Chapter 4

Goku laid sprawled on his bed before the thought came to him. "Sensu beans," he groaned, "I almost forgot. Good thing I stopped at Kami's tower on my way to the battle." Weakly, he reached into his gi and pulled out a sensu bean. He dropped it weakly into his mouth and chewed. Finally he swallowed. "Good ole sensu beans," he thought as he felt his broken bones restore themselves and bruises fade away. As an added bonus, he was no longer hungry. His chi sense was also back, stronger than ever. He realized he had again increased in power with a near brush with death.

Carefully, he placed the senzu beans back in his gi. Then he stood up, stretched and began to do thumb pushups.

Suddenly, he felt a faint chi, one he recognized. "Chikou," he yelled jumping up. Those jerks had taken his daughter! That was it! His promise to them to remain on the ship was broken. He felt his anger begin to rise, and he exploded our the door, following the faint sense of her chi. He flew down the hall, going so fast most didn't see him, and he made the transformation to Super Saiyan 4 without thinking about it. They certainly felt the wave of his passing though. He burst into the room and there was Chikou! He stopped and walked forward slowly. She was screaming, the sound she made when someone besides her family held her, and she was in the arms of Istimus.

"Quicker than I expected, Goku," Istimus said, not at all surprised he was there, "I thought you would have to crawl down here, but you're not injured at all. Strange. You look quite a bit different too. New hairstyle?"

"Let her go," Goku growled. At this level, he thought he was stronger than Istimus, but he wasn't sure.

"Why certainly, on one condition."

"My agreement is null," Goku said, "you broke your side of the bargain, I now have permission to break mine."

"That wasn't my request."

"Well, what is it then," Goku asked, settling himself in a battle stance.

"You simply need to enter this room. I'll even give you the baby as long as you agree to do it."

Goku stared at the man suspiciously, but so far the man had given him no reason to trust him. "What's in the room," he asked, with narrowed eyes.

"A machine, certainly nothing someone of your power level needs to worry about."

Goku grinned as a sudden thought struck him. It wouldn't be hard to do instant transmission out of that room with Chikou. "Very well," he said.

Istimus handed Goku Chikou, and instantly she stopped crying. Then Goku walked into the room.

"Good people are so easy to manipulate," Istimus said as the door closed, "they don't go back on their word."

Goku opened his eyes to find himself in the strangest room he'd ever seen. There was something on the other end, a dull flashing light, that for some reason fascinated him. He tried to keep his mind on concentrating for his wife's chi, but the throbbing light penetrated the very center of my mind, and he started forward. Chikou at first tried to talk to him, and then she too became quiet. Goku soon lost himself in the flashing light, and slowly his subconscious took over. He stood still and stared at the wall.

The lights went off, but still he did not move. The door opened and Istimus walked in. "Too easy," he said, and placed himself in front of Goku.

"Goku, hear my voice. Let it submerge itself into your subconscious. There is no truth but what I tell you. There is no past but what I let you know. You will only listen to me.

"Now, listen carefully. You are the Commander of my armies. You have fought by my side all your life, and you are my most trusted ally. You would never even think of betraying me. Many have seen your power and are jealous, and they would try to tell you lies to bring you to their side. But know this, you have never visited the planet earth. You adopted Chikou from a small planet, but only because I allowed you to. She is your daughter in every sense of the word, but you love me more, and you know I only let you keep her to keep you happy. You can go Super Saiyan 4, but you are not stronger than me. You remember all of your fighting styles, but you learned them from me. You want me to be the ruler of the universe, and you see me as a brother and teacher. I rescued you from a terrible creature who killed your parents and would have killed you as well if I hadn't stepped in. You obey every order I give immediately. You must make sure all warriors under you know you are the boss. You do not mind killing, it is second nature to you."

Istimus moved to the wall and keyed on a computer. There he brought up the ship's schematics. "Look at the schematics, Goku. You have lived on here your whole life, you know this ship like the back of your hand." Then he keyed up a list of the crew and fighting men, "You know these men as well. Everyone is familiar to you, you know their strengths and weaknesses. Look at this list, do not forget it. Let their profiles be stuck in your subconscious.

" When you wake up you will remember all I have told you. I am the only one you will listen to, the only one who speaks truth, unless I tell you someone else speaks truth as well. Now, when I count to three, you will awake. One, two, and three."

Goku and Chikou both opened their eyes, and Goku dropped to one knee. "Master," he said, "what would you have me do?"

Istimus's smile could have made a made a snake shiver.

Chichi sat dejectedly at her table. Goten was not home again, he was out training, but he had given her a watch, and if she needed help, she was to push it and he would be right back. Slowly, tears spilled from Chichi's eyes. Something was wrong with Goku. Suddenly, she had felt him slipping away from her. To have them steal her husband and her daughter was almost more then she could bear. She had just been about to deliver some more good news to her husband as well. Another baby was on the way. Suddenly, someone knocked at the door. Quickly wiping away her tears, she answered it. Outside stood Vegeta. Shocked, she just stood there, and finally he spoke.

"Well? Aren't you going to invite me in?"

Numbly she nodded, and motioned for him to come in. He came in and sat at the table, and gestured for her to come in and shut the door. She scowled at him, but she did so.

"No sign of Kakarott?" he asked.

"None," she said stoically. Then she burst into tears, "Oh, Vegeta," she yelled, not caring it was Vegeta, just wanting to tell someone, "he's gone, he's gone!"

"Yes, woman. You were informed of that yesterday. Your point?"

"No, that's not what I meant," she growled, her anger overcoming her fear, "He's going away from me. He no longer remembers me. Something has happened to him!"

Vegeta suddenly looked interested. "When did you start feeling like this?" he asked.

"Yesterday night," she said, looking puzzled.

"Strange," said Vegeta, "I felt the same way. I guess that's why I came over. I feel as though Kakarott is gone, not just in body, but in spirit as well. Idiot!" he suddenly yelled, crashing his fist onto the table, shattering it. Chichi jumped, surprised by the sudden emotion.

Vegeta stood, a short pile of explosives. "He is an idiot! How am I supposed to defeat him if he goes away? Who am I supposed to yell at? Why did he have to be so dumb?"

"Uh, Vegeta," Chichi said softly.

He looked at her, and she saw something different in his eyes. He looked lost, frightened and suddenly she understood. Beating Goku had been the stable point in his life. He was the Prince of a race long dead, and now that last member of that race had been taken away from him. He no longer had a rival worthy of his efforts, and he didn't know what to do with himself.

"Would you like some food, Vegeta?" she asked.

He smirked, recovering himself. "Well, woman. Kakarott said you could cook, let's see what you can do."

Then Goten came plowing in the door. He stopped short at the sight of Vegeta.

"Uh, what are..? Trunks, is he..?"

"Goten," Chichi said, "go wash up, Vegeta is joining us for dinner."

"Alright," Goten said, still staring wide-eyed at Vegeta. Then he turned and looked at his mom, "Can Trunks come too?"

"After you wash up, you can call him."

"Yes!" Goten yelled, and zoomed up the stairs. Chichi had to smile. Even with all the pressure on the young boy, he still could laugh.

Trunks soon showed up, and soon the house was filled with the laughing of young boys. Vegeta even seemed a little more relaxed as he watched his son. Eventually, after they finished eating, they left, but Chichi felt better as well. She looked up at the stars and said, "Come home soon, Goku."

"Come home soon, Goku."

Goku slept in a restless sleep and a strange voice echoed in his ears. It seemed familiar, and yet not. Suddenly he woke up sweating.

"Daddy, okay?" a soft voice asked.

"Of course, Chikou," he assured his adopted daughter.

"Sleep now, Daddy," she said and rolled over and slept.

He smiled, but he got out of bed. He felt a hard lump in his gi and he reached in to find a bag. He opened it, and it seemed to be full of beans. "That's strange," he murmured softly so Chikou couldn't hear him, and then he stuck the beans in his drawer and forgot about them. He opened the door and went out. He walked the halls of his Master's ship and came to his Master's door.

"Come in, Goku," he heard the voice of his best friend say.

He walked in and bowed in front of Istimus. "How do you feel?" Istimus asked.

"Ready to do thy bidding."

"Good," Istimus purred. "Now, why did you come?"

"I can't sleep, sir. I'm having strange dreams where I remember people from somewhere else, but..."

"Dreams are of no consequence, Goku," Istimus hissed, and because Istimus said it, Goku instantly believed it.

"Of course, sir."

"The dreamer sleeps but will soon awake," a hollow voice intoned from the corner, "beware the snake's fatal mistake. Istimus sits on a throne of bones, but soon piled on him will be his drones. The fated one will come and then, Istimus's reign will reach its end."

"What is this she speaks of?" asked Goku, a puzzled expression lighting his features.

"Nothing important, Goku, just the babbling of a fortune teller."

"Is she threatening you, sire?" Goku asked angrily.

"Only indirectly, Goku," Istimus said smoothly, and Goku calmed down.

"Tomorrow, Goku, you will bring Planet Yeltip under my reign. You may leave Chikou with the Seer. She will take care of her. She will be safe."

"Yes, sir," Goku said, and walked out.

"Now," said Istimus, "what exactly were you babbling, Seer?"

"Sorry," she said smiling dreamily, "I had a vision while you were talking, can't seem to remember what it was about."

He nodded, not really listening, "This Goku is a puzzle. I do wish I knew how he recovered so fast from the injuries I gave him."

"It is in the beans," she said.

"Huh?"

"Nothing, sire."

Goku finished putting on his armor. It was just the right size, in fact it seemed to stretch to fit him, and it reminded him of some other uniform, from...somewhere. He almost caught the memory, and then it evaporated. He shook his head in exasperation and amusement. Chikou gurgled and Goku picked her up. "Daddy," she said sleepily, "Whew you go?"

"I am going to go serve the Master, alright pumpkin?" Goku said, the words coming naturally to him, but a small corner of him mind wondered what a pumpkin was.

"Al-woight," she agreed.

"I need you to stay with the nice seer lady, alright?"

"Seer lady," she agreed, sleepily.

He carried her gently back to the throne room. He knocked on the door, and she looked from where she was slung over his shoulder as the door opened. Goku set her on the floor and held her hand as she walked over to the Seer. For once, she did not scream when someone else touched her, instead, she curled into the Seer's arms and went back to sleep. Goku bowed once more to his Master, and then he walked out and got on his ship.

"Why did you let him keep his child, Master?" asked the Seer.

"Are you kidding. Didn't you hear her scream? The sound would have driven me nuts if I'd have tried to keep her hidden. Now at least she stays quiet."

"Hmm," was all she said, but it seemed to convey a lot more meaning than that.

Stritle stood in the shadows, watching the Saiyan leave. He seethed with anger. He and all the men had been briefed about Goku's hypnotism, and the fact he was now their commander. Stritle had been instantly demoted. Well, he thought, he will pay. He will pay.

Goku sailed off quickly and after two days came to the planet Yeltip. He stepped out of the ship to be confronted by many men wearing armor and holding guns.

"Hello, gentlemen," Goku said politely, "what can I do for you?"

"Leave," one of the men in the front said, stonily, "we recognize your ship as coming from Istimus. Often before we have chased away his minions. We will not allow him to become the ruler of Yultip."

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice," Goku said with a smirk, and transformed through to Super Saiyan 3. The soldiers' guns, which had worked so well on the other troops, didn't even phase Goku. He shrugged off their bullets, and then blurred, and took away all of their guns. He squished them effortlessly, and then smiled. "Surrender, or you will all be destroyed." The leaders faces were covered with surprise and shock. Most also showed fear.

"No!" the one who had spoken before gasped, and leapt full at Goku. Goku brought his hand down and snapped the man's spine, just above the legs, leaving him a cripple for the rest of his life.

"Any other arguments?" he asked. The people silently took him to their leaders, and after quelling the remaining resistance, the surrendered. Goku certainly didn't mind killing, but he was proud of the fact he was able to secure the planet without killing anyone.

He then returned to the ship, and brought a few men back to Yultip to keep order. Life wasn't too bad.