Risk
Chapter 22
She barely felt her feet touch the ground when she came to the house and dragged Goku inside before depositing the ill Saiya-jin on the bed. She quickly went into the medicine cabinet and fetched the medicine that Trunks brought from the future and took a swig before giving some to Goku. Within minutes, the tormented Saiya-jin became deathly quiet and for the first time, she prayed that he would make it through this so they could be safe.
'Please recover…' Chi-chi thought before she laid her head down on his chest and fell asleep.
"This is all your fault Vegeta!" Piccolo yelled at the Saiya-jin Prince. "If you weren't so cocky, we could have stopped Dr. Gero from heading to his lab!"
"I'm only interested in fighting the strongest thing that threatens my chances of taking Kakarrot's life!" Vegeta snapped back at the Namekian warrior. They were searching for the lab that Dr. Gero had flown off to. Unfortunately, these warriors did not emit chi and made it utterly impossible to locate.
"This is no time to be arguing," Trunks' voice called out. The other fighters saw the warriors from the future coming down from the sky.
"Vegeta, right now, we need to stop Dr. Gero before…" Goten was cut off when he saw three androids flying towards the Son house unhindered. "Shit! We need to go after them now!"
"None of you get in my way!" Vegeta warned before flying towards the androids.
"You can't do it alone!" Trunks yelled and flew after his father. No sooner did the son of the Saiya-jin prince catch up, he noticed Android 17 get in the way.
"So sorry, but anyone who gets in the way with our objective will be stopped," the dark-haired android replied coolly spoke before lunging at Trunks. The other warriors were too pre-occupied to worry much about the third android who was closing in on where Goku lived at that very moment.
Chi-chi was awakened by a whine and noticed Goku was in utter pain again. He was clutching his chest again; another attack raking pain in his heart. She grew worried before the warrior's eyes opened. She noticed Kakarrot had taken control and his eyes were fixed on her and her alone.
"Hurry up! It's a bit harder to bear if you're not taking care of me!" Kakarrot all but snapped at his mate.
"S-sorry…" Chi-chi muttered before giving the warrior the medicine he needed.
"Do-don't worry about it. I'm just frustrated that I'm not able to fight you know…" Kakarrot trailed off.
"I don't think that fight was the one Trunks and Goten were talking about. Dr. Gero, I mean Android 20 said something about two others…" Chi-chi trailed off; not knowing what else to say.
A dark humored laugh escaped Kakarrot's throat between the painful ache that ravaged his body. It hurt, but he didn't seem to give a damn at the moment and continued despite the pain at how their luck could get worse. "Is that so? You mean we've been fighting the wrong guys from the start and he has yet to release his other creations? We're pretty much screwed if they're stronger than us."
"We'll never know unless we face them together." Chi-chi smiled softly. The expression on Kakarrot's face darkened.
"I feel our friends fighting and they're losing…" Kakarrot clutched the sheets in irritation. If he wasn't sick, he would be out there giving them hell right now and keeping his vow to protect those who's lives were endangered.
"Huh?" Chi-chi heard a thump outside and instantly, she pulled away from her husband after giving him a dose of medicine. She pocketed the vial and started towards the door. "Stay here."
"Not like I can go anywhere with this damn heart virus attacking my body." Kakarrot watched the female leave; wary at the idea of leaving her alone for too long. His instincts and Goku's worries annoyed the hell out of him. The knew that this wouldn't be an easy thing leaving the female to her own devises.
Running towards the front of the house, Chi-chi noticed that Trunks and Goten were fighting two unusual figures that could have passed as twins not far away. It was intimidating that the fight had moved so close it was practically on top of them. The third was directly in front of her face and she felt him push her out of the way.
"I apologize, but I must kill Son Goku," the orange-haired male muttered. Chi-chi instantly growled and lunged at the android; knowing he was going to harm her ill husband.
"Don't! Why do you want to kill him so badly?" Chi-chi asked.
"He is our main objective and he must die," the android muttered before grabbing Chi-chi by her long hair and throwing her through the wall leading outside. She skidded against the ground and collided into a tree before stopping. Knowing her husband's life was in danger, she teleported straight towards his bedside to stop the android hell bent on taking her husband's life.
"Stop!" Chi-chi growled. "You would kill him being sick as he is?"
"Sick or not, he must die," the android began towards the ill Goku. Chi-chi, growling, lunged and threw the android out of the bedroom into the hallway's wall. The wall nearly caved in on itself from the impact and she could have pushed him further had there not been for the beams she temporarily wedged the giant male into.
"You won't kill him as long as I live," Chi-chi warned. She felt Trunks and Goten's chi's fading and it wouldn't be long before the other two androids joined him. She had to hurry up and defeat him so she could get Goku to safety.
"If you wish to die, then so be it," the android punched Chi-chi across the face and she fell backwards into the side of the door. She winced from the pain; however, she found her footing and fired a blast at the android. He easily batted it aside and caused a hole in the wall. No matter how hard Chi-chi tried to defeat this android, he showed no signs of wear and tear. Eventually, he seemed to grow tired of her struggles and grabbed the female by the throat.
"Gah!" Chi-chi winced.
"Your efforts to stop me are in…" the android was cut off when he was hit from behind by a powerful punch. It released Chi-chi who fell to the ground coughing up blood. Her vision was blurred; however, she recognized the golden glow and the tail lashing behind him in sheer anger and irritation. The look in his eyes made it hard to determine whether Goku or Kakarrot was in control since she it was harder to distinguish the two personalities that way.
"G-Goku…" Chi-chi coughed weakly.
"Stand down Chi-chi," Kakarrot warned the female; knowing things were about to get rough in the house. It answered the previous and unspoken question of who was in control. "I assume you're not one of the androids that was supposed to kill me."
"Correct. I am 16 and my orders are as you said." The android replied.
"You do realize that I'm sick right?" Kakarrot questioned.
"It doesn't matter if you're sick or not. Our objective is to kill you."
"If you killed me, what would you do next?"
"…" 16 said nothing.
"Thought so. If that's your only function, you're pretty much limited to orders aren't you?"
"My orders are to kill you."
"Yes, yes, but it seems you won't have any orders to follow after you do it."
'What are you doing?' Chi-chi asked her husband telepathically.
'Reverse psychology. I want to persuade him not to kill me… for now…' Kakarrot replied. It would be tricky to pull off, but he knew somehow, he could buy himself time. He needed the time to recover from these androids that were trying to take his life when he's at his weakest point.
"It doesn't matter. My primary mission is to kill you and that's what I plan to do."
"Is that right? After that, you'll probably just shut down right? No longer work. Cease to function…"
"Correct."
"Why?" Kakarrot startled the android who looked at the Saiya-jin rather warily and in an untrusting way. "If Dr. Gero was wanting you to destroy the one person he wanted and then shut down, why would he even bother creating you when he could find a way to do it himself?"
"That I was never given data about."
"Do you have something you rather do?"
"Protect this planet." Kakarrot walked over towards the android before putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Why don't you do that instead of killing me? I'm not doing anything to hurt this planet am I?" Kakarrot challenged.
"No…" 16 muttered softly. He began to absorb these words almost though he was being given a new objective that would go beyond his current mission.
"There you go. Let that be your mission from now on." Kakarrot softly smiled; winning the battle without having to throw another punch.
"As you wish." 16 walked past the Saiya-jin warrior and the startled Chi-chi who just heard this conversation like the fight had never taken place. Seconds later, Kakarrot fell to the ground, spent from using will power alone to persuade the android to spare his life. The golden aura faded away; leaving him completely worn out.
"Kakarrot!" Chi-chi knelt down to her husband's side and felt his pulse. It was weak, but it was still there. 'We can't stay. I have to get him out of here…'
Seconds later, the hallways littered with debris was empty.
"16! Why haven't you killed Goku like you were told?" 17 questioned. Goten looked up weakly despite the fact that his face was in the ground.
"If I killed him, I will cease to function. I was given a new objective." 16 replied.
"What's more important than not killing him?" 18 asked.
"To protect the life on this planet."
"That's a stupid reason! We should be out hunting Goku like we were programmed to do in the first place." 18 growled. "Let's go 17. I want to get some new clothes after these two wrecked these."
"If that's what you wish," 17 replied.
'Dad's alive?' Goten thought to himself in shock. The androids left without doing anything to the defeated warriors; sparing their lives for the moment anyway. 'How did he survive? Out of all of those androids, I'm surprised 16 let him go…'
The air was thinner when Chi-chi appeared with the worn out Goku on his shoulder at Kami's Lookout. Mr. Popo and Kami came to their side immediately.
"Take him to one of the bedrooms inside Mr. Popo," Kami ordered the genie. Chi-chi helped Mr. Popo walk Goku to the bedroom as the Saiya-jin wheezed weakly. They put him in bed and he looked worse than he did before he became involved with stopping the android.
"Mr. Popo's surprised you and Goku are alright."
"I'm glad I'm alright too, but I'm worried Goku's going to die." Chi-chi felt the tears stinging her eyes.
"It's too early to assume he'll die." Kami replied behind them. "His constitution's very strong and I'm sure with his split personality, he won't give up so easily. I would advise though that you try your healing skill."
"A Senzu Bean had no effect on him. What can my healing do to help?" Chi-chi asked the guardian of the world.
"More than you could ever imagine." Kami winked before walking out of the room. "Mr. Popo, see to it she gets food."
"Of course." Seconds later, the genie vanished into the hallway.
Chi-chi looked down at her hands before looking at her husband. Touching her husband's left breast near his heart, she closed her eyes and focused on her chi. It glowed softly around her and she knelt down to his lips and captured them with her own.
'Goku, I'd do anything to save your life so you can protect our children…' Chi-chi felt the tears sliding down her cheek and fall. It ran down his heated cheeks. 'I'd even die…'
'Don't you even think that.' Kakarrot's voice interrupted Chi-chi's thoughts. She jerked away in shock and alarm.
'K-Kakarrot?' Chi-chi looked at him almost expecting her husband to be awake.
'You can't die. This is all my fault that you're brought into this shit…'
'Even so, I'm not willing to let you go back on your promise…'
'Some promises are harder to keep than others. You should realize that by now. If I was willing to stay forever, I would have wished myself immortal…'
'I… I can't ask you to do that…' Chi-chi realized how much this promise was putting a strain on her relationship with her husband and on Kakarrot. She had been selfish when she asked him to do the impossible. 'If… if you don't want to follow through with it, then you don't have to. I won't get angry…'
'Promise?' Chi-chi had to laugh slightly from the way he used the very word against her.
'I promise Kakarrot…' Chi-chi smiled softly before brushing his hair away from his face.
'I'll recover soon, just stay strong…' Kakarrot's voice faded and Chi-chi nodded softly.
"Thank you Kakarrot," Chi-chi weakly smiled before hearing the door open.
"I prepared a meal for you Chi-chi." Mr. Popo carried the tray of food towards the female warrior.
"Thanks." Chi-chi accepted the meal before sitting down at the nearby table. Her husband will recover. She knew he would. As long as she had hope in her heart, he would be able to overcome anything.
"Hey! You two alright?" A voice called from above Trunks. The warrior sat up slowly to see Krillin and the others appear.
"I'm fine," Trunks called out. "Can you spare a Senzu though? I'm kind of beat up."
Gohan walked over to where Goten was laying and he was surprised when the dark-haired male chuckled.
"Mother and father are safe Gohan," Goten reassured the boy who looked at Goten confused.
"Mother and… Goten?" Gohan guessed; surprise written clearly on his face.
"Indeed big brother," Goten chuckled before Gohan fed his younger brother from the future the Senzu Bean.
"Wow! I was wondering why you looked like dad!" Gohan grinned at the idea that this was his baby brother.
"If you two are done talking, we could go after those damn androids again!" Vegeta growled at the Son children.
"We have no chance in defeating them in our condition father," Trunks countered. "We should re-group until Goku recovers."
"I'm not waiting for the clown to recover from his illness. If he dies from it, then we're all fucked anyway." Vegeta transformed into a Super Saiya-jin again. Trunks felt his own father knee him in the gut and fly off after the androids in order to save his failing pride.
"Trunks!" Goten called out and ran to his friend. He looked the fallen warrior over before growling to the heavens. "Damn it Vegeta! This is supposed to be a team effort!" Goten transformed into a Super Saiya-jin and flew off after the Saiya-jin prince; irritated as hell that he would give his own son a cheap shot like that.
"Oh man! That explains everything!" Krillin muttered in absolute shock. "You and Goten are the sons of Goku and Vegeta!"
"Damn straight," Trunks looked up at Krillin wearily. "I should go after them before they get too far ahead."
"Hey Trunks, good luck," Krillin smiled. Trunks flashed a thumbs up before transforming and flying after the retreating Super Saiya-jins.
Chi-chi had finished eating and was walking the tray with food towards the kitchen when she felt Piccolo land. She set the tray down on a nearby table and ran outside. Almost instantly, the Namekian growled.
"You stupid woman! Why the hell did you put your life in danger when Son's sick?" Piccolo yelled at Chi-chi. "Last thing we need is to deal with Kakarrot if you perished!"
"Goten and Trunks weren't faring any better and it was either my husband or me that would have perished had I not gotten in the way," Chi-chi rebutted.
"Still, your performance is lacking compared to the other fighters. You should just go home." Piccolo snorted.
"I refuse. Until I'm sure Goku's okay and the androids are done chasing after my husband, I will not leave the battlefield or his side."
"You're playing a dangerous game assuming that you can change their hearts…"
"If you two are done bickering, I need you to quiet down. There's a threat far worse than the androids currently on Earth and until I know anything more about this, I refuse to fuse with you Piccolo." Kami warned.
"You're wasting your time with your nonsense," Piccolo growled. "The sooner we become one, the sooner we can do anything!"
"Even at the risk of the dragon balls vanishing from Earth?" Chi-chi quipped.
"It's a risk we'll have to take. We cannot allow more innocent lives to be taken due to this threat." Piccolo countered.
"Just give me a bit longer," Kami attempted to reassure the younger male. "Let's allow this to play out a bit longer."
"Fine," Piccolo retreated for the moment. Chi-chi, feeling Goku's chi waver, teleported back into the lookout. For the moment, she needed to be near her husband until he recovered from the virus that threatened to take his life.
To Be Continued…