Chapter 5

three years later

Goku, commander of Istimus's armies, stood on top of a ridge on the planet Tutook. The planet had fallen easily. It was nearly over. Every planet but one had fallen to the might of Istimus. The remaining planet was a small blue planet with many creatures inhabiting it, but Istimus had saved it for last. He called it his crowning jewel. Goku couldn't figure out why, they had captured richer planets, more beautiful planets, and even planets with beautiful people, but Istimus called this...Earth his crowning jewel.

Since the day he had captured Yultip, Goku had increased in strength tremendously. He had trained every day with Istimus, and had ascended another level of Super Saiyan. Conquering planets had been good exercise too. Some had even given him a challenge. In fact, that was where he had ascended another level.

He had stopped on a small planet called Pekinsey, and the race on the planet had been very strong, almost at his level. He had fought them long and hard, and just as they thought they were going to beat him, he had felt the barrier break down. His hair had shrunk down to shorter than Super Saiyan 1, but his eyebrows lengthened, climbing down to his jaw. Then his eyes had turned silver, and his hair had turned silver as well. He had been able to conquer the whole race with ease, and they had surrendered.

What Goku didn't know, was that he was now far past Istimus in strength, but because of the hypnotic suggestion, he never even thought about it, and he wouldn't have believed it if someone else had told him.

Goku sailed up to the ship and as it touched down, he heard a squeal. He spun around to catch five-year old Chikou in his arms.

"Daddy! Guess what!"

"What, Pumpkin?" he asked gently, his heart overflowing with love.

"I flew around the ship twenty times in a minute!" she crowed her eyes alight with excitement. He grinned and patted her on the head.

"Good job, Chikou! I'll race you back to the throne room," he said. He flew just behind her, letting her win, and then they stopped on the hall floor just in front of the throne room. Stritle was there, leaning against the door. He saluted sharply. Giggling, Chikou returned the salute.

Goku nodded at him, and then knocked on the door. They swung open, and he approached Istimus. He bowed low.

"Master, Tutook has fallen. Now, all that stands in your way is planet Earth."

"Good, good," Istimus purred, "stand my student, and tell me of your victory."

Goku did, expounding briefly on the valor of his men, but telling little of himself.

"Now, Goku," Istimus said, "some of the greatest fighters you will ever face are on this Planet Earth. It will take us a month to get their, so I expect you to train every day, and become as strong as possible. Someday you may even be stronger than me."

Goku shook his head, "Impossible, sire. But I do hope that someday you will be glad you rescued an orphan boy."

Istimus smiled and dismissed Goku. Chikou who had been over talking to the Seer, raced to catch up with her Dad.

"So, Seer, any visions lately?" Istimus asked casually.

The seer's eyes were still locked on the door, where Goku's figure had just gone through, and dreamily she answered, "Every day, sire. But they are not visions I remember to share."

"I see."

Goku took Chikou in the room to train with him, and though he pushed her hard, he was not too rough on her. He then trained more by himself. Besides eating, which he always did with great vigor, he spent the rest of his time training and sleeping. The month past quickly, and soon they came within sight of Earth.

Goten stood on the grass yard in front of his house and looked up. He could feel his father, he'd never forget the feeling of his father's chi. Trunks who had been sparing with him, looked up as well.

"I've never felt anything like it," Trunks stammered, and indeed, the level of chi was beyond Goten's comprehension.

Goten now looked like a miniature version of his Dad. He was in his teens, and though he still studied, he had trained hard, to prepare to get his Dad back, and now, his Dad was here. Goten wanted to yell for joy.

"That's my Dad, Trunks," he said, his voice overflowing with happiness, "he's coming home."

Trunks eyes opened wide. "I remember you're dad being strong, but not nearly this strong."

"I know, it's incredible. I wonder why its taken him so long to come home. With a power like that, he must be invincible!"

"Well, let's go see," Trunks said sounding excited.

Vegeta stood, feeling the immense power that was approaching earth. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open. "Kakarott!" he yelled, and took off in a flash of gold.

Chichi, cooking at home, listening to Goku Jr. cry, suddenly felt a familiar presence. "Goku?" she gasped, and fainted dead away. Gohan, who was visiting, took off from where he was eating at the table, caught her, laid her on the couch, and was gone out the door before his fork hit his plate followed closely by his daughter Pan.

Piccolo stood in the spot where the ship was coming down feeling a strange sense of deja vu. "Well, Goku, let's see what happens this time," he said, his eyes intensely watching the ship.

"Why is the entire ship coming down?" Goku asked, "Usually I just go down in a ship with a few of the men, and then I get them to surrender, and then I come back."

"Ah, but Goku, you forget that the people on this planet are immensely powerful, you might need my help. Besides," Istimus said, grinning, "I really want to watch you fight too."

"Okay," Goku said, smiling happily.

"I want to come too, Daddy," Chikou said, tugging on his pant leg. He looked at Istimus.

Istimus grinned with pleasure, "Of course let her come along, she should see her first fight. She should also see her Daddy beat the bad guys!"

"Yay!" Chikou cheered, and an instant later, the ship settled to the ground in a field. Goku was wearing his finest uniform, and he walked in front of his army, glancing over them quickly. They all stood at attention, most respecting and liking the cheerful commander. They saluted, and then Goku nodded at Istimus.

"Door open!" Istimus bellowed, and then grabbed Goku. "Goku, I'd prefer you to walk out by my side, okay?"

Goku looked at him with pride and love, and nodded happily.

The troops marched out, looking far more organized than they had under Stritle. They had enjoyed being under the command of Goku. He was cheerful, and praised them nicely when they did something right. However, he was also very strict, so they tried their best not to disappoint him. Stritle, from his position in the line, watched Goku with hatred and loathing. He would get even, he had sworn it.

The army finally finished unloading, and then Istimus with Goku at his side walked out. Goku breathed in the warm air of the planet happily. He loved it when he was off of the ship. He bowed once more to Istimus and then both he and Istimus flew up to a little above the army's head. There they could see the force against them. Goku looked with surprise at the five men, one green man, the blond-haired women, and the little girl that were the army that opposed them. For some reason all of their eyes were fixed on Goku. Goku felt strange under their gaze. They looked...happy. Happy to see him. That was definitely not the usual reaction he got.

Vegeta, Gohan, Goten, Trunks, Piccolo, Pan, Krillen, and 18 looked up at Goku. He looked different. He was wearing impressive looking armor that resembled Saiyan armor, but different. His look was calculating, but not cold. He slowly settled to the ground with the large man beside him. Vegeta scanned the other man. He was letting off a huge amount of chi. He was very muscular with tilted ears, and a scowling face. Vegeta, who wasn't the nicest guy himself, was surprised with the amount of evil he felt emanating from the man. What was Goku doing with a creature that felt like that?

As Goku landed, the Z-fighters came forward. Before any of them could say anything, Goku spoke.

"You are commanded to surrender. I urge you to do so now and none will be harmed. However, should you choose to fight, I will be forced to convince you to surrender. You see the might of Istimus's forces, do not be foolish." Goku wasn't expecting them to give up with that speech, few creatures did.

To his surprise, though, he didn't get the usual reactions of angry outrage.

"Kakarott," the small, spiky-haired man said in a growl, "where have you been?"

Those words seemed to open a torrent of questions.

"Goku, what happened?"

"Who's he?"

"Why didn't you come back?"

"Where's Chikou?"

"How did you get so strong?"

"Where...?"

"ENOUGH!" roared Istimus.

Surprised, all of them turned their gazes to Istimus.

"Who are you?" asked Piccolo.

"Yeah," giggled Trunks, "and where'd you get those dopey ears?"

Goku's eyes flashed angrily and he wheeled to look at the purple-haired teenager. The boy looked surprised and backed up a step. "Do not speak so to the Master," Goku hissed.

Istimus smiled coldly at the shocked looks on the human and saiyans' faces.

However, one of them, a boy that bore an uncanny resemblance to Goku stepped forward. "Dad, what's going on?" the boy asked, his face filled with pain. Goku looked at the boy, and no recognition filled his features. He merely looked puzzled.

"Who are you?" Goku asked.

Before the boy could respond, Istimus said, "No one of consequence Goku, ignore him." To everyone's surprise, Goku nodded and turned away.

Goten looked at his Dad's back, filled with surprise and disappointment. This wasn't how his Dad should be acting. "You did this to him, you jerk!" screamed Goten, anger flooding out of him as he focused on Istimus, "you're gonna pay!" Anger overwhelmed him, and for the first time, he transformed to Super Saiyan 3 and flew at Istimus's back. Istimus just stood there grinning, and waited. As Goten was about to make contact, a fist slammed him out of the air into the ground. He looked up into the face of his father.

"Daddy?" he asked, stunned to the very core of his being.

Goku ignored him and turned and bowed to Istimus, "Perhaps, you should return to the ship, sire, while I deal with these rabble. I don't see why you were so worried, they don't seem that strong."

"No, Goku, I prefer to stay out here. By the way, where is your daughter?"

Goku's head snapped up, as did Gohan's and Goten's. Goten still sat on the ground, stunned, but he looked for Chikou, whom he hadn't seen for several years. "Chikou?" Goku called, and out of the group of soldier's flew Chikou.

She landed in her Dad's arms and completely oblivious to the tense situation began to exclaim, "Guess what, Daddy? Gerom just showed me how to do a Truntle blast! Watch!" and with that she focused, and her hands were surrounded by a deep violet light. She then sent the light at a tree and it exploded into fragments.

"Very good," Goku praised her, while keeping a wary eye on the Z fighters. "Now go and sit by Istimus, while I fight the bad guys, okay?"

"Okay," she chirped and ran over to Istimus. Then she caught sight of Pan and waved eagerly. Pan shyly peeked out and waved back.

"Now," Goku said, "Shall we get on with it? Do you surrender?"

"No, Kakarott, we don't. Wake up, you idiot! Don't you remember us?" Vegeta yelled.

"No," Goku said firmly, "Should I? Were you at another planet by any chance?"

Then he turned and looked at Goten again. Despite Istimus's words something made him look at the boy. "You sure do look a lot like me," he said, and then looked over at Gohan and Pan.

"If you were a good father," Goku said, disdainfully to the younger man, "you wouldn't bring your daughter to a battle."

Gohan finally moved enough to look down. He had been stunned by the sight of his father, and the lack of recognition in his face. So, he was surprised to see Pan hugging his ankles. "Pan, what are you doing here? Go home, pumpkin."

At the word, Goku started. "Pumpkin," he repeated, "What is a pumpkin?"

Gohan looked at his Dad, "Dad, what's wrong? Don't you recognize us? What did that monster do to you?"

Istimus could see that something was beginning to affect Goku's memory, he had to put a stop to this here and now.

"Goku, attack them immediately, they're stalling for time. Remember some people want to trick you to bring you to their side? Well, these are some of those people."

"Yeah!" cheered Chikou, "Get um Daddy!"

Goku didn't hesitate, but charged straight at Piccolo. Piccolo, surprised, tried to move, but Goku fist caught him in the jaw, and he went down cold. Vegeta was next. Goku charged at him and Vegeta turned Super Saiyan 2. Goku stopped surprised, and then he also went Super Saiyan 2. Vegeta smirked and went SS3. Goku mimicked him again. Vegeta was proud of the fact he had finally gotten to SS3, but Goku looked as though he was waiting for more. Finally, after a pause, he spoke, "How did you learn that technique?"

"I am the Prince of all Saiyans. That technique is my birthright. You already know that."

"Who are you?" Goku asked, his face straining as it tried to recall something.

"No, Goku, attack now!" Istimus yelled. He had to get this fight over soon before he lost control.

Goku immediately responded, charging at Vegeta. Vegeta tried to defend himself, and then were pretty evenly matched for a moment. Goku seemed to be enjoying the fight. He was smiling as he blocked a punch at his face. Vegeta scowled. Not a single hit of his was breaking through Goku's defenses, but some of Goku's were landing and they hurt! They both punched and kicked until Goku hit Vegeta hard enough to knock him out of the air. His landing created in huge crater. He faded down to normal form and didn't move.

Goku blurred and slammed his fist into Krillen's face. He went down and didn't move. 18 tried to attack Goku, but he easily blocked her attack and threw her into a cliff face, where she slumped down and didn't move. Trunks and Goten looked at Goku, horror in their eyes.

Gohan looked down and was happy to note that no one was dead. "At least he hasn't changed that way," he thought, but then he blinked as his father appeared right in front of him. As Goku brought his fist down, Gohan caught it, and tried to hold it still. He transformed to Super Saiyan 3, and pushed as hard as he could against it, but it continued to come down, when suddenly Goku got a confused look in his eye and sprang back. It was that moment Stritle made the fatal mistake.

He had been watching the battle, and he had seen the boy. The boy that looked just like Goku. Stritle had decided he would get revenge on the father, by killing the son. He began to raise his energy, aiming a blow at Goten's back.

"Goku!" he yelled, bringing the Saiyan's eyes to him, "I'm going to kill your son, I told you I'd make you pay!"

Goku mouthed, "my son?" but then Stritle launched the attack. The blast came at Goten, and all he could do was stare. The reptilian creature had increased his power level tremendously since their meeting five years ago. As the blast traveled toward Goten, Goku's body moved on its own. He threw himself in front of the blast and it hit him head on. Having no time to prepare, and no defenses set up, the blast did its damage, and then disappeared. Smoke billowed from the area the blast had hit, and slowly it dissipated. Goku kneeled on the ground, sweat running down his face, and blood down his arm. The blast had hit him full on, and he was injured, however, recognition was in his face as he looked at Goten. "You are my son," he said, his brow puzzled, "but why don't I remember you?"

Then the final pin fell, "Goku!" a high pitched woman's scream brought his eyes around and tensed him for a fight. A black haired woman launched herself on him and hugged him, sobbing hysterically. She held a baby in his face and babbled incoherently. As he looked down at her, his subconscious began to battle with his conscious mind. He shook his head in frustration. He knew this woman!

"You won't stop me! I vowed to make you suffer! Wish your mate goodbye!" he heard Stritle scream, and though Istimus was in motion, he didn't stop him in time as he sent another blast heading for Chichi. Goku pushed her in front of him and he took the blast full in the back. Again, Gohan and Trunks watched breathlessly as they waited for the smoke to clear. It revealed Goku bleeding, but straight as a board, still clutching Chichi and his new son close to he chest, and then, he turned fiery eyes on Stritle. For some reason, Stritle's blasts had done what nothing else could. The door opened and Goku's mind was flooded with two sets of memory. He screamed, "You don't touch my wife!" and he exploded into Super Saiyan 5. Eyebrows erupted from his brow and ran down his face as his hair shrunk then turned silver. His eyes flashed gold and then silver, and then he threw himself at Stritle. Stritle had improved a lot, but he wasn't prepared for the savagery of an angry, albeit injured, Goku. Goku tore at him and they fought like savage animals. Neither gave an inch, both filled with hatred of the other. Vegeta, newly conscious watched their savage fight with awe. They tore and kicked at each other, neither giving an inch, but Goku slowly began to gain the upper hand. Even seriously injured, he was more than a match for Stritle. He raised Stritle's struggling body in his hands and hurled it at a mountain wall. The force of the blow at SS5 sent the body through the mountain, and it continued, going as far as the eye could see. Then Goku, crouching, turned angry eyes on Istimus.