Author's Note: Hello all, I hope the summer weather isn't too overbearing for everyone. I know I have been managing it well, from my new home!
Yes, normalcy has been restored as much as it can be, and I am in a new place, freshly moved and safe. All is well on my end, and it feels so good.
But enough about me. I'm hoping I left the last chapter on a big enough cliffhanger that you're all wondering what happens next. Not much else to say other than it's been a year since I started this story and, as always, I'm very touched and taken aback by the amount of attention this series has found. Thank you so very much for reading!
Okay, that's it for me. I hope you are all doing well, and that your summer days are treating you right. Please, enjoy.
"Let me if I'm understanding you correctly," Bulma said, looking over the young boy with purple hair standing in her lab. "You're looking for Son Goku but can't tell us why, you're a super saiyan but can't tell us how, and you're wearing a capsule corp jacket but can't tell us where you got it from. Is that everything?"
"Just… just about," Trunks said, withering a bit from the intense stare of the scientist. "But you have to believe me when I say that I'm not an enemy."
"That remains to be seen," Yamcha said, stepping forward, a fresh eyepatch now covering his old wound. "You were fighting Cooler before, so at least you aren't with them, but you fought in all the wrong ways."
"Yes, I'm sorry. He… I wasn't expecting him to be that strong."
"From what I hear, the problem wasn't how strong he was. It's that you rushed in and ruined our plan," Bulma said, crossing her arms. "Is your head as empty as your explanations?"
"No, and I have a good reason for everything, I swear, but you have to let me talk to Son Goku first."
Bulma and Yamcha looked at each for a moment before returning to Trunks. "He's not here," Bulma said bluntly.
"What?" Trunks with no small amount of shock. "But… but he has to be. He's the one who defeated Cooler, right?"
"No, we did," Yamcha said with a narrowed eye.
"W-who is we?"
"Tien, Piccolo, Gohan, Vegeta, myself, and Krillin. We have been preparing for the invasion for over a year. As we said, the only reason it didn't work was because of you."
"But… that's… how?"
"I told you," Yamcha said bluntly. "We've been preparing."
Trunks paused as he grappled with this new information. He wanted to know more, but with a shake of his head, the young man asked the more important question.
"Did Son Goku at least make it off, Namek?"
Both Yamcha and Bulma looked at him in surprise.
"We know he escaped Namek's destruction, but he hasn't been home for over a year," Bulma said, her distrust growing. "How do you know about Namek? And why do you think Goku should be here by now?"
Trunks looked over to a nearby clock on the wall and scowled deeply as his confusion worsened.
"It's… it's all wrong. This isn't how things are supposed to be."
"And how are things supposed to be?"
Trunks looked back at Bulma and hesitated. His entire body filled with doubt as he locked eyes with the scientist. With a heavy sigh, he pushed past his uncertainty and turned to face the two humans.
"What I'm going to say may sound crazy, but I assure you it is all the truth. I… I am from the future."
"What?" Yamcha said, taken aback. "The future? How is that possible?"
"… it's a long story and a big reason I'm here now. Originally, I was supposed to leave a message for Son Goku, but things are more complicated now."
"That explains why you know so much about Goku's whereabouts and why you have a capsule corp jacket without my knowledge. Those aren't common," Bulma said, her mind racing and connecting the dots in an instant. "How far into the future are you from?"
"A-about 20 years." Trunks said in surprise. "You believe me?"
"After everything I've seen, it'd be weirder if I didn't," Bulma fired back.
"You think he's telling the truth, Bulma?" Yamcha asked, looking at her.
"I do," Bulma said, not breaking eye contact with Trunks. "I haven't investigated the science myself, but it's theoretically possible. At least from what I've skimmed. But we are getting off track. Why are things complicated?"
"I… used a machine to get here from my time, but it was destroyed in the North Mountains during the fighting."
"So you need a new one," Bulma said.
"I do, but there's a bigger concern now. The way things are unfolding now is different from the history I know. Everything is a little off and I can't help but think something bad is about to happen."
"Different? Different how?" Yamcha asked.
"Well, according to what I have been told," Trunks said, looking back at the clock with worry. "Son Goku should have returned to Earth two hours ago."
The out-stretched hand from the silver-skinned man began gathering energy into its palm, yet Chichi didn't notice. Her eyes were squarely on her father, who lay still face down in a pool of his own blood. The sight stole away her voice and left her quivering as she tried to absorb what was happening.
"Mission objective: Kill the wife."
Chichi snapped to attention at these words, now looking at the energy aimed at her head. Yet before either she or the intruder could move, the loud sound of a gun being drawn interrupted them.
"In the name of the King, I order you to stand down!" Z shouted, holding a handgun at the silver man's head.
A flicker of a glance from the silver man was all Z's command received before returning to his primary target. Only to see a kitchen table thrown his way by his target.
Unleashing the blast, the man held split apart and set fire to the furniture, and disintegrated everything behind it. With the obstruction destroyed, the man looked for his mission objective only to find Chichi and moved into his range, with a fist raised.
"Get away from him!" Chichi said, twisting into the punch that slammed into the mystery man's side.
While her ki control was far from perfect, the ox princess had used her ability to fly to add to her acceleration. Moving at a speed far faster than a normal human, her punch would have crushed and broken several bones in any normal opponent. Yet, as despite her knuckles bruising themselves against the silver skin, the strike had no effect on the man.
"Kill the wife."
Moving faster than anyone she had ever seen, the silver man's hand reached for her throat to lift her off her feet and break her neck, yet he was stopped. A sharp bang interrupted the silver man's mission and echoed through the house as a bullet ricocheted off his face. The gunshot came from Z, who watched with wide eyes as he watched the silver man shrug off the shot.
"W-what?"
Ignoring the confusion on the agent's face, the silver man refocused on his objective and again reached for Chichi. Yet again, his mission objective was denied. Rising from the ground with his white-collared shirt dripping with his own blood, Ox-King's giant hand grabbed hold the silver man's long braid and pulled back with every bit of his strength.
"Don't touch her!"
With mechanical accuracy, the silver man slammed his elbow into Ox-King, shattering and splitting his ribs apart. His fresh wound widened as he gurgled and slumped down onto one knee, his breathing devolved into painful gasps.
Another gunshot rang out as Z unloaded a full clip into the intruder. His aim held years of practice in it as every bullet landed in a lethal area. However, the well-placed shots were completely ineffective against the silver skin of the man.
"What the hell are you!?" Z shouted as a hard click sounded out of his gun, signaling that he was out of bullets.
"Kill the wife." The man repeated and again reached for Chichi with unnatural speed. The Ox-princess couldn't move out of the way in time and gritted her teeth to prepare for the pain, unsure of how to save both herself and her father. It was a decision that would be made for her.
He rose from the floor with broken rips and an open hole in his stomach. He cast his arms wide and firmly planted his feet. His form was awkward and had not been practiced in many years, even so it was undeniably a stance of a martial artist.
"I… said," Ox-King bellowed as his giant arms wrapped around the silver man and grappled him in a deep bear hug. "DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!"
Blood ran down the silver man's back as the Ox-King used all his strength to hold him fast, yet it wasn't enough. With ease, the man broke out of the grapple and turned to the Ox-King with a fist raised. A sickening crack rattled the home as the man jammed his fist into Ox-King's chest, followed by a horrific scream from his daughter.
As the life faded from the Ox-King, he found his princess. She stared at him with eyes on the verge of breaking into pieces; her face twisted with grief. In seeing his only child scared and confused, the father did the only thing he could to comfort her. He smiled a full bright smile that said everything he didn't have the time to say. It was a smile filled with warmth and told her exactly what she needed to do.
Swallowing every bit of her that wanted to stay, Chichi ran over to the agent and grabbed him by the wrist, and pulled him towards the window in the kitchen. The silver man saw the movement and turned with energy crackling from his hand. It fired at the same time as Chichi smashed through the window with Z being dragged being. The flash of light narrowly missed both of them but collided with the gas stove, still cooking.
The resulting explosion ripped through the kitchen, and the walls of the home were blown apart, causing the ceiling to cave in. Gohan's room was full of textbooks and toys, the bedroom where only Chichi's side of the bed had been used, and even the living room lined with pictures of a happy family was disintegrated. The blast easily tore through the walls, doors, and furniture. It engulfed every inch of the house in flames burning down the years spent there in a horrible blaze of destruction. In what felt like an instant, the home at 439 East District was reduced to ash.
"What happened!?" Gero screamed as he stared at his screen in confusion. "14's aim should not be miscalculating, and it should be moving much faster than this! How did they escape!?"
"14 is not performing at full capacity due to its early activation."
"He was nearly complete! How is there such a difference in his projected capabilities!?"
"Activating an android early seems to hold several ramifications. It is advisable to wait until the android is fully operational before activating."
"Damn!" Gero said, slamming his hands on the table. "… but there's no going back. This opportunity won't come again. 14 must complete his mission before the others find him."
"What of the King's agent? His presence is unexpected."
"Indeed, our dear King must have also run out of patience with Goku's allies. Regardless, he is nothing of note. Eliminate him and make certain the body cannot be identified."
"Acknowledged, and the wife?"
"The orders remain the same," Gero said, returning to the screen that held 14's point of view. "Break her neck and leave the body in plain sight."
The ringing in Z's ears hadn't gone away when he opened his eyes. The explosion had melted away his shoes and blown off bits and pieces of his suit. He had lost his glasses when he had been dragged through the window and he could feel a combination of sweat and blood matting his hair, but he was alive. Which was very hard to believe as he looked down and saw he was flying through the sky.
His entire body heaved in fear, believing he was falling but found his arms held tight by something. Looking up, he saw Chichi holding him by his armpits and it didn't take long for him to realize that she was the reason they were adrift through the air.
"Wh- how?"
"Don't talk," Chichi snapped. "I can't fly for very long, so we're going to land over there."
Z looked over at a small clearing in the forest and said nothing as they drew closer. Z tried to wrap his head around the sensation of flying through the sky while picking his feet up as they nearly skimmed the tops of trees.
Setting down nearby one of the taller trees, Chichi shoved Z against it and hid herself the best she could. After a moment of silence with her back against the tree, she slid down, wrapped her arms around her knees, and hung her head low.
Seeing his savior holding herself tightly, Z decided to be proactive and scanned the area to see if they were being pursued. With nothing but the sounds of the forest surrounding them, Z eventually returned to Chichi and knelt by her side. There he could see the mother had also sustained some damage from the explosion. Her well-kept dress held multiple burn marks and her hair that had been tied into a tight bun was now unraveled. Her long, dark hair covered her shoulders and face.
"Did you bring him here?" Chichi said, her voice lethal and her head facing down. "Did you bring that thing into my home?"
"I did not. I do not know who that was or what was going on," Z answered firmly. "… but I am sorry for your loss."
Chichi's hold on herself tightened before she spoke again. "Who are you?"
"I am an agent of the King. That was not a lie," Z said quickly. "I have met Krillin only once before when I took him to see the King after the first invasion. He is the hero who saved us yet there is so much we don't know. The King has tried many times to explain how he… and now you hold so much power and the threats that endanger the planet, yet Krillin has refused to answer our questions. I have been tasked with investigating him. I have been tracking him and his allies, and the trail led me to you. However, beyond knowing that Krillin and his team have sustained no losses, I do not know of their status."
"Then you don't know if Gohan is, okay?"
"I… cannot say for cert-"
She stood up faster than he thought as a hard slap rattled him and sent him onto his side. She stood over him with a face of stone. They stared at each other before Z nodded and got back on his feet. With one smooth motion, he reached into his pocket and pulled out another pair of black glasses.
"I deserved that," the agent said, putting on his new pair. "What can you tell me of our pursuer?"
"You don't know?"
"No, I've never seen that man before, though I struggle to call that thing a man. The silver skin and that light it shot at us. It's unlike anything I've ever seen."
"That light is called ki."
"Ki?" the man said in surprise. "Yes, I read in a report that Krillin explained it to the King once. How do you know about it?"
"Krillin taught me he and the others can all use it; it's how I can fly."
"That power can be taught? Amazing," Z said with surprise before his tone shifted to worry. "Wait, if he can use ki like yourself could he also-"
Chichi noticed it first. With a powerful shove, she knocked Z away from the blast just as it descended onto them. The impact drove up a geyser of dirt and wood as the energy beam lay waste on a large section of the forest. The agent landed on his shoulder, bruising it heavily. Looking around, the dust obscured his vision but was clear enough to see Chichi dive through the cloud of dirt and reach out for him. As soon as she grabbed him by the forearm, she took off and flew deeper into the forest.
The ki blasts came down from above as the silver man began his barrage. Staying low to the ground, Chichi weaved through the trees, hoping the cover would shield them from some blasts. A line of explosions followed them as the beams of energy carved through the dense forest burned away the green. Z's shoulder throbbed as Chichi picked up speed, flying far faster than she ever had before. Sweat rolled off of her as she burned through the small amount of ki she had.
The energy volley increased in number and the blasts crept closer than more and more of the forest burned behind them. Z felt Chichi's hold on his arm a little as they raced to stay ahead of the destruction. Eventually, the forest gave way to a cliff's edge, ending the cover the trees provided.
With a clear shot, the man in silver fired another blast that scrapped Chichi's shoulder, burning flesh and bone.
"Ah!" Chichi cried out in pain as the concentration needed to stay airborne shattered.
The momentum of the flight carried the two humans beyond the cliff's edge and into freefall. With the wind shaking their skulls, they hurtled toward the ground at a blistering speed. Regaining her focus, Chichi strengthened her grip on Z and looked forward and realized that they weren't headed toward the ground, but a lake.
Looking behind her, she saw the silver man raise up both hands above his head and instantly generate a large orb of energy. Now fueled with determination and dread, Chichi dove to the lake. Adding her strength to the dive, the ox princess broke her record for the fastest speed as her father's murderer hurled the energy sphere at her back. Using the last of her ki Chichi pulled up and flew out just as the orb hit the lake behind her. The collision instantly killed all animal life in and around the lake while also covering the area in a massive waterspout, drenching the surrounding trees and obscuring the view of the man-made of silver.
What was that?
The thought stopped Krillin in his tracks as he cut his flight short. A small amount of ki had reached his senses. Hovering in the air, the monk's eyes narrowed toward the ki spike.
Did that… did that come from Chichi's house?
He paused, his mind racing for an explanation.
The only person capable of something like that in that direction would be Chichi, but why? Is she flying on her own?
He hesitated, unsure why he felt a sinking feeling deep in his chest.
It's okay, Krillin, Cooler's gone, and we won. Maybe she's trying to practice and surprise us when we get back. Korin should be at capsule corp by now and the others should be waking up. Just go there, pick up Gohan, and bring him home. That's the plan.
Resuming his flight path to the capsule corp, Krillin shook his head, trying to rid himself of worries.
Calm down, we won. Everything's going to be okay.
"Okay, I think we lost him." Z said, scanning the skyline from the foot of the cavern they had found.
With the destruction of the lake masking their trial, the two humans could find cover in a nearby cave. Thankfully, it had been long abandoned by any sort of animal and provided precious moments to catch their breath.
Walking back to the ox princess Z saw Chichi was still clutching her wound in pain. Burn marks and spots of blood had scarred the top of her right shoulder. The agent smoothly removed his jacket and tore off the sleeve in one motion. Kneeling, he offered the torn piece of fabric to his savior. "It'll be better if you can cover it."
Chichi nodded and offered her a shoulder to which Z tied his sleeve around the wound.
"Is there any way you could contact Krillin from here?"
"Not without a phone," Chichi said, shaking her head.
"Damn, I had one, but I lost it in the explosion. I have no other way of contacting help."
"So… we are on our own?"
"Looks like it."
"… the others are supposed to come by later," Chichi said slowly. "They'll see what happened and start looking. We just need to hold out until then."
"Why were you going to meet with the others today?"
"… I was cooking a feast for them."
"So that dinner I saw was for them. Why were you cooking?"
"To celebrate the end of the fight, it was my idea originally… it was so I could have something to do while I waited… it's all I can do. I can't do anything else."
She grew quiet, her hands trembling as that horrible realization bubbled to the surface.
"My father died. And I just watched."
The next few moments were silent as they sat there. It was only broken when Z took a deep breath and spoke. "You're wrong about being unable to do anything. You saved my life."
Chichi looked over to the agent, who seemed to stare off into a corner of the cave as he continued.
"There isn't anything I can say that will make your loss easier. Losing someone, losing family is the worst pain we go through."
"I lost my mother when I was very young," Chichi said slowly. "But I never knew her. There was no one to miss. This… I… I just feel cold."
"It won't feel real for a while, but eventually it will."
"… I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."
"You cry," Z said flatly. "You're in shock now and your adrenaline is still pumping, but when we get out of this, and you feel safe. You'll cry. You'll cry for a long time, then one day, you'll just tire of crying, and you'll start moving forward again, but you'll carry it with you. You can't stop the heartbreak."
There was no softness in his voice, nor did it waver in the slightest. He spoke as if he was simply stating a fact.
"… have you lost someone?" Chichi asked quietly.
"Yes, my brother."
The princess could tell this was not an easy subject and dropped it. Silence covered the small cave as both humans were lost in their thoughts doing their best to absorb what had happened.
"RR."
"What?" Z asked, perking up at Chichi's voice.
"I was thinking about that silver man," Chichi said. "Then I remembered it had two letters on its belt buckle. RR."
"Are you certain?"
"I won't be able to forget that thing if I tried," Chichi said while nodding.
"RR," Z repeated before his eyes, still covered with his dark shades, grew wide. "Red Ribbon."
"Did you say Red Ribbon?" Chichi asked quickly. "I… I think I've heard that name before."
"They were an evil organization hellbent on world domination years ago. Even the King's Army didn't have enough strength to destroy them, but something did. Something wiped out the entire Red Ribbon Army in a single day, but I don't understand what that has to do with you." Z said, his mind racing as he spoke. "What connection do you have with the Red Ribbon Army?"
As the agent had been talking, Chichi's mind went back to a conversation she had years ago, back when Gohan was just a baby and had been put down for the night. Back when she was laying in her bed with her husband by her side as he told her about the adventures he had when he was young.
"Goku," Chichi said, the realization hitting her like a lightning bolt. "My husband once told me he fought and defeated an army by that name."
"You mean Son Goku? That's unlikely. I've done my research on him and this was years ago. He'd have been around twelve years old when Red Ribbon fell."
"That's right, he was."
The agent studied Chichi for a moment and saw he could not find any sort of tell to show that she was lying. She fully believed that a twelve-year-old took down the Red Ribbon Army by himself. He opened his mouth to explain how that was impossible and found himself devoid of reasons. A silver man had destroyed an entire home with beams of light shooting out his hands and a housewife had carried him through the sky to save his life. He had seen the impossible with his own eyes. Which meant impossibilities needed to be reconsidered.
"Kill the wife," Z said, quoting the man of silver. "That's what that thing said, which means its true target is your husband."
"… that makes sense," Chichi nodded. "But Goku never mentioned meeting a silver man when he was fighting the Red Ribbon Army."
"That's because he's not a man at all," Z said firmly. "Before I met you, I got a call from the King stating he had received a warning about the former head scientist of the Red Ribbon Army, a man named Dr. Gero."
"Gero? I've never heard that name before."
"Few have, which means the warning holds weight. Yet the warning itself was not about the Dr but about the androids he would make in three years."
"Androids?" Chichi asked before her mind connected the dots. "So, you think this silver man is a machine?"
"Yes, if the warning is to be believed. Yet, we were told these androids would not arrive until three years from now. How could the warning be so wrong?"
"Target located."
The metallic voice cut off Z mid-sentence, bringing both humans' attention to the entrance of the cave. There the silver android lifted its hand, aimed at both Z and Chichi. With their backs to the small cave's end, there was no way out. Fear and horror marked both of their faces as a ball of ki gathered into the silver man's palm. There was nothing they could do to avoid the blast.
"Kill the wi-"
In that small window, before the blast was fired, someone appeared in front of the huddled humans. Their back was turned to the two of them and the darkness of the cave blocked Chichi from getting a good look at whoever stood in front of her, yet they were strangely familiar. She watched the figure turn toward her before stopping as the android spoke up.
"Mission objective upda-"
The figure charged and smashed into the android, moving at a speed faster than either human could see. The lunge took both the figure and the machine out of the cave while rattling the entire cavern. A layer of dust floated onto their heads as whatever had smashed into the machine had engaged it into a fight, shaking their hiding place.
"What… what was that?" Z asked, unsure if they were safe or not.
"I… I'm not sure, but we have to take this opportunity while we can," Chichi said, getting to her feet and waving Z over to the entrance.
Walking outside, the two were once again in the forest but above them, they heard the booms of an intense battle. Multiple collisions rang out across the sky, with the impacts breaking the sound barrier with ease. Bursts of wind shook the trees and the ground as the fight unfolded in the sky, causing Z to shield his face as he was nearly knocked off his feet.
"Careful," Chichi said, grabbing his arm to help remain grounded. "Don't get blown away. Whoever is fighting that thing can help us escape."
"Fight? That's… that's a fight?"
"Yes, I don't know for certain who that is, but we don't have time to wait around and guess," Chichi said quickly.
Z felt himself once again be picked up as if he weighed nothing and watched the stay-at-home parent he had been monitoring take flight once more. Continuing their strategy of staying low to the ground, the two humans weaved in and out of the forest's mighty trees. Yet the booms from the battle above their heads continued to shake the area. A stray ki blast shot out of the sky landed nearby and destroyed much of the woods. Both heat and bits of bark showered the two, despite the distance from the blast.
"This… this is what Krillin and his allies go through?"
"You didn't even know that much?" Chichi yelled before another ki blast landed and muffled her voice.
"I knew he could fly and was capable of great strength, but this… this is unreal."
Still trying to fly away from the battle, Chichi glanced toward it to get a better look at their mystery savior. Both the machine and whoever saved them were moving too fast to get a good look at them. Their bodies were blurs and streaks of ki lit up the sky further obscuring her vision. Whoever the android was fighting, they seemed to be able to keep up.
"Look out!"
Z's warning came too late as falling tree ripped out of the ground by the intense battle tumbled at them. Chichi swerved, allowing herself to bear the brunt of the collision, but the impact knocked the two out of the sky and skidding onto the forest's ground. Z lessened the fall and rolled to his feet with only minor scrapes. The ox princess landed hard and into a tumble as she did her best to shield her head. However, her unprotected knee smashed against a loose rock snapping bone.
"AAH!" Chichi cried, clutching her leg as the wound on her shoulder reopened.
Z ran to her even as the forest trembled from the surrounding battle. "Can you walk?" He asked, kneeling to her side.
"Doesn't… mater if I can… we need to move," she growled, her adrenaline overriding her pain. "Help me up."
The agent tried to be as gentle as he could and offered a shoulder and lifted upward. She hissed and gritted her teeth, her body shaking from overexerting itself.
"I can't fly anymore," Chichi muttered, trying to catch her breath. "I don't have the strength to."
Z silently cursed and walked, bringing along the mother of one. All around them, the fight continued moving into the forest itself. The booms and blasts destroyed miles of trees, uprooting them with just the impacts of their strikes.
"I don't understand…," Z said, trying to focus on walking forward. "How is power like this possible?"
"There is so much you don't know."
"… I'm seeing why," Z said flinched as the sound barrier broke only a few miles above his head. "A conflict like this would shake cities."
"Or…. destroy the planet," Chichi grunted. "You wanted to know. Now… you do."
"… the Earthquake from earlier. That really was from the fight in the North Mountains."
Chichi nodded before a heavy explosion of ki energy erupted just a few yards from them, sent a tremor through the forest grounds. Z's legs buckled for a moment, causing him to slump downward and ejecting another cry of pain from Chichi. Before he could get back to his feet, a large object fell out of the sky and rammed into the ground in front of them. Z struggled to keep upright as whatever landed had dug out a wide crater and battered him with a spray of dust and dirt. As the dust settled, the agent's blood ran cold as the silver android emerged from the newly dug hole and locked eyes with him.
"Secondary mission objective," the mechanical voice rang out as he gathered a ki blast. "Kill the wife."
The beam was fired, and its bright light forced Z to close his eyes despite his dark glasses. Chichi, however, watched the blast come toward her hatred at the machine overriding her fear. Yet she could not stop the crack in her voice as she spoke.
"I'm sorry, Gohan," the mother said as she faced death with her head held high. "Mommy loves y-"
In that breath, he appeared from nowhere again. Fading in as if by magic, the man stood in front of the ki attack and backhanded it with his fist and an inhuman amount of force behind it. It redirected the single shot of energy into the dense part of the forest, mowing down scores of trees. Now saved from immediate danger and no longer hampered by darkness, Chichi could finally get a good look at her hero.
He was wearing a strange outfit she had never seen him wear before. A strange assortment of clothes that was unlike any sort of Earthling fashion she had seen. His shoes remained the same as the day she last saw him, but he now sported red pants and a white puffy shirt. A dark blue bracer and a shoulder guard contained that shirt covering his left side. She didn't know why he was wearing this outfit or how he appeared in front of them, but she didn't care.
"Chi are you alright?" He asked, turning toward his princess.
His question was filled with concern and as he looked over his shoulder at her with eyes of worry, it confirmed what she had suspected in the cave.
Ignoring her knee injury, Chichi lifted herself off Z, hopped toward him, and buried her face into his back. She could not stop how tightly she embraced him around the waist or the tears pouring down her face. A hard sob rolled out of her as she felt her tension release and her grief finally settle in. Despite the danger still present, she felt safe enough to cry. This was her husband, this was the man she loved, and she felt warm once more.
Son Goku was home.