Chapter 6: Rampage
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Krillin asked from the back of Bulma's hovercar. He was looking up at the moon, which was round and fat—a full moon. "Showing up at Chi-Chi's place during a full moon isn't exactly smart."
"Don't worry, Krillin," Bulma said as she maneuvered around a nearby mountain. "Chi-Chi managed to go four long years without an incident. There's no way she's going to mess up now."
"Yeah, that was before Goku died and Gohan got kidnapped!" Krillin said pointedly. "She's not exactly in the best mindset right now!"
"Have some faith in her, Krillin." Roshi said from the front passenger seat. "Chi-Chi's smart, and she figured out what happens during a full moon. I'm willing to bet that she'll be even more careful than ever."
"How much?" Krillin asked.
"Ten thousand Zeni," Bulma answered.
"Sounds reasonable," Roshi agreed.
Krillin sighed. "Alright. If she doesn't change, I'll be happy to pay ten thousand to both of you."
With that settled, the three closed in on Goku and Chi-Chi's house.
"Huh," Bulma said as the house came into view. "You know, I was thinking that her place would be a lot bigger. This is actually kind of modest."
"Well, Goku never did like big, fancy places," Roshi said. "And Chi-Chi definitely has more modest tastes than her father."
"Yeah," Krillin chuckled. "There's no way I could picture Goku in a big, fancy mansion."
The three laughed a bit at the idea of Goku living in a massive mansion, wearing a suit and top hat. Eventually they came close enough to the house to land. Bulma carefully steered the hovercar towards the ground, landing a fair distance away. As they exited the hovercar, they saw Chi-Chi waving to them and waved back.
"Wow," Bulma said, surprised to see her up and about. "Does anyone see a cast on her?"
"Well, Yajirobe said that he was going to see her," Krillin reminded her. "Maybe he gave her a Senzu bean."
"That would make sense," Roshi agreed. "Still, it's good to see that things haven't hit her too-"
Roshi froze in fear. He had glanced back at Chi-Chi, and to his horror, her eyes had followed the moonlight all the way to the source.
Chi-Chi was now looking directly at the full moon!
"NOOOOO, CHI-CHI!!!" Roshi screamed at the top of his lungs. "DON'T LOOK AT THE MOON!!"
But he was too late—Chi-Chi looked over at them, and her eyes had gone from their normal black to an angry red. The trio stood in utter fear as Chi-Chi's body pulsed and throbbed, before growing dramatically. Fur sprouted all over her body, and her stomach and chest darkened. Within seconds, she had changed beyond recognition, now a full-sized Giant Ape.
The Ape raised its massive arms and let out a roar of raw fury.
"RRRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!"
Bulma and Krillin screamed as the Giant Ape stepped on the house, crushing it to rubble. It then opened up its large, toothy maw and exhaled a massive beam of energy. The beam hit a nearby mountain, vaporizing it.
"What do we do!? WHAT DO WE DO!?" Bulma screamed. Then she remembered how they stopped Goku when he transformed. "KRILLIN! ROSHI! We have to cut off her tail!"
"Are you nuts!?" Krillin squeaked.
"If we don't cut her tail off, she'll kill us!" Bulma shrieked.
"And if we DO cut her tail off, she'll turn back to normal and THEN kill us!" Krillin shouted. He then froze. He had just felt another surge in power off in the distance. His face turned white as he realized: "GOHAN! HE'S TURNED, TOO!"
"WHAT!?" Bulma felt sick—if they didn't stop these two right now, they'll do all the Saiyans' work for them! Even if they cut off Chi-Chi's tail, they would still have to do the same with Gohan, and Bulma wasn't sure if Krillin and Roshi could do that.
A massive explosion startled her out of her thoughts. Chi-Chi had just leveled another two mountains and three hills. It was only a matter of time before she got bored and focused on them.
Bulma racked her brain to figure out a solution for stopping two Giant Apes at once. Then she remembered the World Martial Arts Tournament, when Goku transformed and Roshi had to stop him.
"ROSHI!" She screamed. "THE MOON! YOU HAVE TO BLOW UP THE MOON!"
It was the only solution she could think of. Without the moon, Chi-Chi and Gohan wouldn't be able to look at it which meant they couldn't transform. And Roshi had done exactly that once before. They'd have to wish the moon back with the Dragon Balls later, but that didn't matter.
"Right!" Roshi shouted. "Krillin! Keep Chi-Chi occupied!"
"Whatever you say, Master!" Krillin shouted back. He then ran towards the massive Ape while Roshi took off his shirt and powered up to full. His muscles swelled to enormous proportions, and his ki surged through his body. Taking off his sunglasses, he looked directly at the moon and judged how best to hit it. If he was even slightly off, he wouldn't be able to completely destroy it, which meant that Chi-Chi and Gohan would still probably be transformed.
Meanwhile, Krillin had jumped in front of Chi-Chi and fired a small blast of ki. The attack wasn't meant to hurt her—it was just to get her attention before she aimed another energy blast at Fire Mountain, or any other civilized area.
"Hey, ugly!" He shouted. "Down here!" He really hoped that Chi-Chi wasn't conscious to hear that.
Sure enough, the Ape looked down and saw the little man at its feet. Lifting its foot up, it tried to squash Krillin, but he quickly jumped out of the way. The Ape followed, bellowing angrily.
Piccolo was horrified at what he was witnessing. One moment Gohan was looking at the moon, the next, he transformed into a gigantic Ape and began demolishing the surrounding area.
"I don't understand!" Piccolo shouted to himself. "Why is this happening!?"
The Ape unleashed more blasts of energy from its mouth, destroying several more rock formations with each attack. Piccolo couldn't believe his senses. From what he could tell, Gohan's power was now ten times what it was when he fought Raditz. More than enough to destroy most of the Earth's surface in a single night.
Piccolo felt his blood turn to ice when he detected another massive surge in power. It had to have been Chi-Chi!
But why now? Piccolo thought. They both went four years without this happening! Why are they both transforming simultaneously!?
Piccolo was so engrossed in his thoughts, he almost didn't see the beam of energy that was surging his way. Snapping back to his senses, he quickly flew away from the blast and out of the monster's line of sight.
"If I don't stop these two, there won't be an Earth left to defend!" Piccolo thought aloud, dodging another energy beam. "I've got to change them back!"
He then gasped and turned to look at the full moon. His mind went back to what Raditz said while he was eavesdropping on his conversation with Goku.
Do you have any idea what you did to yourself!? Your true power is gone now! Without your tail, you can't transform at the full moon!
Piccolo's eyes widened upon realization.
"The moon," he said. "They need the moon!"
He quickly began charging up a massive energy blast. He only had one shot—once he fired, Giant Ape Gohan was sure to focus on him.
"Pathetic!"
Chi-Chi's eyes snapped open. She was back in the other world, and standing in front of her was the mysterious woman, with a look of disgust on her face.
"You're letting yourself lose to the Oozaru over control of your own body!?" The woman shouted. "Are you seriously that weak!?"
A look of confusion crossed Chi-Chi's face. All she remembered was looking at the moon, then feeling herself fill with hatred. Her eyes then widened—she looked at the full moon! Bulma, Krillin and Roshi were probably fighting for their lives trying to stop her!
"That's right!" The woman said. "You transformed into an Oozaru, and you lost control! I could understand if you were a baby Saiyan, or if you were weak-willed. But you're neither! You are a fully grown Saiyan woman with a stronger will than Kakarot! You should be able to control the beast with no effort at all!"
Chi-Chi's eyes looked at the woman pleadingly. I need your help! Tell me what I have to do!
The Saiyan woman took a deep breath and steadied herself. "Alright," she said. "Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once! The Oozaru is a form that we Saiyans take when we look at the full moon. That's it! That's all it is: a form! The Oozaru is not it's own being, so you can control it easily if you force you will upon it! If you can't do that, then Vegeta won't even have to show up to this planet! Are you really going to do that sniveling wretch's job for him!?"
Chi-Chi's eyes hardened. There was no way she would help the other Saiyans.
The woman's smile returned. "Good. Now, focus! Exert your will upon the Oozaru! Remember: you control the beast! The beast doesn't control you!"
I control the beast, Chi-Chi thought. It doesn't control me.
Closing her eyes, she focused on returning to the real world and stopping whatever rampage she was causing.
I control the beast, it doesn't control me. I control the beast, it doesn't control me. I control the beast, it doesn't control me. I control the beast, it doesn't control me!
She kept repeating the same thing over and over again in her head. Soon, a tunnel began forming in her mind's eye. She immediately started traveling down that tunnel.
I control the beast, it doesn't control me! I control the beast, it doesn't control me! I control the beast, it doesn't control me!
The end of the tunnel was in sight. With one final push, she made it through the end.
Chi-Chi's head suddenly throbbed in pain, and she screamed as she brought her hands up to her head, covering her eyes in the process.
No, she didn't scream. She roared!
Forcing herself to ignore the throbbing pain in her head, she lowered her hands and looked at them, breathing heavily. The skin had become dark and leathery, and her arms were covered in dark brown fur.
Did I... Did I do it? She thought, not entirely sure if this was real, or just a nightmare.
Bulma saw the whole thing. She watched as the Ape suddenly roared in pain before seemingly calming down. Could it be possible?
"Chi-Chi?"
She said her name too quietly, so she cleared her throat and spoke louder. If Bulma was wrong, then she was basically painting a giant bullseye on herself, but she had to know for sure.
"Chi-Chi!" Bulma shouted. "It's you, isn't it!?"
Chi-Chi turned in the direction of the voice, and saw Bulma, frightened tears running down her cheeks. Had she really scared her friend that badly?
"Buuuullllmaaaa..." she said in a low, deep growl. It was the best Chi-Chi could do after regaining control. Her mouth was a completely different shape, and her vocal cords were so massive that she could feel them vibrating in her throat.
Bulma let out a relieved laugh. Her friend actually came back on her own! Further away, Krillin and Roshi were whooping with joy, cheering Chi-Chi on for accomplishing something even Goku could never achieve.
"ROSHI!" Bulma suddenly shouted. "What are you waiting for!? Destroy the moon, NOW!"
"Oh crap!" Roshi yelped. She was right: they had stopped one rampaging Ape, but there was still one more to take care of.
"Chi-Chi!" Bulma shouted. "We need to hurry! Use that energy breath thing to help Roshi blow up the moon—it's the only way to change you back!"
Chi-Chi looked up at the moon, round and fat. She didn't know how long she could stay in control, but that didn't matter. If she could transform like this, then so could the other Saiyans—but not if there wasn't a moon to look at. Steadying her enormous body, Chi-Chi opened her mouth and began charging up.
At the same time, Roshi had also chosen his spot and was charging up a full power Kamehameha.
"Kaaaaaaaaaaa..."
Energy gathered between his hands.
"Meeeeeeeeeee..."
The bluish white orb grew quickly.
"HAAAAAAAaaaaaa..."
Another orb of energy was forming in Chi-Chi's mouth.
"MEEEEEEEEEEEEE..."
Chi-Chi and Roshi both unleashed their attacks at the same time.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHH!!!"
Two massive beams of compressed energy fired upward, streaking towards the full moon. As they unleashed their attacks, they both noticed a third beam of yellow energy surging towards the moon as well. It didn't take a genius to realize that Piccolo had come to the exact same conclusion.
The three beams of concentrated energy zipped towards the moon at near-light speed, plunging through its crust and mantle before colliding with each other inside its core. For a second, nothing happened. Then the moon was torn apart in an explosion that lit up the night sky.
KRAAAKOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!
Everyone shielded their eyes from the brilliant white light, unable to see for several seconds. When the light finally subsided, they looked up to see that the moon was completely gone, without even the slightest trace.
Chi-Chi immediately felt her strength fading and her body shrinking. Everyone watched as Chi-Chi returned to normal in a few seconds.
Roshi stared intently at her before falling backwards, blood spraying from his nose. Chi-Chi might have turned back to normal, but she was as naked as the day she was born, and her slim but curvaceous body was on full display.
"Heheheh," he chuckled faintly. "Sorry Goku, but I took a peek... you got yourself a real catch, kid."
Chi-Chi stumbled forward once she stopped shrinking, breathing heavily. She felt exhausted and starving and sore all over, even though she had just recently eaten that Senzu bean. The Oozaru form had clearly taken a lot out of her. Looking around, she noticed that there were at least five mountains and four large hills missing from the horizon. Chi-Chi felt herself start to panic—had she hurt anyone? Spinning around, her eyes widened in horror at her demolished house, and she fell to her knees crying in shame.
Bulma walked over to her friend, removing her long jacket and draping over Chi-Chi's shoulders. She then knelt down and started stroking the sobbing woman's back. Krillin approached as well, followed by a recently recovered Roshi.
"It's okay, Chi-Chi," Bulma said, still stroking Chi-Chi's back. "It wasn't your fault. You weren't right in the head, and you had a moment of weakness, that's all."
"But, but all those people..." Chi-Chi sobbed.
"It's okay," Krillin said gently. "There weren't any houses where you attacked. It was all farmland."
"It's like Bulma said," Roshi added. "It was a moment of weakness. We're the ones to blame—we should have waited until the full moon had passed."
Chi-Chi sniffled as she tried to collect herself. She definitely couldn't tell Goku about this—if he found out, he would probably realize that he also could transform, which would make him realize that he killed his own grandpa. She felt bad enough for destroying everything around her, even though she didn't kill anyone. She couldn't imagine how much it would hurt Goku if he found out he murdered his own family. Still, how was she going to explain what happened to the surrounding area? The mountains and hills... the house... and...!
"OH NO!"
Chi-Chi leapt to her feet, the jacket slipping off her shoulders. Roshi recoiled again while Krillin immediately averted his eyes. Chi-Chi ignored them and ran to her ruined house, desperately digging through the rubble.
"Cover yourself, Chi-Chi!" Bulma snapped.
"SHUT UP AND HELP ME DIG!" Chi-Chi shouted, startling Bulma. "We have to find the Dragon Balls! They were still in the house!"
"WHAT!?" Everyone shouted, completely focused on the fate of the Dragon Balls now. If Chi-Chi had accidentally crushed the Dragon Balls, then they couldn't bring Goku back! Running up, the trio helped Chi-Chi sort through the rubble in search of the Dragon Balls.
"Did you at least keep them in something?" Roshi asked.
"Yeah," Chi-Chi replied. "I put them in a small, mahogany box!"
"Like this one?" Krillin asked, holding up a large, ornate wooden box. Chi-Chi recognized it immediately.
"No, not that one," she said. "But it was right next to that! Search that area!"
All four began digging through the rubble until Bulma found it: a mahogany box big enough to fit all seven Dragons Balls. Opening it, she found all three Dragon Balls were still perfectly intact.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed on their behinds. Chi-Chi took several deep breaths to steady her nerves, then stopped and looked down at herself. She blushed furiously as she realized that everyone had seen her naked. She was thankful to already be married, because she could never wear white again after this.
"Uhh, Krillin?" Chi-Chi asked, pointing to the box he had pulled out of the rubble. "C-can you hand me that box, please?"
"Huh?" Krillin looked at the box, then back at her. "Sure."
Taking the box from Krillin, she quickly ran behind an intact piece of wall and opened it. She smiled when she saw what was in it.
It was a new outfit, based on the one she had worn when she first met Goku. The outfit was comprised of a blue metal bikini, with large pauldrons that held a light blue-green cape in place, a pair of blue gauntlets and knee-high blue boots. Goku had changed a few things about the outfit—he got rid of the pink in it because he didn't really like it. He also decided against the helmet she had in her old outfit, which she agreed with—the helmet looked silly, and she didn't need it anymore.
Pulling out the different pieces of armor, she quickly slipped them on. They fit her perfectly—for someone who wasn't good at math, Goku had gotten Chi-Chi's measurements exactly right. Once she finished putting it on, she stepped out from behind the ruined wall to show the trio.
Bulma and Roshi were both counting out ten thousand Zeni each to give to Krillin. Roshi was grumbling to himself—he didn't like losing to his own student for any reason.
"How do I look?" Chi-Chi asked.
Looking around, all three were surprised to see that Chi-Chi was wearing a new outfit. Roshi was definitely excited by the new change in apparel, but Bulma and Krillin felt the weirdest sense of deja vu. Chi-Chi looked almost exactly like she did more than a decade ago. She was taller and had a fuller figure, of course, but she was wearing the same shyish face that she had when adventuring with the Dragon Team.
Krillin was especially impressed. Chi-Chi wore that outfit even better than she did back then. He always thought she looked cool in that armor, but now she looked like a superhero.
Bulma smiled at Chi-Chi. She might look a bit shy right now, but she was far more confident now than she ever was before. Bulma had a feeling that Chi-Chi was going to be the last thing the Saiyans will ever see.
"Wow," Bulma said. "I never thought I'd see you in that outfit again!"
"Yeah!" Krillin agreed. "When did you get it?"
Chi-Chi smiled. "It was a gift from Goku for our fifth anniversary."
Bulma blinked, surprised. "Goku remembered your anniversary?"
"Of course he didn't," Chi-Chi said, rolling her eyes. "He completely forgot, then had this made for me as an apology."
"Yep," Krillin chuckled. "That sounds like Goku, alright."
The three laughed a bit, and the tension started leaving the air. It was a stressful night, but no more than many other nights they had on their adventures.
"Well," Roshi said, brushing off his shirt and jacket before slipping them back on. "We should get going. We have three of the Dragon Balls, but we've still got four more to go."
"Yeah," Krillin said as he got up and dusted off his gi. "Besides, Chi-Chi and I have to head for Korin's. From what Goku told me, it's gonna be a long journey, especially on foot."
"What about Tien and Yamcha?" Chi-Chi asked.
"They said they'd meet us at the halfway point," Krillin said. He then looked at the destroyed house. "I would say that we should pack something to eat, but..."
"It's okay," Chi-Chi replied. "I'm pretty good at hunting and gathering as well as cooking. I'm sure we can find something to eat on the way."
"Then that's settled," Krillin said. He looked up at Chi-Chi. "You ready?"
Chi-Chi looked around the area one last time. She knew she wasn't going to see this place for a long time, and it wasn't exactly in a shape she would want to remember, but it was still her home and she was prepared to fight any threats to it. No matter the costs. She turned to face her husband's best friend.
"Yeah," she said. "I'm ready."