A/N: DB/Z/GT is owned by Akira Toriyama only. Thank you for the reviews everybody! I love you guys!

-I Pray-

The ground was misshaped and uneven, some of it deeper than other parts, some of it sticking out to trip you up as you ran. But Goku kept running, a frightened Chichi just behind him, her hand latched onto his, his holding it tightly, and never letting go.

They jumped over a large bolder, Goku smiling slightly when he saw Yamcha in the distance, heading for the large sand dune that towered around their village. He carried on running with Chichi.

"Come on Chi! I can see them!" he shouted back at her. She wasn't sure how she could possibly still be running, but she still didn't stop…she was exhausted…there was no doubt about that…but she had to keep going! But she soon found herself coming to a halt, slowing Goku down in the process. He stopped and turned back as she slipped her hand free.

"Chichi what are you doing!" he called as she ran back. He sighed in frustration and ran back after her. She collapsed onto the floor next to an old lady who was bleeding badly.

"Mrs Shiro" she gasped, taking in her painful wound upon her chest. Goku soon landed beside her, his breathing just as quick as hers.

"Goku we have to take her with us!" Chichi told him desperately.

"No dear…you two youngsters go…there's nothing for me now" she whispered barely loud enough to hear.

"What do you mean?" Chichi asked her. A few people ran past them, causing Goku to turn around to see the approaching vehicles.

"Chi we gotta go!" he shouted at her.

"There's nothing for me now…I've lost everything" The old lady cried. Chichi knew what she meant…she had lost her husband and her daughter…

Chichi closed her eyes tight from the sorrow…but soon opened them when she felt the woman's body being lifted.

"What are you doing?" the woman demanded breathlessly.

"I'm getting you out of her" Chichi smiled up at Goku, so glad to have him with her. She knew anybody else would have just left her…but not Goku. Goku held the small old lady in his arms, Chichi running after him as they began to climb the dune.

The sweat fell from his body like rain, his arms aching from carrying the old lady, his legs aching from running and the weight…the dune was high…and it was steep and hard to run up for the sand sunk down with every step. He heard Chichi scream when she fell and almost skidded down the sand, but Goku amazingly jumped down and put out his leg to stop her. She immediately got up and he ordered her to hold onto his arm and she did…

Yamcha jumped down a few metres and reached the bottom of the other side. He caught Bulma as she ran down and Krillin not too far behind.

"Now what?" asked a frantic Bulma. Yamcha looked around, the sight painful for one with a soft caring heart…

Chichi crawled up onto the top of the sand hill, her breathing ragged and her body aching all over. But she stood up to help pull Goku up and onto the top. But as they turned to look down expecting to see safety…they couldn't believe how wrong they were…

The ground was flooded with soldiers and guns, many machines and trucks scattered upon the area. People were trying to escape but were captured, some laying upon the ground…most likely dead. The screaming with so easy to hear, stabbing at Goku's inner self as he watched the scene before him.

He saw a largepalace in the distance…one that he had never seen before…none of the villagers ever climbed the sand dune…now he knew why…

"Oh my God! Goku what are we going to do?" Chichi cried, the scene unbearable, her whole being frightened immensely. Goku glanced around at the surroundings, his eyes catching sight of a rocky area with a few large unharmed trees, leading away from the palace.

"There!" Goku shouted, "We can go through there and escape! Come on!" he shouted once more, beginning his journey down the other side.

Soldiers patrolled the area, guns in their grasps, villagers taken prisoner when caught. One stood and watched as one man was beaten to the ground, blood dripping off his chin, his cry of mercy nothing to him. He smirked, satisfied by what he was seeing.

"The General will be pleased" he said.

Goku and Chichi reached the bottom at last, the mayhem evident painfully now as people began to run back up the sand mountain. There was a loud explosion as one of the many tanks began to come over the top of the sand to trap them all…

Goku panicked, not sure now if they could make it out. He looked down at the old lady before him who was now unconscious. He gently slung her over his shoulder, making it easier for him to run and he grabbed Chichi's hand.

"Come on!" he shouted. She nodded and ran with him towards the trees.

"Can you see them?" asked a worried Bulma, the small crying infant in her arms. They were hiding amongst the trees, Yamcha up front looking out for Goku.

"YEAH I SEE HIM!" He exclaimed jumping from the tree and waving his arms around calling Goku's name frantically.

"There. Chi!" Goku said spotting Yamcha.

"They're ok!" she said thankfully.

"Are you guys alright?" asked Yamcha as they reached them.

"Yeah, we're alive anyway" Goku panted, "Here take her" he said handing the old lady to Yamcha. He put out his arms and took the fragile woman.

"Why, where are you going?" Goku wasn't listening as he turned to a breathless Chichi.

"Ok, I need you to stay here and keep out of sight ok? I don't want them to capture you"

"Why, where are you going?" She asked him desperately.

"I'm gonna go help those people" he said tying the loosened rope around his weight tighter.

"Are you nuts? They'll catch you!" Bulma shouted down.

"No they won't"

"I'm coming with you" Krillin suddenly said looking up at his best friend.

"Alright"

"Me to" came a deep voice from behind them. Goku spun around.

"Tien! 18!" He exclaimed happily.

"18 are you ok?" Krillin asked her tenderly. Truthfully, she was the only reason why he was going out there. He had such deep feelings for the young woman…though he dared not tell her.

"I'm fine" she replied a little gently, "But we got to go and help those people"

"Yeah lets go – remember what I said Chichi! Stay here!" he ordered sternly. She nodded as he, Krillin and the other two ran off. She watched them get closer away and heard Bulma call her up. She began to climb the tree and noticed Yamcha's hesitation. He suddenly laid the woman he was holding upon the ground. He looked at her and sighed sadly…she wasn't going to survive the night, he could tell. He stood back up and glanced up at the two girls.

"I'm going to go help them!" he shouted up.

"What? You can't just leave me here with this baby!" she angrily shouted at him.

"They're gonna need more help Bulma! How about you think of someone else instead of your self for once!" he shouted at her, a little too harsh maybe. She became quiet after that and only cuddled the infant closer.

"Watch out for each other Chi. I'll be back" he told Chichi, which she nodded to as he ran off. Chichi turned back to look at Bulma and crawled over to her carefully on the branch.

"He had to go Bulma"

"I know…I'm just so scared" she whispered, her bottom lip quivering, her eyes watering up.

"I know…me to"

"And where's this baby's mother?" Bulma asked looking down at the now quiet child.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she's gone Bulma…like my dad" Chichi whispered, her eyes shining from the frightened threatening tears.

"I'm sorry" Bulma whispered, new to this dreadful news.

"It's ok" Chichi whispered back, a single tear falling down her face.

"Why is this happening Chi?" Bulma asked as she cried. Chichi pulled her close for a hug.

"I don't know Bulma…I don't know" she trailed off shutting her tear dripping eyes to shut out the shattering scene before her…

"Alright, let's get some of these people out of here!" Yamcha called to them as they separated. Goku nodded to him and ran straight towards two guards struggling with one man. Goku picked up a metal pole from the ground as he ran and instantly he clobbered one over the head with it. The man fell to the ground out cold whilst the other angrily let his hostage go and pulled out his gun. He pulled it up to shoot Goku, but was met face first with a punch. He dropped the gun, soon winded with a kick to the stomach and then tripped up and left to moan upon the ground. Goku bent down in mid run to snatch up a large branch and ran into the crowd.

"Look Chi! I can see Goku!" Bulma told her as she pointed towards the crowd. Chichi looked also and smiled, but it soon faded when she saw two men approaching…

Yamcha growled as a large guard had his arm around his neck. He struggled against him, the man's large arm cutting off the circulation and keeping him from reaching the air. He clenched his eyes shut and angrily shouted and elbowed the man in the gut as hard as he could. The man winced and loosed his grasp letting Yamcha go. Yamcha fell to his knees and reached for a small sword and turned around and sliced the man.

"You alright?" Tien asked him, reaching his spot.

"Yeah I'm great thanks!"

"There are more of them coming. I don't think we can hold them anymore Yamcha. I mean, there are only four of us, and a few brave men who are fighting back. We don't stand a chance Yamcha. We're gonna get captured unless we flee"

"I know…but we have to try a little longer. We have to at least get some of the women and children out of here!"

"Alright" they shook each other's hands and went their separate ways.

Chichi's breath was caught in her throat as the two armed soldiers walked towards their tree. They had spotted the old unconscious lady and decided to investigate. Bulma gulped and closed her eyes in prayer, begging Kami to keep the child quiet and for them to not be found. Chichi moved over slightly to get a better view of the men as they looked the woman over.

"Leave her here. She won't last long. Not worth our time" the one said casually. Chichi almost gasped in disgust at him, and watched as he looked deep into the trees.

"What are they doing?" Bulma barely whispered to Chichi.

"I'm not sure" Chichi replied, leaning out a little more. But she soon regretted that move when the branch snapped and the three of them fell to the ground. The soldiers snapped their heads back towards the crash and smirked at the sight of the two girls.

"Well what do we have here?" The one said with a snigger. The other one only licked his lips as they both approached. Chichi immediately stood up and grasped a hold of the large broken branch as she did.

"Bulma run!" She ordered as she prepared to hit them. Bulma only nodded and ran with the small child in her arms. Chichi swallowed nervously as the two men approached her.

"STAY BACK! I'm warning you" she ordered, threatening to swing the branch. They only laughed at her. She became confused but suddenly screamed when she felt someone grab her from behind. She dropped the branch out of fright, yelling, trying to escape the man's grasp.

"Ha-ha-ha. And you thought you could threaten us?" the tallest one of the three sarcastically remarked.

"Ugh…Why are you doing this! What did we ever do to you!" she demanded with a struggle.

"Lets just say it's the General's way of saying he's boss" the blonde man said with a sly grin.

"Killing innocent people and taking them prisoner is his way of telling us he's in command! Well he's sick! You're all sick!" she shouted as she tried to pry the man's hands off her, but to no success. They only laughed at her as she wriggled about, growling at them as they made fun of her. That's when the blonde man walked right up to her and grabbed her by her chin viciously.

"You know, I was going to kill you for your insults. But I'd rather let you rot in a cell" hetold her coldly,shaking her head with vigorous movements to her chin. She only glared and spat at him. He wiped it away in disgust and pulled out his batten and slapped her across the face and to her knees.

"Chichi!" Bulma cried, stopping herself from running. What was she to do? Run like a coward? Or run to save her best friend? But she had a child in her arms…was it wrong to put him in danger? She bit her lip in fear…panicking over what to do. She was afraid, the screams from others blocking up her mind. But another idea was chosen as a sly soldier took her from behind.

"NO!" She screamed in fright as he dragged her with him.

"Give me that!" he snarled as he tried to pull the baby roughly from her arms.

"PLEASE NO! PLEASE I'LL COME QUIETLY WITH NO BOTHER! Please, just let me keep him" she begged, the tears flowing down her rosy cheeks. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine, just quit that awful sound!" he demanded as he roughly dragged her. She only followed, her eyes closed and the tears flowing freely.

"Oh Chichi……please Goku….you must help her" she whispered, cuddling the baby close to her as he sobbed.

Goku was thrown to the floor rapidly by two men, the one holding him down whilst the other tried to handcuff his wrists. Goku struggled and soon freed his left arm and elbowed the one man in the face. The man winced in pain and flew back on the ground, blood pouring from his nose. Goku quickly sat up and head butted the other on unconscious. He got up; sweat dropping from his brow, panting from worry more than exhaustment. These men just kept coming and they sure as hell wouldn't back down. He glanced towards the trees where the girls were hiding, but he was horrified to see three men surrounding Chichi who lay upon the floor.

"CHICHI!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. She rose to her knees and surprisingly heard him through all the noise and chaos.

"Goku?" she whispered, the tears slowly falling down her pale cheek bones, some blood dribbling from her mouth. She suddenly felt a cold object grasping her by the back of her neck and pulling her up. The man turned her around to face him, his cold hand squeezing her skin harshly.

"Now, we can either take you the easy way or the hard way" he whispered dangerously as he pulled her up to her feet, his hand still clasping the back of her fragile neck. Chichi's eyes suddenly widened…

"Chichi duck!" Goku ordered. The man that held her loosened his grip about to turn as Chichi ducked, and he was clobbered with a large piece of wood and sent down to the ground. Goku then turned and swung at the other man who stood in shock, sending him flying over. The third man pulled out his knife and ran towards the young man. Goku put out his hands and grabbed the soldier's arms and wrestled him to the ground. The man flipped Goku over onto his back, trying with all his might to push the knife to Goku's neck. Goku strained as he tried to push the knife back and unexpectedly he kneed the man in the gut and pushed him over. The man yelped as Goku took the knife from his hand and stuck it into his chest. Goku breathlessly rolled back over into a sitting position to see Chichi, who sat crying, the fear terrible in her eyes. He crawled up to her and stroked her face gently.

"Are you ok?" he panted seriously looking at her thoroughly for major injuries. He saw a small bit of blood on her lip where she was surely hit.

"I think so" she whimpered as she pressed her face into his rising chest in tears. He wrapped his cut and bruised arms around her and rested his head on hers.

"Sh…its ok, I won't let you out of my sight again" he whispered.

"Why does this have to happen Goku? Why?" she whispered. Goku glanced up at the sand dune where those who fled down tried to flee back up. The tanks were there now, shooting away at the innocent bodies as if they were nothing…he closed his dark aggrieved eyes…

"I don't know Chi" he trailed off…"I don't know"

They stayed that way for several seconds, him figuring out what to do next, her trying to overcome her fear.

"Come on" he whispered as he stood up and brought her with him.

"They took Bulma and the baby Goku!" she suddenly blurted out

"They did? Where?"

"Towards the palace. They've probably got her inside by now"

"We need to retreat and hide and come up with some plan to get in and get them out. There are too many men now. They've almost captured them all. We got to find Yamcha and the others first"

"Ok" she said swallowing. He looked down at her and stroked her arms. She was shaking quite badly.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She looked up at him and sniffed.

"Yeah it's just…it's not everyday you see people killed right in front of you and see children…"

"I know" he said hugging her once more, not really wanting her to finish the sentence, "I know it's hard Chi. But we got to be strong Chi. We got to be strong for these people, and you got to be strong for your dad ok" he told her as gently as he could. She nodded and the tears slowly stopped.

"Alright?" he whispered to her giving her one last squeeze. She closed her eyes and muffled a "yes" and squeezed back. As she was about to pull away she gasped as the once unconscious man behind them took hold of a large rock and got up.

"GOKU!" She screamed. But as Goku turned around he was smacked hard to his forehead and sent unresponsively to the desert floor. Chichi called his name and went to run to his side but was grabbed by the sneaky soldier and dragged away. Her calls were in vain to his now lifeless form that lay upon the desert ground...

Phew! A long chapter if I do say so myself. Now this is important. I have to know whether I need to move this up a rating because of all the killing and stuff. I Tried not to be so gruesome, but let me know for safety's sake please! I hope it was alright, so please let me know with a review. I appreciate comments and advice. Thanks for the previous reviews also. I'm very grateful for them.

Gosha xxx