Marked

by kaychi

Chi-Chi didn't know that being with Goku meant being marked by someone from another planet. An AU with a more mature Goku and a Chi-Chi that doesn't stop training, we explore how they navigate their life together using some of our favorite Saiyan lore. Dedicated to you. You know who you are.

7. Inherited Abilities

Marked

Chapter 7: Inherited Abilities

"Now," Piccolo says in a voice that commands their attention. "We have work to do."

Chi-Chi's nerves unsettle seeing the serious demeanor on Piccolo's face. This is the same person that hates her husband. She knows the truce is temporary between Goku and Piccolo. Hopefully, he'll train them honorably in Goku's absence.

"Um, what's first Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan asks finally feeling brave enough to speak to his new ally.

Piccolo crosses his arms. "What's first is survival. I'll be leaving you alone out here for the next three months."

"You're leaving us out here? How is that supposed to help us prepare for the Saiyans?" Chi-Chi asks.

"You're both weak and soft. Goku had gotten weak, also. He slacked since the tournament and I can only imagine you're both to blame."

Chi-Chi's cheeks burn at the insult of her entire family. "He wasn't weak. He was happy."

"Happiness breeds contentment. Contentment breeds complacency. Complacency breeds weakness."

Chi-Chi knows he's right to an extent. Goku did train and he trained her. But neither of them pushed themselves to their limits. Nine times out of ten, their training sessions ended with their clothes on the forest floor.

Piccolo turns to leave them. "I'll be back in three months. And don't even think about trying to leave. I'll know."

"Wait, Piccolo," Chi-Chi rushes to him out of earshot from Gohan before he can leave. "Raditz's body. Someone needs to do something with it. I know there are some people out there that would kill to get their hands on it that shouldn't," she heeds.

He grimaces. "What would someone want with a dead body?"

"It's not just a dead body. It's a dead alien body. When I was pregnant with Gohan we had some complications. Knowing what I know now, I understand why. But…" She doesn't really feel like explaining the whole situation. "If the wrong people get their hands on Raditz… I just need you to trust me. Okay?"

Trust her? That's something nobody has ever asked of him. But he sees the grim look on her face. This is serious to her. "I'll take care of it." With that, he takes off into the sky.

Chi-Chi turns around to see a frightened Gohan. "Mommy… How can we live out here?" he asks with small tears in his eyes.

She squats in front of her son and wipes them away. "Don't worry, Gohan. Just think of it as a really long camping trip. We were always okay on camping trips."

"Daddy was there," he notes.

Putting her hands on her hips she fakes offense. "Hey, now. Your mom can be every bit as tough as Daddy when she needs to be. I just didn't have to be when he was around. But Piccolo is right. It's time for us both to be tough. I know you can fish and forage, but by the time this is over, I want you to shock your daddy by showing him that you can hunt!" she says trying to make this seem more like a game than survival.

"You think I could hunt like Daddy does?" he says with his father's eyes beaming up at her.

She smiles warmly. "I know you can. You track almost as well as he does. Your super nose helps you with that," she says poking his nose. "Let's go explore the area a bit more. Think back to your lessons with Daddy. What do you think is the first thing we need to find?"

Gohan thinks for a moment. It has to be food or water. "Water?" he guesses with a fifty-fifty shot at being right.

"Yes, that's right. There's a lake not far from here, but we have to boil the water before we can drink it. So, let's make some containers to store our water and collect as much as we can so we don't have to collect water every day."

He hops on her back and the two start flying toward the small body of water. But on their way, they're suddenly confronted in the air by a new face.

Startled, Chi-Chi stands up tall ready to defend while Gohan wraps his tail around her waist.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you," the stranger says as the three stare at each other in midair. He's riding a magic carpet and holding a large box.

This is definitely a new one for Chi-Chi. She raises an eyebrow. He doesn't seem to be hostile, but she has no idea why someone else would be out here. "Who are you?" she asks cautiously.

"I apologize that our first meeting is under these circumstances. I am a friend to Goku and am here on behalf of Kami."

Chi-Chi looks at him closely and recalls Goku describing another character from his time at Kami's Temple. "You're Mr. Popo. You assist Kami with guarding the earth."

He nods. "Yes, that is correct. I simply came to bring you this," he says opening the large container.

Chi-Chi could nearly cry at what she sees. The box is filled with some essential supplies – a pot for boiling water, containers for storing food and water, and basic hygiene and medical supplies. "Mr. Popo," she gasps. "Thank you so much," she says pulling the box in her arms.

He simply nods at her gratitude.

"Oh, Mr. Popo," she says before he has a chance to leave. "Would you be able to do one other thing for me? If it's not too much trouble."

"If it is in my power, then of course."

She smiles. "Could you get a message to my father and let him know what's going on? He'll be panicking when he doesn't hear from me and I'm not sure our friends will let him know. Please assure him we're fine and that Goku will be back and that he doesn't need to worry." She knows he will anyway, but this is the best she can do for now.

He nods. "I will see to it. Good luck Son Chi-Chi and Son Gohan," he says before zipping off on his carpet.

Balancing Gohan on her back and the box in her arms, Chi-Chi glides to the earth.

"Wow, Mommy. He was really nice," Gohan says rifling through the box.

Chi-Chi has a sneaking suspicion this was Kami's way of apologizing for keeping the secret about Goku. Whatever his motivation, she's grateful. She was still trying to figure out how she was going to get her baby clean drinking water. She looks up at the heavens and silently thanks Kami for the gesture.

"Mommy, do you know how to use this?" Gohan asks holding up a collapsible water container.

"I do, actually. It's not difficult." She pops it open and shows him the barrel shaped container. "Let's go fill these up then head back to camp and get some rest."

---

"We're close, Mommy. I can smell it," Gohan whispers as they quietly fly through the forest. "Turn that way," he says pointing his finger to the right.

Chi-Chi does as her son instructs and readies her bow. Today, she is responsible for killing their dinner. Weapons training is something she mastered as a child, but it was little more than pageantry. She preferred to use her body should a weapon ever be needed so she didn't keep up the skills. Now that she's living in the wilderness and shooting every day, her aim is more than exact.

"There it is," Gohan whispers very quietly pointing to a large stag. He hops off her back and clings to a tree as Chi-Chi pulls an arrow out of her quiver. She pulls the arrow back in her bow and lines the animal her sights. Exhaling, she releases her arrow at her target.

"Nice shot!" Gohan says pouncing back to her.

"Thanks, baby," she says flying them over to their dinner. "He has a good coat, too. This will be a nice addition to some of the other skins we have to sleep on."

Gohan rubs his hand over the animal's fur. "It's warm. That'll be nice."

"You got that right. Now, you know the rule. Whoever kills it doesn't have to carry it."

"Yeah, yeah. I know," he says hoisting the animal up by it's legs.

That always makes Chi-Chi chuckle. Gohan's little body carrying something that large looks so funny, but the boy definitely inherited his father's natural strength. He's mastered fishing but has yet to kill anything on land. After watching him hunt for two months now, she's figured out that it's not a lack of skill that prevents him from making a kill. It's his gentle nature. He seems to connect personally with the animals in the forest. His father is the same way but also knows it's all about the circle of life. She worries about his tenderness being problematic should he ever be against an opponent.

The pair head back to camp on foot and Chi-Chi collects some fruits for a sweet treat after dinner.

"You know, I think we make a pretty good team, kiddo," Chi-Chi says to her son.

"I think so, too, Mommy. Daddy's gonna be jealous he missed out on all the fun," he giggles.

Chi-Chi snickers. This is not her definition of fun. Not even close but she's thankful her child isn't miserable.

"But I guess the fun will be over soon, huh, Mommy?" Gohan says sadly.

She frowns at the change in his mood. "What do you mean, sweetie?"

"Well, I guess we're getting closer to training with Mr. Piccolo."

She nods. "Yes, that's true. And I don't want to lie to you. I don't think it's going to be fun. I think it's going to be hard."

She stops walking and puts her haul of fruits on the forest floor and takes the stag off of his shoulders. "Gohan, you understand he's going to train you without me, right?"

He nods sadly. "But why?"

She searches for a way to explain this to him that he'll understand. "You know how when you and Daddy go swimming without me, and he throws you way higher in the air than he does in front of me?"

Gohan's eyes pop open as if he were caught in the act. "You know about that?"

She fights her urge to laugh. She wasn't 100% sure but she is now. "Mommies know everything. Well, Daddy only does that when I'm not around because he knows I wouldn't let him do that even though I know you are perfectly safe with him. My mommy heart can't take it. It looks like you aren't safe even though you are."

Gohan nods slowly. "I think I understand. If Mr. Piccolo trains me with you, you won't let him teach me the way he wants to."

She taps his chin. "Exactly. I would get in the way."

"Will I be safe with Piccolo the way I'm safe with Daddy?"

She nods. "Yes, Gohan. Because I won't be far away. If I sense you're not safe, I will come to you immediately. I promise."

Feeling better after their conversation, they collect their finds and begin walking again.

They get closer to the edge of the forest where the more desolate area is, the part where Piccolo told them to stay. She considered relocating them to the forest, but their cave provides warmth and shelter, so they stayed put.

"After dinner, let's go to the lake and wash up. We'll be dirty after cleaning thi –"

"MOM!" Gohan watches in horror when a dinosaur as tall as a city building whacks Chi-Chi with his tail and flings her into the side of a mountain scattering their fruit everywhere.

With a loud roar the dinosaur stomps toward an unconscious Chi-Chi with malicious intentions.

"NO! You won't hurt my mommy!" Gohan yells as his energy soars.

A nearby Piccolo feels the child's spiked ki and zips over to see what all the commotion is about while remaining out of sight.

The dinosaur gets closer to Chi-Chi. Gohan, unsure what the best course of action is, attacks the dinosaur in the way that hurts himself the most: the tail. He wields his sword and springs at the dinosaur, slicing a massive chunk of his tail right off. The dinosaur roars in pain and scampers away before Gohan can do anymore damage.

'There's that kid's rage again,' Piccolo thinks to himself. 'That's what I have to get out of him. He's got to learn how to get there at will.'

Gohan rushes to his mother and shakes her. "Mommy! Mommy! Wake up!"

Chi-Chi has a gash on her forehead but other than that is mostly unharmed. "Gohan?" she asks coming to.

"You're okay!" The child leans down and hugs his mother. For a moment, he was worried he would have two parents training in Other World.

She sits up and wipes the blood off her forehead. "Yeah, baby, I'm fine. Let that be a lesson in what happens when you let your guard down." She looks over and sees the trail of blood that looks like it was running away from them. "What happened exactly? I didn't see. It happened so fast."

"It was CRAZY, Momma!" Gohan springs to his feet to reenact the scene for her. "I guess we just weren't paying attention because when we got to the clearing a HUGE dinosaur whipped around and whacked you with its tail!" He picks up one of the dropped pieces of fruit, throws it into the air and smacks it with his tail like a baseball to demonstrate what he means. "It looked like it was going to eat you so I…" his voice trails as he suddenly seems embarrassed.

"You what, Gohan?" she asks more than curious.

"Well… You see… I didn't want it to hurt you so I… cut off its tail."

Chi-Chi's eyes pop open. "You cut off a dinosaur's tail?"

He nods shyly.

"Gohan, why would you be embarrassed about that?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. I didn't like that I had to hurt him, but he was going to hurt you and I couldn't let that happen."

She gets on her knees and takes his face in her hands like she does Goku's at times when she has something very important to say. "Gohan, you should never feel guilty for defending someone you love from someone that wants to hurt them. Like your father, you have an inherit ability to protect those that cannot always protect themselves. Don't ever be ashamed of that. Your father isn't and you shouldn't be either. Do you understand me?"

Gohan nods timidly.

She lowers her hands and slightly turns her ear toward him. "I'm sorry, I asked if you understand me," she says firmly.

"Yes ma'am," he says quietly.

She shakes her head. "I didn't hear you."

"Yes ma'am!" he yells.

"That's more like it. Now, repeat what I said."

He wrinkles his face for a moment trying to remember her whole speech.

She smiles at his adorable thinking face and condenses the speech for him. "I shouldn't feel guilty for protecting someone who can't protect themselves."

"I shouldn't feel guilty for protecting someone who can't protect themselves."

"Louder!" his mother encourages.

"I shouldn't feel guilty for protecting someone who can't protect themselves!"

Her heart constricts as thoughts of her little warrior's future fill her mind, but she pushes that aside for now. "That is exactly right, son," she says wiping dirt off his cheek.

Gohan smiles at her proudly.

"Now, let's get home and eat dinner," she says collecting their fruits – all except for the one Gohan hit Kami only knows where with his tail.

---

A month later, Chi-Chi and Gohan are roasting their dinner and celebrating Gohan's first kill: the same dinosaur that attacked his mom was terrorizing a nest of baby birds whose mother was out hunting dinner for her own family.

"What kind of birds were those, Momma? Even the babies were bigger than you," he says taking a big bite.

"I honestly don't know, sweetie. I've seen lots of different animals and fruits and plants out here that I didn't know existed." Chi-Chi works to cut up the rest of the meat so they can dry it out over the fire pit and eat on it for a while. She's made lots of venison jerky out here but with this huge dinosaur she can't let it go to waste. So… dinosaur jerky. A new one for her.

"Ahem," Piccolo suddenly lands.

"Kami, Piccolo!" Chi-Chi admonishes.

"No. Just Piccolo," he crosses his arms.

"You know what I meant. Why'd you have to sneak up on us like that? What's wrong with you? Why can't I feel your ki?"

"I suppressed my ki. A valuable technique. Follow me," he orders and hovers in the air.

Chi-Chi doesn't even want to consider all of the potential creepy implications that come with not being able to feel his ki for the last three months. She shakes it off and squats for Gohan to jump on her back to follow. Piccolo grunts in disgust that the child still isn't flying on his own.

They fly for a few miles to a flat part of the wasteland. Rubble rests where small mountains once stood. Clearly, this is where Piccolo trains regularly.

"I expect Gohan to be here every day before dawn without you," he informs them.

She nods slowly knowing this is what she signed up for.

"The first month, I will only train Gohan. He's stronger but has significantly more work to do. He doesn't know the first thing about fighting. He can't fly, fire ki, and he can barely sense it."

"That's not true. I've worked with Gohan every day on his fighting technique and to better his ki abilities. I taught him the same way Goku taught me. And now he can sense ki for miles," she says placing her hands on her hips.

"Great. Technique I'll have to train out of him I'm sure," he says landing the insult on the Son woman.

She glowers at him. "If I'm not mistaken, Goku beat you at the last tournament. I would say the form he taught me is solid."

He returns her stare. "And can Gohan sense ki well enough to fight with his eyes closed?"

She rolls her eyes. She can barely do that, and her opponent better be weaker than her if she's trying. So, obviously, her four-year-old can't yet. They've been out here three months and the majority of their time has been spent trying to stay alive.

He turns to Gohan. "I'll see you in the morning."

Gohan gulps.

Next, Piccolo turns to Chi-Chi. "And I won't see you."

"Gohan, start heading back, I'll catch up," Chi-Chi says sending her child away. He's learned that when grown-ups do that, they want to talk about something he's not supposed to know about. She waits for him to be far enough away before turning her attention back to Piccolo. "Look, I'm not going to remind you that Goku will be back in nine months and that anything you do to Gohan is the same as doing it to him…"

"Very subtle," Piccolo crosses his arms.

"But…" she continues, "what I will say is please remember that he is a child. I know he's strong and I know that he's not… entirely human," she admits out loud for the first time, "but I am asking you as a mother, please send my back son to me in one piece."

"That was never in question. Of course, he'll be in one piece. We need him in one piece for the fight against the Saiyans."

She shakes her head. Apparently, men not listening is universal. "Piccolo, I am asking you to protect my son. Please don't see him as your enemy just because he's Goku's child. Please."

Piccolo stares at the passionate female in front of him. He's never met a mother before. In fact, he's actually never spent time with a woman before. After observing her for the last three months, he's concluded that all women are loud and bossy but also gentle and caring. He's not sure the gentle and caring outweighs the loud, though. Her plea begins to penetrate his hard-exterior. Shaking it off, he simply grunts before flying off into the night.

---

Chi-Chi barely slept that night. She mostly looks at her sleeping son and fights the urge all night to take him and run. 'Am I really going to leave my son alone with the person that killed his father? With a person who clearly has so much contempt for me? Not that I really have a choice.' She's assumed for weeks now that if he was going to kill them, he would've done it already, especially now that she knows about his stealth ki suppression technique. She caresses the hair off of Gohan's forehead. 'Can you handle this, little boy?'

"Goku! Catch him!" Chi-Chi screams seeing their son's stroller roll away. They only looked away for a moment and when they looked back, Gohan was racing down the hill and is seconds away from crashing into a tree.

The young parents race toward their child.

"GOKU! He's going to hit that tree!"

"I'm trying! How is he moving so fast?!" Goku moves as fast as he can but overshoots his son's stroller.

"NO!" Chi-Chi watches in terror unable to get to her son fast enough.

Goku springs back around to catch Gohan but something bizarre happens. Gohan's ki spikes for a split second and his parents watch as he launches through the tree. Goku stands on the other side and catches the toddler who immediately collapses in his arms unharmed.

"What just happened?! Is he okay?!" Chi-Chi cries when she reaches them and pulls her son into her arms to look for any injury.

Goku looks back and forth between the tree and Gohan. "Chi-Chi… Did you see what he did?"

She looks at the hole in the tree. "He did that?" she asks in disbelief. "I was sure you put a hole in the tree so he could go through it."

Goku shakes his head. "That wasn't me, Chi." He walks over and cups the back of his son's head.

They both look at the hole then at each other.

"The louder he cried, the faster the stroller went and his ki even rose."

Concern grows on Chi-Chi's face at the implication. "You're suggesting he made it go so fast?"

Goku nods. "If he can launch through a tree like that, then…"

Chi-Chi squeezes Gohan a little tighter. "What are we going to do, Goku?"

He shakes his head unsure before taking the sleeping child back in his arms and placing his hand on him to feel his ki. It's back to normal which means higher than any other baby he's ever met but much lower than it was a minute ago. "He's strong, Chi, which is great, but we will have to keep a close eye on him. I wish Grandpa were here. I could ask him what he did with me. He was probably training me when I was still in dia-"

His sentenced is stopped by her hand in the air. "Don't even think about it."

"What? He will need to be trained at some point."

She rolls her eyes. "The child still chews on his toes. How about we master not confusing body parts with food before we teach him how to fly?"

Goku laughs at her sass. Damn he loves that. "Fair enough. But all I'm saying is if he's flying, he's not chewing on his toes."

Chi-Chi looks out from her cave into the night sky that's getting lighter. Dawn will be here soon. "Goku, forgive me if I'm making a terrible mistake," she whispers before turning her eyes to her son and nudging him. "Gohan, wake up. It's time to train."

---

After a light breakfast and dressing in his training in his gi, Gohan walks alone, armed with water and a makeshift sack of venison jerky and fruit his mother packed, toward the spot where Piccolo told him to meet.

Piccolo lands in front of him causing Gohan to stumble. "Are those… snacks?"

Gohan nods nervously. "My mommy, er, mom," he corrects trying to sound more mature, "packed them for me. She sent enough for you, too," he says handing a second sack to his instructor.

Piccolo takes the bag and looks inside at the peace offering. He assumes this is her final plea not to endanger her child. "I don't eat anything. I live on water alone," he says tossing the sack back to Gohan.

"Oh," he says somewhat defeated. He was also hoping to score some points with Piccolo. "Well, if you ever want to try food, my mommy, I mean, mom is the best cook on earth. My, um, Dad always says she's the best at everything she tries. Except for beating him," Gohan chuckles thinking about his daddy.

Piccolo snarls. This isn't a time for laughing. "Play time is over. From now on, your only focus, your only goal, your only mission is to become as strong as you can."

Gohan stands at attention. "Mr. Piccolo, I know you think I'm really strong but I'm not as strong as you think I am."

"Enough whining!" Piccolo snaps. "It's clear you don't see your own strength. I don't think your parents did because right now, all you're capable of is cheap shots. That won't do against the Saiyans that are coming soon."

Gohan looks down embarrassed.

"First things first, you have to see it in yourself." Piccolo moves faster than Gohan can react. He grabs Gohan by the head and hurls him toward a mountain in the distance.

"MOOOOMMYYYYYYYYYY!" Gohan screams louder and louder the closer he gets to the mountain.

"Come on, kid. Do it. Let go." Piccolo says under his breath as the child soars. "What in the?"

Gohan's ki explodes and his fear swiftly turns to aggression as he pummels the mountain with a blast that not only destroys the mountain but the terrain behind it for miles.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi was meditating on the cliff near their cave but panics as she feels her child's massive energy spike. "I have to go!" She takes off flying toward her son but halfway there something tugs in her chest. Pausing mid-flight, she takes a moment to feel his ki. It's settled again and he feels fine. Two of the three parts that make her whole are warring inside of her. The mother in her is screaming at the warrior in her to go fight for her child and take him away. But the warrior in her who has been pushed to the brink when training with Goku more than once stays put. She closes her eyes and reflects on the power she just felt from the little person she made with her own body.

"But, if Gohan is capable of saving the world, what's wrong with that?"

"I guess we'll find out, Goku," she says to the memory before turning around.

Piccolo looks up after protecting his eyes from the blast to find Gohan's path of destruction from one blast. "WHAT THE?! HOW?! He's so powerful!" he yells seeing the carnage left by the demi-Saiyan. Now, Piccolo feels extremely conflicted. He begins walking toward Gohan. 'Am I such an idiot that I'm going to train my enemy's child who has the potential of becoming my greatest adversary?'

Gohan pushes himself up and looks in front of him. "Did… Did I do that?"

"You did. Now stand up."

Gohan stands at attention again.

"You're strong, Gohan. Do you understand that now?"

Gohan nods a little more confident.

"But your strength is worthless if it's only triggered by your emotions. You have to learn how to use your strength at will. You got a lucky shot on Raditz but imagine if you had gotten twenty planned shots on him. Things might have gone differently. Your father did you a great disservice by not taking advantage of your strength the moment he saw your potential. I can't imagine your run-in with Raditz was your first outburst."

Gohan shakes his head 'no.'

"That's what I thought. Now, drills."

---

"Ow," Gohan winces as his mother cleans and tends his cuts and scrapes from the day's brutal session with Piccolo.

"I know. I'm sorry, baby." Chi-Chi knows that if Goku were here training their son, his injuries would be few and far between. "Tell me about today. How bad was it?"

Gohan munches on his dinner. "It wasn't as bad as I thought. We did a lot of the same thing over and over again. He didn't make many changes to my form, so I guess that's good, but we also sat for a while and meditated. He wants me to be able to fight with my eyes closed. I don't know why since I have eyes. And then we spent the rest of the day sparring. But first thing he did was help me to see how strong I can be."

Chi-Chi puts on one more band-aid. "Oh yeah? How's that?"

"He threw me at a mountain," Gohan states plainly.

Chi-Chi immediately feels sick to her stomach. "He did what?" she asks looking in his eyes.

"Yeah. It was scary at first but then something happened, and I got so mad. I ended up blasting the mountain away. I'll have to show you where it happened."

That explains the early morning energy spike. Chi-Chi does her best to remain calm in front of her son. "That's very impressive Gohan. Your father would be proud."

Gohan smiles up at her with a mouthful.

"Now, you need to get to sleep. Dawn comes early," she says eager to get him down so she can address her… concerns. Gohan goes to the cave and Chi-Chi grabs his training gi for an excuse to leave. "I'm just going to wash and dry this, so you have clean clothes for tomorrow. I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't wait up on me."

Once she sees him tuck into his spot, she soars off full steam ahead to find Piccolo.

"Come on you green bastard. Where are you?" she asks trying to sense his ki. He's no longer suppressing it like he was. "Ah, there." She flies a few miles away to find a meditating Piccolo atop a tall rock formation.

"What do you want?" Piccolo asks annoyed at the interruption while opening one eye.

"You THREW Gohan at a mountain?!" she screams at him.

"Yes," he says bluntly closing his eye back. As far as he's concerned this conversation is over.

Chi-Chi marches at him not willing to be so easily dismissed and slaps him across the face.

His eyes shoot open and his cheek even stings. Still maintaining composure, he rises to tower over her. "Would you like to be reunited with Goku today?" he threatens through gritted teeth.

Not at all intimidated she levitates to be at eye level. "You nearly reunited Gohan with Goku today," she growls with her tone matching his. "You cannot train him if he's dead!"

How dare this weak person speak to him this way. "Are you questioning my methods?!" he roars at her.

But she roars right back. "I am NOT questioning them! I am telling you they're insane! Have you EVER trained anyone before or even BEEN trained?!"

He stares at her silently. No, he hasn't. His skill is completely inherited.

"Well, I have done both! Consider for a moment that I might actually have something valuable to contribute. I have trained with Goku for the last five years and I know my son. AND I will be joining you from now on until I see that I can trust you with him!"

"Like hell you will!"

"Then I will take him and leave!"

"You won't make it very far if you're dead!"

The two face-off in silence each one ready for war if necessary.

Chi-Chi breaks first hoping to mitigate some of the tension before she ends up in Other World leaving her son here with him. She lowers herself to the ground hoping he relaxes at her slight submission to his authority. "Piccolo, I get that you don't understand children. And you're right, I will want to coddle him, and I will probably get in the way."

Piccolo scoffs. There's no "probably" about it.

"But I understand Gohan. He is strong like his father, but he thinks like me. You know Goku well enough to know he's a levelheaded fighter. Gohan and I aren't like that. I'm fairly certain you saw my fight with Goku at the tournament. Gohan and I fight with our feelings for better or worse, but you already figured that out, I assume. Why else would you throw him at a mountain unless you were trying to kill him."

"I've already told you Gohan is no use to me broken or dead," he says.

Twisted as the sentiment is, she finds that somewhat comforting. "Gohan can operate on more than fear. If you will let me, I believe I can help you bring out more in him."

Piccolo shakes his head. "No. I want one month alone with him. But you have my word I won't throw him at another mountain."

She's seeing quickly this is a battle she won't win. Okay, so he won't throw her child at another mountain. Will he drop him from the sky hoping he flies before he hits the ground? Her eyes try to fill with tears, but she fights them off as hard as she can. Right now, all she wants is Goku. If he were here, things would be completely different.

Piccolo detects the change in her energy but instead of ceasing the opportunity to attack, he… softens. "Chi-Chi, we have a common goal. I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I won't be hard on Gohan, but you need to understand that he can take it. He whined today but he didn't cry once. I was completely prepared to have to beat the tears out of him."

Her eyes shoot open. "That is not helping."

He growls in frustration at the situation he's in. He's got to find the right words to calm this woman or she will interrupt his meditations every night. "What I am trying to say is that Gohan is tough. He is tougher than you realize and far stronger than I expected, and I believe we've barely tapped into that. I will send him back to you alive and in one piece every day. But I will not send him back unscathed."

She winces.

"You said you've trained before. Weren't your masters tough?"

"I learned martial arts, Piccolo. Nobody ever threw me headfirst at a mountain and nobody was counting on me to save the world like they are my boys."

Ah. That's what this is really about. Piccolo exhales a calming breath. "Chi-Chi, whether you like it or not, there is an enemy on its way stronger than any enemy Goku or I have ever seen. Your 'boys,'" he cringes using her term, "will be vital in defeating them. If you can't handle that, then I don't know what you're doing here, and I definitely don't know why you're with Goku."

Chi-Chi shivers at the reality slapped in her face. He's right. She knows that world-saving has nearly been Goku's whole existence. Aside from his fight at the tournament against Piccolo, she's lived her life sheltered from Goku's true calling. Now's the time to see if she has what it takes to be Son Goku's wife and the mother of his child.

She steps away from him to fly back. "You win, Piccolo. I'll have Gohan out there again tomorrow morning."

"Once a week," he says with no other context.

She turns around confused.

He extends an olive branch. "You can train with us once a week for this month."

"Okay. Thank you." She smiles a sad smile before taking back off.

---

"Is that it?! Did I make it?!" Goku asks excitedly as he sees a small planet come into view at the end of Snake Way. "FINALLY!" He jumps off of the edge of the path and hovers over the planet. Suddenly he feels like he's being pushed down and lands face first on the grass. "Holy crap, it's so heavy here! How does anyone live in this much gravity?! Is this where I'm supposed to train?" He makes several attempts to push himself up. The veins on his arms look as if they're going to explode until finally, he's upright. "This gravity is insane!"

"Of course, it is! The gravity is ten times that of the earth's gravity. I'm impressed you're even standing."

Goku tries to turn his head to find the source of the voice but only finds a monkey. "Uh, King Kai?" he asks the primate.

"What? NO! That's Bubbles! I'm King Kai!"

Goku then turns his head the other direction to find the deity. "Oh, hi, King Kai. I'm Son Goku from earth. I'm here to train if you're willing to take me on as a student."

"Oh, I know. King Yemma told me to expect you. He's filled me in on you, the Saiyans, the end of the earth, yada yada yada. But by the looks of it I'm not sure you can handle training on my planet. You can barely walk."

Goku frowns feeling defeated. Did he really just run for six months to be turned away?

"But I'll tell you what," King Kai says.

Goku's ears perk up.

"If you can catch Bubbles, I'll train you."

The monkey begins bouncing up and down in excitement and Goku turns his head back the other way and grins. "You're on."

---

"Faster! Harder! Move kid! You're not fast enough! Is this all you've got?!" Piccolo fires a blast at Gohan that sends him hurdling back twenty-five feet.

"Grraagh!" Gohan growls before standing back up and launching at his instructor even more fiercely.

Chi-Chi hovers in the distance and watches the sparring session that could easily be confused as a fight to the death. "That's it Gohan. Good… Good… No, that's too predictable. There you go."

"Come on, Gohan! Where's your rage?! Where's your fire?!" Piccolo punches him square across the jaw.

Gohan stands back up but is too slow and is quickly sent back down when Piccolo sweeps his legs out from underneath him.

"Alright, Gohan. Let's try a different kind of motivation…" Piccolo charges a blast and fires it right at Chi-Chi.

'Piccolo? What are you doing? He hasn't mastered flying yet.' But understanding what Piccolo is doing, she stays in her place bringing up her guard just in case.

"Mom!" Gohan doesn't take the time to process that his mother can defend herself. He simply springs to protect her. But once he's in the air, he charges forward using his ki to fly instead of falling back to earth.

"That's it baby," Chi-Chi whispers seeing him fly toward her.

Gohan races against the blast and makes it just in time to shoot it away from his mother with his own ki blast.

Piccolo chuckles at his student's victory. "Good job, kid," he says to himself.

"Gohan! You did it! You're flying and you just blasted away Piccolo's ki blast!"

He blushes at her praise. "Yeah, I guess I did do that. Flying really isn't that hard," he says as with heavy breathing as he hovers next to his mother.

"I tried to tell you. You just needed to get out of your own head." She ruffles his hair before they descend back to the ground.

"Well, that wasn't terrible," Piccolo says to Gohan. That's the closest thing to praise the boy has ever received from his mentor. "But you still only tap into your greatest potential when your emotions are raw."

Gohan stands with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

"Stand up tall, Gohan. You'll get more air in your lungs," Chi-Chi instructs as she gives him some water.

"Take a few minutes, Gohan. Now, Chi-Chi. Your turn." Piccolo turns to her.

"Right." She moves to take her place across from Piccolo and crouches in her stance. Unlike Goku, Piccolo doesn't wait for her to attack opting to charge at her and immediately put her on the defensive. She'd probably never tell Goku, but she appreciates that method. That's how a real opponent would treat her.

The two trade punches and blows. She knows he holds back with her because she feels the power he uses with Gohan.

Piccolo likes fighting Chi-Chi for the same reason Goku enjoys it. She's different. She has to fight differently being weaker which tends to make her the more crafty fighter between the two of them.

Chi-Chi bends backward narrowly dodging a punch but instead of popping back up she grabs Piccolo's wrist, pushes him up with her leg and flings him over her to his back.

"Nice, Mom!" Gohan cheers.

"Clever," Piccolo says standing back up.

"Well, I know you go easy on me. I wish you wouldn't but for now I'm okay just trying to learn new things."

Piccolo crosses his arms. "The only reason I go easy on you is because I want to see how you fight. If I attacked you with my full strength there'd be no contest but Gohan benefits from seeing something different. You're not just punches and kicks and shooting energy. I'm assuming because of your size and limited strength, you've had to adapt. You're not the strongest fighter but you are a smart fighter."

Chi-Chi can't believe what she's hearing. "Was that a compliment?"

Piccolo's cheeks turn purple. "It was an observation."

"Mhmm," she says taking a drink of water.

After her talk with Piccolo and their training with him the last few months, she finally feels somewhat comfortable leaving Gohan with Piccolo. She'd never say it out loud because Piccolo would probably shoot them both with a massive ki blast just to prove a point, but she's pretty positive he might even be fond of them. "During tomorrow's training session, I'm going to go check on something. I'll be gone for the whole day because it takes forever to get anywhere from here but just wanted to let you both know."

They look at her confused.

"Where are you going, Mom?"

"I just want to check and make sure that everything is ready to bring your father back in a few months. You know me. If I didn't do it myself, I'm not sure it gets done correctly."

Piccolo nods. That's not a bad idea. Last thing they need is for that day to come and there be an issue.

---

"Maybe, this will do the trick?" Bulma says as she tinkers with the scouter she took from Raditz's body. She snaps the lid closed and puts it on her face. Pressing a button on the side she turns it on. "Hey! I can read that!" she says as she turns to her father. "It says your power level is fifteen."

"On what scale? Hopefully out of fifteen," he chuckles as he works on his own project and puffs a cigarette.

"Not even close. When Raditz read Chi-Chi's, he said hers was two hundred something."

"Well, then I guess I should get back to the gym," Dr. Briefs notes.

"When have you ever exercised?" his daughter teases. "Wait, I'm getting something else." The scouter on her face begins beeping wildly a power level of 255 and she runs outside to see if she can track the source when Chi-Chi lands in front of her.

The two stare at each other in awkward silence not having spoken to the other since Chi-Chi confronted them at Kame House. Bulma looks her friend up and down. Chi-Chi's wearing a gi exactly like Goku's and her face looks different. Hardened. Her body is more toned than she's ever seen her, but she's covered in scrapes and bruises. She's quite intimidating.

"Um, hey, Chi-Chi," Bulma says unable to stand the silence. "I'm really happy to see you."

Chi-Chi sighs. Honestly, she's happy to see her, too, despite everything but before she lets that slip, she sees the contraption on her friend's face. "Why are you wearing that?"

"Oh this?" Bulma pulls it off. "I took it from that creep Raditz's body. The tech is incredible, but I wanted to see if I could convert it to our language. It's taken me months and I actually just figured it out before you got here. That's how I knew to come outside. Your power level is 255 in case you're curious. Mine's twelve so… please don't punch me," she says hoping to make her friend laugh.

Chi-Chi puckers her face so that she doesn't smile but eventually breaks into a soft grin. "You're safe."

Feeling more confident, Bulma walks to Chi-Chi almost looking as if she's going to hug her but doesn't. "Chi-Chi… I'm… We're… I just… I'm so sorry. I am so sorry. We never should've kept that from you guys. Never. We just didn't know what to do. We tried to tell Goku. More than once in fact. But we couldn't hurt him. His grandpa was so special to him."

Chi-Chi crosses her arms. "I can't put it all on you guys. Kami knew also and didn't tell him. I'm still really upset with all of you, but I'm not the one you need to worry about."

Bulma sighs and looks down at her feet dreading the conversation with her oldest friend.

"But I didn't come here to discuss that. I just wanted to make sure everything is ready to wish Goku back."

Bulma nods happy she can give her friend some good news. "Yes. We are good to go. The Dragon Balls are at Kame House."

"Do you know what everyone else is up to? Everything happened so fast after Goku died but I hope they're training."

More good news to share. "Yep. In fact, Yamcha, Krillin, Tien, Chiaotzu and even Yajirobe are all training with Kami."

"Yajirobe?" Chi-Chi questions the unfamiliar name.

"Have you not met him before?"

Chi-Chi shakes her head 'no.'

"That makes sense. I don't think he and Goku were ever really tight. I'm honestly not a fan. He's gross, but we need all the help we can get, right?"

"True. Well, that's great," Chi-Chi exhales. Suddenly it feels like a weight is being lifted. Between the eight of them on earth and Goku, surely, they can handle what's coming their way.

"Do… you want to come in for some tea?" Bulma asks cautiously.

Hot green tea. That sounds amazing. Chi-Chi hasn't indulged in anything since she and Gohan joined Piccolo. But it's terrible to treat herself without him. "I can't. Thank you, but I need to get back to Gohan and I really wouldn't feel right indulging without him. Plus, I was thinking I would go check on our house before heading back."

"That's nonsense! I'll send you with a treat for him, too. I know there's more to talk about and, please don't take this the wrong way, but you really look like you could use a cup of tea."

Chi-Chi thinks for a moment. "Do you have those biscuits I like?"

Bulma smiles and wraps her arms around Chi-Chi who reciprocates the hug. "You know I keep those in stock. I also have those cookies Gohan loves. In fact, I'm sending you with a capsule of all the things he loves. If the kid is spending his days with Piccolo, I can only imagine he needs a pick me up every now and then."

Chi-Chi's eyes water thinking about the look on Gohan's face after the time he's had over the last six months. "Thank you, Bulma. He will be so happy."

"I'm just happy I can do something to help. Oh, and…" Bulma hesitates before her next thought.

"And?"

"And I've been checking on your house. I've gone out there a couple times a month. But I ran into your father once, so he's been checking on it, too. I hope you don't mind. I didn't feel right about it sitting out there without you guys and I just wanted to do something helpful."

Chi-Chi's taken aback. Remorse and caring for others are not typically Bulma's strongest qualities. She really does feel bad for keeping that secret from them. "Wow. Thank you, Bulma. That actually makes me feel a lot better. And you saw my father? How was he?"

"He was okay. Sad. He misses you guys so much. He went looking for you at first, but he spoke to Roshi. I think he was able to help him understand what's coming for us," Bulma explains.

Chi-Chi frowns. She hates that he's gone a year without his grandson. "Well, this will be over soon," she says not willing to dwell. "Did you get any of the other tech from Raditz?" Chi-Chi asks changing the subject.

"Unfortunately, no. I went back, and his body looked like it had been zapped away and the spaceship he came in was blown to smithereens. So, this is all I got," she says holding up the scouter.

Chi-Chi nods. Piccolo told her he took care of the body, but it seems like he took care of the whole scene.

"Well, I can't wait to see the look on Gohan's face when I give him those cookies. Oh, and if you've got some to spare, we could probably use some more band-aids," she chuckles looking at her banged up arms.

Bulma winks as she escorts her friend inside. "You got it."

---

Goku lays on his back on King Kai's planet taking a break from training. His mind is fixed on his family wondering what they're doing right now. King Kai looks and sees sadness clearly on the young man's face.

"What's on your mind, Goku?" he says walking over and standing next to his student.

"Huh? Oh nothing," Goku responds sitting up. "I'm just…" he debates on whether he should share this with the deity. "I'm just ready to get back and see my family again."

King Kai pats his shoulder. "Only five more months my boy. But…" he hesitates.

"But what?" Goku asks standing concerned he's going to receive bad news.

King Kai internally debates on whether or not he should let Goku speak to his family. Technically, he's not breaking the rules since Goku will be returning to earth soon. "Would you like to speak to them, Goku?"

Goku's eyes pop open. "What do you mean speak to them?!" he panics. "Are they dead?! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

King Kai waves his hands frantically as Goku's energy begins to soar. "No no! It's nothing like that! They're alive and on earth."

Goku's energy simmers but his expression remains puzzled.

"Place your hand on my shoulder and think of the person you want to speak to. I'll connect you with them," King Kai says. Once he senses Goku's thoughts, he seeks Chi-Chi out on earth.

Chi-Chi's sitting on the edge of the cliff near her cave sipping green tea from a steel mug Bulma sent her with and stroking a sleeping Gohan's hair as his head rests in her lap.

"Okay, I got her Goku. You can speak now," King Kai says locking onto Goku's wife.

"Chi-Chi?"

Startled, she throws the mug to the ground and stands picking Gohan up prepared to defend against the invisible intruder.

"Who's there?!" she asks. It sounded so much like Goku, but she knows that's not possible.

"Chi-Chi! It's me!" the voice says again.

Her eyes immediately fill with tears. She's officially hallucinating. "Oh, Kami. I've gone insane," she says walking back to the cave. If she goes to sleep, maybe she'll be better tomorrow.

"Erm, Goku. I think we scared her," King Kai observes the frightened woman. "Try again."

"Chi-Chi! Honey! It's really me! You're not crazy. I'm speaking to you from Other World!" Goku says hoping to piece it together for her.

The tears fall from her cheeks. "Goku?!" She yells into the night. She's not insane.

"Chi-Chi! Yes! Chi-Chi it's me!"

"What?! How?!" she asks gripping Gohan tightly.

"It's hard to explain but King Kai is helping me speak with you." He pauses getting more emotional than he expected. "Chi-Chi…" he sighs. "I am so happy to hear your voice."

Ironically, her voice is no longer working as she cries happy tears.

Goku smiles softly hearing her happy cries. "Chi, don't cry babe," he says trying to soothe her wishing he could hold her.

"I…" she sniffs trying to relax. "I'm sorry, Goku. I'm just," another sniff, "I am so happy to hear from you, honey. I can't believe it."

"Me too, babe. Are you with Gohan?" he asks hoping to also hear from his son.

"Yes! Just a second!" She starts gently shaking Gohan awake. "Gohan, baby, wake up. Wake up, sweetie. I have the best surprise for you."

Gohan wiggles in his mother's arms. "Mom?" he yawns. "What's going on?"

Goku smiles hearing the interaction between his wife and child.

She giggles. "Okay, Goku. He's awake."

Gohan looks at her more than confused.

"Gohan? Buddy?"

Gohan hops out of her arms and stands at attention hearing his father's voice. "Dad?!" He looks up at his mother. "Mom, what's going on?"

Goku frowns at being called "Dad." Why isn't he "Daddy" anymore?

"He's not here, baby. He's still in Other World. But he's able to speak with us somehow," she says ruffling Gohan's hair.

Overwhelmed, Goku has to take a deep breath. "Hey, son. How are you?"

Gohan's eyes fill with tears like his mother's. Sensing he needs her support, Chi-Chi picks him back up. "I… I'm fine, Dad," he sniffles.

Goku smiles hearing his son's innocent reply. "I'm so glad to hear that, son. What have you two been up to? Schoolwork?"

Chi-Chi and Gohan look at each other and chuckle.

Goku laughs at their giggling pause. They clearly have a secret. "What's going on?"

"You tell him, Mom," Gohan chuckles.

"Um, Goku, there's something I need to tell you." She's really not sure how he's going to take this information. "You'll never believe it, but since you left, we have been training…"

"Wow," Goku says surprised but that's not that weird and surely, she means in addition to schoolwork. "Okay. Well that's awesome."

"That's not all," she says quickly.

Goku leans in to listen as if she was sitting right in front of him.

"We are training and living… in the wilderness… with Piccolo…" she tells him slowly.

If he weren't already dead, that information would have killed him. He sticks a finger in his ear to clean it out. "Did I hear that right?"

Chi-Chi and Gohan giggle again. "It's true, Dad! We've been out here for seven months! Mom and I are 'roughing' it! We hunt and fish and I killed a dinosaur! That fed us for weeks!" Gohan says proudly.

Goku truly can't believe what he's hearing. They're out there living in the wild like he did most of his life without him?

"OH! DAD! Guess what!" Gohan interrupts his father's train of thought.

"What's that, buddy?" Goku asks bracing for the next piece of news.

"I can FLY now! Mr. Piccolo taught me!" Gohan soars around his mother as if his father could actually see him do it.

Goku's face drops slightly. 'Damn… I should've been the one to teach him that,' he sighs on the inside. "That's amazing son. I am so proud of you."

"Okay, Gohan, that's enough," Chi-Chi says pulling Gohan back down to her arms. She will never get him back to sleep but she doesn't care. She's deliriously happy right now. This is the closest thing to normal the three of them have had since Goku died. "How are you, Goku? How's your training?"

Goku doesn't really want to talk about that. He's focused on what's going on with his family. "It's fine, Chi. I'm getting a lot stronger. King Kai has been a great teacher. But, Chi, I want to talk to you privately for a sec."

"You heard your father," she says looking at Gohan. "Go inside and change out of your training clothes. It's bedtime. I'll grab you before Dad has to go."

Gohan frowns but obeys. "Okay, but Dad don't go anywhere before I can tell you 'bye!'"

"I promise, son," Goku responds.

Gohan runs into the cave and Chi-Chi flies to the next cliff over from theirs to have more privacy.

"Okay, Goku. I'm alone."

"Chi-Chi… Why are you two doing this? You've been living in the wilderness since I died? This whole time I thought you were home or maybe at your dad's."

Chi-Chi crosses her arms confused. "Are… are you upset with me, Goku?" she asks really hoping that the first time she's spoken to her husband in seven months doesn't result in a fight.

"No, Chi. I'm worried about you. You've been with Piccolo all this time? I mean I know I said he wasn't like his dad, but I didn't think we'd be camping with him anytime soon. What's going on?"

Chi-Chi sighs. She understands that Goku is where she was seven months ago when Piccolo tried to take their son. "I didn't really have a choice, Goku. He was going to take Gohan from me after you died."

Goku's energy begins to climb. The moment he's not there to defend his family someone else tries to hurt them? "What do you mean?" he says trying to hide his anger.

He can't keep it from her though. Even without their bond or being able to see him she knows that tone. "He was going to take him to train to prepare for…" Her voice trails. They've yet to discuss Goku's true heritage. "To prepare for the Saiyans," she says working up the courage to say the 'S' word.

Goku's lip twitches hearing his wife say that word. "I see."

She continues. "He saw Gohan's strength that day with Raditz and snatched him to take him to train. But then he decided to bring me, too, when I actually managed to put up a fight for Gohan."

This has to be the most eventful conversation Goku has ever had with his wife. "You fought Piccolo? And kept up with him?"

"I mean, he was extremely tired after Raditz and my adrenaline was through the roof… but yes…"

Goku tries to absorb everything she's saying.

"Are you still there, Goku?" she asks the silence.

"Yeah, babe. I'm still here. That's amazing, Chi. I can't believe you fought Piccolo. I would kill to see that," he chuckles.

She's thankful he seems less upset. "So, do you understand? I only came to keep Gohan safe."

"Is he holding you there against your will?"

She chuckles. "Not anymore. And I'm not sure he ever was. I think he's all bark and no bite. If I tried to leave now, Piccolo wouldn't stop us. It has definitely been an interesting experience. But Gohan has gotten so much stronger. He's detecting and firing ki. We still have a lot of work to do but he's young. Plenty of time to learn."

Goku is proud but sad. He missed out on so many things he planned to teach Gohan. But beyond that, he's concerned for his family. If these Saiyans really are that much stronger than Raditz, should they be at that fight?

"What are you thinking, Goku?" Chi-Chi asks her husband's pause.

"I just…" he debates on if he should tell them not to fight but decides against it. "I'm really proud of you two."

Sitting on the cliff, she hugs her legs to her chest. There's so much to discuss with him. Some of it should be said in person, but some of it she needs to say now. "Goku, that was quite a bomb Raditz dropped on us."

Goku flinches and holds his breath concerned about where she's going next.

"And we don't have to talk about it tonight, but I want you to know that I love you. No matter what."

He exhales a sigh of relief. Yeah, he already knew that. But hearing her say it is more than comforting. "I love you, too, Chi."

Tears pool in her eyes again. "We're so ready for you to be home, Goku," she says trying not to let him hear the pain in her voice, but she can't stop her tears from falling.

"Chi, honey, please don't cry," he pleads hating it with every fiber of his being that he can't be there to comfort her.

"I'm sorry, Goku. It's not just that you aren't here. I can't feel you anymore. We lost our connection when you died and I feel… incomplete," she says trying to quiet her cries.

"I know, Chi. Me too. We're going to fix that the second I get back," he says hoping to lift her spirits.

She laughs. "The first thing we're going to do when you get back is defeat these Saiyans but that's a close second."

Now he has something to get off his chest. "I'm sorry that I wasn't stronger, Chi. I'm sorry that I –"

"Goku, do not apologize for dying. Your sacrifice saved our son and the world. If anything, I should be apologizing to you. If I had gotten there sooner or been stronger then maybe…"

"Don't do that, Chi. Everything happened the way it was supposed to happen," he says reassuring her.

She stands up feeling stronger. Kami, she needed this. "You're right, babe. The only thing you need to focus on is getting stronger. Then come home, we'll kick their asses, I'll fix you dinner and then we can get back to our other project."

He chuckles at her spunk and remembering the "project" she's referring to very well.

Lying in bed but not quite asleep yet, Goku opens his eyes and looks down to see a tiny person crawling onto him and resting her chin on his chest. This is her favorite "spot" as she calls it. It's also what she does when she wants something because she's figured out how cute it is. She looks up at him with puppy dog eyes.

He raises his eyebrows waiting for her to speak knowing the drill at this point. "What is it?"

"What are you talking about?" she asks playing coy. "Gohan is asleep and I'm just getting in bed."

He turns his head and looks at all the empty space next to him. "I think you may have confused me with the mattress," he teases but she stays put. "Don't make me force it out of you," he says running his fingers on either side of her rib cage.

"No no!" she panics knowing what's coming. "I was just kid-" but it's too late.

Goku digs his fingers into her ribs and begins tickling her mercilessly. She rolls over on her back in an attempt to escape but he follows her and pins her with his body. "Oh no you don't," he says as she laughs into a pillow so that she doesn't wake Gohan.

She squirms and uses every maneuver she can manage to free herself from this torture, but it never works. "Goku! Stop!" she begs as she laughs.

"Nope! You know how this works! Surrender!"

Unable to endure anymore she slaps the bed. "Yield! I yield!" she laughs and cries trying to catch her breath.

Still on top of her, Goku bends down and kisses her nose. "Now will you tell me what's on your mind?" he says scooting off to lay facing her on his side.

She looks up and rolls to meet him. "You know there are laws against torture and cruel and unusual punishment, right?"

"Yeah, I'm not sorry," he says arrogantly. "What's up, babe?"

Chi-Chi takes a deep breath and thinks of the way to say what she wants.

Goku looks at her puzzled. Now he feels a little guilty for tickling her since she seems to want to discuss something important. "Chi?"

She exhales. "Okay. I'm just going to say it."

He nods waiting for her to continue.

"I want to have another baby."

Goku blinks then stares at her.

She continues. "Gohan will be four in just a few days. I think he needs a sibling and I'd love to have them as close together as possible."

Goku doesn't mind the idea of another kid. But he remembers how tough labor ended up being on her. She's much stronger now but still.

"Goku, you haven't said anything."

He sits upright. "Well, I'd love to have another kid and Gohan would be a great big brother."

"But?" she asks of his incomplete thought.

He sighs. He doesn't want to disappoint her but has to voice his concerns. "You nearly died giving birth to Gohan. If I hadn't been there, who knows what would've happened?"

"But you were there. And you'll be there the next time, too, and now we know what to expect. Plus," she scoots closer to him, "I'm so much stronger now than I was with Gohan. You've whipped me into shape."

He chuckles. "Yeah, I had to do that so you could keep up with me in here," he says referencing their bedroom.

She slaps his chest. "Whatever. I heard no complaints from you on our honeymoon."

He pushes her back to her elbows on the bed. "Definitely no complaints," he says crawling on top of her and bending down to give her lips a sweet kiss. "Okay, babe. Let's do it. If you're ready, I'm ready."

A big smile spreads across her face and she pulls him down for a deep kiss. "Well, then. Let's practice," she says pulling her top off.

Goku accidentally squeezes King Kai's shoulder too tightly at the prospect of being intimate with his wife.

"Ouch, Goku!" King Kai scolds.

"Whoops. Sorry, King Kai," Goku chuckles nervously before turning his attention back to his wife. "That sounds like a plan, Chi. Go get Gohan so I can tell him bye."

Chi-Chi flies back over to their camp to find their son. "Okay, Goku. We're both here."

"Hey, Dad!" Gohan yells.

"Gohan, buddy, I am so proud of you and your mom. I can't wait to see how much stronger you've gotten."

Chi-Chi sits by the fire with Gohan in her lap. "You'll be impressed Goku. He may even give you a run for your money," she teases.

"No way will I ever be stronger than Dad," Gohan says in disbelief.

"I don't know, son. It could happen," Goku encourages. "I mean it. I am proud of both of you. I can't wait to get home."

"Do you have to go already, Daddy?" Gohan asks regressing to who he was seven months ago.

Goku smiles being called "Daddy" again. "I need to get back to it up here. I will see you both soon."

Chi-Chi searches her mind for anything else she needs to say before they part again. "Oh! Goku! The Dragon Balls are at Master Roshi's. When you're ready to be wished back, he's who you talk to."

"Okay, Chi-Chi. Got it. I love you guys. I'll see you soon."

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, baby. Come home to me Son Goku," she says as always.

He smiles. "I promise."

And with that, it's just the two of them again. Chi-Chi holds Gohan as he cries softly in her arms fighting her own tears. "Shh. I know baby. But we should be happy we got to hear from Daddy," she soothes.

"I just miss him, Mommy. So much."

"Me too, honey. Me too. But just a few more months. You should make a list of everything you want to do when he comes home."

Gohan perks up as she dries his tears. "Yeah! And I can show him my sword! Maybe we can go camping!" But then he looks at his surroundings. "Well… maybe not camping. Oh! That amusement park you said I couldn't go to until I was five! Well, I'll be five when this is over."

Chi-Chi's heart sinks. His birthday is two months before the Saiyans are set to arrive and this is how they'll be spending it. Not to mention she and Goku have missed their fifth wedding anniversary. A theme park vacation would be more than perfect for her family. "That sounds great, Gohan. You have more than earned it."

"Sweet family, Goku," King Kai says as Goku lowers his hand. After not receiving a response he turns around to see Goku's melancholy face. "I'm sorry. I thought that would help."

"No, I'm very grateful, King Kai. I just can't believe what they're putting themselves through. I expected Chi-Chi to have Gohan in school and be running the market on the weekends."

"Tsk! Those are the things normal people do and you guys do not strike me as normal. Otherwise you wouldn't be on my planet."

Goku laughs and rubs the back of his head. "Yeah 'normal' isn't a word anyone's ever used to describe me. Guess that's gonna be the same for my wife and kid, huh?"

"Honestly, I'm impressed that you even have a kid."

Goku looks at him extremely confused. "What the heck does that mean?"

"No, I just mean because you're Saiyan and she's not. I didn't know that humans could crossbreed."

Goku scrunches his nose at the funny word. "Crossbreed?"

"Have children with a race of people different from their own. I wouldn't imagine they're compatible with every alien race but that is interesting. There won't ever be anymore full-blooded Saiyans but Saiyans will live on through your family," he explains.

Goku still isn't used to the idea of being a Saiyan and after his only encounter with a Saiyan he's not thrilled about the idea either. But then he considers what else King Kai said. "Live on? What happened to the Saiyans?"

"Let's go in and discuss it over a pot of tea," King Kai suggests.

Once inside, Goku pulls up a chair for his teacher and sits anxiously waiting to learn more about where he came from.

"Thank you, Goku," King Kai says taking his seat. "Now, a long time ago before you were born, there were two tribes that lived on Planet Vegeta…"

---

"Guess what, Mr. Piccolo," Gohan says as he and his instructor fly back to his cave.

Piccolo grunts.

"Tomorrow is my birthday. Instead of going back to meditate when we get done training tomorrow, I wanted to see if you wanted to come celebrate with me and my mom?"

Piccolo stops flying. "How do you know tomorrow is your birthday?"

"Well, we're not sure it's my actual birthday but Mom said we'd be celebrating tomorrow. She said we're two months from the Saiyans showing up and knew my birthday was right around then. She said it's not the real celebration because my dad's not here and that when he gets back, she's taking me on a big vacation. At first, I was excited about getting to ride roller coasters but I'm really looking forward to all the food. But anyway, come hang out with us. She's cooking fish and deer and a stew she figured out how to make while we're out here. It'll be fun."

Piccolo rolls his eyes. "Do you guys think this is some kind of vacation? We're not here to have fun. We're here to train."

"My dad always said that rest and relaxation is just as important as training," Gohan retorts.

"Well if your father had focused more on the training and less on relaxing, he might've been here training you instead." Piccolo immediately regrets the words, but he can't take them back now.

All of the color drains from Gohan's face as he fights back tears. He turns to take off flying again without saying another word.

Piccolo flies behind him. "Gohan. Stop."

But he doesn't. He lands on the cliff next to their cave.

"Hey, baby. Dinner is almost…" Chi-Chi starts but Gohan rushes past her and into their cave as Piccolo lands right behind him. Chi-Chi grabs his arm. "What happened?"

Piccolo pulls away. "Nothing."

Chi-Chi grabs his arm again and narrows her eyes. "What. Happened?"

Piccolo takes an annoyed but poignant breath. Things were so much easier when he lived out here alone. "I said something I shouldn't have said."

Chi-Chi lets go of his arm and rotates their meal over the fire. "Well then you need to go apologize to him. That child worships you and so help me if you make his life any harder than it already is, I will pull your limbs off while you sleep."

Piccolo ponders what she said. Gohan 'worships' him? Why on earth would he do that? All he does is kick his ass every single day. But he quickly shakes of the sentimentality. "I've never apologized to anyone before and I don't plan on starting now."

Chi-Chi marches back over to him again. "You've also never been a part of a team before." She points to the symbol on her shirt. "When you gave us these gis you said we were in your camp now. That meant something to him, and it means more and more every day we're out here. You go fix this. Now."

Piccolo growls but walks into the cave. He takes a look around and is floored by what he finds. They've made this place into a home. They have bamboo mats covered in animal hide to sleep on; they've each drawn pictures on the walls using rocks. He's assuming Chi-Chi drew the intricately designed lotus flower and Gohan drew the stick figure family with what looks to be a pet dinosaur. On the opposite wall there's a giant table of numbers and another table with letters. He presumes this is related to the schoolwork Gohan complains about sometimes during their sparring breaks.

Gohan's sitting in a corner that looks to be designated as his spot doctoring some of his minor injuries from today's training. "What do you want?" he frowns.

Piccolo walks over and sits on the opposite wall. "What's all this?" Piccolo asks pointing to the tables of numbers and letters.

Always respectful, Gohan responds. "The one on the left is my multiplication table. It gets bigger every day. The one on the right is the periodic table. Mom and I wrote it from memory so I wouldn't forget it."

"I see." Piccolo doesn't know what any of that meant. "Well, I just wanted to say I didn't mean what I said."

"Yes, you did," Gohan keenly observes for an almost five-year-old.

"Well, maybe I did but I shouldn't have said it. Goku thought I was his greatest threat and he trained to be able to match me. None of us knew something like the Saiyans would come our way. Your father is a great warrior. We were all outmatched by that monster. I've done nothing but train since I was born and even I wasn't a match. If it weren't for your father, we would all be dead."

The tension in the cave begins to melt as Gohan smiles thinking about how strong his dad is. "I'm excited to see him soon. It's getting close. I can't wait to show him everything you've taught me."

Piccolo smiles, something he keeps catching himself doing. "Well, I know he'll be proud." Feeling like his work here is done, he stands to leave the cave.

"You'll come tomorrow, right?" Gohan asks before he can escape.

"I'm pretty sure if I don't your mother will rip off one of my body parts. They grow back but it's not great having them removed or growing them back. So, yeah. I'll stop by."

Gohan chuckles. Now even Mr. Piccolo is scared of his mom. At least he and his dad will have that in common when he comes back.

---

"Okay, Gohan! Blow out your candle and make a wish!" Chi-Chi says holding a leaf she lit with ki to serve as a candle for their festivities.

He giggles and blows out his "candle."

"Now don't tell us what you wished for or it won't come true," Chi-Chi says as she gives him a whopping ten cookies tonight from their Bulma stash.

"Hey. Where'd you get those?" Piccolo asks annoyed.

Chi-Chi and Gohan chuckle. "Oh, uh, Mom found a cookie bush in the forest. Don't go look for it because I picked them all."

Chi-Chi laughs hysterically. Her little boy's quick wit is too much sometimes. Piccolo simply rolls his eyes.

"I'm sorry I don't have a present for you, Gohan, but I promise the moment this is behind us we'll do something special," Chi-Chi apologizes.

"Oh, that's okay, Mom. Even living in a cave, you still threw me a birthday party," he says giving his mom a hug. "Mr. Piccolo, you have to come to one of the real birthday parties my mom throws for me. They are always so fun. Last year, we had an epic laser tag game at my grandpa's castle and the year before that all of our friends came over and we went to the World Martial Art's Tournament Museum. You should go. There are pictures of your fight with my dad."

"I'll pass," Piccolo says as he stands to leave. "But before I go, I do have one thing to give you. Stand up," he orders Gohan.

Gohan does as he's told, and he and Chi-Chi look at Piccolo puzzled that he had the forethought to bring a birthday present.

Piccolo raises his finger and does his "magic trick" again. Gohan's clothes change from the gi that resembles his father's to match the purple outfit Piccolo trains in. "There. Your mother will represent your father's school at the fight, but you'll represent mine."

Gohan looks over his new duds completely shocked. "Wow…" he gasps. "Thanks, Mr. Piccolo!" he says running to hug his teacher.

"Agh!" Piccolo flinches at the show of affection. He picks Gohan up by his head and places him an arm's length away from him. "Let's drop the 'mister.' Just 'Piccolo' from now on," Piccolo requests.

Gohan smiles and nods. "I'll wear these with pride and honor," he says puffing his chest.

Chi-Chi stands behind Gohan to look at Piccolo. "Thank you," she mouths where Gohan can't hear.

Piccolo nods. Having his share of sappiness for the evening, he quickly retreats into the sky.

"Well, little boy, I think it's safe to say this is one birthday you won't ever forget," she says to her son as he continues admiring his new gi.

"Nope. Not ever."

---

Chi-Chi and Piccolo watch from a distance as Gohan does one-handed vertical pushups with a boulder on his feet.

"Well, I guess our temporary truce is over in about a month."

"You guess correctly," Piccolo responds coolly.

Over the last couple of days, Chi-Chi's noticed a distance growing between them and Piccolo. He's pulled himself back. At first, she thought it's because he hasn't changed his mind about trying to defeat Goku. But after careful consideration, she's decided it's because he's going to miss them. Of course, that's another thing she would never say out loud.

Chi-Chi rolls her eyes. "Whatever, Piccolo. I'm going to fix dinner. Send him back after you get done telling him you plan to kill his father again."

Piccolo's cheeks turn purple. Of course, he's not going to tell Gohan that. No matter how annoying it is, he likes the brat. But this was not in the plan. Train the kid. Beat the Saiyans. Kill Goku. World domination. The end. "Maybe defeating Goku can at least wait until after that trip you're planning."

Chi-Chi grins. "Thanks. He'll appreciate that. You know, he's also suggested that we plan regular tips out here to visit once the Saiyans are defeated. But again, he probably won't want to do that if you kill his dad. So just think about it," she sasses and takes off into the sky.

"Gohan!" Piccolo yells.

Gohan kicks off his boulder and flies over to Piccolo. "Yessir?"

"That's enough for today. Go get some rest. You're going to need it. The last phase of our training begins tomorrow. The Saiyans will be here in a month. It's time to push ourselves," Piccolo informs him.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow." He takes off and easily catches up with his mother, his speed and strength far surpassing anything Piccolo and Chi-Chi expected from the child.

"One more month," Piccolo declares before taking off toward his own area.

---

"What do you mean the Saiyans are on their way?! We're supposed to have another month!" Bulma screams at Roshi.

"Goku just told me! We have to wish him back now!"

"Goku told you?" she asks concerned. "Um, Master Roshi. Goku's dead. He can't talk to you."

Roshi grabs her arms and shakes her wildly. "Dammit! Listen to me woman! We've got to wish him back right now! He got in touch with me from Other World!"

Okay, he's not joking. Bulma grabs the Dragon Balls. They take them to the beach and make their wish.

"Where… Where is he?" she asks looking around.

"What do you mean I have to run back down Snake Way?! It took me six months to get here!" Goku screams at King Kai.

"You were supposed to have another month to get there! You've just gotta go! It won't take you as long this time because you're much stronger!" King Kai yells.

"My family is going to this fight! Is there really not a faster way?!

"NO! GO!"

"We have to warn the others! So, they can be prepared!" Bulma exclaims.

"I don't think there's time for that…" Roshi responds sensing two dark forces entering the atmosphere.

"So, what's on the agenda today, Piccolo?" Chi-Chi asks as she and Gohan meet with Piccolo for what promises to be their most grueling day of training yet. "Wait… What's that..?"

The three of them all look to the sky in the same direction.

"They're here," Piccolo states.

"But… they're a month early," Gohan tries to understand.

Chi-Chi's heart sinks at what she feels next. "Did… did they just?"

Piccolo clenches his fists. "Yes. They just wiped out a city. They're here and we're fighting today. Get ready."

The remaining scattered Z Fighters all take off toward the three largest stationary power levels they can sense, assuming that's Piccolo, Gohan and Chi-Chi with Krillin reaching them first.

"Krillin!" Chi-Chi yells. "Do you know anything about Goku? Where is he?" she asks with no time for pleasantries.

"I don't know. I haven't sensed him yet, but I know a wish was made. I could see the sky get dark from where I was."

"That doesn't make sense. He should be on earth," Piccolo frowns.

"Gohan, look at me," Chi-Chi says squatting in front of him. "Look you do not attack until you're told to. Do you understand me? We will let them start this and try to buy some time until your father is here."

Gohan nods. "Yes ma'am."

The hairs stand up on the back of her neck when she feels a looming presence. All four of them look up.

"Shit," Krillin says under his breath.

The two Saiyans lower themselves to the ground. One of them is massive. It looks like his muscles have muscles. But despite their size differences, he doesn't seem to be the one in charge. In front of him is a short but clearly powerful Saiyan with hair that defies gravity like Goku's.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here, Vegeta? I don't think any of these is Kakarot. The strongest one here is a Namekian."

"His name is Goku," Chi-Chi growls.

"Chi-Chi!" Piccolo snaps. He'll be damned if her temper gets them killed. "What's a Namekian?" Piccolo scowls.

"What's a Namekian? You're a Namekian," the larger one points at Piccolo. "You know. From Namek. What kind of dumbass question was that?"

Piccolo stands their dumbfounded. 'I'm not from earth,' he says internally. Another thing he now has in common with Goku but can't focus on right now.

The Saiyans walk closer to them. "She talks like a Saiyan," the one called Vegeta notes pointing at Chi-Chi. "They both look like Saiyans," he nods to her and Gohan. "But what's a 'Goku?'" he asks mocking her.

"Nothing," Piccolo interferes. "It's nothing. Now, what do you want?" Piccolo asks stalling for time.

Before they can answer, Yamcha, Tien and Chiaotzu land to join them. Chi-Chi thanks Kami but still isn't sure this is enough manpower.

"Wow y'all have more people eager to die than I would've guessed. But, what'd you ask? Oh, right. What we do we want? That's a fair question. Right, Vegeta?" the tall, bald one asks.

"Sure, Nappa. Oblige them."

"Well, we're here to kill Kakarot, use the Dragon Balls, kill everyone else on this planet, then sell it. I think that pretty much sums it up."

Vegeta nods in agreement. "Now, where is Kakarot?"

"He's on his way," Piccolo responds as he continues to represent the group. Within seconds the remaining Z fighters land at the scene.

"Had an important meeting, I suppose?" Vegeta mocks. "Well, I guess we'll start by killing you."

The fighters all step back into their stances.

"Ooh, Vegeta. Let's use the Saibamen. We haven't done that in a while."

"Good call, Nappa. They all have a power level about the same as Raditz's and should handle this quickly."

Nappa steps forward, pulls out a vial and pours something out. Suddenly, the seven fighters come face-to-face with six of the most disgusting green creatures they've ever seen.

"What the fuck?" Yamcha asks grossed out.

"Gohan, there are only six of them. You stay back," his mother orders.

"Instead of a battle royale, how about one-on-one combat?" Vegeta proposes.

Piccolo growls feeling insulted by his games.

"Piccolo, this is a good idea," Krillin whispers. "This buys us more time to wait for Goku."

"Where the hell is he?" Yamcha asks the group.

"I'm coming guys! I promise! Just hold on a little bit longer," Goku continues flying down the path as fast as he can.

"I'll go first," Tien volunteers to take on one of the Saibamen. They face each other and the creature woefully underestimates Tien before being struck down.

Annoyed, Vegeta kills the Saibaman for failing to complete his task.

"He just killed one of his own!" Krillin exclaims.

Chi-Chi scoots closer to Gohan, keeping him behind her.

Vegeta observes the interaction between the female and child and makes a careful note. "The female," he grunts quietly to Nappa.

"What about her?" Nappa asks.

"She can crossbreed. That there is the brat she made with Kakarot. I'm sure of it. Look at the tail wrapped around his waist," Vegeta says narrowing his eyes at Gohan.

Nappa's face turns up into an evil grin. "I'm following you now. Keep her alive?"

"Yes, keep her alive."

"What about other females on this planet?" Nappa asks.

"We scanned for other power sources on this planet the moment we landed. There's not another female on here that could handle a Saiyan. Kakarot has already broken this one in."

"Understood."

Piccolo's eyes widen in horror. He's not completely in the know with human or Saiyan mating customs but he understands enough to read between the lines.

"Piccolo, what are they saying?" Krillin asks, his stomach sinking as he follows their eyes to Chi-Chi.

"Nothing to worry about," Piccolo bluffs not wanting to add to their already shaken nerves.

Krillin doesn't believe him and volunteers to go next hoping to protect his friend's family as long as he can.

"No, Krillin. Let me go next," Yamcha steps up. "You've already been wished back once." He squares up against the next Saibaman.

"You better not hold back!" Vegeta orders the creature. "They're stronger than they seem!"

Nervous for what will happen to him if he doesn't win, the creature launches at Yamcha and the two fight an even battle until Yamcha seemingly bests him. "These guys are no sweat," he says dusting off his hands.

"Yamcha look out!" Chi-Chi screams a warning but it's too late.

Knowing it would be killed by Vegeta for not winning, the creature wraps its arms and legs around the Z Fighter and blows himself up, ending Yamcha's life with his own.

"YAMCHA!" Krillin shouts in anger.

"Oh, Kami," Chi-Chi whispers as so much death is already taking place. "Gohan, you have to get out of here," she begs her child.

"No, Mom! I'm going to stay and fight!" Gohan says as his own energy begins to build.

"Son Gohan, you listen to me right now! Leave!"

"Kill them all but the female," Vegeta orders the remaining Saibamen as he sees the child's power level increasing. Yes, that's definitely Kakarot's child.

"What did he just say?!" Tien asks but doesn't have time to investigate. Krillin's rage wins out before Gohan's as he fires a blast into the air that eliminates three of the remaining four Saibamen.

The last Saibaman sets his sights on Gohan but Chi-Chi steps back in front of him charging a blast.

"I don't think so!" the woman warrior cries firing a powerful blast of ki, obliterating the creature that dared to touch her child.

"That does it!" Nappa roars before going on the attack. Setting his sights on Tien, the two exchange powerful blows but Tien clearly struggles.

"We have to do something!" Chi-Chi says looking for an opportunity to jump in and help. Seeing an opening she leaps up.

"No, Chi-Chi!" Piccolo warns. He thought he had broken her of acting so quickly on her emotions.

Her attempt makes no difference. She's quickly punched in the gut and launched into the earth by Nappa. "Stay down there, bitch!" Nappa yells continuing his assault.

"Dammit, Nappa! I told you not to kill her!" Vegeta shouts.

"She'll be fine!" Nappa shouts back as he continues his assault on Tien.

Piccolo growls and Krillin recoils having his suspicions confirmed about their plans for his friend's wife.

"Mom!" Gohan runs to his mother's aid and helps her to her feet.

Vegeta chuckles getting the confirmation he was looking for of the connection between the fighting female and child. He only needs to check one other thing.

"I'm fine Gohan. Tien's the one we need to worry about."

"You're not fine! You're bleeding and your arm looks…"

"It's dislocated," Krillin says taking a quick glance before looking back up.

Just as he finishes his thought, Tien lets out a horrifying cry when Nappa punches his arm clean off just above the elbow, the severed limb landing right in front of them next to Yamcha's charred body.

"Tien!" Chiaotzu cries. He and Krillin rush to help their fallen friend but are stopped by a blast from the brutal Saiyan.

Unable to take it anymore, Chiaotzu launches his own attack.

"What is he doing?!" Krillin cries finally making it to Tien's side.

"He's going to… No! Chiaotzu don't do it!" Tien yells recognizing what his friend is attempting.

"Don't do what?!" But before Chi-Chi can have her question answered an explosion fires above them. She covers her mouth with the hand from her good arm when she realizes the sacrifice Chiaotzu just made.

Before the dust even settles, they hear a sinister laugh above them. "Ha! Another one bites the dust! Or becomes dust I should say!" Nappa laughs.

"You won't be laughing like that once Goku gets here!" Piccolo declares.

"Who is this person you're positive is going to win? And why isn't he here?" Vegeta questions intrigued. "Is that what you call Kakarot?"

"His name is GOKU!" Chi-Chi shouts again.

"Kakarot is who you're banking on?!" Vegeta laughs back. "Nappa! Did you hear that?! A low-level warrior like… like… Kaka…!" He can't even get the words out. His laugh turns into wails as he holds his sides to keep them from bursting. "Well," he says coming out of his laughing fit, "when will he be here?"

"He'll be here soon! Three hours!" Piccolo shouts the random time frame.

Tien isn't finished with Nappa yet, still reeling from his friend's mocked sacrifice. "You're a monster!" he sprints toward Nappa in the sky in anger, but the fight is one-sided. With missing an arm and his blood loss, the warrior deteriorates quickly.

Krillin rushes to help but is stopped by Piccolo.

"Wait. We could have the element of surprise. Tien's got a little fight left in him and when Nappa goes on the offensive, we'll attack." Piccolo spells out a plan with Gohan and Krillin excluding the injured Chi-Chi.

"Wait for it… Wait for it… NOW!" Piccolo orders as he and Krillin each follow through on the plan. "Yes!" he shouts feeling a victory coming. All that's left is… "Now, Gohan! NOW!"

Gohan stands and tries to gather ki in his hands as Nappa has been launched at him by Krillin but is distracted by Yamcha's body and Tien's arm. He freezes in place.

"Gohan!" Chi-Chi cries seeing the gruff Saiyan coming right for her child. She stands in front of him to take his place in the plan and tries to fire a blast. Ultimately, she is too weakened to do any damage. Out of options, she throws herself on Gohan and braces for impact, but they're quickly saved by Piccolo's quick thinking and kick to Nappa's face.

"I… I'm sorry, Mom!" Gohan passionately apologizes after his mother rolls to her back. He takes her good arm and helps her sit up.

"Don't apologize, son. You shouldn't even be here," she says in shame. 'Goku, where are you?'

"Yes! I'm close!" Goku yells as he passes familiar landmarks. "Chi-Chi! Gohan! I'm coming! Just stay alive!"

"Tien! Stop! You're too weak!" Krillin pleads with his friend as he charges up his signature Tri-Beam Cannon technique.

The warrior doesn't listen as he fires the blast at Nappa in one last attempt to rid them of the Saiyan scum.

"NO!" Krillin cries praying he doesn't lose another friend.

Chi-Chi's heart stops as she watches Tien's body fall from the sky. The fighter poured every ounce of energy he had into the failed final blast, forfeiting his life.

Piccolo leaps forward and catches Tien's body before it can hit the ground.

"Kami!" Goku yells seeing the earth's guardian at the checkout station. "I have never been so happy to see you."

"Yes, boy. Quickly now," Kami says taking his arm and transporting them back to the Lookout.

"FINALLY! Thanks, Kami! NIMBUS!" Goku yells soaring off the lookout. The yellow cloud quickly appears and catches his friend. "Yes! I'm home!" Goku says feeling like himself again. "Korin! Senzus!" he cries seeing the keeper of the senzu beans coming into view.

"You got'em, Goku! I've got two! Welcome back!" Korin says tossing them his way.

Goku eats one for himself and tucks the other for whoever needs it. Now that he has a moment, he closes his eyes and feels out the situation searching for his family. He locks onto two massive kis with evil energies. The Saiyans for sure. Next, he finds one familiar ki. "That's Gohan, no question. Man, he's gotten strong. Now, where's your mom?... There! Yes! I'm close, Chi!"

Piccolo and Krillin brace for Nappa's next assault.

"Nappa! Stand down!" Vegeta orders right as he was about to attack.

Nappa freezes mid-attack. "Vegeta? Are we really going to wait on this guy? We got things to do. Let's get out of here," he wines.

"Yes! Now do as I say and stand down!" Vegeta orders.

Nappa does as he's told and stands beside Vegeta.

Thankful for the reprieve, the surviving Z Fighters stand beside each other. Piccolo observes their enemies looking for any kind of weakness when he gets an idea. "Their tails…"

"What about them?" Krillin asks.

"That has to be their weakness," he suggests.

"No, Piccolo," Chi-Chi says knowing better. "We spent two weeks training that weakness out of Gohan. Goku even had it trained out of him as a child. I'm positive they would've done the same. That's a death wish."

Piccolo scowls. "Dammit, you're right. Wait… Is that?"

"That's Dad!" Gohan leaps for joy feeling his father's energy race toward them.

"Are you suggesting you can detect a power level without using technology?" Vegeta scoffs picking up his scouter. He knows they're bluffing but he looks in the direction they're pointing. "WHAT THE?!" he exclaims.

"What is it?!" Nappa asks.

"They're right! A massive power level is headed straight for us! Kill them all now! I'll grab her!"

"What about the Dragon Balls?! They said if we kill the Namekian then they won't work!"

"We will visit Namek next and use THEIRS! If he can make them, they can make them. Now, move!"

Piccolo, Krillin and Gohan all stand protectively in front of Chi-Chi.

"Chi-Chi! Get out of here!" Piccolo orders as he and Krillin charge Nappa.

She doesn't listen. Using what she has left she prepares to fight with Gohan.

Nappa makes quick work of Krillin when he slams his knee into his gut. Next, he dodges Piccolo's attempt and pounds him hard in the back of the head rendering him temporarily unconscious.

Seeing him coming for his mother, an enraged Gohan charges at Vegeta.

"Cute kid but you're nothing compared to me," Vegeta says dodging the child's blows before throwing him toward Nappa. "Nappa! Kill this one now!"

Nappa lines Gohan up in his sights and prepares his largest blast yet.

"NO! GOHAN!" Chi-Chi cries moving as quickly as she can to her child.

"Not so fast," Vegeta says grabbing her injured arm causing her to cry out in pain.

"NO! LET ME GO!" Chi-Chi kicks and fights with all of her might to get away but she's too weak. "At least let me help my son! Please! Goku where are you?!"

"Yes, Go-ku. Where are you?" Vegeta mocks.

Chi-Chi's watching her worst nightmare come true when the blast fires at her child with her powerless to stop it when suddenly her child is saved.

"AAAAAGGGHHHHH!" Piccolo cries after mustering everything he had left to take Gohan's place in the way of the blast.

"NO! PICCOLO!" Gohan watches mortified as his friend takes the blast that was meant for him full on. Once the stream of ki ends, Piccolo falls to his knees then to his stomach. Gohan rushes to his side, takes his hand and looks at the burns on his body. There's no coming back from this. "Piccolo, just hang on. My Daddy will be here soon," he cries softly.

"Gohan," Piccolo coughs. "Thank you for this year. You and your mother taught me more than I could've ever taught you. You are the only friend I've ever had. I am so proud of you, kid."

"Piccolo?" Gohan cries seeing his teacher's eyes close. "Piccolo!" Gohan's energy skyrockets as rage consumes him.

"Nappa! What are you waiting for?! Kill that child!" Vegeta panics seeing Gohan's renewed strength.

"Masenko… HAAAAAAA!" Gohan fires Piccolo's technique at Nappa.

"Shit!" Nappa yells as he unexpectedly has to block the force of the demi-Saiyan's blast.

"Yes! Gohan!" Chi-Chi cheers as she pauses from her struggle with Vegeta to admire her child. Her celebration is premature, however, when Gohan collapses after expending all of his energy on the blast. Her expression fades to defeat, and she goes completely numb. That monster is going to kill her child and she can't do anything. Goku didn't make it.

"Okay, Nappa. Finish him and let's go," Vegeta says before turning his attention to Chi-Chi. "Now let's see." He raises her shirt in the back to confirm she's not Saiyan. "No tail stub." Next, he pulls her collar to the side. "And a mark. So, you really can crossbreed. Don't worry, you won't have to mourn your son for too long. You'll have more children soon."

Her stomach turns at the implication, but she finds a flaw in his logic. "Keep Gohan alive! If more Saiyans is what you want just keep him alive!" she begs.

"No. He's too far gone. His mind has been poisoned by this planet." He hoists her into his arms.

She kicks and screams as she watches Nappa march toward her son. "I won't be missing this time," he growls at the tired little boy.

"Nappa! Now!" Vegeta commands. But then he looks down and suddenly his arms are empty. "What the?"

Chi-Chi looks around and realizes she's now in someone else's arms. She blinks and doesn't believe her eyes. "Goku…?"

"Hey, Chi."

"Goku!" she cries wrapping her good arm around his neck before turning her head to see their son floating safely on Nimbus. "Thank, Kami you're here."

Goku looks his wife's body over and feels her ki closely. "You're very weak, Chi-Chi. Here, eat part of this. I can't give you a whole one. I have to split it up."

Chi-Chi declines her half of the senzu bean. "Give it to Gohan and Krillin. They need it more."

Goku frowns but doesn't argue. Next, he places his hand on her head and absorbs her memories to get caught up on the fight – a technique he learned from King Kai. He watches a replay from his friends being beaten mercilessly, Piccolo's sacrifice for his child and the monsters in front of him plotting to rape his wife. But he controls his anger. For now. He places her on her feet and gives her the broken senzu to give to their son and their friend.

Chi-Chi doesn't question what just happened. They'll talk about it later. She gives Gohan and Krillin the senzu.

Gohan leaps to his feet. "Daddy!" he shouts seeing his father in person and rushing over to him.

Goku picks his child up. "Hey, son. We'll catch up later. Right now, I need you to get your mom out of here. I didn't have a senzu for her and she's hurt. Okay?"

"What?! Goku, I'm not leaving you out here!" Chi-Chi protests.

"This isn't open for discussion," Goku says sharply.

"Chi-Chi," Krillin interjects, "you and Gohan have to leave. You are Goku's weakness in this fight. They will use you against him."

Chi-Chi opens her mouth to protest again not ready to be away from her husband yet.

"Krillin, take them. Now," Goku says with a serious expression on his face before she can speak.

"Yeah, Goku. I got them. Good luck."

The three begin to take off when Goku grabs Chi-Chi's wrist on her uninjured arm and pulls her back for a deep kiss. "Sorry. Couldn't wait any longer for that."

She chuckles almost forgetting what's going on around them. "You're not sorry." She wants to kiss him again but feels eyes on them reminding her where they are. "Come home to me, Son Goku."

"I promise."

The three take flight away from the conflict.

"Now," Goku turns his head to the Saiyans. "I think we have some things to discuss."