Disclaimer: Not remotely owning it, so leave me alone. Oh, and the funeral thing, yeah, don't bug me about that. I'm WARNING you, Reda.

Shinzon – New Existence

Chapter 3: A Heart Full Of Desire

The funeral was a short one. Only Goku and his sons, Videl, and the Briefs attended. The preacher said some solemn words and the coffin containing the dead body of Chi-Chi was buried six feet under dirt and rock. When the preacher left, Goku bent down and rubbed the loose dirt on top of the once hole quietly, a few tears falling down his already pink face. He felt a hand be placed on his shoulder and he cocked his head slightly to see Vegeta there, his face unreadable.

"Kakarot... I will find the one who did this. Even if I hated that woman's screeching, I know how much she means to you... And I know it as well that you'd do the same thing for me."

"Thanks, Vegeta. I owe you one," Goku quietly said. A small flicker of a smile showed on Vegeta's face.

"You owe me no such thing, Kakarot. As a friend, this is all I can do." Goku nodded in acknowledgement. Vegeta turned and walked off back to his son and wife. Goku patted the soil once and stood back up, wiping his tears on the back of his hand. Goten ambled up to his father.

"Daddy?"

"Yes son?"

"Are we... going to go home now?"

"Just a minute, Goten." Goten blinked and headed back on over to his older brother. Gohan set his hand on Goten's head.

"Are you alright?" Goten shook his head. "Good. If it's okay, I'm going to take Videl home." He turned to Videl and the two of them took off, leaving only Goten and Goku left. Goten stood patiently for his father, who was looking at the same spot of the grave – the headstone. It read:

In loving memory of a dear mother and loving wife

Chi-Chi Son

Goku couldn't help but feel like this was somehow his fault. Maybe he shouldn't have left her. Even if she did suggest it... Goku bit into his lip lightly and, using almost all of his will power, he headed over to Goten. Without even saying a word to his youngest son, he took off; Goten having to catch up to him in flight.

-

Gohan landed tersely on the ground after Videl, and followed her inside. "I'll make lunch," Videl said sweetly to Gohan, and he nodded, heading off into the living room, sitting on the couch and turning on the television. He flipped through the channels, and, seeing nothing to his satisfaction, went back into the kitchen. Videl had already set a pot on the stove and was ready to make some cooked rice. A knife was out on the counter, ready to be used on some onions. The smell in the kitchen was good.

"I think somebody's making something good," Gohan teased and came up behind Videl, pecking her on the cheek.

"Now Gohan," Videl blushed. "We have to wait a while for it to cook, you know that." Gohan smiled.

"If it's fine with you, I'm going outside to think a bit about some things."

"Be my guest, Gohan." Gohan gave Videl another little kiss and headed outside, sitting on the nearby hill, the sun blazing down on him a bit. His thoughts drifted slowly from that of how good Videl's food was going to taste, and the class next week he was going to start teaching, to the despairing thought of his mother gone.

Someone killed her; I know it, but whom? He questioned himself. His thought on that, though, was brutally cut short with a scream. Coming from his house.

-

Goten sat on his bed, staring through the window of his room. His dad was acting strange. As soon as they had come home, his father had sped upstairs and slammed the door to his room shut. He knew his mom was gone, and that it hurt his daddy severely, but this much...?

Goten sighed and jumped off his bed. Maybe he could do something in his room. That might make his dad act a bit more comfortable for him. He crossed over and checked on his little dresser, where a pad of paper and a sketch pencil were. "I guess that's all I can do right now..." He said to himself, and sat down in his chair.

It took him less than a half hour to draw and color his first picture. He examined it and smiled. "Bright and sunny day... Flowers are in bloom..." He sung quietly to himself. "I have nothing to say about today... Except I have all the room..." He giggled and started work on his second picture.

-

Gohan stood up instantly, his body tense. "Videl?" Not knowing what else to do, he took off running into his house, checking the kitchen. Everything was fine in here... Then his eyes widened. The knife on the counter was gone. Fear sprang up into his throat and he choked back a scream. He decided to run into the living room to check there, and was greeted by the sight he feared.

Videl was lying on the couch, a knife protruding from her neck, a steady stream of blood flowing down to the floor. Her face was that of a person shocked greatly, her eyes wide, and mouth open. It was as though it was frozen in an eternal scream.

Gohan ran to her side and lifted her head up, dry, salty tears flowing down his face just as the blood was on the couch. "Videl... Wake up," He said weakly. This wasn't happening. This WASN'T happening. Videl made no movement and Gohan cried feebly. "Don't leave me... I need you... Come back..." He shook her body again slowly, trying to spark any kind of movement out of her. No such luck. Gohan laid his head on her stomach and sobbed.

-

Darkness met his once bright, cheerful eyes. The lights were out for he wished to be left alone to his own self and room. His thoughts were the only company for him, whether he wished to talk, however unlikely, or just to think things through. Right now his mind was wandering around, thinking of nothing but the solitude that he was in.

Goku stared at the opposite wall, his face fixed in a slight scold. His wife had died here and he was planning on spending whatever time he could, which there was a lot of free time for him, in this room, on this bed. He wouldn't budge for the whole world if they asked him to... But his sons, only his sons mattered to him now. It was his responsibility to take care of them from this time forward.

Goku was about to close his eyes when he felt something... wrong. Something wasn't quite right. To his mind, it was urgent. But his body felt like not doing anything. Get up his mind told his body, but it refused to listen. Goku sat there, torn between getting up and investigating and just laying there in the dark. His eyes moved to the door and he noticed a crack of light shine through it. Goten must be downstairs doing something he thought.

He heard something shatter and a loud exclaim of, "Oops!" He dropped a glass Goku said in his head bluntly. He can clean it up if he wishes.

Shuffled steps moved around downstairs as Goten got a towel to wipe the spill of water up. He got it all done in minutes and grabbed his glass, which was setting on the table. He picked it up and headed back into his room, setting it on his desk. "I have water and stuff to do for fun," He murmured out loud. "I should get time by with this and I won't go thirsty." He sat down and began to draw again.

-

Gohan flew solo slowly towards his father's home, the tears still fresh in his eyes. He carried in his arms his dead wife, the smell of death filling his nostrils heavily, making him sick, almost gag. A few minutes passed, ticking away slowly as it felt to him, taking a hold of his mind, driving his mind to one goal – to get to his father. Once he got there, his dad would know what to do, he was sure of it.

His feet hit the ground hard in an echoic way, the sound being all he could hear out here, outside his father's house. "Dad?" He choked out, nothing more than a whisper. He knew his dad couldn't here it from where he stood so he entered the house quietly. "Dad?" He tried again, his voice a little higher in volume. No sound came back to him. Thinking that he came here all for nothing, that his father and brother were out somewhere, he turned his back, Videl's body moving a bit with his movement. He took one step and a voice called from behind him.

"Son?" The voice was lined with sadness and despair unknown to Gohan.

"Dad?" Gohan answered back, turning his head sideways to see him.

"She's... gone too, isn't she?" Gohan knew what he was talking about.

"Yes..." Gohan glanced down at the floor, his arms starting to feel heavy.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No," Gohan said curtly. The two remained quiet for a long period of time. The helpless feeling hung in the air and made the other one feel awkward.

"Anything else you want to mention, son?" Gohan stayed quiet. "Son? Anything?"

"I want to know who killed them." To that, Goku had no answer to give.

"I want to too, but we don't have any leads."

"Well we should do something instead of just standing here, dad!" Gohan snapped angrily. Goku narrowed his eyes but made no other sign of disapproval. "Some maniac's out there, waiting to slaughter another one of us! And you're just standing there?!"

"Gohan, I have nothing else to do! I don't know who's out there doing this, but I think we should wait sensibly instead of charging out there!" Gohan's grip on Videl tightened and a growl escaped his mouth.

"I'm not going to listen to you anymore, father! I'm finding out who did this and murder them!" He spun away quickly and flew off. Goku stood still for a minute, then he too spun around and stomped up the stairs, passing by Goten's room.

Goten stuck his head out from the door, having heard their yelling minutes before. "Daddy... is something wrong?" He asked innocently. Goku ignored his youngest son and slammed the door hard to his room, the boom echoing throughout the house.

Tears sprung lightly into Goten's eyes and he brought his head back inside his room, the tears already starting to flow down his face silently. Everyone was yelling and dying around him and he couldn't do anything. To him, he was a little boy unable to help protect his family, his father, brother. He was going to be sitting, watching all of them fade from his life, them being a mere memory to him. His family was growing out of control it seemed to him and he hated it. He buried his head and sobbed to himself.

Up in his room, Goku was sulking heavily, his arms crossed over his chest in a pout-like way. His son was being very stupid. He didn't know what 'biding time' meant. How could he be so dumb?! His mind practically screamed out loud. I taught him better than this... this senseless running around, trying to find the person who is the cause for all of this. I hope he dies. He doesn't seem to realize what I'm doing. I'll find who did this, who killed my wife, my daughter-in-law, and when I do, they will pay... in blood.