I haven't forgotten! I swear lol. Just been busy today. Lots of unplanned errands and inconveniences (like sweeping up a shattered dish that my daughter broke for starters and running all over town before that :D)


Chapter 5: Training and Food

Summary: Saiyans need copious amounts of both to survive.


The Next Day

After breakfast was over my second morning back, we went out to our little clearing to train. I was getting twitchy and, before long, I was too twitchy to focus. My saiyan blood was aching for a real fight, a fight where I didn't have to hold back. I knew we weren't just sitting around, and mind manipulation was challenging in its own right, but there was just something about exchanging and blocking physical blows and energy blasts. It gave me a high like little else could.

I needed to let loose.

Chichi sat in the lotus position in front of me in the shade at the edge of the clearing where we had been most of the morning. I was supposed to be working on tearing down her mental defenses and incapacitating her – not to mention defending against her harsh onslaughts.

As time wore on, I grew more and more unfocused – distracted enough I had let my guard down several times.

I yelped in pain when a particularly sharp jab shoved into my mind.

"Hmmph. Serves you right. Now focus, Goku!"

I tried to, but the sounds and small explosions on the other side of the clearing were making concentrating on training with Chichi very difficult.

Cracking an eye open, I looked at Chichi to see her eyes closed – but not attacking –and saw that was my chance. My head snapped around the second I sensed a sharp spike of power and a yell from Gohan on the other end of the clearing.

He fired small blasts into empty air and launched a barrage of kicks, punches, and jabs at an imaginary opponent, gracefully and skillfully flowing from one technique to the next, his form perfect.

Fingers snapped in my face and I quickly looked at Chichi. I was lucky she didn't try to attack me. I didn't think my head could take much more.

She sighed. "You just wont focus on this until you get that battle-lust out of your system, will you?"

"Heh. No…"

She rolled her eyes at me, called Gohan over, and stood up. I was immediately hopeful I was going to get my chance.

Gohan flew over to where we stood. "What's up, Mom?"

She shot me a look with her pretty eyes narrowed and looked back at Gohan. "We are going to go somewhere else to train the rest of the day. Your father wants to fight you."

I jumped up into the air. I was going to get the battle – not to mention the adrenaline rush – my saiyan blood craved.

I knew exactly where I wanted to go.

I scooped up Chichi and Gohan and I shot high into the sky. I glanced at Gohan and pulled ahead. He looked at me curiously. I just sent him an excited smile as I passed him.

We flew on for a couple of hours, passing over inviting, blue lakes and rivers – including one particularly clear and large lake that looked perfect for swimming – deep canyons and rolling hills.

We flew over vibrant, wild greenery, a huge checkerboard of farmland in various stages of growth, small towns, and two big cities. It was beautiful scenery. I hadn't noticed just how pretty it was the last time I flew over that area. My mind was too focused on the upcoming battle.

We were going to the spot where I lost my life to train. It seemed right to claim it as our training grounds. I didn't think anything remained of the arena Cell made, but if there was anything left of it, it wouldn't be there for long.

It was the ideal spot to let loose, without worrying about houses or anything nearby. I couldn't wait to get started. I couldn't wait to feel that adrenaline rush course through my veins.

As we flew, my mind wandered, eventually settling on Cressa's tribe. That quick sweep of ki sensing as soon as I arrived on Earth didn't turn up any unfamiliar powers, but I knew the remaining tribe members – and their descendants – were around somewhere. That my wife of all people was a part of them, too…

I stared down at her in wonder. She looked relaxed and content in my arms as she watched the ever-changing scenery below us.

She caught my gaze. "What're you thinking about, Goku?"

"Your mother's tribe. Think we'll ever meet them, Chichi?"

"I don't know, Goku. They may not want to be found – if any of them even broke through the Block at all. With what they went through, I don't blame them."

I sighed and felt a little sad as I looked ahead.

She touched my cheek lightly, and I looked down to see a comforting smile on her pretty face. "Maybe we can look for them after we've defeated the traitor. Just… don't get your hopes up too high, okay?"

I nodded and held her close.

After flying another half an hour or so, I sensed nervousness coming from a familiar mind. I glanced back at Gohan, to see his face slightly pale. I doubled back and flew in close to him. "What's up, Gohan?"

"Dad, this is where… we fought Cell."

I didn't miss the slight shudder as he said that and Chichi didn't either, judging by the gasp that slipped out of her lips, and her quiet, concerned, "Gohan…"

I smiled my most reassuring smile to the both of them. "It's okay. Don't be scared."

Chichi craned her neck over to get a good look. "This is really the place…?"

Spotting a decent place to land, I slowed and started dropping as her grip around my neck tightened. "Yeah. It is, but there's nothing to be scared of. Cell's long gone. It just… feels right to claim this as our new training grounds."

We touched down on the hard, rocky ground, pebbles crunching under our boots.

I placed Chichi on her feet and started to clear out a large enough spot for all of us. I found a few small, white fragments of the fighting ring Cell made and blasted them into oblivion and Gohan did the same.

That felt good.

That finished, I flashed Gohan an excited grin and took my stance as Chichi walked a safe distance away.

Gohan settled into his stance several paces apart from me and we sized each other up for a short while with confident smirks on our faces, my heart beginning to pound with excitement.

We kicked a few inches off the ground and lunged for each other.

Gohan set himself up for a right hook, which I effortlessly deflected with a sweep of my left forearm while I countered with my right fist aimed for his stomach. He easily blocked it, checking my right arm with his left.

Round one a quick stalemate, we broke apart for a moment, circling each other several feet off the ground and once again, lunged toward each other. I decided to test Gohan's reaction time and Instant Transmissioned myself behind, with an elbow raised and aimed for his back and brought it down with a lot of power behind it – and then promptly had the wind knocked out of me as I felt a fist collide hard with my stomach and he whirled up and his elbow connected with the base of my neck.

He was so fast, I didn't even see him turn around until after the fact – and we hadn't even gone Super Saiyan yet! I managed to land on my feet and clutched my stomach for a moment, waiting a few painful seconds for my ability to breathe to return.

Gohan touched down in front of me. His arms were crossed, his smile playful and confident. "Give up, Dad?"

I looked up and mirrored his smile. "Never!"

We blasted up into the air and darted toward each other as we exchanged a flurry of kicks and jabs when I smirked and unleashed my power, the energy coming from deep within and tearing out through me. I felt Gohan's power skyrocket as he did the same and his eyes turned teal and his hair went brilliant gold as his power crackled around him.

From then on, our match became the fight my saiyan blood craved.

We traded another high-speed, high-powered blitz of blows, every punch and kick either blocked or finding its target – creating small shockwaves and flashes of brilliant yellow as our energy clashed, static electricity crackling through the air.

We urged ourselves ever faster – long since leaving the tracking ability of the human eye in our dust.

In a lull in our match, I looked down at Chichi. She was on her feet and fidgeting with her clothes, her eyes wide and her jaw hanging open. I allowed myself a self-satisfied smirk, as I lifted my gaze back to Gohan, eager to show off some more for the lady.

Then my brain caught up with exactly what that meant. It was my turn for my eyes to go wide. I supposed I shouldn't have been surprised. She was half-saiyan, after all.

I shouted down to her, "Chichi!? Were you able to follow all of our blows!?"

Her shocked expression faded as she processed my question. She nodded and it was her turn to smile a small proud smile, but the awe in her expression never quite went away. "That was amazing to watch! You two keep it up. I've been sitting around too long. I'm going to meditate."

I nodded in her direction and looked back at Gohan. "Ready, kiddo?"

He took his ready stance in the air in front of me. "Bring it on, Dad!"

Yet again, we lunged at each other and exchange many more blows, each one stronger and faster than the last. We continued on for quite a while, neither of us missing a beat when a large amount of movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention a ways out and a little lower down than we were.

I saw the giant boulder hovering thirty feet in the air first. I stared at it, confused. How the heck was a rock flying by itself? Then, my eyes snagged on the beautiful creature perched neatly on top: Chichi.

Her long hair was released from its tight bun she usually kept it in, billowing wildly in the warm breeze. Her eyes were closed, her face completely relaxed. The wind shifted, sweeping her long hair toward me. I caught her indefinable, sweet smell in the light breeze, her –

A fist collided with my cheek and snapped me out of it.

"Come on, Dad! Get with the program!"

I blinked and promptly felt a little heat rush to my cheeks. "Whoops. Sorry, Gohan."

He just raised an eyebrow before we got back into our match and I was forced to put my head back in the game.

We traded a lot more blows, receiving and giving many more bruises. It had only been a few months since the battle with Cell – a few months since we finished our intense training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber – but I missed training with Gohan while I was dead. It was great to get back into it with him.

After blocking a particularly high-powered kick with my forearm – the mighty smack echoing through the rocky wasteland – I flew backwards a short distance and held my hands up as I powered down. "That's enough for now, Gohan! You certainly kept me on my toes. Well done!"

His eyes lit up and he smiled a grin that Chichi always said looked a lot like mine as his eyes and hair went back to black. "Thanks, Dad!"

I finally got my itch for a good fight out of my system, my body covered in bruises but my spirit soaring.

I gestured at the ground. "Go rest for a little bit, Gohan. I'm going to go check on your mom."

"'K!"

He dropped out of the sky as I flew to the still hovering massive boulder with my wife perched cross-legged on top. I took a moment to admire the sight without having to worry about blocking any blows.

Closer up, I noticed a faint glow surrounded her and the boulder, and sensed she was using her ki to keep it and – by extension – herself in the air. Her eyes were shut, but not tightly. Her face was as relaxed as if she were sleeping– as if keeping that massive boulder in the air was no big deal at all. Her long hair still whipped about her face.

I flew closer.

I reached out, intending to pull her beautiful dark hair back and out of her face for her. As beautiful as she was with it billowing wildly around her like that, it had to be annoying.

When my fingers came into contact with her hair and – a second later – her cheek as I brushed her hair aside, she yelped, the soft glow of her energy faded, and the boulder dropped out of the sky with her on it.

I snatched her up safely in my arms before she could fall more than a foot or two. Quickly after, we heard the loud crash of the boulder pulverizing itself on the ground while I held Chichi in the air above.

She slapped my chest. "Goku! Don't sneak up on me like that while I'm meditating!"

"Sorry, Chi."

She just rolled her eyes. "You really do need to get around to giving me those flying lessons."

"Hmm. How about now?"

Her eyes lit up and she nodded. "Well… Okay."

I landed with her and set her down on her feet.

"You'll get this in no time since you already know how to control and use your energy. Just concentrate on pushing the energy down and you'll feel yourself get kind of light. Give it a try."

"Okay."

She closed her eyes. I began to feel her energy build and fluctuate throughout her body.

"That's it! You're doing it! Now push it down."

Her energy continued building to a level much higher than she needed.

My hand subconsciously twitched toward her. "Careful, Chichi! Don't use too much or you'll–!"

Too late.

In the same second I felt her push her power down, she shot up really high, really fast with a loud, terrified screech.

I kicked off the ground after her, caught up quickly just as she instinctively cut off her power, and wrapped my arms around her as she locked hers around my neck and her legs around my waist – very tightly.

She buried her face in the crook of my neck, her body tense. I felt her heart pounding in her chest – her breathing fast and hard. Her breath from her scared little whimpers tickled my neck.

I brushed her mind as I soothingly rubbed her back and her terror surged into me through our link. I had to clamp down on my automatic response to it to keep my own heart from galloping out of my chest.

I spoke both into her mind and aloud: "Shh… It's okay, Honey. I've got ya."

After several moments, her body began to relax as her heart gradually slowed to its normal rhythm, along with her breathing.

Her grip on me loosened just a little – which was good because that strong grip of hers was actually starting to hurt – as she pulled her head out of my shoulder. Her eyes darted around nervously. When her gaze dropped to the ground below, she turned a little pale and her heart sped up a bit.

I removed one arm from around her waist and rested my hand on her cheek to pull her gaze to mine as I gave her a small, reassuring, smile. "You're perfectly safe, Babe. I have you." I glanced at her arms and legs still tightly wrapped around me and laughed lightly. "Erm… actually, I guess you have me."

That worked.

Her face relaxed and her color returned. That even got a small giggle out of her – not to mention a very cute blush.

She unwound her legs from my waist but kept her arms firmly wrapped around my neck, supporting her weight. "I… guess I put a little too much power into it, didn't I? I want to try again."

I began to sense her summoning her energy again – a much smaller amount than the first time – as she slowly unwound her arms from my neck. I reached up and took her hand firmly in mine just in case. She released my neck completely and hung by her hand. She knew I wouldn't drop her. Her eyes were closed again in concentration.

I felt her push that small amount of energy down. "Yeah! That's exactly right! You're doing it!"

She always was a featherweight to me – if I even noticed her weight at all – but I was finely tuned enough to her that I knew the exact moment when I no longer supported her.

"Chichi! You're floating! Open your eyes!"

She did and gasped and – for a second – I was afraid she was going to panic again. She didn't. Instead, her eyes lit up and her mouth split wide open into the biggest, brightest grin I had almost ever seen her wear and aimed straight at me.

Butterflies danced in me.

She dropped my hand and I hovered a little closer, ready to catch her should she fall but there was no need. She was in perfect control. She zoomed away, squealing her joy, her long, dark hair snapping and whipping about in the wind. She flew fast laps around me, her joyful giggles echoing around the rocky, uneven terrain.

In addition to doing laps, she flew wild loops, and twists. She seemed to be testing how fast she could switch direction in the air – which was impressively fast – her giggles never ending.

Vegeta told me flying came naturally to saiyans, but it still took me a day or two to master it. Chichi had it mastered in seconds!

"Looking great, Babe! You're a natural!"

Before I knew it, her smiling face was inches from mine and she came in for a kiss then zoomed away again, giggling madly.

Those butterflies returned tenfold and I couldn't help but chuckle with her.

"Dad!"

I turned to see a slightly frantic Gohan approach.

"I sensed Mom's power flare. Where is she? Is she okay?"

I twitched my head to get Gohan to turn around. "She's just fine, Gohan."

He did turn around and just as he did, Chichi flew up to us.

"Hey, Gohan!"

Gohan's eyes got wide and his jaw dropped. "Mom! You're flying!"

"Yes, I am! Your father just taught me."

He grinned. "Pretty fun, huh Mom?"

She twirled in the air. "It's wonderful! I feel so light and free! Why didn't I try this before?"

I felt my lips tug up in a small smile. "You never asked."

That was true, but it was more like I never had the chance to teach her. I was always gone or dead or too busy training for or fighting in the next battle while she stayed home waiting for Gohan and me to come back to her in one piece. For the first time ever, she joined us in intense, serious training. For the first time ever, she would join us on the battlefield.

I was somewhere torn between loving the fact that she was training with us and hating what it meant. Her life would be on the line just as much as mine, or even Gohan's. I was used to fighting not having to worry about her being right there. I was used to fighting knowing she was safe at home – or as safe as she could be with the whole planet threatened by some power-hungry, super-strong bad guy. She wasn't directly involved with the battles, then. In less than a month, she was going to be on the frontlines with Gohan and me.

That thought scared me a little bit.

She may have been half-saiyan and very strong, but she was still my wife and still the reason I fought in all of those battles.

For the time being, I very much enjoyed our training. I loved every second of the three of us being together. I haven't seen much of her power yet aside from her training my mind, but power was there. I sensed it. She was strong, very strong. As much as I was dying to find out just how much power she possessed, there was one very good reason we weren't sparring.

There was another little power emanating from her growing stronger every day. Our child would be very strong, too.

Our child.

She was pregnant and facing her first big battle. I wanted to give her one last child to hold onto because I wasn't planning on being brought back to life. I wanted to give her a new baby to help her heal. The baby was just one more innocent life that depended on us to win. At least we were together again, even if it was for a battle. I was very, very thankful I was brought back to be there to protect my growing family.

We will not lose.

I still couldn't quite stop worry from snaking its way into me and I felt a little sweat bead on my forehead, and my insides twist into knots.

"Goku?"

Her concerned tone jerked me from my thoughts. I hid the unpleasant nervousness twisting through me and gave her a relaxed smile. It was the smile that I used to keep my family and friends around me relaxed and happy. I knew if I showed them my nervousness, they'd panic. I had to be calm for them.

"Yeah, Chichi?"

She gave me a sort of suspicious look. "Are you okay? You looked… a little bit troubled for a moment there."

I forced my face to brighten. "Just fine! The heat is just getting to me a little bit. That's all."

She didn't quite look like she bought that, and was about to say something when Gohan said, "The heat is getting to me, too. We flew over lots of nice looking rivers and lakes to get here. There was one especially clear lake I saw as we went by. Can we go swimming?"

Chichi's eyes crinkled. "Sure, Gohan!"

"Yay!"

"Last one there's a rotten egg!"

I laughed and rocketed off – until I realized who said it. That made my jaw drop and froze me in my tracks. Gohan and I exchanged looks, his jaw hanging open, too.

I felt the corners of my lips tug up into a huge grin as Gohan's whole face lit up. A second later, we were out of there.

Gohan surged ahead of me, but Chichi was nowhere to be seen. I reached out with my senses and found her far ahead. It briefly crossed my mind to catch up with Instant Transmission, but I realized that wouldn't be fair. Gohan was fast and apparently so was Chichi – but certainly not the speed of light so I dismissed the idea.

There wassomething else I could do that would still be somewhere in the realm of fair.

I smirked at the tiny speck that was Gohan – already way ahead of me – and summoned my power. My power crackled through my body and surged through my veins, heat washing through me. I held it in for a moment, enjoying the sensation then pushed it out and watched as my aura went from translucent white to brilliant yellow.

It immediately had the effect I wanted, propelling me forward so fast that seconds later, I was catching up to and overtaking Gohan.

"Dad! No fair!"

"Just transform, Silly."

I didn't need to look to know he was doing just that. My senses alerted me to my boy summoning his power just behind me.

In seconds, he overtook me.

I pushed myself forward fast as possible, my aura so strong it shielded me from the insane wind I knew I was making. I knew I was going to get my butt kicked, but I had to try.

Giving up was not in my vocabulary.

Transformed as we were, we did manage to finally catch up to Chichi. She had quite the head start on us because Gohan and I were too busy being shocked to race after her right away.

She glanced over her shoulder at us and her eyes widened slightly. She kicked in another burst of speed, but could never hope to outrun – let alone keep up with – a pair of Super Saiyans.

I caught up to her and backed my power down so I flew level with her and Gohan blew past us like we were standing still.

Chichi stuck her tongue out at me and turned her pretty nose up.

I laughed. "Aw, come on, Chi. Don't be a sore loser."

She pouted slightly but didn't respond.

I grabbed her hand. She glanced at me questioningly.

"You want to know what real speed feels like?"

She nodded slowly.

I pulled her in close so her back was pressed against my chest and wrapped my arms securely around her waist.

I kicked up my power and we were off, rocketing forward at a speed I knew she had never even dreamed of, the ground a mottled green blur below us.

Chichi gasped and laughed as she stretched her arms out to her sides.

Finally, the crystal clear lake we had noticed came into view.

We touched down gently on the shore and released her.

"That was amazing, Goku!"

I grinned at her. "Somehow, that kind of flight never gets old."

I heard a tapping noise and looked at Gohan who had his arms crossed and was tapping his toe on the ground impatiently, but smiling a smug little grin. "Took you long enough."

I laughed. "Sorry, Gohan."

I knew I would get my butt kicked. My boy was so fast!

A soft click caught my attention and I looked just in time to see a small puff of smoke appear a few feet away. A medium sized duffle bag appeared when the smoke cleared and Chichi immediately began to dig through it.

Chichi threw our swimming trunks at Gohan and me and pulled out a swimsuit for herself and set our towels out. Gohan and I wasted no time in stripping down and pulling our trunks on and diving into the perfectly cool, clear water. The temperature was just right; it was cool enough to be refreshing but not so cold that it made us shiver. Diving in felt wonderful on that hot day.

I dove deeper, watching the fish swim by.

While deep under the water, my sensitive ears picked up a muffled splash. I looked up to see Chichi torpedoing toward me through the water in a black one-piece swimsuit, her hair in a long braid being swept by the water down her back.

She gracefully pulled up several feet above me and rocketed back up toward the surface. I kicked my legs and chased after her. Gohan was already at the surface, floating on his back a serene look on his face.

I swam next to him and copied him, enjoying the gentle rocking of the water, my fingers laced behind my head. I glanced to my other side, expecting to see Chichi basking at the calm surface with us, but she was nowhere to be found.

I automatically extended my senses and located her somewhere below us. I tried to send her a questioning thought, but only ran into a wall.

"Dad? I just realized I haven't seen Mom yet. Is she okay?"

"She's fine, Gohan. I can sense her, but – for whatever reason – she's blocking my mind."

Before I could make up my mind whether to drop below the surface to check on her, the sound of flowing water – like the trickle of a small stream – and a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.

Just as I turned my head toward the flicker of movement, a giant fish rose out of the water just off to Gohan's other side, its mouth agape, sharp teeth glistening in the sunlight.

It was aiming for us.

I felt my eyes go wide.

It crashed into us, the force pushing us under. There was something odd about it. Instead of a solid weight of fish slamming into us, it was… water. It was made out of water. Gohan and I popped back up, spluttering a little bit and I looked at him.

"Call me crazy but I think…"

Gohan looked at me, too. "…That fish was made out of water?"

I nodded slowly.

"How the heck is that possible?"

I shook my head and shrugged. "No idea, Gohan. No idea."

"What's with you two? You look like you've seen a ghost."

We both turned in the water to face Chichi – who had apparently popped up somewhere just behind us while we were busy being attacked by the weird water-fish.

She had an innocent look on her face.

My eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion.

Her lips twitched just a tiny bit.

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow.

"That was you wasn't it, Mom!?"

I glanced at Gohan and he looked very incredulous but also somewhat amazed.

The corners of Chichi's lips twitched a bit more and I could see she was losing the battle against her smile.

Her shoulders shook with a laugh she was fighting hard to keep inside.

I had seen enough.

I used my ki to quickly propel myself the few feet through the water to her, my arms outstretched and ready to grab her and exact my revenge – whatever that might be as I hadn't yet decided. "You're mine!"

She windmilled her arms for a backstroke the same second she finally lost the battle with her laugh. A small snort slipped out of her lips immediately followed by a loud and hearty guffaw, waggling a finger at us.

"The looks on your faces! I wish a I had a camera!" She laughed so hard she could barely get the words out.

Gohan splashed her lightly and she spluttered and rubbed the water off her face, distracting her just enough for me to approach unnoticed. My arms outstretched and inches from her, I smirked. I almost had her.

She finally noticed me coming and dove down just as my arms swept through empty air.

I snarled and then took a breath.

You better watch out, Chiich! I'm coming for you!

A thought laced with smug self-confidence was her reply. Good luck, Son Goku. You'll never find me.

Says you!

I pushed my senses out. I couldn't sense her anywhere – let alone hear any thought. The only life I could sense were animals. Under the water like we were, I couldn't just use my nose either.

Clever of her.

Dad! I just saw bubbles several feet to my left.

I'm coming up.

I kicked back to the surface and toward Gohan. "Where were those bubbles exactly?"

He pointed to the exact spot and I swam to it and dove straight down.

It was a long shot. I could sense multiple animal life-forces in the water. Who knew if one – or several – of those were air-breathing animals. It was the only lead I had, so I went with it.

Silvery bubbles rose passed me. I was about five feet away from the bottom and could make out a fissure in the rock just big enough for a person to slip into. More bubbles issued out of it, shooting up to the surface like a cork.

I continued toward the fissure and peeked over the edge. One hand curled over the rough, sharp edge as the other reached in.

I flushed out my prey.

In a mighty stream of bubbles obscuring her form, she torpedoed through the water. Hugging the bottom, she all too quickly vanished from sight once more.

I snarled but only bubbles left my mouth. I summoned my ki and used that to push myself through the water in the direction she fled far faster than my legs could have moved me.

I would have to react faster next time if I was to catch her.

I quickly came up to a large patch of tall water-grass, a large shoal of small, silvery fish darting about as one form in a panic. I wasn't interested in them, but they must not have gotten the memo.

The patch of grass was plenty big enough to conceal my wife. I kicked into it and began sweeping my arms around, hoping I'd bump into her. No such luck.

A sudden blast of water shoved me out of the grass patch and sent me tumbling head over heals several feet, just about knocking the last bit of air out of me.

I recovered quickly just in time to see her rocketing to the surface.

Once again, I used my ki to propel myself through the water, rocketing toward the surface after her.

She broke the surface – and left the water – first, but I was only seconds behind. I Instant Transmissioned myself in front of her, earning a startled gasp out of her in the process. I darted forward and grabbed her wrists as we hovered a few feet above the water.

"Ha! See? I told you I'd get you!"

She rolled her eyes and then looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. "Took you long enough. You have to admit I gave you a run for your money."

"You are pretty fast, but I'm faster."

She rolled her eyes again.

I pulled her in by her wrists and gave her a quick kiss. Truce?

She smiled into our kiss. Truce.

I released her and she flew toward Gohan. When she reached him, she lowered herself back down into the water.

I followed suit.

A minute later, we were all floating lazily on our backs watching the clouds drift by overhead, completely relaxed. Chichi was next to me with Gohan on her other side.

"How did you make that fish, Mom?"

"It was easy, Sweetie. I'll show you. Just use your energy to shape it and make it move."

Chichi righted herself in the water and started intently in front of her and I followed her gaze. There was that same sound of flowing water again as a tendril of water snaked into the air at our feet. It took the form of that same fish from before.

I looked over at her to see her slender eyebrows pulled down in concentration, an arm raised up in front of her. I stared at her in wonder.

A big splash pulled my attention back to the fish, but it was gone. Seconds later, the sleek, glistening form of a six-foot dolphin leaped up from beside Gohan and sailed over the three of us, drops of water landing on our bodies and splashed down on my other side.

"Chichi! That was amazing!"

"Yeah, Mom! Do it again!"

She obliged as two more dolphins sailed over us together, their bodies shimmering in the afternoon sun.

The equally sleek form of a sea lion jumped over us next the same way the dolphins had. It repeated its circuit once more, the second time around pausing at Gohan, its snout inches from his face and spat a little bit of water at him.

He coughed once and laughed.

The sea lion rounded on me and I reached up. I expected my hand to just pass through it as easily as I would dip my hand in water so I was a little bit surprised to meet some resistance. It felt… solid? It wasn't ice. I reached out to it with my senses, my hand on the creature's head.

I could feel her ki enveloping it. She was masterfully using her ki to shape the water into whatever shape she wanted it to be. It was her ki that gave it that strange sort of solid feel.

I had a little bit of limited practice with telekinesis, but what Chichi was doing was completely out of my league.

"My turn!"

I glanced at Gohan. I had asked myself if he was really capable of that, too. I supposed it shouldn't have surprised me. He was her son after all.

The sea lion pulled away and dropped into the water at my feet and Chichi resumed her float.

I turned back to watch Gohan, curious to see what he was going to do. He righted himself and raised his arm like his mother and his eyes narrowed a little bit in concentration.

I heard that same flowing water sound and looked toward it just in time to see a tendril reach up and out of the water and become a gracefully flapping pelican.

The bird sailed through the air, flying wide circles several feet above us, its long wings outstretched. The bird landed next to me and folded its wings. I reached out with both my hand and my senses.

Like with Chichi's water animals, I sensed Gohan's ki in the pelican giving it shape and movement.

The water lost its form and – with a splash – the bird was gone.

I looked at Gohan again to see him rubbing his temples.

"That's hard work, Mom! I gave myself a headache."

She reached over and ran her hand through his hair. "With practice, your head will stop hurting. Okay, you two. Let's call it a day and head home."

Gohan and I both nodded. Gohan yawned loudly, which triggered yawns from Chichi and me too. It was definitely time to go home. The sun had dropped low to the horizon, bathing the whole area in rich, warm golden light as the clouds turned varying shades of purple, pink, orange, and bright gold.

We all lifted ourselves out of the water and flew lazily to the shore where we had left our things. Gohan and I dried ourselves off with our kis as Chichi disappeared behind a large boulder to change.

I decided only to pull on my gi pants and Gohan did the same.

A minute or two later, Chichi emerged from her hiding place having changed back into her cheongsam. "Let's eat dinner. Then we will head home."

At that that magic word, my stomach roared in response shortly followed by Gohan's. The noise echoed around the area. She just rolled her eyes, pulled out that box of capsules again and clicked one, revealing a blanket spread out on the ground. She clicked another and the light breeze pushed the puff of smoke away, revealing a large picnic basket.

She bent down and lifted the lid. At that moment, the breeze shifted and the amazing smells of Chichi's home cooking flowing out slammed into me. It took all my self-control to not just tear into the basket. I knew she probably would have refused me my dinner had I done that. I couldn't stop the drop of drool that rolled out of the corner of my mouth and down my chin.

I glanced at Gohan, only to see his eyes glazed in hunger, too. A bit of drool dribbled off his chin. His hand twitched toward the basket in anticipation.

It really had been a while since we last ate. We were so busy training, we lost track of time.

Another growl echoed around the landscape, slightly less loud than mine and Gohan's. He and I laughed and Chichi blushed with a faint scowl on her face as she pulled dish after dish out of the basket.

She sighed and said somewhat exasperatedly, "Okay, boys. It's ready."

The three of us dove into our huge spread, Gohan on one side of me and Chichi on the other. I watched Chichi amusedly as she stuffed her face with every bit as much gusto as Gohan and I did.

Gohan leaned toward me and said out of the corner of his mouth between bites, "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to seeing Mom like this."

I leaned toward Gohan and – keeping my voice equally as low – said, "I know exactly what you mean."

Gohan had been around Chichi with those new powers of hers for a month longer than I had and he still wasn't used to it. I didn't think I'd get used to seeing Chichi like that either – especially since she was the one always getting after us for our bad manners.

She put away almost as much as me. I remembered she got a lot hungrier while pregnant with Gohan, but that was mere nibbling compared to the way she demolished plate after plate since her powers had been awakened. That plus a pregnancy made her extra hungry.

I hoped her appetite would stay. It was… cute to watch her eat like that for once.

She caught me staring at her and raised a questioning eyebrow as she stuffed an entire huge roll in her mouth. I just chuckled and rubbed her back affectionately.

She shrugged and turned back to her food, but leaned toward me just a little bit.

After all three of us were gorged, we cleaned up our mess and headed home for the night.