DBZ: Married to Another Saiyan (AU)

by Monokub

Stories unravel in a multitude of ways. Some see our heroes become evil. Some see Villains become Heroes. And others simply add another character to the mix. What happens when a new character is thrown into the plot? What changes from the original version? Most importantly: What would happen if Goku married Caulifla instead of Chichi? Rated T for Safety

1. Ep1: The Return of Goku and Caulifla Pt1

A/N: Final Word Count: 9.35k Pre-A/N (Author's Notes)

Do not attempt to adjust your televisions. This is not a drill- Repeat. This is not a drill. For those of you who've known me for many years, yes. This is my triumphant return!...And for those who don't know me, this is me sounding like an idiot not making sense... Maybe it's both regardless...

Well, either way, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH MYYYYYYYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOOD I'M BACK! I'm back I'm back I'm back I'm back I'm back! Oh my GOD you guys have no ideas how good it feels to actually be back! Like seriously, start a project/hobby, do it to past halfway completion, pause it, then return to it like several years later, the experience is rather amazing XP Lol.

Hooooooooooof what is up guys, Monokub is here and back in action with the same quality of work you know and love or know and get annoyed with but just feel sorry for me because of it...*sniff*. But seriously, im honestly amazed I'm back too. The only thing harder than going on hiatus is trying to come back from being on hiatus. Writing doesn't take "energy" out of you, least not to the extent like running a marathon, but when you're a writer like a lot of people on this site, you know it takes a kind of "writing juice" to actually GET up and get writing again. Mojo, motivation, whatever you want to call it, until a few days ago mine was in a slump.

Now for those fans of my work and familiar with it, you can relax- I am NOT CANCELING CAT-RA IN ANY SHAPE OR FORM! This was just my way to get my writing juices flowing again after I rediscovered my long lost love for Dragon Ball Z ^^ Catra WILL BE COMING BACK in the future, just not for awhile. But knowing how much the fans mean to me and how much they love the story, I knew i couldn't just stop, and i dont plan on stopping ever, i just needed to find a way to get writing again. As it turns out- starting a completely new project just works wonders surprisingly ^^ And while I wont obviously be going IMMEDIATELY to cat-ra after this post, I can safely say as long as it keeps my writing juices flowing, Cat-Ra will be coming a lot faster than otherwise (which I'm hoping is the case, its been 3 freaking years, I apologize to the fans _)

And for those who are new to my work, welcome for the first time ^^ I prioritize and specialize in What-If fanfics. Take my last 2 into account, such as "What if Naegi from Danganronpa was a girl", and "What if Catra became She-Ra instead"- both of which have been met with surprising praise and encouragement, and 100% absolutely not me just making a hundred different accounts and pretending to be anonymous reviews out of sheer loneliness :D... *sniff*

Now to avoid wasting more time, I'll give the quick rundown- 1, it's been awhile since I wrote last so please keep that in mind while reading the fic. It SHOULD improve over time till I'm back to normal. 2, be especially kind on this because if there's one thing I learned about starting this new project- WORKING ON DRAGON BALL FANFICTION IS FREAKING INSANELY HARD TO DO X_X. I am not even joking, I legit had to do research on everything in this chapter alone, i started writing again around last tuesday/wednesday and had to check the wiki multiple times for nearly hundreds of different things including timelines, Wishing Rules, power levels, etc... so the posts might take at least 2 days compared to the usual daily posting abilities...

And 3rd, yes, I know I might make this out to be rather goofy, but a few things to keep in mind- DB started insanely goofy beyond compare, and extremely violent (and lied to me in the first episode that apparently a kid can NOT survive getting shot in the head...) at times, but was mostly goofy- and there are still a lot of goofy moments to this day in the present as well XP. So while still being serious, it won't take itself too seriously this chap, just the right amount of serious ^^

And finally 4, when I do my What If Fics, I usually start off each chp or episode with a flashback to the past, which is actually perfect for this since the prequel Dragon Ball is an entire series, so lots of scenes to work with ^^ They wont be full fleshed out stuff or anything (cripes it takes forever alone just to write the DBZ stuff :/), but showing bountiful glimpses into the past usually from our lovely character's perspective. And there's more at the end i have to mention about the flashbacks *hint hint*

So without further ado, rambling, and people giving me the finger through the phones screaming START THE STUPID STORY ALREADY, on with the show ^^!

...

...

...

*munch*

*munch*

*munch*

"More!" The young voice barked, tossing away the bones to what would've been the third slab of beef by this point. The fellow henchmen around them gulped nervously as another quickly brought over the fourth slab by now, trembling as he did so out of initial fear. And why wouldn't he be afraid? This person, this thing couldn't have been any older than ten, maybe eleven, yet here they were, already part of a small gang of bandits, and the head of it! So many of them underestimated the kid for obvious reason, and most of those people lost an entire finger in the process!

The kid was a wild card to deal with. Sometimes they'd be nice and worried about someone's injury, sometimes they'd be threatening to bite someone, hence the finger lossage. And all the time, they'd be demanding food, usually meat, yet somehow never seeming to gain a single pound on their body. It was almost like the kid wasn't human; what with the appetite and the fact just about every single one of her fellow henchies were people they beat singlehandedly in a fight.

Still, nobody couldn't say the kid wasn't resourceful. Hounding about a dozen or soon goons around her, having a dilapidated run down-looking warehouse as her HQ in the middle of a desert, it was all pretty simplistic but no one could deny it was a good hussle. People come in, they pay the "toll", then they get safe passage to go about their way through the desert- and a toll is always paid, one way or another. Best of all, while the warehouse appeared rustic and ornery, it was actually a Dynocap, allowing the hideout to be moved if deemed necessary. Yup, there wasn't a single thing a goon could complain about...

EXCEPT FOR THE YOUNG BRAT THAT WAS GIVING ALL THE ORDERS AND EATING HALF THE FOOD ON THEIR OWN!

Perhaps more annoyingly than this, was the one order she almost always gave every single week that annoyed her lackeys most of all...

"And did you mail over the stash?" She mumbled through mouthfuls of food.

"Y-Yeah, boss. Same as last week..." A dogman nodded, gulping to himself a bit as he prepared to ask the next question. "B-But why do you keep mailing over half the stuff we collect? I mean we already own a warehouse, wouldn't it be safer to store it here-?"

"HEY!"

"Urp!" The dogman almost howled in fright at the snap.

"Where the stuff goes isn't important! Just do your job like you're supposed to, and you get your share too, alright?" She almost showed little to no interest in the matter immediately after the previous snap, barely caring about the way she wanted things to work as long as they got things done her way. "Keeping in here would make it easier for it to go missing with this many guys around when we're not watching over it." She tossed another bone over her shoulder towards the wall, picking at whatever scraps of it remained with her pinky nail. "End of story. Got it?"

She was getting annoyed with having to explain it this many times over and over again, like every time they had a new recruit for over a month. Couldn't these morons just explain it to themselves? She thought to herself. ignoring the casual muttering she heard off to the side whenever she finished yelling at someone.

"H-Hey, boss?" A familiar voice called from the floor below. The young figure looked down from the balcony, seeing the familiar face of one of the only few henchmen she found useful and bothered to remember the name of.

It also helped he had a familiar flying cat around him at times that they found cute.

"Yamcha?" She cocked a brow. "What are you doing back already? I thought you were patrolling for the day?"

"Well, I was, but uhh..." He wondered how he was supposed to break the news to her, feeling relieved his usual fears didn't affect him when dealing with someone so small. "We kinda ran into a situation..." The boss tilted their head up in confusion as she saw several more people entering the building, followed by two more of her henchmen holding them at gunpoint from behind.

This was by far the weirdest introduction she ever had to a group of people.

Out of the three of them, only the the female was the most normal-looking of the group, and even she still managed to look out of place like the other two. With a white tanktop, a red hat with letters that... she could definitely read, a similar color backpack, brownish, tannish, shorts, she could easily be the most normal of the group. Yet, for some reason, she was limping on a large walking stick, clearly out of breath. Either the woman was really old and just good at hiding her age, possibly dying her hair light-blue like it was, or she was just real lazy and not used to the 99* heat of the desert for some reason.

Or maybe it was both?

The second of the pair was the shortest of the group, but only like an inch or two as far as they could tell. It was a really weird looking pigman of some sort. Most pigs she saw usually ended up on a slab or someone's table by the end of the day, but this one was apparently more humanoid in nature. Standing on feet, holding it's hands up in surrender like the woman was doing, it definitely humanoid in nature. It was just the really out-of-place army-like jacket and hat he was wearing that threw them off. Was he supposed to be some sort of military guy? Someone important? The head of this little operation didn't care about the details, only if he was wealthy in some way or not.

And the last of the trio was kind of curious compared to the rest of the trio. Remarkably so, actually, in how alike he looked like the boss. He wore a bluish Gi outfit, similar to the purple one they themselves had a white obi tied around it much like the one she had made out of makeshift rope, and wore dark blue shoes that only went up to the bottom of his ankles, unlike the black ones they wore that covered their feet completely. The only part of their outfit that didn't share any resemblance was the clear weapon he had tied to his back, a strange red pole of some sort no bigger than him.

The young boy looked around the room, completely unfazed by the situation he was in as if he was unaware of the impending danger. He just stared at everything in natural curiosity, not even bothering to raise his hands like the other two as if this was perfectly normal.

If they were standing right in front of them, they'd swear they were looking in a mirror. The rest of the henchmen must've been in the same train of thought, seeing how several of them were doing double takes of the boss and the young boy Yamcha just brought in.

"Hey, something smells good in here!" The young boy commented, catching whiff of the strong scent of meat eaten previously.

"Goku, shush," the blue-haired gulped quietly, "we're in the middle of something here." The girl trembled a little more as she felt the barrel of the gun pressed against her back.

"Why are you guys raising your hands like that?"

"Seriously kid, cut it out!" The pig snorted, feeling his death coming closer with every word the boy uttered. "We're in enough trouble as is cause of you."

"What? They attacked first when they shot at us."

"And you made it worse when you showed them your tail!" The girl screeched, struggling to keep composed while her anger built at the same time.

"Why does the tail bother them?"

"So, umm..." One of the goons from behind the pig piped up as if to answer their question. "I-Is this kid some relative of yours? Like your brother or something?"

"We swear we didn't know, boss!" The one behind the young teen chirped, already feeling like one of his fingers were about to meet their end. "We didn't think you had any family out here!"

"I don't have any family out here you numbskull!" The boss growled, wishing she had more competent people doing the thinking around here besides herself. "And even if I did, why would you show them our secret base!?" She put so much time and effort into deciding the perfect location for their base and now these idiots ruined her hours of exploration!

"You mean this place on the side of the road was supposed to be a secret?" The monkey boy asked, causing a stir of silence in the air.

Some from shock.

Some from worry.

And one from awkward self-realization.

Shaking their head, they quickly spoke up again to avoid any further discussion on the matter. "Whatever! The point is, we're not related! I don't even know why you'd think we were!" She thought she was being reasonable in her questioning. Sure, they had similar outfits and hairstyle, and both appeared to be young kids. But aside from that, not a single thing stood out about this boy.

That was until Goku tilted his head curiously, noticing a weird thing swishing behind the leader's back and chuckling at the revelation. "Hey Boss! You have a tail too!"

"Huh?" The boss in question turned their head around, not realizing their tail was strangely swishing back and forth in some manner of excitement for reasons unknown. "Why does that matter?" She grumbled in silence as she tried grabbing at it to slow it down.

"Cause Boss, I got one too!" In no time or care at all, the young boy happily turned around, chuckling as he lowered his pants a little and shook his fanny a bit, giving them a clear show of his own tail shaking, and that it was clearly attached.

"You... have a tail too...?" The young boss wondered, unsure of how to react. Not once in their life did they meet someone who resembled them in so many different ways. Outfits aside, the height, the youthfulness, the hair, it was beginning to seem easy why so many of the goons thought they were related to this "Goku", and would've been more than happy to ask him a few questions.

At least they would've if Goku didn't gesture back to them with his thumb, saying what would seal their fate. "See, Bulma? I told you other boys were born with tails!"

"Agghh-!" Nearly every goon in the warehouse froze dead silence, fearing the dead part of the silence was about to become a reality not just for these intruders, but for everyone who heard goons eyes slowly shifted as their bodies remained frozen, gazing at the boss whose anger and smidge of embarrassment began to rise as their cheeks became slightly rosy.

"What... Did... You... Just... CALL... ME?!" The boss's tail swished about in a frenzy as the anger rose in the small body, the young figure grinding their teeth in anger.

"Huh? A boy. Why?" Goku was too enamored by the fact he finally met another boy like himself to read the room.

"Goku, shut up! She's obviously a girl!" The pig shouted, trying to keep the situation from getting any worse.

And failing.

"She is?" Goku looked back, tilting his head again as he started directly at her, never minding the glaring hate-filled gaze that filled her expression. "How can you tell, Boss?" If the first thing he said opened the coffin for the three of them, the second thing he said sealed it.

"Oolong, it's been nice knowing you." The young teen girl said bluntly, ready for their eventual death.

"Bulma, I'd say it was too, but I would be lying." The pig replied a little too bluntly, still irritated over the stupid pill she gave him hours ago that gives him the runs on command.

I am so freaking dead... Yamcha thought to himself, shaking as much as Puar was on his shoulder. None of this would've been happening right now if he didn't notice the stupid tail and ordered several of the other bandits to take the other two hostage to force Goku to come with them.

"THAT'S IT" Incapable of filling with rage any further, not that anyone would test it, the girl leapt from the balcony, landing safely on her own two feet from the twenty-foot drop from the railing above. "I don't care who they are, just take their stupid stuff, and GET THEM OUT OF HERE!"

"But why do you want us to suddenly leave, Boss?" The young boy was still the only one not understanding the situation, or the reason why several of the warehouse goons were already giving themselves their last rites.

"AND STOP CALLING ME BOSS! THAT'S MY TITLE NOT MY NAME!" The girl fumed angrily as she stomped her foot, squeezing her eyes shut. The entire warehouse began to shake a little, causing panic and fear among all the inhabitants as some dust began to drip from the ceiling.

"Hahaha, wow! You're really strong!" Yet only the plucky go-happy boy still found the situation more fun than he did dreadful In fact, there wasn't an ounce of fear in the boy's eyes as he smiled to the young girl, continuing on after the girl stopped stomping about and the shaking came to a close. "So what should I call you then? My name's Goku! What's yours?"

"I'm only going to tell you this once so get it through your thick head!" The girl fumed as her nostrils flared, pointing at the boy accusingly as her other fist pressed deeply at her side. "My name is Caulifla!"

...

...

Don't stop, don't stop, we're in luck now
Don't stop, there's so much to be found
We can find paradise, all we have to do is go, go
Free your soul

Mysteries abound, made of a deep energy (Energy)
Foes all around, but I will go fearless and free
I'll give you strength, you give me love
That's how we live (That's how we live)
Our courage won't fade if you're with me
My enemies will never win
We will fight for love and glory
We will live to tell the story
There is nothing we can't live through, nothing ever dies
We will rise again

Don't stop, don't stop, we're in luck now
Don't stop, keep your spirit proud
And ride upon the wind, all we have to do is go
Don't stop, don't stop, we're in luck now
Don't stop, there's so much to be found
We can find paradise, all we have to do is go, go
Free your soul

~Dragon Soul~

...

...

Here Fishy Fishy... The young woman thought to herself as she swam through the river. There's gotta be something around here... It wasn't a matter to her how many fish she saw or how busy it was today. The occasional fish or schools of fish she passed didn't catch her interest in the slightest. All she cared about was finding the biggest, tastiest-looking, and longest fish she could find.

Which didn't appear to take nearly as long as she expected it to as she felt a large presence swimming up from behind her. Huh? She turned in curiosity, her expression changing to exasperated glee, grinning ear to ear as her prey slowly approached her. Sure enough, there it was, a fish fit for a meal! It's mouth was probably the size of both her legs put together, the body of it nearly her size up to her chin, and the length stretching out at least a solid three trees in stature. To the average person, such a sight would instill fear and terror.

But to the young woman known as Caulifla, there was only one word that came to mind.

LUNCH!

...

"Huff, finally." The young Chichi sighed in relief, wiping the sweat from her brow as she took down the last of the dried laundry. It was exhausting to work for a house when every single resident acted like a bunch of school children, the parents especially in this case, but at least it meant she got to be closer to Goku in some shape. Stretching herself back a little, she smiled to herself as she took in the beautiful surroundings again, admiring the view.

It wasn't all bad, she could admit. She might not be married to Goku, but it was still a pretty decent life, all things considered. She got to live with Goku and his family, they lived in a nice quiet remote area situated next to what used to be Goku's house as a child, the one his grandfather used to live in that she now vacates, and every day she got to see the first man she fell in love with and care for the family as if she had actually married him. It brought a smile to her face as she thought of all the things she was blessed with, in one way or another.

A smile that usually dissipated upon seeing the one woman who ruined a good half of her life to begin with walking up to the house, waving to her with a casual bright-eyed smile as she carried the large fish she took down in her other arm, carrying it in front of her as it covered the view of her body from her neck down to her ankles.

Which was probably for the best since she was completely naked.

"Hey, Chichi! I brought lunch!" Caulifla announced, patting the fish with her free hand again.

"CA-CAULI!" The woman's face turned beat red as she realized what Caulifla was wearing, or the lack thereof. This was another blessing she found herself thankful for when living in the mountains like this, because if she had any neighbors, the view of a naked monkey-tailed woman walking down the street would be a natural sight for them. "P-PUT YOUR CLOTHES ON! Why are you naked?!"

"Well I was getting lunch for everyone, duh." Caulifla replied, completely oblivious to the situation as she blinked. "You keep telling me not to come home with soaking wet clothes everyday when I'm fishing."

"That doesn't mean you should parade yourself for the whole world to see!"

Children.

Chichi swore she was dealing with nothing but children since moving in. The mother, the father, the child, every one of them was a child in a grownup's body, at least for the first two.

She did admire that aspect about Goku, in some way, that he never changed. He was still a bit of a goof, getting into the occasional shenanigans, and doing just about everything he set his mind to. If life was boring he'd go on an adventure for a couple days, come back with stories to tell, and occasionally mentioned how he stopped some crime happening right before him unintentionally. But he had a good heart, and that's what she loved about him.

What she didn't love, however, was how this woman pushed those qualities further than necessary. If it was just tagging along on those adventures or something, it'd be one thing, but ever since Caulifla married Goku, she only amplified all his traits, good and bad. They cleared out a good patch of grass almost twice the size of their house in the back yard and turned it into a makeshift round dirt arena to train, she never saw an issue with whatever Goku did even when it was clearly obvious to everyone else, and almost every day there would be some sort of crash ringing through the valley, either from the two knocking something down or blowing something up themselves during training.

And don't even get her started on the number of times they tore down an entire wall to their own house!

"What if someone saw you," Chichi continued, looking down on the slightly shorter woman in more than one way, "how would you explain that to them?!"

Caulifla shrugged. "I'd tell them I was fishing? Didn't want to get my clothes wet? Probably the same as I'm doing now." Without waiting for a response to the clearly understandable reply, Caulifla casually handed over the massive fish to the taller woman, nearly making Chichi drop face first to the ground as over 250 lbs of fish was suddenly dropped in her hands, gritting her teeth and grumbling as she slowly rose it to at least waist level. If it wasn't for the fact the woman continued to remain as strong as she was since the 23rd tournament, there was a good chance she would've had both her hands and feet crushed on the spot.

"Anyway, I'll go ahead and wash up, let me know when lunch is ready." She added, heading for the house while wringing out a bit of water from her tail.

There was no malice or ill feelings in Caulifla's conversations with Chichi, that was something the mature woman took note of during her days spent with the family, and made it rather difficult to stay mad at her. She was still kindhearted, a bit silly, and meant well by most of the people she came across. Chichi just wished she could at least learn to be more lady-like, like knowing how to handle several of the chores around the house on her own or took it upon herself to find a more permanent job she didn't get fired from before the end of the month.

Or, at the very least, KNOW WHEN TO PUT SOME CLOTHES ON AND SAY "PLEASE" AFTER DROPPING 250 LBS IN HER ARMS AND ASKING HER TO MAKE LUNCH!

...

"Gohnaaaaaa, lunch is ready!" Chichi called out from the house's window about half an hour later, the smell of freshly cooked fish and rice balls filling the dining room. "Gohnaaaaaaaaaa!"

It was at the same time that a familiar figure, one known by many people as the winner of the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, Son Goku himself, hopped across the branches of the massive trees that littered the surrounding forest. Like many days, wearing the same orange Gi outfit he wore nearly every day, that the young warrior was searching around the woods, trying to find the best tree he could for several more months of firewood and other necessities (like fixing up the place whenever they tore down a wall again).

Luckily, his search only took him a brief minute before coming across the best tree he could, marveling at it's size and structure. "Ahhh... This one outta do it!" Compared to the rest of the trees in the forest, it was the biggest size he could find. Almost the same size in diameter as the main structure of their house, and just as full on the inside as it appeared to be. It wasn't just a matter of finding the perfect tree for him, oh no, that'd be too easy. He wanted to find one that would be a good warmup for the day, figuring Caulifla would've wanted to spar again later that day as usual.

With a brief moment to collect himself, the young man took a deep breath, preparing himself as he took a stance, pulling back a fist to his side at the ready. "Hiyaaaaaaaah!" And it was with no surprise at all that it only took a single strike before a crack quickly formed around the entirety of the planet, slowly rustling against the surrounding tree leaves before landing heavily on the ground.

*CRASH!*

"Gohnaaa, where are you?" It was back at the house that Chichi was continuing her search, having checked the interior of what her current home was and just finishing the surrounding exterior. That was when she saw another sight she was familiar with and, unlike a certain someone, she was actually overjoyed to see returning to the house daily. "Goku, I'm glad you're back!" Chichi exclaimed around the same time Caulifla was finally exiting her own home while drying her hair with a lime green towel, noticing the massive 50 foot tall log standing before her and the two it was leading up to.

"Hey, Goku!" Caulifla happily greeted, rushing up to the two and thankfully fully clothed this time. While the pinkish tube top left much to be desired for the young girl, Chichi was at least thankful she had the decency to cover up most of her chest with it, reaching up to just under her arms, and her entire legs with the loose purple trousers. And despite her feet never being a problem regardless, she had the decency to wear grey shoes she had the sense to take off whenever she was inside. Now if only she could get her to wear an entire shirt...

"Hey Cauli, hey Chichi." Goku greeted back, smiling to the two woman as Cauli stood at his side.

"Have you seen Gohna?" Chichi asked with a hand at her side. "I've got lunch ready."

"Heheh, just wait until you see the fish I collected!" Caulifla added, excited to see the look on Goku's face.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's eat I'm starving!" The thought of the tasty meal was already leaving Goku mentally drooling.

"Did you two even hear what I said? I asked you where your daughter is!" Chichi yelled, keeping the attention of both parents on her.

"Huh? I don't know, I thought she was with you."

"Ugh, she probably snuck off from her studies again." Chichi moaned rubbing her brow. "I swear, she keeps disappearing the minute I'm gone."

"Ah c'mon Chichi, she's just having fun." Caulifla mentioned resting her hands behind her head. "It's important for kids to get out and see the world."

"The world you're describing is full of killer animals, bandits, and demons!"

"Yeah! You know, fun! That's how we grew up, and we turned out alright."

...No comment.

"So my kid should get to have fun, too!" Not a single thing looked bad in Caulifla's eyes about this. You see a monster, you kick it's butt! You see a thug, you kick it's butt! And you see a freaky green demon trying to rule the planet, you kick it's butt with Goku! Anything and everything she could see that would make her daughter physically stronger was something she was always up for.

"Well as my GODDAUGHTER, she doesn't need all of that stuff for fun!" The unfortunate non-mother argued. "She'll have fun working on her studies. All she needs is is to focus on her studies, then she can get into a proper school, and finally be set for life!" Chichi nodded with her arms crossed assertively. If it was her child, and in some respects it was, she had a fool-proof plan to ensure she had a proper upbringing and future ahead of her! Otherwise, she'd fear there was a chance she would completely wind up like her parents.

The reasons of which she's reminded about on a daily basis.

"Look, ladies, why don't we just calm down for a minute?" Goku suggested trying to diffuse the invisible tension he felt rising in the air. He wasn't good on picking up subtle cues, but after living this life for the last several years, he started to figure out where and when a fight was about to erupt between the two. "Let's have some lunch first then we can talk about future stuff later today."

"We can't later, the three of you are going to Master Roshi's later today, remember?" Chichi reminded, seeing the fruit of the problem.

"Oh right, I forgot!" Goku, unsurprisingly, gasped.

Even Caulifla was taken aback a bit as she remembered, blinking a little as she crossed her arms. "Oh yeah, that was today, wasn't it?" She turned her head to Goku wondering. "It's been what now? One? Two years?"

"Try five." The Godmother stated, much to Caulifla's surprise.

"FIVE YEARS?!" Man, the time really flew by faster than she ever anticipated! Like, sure, it was one of the fundamental reasons she married Goku. Just about every day was fun with him, what with going on adventures, training daily, and seeing the world, it was like heaven! Throw in a kid along the way and their time together went even twice as fast, albeit with more work involved! But to think five whole years had past since she ever saw the old gang really blew her mind. "Think the old man is still alive?"

Goku chuckled. "What, Roshi? I wouldn't be surprised if he lived to be a thousand with how strong he is. I wonder what he's been up to?"

"You guys can ask that after you FIND GOHNA FIRST!" Chichi reminded, growing increasingly concerned for Gohna's personal safety.

"Alright, alright." Caulifla grinned patting Goku's shoulder. "Come on, Goku! Last one to find her has to do dishes for the week! Hahaha!" She chuckled, jumping atop the massive tree Goku was carrying as she sped down it.

"Wha- Hey! No fair! You had a head start!" Goku whined, only now finally dropping the seemingly two-ton log as he ran down the hill. "Flying Nimbus!" With a shout, Goku watched as his familiar method of travel flew from the heavens down to him, eagerly jumping atop the mystic cloud that only a pure heart could walk atop. And upon seeing the both of them disappear from her view, Chichi sighed with a small smile.

There were several things she regretted in her life, primarily never getting to marry Goku herself or being able to start a family with him. If there was a single regret above that one, it was the severe lack of information she gave Cauli that lead to her marriage to Goku in the first place. Sometimes she almost wished she used the dragon balls to go back in time to stop herself from giving out that information in the first place, a possible fantasy, but one that would only remain just that.

A fantasy.

Yet at the same time, during moments like this when she saw how happy the two were, she was kind of relieved all the same. Whether Caulifla had an understanding of what true love was at this point or not, she clearly cared about Goku a great deal just as much as Goku did for her. Each day Goku would have a bright beaming smile across his face, great concern whenever Cauli, Gohna, or Chichi got sick or injured somehow, and Cauli was clearly making Goku happy each and every day of their life, like Chichi dreamed of doing herself.

As much as she hated to admit it, if anyone besides Chichi had Goku, then she was glad it was Caulifla.

... Of course she would be more glad if people would STOP DROPPING GIANT THINGS IN FRONT OF HER AND EXPECTING HER TO TAKE CARE OF IT!

...

...

"Hmm hm hmhmhm hmhmhmhm hmhm hm hm~" The small figure hummed to herself as she skipped down the pathway of the woods.

Wearing a orangish Hanfu-style top which stretched down to her knees that came with green sleeves that almost covered her hands, nice typical blue pants, and nifty casual green sandals. But her most prized possession of all was the necklace she had dangling down to her small chest. The string itself that connected it all wasn't as impressive as the centerpiece of the necklace itself, a lone four-star dragon ball her papa said once belonged to her great grandpa! She didn't really understand it, but her papa said as long as she's wearing it, her great grandpa is looking down at her from heaven.

She couldn't wait to see a ghost!

Or much of anything around here, really. The woods were usually peaceful around this time of day, or at least peaceful enough that she could outrun anything potentially chasing her, like a game of tag! Most of the things she ran into like bears or tigers were easy enough to outrun, occasionally needing to get actually physical to kick or headbutt the animals away. To many kids, seeing a ferocious tiger or grizzly bear would frighten the daylights out of them, but to her, it was no different than playing with her stuffed toys!

She never really felt as if she was in danger with her parents around anyway. She remembers one time she got lost in the woods for several hours a few months ago, getting so late in the day it became too dark to see any trail. Cold, alone, and getting hungry, it was one of the few times she cried since she was an infant, worried that she'd never see her family again. it must've been for a solid half hour before her mama came to her rescue and found her.

Needless to say, she was scolded promptly for the next several minutes, though to this day, Gohna still couldn't tell if it was because she got lost, her mom was worried about her, or because she was crying to begin with. All she did remember is that the yelling was enough to make her cry again for another minute.

Since that day, save for the occasional scraped knee or bump to the head, she's had nothing to cry about since, and she felt like it was making her mama proud of her each and every day she didn't! The woods were still fun to explore when her "other mama" Chichi wasn't making her do boring homework stuff, majority of the animals around here were never able to catch up to the spry 4-year-old, and she always knew that her parents could always be there in an instant if needed. That's what she told herself, anyway.

It was the same train of thought that lead to her curiosity as she saw a pretty looking bird perched on a log over the river. It has a strange sparkle to its feathers that drew her attention, and the crescent white plume that sprang from it's forehead. "Oooooh! You're a pretty birdie!" She awed, hopping atop as she sat on the log, scooting closer to it in wonder as a familiar monkey-like tail twirled behind her. "My name's Gohna! What's yours?"

She was unaware as the log began to creak as she inched closer and closer to the mysterious bird, captivated by its vibrant colors. The bird titled its head towards the noise, tilting a little as it gazed at the girl staring back at it, causing her to giggle a bit, wondering if it was actually gonna talk back to her. "HOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNK!"

"Wah-!" The little girl jumped a bit, unprepared for the tremendous ship-like horn noise that bellowed out from such a cute creature.

Or the aftermath that little jolt would have on the entire log.

*Crick*

"Hu- AAAAHHHHHH-!"

*Splash!*

There was almost no time to react with as the log suddenly broke apart from the edge of the river, hurtling down the rushing stream and dragging the little girl along as she fell in the river. "Ough! Ackffff!" She could barely get a breath in as she found herself struggling to hold onto the side of the log, her hands slipping endlessly as the river pushed her into it. It wasn't a matter of the river's strength was pushing her into the log or not. The struggle was keeping herself from being pushed under and away from it as the rapids picked up speed.

With little to no swimming experience, she would've drowned for sure if she got pushed away from the log.

"Mommy! Daddyyyyyy!" She cried out, scraping her hands against the wood, clawing at it for any sort of grip.

It was at the same time Caulifla came walking about towards the river, walking through the bushes as she continued to call out for her daughter. "Gohnaaaaa, it's time for lunch kiddo! Gohn-"

"Mommyyyyyy!" Gohna's voice shouted as it sped past her, catching Caulifla by surprise.

"Gohna?" She questioned quickly running down the side of the river as she hopped across boulder after boulder that lined the walls of the bed, something that would've been difficult for any child to climb out of at any age. She was a little more excited and curious than the average parent would be if they saw their children being swept down a river. "Hey kiddo, what'cha doin'?"

"M-Mommy, help!" Gohna pleaded, struggling to to stay above the water as slapped at the long, trying to find anywhere to get the smallest grip. "I-I ca-uggghh!" She coughed the brief mouthful she swallowed. "I can't get up!"

"Come on, don't count yourself out yet!" She encouraged, almost oblivious to the potential danger the entire scenario had in store for Gohna. "Just push yourself a little! Come on!"

The family dynamic was a little extreme in situations like this. Caulifla was caring, considerate, becoming a whole bunch of things since Goku came into her life. But the one thing she hasn't been able to let go of is her sense of pride.

Pride of winning.

Pride of family

And if there was one thing worse, the pride of her family winning.

It got into her parental duties from time to time, though, thankfully, there wasn't much the family could do together with Gohna as young as she was. What's more was what little "training" she could get away with with Chichi roaming around, always keeping a watchful eye on the goddaughter to ensure her own safety.

Games of this thing called "tag" was a test of endurance and speed. Whenever she wanted to climb trees with her mom, it was a test of personal strength. And whenever Cauli wanted to teach Gohna how to fire energy blasts to practice ki, aiming, and precision-!... Well Chichi was a bit of a downer in that regard, refusing to let her learn or show her anything that could blow up the weird thing she called a "dishwasher".

Spoilsport.

"I-I ca-ougg!" The young toddler coughed again as more water got into her mouth. "I-I can't- auugh-!"

"GOHNA!" Mercifully, there was a limit to how far Caulifla was willing to push her own daughter, diving straight into the river upon seeing Gohna's head go under as she continued to splash her hands above. It didn't matter how much pride she had or how much her pride took her, she would never risk her own kid's life just to toughen her up like this.

That's what Goku was for!

"Pitooey!" Caulifla spat with a small cough as she rose back to the surface. She threw her right arm over the log as she pulled up Gohna with the other, the smaller girl coughing a bit longer before the expected crying went on.

"Ehhhhhhahahhhh!" The young girl cried into her mom's shoulder, still trying to rub some of the water.

"Hey, come on, it's alright." Her mother tried to offer whatever encouragement she could with a soft, sympathetic, smile. It was moments like this that made her feel the most awkward, since becoming a mother. She didn't really understand kids, or how to react to whatever they did. She didn't know how much attention they needed, how much personal care, or how much trouble their curiosity could lead to. Heck, she didn't even know what to do when she found out she was pregnant!

Or that she was even pregnant to begin with now that she thinks about it...

...

...

*Flashback 4 and a half years ago*

"Chichi, come quick!" Goku pleaded, barging in to what used to be his old home that was now Chichi's living space. Like most times, she was in the middle of knitting several pieces of clothing, usually restoring whatever tears and holes they ripped up from one of their usual sparring matches.

The woman sighed as she prepared mentally for the inevitable task at hand. "What broke now?" She knew these two too much to know that whenever there was an emergency going on, it usually needed repairing, with a slightly above average chance it was Caulifla's doing. She swore at the rate things were going she was gonna be yelling at the woman for parading around here naked, praying to herself that said day would never come to pass.

"That's just it! It's Cauli! Something's wrong with her!"

"Huh?"

Meanwhile...

"Uggggghhhhhhh... I wanna diiiiiiiiiiiie..." Caulifla moaned as she lied her head against the rim of the toilet bowl, trying to fan herself with the toilet's lid.

Three weeks. For the past three weeks, these were her mornings. She'd wake up. She'd feel sick. She'd stick to the bathroom for several hours until she felt better. Presumed everything would be all right the next day. Then she'd wake up again to repeat the process for what felt like was becoming the rest of her life. And, as if to only torment her further for some reason, fate felt like kicking things up a notch, around her stomach to be precise.

Because for whatever reason, if the constant throwing up every morning wasn't enough to torment her, now she felt like her stomach was doing literal flips, cramping every now and then in an uneasy pain that wouldn't heal. These weren't entirely intolerable pains, but mixed with the sick uneasy feeling she dealt with every morning and it was beginning to feel like there was an actual ocean inside her stomach, sloshing back and forth to no end. She would take any form of medicine to make this feeling go away, find any amount of dragon balls to summon whatever was strong enough to wish it was over!

She would even take a Senzu Bean for crying out loud!

"Cauli!" Cauli lifted her head ever so slightly if only to catch a glimpse of the apparent housekeeper in the corner of her eye.

"Hey Chi- Mmmph! BLAGGGGGGGHHHH!" It was almost a reflex at this point that she knew when she was about to explode, quickly opening the toilet again and releasing another mouthful of yesterday's contents in a disgusting stream. She hated this. More than anything else in the world right now. "-Chi..."

Chichi used the barf free moment to check the young woman's forehead. Even though she still had a slight resentment of the young woman for what hasn't been even a year yet, it didn't mean she wanted her to die or anything. "Hmmm, you're not running a fever. What exactly is wrong?"

"Everythiiiiiiing..."

"We don't exactly know," Goku scratched his head as he stood at the doorway of the restroom, "about a month she said she started feeling weird, then for the last few weeks she's been sick every morning." He explained.

"Well have you taken her to the doctor's yet?" Chichi wondered.

"No dooooctoooors..." Caulifla's moans started to sound more instrumental with every whine.

"We thought about it, but Caulifla can't really explain what feels wrong with herself." Goku raises his brow as he looked up in thought. "And weird as it is, she's been eating a lot more too. I thought it was fine at first because she was just refilling what she lost, but she says she's craving food even when her stomach hurts."

"I'm starrrrrrviiiiiing... Mmmmph-!" Chichi quickly stood away as the girl hurled into the toilet again, followed by a quick flush from the sickening girl.

Chichi rubbed her chin in thought as the girl let out another moan. Sickness? Cramps? Hunger? If she didn't know any better she could've sworn those were all the signs of-

A small blush slowly formed over her face at the realization as her eyes widened a little. While ignoring the concept of "how" it happened, she was pretty sure she knew exactly what was wrong with Caulifla.

"So do you know what's wrong with her?" Goku asked, wondering if Chichi thought of something as he noticed her expression change.

"Heh... Heh heh..." To be honest Chichi didn't really know how to feel at the moment.

On the one hand, she was dealing with the woman who basically stole her dream, her love interest, and now this is happening. On the other hand, the same sworn enemy was now going to go through emotional and physical turmoil, and would likely remain that way for the next 7-to-8 months, with all the "fun" that came with it like now. And all the same, she was still pretty ecstatic at the notion. After all, it was still a beautiful thing, even if she was a viewer than being part of it.

"Oh, congratulations you two!" She squealed, hugging both the soon-to-bes one after the other. Well, half-hugging since one of the two were still had their head perched over the toilet. In a bizarre way she almost felt like an aunt, and, unless it turned out something completely different was wrong with her, there were going to be little ones crawling around within a year's time!

Goku could only blink at this in confusion. "Congratulations for what?"

"For the longest... Barfing record... I'm sure... MMMMPH-!"

...

...

"Ehhehhhhh..." Gohna continued to whine as she rubbed her eyes, still frightened about the situation despite the safety of her mother's arms.

"Hey, come on, you're okay." Caulifla continued to encourage, trying to cheer the young girl up. "You gave it your best shot, it was a good job." And failing to understand the sadness stemmed from the potential near-death experience rather than the failure to climb the log or swim out of the river.

"Caulifla! Gohna!" The two turned their heads up as they heard the familiar father's voice from above.

"Hey Goku, found her!" Caulifla said with a casual smile. Despite having the advantage of the air on the Flying Nimbus, she still managed to find their daughter first, as she knew she would.

"Daddy!" Gohna cried, for some bizarre reason feeling safer at the sight of her father rather than being in the arms of the woman who tried to push her into not drowning in the river 10 seconds ago.

Before Goku could fly for the the pair, his attention was caught by the sight further ahead of them. "Cauli! Look out!"

"Huh?" The woman wondered too late at the sound of his worried voice as she turned look up ahead of the river.

*Wham*

"Ugh..." And being met face first with a small stalactite that knocked her out cold, thankfully still maintaining the grip her arm had over the log and her daughter. While she might've been strong enough to handle blows from the likes of Goku while training, there was little she could do against crashing face first into the side of a stalactite while speeding down a river.

Especially when she wasn't prepared for it.

"Mommy!"

Goku was incapable of reaching the two as they disappeared out of his view. Apparently the river itself fed into a small cavern just big enough for the log to traverse through but too narrow for anyone else to pass under, which Caulifla found out the hard way. With little choices in the matter, Goku was forced to fly the Nimbus over the small mountain the river went into, hoping he had enough time to reach them on the other side.

"Mommyyyyy!" At the same time, Gohna was frantically trying to shake her mother awake, figuring she would be the only person who could save them at the moment. "Mommy, wake up! Wake up!"

"Nghhhh... Ughhhh..." The young woman stirred but showed no signs of complete consciousness. The young child was terrified of the situation that was hastily unfolding around her. With each passing second, she felt the waves of the water picking up speed as nothing but the sounds of crashing waves echoed around around the cavern's interior. Something told her if she didn't wake up in time, something terrible was going to happen.

And sure enough, it did.

Coming to a bright light at the end of the tunnel, in more ways than one, Gohna let out a small gasp at the sight before her. What one would hope would be the continuation in this harrowing ordeal turned out to be the untimely end of one. No sooner had they exited the cave did they meet an immense drop, one that hurdled the young woman and child, and troublemaking log, over what could've been an easy thousand foot drop.

"Wahhhhhhhh! DADDYYYYYYYYY!" Gohna cried as loud as her voice could carry, just in time for Goku to finally fly over the pesky mountain to hear the screaming.

"Gohna! Cauli!" Goku panicked, willing the Flying Nimbus straight down as fast as it could carry him. Even if on the chance Caulifla was strong enough to survive some sort of drop like this while unconscious, there was no way Gohna was going to make it no matter how she landed! If there was a miracle to be found, it would involve Caulifla finally waking up and rescuing herself and Gohna before things escalated any further.

As it so happens, a miracle did occur, just not in the way he expected.

Reaching the end of the cavern's opening where the waterfall began, Goku came to a sudden halt as he blinked. Strangely, he was met with the sight of the massive log plunging to its inevitable demise as far down as he could see, losing sight of the troublemaker through the misty waters. What he wasn't met with was the sight of his wife and child plunging to their deaths like he feared. Come to think of it, despite sensing Caulifla's energy, he couldn't feel it moving like it should be. If they were still falling, they should've felt it getting farther and farther away.

So where did they go?

"HEEEEEEEELP DADDY!" A voice shrieked from above, to his surprise and confusion. "I DON"T WANNA BE HERE ANYMORE! I'M SCARED! I WANNA GO HOME!" The girl could handle many things in life. She could handle being in the woods, she could handle playing with her mother, and she could handle whatever homework her "other mother" gave her (until she coast was clear and she could sneak away again). But what she couldn't handle was the sight of a 500 foot drop waiting for her if she fell!

The crying continued as Goku sat casually on the Nimbus, slowly rising to the predicament before him until he was right in front of the branch. For whatever reason, however at all possible, there was Gohna, crying her eyes out as she held her entire small body and tail against a single branch stretching from the slope of the mountain, and situated right behind her was Caulifla, body clung to the branch that left her arms, legs, and tail dangling down.

It took several more seconds before Gohna realized her father was right in front of her, quickly jumping into his lap as she resumed her crying. "Daddy, it was so scary! There was a pretty bird, and it honked, then the log broke, and I fell in the water, and-" Goku slightly zoned out of the conversation as he tried to make heads or non-literal tails out of the situation.

"How did... You get up here...?" He asked, looking down at the massive falls again. Gohna's cries reduced to small sniffles as she thought about the question.

"Huh? ... I dunno..." She sniffed.

"Ughhh... what hit me?" Caulifla moaned. Whether from the constant sobbing right next to her or simply from her own sheer will, Cauli began to stir as she rubbed her eyes. Almost as soon as she awoke did the memories come flooding back to her, letting out a brief gasp as she looked down from the branch fearing the worst. "Ah! Gohna! Gohnaaaaaa!"

"Relax, she's right here." Goku pointed out, catching the woman off guard as she just noticed his presence. "Did you save Gohna?"

"What? I... Mmmmh..." Caulifla mumbled as she rubbed her eyes a bit soothingly. "I don't remember. Maybe?" It was hard to tell what happened after she collided with the rock. All she could recall was fading repeatedly in and out of consciousness to the point where she couldn't even tell if she ever was unconscious or was just dizzy from impact the whole time.

Smiling, Goku took Caulifla's hand as she shakily made her way onto the Flying Nimbus, squatting a bit behind her husband as she smiled down to Gohna. Wiping a tear from the girl's face, she adjusted the necklace around her so the Dragon Ball was in front of her again instead of dangling behind her.

"Well, come on. What do you say we get you home, huh?" Goku suggested, glad everything had turned out all right in the end. "Everyone was worried about you."

"And don't forget, we're going to take you to meet our old teacher today too." Caulifla chimed in, gesturing to herself proudly. "Your old man here had to be reminded it's been five years since we all saw each other~"

"Huh?" Goku blinked in confusion. "But wasn't Chichi the one who reminded you?"

"Mmmmmmh!"

*yoink*

"OW OW OW!" The young warrior was powerless to stop the unstoppable weapon that was his wife's grip.

At least when it came to the ears.

"What did I say about making me look bad?! Learn to take a hint!" She grumbled.

"Heheheh! Okay!" The display was amusing to the young child, which was what Cauli was going for as she grinned internally. For whatever reason, Gohna was one of the few people who genuinely made her happy whenever they smiled, next to Goku.

The family's charm came with a bit of joking and teasing as they flew away again on the Nimbus, returning to their safe abode. It was moments like these that brought the family closer together, no matter what harrowing ordeal they had to deal with. They would remember this day for laughs, tears, and ordeals and all the pleasantries that came with it. Looking back on it, they would soon discover that it was one of the happier moments of their lives.

Because by the end of the day, their entire livelihood was about to change...

...

...

...

A/N: Annnnnnd done! Wowie, it's been forever since I've done writing XD not gonna lie- it might take me more than a day for each chapter.

*GASP*
Yes, yes, I know, I know, whoever heard of a person needing more than one day to write a story, it's unthinkable to even comprehend! But there's a lot of fact checking i have to do back and forth this time, i've literally spent more time studying for this one chapter than I did in my over-a-dozen years of school tests put together. I say that jokingly and i dont even know if i am joking, that's how much i Had to study XD!

Lol, anyway, getting back on my previous A/N when I mentioned the flashback things, as I do love my fans and love the nice feedback they give me, I am here to let people know that for this particular fanfic, as an apology to the fans who've been waiting and a treat for them, I am taking requests for flashback! To summarize, if there's any scene in particular people want to see a flashback of that took place during the original Dragon Ball series, let me know in the reviews you leave behind and I'll see what I can do ^^! Some scenes might not get to in time, and for certain scenes people are curious about like "how/why did Caulifla marry Goku in the first place", take heart that such important scenes have already been planned and will be seen in the future. I have planned out for everything so we all know im definitely going to miss 99 other things out of the 1 I did plan for XP

Once again, I am NOT STOPPING CAT-RA ANYTIME SOON! I will indefinitely still be working on that fic in the future, and I assure everyone that I fully intend to get it done. This is mostly to help me get back into the writing of things, but for those who are interested in the concept, have no fears as I do fully plan to work on this fanfic all the same ^^

So with that said, hope you all enjoyed! If you REALLY enjoyed my work and want to support me in more ways, I do in fact have a Pat account (same username) where donations are deeply appreciated. And, if you're someone who has a request/idea they want to see for a Flashback scene into the past who donated, rest assured you'll definitely get first priority for the next chapter/episode.

Either way, again, hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fave, follow, and review if you enjoyed, and hope to see you guys again really soon!

I'M BACK BABAY! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

(P.S.: If anyone has an idea for a better title be sure to let me know cause the title sounds too cheesy yet i can't think of any other ones besides "DBZ: What If" XD)