Part Eight
Chi-Chi felt as though she had been stuck by lightning. What was Sita saying? There was no way that she'd ever ask her to kill Goku. It was unthinkable; she would never have done anything to hurt him!
"No," she croaked, shaking her head. "That can't be true…"
"I assure you that it is," Sita said coldly.
"You're a liar!" she yelled, enraged. "I never asked you to do this! How could I?"
"True," Sita admitted, her eyes gleaming oddly. "You never asked me… yet it's because of you that he's here…"
"Don't listen to her, she's a liar!" Misai snarled.
Sita smiled sinisterly at her. "At times, yes. But you know as well as I do that my power to kill only comes from the consent of a woman --- a wife to be precise."
Misai stared dubiously at Chi-Chi. "She's right," she muttered, keeping her voice low so that Sita couldn't hear her. "On Vishnu, she never killed a man unless she was asked to. The only exception was Rama, but that was her own hatred." She narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you didn't ask her? Because if we've been running around Hell for some guy you already turned into Sita…"
"I didn't!" Chi-Chi cried out in denial. "I never would have done anything to hurt Goku! Never!"
Sita laughed wickedly. "You're not happy? I thought this was what you wanted…"
"WHY WOULD I WANT THIS?" Chi-Chi screamed, pointing to where Goku lay. "Why did you do this to him… he didn't do anything!"
"But he did," Sita hissed, her eyes glowing white. "He had this coming to him for years… I just had to wait for the right moment."
"What are you talking about?" Misai demanded.
Sita let out an impatient little sigh. "You've already forgotten, haven't you?" She rolled her eyes. "Mortals… they only choose to remember what they want. Very well… I will remind you."
Sita closed her eyes. The crystal on her staff started to glow even brighter. Its light seemed to surround the witch, making her look like a night-light. Chi-Chi and Misai looked around to see that the entire chamber was shimmering oddly. The light blazed out from Sita and shot straight towards Chi-Chi and Misai. The two quickly shielded their eyes.
When Chi-Chi opened her eyes, she and Misai were no longer in Sita's chamber. Instead, they were some sort of hallway…
Chi-Chi's eyes widened with recognition. "This --- This is my home!" she gasped.
"Your home?" Misai repeated in disbelief. She looked around. "Wow, you had a nice place. My home was just a little hovel."
"But how did we get here!" Chi-Chi said, confused. She looked above her head and Misai's. They still had halos, which meant they were dead…
"It's a memory," Sita's disembodied voice echoed in her mind.
Chi-Chi looked around wildly for her. "Don't bother," Sita cackled. "I make myself visible when I want to. You're still in my chamber; I'm only showing you the memories that exist inside another mind."
"Whose?" Misai asked harshly. "Yours? Sorry, Sita, but I don't think we'd be able to comprehend the mind of a psycho!"
"Not mine, you foolish girl, the victim's."
"The victim's?" Chi-Chi muttered bewilderedly. Then it dawned on her. "Oh Kami, we're inside ---!"
Just then, Goku appeared right between Chi-Chi and Misai. "Goku!" Chi-Chi exclaimed, reaching out to him. "What are you doing here?"
To her shock, her hand simply passed through him, as though he were a ghost.
"He can't hear you," Misai told her, shaking her head. "This is a memory. The people don't even know that we're here, because everything we see has already happened."
And indeed, Goku didn't notice that either of them was in the room. He merely looked around the room. "Sure is good to be back," he said softly. Smiling to himself, he walked down the hall.
This is so weird, Chi-Chi thought in awe as she and Misai followed him. I'm inside Goku's head…only what does Sita want to show me?
She suddenly became aware of voices coming from nearby --- rather familiar ones, too. Curiously, Goku turned around and poked his head into the room where the noise was coming from…
Chi-Chi and Misai entered the room. Chi-Chi's jaw dropped. "Oh my goodness!" she gasped.
She was seeing herself, as a middle-aged woman, and Goten as a teenager, standing over a table full of cooking food. It was the strangest experience of her life, watching herself from another point of view. Her other self looked tense and angry. Goten was trying to comfort her.
"I miss him too," Goten was saying gently. "Everybody does. Even Gohan does…"
"Miss him?" the older Chi-Chi repeated angrily. "Why should I miss him? Why bother missing someone who leaves you all the time, no matter what the circumstances are?"
"Oh no," Chi-Chi croaked, remembering this incident. She glanced back at Goku, whose face was filled with confusion. "Oh Kami, please don't tell me that he heard me say…"
"I hate him!" the older Chi-Chi cried, her eyes blazing with anger and pain. "I hate that he always leaves whenever he wants! It would be easier for everybody if he never came back!"
Misai surveyed the scene. "So much for standing by your man," she said derisively. "Not that that I blame you, of course."
"You shut up!" Chi-Chi said savagely.
"Just because you said something you didn't want to admit doesn't mean you can take it out on me," Misai retorted. She turned to look back at Goku. Her smirk was immediately wiped off her face, replaced by an expression Chi-Chi couldn't quite identify. "Whoa…"
Goku was standing as still as a statue. The happy look that was usually on his face had vanished. Shock etched onto his features, as though someone had slapped him. His breathing quickened, and he staggered back, dazed, apparently trying to take all of this in.
Chi-Chi clapped her hands to her mouth, stricken. "Oh Kami, what have I done?"
Goten suddenly whirled around. "I thought I heard something," Goten muttered, approaching the door leading out to the hall.
But before Goten could see him, Goku quickly put two fingers against his head and Instant Transmission out of the room. Goten peered out into the hallway and saw nothing. Puzzled, he headed back into the kitchen.
Goten sensed Goku there that day, Chi-Chi realized, tears welling in her eyes. As soon as he heard what I said, he left. If only he'd stayed another minute…he would have known I'd taken it back.
"Oh Kami…" she moaned, covering her face in her hands. She turned to Misai. "H-He heard me say that I h-hated him… but I didn't mean it! He… he was never supposed to have heard that!"
"Well, he did," Misai said flatly. She gazed at Goku. "Don't get me wrong --- I still think he deserved it. It's just… the look on his face… it almost made me feel sorry for him."
Suddenly, the blinding light enveloped them once again. This time, they found themselves inside a smaller house. Chi-Chi instantly recognized it as Grandpa Gohan's house, where Goku had lived in his early childhood. Unlike the Son household, it wasn't well kept; dust and cobwebs covered everything in sight. No one had lived there for years.
Goku reappeared, the stunned look still on his face. Gradually, it faded into utter sorrow. He slowly sank down to the floor, drawing his knees up to his chin.
"He --- He must have come here after he overheard us," Chi-Chi said faintly, walking towards where he sat. "He must have stayed here for the next few weeks…"
She bit her lip, remembering when he returned to visit, four weeks later. He had rather quiet. Oh, he acted the same, yet there were periods, when he'd just stare at her for no particular reason. When she'd asked him what was wrong, he insisted there was nothing wrong.
Was that what was bothering him? she wondered, tears coursing down her cheeks. All this time, he thought that I hated him? No… no, it couldn't be! He knew that I loved him. I told him after he came back to visit --- didn't I?
Come to think of it, she couldn't remember the last time she had told him. She knew that she told him before the World Martial Arts Tournament, but afterwards?
No. She hadn't.
It wasn't because she didn't love him; her feelings had never changed towards him. Perhaps she forgot to say it, as people often do...
Or maybe she didn't want to say it to him because like all other displays of affection, it would have made it harder for her to let him go.
But he knew that I loved him anyway! she tried to convince herself frantically. I didn't yell at him after he left with Uub --- not face-to-face, anyway…
How could he have known? a voice in her head asked harshly. You didn't exactly show it, did you? You were friendly, but there's a difference between friendly and loving. You were never intimate whenever he visited…you didn't kiss him…you didn't even hug him? You were too busy keeping your distance from him to even think that there was something wrong with him. After hearing your outburst and the way you acted, what was he supposed to think?
"Why didn't he tell me?" Chi-Chi cried, tears coursing down her cheeks. "I could have set him straight! He should have told me!"
"You mean like how you told him how you felt?" Misai replied sharply.
Chi-Chi's insides burned with guilt. She was right; she hadn't been honest with him either. Still, he should have told her! It wasn't like him to keep things bottled up inside like that…
Then again, maybe it had hurt him too much for him to talk about.
Chi-Chi gazed at Goku. His face was now hidden in his arms. A lump came to her throat. She couldn't stand to see him like this… and knowing that her own careless words had hurt him like this was too much to endure.
"Oh Goku, I'm so sorry," she whispered tearfully, although she knew perfectly well that he couldn't hear her. She reached out to touch his spiky black head, only to touch air.
From far away, Sita laughed mockingly. "Don't delude yourself, Chi-Chi. You wanted this --- to have him feel the pain that you felt."
"That's not true!" Chi-Chi shouted, wiping her eyes furiously. "I never hated him…"
"Yes, you did," Sita replied. "You hated him for leaving you alone every time he left. You simply hid it from yourself, but I could feel it. It was small, yet it grew with each of his departures, which worked to my advantage…
"I, too, have heard of the Saiyan; he's one of the strongest fighters in the universe. Killing him would be the greatest of all my conquests. Yet I didn't just want to kill him…he had something else that I wanted: power. If I could have it, I would become the most powerful sorceress in the universe…powerful enough to break out of Hell.
"So I waited. Your words had given me enough consent to kill him. However, I had to wait until your bitterness grew strong enough for me to take him…"
The surroundings changed. Chi-Chi and Misai were now standing in a forest. The image of Goku passed by them, looking strangely pale and weary.
"I knew that he would keep his body upon crossing over to Other World," Sita went on, acting as the narrator, "so tearing his body apart would be a waste of time. I just used a spell to drain the energy from him. It was all too easy; the fool didn't even know what was happening to him until it was too late…"
At that moment, Goku collapsed the ground, exhausted. Seconds later, his body vanished.
"You're a monster!" Chi-Chi screamed in fury.
"Monster, am I?" Sita sneered. "I think I was being quite fair; I gave him a painless death instead of making him suffer. I saved that for when he came to me…"
The forest began to fade back into Sita's dark chamber. Sita stood off to the side, her eyes closed.
"Are we back?" Chi-Chi wondered. She glanced back at the spot where Goku's had lay. He was gone.
"No, we're still in a memory," Misai informed her. She walked up to Sita and stuck her hand right through her body.
"She looks like she's concentrating on something," Chi-Chi said, looking closely at Sita. "But on what?"
The door opened. Goku entered the room. At first, Chi-Chi thought he was sleeping walking; he walked so slowly, and his eyes were closed.
Then it hit her: Sita had ensorcelled him somehow! She probably made him jump off Snake Way after he left the check-in station in Other World. How else would Goku have gone to Hell? Sita couldn't escape from Hell to capture him; he had to come to her.
Sita's eyes snapped open, and at the same time, Goku's head jerked up. His eyes, as he took in they took in his surroundings, were bleary and confused, as though he was waking from a very deep sleep. He looked at Sita curiously. "Who are you?"
"Sita," Sita replied shortly. "I'm a sorceress."
Goku rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry… but I don't really know where I am, or how I got here. The last thing I remember was that I was on my way to the Grand Kai's planet…"
"You're in Hell," Sita informed him.
"Hell?" Goku yelled, nearly falling over in shock. "I'm in Hell? But --- but --- but --- how?"
"Maybe you fell off Snake Way," Sita suggested innocently.
"Well, yeah, that's possible," Goku said thoughtfully, calming down. "That did happen the first time I died. Only how come I don't remember? And why am I in this place instead of Hell itself?"
Sita didn't respond. Goku frowned suspiciously. Watching him, Chi-Chi knew exactly what he was thinking. He was naïve and too trusting of other people, but he wasn't stupid. He could tell that there was something wrong about this woman.
"Well, I escaped from Hell once," he said slowly, inching towards the door. "I can do it again…"
Sita raised her hand ever so slightly. The door automatically swung shut. "What makes you think that you're supposed to escape?" she hissed, advancing on Goku. "King Yemma might have changed your fate at the last second… perhaps you're supposed to be in Hell."
Goku didn't buy this for a minute. The truth dawned on him. "You… you had something to do with this, didn't you? Why else would I be here?" He readied himself to attack her.
"Oh, are you going to fight me?" Sita inquired, sounding delighted. "In that case, you'd better do it with your full power."
"Fine," Goku retorted boldly. He started to power up, causing his hair to stand on end. An aura of energy surrounded
Chi-Chi grinned at Misai. "I told you that you'd get to see him fight," she whispered. "Now, watch this…"
To her bewilderment, instead powering up to a Super Saiyan, the aura faded. Goku looked down on himself, appalled. "What ---?"
Sita smirked at him. " I suppose I should have told you this before… as long as you are here, you can't reach your full power unless I allow you to. In other words, I control you. You may be powerful, Son Goku, but you can't fight my magic."
"That's cheating!" Goku shouted indignantly.
"I never said I was going to play fair," Sita said icily. "You'll just have to fight me at your normal state. I can't risk being defeated by you so early in my plan..."
"What are you talking about?" Goku asked, glaring at her.
Sita held up her staff and pointed it directly towards him. The crystal flashed. All of a sudden, Goku collapsed, twisting and writhing on the ground.
"Excellent," she breathed. "It's started."
"What … did you… do?" Goku asked, gritting his teeth in pain.
"Can't you feel it?" Sita hissed menacingly. "I'm taking your spirit energy. It's similar to the spell I used to kill you, except it's longer and much more painful. But that doesn't mean I have can have fun with you while I'm waiting…"
She pointed her staff at Goku. Jets of blue and white fire emerged from her staff and shot out towards Goku. The flames engulfed him, burning his body as he screamed out in pain.
"No! Goku!" Chi-Chi cried. She rushed forward to aid him, but Misai grabbed her arm, holding her back. "Let me go!" she shouted, struggling to free herself. "I have to help him!"
"By what, running through Sita a couple of times until she stops?" Misai snapped. "This already happened, remember? You can't do anything to help him…"
"So I have to just watch him suffer like this?" Chi-Chi shrieked. "No! I'm not going to just sit here and do nothing!"
"You don't really have much of a choice," Misai said grimly.
Chi-Chi glared at her. Watching this wasn't hard for her, with her attitude towards Goku. But deep down, she knew that Misai had a point: there was nothing she could do.
Sita had stopped blasting Goku with her staff. Goku staggered to his feet. There were several burns on his arms and his clothes were singed. He started to gather a ki blast in his hand.
"Now you wouldn't be trying to attack me, would you?" Sita asked, her eyebrows raised. "Using up your energy will only quicken the process."
"I don't care!" Goku said defiantly. "I'm not one to just sit back and let you win!" He fired the ki blast at Sita.
"Suit yourself," Sita replied calmly. Just before the ki blast hit her, she raised her hand. It bounced off her as though there were an invisible shield protecting her. It suddenly magnified ten times larger. Sita waved her hand, sending it back towards Goku. Goku tried to Instant Transmission out of the way, but the blast followed him to where he reappeared. It struck him, sending him crashing into the stone wall.
Goku emerged from the hole in the wall, breathing heavily. His forehead was cut from the crash, dripping blood into his eyes.
"That was a warning," Sita told him coldly. "It doesn't matter how fast you are, I cause any of your attacks to backfire. It would have been a lot worse if you'd used that Kamehameha Attack of yours on me…"
Goku blinked. "How --- How do you know about that?"
"I know everything about you, Son Goku," Sita said cryptically.
Sita gazed down at the crystal encrusted on her staff. "Damn, not even a quarter of your energy has been taken. You're tougher than I thought." She shrugged. "I expected as much. You're a fighter; naturally, you'll want to resist. I respect that." She pointed her staff at Goku. "But it will be a lot easier if you lie still for this process."
Goku's arms and legs immediately snapped together. He swayed and fell forward onto the floor.
Sita dropped her staff and started to pace around the spot where he lay, frozen. "Besides, I'm really looking forward to torturing you…"
Goku wasn't deterred. "Fine," he replied coldly. "I can stand pain."
Sita smiled. "Physical pain, maybe, but what about emotional pain?"
"As I was saying, I know everything about you," she continued. "My powers have enabled to me to see your entire past… even the things you don't remember, like your brief time on Planet Vegeta. And I've heard much about you… everybody thinks your this great, noble hero…" She laughed. "If only they knew the truth…"
"What are you talking about?"
"You're a murderer."
Goku glared at her. "I don't know who you think you are, but I'm not a murderer."
"You have killed," Sita pointed out.
"Only when the universe was in danger!" Goku said fiercely. "I did it to protect my family, friends, and everyone else in the universe!
"What about your grandfather?" Sita sneered. "You turned into a big ape and crushed him to death. How was that protecting the universe?"
"It was an accident!" Goku yelled.
Sita rolled her eyes. "Please. You're a Saiyan. Maybe you convince yourself and others that you only fight to save others, but we both know the truth: you fight because you like it. Killing is in your blood."
Goku laughed harshly. "Is this your idea of wearing me down? If it is, it's not working. I've accepted where I come from years ago! I may be a Saiyan, but I'm not like them!"
"Right," Sita said sarcastically. "You've spent your whole life protecting others. You've even left your own family to ensure the safety of the universe. And I suppose you wouldn't have left them if the universe wasn't in danger?"
"No!" Goku said vehemently.
"Funny, I seem know of a certain time when the universe wasn't in danger, yet you left your family anyway only to train a boy."
Goku looked up at her.
"Yes," Sita whispered. "I know all about that. You are like a Saiyan after all… you care nothing for your so-called family and friends. You were willing to desert them just to fight someone who could be stronger than you."
Goku forced a smile. "You can say whatever you want, but that stuff isn't going to work on me."
"Give me time, I'm just getting started," Sita said arrogantly. "Like I was saying, you left, using the excuse the excuse that you were training another fighter to make sure the universe would be safe after you died… but your family knows the truth. They could see through your little white lie; they know that the only reason you wanted to train the boy was because after you fought the Majin Buu creature, you were bored and wanted another fight. So you requested that Buu would be reincarnated as a 'good person' so you could train him enough to become as powerful as you are. Then you could fight him and see who was the strongest."
She knelt down and leaned close over Goku. Chi-Chi and Misai had to edge closer so that they could hear her next words, which were barely more than a whisper:
"That's why your family hates you."
Goku's body tensed. "You think I'm stupid enough to fall for that?"
"It's the truth," Sita said cruelly. "You know it. I know it. I saw how they acted towards you after you came back to visit…
"Gohan, your oldest… did you really think that it was a coincidence that he was always 'busy' whenever you visited? He kept himself busy because he didn't want to see you. He hated you for walking out on his family. He had the skills to become a great warrior once, but ended up becoming a scholar. Now why do you think he did that? He didn't want to be like you. Always choosing battles over the people he loved…"
"That isn't ---!" Chi-Chi started to yell, but then stopped. There was some truth in Sita's words. Gohan was mad at Goku for leaving with Uub. He did tend to avoid him whenever he visited…
Misai saw Chi-Chi's troubled look. "She lies with the truth," she whispered. "She takes the truth and twists it into something else. She does that to wear people down."
And it was working. "I had no choice!" Goku yelled, almost desperately. "Everyone would have died if I hadn't."
"My, my," Sita said with mock concern, "I hit a sore spot, didn't I?
"Let's continue with your youngest son. He spent the first seven years of his life not even knowing who you are. Then you returned to him, and he just idolized you, didn't he? You spent ten years with him, seeing a bit of yourself in him, didn't you? He was your pride and joy… then he grew up; he lost interest in training just like his brother. You left again not too long after that. He realized that everything he heard about you was a lie --- you were no hero, all you were was just a selfish, stupid little man that only cared for fighting…"
Chi-Chi was furious. That wasn't true at all! Out of the whole family, Goten was the first to fully realize that Goku left to train Uub because he thought he was helping everybody. And Goten didn't lose complete interest in his training --- he started it again after his father died!
Don't listen to her, Goku, she silently pleaded to the image of her husband, lying helpless on the ground, forced to listen to every word the witch was saying. It's all a lie! Fight her, I know you can do it!
Sita's eyes gleamed with sadistic pleasure. "Then, of course, there's your wife."
Chi-Chi froze, afraid of what would happen next.
"Ah, yes, your wife. Chi-Chi, was it? It effected her terribly whenever you left, didn't it? I'm surprised you thought she would still support you after you left her for a child! And what a pathetic woman she was… she didn't stay with you because she loved you, she stayed with you merely because she too weak to handle life alone…"
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!" Goku screamed, losing his temper.
Sita, seeing vulnerability, smirked. "Playing the defensive lover. Touching. Although you didn't see her defending you after you left with Uub. You even heard her say it."
Goku managed to shake his head. "That's none of your business!" he said, his voice breaking slightly.
"She hated you, yet was too afraid to admit it," Sita pressed. "Her so-called love for you was just a stupid little girl's infatuation. She thought you were the greatest thing in the world… until she saw the real you, the one who was in love with one thing: battle. The only reason she didn't marry again during your seven-year absence was merely for the sake of your children. She deluded herself into thinking that you would actually stay with your family and settle down."
Chi-Chi could only stand there. Her fists were clenched, her nails cutting painfully into her skin. I'm going to kill her! she thought venomously.
"But she was wrong, wasn't she, Goku? You left again, and she finally snapped. She finally admitted to herself that she hated you. You heard her for yourself the day you came back…"
As she said this, she started to glow. Chi-Chi and Misai watched in shock as Sita transformed into a perfect replica of a middle-aged Chi-Chi. She glared down at Goku.
"I hate you!" Sita-as-Chi-Chi shouted in a harsh voice. "It would have been easier for everybody if you just never came back!"
Her words --- almost exactly like what Chi-Chi had blurted out before --- sounded even worse coming from Sita's mouth.
"NO!" Chi-Chi screamed, trying to run to Goku only to be held back by Misai. "It's not me, Goku! I didn't mean it! I didn't! Don't believe it!"
"You might as well be talking to a wall," Misai reminded her grimly. Had Chi-Chi been less preoccupied with what was happening to Goku, she would have noticed how that Misai looked rather pale.
Meanwhile, Sita kept tormenting Goku in her Chi-Chi guise. "What a horrible husband you were… you loved fighting and eating more than you loved me… You pretended to enjoy being married to me for the first five years, but once the battles started, I saw the real you! The one who cared nothing for anything except fighting!"
Goku just lay there, his eyes shut tight. Sita-as-Chi-Chi raised her foot and kicked Goku hard in the face, causing his nose to start bleeding.
She bent down over Goku. She pulled his right hand towards her. "You deserve this," she said bitterly. "You deserve everything you get. We all thought you were some sort of angel sent to Earth to protect us. Brave, simple, noble Goku, who would never do anything to hurt anyone… Ha! Lies. All lies."
Goku out a yelp of pain as she broke one of his fingers with her bare hands. She seized each of his fingers and broke them, one by one, as she continued with her tirade.
"I meant what I said that day, Goku. I hate you. I even knew that you were listening. I hoped you would. Maybe you'd be smart enough to take my advice and never bother us again. It would have made you happier, not having to hear me yell at you."
"I… never… thought…" Goku tried to say, but he broke off with a yell when Sita-as-Chi-Chi twisted his hand all the way around with a sickening crack.
"It would have made everyone happy if you left for good," Sita-as-Chi-Chi said. "It sure would have made me happier. I wouldn't have had to listen to the constant asking excuses for your absences, not too mention your constant whining for food."
"N-No…" Goku groaned. Another crack sounded throughout the chamber as Sita twisted his arm, nearly pulling it out of its socket.
"Chi-Chi, I'm hungry…" Sita-as-Chi-Chi mimicked in a high-pitched voice. "Chi-Chi, don't we have anything to eat around here…Chi-Chi this, Chi-Chi that…Kami, was that all I was to you? The cooker and cleaner of the house?"
"You --- aren't --- her!" Goku rasped.
"Really?" Sita-as-Chi-Chi inquired dryly. A sharp dagger appeared out of thin air in her hand. She grabbed Goku by his shirt, pulled him up, and cut open his shirt with her dagger. "Don't I look exactly like her? Doesn't my voice sound like hers? My ki is even the same as hers…" She paused, pressing herself against Goku. "I bet I even smell like her…"
Goku spat right into her face. "I know the difference! I saw you change! You aren't fooling me!"
Sita-as-Chi-Chi glared at him, saliva running down her cheek. She threw Goku hard onto the ground, wiping it off. Changing back into her normal form, she used her dagger to slash his shoulder.
"I may not be her," Sita replied in a dangerously low voice, "but rest assured, I know what she thinks. Everything I told you was true. Do you deny that she said that she hated you?"
Goku was silent.
"Well?" Sita asked impatiently. She cut his other shoulder. Blood started to trickle out of his wounds. "Did she or did she not say that she hated you?"
Chi-Chi waited, holding her breath. Don't say it, Goku, she prayed silently. Please don't believe what I said…
Goku lowered his head and shut his eyes. "She did," he said sadly.
"And do you think that she meant it?" Sita interrogated him.
Goku bit his lip, unable to respond.
Chi-Chi felt her heart twist in pain.
"It doesn't matter," Goku said in as strong a voice he could muster. "I'm not going to let you do this!"
"You keep saying that, yet you are the one who is lying helpless on the ground," Sita retorted, making another long cut across his chest. "And I am the one who seems to be getting the better of you…
"Nevertheless, you do have a strong spirit. You're not an easy to break, but I'll break you…"
She stood up and picked up her staff. She pointed it at Goku. "And when I do, I will leave you with nothing! Do you hear me? Nothing!"
The blue and white fire shot out once more, setting Goku's body ablaze once more.
For what seemed like an eternity, Chi-Chi and Misai watched in dismay as Sita continued to torture Goku. The sorceress watched with cruel pleasure as Goku screamed, rolling on the ground, his limbs still frozen together, trying to put the fire out… Then, she stopped only to use other ways of torture on him: she hit him, cut his body using sharp instruments, and even worse, she frequently turned herself into Chi-Chi just to make him miserable…
Chi-Chi was shaking, feeling as though she were about the throw up. This was almost as bad as watching Piccolo mercilessly massacre Goku back at the 23rd Martial Arts Tournament. Misai's face grew paler and paler by the minute. She kept looking at Goku with a mixture of horror and --- strangely enough --- admiration.
Although Chi-Chi couldn't tell how much time had passed in this memory, she somehow knew she was witnessing all twenty-five years of Goku's ordeal…
But the worst was yet to come.
By the time it had all stopped, Goku was lying facedown, shivering, on the ground. He was almost unrecognizable. He was thinner. His face (aside from all the blood on it) was deathly pale, and had lost all traces of that cheerful innocence. It almost made him look older… He looked nearly worse than he had when Chi-Chi had found him --- or perhaps it was because she hadn't had a clear idea of what he was going through at the time.
Sita stood over him, laughing triumphantly. "Won't be long now," she cackled. "Your spirit energy is nearly gone." She shuddered with ecstasy. "I can feel your power flowing through me…
"Did you know that you've spent almost twenty-five years here? You'd think that someone in Other World would have noticed that something had happened to you by now. Tsk, tsk. I guess your friends don't really care about you either…
"So this is how it ends for you? Son Goku, strongest warrior in the universe, alone in Hell, abandoned by the very people he spent his whole life trying to protect."
Sita leaned close to him. "Tell me," she said softly. "Would you like to know who did this to you?"
Goku lifted his head slightly so that he could look at her at her. "You… did… this," he said weakly, coughing out blood.
"True, but I only act when a woman asks me," Sita pointed out. "I'm sort of a vengeance sorceress. Someone wanted me to do all those horrible things to you. And do you know who it was?
"It was your wife. With her request, she gave me the power to drag you down to Hell."
What little color that was left in Goku's face left it. "No…" he croaked, shaking his head feebly. "No, you're lying…"
"Not this time," Sita replied brusquely.
"No…" Tears squeezed out of his eyes. "She wouldn't do this --- even if she did hate… she wouldn't do this!"
"I'm sorry," Sita said, although she didn't sound the least bit sorry at all, "but I'm afraid it's true. I guess all those years of having you leave finally got to her."
"No!" Goku cried, trembling. "She wouldn't do that! She wouldn't… never!"
He broke off, coughing up more blood. His eyes drooped with exhaustion. He seemed to have trouble breathing. He murmured something so incoherent that even Chi-Chi couldn't hear it, and finally slipped out of consciousness.
Everything seemed to go dark. When Chi-Chi could see again, she and Misai were still in Sita's chamber, only they were back in the present time. Goku lay still on the ground. His halo flickered in and out of sight.
Chi-Chi stared at him, unaware that tears were streaming down her face. All these years, she thought despairingly, I wondered what had happened to him. I thought that he was at least happy in Other World… and all this time…all this time --- I was responsible! If I hadn't said that horrible thing about him, he wouldn't wound up in this mess…
And after everything that happened, he still believed that I didn't have anything to do with it. He still stuck up for me, even when he thought I hated him. Oh Kami…
Misai cautiously approached her. She reached out her hand, perhaps to touch Chi-Chi on the shoulder. Chi-Chi turned away, weeping quietly.
Sita emerged from the shadows. "There's nothing much to say after that," she said in a bored voice. "He's been like that even before you arrived in Other World. It's quite impressive how he still manages to cling to existence. But it won't be for much longer… in a few minutes, it will be over, and he'll be gone."
At the sight of Sita, Chi-Chi's tears of sorrow changed instantly to tears of anger. "You're… you're going to pay for this!" she choked, brandishing her sword.
"Am I?" Sita asked, amused. "Really, if he failed to defeat me, what makes you think you can?"
"She isn't going to be alone!" Misai spat, looking at Sita with hatred. She pulled out her own sword and pointed it at Sita.
Sita snorted. "Fools! You never had a chance of defeating me before. Now that I have most of his power, I'm invincible!"
Her eyes brightened and wicked look crossed her face. She carefully set down her staff. Her body started to glow. "With all the spirit energy that I've taken from him," she said quietly, "fighting me would almost be like…"
She suddenly transformed. Chi-Chi gasped. Misai's jaw dropped.
The form of Goku was now standing where Sita had been. "It would almost be like fighting your own husband," she --- or rather, he --- finished with a sneer.
To be continued…
A/N: Whew! What a chapter. Poor Goku. Things will get better soon --- I hope.
I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. I came up with the idea of Sita showing just how Goku was being tortured, kind of like how the Ghost of Christmas Past showed Scrooge his past in A Christmas Carol, and to make Sita a more hateful villain. Did it work? If anyone has any questions regarding this chapter, ask them in your reviews and I'll do my best to clear it up.
Mujitsu: Chi-Chi did take it back, but Goku unfortunately never heard her take it back. Sita's motives were explained more in this chapter. Things don't look good for Goku, do they?
Candy the Duck: I figured you did. You are one of many reviewers who I think were on to me when Chi-Chi found out Sita took him to Hell.
I won't tell: You were right, it was the flashback. Chi-Chi didn't exactly wish for it; however, her saying that it would be easier for everyone if he just went away and never came back was enough for Sita. Just goes to show you to be careful what you say… *cackles*
Lady Gwenlian: Thank you!
Woman of the Dunedain: Poor, poor Goku. He needs a hug. *hugs Goku* Hey everybody who's reviewing, give a Goku a hug too, he needs it.
Jessica C: Not much action this chapter, but it will be in the next one. Is Goku dead? Can Chi-Chi defeat Sita? Do you really think I'll give the answers away? You'll just have to wait.
Sara: Cliffhangers are very useful. You hate them, I hate them, yet when we write them, and we enjoy it. What's the title of your G/CC fic? Have you posted it yet, because I'd like to read it :)
Kinoha Chi: I hope this chapter cleared up your confusion. LOL, I love LOTR! The shield-sliding thing was really cool, but I loved it when Legolas single-handedly took down an elephant and its riders in the third movie. That was so cool! I can't wait until the DVD comes out!
Carrie2sky: You probably hate Sita even more, now that you know the details of Goku's torture. The fight will officially start in the next chapter, so don't miss it! Sorry, I can't tell you if Chi-Chi and Goku will end up together. I know, I'm evil, but I can't ruin the story… just have a little faith in me, that's all I will say.
Kakkabrat: Yeah, poor Goku could really use a senzu bean now, not to mention some cookies and milk. *Goku comes running out* Goku: Cookies?! Where?! Me *holding out a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies*: Here you go, Goku. I think you deserve it. *Goku gobbles down the cookies*
Caryl Mc: Wow, what a coincidence! Happy belated birthday! I hope this chapter was well worth your wait. Chi-Chi and Misai kick butt! If only there could have been more girls kicking butt on DBZ, aside from 18 and Videl.
Arain Rowan: Yes, you were on the right track. You're very perceptive! I know exactly what the overall reaction will be if Sita gets away with what she did to Goku. Chi-Chi's really mad now, so I doubt that she will let that happen… Prom was great. I got a lot of compliments on my dress and I had a fun time :)
Misao: Misai might be starting to change her mind… she did admit that she felt sorry for Goku, and she didn't enjoy watching how Sita tortured him. Yeah, who could possibly hate Goku? He's sweet, naïve, funny, and my favorite DBZ guy. It makes me feel bad for what I'm doing to him.
Brandon B: Thank you!
Kinosei: Okay, first of all, time passes really quickly in Other World, so while it was twenty-five years, it might not have seen that long to Goku… well, longer, since he was being tortured. Second of all, Sita didn't goof off; she concentrated more on sucking his spirit energy out and emotionally torturing him. She likes to soften her victims up before doing the actual physical torture. And third of all, there was more detail of how Goku was affected in this chapter. I'm not Steven King; I don't go into all the gory details, although this chapter might have been just that. On a side note, it's interesting that "A Simple Wish" ended on your birthday.
Sadako: Chi-Chi's really mad now… and really guilty because of her outburst that Goku overheard. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time… I continue to wonder how "Of Two Hearts" will turn out, so I guess we're even. It's good to be evil! *high fives Sadako* By the way, I had a lot of fun at prom. It was at this bowling alley, but we had it in a banquet room upstairs, so it was really nice.
Lady Athena X: Sadly, it wasn't a trick, as you can see in this chapter. Chi-Chi didn't mean for this to happen though, and she certainly didn't mean what she said about Goku. Goku and Vegeta work really well as a team --- their arguing makes it even funnier! Misai and Goten? Well, Goten is still single, but Misai is dead and Goten won't be dead for a long, long time. Besides, after what happened to her on Vishnu, Misai needs to work out her issues with men. Prom was a lot of fun. I went with some friends, which I guess was better than going with a date, considering that most of the boys I know at school are assholes. Not all of them, but a great deal of them. I didn't really dance with a boy, but I still had a good time with my friends. Since this is my junior year in high school, I will definitely attend it again for my senior prom! I'm sorry that your prom wasn't as enjoyable :(
Lady Thundera: What exactly did you have in mind? Knowing you, I'm almost afraid to ask. LOL! Unless we're having the same ideas, I don't think I'd put it into my story if I knew. I will say that in the next chapter, you really will want to hurt me, if you don't now. Yep, poor Chi-Chi's having one hell of a guilt trip now. Be careful what you wish for indeed…