Hey guys, Liz here. Happy New Year! 2021! Woo! (Let's hope it's better compared to 2020). Thank you all for coming back to the story. Let's make this year a good one, okay?
Last we left off, Goku was taking Gohan, Chiyo, Future Daichi, and Future Chibi to find Vegeta and Future Trunks so they all could begin training in the hyperbolic time chamber. Will training there be enough to change the tide of battle? Find out now!
The Son Squad Ch.46
It wasn't hard to find Trunks and Vegeta, but it was disappointing to learn that Vegeta hadn't actually picked up any form of training since the incident at Gingertown. From what Trunks had to report, Vegeta told him to shove off and leave him be. Being stubborn, though, Trunks stayed put in hopes that Vegeta would change his mind about the issue. Shocking no one, Vegeta remained firm and stayed right where he was for nearly three days straight.
After hearing this, Goku knew he could convince Vegeta to move if he offered the saiyan prince something he couldn't resist; a challenge. He went up to the ledge Vegeta stood atop and told him of the hyperbolic time chamber. As he told Vegeta about the chamber, you could visibly see his face's expression go from stoic to curious. Hearing Kakarot tell him about somewhere he could truly push himself was precisely what he wanted to hear. Not only that, but the training would be a year's worth condensed down into a single day. That sounded pretty good to Vegeta.
However, Goku gave Vegeta a bit of a stipulation; "If I remember correctly, the chamber only allows two people in it at a time," Goku explained. "I figured, to save time, you could go in with Trunks."
"Oh, offering for me to go first, Kakarot?" Vegeta questioned, his arms crossed over his chest as he turned to look at his biggest rival. He looked down and over to where he last saw Trunks and found him talking with the other two warriors from the future and the twins. He then turned his attention back to Kakarot. "And what of your little half-breed brood? Hmmm?"
"Don't worry about us," Goku jokingly poked at Vegeta. "I'll figure things out with them. So, what do you say?"
To Vegeta, he saw no drawbacks. He figured that this was his best option if he wanted to truly go beyond super saiyan. Standing on a cliff edge could only take a person so far, you know? Besides, he wouldn't have to deal with Kakarot for an entire year. What could be better than that? "Fine," Vegeta answered, a smirk coming to his face. "Kakarot, you do know what you're supposedly offering me is a chance to finally surpass you, right?"
Goku nodded with his own smirk on his face. "I'm aware. But right now, the Earth is in danger, and I assume you know that too, Vegeta."
"Be careful you don't assume too much, Kakarot."
After that little exchange, Goku took everyone to the lookout, where Mr. Popo was waiting for their arrival. As he guided the seven saiyans to the chamber, Trunks, Daichi, and Chibiko couldn't help but look around the place in awe and wonderment. They had never been to the lookout before, and finally getting a look at a place they had heard of from Gohan and Chiyo was certainly a shocker. Just as agreed upon, Vegeta and Trunks went in first, and the others watched as the door to the chamber closed, and they could no longer sense the two's energy.
"It's like they just disappeared," Chiyo remarked after the door was completely shut. "Are they okay?"
"They're fine," Mr. Popo promptly answered. "The chamber completely seals them off from the outside world. You cannot sense them, and they cannot sense you."
"Dang. Trunks must be freaking out right now," Daichi wagered as he tried to comprehend how this was all possible. Then again, they were all standing on top of a structure that used to be home to the guardian of Earth.
"Now what?" Gohan asked, turning to his Father for an answer.
"We wait," Goku coolly replied, sitting himself down on the floor crisscross style. "They'll be out by tomorrow, so we just gotta wait until then, all right?"
"Okay," Chibiko sighed, plopping down on the ground soon after Goku. "So, if we're gonna train in the time chamber, who's going in after Trunks and Vegeta?"
"Well, that's what I'm trying to figure out," Goku admitted, leaning back on his hands. "You see, the chamber has a two-person limit, so we gotta figure out how to decide who will go in next."
"It's obvious you should go in next, Dad," Gohan quickly spoke up. "And then someone else can go in with you."
"Or, we could just let Dad go in by himself and then just divide the following days between the four of us," Chiyo proposed. It seemed like an excellent way to maximize their training while also factoring in the chamber's constraints.
"That seems like a good plan to me," Chibiko agreed, thinking it over to herself for a moment. "You and Gohan can go first, Chiyo. Then Daichi and I will go after you guys."
"No, you guys should go before us," Gohan suggested. "You both can go super saiyan, and we still can't. It'd be better for everyone if you two went ahead. That way, you both could work on going beyond super saiyan."
Goku listened as his four kids tried to figure out how to use the time chamber best. He didn't like the idea of having to split the kids up into different days, but from what he remembered from his last time training in the chamber, only two people could go in at a time. Still, if it was as intense as he remembered it to be, the idea of the twins going in by themselves worried him. After all, he was a bit older than them his first time going, and as Piccolo had pointed out before, he barely made it a month inside. The twins were stronger than he was at that age, so there wasn't too much to worry about, but there was still that nagging resolve within Goku. Would they be prepared for the shifting elements from extreme heat to extreme cold? Could he properly prepare them for the endless white void that awaited them upon entry?
Just as there was about to be a rock-paper-scissors match to decide how this would all work out, Mr. Popo spoke up, "You know, all five of you can go in at the same time, if you'd like." He said.
"Wait, what?!" The kids all gasped, turning their attention to the caretaker of the lookout.
"Hold on a second, Mr. Popo," Goku said, now turning to face the caretaker of the lookout. "I thought you said that there was a two-person limit on who could be in the time chamber."
"No, no, you misunderstood what I told you, Goku," Mr. Popo corrected Goku. "I said the chamber could accommodate for two people to go in at once. If more people wish to go in, it is a simple matter of changing things so that more people can enter in at once. I just need to know in advance."
"So then, we all can go in at the same time?" Chiyo dared to follow up.
Mr. Popo nodded and smiled. "Yes. I'll just need to get more food supplies now that I know you all will be going in at once. I'll also need to get another set of mattresses to go along with them, but that shouldn't be too much of a hassle." If Mr. Popo could go around flying on a magic carpet, then what was stopping him from making it so Goku and his kids couldn't all train together?
Hearing that news was a relief for Goku to hear. However, he and the others quickly realized that they could've done things differently with the time chamber had they known this earlier. Then again, would Vegeta really have been okay with staying with all of them in one place for almost an entire year? Oh well, live, and learn. Now all they could do was wait.
By the time it was supposed to be considered dark, everyone, aside from Goku and Mr. Popo, could barely stay awake. Meditating, card games, and other activities were used to make the wait seem less dragged out, but it still felt like every second was ticking by slower than the previous one.
"How much longer until they come out?" Daichi asked, leaning against one of the pillars near the chamber.
"I'd say about 14 more hours to go," Chibi guessed, fiddling with a strip of her long hair. She contemplated cutting it before going into the chamber, considering that it would just get longer in there. That is how it works, right? She thought to herself.
Daichi slumped down to the ground and sighed. He thought that it would only be a few more hours, and then they'd be in the chamber getting down to business. He wasn't usually this impatient, but everything going on was starting to wear thin on him. Despite this, he was beginning to get tired, and his eyes began to droop. "This is taking forever," Daichi slightly whined.
"Quit being a baby," Chibi remarked, rolling her eyes. "It's a lot longer for Trunks right now. He's literally stuck in a room with Vegeta for a whole year."
"You really don't like Vegeta, do you?" Goku asked, surprised at the contempt Chibi seemed to have for the saiyan prince. He didn't know about the threats Vegeta had made towards her at all.
"No, what gave that away?" Chibi sarcastically stated. She still hadn't properly introduced herself to Goku, unlike her brother, and she wasn't sure if now was a good time to do that, especially when she was in a crabby mood as is. "Let's just say he and I don't really see eye-to-eye on a lot of things and leave it at that."
Goku nervously chuckled. Vegeta wasn't exactly the friendliest of people, and Goku could see him getting under Chibiko's skin a bit. He still respected the saiyan prince as a rival, though. Looking over to where Gohan and Chiyo were, he found the two twins sleeping and leaning against each other. Gohan was lying more upright while Chiyo was using his shoulder as a pillow. Both were lightly snoring. It was pretty cute. "Hey, Mr. Popo, you got any extra blankets?" Goku asked the caretaker of the lookout, gesturing over to the sleeping twins.
"I believe so," Mr. Popo stated before turning to Daichi and Chibiko. "Shall I get some for the rest of you as well?"
"What? You don't have to do that," Daichi said, trying to stifle a yawn in the process. "I mean, do I look tired to you?"
Mr. Popo just gave Daichi a blank look. If he wanted to be honest, the young man looked like he hadn't slept in days and needed to rest, but he was going to keep that to himself for now. He just turned and left to get the blankets as Goku requested.
"Why do I feel like he was silently judging me?"
"To be fair, he does that with everyone," Goku stated to Daichi.
After Mr. Popo came back with the blankets, Daichi took one and fell asleep a few minutes later while Chibi was still wide awake, well, for the most part anyway. She didn't want to sleep. There was too much on her mind to actually allow her to catch some sleep. At least at Capsule Corp, she was kept busy with caring for Trunks. It kept her mind off of thinking about the androids, Cell, the messed-up flow of time, and everything else for that matter. I can sleep later, She rationalized to herself.
Besides, whenever her mind was full like this, she could expect her sleep to be filled with nightmares. That's what happened after every significant android attack back home; she'd be haunted by the faces of those who died. The last few years would add Gohan and Chiyo into the mix of screaming souls and made Chibi forgo hours of needed rest so that she could avoid seeing them like that. That's not how she wanted to view her older brother and sister.
"Hey, you good?" Goku asked, bringing Chibi out of her head. "You look like you've got a lot on your mind or something."
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine," Chibi tried to assure Goku. Is it really that obvious? The last thing she wanted to do was worry this man she hardly knew. What kind of impression would that leave on her Father?
Goku furrowed his eyebrows when he heard this. She clearly was upset, and he couldn't understand why she refused to talk to him. "You sure?... Maybe you could use some rest."
"I'm fine, really," Chibi insisted, trying not to get snappy with her Dad. She straightened up as if this would somehow convince Goku she was perfectly fine. "You don't need to worry about it."
"….Okay," Goku stated. He started to realize that talking to her directly would do no good. Still, there was so much he wanted to ask her about; he wanted to know more about the future, about how she learned to go super saiyan, the life she lived under the constant threat of the androids. You know, the important stuff. He especially wished the young woman that was just a baby in this timeline would open up about what was currently on her mind. He thought about how he could get her to open up more and then came up with a great idea;
Jumping to his feet, Goku began to stretch out a bit, catching Chibiko's attention. "What are you doing?" She asked.
"I figured that I'd do a little bit of light training. Care to join me? I mean, you said you don't really want to rest and stuff, so-"
"Uh, yeah, sure, that's fine with me." Chibi quickly jumped to her feet and tried to seem like she was more awake than she actually was. She just had to keep this up for a little bit longer, and maybe, just maybe, she could get away with fooling her Dad into thinking everything was okay. She followed Goku out to the central area of the lookout and stretched herself out some more, thinking that she'd actually get to spar with her Dad, something she never thought would be possible. However, instead of facing her, Goku turned and faced the complete opposite direction of Chibi. "….I thought you wanted to train?"
"We are training, just not full-on sparring." Goku took up a wide stance and began taking in deep breathes before slowly releasing them out. He did this a few times before he began to flow into movements that kind of reminded Chibi of someone trying to move through the water. They were slow and methodical, like he was thinking of each step and controlling how fast or slow he moved. "A while after Chi-Chi and I got married, she taught me some Tai Chi moves. It's great for your health and building up a strong defense."
Chibi wasn't sure what to make of this. She expected her Dad to want to build up a strong defense and all, but right now, the situation seemed to call for more strength than anything else. "….But, wouldn't it be more effective for you to do more, you know, intense training? No disrespect to Mom or anything, I just-"
"Building up strength is one thing, but if you're not balanced in other areas of martial arts, you won't be as effective a warrior as you should be." He slowly shifted from one leg to the next and moved his hands like he was trying to push the area around him.
"I guess that makes sense."
"Well? You care to join me?"
Not wanting to look like a fool, Chibi took a spot not too far from Goku and started copying his slow movements. She had a few missteps along the way, but she seemed to match his pace more equally each time she moved. This went on for about an hour, and Chibi had to admit that she was calmer now than when she had first started. Along the way, she began to talk with her Father and tell him a few things that were on her mind. She didn't reveal everything, just the more important stuff; "I mean, it just feels like this whole thing with Cell and the androids is making us coming back seem like it was a big mistake. Each time it feels like we're one step ahead of it all, we fall two steps back. I'm glad we could save you and the others, but what's to say that it won't matter if we can't stop these guys, you know?"
"I get it." Goku began going into a crouching pose. "But if you keep thinking about all the bad stuff, you won't notice all the good things." Slowly, the Father of five was upright and going into a one-footed stance. He was smiling. "I know all of this seems like a lot, but you should feel proud of yourself. You and the others are doing everything you can to protect your world and are fighting for one that technically isn't yours."
"…You do make a good point." Slowly, exhaustion was overtaking Chibi, and she tried her best to stifle a yawn. However, she was unable to stop the small gesture from coming out. "…Maybe I should get some rest before going in the chamber."
"That sounds like a great idea." He smiled at the young woman and watched as she walked back over to the others, a small smile on her face. She figured out what he had done, but she wasn't too upset about it.
As the time was drawing closer for Vegeta and Trunks to come out of the chamber, it felt like they would never come out of the chamber. The ones not at the lookout felt incredibly impatient about the whole thing because they were constantly being bombarded by the 24/7 news cycle. Seeing the reporters always remind them that Cell was still out there, killing people in the thousand just made them all feel useless and guilty.
Later on, Tien, Krillin, Yamcha, and baby Chibi slept in the living room while Piccolo watched the constant news cycle. He didn't need to sleep that much compared to the others, so he opted to watch the news instead and try to get a possible lead on Cell. If plans fell out with the hyperbolic time chamber, at least they'd have a general idea of where Cell was.
Tired of sitting and watching the news on repeat, Chinku slid off the couch and made her way to the door with Daichi following behind her. "You going?" Daichi asked, turning his head at his older sister's actions.
"Just to train outside," Chinku told her little brother, stretching her legs out as she talked to him. "Daddy told me I'd get to be stronger someday, so I gotta make sure I keep myself in shape." She moved onto her arms now. "I wanna surprise Daddy, Gohan, Chiyo, and the future you and future Chibi when they get back from their super-duper training."
Daichi scratched his chin as Chinku explained all of this to him. He understood most of it, but he didn't get what she meant by future Chibi and future him, not realizing that the three young adults that he had been in the group were warriors from the future. "Future me?" He asked, trying to figure out what Chinku was talking about.
"You'll understand when you're older," Chinku told Daichi as she finished her stretching. She then ran to the front door of the Kame House and was about to just walk out when she heard Piccolo grumbling some cuss words at the TV. As she opened the door, she turned to Piccolo and said, "Mr. Piccolo, I'm gonna go outside to train for a bit on the beach, okay?" She figured it would be best to tell someone where she was going. The last thing she wanted to do was worry anyone about where she and what she was doing.
What she didn't know was that Piccolo wasn't really paying attention to her. He was too busy watching the TV and seeing the path of destruction Cell was laying out on the people of Earth.
Well, at least she told someone where she was going. Chinku walked out the door, and Daichi slipped out after her to watch her train. He sat down underneath one of the island trees and watched as his sister started her training.
Chinku scanned the area around her before she started throwing rapid punches and kicks in the air. She turned every now and again to throw out an attack as if she was acting like someone was trying to sneak up on her. She pretended that her invisible foe was Android 19 from before. She put herself in place of Vegeta and acted like she was the one who was showing the mechanical menace what for, teaching him a lesson for hurting her Dad. This went on for a few more minutes before Chinku stopped to catch her breath.
She fanned herself a bit as the sun beat down on the island. "Man, it's kinda warm here," She remarked before getting back in a fighting stance. "But I gotta keep at it."
"That's the spirit," A voice from behind spoke.
Chinku quickly whipped around and gasped when she saw three people were now standing behind her. She gulped as she realized that these had to be the three androids that she had been told about. Of all the times for them to show up, it had to be now.
"So tell us, kid, can Goku come out to play?" 17 questioned the young girl.
Sweat visibly trickled down Chinku's back as she felt her heart-rate increase. She was frozen in place, unable to move an inch to get away from these monsters. As 17 and 18 looked down at her, waiting for an answer, she tried to steady herself and began clenching her fists to try and get herself back in a calmer mindset. "H-He's not here," Chinku managed to stutter out, trying to glare back at the androids.
"You're not lying, are you, kid?" 18 questioned, putting her hands on her hips. She was tired of this game of running around and looking for Goku. If they were going to kill Goku, she just wanted to get it over with already. Unlike her brother, she wasn't looking to fulfill some childish desires or play foolish games anymore.
"She is telling the truth," 16 suddenly spoke up, catching the attention of his two companions and Chinku. While they had all been conversing, he had been scanning the island for Goku's presence. However, he could not detect his target at all. "I do not detect Goku's presence here at all."
"Seriously?" 17 sighed in annoyance. To be honest, it was getting slightly bored with this game, too. It was fun when they were driving around in a car and taking their sweet time to find Goku, but they had ditched it back at Goku's place to speed the process up. "Well, that's just great. Now, what are we going to do?"
Luckily for Chinku, while the androids weren't looking, Daichi and snuck back into the house and had grabbed the attention of Piccolo by pointing outside the window for the Namekian warrior to see the trouble that was brewing. "Bad! Bad!" He repeated over and over again, unable to properly convey the situation in its entirety due to his limited vocabulary.
Seeing Chinku in the bind she was in, Piccolo woke the others and had them rush outside to face the androids. Once they all came out, Chinku ran to stand by their side, feeling much more comfortable by them than standing alone in front of the androids.
"Goku's not here, so I'll ask you once to leave quietly," Piccolo snarled, not in the best mood at the moment. This was either the worst thing to happen right now or some kind of blessing in disguise. Either way, he knew he had to stall and keep these androids away from Goku for as long as he possibly could.
"Oh, I'm so scared," 17 mocked Piccolo, not the least bit intimidated by the Namekian warrior's threat. "Tell ya what; we'll leave as soon as you tell us where Goku is."
"And you think we'll just talk, just like that?" Piccolo began glaring 17 down. No way would they spill a word about Goku to these mechanical fiends.
"Well, yes. I mean, unless you want to make this painful, that is. It's your choice."
Inside the house, Master Roshi, Chi-Chi, and Daichi watched from the second-story window as the z-fighters were facing off with the androids. Chi-Chi held Daichi close to her, fearing that the androids were about to have an all-out fight with the others. She was preparing to run downstairs to grab Chinku when she realized that her young daughter wasn't inside the house.
Realizing there was no way to get them to leave quietly, Piccolo suggested taking the fight to another island to keep the androids from causing any damage to this one. The androids didn't mind, but 17 noted that doing this would probably be sealing the Namekian's fate. (Oh, if only they knew what was about to happen). "The rest of you stay put," Piccolo instructed the others. "You'll only get in the way if you try and get involved." That was his way of wanting to protect the others in case things went south.
As Piccolo and the androids flew away, all the others could do was stare. They all knew very well that Piccolo was right; they didn't stand a chance against the androids. All they could do was hope Piccolo could take down at least one android in the process.
Please don't die, Mr. Piccolo, Chinku prayed as she watched her teacher disappear from sight.
"You think he'll be able to do it?" Yamcha questioned, finally finding his voice again.
"It's three against one. I don't think he stands a chance!" Tien admitted. (Man, he's really a pessimist in a lot of these conversations, isn't he?)
"All he has to do is stall them," Krillin stated. "Goku and the others should be done with their first day of training soon."
"I hope it's enough," Chinku muttered to herself, her hands still clenched at her side.
Noticing how tensed-up Chinku was, Krillin walked over to the young girl and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She turned to him, and he smiled down at her. "That was pretty brave of you to be standing off against the androids back there," Krillin complimented the young child.
A small smile came to Chinku's face, and she was starting to feel more relieved compared to before.
Not long after Piccolo's departure, shockwaves from the island he had flown to with the androids began to be felt from the kame house. Everyone stood on the island's shores in awe at the pure strength radiating off of Piccolo, and he hadn't even started fighting yet. This was just a glimpse of what was underneath the hood.
Back up on the lookout, since Vegeta and Trunks' time in the chamber was coming to an end, everyone was up and ready to go. Just when they thought it wouldn't be much longer until their time in the chamber would come, the four children of Goku, Goku, and Mr. Popo sensed Piccolo's power skyrocket, and they all realized that the Namekian was about to fight the androids.
"This is bad," Daichi said through gritted teeth. "Piccolo might be fighting all three androids by himself right now."
"Even with his new power, he doesn't stand a chance against all three of them at once," Chibi remarked, almost on the verge of biting her nails.
"Then let's go help him," Gohan declared, quickly standing up from his spot on the ground. No way would he stand by while his teacher was in trouble.
"I'm with you, Gohan," Chiyo suddenly proclaimed, jumping up to her feet as well. "Let's go!"
Just as the two were about to take off down to the Earth below, Goku raised his voice; "You two stop!" The sudden command from their Father stopped Gohan and Chiyo right in their place. "We're nowhere near their level. All we would do is slow Piccolo down and distract him!"
Having to stop themselves from helping Piccolo was torture for Gohan and Chiyo. All they could think about was Piccolo, all alone and possibly getting killed by the androids while they just stayed put. Flashbacks to his demise against Nappa ran through their heads like an unwanted movie and caused the twins to quiver where they stood.
"Listen, Trunks and Vegeta will be done any minute now. Once they're out, they'll be able to join the fight and help. Besides, Piccolo is stronger than he was before. He can hold his own until then." Goku could understand Gohan and Chiyo's resolve to want to help Piccolo, but doing so would just put them in danger unnecessarily. They needed to fight smarter, not harder.
At least for now, the twins would listen to their Father. However, they both silently agreed that if things got bad, they'd rush to his aid whether their Dad would let them or not. It was just how it was.
If things get dicey, we have to step in to help Piccolo, Gohan told Chiyo through telepathic thought.
You realize this might get us both killed, right? Chiyo questioned. She did so in a way that was more pointing out the obvious than trying to persuade Gohan to change his mind.
Yeah, so? We can't let Piccolo die a second time. If we do, we lose him for good.
I know… it's just a fact that I thought needed to be put out there.
He'd do the same for us, so we should be willing to do the same for him.
Piccolo's in a spot of trouble. Will he be able to hold his own against the androids? Or will he need someone to help him? Find out next time on the Son Squad.
So I looked more into the whole deal with the hyperbolic time chamber since, as many of you know, Goten, Trunks, Buu, and Piccolo all went into it during the Buu saga even though it's supposed to just be two in at a time. Well, I did some more digging and found that the chamber can hold as many people as possible, but it usually only has enough resources inside it to sustain two people for a year. If more people go in, then more supplies just need to be added in order to accommodate for more individuals, or they just need to spend less time in the room. That's why we'll be getting Goku training with all four of his kids. (This'll be fun!)
Thank you all for your continued support. I couldn't have made it this far without you. I plan to continue revising the story's earlier chapters, so be on the lookout for that. Let me know your thoughts on things in the reviews below. Have a good day everyone, and remember to wash your hands!
