a/n – A big thanks to all those who reviewed- I sincerely enjoy reading what everyone has to say! :D Apologies about the wait; I'm currently busy with school and such, so finding the time to write is a bit tricky. Please, feel free to favorite or leave reviews, I really do appreciate them! Otherwise, please enjoy.
One Hell of a Trip
"Excuse me, ma'am?" A soft, weathered hand gently rested on her shoulder as she leaned into the hard brick wall. Chest heaving in the effort to catch her breath, she'd failed to notice the old man walk up to her.
In a shaky voice, she forced a weak smile and brushed her sweat-soaked bangs from her face. "I'm fine, just ah…just a bit winded, that's all."
Flashing a polite smile, the man leaned in, undeterred and unconvinced by her abrupt answer, and quietly inquired, "Are you sure, ma'am?" Brushing aside her forming answer, he gently grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her in a slow walk forward, a peaceful smile about his face as he teasingly scolded, "A drink of water won't hurt, now will it?"
She opened her mouth to dissuade the old man, but her pleas were washed away by a careful flick of his wrist. With a stern but friendly look in his eyes, he insisted, "What kind of man would I be if I didn't help a lady in distress? There's a diner up ahead, you can sit and rest up there."
"I-I suppose," Chi-Chi finally said after a moment of thought, "but I really am in a hurry, uh, sir. I have someone to meet." The lies easily slipped off her tongue like water; but in her situation, she had little guilt about lying when a monster stalked her every move.
Thus far, she'd made it to the city with little trouble. Along the road, she'd met a kind young college student on his way to his classes that had offered to drive her downtown. With numb, shaking legs and clothes soaked in sweat, she'd happily agreed. Fearing for her life, she arrived in the city with no plan of what to do. Desperate, she scrambled to come up with some semblance of a plan; a plan that included hiding at Capsule Corp. until Goku returned or until she felt safe enough to go home. Both plans were unlikely, but she blamed her rushed planning on the desperation of her situation.
"Oh, you can spare a minute, can't you?" The old man asked with a light note in his voice, but the slight tightening of his mouth suggested he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
It was then, with the gentle but insistent hold on her elbow guiding toward the nearby diner, that Chi-Chi truly felt the weight of her fatigue. Every muscle in her body seemed to strain against her, rebelling by sending hot throbs of pain shooting through her legs. Her shoulders slumped suddenly, as if she were a puppet whose strings were cut, and silently allowed the man to guide her.
Slumped tiredly against the cool leather booth, Chi-Chi hardly noticed or even cared the sharp stench of disinfectant in the air. Still accompanied by her elderly hero, she quietly sipped at her water and nibbled a bit at the meal he'd provided despite her protests. But, feeling rather sorry for the old lonely man, she'd complied and tried to put her mind at ease with little success.
"Are you enjoying yourself, my dear?" The old man inquired with a gentle smile, peering close as she dapped at the corners of her mouth with her napkin.
"Yes, I suppose so, but I really must be going-" She began to protest, daring a worried glance at the door, as if her stalker would charge in then and there.
"Oh, well, if you must…" The old man said, an obvious note of hurt in his voice as he turned to stare at his little wrinkled hands.
Torn, she took another sip of her water and glanced over at the door. "Thank you for the meal, I truly do appreciate it, but I uh, I have to meet my husband….he'll be quite upset if I miss our date." She spoke quickly, rambling over the lies with a slight tremor audible in her voice.
Brightening, only slightly, the old man patted her hand and smiled knowingly as he said, "I understand…young love and all."
Relieved, she said, "Yes, and again…thank you for your kindness. Goodbye now." Sliding from the booth, she rose quietly and lingered a while, a soft smile flashing to the elderly man.
A cool blast of air washed over her as the door to the diner was savagely ripped open behind her. Turning, she was met with the sight of a gun barrel and the grisly thug holding the gun up to her face. Distantly she heard screams as shots fired, more thugs entering the diner with guns blazing.
"Get down on the ground, all of you!" The thug growled, pressing the cool barrel into her cheek with a malicious grin. Behind him, the other thugs savagely shoved the other diner patrons to the ground with little mercy.
Frozen in her place, she quelled the shaking of her hands as she spat to the sweat-drenched ruffian, "Get your hands off me! Who do you think you are?"
The gun cocked loudly next to her head; the sound rang in her ears as she gulped, a fine collection of perspiration collecting on her forehead. Spitting with unabashed malice, the thug growled, "I said get on the ground."
Impatient, he slammed the side of his gun into her cheek and threw her to ground. Pain shot through her head as she collapsed against the tile; blood began to pool in her mouth as she raised her eyes wearily to the man towering above her. Holding his gun loosely in his hand, he gestured to the two thugs standing unmoving behind him.
They moved forward, machine guns strapped to their chests with ammo bulging off their belts as they stepped over the fearful diner patrons to reach the cash register. Swinging their guns to aim at the pretty waitress behind the counter, one thug snarled, "Give us the money, now! We don't got all day!"
Holding a hand to her sore cheek, she crawled up on her knees and cast a desperate glance at the door. Only a second ago her main worry was escaping from the psychotic Goku-lookalike that trapped her in her own home. Now she had to worry about not getting a bullet in her brain. Shutting her eyes as a wave of frustrated tears threatened to spill, she clenched her fists and whispered violently, "Goku, where are you?!"
"So…" Bardock murmured absently, glancing over the bustling city with a furrowed brow, "where did you run off too, huh?" Pressing the button on his malfunctioning scouter for a quick reading, he paused mid-flight and set his hand on his waist with a loud exhale. A soft beep chimed from the scouter, indicating the location of his target not far from his current location.
"There you are." He said, his eyes narrowing as he flew over the cityscape in a quick blast of energy. With a cold breeze washing over him as he descended over the destination of his target, he was met with the sight of flashing lights of the police below. Landing midst the shouts of panicked cops, the muscle-bound Saiyan crossed his arms over his chest, gazing at the shot-up diner with little humor in his eyes.
"E-excuse me , sir-" A young cop spoke up, his eyes wide in shock at the monstrous size of the strangely-clad Saiyan, "y-you can't be here, it's a restricted area!"
"Fools," Bardock snarled beneath his breath, his frustration mounting as a gun fight ensued between the local authority and the well-armed thugs that had taken control of the diner. Quickly reassuring that this indeed was the area in which Chi-Chi had escaped too. Swallowing back a snarl of frustration, he glared over at the cop, who had now gotten braver and took hold of Bardock's arm, as if to lead him away from the fray.
"Sir, you really can't be here!" The cop said more firmly, flinching each time a stray bullet neared the two. Clenching his fists, Bardock glanced up as he sensed a well-aimed bullet heading straight for him. Forcefully shoving the cop away, he swung his hand up to catch the bullet between his fingers as if it were child's play. With a grim look of unabashed violence, he flicked it away, sending it careening toward the shooter with the precision.
The cop, having been slammed into the car with the strength of a super human, stood up weakly from the twisted hull that was his car. He stared in wide-eyed fear at Bardock as he screeched, "What are you?!"
One of the bandits stood up, opening the door to the diner as he called out, "Quit firing your guns, or we'll shoot her! We'll shoot her right in the head! Quit shooting now!"
Held roughly by the throat with a gun forced against her temple, Bardock spotted the woman, Chi-Chi, frozen in the door of the diner with the bandit behind her. A cop to his right, still caught up with adrenaline, fired a stray shot at the bandit that just barely swiped past Chi-Chi's head. She flinched, biting her lip as she refrained from speaking.
Bardock, torn, watched the proceedings with a vein pulsating madly on his forehead. His skull pounded with the beginnings of a headache as panicked thoughts scrambled through his mind. If she was killed, finding the Saiyans would become twice as difficult. His mission would be delayed, and he couldn't afford to waste time. He'd wasted enough time getting to this planet as it was, he couldn't afford to scour the entire city searching for the other Saiyans.
"Put your guns down!" The thug screamed, his finger trembling on the trigger of the gun pressed against Chi-Chi's head. "You know what we want; give us the money and let us go, the girl lives! Make one wrong move and she's dead!"
He clenched his jaw; roused from his thoughts, he cast a scathing eye at the loud-mouthed thugs. Despite his irritation, he couldn't let her die. Bardock sucked in a breath, swallowed his disgust, and strode forward as he uncrossed his arms.
A policeman, huddled down against the bullet-scarred hull of his car, stood up as Bardock passed and shouted, "Hey, moron, get out of here! This is a dangerous area!" Undeterred, the Saiyan ignored the cries of the men behind him, keeping his attention solely focused on the thug standing in the doorway of the diner.
The thug, in response to Bardock's approach, stepped back and held Chi-Chi tighter as he snarled, "Stay back, or she dies!"
Moving forward as if the thug hadn't spoken, Bardock sneered, "You coward; hiding behind a hostage instead of fighting like a man."
"S-stay back, I said!" The thug fired off a shot at Bardock, his hands shaking mildly.
Bardock didn't even flinch; as the bullet screamed toward him, he deflected it with the side of his hand, sending it smashing into the cop car behind him. A billow of smoke belched from the hood of the car, followed by the appearance of flames. In a thunderous boom, the car exploded behind him.
Debris fell around the Saiyan, who barely flinched as the car exploded.
In contrast, the thug trembled in the open door, his eyes wide in terror as the monstrous man approached him.
"G-get back!" The thug screamed, pressing the barrel of the gun back against his hostage's head, ignoring her small whimper of protest. Moving ever closer toward him, the panicking bandit shut his eyes as he screeched, "I-I warned you!"
He gently squeezed the trigger; in his arms, Chi-Chi shut her own eyes, tears welling up behind her eyelids as she prepared for the worst.
A sharp pain exploded from the base of his neck; eyes rolling into his skull, the thug collapsed to the ground.
Bardock, suddenly standing in the open doorway, caught the shell-shocked Chi-Chi in his arms as she fell.
"Y-you…" She began, her eyes as wide as saucers as she limply rested in his arms.
Bardock merely cast a passing glare in her direction, his jaw clenched. Beneath his breath, he muttered, "Pathetic humans."
Distracted, Bardock was late in noticing the alarmed beeping of his scouter as three massive powers descended right on top of him. But as the sharp squeals of his scouter broke him from his thoughts, he had little time to prepare.
"Let go of my wife!" The shout echoed loudly over the street; instantly, the chaos quieted in a still awe as they beheld the three warriors, clad in martial arts gi's and glaring in unabashed fury at Bardock.
"G-goku…" Chi-Chi tearfully cried out from Bardock's arms, a large grin breaking out over her face.
Bardock, becoming aware of the woman in his arms, grunted with an amused smile.
"Well, well, well…" He said, throwing back his head as he surveyed the man, teenager and child. "Goku, huh? Interesting name they chose."
Goku stood, his fists clenched as he spat angrily, "What are you talking about? Put my wife down, now!"
Bardock raised a brow, chuckling to himself as he commented mildly, "You really don't know, huh? I suppose it's not surprising, but still."
Glancing down at Chi-Chi, who now struggled in Bardock's arms, he continued on, "Either way, it's nice to see you. I've been hunting you down for a while now; I almost lost hope of ever finding another Saiyan." As he finished, he roughly set down Chi-Chi.
Lunging from his arms, she ran forward, tears streaming down her face as she launched herself into Goku's arms, sobbing all the while. "Oh, Goku….I'm so glad you're home….h-he showed up at the house one day, demanding to see you…" She cried quietly, resting her head against her husband's shoulder.
Holding her gently, Goku kissed the top of her head as he said with a barely contained anger, "Is that so?"
Crossing his arms over his chest, Bardock surveyed the happy reunion with obvious contempt on his face.
Across the way, Goku glared at Bardock as he snarled, "Leave now while you still can, you scum."
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Bardock commented, idly tapping his fingers against his bicep as he continued, "You see, I need your help with something, as much as it pains me to say."
"I don't want to help you," Goku said through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowed angrily. "I said, leave now."
"And I said, not possible." Bardock glanced over at the two boys to Goku's side, tilting his head as he thought to himself.
Slowly swinging his gaze back over to Goku's, he said more seriously, "I've wasted too much time hunting you down as it is; I came here with a mission that I intend to keep, and I'll be needing the help of you and the remaining Saiyans on this planet."
Stepping forward towards Goku, Bardock continued, "Not that I care much for this planet, but it's currently in an immense danger. The universe, as well."
"Wha…what do you mean?" Gohan spoke up beside Goku, his eyes narrowed in obvious distrust.
Bardock glanced over at Gohan as he spoke, crossing his arms again, "Long story short, an ancient king of a far-off planet has landed here, seeking vengeance and all those sorts of things. He's trying gain power, reclaim the throne that was torn away from him."
"How do you know?" Goku asked incredulously, his curiosity drowning out his anger.
Bardock glanced over at Goku, the corners of his mouth turning up as he replied, "That's part of the long story; I don't have time to explain right now. I can explain everything after we've tracked him down."
Goku narrowed his eyes, shaking his head as he said, "Why should I believe you?"
"What could I possibly gain from kidnapping your wife only to give her back to you?" Bardock snapped back, clenching his jaw. Exhaling quietly, he said more calmly, "Besides, would I lie to my own son?"
To Be Continued