08

That terrible premonition gradually became tangible when the ship arrived at the marked place. From the heights, the newcomers could distinguish a huge crater on the ground, and next to it, at least three figures lying on the ground, motionless, and a single standing individual. And this last person was actually quite recognizable to them, especially when, from his position, he looked up at the ship hovering over them.

"It's Piccolo," Krillin said, flustered. "But what about Goku...?"

Chi-Chi's heart clenched as her attention fell on one of the fallen. He had pretty much lost the upper part of his outfit entirely, but the distinctive orange of his pants made that quite clear.

No, no, no... Please, Kamisama, don't...

The other individual thrown away was the Saiyan, that Raditz guy; they recognized him by his armor and his long dark hair. That must mean that the fight was over, or at least the enemy was neutralized for the moment, so Bulma quickly descended to the ground. As soon as the ship parked and the top hatch lifted, Chi-Chi jumped out, instantly resenting the effort from the stinging pain coursing through her body but recovering quickly to run to where Goku lay.

"Chi-Chi, wait!" someone yelled at her behind her, but she couldn't clearly identify who, nor did she care. She just kept moving as fast as her injuries and the effects of the painkillers allowed.

The woman's attention was so fixed on her fallen husband that she didn't realize she had to walk right in front of Piccolo to get to him. He didn't get in her way, did nothing to stop her, and barely glanced at her, so Chi-Chi went on without hindrance.

"Goku!" she exclaimed in anguish and crouched beside him. However, as soon as her eyes landed and she got a better look at him… she had to immediately bring her hands to her mouth to keep from screaming in horror at what she saw.

Goku lay on his back on the ground, with his torso exposed and a grotesque hole in the very center of it the size of a fist, which seemed to pierce him from front to back. The grass behind him was soaked with his blood, and Chi-Chi didn't realize it until she dropped to her knees in that wet puddle. Goku's face was resting to the side, his eyes wide, but his vision seemed cloudy and lost in nothingness. He was breathing... although that was more like painful and oppressive moans.

"Go... ku... Goku!" Chi-Chi sobbed and quickly rushed to take his hand. "Goku, do you hear me? I'm here, my love. Please answer me, Goku..."

Big tears began to escape from her eyes, wetting her husband's hand and his chest. Whether it was her voice, her touch, or the cold sensation of her tears on his skin, something made Goku even slightly aware of her presence, so he slowly turned his neck with much effort. His eyes rested on her, but it didn't seem like he was actually seeing her.

"Chi…Chi-Chi…" he whispered softly, his voice sounding as if every sound he uttered caused him great pain. "I… I'm sorry… I couldn't…"

He had to cut off his words to cough up some blood to the side.

"Don't talk, please. Don't force yourself," Chi-Chi begged, pressing his hand against her face, drenching it even more with her tears.

This is not happening, this is not happening... It's just another dream... Wake up, wake up for once. Wake up, dammit!

"But what happened?" she heard Master Roshi snap in exasperation. Chi-Chi realized that moment that everyone was standing next to her, and they were also contemplating the same scene with astonishment and horror as she was.

"We finished off the Saiyan; that's what happened," Piccolo's deep voice answered dryly, staying a few meters from them. Looking at him, Chi-Chi noticed that he didn't have his left arm, but he couldn't give the slightest importance to that fact. "I killed him with my technique, and Goku, too, by the way."

"What are you saying?" Master Roshi exclaimed aggressively. "You did this to Goku?!"

"I didn't do anything he didn't want," Piccolo replied with overwhelming calm. "He grabbed that guy while I threw my technique at him. He knew what would happen, and I did quite gladly."

Pronouncing that, Chi-Chi looked horrified as a mocking half smile appeared on his lips.

"You…! Damned!" Chi-Chi yelled at him, utterly full of anger. "How could you do this?! He trusted you! We all trust you! You are a monster!"

Piccolo hissed in annoyance.

"Say what you want, you useless bunch. But what I did was save this planet. You should thank me instead of crying."

"You damn bastard…!" Chi-Chi snapped, and she, blinded by fury, made the gesture of wanting to stand up, and only she knew what she was going to do, but Krillin rushed to stop her before she could go too far.

"Go... Gohan..." they suddenly heard Goku pronounce, sounding almost like a throat clearing. The mention of that name was enough for Chi-Chi to forget about Piccolo for a moment. "Gohan... is..."

"Gohan?" Chi-Chi murmured with a lump in her throat. "Where is Gohan? What happened to him?"

"He is here!" Bulma spoke out loud, getting their attention. The blue-haired woman crouched a few meters away and carefully lifted the boy's body. Gohan had his eyes closed, but he looked very calm, almost as if he was just sleeping. "I think he's fine," Bulma pointed out. "He's just unconscious."

"What a… relief…" Goku uttered slowly. "Chi-Chi… I'm sorry…" he added right after, and Chi-Chi could feel his fingers tightening just a little tighter around hers. "I don't think I'll be able to… come home with you… to help you with…the chores like I promised…"

He let out a small giggle right after, which had to be interrupted by another coughing fit, and more blood spurted out of his mouth.

"No, Goku… don't say that," Chi-Chi sobbed, her voice breaking increasingly with each word. "Of course, you will come with me. And you won't have to do anything. I will take care of you and cook you all your favorite dishes. I will not separate from you for a second, Goku. So please… please…"

Crying took over almost entirely from her voice.

"Please don't go… don't leave me… You said you'd never leave me… you promised!"

"It's true…" Goku whispered, laughing again. "But I don't think I'll be able to keep that promise either. Please don't be angry…"

His voice trailed off little by little as the light that remained in his eyes was extinguished. His eyelids drooped, closing completely. His head fell unopposed to the side, and Chi-Chi could feel the hand he was holding losing all strength. But on his lips, even so, that last smile remained frozen.

Chi-Chi felt her breath leave her, and her whole body stiffened. Every fiber of her being had stopped perceiving the presence of her husband.

"No, no, no! Goku! NO!" She yelled desperately, and without thinking, she lunged forward, pressing her face against his chest and wrapping his arms around him. Her face and clothes were covered in Goku's blood, but she didn't even notice. "It can't be happening! It just can't be! Goku!"

She began to let out loud, shrill squawks into the air, unable to contain herself. Her Goku, the man who would always be by her side to protect her, was gone.

"Chi-Chi, calm down, please," Krillin begged, taking her by the shoulders and trying to separate her from his friend's lifeless body.

"Don't touch me!" yelled Chi-Chi angrily, trying to push him away from her. "Don't touch me! Don't take me away from him! Goku!"

"Chi-Chi, it is not lost!" Krillin insisted. His voice was trying to sound firm and sure, but the truth was that he stated just as uneasy. "I promise we'll revive him as soon as we collect the Dragon Balls. Goku will be back, Chi-Chi!"

"The Dragon Balls?" The woman whispered slowly, turning to look at him slowly over her shoulder. With one hand, she began to carve her face to clean it of the traces of tears and blood. "That's true? Can he come back to life with the Dragon Balls?"

She ran her gaze over Krillin, Master Roshi, and Bulma, who was currently carrying Gohan in her arms. They all agreed and seconded Krillin's words.

"Of course!" Bulma murmured decisively, although it was clear she resisted so as not to burst into tears. "Goku has saved us many times. I promise you we won't abandon him now."

That meant a small ray of hope for Chi-Chi, although not enough to completely remove the sadness and pain that pierced her chest.

She turned once more to see her husband. His face looked so calm and peaceful; he even kept smiling. If there was a chance of him coming back, she couldn't let herself be trounced.

Suddenly, while she was totally absorbed in his face, to her surprise and everyone's, Goku's body vanished.

"What?!" Chi-Chi blurted out, completely stunned. One second, Goku was there; the next, he was gone, leaving only the bloodstain on the grass in his place. "But what…?"

"It has disappeared!" Master Roshi exclaimed in astonishment, clarifying that Chi-Chi didn't imagine things.

"But what happened?" Krillin asked, just as confused as everyone.

"That must be Kamisama's work," Piccolo's voice suddenly pronounced, drawing everyone's attention.

The green-skinned man had kept a few steps away from them all this time, and now he had his back to them as he calmly replaced his cloak and turban. They had almost forgotten about his presence, but as soon as they became aware of it again, they all tensed up and alerted, especially Krillin and Master Roshi, who quickly positioned themselves in front of Chi-Chi and Bulma.

"Kamisama, you say?" Master Roshi questioned seriously. "What are you talking about, Piccolo? What do you know?"

"I have no idea what he's up to," Piccolo muttered slowly, looking up at the sky. "He will have seen what happened, and indeed he came up with some nonsense. That old scoundrel is always with his tricks."

Chi-Chi didn't understand it, but the truth was that she didn't think she could understand anything at that moment. Kamisama had taken Goku's body? What for? To what end? And most importantly, by what right?

A pain-like scream made all four of them jerk. That scream came from Piccolo. His body had bent slightly forward, and in his face, they could see that he was making a great effort. His first thought was that he was about to attack them, which clearly made them even more nervous. However, to his surprise, what happened was that abruptly, a new arm emerged like the one he had lost from the stump of his severed arm.

That surprised them but also scared them a little. Although, if they did something from memory, he had done something similar during his fight with Goku in the tournament five years ago.

Piccolo raised his new arm, wiggled it, and examined it, ensuring everything was okay. Once done with that, he turned fully towards them, fixing his intense gaze.

"If you want to be of use, take it upon yourself to gather the Dragon Balls and revive Goku as soon as possible, since no matter what Kamisama is up to, he doesn't have the power to revive the dead. And while I would be happy if that idiot stayed right where he is, sadly, I'll need him here in a year."

"In a year?" Krillin asked, confused. "What… will happen in a year…?"

Piccolo was silent for a few moments, and his gaze slowly drifted toward the direction in which Raditz's lifeless body lay.

"The two companions of that guy will come to Earth," he replied as a grim warning. "And apparently, both are much more powerful than him."

That left everyone speechless, and they could feel how a cold and dense air enveloped them.

It seemed that nightmare was far from over.