Author Notes: Hi, it's been a while, I know. Sorry about that. Life kinda... well... ((tw: death/ my dad passed away in April, not too long after ch18 was posted, and it's been a struggle to get back into writing)). I think I'm back though. I think. It's still slow going, but I managed to dish out 1k words tonight. So we'll hope and pray. Thank you to everyone still reading this. You mean the world to me.

Silhouette

Part 1 - Control

Chapter 19 - Wishes

Goten flew down and set the final dragon ball on the ground next to the other six. Finally, they'd found all seven. Though it was way different from the fun adventures for dragon balls on Earth. Considering the dragon balls were held by a Namek Elder in seven different villages, once they had made contact with the Namekians, it had been smooth sailing.

Trunks had actually pouted a little at how boring the whole experience had turned out to be, and to be honest, Goten kind of felt the same. Looking for dragon balls had always been an adventure that heroes went on to get their special wishes granted. Now, it was a race to give him his mom back because he didn't want to wait any longer. As much as he would have liked something more fun than flying around an alien planet - which was pretty cool - Goten was satisfied enough because now he could have his mom back to life.

Finally.

And this time he would protect her and refuse to leave her side ever again. This time he wouldn't make a mistake like trusting that guy who pretended to be his dad. He'd learned his lesson. If he had his way, his mom wouldn't be going anywhere near that guy ever again, no matter what she said. It just wasn't safe and he had to protect her.

He had to do whatever it took.

"All right, Goten, that's good," Gohan said to break his thoughts. "You can stand back here with us now."

Goten gave a nod. "Right."

He took a quick look around, noting how Krillin and Gohan stood by each other and Trunks stood a little separated from them. Of course he went right to his best friend and forced a grin as he held up a hand for Trunks to slap in answer. They'd earned that last dragon ball together so sharing a high-five felt good. The Namekians did have little tests and trials and questions you had to answer in order to "earn" their dragon balls, but it still wasn't as fun an adventure as back home.

The Eldest Namekian on the planet spoke in his language to call the dragon - an elder Gohan called "Moori" as if he might have known him. Maybe. Goten had wanted to call the dragon himself, but apparently on Namek you had to speak the language here. And he didn't know Namekian. None of them did. Not even Gohan.

Still. Any chance he had to watch the rise of the eternal dragon from the dragon balls was a good day. So Goten brushed back his hair - now cut to a shorter style to avoid looking like his dad. He didn't want people to say he looked like that guy anymore. So Gohan had helped him cut it down, snipping off all the wild edges. From now on when it grew, he'd let it grow down and keep it from growing out like usual. Anything he could do to make sure he would be different enough.

The Namekian voice rose in volume and the dragon balls glowed with a bright golden light, getting brighter and brighter until Goten couldn't watch anymore. He had to hold up his arm to try to see while blocking the glow, but it didn't really matter. The sky got super dark just like it did on Earth. He'd learned from Gohan that New Namek didn't have a night time because there was always at least one sun in the sky - maybe that was why the sky was green and the planets were blue. So when the sky darkened and the wind picked up, Goten shuddered a little. It was way creepier than when it happened on Earth.

In a flash, a bright glow shot into the sky, wrapping around in circular patterns until another bright flash made Goten shut his eyes. When he could finally look up, he stepped back, mouth wide open. The dragon was massive! Not like the dragon on Earth, either. It looked so much fatter and it didn't wind around like a snake.

"Whoa!" Goten exclaimed. "He's huge!"

"Y-yeah," Trunks said, taking a step back. "Kinda makes you wanna run for it, huh?"

"What?" Goten spun to his best friend. "Don't be like that, Trunks. It's a dragon. He's here to help!"

"Yeah but -"

Krillin came up behind them, setting hands on either of their shoulders as he laughed. "Relax you two. It scared me and Gohan the first time we saw Porunga, too. He looks really different from Shenron, doesn't he?"

Goten gulped and nodded. "Y-yeah. Real different."

While Krillin grinned, Goten brought his attention back to the large dragon. This guy was going to help bring his mom back to life. He wouldn't have to wait anymore. It was going to happen today! Feeling his heart pounding and his blood rushing, he turned to the Namekian elder, who stood in the shadow of the dragon and the glowing dragon balls. Wow. Even the Namek guy looked scarier like that. It didn't matter if he was smiling and waiting patiently.

Since Goten couldn't find the words to speak, Gohan stepped forward and nodded to Moori. "Ask him if he'll bring back my mom, Chi-Chi. Right to her body on planet Earth."

Moori nodded and turned back to the dragon. Goten gulped. This was it. It had better work. They'd come so far. He needed to see it happen. He wanted his mom back. He wanted to see her. The dragon should have another wish or two to grant, too, so they could wish to go back home instead of having to fly in the spaceship.

As much fun as space travel had turned out to be, Goten wanted to hug his mom as soon as possible. His hands were practically shaking. He didn't want to wait anymore. Every breath of waiting felt like the slowest breath ever in all of time.

Moori turned back to them with a frown. "He says there might be a complication."

Goten felt his face heat as he sprang forward. "What? That can't be right! Just bring her back to life. It's not that hard."

Moori grimaced. "There's something about her body that's a little strange. Porunga wants to know if you want her back exactly as she was before she sustained mortal wounds."

"Wha-what?"

Holding up a hand, Gohan gestured for Goten to calm down and then took charge. "Yes. That's what we were thinking. But why is there such a -"

Moori shrugged. "I don't know. He says it might take two wishes."

"Two?!"

Moori held up two green hands. "I don't understand, either. I'll talk to him."

While the Namekian Elder turned back to the dragon, Goten ran over to stand in front of Gohan. His big brother should have an answer. This didn't make any sense. Why would it take two wishes to bring their mom back? Not that it should matter anyway because they could still use one wish to go home since the Namekian dragon balls granted three wishes but -

But why was it weird?

"Gohan," he said, breathing heavy, hand gripping onto his shirt. "What's he mean by that? What's wrong with mom?"

Gohan groaned and rubbed his head. "I don't think anything is wrong. I think it's just a special case."

"But why?"

"I - I'd rather not say yet, Goten."

"But why?"

"Because I'm not sure," Gohan sighed before kneeling down to set his hands on Goten's shoulder. "Don't worry. If I'm right, it'll be happy. I think. But I don't want to worry anybody just yet, okay? It's nothing too serious."

Goten whined. "But Gohan I wanna know. What if -"

"Nothing bad is going to happen to mom anymore, right?" When Gohan asked that, Goten nodded. "The dragon will bring her back. That's all that matters."

That's all that matters.

With a frown, Goten turned up to the dragon as Moori talked to it in that weird Namekian language. He wished he could understand what was being said. He wished he could demand an explanation. Why would Gohan suspect something and not tell him? It had to be bad then, right?

But no, Gohan told him it wouldn't be bad and Gohan was always right. He could trust his brother. Much better than anyone else. So why did he feel so uneasy now? He couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible had gone wrong.

Tears came unbidden to his eyes and he shook his head when Gohan tried to comfort him. Bringing his hands up to his eyes he wiped his tears and avoided looking anywhere at Trunks. To be honest, he didn't really care if his best friend saw him cry. They knew not to make fun of each other for that anymore. But it still felt embarrassing.

This was too much. It was supposed to be easy. Ask the dragon for their wish and get it without any problems. No extra questions. No weird things to consider. No special cases. Why couldn't they just be happy?

~!~

Chi-Chi opened her eyes into the dim artificial lighting of a room she couldn't place. It took a moment for her to process what had happened. She'd been dead. She'd been a spirit, sitting in a wonderful little rose garden, waiting for when her children or Goku would wish to bring her back to life. She was a little surprised it had happened so fast.

There was another presence beside her, but it wasn't Goku or her boys. She looked to the side and then sat up slowly, gripping onto the edge of the strange little enclosed bed. Bulma stared back at her, lips pursed, not saying a word. She must be waiting for Chi-Chi to accept her return to life. They all knew how strange it could feel to awaken in the land of the living when you hadn't even been asleep in the afterlife.

Bringing her hands up, she stared at the skin and flexed her fingers. No cuts or bruises. She brought a hand to her side where that energy blast had done its worst. Nothing. Of course. That's what the wishes could do. Bring her back to life and heal her body of all its ills. Though it was strange that she still felt like her hips had the aches of bruises. She'd have to investigate that further when she was alone.

"How are you feeling?" Bulma asked, voice soft and slow. "I know you probably expected someone other than me, but I'll explain once you get your bearings."

Chi-Chi nodded, brushing her hair back behind her ear. "Some water would be nice."

"Gotcha," Bulma said, walking over to hand her a glass. "Throat probably feels dry as all hell, huh?"

Chi-Chi gave a weak smile and took the glass with shaking hands. Her mind ran too fast for her words to keep up. She had to wonder where the boys were. What had happened since her death? Time could sometimes play tricks in the world of the dead, and there was no telling how much time had actually passed on Earth.

Bulma didn't seem eager to give forth any information, either. She simply stood beside Chi-Chi's bed and waited. She did manage to catch Bulma's eyes glancing back over her shoulder or at her watch, so clearly the woman was waiting for something impatiently, even if she was trying to hide it. But what could it be?

Finishing the water, Chi-Chi caught the blue eyes of Bulma and said a single phrase into the awkward silence. "So where are they?"

Bulma grimaced and then sighed. "Goku says he's really sorry."

Immediate alarm flashed through her body. "What happened? Where is he?"

"I - well - okay, I shouldn't have started with that. I think I'm still worked up over it."

"Over what?" Chi-Chi swallowed. "What happened? How long has it been?"

Bulma groaned. "I'm not good at this. I've never been good at this. Okay, so, Goku was kind of a mess after - well - everything and the boys instantly decided to go off to New Namek to wish you back because they couldn't wait."

"Oh."

She wanted to say more, but that was a lot to take in and she was far too tired to react excessively right now. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and kept herself from fainting or falling apart. She could handle this. Her boys were out in space, but Gohan was an adult now. He could take care of things, even if this whole situation tore them all up. Oh, her perfect happy little family. What would become of it now?

And Goku. Oh she could only imagine the torment he must be suffering. While his hand had done the deed, it was really that other side to his personality, the one that made it so Goku couldn't remember anything. But if she knew her husband…

"Where's Goku?"

"He's-" Bulma bit her lip. "He went with Beerus and Whis. Apparently they have a place to hold him until he can stabilize. I think they understood what was happening better than any of us, but I'm still not really happy it had to come to calling them in."

"So he left," Chi-Chi whispered. "Oh, my poor Goku. What's going to happen to us now?"

~!~

Krillin plunged into a cold body of water and sat up quickly as a result, looking around for anyone else. The dragon had granted the wish to send them all back, so, why hadn't anyone else been dropped in a... fountain?

With a grimace and a muttered, "why does this always happen to me", Krillin climbed out of the fountain and immediately began shaking himself and squeezing out his soaked clothes. Well, it could have been worse. It could have really been in the middle of nowhere. Instead, a glance around showed him the animals in the park area, as well as the important detail of the Capsule Corp. logo on the walls.

Bulma's place, then. Her dad was pretty weird about keeping a zoo inside in his own home. But if that's what the rich genius wanted to do, then far be it from Krillin to make fun of him for it.

"Would've been nice if the dragon hadn't landed me right here of all places, though," he grumbled to himself as he squeezed more water from his sopping TACOS shirt. "Oh well. Hopefully the kids had better luck."

Krillin left the area and immediately began searching for the others, hearing the squelch of his wet shoes with every step. It didn't take too long to find the others. Goten's ki especially seemed to brighten, and Gohan's did the same right along with him.

"Heh, guess the wish worked," Krillin said as he stepped into a kitchen and then paused, finding the sight rather heartwarming. "Yeah, okay, waiting really wasn't an option, huh?"

Bulma, who sat at the table with a coffee cup in hand, glanced over at him. "When you see them together like that, it kind of makes it obvious."

Nodding at her, Krillin set his hands on his hips and grinned. "Yep. I should've known better than to fight them on it. Wasn't much of a problem at all, really."

Bulma hummed. "Good."

Then the only sound in the room was of Goten crying about missing his mom so much and hurting so bad with her gone - and Chi-Chi reassuring him. Mother and son reunited. Of course Gohan hugged her, too, but as the oldest, he had learned to step back and allow the younger one to steal the show. However, Krillin did notice how Gohan wasn't letting go of his own hug, no matter how many times Chi-Chi tried to get the boys to back up and calm down.

The three were practically collapsed on top of each other in an effort to be as close as possible. Chi-Chi sat in a chair with a bottle of water on the table in front of her, with her boys on either side. Goten had his arms wrapped around her waist, and Gohan leaned down to get his arms around her shoulders. She kept laughing and scratching her cheek like she was embarrassed by the attention from her children who so obviously loved her so very much.

It really was a heartwarming sight. If only Goku were there to share in it. But…

But Goku's dark personality is the reason this is even happening now. I hope he's doing all right.

Krillin sighed and stepped in closer, finding a seat next to Bulma at the table, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb the precious family moment in front of them. "How have things been on this front?"

Bulma grimaced and shook her head. "I don't think we're going to be seeing Goku again anytime soon, if that's what you're getting at."

Instant fear and anger rushed through Krillin's body. He almost shouted at Bulma for failing to keep a watch on their friend, but then her blue eyes found his and glanced away and Krillin knew she wasn't happy with whatever had gone down. But something serious must have happened anyway because her eyes also looked...scared...sad...disappointed...angry...and just overall upset. Krillin couldn't always read emotions in the eyes of people, but with his friends that he'd known for so long, and with all the other cues in her voice and slumped shoulders, it wasn't hard to piece together what she was feeling.

So. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, flexing his fingers on the table. "What happened?"

"I - he -" Bulma swallowed something in her throat, then shivered. "I had to call Whis. Those two came and decided to take Goku back with him."

"What? Really?" Krillin raised an eyebrow. "But that won't stop his Instant Transmission, will it? I mean, it's pretty far, but if we -"

Bulma shook her head. "I think they have something in mind to keep him there. I don't know what, but it's not like we can trust him when he loses control like that. He's like a completely different person."

"Yeah, he is," Krillin frowned. "How long, though? They have to come up with a way to knock him back to normal pretty soon, right?"

Blue eyes turned to the table and she whispered. "I don't know. I explained all this to Chi-Chi and she's upset we let him go, but…I didn't have any other choice. And he thought it was best, too, after what he'd done."

"Of course he would," Krillin grumbled. "Damn it, Goku."

This whole situation was just...the worst thing to ever happen to them. He didn't like the idea of Goku going off on his own to - to what? A prison? Goku in a prison? That felt wrong. It left a sick taste in his mouth and made him want to spit. But what else could they do? If Whis had a way to contain that darker personality flip, maybe he could have a way to reverse the cause and bring Goku back to them.

There had to be hope at least.

"I don't want him back," Goten mumbled. "He can stay gone for as long as he wants. I don't want him back anymore."

Krillin shot up to see the Son Family members staring at them. "Goten, buddy, if it's your dad and not that -"

"No. I don't trust him anymore," Goten snapped, squeezing his mom. "He hurt my mom."

Krillin groaned. He looked to Chi-Chi who hadn't said anything against Goten's announcement. Was she losing faith too? Oh, no, not Chi-Chi. If anyone would stand by Goku through anything, it would be her. She had to stand up for him. She -

Well, shit, if no one else would say it, then he would. "After a year, I'm going after them. He'll have that long to figure things out, and if they don't bring him back by then, I'm demanding answers myself. No matter what the problem, we can't just cut Goku out of our lives forever."

Gohan sighed, standing back up from his mom and rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, sure, I'll spend the year researching things, then. Maybe we can come up with a better solution by then if it hasn't been fixed."

Goten, on the other hand, just scoffed and buried his face in his mom's lap. "Whatever."

Awkward silence filled the room then. Tension. How could talking about Goku cause so much tension? With his own family in the room. This was literally the worst thing Krillin had ever felt.

But then again, hope surfaced, because Chi-Chi caught his gaze, and mouthed "thank you" with a light smile. It wasn't over yet.

You hear that, Goku. It's not over yet. Don't give up on yourself because we won't give up on you.