Chi-Chi should have been there.

She should have been able to rush in, scoop Gohan up, and get out of the way before any ill befell anyone. She wasn't slow, literally or just in terms of reaction time, so why hadn't she moved? Probably for the same reason Gohan hadn't: the paralyzing horror of the situation. For her son, he was pinned in place by the sudden pressure of what was expected of him - and an irrational sense that he couldn't possibly do it. Nappa was too big, too strong, too frightening. Even if Gohan could hit him, there was no way he could finish him off. Chi-Chi wasn't frozen by the possibility of what she couldn't do, but from all the different possibilities ahead of her - kill Nappa, but how, swoop in and save Gohan, but she wasn't sure she was truly quick enough, scream and distract him, but she doubted that would work - and it culminated with inaction.

Piccolo hadn't gotten so distracted. Right when Chi-Chi was sure her baby boy would be murdered, he'd put himself between Nappa and Gohan. If he'd only had time to block, or jump out of the way, it would have been different. But as it was, the only thing Piccolo could do was cover Gohan with his body and endure Nappa's attack.

His body hadn't even dropped to the ground when feeling returned to Chi-Chi's limbs.

Gohan was safe, but Piccolo was dead.

Nappa was still alive.

She could fix that last one.

Nappa made the mistake of taking a split-second to gloat over the scene before him - Gohan, white-faced and shaking, trying to hear Piccolo's last muttered words - which gave Chi-Chi all the time she needed to end his life. Mid-laughter, a sword pierced his back and popped out of his chest like a bird from a cuckoo clock, blood spurting out with it.

"Wh-what the-?" Nappa gasped, but he was cut off as he choked on the blood pooling in his lung.

Chi-Chi didn't waste time on words, opting instead of stab and slice Nappa as much as she could during the brief moment of opportunity she'd created. He made the mistake of trying to turn around and face her, to fight her, which was his undoing - Chi-Chi managed a slice across his jugular, and while his hands flew up to his neck in a futile attempt to slow the bleeding, she plunged her sword through his heart.

Nappa collapsed, three hundred pounds of muscle falling to the ground with a dull thud. Chi-Chi pulled her sword from his body, watching as the dirt soaked up his blood and turned black. She spared a sidelong glance at Vegeta, but he hadn't moved from his spot across the clearing. Once sure he wasn't going to attack right away, Chi-Chi stumbled the short distance from Nappa's body to Piccolo's.

"Are you alright?" she asked, falling into a kneel beside Gohan.

He barely glanced at her, eyes fixed on Piccolo. "You killed him?" Piccolo asked, the words coming out low and forced.

Chi-Chi nodded. "Cut him to bits."

"Coulda tried that a bit sooner."

Chi-Chi punched him lightly on the shoulder, eliciting a forced laugh. "Thanks," he murmured. "At least I'm not going to die for nothing."

"Don't say that!" Gohan said suddenly. "You're not going to die, Mr. Piccolo - we can fix you up and you'll be good as new, and-"

Piccolo mustered the strength to lift his hand up, silencing Gohan. "No. I'm going to die," Piccolo said with certainty. "Gohan..." Piccolo motioned for him to come closer, and Gohan leaned in. Chi-Chi shuffled back a bit, sensing that the words to transpire were private, even though she had a feeling she knew already the nature of them.

His final words imparted, Piccolo relaxed into the dirt as best he could, and was terribly quiet.

The rustle of fabric and dead weight moving across dirt caught Chi-Chi's attention: Krillin had managed to drag his body over to the other three - two - in spite of his broken bones and exhaustion. Somehow, he pulled himself into a sitting position, even mustering the strength the put a hand on Gohan's shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry, Gohan," Krillin said. "I can't say I ever really got along with Piccolo, but I saw how close you guys have gotten and... well, there's no easy way to lose someone..."

Gohan's choked sobs were cut short by Vegeta.

"Are you simpering fools done drooling on yourselves over there?" he barked out from the other side of the battlefield. "I know battle is a foreign concept to you worms, but you don't win until you stand victorious over your enemies' bodies - and I'm still standing tall."

Krillin bared his teeth, but his body was too broken to be an effective outlet for his rage. "You're one to talk! The only reason you haven't been cut to ribbons yet is because you've been too much of a coward to actually face any of us so far!" Krillin shouted.

Even from a fifty-foot distance, Chi-Chi could see Vegeta's expression shift. The face that previously looked like it belonged next to the dictionary definition of 'boredom' darkened, eyes glinting dangerously. No shift in expression was as jarring as the spike in ki that sent shivers down Chi-Chi's spine, though. "Coward, eh?" he said. He threw his head back, his mouth twisting into a mockery of a grin, and went on, "Well, this is a character assassination I cannot abide. Alright, shortman, you got me - and I've got to defend my honor. So why don't I face all three of you at once?" Vegeta laughed cruelly, the sound echoing around the wasteland. "Yes, a crippled dwarf, a snot-nosed child, and a woman only just strong enough to kill Nappa. I do have my work cut out for me, don't I?"

"Krillin, what were you thinking?" hissed Chi-Chi from the corner of her mouth.

Krillin flushed. "I - the thing is - I'm pretty sure I landed on my head on some point. Gimme a break!"

Gohan sniffed. "What are we gonna do?" he asked, anxiously wringing the front of Piccolo's tattered gi in his hands.

Her gaze shifted between the two of them, and she heaved a sigh. "We're going to fight him. More specifically, I'm going to fight him," Chi-Chi declared.

"What? No way - you can't go up against him by yourself," Krillin said.

In a heartbeat, Gohan was on his feet. "Y-yeah! I'll help you out, Mom!" said Gohan with his eyes ablaze.

Wordlessly and stern as ever, Chi-Chi shook her head. "Absolutely not. You're to stay out of this unless absolutely necessary, is that clear?" she said.

"But, Mom-"

Chi-Chi's mouth twitched into a frown, and she repeated, "Is that clear, Gohan?"

It was clear, indeed. Her tone beckoned no argument, so Gohan hung his head and slumped back down by Piccolo's side. "Yes, Mom," he murmured.

Satisfied, Chi-Chi's face broke out into an inappropriately cheery smile. "That's my boy! Now, keep Krillin out of trouble, and I'll deal with this troll doll over here," she said too-sweetly. With that, she spun on her heel and marched towards Vegeta.

He still had yet to move from his spot over by the boulders, arms folded over his chest. He barely twitched as Chi-Chi approached him, but his eyes followed her every step.

"Ah, the first to die uselessly by my hand," he drawled as she approached. "At least you're a proper fighter, not a child or already half-dead. I shouldn't have let Nappa have all the fun."

When Chi-Chi didn't react to his taunt, he sneered. "Oh, stoicism now, is it? I'd say you have guts, but it's far more likely you actually just lack brains," Vegeta went on.

Chi-Chi's brow twitched into a glare, and she settled into the usual turtle-style stance - legs braced, arms up, ready to fight. Her sword hung from a loop in her belt, ready to go whenever she was. Vegeta rolled his eyes, and finally moved from his perch at the edge of the battlefield. He adjusted his gloves as he moved in, as if the battle about to take place was more of a chore than anything else. "If you're so eager to die, I won't keep you-" he started to mutter.

Mid-sentence, Chi-Chi moved in, taking off so fast she all but disappeared from view. Vegeta had just enough time to raise his eyebrows before she reappeared right behind him. Her sword glinted in the sunlight as it swung through the air towards Vegeta, but at the last second, it came to an abrupt stop. Vegeta craned his neck to leer at Chi-Chi from the corner of his eye, one arm raised above his head with the sword caught in the palm of his hand. "Is this the best Earth has to offer?" he wondered, an infuriating grin playing on his lips.

Chi-Chi jumped back, putting distance between herself and Vegeta as quickly as possible - but Vegeta was quicker.

Her feet met solid ground, and not a moment after, his fist collided with her stomach - lifting her up again. Her whole body spasmed and she lost hold of her sword, her hands opting instead to claw uselessly at Vegeta's fist, to get it off of her so she could breathe.

Vegeta laughed as he let Chi-Chi fall back into the dirt. "I don't know what I expected, but you didn't even meet that," he chortled.

With great difficulty, Chi-Chi managed to stand. She spat a gob of blood into the dirt, and settled once more into her stance - her eyes never once leaving Vegeta.

He rolled his eyes at her. "You don't learn very quick, do you?" he asked.

"Try me," Chi-Chi seethed.

The infuriating smirk slipped off his face just a tad. "Whatever you say," Vegeta said.

A heartbeat passed while each waited for the other to make the first move, then they both disappeared from sight.

Gohan watched the altercation from the sidelines, digging his fists into the dirt as his eyes struggled to follow the action.

"We have to do something, Krillin," Gohan said - more to himself than to Krillin, as a matter of fact.

Krillin scooted a bit closer to Gohan, putting his hand on the kid's shoulder as a show of comfort and as a way to quickly stop him if he tried getting involved. "There's nothing we can do, kid," Krillin said. "You can feel how strong that guy is, right?"

"Yeah, and Mom's fighting him all by herself," said Gohan. "What if something happens to her? Mr. Piccolo is - well - w-we don't have the dragon balls anymore, s-so if she dies, then..."

Krillin tightened his grip on Gohan just a bit. An empathetic squeeze and a tether. "She's gonna be fine, I promise. But you need to stay out of the way so that she can focus on the fight, alright?" Krillin said.

Gohan took his eyes off the fight for a split-second to search Krillin's face for signs of insincerity or uneasiness, and he found none. Krillin had manipulated his expression to be perfectly carefree and sure, utterly at ease and completely confident in their eventual safety and victory. Gohan was hardly a stupid child, though, and was far more realistic and perceptive than Krillin expected of a five-year-old. Given the circumstances, Gohan could conclude that the only reason Krillin looked so sure of himself was that he was, in fact, full of it.

Which meant Chi-Chi was absolutely in danger.

Baring his teeth, Gohan jerked Krillin's hand off of his shoulder and let his rage carry him into the battle - deaf to Krillin's objections.

Vegeta landed a hit against Chi-Chi's back, and she plummeted towards the Earth. She landed face-first on the ground with a dull thud, kicking up dust and dirt along the way. Shaking, drained of energy and every inch of her aching, Chi-Chi tried to lift herself off of the ground. Her efforts were thwarted as Vegeta approached her from behind, and pushed her gracelessly back into the ground with his boot.

"This has been a snooze," he said, raising one hand a gathering ki in his palm. "Don't feel bad, you've done better than I expected of any Earthling. And you killed Nappa for me, which I'm sure I would have had to do myself at some point. He wasn't keeping up with me, and was bound to become dead weight sooner or later, after all. But, you've more than served your purpose, so-"

Something small and brimming with energy slammed into Vegeta's head from the side, knocking him over.

Chi-Chi scrambled up, eyes widening in horror as she recognized the energy: Gohan.

He'd taken Vegeta by surprise, and was making use of the edge that gave him. Small but powerful fists flew around Vegeta's head and shoulders in a flurry, too fast to block, and while not much compared to Vegeta's resilience, still incredibly distracting.

"STOP - HURTING - MY - MOM!" Gohan shouted as he pummeled Vegeta.

Whatever advantage Gohan had quickly wore off, and Vegeta caught either of Gohan's arms and held him aloft. Gohan tried to kick, but Vegeta swiftly brought the boy forward and knocked their heads together, hard enough the split the skin over Gohan's brow. He tossed Gohan aside and regained his composure, wiping blood from his lip where Gohan had punched him. "I have to admit, I didn't realize I had a whole little family on my hands here," Vegeta seethed. "Kakarot's brat, of course, and Kakarot's Earthling sweetheart. I guess I should have realized, but to be honest, I didn't think he had the sense choose a mate with any fight in her."

Chi-Chi was barely paying attention - she was focused on Gohan. He'd sat up, and was cradling his bleeding forehead. If he had lasting brain damage from this fight, she was going to...

"I was going to just slaughter you all and carry on with this whole wishing business, but since Kakarot's whole clan is here, I might as well draw things out," Vegeta mused. A wicked grin spread across his face. "I can't wait to see his expression when I kill you both. Yes, I'll save you two for later, provided Kakarot shows his cowardly face at all-"

Vegeta clamped his mouth shut as an orange blur swooped into the battlefield.

He touched down with a soft thump, an effect of the weighted shoes, and - in an act that both amused and frustrated Vegeta - immediately turned his back on the Saiyan, opting instead to see to Chi-Chi and Gohan.

"I got here as fast as I could," said Goku. "What all did I miss?"