Author's Note: Sorry for the late update guys. My Internet was down for a couple of days. Really frustrating… anyway, I hope this chapter was worth the wait!
Part Nine
Chi-Chi just stood there, unable to take her eyes off the duplicate of Goku. She knew that it was Sita, not Goku. Yet it looked so much like him! Everything, from the spiky black hair, to the gi he --- no, she wore, was exactly like Goku's.
The only difference was the look on his face as he stared at Chi-Chi and Misai. There was a smile on his face, but it was not the sweet, innocent smile she was used to. Instead, it was cold and sinister.
She shivered. She'd never seen him look like this before…
Stop it! she told herself firmly. It's not Goku. Remember what Misai told you: Sita can transform herself into anyone she wants. If you fall for her trick, she can make you do anything she wants you to. It's not Goku. If you attack her, you won't be hurting Goku.
You won't be hurting him any more than you already have, a voice in her head said snidely.
She quickly brushed that thought aside. She turned around to look where the real Goku lay, needing a solid reminder of the truth. "What the ---?" she gasped.
He had vanished.
Misai caught her eye. "Don't be fooled," she muttered out of the corner of her mouth so Sita-as-Goku couldn't hear her. "Sita creates illusions; she can make you see what she wants you to see. He's still here somewhere… she probably make him disappear to confuse you."
The imposter Goku advanced towards them. "Hello, Chi-Chi," he said in a quiet yet menacing voice. "I guess you got what you wanted, didn't you? I went away and never came back. But I'm about to make sure that you're going to do the same."
Chi-Chi glared at him, trying to conceal her growing fear. "You aren't Goku!"
Sita-as-Goku looked surprised. "Really?" he asked curiously. He rubbed the back of his head --- just like Goku used to do. "That's weird. I feel like Goku. I sound like Goku. Why aren't I Goku?"
Chi-Chi swallowed. Misai was right, she realized. When Sita changes into someone else, she does a thorough job of it. I can't fall for it…if she kills Misai and me, there won't be anyone left to help Goku --- the real Goku!
He took a step closer towards them. Misai backed away, still pointing her sword at him. Chi-Chi, however, remained rooted on the ground, feeling as though she had lost the feeling in all her legs. Despite her best efforts, Sita's trick was starting to affect her…
The thing that had her husband's face was looking at her with such anger and hatred. "How could you?" he demanded furiously. "How could do you do this to me? I never would have betrayed you like this!"
Chi-Chi found herself shaking her head. "N-No," she stammered, her sword slipping from her hands and falling to the floor with a clatter. "It --- It wasn't like that!"
"Did you think that I'd actually forgive you?" Sita-as-Goku cut her off. "That I wouldn't settle the score?" He laughed harshly. "Well, think again."
And then he slapped her hard across the face. Since Sita had Goku's strength, the blow was strong enough to send her flying into the wall.
Dazed, Chi-Chi stumbled to her feet, her head throbbing in pain. Blood began to trickle into her eyes from a cut on her forehead. It didn't feel like she had any broken bones, which was good since the only time she had been hit --- accidentally, of course --- by Goku, she wound up with a broken arm, a cut on her face, and a minor head injury. She supposed that her Other World body was a lot more durable.
Misai's face contorted into fury at the sight of Chi-Chi's brutal treatment. "Hey!" she snarled at Sita-as-Goku. "I don't care whether you're Sita or Goku, I'm not going to let you get away with that!"
She charged towards Sita-as-Goku, swinging her sword at him. He easily blocked the blade from striking it with a mere finger. Misai raised her sword, attempting to thrust it into his chest, but he easily grabbed hold of the blade.
Misai tried to yank free. Sita-as-Goku wrenched the sword away from her and knocked her to the ground. He stood on both of her legs so that she couldn't get back up.
"Hey, nice sword," he commented, admiring Misai's sword. He pointed it at Misai. "I wonder how deep it cuts."
He brushed it against Misai's cheek, cutting the scar that her brother had given her, causing it to bleed afresh. Misai cried out in pain. He made another cut on her right shoulder.
"Get off me!" Misai screamed, trying to push Sita-as-Goku off her.
"Oh, I'll get off you," Sita-as-Goku hissed. "I'll get off you when you're nothing more than a bleeding mass of flesh!" He lowered the sword until it was within an inch away from Misai's throat…
Chi-Chi, seeing what was going on, rushed to Misai's aid. She leaped behind Sita-as-Goku, about to kick him in the head. Sita-as-Goku, without even turning around to look behind him, grabbed her ankle at the last second, and threw her hard onto the ground.
Chi-Chi tasted blood in her mouth. Sita-as-Goku dropped the sword, got off Misai, grabbed Chi-Chi by the hair, and pulled her upright. His free hand balled into a fist, and he punched her right in the face. Chi-Chi fell back down. Sita-as-Goku pulled her up by her hair and hit her again.
She tried to hit him back, only hitting him was like hitting a rock. He was stronger than she was. He always had been, ever since they were children…
No! a voice in her head screamed. That's not Goku! He'd never hurt you like that!
"I never should have kept that promise," Sita-as-Goku was saying bitterly. "The one you thought I made as a child. I only married you because I felt sorry for you. I never would have made that promise if I'd actually known what getting married was --- especially if it was to you."
Every word coming out of his mouth was like a dagger to Chi-Chi, hurting her more than the blows he kept hitting her with. They were lies, all lies. Sita liked to twist everything, just like she had done with Goku…
Yet she couldn't help listening to what he was saying, because there was some truth in his words. Goku did only marry her to keep his promise. If he hadn't made it in the first place, it was doubtful that he never would have married her.
Misai stumbled to her feet, horrified at what she was seeing. "Are you going to let her talk to you like that?" she shouted to Chi-Chi. "Don't just lie there, get up!"
But Chi-Chi couldn't get up. She could only listen as Sita kept on hurting her, physically and emotionally, using a face she that loved and a voice that she trusted.
"Look at yourself," Sita-as-Goku taunted, looking at her with contempt. "And you were once a martial artist? It was probably just a passing thing. Because ever since then, you have been nothing but a whiner."
"No…" Chi-Chi moaned. Sita-as-Goku yanked back her head painfully.
"Come on, Princess!" Misai bellowed. "I thought you said that you weren't a battered housewife! Don't let him --- her --- whatever it is get to you!"
"You were always whining about everyone living you alone," Sita-as-Goku went on wickedly. "Well, did it ever occur to you, Chi-Chi, that maybe we actually wanted to get away from you? We left so that we wouldn't have to hear you yell and nag at everyone. Why else do you think everyone kept leaving? Because we didn't want to be around you."
Chi-Chi blinked, letting his words sink into her mind. No, there was no truth there. No truth at all. Goku never had complained about her yelling. He'd never used fighting as an excuse to leave her…
"I'm going to kill you, and there won't be anyone to mourn you," Sita-as-Goku whispered sinisterly. "Gohan and Goten won't know that you're gone. They don't even miss you now. They're much happier without you. You were always getting in the way of their fun, telling them to study instead of train. You didn't if the world was in danger as long as they were doing what you wanted. Look at what you did to Gohan --- you ruined his future. He could have been a great fighter, and now, because of you, he's a weakling."
There was a grain of truth there. Gohan didn't become a fighter, but it had nothing to do with her…
But it wasn't the whole truth. Gohan had made his own choice; he had realized that although he was powerful, he just didn't want to be a fighter all his life. He wanted to settle down and have a family --- have a normal life.
And Goku had been all right with his choice…
Meanwhile, Misai was through with just watching. "Well, if you aren't going to do anything, then I will!" she shouted.
Picking up her sword, she ran towards Sita-as-Goku, ready to attack. Sita-as-Goku dropped Chi-Chi's beaten body. Chi-Chi fell onto something rather lumpy. She looked down at herself, and to her surprise, only half of her body was on the floor.
What's going on? Chi-Chi wondered. She felt blindly on the "floor" around her, her hands suddenly touching something that felt like hair. She could feel someone's soft, shallow breathing below her.
That's impossible! she thought bewilderedly. The only other people in the room are Sita and Misai, and they're nowhere near me. Unless ---
Oh Kami, I'm lying on Goku! she realized with a thrill of shock. Sita must have turned his body invisible, so that I'd believe that she was really Goku…
Meanwhile, the battle of Sita-as-Goku and Misai was ensuing. Sita-as-Goku gathered a ki blast in his hand and fired it at Misai. Misai swung her sword out in front of her, trying to hit the blast back towards him like a baseball. The ki blast hit the sword, vaporizing it immediately.
Misai stared at her empty hands in shock. For the first time in the entire battle, she looked worried.
Sita-as-Goku advanced towards her. "You really think that you can defeat me? After everything you've heard about me from everybody I've defeated in the past?"
"No," Misai admitted, forcing a smile, "but I might as well try." She ran back into the fight.
Chi-Chi watched as Misai started to attack Sita-as-Goku with her bare hands. Misai put in a valiant effort, but it didn't do her much good. Whatever kick or punch she threw at Sita-as-Goku, he either dodged or blocked.
Sita-as-Goku smirked at her. "Was that it?" he taunted. "You're pathetic. You didn't even come close."
"I'll show you what's pathetic!" Misai yelled furiously. In what must have been a last desperate effort, she aimed a kick at him that his groin. Sita-as-Goku caught her leg at the last minute, preventing the blow, and actually lifted her off the ground, holding her by the ankle.
"Just because I look like I man, doesn't mean I actually have that," Sita-as-Goku informed her, unimpressed. He threw Misai hard on the ground. "Now let me show how a real attack is done."
He gathered his hands together and took a step back. A ball of energy started to gather in his hands. "Ka… me…"
Chi-Chi was horrified. There's no way Misai can survive a Kamehameha Attack! she thought desperately. I can't let her get killed because of me!
"Ha… me…"
"STOP!" Chi-Chi screamed.
Sita-as-Goku turned around and stared at Chi-Chi. "Begging for mercy?" he asked smugly. "Go ahead, I've always enjoyed it."
"I'm not begging for mercy!" Chi-Chi said furiously. She managed to stand up. Her body was still sore, so she found the sword she had dropped and leaned it for support. "I'm telling you that you're little trick isn't working! I know that you aren't Goku!"
Sita-as-Goku stared at her, surprised.
"He never would have said the things you said," Chi-Chi continued, glaring at Sita-as-Goku. "He never once accused me of getting in the way of our sons' training!"
"Just because I didn't say it doesn't mean I didn't think it," Sita-as-Goku said coldly.
Chi-Chi barked out a laugh. "Is this the best you can come up with? You may have used your powers to spy on him throughout all these years, but you certainly didn't know him. And I'll tell you why: if Goku would have really thought that I had gotten in the way of his training, he would have said something when Gohan chose to give up fighting."
Sita-as-Goku's eyes widened with shock.
"That's right!" Chi-Chi said triumphantly. "The real Goku never would have called Gohan weak! He was proud of his sons, even if they weren't fighters! I guess you were too busy concentrating on his faults and my 'hatred' to do enough of an accurate job of imitating him!"
As confused as she had been with Sita turning into Goku and making his body disappear, that fact stayed solid in her mind: Sita didn't know Goku. Maybe that little trick of turning into other people had worked on Goku when she turned herself into Chi-Chi, considering that Goku really had thought that Chi-Chi hated him… but she obviously hadn't done such a thorough job assuming Goku's identity.
"You don't know Goku," Chi-Chi went on, "so you might as well drop the act and fight us like a woman!"
Sita changed back into her true form. At the same time, Goku's unconscious body was made visible again a few feet away from Chi-Chi.
Misai laughed, in spite of her injuries. "Well, well," she jeered at Sita, who looked positively furious about being outsmarted by Chi-Chi. "I guess you've grown rusty over the past few centuries!"
Sita's lips drew back in a feral snarl. "Perhaps I underestimated your intelligence, but this doesn't mean you'll win! I'm the most powerful sorceress in the universe!"
"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" Misai said cockily, gingerly getting to her feet and going to stand beside Chi-Chi.
Sita's anger vanished almost immediately, replaced by a crafty look. Clearly, she was planning another trick. "You know, even if you manage to defeat me and save him, it doesn't mean you'll get what you want," she said slyly to Chi-Chi. "You actually think he'll forgive you for sending him to Hell?"
"That's not what happened and you know it!" Chi-Chi said fiercely.
"Nevertheless, you were responsible," Sita said pointedly. "Even if you save him, you still won't save him for yourself."
Chi-Chi bit her lip and looked at the ground. This time, Sita wasn't lying. Goku was a forgiving person; on the battle of Namek, he was ready to spare Frieza even after everything that he had done. Yet he'd never been betrayed by anyone close to him --- let alone someone he loved. After everything she had put him through, was there any hope of reconciliation between them?
"I… I don't care," Chi-Chi replied defiantly. "The only thing that matters to me is his safety."
Sita laughed wickedly. "You're lying. The only reason you went to Hell at all was that so you could be with him. You turned fickle on your anger because you can't stand to be without him. How ironic… you came all this way for him, and now he won't want anything to do with you. It almost makes me want to want to keep ali---"
She broke off as Chi-Chi slashed her face with her sword. Caught off guard, Sita touched her bleeding cheek. The cut glowed briefly, then disappeared.
"What?" Sita exclaimed, enraged. "Nobody makes me bleed!"
"Funny, I think I just did," Chi-Chi retorted.
"You will pay for that, mortal!" Sita screamed. She dealt Chi-Chi a blow in the stomach. Winded, Chi-Chi fell to her knees, dropping her sword. Before she could recover, Sita grabbed Chi-Chi by the throat, lifting her a few feet off the ground.
Misai quickly raced to Chi-Chi's rescue, but Sita gathered a ki blast in her hand and fired it at Misai. It sent Misai flying into the wall, the crash making yet another hole there.
Sita leered at Chi-Chi who was struggling for air in her death-grip. "Don't worry, I won't kill you yet," she hissed. "I never liked a quick, merciless kill. No, I think I'd like to see you suffer little bit more before I finish the job…"
Just before Chi-Chi lost consciousness, Sita's free hand formed a fist and came straight at Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi felt herself being released as the force of Sita's blow knocked her to the ground, landing beside Goku's prone body.
Sita bent over her. "Instead, you can see your beloved husband one last time before he dies --- which won't be long now."
She turned on her heel and headed towards Misai, who was limping out of the hole in the stone wall. She inched towards the sword that Chi-Chi had dropped, but Sita stepped on her hand and snatched it at the last second.
"Why are you fighting me, Misai?" Sita inquired, grinding her hand into the ground. Misai let out a cry of pain. "I only did what you asked, after all. I got rid of Amar for you, and I helped you escape to Vishnu. You just never asked where you wanted to go…
Misai told Sita to do something that Chi-Chi would have made her wash out her mouth with soap.
Sita only laughed harder, cutting Misai's other scar open with her sword. "But why are you helping him?" she asked, indicating Goku. "You don't even know him and you hate men as much as I do. Why the change of mind?"
"I wasn't helping him, I was helping the Princess," Misai snapped.
"So you'd die just to help her?" Sita wanted to know.
"If helping her meant getting out of Hell and bringing a vicious hag like you down, then yes, yes I would." She hesitated. "Besides, she kind of grew on me," she admitted quietly.
"How sweet," Sita said dryly. "Well, you don't need to worry, Misai. By the time I'm through with you, you won't be in Hell. In fact, you won't even exist!"
Chi-Chi, fighting to stay conscious, could only watch in horror as Sita used her sword to make several cuts all over Misai's body. She had to help Misai… but she was too weak from Sita's beating to even move.
This can't be happening, she thought, feeling light-headed. Her vision swam in and out of focus. I didn't come all this way to lose. Goku's going to die… Misai and I will probably be next.
Despair consumed her. I never should have come…I never even stood a chance. Maybe Sita was right about me --- I am weak. I was never as strong as Gohan, Goten, or Goku…
"Chi-Chi?" a hoarse voice whispered from nearby.
Mustering up her remaining strength, Chi-Chi turned her head. Goku! she tried to cry out, but she was too exhausted to even say a word.
Goku was awake; however, his condition hadn't improved. His wounds were bleeding severely and although he was looking directly at her, there was a glazed, unfocused look in his eyes. He was barely even there anymore. Chi-Chi had never seen him look this helpless --- except for when his body had been completely ravaged by the battle with Vegeta.
"Chi-Chi?" he repeated deliriously. He blinked, his eyes widening. "Is it you? Chi-Chi?"
Tears filled Chi-Chi's eyes. It's me, she thought, hoping he could somehow hear her. I'm here now. I'm so sorry I couldn't help you…
"I'm sorry," Goku said hoarsely. It seemed to cost him a terrible effort to say every word. "I'm… sorry… for everything. I'm sorry that I left… you… and our family. I… didn't want to leave… it had nothing… to do with you…"
Don't talk like that! Chi-Chi wanted to say. None of this was your fault --- it was mine! I was the one who got you into this mess. Don't die, Goku…I know you're in pain, but please just hang on…
He winced, coughing out blood. "I --- I understand… why you hate me," he said ruefully. "I deserve this. I tried to be a good husband… I really did… Guess that trying wasn't enough."
That isn't true! Chi-Chi screamed silently. I never hated you! Please forgive me, I never should have said that! Don't believe what that witch told you! You weren't a bad husband; I know that you never mean to hurt me!
Goku's voice suddenly increased in strength as he spoke his next words: "But I did love you. I still do. No matter what happens, I always will. I just want to let you know that before I do this…"
He managed to drag himself closer to her and hold one of her hands with his good one. "You have to get out of here," he whispered. "Forget about me. Forget that you even knew me. That way, you can be happy… and that's all I want…"
At first, Chi-Chi couldn't understand what Goku was saying. How could she get out of here? She couldn't even move! And what exactly did he have to do? Could he do anything, with all the energy he had ---?
And then dawned on her.
No. No! He couldn't do that. He couldn't!
A sad smile flickered across Goku's pale, wan face. "It's better this way," he said quietly. "I don't… want to hurt you anymore…"
NO! she tried to scream. No, it's not better this way, Goku! You don't need to do this --- you can't do this! You'll hurt me even worse if you do! Don't you know how long I've waited? How much I've missed you? What I had to go through to get here?
Sita had stopped torturing Misai. Still carrying the sword, she walked towards where Goku and Chi-Chi were lying, a hungry expression on her face. Misai rose painfully to her feet, wanting to see what was going on.
But of all this, Chi-Chi was unaware of. All that she was aware of was that everything she had gone through up to this point was about to be thrown away. She had to stop him! She opened her mouth to shout, but nothing came out.
Slowly, Goku bent down, gently kissing her on the cheek. He shut his eyes, squeezing her hand.
"N-N-No," she managed to croak out. "Don't…"
Suddenly, she felt something surge from Goku's hand to her own. Her body jerked as though she had received an electric shock --- only it was much more powerful than electricity. It wasn't much, just a spark really. Yet she could feel that spark flow through the rest of her body, renewing her strength and energy.
Chi-Chi bolted up to a sitting position… just as Goku slumped to the floor with a dull thud. "NO!" she screamed. She seized her husband's shoulders and started shaking him. "What have you done, Goku? Why?"
Goku lay still in her arms. At first she thought (or maybe hoped) that he had merely passed out again. Then her eyes moved upward to the top of his head.
The halo was gone.
Sita laughed in triumph, seeing what had happened. "Well, it's about time."
To be continued…
A/N: Well, I did say that this was going to be easy. Uh-oh… ducks as flames shoot at me Yeah, yeah, I know I'm evil, but I'll make it up to you next time.
Lady Gwenlian: I'll bet both you feel sorry for Goku and hate Sita even more now.
Gwuinivyre: Thank you for your compliments on my writing. Yes, Goku really doesn't deserve what he's going through. A lot of people agree with you about Sita. They probably think I need to go too.
Carrie2sky: I got both your reviews. It doesn't look good for Goku, does it? Chi-Chi didn't really kick Sita's butt yet, but she was able to wise up to her little mind games. She isn't just a strong fighter; she's also really smart.
Woman of the Dunedain: LOL! I don't think Chi-Chi would want you to do that. snatches Goku back Sorry. He's not going until I'm finished with him. I'm sure you, along with Chi-Chi, don't think he should be anywhere near me, especially what happened in this chapter, but at least trust me when I say that I know what I'm doing. Actually, I wouldn't mind having Goku to myself, so I applaud your efforts. What can I say, you've got the right idea! ;)
I won't tell: I saw the series finale of Friends. My parents usually watch it, not me, but I couldn't help watching it just to see how it ended. The duck and the chick were pretty cute :)
Candy the Duck: Goten hearing a noise and finding nothing in the flashback was a big hint. You and Lady Thundera were the only ones to figure it out, as far as I know. Well spotted!
Blo0d: Thank you!
Caryl Mc: Goku thought Chi-Chi hated him because he didn't stay to hear the rest of the conversation between her and Goten. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time… you'll find more details of what he thought later. Sorry, but things have to get worse before they get better. That's usually how it works.
Kitty: Sorry about the long wait. See above author's note.
Jessica C: Goku has a very high endurance, but the emotional pain was a little more than he could stand. Poor baby :(
Daughter of Ashes: Yes, Sita turning into Goku was a very interesting twist. Actually, the final season of Buffy inspired that. During the final season, the main villain was The First, who used its power to change into dead people to manipulate and torture the people closest to the deceased. I thought that was interesting.
Mujitsu: I'm thinking that the fic, considering its length, would probably be more like one of those DBZ movies. Why would it have been banned, because of the violence? Yeah, Cartoon Network probably would have censored most of the damage done on Goku. I didn't use to reply to people's reviews, but since a lot of authors whom I read from did that on ff.net, I decided to give it a try. I usually reply to the reviews on Wednesday, the day before I usually post chapters. Since my Internet was down, I had more than enough time to reply. There are at least five chapters left, but I'm not making any promises. I could change things at the last minute.
Lady Athena X: I've never seen Inyuasha, but I've heard of it. Can you tell me who Naraku is? Chi-Chi should have been honest with Goku from the beginning, but it never occurred to her that he might have overheard that conversation. Goku should have been honest too, only he was too hurt to bring it up. More details on that in a future chapter, although it doesn't look too good for the couple, does it?
Sara: You know what? This fic is like "A Simple Wish"! I'm sure you found yet another parallel between the two fics. It's different though, because if Goku survives this mess, he's going to remember everything that happened.
Lady Thundera: I'm glad you think Sita is a good villain. Normally when I write stories, I have trouble writing a villain who is three-dimensional, unless I write a Harry Potter fic, and the villain is already done for me. I love rooting for the good guy too. Things look don't look well for the good guys right now though… cackles If what you had in mind was worse than what happened in this chapter, then yes, I probably don't want to know.