AN: Happy New Year and welcome to 2014. Just as a heads up, this is a jumpy chapter. You'll hopefully see what I mean as you read on...

LilDBZBuddy89

Chapter 38 – Taking Control

The air felt thick and hot in her throat as she took in her surroundings, taking large gulps of stagnant breath in. Her muscles ached and she felt as if her arms were made of lead. Blood trickled down her forehead as she attempted to rise off her knees and onto her feet, the gravity upon her body willing her to stay down and if possible, to lower herself closer to the ground. She ignored it as best she could, focusing on her surroundings, trying to spot him. He would surely be somewhere nearby, trying to catch her off-guard before striking her down once again with that insane amount of power he wielded in this form.

"What's your next move?" He asked from somewhere within their environment.

Chiri bared her teeth, annoyed things were going the way they were. It wasn't fair, she was trying her hardest and still nothing was working out for her. What more was he expecting from her? She couldn't defeat him, not at all, yet here he was now rubbing it in her face by asking her what she was going to do? She didn't even know what she was going to do herself, much less divulge that information to him.

"You're running out of options." He chided.

"Shut up!" She snapped venomously, tightening her clench. She knew there were no options left, all their ideas had been exhausted, her body felt heavy and was sending her a mountain of different signals telling her to give in and call it a day. She knew there was nothing new to be done but she would not accept the reailty which was becoming painfully clear to her with every thump her pounding head made, ears humming with the pressure as a headache set in. It wasn't fair, she couldn't accept this. This couldn't be how things were going to turn out.

"There's nothing more we can do. We have to go back now. It's over."

"No. I don't believe you." Chiri defiantly shook her head, regretting it as the headache turned to dizziness. "I can't go back. I need to do this."

"You're not ready for this."

"I am," Chiri insisted. "I am ready, I can do this. Please, I don't want to go back."

"No, you're not ready for this. You're not ready for this. You're too young. You're too weak. You can't handle this, you're not ready."

"No, I… I am…" Chiri's voice felt weak, quiet. She could barely protest over his hounding, booming voice, unable to shout over his as it filled her mind with what she knew was true. No, it couldn't be true, it couldn't be true. She was so sure in her heart and in her gut feeling that she was ready for this, she was capable of doing this, she could control it. The pounding in her head grew more and more deafening in her ears and she felt the dizziness strike again, spotting his form now standing before her as a blur. Her legs gave way causing her to fall to the right rather abruptly, a sudden explosion of pain striking her skull shaking her with incredible force.

Chiri stared ahead, vision blurring for a brief moment before the tears began to fall up her temples towards her hairline. She noticed just how wild her breathing was and how breathless she felt, how cold and clammy her skin felt, and how much she'd been tossing and turning under the sheets. Her legs were so tightly entrenched in the covers, she couldn't move them. She'd also managed to strike herself on the head thanks to landing on it, now leaning precariously over the side of the mattress, staring straight at the curtain which surrounded her large bed.

Another one, she thought to herself as she rolled completely off the bed to an upright position. Straightening up and freeing herself from the entangled sheets and now the curtain, she glanced over towards the other bed. On the other side of those curtains, her brother would surely still be sleeping. She was hesitant to wake him up, especially as it was difficult enough trying to sleep in this place without being disturbed. This room they'd talked about, this room which for every passing day outside, a year would pass in here. Chiri wouldn't have believed it to be possible had she not witnessed the growth her brother had gone through within those twenty-one hours, not to mention how much more grown-up and stronger Trunks had seemed when he'd come to rescue her and Krillin from one of those androids. This room was never comfortable, either the temperature was too high or low. It was far harder to breathe and far harder to walk once they stepped off the tiles and into that bizarre world of white. When Chiri'd first seen it, she'd thought it was like a blank piece of paper waiting to be drawn on or painted. Such a bright environment presented a problem when trying to sleep, the brightness of the room made it very difficult for Chiri to drift off and she'd found herself spending hours thinking and wishing to sleep and having little success. Then when she did wake up to find she'd drifted off, she felt exhausted. It was difficult then having to draw herself away from her bed and train alongside her brother but she didn't wish to complain. It was hard to believe their father had agreed to this in the first place and she didn't want to waste the opportunity.

Feeling nature was calling, she quietly dashed over to the bathroom, relieved her bladder of its load and gingerly leapt back over to her bed to try and make herself fall asleep.

Their father had agreed to let them train in the room for three hours. That worked out to be a month and a half within the confines of the room. It wasn't long but Gohan was almost certain he could get some sort of progress out of his sister, even if at the end of it she still hadn't become a Super Saiyan. The stakes were high, a lot was riding on this month and a half. Gohan had overheard his parents having a 'heated discussion' about this decision the night before they entered into this dimension. Naturally and to no surprise, their mother was against the idea of Chiri coming into such a dangerous place though she did bring up the very reasonable argument about Gohan having to look after her for an entire month and a half. He was far too young to fend for himself and her; to an extent Gohan could see her point and agreed. He had felt a little apprehensive being the one in charge, having to organise his sister's routines and care for her. He was only eleven and now he was having to be a big brother and a parent to her? In their mother's eyes, Goku should have been the one to take Chiri into the room. Goku had retorted very calmly, pointing out that Chiri would learn far more from Gohan than himself, as Gohan was her brother. Their relationship as siblings was likely stronger than the father-daughter relationship Goku and Chiri had, plus Gohan knew her better and was more ready to learn from him. Chichi hadn't said anything for a moment before once again announcing how uncomfortable she was leaving their children to fend for themselves for so long without adult supervision and how it would get them in trouble had it been anywhere else on the planet. The talk continued for a little longer, all the while Gohan standing as quietly as he could to hear how it would end. The peak of the argument came when Goku mentioned that if in the time they spent in the room Chiri did not become a Super Saiyan, she would not be taking part in the Cell Games.

He'd allowed their youngest child an opportunity to prove herself and overcome their original decision to not allow her to take part. Gohan had kept this strictly to himself, knowing how much his sister would want to transform if she knew. It would be heartbreaking if she wasn't able to achieve it and as it was, she already thought they weren't going to let her compete. Having this hanging over her head, pressuring her further would make it all the harder to see if she didn't become a Super Saiyan. If she didn't manage it, nothing lost right now. If she did manage it, she'd have a wonderful surprise waiting for her once she showed their father.

It had been ten days and so far, there hadn't been much success. Their first couple of days had been spent trying to get her adjusted to the gravity and demands of the room – that had overrun into the fifth day until she could finally move swiftly enough across the outside world. The gravity had been tough for him to get used to as well, nothing like anything he'd ever felt before. He almost felt as if it was a completely different thing to ask his little sister to deal with. She seemed to be trying very hard to soldier on, something he found himself pleased to see but another part of him wanted to let her know it was ok if she was finding it all too much. He wasn't great with heart-to-heart conversations and wasn't the greatest when it came to dealing with his sister's tantrums or tears but somehow they got by.

The hardest part had been finding himself on the teaching end rather than the learning end. He was so used to being the one to be taught new things, so having to pass on his own knowledge and look as if he knew what he was doing was challenging to say the least. Sure, he'd taught her how to control ki and how to fly when she was little but that was nothing near as complicated as to trying to become a Super Saiyan. It was made even harder when he considered how long it took for him to become one whilst training in this room; he'd have to condense all his learning if he was going to get some sort of result from his younger sister. Maybe he was asking for too much?

With each passing day, the pressure rose to find some sort of progress, find something they could show for their hard work.

A small glimmer appeared on the horizon, catching his eye and intriguing him enough to turn from the buffoons guffawing to themselves and instead watch as his audience closed in on the location. A smile crept upon his face as he anticipated the day that lie ahead of him. Today was the day he would decide, once and for all, just what this mudball's fate was. He anticipated some satisfying battles (not with any of the morons chortling too loudly over in the corner), battles which would eventually end with him confirming his superiority and destroying the fighters who chose to stand against him. One by one, they would fall until the strongest of them all would lose by his hand. Then he would systematically destroy these blaggarts before hunting down every last human. The hunt would take a few days perhaps; he didn't want to spend too long terrorising the inhabitants but he'd definitely get his laughs from it.

The glimmer had now parted into a bunch of small glowing dots, slowly they grew in size as they closed in on the location. Then finally, in perfect formation, his real opponents landed upon the dusty terrain that surrounded his magnificent ring, built to his own high standards and far glamorous than the original used in the Tenkaichi Budokai. The anticipation grew within him as he eyed up a particular fighter. He would take great pleasure in destroying him.

"I can't think of one!" Chiri protested, folding her arms and turning her head away. "I don't know what to imagine. It's too hard!"

"You'll never become a Super Saiyan with that attitude," Gohan sighed exasperated, tilting his head with a long sigh. "There must be something you can use." They'd been in the midst of this conversation for the past ten minutes and already he felt as if he were trying to ram himself face-first through a gigantic chunk of steel the size of a football stadium. For someone who was so eager to show everyone she could become a Super Saiyan and defend herself reasonably well, she was making this very difficult! Did she even want to succeed?

"Nope, not a thing!" Chiri shook her head. "Can't you just tell me an easier way to do this?"

"I'm sorry, Chiri, but there isn't any other way I know of to do this," Gohan frowned. "There has to be some sort of sad memory you can use where you've felt you need to be stronger."

"I need to be stronger right now, can't I use that?" She wasn't understanding what he was asking of her. Didn't they discuss this a couple of days ago? Ok, so to them it felt like far longer but to those on the outside world, the other end of this room's door. Gohan felt his head was going to explode.

"There must be something you can use, or if not then maybe we just need to set up a situation." He was thinking on his feet, something he wasn't particularly good at most of the time. Gohan preferred to be given the time to think things over strategically, come up with the best solution which would be most likely to wield results, then carry said idea forward. Finding himself in charge of someone who just seemed to be throwing wall after wall after wall at him was taxing on his thinking powers and if anything, he felt as if he were the one being trained in regards to understanding and patience! Once again he was finding himself looking back to his own Super Saiyan training to find a solution, or at least something that made him seem as if he knew what he was talking about. Something quickly came to mind "… What about if you imagine Cell was attacking Dad, me and Mother?"

"That might work," Chiri gasped. "Ok, here I go!" She tightly clamped her eyes shut and clenched her fists eagerly. For a moment Gohan could have sworn she was deliberately holding her breath, it was a great impression of a puffer fish but as the seconds rolled past, the redder her face went and the harder it was to watch her struggle.

"So, who will be the first to fight me?" Cell jeered, staring his entire audience one-by-one clean in the eye, many avoiding his gaze, likely overwhelmed by his presence. He revelled in the sheer pleasure of feeling superior over each and every one of them, though his heart began to beat faster as his eyes rested upon that of the Super Saiyan stood before him, cool and collected as ever. He would enjoy wiping that calm look off his face.

Gohan stood beside his father, breath hitching in his throat. He wished this day hadn't come as quickly as it had and couldn't shake off a feeling of worry. He'd wanted to shy away from Cell's gaze as the machine's piercing eyes fell upon his, connecting them momentarily before they'd quickly moved onto something else. A voice within told him to keep hold of that gaze, not to let him see just how anxious he was to get today over and done with. They were waiting, all of them, back home, waiting to see their loved ones return. No one had spoken the thought that had surely been on everyone's minds; what if no one returned home? He shook the morbid thoughts from his mind, words he himself had asked this morning. No, they had to believe. His father had a plan: that much was certain. The only problem was, no one knew what this plan was except for Goku. Why he'd needed to keep it secret was beyond him but regardless of his feelings about this, Gohan had to place his faith in his father's judgement.

The feeling amongst the group was intense; the silence was only broken by an occasional light brush of wind. The heavy feel shattered as a pair of boots stepped forward, scraping against the dusty terrain.

"I'll go first."

Chiri crashed onto her knees, drenched in cold sweat and huffing her lungs out. Her arms felt like lead and were shaking under her weight, determined to give in and let her fall face-first to the floor. She heard him approach her, felt his hand rest gently on her back. It was heavy enough to cause her right arm to give into the extra pressure and she rolled onto her shoulder, other arm giving way and forcing her to collapse face-down upon the boiling floor.

"Sorry, thought you could handle it," Her brother's voice felt soothing compared to the burning sensation on her nose. "Can you get up or would you like some help?"

She didn't answer straight away, too busy tormenting herself with thoughts of failure once again. The sweltering temperatures didn't help her temper any but she bit her tongue: "No… I'll do it myself." The answer was a hiss and she almost double-took at the sound of her own voice, was her throat dry? Arms and legs were heavier than ever and it took all her willpower to even get them to respond to her mind's demands for movement. Managing to get herself into a hunched position and rising successfully onto her knees, Chiri willed her arms to respond just as her legs had. A wave of smouldering air swept around her, encasing her head and bringing a sudden rush of sweat to pour out over her face. It was sudden enough to make her head spin, her legs giving way to the left and her hips falling along with them, cracking against the solid ground.

A hand quickly fell upon her shoulder, shaking her gently at first before becoming more frantic. "Chiri?" Gohan's voice echoed his feelings as more time passed, his sister lay unresponsive. "Chiri? Can you hear me? Chiri?"

Some blaggard had stepped forward, someone Gohan had never seen nor heard of before. Yet by the way the well-groomed man holding the microphone – someone Gohan quickly assumed was a news reporter – the way he emulated and flattered this muscular, afro-wielding man would suggest that all their problems were solved, yet it only left a cold pool of fear in his stomach. Whatever claim to fame this man had, he was no match for Cell, nor for any of he and his family and friends. The charisma was truly commendable, something Gohan wished he could emulate a little of in times of need. His ki however was small – impressive for an average human but absolutely pitiful compared to everyone else around – except for the reporter and the cameraman attached to him.

The man seemed to want to prove his strength before them all and tossed out a capsule onto Cell's apparent self-built arena. In a small puff of smoke, the capsule revealed a large and full sports bag. He stepped up onto the stage and unzipped the bag, systematically pulling out small piles of tiles and placing them on top of one another, quickly creating a tower of tiles around half the size of his giant stature, probably up to Gohan's chin. He quickly counted around thirty tiles in all. No one but the reporter, his cameraman and the blaggard seemed impressed.

Cell stood feet away, showing little interest as his arms remained crossed over his chest. The man's ki began to shift a little as he began to summon it and focus his strength, though it was barely tapped and not well controlled. With a roar he lashed out and threw down his straightened hand, karate-chopping the tower of tiles. The force was controlled. It missed the last tile. This seemed to horrify the reporter though he quickly went back to signing nothing but praise for the man and the sure fear Cell and everyone else must feel.

The only fear Gohan felt was for this man's life. If that was truly all he was capable of then he was a danger to himself and would surely be killed by Cell's hand.

What the blazes was going on? Everyone was a Super Saiyan: even her own mother! Well, perhaps that wasn't entirely ridiculous, she did have a ferocious, fiery personality and Chiri had always suspected that one day, during one of her rages, she would reveal she too was actually a Saiyan and not a human and transform. Calling it a nightmare seemed really mean but she wasn't sure how else to describe it.

Everywhere she walked she saw people around her, people she knew were human, with spiked up blonde hair, teal-like eyes and that all-too-familiar aura. Even the baby crying in the arms of its mother was a Super Saiyan; Chiri couldn't see it but she just knew it was true. Even those in the graveyard not too far away from her current place in a small town, even all of those who'd passed on were Super Saiyans. Their auras even lingered on in their graves despite her knowing no dead person could harbour any life force. That was the nature of her dreams; they always seemed to ignore the rules of physics and make the impossible possible.

The world changed suddenly around her, turning into a plain which stretched out for miles and miles. She stood in the centre of a fenced-off field, staring Cell straight in the eyes. Even he had some sort of ridiculous mockery of hair atop his 'scalp', grinning inanely as he charged up his own aura and fired off a Kamehameha straight for her.

The white curtain that trailed down the side of her bed was her next visual feed. It took a while for her to realise she was no longer dreaming, laying on her side in her bed with the knowledge that she only had seven days left before they were due to come out of the room.

The silence that had overcome the camera man and his reporter partner was golden. Both stared horrified as if their eyes would fall out should they dare to turn away. Their braggard hero had been tossed from the arena with little more than a soft slap from Cell, after what appeared to be a ruthless, flawless and rapid onslaught from their hero. They'd been convinced he was winning. Those standing nearby knew better and were more interested in the sheer control the android must have held over his terrifying strength to have caused minimal damage to his naïve opponent. The man himself had collided head-first into a rocky mound around five-hundred metres from the edge of the arena. He was still alive.

As the news crew rushed over to their fallen idol, Goku once more stepped up to take Cell's challenge, quicky throwing the offer to be the first out to Vegeta and Trunks, both of whom did not rise to the bait. Gohan sucked in a small breath before exhaling, trying to calm himself down. This was finally happening. It was finally time for the Cell Games to begin, the day they'd been training for had come. His stomach squirmed and knotted, heart beating harder and harder as the nerves settled in.

"You ok, Gohan?" Krillin's voice shook him from his thoughts. The monk was staring straight at him, "You look really pale."

"I-I'm…" Gohan stalled, his mouth working faster than his brain seemed to be. "… I'm ok. Just worried."

"I know what you mean," Krillin smiled, trying to reassure him. "I've been dreading this day ever since we found out about it. All we can do now is put our faith in your father and whatever plan he has in mind."

Whilst Gohan had been worrying over his father's mystery plans, this wasn't the full story. He was worried about his little sister and his mother. He was worried that if they did not succeed today, they would be killed. If they did not succeed today, they couldn't bring back all those innocent victims back to life, including Piccolo and Yamcha. Gohan really missed the Namekian's presence right now as he was usually a source of comfort to him, just by Gohan knowing he was there. That source of stability wasn't here which only served to make him feel restless.

They only had a couple of days left. They had to make them count, even if it meant cutting back a little on hygiene, food and sleep; things their mother would surely shout at them about if she ever caught wind of it. The pressure was clearly getting to her now, wanting too much to prove to everyone she could become a Super Saiyan. Gohan pitied her in a way; he was becoming increasingly convinced that she was just too young, she didn't have what was needed to access the form despite her impressive strength. Perhaps his father's suspicions about her had been right on the money, perhaps he had already seen that she was too immature and youthful to activate what was needed. Gohan had seen far more bloodshed, had lived through several situations already which had needed him to call forth his valour and go through experiences that no child should have to experience. Chiri was far more innocent than he was as far as life experiences went.

The siblings were currently mixed up in a sparring session which was becoming a struggle. They'd been practicing for twenty hours straight with only two small five-minute breaks. Gohan would have liked them to have been longer but his sister's determination and frustration ruled otherwise. Even now, as he dodged several shots aiming for his face, he wished they would stop for another break. It reminded him of one particular sparring session he'd had with his father the last time he'd entered this room. Come to think of it, hadn't that one lasted around twenty hours? Apparently he wasn't one to complain about not taking adequate breaks; he'd been in Chiri's shoes not too long ago and had been just as determined to grow stronger, become better and more capable.

Chiri rushed back, throwing ki blasts rapidly from her palms as she moved; her brother swiping them back at her with little difficulty, cutting their numbers down to a quarter of the original lot as they collided mid-air. The remainder shot through the collateral smoke, Chiri dodging as quickly as she could. She couldn't react in time to avoid Gohan's incoming fist: acute pain shot through her abdomen as Gohan's fist connected, forcing the air from her lungs and sending her back several metres on her heels. He was right with her, suddenly knocking her down to the floor with a low roundhouse kick, tripping her clean off her own feet and crashing onto her back.

Now was as good as any to take a breather. She was making little attempt to get up immediately, instead groaning and rubbing the back of her head through bared teeth. She was exhausted, her breathing shallow and quick. Much like his own, though she was clearly suffering far more than he was. Gohan took in a long, deep breath in a bid to calm his pounding heartbeat and walked around the side of his sister, wiping the sweat from his brow and setting himself down next to her. His eyes rose to the blank, white sky above – if that could even be called a sky – and they stayed there until he heard movement. Eyes then darted to his right; his sister was attempting to sit up straight but ended up hunched over, likely straining her back with her posture. "Why's it gotta… be so hard to do?" She drooled out, still short on breath. She supported herself as best she could with her arms which trembled under the weight.

"Maybe now would be a good time to call it a day?" Gohan suggested, flinching a little as a sharp burst of pain jolted through his right arm. Quickly it left though he too now found his arm trembling. It wouldn't be long now before something gave way, he thought to himself. She wasn't in any better condition herself. Gohan was half expecting her to just flop forward and pass out.

"… Yeah… Now would be a… good time…" Something in her voice told Gohan she was about to disappoint him and tell him she wasn't going to let them call it a day. Unsurprisingly she began to shift, somehow managing to manoeuvre herself into a squatting position. Now all she had to do was push herself up and straighten her legs and she'd be standing. The lack of breath and signals from her weary body telling her not to do it would have made this feat hard enough to do; the extra gravity and lack of oxygen turned the feat into a legendary achievement. Gohan watched as the rise began, suddenly feeling very concerned about her safety; if she passed out or injured herself badly, they'd have to get medical help. That would require leaving the room. It would also require him having enough energy to move her and not passing out on the way to the door separating their dimension from the one they'd come from.

Chiri's head suddenly rocked back, body following suite as she fell back. Gohan lunged forward and managed to catch her, albeit clumsily and almost dropping her in the process. "Chiri? You still there?" He asked, gently shaking her.

One eye barely opened, a dark, glazed orb staring at his own. Her lips barely parted as she quietly droned, "I don't work." It came out as one long word, slurred and broken at the end as her voice cracked. Then she was out like a light, Gohan feeling dead weight in his arms. He needed to move them back into the building, at least to get the sheer weight of the gravity off the two of them before it broke his already battered arms. With a grunt and push, Gohan managed to sling his sister over his shoulder before beginning his determined march back to their accommodation. It was a fair distance for tired legs, about two-hundred metres to walk, or rather, to trudge in a drunkenly fashion whilst trying to keep balance and not chuck his luggage on the way! On more than one occasion Gohan had to stop to get his balance back, or to let a sudden spell of dizziness pass. Still the living space seemed so far away and yet he felt he'd walked the two-hundred feet back several times over. What was he going to do if he passed out? Perhaps it was more a question of what would happen to them both if he passed out. He wouldn't be able to do anything after all in that condition! His eyes blurred over and his head suddenly swayed as another dizzy spell struck, Gohan having to stop and secure his footing. The spell grew worse and worse, forcing him to cautiously and slowly squat down in a bid to lessen his chances of toppling over. It felt as if an hour had passed until finally it subsided, Gohan forcing himself back up straight before continuing his struggle back. The dead weight was not helping, he was sure his shoulder was now numb from the pressure.

He'd found himself face down some time later, his mind clouded with confusion. When had he passed out? Eyes quickly shot to the right; Chiri was gone. Instead his eyes were greeted by the creases of the covers flowing over his back until they fell off the sides of the mattress, which felt very comfortable underneath him. His body ached but it was such a relief to not feel the gravity pushing down upon him so hard. When had he crawled into bed? Why was he not resting on his pillow? Was he at the foot end of the bed?

Ascertaining whether or not his body was ready to be supporting his own body weight, Gohan cautiously snaked forward, stopping himself from crashing face-first with his arms, supporting himself as he slid out from under the covers. Sure enough he was indeed at the foot end of the bed. The situation had Chiri written all over it.

Where was she?

Gohan left his bed and made his way out onto the tiles overlooking the vast expanse of nothingness surrounding them. Sure enough he could see a shape not too far from their setup, though it was on the floor. Worry swept over him and Gohan broke into a run, almost tripping as he made his way onto the pure white floor, the gravity kicking in and reminding him just how drained he still was. She was just ahead, still as anything. Had she come to, dragged him back and tried to train again? Or had he dropped her along the way and been the one to put himself to bed? He had no recollection whatsoever of making it back to the house, or not one which he didn't think had happened at some other point. Finally he reached her, kneeling down beside her and pulling on her shoulder, gently rolling her onto her back. She seemed to either be asleep or unconscious.

The journey back to their accommodation wasn't any easier the second time as it had been the first. This time, Gohan gave her a piggyback, trying his best to make sure she didn't slide or fall backwards. His back was straining from the weight as a result! "… I did it…" Gohan glanced over his shoulder a little, surprised to hear his sister was even awake! Or was she? Gohan was certain there was a small trickle of drool falling down her cheek, down his neck! Either she had very little control over containing the contents of her mouth, or she was indeed asleep. Gohan hoped it was the latter. Her voice was still slurring its words; "I am a Super…" Chiri was known to sleeptalk on the odd occasion, Gohan had heard it even during her toddler years when they'd both shared a room. Usually it was when she was having a really emotional dream, whether good or bad. It was an unfortunate characteristic they both seemed to share as siblings. On one occasion, their mother had gotten up in the middle of the night to hear both of them talking, only to find out they were both fast asleep! She never did tell them what they'd been talking about but apparently it was as if they were truly awake, holding a legitimate conversation.

"Take that, Dad…" She trailed off into a drunken rant. The comment brought a smile to Gohan's face despite his ordeal. It soon faded as he recalled just how short of time they were. He'd let her dream for now since they were both in desperate need of a rest. Then they only had two more days inside of this dimension before their allotted time would finish.

It left a very unsettled feeling in his stomach.