going to your dumb reunion party," Piccolo snarled, his agitated voice causing both Gohan and Keiko to sit up and look at him.

"You're not?" Gohan raised an eyebrow, unsure as to why his mentor was in such a bad mood, "You promised you would," he pointed out, remembering that when the plans were being formed Piccolo had agreed to attend.

"Fine," Piccolo angrily sighed, "I'll go."

"Great!" Goku grinned, "Then what are you doing here? You wanna train in the gravity chamber one more time before the androids get here huh Piccolo?"

"No! I don't want to train in your gravity chamber; I'm here to talk to Keiko!"

"Keiko?" Goku looked to his side to see the female looking rather confused, "Why do you want to talk to Keiko? And why are you so mad Piccolo?" the Saiyan turned his attention back to Piccolo, "Did you not take a nap today?"

"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?" the Namekian yelled as a vain in on his forehead became swelled and prominent.

"Because if you took a nap you may not be so angry," Goku explained, obviously not seeing that he was just further infuriating Piccolo.

"I don't have time for this," Piccolo closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down. He hadn't been able to properly mediate for days and it was started to eat away at his patience, "Keiko," he snapped his eyes open and looked down at the female, "Can I talk to you, privately?"

"Uhhhh sure," Keiko said slowly as she pushed herself up off the ground.

"Follow me," Piccolo said softly as he blasted off into the air, and Keiko quickly followed that way she wouldn't be left behind. Keiko had gotten much faster while flying, so keeping up with Piccolo wasn't as much of a struggle as it would have been three years ago. After flying at high speeds for a little while they finally landed in the middle of the desert.

"When you said privately you weren't joking," Keiko commented as her feet hit the soft ground, the wind whipping her long hair in front of her face.

"You need to figure out what is going on between you and Goku."

"Wow you're wasting no time."

"I'm not here to joke around with you," Piccolo crossed his arms over his chest, his white cape being blown to the side by the wind, "I've been trying to be discrete about this but that obviously doesn't work with you, so I'm going to be blunt," the Namekian paused as he made eye contact with Keiko, "If you do not figure out what is going on between you and Goku, we could lose the fight with the androids and in the end our world will look just like the future- burned to the ground with hardly a trace of humanity."

"I feel like you're being a little extreme," Keiko saw that her words weren't what Piccolo wanted to hear, but she continued anyway, "I mean me and Goku not knowing exactly what our relationship is doesn't seem like the catalyst to the end of the world."

"Can you think for a second!" Piccolo had been this plaguing his mind for days and he wasn't about to let Keiko just skim over it like it was nothing, "If you get hurt in the fight, or if the androids take you, do you know what that would do to Goku! Any hope of him being rational, any hope of him doing anything to save the world will be lost all because he is unsure about what you and him are to each other! His mind will be lost because he will be wondering if he might just lose a friend or the love of his life! He needs to make these decisions now! He needs to plan and know how he feels now! We can't wait for him to figure it out when the androids are blowing up cities!"

"His judgment-"

"Think before you speak," Piccolo cut Keiko off, "You know Goku better than anyone else, and you also know that he risked a lot on Namek just so he could go and find you. The logical decision would have been for him to just fight Frieza, because you would have been wished off the planet anyway, he knew you would have been safe, but he couldn't help himself. Instead he risked Frieza possibly finding Dende and the Dragon, or Frieza could have just completely blown up Namek, the risks were high but Goku didn't think about that- he was thinking about you. He loves you, that's obvious, but what are you two? The uncertainty clouds his mind!"

"But how does him knowing what we are help him? Will it really make a difference?" Keiko could admit that Piccolo had a point, but unfortunately she didn't see how big of an impact her and Goku figuring things out would have on the Saiyan.

"Yes!" Piccolo shouted, "If he knows that you two are together and that you fully support him, then he can fight with no fear! If he knows that you don't mind dying for the cause then he will believe you because you two would be in a relationship! And if you two just remain friends then he won't feel so attached to you, he will think of you as just another human that needs saving instead of one that deserves special protection!"

"Piccolo you don't know what you're asking me to do," Keiko let her eyes fall down to the dirt as the wind continued whipping her hair in various directions, "Figuring it out means giving up because we both know Goku and I can't be together."

"This is no time to be selfish!"

"Do you know what it's like Piccolo?" Keiko looked up at locked eyes with the Namek, "Do you know what it's like to want something so badly and never be able to have it?"

"Look I'm not interested in-"

"No, I listened to you and now you have to listen to me. I've been in love with Goku since I was sixteen years old. I had to watch him get married to another woman, start a family, and be happy. All I want is for him to be happy, but I had to come to terms with the fact that for him to be happy I had to give up my happiness. I gave up so much just to keep the peace, I hid my feelings for years, but finally he knows, and finally I can be happy and not feel bad about it. I know what I'm doing is wrong, which probably makes you think that I'm okay with it, that I'd be okay with breaking up a marriage. I'm not though, and I don't think I can tear a family apart, but me telling Goku that, me figuring things out with him means me giving him up forever. It means me giving up my happiness forever." Keiko took a breath as she allowed her eyes to slowly close, "How sure are we that the androids will destroy our world? How sure are you that if Goku and I don't figure it out then the androids really will win?"

"I'm sure."

"How sure?" Keiko snapped her eyes open as she focused them on the Namekian standing in front of her.

"There is always the chance that Goku will lose on his own, and it would have nothing to do with you, but considering we both know how much Goku cares about you I can't deny that the chances of his judgment being altered because of you are high."

"I need time."

"We don't have-"

"There's a chance I will have nothing to do with the fight, but I need to see for myself. You're asking me to give up a lot, and I will if I need to, but I need time."

Piccolo just let out a low sigh as he relaxed his shoulders, "Fine," he muttered, "But you can't wait until the androids start killing everything in the planet for you to make up your mind."

"I won't wait that long, I know you're just trying to help, but you need to trust me."

"The whole planet needs to trust you, because depending on what you do will determine if people live or die."

"No pressure," Keiko let out a small laugh, but Piccolo didn't find any humor in it, "Well, I will see you tomorrow at Roshi's right?"

"Yes, and thank you for talking to me Keiko, but for the sake of everyone I hope you make the right decision," Piccolo knew that this woman's heart was good, but as he looked down at her, he knew that she was still a human, and humans can come prey to their emotions. He didn't truly understand what Keiko had been through, or what it felt like to want something you can never have, but in an odd way he felt for her. He didn't pity her, or feel saddened by her situation, but as he nodded his farewell to the human female he felt a sense of compassion.


Goku had asked only once what Keiko and Piccolo had talked about, but when Keiko played it off as nothing Goku believed her. Neither the Saiyan nor his son stayed for very long after Keiko returned, considering dinner would be ready soon and Chi-Chi would be mad if they were late. That evening Keiko went out to dinner with Grayson, considering she had made it a point to see him more often. He was completely understanding of why she was busy, but still Keiko made sure they saw each other at least once every two months.

"You're hair," were the first words to come out of Keiko's mouth as she stepped out of her car to see Grayson leaning up against his dark blue vehicle. The sun was setting in the background as her jaw went slack, "It's all gone," she continued.

"Yeah, it was a spur of the moment decision, but what do you think?" Grayson smiled as he ran his hand over his bald head.

It took Keiko a moment to look at her friend, and come to terms with his new look. Even without hair he was still attractive, with his pearly white smile, stunning green eyes, and tan skin tone. Grayson was just naturally attractive, and Keiko couldn't help but smirk as she realized that this guy could probably be toothless, hairless, and wearing an eye patch and still look good, "You may want to invest in a hat so you're head doesn't get cold," she took a step closer and placed her hand on top of his head, "But you look good."

"As dashing as ever?" Grayson stuck his nose up into the air as Keiko dropped her hand from his head.

"If not more dashing," Keiko commented and Grayson looked down at her with a smile, "But why the sudden change of hairstyle?"

"I wanted a change," Grayson said simply as they began walking into the restaurant, "Plus I figured it will grow back, but I think I'm gonna try to keep it like this for a while."

"Copying Krillin's look eh?"

"I always have thought he had the bald thing down," Grayson joked as the two of them followed the waitress to their seats, "So," he began once they sat down and started looking through their menus, "How you feeling? They should be here in three days right?"

Keiko knew that Grayson was talking about the androids, and just thinking about their arrival made her stomach knot up. Now not only was she worrying about the androids, but she was also worried that the whole world could be destroyed all because she and Goku don't know what's going on in their relationship, "Piccolo thinks that if Goku and I don't figure it out then everyone will die," she knew this didn't answer Grayson's question, but the filter between her mind and mouth broke for a moment.

"What?" Grayson asked as he placed his menu down to see the stress clearly playing on his friend's face.

"Piccolo talked to me today, basically saying that Goku and I need to figure it out because if we don't then Goku will lose the fight, and the world will be destroyed, and all sorts of stuff."

"Hi, can I take your order?" before Grayson could respond the friendly waitress appeared. The pair of friends quickly ordered so that way they could get back to their conversation.

"Why would everyone die because of yours and Goku's relationship?" Grayson asked, his voice low as to not attract anyone's attention.

"Because Piccolo thinks that if it came between saving me or saving the world, Goku would pick me because he doesn't know exactly what I mean to him. According to Piccolo if Goku and I end up together then Goku will know I stand behind him and he can do whatever it takes to win, and if we aren't together then Goku won't hold my life up to such a high value, I'll just be one of his friends."

"Hmmm," Grayson placed his arms on the table, "He has a point. So what are you going to do?"

"If worse comes to worse, then I'll figure it out, but I really don't want to."

"Why?"

"Because there really isn't anything to figure out. Goku and I can't be together because he's married, he has a son, and I can't see myself tearing a marriage apart, but right now that fact is like the elephant in the room. As long as we don't talk about it then it doesn't matter, but when we talk about it and come to that conclusion well….that means I will be giving Goku up."

"And you can't do that?"

"For the sake of the world, yes I can. I'm selfish, but I'm not selfish enough to let tons of people die or to hinder Goku in any way, but it's not going to be easy. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry," Keiko mumbled as she averted her gaze, blinking the tears away, "I'm sorry," she said once she looked back at him, "I'm sure you don't want to talk about this," Keiko knew that Grayson still had feelings for her, and even though she knew she could talk to Grayson about anything she still felt guilty making him listen to her talk about Goku.

"I don't mind," Keiko felt Grayson's warm hand rest on top of hers, "Just do what feels right, whatever you choose will work out for the best."

"Thanks," Keiko flipped her hand so her palm was touching Grayson's as she gave his hand a light squeeze, "And are you sure you can't make it to Roshi's tomorrow?"

"Yeah I have a doctor's appointment." he said as he took his hand away.

"That's right, what for again?"

"Just a check-up, get vaccinations and such."

"Only you would voluntarily go to the doctor for a check-up," Keiko laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," Grayson said softly, "Voluntarily."

As the night went on the topic of the androids didn't come up again, which Keiko was grateful for. Although her mind was never far away from thinking about the troubles she would be facing soon, it was nice to have an evening of not having to worry. Everyone she had been surrounding herself with had been so focused on training and the androids that that was all she ever heard, so hanging out with Grayson was a relief. Before Keiko and Grayson parted ways she made sure to tell him that she didn't know how long it would be before she saw him again. She hoped that they would be able to defeat the androids with no problems, but she couldn't be sure. She also made sure to tell him to be safe, and to be on guard for anything strange.

That night Keiko didn't sleep very well, mainly because Goku wasn't there. She had come to know three stages of sleep and they all revolved around Goku's proximity to her. The first one was the night she was currently experiencing, where her sleep was restless. Although she would be able to sleep for a few continuous hours, she always woke up exhausted and with the sheets all tangled around her. The next level of sleep she had was when both Goku and Gohan were over at her house. Goku would sleep on the couch, and just having him in the house made Keiko sleep better, but still she would wake up in the middle of the night. The last level of sleep was for the times Gohan wasn't staying at Keiko's, and it was only Goku.

The general plan was to train for two months at Goku's and then two month's at Keiko's, but considering Piccolo didn't like training in the gravity chamber he spent those two month's elsewhere. Gohan didn't mind training in the gravity room, but he didn't get as much training while he was at Keiko's because he couldn't train at the level of gravity his Dad could. This led to Piccolo coming up with the idea of Gohan training in the gravity room for three weeks, and then the remaining five weeks Gohan would train with Piccolo. It was during these five weeks that Goku would either sleep in the same bed as Keiko, or the two of them would sleep on the couch together. They didn't plan for it to be that way, but after a few nights of falling asleep next to each other; neither of them could deny how good of sleep they got when sleeping side by side. Those nights Keiko got the best sleep of her life, but unfortunately the night before the party at Roshi's was not a restful one.

When Keiko woke up all she wanted to do was lie in bed and fall back asleep, but that wasn't an option. The party was supposed to start at noon, and the first sign that the day was going to be rough was when she woke up at eleven. Keiko woke up slowly, but as soon as her eyes hit the clock she was up and running. It was at least a thirty minute drive to Roshi's, so if she could shower and get ready in thirty minutes or less she figured she had a chance of making it on time. When Keiko got out of the shower and realized it was already 11:20 she came to terms with the fact she would be late. As she was running out of her house at five till noon, she was confronted with another delay.

"Keiko! Hold up!"

"What?" Keiko knew she must have looked like a mad woman as she spun around to look at Bulma who was moving towards her, baby Trunks in her arms.

"I need a favor."

"I'm running late," Keiko whined as she began impatiently tapping her foot on the ground.

"Please, it's not for me, it's for Trunks."

"What?"

"We took Trunks to the doctor's yesterday and they prescribed him some antibiotic to help him get better from this little virus he caught-"

"Why can't you go pick it up?" Keiko asked, knowing exactly what Bulma was going to ask her to do.

"I'm not taking my sick baby out! Please Keiko; can you just go pick it up for me? It's supposed to make Trunks all better, and I just want him to stop being sick," the look in Bulma's eyes and the fact that she was holding a sick child, who was also Keiko's godson, made it impossible for Keiko to say 'no'.

"Ugh, fine, I'll do it."

"Great, can you also pick up this stuff for me as well?" Bulma pulled out a piece of paper with writing on both sides of it and held it out for Keiko to take.

"What is all this?" Keiko's eyes widened as she looked at the incredibly long list.

"Stuff for Trunks, and me, can you please just go get it for me?"

"Bulma I have to be at Roshi's in five minutes."

"I would get it myself, but I can't with Trunks not feeling well. Please Keiko, I promise I will repay the favor."

"Jeez," Keiko sighed, "Fine."

"Oh thank you," Bulma grinned as she dug into her jacket pocket, "Here's the money, and thank you again."

"You're welcome," Keiko called as she began sprinting to her car, wanting to get the errands done as quickly as possible.


"Keiko's not normally one to be late," Krillin commented as he scanned the skies outside of Kame House, "Heck, I'm surprised you made it here before her Goku."

"Yeah, me too, we're normally the last ones to get here."

"Because of you," Chi-Chi wacked her husband on the back of the head, "If you could tell time we wouldn't be so late all the time."

"Hey, I can tell time," Goku whined as he rubbed the back of his head, but his wife just rolled her eyes and walked off.

"She's in a good mood today," Krillin mumbled sarcastically as he watched Chi-Chi go and sit down in a lawn chair next to Yamcha.

"Eh oh well," Goku shrugged as he began walking towards where Master Roshi was grilling hamburgers.

The scene was tranquil as everyone was just sitting around and enjoying a day out in the sun. Not everyone could make it, but in attendance was Yamcha, Roshi, Turtle, Krillin, Piccolo, Goku, Gohan, and Chi-Chi, and the only person they were waiting for was Keiko. It was twelve thirty when Krillin had first asked where Keiko was, and it was one o'clock before they finally got their answer.

"Hey someone's coming!" Gohan called as he shot up from his seat in his lawn chair and pointed into the sky.

"I didn't think Keiko would fly all the way here," Yamcha commented as he shielded his eyes from the sun and watched someone speed through the sky, "She's flying pretty fast too, ha, must realize how late she is," he laughed as he placed his hand down and leaned back in the lawn chair.

"She must be putting out a lot of energy to do that, but I can't sense her," Goku said softly as he kept his eyes on the person coming towards them.

"Well who else would it be," Krillin joked as finally the person came into view, "Keiko! You were so late Goku didn't even think it was you flying towards us," Krillin nudged Goku in the side before turning his attention back to Keiko, "Huh?" he asked as he realized that Keiko was just staring at Goku. Also some things about Keiko's appearance seemed different.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Piccolo had been sitting next to the house and he had moved to stand next to Goku, "I can't sense her energy either."

"I have been teaching her how to mask it," Goku stated as a smile came to his face, happy that she had finally arrived.

Piccolo just looked at the woman standing before him, and he couldn't help but feel that this wasn't the woman they knew, but as he looked at Goku he wasn't surprised that the Saiyan didn't suspect anything. You're so foolish; this is why Keiko needed to talk to you, because although it is obvious that there is something wrong with Keiko you can't see past your love to notice it.

"Hey you cut your hair!" Krillin snapped as he realized that that must be what was throwing him off about how she looked, because now her hair only went to her collarbone when before he went down to the middle of her waist, "And you got new clothes," he followed it up as he noticed that Keiko was wearing something he had never seen her in before. Normally she would just wear something comfy and casual, but for some reason she was wearing pitch black shorts, a white fitted shirt, and a leather jacket. Krillin raised an eyebrow as he realized how badass the normally cheery girl looked. Keiko normally didn't wear a lot of heavy makeup, but today she had dark black eyeliner on her eyes, which made her blue eyes stand out even more, "Well you look good," Krillin finally said as he shrugged, not sure what the new look was about but knowing better than to critique a woman's choice of wardrobe.

"Keiko, running late huh?" Yamcha got up from his lawn chair as he walked over to the woman, "Hey where's the hugs? Everyone should have gotten at least ten hugs by now," he laughed as he placed his hand on her shoulder, but in the blink of an eye all anyone saw was Yamcha screaming in pain as he held in hand.

"What happened?" Gohan ran up to stand next to his father as he looked at Yamcha who was clutching his hand.

"She broke his hand," Piccolo stated in shock as he saw a bone in Yamcha's hand sticking out as blood poured down his arm.

"Goku," everyone turned their attention to Keiko, who finally decided to speak. Her voice was low and soft, as a glimmer appeared in her eye and a smirk came to her face. Her strides were long as she gracefully walked up to the Saiyan man and in one swift movement she grabbed his gi shirt in her hand and pulled him forcefully forward. No one could believe their eyes as they all watched Keiko passionately kiss Goku.

"What are you doing!" Chi-Chi yelled out in a fury as she pushed past all the bystanders and came to a halt when she was close enough to see her husband's lips attached to Keiko's.

The kiss didn't last long, but it left Goku feeling light headed as they parted. He was about to say something but he couldn't as he felt something hard hit his stomach and knock all the wind out of him. He looked down to see Keiko's fist firmly planted in his gut, and the only reason he wasn't flying backwards was because she was holding onto his gi top. Goku felt a horrible burn go through his body as the punch radiated throughout him, and he couldn't believe how strong that hit had been, "What," he breathed, trying to get his breath back "Was that for?"

As he asked this question a smirk came to Keiko's face, her eyes lighting up underneath the black eyeliner. She leaned in, placing her lips right next to Goku's ear as she whispered, "For all the pain you put me through," she whispered evilly and then as she pulled her fist back she landed another punch into Goku's gut, but this time she let go of his gi top and let the Saiyan go flying backwards, landing harshly on his back.

"You kissed my husband," Chi-Chi said softly, not even caring that now Goku was lying on his back, clutching his stomach in pain, "I knew you were no good!" she finally unleashed as she marched right up to Keiko, "You will never be around my husband again, or my son! I knew you were a bad influence! I knew it from the moment I saw you!" her bony finger was right in Keiko's face as she was yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Excuse me," Keiko said as her face hardened and her hand rose to grab onto Chi-Chi's finger, "Has anyone ever told you," she began as she took Chi-Chi's hand out of her face and began bending the woman's finger back, "That you're a bitch?" Keiko questioned, which shocked everyone, and had Chi-Chi fuming.

"Why you!" Chi-Chi yelled as she was about to raise her free hand and punch Keiko in the face.

"Nuh-uh," Keiko tisked as she brutally began pushing Chi-Chi's finger back to the point of pain. Everyone was immobilized in fear as they heard Chi-Chi let out an ear piercing scream and fall to her knees as she pleaded with Keiko to let go of her hand, "Why should I show you mercy?" Keiko knelt down next to Chi-Chi who was screaming in agony, "You've treated me like dirt for years, pushed me around, bullied me, but now that the tables are turned you're asking for mercy? Ha! You really are full of it."

"Stop it!" Keiko let her eyes rise up as she saw Goku standing up and glaring at her.

"Awww baby, why so mad," Keiko teased as she released Chi-Chi's finger, leaving it obviously broken and mangled, "We both know that she deserves a lot more than just one measly broken finger," she said cynically as she began moving once more towards Goku.

"Enough!" Piccolo shouted as he stepped right into Keiko's path, "Who are you!"

"I thought Namekians were supposed to be smart," Keiko said as she raised an eyebrow, "I'm Keiko."

"No you're not," Piccolo said lowly as he narrowed his eyes at the woman standing in front of him, "You may look like her, but you're not her."

"Tell me Piccolo, what makes a person 'real'?" she asked, but Piccolo knew that she wasn't looking for him to answer, "You say I look like Keiko, but that must not be all it takes. How about memories? Like when Raditz killed Goku and I handed Gohan to you so you could go and train him, I remember that quite vividly actually."

"Anyone could have told you that! It proves nothing!"

"Oh, okay, so how about we try another one, one that only Goku and I know about," Keiko leaned over as she locked eyes with the stunned Saiyan, "Actually we have a lot of memories together, but we will stick to just one for now. Remember after the 23rd Martial Arts Tournament when I wasn't feeling too well? No one knew why, you didn't even know why, but it made you feel bad to see me so sad so what did you do Goku? You woke me up in the middle of the night, you took me outside, and we took a ride on the Nimbus. We laid on the Nimbus cloud for hours, just staring at the stars, and talking about everything, and you made me feel better, remember that Goku?"

"Is this true?" Piccolo turned to look at Goku, who was beyond stunned as he nodded his head 'yes', "That still doesn't make you Keiko!"

"Even if I'm not, what are you going to do about it? Hit me? Fight me? I look just like her don't I, and she's your friend, could you really bring yourself to strike me?" As everyone listened to Keiko speak they knew that this simply couldn't be the real Keiko, yet she had a point. She looked exactly like Keiko, even her voice matched, so how could any of them fight her? As Keiko pushed past Piccolo, they all knew that not even Piccolo could stand up to her, because he just let her walk by.

"Oh Goku you look almost scared," Keiko let out a small laugh.

"Who are you?"

"Oh now we are serious," Keiko laughed yet again as she watched Goku's face harden, "Well I'm Keiko."

"No you're not."

"Oh you're smart," Keiko tapped Goku on the nose, "Well if I'm not, what are you going to do about it?" she placed her hands on her hips and watched as Goku fumbled for words, "Exactly. Maybe I can give you some incentive," and with that Keiko punched Goku hard across the face, sending him soaring backwards, "That must have hurt" she commented as she shook her hand out.

"I don't know what you are, but you aren't Keiko," Goku said as he wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Another nonbeliever! You guys are a tough crowd," Keiko looked around herself to see Krillin standing next to Yamcha who was clutching his hand, and Roshi and Gohan next to Chi-Chi who had tears of pain streaming down her face, but everyone was paying attention to Keiko, "How about this little memory, I'm sure everyone would love to hear it," Keiko spread her arms wide, "We were on our way to Namek," she lowered her arms, "And, after asking me to shower with you," she paused to turn and look at Piccolo, "Quite scandalous," she winked before turning to look back at Goku, "I said 'no' because we weren't married, and later you asked me if I had ever thought about being married. What an odd question for a married man to ask huh? Well needless to say you admitted a little something to me, that in fact you-" before Keiko could finish her sentence Piccolo had lunged at her, knocking her onto the ground in order to shut her up.

"Oh Piccolo you're gonna regret that," she said as her face was being pushed down into the sand. With one hard lift of Keiko's elbow into Piccolo's shoulder she had the Namekian flying backwards before his back hit the Kame House, "Well now that we have that out of the way, what do you think Goku?" she asked as she stood up and dusted herself off, "Do you believe me now?"

"No," he said harshly, "You're not the real Keiko; the real Keiko would never act like this! You're a monster."

"The real Keiko, the real Keiko, how do you know she wouldn't act like this! How do you know what you put her through! How do you know how long she has bottled everything up inside! Well no more Goku, I'm not keeping it inside anymore," her hands balled up into fists as she began moving towards Goku, but someone else blocked her path.

"Please stop," there Gohan stood with his arms outstretched as he begged Keiko to stop, "Please."

"Gohan," the hardness that had been in Keiko's eyes suddenly left as she looked down at the boy, "This has nothing to do with you," she said softly, "So move."

"No! You already hurt Yamcha, and my Mom, and even Piccolo, I'm not gonna let you hurt my Dad!"

"Gohan, move," Keiko said once more, but the half Saiyan wouldn't budge, "I'm not going to hurt you so-"

"So you do have a heart," Piccolo mocked as he stood next to where he had hit the Kame House, "I think I get it now. You are exactly like Keiko in a lot of ways, and this is one of them. Keiko loves Gohan, she has never had any ill will towards him, so you can't hurt him because out of all of us he is the only one you don't have any resentment towards."

"Shut up!" Keiko snapped as she looked over at the Namek and then back down to Gohan, "This has nothing to do with you," she reiterated before taking a step back and looking to Goku, "And everything to do with you," her eyes narrowed as she locked eyes with the confused Saiyan, "Two days," she said in a singing voice, "And from how you faired against me, I think you aren't really ready to deal with what's coming next," her feet lifted off the ground as an evil smirk played on her face, "See ya then," she said and just like that she sped off into the distance, gone from sight.

Everyone was left speechless, but their first order of business was to get the injured inside and find some Senzu beans. As everyone moved inside Goku was stuck standing outside, unable to comprehend what just happened. "You okay buddy?" Krillin asked after everyone, except Goku and Piccolo were inside.

"That wasn't Keiko," Piccolo stated as he moved over towards Krillin and Goku.

"Then what was she," Goku said softly, "I couldn't even fight back, I felt powerless because…"

"That wasn't Keiko, and if we see her again you need to forget your feelings and fight back. I don't want to be the one to say it, but I think what we just faced may have been an android," Piccolo stated and Krillin's eye went wide.

"An android! But how could there be an android that looks just like Keiko, talks like her, and shares her memories?"

"When Keiko got taken," Goku began, looking down at the ground.

"Exactly. We never knew why Keiko was taken on Namek, but that might have something to do with what we just encountered," just as Piccolo said that they heard the hum of an engine and watched as a car landed on the beach.

"Oh my goodness I am so sorry I'm late," Keiko's words were slurred as she was rushing to get out of her car, "Trunks needed antibiotics, and then Bulma for some reason needed like five loaves of bread, and the cashier at the store was crazy slow, and…what's wrong?" she slowed down as she turned to face Piccolo, Krillin, and Goku and saw the looks on their faces. No one answered her but instead Goku walked up and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"It's you, the real you," Goku said softly as he inhaled Keiko's scent, something the android didn't have.

"We'll have to explain later, but if Chi-Chi and Yamcha seem a little afraid of you, just ignore it," Krillin said as he watched Goku release Keiko from the embrace, "But let me just tell you how happy I am to see you, with no leather jacket, really long hair, and no dark black eyeliner."

"What are you talking about?" Keiko asked as Krillin walked inside.

As Goku and Keiko began moving towards the door Piccolo stopped Keiko and said three words to her that only she would understand the meaning of, "Time's running out."


Author's Note: I don't know how many chapters are left, but we are now entering the last part of the story. Hopefully you guys liked this chapter, I was really excited to write it and I hope you guys were just as excited to read it. Thanks to everyone who has read, left a review, added this story to their favorites list, added me to their author alert/favorite list, and added this story to their story alerts- basically just a huge thank you. Make sure to leave a review on this chapter and also check out Ardikani4's story No Matter What, it's a great Goku/OC story that will have you guys hooked from chapter 1.