Hey guys, Liz here. So next week, I'm going to have to take a break due to exams and papers getting ready to start up. (I know- so much fun). I should be back at the end of the month, though, unless something pops up. Anyway, just to let you know, there will be some angst in this chapter, so don't let the first bit fool you. Last we left off, Trunks was told that Cell was planning to host a tournament. What does this mean for our heroes? Find out now.

The Son Squad Ch.52

After explaining to Vegeta and Krillin everything that Cell had told him, the trio, along with android 16, went to Capsule Corp. There, they'd wait to see Cell show up on TV- since that's what he told Trunks he'd use to announce his tournament. Trunks wasn't too thrilled with waiting, and he was less thrilled with the idea of bringing 16 anywhere near Capsule Corp. Still, Krillin at least convinced him to give the android a chance. Besides, Krillin could tell that 16 wasn't like the androids Trunks, Chibi, and Daichi faced in their time. Heck, even the 17 and 18 of this timeline were different from the straight-up killing machines that had been described, so why not give this android 16 a shot? Any extra help against Cell could prove to be vital later on down the road.

Once they got to Capsule Corp, the gang at Master Roshi's island met them there, and Chi-Chi immediately asked about her children and husband, and Krillin informed her that they were still training. Chi-Chi sighed at hearing that her husband and kids were still busy. She had hoped that they would've been done with it all by now. It had been almost two days since she had last seen them. It had only been about a day and a half, but she was growing slightly impatient and worried. It also didn't help matters when she was told that the situation with Cell and the android had gone from bad to worst.

While waiting for news on Cell's tournament, Dr. Briefs went ahead and got to work on trying to repair 16 while waiting for his daughter, who was still away at the Lookout. He did his best to work on the fully synthetic android, but he noted to 16 that repairs could be hindered due to only having blueprints on android 17. "The fact that you're completely synthetic is going to make this much more difficult," Dr. Briefs admitted to 16 after doing an initial scan of the android.

16, who was lying on the table in the lab, sat up after hearing this news, a look of concern on his face. "So then, you cannot fix me?" 16 asked. He held no ill content towards the doctor if this was to be the case. He was, after all, a failure according to his own creator.

"No one ever said that," Dr. Briefs optimistically stated, putting out the cigarette in his mouth. "Once Bulma gets back, we'll brainstorm. I'm sure we can come up with something."

Hearing that the head of Capsule Corp was not about to give up on him, 16 couldn't help but smile ever-so-slightly. He could still be useful, after all. He failed to protect 17 and 18, but he could still prove to be an asset in the fight with Cell. Looking over to Dr. Brief's shoulder, 16 noticed Scratch the cat sitting on the doctor's shoulder. The cat let out a small meow and, without saying a word, 16 extended his hand out for the feline to climb on. To Dr. Briefs' surprise, the tiny cat left his shoulder and crawled into 16's hand. It meowed at the giant android before climbing up to his shoulder and licking him in the face.

Well, I'll be, the doctor thought to himself as the little cat continued to lick the android in the face. Scratch was usually a shy creature, rarely leaving his side. To see his little cat companion licking the face of a supposedly dangerous android made him start to think there was more to this big fella than the Red Ribbon logo.

After a bit, Scratch went back to the doctor's shoulder. Dr. Briefs went to work on trying to better understand android 16's inner components. During this slightly exhausting work, who should come into the lab but little Chinku, who wanted to see what was going on with the big android she had heard Trunks grumbling about. She shuffled into Dr. Briefs' lab and noticed the doctor hard at work on the computer running some tests before he decided to actually touch any of 16's wiring. "Well, didn't expect to have some company with me," Dr. Briefs said upon seeing the young daughter of Goku come in.

"Hi, Dr. Briefs," Chinku greeted the father of Bulma with a smile and bow. "I just wanted to see how it was going with repairs on the android. Are you really gonna fix him up?"

"Well, we're gonna try to," Dr. Briefs stated to the young girl as he looked between the computer screen and android 16, who was lying down on an operating table. "I'll have to wait for Bulma to get back, though, before we can make any headway on fixing up 16 here."

"Huh. Okay." Chinku replied. She then looked over to the android lying on the table and couldn't help but be the least bit curious about him. She remembered him from Master Roshi's island, sure, but it wasn't like he had directly interacted with her like the other androids had. Plus, since her Father left her in charge of looking after things while he was training with the others, Chinku thought it was her duty to make sure this 16 fellow didn't cause any trouble.

Wanting to get a better look at him, Chinku tried tiptoeing towards 16 as quietly as possible. His eyes were closed, so she suspected he wouldn't notice her coming. She tried going over to the side he was facing away from and just observe him. She didn't think too fondly of androids considering her earlier interactions with them and what they supposedly did to the future, but this one seemed different from the others somehow.

"I know you are there," 16 spoke, causing Chinku to fall over to the floor. However, she quickly got up and went into a warrior's stance, ready to throw down at the battered machine. "Your attempts to remain silent were unsuccessful. My sensors detected your presence as soon as you entered the lab."

Dang it! Chinku thought to herself. Walking around to the other side of the table, Chinku faced the busted-up android, noting just how severe the damage was to his head. Part of his head was gone, and underneath there was wiring and circuits, something you'd expect from a machine. He didn't seem all that threatening in this state, but Chinku didn't trust it. She had to make sure that he left everyone else alone. "Well, I wanted you to know I was here," Chinku lied to 16. She crossed her arms over her chest and made the best impression of her mother's glare at the android. (It was cute rather than threatening). "My Daddy left me in charge of looking after everyone, so that means keeping an eye on you. So don't think you can try any funny business, mister!"

16 did not reply. He was unsure of what to make of these "threats" from the young child. In this impaired state, 16 knew that he would be unable to make any defensive moves. Cell had managed to render him virtually useless in this state.

Feeling that her threats had come across well, Chinku grabbed a nearby chair and pulled it up to the table that 16 was lying on. She then sat herself down, re-crossed her arms over her chest, and resumed her glaring at the android. "Just to make sure you don't try anything, I'll be staying here to keep an eye on you."

"…Very well," 16 stated in his monotone voice. "If that is what you wish to do, then so be it."

That wasn't the response Chinku expected. In fact, she expected something more villainous or threatening back. Instead, 16 seemed to be resigned to this fate of being monitored by a young child. He showed no emotions towards the young girl as he laid himself stiff back onto the table and faced the ceiling.

The two stayed like that in complete silence for nearly five minutes before Chinku started to get bored. She had uncrossed her arms at this point and was now looking around. She didn't think that watching android 16 would be, well, boring. Even though she didn't particularly want to get into a fight, she thought it would be more interesting than just sitting.

After another five minutes or so, Chinku got up from her seat and started stretching her legs out before practicing some Tai Chi moves her mom had taught. She thought that doing anything flashy in the lab would be a bad idea. Instead, she decided to go the slower route. As she gently moved from one pose to the next, she'd look back over her shoulder at 16 to see what he would do. He just continued to lay there on the table, not evening bothering to look over at Chinku. For some reason, this frustrated Chinku to no end. She wanted to have some kind of reaction from 16. Anything, really. Was this somehow part of his tricks to have Chinku get her guard down? Or was he genuinely no threat? "All right, android; I've had just about enough of your antics!" Chinku suddenly declared, turning to face 16 directly.

16 turned his head and looked back at Chinku, no emotion coming to his face as he turned. "I'm afraid I do not understand what you are referring to," 16 robotically replied. "I have been lying here for approximately ten minutes and twenty-three seconds doing absolutely nothing."

"You expect me to believe that, mister?" Chinku replied, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at 16. "Don't think I don't know what's going on here: you're trying to make me think you're harmless just so I'll let my guard down. Well, forget it! Nothing's getting past me. You got that?"

"I still have not done anything," 16 replied, not sure what to make of this child. "I am simply here for repairs. I wish to be useful in fighting Cell."

Hearing this, Chinku stopped her glaring at 16. She was unaware that that was the intention in fixing 16. "But why?" Chinku questioned, her body not as tense as it had been moments prior. "Weren't you and Cell both created by Gero?"

"That is correct. My only purpose is to destroy Goku. Cell, however, has gone beyond Dr. Gero's programming and is acting his own free volition. His power is too great, now. Even if he defeats Goku, I doubt he will be satisfied." 16 turned his attention to the ceiling as if staring at the lights above would help him process his thoughts. "He has the capability to be the most dangerous threat to the universe if he is not stopped."

"Oh." Thinking it over, Chinku was starting to not feel so hostile towards 16. He sure didn't sound like the androids Trunks had told them all about all those years ago, and he certainly wasn't like androids 19 or 20. "But aren't you going against your own programing by agreeing to help us fight Cell?"

"I am…defective. I was programmed to follow Gero's orders regardless of circumstances. That is why I was slated to be destroyed by the doctor. My functionality is ineffective."

"Well that's just dumb!" Chinku suddenly declared out of the blue. This caught 16's attention, and he turned to look at the little girl. She had her arms crossed over her chest, now, and her eyes were showing contempt. However, 16 could tell that hatred was not being directed at him but at his creator. "All he cared about was beating Daddy, and he put the world in danger just to do that! And he wanted to get rid of you all because you weren't just like he imagined you to be. He's a no-good jerk-face!"

For a brief moment, a small smile flashed across 16's face. For all of the time he had existed, the mad doctor had told him what a failure he was. He remembered Gero remarking how his appearance was in his deceased son's image, yet he and 16 were nothing alike. You're of no use to me, 16! You're an absolute failure! Gero once said to 16. His feelings were not hurt by this- considering he was not supposed to have them to begin with- yet hearing Chinku proclaim that nothing was wrong with being who he was….well, it sorta touched him.

"You're not what he wanted you to be, but I see that as a good thing. You want to help save the world. If you asked me, I like you being the way you are. You're all right, I guess. But I still don't like that you want to hurt my Daddy."

"My soul purpose is to defeat Goku," 16 replied. "It is not a personal matter; just part of my functionality."

"Functionality smuchtionality."

"That is not a word."

"That's beside the point!" The little girl took the chair and sat it up against the table. She leaned the back against the table, stood up on it, and looked over the damaged machine. "Don't you have any hobbies? Any interests? You gotta like something else that isn't fighting my Dad all the time. Otherwise, you'll be just like Vegeta, and no one wants to be like Vegeta." (Yeah, Chinku has no filter).

16 turned his attention away from Chinku and looked over to the small window on the other side of the lab. He noticed a pair of birds sitting there and pecking at the dirt for food. Chinku couldn't see it, but there was a small smile on the android's face again. Maybe there was something else he cared about that didn't involve Goku.


Month Seven

Back in the time chamber, Gohan and Chiyo were at it with each other once more, sparring in super saiyan form to try and get mastery over the transformation. They had been at this for nearly a month as super saiyans all the time. The only time they weren't in that form was when they were sleeping. Other than that, it was super saiyan every waking moment of the day. The strain of the transformation wasn't nearly as bad as before, but there were days where it was harder to maintain it over a more extended time. It was usually on those extremely hot or cold days that the super saiyan strain was incredibly noticeable. Still, everyone pressed on through it to gain more mastery of it.

Back to the fight, Gohan gave it his all against his sister. She was more focused on evading Gohan's attacks than actually attacking back. She seemed to take what Goku said about having speed instead of brute-strength to counter Cell to heart. This isn't to say that she was neglecting to build herself up, but she appeared to be placing massive emphasis on her speed and stamina compared to her strength. She kept dodging everyone one of Gohan's attacks, and the young man was getting slightly frustrated.

"Hold still!" Gohan shouted at his sister as she dodged another one of his fists. His anger was slightly bubbling to the surface.

"You gotta be able to keep up with me, Gohan," Chiyo slightly teased her brother, jumping back to steady herself. "And don't let your anger consume you. Remain calm."

Gohan tried to take his sister's advice to heart, but he found himself growing increasingly more flustered and upset with each miss of his attacks. He soon fired off a small blast that gave him a moment to calm himself down before getting back into the thick of it.

As time waned on, this sparring match started to turn into one of the longest ones Gohan and Chiyo had ever engaged in. No one came to stop them or tell them to take a break, which Gohan kinda liked. He kept wanting to push himself more and more so he could match up to his Dad and his future siblings. He suspected that his Dad, Daichi, and Chibiko had gone back further into the chamber to do a bit more advanced training while he and his sister stayed closer to the entrance. That seemed to be the only acceptable explanation of why it was just him and Chiyo in the immediate vicinity.

"…Hey, Gohan," Chiyo shouted after a while. She looked tired and like she was going to pass out based on her heavy panting. Chiyo wiped the sweat from her face and looked over to her brother. "…Maybe…Maybe we should take a break for a second."

"We can't stop now, Chiyo," Gohan replied, slightly being snappy at her. How could she want to rest at a time like this? There were only about five months left before they'd have to get out. "We have to keep training our bodies up."

"Yeah, but… there's nothing wrong with resting, too," Chiyo pointed out to her brother, trying her best not to double-over right then and there. She powered down, not slipping from her super saiyan form, and walked over to her brother, who was still charged up. "Remember, Dad said we should take everything in stride. You don't have to be the best off the bat."

Just when Gohan was about to argue with her more on the subject, the door to the time chamber slammed opened. The twins turned their attention to the door, shocked to see their Mother come stomping inside, looking absolutely furious. "Gohan, Chiyo!" She shouted as she walked inside, utterly unaffected by the increased gravity and thin air. She quickly noticed the twins and marched right over to them. "You two stop what you're doing right now!"

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Chiyo asked as Chi-Chi came over.

"I've come to take you both home," Chi-Chi angrily growled, looking like she wanted to punch someone or something. "You both have been gone a long time, and you're falling behind in your studies!"

"But Mom," Both twins whined at the same time.

"No buts! You both need to get back to your studies, so you don't end up in a gang like your Father!" She shouted at the top of her lungs for the entire chamber to hear. You could almost see veins popping out of her head.

"Dad's not in a gang, Mom; he's a Z-fighter," Gohan tried to correct her.

"I DON'T CARE! ALL I KNOW IS THAT IF YOU DON'T STUDY, YOU'LL END UP IN A GANG!" There was no changing Chi-Chi's mind about this. She was determined that her two children study instead of train. She huffed after shouting, and the twins both prayed for backup to show up to help them or something. Where was their Dad anyway? Surely, he had heard all of this, right?

"I'm so sorry, guys," A voice from behind spoke. The twins turned to find Piccolo of all people in the chamber. When did he get there? He held his hands out in front of him like he was a child being punished or something. It seemed so weird to see Piccolo standing like that. "I tried to stop her, but she got past me."

Well, the twins couldn't really blame Piccolo, per se, but they still had no idea why he was even there or how he got there. Had he slipped in while their mother was yelling at them? And why was he standing there like that? This was so unlike their teacher in every way. Even though they knew he was intimidated by their Mother, he never acted like this.

"Goku!" Chi-Chi shouted at the top of her lungs, stomping around the area in search of her husband. She looked ready to say a few choice words to her husband. "Goku, I know you're in here somewhere!"

In the blink of an eye, before anyone could register what had happened, Chi-Chi was smacked across the face by an unknown assailant. Gohan and Chiyo gasped in pure shock as they watched their mother fall to the ground in slow motion right before their eyes. "Mom!" Gohan finally shouted, finding his voice as she hit the ground.

That's when Gohan noticed Piccolo had rushed into the air to fight, possibly to fight whoever had attacked Chi-Chi. However, just as quickly as he disappeared, Piccolo came crashing down to the ground, his eyes completely glazed over. He laid there motionless on the white ground before his two students.

"Piccolo!" Chiyo shouted, finally finding her voice after what seemed like an eternity. Her hands flew to her mouth as she looked between her teacher and her mother, unable to comprehend how this could have happened.

Realizing that the attacker was still large, Gohan and Chiyo shakily stood back-to-back of each other to watch for any incoming attacks. Sweat trickled down their faces as they tried to sense out where the assailant was, and their eyes constantly darted in every direction possible.

D-Did you get a good look at the guy? Gohan questioned his sister through their telepathic link.

N-No. I was about to ask you that, Chiyo stuttered back a reply.

As they both looked around for any sign of their foe, a cold fog swept over the place, concealing Piccolo and Chi-Chi from view. The twins gulped as they tried to keep on high alert, wondering if this was the chamber's doing or if it was the work of their opponent. That's when the sound of footsteps caught their attention. The steps were slow and calculated, and worst of all, they seemed to echo from all around them. This made pinpointing the cause of the footsteps impossible since the sneak attacker was also suppressing their energy.

Then, without warning, something wrapped around Chiyo's leg, gripping it tightly. The young girl had no time to even process what was going on before being dragged into the fog. "AAAAHHHH!" She screamed as she disappeared from her brother's sight.

"CHIYO!" Gohan shouted just as his sister was dragged out of his reach. He frantically ran after his sister's trail, forgetting he could fly. This wasn't happening. First his mom, then his teacher, and now Chiyo?! He couldn't lose her too. Just who was this?!

BeTtEr HuRrY, a familiar voice echoed in his head. He recognized it from the first time he went super saiyan. If YoU dOn'T, sHe MiGhT dIe.

"She's not going to die!" Gohan shouted aloud, not caring that he was talking out loud to a voice in his head. All he cared about was finding Chiyo.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Gohan exited the fog. He now had a perfect view of the area, but his heart sank at what he saw: lying on her stomach was Chiyo. Her eyes were glazed over as a stream of blood ran out of her mouth. She didn't move as her frozen eyes stared directly at Gohan with her hair no longer being in its super saiyan form. Just standing a few feet away from her, Gohan could tell that Chiyo was either dead or on the verge of dying. Her energy was so low that it was barely noticeable.

However, that is not all he saw: standing with one foot on top of Chiyo's body was Frieza in his perfected form. His foot was pressed against Chiyo's back as he looked to Gohan with a smirk on his face. "That was easier than I thought," Frieza chuckled, his tail swishing around his body. "And here I thought she'd be more of a challenge."

Fury bubbled up inside of Gohan as his shock slowly gave way to anger. Even though the voice in his head didn't say anything, Gohan could tell that it was pleased by this turn of events. "FRIEZA!" Gohan bellowed at the top of his lungs as he charged at the space tyrant that had taken everything from him. He swung at the monster that plagued his nightmares and swung his fist at him. However, Frieza easily caught it and smirked at the boy. At that moment, Gohan noticed Frieza's eyes were black and slitted like a lizard's, and not their normal red color.

"Guess again," "Frieza" chuckled before smacking Gohan to the ground with his tail.

The young man was sent flying back several feet away from his attacker and Chiyo's body. Gohan quickly jumped up to his feet to find Frieza no longer standing there, but Nappa. The only thing that was different about him was the slitted eyes. He smirked at the young man before raising his hand up to send a blast at him. "I'm everything you fear, boy," "Nappa" remarked as Gohan dodged out of the way.

Rushing again, Gohan threw his own blast towards this shapeshifter, only for it to be blown up by a puff of air like it was nothing. Gohan looked to see in Vegeta's place was Recoome from the Ginyu force. He, too, had the slitted eyes. "You call that power?" "Recoome" laughed. "You're just a bug."

"SHUT UP!" Gohan screamed before charging at "Recoome." He managed to send a blow right at the fighter's cheek, sending him flying into the fog and disappearing from sight. Seeing that he had time, Gohan rushed over to his sister to feel for a pulse. She couldn't really be gone, could she? He picked up her body and held her in his arms as her pulse slowed down further and further. "Don't die, sis," He hiccupped as tears gathered in his eyes.

That's when Chiyo moved slightly in Gohan's arms. She painfully turned her head towards her brother as she tried to get out some words to Gohan. However, it seemed like she couldn't find her voice and instead tried to whisper something out.

Before Gohan had time to try and figure out what she was saying, a blast came barreling towards him. Frozen in his spot, Gohan didn't move as the yellow beam came right at him. However, to his surprise, Chiyo pushed him to the side with what little strength she had left and took the full brutal force of the attack, not even screaming as it hit her head-on. When the smoke clear, Gohan watched in horror as his sister's body similarly collapsed to the floor like his mother and Piccolo before her. He turned to the attacker and saw an ambiguous looking figure in the fog; its shape was unrecognizable, but something told Gohan that that had to be Cell. That explained the constantly shifting form and slitted eyes, something Piccolo had described to him and the others vividly. However, he quickly turned his attention back to his sister as she took her last breath.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"


"Gohan, wake-up!" Goku held down his son's thrashing body as he shouted in his sleep. He was having a serious nightmare from the sounds of it. Goku had come to check on his boy after he caught a fever a little while earlier. Everyone agreed that he needed rest, and they each took turns checking in on Gohan every few hours. This time around, Goku had found his son screaming and thrashing in his sleep. "It's just a bad dream, Gohan! Wake-up!"

Suddenly, Gohan's eyes shot open, and he quickly sat in bed. His heart raced as he frantically looked around at his surroundings, surprised to find himself in bed. He panted as the past events played out in his head, and the last thing that flashed through his mind was seeing Chiyo dead on the ground. "CHIYO!" Gohan shouted, jumping out of bed and completely running past his Father.

"Gohan, wait!" Goku called out, chasing after his son.

Gohan didn't listen; he just ran out into the chamber looking for his twin. Instead of finding Chiyo dead on the chamber floor, Gohan found his sister out in the chamber practicing some Tai Chi with Daichi and Chibiko. The young boy stood frozen in place as he found his sister with nary a scratch on her. Instead, he saw a smile on her face as she led her future brother and sister into the next pose.

"I'll admit, I do feel more relaxed," Daichi stated with a grin. In fact, he was rather enjoying himself. He wasn't nearly as graceful as his sisters were with their poses, but that didn't matter. You could say he was having some fun with this. "Why don't we do this Tai Chi stuff more often?"

"Because neither of us bothered to actually practice any moves from out Chiyo," Chibi remarked as she slowly crouched forward and then upright. Even though she was in super saiyan form like the other two, it was apparent her hair was halfway back to its length it had been before her impromptu haircut. "We were too stubborn to learn it and just wanted her and Gohan to teach us super saiyan."

"Well, you're learning it now, aren't you?" Chiyo kindly commented to the duo of the future. She smiled as she turned about ninety degrees to her right, her eyes still fixed back at the others. "Better late than never, right?" As she turned to face the direction her body now faced, she stopped when she saw Gohan standing there staring at him. The frozen look on his face instantly concerned her, and she dropped out of her Tai Chi pose entirely. "Gohan? What are you doing up? You should be re-"

Before she could even get her sentence out, Chiyo was tackled into a hug from her brother. He wrapped his arms tightly around her neck as he made sure she was real. She felt real in his arms, but he wasn't sure if this wasn't some sort of trick his mind was playing on him. After all, he had just seen her lying dead in front of him. He said nothing as tears ran down his cheeks and landed on her shoulders. He didn't hiccup or cry as the tears cascaded down his face. "….I thought…I thought I lost you, Mom, and Piccolo…" He finally muttered as he held onto Chiyo.

Stunned by what her brother had said, and feeling his tears hitting her shoulders, Chiyo wrapped her arms around Gohan and squeezed him back in reassurance. She didn't say anything, and Gohan didn't need her to. All he needed was to hug her for another minute.

Yeah, I know: angst out the wazoo here. But there's a method to my madness, I promise. Remember this all for later, okay? Anyway, what did you guys think? What are your theories on Gohan? And what do you think of Chinku's budding friendship with 16? Let me know in the reviews below.

Thank you all so much for coming back to the story. I know I say it all the time, but you guys are the real MVPS. I mean it. Thank you all so so so much. Remember, next week I'll be taking a break for school, so the next update won't be until the 27th. Have a good everyone, and remember to wash your hands!