Disclaimer: I took a lot of The Ramayana story and included it in this chapter. We read it in English class, and I liked it a lot. The main thing I changed about the story is what happens to Sita. I made her the villain, which was kind of mean since I liked Sita in The Ramayana story and thought what happened to her was basically unfair. I highly recommend reading the original Indian myth. It's a really good story.
Author's Note: Again, it's been a while since I've seen certain episodes of the afterlife on DBZ, so I'm sorry if my descriptions of Hell are inaccurate. I'm kind of going by my memory of the episode when all the villains were watching the fight with Majin Buu from Hell.
Part Five
Chi-Chi fell through the portal and landed on the hard ground. The portal remained open for a few seconds. She saw King Kai and Baba staring at her from the other end. Then Baba waved her arms, and the portal closed. Baba, King Kai, and Snake Way vanished from her sight.
I guess I'm on my own now, Chi-Chi thought, stumbling to her feet. It didn't matter to her. If she had to do this on her own, then so be it…
She looked around, taking in her surroundings. Hell was nothing like the other two planets. The sky was a yellowish-red instead of pink and there wasn't a cloud in sight. The ground had no grass or plants; it was just rocky, barren land.
This place is horrible, she thought, shivering. Then again, it is Hell. I certainly wasn't expecting a good place, but the thought of Goku being here…it just makes me sick.
She took a deep breath. I'm just as strong as Goku, she reminded herself to ease her fear. I can bear this for now. I need to find Goku…
There was just one problem: she had no idea where to start looking.
Now what? she wondered helplessly. She tried to think. Baba said that Sita lived in a fortress somewhere in Hell, yet upon looking around further, she didn't see any fortresses.
Perhaps it was located further from where she was… She briefly considered asking around for directions… only that was a bad idea. There were no trustworthy people in Hell. The most sensible thing she could think of was just to explore until she found it.
She started walking around. She wasn't sure which way to go, so she just went straight. The land seemed to go on endlessly, with nothing else in sight.
I hope I don't run into anyone Goku's fought here, she thought worriedly. I know King Kai said they were locked up, but if they asked Sita to kill Goku and bring him to Hell, they could be loose…
King Yemma would have known if they broke free, a voice in her head said soothingly. They have to be locked up.
A curious thought occurred to her: where were those monsters locked up anyway? She preferred not to find out…
Hours seemed to go by, and still there was no sign of a fortress. Even worse, she was sure she was lost.
Chi-Chi's confidence was starting to waver. What if she never found Goku? Or what if she found him, but it was too late? If anything happened to Goku, she didn't know what she'd do…
Calm down, the voice in her head persisted. Worrying isn't helping you find Goku any faster. Goku never worried about anything…and if he did, he never showed it. After all, if he spent most of his time worrying about problems, he'd never actually do anything to solve them. It's the same case for everyone.
Chi-Chi tried to relax, but it wasn't easy to do. How could she relax? Her situation showed no signs of improving any time soon. She was stuck in Hell. Some witch had dragged her husband down here when he hadn't done anything to deserve being in Hell. He was probably being tortured at this very moment. And to make matters worse, she had no idea where she was going!
Oh Kami, what have I gotten myself into? she thought hopelessly. I should have let King Kai get Pikkon or someone to come with me. I need help; there's no way I can do this alone…
"Hey, you!"
Startled, Chi-Chi turned around to see two ogres approach her: one red, the other blue. They both wore T-shirts with the word "Hell" on it. She sighed in relief. They had to be the ones that guarded Hell. Maybe now she could get some help.
"Excuse me," she began politely, "but can you tell me ---?"
"You aren't supposed to be here," the red ogre cut her off. "Why aren't you locked up with the others?"
Chi-Chi blinked. "Locked up?" she repeated blankly. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb," the blue ogre snapped. "Every day, it's the same thing! A prisoner breaks out and tries to escape from Hell!"
"It wouldn't keep happening if you stopped sleeping at your post!" the red ogre told his companion irritably. "It's your duty to guard the prisoners, not mine! You're lucky I haven't reported you to King Yemma yet!"
"Well, you were the one who almost let that other girl escape last week!" the blue ogre retorted.
"Hey, I couldn't help it! The little spitfire had a killer right hook!" He indicated his right eye, which was swollen black.
Chi-Chi suddenly realized what was going on. The ogres thought that she was one of the residents in Hell. "There's been some mistake," she tried to explain. "I'm not supposed to be here; I'm only here to look for my…"
"Yeah, yeah," the red ogre said, rolling his eyes. "That's what they all say. Now come with us like a good prisoner." He grabbed her arm.
"Hey, take your hands off me!" Chi-Chi shouted indignantly, trying to free herself. "How dare you! I'm not one of the bad guys! You can go ask King Yemma himself! Let me go! I've got to find my husband!"
"Sure, whatever," the blue ogre said sarcastically. The two ogres pinned her arms behind her back and started to drag her away.
Chi-Chi wrenched herself out of their hold and started to make a run for it until the two ogres jumped in front of her.
"Look, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way," the red ogre threatened.
Chi-Chi growled in frustration. She didn't have time for these idiots; she needed to find Goku! She didn't want to fight them since they were only doing their job. However, it was her only choice. They were preventing her from getting to Goku, so that was just too bad for them. "I think I prefer the hard way," she retorted.
The red ogre laughed harshly. "Good luck! We work with a lot stronger people than you, lady! If you think you can take me on, then you'd better ---"
He was unable to finish his sentence, because at that very moment, Chi-Chi elbowed him in the stomach.
He clutched his stomach, winded. "Why, you little ---!" he roared, lunging towards Chi-Chi. He tried to hit her, but she easily dodged the blow and kicked him squarely in the face, knocking him out cold.
She started to turn around, ready to deal with the other ogre. Unfortunately for her, while she'd been distracted fighting his partner, the blue ogre had sneaked up behind her. She dimly felt him deal a hard blow to her neck, and then everything went black.
***
Chi-Chi opened her eyes to find herself lying in what looked like a dark prison cell. She remembered what had happened almost immediately.
"Oh no!" she gasped, fearing the worst. The room had bars blocking the way out of the room --- it was a prison cell. She looked out the bars and saw a dark corridor filled with other cells, although she couldn't see who was in them.
"No!" Chi-Chi moaned, rattling the bars desperately. "I can't be stuck in here!" This couldn't be happening… How could she find Goku if she was locked in Hell for eternity?
"Let me out!" she screamed to no one in particular, rattling the bars. "Let me out right now, or you're going to be sorry!"
"Don't bother," a voice behind her said quietly. "The ogres aren't here; they spend most of their time guarding the more dangerous prisoners. And even if they were here, they wouldn't let you out."
Chi-Chi turned around and saw a young girl sitting in the corner of the cell. Cautiously, she approached her. "Who are you?" she asked.
"My name's Misai," the girl replied, "and I guess you're my new cell mate." She had dark brown hair that was pulled back in a rather tousled ponytail, and like Chi-Chi, she also had a halo above her head. She was wearing a beige halter top and a pair of harem pants that were torn and filthy. Her face was rather thin and had two scars: a little one above her eye, and a longer one across her right cheek. The tired, hollow look in her eyes gave the impression that she had grown up far too early in life.
"You're new here, aren't you?" Misai asked. "I can tell; it was a real shock for me when I first came… that was hundreds of years ago. It seems even longer when you're in Hell."
Hundreds of years ago? Chi-Chi wondered, amazed. She doesn't look much older than eighteen. Then again, you don't age when you're dead…
Misai suddenly grinned. "You must have put up a good fight though. When the ogres brought you in, one of them had a busted jaw and a bloody nose. I gave the same one a shiner when I tried to escape last week."
Chi-Chi didn't respond. Misai seemed pleasant enough, yet Chi-Chi remembered what King Kai told her: don't trust anyone in Hell. She already got caught; she wasn't about to make another mistake.
She paced around the cell anxiously, trying not to cry. Tears wouldn't help her out of this situation. She needed to find a way out of this prison and find Goku… but how?
"Are you just going to pace for the rest of your time here?" Misai asked sarcastically. "Because you're starting to make me nervous."
"Sorry," Chi-Chi muttered shortly. She stopped pacing and sat on the floor.
"What's your name?" Misai inquired.
"Chi-Chi," Chi-Chi replied rather cautiously.
"So, what're you in here for?" Misai wanted to know
"I'm not supposed to be here," Chi-Chi couldn't help but respond.
Misai snorted. "That's what everybody says here,"
"It's true!" Chi-Chi snapped. "I came to Hell to look for my husband."
Misai stared at her. "You dragged yourself all the way down to Hell just to look for some guy?" she asked incredulously. "Well, let me tell you, whoever he is, he's certainly not worth an eternity in Hell."
"What makes you say that?" Chi-Chi said coldly. She was liking this girl less every second.
"Well, he obviously had to have been a real jerk if he's in Hell…"
"I wouldn't talk about my husband that way if I were you," Chi-Chi warned her in a dangerously low voice. If there was one thing that made her really mad, it was when somebody insulted her husband --- especially when that person didn't even know him.
Misai raised an eyebrow. "Why not? I mean, if he was a good person, then why would he be in Hell?"
"He was taken here," Chi-Chi said through gritted teeth. "Some horrible witch named Sita…"
"Sita?" Misai repeated, narrowing her eyes. "As in Sita, the sorceress from Vishnu?"
"Yes, that's her," Chi-Chi said slowly. She looked at Misai curiously. "How do you know about her?"
"I'm from Vishnu," Misai explained. "In fact, I was alive around the time she was. The women from my planet used to go to her when they had problems with their lovers…"
"I already know that," Chi-Chi said hastily. She remembered what Baba had told her about Sita and was suddenly filled with curiosity. "I heard that she had been a princess until she was banished… what was she banished for?"
Misai looked at her thoughtfully. "It's a very long story."
"It doesn't matter," Chi-Chi said sadly. "I'm stuck here until I can find a way out. Go on ahead."
"Well, almost a thousand years ago, Vishnu was ruled by King Dasaratha. King Dasaratha had four sons by three wives. Yet could only choose one as his heir. He ended up choosing his son, Rama as heir to the throne. Everyone thought it was a good choice. Prince Rama was not only a skilled and noble warriors, but he was also married to Sita, a beautiful and virtuous princess from another kingdom…"
Chi-Chi laughed harshly. "That evil witch, virtuous?"
"She wasn't a witch yet," Misai reminded her. "Anyway, the wife of Dasaratha's other son, Bharata, became afraid that she would be banished after Dasaratha's death if her own son wasn't crowned king. She convinced Dasaratha to banish Rama from the kingdom. Even though Rama hadn't done anything to deserve exile, he obeyed his father's orders without complaint. He set out into the wilderness with his brother, Lakshmana. He wanted Sita to stay behind at the palace, but Sita was too devoted to Rama. She didn't want to be without him, so she went with them.
"The wilderness of Vishnu was a dangerous place inhabited by fearsome demons. The group was not afraid though. They managed to survive in the wilderness until one day, when Ravana, the leader of the demons, set his sights on Sita…
"While Rama and Lakshmana were out hunting, Ravana visited Sita. He asked her why a princess of Vishnu was living in the woods when she should be in a palace, being waited on hand and foot. He tried to convince her to leave Rama and become his queen, but Sita refused.
"Ravana wouldn't take no for an answer. He captured her and brought her to his lair. When Rama found out, he and Lakshmana raced to the demon's lair. There, they fought many of the demons in order to get to Ravana. During the whole battle, Ravana tried to get Sita to forsake Rama and marry him. Sita remained true to Rama and refused him.
"In short, Rama finally confronted Ravana and killed him. News of Ravana's defeat and Sita's rescue spread to Dasaratha's kingdom. Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana returned and were warmly welcomed back to the kingdom. Not too long afterwards, Dasaratha died, and Rama and Sita were crowned king and queen.
"Their happiness didn't last long though. The people started spreading rumors about Sita's stay with Ravana. After all, she had stayed with a man other than her husband…"
"That doesn't make sense," Chi-Chi said, puzzled. "I thought that Sita refused to be with anyone but Rama."
"She did," Misai insisted, "but on my planet, women --- even royal women --- are given very little trust. In order to prevent discontent from spreading among his subjects, Rama banished Sita."
Chi-Chi was shocked. "What? But --- But that's not fair! Even after she went with him into exile and didn't betray him to Ravana, he doubted her?"
Misai shrugged. "No one knew for sure. Some say that Rama believed the lies, others say that he only did it because he had no other choice. Either way, Rama found another queen in time… until one day, when he and his wife were found dead in the palace. That was around the time Sita resurfaced as a sorceress…"
"Did she do it?" Chi-Chi gasped.
"Probably. I mean, after what he did, could you blame her?"
Chi-Chi sat there in silence. She had been very affected by the story, because in a strange way, she could relate to Sita --- or at least what Sita had been. It was disturbing to think that she was like the sorceress who had hurt her husband…
Yet they were very much alike. Both of them were princesses. Both of them were married to warriors. But more importantly, Chi-Chi also knew what it was like to have her husband leave her, to be hurt by his every departure…
Only what happened to Sita and what happened to her was completely different. Goku was nothing like Rama. He trusted Chi-Chi too much to ever think that she had cheated on him. He never would have deserted her based on rumors that others believed.
"No wonder she's so obsessed with men who wrong women," Chi-Chi said softly.
"Well, I can't say that she's wrong," Misai said bitterly. "Don't get me wrong, I know that Sita is evil, but the majority of men she had slain had it coming. I can personally guarantee you that men on Vishnu were real bastards. Almost half the population of women went to Sita because their lovers treated them so badly…"
"Were you one of them?" Chi-Chi asked sharply.
"You could say that," Misai said carefully.
"And that's why you're in Hell?" she figured out. "Because you had Sita kill your lover?"
"No, I'm in Hell because that bitch sent me here," Misai retorted. "She opened the portal to Hell, and pushed me in."
"Why did she do that?" Chi-Chi wondered.
"The ogres got me as soon as I came," Misai continued, purposely ignoring her question. "I tried to tell them that there was a mistake, but they didn't listen. I've been here ever since. I've tried to escape, but like I said, there's no escaping from Hell. Even if you managed to get out of prison, there's no way you can cross over to the good planets."
"How many times have you tried to escape?" Chi-Chi wanted to know.
"More than I can count," Misai said glumly. "I always tried to get out when an ogre opened my cell to give me food. I'd beat him up and make a run for it. No matter how fast I run, it always ends the same way: the ogres find me, beat the crap out of me, then drag me back to my cell. Then I regroup and come up with another plan."
"You certainly are persistent," Chi-Chi commented.
Misai shrugged. "I have to something while I'm in Hell. It's better than just wasting away."
This gave Chi-Chi an idea. It was a gamble, but if it worked, it could help her "Do you know where Sita is in Hell?"
"Yeah, I heard she was sent to Hell not too long after I was," Misai nodded. "I've Some of the others who are locked in here know her; I heard them say that she lives in a fortress way on the other side of Hell…" She growled. "I wish I could escape so that I could pay her back for trapping me here!"
"Then you can help me!" Chi-Chi said excitedly. "Listen… if I help you get out of here, then will you help me rescue my husband? I can't do it alone…"
Misai shook her head. "Sorry, I can't," she said shortly.
"You can't?" Chi-Chi repeated, aghast.
"All right, I can help you," Misai admitted, "but I won't."
"Why not?" Chi-Chi demanded angrily. "Are you scared that she'll destroy you too?"
"It's not about Sita!" Misai said indignantly. "I'm not scared of her! I'm just not going to risk my neck just for some man!"
Chi-Chi was furious, yet she had to remind herself that Misai had lived on a planet where men were horrible, so of course she was biased against men.
"Look, maybe the men on Vishnu were horrible," she said as patiently as she could, "but I can assure you that he's nothing like them!"
Misai laughed cynically. "You're deluding yourself; all men are alike. Like I said, if he got himself in Hell, he's not worth it."
"You don't even know him!" Chi-Chi said vehemently. "And, yes, he is worth it!"
"Even if he is, you're probably too late anyway," Misai went on. "Sita never spends much time on one man…"
"No, he's still alive!" Chi-Chi cried, shaking her head. "My friend Baba had a vision of him, and he was still alive, but he was being tortured…"
Thinking of that made her more upset. While her husband was suffering somewhere, the only person who could help her was turning her down! "You have to help me," she pleaded desperately. "If Sita kills him, he'll be gone forever!"
"That's not my problem," Misai said curtly.
Chi-Chi was furious. "Fine!" she snarled. "I'll just escape and go find Sita by myself!"
Misai stared at her in disbelief. "Considering the beating you gave that ogre, I'm sure you can handle yourself. But you're nuts if you think you can take on Sita!"
Needless to say, Chi-Chi was getting really sick of people telling her that she was no match for Sita. "For your information, I'm the daughter of the Ox-King," she told her proudly, "and I used to be a fighter!"
"Well, I hate to break it to you, Princess, but you're way out of your league," Misai said dryly. "Sita isn't only strong, she works with the deepest, darkest magic known to anyone in the universe! Even Rama couldn't defeat her when she came for him, and he was the strongest fighter on Vishnu!"
"I don't care!" Chi-Chi shouted. "I'm not going to let her hurt Goku!"
Misai's eyes widened. "Hold on --- did you say Goku?"
"That's his name," Chi-Chi repeated fiercely. "Son Goku."
"Shh!" Misai hissed, putting a finger to her lips. "You want the others to hear you? Keep your voice down! Now you're telling me that Son Goku --- the Saiyan who fought Frieza, Cell, and Majin Buu --- is your husband?"
"Yes, that's him. How do you know about him?"
Misai poked her arm through the bars of the cell and pointed towards the corridor. "I've heard all about him because everyone that he's ever fought is locked up in this place. I hear them ranting about him all day, especially Frieza. To be honest, it gets a little annoying after a while…
"Anyway, they got to watch him fight Majin Buu a long time ago, but not me." She sighed enviously. "I wish I could have, it was supposed to be quite a fight… From I've heard, he's one of the strongest fighters in the universe --- stronger than Prince Rama was…"
She caught Chi-Chi staring at her with a peculiar look in her eye. "Oh, what do I know?" she said hastily. "Just because he's saved the universe a bunch of times doesn't mean he's any different than the rest of the men." She turned her back on Chi-Chi and faced the wall.
Chi-Chi, on the other hand, saw an opportunity open up. She cleared your throat. "You know, there's a good chance you'll be able to see him fight if you help me," she said slyly.
Misai turned her head slightly.
"You won't necessarily have to help me," Chi-Chi went on, pressing her advantage. "You can just take me to where Sita is. Whatever you want to do is up to you, although you really should think about this. After all, it might be the only chance you have to get revenge…"
Misai bit her lip, considering the offer. "Oh, all right," she said grudgingly. "I take you to Sita's place. Only don't expect me to help your husband, because I won't."
"Fine," Chi-Chi said brusquely. She would take all the help she could get.
"So how do you propose we get out of here?" Misai asked, getting down to business. "They always got me when I tried to escape…"
"Probably because you never had anyone to help you," Chi-Chi replied wisely. "And your escape plans have to have a little more thought in it. For Kami's sake, you can't just jump on the guard; if you make a commotion, the others will hear it and know something's going on right away!"
"Give me a break, it was the best I could think of!" Misai said defensively. "I'd like to see you come up with something better…"
Chi-Chi thought for a moment. "When do the guards give out meals?"
"Once a day," Misai informed her. "They already gave meals a few hours before they brought you here. But one of them will come to patrol in a little while; they do that almost three times a day."
"Good," Chi-Chi said, smiling. "I think I have a plan…"
***
Later, one of the ogres came patrolling down the corridors. Suddenly, Misai poked her head out of the cell. "Help!" she cried frantically. "Somebody get over here! It's an emergency!"
The ogre looked through her cell. Misai was supporting a shivering, pale-faced Chi-Chi by letting her lean on her shoulder. "There's something wrong with the new one," Misai claimed.
"What's wrong with her?" the ogre asked.
"I don't know!" Misai said helplessly. "She's been like this ever since she arrived. She's burning up and she's delirious…"
The ogre frowned suspiciously. "Nothing like this has ever happened before with prisoners. Besides, she doesn't look that ill…"
He reached through the bars to feel Chi-Chi's forehead. Chi-Chi blanched and backed away from Misai and the ogre. She moaned softly and fainted dead away.
Misai bent over the fallen woman, worried. "I'll bet those ogres that brought her in hit her too hard. They might have caused some serious damage…"
"Oh, no!" the ogre groaned fumbling for his keys. "King Yemma has a policy against harming prisoners! I'm going to get fired for this!" He quickly unlocked the cell and went inside to examine Chi-Chi.
To his surprise, Chi-Chi grabbed both of his arms. "What the ---?" was all the ogre had time to utter before Misai struck a stunning blow to the back of his neck. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
Not wasting any time, Chi-Chi stood up and grabbed the ogre's keys. She and Misai hurried out of the cell, locking the door behind them so that the ogre couldn't escape when he came to.
"This way," Misai hissed, pointing to the left direction. "We'll go out the back entrance!"
The two ran down the hall as fast as they could. Chi-Chi, having no idea where she was going, could only follow Misai. They turned a corner, only to find the same two ogres Chi-Chi had encountered earlier.
"You again?" the red ogre asked, glaring at Misai. "You never learn, do you?"
Misai punched him in the face so hard that his black eye started to bleed. The blue ogre tried to attack Misai. Chi-Chi saw this and quickly rendered him unconscious, ironically enough, with a karate chop to his neck. "Consider us even!" she said, dusting her hands off with a satisfied air.
The red ogre had his hands pressed to his face. Blood was started to ooze out of his swollen eye where Misai had hit him. He charged blindly towards her. "You little b ---!" he screamed, but before he could finish, Misai seized her chance and kicked him in the stomach, sending him crashing against the wall knocking him out cold.
Once both ogres were down for the count, the two raced on. Misai stopped in front of a door. She opened it, revealing the outside of Hell. They fled as far away from the prison as possible. Neither of them dared to stop or even look back, in case other ogres were pursuing them.
After a while, they stopped running. The two of them sank to the ground, panting with exhaustion. "I think we lost them," Misai said breathlessly. "If anybody else found out we were gone, they would have caught up to us a ways back."
Chi-Chi let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad we got away. To tell you the truth, I was almost afraid that it wouldn't work..."
"I was surprised that we only had to face three ogres," Misai said almost disappointedly. "The last time I tried to escape, I had to take down at least ten of them! I almost feel cheap."
She grinned at Chi-Chi. "You were really good back there, Princess," she complimented her. "I have to hand it to you, your plan worked like a charm. Although you didn't say anything about pretending to pass out…"
"I thought of that at the last minute," Chi-Chi admitted, blushing. "I've fainted enough times to know how to fake it. You were really good too," she added. "Were a fighter in life?"
A wistful look was in Misai's eyes. "No," she said quietly. "But I wanted to be."
She quickly stood up. "We'd better get a move on. It's a long way to the other side of Hell…"
As Chi-Chi also got to her feet, she heard a familiar voice in her head: "Chi-Chi, can you hear me? This is King Kai!"
"Well, it's about time!" she hissed angrily. She was careful to keep her voice down so Misai wouldn't think she was talking to herself. "Why didn't you contact me earlier when I was in prison?"
"Sorry to keep you waiting, but we were trying to help you!" King Kai explained. "Baba and I saw what happened through her crystal ball. The only thing I could think of was contacting King Yemma. I told him that you were in Hell looking for Goku. And let me tell you, he wasn't too happy about Baba opening a portal to Hell…
"He calmed down after I convinced him that it was the only way to save Goku. He went to contact the ogres in Hell to let you out, but I guess you were able to escape on your own."
"Thanks anyway," Chi-Chi said gratefully. "At least we won't have to worry about being chased by ogres anymore…"
"What do you mean, 'we'?" King Kai cut her off. "Don't tell me you're taking that girl with you!"
"Well… yes," Chi-Chi said slowly.
"Are you crazy?" King Kai yelled. "I told you not to trust anyone in Hell!"
"She knows where Sita is!" Chi-Chi protested. "Her name is Misai and she was in Hell because Sita trapped her here, though she didn't say why…"
"Or so she claims," King Kai pointed out. "Sure, she helped you escape, but she could turn on you at any time! How do you know you can trust her?"
"Just trust me," Chi-Chi pleaded. "I know what I'm doing!"
"Oh, that's a good one!" King Kai replied sarcastically. "Not only did you tell someone who you are, you also helped another person escape from Hell!"
"She's the only chance I have in finding Goku!" Chi-Chi argued. "I can't afford not to trust her right now! Besides, Goku always gave everybody the benefit of a doubt. Why shouldn't I?"
"Well Goku's too trusting for his own good!" King Kai retorted. "There's no reason you should be careless too!"
"Look, I don't care what you think right now," Chi-Chi snapped. "I'm the one who's in Hell trying to find Goku, not you! I'm going to follow her whether you like it or not!"
King Kai sighed in frustration. "Fine, I'll trust your judgement for now, but be careful!" he warned her. "I'll contact you as soon as you get to Sita's place."
"All right," Chi-Chi said as King Kai ended the transmission. She followed Misai in a northern direction, towards more endless, rocky land. She had no idea what lay ahead for her, but whatever it was, she could handle. It would all be worth it to save Goku…
Hold on, Goku, I'm coming! she promised silently.
To be continued…
A/N: To those who asked me if Chi-Chi was going to have someone to help her out in Hell, your question has been answered. She can't do it alone, after all. You'll find out more about Misai in the next part. And I know everyone's been formulating their own theories about what Sita wants with Goku, but you aren't going to find out for a few chapters. There will be some hints though… okay, on to the reviews.
Maria Cline: Chi-Chi will be okay; she can still fight and she has Misai to help her now. Yeah, writer's block sucks. My advice to you is to just take your time with your ideas. Find an idea that best fits with the fic, and if you can't, don't worry about it.
Caryl Mc: Chi-Chi's very brave. On Dragon Ball, she kicked some serious butt while trying to find the Bansho fan with Goku, and on DBZ she tried to go to Namek to find Goku and Gohan, and she slapped Majin Buu. Not the wisest thing to do, but it still took some guts on her part.
Carrie2sky: New villains are always fun to read and write :) They're also fun to hate when they do awful things to your favorite characters.
Mijitsu Yume: Cool name! Yes, Goku doesn't deserve to be in Hell, or anything that's going to happen to him in this fic, but it must be done. Can't wait for the reunion… well, you'll be surprised, that's all I can say…
Lady Thundera: Ah, Sita… let's just say when you find out what she's been doing to Goku, I think you'll hate her the same way I hated Apollo from "The Past Returns." Actually, I read the portal idea in "Healing Old Wounds" when Mirai G/CC went to Other World. I just thought I should credit you with the idea in order to avoid being accused of stealing ideas like I was when I wrote, "A Simple Wish."
Gwuinivyre: Why would I be offended? I was just agreeing with you that even though DBZ was mainly an action show, it wouldn't have been bad to elaborate a little more on the relationships.
Aura: No, Chi-Chi won't be meeting any of the old villains.
I won't tell: You've read The Ramayana? Cool! I bet you caught a lot of it in this chapter. When I read it, it reminded me a little bit of G/CC, what with Sita being so faithful to Rama and everything. Sorry, Sita is evil. See my disclaimer for more details for that. And I don't think you'll want her to be reformed when you find out what she's been doing to Goku…
Sara: *imitates Britney Murphy* I'll never tell… Yep, Chi-Chi loves Goku and hasn't waited twenty-five years just to give up.
Jessica C: Chi-Chi is going to use both her brain and her skills. She's got help now too.
Lady Athena X: Chi-Chi proved that she could handle it. She's got more than enough guts to face Sita. Doesn't mean it's going to be easy for her though… *cackles*
Sadako: I think that the G/CC fans will be screaming for Sita's death very soon, especially when they find out about Goku…
Winner: Thank you!
Sakura123: I hope your computer gets fixed soon. I'm sure Bardock went to Hell, seeing as how he was a Saiyan and the only decent thing he did was stand up to Frieza at the last minute. He was pretty hot though :) Does anybody know anything about Goku's mom? They don't even mention her in the Bardock movie!
Kitty: Thank you!