A/N: I like to thank everyone for 10k hits on this story and a hundred reviews. I hope for more hits and reviews in the future and will try to keep with a weekly update if possible.

Risk

Chapter 23

Entering the room that her husband was in, Chi-chi reached into the pocket where she put the vial. She winced and feel the broken glass cut her hand and a wetness within the pocket that she had kept the life-saving medicine. She realized in utter fear that the vial had shattered during her fight with 16 out of pure carelessness.

"Shit…" Chi-chi muttered the curse word.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Goku's voice weakly carried over to the female warrior.

"Your medicine's bottle broke," Chi-chi replied in utter sadness. "It's gone… all of it…"

"Damn… that means…" Goku coughed before feeling the pain surge in his chest again. He cried out in pain. Before he knew it, Chi-chi's non-bleeding hand was resting over his heart again as she focused her chi into him. "Chi-chi… you shouldn't… do it…"

"I don't care about anything but your survival Goku!" Chi-chi felt the tears stinging her eyes. "I wish I can take your pain, but…" Chi-chi felt a hand wrap around her wrist.

"You shouldn't wish that." Kakarrot growled; his eyes barely open."Even if the medicine's gone, I will fight this damn thing to the bitter end whether it kills me or not."

"You… you shouldn't say that…" Chi-chi whimpered softly. 'I almost wish I had the power to take this pain away…'

A low purr escaped Kakarrot's throat. For the moment, all he could do is attempt to ease away the emotional pain his wife was in when he was fighting his own with his very life.

'I won't die to this.' Both Goku and Kakarrot vowed this mentally; a sense of agreement between the two that attempted many a time to co-exist with one another.

"Wait until I get my hands on Chi-chi for ditching me with her baby!" Bulma growled while changing the infant's diaper. Goten cried loudly and had waken Trunks who too began to cry. "I swear, next time I feel like it, I should ditch Trunks on her with no warning!"

"Quit griping will ya?" Yajirobe muttered. "At least you're not the one dealing with those monsters that want to kill us!"

"I suppose you're right, but I'm fed up being the rear wheel here!" Bulma practically shrieked. "Just keep driving that old thing you call a vehicle! I want to catch up to them!"

Yajirobe resisted the urge to get out of the spare car that he had in his capsule box and let Bulma drive it with the two wailing infant half-Saiya-jins. At the moment, there was nothing but desert around them and it would prove futile if he ditched them there.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Trunks' voice seemed to call down to Goten who was currently looking up at the sky.

"I thought that with our appearance, things would have gone the same," Goten called from his laying position on the ground.

"No kidding," Trunks joined his future comrade and looked to the sky. "Do you think us being here in the past is going to make a difference?"

"It should," Goten growled. "I just wish father hadn't of fallen ill when we need him the most right now."

"At least your mother's keeping him safe. I wish my father would have done the same when Dr. Gero attempted to blast us and my mother out of the sky. Had it not been for you learning Instant Transmission…"

"Something Gohan taught me and told me to use when needed. I thought that was a decent time to put it in use."

"Agreed. I pray no one besides you and your parents can use it or we would all be in trouble." Goten laughed along with Trunks at the ill-fated idea before the two became quiet. Both of them looked to the heavens for a sign that would tell them anything about the idea of ascending the Legendary Super Saiya-jin's power that they possessed.

"Eww…" 18 muttered while looking herself over in the horrible clothing she had to wear.

"It's an improvement to the torn clothes you were wearing, so hush." 17 countered.

"Let's go to another place. I'm fed up with this store," 18 growled before throwing a blast into the clothes; causing the wall behind it to cave in. 16 said nothing and was looking at the squirrels that retreated due to the explosion.

"You scared the animals away," 16 spoke in monotone.

"Who gives a damn about the creatures, we should be hunting for Son Goku after we find 18 some better clothes." 17 smirked in anticipation.

"…" 16 said nothing more; feeling as though the twins held no virtues towards his new mission to protect life.

On the outside of Kami's Lookout, Gohan, Krillin, Yamcha and Tien appeared in order to take a small rest from their hunt for the androids. Gohan instantly noticed Piccolo sitting alone and ran up to him.

"Hey Piccolo! I'm glad you're okay!" Gohan grinned happily.

"Not now Gohan," Piccolo growled. Gohan frowned at this moody side of his friend.

"What's wrong?" the young child asked.

"Your father's getting sicker because the medicine he had was crushed accidentally in battle."

"Oh no!" Gohan had a bad feeling his father was going to die. Even now, he felt his powerful chi waver slightly. "Daddy… no…"

"Gohan, you shouldn't give…" Krillin was cut off when Gohan cried out suddenly.

"DADDY!" Gohan's chi rose sharply, his hair flickering gold. Tien, Yamcha, Krillin and even Piccolo were staring in shock as Gohan transformed into a Super Saiya-jin before their eyes. A low hiss escaped Gohan's throat and he lunged at Piccolo. Before Gohan could attack his friend and mentor, Chi-chi appeared out of nowhere and tackled the transformed boy.

"Gohan, calm down!" Chi-chi pleaded. Gohan struggled in her arms and refused to listen to reason.

'Calm down now Gohan,' Goku and Kakarrot's voices echoed in the boy's mind in union in a commanding tone. The newly transformed Super Saiya-jin went slack in Chi-chi's arms and despite the minor scratches and burns that she had sustained, she was fine for the moment. Gohan's power died down and he lost consciousness.

"…" Chi-chi gently picked up Gohan despite the pain that raked her body. She walked back into the lookout carrying the unconscious boy in her arms.

"How can she take that punishment and keep going?" Yamcha gawked at the strength the female warrior possessed.

"She may appear strong on the outside, but inside, she's crying," Tien remarked.

"All of this madness and waiting is driving me nuts Kami! Are you going to tell me what's going on or not?" Piccolo seethed in anger and irritation for the guardian of Earth not to share his secret with the warrior.

"I was ready to tell you before Gohan's transformation into a Super Saiya-jin, but the boy was almost ready to harm you to the point where you could have died without my shared power." Kami admitted.

"Well, we better get this over with if you're finally willing," Piccolo snorted before walking towards the guardian of Earth. Within a short time, the dragon balls would soon fail to exist and the world would be forced to rely on a warrior to take down the threat that Kami refused to talk about around the others.

'Man, I hope this helps our situation before it gets worse,' Krillin thought before a bright light enveloped both Piccolo and Kami.

Chi-chi laid Gohan down in bed and winced when she noticed how bad she had been burned for holding her son. She knew that even she could not heal her own wounds and had to wait patiently for them to heal themselves or take a Senzu to reverse the damage done. She had only turned when she saw her husband standing in the doorway; barely managing to be on his feet when he should be in bed resting.

"Kakarrot?" Chi-chi was a bit startled when she saw the Saiya-jin standing there, his concerned gaze looking at her.

"I swear if he wasn't my son, I would have kicked his ass," Kakarrot growled.

"Easy, you're not better yet…" Chi-chi attempted to help him back to bed. She winced a bit from the effort.

"You should get healed. I'll live a while longer if you stop putting yourself in danger."

"Had I not, you wouldn't be standing here right now would you?"

"Touché." Kakarrot allowed the female to escort him back to bed. "As a pre-caution…" Chi-chi felt his tail wrap around her waist and she was instantly dragged into the soft mattress against his chest.

"Kakarrot, are you concerned about me getting ill?"

"You won't." Kakarrot rested his head against her shoulder before releasing a comforting purr. Chi-chi's body was worn out from fighting both an android and her son and unwillingly, she fell asleep. At that moment, she was completely unaware of the new threat that could easily wipe out all she's ever known.

Piccolo felt the combined power surge throughout his body. He had felt power like this once before, but the power he had felt now nearly dwarfed his last power up years ago. It was though he was given the power of a Super Saiya-jin through the merger and could easily handle Vegeta if he decided to go evil and try to take out the planet to destroy any threat.

"P-Piccolo? Kami? Are you alright?" Krillin uttered softly. The power was intoxicating to his senses and even more so than the powers he had felt in the last hour. If he were still hell bent on world domination, it would take their combined effort to take him down.

"I'm fine. You may call me Piccolo if you wish," Piccolo spoke in a calm and morbid sounding voice. "You three should follow me. There's a threat that's far worse than the androids taking root."

"What kind of threat?" Yamcha questioned. It was then he wished he hadn't of said anything before Piccolo.

"A threat that might take the power of an advanced Super Saiya-jin to take down." Piccolo noted before flying off the lookout.

"A-advanced Super Saiya-jin?" Tien shuttered at the thought. If Vegeta were to obtain that power, no one, not even Goku in his best shape would be able to take down this threat and nearly destroy Earth in the process.

Without another word, the three Earthen warriors left the lookout quietly towards the pending threat on Earth to find out what Piccolo had seen.

"Goku! Where are you?" Chi-chi looked around the ruined landscape and ravaged buildings; ashes clinging to her clothing and hair that snowed from the heavens above. There were no signs of life around her and it sent a horrifying chill down her spine.

"Well, well, well," a feminine voice echoed from behind Chi-chi. The female warrior's eyes widened and she turned to see the horrifying 18 sitting there on a wall. At her feet below her were the lifeless bodies of a teenage Goten and her own Gohan. It was nerve-wrecking that her children were killed mercilessly that she felt the anger well up in her body.

"You… you monster!" Chi-chi mustered up a voice to yell at the heartless android for taking the lives of not one, but two of her sons. She wanted vengeance against the monster that threatened to take everyone she loved away from her.

"I wasn't the one who killed them," 18 smirked in a teasing way before laughing coldly at the pained expression on the female warrior's face. "It was him."

The female android pointed to her left and Chi-chi followed the android's finger towards a creature looming in the darkness and fog that was circling them. She noticed the blood-soaked hand and a horrifying smile of her own husband glaring coldly at her. If looks could kill, Chi-chi would have been already dead by the horrific sight that stood before her.

"No…" Chi-chi stumbled backwards with a sickness and fear that her husband was going against those very words he promised. He began to advance towards her; a blast developing in his hands. The same hands that had saved her life were now threatening to take it all away within an instant.

"Yes, he killed them and now, he'll take your life…" 18 smiled in such a way that it was cold humored. The very earth that was torn from the battle ensnared Chi-chi's foot and caused her to trip. She was now at the mercy of the Earth-raised Saiya-jin who looked at her mercilessly and with hatred in his eyes.

The same look his eyes held when he first transformed into a Super Saiya-jin back on Namek…

"Goku, Kakarrot… please, don't do this… I… I beg you!" Chi-chi pleaded before she saw his hands release a blast. She closed her eyes; fearing the end had come for her and Earth at that very moment as she sat there helpless to stop the end from happening.

"STOP!"

Chi-chi awakened instantly from the nightmare she had and realized that Goku was holding her safely in his arms; visibly shaken. He was breathing slightly hard; however, it wasn't as bad as he had been breathing. If anything, his condition was starting to improve and he would be better if he were given more time to recover.

At that moment though, the female was horrified and fearful that underneath the mask was a murderer. All of the promises that Kakarrot had made were out of mind.

"Calm down Chi-chi," Goku's voice reached her ears; however Chi-chi struggled to get out of his grasp. It seemed that whatever has spooked her was still having some sense of distortion on her mind at the moment. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold her much longer with his strength still halved from fighting the heart virus that had nearly taken his life.

"No! You killed them! You killed my babies!" Chi-chi whimpered. If she did not escape now, then who knows if her children would be safe around him?

"Chi-chi…" Goku pleaded to no avail and sighed, knowing his voice alone wasn't enough to break through the veil of nightmares that his wife had been plagued with. Not wasting a moment, he gave his darker persona control; assuming that he would be the only one able to calm her down at that moment.

"Chi-chi, snap out of it right this instant!" Kakarrot snapped in a commanding tone of voice. Those very words managed to bring the female warrior to quiet down with her husband's arms. "Better. Now what the hell caused you to wake me up?"

"I… I had a dream… you took the lives of our son from the future and Gohan…" Chi-chi muttered.

"You know damn well I would never do a thing like that." Kakarrot growled in a hurtful tone of voice. It was though he was being labeled a murderer when he did nothing to hurt anyone or anything that was innocent. "Have I not proven this fact to you many a time already that you have nothing to fear?"

"You have, but…" Chi-chi felt Kakarrot rest his forehead against hers and close his eyes. She felt a mental brush against her mind and felt his tail wrap slowly around her waist in a comforting gesture.

"You felt another chi that's like mine, but it isn't mine. It's a creature that we never faced before."

"Creature? What is this creature called?"

"Cell."

To Be Continued…