Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty – The Season of Dragon Ramen

Written by: Feraligreater328

Overseen by: StevenBodner and SparkerLightning

Chapter 6: Dragon Rock

In the wilderness…

Chi-Chi groaned as she continued her trek forward with all of her travel companions in tow. What was meant to be a quiet journey of solemn reflection, peace and quiet, and genuine assessment of her life had turned into another gathering of her husband's friends.

She snuck a furtive glance over her shoulder and couldn't help but smile at the sight of her daughter. Chika was bouncing up and down, going from Tien to Chiaotzu to Piccolo and saying just whatever seemed to be on her mind. And all three of them were humoring her, responding to her questions and offering whatever insight they could whenever they could. Tien had at least a dozen flowers threaded through the fabric of his shirt and Chika was eagerly offering him another one.

For a moment, Chi-Chi forgot her woes. Then she remembered that thug in the Crane Uniform chasing her through her own home and tensed up.

Why was this suddenly a problem?

She had hung around with Tien and Chiaotzu before. They were at her wedding. Why was she suddenly so uncomfortable around them? But that was a pointless question. She knew the answer. The answer was weighing down her head. She had become so much more conscious of the past since Goku had convinced her to let her horns start to grow back. She was nervous. Antsy. She sneaked another glance to make sure that Chika's horns hadn't slipped into view and breathed a heavy sigh of relief at seeing them still firmly wrapped.

And then there was Piccolo. Chi-Chi had never really liked him. He tried to kill her husband. He kidnapped her son away for a year. And yet, her entire family seemed to adore him! Chi-Chi had even broken down and confided in him before the Cell Games! Why would she do that? Why would she confide in that wretched green ghoul?! That demon?! The PRETENDER demon?!

Why would sh—

*flomp*

A sharp hand slapped Chi-Chi's cheek and she groaned. "Unh…what…?"

Piccolo was looming over her. "Chi-Chi. Hey."

A second light slap crashed into Chi-Chi's face and she sat up like a bolt. "Ugh. What? What do you want, Piccolo?"

Chika cried out. "Mommy!'

She crashed full-force into Chi-Chi's chest and hugged her tight. "M-Mommy! I was so scared!"

Chi-Chi's head was full of static. Tien spoke up. "You suddenly fell over. No warning. No swaying. You flopped onto your face like a grain sack."

Chiaotzu stepped forward, producing a canteen. "Try some water. You might be suffering from heat exhaustion. It is pretty hot out here all of a sudden…"

Chi-Chi nodded in thanks and took the water. She took a few small sips, swishing the first one around her mouth and spitting out dust from the road. She groaned. "It's only so hot because we're nearing Dragon Rock. Demon summer is hotter than mortal summer and Dragon Rock is demon territory…"

Tien cocked his head. "Demon summer, eh?"

Chi-Chi held her forehead. "Mhm. Just over that ridge up ahead. You should be able to see Dragon Rock by now."

Chika's eyes sparkled with wonder. "Really?!"

Springing up, the little girl ran to the top of the ridge. Chiaotzu followed quickly. "H-Hey! Be careful!"

Chi-Chi, Tien, and Piccolo all watched as Chika came to a stop at the ridges apex. "Holy cow!"

Chiaotzu gasped. "Holy hell! That wasn't here before!"

He turned and called down. "Tien! Come look at this!"

With a curt nod toward Chi-Chi and Piccolo, Tien scaled the ridge as well. Chi-Chi sighed. "I guess we better follow them…"

She stood and started to follow Tien, but Piccolo quickly seized her by the wrist. "Hold on."

Chi-Chi turned on her heel, glaring at Piccolo. Piccolo's face was mute of any real emotion. Chi-Chi sighed. "…what?"

Piccolo spoke bluntly. "Tien and Chiaotzu were distracted by your daughter. And when they noticed you fell, they started to panic. But…I was watching the entire time."

Chi-Chi scowled. "And?"

Piccolo looked upon her, not so much looking down on her as trying to study. "Your hair turned white. It shot through each strand like a wave and then quickly turned black again. And your ki jumped up to a level that would allow you to trade blows with Frieza in his second state."

Chi-Chi looked away. "F-Frieza? You must have been imagining things…"

Piccolo spoke bluntly. "Am I imagining those bony growths jutting from the sides of your skull? What are-"

She slapped him across the face. It was a knee-jerk reaction, but loud enough that it made Tien and Chiaotzu both turn and wince. Chika turned as well. "M-Mommy? What's going on?"

Chi-Chi's eyes were wild, a hateful sneer arching her upper lip. But, she quickly tried to gather herself. "Oh! I…uh…I…"

Piccolo spoke up. "I sometimes forget human customs. Your mother had a spider crawling across the seat of her pants. I reached to grab it and committed some form of slight, I'm assuming?"

Chiaotzu nodded. "Ah. You pinched Chi-Chi's butt. I see."

Chika broke out into a fit of giggles. "That's so silly~! Why would Mr. Piccolo do that~?"

Tien sighed. "No reason, dear. Mr. Piccolo was just trying to knock away the spider…"

As the three of them turned around, Chi-Chi turned to Piccolo. "Look, I'm sorry. I-"

Piccolo waved her off. "Save it. I don't care about a knee-jerk slap. But, we should have a serious discussion about what happened later. That wasn't in the norm for you."

As Piccolo walked up the hill, the wind blowing his cape behind him, Chi-Chi growled under her breath. "What the hell would you know about me?"

Regathering herself, Chi-Chi scaled the ridge and looked out over the horizon with her daughter and the rest of the group. Sitting before them was a massive mound of scarlet rock in the shape of a demonic wyvern's gargantuan horned head. Piccolo crossed his arms. "So, that would be a landmark of the Demon Realm crossed over into the Mortal Realm, by my estimation…"

Tien nodded. "It feels wretched. Heavy in an off-putting way."

Chika stared at the rock with fully wrapped attention. Chiaotzu swallowed a lump in his throat. Chi-Chi sighed and adjusted her backpack. "Yep. That's Dragon Rock, all right."

She stepped forward and began scaling down the sheer cliff-face. "Come on. Let's go get a few Tatsuenoki Mushrooms and get out of here…"