Fallen Hero

Chapter 11

Scrix: Why are you even writing another chapter?

CMG: I already explained it to you: the story has just begun to get interesting. As usual, I don't own Dragon Ball Z. With the defeat of Zi-Kita, the universe is now safe. Or is it? *Scrix threatens to hit CMG with his staff* Alright. Move on peeps!

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Goku lies in bed with Chi-chi at his side. Both were asleep after the rough events that transpired hours ago as the Earth-raised Saiya-jin held his now Saiya-jin wife and mate in his muscular arms. Long ago has he removed his shirt from his muscular frame as he snuggled entangled in the many blankets of the tiny bed that barely held the both of them. This peaceful scene seemed too perfect. Too bad all good things have to come to an end so soon...

*Goku! Goku!* cried the frantic voice telepathically as Goku woke up groggy.

"King Kai?" said Goku as he gently laid his mate down and kissed her on the top of the forehead before getting out of bed in his boxers. "What's wrong? You sound worried..."

*There's no time to explain! Come to Grand Kai's Planet right now!* said King Kai as Goku snatched his pants and put them on.

"Well hold the fire! I need to get dressed!" said Goku. "You wouldn't want to see a Saiya-jin almost entirely naked, would you?"

*Well... uh...* stammered King Kai as Goku tied the belt to his pants and searched for his shirt.

"It's just a statement," said Goku as he found his shirt at the foot of the bed and donned it. "I have to leave my mate a note before I leave." With his hands sprawled out, Goku concentrated as a piece of paper appeared out of thin air and landed gently on the bed as the words appear on the paper.

*Hurry up!* said King Kai as Goku smirked and vanished from the room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Ack!" cried King Kai when Goku appeared. "That was quick!"

"Yeah, now tell me what's wrong," said Goku.

"I'll show you," said King Kai as Goku placed his hand on the bug man's back and closed his eyes.

********

"The fool had no idea what kind of power I have," said a dark voice as his face appeared. Goku almost completely pulled back in horror. Zi-Kita somehow survived the aftermath and looked completely different. "I know you're watching, Kakarotto and it won't be long until you're mine."

********

Breathing heavily, Goku fell backwards as the sweat glistened in the light. It was maddening that anyone could defy death in that manner. Even Vegeta defying death a second time by Majin Buu's hands was insane enough; thanks to the visions he had accessed through Goku while the Earth-raised Saiya-jin trying to purge the taint that Baba-di placed on the Saiya-jin Prince 12 years ago. As Goku was helped up by King Kai, the Lord of Worlds screamed in horror as he nearly dropped Goku.

"What now?" said Goku.

"How... how did you get your t-t-tail back?" said King Kai as Goku looked at it as though he had it most of his life. However, Goku noticed something different about the shade of his tail. It was starting to lighten up strangely enough.

"It grew back before the Trial of the Saiya-jin while I was possessed by Baba-di's magic," said Goku, answering the Lord of the World's question as he stared at his tail. A brief flash showed a faceless warrior with white fur on his chest as Goku dismissed the visions rather abruptly. "Why are you staring at me like that, King Kai?"

"You were having another vision just now, weren't you?" said King Kai.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with the fact that Zi-Kita's on his way to Earth to kidnap me again and destroy Earth?" said Goku.

"You father was cursed with the ability, but I watched you during your first battle against Zi-Kita and saw into your mind that you took the whole thing to another level," said King Kai. "How did you do it?"

"I have no idea," said Goku as he seemed rather puzzled.

"Try to explain what happened," said King Kai.

"Well while I was standing there, I started thinking of the possible fighting scenarios that I could have used against him," said Goku. "Before I knew it, I was assaulted by the fragments of what might happen if I went with the fighting pattern against him."

"Hm, I see," said King Kai. "I think I know what happened since Zi-Kita did claim that he was reading your thoughts. Somehow, there must have strengthen your ability to see into the future."

"If that's true, I wonder what will happen next," said Goku.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Back in the Other Realm, Chi-chi awakens and finds a letter addressed to her as she crumples the letter in her hands.

"Goku, I swear," said Chi-chi as she flattens the letter and reads it. With a start, she jumps out of bed. Outside the room, Bardock, rather pissed off, opens the door and Chi-chi screams as she lifts the bed and throws it at the Saiya-jin. Slamming the door shut, Bardock felt like he was hit by a freight train as he laid there, trying to figure out what just happened.

"What in the hell's going on with this world today?" said Bardock as he rubs his head. A minute later, Chi-chi opens the door rather cross. She was wearing a violet colored vest and pants. A shirt underneath the vest was a royal blue colored shirt with the sleeves reaching her elbows in length and a royal blue sash. The boots she wore were similar to Goku's, except smaller as her slender tail was wrapped around her waist.

"Why did you open the door while I was getting dressed?" said Chi-chi.

"I had no idea," said Bardock as he got up rather angry at his daughter-in-law for throwing a bed at him. "Where's Kakarot?"

"He's with the Lord of the Worlds right now," said Chi-chi as she handed Bardock the letter.

"Lord of the Worlds?" said Bardock confused. "Who's he?"

Suddenly, Goku appeared out of thin air. Chi-chi cried out as she ran to him and knocked him down with a punch; sending him sprawling onto the floor as Chi-chi seemed eager to have her mate back so soon.

"You must have been working out!" said Goku as he noticed Chi-chi was smiling evilly and figured it out instantly. "Alright! If you want to spar, then so be it!" With a sweep, Goku picked up Chi-chi as Bardock moaned.

"This is no time for you to be making out!" said Bardock as he stopped Goku.

"I was serious though," said Goku with an evil glint in his eyes. "After all, we'll soon make her into a Super Saiya-jin."

"Me? A Super Saiya-jin?" said Chi-chi as Goku put on a cheesy grin. "When do we start?"

"We can start now," said Goku as he started to carry Chi-chi off to the training room where they were going to train for the next few hours as Bardock moaned; thinking that the world was about to come to an end if they didn't train seriously. As Bardock watched Goku carry Chi-chi away, he noticed something about Goku's tail that wasn't right. He saw white hairs inside the tail that was starting to lighten.

'Why is his tail starting to change shades?' thought Bardock as he looked at his own. He almost fell over as he saw the same thing happening to his. 'I hope this isn't a bad sign.'

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Meanwhile at Mount Paozu, Gohan was knocking at the door when he realized that his mother wasn't home. Trying the doorknob, he found the door was mysteriously left unlocked as he entered the house.

'Strange,' thought Gohan. 'Mom wouldn't leave the door unlocked when she left the house.'

Walking around, he felt a strange chill run up his spine as he went to the kitchen. He saw a broken plate on the ground and grew more worried as he noticed the rest of the dishes left on the counter. Whatever happened to his mother, he was now worried as he ran out the door and flew off to find the others to help him find her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

King Vegeta, Radditz, and Nappa were at the Forbidden Springs as they watched and waited until Vegeta was reborn. The battle had put a lot of strain on Vegeta's body and it was after the battle that the strain became too great that it made him collapse in exhaustion. With his body pretty much torn up, Scrix suggested that he should be reborn as the springs healed and made most of the scars that crisscrossed his back faded almost entirely. As Vegeta came out of the springs, King Vegeta noticed that Vegeta's tail seemed a bit lighter than usual.

/What's up with Vegeta's tail?/ said Nappa.

/It seems that it's starting to turn white,/ said Scrix as Vegeta started regaining consciousness on the platform. /It must mean that in the next battle, we might lose some fighters./

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Zi-Kita laughter echoed as the black tail uncoiled around his waist. He stood on the spaceship in the dark chamber as hardly any light seemed to hit his face. It seemed ghostly pale as he hovered in the air looking in his crystal ball as he looked on in pure joy.

/Very soon, Kakarotto's life will be mine,/ said Zi-Kita.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

At dinner that night, everyone ate quietly as they seemed more serious about the battle ahead of them tomorrow. Goku ate slowly as everyone noticed and felt it was discomforting since they knew how fast Goku usually ate. As Chi-chi noticed this, she saw that Goku's tail was white.

"What's happening to your tail?" said Chi-chi.

"I have no idea," said Goku as he looked at it. The tail was changing rather rapidly as Bardock and Vegeta's also were changing, but they said nothing about it.

"Kakarot, are you worried about tomorrow?" said Bardock.

"Sort of," said Goku.

"We'll win, won't we?" said Radditz as Goku excused himself from the table.

"Goku, where are you..." started Chi-chi.

"He needs time alone," said Vegeta. 'Something's wrong with Kakarot. Why is he being so quiet?'

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Looking at the mirror that Saria brought earlier, Goku peered in it as he tried to find the answers to his unspoken questions. A mist started to surround Goku as he looked around confused. As he heard footsteps behind him, he saw a figure standing there, but his eyes couldn't make out who it was.

/Accept who you are.../ said a voice. /You need to in order to be at your strongest.../

/Huh?/ said Goku as the wind started to blow at him, forcing him to shut his eyes in a panic. As the winds subsided, Goku saw that he was on the battlefield as he saw his wife and mate laying on the ground with her eyes wide open. "Chi-chi!"

Rich baritone laughter was heard behind him as Goku turned and saw an energy blast heading towards him. As the energy started tearing up his body, he suddenly knocked over the mirror as he fell to the ground. The mirror shattered as Goku's nearly white tail lashed behind him.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Feeling his son's pain, Bardock suddenly ran down the hallways as he heard the mirror shatter. For a moment, Bardock feared entering the room where Goku was earlier that day, but he heard his son hissing as he took a step into the room. There on the ground, he saw Goku on all fours as he breathed heavily.

/Kakarot, what's wrong?/ said Bardock as he touched his back. Without warning, Bardock was thrown into the wall as he went sliding down it as Scrix entered the room.

/Bardock, Kakarot's suffering the visions,/ said Scrix. /You need to stay clear from him until he comes out of it./

/Visions?/ said Bardock as he reached into the bond to try and pull his son out of it.

*******

Bardock found himself on the battlefield as he heard Zi-Kita's laughter. As he looked around, he saw Goku on the ground breathing hard as blood covered his face.

/Kakarot, none of this is real!/ said Bardock.

/.../ said Goku. Bardock noticed that in the vision, Goku's tail was entirely white as he looked behind him.

/You need to come out of it!/ said Bardock. /We're not all dead!/

/Yet you will be soon enough,/ said Zi-Kita's voice as another energy blast came at them. With a hiss, Bardock teleported himself and his son out of there.

*******

Bardock felt his son starting to recover. Somehow, he intercepted the vision and brought the warrior out of it as Goku's tail gently sunk to the ground. Just like in the vision, it was now completely white as Goku shook his head.

"What happened?" said Goku as he looked around. "I thought..."

"It was an illusion," said Bardock.

"It felt so real," said Goku.

"He was using an illusion to try and kill you," said Scrix. "Until we defeat him for good, I must make it so that you can block out anything Zi-Kita wants you to believe might happen."

With a gentle nudge, Goku felt Scrix's mind connect to his as a strange sensation started to surround his mind. As Goku felt woozy, Scrix managed to make the barrier strong enough to protect Goku's mind from any future assults. After a brief explanation, Goku tested it and found it much easier to block his father's thoughts.

"So this is how you block thoughts?" said Goku.

"Yes," said Scrix.

"It feels weird though," said Goku.

"Just remember to keep it up during battle or else you'll end up in the same condition you were in a few minute ago," said Scrix.

"Right," said Goku.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Returning home, Goku carried Chi-chi into the house where they saw Gohan and Goten trying to figure out what happened to their mother as they sat at the kitchen table. As they saw Chi-chi for the first time ever since she disappeared, Gohan and Goten both flipped.

"Mom!" cried Gohan in utter shock. "You're! You're a..."

"I know," said Chi-chi as her tail wrapped around her waist as she embraced her two boys. "Zi-Kita used Slug to make me into a Saiya-jin against my will."

"You should ask Shenlong if we can..." started Goten as Chi-chi gently shook her head no. "How come we can't?"

"Your father talked me into the idea of remaining a Saiya-jin," said Chi-chi. "He was worried about me when Zi-Kita used Tronikor to take me to his planet that he risked his life to save me. Besides, he showed me that not all Saiya-jins are monsters and I misjudged you when you became a Super Saiya-jin all those years ago, Goten. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, mom," said Goten as he hugged her mom to reassure her that he accepted her apology. "But if you're saying that being a Super Saiya-jin's okay, does that mean..."

"Yep!" said Chi-chi as she powered up and transformed. Gohan and Goten were surprised.

"How did you become one so quickly?" said Gohan.

"Your father has been training me a lot after Majin Buu, so he pushed me into becoming a Super Saiya-jin by telling me what might happen if we don't win this battle," said Chi-chi. "Of course, I did lose control, but your father was kind enough to bring me back in control."

"He didn't..." started Gohan as he felt sick to his stomach and started motioning his hands that meant they made out.

"No he didn't do that," said Chi-chi as Goku unwrapped his white tail from his waist. "He just brought me under control by his tail."

"How come it's white though?" said Goten.

"I asked Scrix the same thing and he thinks that I might die again," said Goku.

"But if you die, then we'll have to bring you to life again," said Gohan.

"Maybe," said Goku. "Go get the others. Tomorrow, we fight!"

"Right dad!" said Goten and Gohan.

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CMG: *looks at Zi-Kita and looks like she's about to cry* Why won't you just die?!

Zi-Kita: Because you'd be out of a story if I just croaked. Besides, aren't you glad you added an evil twist to the story?

CMG: It took about 6 attempts to write this chapter; the last 5 attempts were rather bad and I felt like giving up because SOMEONE ate the last of the ice cream. *the 'camera' rotates towards Bardock as he licks the bowl seductively as CMG looks furious*

Bardock: What? You pretty much dyed my tail white, so I got hungry and decided to raid the fridge! Is there a problem?

CMG: Yes. That's the VERY ice cream I eat for IDEAS! *eyes glow red as Bardock suddenly has a sweat drop behind his head*

*Mission Impossible music starts playing in the background as Scrix's voice is heard in the background*

Scrix: Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to go to Northgate Kroger and buy some vanilla ice cream before CMG goes Super Bitchin' 6. The last thing we need is a female bitchin' destroying the planet anytime soon.

CMG: Scrix, don't tempt me...

Scrix: *sounding nervous* The camera will self destruct in 5 seconds.

CMG: Scrix! No! Don't destroy the cam- *camera explodes*