Dragon Ball Z 1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball and all related characters don't belong to me.

Note: This story follows the events presented in _Yoursweetsinner's_ one shot _"She never got his name"_; it is recommended you read it for some of the things in this chapter to make sense.

We belong to him.

By

Dr Facer

Chapter 1

Chi Chi makes a choice.

0-0-0

"_Things were not supposed to be like this,"_ Raditz thought; he had come to Earth expecting his younger brother to join him and instead he was now fighting him and his living cucumber of an ally! This annoyed the Saiyan warrior to no end, who could simply not understand why his brother was not behaving! Brain damage or not, he should have started killing the one hundred humans he'd demanded instead of being here picking a fight he could not win, not even with the help of that green man who had just been standing there with his fingers pressed again his forehead for several seconds now like a big idiot.

"Give me back my son!" Goku yelled angrily, redoubling his efforts to hit the man who claimed to be his brother.

"Go do as you were told and I'll consider it!" Raditz shouted back, effortlessly blocking his younger brother's attacks.

"Never, I'm not like you!"

"Stop this, Kakarot! Do you want to die so much? You should…" the long haired warrior stopped mid-sentence, listening to the beeping of his scouter, warning him of an unexpected power spike. Somehow the green man had amassed an outstanding 1330 units of power, but that was impossible! How could that cucumber head have done that? It could not be!

"Someone will die today, and it will be you, asshole! Makankosappo!" Piccolo announced with a fierce shout, unleashing his final and most powerful attack.

For a moment, after the attack hit and a cloud of smoke covered the area, it seemed as if Piccolo had succeeded, killing Raditz with his Special Beam Cannon. But as soon as the dust cleared, it became evident that this was not the case.

Raditz stood there, a scratch on his shoulder the only proof that the Makankosappo almost hit him. The Saiyan, thanks to his scouter's warning, had managed to avoid it at the last instant.

"Not bad, not bad at all!" Raditz commended as he pointed at his shoulder pad. "That thing went right through my armor, can you imagine if I had let it hit me?"

"That was my best technique… and he sidestepped it?" Piccolo took a step back, momentarily too afraid to think about something. If only Goku had done his job distracting this freak…

"I'm tiring of you, boys…" Raditz stated. "It is time to end our game, and your life… with a single blast!"

Goku cursed his luck as he got up. That stupid machine on his brother's face had warned him in time about Piccolo's attack, and would warn him again if he tried to use his Kame Hame Ha on him. Something clicked on the younger Saiyan's mind then. Raditz' machine; it had to go! It was the only chance they had of surprising him and win this fight!

With this idea in mind, Goku took advantage of his brother taunting Piccolo to do something he hoped would help them finish this once and for all.

He kicked at Raditz' face with all he had.

The older Saiyan tripped a step as he received a rather strong impact on his left temple, which was followed by a burst of electricity that stung his ear. He knew what that meant; his younger brother had crushed his scouter! Furious at this, Raditz started turning but he suddenly felt his strength draining rapidly.

Looking behind him, he found the last thing he ever wanted to see in this situation: His younger brother had grabbed his tail.

"You got careless and I… got your tail!" Goku announced with a triumphant smirk. "Hurry Piccolo, attack him again!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" the green warrior said, raising his index and middle finger to his forehead, gathering energy once more.

"No, no! This is wrong!" Raditz cursed, his body refusing to follow his orders. "Kakarot, let me go or the blast might hit you too! Don't you care about that?"

"I don't… all I want is to save Gohan!"

"I was not going to hurt him!" Raditz yelled. "He's my nephew! I wouldn't hurt my brother's child!"

"But hurting me is fine?" Goku asked, his voice somewhat pained.

"I wanted to see if you're a worthy Saiyan!" the alien soldier replied, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "It was just a training session between brothers, that's our race's way! Don't tell me you will kill me? I'm family!"

"I-I guess…not" Goku's hold on his brother's tail started to falter as his eyes grew soft, his gentle nature getting the best out of him.

"Don't listen to him, Goku!" ordered Piccolo, who had just finished charging his attack and was ready to try using it again. "Think about your son, you idiot! Don't you want to save him and take him home?"

Piccolo's words hit Goku hard, and he realized that he was about to let Raditz free. His mind filling with images of a smiling Gohan, the younger Saiyan squeezed his brother's tail as hard as he could.

"Kakarot… brother… no…" Raditz could not take it anymore; he almost blacked out for an instant and fell on his knees as his strength abandoned him.

Piccolo stared at this with great interest. In front of him was his most hated enemy in a weakened state, and also that other long haired punk, but he was seemingly about to faint and would remain as harmless as a kitten for as long as his tail was being crushed. The emerald warrior smirked as an idea formed in his mind. This situation was very, very good for him.

"Goku!" Piccolo called. "Time to die… Makankosappo!"

The unruly haired young man had no time to react to what was happening, and was fully hit by his nemesis' attack, which cleanly went through him, causing him an immense amount of damage. Screaming in pain, Goku fell on his back, his blood spilling abundantly from the gaping hole in his chest.

Piccolo, who had already planned for this, quickly dashed to where his enemies were and stomped on the tail of the long haired warrior, denying him the chance to recover while using his other foot to step on Goku's gaping wound.

"You fucking traitor!" Raditz growled weakly. "You don't betray your friends in battle!"

"He's not my friend!" Piccolo laughed. "And this is what both of you deserve for getting in my way!"

"Why Piccolo…?" Goku struggled to ask as his life seeped away.

"Why? Because I'm evil, you stupid moron, that's why!" the green warrior cackled while pressing his heel on his fallen foe's bloody chest, relishing on the screams of agony he extracted from his rival. "I saw the chance to finish the both of you and I took it! There's no one left to help you! I finally won!"

Piccolo, however, was wrong. There _was_ someone else left.

Gohan, sitting inside his uncle's space pod, wiped a tear from his face. He had given up on yelling for help several minutes ago and had instead settled on just sit and sniffle while listening to what was happening outside, hoping his father would win the fight soon so they could go back home.

His father suddenly screamed, and the child started to really pay attention. He did not really understand all that was being said, but the screams of his father he understood. Someone was hurting him, and Gohan did not like that, not at all.

His father screamed again.

Gohan was desperate and afraid; he didn't know what to do! All he knew was that he hated to hear his father screaming. A strong resolution burst inside the child and he decided that no one would hurt his daddy, no one! Feeling his body burn with a powerful rage, the boy acted on pure instinct as his power surged and jumped out of his uncle's space-pod, destroying it completely.

The infant landed out of the small crater the pod had been on and quickly surveyed the battlefield in front of him. His father was on his back, a pain filled expression on his face and the other man, the one who apparently was his uncle was also on the ground. The only one standing, and who still had one foot on his father's wound was the tall green man. He was the one hurting his daddy. And he didn't seem to want to stop.

"You monster...! Stop hurting my DADDY…!" Gohan yelled, trembling with unleashed rage and once again acting purely on instinct. All he knew then was that he needed to destroy that green monster, to hurt him back for causing his father pain. Blind with fury, the child allowed his ki to flare to life around him and with a mighty shout he launched himself at the emerald warrior.

The attack caught the evil fighter completely out of guard, and the results were devastating: Gohan went through flesh and bone with ease, ripping apart Piccolo's right arm, shoulder and a large chunk of his torso. The boy fell clumsily behind the mortally wounded warrior. His infantile rage sated, he fell on his knees breathing heavily, completely exhausted.

A loud thud was heard behind the child; Piccolo had fallen, agonizing, to the ground.

Gohan looked behind him, and fear crept up his stomach as he realized what he had just done. Shaken by the image of the wounded emerald martial artist the Son child did the one thing that still made sense to him and started crawling to his father.

Raditz was having trouble believing what had just happened. He had first noticed how the pressure on his tail lessened a little, which allowed him to turn and look at the green traitor above him, letting him contemplate the look of utter disbelief in his face; he gazed at his brother and noticed that despite the pain, Kakarot was also apparently sensing something that made him feel uneasy. Then he felt it too, a strange, faint sensation he had never felt before; he had no time to wonder what it was or why he felt it, for his nephew blasted out of his space-pod, flared his energy like a torch and proceeded to punch a hole through the one Kakarot had called Piccolo!

"How can that brat be so strong?" the Saiyan wondered as he got back on his feet, his strength quickly returning now that his tail was free. "The scouter didn't register anything out of the ordinary when I analyzed him before!"

"Ra... Raditz..."

The older Saiyan turned to look at his brother, who quite surprisingly still lived. Was Kakarot going to ask for his help now?

"What do you want, Kakarot?"

"Please, don't kill... Gohan..." Goku implored. "He's… j-just a kid."

Whatever Raditz planned to answer was interrupted by his nephew, who knelt at his father's side and placed his trembling hands on his chest.

"Daddy, let's go home!" the boy wailed, his eyes watering again as he noticed the wound on his progenitor's chest. "Let's go with mommy, she will make you all better!"

"Mom... can't help me... son," Goku answered with a strained whisper. "P-Please G-Gohan, don't c-cry... you have to be... stronger... than... me..."

The wounded young man tried to continue, but was interrupted by a violent spasm that robbed him of the chance. His body convulsed twice, blood sprayed from his mouth as his head fell to the side and then… nothing. He was now still and peace had returned to his face. Son Goku would never again feel pain. The brave hero was dead.

The child panicked as he saw this, and all he managed to do was to hiccup and sob. When he understood his father would not move anymore, Gohan's lips trembled and he started to cry as loud as he could.

Standing behind the boy, Raditz crossed his arms and tried to decide what to do about this development. His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed a labored breathing behind him. Turning, the long haired warrior realized that Piccolo still lived.

Seeing that piece of trash still alive angered him. Raditz knew well that he was not above using underhanded tricks to win a fight and would quickly admit that he was not great on cooperative teamwork. He, however, would never betray Nappa and Vegeta during a battle, unlike what that green piece of waste had done with his brother.

"I can't believe that bastard survived," he angrily whispered. Following an impulse, the long haired warrior grabbed his nephew by the back of the robe he wore and lifted him up, forcing him to look at Piccolo.

"Look. The person who killed your father still lives!" Raditz told Gohan. "You did not avenge his dead completely!"

Gohan did not answer, he instead cried louder than before.

"Shut up, boy!" Raditz ordered with a growl, shaking the kid a couple of times, forcing his cries to stop. "Shut up and listen to me!"

The child forced himself to obey and, in silence, tried to pay attention to what his uncle wanted to tell him.

"You did the right thing, you hear? He betrayed and murdered your father," Raditz said in the boy's ear. "Traitors don't deserve to live. You did well by hurting him. And now, my dear nephew, I'll send your father's killer to hell. Don't you like the idea?"

"B-but…" Gohan sobbed. "Mommy says…!"

"This traitor killed your father!" Raditz interrupted. "We must have revenge for what he did!"

The Saiyan warrior didn't wait for his nephew's reply and shot a blast of energy at Piccolo, completely erasing him from existence, leaving only a smoking hole in his place.

"A Saiyan must never cry in the battlefield, and you _are_ a Saiyan! Do you understand?" Raditz reprimanded as he dropped Gohan back on the ground. "Now wait here and don't you dare to move; I have some things to do and I better not hear you cry again!"

Leaving his nephew behind, Raditz walked to his destroyed pod and looked over the remains, hoping to find his spare scouter. He did find it, at least what was left of it, under the cindered seat. He lifted it for better examination and decided that it would be impossible to make it work; the scouter's energy core was busted and the reader was broken. The lack of a scouter didn't bother him that much, as he knew that power-wise he was the strongest in this backwater world he was strongly considering purging before leaving; what really bothered him was not having a space-pod available so he could leave this mud hole as soon as possible.

In the middle of his frustration, though, he suddenly realized that there was another space-pod in this planet; his brother's! All he had to do was to find it and then he would be able to leave this place for good. Pleased with this idea, Raditz looked again between what was left of his small ship until he found what he needed, which it seemed to be undamaged. Not trusting his luck, Raditz checked the small metal cylinder in his hands and smirked when it made a beeping sound. Excellent, his pod's remote still worked well, which meant he could use it to locate the signal of Kakarot's. Sure, it wouldn't give him the exact location, but finding the other space-pod would be now a matter of looking for it for a few hours, at most.

The long haired Saiyan walked out of the crater and found that his nephew had gone to sit at his dead father's side. The boy, while miserable looking, was not crying anymore, he obviously wanted to of course, but was managing to hold the tears back surprisingly well.

"At least the brat is obedient," Raditz muttered. He turned on the remote and pressed the search function. The small screen on the end of the cylinder blinked for a few seconds until finally, an arrow appeared, pointing in the direction where the other pod was.

"Good, Kakarot's pod seems to be intact." He smiled as he allowed his ki to lift him up.

"Wait!" a frightened child's voice called. "Don't leave me here! Please uncle, don't leave me alone!"

The alien warrior froze. Did the kid just call him uncle?

"Please don't go!" the child begged again.

Raditz spared a glance at his nephew and saw a devastated child about to crumble in despair. He knew he shouldn't care about the brat and should just leave him behind, but found that he couldn't do it. Cursing planet Vegeta's five warrior gods for his weakness, Raditz descended and walked to his nephew's side, who as soon as he had noticed he was not going to abandon him changed his panicked and devastated expression for one of hope.

The Saiyan sighed, slightly frustrated with the situation. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Babysitting was by far the last thing he wanted to do. And besides, he would win nothing by taking the kid with him. The warrior's brow knit as an idea entered his mind. Kakarot had turned into a soft weakling because he hit his head and was not raised as a Saiyan; but this kid here… perhaps he could raise him to be a strong member of his race, after all the kid had shown an amazing potential only a few minutes ago. Smirking, Raditz kneeled in front of the boy and roughly held him by his shoulders.

"Your father told you to be strong," he reminded Gohan. "I can make you strong if you come with me and do what I tell you. Will you do it, kid?"

Gohan, just too glad he had not been abandoned, nodded slowly. The boy, however, would have agreed to anything then, just to keep his uncle with him and not being left alone.

"Thank you Mr. Raditz," the boy whispered, his face still a mask of sadness. "Can we… can we take daddy home, too… please?

It took all of Raditz' self control not to hit the kid for pushing his luck so much. This boy was expecting him to carry Kakarot's corpse? The Saiyan was about to refuse but one look at his fallen brother made him change his mind. Kakarot had died because of treason, an already shameful enough death for any warrior; there was no need to shame him further by letting him rot here. Besides, taking his brother home and burying him there wouldn't take too long and, all things considered, how far could Kakarot's house be?

"Where do you live?" he asked Gohan. "Do you know how to get there?"

"In Mount Paoz," the child honestly answered. Gohan, still full of childish innocence, now felt reasonably safe even if he had to attach himself to a man who had him terrified and trapped only minutes ago. "But I don't know how to go back."

"Wonderful. Just wonderful," Raditz muttered, for a moment he considered incinerating his brother's body, but he had already made his mind about burying him so the only option now was to find out where this 'Mount Paoz' was.

"Stay here kid. I'll be back soon," the Saiyan ordered and, before his nephew could argue, flew away as fast as he could.

It didn't take Raditz too long to find a road and, as he expected, a vehicle. The warrior sped up as he descended and touched ground right in front of an old, black truck.

"What the hell are you doing, you idiot?" the driver yelled angrily as he braked to a sudden stop. "Jumping in front of my truck like that, do you want to die?"

"I want directions," the soldier said as he walked to the side of the truck and darted his hand with blazing speed to grab the trucker by the neck. "How do I get to Mount Paoz from here? Speak quickly and you might live."

"M-Mount Paoz?" the driver managed, struggling against the crushing pressure on his throat.

"Don't make me repeat myself!"

"L-look, just… it's far from here, alright? You… just keep going east… you got to pass S-Skull Valley and then… you'll find Mount Paoz!"

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" Raditz said, slowly releasing the man.

"Can… can I go now?"

The Saiyan chuckled evilly as he pointed a finger at the driver's head. "You shouldn't insult people stronger than you, unless you're ready to face the consequences."

"B-but I…"

Raditz didn't give the man a chance to finish talking, as he simply shot a line of ki at his head, blasting it into a bloody mess. Once he'd gotten rid of the annoying insect who had dared to insult him, the Saiyan's attention was drawn to the cargo on the back of the truck; it was nothing but a bunch of different fruits covered by a large piece of cloth. Raditz was not really hungry, but couldn't stop himself from eating a few pears. Before he went back to where his nephew was, the Saiyan took a few red fruits with him, as well as the cloth that covered the rest of the cargo.

Gohan was trying very, very hard not to cry. He had thought his uncle would not leave him alone after he had agreed to go with him and be strong, but he left anyway. Sure, he had promised he would come back, but he had been gone for a while and he was starting to believe he had been abandoned.

The boy had tried to look at his father before, but that only made him cry so he had instead walked a little bit away from him; he was now close to the big hole he had been trapped in and while there was little left from the space pod, something between the remains still managed to catch his eye. It was his hat; something about it was different. Curiosity getting the best of him, Gohan slid inside the crater and picked it up.

It was strange, the orange crystal sphere, the one his father had called Dragon Ball and his mommy had attached to his hat was now just a grey rock. The child had no time to ponder on the reason, for a couple of apples fell at his side. Looking up, he saw his uncle had dropped them.

"We're leaving when I'm done doing something, so you better eat quickly," Raditz ordered his nephew as he landed besides Kakarot.

While the boy munched on the apples, the long haired soldier occupied himself wrapping his younger brother's body with the large cloth he'd brought with him. Once he'd finished covering Kakarot, Raditz lifted him over his left shoulder, firmly holding him steady with his left hand.

"Come here kid, it's time to go!" the Saiyan called.

"Y-yes, I'm coming," replied Gohan, rushing to where his uncle waited.

Raditz picked the boy up when he was close enough and was surprised, almost scared out of his mind, when Gohan hugged his neck strongly, pressed against his chest and coiled his little tail around his forearm. Just like a few minutes before, Raditz had to use all of his self control not to hit the kid, or simply dropping him and kicking him away.

After breathing deeply a few times, Raditz managed to calm down enough to fly without dropping his nephew for being such a clingy pest and, before he changed his mind about the whole thing, he took off, flying to the east as fast as he could.

"Huh… Mr. Raditz?" Gohan whispered. "Are we seeing mommy?"

"Yeah, I guess we are." The Saiyan said, wondering for the first time what type of woman was Kakarot's wife, and if killing her would be necessary in order to take his nephew with him.

"Good, I miss mom," the child yawned then and almost immediately, fell asleep.

"Sure, make yourself comfortable," the tall Saiyan muttered unenthusiastically as he noticed that his nephew had decided this was the perfect time to fall asleep. He reasoned that whatever the kid had done when he wounded Piccolo had taken a heavy toll on his energy so this was not so surprising; still, Raditz wished that the little kid's tail had unwrapped from his forearm.

Not too long after, Raditz flew over a ravine full of skeletons, which he correctly guessed would be Skull Valley and that meant his destination was close; increasing his speed, the soldier passed a tall mountain and found himself in a familiar place; the same hills where the woman he had met earlier lived.

An amazing coincidence, the Saiyan realized, that said fiery nymph lived in the same area her brother had, maybe she even knew where Kakarot's house was. Raditz remembered something then; the girl had claimed she had never seen someone with a tail before, which was strange considering his nephew also lived in these mountains.

"I knew she was lying, I should have questioned her further," Raditz regretted as he frowned at himself for not asking more questions. But then again, he had been more interested in other things he could get from that woman at the time, and had no way to know he'd be back here on the same day just a few hours later. "Well… it seems I'll have to visit her again to teach her not to lie."

His decision made, Raditz flew right to where he remembered her house was, and touched down outside it in a matter of seconds. He placed his brother and sleeping nephew on the ground and realized the wind during his flight had uncovered Kakarot's face but decided it was not important. Stretching his arms once, the Saiyan prepared to enter the cabin, but a sudden crash caught his attention; he looked to his right and saw her, standing very still with a panicked expression on her face.

0-0

She was looking at herself in the mirror, her eyes set on the purplish mark adorning her neck. That man had bitten her there while they were doing… that. He bit her, and it still hurt.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" she whispered anxiously while wishing she had bought proper make up to cover it up instead of buying only lipstick the last time she and Goku went to the nearby town. "I can't believe this... giving me a hickey just here!"

It was a good thing most of her clothes were conservative, since they would hide this shameful stain on her flesh until it was gone.

Wondering how long it would take for it to disappear, she brought her fingertips up and traced the mark slowly, instantly remembering the moment it had happened, how he had first rained gentle kisses on her neck just to suddenly bite her, distracting her long enough for him to force her legs open.

"Curse him! I'm glad I'm never seeing that horrible man again!" Chi Chi spat as she forced the memory of him out of her mind and buttoned up the high neck jacket she had decided to wear for the rest of the day.

She glanced at the clock on her wall and her knit brow as she saw the hour. It was late and she had not cooked anything for her son and husband to eat yet. That, however, was not important. What was important was the fact that Goku was late; an hour late to be precise. For a brief moment she wished she had paid more attention when Goku tried to show her how to feel and trace the Ki of others. She knew the basics of the technique and could somewhat do it if her target was no more than a few steps away, but that was it. Chi Chi had deemed that as an unnecessary skill she would never need as a married woman, and now she realized it had been a mistake not to pay more attention to her husband when he had tried to teach her, if she had, she could try to feel how far away from home her family was.

But she couldn't, so she would have to find something else to do to keep her mind occupied until Goku was home. Hoping that cooking for her husband would help her forget the events of that morning, the Ox Kingdom's princess made her way to the kitchen and started rummaging for something to prepare a soup or stew with. Losing herself in the familiar task of working for her family, Chi Chi finally started feeling more like her usual self.

Noticing she would need more water for the broth she was making, the woman reached for a bucket and went out to get what she wanted from the water barrel Goku had placed in the back of their house. It didn't take her more than a couple of minutes to finish this task, and after placing the lid on the barrel she made her way back, hoping this would be enough water to boil both the vegetables and chicken.

Occupied with these domestic thoughts, Chi Chi almost screamed the moment she turned the corner and saw _him_ standing in her garden. It was _him_ again. And Goku was still not back. She noticed the bundle at the man's feet, stared at it more attentively and saw the pale face of her husband; her dead husband. Chi Chi looked to the other side and saw her son also laid as motionless on the ground as his father. Fear creeping up her spine, she felt her hands go numb and dropped the bucket, spilling water all around her. Understanding her family was dead, a grim thought entered her mind:

_He killed them. Goku is dead. Gohan is dead. He killed them and I had sex with him. I had sex with the man who killed my husband and my son!_

Chi Chi's hands balled slowly into fists as her shame, guilt and pain all mixed inside her and turned into a strong, irrational fury. Allowing her anger to crush her fear, she yelled a cry of despair and launched herself at him, not caring about the consequences anymore.

Raditz had to admit he was truly surprised by the fierceness with which the woman was attacking him. She had actually managed to force him back a few steps just by the sheer ferocity she was exhibiting! Her rage, however, revealed to the soldier a truth he was already suspecting: This woman was indeed Kakarot's wife. She had to be. Why else would she react like this after seeing his body?

"I'll kill you, I swear!" Chi Chi cried desperately, her voice marked with unfathomable pain. "You killed my family, you fucking bastard!"

"I didn't kill Kakarot!" Raditz argued strongly until he got tired of blocking the woman's punches and easily caught her wrists so he could force her arms down. "Now, listen to me, I…"

"LIAR!" the princess screamed angrily. "You killed Goku and Gohan, I HATE you!"

Raditz, not even noticing the tears running down the woman's face, started considering killing her just to shut her up, and was about to do so, but the voice of a child stopped him.

"Mom?" Gohan called. "Mommy?"

"G-Gohan, you live?" Chi Chi whispered in disbelief, her anger vanishing as she saw her son sitting, alive and well, in front of her.

Seeing no need to restrain the woman anymore, the Saiyan let her loose and watched in silence how she ran to her son and hugged him fiercely. Such displays of affection bored the warrior immediately, as they were nothing but a waste of time as far as he was concerned.

"Gohan, are you alright?" asked Chi Chi, caressing her child's face to convince herself that he was truly there. "Did he hurt you?"

The boy, now in the safety of her mother's arms, allowed himself to sob and started crying loudly. "The… the green man killed daddy!"

"Green man?" Chi Chi looked up from her son and threw a cautious, but quite questioning, look at the armored soldier behind her.

"Kakarot was killed by a fighter named Piccolo," he informed her. "That piece of trash got him by surprise."

Piccolo. Chi Chi felt her stomach twist with renewed fury. She knew they should have locked him up inside Kami Sama's castle after the Martial Arts Tournament, but her husband had chosen to let the demon roam the world free and now had paid the price for his naivety.

"Goku was always stronger," the new widow said as she looked at her deceased husband. "How did that… villain managed to kill him?"

Raditz lifted a brow, he didn't have any obligation to explain that to this woman, and he certainly didn't feel like it. His nephew, on the other hand, was apparently quite eager to inform his mother about everything.

"He took me from dad," Gohan said then, pointing an accusing finger at his uncle. The boy was not crying anymore and having learned before that it was never a good idea to keep things from his mother, decided to tell her what he knew. "Daddy had to do something for him, but dad said no… then I was in a space ball and then… I think daddy was fighting and Piccolo hurt him… he hurt daddy pretty bad… so much b-blood…"

Gohan's voice broke then and he started crying again.

"I see," Chi Chi muttered, pressing her son against her chest. "Why did you take my son?"

"I needed to convince Kakarot to come with me," the Saiyan said evenly. "I knew he would listen to me if I had his kid."

"His name is Goku. Not Kakarot."

"My parents named him Kakarot. That was my brother's true name," Raditz corrected. "And you tried to stop me from finding him."

"Look at what happened after you met him, he got killed by that cursed demon!" She quickly snapped while staring at him with anger filled eyes. "My husband was murdered because of you!"

"I don't need to justify my actions, woman!" the alien soldier glared at her. "It wasn't my fault Kakarot decided to join Piccolo and fight me instead of listening to what I had to say!"

"He… he trusted Piccolo?"

Raditz chuckled. "Ironic that he preferred to listen to that traitor and not his older brother; this planet really messed Kakarot up."

Chi Chi did not answer, she was trying to comprehend why her husband had decided to trust Piccolo of all people. Didn't Goku understand how dangerous and evil Piccolo was? No, he obviously did not. Goku always tried to see the good in others, even if there was no good to be found.

"Oh… Goku… Goku… you never learned did you?" Chi Chi whispered, a pair of tears sliding down her face. "You always had to be the noble one, didn't you?"

"I… I beat Piccolo, mom," Gohan announced timidly, hoping that would console his mother at least a little.

"You… what?"

"The kid's not lying. He punched a big hole on this...Piccolo, he almost killed him," Raditz confirmed, the conversation finally moving to something he found more interesting than the woman's boring grief.

"But is he dead?" Chi Chi asked then, her eyes grew cold as she looked at the man standing in front of her. "Did you kill Piccolo?"

"Of course I killed him!" Raditz assured her. "Traitors don't deserve to live."

"And before that… did he suffer, was he in pain?" Chi Chi was anxious.

"Your son almost ripped him in half." the Saiyan replied, knowing that would be answer enough.

"...I'm glad," the princess whispered.

"Mommy?" Gohan asked, not sure if he had heard correctly.

"What did you say?" Raditz asked as well, wondering the same thing his nephew did.

"I said I'm glad!" she shouted, new tears sparkling in her eyes as she did so. "I'm really glad Piccolo is dead, and I'm happy he died in pain! It's what that demon deserved for killing Goku!"

The warrior stared attentively at the woman, amazed to no end by what she had just said. She had spoken like... like a Saiyan female. Was that the reason why Kakarot, even with no memories of his heritage, had married her? Puzzled by this idea, Raditz suddenly realized that punishing her for lying to him was not so appealing anymore.

Chi Chi, still holding Gohan close to her, had closed her eyes and was deep in thought. She knew she was being petty, yelling those things about how she felt glad Piccolo was dead, but the princess didn't care. She knew quite well that if Piccolo died, Kami-Sama and the Dragon Balls would be gone too, destroying any chance of her husband ever coming back to life. Well, if the only consolation she could have other than having Gohan safe and sound with her was knowing that Piccolo had suffered before dying, then she would take it, as petty as it was.

A sudden blast of Ki brought her out of her grim thoughts; startled, the widow looked behind her and found a smoking man-sized hole, a hole the long haired stranger was placing her husband in.

"What are you doing?" she asked him.

"I'm burying my brother," he answered calmly. "That's the only reason why I brought him here."

"No! Don't put my daddy there!" Gohan started, the child already knew her father was dead, but he didn't know anything about burials and the idea of his father being put in a hole, never to be seen again, was not comforting at all.

"This is what you do when people die if possible, kid," Raditz interrupted. "You give them a place to rest undisturbed."

"But... daddy!" the kid started shaking, not liking the idea of seeing Goku inside that hole.

"He is right, my dear," Chi Chi said then, softly stroking her son's hair, trying to calm him down a little while she ignored the pain seeing her husband put in a grave caused her. "It has to be done. Your father needs a place to rest and this... this is a good place for him, Gohan. He... he grew up here, I'm sure he will be at peace in these mountains."

"Will dad be happy?" the child asked, struggling to hold back new tears.

"Yes, Gohan," Chi Chi assured, straining to keep her voice steady and finding it very difficult in the face of her child's grief. "Daddy will be happy here. I'm sure he will."

The Saiyan had completely ignored the exchange between the boy and his mother and had instead focused on his job, resorting to using the bucket Kakarot's wife had dropped to scoop the dirt he was using to fill the grave.

By the time Raditz finished working, the boy and the mother were both standing in silence by the new tomb. The warrior assumed they were praying or doing whatever it was people in this useless planet did when they mourned, and decided he didn't care about it. Walking a few steps away from the woman and his nephew, the Saiyan reached for the remote he kept in his back pocket and turned it on. To his surprise, the remote's screen indicated that Kakarot's pod was very close by; he shouldn't have a lot of trouble finding it.

"Are you leaving? Good, make sure you never come back here." The widow said coldly.

Raditz looked up from his remote and considered telling the annoying female he would return for his nephew but in the end decided against it; if she knew he was taking the boy with him she could try to hide or run away, and he really was not in the mood for a chase in the forest.

"Didn't you hear?" she insisted. "I told you not to come back!"

The soldier didn't answer and took off. He would be back of course, but she didn't need to know when or why.

0-0

Raditz was pleased. He had found Kakarot's pod rather quickly and not too far away from where he lived, covered by thick vegetation. The pod was not in optimal condition, of course, but it would serve well for what he needed it for. Pressing a button hidden near the porthole, the Saiyan managed to open the small spherical space ship and looked under the seat, smiling when he found the scouter where it should be.

"Great, the scouter's battery is still almost full," said Raditz as he adjusted the machine to his ear and turned it on. "I can finally report to Vegeta about what happened here."

Wasting no more time, the Saiyan soldier called his prince.

"_You're using a different frequency, Raditz, what happened to your scouter? Did you drop it while playing with your little brother?"_ Vegeta's mocking voice greeted once the tall Saiyan managed to make contact with the prince.

"Something like that," Raditz answered, not wanting to relate how his brother had destroyed his previous scouter.

"_So what happened to Kakarot, I'm guessing he's dead?"_ the prince asked. _"Nappa and I were sure you had killed each other, but it seems we got it half wrong."_

"Yes, my brother is dead. His ally betrayed and killed him."

"_And you then got rid of this traitor. How convenient,"_ Vegeta said. _"Well, why are you wasting time there? Stop bothering me and hurry back, we'll meet at Planet Frieza #47."_

"What about Kakarot's son?" asked Raditz. "The kid could be useful."

"_You third class soldiers are so sentimental,"_ the Prince huffed with disdain. _"Kill the brat; we have no use for an inferior half-blood Saiyan in our group._"

"Kill him?"

"_I don't feel like repeating myself, Raditz,"_ Vegeta warned. _"Do as I said or I'll have to teach you a lesson when we meet again."_

"Fine. I'll take care of the child," the long haired Saiyan agreed after a moment of doubt. It was a pity, really, since he really thought his nephew could be a great soldier.

"_See that you do,"_ Vegeta said, cutting the signal off.

Raditz took in a deep breath and sat inside the space pod, pressing a series of buttons in the control panel so he could have the system reboot itself before inputting his own data into its memory. He hoped doing this would help him forget about Vegeta's commands, which to him made no damned sense. Kill the kid? Why? Surely having another member on the team, even if it was a kid, would be an asset, not a drawback.

A beep on his scouter alerted him of an incoming call. Raditz frowned as he identified the frequency; it was the secret one Vegeta always used when he wanted to speak without Frieza's men listening to him. But why would the prince want to use a secure channel now?

"_Have you killed the kid yet?"_ Vegeta inquired as soon as Raditz answered the call.

"No, not yet."

"_Good. Because I want you to train him."_

"Didn't you want him dead a second ago, what's going on?"

"_He's a hybrid, I'm interested in knowing how strong he can become,"_ the prince explained. _"If his power increases like that of a true Saiyan it might be worth a shot to try to have more of them."_

"But why keep it a secret?" Raditz asked. "They'll know about it the moment I set foot in a planet controlled by Frieza, besides..."

"_I don't want them to know a lost Saiyan had a child,"_ the prince interrupted. _"Zarbon and Dodoria already asked me questions about why your brother was lost for so long; they think we tried to cover his existence from Frieza, so it's actually a good thing Kakarot died... but if they learn his child survived they will immediately look into it, and I won't be able to know how strong a half-blood Saiyan can be. Considering this, I believe it is best if you present the brat as your own. After all, you have already pledged your allegiance to Frieza, so your kid should not pose a big threat."_

"I didn't know Zarbon and Dodoria were aware about me coming here."

"_Those two assholes are always looking at what we Saiyans do, you should already know that. Trust me on this, Raditz, it'll be better if they think that brat is your son; it'll keep them from thinking we're conspiring against Frieza or something."_

"Fine, I'll register the kid as my own," Raditz promised, not pointing out to the prince, for his personal safety of course, that if he showed up with a kid all of a sudden it would be even more suspicious than just admitting it was an orphaned half-Saiyan. "Where should I train him then? Do you have any specific place in mind?"

"_I do. Take him to Hipra,"_ Vegeta ordered. _"You'll have four years to train the kid, after that I'll go and see how strong he's gotten."_

"Hipra? Why should I go there?"

"_Are you challenging my judgment?"_ the prince asked. _"Frieza doesn't care about that planet; even Zarbon and Dodoria consider it a worthless hole. It is the perfect place for you to train."_

Raditz had to admit Vegeta was not as careless as he just thought. He wasn't that familiar with the planet, but he did know Hipra was so low on the list of worlds Frieza didn't care about that his training there would be completely unnoticed.

"_You have four years to make sure the kid's power level gets to at least two thousand units,"_ Vegeta commanded. _"And raise your own to a minimum of three thousand while you're at it. Your current power level is embarrassing."_

The tall Saiyan gritted his teeth at the comment; he hated when Vegeta mocked his strength.

"_That will be all for now Raditz,"_ the prince concluded. _"I'll contact you again in a year or two. Do not disappoint me."_

Not waiting for a response, Vegeta ended the transmission, leaving Raditz deep in thought about his new orders. All things considered, he admitted, it could have been a lot worse; Hipra was a dump for what he knew, but it was safe from the constant scrutiny of the Planet Trade Organization and having four years to train as much as he wanted was worth being stranded there.

Not really having any further use for it until he reached Hipra, and also not wanting to hear from Vegeta or Nappa for the rest of the day, Raditz turned off the scouter and placed it back under the seat. He then got out of the pod and paced around the small ship, waiting for it to start checking its systems.

A pang was heard from inside the pod, indicating the system had started rebooting. Raditz checked the status and sighed in disappointment. The CPU had been off for so long it was doing a complete check up! It would take the pod over ten hours before it was ready to take off.

Ten hours. He would have to find something to eat and a place to sleep.

0-0

Back at the place where Goku had died, three people jumped out of an aero-car, inspecting the place as they hoped to find clues about the whereabouts of their friend.

"The aero-car is low on gas," Bulma informed her two companions. "This is the last place we can check, we need to get some fuel after we're done here."

"The craters we spotted from the air made it obvious they fought here," Roshi said while inspecting the rather large depressions on the ground. "There's some pieces of machinery in this one, and that one was caused by a ki blast, I'm sure of it."

"That's not important now, master Roshi; look at what I found," Krillin announced.

In his hands, the former monk held Gohan's hat, but instead of a Dragon Ball attached to it, there was just a round rock.

"What does that mean?" Bulma asked.

"It means Piccolo is dead," Roshi answered, his mood turning very dark very quickly. "And that Kami-Sama is dead as well."

"And with no Kami-Sama... the Dragon Balls have lost their power," Krillin recalled. "This is bad."

"Very bad," Bulma agreed, finally understanding why her Dragon Radar had lost track of the four stars Dragon Ball hours ago, forcing them to carefully comb the area while they looked for Goku and his son.

"If Piccolo is dead, then Goku and Gohan might still live," Krillin hoped, even if in his heart he was almost sure of the contrary, the man who claimed to be Goku's brother had been simply too powerful.

"Perhaps we should go to Mount Paoz and check if they went back there?" Bulma suggested, seeing no point in staying in the empty battlefield.

"And if they didn't? Would you like to tell what happened to Goku's wife?" Roshi challenged.

"I think we should continue looking for Goku," Krillin answered. He remembered a little of Chi Chi's temper from the last Martial Arts Tournament, and didn't want to risk facing the wrath of the Ox princess if he didn't have to.

"We can't until we get fuel," Bulma reminded them.

"It's also getting late," Roshi noted. "I say we find a place to spend the night, we'll try something different tomorrow."

"Master Roshi!" the short martial artist scolded. "Are you saying we should give up on Goku?"

"No. but we've already checked most of this area, and the only trace we have so far is Gohan's hat," the elder said in a grave voice. "Goku is not here, that's plainly obvious. Our only chance to find him is to ask Karin-Sama; and we will do that tomorrow. Or do you have a better idea?"

"No, I don't," Krillin said sadly, studying Gohan's hat and hoping his best friend was safe.

0-0

The sun had almost set over the horizon, and it soon would be too dark to see without a lamp, but the woman who stood in front of a freshly covered grave didn't care. She had stayed with Gohan until he had fallen asleep before coming here to finish what that man had started. She recalled that Gohan had been uncharacteristically quiet after Goku had been buried, but reasoned that maybe the shock had caused it. Whatever the case, the child had not asked further questions about death or burials and for that, Chi Chi was grateful; because she knew she was not in the right state of mind to answer him.

"This should be enough," she whispered, placing the last rock she had collected over her husband's tomb. Placing stones over the dirt was necessary to keep animals from digging out the body, something that useless man had apparently ignored. Sighing, the new widow reached for something else she had done before she went to the river to collect stones: a board she had carved Goku's name on, which she planted firmly at the head of the tomb. She wished she had done better, but under the circumstances this would have to do for now, maybe later her father would pay for a decent tombstone.

Chi Chi stood up, her eyes never leaving her husband's grave. Covering it with stones had truly convinced her that this was real and not a nightmare she had been trapped in. Goku was dead and would never come back.

"Why did you trust Piccolo?" the pained widow asked the silent tomb. "Why did you take your chances with him?"

The princess sighed and hugged herself to fight the cold she felt in her arms. Those questions were stupid and she knew it. Goku had trusted Piccolo because he was innocent and had a pure heart; so pure that he never lost the ability to ride his flying cloud while she had lost it years ago. It was no surprise then that he would agree to join the most evil creature in the planet.

"You were so innocent Goku... almost like a child," she muttered, remembering how her husband's naivety always surprised her and how it kept her guessing about which things he would understand or not. "I always liked that about you... but I also knew it would get you into trouble some day... I just didn't think it would... get you killed.

"I... I did something very b-bad," Chi Chi whispered after a moment of silence. "Piccolo was not the only one who betrayed you, Goku... I did too.

New tears trailed down her face and she trembled in shame before she could gather the courage to continue her confession. "Your brother was here this morning, Goku, and I-I s-slept with him. I was un-unfaithful to you today, I'm so sorry...!"

Chi Chi could not say more, her shame and guilt had grown so strong that she could do nothing more than cry desperately, wishing with all her heart for a way to erase her adultery... for a way to bring her husband back to life... for a way to make things as they had been just the day before.

But the Dragon Balls were gone; there was no way to fix things anymore, and knowing this only made the widow's sorrow deeper.

"You put rocks on top of Kakarot's tomb," a voice said behind the Ox Princess. "Are there animals here that could steal the body?"

Chi Chi tensed the moment she heard that voice. She thought he was gone for good, but for some reason he had returned. Why was he here again? Did he enjoy tormenting her so much?

"I'll be sleeping here tonight," he announced, ignoring Chi Chi as he started walking towards the house.

"Where... where do you think you're going?" she called, drying her tears as she got up. "I told you to never come back! Stop right there you monster!"

The Saiyan stopped and turned to regard the woman behind him. "I said I'm sleeping here and nothing you say or do will make me change my mind. I've tolerated you long enough as it is, so unless you want me to break every single bone in your body, you'll shut up now!"

Despite herself, the widow froze instantly. The way that man had growled those words and the cold determination she saw in his eyes convinced her to avoid angering this man further.

"You're smart when you want to be. Good, I hate women who only have good looks," Raditz said, calmer now, as he entered the house.

Too confused and startled by that comment, Chi Chi was actually able to place her grief aside and, after a couple of minutes of indecision, followed the man into the house.

She found him laying on her couch, his hands crossed behind his head and his eyes closed already. For a moment she thought he was sleeping, but she soon realized he was still awake.

"Why are you here?" she risked asking.

His eyelids rose and he looked at her. "If you must know, I'm here for my nephew. Now, I did tell you to shut up, didn't I, Earth girl? Go somewhere else and let me sleep."

"You go somewhere else. Get out of my house. Now," Chi Chi ordered, hoping her voice sounded firm and commanding enough.

The Saiyan got up and, for a moment, the princess thought he was actually going to obey her, but he blurred out of her sight and reappeared right in front of her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her against the wall so fast she didn't even have the time to scream.

"Listen to me _Earth girl_, and listen well," he whispered in her ear, placing emphasis on his nickname for her just to annoy her. "Yes, we fucked this morning and I understand that might be the reason why you're being such a nagging witch, but I did bring your child back home and I avenged my brother's, your husband's, death. I feel I've earned at least a few hours of sleep without you bothering me!"

Raditz stressed his last sentence by squeezing hard on the widow's shoulders, just to remind her how strong he was compared to her. "Now go upstairs and let me rest, Earth gi..."

"My name is Chi Chi, _not_ Earth girl," She interrupted, her face was low to avoid showing her anger and frustration. She had to admit the man was right; despite their lustful encounter that morning, this man had avenged Goku's death and had returned Gohan to her, and even if she didn't like it at all, he did deserve at least a night of sleep. "And you... I guess you're right, you've earned a few hours of rest. But I expect you to leave forever tomorrow."

"Chi Chi, huh?" Raditz smirked as he released her. "Don't worry then; I won't come back to this mountain after tomorrow, I promise you that."

0-0

Chi Chi woke up feeling terrible. She hadn't been able to enter her room the night before; the sole idea of sleeping in the bed she shared with Goku made her hurt so much she couldn't even stand to look at the door of her bedroom. The woman had instead slept in Gohan's bed, finding that having her little son close relaxed her.

She opened her eyes slowly and allowed herself a soft smile at the image of Gohan sleeping at her side. Feeling a wave of motherly love fill her, Chi Chi promised to herself she would never let anything bad happen to her son.

"I'll protect you, Gohan. I swear I will," she muttered and gently kissed her son's forehead. Filled with newfound purpose, the woman made her way downstairs, intending to prepare breakfast.

She froze the moment she entered the kitchen. It was a mess. She didn't have a refrigerator, but her larder had been literally ransacked. There was no food left in it. Clumsily opened cans, bottles of juice and pieces of dry meat littered the floor, and all her vegetables and fruits were gone as well.

"Food in this place is actually not that bad," a voice called from the kitchen's door. A voice Chi Chi knew quite well by now and that she had hoped she would not listen to again.

"You goddamned pig! I was about to make breakfast for my son!" she shouted, throwing an empty can from the table at him. "Who gave you the right to eat all our food?"

Radit caught the can easily and crushed it absentmindedly. "If you're worried about that, I'll get the kid something to eat once we arrive to our destination."

"Destination?" the widow asked, not liking at all the idea forming in her mind.

"A place where I can train him to be a strong warrior."

"No you won't! The last thing Gohan needs is martial arts training, I won't allow it! I'll…"

Chi Chi couldn't finish her sentence, as she found herself once again pinned against the wall. He was holding her by her shoulders, just like he did the night before and just like then he was also hurting her a little.

"I'm going to train the boy, and nothing you say or do will make me change my mind about it, you hear?" He told her, smirking as he noticed how similar this conversation was to their previous one.

"I'm not letting you take my son away from me!" she growled, struggling as she tried to break free.

"I'm not leaving Gohan here to be a weakling; if you don't want to be separated from him you should come with us," he challenged with a mocking smile as he released her. "If you dare, of course."

Raditz walked out of the kitchen and climbed the stairs without waiting for her answer, and before Chi Chi could really understand what he was going to do, she saw him walk out of the house with a half awake Gohan in his arms.

Horrified at the thought of losing her son to that man, the widow ran after him and managed to grab him by the shoulder, forcing him to stop. "Please, don't take him away from me, please!"

"Mommy?" Gohan asked, fully awake now. "What's going on?"

"We're going on a training trip, kid," Raditz informed him, completely ignoring the panicked woman at his side. "I'll take you to a place where you can get strong, just like your father wanted."

"G-Goku said that?" Chi Chi asked, believing this was all a trick her brother in law was using to take Gohan with him.

"Tell your mother what your father wanted, boy," the Saiyan urged. "Did you forget what he told you before he died?"

Gohan, somewhat confused by waking up in his uncle's arms and by her mother's obvious distress, hoped that telling her the truth would help calm her down. "Daddy said that I had to be stronger than him."

"I'm the only one left who can properly train him," Raditz assured. "We're leaving, kid; say goodbye to your mother because you won't see her for a long time."

"I-I won't see mommy?" the boy babbled.

"Not until you've gotten strong enough." the soldier said as he started walking again. The boy struggled and tried to get away, but Raditz simply grabbed Gohan's tail and robbed him of any desire of escaping.

Chi Chi was at a loss, she couldn't think of a way to keep her son with her at home. She couldn't fight that man, he was just too strong and too fast. But she didn't want to lose her only son! Was she supposed to beg that monster not to take her child away? He wouldn't listen to her! What could she do?

_If you don't want to be separated from him you should come with us, if you dare of course._

He'd told her those words just minutes before. He had given her the only solution available to this situation. She couldn't stop him or talk him out of it. The only choice she had was to go with him.

"Wait," she called, reaching for his shoulder again. He turned to look at her with an annoyed expression, but she did not falter. "I'll go with you."

"I didn't think you would," the Saiyan admitted with an apparently satisfied smile. "It seems you're not just pretty, but have guts as well."

"What did you just say?"

Raditz did not answer her, he simply smirked and darted an arm around her waist, quickly taking off before she could repeat her question.

0-0

The flight had been very short, less than a minute if she had to guess. They had landed in front of a spherical device unlike anything she had seen before; he had called it a Space Pod when she'd asked about it, and had also ordered her to wait until he finished programming the course to a planet named Hipra.

Chi Chi had almost lost it then. The implications of this, both for Goku and the soldier in front of her were so big and frightening she had decided to put them aside before her mind went into overdrive. The idea she had married an alien, a Saiyan according to the long haired warrior, and bore him a son kept lurking in the back of her mind, though.

Needing something to keep her mind away from thoughts she had no idea how to handle yet, the princess focused on looking at Gohan, who was hardly moving at all. The soldier still held her child by the tail, keeping him weak and defenseless. She had offered to carry him while he worked, but he had refused and had not spoken again since then, almost ten minutes ago.

She observed him work for a few minutes more, sitting inside that strange 'Space Pod' while pressing buttons and muttering things about the numbers the small screen inside the pod showed him. It was interesting, she noted, how he kept Gohan comfortable using only his left arm while at the same time keeping his tail inside his fist.

The man... she frowned then, realizing she had never asked him for his name. Not that she wanted to know, she hadn't wanted to know after what he did to her. Now, however, things had changed. She had chosen, for the sake of her son, to go with this man. Knowing his name was necessary so she could curse him properly for all the things he had done and would probably do.

"Hey," Chi Chi called. "What's your name?"

"The pod's ready," he announced from his seat inside it, not answering her question. "Are you coming or not?"

The widow looked at the small shuttle and felt a burst of fear invade her. If she entered that machine she would leave her world, probably forever. She would never see her father or visit the Ox Kingdom again. Then her eyes settled on her child, still on his uncle's arms and the fear vanished. Gohan was all that mattered, with Goku gone, there was nothing else binding her to this world or to her old life.

Her eyes never leaving Gohan, she marched inside the pod and sat on the lap of the alien soldier.

"My name is Raditz, by the way." the Saiyan whispered in her ear as he sealed the shuttle and allowed her to hold her son at last. "Sleep well, Chi Chi, if you can."

"Sleep? I don't…" Goku's widow could not finish her sentence, for the space pod's hibernation system activated, forcing her into a state of suspended animation.

Once the small shuttle's sensors detected all its occupants were hibernating, it started its engines and blasted off with tremendous speed, leaving behind the planet it had sit still for decades and vanishing into the vastness of space.

0-0

An aero-car adorned with the Capsule Corporation logo landed in a clearing close to the only house in Mount Paoz. A young woman and man got off the vehicle immediately, and made their way to the house without a word. Bulma had not waited for Roshi and Krillin to return from Korin's tower; feeling too desperate for information about her friend's whereabouts, she had called Yamcha instead and asked him to accompany her to Mount Paoz, hoping to find Goku there or to at least talk to his wife to see if she knew something they didn't.

She, however, did not expect to find this.

"It's impossible," She whispered as her strength failed her and cold seemed to spread all over her. She would have fallen on her knees had Yamcha not held her. "It just can't be possible."

"I… can't believe this… it must be a joke," the former desert bandit agreed, feeling as cold as the woman he held.

They had found the stone covered grave outside the house, and read the name on the board marking it: _Son Goku._

Struck by the dead of her oldest and best friend, Bulma Briefs could not stop crying.

-End-

Notes:

Very special thanks go to YourSweetSinner for allowing me to continue her story.

This story does not end here (But at one point I did consider making it a one-shot). More chapters will come, detailing the trials and tribulations of Chi Chi's and Gohan's life with Raditz.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball and all related characters don't belong to me.

We belong to him.

By

Dr Facer

Chapter 2

First day on Planet Hipra.

0-0-0

The Space pod landed perfectly in the middle of the intended cushioned area and immediately started adjusting its settings to allow its occupants to awaken from their suspended animation. This process would normally be done instantly but given the extra two passengers, the safety program in the small shuttle required a little longer to run the med-scans it was already relaying to the main computer of the clinic in this base, so that the doctor here had the opportunity to prepare in case something was wrong.

The pod's female occupant was the first to regain consciousness. Her mind was foggy, and she couldn't really muster the will to open her eyes, because she felt warm and quite comfortable, and the strong arm she noticed circling her shoulders made her feel safe and content. She smiled as she pressed herself against the man holding her, certain that Goku wouldn't mind if she rested close to him for a little longer; she could go and prepare breakfast later, after all. She then felt something moving on top of her, and she lazily brought her hand up to examine it. What her hand found was hair and cloth, then a small hand and a chubby, warm face. Gohan, she realized, must have climbed into their bed during the night.

Chi Chi slowly opened her eyes, deciding to take her son to his bedroom so she could go back to snuggling at Goku's side for at least an hour more. What she saw when her vision adjusted to the light, however, crushed her intentions and made her skin crawl with fear, because all around her were the white walls of the small pod she had slept in along with a tiny porthole to her left. It was then that her memories of what had happened the day before came back like a landslide: she was now a widow and had been forced to travel to another planet so her son wouldn't be taken away from her.

The young woman trembled at how alone she suddenly felt. What would she do now? All she had left was Gohan. Could she still look after him here, in this strange place? The uncertainty which had filled her life in just one day was terrifying, and as reality sank in she discovered that she simply didn't know what to do.

Busy with her thoughts, she didn't notice when the Saiyan Soldier woke up and was startled as the arm around her, Raditz's arm, suddenly tightened its embrace and pulled her close to him. The next thing she knew his lips were on her ear and she could feel his warm breath tickling her skin.

"Make sure you don't speak to anyone until I've fixed things, woman!" Raditz ordered, his lips moving softly over her earlobe. "Because right now we are the weakest on this planet and if you make even one mistake we'll all get killed on the spot, got it? So keep that pretty mouth of yours shut."

"Don't you ever do that again, you disgusting creep!" Chi Chi, repulsed and alarmed at the lustful memories feeling his lips on her skin brought back, hissed as she tried to put some space between her and the soldier, only to find that the limited space made that impossible. "And I will speak if I want! You are not one to tell me what to do, damn it!"

"You'll wake up the brat, not that I care," Raditz observed, fairly amused at the strong reaction he had gotten from the woman. He quickly pushed his amusement aside, as he had better things to do, like coming up with a decent lie to cover the origins of his nephew. He knew the doctor here was already aware that he hadn't come alone, so he really had to think of something fast. In the end Raditz decided to chance it and just go with whatever happened once he was in front of the doctor.

"Can't you at least tell me the name of this place or what I'm supposed to know? You're not making any sense!" she insisted with an angry murmur, for as much as it annoyed her, she had to agree with Raditz that it was better to let Gohan sleep a little longer. In the back of her mind, though, the young woman was already considering stealing this same pod in order to escape this place and return home.

"Fair enough and I guess you do deserve to know, since you're the kid's mother and all. We're on Hipra," the long-haired Saiyan supplied. "We'll be here for the next few years. I brought the kid here to train him, but you already knew that. And I was not joking when I said we are the weakest here, so do keep your mouth shut unless you want someone to kill you on the spot… you'll find the soldiers stationed here have much less patience than I do."

"I find that difficult to believe, and I do have a few things to say about my son training with a barbarian like you," she replied, still trying to keep Gohan and herself as far away from her brother-in-law as the limited space allowed. "Can't you open the pod or something? I don't want to be so close to you!"

"You have no say in how I'll train Gohan," Raditz answered flatly while putting on his scouter. "And yes, I can open the pod, but I'm sure you won't like it outside, Earth girl."

Before the Ox Princess could complain about him calling her that, Raditz took in a deep breath and pressed the button which opened the pod. He unceremoniously pushed the young widow out, following immediately after her. Much to Chi Chi's surprise she stumbled a step and quickly fell on her back, Gohan on top of her, and no matter how much she tried she couldn't move at all! She could feel her chest collapsing under the massive weight her son seemed to have gained, her knees cracked and her arms felt like if they were made of lead! Gohan awoke then and found his body was now so heavy he couldn't even lift a finger. All he could do was wail at the painful weight crushing his back.

"What… the hell… did you do?" Goku's widow managed to get out, struggling like mad against the incredible force pushing her down.

"The gravity here is fifteen times stronger than on your planet, which I think is at a standard of zero," Raditz stated. He was used to training in gravity four or five times above the standard, but for him this was a massive increase and he was finding that even moving his head required an added effort. He didn't like it.

"This is… crazy!" Chi Chi yelled. "I can't even… breathe… I'm going to… die here!"

"If you can't breathe then how can you scream like that?" Raditz asked, smiling mockingly despite the effort he was making to stand. "Don't worry too much; gravity should be close to the level that you're used to inside the base."

"How are we… supposed to get there… you jerk?" she growled. "We can't…move!"

Raditz stood silently for a moment and wondered if he should leave her there as punishment for being so obnoxious. In the end, however, he realized that it was better to keep the woman happy so she wouldn't tell any crap to his nephew during training breaks. Understanding this, the Saiyan warrior crouched down and picked up his brother's widow and son as carefully as he could.

"Fine, I'll help you and the kid… but just this time," Raditz muttered, his arms and back already protesting at the added weight he was forcing on them.

Saying no more Raditz took a deep breath and tried walking. He found that while carrying Chi Chi and the kid he couldn't move much. He was now visibly straining, drops of sweat crowning his forehead as his muscles bulged under the titanic effort. He looked at the glass doors in front of him. They were very close, less than thirty steps away. But under these conditions the distance seemed insurmountable. And the soldiers waiting inside the base kept smirking mockingly as they watched him. Azurian bastards, thinking he wouldn't be able to get there by himself!

Not willing to go through the humiliation of asking for help, the Saiyan flared his power in order to boost his strength, enclosing himself in an aura of burning energy and forcing his legs to take one heavy step after the other.

Chi Chi, who was too surprised first by Raditz actually helping them and then by the way he had ignited his ki, decided to remain quiet. She wouldn't admit it, but the way his energy cocooned her made her feel oddly safe and protected, and a quick look at Gohan told her that her son was feeling the same way.

Several minutes later the long-haired warrior finally reached the glass doors. He was pretty sure he had given himself a whiplash injury in the process, but he didn't care; the incredulous faces of the two soldiers on the other side of the crystal made it all worth it. That would teach them to underestimate a Saiyan warrior!

"Now… you two remember… to be quiet," Raditz ordered as he waited for the soldiers to open the gate for him. The Saiyan didn't look well; his breathing was labored and he was sweating profusely.

Goku's widow simply nodded and hushed Gohan, who obviously wanted to ask plenty of questions, telling her son to wait until later. The Ox princess had considered giving Raditz a piece of her mind in the loudest manner possible as soon as they were inside the base but after the way he had just helped them and how terribly drained he appeared, she simply couldn't find it in her to cause him trouble.

The door finally opened and Raditz stepped inside, a sigh of relief escaping him as he felt an enormous weight lifting from his shoulders, all thanks to the miraculous gravitational dampers which controlled the gravity inside the base. He placed Chi Chi on the ground and regarded the soldiers, who were shocked by what he had just done.

"We weren't told you would bring company," one of the soldiers said. "I'm impressed that you managed to get all the way here carrying the woman and child, considering your power level."

"Yeah, well, we Saiyan are full of surprises," Raditz said, clearly annoyed by the comment. "So tell me, where's this place's clinic?"

"Go straight and then turn left on the first fork, it's the fifth door," the second guard informed him. "Oh, but before you go, we need your scouter. Standard procedure, you know."

"I've never been asked for my scouter before," the Saiyan complained sourly. "Cut the bullshit and tell me why you want it."

"It's not bullshit," the soldier replied. "In other bases you don't turn in your scouter when you arrive, but here at 'Advantage' you _have_ to do it; orders from the doctor, and he's the one in charge."

"You even gave this garrison a name, how cute," the Saiyan smirked as he removed the machine from his face and handed it to the expectant soldier. Not saying more to the guard, Raditz motioned for Chi Chi to follow him as he started walking in the direction he had been instructed.

Goku's widow, however, didn't move from where she stood. She had been trying hard not to stare at the two soldiers in a very obvious manner, and wondered if she looked as odd to them as they did to her; sure, she had seen strange creatures such as Piccolo before, but nothing like this. The two tall soldiers in front of her were humanoid in shape and wore a uniform almost exactly like the one Raditz had on, down to the odd mechanism on their faces, but their skin was blue and grainy, they had no hair, no ears nor eyelids, their heads were crowned by a yellow dome and their eyes were red slits completely lacking pupils. Their appearance, however, was not the reason why the princess was unsettled by the two aliens; it was the power she felt emanating from them which fueled her unease, as she had never imagined creatures with such a powerful ki could exist.

"What are you waiting for, woman? We don't have all day!" Raditz called, not bothering to mask the annoyance in his voice while addressing her.

Startled by the harshness on the Saiyan's voice, Chi Chi bowed to the soldiers and rushed to catch up with Raditz, who had not stopped walking. It did cross her mind that Raditz was extremely inconsiderate for not waiting for her, but there was nothing she could do about it.

"Why are those men so ugly?" Gohan asked once they had turned at the corner. The boy was still being carried by his mother, and had twisted so he could keep looking at the strange looking soldiers for as long as possible. Gohan had considered asking why he didn't feel so heavy anymore, but his curiosity for the alien creatures was greater than for that detail.

"They're not men. They're Azurians and Azurians aren't pretty," Raditz answered while remembering the numbers he got when he analyzed the guards, just before they had entered the building. "But don't tell them that to their face unless you want them to kill you where you stand. Got it, kid?"

"He's not lying, Gohan, those blue creatures are at least five times stronger than him. Do make sure you don't bother them," Chi Chi told her son warningly.

"Huh…ye-yeah…" the child said, the words of both adults scaring him so much that he sank into his mother's arms, hoping to find some protection that way.

"How did you know that?" the Saiyan asked suddenly. "You don't have a scouter, how did you know the Azurians are that strong? Because your guessing about their strength is actually pretty accurate."

"I felt their ki and compared it to yours," the Ox Princess explained. "I'm not very good at it but I'm good enough to tell that you didn't lie when you said we are the weakest here. I'm impressed that you were able to admit that."

"Ki, what the hell's that?" Raditz asked, ignoring the last comment she made. "Is it related to how that green freak could hide from my scouter and raise his attack power at will? How does it work?"

"Yes, well, it _is_ very simple; ki is the energy your body produces and the stronger you are, the more you can generate," the woman explained. "The point is that with a little training you can learn how to manipulate and feel the ki of others. I haven't fully mastered the technique yet, though."

"That seems like a very useful skill," Raditz observed, quickly realizing that if he managed to convince his brother's widow to teach him that technique he wouldn't need to rely on a scouter so much, and that could be a great advantage in battle. The Saiyan grinned at this new information. It seemed having the woman here wouldn't be such an annoyance after all.

"Gravity inside the base is still stronger than Earth, right?" Chi Chi asked after a few moments of walking in silence. She had noticed that the force pulling her down was not as excessive as it was outside, but was still slightly uncomfortable.

"Three times that of your planet," the Saiyan pronounced as he stopped in front of a white door, the sign above it clearly indicating it was the clinic. "Now, what did I say about not talking to others?"

"I know, I know," she answered him with a frown. "Don't worry; we won't talk to anybody until you say we can, even if I think it's a stupid order."

"Oh, and before we go in, there's something else you need to know, woman," Raditz started. "I'll have to register Gohan as my son; otherwise he'll be executed… probably."

"WHAT? I won't let...!"

Whatever Chi Chi was going to say was interrupted by a hand covering her mouth with great force, and in a flash, Raditz had her pinned against the wall again. He had also grabbed Gohan, whom he kept hanging upside down from his little tail. The woman shivered with fear and anger; she couldn't just let this man adopt Gohan, she couldn't!

"Listen well because I will only explain once!" Raditz whispered on her ear while applying a little more strength to his grip to make sure she couldn't move. "My scouter has a transmitter and my… supervisors can listen to everything I say or hear… so guess what happened when Kakarot refused to join me? He became a traitor to the Planet Trade Organization we Saiyans work for! Do you know what the punishment for treason is? No? Well, the punishment is death! And unless I register this kid as my own, they will start asking us questions and if we don't answer, they'll fucking torture us until we say what they want to hear… and once they've squeezed the truth out of us, all we will be guessing is which one of us they kill first!"

The Saiyan warrior paused and, when he was sure that the woman had processed what he had just told her, risked removing his hand from her mouth and jaw, sliding it to her shoulder so he could keep her pinned to the wall.

"Everything you told me... it's not a lie, is it?" she asked after a moment, tears sliding down her cheeks and her hands trembling in despair. "We'll die unless we do as you say."

"Don't cry; you have to admit it could've been worse. I could've taken Gohan without letting you come with us, right?" Raditz asked, finally releasing her and letting her hold the little boy again. "Now just make sure you play along and we should be able to live through this, got it?"

Chi Chi, pressing her slowly recovering son close to her chest, nodded back at the Saiyan.

"Good, and if they ask you, just tell them I picked you and the kid up on my way here and stick to that story. That should be enough to keep you both out of trouble once the registration is made," the dark-haired Saiyan said.

"Even if you adopt him, Gohan will never be your son," Chi Chi told him firmly. "I'll never let him forget about Goku!"

"Sure, right, whatever," Raditz replied waving his hand dismissively. "I'm just doing what I was ordered, it's not my fault that the kid'll be my son and you'll be my wife… so stop talking and come with me, we don't have all day!"

"I'm not your wife, I'll never…!"

"I like this as much as you do but I'll do what I have to! So shut up and walk!" the Saiyan interrupted with an angry growl.

Normally the Ox Princess would yell back and argue until she had made her point clear and gotten what she wanted, but not this time. In ordinary circumstances the shock of a man daring to talk back to her like that, coupled with the stressful situation she was in, would have been enough for her to jump at Raditz with the intention to claw his face off. His previous statements about how Gohan would die if she disobeyed, however, were enough for the woman to keep her temper under control, and she finally decided to quietly follow him into the clinic.

0-0

The medical center, Chi Chi had to admit, was acceptably clean and the ample windows allowed it to be well-illuminated. She had ended up sitting down on what resembled a couch, and to her surprise it was quite comfortable. None of this changed her mood, however, and she continued to seethe with unreleased rage.

"Is Raditz going to be my new daddy?" Gohan asked suddenly. "If he's my dad then I hope he stops pulling my tail, it hurts a lot when he does that."

The boy had been quiet and thoughtful for a few moments already and Chi Chi, too busy being angry at her current situation, was not expecting him to ask precisely that question. "Don't say that again, Gohan. That man will never be your father! Your only father is Goku!"

"But uncle Raditz said…" the child started.

"Don't call him uncle!" Chi Chi interrupted, upset that her son would dare to consider that arrogant, long-haired barbarian, family. "The only reason we're doing what he says is that the people in this place will do bad things to us if we don't, Gohan. All you need to do is to make sure you never forget who your real father was."

"I promise, Mom," the child said with a nod and sank down in his seat; his mother's words had reminded him of his father and the horrible way Goku had died. Gohan also remembered when his dad had been buried, and that was the one memory that finally brought tears to his eyes. "Sorry… I know I mustn't cry because I'm a Saiyan like dad and Raditz but… I…"

"Gohan, it's ok," Chi Chi whispered softly as she hugged her son, drying his tears with the sleeve of her jacket. "It's ok to cry and it's ok to be sad, don't hold back and cry all you want, because mommy is here with you."

0-0

"So, you're here for training?" The head doctor of the base, an elderly humanoid with a white short beard, pointy ears and shiny pink skin, commented once Raditz sat in front of him.

"Yes, that's why I'm here," Raditz said, hoping this registration thing wouldn't take too long.

"I see you've brought company with you," the doctor continued as he started typing on his computer. "Who are the woman and child?"

"They're mine," the Saiyan answered quickly. "I picked them up on my way here."

"Why? I have no audio, but the security camera on the hallway showed me that you didn't bring them here to have some quality family time. So tell me the truth, who are they?" the doctor probed.

"They really are mine! And what you saw happened because the woman was being stubborn about not letting me train the kid!" Raditz explained, since this wasn't a full lie, his voice came out far more confident than what he expected. He hoped that would convince the doctor to finish filling out the damned registration form already!

"Understandable, but try to be nicer to your wife," the doctor advised while turning his scouter on. "You see, her power level is of only 59 units, you could easily kill her or gravely injure her, same case with your son, as he only has a power level of 8. Be careful how you treat them, I haven't yet analyzed them and programmed the rejuvenation tank for them."

"I'm not here to take a lesson in manners, old man," Raditz shot back. "Just finish the registration process so I can start training."

"I will in a moment," the doctor assured him. "I just need to tell you that your family will stay here at the clinic until tomorrow. I must make sure they are healthy and I also need to do a medical check-up on them. It's for the best."

"Fine, as long as I can take the kid into a gravity room to start teaching him how to fight tomorrow I don't care," Raditz agreed.

"Alright, just one more question before I complete their registrations," the medic told him, starting to type again. "Are both the woman and child to be registered as soldiers for Lord Frieza's army?"

"Yes, because that allows me to use the facilities as I please while I train them, right?"

"Yes, it does," the doctor recalled. "But your woman won't train with you; I'm sending her to train with the other female soldiers we have stationed here. You'll see her after her combat lessons are finished, of course, but she won't be with you for most of the day. Does that bother you?"

"No, it actually works for me. What about our bunkers?"

"Since you're here with your family a bunker won't do," the medic stated. He was slightly surprised that his plan to annoy the Saiyan by separating him from his woman hadn't worked, so he decided to try something different. "You're actually lucky, my young Saiyan friend; I do have a few rooms on the top floor designed for families. I never thought I would use them, though, so they are, let's say, incomplete. I'm sure you'll be happy to fix one for your woman and kid, won't you?"

"Are you fucking kidding me? I have no time to do that!" Raditz yelled. "Just give us separate bunkers and that will be enough!"

"Not possible, young man," the doctor smirked, pleased that his second tactic had worked. "I have very firm rules and you are to occupy one of my made-for-families rooms. The tools and materials you will need to make it inhabitable will be left at your assigned room later today, which is room 398; you already know it's on the top floor. Now the registration is complete."

"I'm going to remember this," the Saiyan swore under his breath. "Alright, I'll finish your damn room. Is the registration process _really_ complete or do you want me to dance for you?"

"I said it's complete. You may go now, Raditz," the doctor answered. "And my name is Ygrus. Since we're surely going to be seeing a lot of each other it's best that you know how to address me."

Raditz didn't reply and, grumbling his irritation, simply stormed out of the room.

0-0

Chi Chi was surprised when Raditz left the clinic without even looking at her or Gohan, as she had expected him to at least tell them the paperwork was done. Not knowing what to do, the young woman stood up, wondering if she should go after the Saiyan.

"Don't worry about him, he's just a little upset," a voice called. "Besides, you and the child will be required to stay here until tomorrow."

The Ox princess turned to find an old man with shiny pink skin and wearing a white robe staring at her with what she imagined was great curiosity. She assumed this man was the head doctor, and was relieved to see that his appearance was almost human; she didn't think she could tolerate letting a strange-looking creature like one of the Azurians examine her or Gohan.

"I'm not worried about that idiot," Chi Chi said, thinking she could at least call Raditz that without getting into trouble. "Are you the doctor in charge? Why do we have to stay here?"

"I admit Saiyans aren't exactly bright, but as far as surviving ones go, Raditz is the least obnoxious of the three," Doctor Ygrus joked. "And I need you and the child here for the rest of the day to make a few tests and calibrate the rejuvenation tanks for the two of you."

"Rejuvenation tanks?" Gohan asked from the couch. "What're those?"

Ygrus frowned. "Don't tell me you don't have them on your planet?"

"No, we don't," the princess admitted. "We don't have those scouter things either; is that a problem?"

"No, of course not," the doctor assured. "It's just that I'll have to teach you both how to use them, and that will take a while. Oh, well, it doesn't matter, we have enough time for that. Come into my office, please."

Chi Chi, and Gohan to a lesser degree, spent the next hour answering the many questions the doctor asked them, covering everything from something as common as previous injuries to things as weird as if they had the ability to grow extra limbs or even breathe fire.

Once Ygrus had finished gathering the information he required from his two new patients he left his seat and opened another door, which led to an examination room full of advanced looking machines. "Let's now start with the physical exams."

Inside the examination room waited a nurse, a young and thin woman with skin as pink and shiny as that of Doctor Ygrus, which made Chi Chi realize they were probably from the same planet, and her guess turned to be correct once she asked.

"Please do the check up on the woman," Ygrus instructed the nurse as he picked Gohan up. "I'll take care of our little friend here."

"Certainly, Doctor," the nurse agreed. Once the doctor took the child to one of the many machines in the room, she addressed the other woman. "Hello, my name is Prim. Please follow me."

A little wary about being separated from her son, Chi Chi hesitated before finally following the nurse into an adjacent room, which had a strange device that reminded her of a big washing machine and several other apparatuses to which she couldn't think of any equivalents.

"Your name is Chi Chi, right?" the nurse confirmed as she read the information on her data pad. "Alright, please undress so we can start the tests."

"Hm… why do I have to take off my clothes?"

"They would get in the way of the scanner," Prim explained. "Now, can you please do it? We have a few tests to do and the bio-scan will take the longest to complete."

"Fine," the young widow agreed and did as the nurse requested, but stopped once she was down to only her underwear. "Do I have to remove these, too?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Can't you hurry?" Prim demanded with a bored tone, she had walked to a panel in the wall and was typing something there.

"Done," the princess announced, covering her nudity as best as she could with her arms. "But I don't see why I had to do this."

"I told you, clothes would get in the way; now come and stand here," the nurse directed and pointed at a platform, which was more like a circular, thick lens that slowly extended from the floor, just a couple of inches above the ground.

Once Goku's widow had stepped where she had been asked to, the nurse turned on the bio-scanner, causing another lens to lower from the ceiling, right above Chi Chi. Before she could ask about it, several lines of light rained down over her, bouncing from the lens at her feet and back up, effectively scanning every corner of her body.

"What is this?" Chi Chi asked irritably. The light beams moving up and down her body were somehow making her feel itchy, which in turn made her quite uncomfortable.

"The scanner is confirming the information you gave us and it's also checking for other data we might need," Prim told her. "Now please stand still, this will still take a couple minutes more."

Unnerved at being naked and fearing Doctor Ygrus or worse, Raditz, might decide to enter the room right then, Chi Chi did her best to tolerate the situation until the scanner completed its job.

"Ah, the bio-scan is done!" the nurse informed her a few minutes later when the lights turned off and the machine emitted a soft _beep_. "Alright, computer, tell me results and also send a copy to my data pad."

"Request accepted," the computer replied with a monotone voice and started reciting the information it had gathered. "Subject is a carbon based life-form. Gender is Female and still within the fertile age. Body type is standard ningen with no scales, feathers or other hidden appendages such as horns or tail. No traces of known or unknown harmful viruses, bacteria or parasites detected in subject's body. Subject's inner organs are all functioning efficiently. Subject power level is confirmed to be 59."

"Well, it seems you're quite healthy," Prim declared. "That's good; it'll save us a couple of the tests I would've had to perform if you weren't. Ok, now I'll need a blood sample and then we'll check how acute your vision and other senses are."

"Can I get my clothes back?" Chi Chi requested, tired of covering herself with just her hands and also resenting how cold the room was once the warm scanner light had stopped bathing her.

"I'm sorry, but we'll have to dispose of those to prevent any possible health hazards or allergies which the materials they're made of could cause the other soldiers," the pink skinned woman said while quickly grabbing the princess' clothes. She then nodded apologetically and offered her patient a green robe. "But don't worry, you will get your uniform and armor tomorrow; in the meantime please wear this."

"You can't be serious! Those clothes are perfectly fine and made with the best fabrics from the Ox Kingdom. Nobody would be allergic to something like that!" Chi Chi complained. "Don't force me to take them back!"

Prim laughed. "Oh, please! I have a power level of 1,160! I could squash you like an insect in less than a second, don't make stupid threats and simply do as you are told. It'll make things easier for you."

Chi Chi pursed her lips and rudely reached for the robe, which she hastily put on. She didn't know why everyone here was so fixated on flaunting their power levels, but it was certainly a very annoying way to establish a chain of command.

"Don't be angry at me," the pink woman said with what the princess identified as a calming tone of voice. "I actually like your attitude, and I really wish I could give you back your dress, but rules are rules and I don't want to risk losing this job; it's much better than going on missions with other squads, you know?"

"No, I wouldn't know," the princess answered while smoothing the green clothes. "My life was pretty much perfect until yesterday, when Raditz suddenly said he wanted to train my little Gohan and we ended up here."

"Yesterday? Don't tell me you don't know about space travel…" Prim's brow knit as she noticed the other woman's confused, but still sort of angry, expression. "You… you really don't know how it works?"

"So what if I don't know anything about it?"

"Nothing… it's just that according to the data we got from your space pod, you spent almost eight months in hibernation," Prim stated. "Yesterday you were sleeping in your pod and barely entering this solar system."

"A-almost eight months?" Chi Chi felt her knees wobble at this new information. All she could think about was how her dead husband, her beloved Goku, had already been buried for two-thirds of a year and how she didn't even get to pray for his soul the following days after his demise. She remembered her father then, what would he be doing now? How was he feeling after months of searching for her and Gohan and not finding them? Chi Chi dropped onto a chair and brought up a hand to massage her forehead. She suddenly didn't feel well. "I-I can't believe this… Raditz stole so much time from my life?"

"Steal? Not at all! Thanks to the hibernation process your body only aged about two days. You didn't lose that much time," Prim said, feeling a little sorry for the way the woman was reacting to learning about how long it had taken to arrive here from whatever planet she had been living on. "Take it in a positive way, your friends aged almost a year and you didn't!"

"Prim… that's exactly the problem…" Chi Chi answered, trying really hard not to cry out of despair and only just managing it. "My father… he doesn't know that I'm here… nobody knows! I'm… I'm alone."

"You aren't alone. You still have your son," the nurse reminded her. "And your man is also here. You have your family with you… keep in mind that on this base only you have such luxury."

That caught the princess' attention. "What do you mean?"

"What I said, Chi Chi. The other women here left everything behind when the joined the Planet Trade Organization's army; same with the men. Nobody here has seen their families in years; I haven't seen my parents in decades," Prim sighed. "Even though my race can live a couple of centuries, twenty years is still a long time without seeing them. Do you realize now just how lucky you are?"

"I-I think I do," the Ox princess whispered. Prim was right, even if she had left everything else behind, she still had Gohan with her, and as long as she had her son she would never be truly alone. As for Raditz, he could go to hell as far as she was concerned. "Thank you, Prim… I'm sorry for being so insensitive… it's just that… everything is happening so fast and I-I'm still trying to find a way to deal with all of this."

"Don't mention it. Just remember that you're not alone and that your kid needs you with a steady head on your shoulders, ok?" the nurse patted the princess on the arm then. "I still need that blood sample, and to do those other tests I told you about. Are you ready for them?"

"Yes… yes I think I am," Chi Chi said, and for the first time that day, she actually felt a little like her usual self.

0-0

Raditz was very hungry; he hadn't eaten his full at Chi Chi's house before traveling here, and his stomach was protesting the lack of nourishment. Because of this Raditz was already in the Mess Hall, standing last in line and waiting to get some food.

"Just my luck to find this place when everyone else is also eating," he murmured, arms crossed as he moved slowly towards his objective. It was unfortunate that most of the soldiers were eating, as that would prevent him from openly asking for a second or even a third ration. His only chance to get a decent amount of food would be to pay extra, and he didn't have that much money on him.

A few minutes later Raditz finally was about to get a food filled platter, and his stomach eagerly growled in anticipation. The food didn't seem too appealing, of course, but he trusted that the taste would be good, as it was the norm for the meals on bases like this one.

"So, a Saiyan," the chef muttered, looking at the long-haired warrior warily. "Good thing you're alone; I don't think I have enough food to sustain three of you. The other troglodytes aren't here, are they?"

"No, Vegeta and Nappa aren't here," Raditz answered, he then leaned closer to the cook and smiled crookedly. "Say, any chance to exchange two thousand PTO credits for some extra food?"

"Planet Trade Organization Credits for more food?" the chef smiled. "Normally, it would be acceptable; but just two thousand? No, thanks, give me five times that and I'll consider it."

"I don't have that much, can't you at least give me half a portion more?" the Saiyan insisted, discreetly showing a small, shiny red card which he kept partially hidden between his fingers. "It's enough to buy something nice, no?"

The overweight chef stared at the card for an instant, his little yellow eyes shining with greed as he considered his options. Finally the little green creature's avarice won out. "Alright, give it here and I'll give you the extra food."

"Food first," Raditz smirked, pleased that he managed to get what he wanted.

"Ok, ok…" The chef sighed, placing a big piece of meat on Raditz' platter, and an extra portion of what looked like mashed vegetables. "Happy now?"

"No, but this will do for now," the Saiyan warrior smiled and handed over the card at the same time he reached for his platter. "Nice doing business with you, chef."

"Just get out of here, you're holding the line."

"Are you sure? Because I was the last one," Raditz chuckled then and went to find a place to sit.

0-0

Chi Chi sat at a table opposite her son, and was busy both eating the surprisingly tasty food Prim had brought them and looking attentively at her child, wondering how he was dealing with all of this. Their grim situation obviously hadn't hurt Gohan's appetite, as her boy was already starting on his second plate of soup.

There were a couple of good things as far as Chi Chi was concerned, of course; one would have to be that Gohan appeared to be feeling fine and in a good mood, which was reassuring considering how sad he had been just a couple of hours ago. The other was that her son had perfect health according to the medical check-up, something which had relieved Chi Chi a lot, as she had feared her child would have been affected by space travel.

Feeling a bit calmer now, the Ox Princess sighed and tugged at the neck of her robe. She really didn't like it or the color. She also didn't like the fact that Prim had taken her underwear. The sandals the nurse had provided were comfortable, but nothing compared to the sturdy boots she preferred to wear. She wasn't exactly happy that they had likewise taken Gohan's clothes just to give the kid a horrendous yellow robe. She had complained to Doctor Ygrus about that, and he had reassured her that the rules established that no foreign materials brought by new soldiers of the Planet Trade Organization could be kept in the base after the medical examination. If the situation had been different, Chi Chi would have asked about this organization and what its purpose was, but given the current state of things the young woman had not even thought about it.

"The food is good," Gohan said once he finished his soup and reached for something that resembled mashed potatoes. The child smiled the moment he put a large chuck of it in his mouth. "This is good, too!"

"Slow down Gohan, don't forget your manners," Chi Chi reminded her son, "I know the food is fine, but that's not an excuse to eat like a pig. And please, sit up straight."

"Ok, sorry, Mom… I'm just hungry and I forgot," Gohan said with a smile, immediately doing as his mother had told him. "Do you think we'll see Raditz again today?"

"I hope not," the princess answered. "Why do you want to see him?"

"I promised to be stronger," Gohan said. "I think I've got to train for that, right?"

"Yes, you need to train if you want to become stronger," the young woman agreed. "But you still have to study, don't forget that."

"There's no books here, mom," the kid said, suddenly realizing that his mom couldn't make him study as much as before if she didn't have all those books with her.

"We'll surely get new books eventually, and in the meantime I can teach you myself," Chi Chi countered. "You still need to practice your calligraphy and learn basic math; we can do that without books."

Gohan sighed. He had imagined that this would be like a camping trip and his mom would forget about studying. "Ok, Mom."

Chi Chi nodded, pleased that her son was willing to obey and continue his education. She had feared Gohan would be convinced to turn into a wild delinquent with no future by that raven-haired brute, but it appeared that would not be the case as long as she reminded her son about the importance of studying. She could only hope Raditz' influence wouldn't ruin that.

At that moment, and despite herself, the young woman started wondering where the Saiyan was, or what he was doing. She crushed the thought as soon as she realized whom she was thinking about, replacing him with a memory of Goku and herself enjoying an afternoon in the mountains.

0-0

Raditz had eaten his portion in a matter of seconds and, while still kind of hungry, knew he could wait to get more food at least until the following day, so he just leaned back on his chair and focused on the sweet task of relaxing. His eyes started to lazily scan the Mess Hall, going from table to table as he observed the soldiers sitting there. It was the usual thing, teams of warriors from many races who had been sent to this base to wait for missions invading planets in the nearby Solar Systems, and then there were the many others who were here only making a stop on their way to a purge mission, all of them chatting and exchanging tales of battles past.

That was something Raditz normally didn't do; not because he didn't want to talk to other soldiers but because he was simply not allowed to do so more than what was absolutely necessary. That isolation he and Nappa had to put up with was, of course, courtesy of the massive stick Vegeta had shoved up his royal ass, which was most likely the reason the Prince was always reminding them of how they were the last Saiyans and how they shouldn't mix with garbage and all that other crap about keeping their legacy alive. Not that Raditz disagreed with the legacy part, he was very proud to be a Saiyan and actually agreed with Vegeta on that completely. But not mixing with the other soldiers? That was as stupid as it was inevitable! Besides, even if he respected them, Nappa and Vegeta were boring as hell, and Raditz had discovered that playing cards or chatting with people from other squads was much more entertaining than trying to start a conversation with his two teammates, who mostly ignored him or had him do things for them.

The problem with being Vegeta's errand boy was that it cut into his training time a lot. On the other hand it did have some benefits, such as allowing Raditz to learn more about PTO's technology than the average soldier. Sure, the other two Saiyans knew the basics like everyone else, but Raditz could take apart and put back together a scouter in less than two minutes, and he could also fix Space Pods and even rejuvenation tanks, all of these things his partners could only dream of doing.

But now that he wouldn't have Vegeta and Nappa on his back for a few years, he would be able to properly train again, something he had actually missed but had been too busy to truly notice. Raditz scratched his chin in thought as he realized it had been a while since he had the opportunity to reflect and contemplate things like this. Being busy doing errands for the other two Saiyans had denied him the chance to really think about a lot of things and he was somewhat looking forward to having time to spend time doing just that. Perhaps he would be able to finally finish that training regimen he had started developing a few years back; he had based it on the one his father used and he was convinced it would be very effective. He might even try it out with his nephew.

Raditz's thoughts drifted to Gohan then; the way the kid could raise his power so dramatically for short periods of time was quite interesting, as well as puzzling. If he could somehow help his nephew learn how to keep that strength stable it would mean that Gohan could start his real training with a top power level of about 800 or 900 units, which was nothing to scoff at for a child his age. The question was how to do that? How to make the kid unleash his strength?

Analyzing the moment Gohan had attacked Piccolo, Raditz concluded that the kid must have been extremely afraid, so perhaps forcing the boy to experience great stress would be the key to help him release and then control his power. That was unlike any other Saiyan he had ever met; Saiya-Jin were naturally able to control their energy to achieve a lot of different feats, from strength boosting to shooting energy blasts to even flying. Why was the kid apparently having difficulty doing that? Could it be because he was half human?

"Hm… at least the brat has a tail, so I guess he can transform," Raditz muttered, still busy contemplating his nephew's hybrid status. "I guess I'll have to figure out what other differences there are between us while we train."

"And speaking of training..." Raditz mumbled to himself. "I'll need to get a good power increase very fast if I want to take the child outside soon. It's a shame it's going to hurt like hell."

Not really looking forward to doing what he had decided was necessary, the broad-shouldered Saiyan walked out of the Mess and headed for the nearest gravity room.

0-0

"...And that is how you set the scouter to a different frequency."

"Like this?" Chi Chi asked, looking at Prim while she followed the nurse's lead and pressed the hidden buttons on the scouter she now wore. At her side, Gohan seemed to be having an easier time with the smaller scouter he had been given, and which he apparently considered some sort of cool new toy.

"Yes, that's fine. Ok, now, I want the two of you to turn your scouters off and then on again, and then read Doctor Ygrus' power level," Prim requested. The nurse had been teaching the woman and child how to use a scouter for about half an hour, and was happy that they both seemed to have gotten the hang of it.

"Wow! Mister Ygrus has a power of 3,000?" Gohan asked. The kid had, unsurprisingly, finished the exercise first.

"I imagine he used to be a soldier before," Chi Chi guessed, pressing the button and getting the reading on the old doctor, confirming what her son had just said.

"Yes, Doctor Ygrus had his own squadron back in the day," Prim informed. "Well, that's basically all you need to know about how to use a scouter. Any questions?"

"Not me, this is easy!" Gohan announced. He had taken the device off and was looking at it with glee. For the child, the scouter was the neatest thing he had ever held in his hands.

"Do you have a manual available?" Chi Chi asked. "I would like to read it, and perhaps Gohan could read it later too."

"I guess I can print a copy for you," Prim promised. "I'll have it sent to your room tomorrow, if you're settled in by then, of course. Aren't the scouters great? I love how useful they are!"

"Well, they are certainly easier to use than the healing tanks," Chi Chi answered. "I didn't think it would take me almost an hour to get everything right. That thing is complicated!"

"Not healing, rejuvenating; and don't worry too much about it. It's a matter of practice when it comes to the R. Tanks," the pink skinned woman said with a serious nod. "But I suspect you'll get to practice a lot."

"Probably. Can I have the manual for the rejuvenation tanks, too?" the princess wondered. She really wanted to master the use of the tank, as she suspected Gohan would need it soon.

"I don't see why not, and we actually have a few copies here," Prim recalled. "I'll tell Doctor Ygrus you want a copy; I'm sure he'll be fine with it. I'll give it to you in a moment."

"Thank you, Prim," the young woman said with a small smile. Chi Chi had not missed what Prim said about how Ygrus had gone from being a soldier to a doctor, something she found quite remarkable and which gave her hope that Gohan would not end up like Raditz. True, being a doctor was not as good as being a scholar in her opinion, but it would have to do until she found something better.

And the whole thing about Gohan being a soldier? Chi Chi had placed it on the back of her mind and hadn't dared even contemplate it; she simply couldn't, because she knew she would lose her mind if she did, and that she would do something irrational as a result. And doing something like that would put her only child's life in danger.

"Hey, Mom, isn't this awesome?" Gohan asked, showing her what he had just discovered after tinkering with his scouter a little more. "This thing even has a game!"

"Yes, Gohan, it looks like fun," the young woman said while patting her son's head. "Say, how would you like to be a doctor when you grow up?"

"A doctor? Well..."

Whatever the child planned to answer was interrupted by a loud noise and screaming signaling that someone had abruptly entered the clinic, making such noise that both Chi Chi and Gohan sprinted out of the recovery room they were at in order to see what all the commotion was about.

What they saw were two grey-skinned aliens, carrying Raditz and demanding medical attention for him. The Saiyan warrior was in a pretty bad shape and blood trickled from his mouth, nose and ears. Raditz' arms and legs hung lifelessly and were covered in bruises. Despite herself, the woman felt a pang of compassion for him, and briefly wondered who had punished him so severely.

"Poor Raditz…" Gohan gasped. The only reason why the child did not rush to his wounded uncle were his mother's hands keeping him firmly in place.

"What happened to him?" Ygrus asked. The doctor didn't seem surprised by the Saiyan's wounds but he did appear to be concerned. "Damn these Saiyans! He hasn't been here one day and he's already in need of a rejuvenation tank!"

"He did something in one of the gravity rooms," the first soldier informed. "I still can't believe what he did, this guy's insane!"

"You can tell us later, we need to give him medical attention now!" Prim urged. The nurse noticed Chi Chi and Gohan peeking from the door and she called for them. "Come with us, it's your chance to practice with the R. Tank!"

"Me? But I…" Chi Chi started, not really sure that she could do anything, as she didn't feel confident enough about programming a rejuvenation tank.

"Let's go, Mom!" Gohan urged, freeing himself from her grasp and rushing to his uncle's side. "He needs help!"

"I… alright, let's see what we can do," the princess agreed, reluctantly joining her son, the nurse and doctor as the soldiers carried Raditz to the closest R. Tank.

0-0

"So, what happened to him? I think we have a right to know," Chi Chi insisted. She had just finished programming the tank for Raditz, with some assistance from Prim, and was still curious about what had happened to the uncivilized barbarian she was now stuck with.

"He had an accident in the gravity room," one of the soldiers said.

"No, that was not a damned accident!" the second soldier corrected. "He did that on purpose."

"He did what, exactly?" Doctor Ygrus asked.

"He set up the gravity room for voice command and then went inside," one soldier started, tipping his fingers on the horn growing out of his chin in a nervous gesture. "He walked to the very center and then commanded the room to up the gravity thirteen times above the standard."

"Then he flared his energy to sustain the added weight," the second soldier provided. "And after a minute or so, he ordered the computer to raise gravity to fifteen… he fell to his knees but somehow managed to get back up."

"He kept increasing it until he was at twenty," the first soldier continued. "He then ordered the gravity to be increased to twenty five."

"And that's when he couldn't take it anymore. His energy gave out and he was crushed like a bug," the second soldier said. "It was pure luck that we were there to turn off the gravity room and take him here."

"That explains why he has so many broken bones," Ygrus realized. "And why one of his lungs collapsed."

"Will he be alright?" Gohan asked then. The child was sitting opposite his uncle's rejuvenating tank, and had been staring at it with honest concern.

"He should be fine in a few hours," Prim promised. "His wounds are serious but not life-threatening when you have an R. Tank close by."

"That's good," Gohan seemed relieved, and promptly started to stare at the tank again. "I'm happy he's going to live."

Chi Chi tried hard not to cringe at his son's words, for her son worrying about Raditz' health was something she simply wasn't ready to acknowledge or accept.

0-0

Raditz woke up feeling perfectly healthy and completely rested; courtesy, of course, of the fantastic healing job done by the R. Tanks. The Saiyan waited for a couple of seconds and, as he expected, the alarm rang, alerting whoever was in the room about his treatment being complete. He opened his eyes then and saw the same doctor, who was already pressing a series of buttons on the tank's control panel. Almost immediately the healing liquid drained and Raditz finally removed the many wires attached to his body. When the tank opened he stood up and stretched as much as he could.

"I wasn't expecting you would need the R. Tank so quickly," Ygrus scolded while turning off the machine. "I should have known better."

"I need a scouter," the Saiyan demanded, paying no attention to the medic.

"She can let you use hers," Ygrus said and pointed at Chi Chi. "According to the tank's report you are completely healed, so I'll be in my office if you need me."

The doctor left and Raditz's attention fell on Chi Chi, who was sitting in a nearby couch half covering her eyes with her hand. An embarrassing blush tinted her face, which was not surprising considering Raditz was completely nude. Gohan, luckily, was sound asleep.

"Quit staring and do a reading on my power level," Raditz ordered, still not bothering to cover himself.

"Put something on and I will, you disgusting pervert!" she responded aggressively.

"What for? I know you like what you see," the Saiyan responded with a smirk while resting his hands on his hips. "Do the reading and I might even let you put your pretty hands on my chest."

"I'd rather sleep outside than touch you!" Chi Chi stated, her eyes low to avoid looking at the naked man in front of her and fighting the memories his exquisitely sculpted body were bringing back to her mind.

"Last time you changed your mind quite quickly about that," Raditz recalled. "I'm pretty sure I could make you change your mind now too."

"Don't you dare!" She responded with a furious glare. "Look, I'll do the reading, just don't touch me!"

Raditz laughed and crossed his arms. "Hurry up, then, 'cause even in that green bag you're wearing you still look quite fine to me."

"Just get dressed while I do the damned reading!"

Laughing again, the Saiyan picked up his uniform, neatly folded on a table, and started putting it on. "I wasn't lying about you looking fine, Chi Chi; those legs of yours are pretty darn inviting."

"Your power level is 2,043 units," the Ox princess informed him, ignoring as best as she could the Saiyan's attempt at flattery. At least she hoped he was flattering her, and not mocking the way the stupid green cloth looked on her. "I did what you wanted, can you leave now?"

"A 500 units increase?" Raditz smiled, quite pleased with the news. "Not bad!"

"I repeat, can you leave now?" Chi Chi insisted. "We are the ones who're supposed to stay here tonight, not you!"

The Saiyan, still too happy about the way his strength had increased, paid no attention to the woman and instead started throwing rounds of punches, just to test his new speed.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Yeah, I heard you," he answered. "But why should I go? The Zenkai factor we saiyans have never gave me a power boost like this one; I think a celebration is in order!"

"Well, go celebrate somewhere else!"

"Oh, and why would I?" Raditz asked, moving closer to Chi Chi until he had her cornered against the table, quickly placing his arms at her sides to preventing her from getting away from him. "I think we could do that right here, it's not as if the doctor will come back, and Gohan won't wake up if you're quiet. So, interested in having some fun?"

"Of course I'm interested," the princess whispered at him, "in getting you off me right now!"

Taking advantage of how her words had distracted the Saiyan, Chi Chi proceeded to punch him in the throat as hard as she could. Her fist, surprisingly, hit its intended target, and Raditz stumbled back a step, coughing repeatedly as he tried to open his windpipe again.

"You damned tease!" he growled with a hoarse, low voice. "You still need to learn respect, Earth girl!"

"Oh, I know respect, it's just that you don't deserve it," she shot back with a prideful smirk, feeling very good about herself after managing to hit the lustful barbarian like that.

"And I was feeling so good that I was really gonna be gentle with you," he told her. "Give you a nice kiss an' carry you to the next room and all that romantic crap you women like. But now I'm just going to discipline you!"

"Try it, you hairy beast!" she challenged, readying her fighting stance and already planning to use the cramped space to her advantage as much as possible. Chi Chi was sure she would be easily defeated, but her previous success had made her feel bold and she was confident that if she was smart she would be able to hit the Saiyan in really weak spots at least a couple of times.

"Raditz! You're healed!"

The toddler's voice stopped both adults before they could start fighting; Chi Chi immediately lowered her defense and approached her child, while Raditz simply crossed his arms and decided to ignore the woman's behavior for the moment, since he could always teach her what her place was later.

"Yes, I'm all better now, kid."

"I'm glad! I was really worried!" Gohan answered, rubbing the sleep off his eyes. "They said you had an accident but that you did it on purpose?"

"Accidents don't happen on purpose," Raditz said, smirking at the boy's question despite himself. "I was training, and I overdid it a little."

"I think it wasn't enough," Chi Chi interjected; she was sitting at Gohan's side now, and was keeping a protective hand on his shoulder. "It's late, why don't you go? Gohan needs to sleep a full night."

"It's not late, it's not even night!" Raditz argued after loudly clearing his throat.

"Look out the window, idiot," Chi Chi told him while pointing at said window.

Raditz did what she requested, and found that it was indeed completely dark. He hadn't noticed before.

"Well?" the young woman asked. "Do you believe me now?"

"Yeah, it's night alright," Raditz cleared his throat again; damned woman was weak as hell but somehow still managed to pack quite a punch in her. And perhaps she had a point, if he wanted to test the kid as much as he could the following day it was best to let him sleep now.

"Fine, I'll go, but I won't forget what you did, or the fact that we have our wedding night pending, my pretty in green, because in case you forgot, you are _my_ woman now, and the kid _is_ my son."

Not waiting for her answer the Saiyan walked out of the recovery room.

0-0

Chi Chi couldn't sleep. Raditz' words continued haunting her deep into the night, keeping her awake as she considered their implications. Gohan, meanwhile, was sleeping comfortably in his bed. He hadn't seemed to mind their situation much, and had seemingly already made his mind up about letting his terrible uncle adopt him, but she couldn't blame her son for that. Son Gohan was still an innocent child, obviously in desperate need of a father figure and ready to replace the one he had recently lost for what he considered the only option available. Not to mention that like all children his age, Gohan was quite adaptable.

It pained her that her son would be so willing to do something like replacing Goku with such ease, but as she thought about it, it wasn't really such a big surprise. Goku had spent more time training in the forest than sharing time with Gohan, scarcely playing with or teaching anything to his child. It wasn't that Goku had been a bad father or husband, he had been caring and responsible when he _was_ there. The problem was, however, that Goku had been… absent. Always absent for long periods of time, going on training trips to prepare in case Piccolo attacked and other nonsense like that. Was it so surprising then that their child would act like this? No, it wasn't surprising at all.

"Damn it Goku," she cursed at her reflection on the window. "Why couldn't you spend a little more time with Gohan when you had the chance? Making sure he doesn't forget you will be almost impossible…"

Chi Chi ran a tired hand over her face and neck, finally noticing on her reflection that the mark she had tried to hide was almost gone. "But… how? It would normally take two or three days for a hickey like this to start fading… it-it was true then! I really slept for eight months while my body only aged a few days."

Despite everything which had happened to her or that she had seen since arriving to Hipra, Chi Chi had still kept a tiny glimmer of hope that she had been gone from Earth for just one single day, clinging to the belief that maybe, with some luck, she could escape soon from this place and return home and to her father before everyone noticed her absence.

But the mark on her neck, now almost gone, was the last piece of evidence she needed to see. She could doubt what Doctor Ygrus and Prim had told her, she could doubt her instincts and she could even doubt what common sense dictated. She couldn't however, ignore the physical proof presented by her own body.

"Father… I-I made a mistake," the distressed Ox Princess whispered, despair filling her heart in a way she hadn't felt since her mother died. "I'm… trapped here… and I don't think I'll be able to see you again… I'm… I'm so sorry…"

Chi Chi crumbled on the couch behind her and found herself both cursing Goku for dying and fervently wishing he was there so he could save her. Trapped in a pit of anguish, the young widow slept very little that night.

0-0

Yamcha had been walking by the side of a river close to Mount Paoz and had been contemplating the last eight months of his life. The former bandit had spent most of that time training like a madman, just as every other fighter on their group had done since they learned about Goku's death.

It had been he and Krillin who had applied themselves the most, though, with Yamcha learning the Sky Dancing technique from Ten and Chiaoutzu first and then going through more and more demanding exercises. The reason for all of this training, however, was not just Goku's tragic passing.

It had actually been the result of a warning from Karin himself, who had been promoted as the Kamisama of Earth shortly after the previous one died along with Piccolo. Karin had told them all, before leaving Yajirobe as his replacement, that stronger enemies of Earth would surely arrive and with Goku gone it would be their responsibility to protect the planet.

As a result, Krillin, Yamcha, Ten Shin Han and Chiaoutzu had decided to practically kill themselves training as much as possible. Yamcha had to admit he had started to believe training so much was unnecessary, but then something happened which changed his mind about it.

That something had been Garlic Jr. an evil Makyan from another world who had tried to usurp Karin's place as the new Kamisama and turn Earth into a world of darkness. This crisis had taken place just three weeks ago.

Garlic and his men had actually succeeded in capturing Kamisama's Lookout and the battle to recover it and save Karin had been extremely fierce, as Chiaoutzu had been incapacitated before they managed to defeat Garlic's men and confront the Makyan face to face.

In the end they forced Garlic Jr. to transform, which gave the evil overlord an increase of strength with which he almost defeated them. It was only when Yamcha, Krilin and Ten Shin Han combined their most powerful ki attacks that they finally managed to incinerate the evil Makyan, saving the Earth and earning their place as the planet's protectors.

That victory however, had nearly been a defeat, and it deeply affected the four friends; convincing them all not only of the need to train harder, but also of the need to do things they had kept postponing. Krillin, for example, had started risking asking girls out in an effort to find the wife he had always wanted. Ten Shin Han and Chiaoutzu had located Lunch and were now living with her and as for Yamcha…

"I was starting to believe you'd chickened out!" Krillin said as he touched ground in front of the former bandit. "Everybody else is already at Goku's house! What are you doing here?"

"I'm just thinking, Krillin; going over everything that has happened since Goku left us," Yamcha admitted. "I just realized how easy we had it. With Goku here we could concentrate on other things. Take me, for example. I wanted to try pro baseball, or maybe another sport… always taking things for granted and not making as much of an effort as I could. But this protector of the Earth thing… it's going to demand that I put all that to the side so I can concentrate on doing the best I can."

"Do you want to postpone the ceremony?" The former monk asked. "I'm sure she'll understand, won't she?"

"Yes, she would. But I won't postpone this, Krillin; I can't put Bulma to the side anymore," Yamcha said with steely resolve. "Our battle with Garlic Jr. helped me see that we could get killed the next time an enemy shows up and… well, life is too short, you know? I really want to be happy with her, even if it's for a short time, before something bad happens again."

"If that's the case and you're so sure then I guess we should go back… Just one question, my friend, why did Bulma choose Goku's house for the ceremony?" Krillin asked. "She could have done this somewhere really fancy instead of here."

"Because this is the place where it all started, and it just seemed right to her, as if Goku would be watching us today," Yamcha explained. "I… I must say that I agree with her.

"Oh… I guess it does make sense," the short martial artist conceded. "So, when do I get to congratulate you for your wedding?"

"After Bulma says 'I do', of course," Yamcha smiled. "And after I've kissed her."

"Now you're just rubbing it in my face," the shorter warrior laughed. "Modesty, Yamcha, it's a nice quality."

"I know. Anyway, let's go back, I can't be late for my own wedding, can I?"

Krillin nodded and joined Yamcha, who had taken off and was flying slowly back to their fallen friend's home.

Moments later Yamcha stood before the altar placed in front of Goku's restored house as he waited for his bride. His friends were, of course, sitting in the front row, as were his parents and a few people from his town. Many of Bulma's friends were there, too; all in all, at least fifty people had attended. The nuptial march started playing then, and Yamcha almost lost his breath at the vision of beauty that was Bulma in her wedding dress.

-End-

Notes:

First of all, extra thanks to Adam for beta reading this chapter.

The final scene with Yamcha is probably going to be the last time the regular cast is mentioned in the story, but I decided to include it just to give Yamcha and Bulma, as well as all the others, some sort of conclusion before focusing exclusively on Chi Chi, Gohan and Raditz.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball and all related characters don't belong to me.

We Belong to Him.

By

Dr Facer

Chapter 3

A consummation is made.

0-0-0

Raditz yawned, opening his mouth so much he almost unhinged his jaw. He stretched and shook his head a couple of times to untangle his hair, not too happy about the way his long mane had reacted to the humidity levels on this stupid planet. Once that basic grooming was complete, the Saiyan warrior decided that he really needed a cold shower to completely wake up. He sluggishly left the bedroom and entered the spacious bathroom next door, which was luckily the one with the shower and bathtub, since the other one in the apartment was just a small toilet near the entrance door. A few minutes later the tall soldier was standing in front of the drying wall, allowing the many small, but yet high-powered fans on it to blow warm air all over his body. Once dry he selected a new set of armor that would be better for training from the pile of gear he'd received the day before. The armor Raditz chose was a model similar to the one his father had favored: a black jumpsuit, armored boots and gloves and a breastplate without shoulder pads. He grinned in pleasure as he walked out of the bath and into the living room because he did feel quite comfortable with this outfit. No wonder his progenitor had always worn this particular combination of armor instead of the most basic one.

The living room was still not complete. Raditz had not finished assembling the furniture the previous night, since he had given priority to making sure the temperature control in the apartment worked correctly. It had been a complex task, as he was not familiar with the model they used in this garrison and he made a few mistakes before figuring out how to assemble the circuits and properly program it. He was still not sure it worked correctly in all of the rooms, but he figured he could adjust it later if the woman or the kid complained about it being too cold or too hot. He was musing this while in the kitchen, rummaging through the scarce rations they had given him last night and finding he didn't have enough to prepare a decent meal for a Saiyan. It seemed he would have to take more money from his savings in order to secure enough food for when his new 'wife' and 'son' moved in, something he didn't particularly want to do since he didn't have a lot of credits and wouldn't be getting more unless Vegeta called and assigned him to a PTO solo mission. If the stuck-up prince didn't, which was quite probable, then Raditz would have to volunteer for something and going on missions alone was a pain as they always were stupid surveillance assignments or other boring crap he hated to do.

Those types of missions would be tolerable if he could take the kid with him, though.

And speaking of his new family, Raditz was sure the woman would yell and refuse to let him take the kid on assignments, and then she would never teach him her ki detecting trick. Hell, she could refuse to share the technique for something as stupid as her deciding the house was not comfortable so in order to prevent that, Raditz ended up making sure the stove, the oven, the frostbox and all the other kitchen utensils she had appeared to be so fond of in her planet were in perfect order. He followed this by looking at the room he had set up for Gohan and picked up the tools he had left there so it looked neater than the living room. His task completed, the soldier finally left the apartment and headed down to the clinic.

As he walked he couldn't help but let his thoughts wander a bit. It felt a little strange having spent most of the previous night setting up the apartment he, Chi Chi and Gohan would live in, for doing something like that was not a particularly Saiyan-like activity, he believed. Raditz remembered how back on planet Vegeta, all Saiyans would instead let low-ranking workers sent by the PTO do this task for them, same with the cleaning, and he knew that before that, Tsufur servants were charged with those bothersome labors. In fact he didn't remember his father ever doing any work on the house. But then again, Raditz had seen his father only four times before their world had been destroyed and during only two of those had he spent a significant amount of time with the man. That time was spent training, training hard and without rest, thus he was not the best one to judge concerning whether spending a night fixing his 'residence' made him less of a Saiyan Warrior or not.

Still, doing something as ordinary as making sure his new 'family' had a decent place to sleep was making him feel… different. Not bad or irritated, not even annoyed. Sure, he had been pissed about having to do all that work at first, but at some point during the night, he'd reasoned that it would be for the best, since having functional living quarters would please the woman for sure and that if she felt content Chi Chi would not have any arguments to refuse sharing the technique he was interested in with him. He had also remembered her long, well-shaped legs and her full, perky breasts while he was setting up his bed and had likewise recalled her smell and how attractive it made her. But he had replaced those thoughts with his interest in her ability to trace and measure the energy of her enemies without a scouter.

For the Saiyan, that technique was much more important than making her body his. Or so he thought, because Raditz had to admit his desire for a proper wedding night still burned fierce within him, and he expected the opportunity to have what he wanted would present itself sooner rather than later. He really hoped he could do it that same night, because he could still remember the feeling of her skin under his hands and the way her face looked when she had finally given in to his attentions and she lost herself in pleasure. Raditz really wanted to see that expression on Chi Chi's face again, not only because it meant she enjoyed what they were doing, but because knowing he could make her lose control that much made him feel proud of his skills in the sack. And he liked that feeling almost as much as he liked sex, perhaps even more.

But those things would come soon enough, and he could wait. Persuading her to teach him the technique was more important. Maybe. He honestly did not know how he would react to her if she did something that aroused him.

Still trying to figure out how that ki detecting technique worked, Raditz finally entered the Mess Hall and the promise of an abundant breakfast made him forget his concerns regarding the previous night, tonight and the anticipation of having the woman all for himself-at least for a while.

0-0-0

She put her dishes on the metallic tray at her left and waited until her son had finished eating to do the same with his. The mind of the young woman was not exactly on the meal, however; her thoughts were still devoted to finding a way to make the best out of her current situation and she was finding the task incredibly difficult. She had heard from Prim that she would be spending most of her days training with the all-female squadron stationed in the base, which meant she wouldn't be able to supervise whatever the long-haired brute she was now 'married' to would do with her son, and that of course was making her feel quite upset.

And angry, particularly angry. Not knowing how Raditz planned to train Gohan sent blades of fury all throughout her body, and since she was in no position to stop that barbarian from spending time with her child, the woman had decided to instead enjoy the cold rage building inside of her, using it to fuel her imagination with several different ways she could put Raditz through hell. An image of the Saiyan climbing out of the rejuvenation tank in all his naked glory crossed her mind then, and she squashed the thought immediately. So what if he had a body to die for? He was still an idiot and she hated him. It was as simple as that.

"Do you think I can get armor like Raditz's?" Gohan asked then, not lifting his eyes from the game he was playing on his small scouter. "I think it looks neat."

"I don't know," Chi Chi, pulled out of her ruminations, said with a veiled tone of disgust; the idea of her son wearing that stupid armor annoyed her. "They probably have something different for children."

"Oh. I hope they give me something similar," the kid said, turning off the game and smiling at his mother. "I think training will be fun."

"Training isn't fun, Gohan," the woman said, holding back the memories of her training days with her own father, which she had to admit, were actually very fun.

"You said it was," the half-Saiyan boy recalled. "I think you were talking with a woman from town or something and you said you had fun training with grandpa."

The woman forced herself to smile politely at her son. She hadn't imagined Gohan would remember that conversation. "Son, your grandfather is not a space barbarian with the manners of a criminal. Of course it was fun to train with him!"

"But he has good manners, mom," Gohan disputed, lowering his voice and his eyes a little. "He gave me apples and then took me back home. Raditz didn't leave me alone. He's not a bad guy."

"He did those things, didn't he? I guess even that hairy idiot can be good sometimes," Chi Chi conceded, remembering Raditz had returned her son to her and had thankfully killed that horrible green beast, Piccolo. "But I'm sure he doesn't do them often, so don't expect him to treat you right all the time."

Gohan simply nodded. He might be a child, but he had already realized that his mother's relationship with Raditz was very complicated, and that it was best if he didn't press the issue. The truth was that Gohan did like his uncle a lot. Sure, Raditz had pulled his tail a few times but other than that, he had been good to him, and had also punished the mean green man who had hurt his daddy. Yes, his uncle was not soft-spoken like his dad used to be and was not so nice to others, but he did not abandon him, and that was something Gohan would never forget: Raditz had not abandoned him in that mountain. He had instead taken him home.

The seeds of a strong attachment towards his uncle were already taking firm root inside the young boy's heart, and that was something Chi Chi could never change no matter how much she tried.

"It's time to get your PTO uniforms," Prim, the nurse, announced as she made her way inside the room Chi Chi and Gohan occupied. "Please come with me."

The boy jumped off his seat right away, and stared up at the nurse with great anticipation. "Do you have one that looks like Raditz's for me?"

The nurse smiled down at the kid. —_Figures a Saiyan boy would be so eager to get his armor and start training_—, she thought, feeling a little sad the child would not be spending his time playing with peers but then remembered Saiyan children were sent to war as soon as they were born which meant the smiling kid in front of her had most likely already been in a battlefield at least once before. Prim looked up at the mother, who was silently brooding and apparently not interested in getting her uniform. The nurse didn't care about the other woman's mood swings but she did care about messing up her schedule so she clapped her hands loudly to get her attention and then focused solely on the child.

"I think your uniform is just like that, come with me and we'll see if you like it, ok?"

"Sure!" the boy replied enthusiastically, following Prim out of the room.

"Aren't you coming?" The nurse asked, looking back at the sullen woman behind her.

"I don't have any other choice, do I?" the Ox Princess said. "I'm going."

"This way, then," and so Prim led Chi Chi and Gohan to another room of the clinic, where many different uniforms were stored. She quickly reached for two that she had previously placed in a small table and handed them over to the raven haired woman behind her. "There's some underwear for you as well. We measured you both yesterday so I think they should fit you right, try them on. I'll be helping Doctor Ygrus, but call me if you need anything."

Chi Chi sighed in disappointment as she evaluated the uniforms. They consisted of two black unitards, white boots and white gloves and the same stupid looking chest armor Raditz wore. A second look confirmed that the smaller, Gohan's, was actually pretty much the same model as that of his uncle, which annoyed her a little but after looking around she saw there were no other models her child's size, so she had no other choice but to let her son wear it. It was then she noticed the armor Prim had given her was lacking shoulder pads. It didn't matter much. She didn't like these things anyway. But they were still better than the ugly robes she and Gohan were wearing. She looked at her son and felt a wave of sadness hit her when she saw the expectation on his face. He was taking this whole tragedy as if it were a vacation and that pained her however… however, she couldn't blame her son for this and if his innocence was the shield that would protect him from facing the true implications of this horrendous experience then she was not going to be the one to take it away from him.

"Let me help you get dressed, Gohan," she called and despite herself, actually smiled honestly while she helped her son change clothes, remembering earlier times when something this simple meant nothing more than just another aspect of her former, quiet and calm domestic life.

"Now's my turn, honey; please wait for me outside," she requested once Gohan was fully dressed in his new PTO uniform. The boy nodded and walked out into the adjacent room, the door closing automatically behind him. He eyed a comfy looking couch, and sat down there to wait for his mother.

A few minutes later the other door of the room opened and someone entered. The boy smiled when he saw who the person was and went up to him to show him the uniform and the scouter.

Chi Chi liked her new boots and gloves well enough but wasn't sure if she hated her unitard or not; she had put it on and the feeling of this alien fabric on her skin was, surprisingly, quite pleasant and very comfortable, but what she disliked was the way it stuck to her body. It was so tight, (_but not uncomfortable at all_) that she might as well have been naked. One look at the mirror was all it took to let her see how even the smaller details of her anatomy were revealed by the unitard. She was suddenly very glad Prim had gotten her panties, but she would tell her later the obvious fact that she had not gotten her a bra. Chi Chi looked at her chest again and felt her breasts, while covered by the black unitard, could have very well been exposed. She didn't like it, but felt instantly better when she realized the armor would be more than enough to cover them properly, and it seemed the breastplate would give them good enough support so perhaps it wasn't that bad. She glanced at the little gadget she'd place on the table and frowned; she was not going to put on that horrendous scouter on until it was absolutely necessary.

The door slid open just then, right before she could put on her armor.

And he was standing there. Tall and strong and watching her. Watching her with piercing eyes that made her feel completely naked; the thought of him imagining her nude made her face color a little, and she hated him for making her react like that. Chi Chi gritted her teeth and brought the armor front, covering her breasts from his gaze and allowing her dislike of him to fill her mind and help her maintain control. She had no need to feel anything but disdain for this brute. He was nothing to her. Would never be more than the stupid barbarian who had taken her away from home.

"Don't you know how to knock?" she asked once she felt confident enough. "I am getting changed, you idiot, get out!"

"You are going to start your training today," the soldier said, stepping into the changing room, the door sliding shut behind him. "I just came to tell you our apartment is on the top floor; it's the number 398."

"Get out!" she insisted, her voice coming out louder this time. "I don't care where it is, you hairy oaf! All I care is that you…!"

"Go away?" he completed for her, enjoying looking at the way the unitard hugged her body in all the right ways. Raditz had not forgotten how damned attractive the woman was or about the hypnotic curve of her perfect breasts which were so explicitly revealed by the unitard she wore or about the inviting shape of her hips and her hard, firm thighs. Looking at her dressed like this made him recall the time he had taken her, and remembering that did nothing but waking the need he felt for her once more and to ignite in him the strong desire to make her understand that she was _his_.

"Yeah, I was going to do just that, you know? But seeing you now, I think I'm going to stay here and properly greet my wife."

She stared in mute surprise as he tossed his scouter to the table where hers was and then proceeded to advance towards her with a predatory smirk on his face. What the hell was he planning to do? Chi Chi threw the armor at him, an action which had little effect as he simply dodged it without stopping. She saw her chest piece hit the wall behind him with a soft thud and then bounce to the floor. He got closer. She moved to the left then, determined not to let him corner her again, because if he did so… she did not dare complete the thought.

"Stay away, you disgusting pervert!" she looked around trying to find an escape route but found none, she was now very afraid of the way he kept looking at her. "G-Gohan could come in!"

"I told the kid we had to talk in private, both of us; he promised he wouldn't come in," the Saiyan said. "I am sure he'll be a nice boy and keep his promise."

"And I'm sure I'll scratch your eyes out if you don't leave me alone! I'm the Princess of Ox Kingdom, I don't have to put up with this abuse!" she exclaimed. The woman was struggling to keep fear at bay. She remembered all too well what had happened between the two of them the first time they met, knew quite well that her body yearned for the pleasure he could provide. She was well aware that Raditz was passion and fire, and that he could very well make her flesh burn with desire if she only allowed him to touch her.

Which was why she was so desperately trying to make him leave! She had already betrayed Goku once because of this man. She didn't want to betray him again and she knew… she _knew_ she would not be able to stop herself from betraying her defunct husband once more if Raditz were to envelop her in his strong arms for a second time. There was no way she could resist him if he did. No way at all, and knowing this was driving daggers of fear into her heart.

"Oh, really?" the man sneered, amused by her words. "I honestly only wanted to tell you were to go when you're done for the day when I got here, but now I think you look so tasty I just have to give my woman a good luck kiss before she starts her training."

"I'm not your…" Chi Chi couldn't finish the sentence, for Raditz had once again used his superior speed to grab her, and now was keeping her between his arms in a powerful embrace she could not break off of.

"I registered you as my wife, Chi Chi; you _are_ mine," he reminded her. "And we _do_ have unfinished business from last night."

He ran his left hand slowly from the small of her back to the base of her neck while using his right arm to keep her still. The caress and his closeness were enough to make the woman's heart race in a way that it hadn't since… since the day he had taken her back on Earth. She cursed her treacherous body for reacting like this and strongly tried to get free before it was too late, but he wouldn't have any of it. His arm tightened around her, keeping her firmly pressed against him.

"First you tempt me with those legs of yours last night," he murmured in her ear, enjoying the way she shuddered when his breath reached her fair skin. "And now you tempt me with these amazing and perfect tits you have… you shouldn't do that to your husband unless you expect him to react like this."

"You're not my husband!" She hissed, his crude language had given her something to focus on and allowed her to concentrate on struggling even harder in a final attempt to escape him. "You're nothing but a vulgar, horrible… _mmmppph_!"

She could say nothing more; his lips had silenced her. She tried to back away but he just kissed her harder. His left hand moved up to the back of her head, keeping her still as his lips forced hers open. She felt his tongue slide inside her mouth, and when it stroked her own her mind just went blank. She _had_ meant to bit off his tongue and spit it back at him, she _really_ had. But in the end she couldn't do it. Because the kiss just felt too good. His taste intoxicated her, his lips on hers made her feel as if her full body was being caressed by his touch. This was much, much better than the first time he had kissed her and she was lost in the amazing sensation. He retracted his tongue then, and she found herself yearning for it, kissing back in a weak attempt to deepen the kiss again. Tears slid down her cheeks as her conscious mind reprimanded her for what she was doing but she paid it no heed. All she wanted was to feel him again inside her mouth, kissing her with the same urgency, with that same animal lust which made her knees weak. But he would not have it. He simply ended the contact, leaving her with a feeling of wanting that burned her so completely it was actually driving her crazy.

"…m-more," she gasped, finding herself lost in the strong and stimulating presence he radiated. "Please… kiss me more…"

That's when she felt his hand between her thighs, pressing up at her core, making her moan loudly despite herself. "No… not that… ah… just… just kiss me…again."

"Kiss you? I don't think more foreplay's necessary. It seems you're all ready for some fun down here," he whispered on her ear. "Such a bad princess, getting this hot between your legs after just one single kiss…"

"It's…It's your fault," she whispered, she wanted to curse him but another move of his hand made her gasp for breath as a wave of pleasure went from her belly to her head, making her head spin with desire. Why could he do this to her? Even the first time they had been together he had managed to make her feel so much passion that she had simply lost control and now it was happening again. It was something she just could not understand. Why did she find him so irresistibly erotic? It made no sense!

"I know," he told her huskily. "And that's why I know you want me. You want me more than you ever wanted any other man."

Goku. His memory flashed in her mind then and her eyes shot back open. She did not want Raditz more than Goku, did she? No, of course not, that was impossible! And then, for a fraction of a second, with the memory of her dead husband shining in her mind, she felt strong enough to try to push Raditz away, she was honestly about to yell and scratch his eyes out as she had promised she would… but then he moved his hand so expertly once again and there was another surge of pleasure and he made her heart skip a beat and then Goku's memory and all her steely resolve melted in the furnace of fiery pleasure he had started in her.

"P-please… just stop," she begged weakly. "This… this is too much for me…"

"But you _do_ want it, don't you? Your body knows it. Why do you think you react like this when I touch you? Because deep down you know you were born to be _mine_," Raditz affirmed, his lips brushing the skin of her neck, sending shivers all over her body. "And soon enough you will accept this fact: You _belong_ to me, Chi Chi."

"No… I d-don't…!" she discussed but her words carried no strength behind them, his breath on her neck at first and then his lips on her earlobe were just so distracting that she could not manage anything else but a weak refusal. "I c-can't be yours…"

"But you _are_. And after this you know you won't get me out of your head for the rest of the day," he declared and kissed her again, a gentle kiss now, a kiss that she did not try to escape. He allowed her to lean into him and he permitted himself to fully taste her. She was delicious, just as he remembered her to be. "Isn't that right?"

"I…"

"Answer me," he requested his breath on her lips. "Will you remember me all day, yes or no?"

"I… y-yes… I will," she murmured, hating herself for this but knowing it was also true, for even if she tried to put this behind her and forget it as a horrible memory, her body would remember it and crave for it. And she hated it as much as she desired it. "I will remember you."

"Good girl," he praised satisfied, releasing her at last. "Good girl. I'll leave you to finish getting ready; I heard your new teammates are not very patient."

He picked up his scouter and headed for the door, but he stopped when she called his name. "What is it?"

"I'm… I'm not what you said," she told him, her breathing was heavy and her eyes were low as she felt that if she looked at him, she would not be able to repeat herself.

"What do you mean?"

"That I'm not yours" Chi Chi stated her eyes still avoiding him. "I'll never be yours."

"Keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better," he answered as the door opened for him. "It won't change the truth. I'm taking Gohan to train; you should hurry up and get going too, princess."

"I…" she started but it was no use. He had already left the room. She was alone. Pushing her confused emotions down and focusing on what had to be done, Chi Chi reached for her chest armor and put it on. She forced her mind to think about what she had to do for the rest of the day. She thought about the upcoming training with the other women here but that didn't distract her from the feeling of Raditz close to her. She then focused on Gohan and how much it worried her that the long haired brute was training him and she found that worked well enough. Concern for her son was all she needed to completely cast Raditz out of her mind. She promised herself she would think of that the next time he tried touching her.

She left the dressing room then, hoping to see Gohan there to give him some recommendations but her child was not around. Raditz had already taken him away.

"You shouldn't have let your man in the dressing room," Prim reprimanded from the door opposite the waiting room. "The clinic is not to be used for whatever it was you two were doing in there. Please remember that you already have an apartment and I suggest you mate there from now on."

"We weren't…!" Chi Chi's face went red and she truly disliked Prim then for suggesting that she and Raditz had done… _it_, in there. "How can you say something like that?"

"Heh… I honestly don't know what you two did, but going by your reaction I was pretty close to the mark," the nurse said with a wink. "I know I would have done it. Your man may be a Saiyan but he's still pretty hot. He's just so manly no girl could say no to him, you know? I know I wouldn't."

"Please stop talking about him," the Ox Princess said with an annoyed tone of voice. "Just tell me where I'm supposed to go and where my son will be. That's all I need."

"You're the jealous type, aren't you? Well, I guess I can't blame you… your husband _is_ a hunk," Prim teased. The nurse felt she and Chi Chi had established some sort of friendship, and she thought she could get away with little jokes like these.

"I'm not jealous!" the other woman stated her face almost completely red. "Can you please just answer my questions?"

"Sure, sure, calm down. I don't know which Gravity Room your man will use, but I can take you with the All-Female Squadron. I'll even walk you to where they are," Prim promised and opened the door for Chi Chi to follow her. "Just come with me."

0-0-0

_Somewhere else, a level below in the massive complex…_

Gohan walked behind Raditz in silence. The kid had obeyed and not interrupted while his uncle had what he called '_an adult conversation_' with his mother. He had felt a little bit concerned because it took longer than what he thought was necessary but when Raditz came out of the dressing room with a satisfied expression he'd relaxed immediately. Sure, he would have liked to say good-bye to his mom, but his uncle insisted that they had to start soon or they may lose the chance to use a '_Ravity_ _Room'_ for a few hours, whatever that was. Gohan was not really worried about what training meant for him, and he thought it would be something similar to what his… _father_? Yes, what his daddy used to do.

Gohan's brow knit, he couldn't stop a bubble of sadness from swelling inside his chest at the memory of his dad, and he felt tears threatening to start flowing. But he had promised he wouldn't cry, because he was a '_Say-Ann_' like his dad and uncle Raditz and that apparently meant you had to be tough and you had to stop your tears with nothing but a thought. And that was just too difficult.

He sniffled once.

Raditz stopped and looked at the child. It surprised him, and annoyed him, to see the boy was about to start crying. Just a few seconds ago Gohan had been eager to start the training so it made no sense for him to cry so suddenly. "What is it now, kid?"

"Daddy," the child said then. "Training makes daddy happy."

"Oh… so that was it," Raditz crouched and turned his nephew's scouter off and then he did the same with his; no need for idiots eavesdropping on a personal conversation. "That's just normal, Gohan. All Saiyans like combat training. It is in our blood so just accept it and become a strong warrior. You have to be stronger than your father, remember?"

"Yes, but…" the kid paused. "It hurts to remember and…"

"That hurting _will_ pass with time. Besides, you're with me now and I'm not going to let any green idiot kill me," Raditz stood up then hoping his words had been enough to calm down his brother's clingy kid. "Now stop being a pain in the rear and start walking! I don't want to waste more time, understood?"

"Yes… understood," the boy said, startled by the sudden rough tone his uncle had used. Deciding it was better to obey and actually feeling a little better, Gohan hurried up.

0-0-0

_Meanwhile, Chi Chi is…_

Walking down the hallway, following Prim as they both stroll towards one of the Garrison's gymnasiums; the Ox Princess has already managed to put her conflicting emotions back in order, though the memory of Raditz and his touch still lingered stubbornly in the back of her mind. To distract herself from that Chi Chi decided to truly look at the corridor and found it to be very Sci-Fi looking. She suddenly caught herself comparing it to the sets of some of the old science fiction movies she had seen on TV late at night, while waiting for… _Goku_ to come back home from one of his many trips to the mountains; she pushed the thought of her dead husband out of her mind. It was not the right time to remember him. He was not coming back for her. She could not, for her sake and that of her son, keep thinking about Goku as if he would save them any second, because that was clearly not going to happen and she could not afford to rest her hopes on a ghost that would never come.

"We're here," Prim announced, stopping in front of a door marked with a big 'G-17' painted in red color. "One word of advice: the members of the All-Female Squadron are… peculiar, so try to follow the flow when you meet them to avoid getting in trouble with them."

"Thank you," the princess said. She thought about asking if Prim wanted to come inside the gym with her, but the nurse was already on her way back to the clinic and was walking as fast as she could without sprinting. That she was in such a hurry to put distance between her and the female soldiers behind that door did nothing to ease Chi Chi's fears. Hesitating for an instant, the widow pressed a button on the wall and the gymnasium door opened for her.

Chi Chi entered a very large room. There were several machines that she imagined were used for exercising, and a considerable empty space that appeared to be a ring used for combat training. The gym was impressive, but what really caught her attention was the bickering of four women who were busy practicing what appeared to be a cheering routine of some sorts.

—_Dear lord, they are so terrible just looking at them is hurting my brain!—_, Chi Chi thought as she watched how the women finished their little dance routine in a group pose that made her feel incredibly embarrassed and hoping that being a part of this 'All Female Squadron' wouldn't mean that she also had to take part in something so absurd and stupid. She didn't think she would be able to bear such humiliation.

"You were not supposed to be here until later!" the woman who stood in the middle of the ridiculous formation exclaimed, breaking ranks and stomping towards the Ox Princess. "We're not done yet practicing our new role call poses! We haven't even decided yet if we're gonna let you join our group!"

"I was told you were already waiting for me," Chi Chi said then, standing her ground as she imagined if she let these women push her around now, they would keep doing it forever and she was not going to have that. "Not my fault if you're not ready."

The woman who had approached Chi Chi stopped then, eyes wide open at the comment and then stood in dead silence for an instant before she suddenly started laughing. She laughed so hard her arms went up to her sides. The other three women kept silent, but by their expressions it was easy to see that this was something that happened often, and that they either didn't like it much, or were not particularly bothered by it.

"Heh… wow… you surely have some nerve," the female soldier said when she managed to stop laughing. "Been a while since a met a real jokester like you."

"I was not making a joke," Chi Chi replied, left eyebrow up as she regarded this strange woman. She looked like a regular human and was very pretty by human standards, but she was taller than the average woman, had sky blue skin and shoulder length bright, curvy orange hair which definitely established her alien status. "Neither was I trying to be funny."

"Well, I think you're funny anyway," the orange-haired beauty said with a smile, showing her sharp canines in a (_friendly?_) grin. "I am Gale, captain of the Alf-Squad."

"…Alf-Squad?" Chi Chi puzzled.

"All Female Squadron, of course!" Gale explained as she grabbed the new recruit by the shoulder and led her to where the other women waited. "I came up with that short name for our group myself! It's pretty cool, dontcha think?"

"I guess it is," the princess said; she thought the name was stupid, but given the extremely powerful ki she felt coming from Gale and remembering Prim's advice, she decided to go with the flow.

"Alright, now let me introduce you to the rest of the gang!" the captain said, stopping right in front of the other three members of her team. "First, we have Breeze; she's my right hand girl!"

"Hello," a short, slim and cute woman said and offered a smile. Breeze had ivory white skin and blood red hair, which she kept very short. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Chi Chi replied with a smile. She got a nice feeling from Breeze.

"And this is Twister!" Gale continued, introducing the next Alf-Squad member.

"Greetings," the other woman said. Twister was, in one word, stunning. Her emerald skin was smooth and perfect, as were her natural-red lips and shiny ember eyes and her golden hair fell in waves to the middle of her back, all of this making her incredibly beautiful. "You're the wife of the Saiyan. I heard that from the Azurian brothers last night. Your name's Chi Chi, right?"

"Hi… yes, that's my name and I guess… yes, I am with the Saiyan," Chi Chi said, wondering what the intrigued stare Twister eyed her with truly meant. The Ox Princess decided to be wary with the emerald beauty, just in case.

"And last but not least, this is Gust!" Gale finished, pointing at the tallest Alf-Squad member.

"Welcome, new girl!" Gust said, smiling wide. Gust was _very_ tall, taller than even Piccolo, and very muscular yet still decidedly feminine. She wasn't as naturally pretty as her partners but was not ugly at all either; in fact, her sand-colored skin made her look mysterious and with some make-up to touch up her features and some work on her short silver hair Gust could actually look attractive enough to turn a lot of heads. "Nice to have some new blood at last!"

"Thank you," the princess smiled. Gust seemed ok, if a little rough.

"Your power level is _only_ 59?" Gale screamed truly alarmed at the numbers her scouter was revealing. "That can't be true! I'm at 9,451! Breeze is at 5,233! Twister is at 3,764 and Gust is at 2,648! Please tell me this is some sort of joke! Do you have an electromagnetic disruptor hidden somewhere that's messing our scouters' readings?"

"What if that's my power level?" Chi Chi stood with her arms crossed, defiantly staring at Gale. "I can defend myself quite well with my current power!"

This time it was not only Gale who laughed, but the other three women as well, much to the princess' dismay and annoyance.

"Sorry girl, but 59 units? That won't cut it," Gust said.

"It's just too low to be of any use in a mission," Breeze added.

"Such weakness would be a hindrance to our group, I'm afraid" Twister pointed out.

"They're right, you know?" Gale said then. "As you're now, you'd get killed in the first minute of your first assignment with us."

"I think she can't even fly," Twister guessed.

"What if I can't?" Chi Chi was actually starting to get angry at the Alf-Squad, as she had not expected to be mocked like this.

"We'd have to teach you," the captain of the group said. She was not laughing now and had a business like expression which reflected in her speech. "We don't have the time for it. We could be sent to a mission at any time. Damn it! Since Prim is a sourpuss who won't join the team, I expected someone actually strong enough to finally take the fifth spot in our group. Even a woman with a power level of around a 1,000 units would have been enough."

"Yeah, Gale's right," Breeze rejoined. "I bet you don't even have the rhythm to participate in the group pose."

"I don't want to be a part of that stupid routine!" the Ox Princess spat, tired of being underestimated.

"Hey, our routine isn't stupid and it was my idea!" Gale said noticing the anger in the new girl's eyes. "Look, don't be pissed at us for saying you're weak. Be angry at yourself for not being stronger and faster."

"Does she even know how to fight?" Breeze wondered, honestly concerned for the new girl's safety. "I don't want us to get the blame if she gets killed."

"I'll have you know I am the strongest woman on my planet, and that I was trained in martial arts since I was a little child!" Chi Chi informed indignantly. "Do not underestimate my skill!"

"Oh, really?" Gale smirked. "Let's see if you're as skilled as you say. Hey, Gust, how about sparring with our new friend?"

The tall woman smiled and nodded. "Not a bad idea, boss!"

"Remember to hold back, we don't want you to kill her before we actually see what she can do, ok?"

"Sure thing Gale, I'll be careful," Gust promised her captain. "I'll use as little of my strength as possible."

"Sparring?" Chi Chi finally understood she had dug her own grave by talking too much. And she had always accused Goku of the very same thing. The irony didn't escape her and it made her groan in annoyance.

"20 seconds," Gale said, forcing her new recruit into the ring of the gym. "If you can last for 20 seconds with Gust, I'll consider training you personally. You should be glad."

"Sorry new girl, I'll have you flat on your back in 2, maybe less!" Gust promised with a good hearted laugh. "I'll try not to hurt you too much."

Chi Chi's pride burned at the way all these space idiots were underestimating her. She had managed to hit Raditz last night, and _he_ was at least as strong as this Gust woman standing in front of her. She may be weak, but she was _not_ going to back down now. She would last those twenty seconds and then they'll see she was not a joke. And besides, this was a great chance to let off some steam, something she really, really needed.

"Don't be so sure," Chi Chi challenged, readying her fighting stance. "You may be strong but I have skill."

"Skill means nothing if you're slow and weak!" Gust grinned and with a burst of speed dashed to where Chi Chi stood.

The princess had expected this and while she couldn't exactly follow the other woman's moves with her eyes, she could feel her ki well enough and was able to somewhat block her punch and managed to be sent skidding back only a few steps. The arm she used to block protested the abuse, however.

"Not bad!" Gust praised. "I was using almost nothing of my power but for you to block my punch is really impressive!"

"I'm just getting started," Chi Chi said, once again getting ready.

"That's the spirit!" the tall soldier lifted a knee and then appeared to fall, but instead cartwheeled in the direction of the princess.

Chi Chi noticed this move was slower than the previous one, but calculated it packed a bigger punch and that she would be knocked out if she got hit. She thought this in a fraction of a second and jumped in time to dodge, but just barely. What the princess didn't see was that Gust's cartwheel attack had been a feint, and she followed it with a lunge. She was grabbed by the ankle, lifted up and then tossed to the side.

The Ox Princess had honestly not seen it coming. She had thought she was safe but then she found herself being thrown like a rag in the other direction she had meant to land. She maneuvered her fall so she landed on her hands and used the impulse to flip over a couple of times until she regained her balance. She was rusty, she knew, and was aware her moves were not graceful at all, she also knew she was making too many unnecessary movements and that meant she was also wasting opportunities to attack. She spun on her heels to face her opponent, but all she managed was to crash on Gust's torso. She then understood she had been right: she was wasting moves and not paying enough attention.

"How did you…?" Chi Chi started

"I'm just way too fast for you to see!" Gust said with a smirk, which she followed with a slap that hit Chi Chi's shoulder hard enough to send the princess to the floor. "Give up. You can't win the bet."

Chi Chi writhed in pain and grabbed at her hurt shoulder. She knew nothing was broken but that didn't mean she was not in great pain. She bit her lip to avoid screaming, she had never been hit so hard in her life, and the agony helped the realization of how large the gap between her and the Alf-Squad members to finally set in. Winning this gamble was impossible. She simply had no chance.

Then she heard the laughter. And saw them looking at her with pity, stating it was only natural for someone so weak to be defeated like that. The princess could not tolerate such humiliation. Forcing her body to move Chi Chi stood up again, much to the amusement of the other women. "It's not over yet."

"I gotta give you credit, rookie," Gust admitted. "You've lasted seven seconds so far."

"I'm planning on lasting more than that!" Chi Chi threatened as she untied her hair. That done, she readied her stance again and stopped holding back her ki, unleashing her full power in a fight for the first time since before she'd married Goku and while she wasn't as crazy about it as her late husband, she hadn't stopped training and knew she had increased her strength substantially. A faint white glow manifested around the Ox Princess then, and she used this power to launch herself at Gust in a last attempt to at least get one hit in.

"Her power jumped to 359 when she untied her hair!" Gale said with surprised and doubtful eyes. "Nobody told me basic Ningen types could do that!"

"They can't," Breeze said then, as impressed as her captain. "It must be a trait of the ones in her planet.

"She won't hurt Gust with a power level so pathetic," Twister said, her eyes never leaving the sparring match. "But sting her? I think she definitively could manage to do that."

And sting her rival Chi Chi did. Surprised by her opponent's sudden leap in power, Gust had remained still for a fraction of a second; this was the first time she had found a person who could increase their power level like this and was not sure of what it meant. This hesitation was just what the Ox Princess needed to connect her right fist on her adversary's left eye. Chi Chi's punch crushed the crystal of Gust's scouter, causing small glass shards to embed themselves all over the tall female warrior's face and for a burst of electricity from the ruined gadget to go through her skin. These were nothing but minimal annoyances to the tall woman but the fact was that this shouldn't have happened. Chi Chi was not supposed to have hit her! Not once! It could not be!

Gust got angry then. Her tantrum lasted only an instant, but that instant was enough. Momentarily forgetting Chi Chi's inferior power level, the tall woman, left hand over her eye, retaliated by punching the rookie in the stomach. She remembered to hold back only at the last second and she could not stop the full power of her punch in time. The result was Chi Chi being thrown all the way to the exercising machines crashing loudly into one and not getting back up.

"Oh crap, did I kill her?" Gust asked alarmed at the sight.

"No, it seems not," Gale said. The captain had rushed to her new recruit's side, and had pressed the X-Ray button on her scouter to check for damage. "Hurt her guts pretty badly, though; shattered her hip bone, too. I think she'll die unless she's put in an R. tank soon."

"I didn't mean to do that!" Gust exclaimed with honest concern. "It's just that…"

"Not your fault, people sometimes get hurt during training," Gale assured as she carefully picked Chi Chi up. "I'm taking her to the clinic."

The leader of the All-Female Squadron said no more and rushed out of the gym.

0-0-0

_At the same time…_

Gohan had trouble just standing. Everything felt heavier inside this 'Ravity Room' and he couldn't really mimic his uncle's movements quite well. The boy was breathing heavily and pearls of sweat crowned his forehead. This was simply too much and he was just about to give up.

Raditz looked at his nephew and couldn't help but feel puzzled by his behavior. He had increased gravity only _one_ unit from what it was on the rest of the Advantage. Gohan was fine functioning with a gravity of three above the standard so why the hell was an increase to four taxing the kid so much? It really made no sense to the Saiyan solider._—Must be something with the boy's head—_ Raditz reasoned. His nephew had adjusted to a heavier gravity just fine when he thought it was normal for everybody around him, but the little brat had gone weak as a boiled noodle the moment he felt something that wasn't 'normal'. The broad shouldered warrior could not have that. Such behavior was inexcusable for a Saiyan!

"Gravity in here is only four!" Raditz grumbled at the kid. "And outside it's at three, so don't play me for a fool and shape up, we're only just starting!"

"But… but…" Gohan felt tears were coming. "It's too hard!"

"What's hard is your thick skull!" the Saiyan muttered, believing he had already identified the problem. The kid simply had no confidence. He'd seen similar issues with rookie PTO soldiers who couldn't use their full power in their first mission because they were scared shitless at the idea of purging or conquering a world. Raditz was sure this was the boy's problem. Not surprising since his mother had spoiled him rotten. The Saiyan remembered then the moment Gohan had burst out of his old Space Pod and how he had almost killed that green freak. The kid had been under a lot of stress at that point so surely that was the key. He had thought about it the day before, and was now convinced it was worth a shot to put the kid in a similar situation to force him use his real power. He looked up at the high ceiling and an idea formed in his mind.

"Computer, increase gravity to six," Raditz called then, and was not surprised by his nephew's wailing and claiming this was unfair. And yet the kid was still standing. He looked like he was constipated and struggling to take a shit but he was still standing.

"You're mean!" Gohan complained, straining to lift his head to look at his uncle. "This is too difficult!"

"Let me carry you then," the Saiyan said, grabbing the boy by the neck of his small armor and lifting him up. "Better?"

"Yes… a little," the kid said with a small smile.

"Good, we're going to do something else now," and saying no more, Raditz flew high, until his head was almost touching the ceiling several meters above the ground.

"What… what are we going to do?" Gohan asked his voice trembling, he had a very bad feeling about this all, and was starting to fear something not so nice was about to happen.

"We're very high. If you hit the ground from here you _will_ get hurt," the man explained. "But if you do the same thing you did when you attacked that green bastard you should be able to survive."

"I can't do that, I don't know how!" the half-Saiyan kid cried, somewhat understanding what his uncle was planning to do.

"Tough luck kiddo, you have to learn to use that power somehow and you're not giving me any other options."

Saying no more, Raditz simply dropped Gohan.

The kid, in a frantic state of panic had no time to properly react or think; all he had left was instinct and just as he was about to hit the ground, his ki flared to life and Gohan spun in the air at the last second, landing safely on his feet, panting and utterly afraid. He looked up to see his uncle was smiling in approval, and was already descending to his side.

"Good job," the older Saiyan praised with a smirk. "Now let's do it again until you can use your full strength at will."

"What?" Gohan trembled in fear, and tried to get away from his uncle but to no avail; Raditz grabbed him and repeated the process of carrying him high into the air and dropping him without a second thought.

By the sixth time, Gohan was no longer afraid; he was angry, _really_ angry. He didn't like to be afraid and he liked being dropped from the ceiling even less. When his uncle descended again and reached to grab him a seventh time, the kid managed to jump back, dodging the hand of his cruel trainer.

"Oh? You don't want to continue the training?" Raditz asked trying to grab his nephew again, just to see him duck and run to the other side of the room. "Computer, increase gravity to seven."

The room got heavier again but this time Gohan was so focused on getting away from his uncle that he didn't even notice it. Unfortunately for him, said uncle jumped a couple of times and landed right in front of the door, blocking the way out. The kid, still feeling angry for the way he had been treated, feeling caged and not willing to take any more of Raditz's insane training, didn't stop his mad rush, he instead jumped at his uncle with all the strength he could muster. Gohan figured that if he was able to replicate what he did to hurt Piccolo then that would convince Raditz to let him out of this 'Ravity Room' for good.

Recalling what he noticed after being dropped several times, Gohan focused and his power flared alive. Without any warning, the little half-Saiyan increased his speed several times, trying to ram his uncle out of the way but he was not successful. Raditz caught him in mid-air and violently shoved him to the side.

The Saiyan was impressed. His nephew had gotten angry and when he did his power, according to the scouter, had shot up to 793 units and stayed there, not going up or down as the kid ran for the door. Raditz decided to push the kid further just to see what would happen and moved so he could block the door. He was expecting the kid would skid to a halt and start crying but that was not what he did. Gohan instead jumped at him with the intention of hitting him. Raditz, surprised by this, was almost struck but managed to react in time, catching his nephew and then throwing him to the side. The boy dropped unceremoniously but got up almost immediately.

"I want out!" Gohan demanded. "This training sucks!"

"Congratulations, kid," Raditz said, openly smiling this time. "What you just did was great."

"I-it was?" the boy calmed down as soon as he noticed his uncle was not going to grab him and drop him from the ceiling again. "Why?"

"Because it seems there _is_ some Saiyan bood in you after all," Raditz smirked and rubbed his hands together, they stung a little after his nephew had slammed into them but he was not angry about it. He was… he was proud, actually.

"I don't like it when you drop me from up there!" Gohan complained then, tears glistering in the corner of his eyes. "It's scary!"

"There may be no need to do it again," the soldier said as he did a reading on the kid. His power level had not decreased. "It seems your power level stabilized. We can start working for real now."

"That means… no more dropping me from up there?" Gohan asked with hope in his eyes.

"Yeah, no more dropping you from up there," the Saiyan promised.

0-0-0

_Later, at the clinic…_

Consciousness came to her shockingly fast. She was not used to waking up so suddenly and she felt fear when her eyes opened and she realized she had been submerged in green liquid. She thrashed around and was rewarded with a loud beeping sound for her efforts. The liquid started to drain and the first thing she did when it was safe was to pull off the respirator they had put over her mouth and nose and also remove every little wire attached to her skin. She knew where she was now. Inside one of those strange Rejuvenation Tanks she had learned to use the day before. The glass in front of her lifted and she was allowed to stand and walk out. The woman took in a deep breath and looked down, she was nude again. Chi Chi could have sworn people in space had a strange fetish for nudity (_if someone had asked her right then_) but it was at that moment when she realized she felt… perfect. No part of her body hurt and she was full of energy, as if she had woken up from a good night's sleep. Last thing she remembered was getting hit so hard she felt her entrails explode and a sharp pain in her lower back. The pain was gone now. Despite herself Chi Chi had to smile in amazement at the technological marvel which had healed her.

"I didn't know basic Ningen types also had two breasts," a voice said then. "Yours are kind of big so don't let Breeze find out, she's touchy 'cause her tits are the size of zits!"

That crude statement was followed by a burst of laughter, and Chi Chi knew right away who it was. She looked to her left and sure enough, Gale was sitting in a bench, still laughing at her own joke and still staring at her. The Ox Princess reasoned the captain of the All-Female Squadron had carried her to the clinic, and she correctly guessed Prim had taken care of putting her in the R. Tank to heal. She covered her body with her hands as best as she could and eyed her uniform which was on a nearby table. A polite smile on her face, the younger woman reached for it and started getting dressed; wondering how long the captain had waited to say that crude joke.

"So, everything ok?" Gale asked then. "You gave me a good scare, for sure; thought you were going to die before I got here."

"I'm feeling very good now, thank you for your help, Gale," Chi Chi said and bowed respectfully. "I'm in your debt."

"Nah, just forgive Gust for whopping you and we'll be even, ok?" the orange-haired woman said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "And, besides, you're one of my girls now; Doctor Ygrus made me responsible for all females here, the seven of us, not too long ago, so I have to take care of you."

"Well, thank you," the princess insisted. "As for Gust, it's fine. I shouldn't have angered her like I did."

"Not until you're stronger, at least," Gale grinned playfully, her sharp fangs showing again as she did. "She was actually afraid that you wouldn't heal properly, she was even here for a while and everything."

"She was?"

"Yeah, she was worried about you."

Chi Chi nodded again, feeling sympathy and gratitude for the tall and muscular woman. It was surprising to learn she was that considerate.

"Anyway, I'm going to train you," Gale said then. "Can't afford you getting killed if you ever come to a mission with me and the gang, can I?"

"I'm not sure it is a good idea," the princess said, putting on her boots and then her new gloves. "As you saw, I am no match for any of you."

"Don't tell me you're losing your fighter's drive!" the captain said a disgusted expression crossing her face. "I know we teased you about not being strong, but you tried and showed more heart in those nine seconds the sparring match with Gust lasted than many of the spineless men living here in the Advantage have ever done. You shouldn't lose that just because you lost one fight. Get stronger instead!"

For a moment, the young widow simply stood there, chest armor in her hands, staring at the other woman. "I've never had a 'fighter's drive' Gale. I practice martial arts because it's a family tradition; even my husband was a fighter. I'm not interested in getting stronger."

"_Is_ a fighter," Gale corrected. "Your dumbass Saiyan husband's not retired yet."

"Oh… yes, I guess you're right," Chi Chi sighed; she had forgotten for a moment that for everybody here she was married to Raditz and not a widow. "He's not retired."

"But that's not important anyway. What matters is that I saw potential in you and I don't want to see it go to waste," the Alf-Squad leader said. "Your base technique seems to be excellent even if your power level is so low. If you let me help you build upon it and help you get stronger you can be a worthy member of our Squadron, I'm sure."

"Could I get stronger than Gust?" the Ox Princess asked, realizing that if she got stronger then maybe she could escape this place. But that was not her only motive, there was something else Chi Chi didn't say. She really wanted to become stronger than Gale and the others in the All Female Squadron for a very selfish purpose: Chi Chi had spent years with the satisfaction of knowing she was the strongest woman alive, finding women here who surpassed her by so much was killing her pride and she did not like that one bit. Sure, she had been willing to live with that shame but if she could get the means to once again become the strongest woman on this planet…

"I can't guarantee it. But in a year or two… who knows?" Gale said and then explained as she noticed Chi Chi's dumbfounded expression. "It's because basic Ningen types like you are able to increase their strength by exercising faster than species that are naturally strong, like me or the other girls. We have to bust our butts harder to get stronger; your species compensate their natural weakness by being able to power up faster."

"I didn't know that."

"I'm not surprised, Prim told me you're from a very primitive world," the captain said. "I can't believe you didn't have R. Tanks there."

"We get by, I guess." Chi Chi had given up on feeling offended on behalf of her planet, and had simply gotten to the point where she could accept that Earth was in fact quite primitive compared to what everyone here was used to. "But I must admit most of what you have here is much better, of course: cleaner and more effective."

"Anyway, about training, will you accept my offer?"

"Yes, I accept," the princess smiled, already planning on taking the most advantage of this training and showing Gale and the rest of them to never underestimate her again. She never noticed she had not remembered her son at all during the conversation; her wounded pride had made her focus solely on a chance at shutting up the mocking voices of all the other female soldiers here.

"Excellent!" Gale stood up then and headed for the door. "We'll start tomorrow so you can take the rest of the day off. Go and explore the garrison, get yourself used to the place and the different things Advantage has to offer. If you like to swim, there's a Gravity Room on level 9 that has a big pool; we normally use it to practice for planets with a mostly marine environment, but you can use it to relax if it's not in use. Or you could go to the Mess Hall, the chef's an idiot but his food is great. Or you can join me and the girls, we're going to an asteroid casino that's three hours away from here to have some fun; we'll dress up and everything and maybe even score some hunks… well, not that _you_ can do that since you're married."

Gale laughed at that last comment. "But seriously, you could come and bet some PTO credits from your account and maybe win a few."

"I don't have an account," Chi Chi interrupted. "And I don't like casinos, I think I'll just stay here and do some of the other things you suggested."

"Ok, that's fine. Tell your man to open you an account, though," Gale advised. "You need one or you won't get paid after a job. See you tomorrow at noon, then."

With this last recommendation, the leader of the Alf-Squad waved her hand and left the Clinic, leaving Chi Chi to ponder on the things she had just been told.

Once alone, the young widow put her breastplate on and leaned on the wall as she thought on the events of that morning. Her son was doing who knew what with a man who had probably seen more blood and carnage that she could even imagine, and she could not figure out how to stop that without endangering their lives, she still remembered Raditz's warning all too well and was aware that doing anything suspicious would put them in trouble. The only positives she could think about were the other women she had met here. Prim and Gale at least; the other three were not entirely on her good side yet. She understood that having free food and a roof over her head was also a good thing, but she knew sooner or later she'd have to do something to pay for it, and she wasn't so sure she'd like what that something would be.

Unnerved by the implications of what she and Gohan would have to do by the time they had to finally pay for what they were receiving here, the princess suddenly found the Clinic too oppressive, and realized she had to get out and do something, anything, to get the horrible idea about what the cost of the benefits of being a part of the Planet Trade Organization were that had started taking shape in her mind.

_A few minutes later…_

Chi Chi walked through the corridor of level 2. She had found a set of stairs and climbed them down, stopping once she was two floors below where the Clinic was located. She was now close to the ground level of the base, and found it odd that these hallways had no windows. She had crossed paths with a few soldiers already, all of them humanoid in some ways, but also very different in many others. She had seen a short man with green, scaly skin and six eyes distributed all over his face in a way that reminded her of a spider, and others with yellow skin that looked as if made of rock. Most of them had ignored her, but a couple had nodded a greeting as they walked by. She also saw some people who didn't wear the PTO uniform she now associated with soldiers; they instead wore white coats and carried backpacks or pouches that she noticed were always full of strange tools. They had been technicians, obviously.

All of these little details amused her, and as she walked through the corridors she realized the large Clinic was the true heart of the garrison, where Doctor Ygrus took care of more than the wounded or sick, he also took care of all the administration of the base. Most corridors, she had noticed after looking at the garrison's layout in her Scouter's database, would inevitably lead to the Clinic. She had felt surprise when she learned the bubble shaped 'Advantage' was a large building consisting of twelve levels: two underground ones where the machinery that kept the base working was located and ten that were devoted to housing rooms, training facilities, bunkers —hundreds of bunkers—, apartments for families in the upper levels, two inner gardens that she planned on visiting later, entertainment rooms, a massive Mess Hall, an inner dock where Space Pods and large space ships could land, an outdoor dock that she already knew, garbage disposal facilities, common use rest rooms, storage rooms and many more interesting places. She'd felt her respect for Doctor Ygrus grow once she considered all the things he had to supervise. He was pretty much this place's king.

A strong nostalgia washed over her at the thought of someone being king, as it made her remember her father, the Ox King of Frypan Mountain. This made her remember her childhood, and how she would take long walks through the hallways of her father's castle—_her castle_— every day early in the mornings, when most of the servants were not yet there. Other memories came after that one; memories of how she had told Goku they should live in her palace, after all, they would inherit and rule her father's kingdom one day so it was only natural for them to move to the castle. She then remembered Goku's absolute refusal to live there, claiming that he would feel trapped, that he needed to be where he could roam free because that was what he liked to do. This led to the memory of Goku taking her to the miserable cabin in the mountains he had shared with his grandfather, and how she, too innocent and happy to have gotten married with Goku after a decade of waiting for him, had agreed to live there with him. She had asked her father to remodel the cabin a little, of course, and he had done that as a final wedding gift.

It suddenly hit her that living in isolation in the mountains, away from her servants and her castle was one of the reasons why she was always so quick to snap at her now-deceased husband. She had been a princess, with a castle full of people willing to serve her, and he had taken her to a hut in the woods where she had to deal with having no electricity unless she charged an old generator, no heater other than her chimney, no bathtub, no means of communication, no money—_lord forbid Goku ever get a job_—, and no means of transportation either. As a princess she shouldn't have had to suffer through all of that. And yet, she had given everything up, her kingdom even, in order to win the love of a man who, for the most part, was always absent playing in the woods or exploring the nearby mountains or spending whole days finding places dinosaurs used to lay their eggs.

"No, that's unfair," Chi Chi muttered, realizing she was bashing Goku because of her current situation. She had made a conscious choice of living with him even if the conditions of life he could provide her with were far below what she was used to. If anything, she was the one to blame there. And Goku did try to please her. He had always provided food, fuel, wood, water… and he had given serious thought to starting a farm in some of the land behind their house like she'd suggested; he had even expressed interest in farming tubers and even corn and wheat. She suspected he would never have actually done it, but the fact he had considered doing so was enough to make her smile a little, for it was in those small details that she could see he did love her in his own way, and besides…

—_You know you won't get me out of your head for the rest of the day—_ a rough, manly voice resounded firmly in her thoughts and she had to stop as she felt a wave of desire run all over her body.

"No… not him… why now?" she muttered and her arms crossed, guarding her breasts from the Saiyan who wasn't there. "Not him…"

But it was useless. She remembered his lips on hers, his hands holding her close, his strong arms around her, the feeling of his chest pressing on her own. She simply couldn't stop the memories and licked her lips lasciviously, wanting to feel him kissing her again. She brought her left hand up and ran her fingertips over her sensitive lips but found they were a poor substitute. It was crazy. She had never wanted to kiss a man so much before.

"I hate him for doing this to me," she whispered as she regained control little by little. A couple of minutes later, she was able to push the memory of him away and resumed her walking, firmly intending on finding something to help her forget him.

Perhaps she should go to the Mess Hall, since Prim had told her that morning before breakfast that she would get rations for her family there. Maybe doing something that was normal would help.

With this idea in mind, she headed to the Mess Hall.

0-0-0

_Later still…_

She carried four bags full of produce and other canned goods that she had gotten from the chef at the Mess Hall. He had been polite but not exceedingly so. He had also expressed his condolences for her having to cook for a Saiyan and mentioned how they all had 'bottomless pits for stomachs' and that she was so lucky she didn't have to cook for three of them simultaneously like he once had been forced to do.

And now here she stood. At the top level of the Garrison, outside apartment 398; the three numbers were bright red above the door, and they seemed to mock her indecision. _—Won't you come inside? Won't you Chi Chi, won't you, won't you?—_ they seemed to sing at her in a grating tone of voice. And she hated it. But if she entered the apartment, she would be giving in to him, she believed, and the fact a fraction of her wanted to give in oh so much was more than alarming; it was terrifying.

She pressed the button and the door slid to the side.

Chi Chi stepped in and walked into the place that would become her new home for the foreseeable future. Her eyes scanned everything at once, noticing it was all white, just like the corridors outside. She stood now in what she imagined was the living room. There were four half-assembled couches and tools neatly placed in one corner. The large windows in front of her she did like, as the view was magnificent. She went to them and looked out, gazing for the first time at the scenery of planet Hypra. Lush forests extended as far as she could see, and a few rocky hills poked out among the green; she knew the base itself was high on a cliff and that helped extend the range of what she could see, something she appreciated. There was a wide river at her left zigzagging through the green, and she wondered if she would be able to go see it once she got strong enough to stand the crazy gravity of the planet.

She turned left and entered a small corridor. There were three doors. One led to a bedroom where a bed, a table and two chairs and a closet waited; the other led to a bathroom and the last to an empty spare room with a big window. She looked at the furnished bedroom again. It also had a large window, but this one had thick curtains blocking the afternoon sun. _—Gohan will like it—_ she thought as she closed the door.

She went back to the living room and entered the next corridor. The door at the end of the hallway led to a big room. The master bedroom, obviously; the bed, big and comfy looking, made her think of something that tinted her cheeks red and she quickly exited the room. No need to think of that. The adjacent door opened to another bathroom, but this one had a large tub _—I bet two people can fit in there quite comfortably—_ she mused, this led her mind to something she also didn't need to think about so she closed that door and went to the third one, the one that was closest to the spacious living room. She found behind that door a fully equipped kitchen. She left the bags full of produce and cans on the dining table that was there and sat in one of the four chairs around it. Her hands rested on the table's cold surface and the sudden need of warming this place with hot food and other people invaded her. It was then that the realization this apartment could very well become home for her really hit her.

"I will live here," she said and found her mouth dry, the idea suddenly too big for her. "I will _live_ here with Gohan and with… _him_. Oh lord… I'm… I'm like a stupid newlywed again, a stupid little girl who has just gotten married to a man she barely knows…again."

The realization struck her like lightning and for a long time she could do nothing but to sit there in silence, staring at the sea of green outside her kitchen's window.

0-0-0

_Two hours later…_

Raditz was convinced the kid could have kept on training for a few hours more, but in the end he could not find it in him to force his nephew to continue. The kid simply looked too exhausted and miserable and the way his lips twitched while he made those 'I'm going to cry now' eyes were like dynamite blowing up next to the solid rock he always imagined represented his Saiyan resolve and determination. Of course that Raditz would never admit that the kid had gotten away with cutting training short by being (_adorable?_) a crying pest. The Saiya-Jin simply kept telling himself that treating the kid this way would be the key to convince the mother to share that technique he wanted to learn from her.

Raditz did not know it then, but his nephew would be elemental in changing him into a very different person. It was inevitable. For some unknown reason, Son Gohan had a quality that brought out the best in others, and his fierce uncle would not be immune to it, and neither would he be immune to the effect the child's mother was already having on him. He liked to think he was slowly breaking her to his will, but the truth was that every time he had remembered her during the day, he had felt the need to do nice things for her becoming just a little bit stronger. Raditz was foolishly thinking he would change both the mother and the child into what he wanted them to be, but he completely overlooked that even if he changed them, they would also change him. This slow change in him was something his Saiyan instinct felt deep, deep down but since he could not exactly identify what it truly was on a conscious level, he did not consider it a problem and just ignored it.

"Do you think mom's already there?"

Raditz looked down and shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. She's probably still training so don't get your hopes up."

"Ok, but I think she's going to be there, it's late now," the child insisted.

"Maybe she is," the Saiyan conceded. "Maybe she is."

"If she's there I bet she already made dinner," Gohan assured his uncle, remembering that sometimes he went out to play in the forest with (_his father_) Goku and they came back, his mom was waiting for them with food on the table.

"Don't think she's got any food if she's there, kid. She wouldn't know she's got to pick the rations at the Mess Hall."

"But I'm hungry!" the boy complained.

"If your mother is at home and she didn't cook dinner we'll all go to the Mess and get something to eat," Raditz promised, despite the fact he knew taking them out meant he had to either eat less or to spend more money, both options he didn't really like, but he couldn't refuse to take the kid and the woman to eat.

"Thank you!" Gohan smiled, and his smile made Raditz smile back. The Saiyan warrior didn't realize it, but he had been smiling more that day than he had in years.

They arrived at apartment 398 and stepped in to notice two things. One, faint sounds coming from their right, which is where Raditz knew the kitchen was and two, a smell so inviting it made his stomach growl. The Saiyan also noticed a scouter and a breastplate abandoned in the small table he'd place between the yet to be completed couches, but didn't mention it.

"She's here," Gohan crowed and his 'told you so' expression left his uncle speechless for a moment. He tossed his little scouter onto one of the incomplete pieces of furniture and announced: "I'm going to say hi!"

"Sure… go and do that, kid," Raditz said, wondering what this pleasant feeling of arriving to a house greeted by the smell of warm food meant. In the end he decided he liked it because it was so much different from arriving to the bunker he usually shared with Vegeta and Nappa, who would invariably mock his hair and treat him like shit once they saw him. "Yeah, that must be it."

The man stood there for almost two minutes, simply enjoying the promising smells of whatever the woman had cooked and finally closed the door behind him. He did as his nephew had and tossed his scouter to the table on the living room before walking to the kitchen. He found her crouching, smiling at the kid and listening to what he was telling her. A pang of alarm flashed in the Saiyan's mind; if the boy mentioned he had dropped him several times from the ceiling she would surely get mad at him. But the kid didn't mention it. He instead told her about how he had learned to use his full strength and about some of the moves he'd learned.

The woman smiled when Gohan finished his tale, nodded, cleaned her hands on the apron she was wearing over her unitard and went back to supervising the pot on the stove. She did not turn to look at him. Raditz was about to say something, but she spoke first.

"Both of you are sweaty and dirty, go take a bath while I get the food ready," she was not asking that, and she still did not turn to see him. But she gave an order she was obviously expecting would be obeyed at once. Gohan, who knew his mother better, reached for his uncle's hand and dragged him out of the kitchen.

"Tell me where the bathroom is," the kid said and the kitchen door closed.

Chi Chi stopped what she was doing once her son and Raditz left her alone again. She listened, paying attention to where they went, hearing their muffled conversation and then she heard the sound of running water. Good. They were doing as she requested. Satisfied, she resumed her cooking.

They had not surprised her when they arrived. She had felt them approaching even before they entered the apartment. It was impossible not to. The princess had to admit she had felt concern and worry when she noticed the dramatic increase in her son's ki. But remembered then what Gohan had done to Piccolo and understood that what she was feeling was simply her child's real power. It amazed her how strong Gohan really was. It also frightened her a little, because that meant his uncle would work harder on training him. Still musing over that, the woman noticed something about Raditz's ki. It felt… less aggressive than before. Not much, of course, but it was distinctively calmer, more… approachable? She couldn't really tell, but it did feel a tiny little bit less rough. Perhaps, then, there was still hope to civilize her long-haired Space Barbarian. She had bitten her lower lip when she noticed she'd thought about Raditz as hers. That was why, when Gohan entered the kitchen and distracted her, she had sighed in relief and gave her full attention to her son. She had not dared look at Raditz then, too risky.

The stew, she realized as she looked at it, was done. She put a lid on the pot and put her musings to one side while she set the table for three. The thought of sharing a table with Raditz made her stomach turn, but she figured that since he had taken good care of Gohan he had earned the right to eat on her table. She listened again, the noise of running water had stopped, and her son and the Space Barbarian would come back soon. She hoped Gohan would have the sense to change clothes; Chi Chi had found spare uniforms in the bathroom, and she had already changed to a clean one after taking a long shower earlier. Well, she'd see if they did that or not. She hoped they did. She also had to ask about how to get laundry done here. And to ask if she could get anything to wear that were not these stupid uniforms.

The door opened. To her surprise, both were wearing a clean set of clothes, and had not put the ugly armor on, something which pleased her a great deal.

They all sat together to eat, Gohan at Chi Chi's side and Raditz across the table from her. She had not said anything beyond how she had had trouble cooking because she was not familiar with the ingredients, and Raditz told her that it didn't matter, since it tasted good; Gohan had agreed with his uncle, and they continued eating in silence.

Chi Chi couldn't shake the feeling of normality she was experiencing sitting there, sharing a meal with her son and… _him_. He ate with the same love for food Goku always had, and was already going for his fourth bowl of stew, but unlike her dead husband his manners were actually somewhat better. Raditz ate in a more disciplined way though that did not mean he ingested a smaller amount of food than Goku ever did. The princess found she liked that, as it meant Gohan would not have a bad example on the table._ —He's not that much of a barbarian, then. This… this is actually not that bad—_ she decided surprised by how things felt so relaxed between the three of them. She would have enjoyed the calmness of the meal much more if the fact of this feeling of belonging she was starting to experience didn't terrify her so completely.

"Prim brought a box with some books for you last night, Gohan. I put them under your bed so go and look at them, see if you can read them," Raditz said when he noticed the kid had finished eating. "Your mother and I need to talk."

The boy looked at his mother for confirmation, and when she nodded he replied with an 'Ok' and left the kitchen. Both adults did nothing but sit in silence for almost five minutes before Raditz finally spoke.

"The stew was very good," he started. "So… you like the place?"

"It's… surprisingly nice," she admitted, leaving the table to put the dishes on the sink.

"Good, now you can teach me that ki detecting skill, can't you?" Raditz demanded. "I got you a nice place to live and all, so I feel I deserve that, at least."

"Getting us a place to live was your obligation," Chi Chi said, she was doing the dishes and trying too hard not to look at him. "If you're supposed to be my… my husband here, then this is the least you could do."

"But I spent all night fixing this place!" the Saiyan complained, "All the furniture here was unassembled and the temperature control was a pain in the ass to set up!"

"And I thank you for doing all those things," Chi Chi said busy now drying the plates. "But that… that's your duty as the husband, just as it is mine to give you and Gohan something to eat."

"I don't get it."

"You can't seriously be so stupid you don't know what marriage is about, do you?" she asked, finally turning to regard him, and sighed in relief when she saw him still sitting. She truly hoped then that he at least didn't think marriage meant food.

"I know about it. You do things for me if I do things for you. That's basically it." He stated as he tried to remember anything else about his parents' marriage that he had overlooked.

"There are also the things the husband and wife do together," She added, slightly surprised that he knew some of the basics of the institution. "And many other things you apparently don't know."

"Things husband and wife do together? Do you mean the fucking because that's something I have no trouble giving to you right now if you want it," he stated with a perverted grin.

"Must you be so vulgar?" she spat as she ran her hand over her face. "And I don't want '_it'_ now or later and before you even think about touching me, I advice that you sit and listen. Can you do that, you aggravating oaf, or are you too busy thinking with your penis?"

"But you _like_ my penis," he said, relaxing on his chair with a crooked smile. The irate expression on her face convinced him to stop trying to piss her off and instead listen to what she wanted to say; and it wasn't even that difficult, he was actually curious about it. "Ok, sorry. What do you want to tell me?"

"Look… I could teach you the technique you want to learn," she started after taking a moment to calm down. "Because I imagine even an idiot like you could learn it if he tries. But you will have to do something for me, something else besides getting me and Gohan a house."

"And what would that be?"

"I… I almost got killed today," she said in a low voice and paused; she realized she was expecting him to be a husband and go to her to place a gentle hand over her shoulder and say something comforting. Knowing that he wouldn't do that, she sucked in a deep breath and continued. "I was sparring with Gust and I managed to hit her and she got mad at me. She punched me without holding back."

"Gust is the tall one, right?" Raditz asked and she nodded.

"Captain Gale took me to the clinic and she even offered to train me."

"Yeah?" Raditz was leaning forward on his chair, his elbows resting on the table. He had felt a little bit of unease when he heard Chi Chi had been hurt, but he reasoned it was because with her gone the ki detecting technique would be gone too. Nevertheless he wanted to hear the rest of her tale.

"I agreed to train with her but…" Chi Chi stared at Raditz then. "She said it would take me more than a year to be stronger than Gust, but couldn't guarantee it."

"And that has to do with me, how?"

"Teach me how to fight like you, how to fly, how to shoot those stupid energy balls from my hands, too!" she demanded with fierce determination burning in her eyes. "If you and Gale both teach me then I will surely get stronger sooner. Help me train and I'll show you how to detect ki."

"I could do that," Raditz agreed. "But why should I? I'm already busy training the kid. I don't see why you want to push yourself this much."

"Because I don't want to be humiliated again!" she shouted. "I was never stronger than the male fighters in my planet but I always took pride in being the strongest woman there, here I am the weakest, I almost got killed because of it and I _hate_ it!"

"Will you really show me that technique if I do?" Raditz asked.

"I will, I promise."

The Saiyan nodded. "Fine then, you got yourself a deal, I'll help you train. When do you want to start?"

"Tonight, after Gohan is asleep," she said. "I looked around earlier, there's a gravity room on this floor that we can use."

0-0-0

_Later that night…_

Gravity had been increased to five at her own request, and she had found it was almost too much for her to take. A gravity increase of three she'd easily grown used to but the sudden rise was making her muscles scream and her lungs burn. She looked at him, all cool and relaxed, moving as if this added weight was nothing and smiling at her in a way that she found completely unbearable.

"Do you want me to put it back to three?" Raditz asked, bored and wishing they had brought their scouters, if only to make this less tedious with the constant flow of information they provided.

"Don't you dare!" she grunted. "I can take it… just need time to… adjust…"

"Are you sure?" he queried, approaching her and stopping just sort of one step away from her. The Saiyan had to give the woman credit for the effort. She had managed to remain on her feet even when the sudden increase should have dropped her flat on her face.

"Yes, I am sure!" Chi Chi hissed.

"Well, whatever you say," Raditz scratched his steely torso, as he was shirtless, and then stretched lazily. He was starting to get bored with this and was glad that she had at least left her armor in the house, as that allowed him to entertain himself stealing glances at her considerable assets. "If I had known your idea of training was to stand there doing nothing then I wouldn't have agreed to help you."

"What?"

"I could be sleeping right now," he said. "Even if you forced me to sleep on the couch, it was still better than being here. You're wasting my time. "

"You don't… deserve to… share my bed if that's what you're implying!" the princess shot back angrily, finally managing to fully stand from the crouched position she'd held since the increase to five. "That is why… you sleep on the… couch!"

"Heh, you can't kick me here," he mocked. Raditz noticed that last outburst had allowed her to stand straight, which meant the angrier she got the easier it would be for her to get used to five times gravity. She should be able to move almost normally, even. Going by the time she attacked him back on her planet he estimated her _real_ power level was above 250; and that was more than enough to resist a gravity increase of six times above the standard.

"Shut up!"

"You are _weak_!" he continued, thinking it wouldn't hurt if he tried his theory about making her mad. "All you do is talk about getting stronger but the truth is that you are too afraid to actually do something about your weakness! You're useless!"

Chi Chi recoiled as if he had hit her. Fear? Yes, she _was_ afraid, afraid of how easily she had adjusted to life here in just one day, afraid that Gohan would grow up to be a rude Space Pirate and at that very moment, she was incredibly afraid of him, of the wild lust he always seemed to wake in her when he touched her. But even if she was terrified, she was not going to let fear stop her from gaining the power she needed to escape this place. She would get stronger and power through every obstacle in her way. And she was going to start with the grinning idiot right in front of her.

"I am _not_ useless!" the woman shrieked in anger. Her energy flared white around her and she threw a wild punch at him that he managed to block with ease, she threw another then, and another; all her attacks were in vain, as he blocked them effortlessly. The added gravity made her moves clumsy and slow, and she could see how she literally telegraphed all her punches to him. This frustrated her and made her work harder but the more she did the less accurate her attacks became.

"You use your power better when angry," he said, sidestepping another of her punches. "But your rage makes you lose aim and precision. Are you so dumb you can't figure out how to use both?"

"I'm not dumb!" Chi Chi muttered. She stopped for a moment to catch her breath and wipe the sweat of her brow. He was not sweating. He simply stood there, his chiseled chest and torso exposed and distracting her. _—The bastard is surely doing it on purpose— _she thought angrily. Well, it was not going to work. She was not useless and definitively not stupid. A plan formed in her mind then. She was sure it would work. Oh yes, it would work.

"Is my _wife_ getting tired?" Raditz asked, once again using the tone of voice he'd noticed angered her the most.

"I'm just getting warmed up my dear _husband_," she said with a smile that held nothing but disgust.

She tried punching him again, and again her punches were blocked or dodged but before she threw her tenth punch, she changed it at the last moment for a backhand swung high, which he blocked with his right elbow and then…

"Computer!" She shouted. "Change gravity to 3 minus standard!"

"What the hell?" Raditz started but her fist connected with his chin and before he could react, he felt a considerable impact on the right side of his torso. She had slammed her leg there, obviously trying to kick the air out of him. It didn't work and he shot his hand down, grabbing her leg and keeping it up. He used his other hand to grab her hip, effectively trapping her. "Computer, restore gravity to zero standard."

The Saiyan smirked as he looked down at the woman, feeling kind of proud for driving her to the point where she had managed to hit him. "Congratulations, princess. That was very clever of you. Reducing gravity made your moves two times faster and that allowed you to throw me off guard. You deserve a reward for being such a smart cookie."

Chi Chi felt cold sweat run down her back at his words, and the way he was looking at her did nothing but fill her with fear. His gaze was demanding and very… _male_. She completely lost her focus, afraid that this was going to be a repeat of what happened between them that morning, she placed her hand on his chest (_it was so smooth and firm_) and pushed with all her strength, trying to get him to release her.

He kissed her instead. He kissed her deeply, desperately, hungrily. She tried to resist again but she found her efforts futile. The way he kissed her made her mind go blind. It was just too intense, too primal. Goku had never kissed her like this, his kisses had been polite and a little… absent. Raditz was nothing like that. He explored her lips carefully but firmly and when he gently nibbled at her lower lip she could not hold back a moan and opened her mouth to give him access. She held her breath as his tongue curled around hers, her eyes closed as her hands gave up and stopped pushing him. She instead brought them up and rested them on his shoulders, enjoying the way he was making her feel with just a kiss.

"This is insane… I've known you for less than a week but I have never felt like this… never felt so turned on by a woman before," he whispered on her ear, holding her close. His breathing quickened, he was sweating now and his manly scent did nothing but drive Chi Chi crazy. "I don't know why… I just can't understand it…"

Chi Chi leaned back to look at him. His body was as warm as hers and she found that she liked him more than what she knew she should. He released her leg and placed both hands on her hips, keeping her close to him. She waited for him to continue but he said nothing.

"I can't understand it either," she said then, her eyes watering. "But you… you make me feel things… things I shouldn't feel for a man I hate so much but when you kiss me… when you kiss me I just can't stop…"

His hand traced the length of her arm and grasped her hand tightly, weaving their fingers together. "Then let's not stop. Tonight I'm going to make you truly mine, Chi Chi, and I can see it in your eyes that you want me to."

"…You don't know what I want," she discussed weakly, enjoying the way his body fit against her own.

"I know what I want," he told her as his hands slowly slid over her back and rested again on her hips. "I want to touch you, kiss you… I want to taste you."

She moaned then, his hands had moved up, and they now cupped her face gently but still firmly, making her look up at him.

"Your skin is so soft…" he said, dragging her with him to the floor.

Chi Chi felt her body throbbing with need, and any trace of rebellion escaped her the moment his hands traveled down. Caressing expertly, making her gasp as he found his way to the valley of pleasure in her body.

"It seems you're ready for me," Raditz told her. The Saiyan was sitting, back leaning on the wall as he kept his woman kneeling by his side. "Come closer now."

She did. She had long stopped thinking about anything else than was not enjoying again the sensual pleasure he had provided back on Earth and that he had reminded her of that same morning. She simply couldn't stop, as much as she detested herself for giving in; her desire was too strong.

She moved slowly so she was straddling him, her eyes locked on his and she brought her hands forward, exploring him just as he had started exploring her. "Raditz… this feels… this feels so good… can we… can we get to it… please?"

"Demanding, are you?" he breathed on her neck and kissed her shoulder. "Is this what you truly want, princess… to be mine?

"I wish I could but… I can't stop … I just can't," she said leaning forward, letting her full breasts press against his perfectly sculpted chest. She looked up, thought his face was irresistible and kissed him again. She kissed him slowly, enjoying the feeling of their lips together, mimicking each other as they moved, she quickly escalated the contact into something wild and raw until she couldn't take it anymore and declared: "I do want it… I want to be yours so much it hurts…"

"Chi Chi…" He didn't say more, he simply called her name again and drew her to him, keeping her as close as he could, caressing her slowly until his hands found their way under the black silk of her uniform, all the while enjoying the way she was also doing the same.

"Yes… this is it… this is _it_!" she gasped, feeling him fill her world, her lust exploding when their marriage was finally consummated. "So much _pleasure_… such a _man_!"

0-0-0

She's resting, quite pleased and content next to him, her hand lazily tracing the shape of his chest. She knows that she will feel guilty later for what she has just done but right then, while she's still enjoying her afterglow guilt was possibly the last thing in her mind. She was amazed at how much she'd enjoyed this, and realized that what she had always thought of as '_having wild sex_' with Goku had been nothing compared to what she just experienced. She had been too inexperienced, just as he had been, to truly enjoy the pleasures of sex. But Raditz was different, very different. He'd proved himself skilled enough to make her feel satisfied in ways she never imagined possible.

She looked at him then. He's staring at the night sky out of the nearby window, deep in thought. She felt it best not to talk to him, let him think. Because she had already decided that she would not let him do this to her again and did not want to spoil it for him at that point if she didn't have to.

"Was it good for you?" he asked at last, shifting so he's sitting, looking at her with a strong mix of emotions in his eyes. "Last time I…"

"I remember what you did last time," she said, not moving from where she laid. "I… I actually liked it last time, despite the circumstances and despite how you bit me."

"Yeah… sorry about the bite, got carried away, and now, did you like it too?"

"No, I loved it. And you?"

"Same…" he admitted and smiled at her in a way he hadn't before. "It's just that… I think you're doing something to me. I don't know what it is yet but… I simply can't remember ever feeling so good with anyone before."

"Raditz…I" Chi Chi rose to her elbows, and a wet sensation on her chest reminded her of something. She reached for one of her gloves and used it to wipe clean the testament of his climax from between her breasts. "…No, forget it, it's nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she started to get dressed then. "Let's go back home, ok?"

"Yes, let's do that," he agreed and also reached for his clothes.

"Raditz?" she called once they're both dressed.

"Yeah?"

"Tonight… it's not going to happen again," she stated, keeping her face low. "As much as I enjoyed it… I won't let you touch me again. I can't afford it."

"You said you loved it," he reminded her, a strange feeling surging inside him, a feeling he did not enjoy.

"Yes, I did. But even if I liked it, my only priorities right now are Gohan's safety and getting stronger," she clarified, still not looking at him. "Having sex with you is not a priority."

She didn't wait for his response and headed for the exit. She turned before the door opened and sighed. "This surprises even me but… I'm actually really sorry about doing this to you. I hope you can forgive me but… but this… what we did… it was nothing but a moment of weakness."

And with this she walked out of the room.

For a time, brief enough to pass as nothing more than an instant, the Saiyan actually felt a mix of anger, sadness and absolute rejection, but those emotions were gone almost immediately, replaced by a strong desire to win the challenge she had just thrown his way.

-END-

Notes:

First of all, extra thanks to Adam for beta Reading this chapter.

Thank you for reading, I hope the chapter was enjoyable and made up for the long time the story was on hiatus.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Dragon Ball and all related characters don't belong to me.

We belong to him.

By

Dr Facer

Chapter 4

0-0-0

The impossibly thick and heavy book was actually _very_ interesting. Gohan couldn't really understand most of the medical concepts described on its pages yet, as he was too young to do so, but the illustrations and pictures depicting every alien race that had ever worked for the PTO was something the boy could not get enough of and he had already memorized the names and characteristics of the species shown on the first few pages of the massive tome. The little half-Saiyan had received this book only two days ago as a gift from Prim, and he liked it more than the other subjects like math and grammar his mother had been instructing him in for almost two weeks already. He'd also discovered he liked training as much as studying, because both activities allowed him to learn new things, and learning was something Gohan enjoyed more than anything else.

He turned the page with glee, anxious to see a new extraterrestrial creature for him to study. It was page fifty two, and he was rewarded with a picture of a small chubby alien with purple skin and a big, bulbous, hairless head. He looked at the footnote below the picture and learned he was looking at a member of the Beenz people. The boy tried to read the full description, but like the rest of the captions on this book, most of the words used were too technical for him to fully understand. Still, the kid was able to gather that the Beenz had been highly intelligent. He saw they were also marked as being long extinct. He noted the word '_purge'_ was mentioned in a context he didn't comprehend completely. The kid frowned; this wasn't the first time he'd stumbled upon this word and he couldn't get the meaning of it the way it was being used.

He looked over at his mother, who was busy reading the R. Tank operating manual again and decided not to ask her what this _'purge'_ thing meant. He had a feeling his uncle would be able to explain this to him better than his mother, so Gohan returned to his book and went back a few pages. There were other pictures he liked to look at and he still had to try reading some of the longer captions under them.

A few minutes later the door opened and Raditz entered the apartment. He sat down in the living room next to Gohan, reached for the jar of juice mom kept on the table, poured some into one of the two cups there and drank it in silence. Gohan saw how his mother's eyebrows twitched, which was not surprising since his uncle had used her cup without permission. But she said nothing to him, which to Gohan was a little strange as she had always corrected Goku (_his dad_) when he did something like that. The kid had also noticed his mom and Raditz didn't speak much to each other in his presence and while he wondered about it, he had yet to build the courage to ask any of them if they were angry or if they had a _grownup_ problem or what.

"11:30, time for Gohan's training," Raditz finally said after drinking more juice.

"Already?" Chi Chi looked up at the wall, straight at the clock she had taken from the empty room to here and saw that it was indeed was time for her son's training. She closed the manual she was reading and nodded at the long-haired Saiyan. "Alright then, please be careful, Gohan. Don't overdo it."

"Don't worry, mom. I'll be careful," the boy replied and smiled at her while carefully placing his book on the little table. "I promise."

"Good," she stood up and looked at Raditz. "The temperature control needs some adjusting again, the kitchen was very cold this morning. Can you do something about it?"

"I'll do it later today," he assured, finishing a third cup of juice. "Shouldn't you be getting ready? You and Gale always start at noon."

"You're right," she said plainly. "I do have to get ready."

"Have fun," the tall Saiyan then patted his nephew on the back. "Let's get going, kid."

Nothing else was said, and Gohan simply followed his uncle out of the apartment. As they walked in silence, the kid kept thinking about the way things had been for the last ten days. He knew his uncle was always the first one up, and that he left to train on his own until at least half an hour before his mother had to start her own training with the woman they called Captain Gale. Gohan had yet to meet her mother's trainer, but he really wasn't interested in meeting her and so he had not asked about the chance yet. He did wish his uncle would have breakfast with him and his mom but Raditz never did; he went to eat with the other soldiers so Gohan and his mother had the apartment to themselves for pretty much all morning, which they would spend studying the books Prim had provided or whatever his mother saw fit for the day, which was normally math and sometimes lessons about the history of the Ox kingdom.

They reached the elevator closest to their house and Gohan asked if he could call for the lift, to which his uncle assented. The boy smiled and jumped to reach and press the button on the wall. While they waited he wondered what they would do during training that day and also about the type of food they'd get in the Mess Hall later. The kid had grown fond of the hot meals the chef always had ready. It was not as tasty as what his mom cooked, of course, but it was good and different and he could also get dessert there if he asked for it, something his mother would not allow unless it was for a special occasion.

The boy briefly wondered what his mother would make for dinner that afternoon. She always finished her own training before they did and went back home to cook them all something. Gohan really liked eating with his family after a day of studying and training, even if his mom and uncle didn't talk much. He enjoyed the feeling of peace between the three, which was different from the frequent complaints her mother always had for (_his father_) Goku because he ate too fast or too loudly or _like a pig_, as she used to say. His mom had yet to argue with Raditz about that and the change on the table pleased the young boy, since he really loved to see her mother enjoying a peaceful meal instead of seeing her trying to keep everything correct and proper. Gohan had also noticed Raditz and his mother went somewhere _together_ every night. He'd seen them leaving once when he had gone to pee late at night, and now suspected they were doing the _'boyfriend and girlfriend'_ thing he had seen on TV a couple of times before coming here, but was not exactly sure.

Gohan didn't know how he felt about his mother being in a _'boyfriend and girlfriend' _relationship with Raditz, if that was what was happening. He was really ok with the other soldiers thinking Raditz was his dad because he knew that was the only reason he and his mom were safe. Or something like that. He was too young to put these complex ideas to words yet, but he somehow felt his uncle was good with him and his mother and that was all that mattered.

"I'll start teaching you how to fly today," Raditz announced when the lift arrived, interrupting the boy's thoughts. "You better pay attention kid, or I'll have to do the '_dropping you from up there_' thing again."

Gohan went pale and looked at his uncle with a mix of fear and anxiety. "You… you said you wouldn't do that again!"

"I said there was a chance it wouldn't be necessary," the soldier corrected as he pushed the kid into the elevator. "Don't give me a reason and I won't do it."

"But…"

The elevator doors closed behind them.

0-0-0

"No! Your punches are lacking in power!" Gale scolded, blocking Chi Chi's attack with ease and stopping the sparring match, the first one they'd had today, immediately. "You're distracted!"

"I'm not distracted," Chi Chi argued, looking straight at her trainer's eyes. "I'm honestly not. And my punches are not lacking."

"The answer's yes to both," the captain said returning Chi Chi's stare with an annoyed glare of her own. "You are distracted and that makes your attacks weak."

"I am not distracted!" the princess insisted, even if she knew quite well that she had been distracted. She hated to admit it but she had been thinking about… _him_, wondering about the way he'd been acting for the last ten days.

"Oh, please!" the older woman sighed and ran her slim fingers through her soft hair. "Anyone could see from a mile away that you're not focusing on what we're doing!"

"That's not true I was just… thinking about a strategy?"

"Don't lie and just tell me what your man did," the Captain groaned, she didn't think she would have to do the '_girl talk_' thing with Chi Chi so soon. Gale disliked girl talk a lot, she felt she wasn't good at it and if it weren't because she could learn interesting pieces and bits of information she could use later if she ever needed to have a second talk with the same member of the group, she would've handed this duty to Breeze or Twister long ago.

"He did nothing," the princess answered, knowing that he doing nothing was one of the things she was wondering about.

"When one of my girls is distracted like you are now there's always family or some stupid man involved, and they _always_ need to talk about it with someone, even if they think they _don't_ have to," Gale chastised, steeling herself to help Chi Chi with whatever sort of marital trouble, if that was the problem, she was having. "And since none of us has family then it's always a man. Looking at you I can tell your idiot Saiyan did something so go ahead, start talking."

Chi Chi blinked at Gale and was unable to reply. She didn't like it but the Captain was right. Thoughts about Raditz were keeping her distracted. They had been for days and the princess understood the only reason Gale hadn't noticed before was because she had spent the previous days exercising using the machines on the gym instead of practicing combat. The Ox princess had another realization then: last night when she'd trained with Raditz all her moves had been smooth and effective; they always were when she practiced with him.

"You _are_ having trouble with your man," Gale said again. The expression Chi Chi had when she heard her convinced the blue skinned woman she was right. "And you _need_ to talk about it."

"I… I don't know if I should, I mean…" the Ox Princess hesitated. In truth, it was not that she was having trouble with her _husb_… with Raditz; the Saiyan had in fact behaved well, he hadn't hurt Gohan yet, his behavior at the table was quite acceptable and he was willing to clean himself after training and before eating dinner, he had even helped with everything she had asked regarding the apartment they shared: moving furniture, adjusting lights… It was just that a little part of his behavior these last few days was puzzling her to no end and, try as he might, she could not stop thinking about it because after telling him they would not be intimate again, when she had expected him to try seducing her every chance he got, he had instead only made weak attempts that he dropped as soon as she demanded he stop what he was doing. It really made no sense to her that he would act this way after how insistent he had been at first and even if she would never admit it out loud, she had even wondered once or twice if he had stopped finding her attractive. Not that _she_ cared, because she did _not_ care if he liked her, _not_ at all. And she definitively had stopped thinking about the way he'd kissed her, and she had not remembered how he could drive her crazy with pleasure… and she was _not_ feeling guilty about those thoughts if she ever had them, nor feeling a barely contained pain about how those thoughts she was _not_ having meant she was still betraying her real husband. No, she was _not_ thinking that.

"It seems you really need to talk," the captain told her, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder after seeing the troubled expression crossing the face of her pupil. "We both know the stupid Saiyan you married is the reason why you can't concentrate. Is he not giving you enough attention? Perhaps you're not having enough sex?"

"Wait, w-what?" Chi Chi, who had been lost in her contemplations, stared at Gale and turned completely red from head to toe, embarrassed from what the captain had just told her. "That's not at all! What makes you think s-sex is a p-problem?"

"Oh my, you should see your face!" Gale started laughing at her pupil's discomfort. "It's redder than Breeze's hair!"

"I…I can't believe someone as childish as you ever got her own squadron!" the princess stated, anger at being mocked again replaced her previous discomfiture; her voice was not hiding how displeased she was feeling at the orange-haired alien.

"Oh, Chi-_Chill_," Gale said finally controlling her laughter, but giggling again right after at the way she'd used the annoyed human's name. "The only reason why you say that is because you don't know me very well yet."

"The reason why I say you're infantile is because you enjoy making fun of me any chance you get with your childish jokes!" Chi Chi declared with an annoyed glare. "I don't like that!"

"Nope, I bet you don't," Gale agreed and then winked mischievously, her tongue out in a funny gesture. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know my jokes are bad but I just can't help myself! Besides, the joke made you forget about that hairy idiot you married, did it not?"

Chi Chi, despite her indignation, couldn't help be a little appeased as she saw Gale's weird wink and listened to her accurate choice of words. "He… he's really a hairy idiot, isn't he?"

"Yes, he really is. Look, he's the best of the bunch as far as the Saiyan trio goes, but he's still an idiot. And hairy, I mean seriously what's up with that hair, right? I bet he spends hours combing that enormous mane." Gale smirked satisfied that she had managed to get her new student to relax a bit. Perhaps now they could start talking for real about the actual issue she was having.

But before Gale could suggest they start discussing the issue, the doors of their gravity room opened and Twister came inside. The emerald beauty seemed anxious, and rushed to the captain's side with an expression of great urgency that made Gale immediately serious, as she always was when about to discuss important matters.

"Captain Gale, Lord Zarbon wants to talk to you," Twister informed. "He is expecting you to call him right now."

"Zarbon? That's strange," she said in a surprised tone. "Thank you, Twister."

The orange-haired woman pressed a button on her scouter and held it until she found the frequency she wanted, then let go and waited a couple of seconds. When communication was established she started walking around the room talking in a thoughtful tone, asking for information and details and finally requesting that all the data was sent to her scouter so she could have it at hand.

"We have work," Gale announced when she had finished. "We're all going to planet Letek. And when I say we're all going that includes you as well, Chi Chi."

"M-me? But I don't even…"

"You're coming and that's final!" Gale snapped. "This mission is not dangerous, even a weak rookie like you could survive it! You're coming with us so you can get an idea of how this works."

"I really don't think I should…" Chi Chi tried again, uncertain about what going on a mission meant for her; then her fear of leaving Gohan invaded her. She couldn't leave her son unsupervised and in the hands of a stupid brute like Raditz, she just _couldn't_!

"Twister, take the little princess here to where our team's space pods are and get her one," Gale ordered, ignoring whatever the young princess wanted to say.

"I tell you I don't want to go!" the Ox Princess shouted then, but her complaints were cut short when Gale hit her in the base of her skull, effectively knocking her out and catching her before she could hit the ground.

"Put her in a Space Pod. Set the course to planet Letek," the captain said, placing Chi Chi in Twister's arms. "I'll explain what the job is about once we get there."

"Letek's on the border with Lord Cooler's territory," Twister recalled wondering why Frieza's second in command wanted them to go to that particular world. "I don't like this, Gale. The members of the Cooler Corps are not too fond of us Lord Frieza's Army soldiers."

"I know, but don't worry. It'll be alright. I'll explain later," Gale repeated. "This job is something we need to be discreet about so I don't think we'll have any trouble."

The emerald-skinned woman nodded and, after hoisting Chi Chi over her left shoulder, she walked out of the room all the while muttering about how risking a fight with members of the Cooler Corps was not worth any amount of money.

Once alone Gale pressed the frequency button on her scouter and established a connection with a certain person inside the garrison. She got a reply almost immediately.

"Hello, Mr. Long-hair!" She greeted once Raditz accepted the call. "Can you guess which one of the beautiful women living in this base is calling you? Here's a clue, I'm not your wife but I'm training her every day."

"_Cut the bullshit, Gale. I have no time for your stupid jokes," _the voice of Raditz replied, obviously not happy at all for the interruption.

"_Aww_, you are such a polite gentleman," Gale said, smiling as she imagined Raditz's angry expression. "Or at least you are if we compare you to the _bald_ brute and the _pompous_ little prince you used to hang out with. They would have insulted me and cut communication on the spot, so bonus points to you for not being a total jerk, Mr. Long-hair."

"_Just tell me what you want; I'm too busy to waste my time on you!"_ Raditz demanded.

"Only to tell you I'm taking your wife with us," the blue skinned woman provided. "She's helping me and the other girls with a mission."

"_You're what?"_ the tall Saiyan seemed to have trouble believing what he was being told, which Gale found quite entertaining and even a little cute. She couldn't know, however, that Raditz's obvious concern came from his fear of losing the chance of learning a certain Ki detection technique. _"You can't take Chi Chi with you, she's too weak."_

"Two things, big man: One, she's strong enough for this particular mission," Gale indicated. "And two, this job was requested by Lord Zarbon so I have to do it right away."

"_Why do you need her?"_ Raditz insisted a little bit more subdued once he heard Zarbon's name.

"I don't," the captain replied. "But she needs to get used to the job. Don't worry, Raditz. I'll keep your wife safe and also, from what she said, it may be best if you two spend some time apart. It will help you both think things over, as they say."

"_Time apart? What the hell are you talking about? I can't under…"_

The Alf-Squad leader, not interested in anything else the Saiyan had to say, cut off the link and blocked Raditz's frequency. She had work to do and couldn't afford to be distracted by the stupid ramblings of an angry Saiya-Jin. Gale had no desire to get into Zarbon's bad books, so doing this assignment right had become an imperative for her.

Not wanting to waste more time, the captain made her way to the inner dock where her team kept their Space Pods. She found them all there, waiting by their transports. Looking behind the other women Gale saw Chi Chi was already inside an open pod and still unconscious.

"Are you ready, girls?" Gale asked. "This mission is very important, and it will pay really well if we do it quickly."

"Can't you tell us what this is about?" Breeze requested. "Twister said you want us to be discreet but we're going to Letek so that means this isn't a conquering or a purging mission; I would like to at least have an idea of what we have to do so I know what to expect."

"I agree," Gust added. "The Cooler Corps doesn't care for soldiers from Frieza's army; we need to know if we're going to end up fighting some of them."

Gale took a moment to think about the best way to handle this and then looked at her team, offering them a reassuring smile. "Girls, I know going to Letek on an assignment is suspicious and I understand it can make you edgy, but other than being careful with the Cooler Corps I assure you the mission itself is easy as pie and will be quite profitable. If we fail, though… you all know Zarbon will kill us, so… do you understand now why I want to keep things quiet? I think it's for the best if only the five of us handle this."

"Princess here will be furious when she wakes up," Breeze pointed out as she looked at Chi Chi's pod. "I suspect she didn't want to come."

"Of course she didn't want to come!" Gale said with an amused smile. "But she _has_ to get her feet wet at some point and this is an easy enough mission."

"Well, when you put it like that… I guess she does have to learn the ropes at some point," Gust said while scratching her left arm. "So, are we waiting for someone else, Prim perhaps?"

"No, just the five of us," the leader of the squad answered. "Alright, enough talk for now. Let's go!"

And they did. In silence the female soldiers entered their pods and, as soon as they were all asleep, the round vehicles activated and shot themselves to the stars.

0-0-0

"Where did mommy go?" Gohan asked looking up at his tall uncle as he wondered what had just happened. The child had heard his mother's name mentioned; it seemed that she had gone somewhere and going by the expression on his uncle's face the place his mom went to was not very nice.

"I don't know," Raditz groaned with a scowl on his face. This was not supposed to happen! Chi Chi had told him the night before she would start teaching him how to track down this Ki thing that day after dinner; this was just not fair at all!

"When is she coming back?" the kid asked, concern for his mother rising up his throat. He knew he was close to tears but held them back as best as he could. He had to know more about his mother first.

"I don't know that either," the Saiyan replied. "Gale didn't say."

Raditz looked down at his nephew then and didn't like what he saw. While the boy was managing to avoid crying, it was clear that he would start at any moment. This did not sit well with the warrior, as he really hated it when Gohan cried for insignificant crap such as his mother being away for a few days or months. It was very un-Saiyan like!

"But… but what if… something bad happens to her?" the boy whispered, two tears glistering on the corners of his eyes. "W-what if I can't see her a-again?"

"Children are such a pain…" the soldier muttered so his nephew didn't hear and tried to think of a way to calm him down and when he couldn't, he resorted to doing what his own father had done with him once. Raditz remembered it had worked so he figured it wouldn't hurt to try. He sighed his frustration away, crouched next to the mortified kid and placed his left hand over his nephew's head.

"Kid, I told you days ago that you're with me now, remember? And I'm not going anywhere. You mother will come back before you know it so the best you can do is train and show her how strong you've gotten when she returns. So stop with the tears, aren't you a Saiyan? Act like one!"

Gohan, who was not expecting this contact, raised his eyes and stared at his uncle. This was different from how Goku (_his father_) used to pick him up when he cried, the kid recalled that being held helped but for some reason this was… better? His uncle's hand on his head made him feel safer without making him feel like a baby the way being carried had, it instead made him feel like one of the big boys from the village near Mount Paoz, the ones who didn't need to be picked up after they fell and could do more things. It also made him understand than his uncle really believed he could be strong. Gohan blinked and dried his tears. That was true, he had promised to be strong, and learning not to cry was part of it.

"O-okay…" the boy said. "I'll try _da_… Raditz… I'll try."

"See that you do," the tall soldier said, standing up as he walked to the door. "Now let's get something to eat, I don't feel like training right now so we'll continue later, fine?"

"Yes, fine," the boy managed a small smile and followed his uncle out the gravity room. He outpaced Raditz quickly; the expectation of seeing other aliens in the Mess hall had cheered the boy a little.

A couple of steps behind, Raditz kept staring at the kid and wondered about that '_da_' Gohan had interrupted before calling him by his name. Had the boy slipped and tried to call him _dad _beforequickly changing his words? Impossible! But… but… it wouldn't be so strange since they had spent so much time together recently and kids made those mistakes all the time, right?

The Saiyan took in a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck. For some reason, he felt as if something heavy had been placed on his shoulders, and while it wasn't too bad, he also knew he didn't like it.

"It's not lunch time, won't the chef get mad at us?" the half Saiyan kid asked once they reached the elevator.

"He better not," Raditz answered glad to have something else to think about besides the kid and his mother. "I'm too hungry to deal with that tub of cosmic lard's attitude."

"Tub of cosmic lard…" Gohan giggled and repeated the insult with a fair dose of excitement. His mother never let him call people names like those, and he wouldn't let the chance pass by.

Hearing that innocent chuckle, the Saiyan felt deep down that maybe being called '_dad'_ by this child wouldn't be all that bad. This feeling, not even an idea yet, vanished as soon as it came and once the elevator arrived it was forgotten, replaced with the expectation of an abundant meal.

0-0-0

_Two weeks later, far away from planet Hypra…_

Five pods landed without a hint of problem at the designated landing bay on the very top of an observation tower. With a hiss of steam they split open to allow their occupants to step out. The first one on her feet was a woman with orange hair, who spent little time surveying her surroundings before looking back, waiting for her companions to join her.

After her, two other women left their pods; one was a redhead while the other was a woman with shiny golden hair. Then a giantess of a woman squeezed out of her Attack Ball, already mumbling about how she needed to save enough money to buy a bigger one. Once the four women were together they all stared at the fifth pod, waiting for the princess sleeping there to step out.

They were curious about their new comrade and Gale, the captain of the All Female Squadron, wanted to know how angry the newest member of her group would be once she woke up. The other three, Breeze, Twister and Gust, were interested in if restraining the princess would be necessary, as the three of them expected their new friend to be furious.

And one look at the Ox Princess as she stepped out of her pod, hands balled into shaking fists and a glint of unspeakable rage in her eyes, proved them correct. Chi Chi was beyond angry. She didn't waste any time either. Fixating on Gale, the princess stomped towards the Alf-Squad captain and grabbed her by the neck of her armor, staring at her with such anger lesser women would have crumbled on the spot. Gale, however, smirked and signaled for her team to stay back.

"You… how dare you bring me here without my consent?" Chi Chi screamed, her voice dripping with venom. "You took me away from my son, you self-entitled, inconsiderate witch!"

"So much rage, you're gonna get wrinkles and an ulcer if you don't calm down," Gale said, her smile never wavering. "That happened two weeks ago, I'm sure your kid is fine."

"TWO WEEKS?"

"Yes, but hey, at least it wasn't a year and besides…" Gale started, but something colliding with her lips forced her to stop. She didn't have to look to know Chi Chi had punched her in the face, not that she had felt it, though. The power difference between her and the princess all but guaranteed that her punches would be as harmless as a baby's kick. Gale wasn't amused by this, as she was not used to her subordinates acting like fools and while she was not angry, she could not allow this to continue so when the fist of the princess was about to strike her again, the captain shot her hand up and caught it. She then grabbed the princess by the arm and with a quick move of her feet, used Chi Chi's own strength to throw her flat on her back, effectively driving the air, and the fight, out of Goku's widow.

"Will you cut it out? I don't have the time to deal with your stupid insubordination!" the captain hissed at the surprised noblewoman. "Yes, you spent two weeks away from your kid. Boo-hoo, you break my heart. And before you ask, it _will_ take us another two weeks to go back to Hypra, plus the time it takes us to complete our mission here, so the sooner we wrap things up, the faster you'll be with your son, so I suggest that you help us finish this job quickly! Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Chi Chi replied. The young woman managed to sit and spent a couple of seconds catching her breath. Letting her rage get the best of her had been a mistake, as she had forgotten how strong Gale was in her fury. It was difficult for Chi Chi to believe that the captain had seemed to not even notice her attack. She suddenly realized Gale could have killed her with incredible ease and the revelation was terrifying. Gohan came back to her thoughts then and she decided that for him she could not be afraid because, without her close, her son had only Raditz to look after him and she did not trust that hairy brute. She would never trust him to look after her child.

"Then let's start working," Gale said as she offered her hand to the princess. "The sooner we're done, the faster you'll be with your kid… Gohan, was it?"

"Yes, Gohan," Chi Chi replied and after a moment of hesitation, took Gale's hand and let the captain help her up. She was no longer afraid of Gale, for her child's safety, she couldn't be. All she could do was to complete this mission as fast as she could so she could return to her son's side. "Gohan's his name."

"Alright then," the orange-haired beauty looked at the other members of the Alf-Squad and motioned them to follow her. "I know a place here where we can talk in private and have a drink or two, we'll go there now."

Chi Chi stood still, watching as Gale and the other three headed for the doors where a couple of soldiers waited. It brought her memories of the time she first arrived to Hypra, and the desire to see her son grew even stronger inside her, as did her conviction of completing this assignment quickly.

"Bring your scouter, princess, and hurry up! You don't want to be left behind here!" Gale called back once she and the others entered the building in front of them. "We'll be waiting at the elevators!"

The young widow did as she was told and walked back to her pod; once she had her scouter she looked, really looked, at the scenery around the landing platform. In every direction she saw tall towers made of metal, enormous buildings made of stone and massive statues of creatures that made her think of lizards adorning some of the structures. Flying vehicles passed by at amazing speeds and above in the sky, she could see many large mother ships slowly descending or ascending, in their way to and from space. She was in the middle of a huge city, a metropolis so big it stretched as far as her eyes could see.

She stared at this majestic urban landscape in wonder for a moment, until she remembered what she was truly here for. Her mind still digesting the idea that a city so big could actually exist, the princess put on her scouter and rushed inside the building.

0-0-0

_Not too long after…_

Gale had spent a few minutes doing paperwork for her team. She had registered them all as a squadron of Frieza's army and was given permission to access the barracks at night and also a label with barcode on it that she and her teammates had to stick on the shoulder pads of their armors. This code was important as it proved the wearer had authorization to be on planet Letek and losing it meant the members of the Cooler Corps could detain them for questioning if they saw fit, something that none of the women in the ALF-Squad needed.

Once that was done, they all left the tower and still had to take another elevator until they descended to ground level, several hundred stories below where their pods were kept. The tall buildings blocked most of the sunlight, making the busy streets dim and foul- smelling, something the young princess did not enjoy at all. She had learned from Gust that the whole planet was a single city now, divided into four sectors, each devoted to receive trading ships descending from the north, east, west and south. She'd also learned that this planet's official designation was Planet Cooler #131, and that it was located at the border of a certain Lord Cooler's territory. The princess found this information useful and very interesting, as she had never even imagined life outside her planet to be like this. It awed her and made her feel very small, but she didn't have the time to ponder on it, so she instead filed it for later consideration. Perhaps she would even discuss it with Raditz to get details Gust may have missed. Thinking of him, however, made her remember certain things she didn't want to think about at all, so she quickly pushed his memory out of her mind and focused on following Gale and the others through the labyrinthine streets.

They all had walked in line for a long while when they finally reached the entrance to what Chi Chi assumed was some sort of underground mall, which instead turned out to be a long and ample corridor that went under a massive skyscraper. The place was littered with shady looking restaurants and bars on both sides, and Gale walked straight to one at the other end, near the stairs that went back up behind the building above.

"I didn't know this place," Breeze said once they were all inside, sitting in a secluded table all the way on the corner of the bar. "Then again, I've always avoided Letek like the plague."

"They sell good stuff here, and as you can seem nobody will bother us," Gale offered, emptying a glass full of the transparent, purple drink she had ordered for the team. "This Gelboian Ale is amazing, you girls should try some!"

"I'd rather you tell us what we need to know about the job," Twister said, poking at the jar full of ale the captain had ordered for them with her finger. She didn't like the color of the drink, and was not interested in tasting it.

"I agree with Twister," Gust said while pouring some ale in her glass. "We've waited long enough."

"I don't drink wine," Chi Chi informed Gale stiffly as she pushed her glass to the side. "So just tell us what we're here for."

"The girls are right, we need to know," Breeze agreed, sniffing her glass before taking a sip of the wine. "My, this stuff isn't all that bad."

"You are right, it is time I told you," Gale finished her second glass of Gelboian ale and then removed her scouter, turned it off and placed it on the table. "But first, you all do what I just did."

The rest of the ALF-Squad did as they were told and placed their scouters on the table, all of them wondering why doing this was necessary.

"Good. Now that's done, it's time to explain why we're here," the blue-skinned soldier leaned forward on the table and lowered her voice a notch. "Lord Zarbon's been robbed. His personal assistant, Motato, took with him a _very_ large sum from Zarbon's account and transferred it to a bunch of PTO cards; I saw the surveillance video back on Hypra."

"How much?" Twister asked, quite interested in this development as it took a lot of guts, or an incredible lack of brains, to steal from Frieza's second in command.

"Let's just say Zarbon's broke right now," Gale provided. "Anyway, he knows Motato is here and wants us to find and capture him. We can kill him if we get the information on where he keeps Zarbon's money and get it back, though."

"Why would he hide here?" Gust asked. "It makes no sense."

"Motato's cousin is a part of the Cooler Corps and works here in Letek. This is the only planet where he can hide and be safe, because Lord Frieza would think twice about bothering Lord Cooler for something as trivial for them as Zarbon being robbed," Gale answered while filling her glass for the third time. "And Zarbon wouldn't come here on his own because he could cause a very lamentable diplomatic incident if a fight starts."

"But this city is massive!" Chi Chi pointed out, the princess had ignored what she didn't understand and focused on the mission, and it worried her that locating their target would be like finding a needle in a haystack. "How are we supposed to find that man? And how do we know he's still here?"

"We can find him because he can't leave," the captain assured. "Zarbon's money is marked with an elite code. The moment it's used he'll know where it happened. But, conveniently, one of the only places where you can find a hacker skilled enough to remove an elite code is also here on Letek."

"And since Zarbon called you, then that probably means Motato hasn't used the money yet. Otherwise he wouldn't be in this planet, right?" Breeze guessed.

"Exactly," Gale said. "As for this city being massive, we don't have to look too hard. All we need to do is to find Motato's cousin and squeeze his location out of him."

"And how can we do that without having to fight a bunch of Cooler Corps soldiers?" Twister asked. "You said it would be easy and what you're proposing doesn't sound easy."

"One of us can lure our prey to a hotel room where we'll be waiting," Gale said. "Once we have him there it _will_ be easy to make him talk."

"Is he strong?" Gust wanted to know. "If his power level is high, he could fight us all at the same time."

"The information I got from Zarbon says his power level is of 2017, so we can take him no problem," the leader of the squad proclaimed. "And I know he works in this sector so we can find him in less than an hour."

"Well, all that's left is to decide who'll be the bait," Breeze rejoined. "I vote for the new girl."

"Me too," Twister added.

"Not me," Gust said. "She's too weak and inexperienced. She could ruin it."

"Gust is right," Gale agreed looking at Chi Chi and noticing the princess was, unsurprisingly, not pleased at all with this voting. "I'll be the bait."

"Are you sure?" Twister asked. "Since princess here can't do it, I could do it instead. I'm better at luring men than all of you, anyway."

"I'd say your tits are the ones that lure men," Breeze muttered while taking a sip of her ale.

"I heard that. Not my fault you're a carpenter's dream," Twister shot back.

"At least I can see my feet while standing straight," Breeze retorted.

"Girls, cut the crap," Gale requested while leaving her seat, not feeling like going through one of the usual verbal spars between Twister and Breeze. "We've got to rent a hotel room close to the customs building Motato's cousin works in and finish our plan."

Both arguing women nodded, picked up their scouters and joined the rest of the team, as they were already standing up and about to leave the shady bar at once.

0-0-0

_Meanwhile, on planet Hypra…_

If there was one constant for Saiyans was that they liked to eat and both Gohan and Raditz were no exceptions to this rule. For the last two weeks the two had eaten most of their meals in the Mess Hall; most, because Raditz had also cooked dinner for them a few times—he had the experience as he usually had to cook for Nappa and Vegeta during missions— to use the food they had in the frost box before it went bad. He had not bothered to get new rations since then as there was no need for it because he and his nephew could eat their fill with the other soldiers in the Mess whenever they felt hungry.

And it was the Mess hall where both Gohan and Raditz were currently dining. The long-haired Saiyan was standing in line, waiting for his turn to get their meals while his nephew waited for him in one of the far left tables. Gohan's table was next to one where a group of tall, horned men sat; they all displayed long beards and hair in reddish tones, and the boy correctly identified them as Griffians, much to the delight of the bearded soldiers who found the kid's information about them quite amusing and surprising. All the Griffians congratulated the child for his knowledge and one of them even went as far as ruffling his hair. This was something that had happened often in the last two weeks. Gohan was polite and easy to like, and almost all soldiers stationed in the Garrison had grown somewhat fond of him after he approached them to ask them about their species, if they had any special abilities and about their planet of origin, always listening attentively to what they had to say. And even those who didn't like the kid much were quite tolerant with him. But this was not true for soldiers who weren't stationed at the base, such as the four Raptician soldiers who had just arrived to Advantage and entered the mess hall.

"A Saiyan child?" The first Raptician exclaimed as he noticed Gohan's tail. More than intrigued, the bulky reptilian alien separated from his loud companions and went straight towards the kid.

"Are you for real?" a second reptilian asked, following his friend. "That garbage is reproducing?"

"Unbelievable," the third Raptician said when he got a good look at the kid. "That means one of the three idiots actually managed to get a woman?"

"Well, this is surely a disappointment," the fourth one added. "The only thing the PTO doesn't need is more stupid monkeys running around."

"Hey kid, go away, we're going to sit here!" the first Raptician ordered, slamming his hand on the table so hard the startled child jumped on his seat and almost fell from it.

"I… I was…" the boy started. He had lowered his face and was almost trembling in fear, only avoiding crying with great effort.

"You were what?" the second soldier asked, reaching for the boy's head. He grabbed Gohan with his green, scaly hand and forced him to look up. "Go ahead and say it, we're dying to hear you."

"I was here… first," Gohan managed, trying very hard not to be afraid.

"The boy is right, we were here first," Raditz announced. The Saiyan had already placed the two trays of food on the table, and was staring hard at the reptilian holding Gohan by the head. He had noticed what the Rapticians were doing once he got his and his nephew's meals and at first thought it wouldn't go beyond the lizard men being annoying pests, but the moment one of them grabbed Gohan he felt a surge of cold rage quite unlike anything he had ever experienced before, to the point it took all his self control to keep his fury at bay. He had already analyzed the Rapticians, and knew that they all had a power level that ranged between 2004 to 2059 meaning Raditz, with his recently increased strength, could take them one on one so he felt his chances of stepping in were good enough; besides, he was not going to let those reptilians rough up _his_ nephew, it wasn't right.

"You stinky apes should eat outside," the strongest Raptician sneered as he walked up to the Saiya-Jin. "The Mess hall is supposed to be for the evolved species after all."

"You really want to die today, don't you?" Raditz retorted with a growl.

"Behave, or your kid will get hurt," the reptilian that still held Gohan reminded him.

The long-haired warrior looked at his nephew and noticed Gohan was trying hard to look brave, but fear was evident in the boy's face. In that moment, the Saiyan understood the horrible irony of this situation, as he was now going through the very same thing he had forced his younger brother to experience. _Life is really a bitch when she wants to teach you a lesson, it seems. _The difference here, and Raditz knew it quite well, was that he wasn't weak like his younger brother had been. He'd find a way to keep his nephew safe and to cripple these idiots, he was sure of it.

"Hey, you, leave the kid out of this," a voice demanded then. Behind the Rapticians, one of the bearded Griffians had left his seat and was staring at the reptilians with cold eyes. "He did nothing to you."

"You heard Hexobon," another Griffian seconded, also standing up to back up his friend, he was followed by the three other Griffians on their table.

Raditz' right brow lifted in confusion. Were the Griffians actually helping him? This… this was unheard of! Most other species despised Saiyans and would only watch as they were humiliated, but this support right now… why was this happening? Was this the result of Gohan's constant questions to every other soldier here? The tall Saiyan was speechless for a moment, but soon recovered his voice as his priority was to keep his nephew safe; he could ponder on everything else later.

"You going to let the kid go or you want me to make you?" he threatened, confident that now he had the help of the Griffians, each with a power level of about 5,000, the Rapticians would be much more cooperative.

"You can't be serious, this is just Saiyan garbage!" One of the reptilians tried, looking skeptically at the one they had called Hexobon. "They're nothing but useless monkeys!"

"Perhaps, but they're _our_ monkeys," A new voice said on the left. A look in that direction revealed two tall Azurians had also decided to leave their seats and voice their opinion.

"I suggest you leave the kid alone," the second Azurian recommended. Unknown to Raditz, Gohan had also reached out to the Azurians, and had left them with a good impression. The boy's little gesture was paying off now.

"If you mess with one soldier from Advantage then you mess with all of us!" Another voice, to the right this time, sentenced. The voice belonged to a grey skinned alien Raditz quickly identified as one of the two Zadrians who had carried him to the clinic on his first day here after he had that accident in the gravity room.

"He's right!" the chef announced. He had walked around the kitchen area and was obviously not happy at all. "Besides, this is _my_ kitchen, you morons, and if you try to fight here I _will_ kill you myself and serve you as tonight's dinner! So here's what you assholes are going to do: You're going to release that kid, walk out of _my_ Mess Hall, take your pods and go to the next garrison."

"What if we don't?" the apparent leader of the Rapticians challenged, but it was obvious in his tone of voice he was doing this only to save some face.

"Then I vaporize your head right where you stand," Raditz said, his right hand up to eye level, a small energy ball shining on his palm. "And then _we_ do the same to all _your_ friends."

"I knew making a stop here was a fucking mistake," the reptilian growled, frustrated at how outmatched he and his squad were. "This place is so upside down people here actually stand up for the stupid Saiyans! Fine then… let the kid go!"

The other Raptician obeyed and released Gohan, making sure everyone saw he hadn't hurt the boy at all. Saying nothing more, the reptilian gang retreated slowly to the door, all the while under the accusing eyes of every Advantage-stationed soldier in the Mess Hall.

Once the Rapticians were out of the Mess, Gohan rushed to his uncle's side and jumped at him, hugging him tight, his '_thank yous_' muffled in the soldier's chest. The kid didn't care if this was something a Saiyan wouldn't do, he was too glad the reptilians were gone to care. After a moment, Gohan turned to look at the rest of the soldiers.

"Thank you everybody, you're the best!" the boy said offering the soldiers a shining, honest smile as he thanked them, just as his mother had instructed him to do when being grateful to others. "Thank you for helping us!"

"Don't mention it, kid," Hexobon the Griffian said. "It was nothing."

"Yeah, you and your dad live here in Advantage," one of the Azurians added. "We care for our own."

Raditz was unsure of what to do; his Saiyan pride closed his throat so tightly he couldn't force himself to thank the other soldiers, even if he had to admit he was glad they had helped. In the end, all he could manage was a grin directed at them and a nod, which apparently was enough, as every other soldier returned the gesture before going back to their meals.

"Would've been a shame if your wife came back to find her kid hurt," the chef told him then, his eyes never leaving his kitchen as he didn't need to be seen as an overly sentimental man by the other soldiers. "And… well, her ideas helped me make some new stuff, so… I kind of owe her and I thought… damn it, you get it what I mean, right?"

"I think I do," Raditz said. And he did.

"Good, now eat your meals before they get cold and the taste goes all wrong."

Saying nothing else the chef went back to his kitchen, and Raditz and Gohan simply sat at their shared table. The boy didn't seem too affected by what had just happened, and was already eating with Saiyan-worthy appetite, much to his uncle's relief. Raditz started eating then, trying to understand the weird feeling that still lingered inside him. He couldn't really place it, and he believed he had a name for it but he did not know if this feeling that had appeared when the other soldiers helped them was actually gratitude, as he had never had much to be grateful for. Still, knowing others were willing to help him and the kid felt… nice? Yes, _nice_. It was very different from how Vegeta and Nappa acted when he was with them and he sort of liked it.

"I didn't cry."

Raditz looked at Gohan with a puzzled expression. "What?"

"I didn't cry when those bad men tried to hurt me," Gohan repeated. "Isn't that what a Saiyan does?"

"…Yes, yes it is," the tall soldier said, smiling a little. "You're becoming more of a Saiyan every day, kid… and that's good… it's really good."

"I'm glad. Can we practice flying after this? I think I can do it better now," Gohan said.

"Sure, why not?" his uncle nodded. "We have time."

"Neat! I'll show mom I can fly real good when she comes back," after this promise, the child smiled satisfied and returned to his meal.

Raditz resumed eating as well, thoughts of the boy's mother returned to him full force for the first time in days. _What are you doing now, woman? Driving Gale and the others crazy with your annoying bitching?_ The Saiyan smirked at the thought, and felt that his guess was very close to the mark.

0-0-0

_Back in Planet Letek…_

A spherical, red-skinned man walked out of a large building, he wasn't alone; he walked, talking and joking, with three other members of the Cooler Corps. They weren't in a rush, and once they reached the main avenue ahead, two of them took off and flew away while the others stayed behind and entered a bar down the street.

"Ugh, Totoma's got friends?" Gale sighed disappointed that their target wasn't a loner. "That'll make leading him to the hotel room we rented even more complicated."

"But he's also way too fat and ugly," Twister observed. "If I'm right about men, and I_ always _am, he'll follow me like a puppy the moment he thinks I'm interested in him."

"I'll have to agree with you on that," the captain nodded. "Well, can't do anything tonight since he's drinking with a friend, we'll have to try tomorrow and with some luck we'll catch him alone."

Gale stood up from the bench she had been sharing with Twister and stretched, ready to go back to the hotel to get some sleep.

"Not necessarily," the emerald beauty said, stopping her captain before she could leave. "If he gets drunk he'll be easier to trick. We just need to give Totoma a couple of hours so that he's gotten a few drinks in him. In the meantime we can go into the bar and just hang out; when I think our target's ripe for harvest, I'll make a move on him."

"You're a devil," Gale said with a mischievous smile. "I like how that sounds, let's give it a shot!"

_A few blocks away, in a hotel room…_

Chi Chi was uneasy, she was sure that something was happening to her son, or that it happened to him already and she had not been there to protect him. It maddened her to think the only one out there making sure her son was alright was that obnoxious, long-haired Saiyan.

"Gale and Twister will come back soon with our target," Breeze told her, she had just finished talking with the leader of the Alf Squad on her scouter and was pleased things were going well for them. "Try to relax, with some luck this mission will be over tonight."

"Yes, with some luck," the princess said. She didn't sound convinced.

"I'm kind of hungry," Gust announced. "I'm going to that restaurant across the street, won't take long."

"Keep your frequency open," Breeze advised. "Gale said it was possible they'd be back in a few hours."

"Sure. You guys want me to bring you something? That place's got a buffet and I'm really gonna take advantage of it," Gust offered; she was already standing by the door.

"I'm not hungry," Chi Chi replied. "But thank you anyway."

"I'm good for now," Breeze added. "Go knock yourself out, Gust."

"Don't mind if I do," the tall woman grinned and left the room. A moment later Chi Chi, who was sitting by the window, saw her enter the restaurant with a happy stride.

"I pity the owner of that restaurant," Breeze said from behind the raven haired girl. "Gust's metabolism is incredible when it comes to processing food."

"Does she really eat that much?" Chi Chi wondered. "Gust is too fit to be a big eater."

"The woman can eat, I assure you. And she never gains weight, either," the redhead said as she sat down on the only bed in the room. "Her race is similar to the Saiyans in that one aspect, but I'm sure dealing with someone who can easily eat for six is hardly surprising for you."

"You're right, it isn't," the Ox princess admitted, recalling Goku's eating habits and more recently, the way her new… companion, ate. "It isn't at all."

The white-snow-skinned woman replied with a disinterested '_oh_' and picked up the old magazine that was on the night table next to the bed. She put it back seconds after, as it was written in a language she was not familiar with. Why couldn't this hotel be like any other in the galaxy and provide magazines printed in basic?

"Are you really going to kill that Motato person?" Chi Chi asked then. She was still sitting on a stool but was now facing Breeze. "Is that the punishment for his crime?"

"He's going to die regardless; Lord Zarbon will kill him for sure," the redhead said. "And it's 'we' … you're a part of the group now, princess. Don't forget that."

"I'm not a killer, Breeze."

"Something tells me that isn't true," she disputed as she stared hard at the young Amazon. "I think you've killed before, and that it wouldn't bother you much if you had to do it."

"I've never killed sentient beings," Chi Chi rectified, "only animals, and only for eating or to escape a dangerous situation."

"I see… well, I may be wrong here but something about you makes me think killing your enemies wouldn't bother you."

Chi Chi remembered then the immense satisfaction she experienced when Raditz told her Piccolo was dead. She also recalled that she had entertained the thought of doing… things, _painful_ things, to a gang criminals who had terrorized the only town near Mount Paoz for a long time until the police stopped them and how she had been angry because Goku never got involved since he was busy training and she couldn't help because she was in the last months of her pregnancy. _That's when I lost the ability to ride his stupid cloud, when I realized killing that scum was necessary._

"I… I think if it's a really bad person who has committed many crimes…" Chi Chi said. "I guess if it's like that then it's acceptable… or maybe if it's in a war or in a life or death situation."

"Well, in this case it would be an act of mercy," Breeze said. "If we deliver Motato's thieving ass to Zarbon, he's going to get tortured for months before they finally kill him, not that he didn't ask for it."

"Can we talk about something else?" the Ox princess asked, no feeling too comfortable with the issue. She didn't like talking about killing, and was anxious to change topics to something less grim.

"Like what?"

Chi Chi considered it for a moment, then spoke, "Prim told me you're the only female soldiers active right now, is that true?"

"Yes, at least in Frieza's army. I know there are many women in the Cooler Corps and the Cold Elites also have their share of female soldiers."

"I've been wondering about that. Who are these Cooler Corps and Cold Elites?"

Breeze sat cross-legged on the center of the bed and smirked. "I keep forgetting you don't know a lot of things. Well, it is time for class, Chi Chi, so listen well: The Planet Trade Organization is owned by King Cold and his two children: Frieza and Cooler. Each one of them owns a personal army. We are the army of Lord Frieza, power-wise we're the weakest but most numerous. The Cooler Corps have smaller numbers but they're stronger on average than us. Above us all, however, are the Cold Elites who serve under King Cold; the Elites are the smaller army under the PTO, but their members are so strong their numbers hardly matter."

"That's… interesting," the princess said. "I understand now why you said this was Cooler's territory. I imagine Frieza and that King Cold also have their own territories."

"Correct, though the three of them all manage the PTO together."

"That still doesn't explain why you're the only women in this particular army," Chi Chi noted.

"It's because Zarbon doesn't like girls," Breeze said. "I'm sure he gave us this mission hoping one of us gets in trouble or even killed."

"I thought Frieza is the leader? How can this Zarbon decide if women can't be soldiers?"

"Because Frieza doesn't care who works for him as long as everything works and his army keeps his sector in line," the redhead said. "Now that I think of it… it seems the only other women to ever work in Frieza's army were the female Saiyans, but they're all dead now. You're not one, are you? You're listed as a Ningen type but maybe you lost your tail."

"I'm a hundred percent human," Chi Chi assured. "Or Ningen, as you say here. So… how did you all enter the army? Can I ask that?"

"I don't see why not. Just don't let Gale know I told you; she loves to tell the tale," Breeze stated. "Anyway, we used to be members of the Galactic King's Royal Guard; before he got vaporized by King Cold, of course."

"There was a king ruling the whole galaxy?"

"Well, he thought he did but his influence limited to only a few systems. He was an idiot, but he paid well," the redhead recalled. "About ten years ago, the Galactic King tried to put an end to the Planet Trade Organization."

"He went to war against the PTO?"

"What war? It was over in minutes! King Cold and his two sons entered the Galactic King's castle while their armies destroyed the rest of the city and the Galactic Police with it!" Breeze trembled a little. "I still get the creeps when I remember it; King Cold is the most imposing person in the Galaxy!

"That's… impressive" Chi Chi said. "Cold and his children went straight for the Galactic King without trying for a diplomatic solution?"

"The PTO does not negotiate," Breeze assured, looking up and smiling a little smile. "I'm really glad Gale managed to get up after Frieza hit her, it's the only reason why he offered us a chance to work for him."

"I can see you agreed."

"We didn't have another choice," she studied her hands for a moment, blinked a couple of times and smiled again. "But it's not bad, you know? The PTO pays better than the Galactic King."

"I imagine other members of that Galactic Police you mentioned are also PTO soldiers now."

"No, most of them were killed. There weren't that many of them anyway, like only fifty or even less," the snow-white skinned woman recalled. "Some may have escaped, I guess."

"I see," Chi Chi became pensive then and sitting straight and composed, turned to look out the window again. "Thanks for sharing this information, Breeze; it's interesting, and it's really helping me understand how life is here."

Breeze looked at Chi Chi attentively and perhaps it was because of the dim light in the room, or maybe the glow of the neon signs flashing outside but there was _something_ there that struck the red-headed soldier to the core. A small hint of… what? She couldn't really tell but there _was_ something. Whatever it had been, though, it vanished in an instant and once again Chi Chi was just the rookie Ningen woman who had joined the ALF-Squad recently.

"No problem, it happened a long time ago. I don't think it is that interesting."

"Well, I thank you regardless," the princess smiled gently. "The more information I have the better choices I can make."

"…Yes," there it was again, that _something_ that made the Ox princess different from other women. Only this time Breeze was able to put a name to it. _Royalty, she's royalty! She's a Princess for real so of course she has that posture and tone of voice. She's used to being in command! Oh shit… will she challenge Gale's leadership at some point? But… what if she doesn't and I'm just imagining things, should I even tell Gale?_

The redhead's thoughts were interrupted by the young woman's voice, leaving Breeze still somewhat confused about what she should do with her fears. In the end, she decided to wait and see, and would tell Gale depending on the Princess' actions.

"Gale and Twister are heading this way; they're bringing a man with them," Chi Chi, who for Breeze had radiated some sort of regal authority for just a fraction of a second, was back to normal, looking out the window again. "And Gust is coming out of that restaurant. They'll be here pretty soon."

"Good, I was tired of waiting."

0-0-0

The abandoned warehouse in one of the decaying sections of Letek was massive, tall and imposing, standing in the middle of a large empty space created by the many demolished buildings that were once around it. Several signs indicated this area would be refurbished soon into a gigantic housing complex. But that night it was eerily silent and only the sound of the steps of five women floated up the cold wind.

"Was it necessary to tie and leave Totoma hanging upside down?" Chi Chi asked. "And hanging above the toilet of all places?"

"He said he felt like shit when we finished questioning him," Gale said smirking. "I was just following his lead. Oh, c'mon, you gotta admit that was a funny one!"

The princess sighed and shook her head; she just couldn't understand Gale's random and strange brand of humor at all. "Humor is subjective, Gale. I'm sure I'll laugh at one of your jokes one day. And I'm worried he'll call his Cooler Corps friends."

"You just have no sense of humor, Chi Chi; besides, Totoma's not going to accuse us because then we would tell he was helping a fugitive criminal. It would be his ruin, so what's wrong with taking advantage of that with a little joke?" the captain said to end that conversation, as her full attention was now on the warehouse in front of her squadron. "I need a reading, Twister?"

"Five energy signatures," the emerald beauty provided after scanning the location with her trusty scouter. "Two are close, probably at the Warehouse's entrance. The other two are a little farther, surely guarding Motato. I bet they have scouters too and are waiting for us to try something."

"The power levels closer to us are at 1123 and 2045," Gust said and spat in frustration. "I can take care of one but I'd need help with the other. It'd be difficult for me to fight both at once."

"The ones farther are at 3007, 3001 and 212," Breeze completed. "Don't worry girls; those guys are nothing if we all fight together."

"And Motato escapes while we're fighting whoever he's got in there protecting him. And the hacker who is supposed to remove the elite code from Zarbon's money is going to arrive tomorrow morning," Captain Gale told her squad. "We need to do this tonight."

"So what do you suggest, boss?" Gust asked. "We rush in and hope for the best?"

"No, but I do have an idea," Gale scratched her chin and then looked at Chi Chi. "This is your time to shine, rookie. According to Totoma and the reading we just made, Motato's weaker than even you. We distract his men, you go and capture him."

"But… I don't even know where he is!" Chi Chi argued.

"Twister, send princess here the layout of the warehouse Totoma gave us," Gale ordered.

"Done," Twister said after pressing one of the buttons on her scouting device.

Chi Chi's scouter rang and a map of the building ahead of her was displayed on the small screen. On the inside, the warehouse was nothing but a big empty space with only a small office on the other side. A note on the map explained Motato was using the office as an apartment, and that he hardly ever left it.

"Stick to the walls while we do the fighting," Twister advised. "Chances are you won't get blasted that way."

"I'll be fine," Chi Chi assured somewhat offended by the comment. "But… aren't the men inside members of the Cooler Corps?"

"Not likely, they'd have delivered Motato to Zarbon already to be in good standing with Frieza and Cooler" Gale answered. "My guess is they're hired help."

"So, how do we proceed?" Twister said. "If they do have scouters I think they might yield once they get a reading on Gale and the rest of us."

"No, Motato probably promised them a lot of money," Breeze opined. "They _will_ fight us. I feel they'll try an ambush."

"Agreed," the captain said. "So let's ruin their plans, girls."

Saying this, Gale took off and shot an energy blast at the warehouse, destroying—disintegrating is more precise—the front with ease. Gale's attack revealed two hulking men with orange skin and black armor who were still covering their faces to protect themselves from the sudden impact. Further back inside the warehouse two other men of the same species were already rushing to help their friends. A full fight was imminent.

"Mercenaries!" Gust shouted in satisfaction. "And they have no scouters; we can fight them all out!"

"Fantastic, now let's kick their butts quickly before the actual Cooler Corps come to see what's going on," Breeze said while assuming her fighting stance.

"Time to do your part, we'll cover you!" Gale screamed from above. "Go, Chi Chi, _GO_!"

And so the princess ran. Ignoring the sounds of battle and the hot explosions of energy blasts all around her, Chi Chi did as she was told and rushed to the office all the way to the other end of the building. It was all she could do to make sure she would return to Gohan's side.

A light green energy beam struck the wall ahead of her, the impact threw her back and she had to cartwheel to avoid falling flat and hitting her head. Landing on her feet, she crouched and vaulted to a pole above, which she used to further jump ahead—doing this allowed the princess to avoid the ki blasts that had started to rain around her—landing so close to the office she could almost taste victory.

And that was when one of the orange men landed in front of her. Her scouter beeped, showing her the alarming power level of her new adversary: 3007. She backed a step, intimidated by the powerful ki she felt emanating from this furious man. Chi Chi raised her fists but in the end she didn't have to; Gale swooped in from the side and kicked the man all the way to the opposite wall.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of him; you capture the target!" the captain ordered before going after the mercenary.

"Easier said than done," Chi Chi muttered as she approached the office. She reached for the door and almost opened it, but stopped at the last moment. She felt the energy of the person inside gathering and that made her step to the side. _He's preparing an energy blast; the idiot thinks I'm walking into a trap._ The princess lowered her ki to the minimum and then pressed her back to the wall. She had noticed that as long as the energy didn't go up or down, the scouters couldn't detect if an enemy was preparing a ki attack. But she could sense it just fine, another proof that these machines were useless in fights.

She paid close attention and noticed that Motato had given up on using a ki blast and was on the move, he was not even in the office anymore. How?

"A backdoor!" she guessed and rushed inside the office. Sure enough, there was a backdoor and a little, fat, red man was running away from the warehouse like the hounds of hell were after him. He carried an impossibly big box above his head, comically balancing it as he went. In a different situation, Chi Chi would have found this amusing, but not then.

"You're not getting away!" she swore, going after him on nimble legs, catching up to Motato in less than a second. "Give up and they may not kill you!"

The only answer she got was Motato stopping, dropping the box and turning to face her. "Hah! They sent a woman with a power level of just 59 after me, how stupid can they be?"

"You're wrong," the princess smirked then and without warning, unleashed her full strength for him to see, hoping that would intimidate him into surrender. "My power level is higher than just 59!"

"403?" Motato paled and his eyes bulged out of their sockets. "Ho-how… is my scouter broken? This is impossible!"

Chi Chi's smirk accentuated. While she knew she'd gotten stronger, she hadn't made a reading of her own power yet and was pleased to learn that after days of training with Raditz and Gale, her full power level had gone from 359 to 403. It was _very_ satisfying.

"I suggest you give up now, it's your only choice."

"Never!" Motato challenged. He quickly reached for a small device hidden in his pocket and pointed it at his pursuer. "You die here!"

"Wha…?" the princess couldn't finish the sentence, an invisible force had trapped her, and she couldn't move her body at all!

"Yes! I didn't think this would work but it did!" Motato was dancing in joy. "How do you like this Localized Inertial Damper? I knew this would put a stop to you!"

"Turn that machine off!" Chi Chi growled, managing to both speak and look at Motato with a titanic effort. "Let me arrest you before they kill you!"

"No! I'll get rid of you and then hide somewhere, I can still escape!" Motato yelled and turned a knob on his device, making Chi Chi feel as if her heart itself was slowing down.

"Stop… this!" the princess demanded, feeling how her pulse slowed almost to a halt and how her lungs were stilling. Consciousness was leaving her, she found breathing was an impossible task, she could swear even the blood in her veins had stopped! _I'm… I'm going to die! Please, save me, Goku…!_

But Goku was dead. Goku couldn't save her anymore. Was this her fate, a stupid death in a planet far away from home?

No. She still had Gohan, and for her child she would never stop fighting!

"You're going to regret this, you… you ugly bastard!" the princess muttered and forced every cell in her body to expel as much energy as it could. _Raditz… he says I can use my power better when I'm angry… let's see if it's true_. Focusing on the lesson the Saiyan had taught her, Chi Chi allowed her anger to rise, concentrated and with a groan, managed to lift her right fist.

"This… this cannot be!" Motato backed up a step. "I increased the LID's power to ten! With a power level of 400 you can't move, you _can't_!"

"I can!" Chi Chi shouted back and instinctively moved both hands up. She realized she was reaching for the blade she had kept on the helmet she used to wear as a child with the intention of throwing it at Motato. But the weapon wasn't there; she hadn't used her Amazon armor in years. She wished she had kept it so she could sling the axe blade at this fat bastard. Well it didn't matter! She controlled her body again and she was going to bring him down!

Feeling as if every muscle in her body was tearing, the princess moved forward and escaped the area affected by the Inertial Damper before Motato could increase the power of his device again. With a yell of rage, Chi Chi stepped ahead and grabbed Motato by the head. She screamed in fury and smashed her knee into the man's face, feeling very satisfied by the crunching sound his nose made. The fat thief fell to his knees, his hands covering his nose while he spat out several of his teeth; he tried talking, but all he managed were sad, pain-filled whimpers.

"You shouldn't have done that to me!" the Ox princess said her voice still full of anger. "This is what you get for not giving up when you could!"

"Huh…huh…" Motato started, scared to no end by the (_murderous?_) dangerous gleam in the woman's eyes.

"Shut up you… you garbage!" Chi Chi ordered and kicked Motato's stomach as hard as she could causing the overweight man to spit blood and go on a coughing fit.

"Good job, princess!" Gale said a moment later. She was unhurt and landed to her right and seemed to be pleased by what she saw. The rest of the ALF-Squad, also unharmed, touched down then, and they also looked happy with Chi Chi's work.

"I didn't think you had it in you, noob!" Gust said with a happy grin. "Well done!"

"She's right, this is most surprising," Breeze agreed, "in a good way, of course."

"What they told you," Twister said with a smile. "Good job, princess."

"We got the target. The mission's over," Chi Chi stated, her breathing still labored. "Now what?"

"Now I call Zarbon and tell him we're done here," Gale supplied.

0-0-0

_Three weeks later…_

The five pods landed without incident in the Advantage's inner dock, and the first one to come out of hers was Chi Chi, who wanted nothing but to see Gohan again. She could have rushed out looking for her son, but she instead waited for her teammates to exit their Attack Balls. She was still a little upset that they had secretly chartered an actual space ship—not a big one, but it still managed to impress the princess—to take their pods, Motato and the stolen money to a rendezvous point Zarbon had designated. Chi Chi, Gust, Breeze and Twister had not met with Frieza's second in command; Gale had been in charge of delivering Motato and the money, which in the end helped because it made the transaction faster. Still, that detour had cost them an extra week but it didn't matter now, they were back on Hypra at last, back home.

_Home… I'm starting to think about this place as home._ She thought surprised at how at ease she felt when that idea had entered her thoughts.

"It's good to be back!" Gale said. The captain was already on her feet and looked around as the rest of her squad exited their pods as well. "And it's much better to return a few thousand credits richer!"

"Indeed," Breeze grinned. "Zarbon paid us quite well!"

"We're having a party to celebrate our triumph tonight!" Gale announced; she was feeling very happy and in the mood for a bash with her girls.

"Sweet!" Gust said. "I'll talk to Doc Ygrus and get permission to use one of the entertainment rooms!"

"We should ask the other two girls to join us," Twister suggested. "Make it a real party for just us girls; the seven of us!"

"That's a good idea!" Gale nodded. "I'll get Prim, you and Breeze go to the machine rooms and get the cyborg girl who always works there to come, it's high time we meet that one!"

"I agree, she never leaves that place," Breeze said. "I heard she's also a Ningen type, but since she's a cyborg we'd have to see her to make sure."

"Better reason to invite her, then," the tall, blue skinned woman said. "Alright, you go get that woman so we can get to know her; Gust, you go see the Doc and I'll talk to the chef so he prepares the food we'll need."

"You're coming to the party, right?" Gust asked as she passed by Chi Chi's side.

"I'm not sure, my son…" the princess started.

"It's going to be tonight!" Gale interrupted. "Once your kid's sleeping, you can slip out of your apartment and meet us, you'll find us in one of the entertainment rooms, just follow the music!"

"But…"

"If your man is against it, I'll go and convince him," Twister said with a wink.

"No! Not you!" Chi Chi refused, an image of Twister using her flirty ways on Raditz flashing on her mind and making her feel strangely alarmed. She crushed the idea immediately and quickly composed herself. "I mean, no, thank you, it won't be necessary. I'll… I'll go to the party, ok?"

"You're the jealous type?" Twister smiled. "That's so cute! But don't worry, princess; I don't like your husband. I'm into older guys like that handsome doctor Ygrus, now that's a catch! Can you believe he's still single at his age? He's so ripe for the picking, like a tasty, tasty, juicy fruit that you can just grab and bi…!"

"Stop drooling over doctor Ygrus, Twister, you always get carried away when it comes to that man. And Chi Chi, make sure you go," Gale said, behind her Twister complained that she wasn't drooling, but the captain ignored her. "Let's move, girls, the party won't organize itself!"

The princess watched as the other girls entered the base, chatting and laughing as they went and couldn't help but to admit that she had enjoyed their company. She reasoned it was because she never had many friends before, and was somehow glad that they had admitted her into their circle so easily. She smiled at the idea of having friends and then her mind went back to Gohan. She had to see her son!

The Ox princess hurried inside the garrison, thoughts of her son filling her mind now. Chi Chi focused on finding her son's ki as she walked, but after having no success, used her scouter to find where Raditz was. The device found the Saiyan quickly, and his location puzzled the young Amazon quite a bit. He was in one of the large, inner gardens. Wondering what he was doing there and hoping Gohan was there also, she ran in that direction.

She arrived to the inner garden in a matter of minutes, and once she opened the door she saw a large space covered with dark green grass. The wall and part of the roof were entirely made of the dura-glass she now knew was as resistant as the metal used on Space Pods. There were patches full of flowers and many trees and plenty of benches over a slated road and even a tall fountain. But after looking left and right she could not see Gohan anywhere. Where was her son? Did she enter the wrong garden?

She tried feeling for her son's ki as a last resort and her eyes darted up as soon as she located it. The princess gasped and for a moment, lost the ability to speak because up there, almost all the way to the glass ceiling was Gohan. Her son was flying. Flying! He had not seen her yet, he was busy chasing after Raditz, who was going through a series of rings with an ease that revealed how skilled at flying he was. And her son was almost matching his uncle. Almost. Gohan hit a few of the rings but for the most part her son's flight was perfect.

"He can fly…" she muttered, realizing then that her son's Ki had increased; if she had to judge, she bet Gohan was about 900 by now. She reached up and made the reading: 1004. Her son's power was now slightly over a thousand. And he could fly.

For just a brief moment, Chi Chi was afraid of calling her son's name. He just seemed so happy to be flying with her uncle that she felt estranged, even replaced. This doubt vanished immediately as she realized there was no way Raditz could replace her. She was Gohan's mother and nothing that man did would ever change that.

"Gohan!" she called after another moment had passed, long enough so she knew her voice would not break. "Gohan, I'm here!"

The kid froze and then turned to the entrance of the in-house garden. He floated there for a moment, shocked by the immense happiness just seeing her made him feel. She was back, and she was unhurt! The boy's smile could have melted an iceberg and before he knew it, he had flown as fast as she could to her.

"Mom!" the little boy landed and jumped at her, hugging her tight, laughing and radiating joy. "I am so happy you're finally back, I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, sweetie," Chi Chi said, tears of happiness glistering on her eyes as she returned the hug with the fierce, strong love only a mother could feel. "I thought about you every single moment."

She leaned back to take a good look at her son. Gohan's hair was a little longer—she'd have to cut it a little on the tips—and it seemed he'd gotten a little taller; he seemed well fed, too, which pleased her. Had he studied while she wasn't here? She doubted that but it wasn't that important as she could help him catch up with his studies later. What mattered was that her little boy was _healthy_ and knowing that, seeing it, made her feel so relieved it was as if the world had turned brighter and more colorful all around her.

"I can fly now!" Gohan boasted. "Did you see me, mom? Raditz taught me how!"

"I know, I saw you," she smiled and kissed his cheek, she then placed her son on the ground and crouched so she was at his eye level. "I'm very proud that you learned to do something so difficult. Did you learn anything else while I was gone?"

"Of course I did!" Gohan grinned and lifted his right hand, a warm golden orb of light formed above it. "I can also do this! I can't throw it yet, it goes _puff_ before I do but Raditz says I'll get it right in a few days, isn't it cool?"

"It is, Gohan. It is," the princess was impressed, so impressed that she forgot about asking Gohan if his uncle had treated him right. Raditz had managed to teach Gohan how to fly and the basics of ki manipulation in about a month; never in her wildest dreams did she expect him to be so good a teacher.

"You're back."

Chi Chi looked up and saw him standing a few steps away, his arms crossed as he observed her. He had changed his armor again to one in white and yellow (again with no shoulder pads), which gave him a completely different look, less primal and feral. She discovered that she approved of it. He looked better in her opinion. Realizing she was staring, Chi Chi blinked and hastily stood up, her hand never leaving Gohan's shoulder as she looked at the fountain behind him. "Yes. I'm back."

"Good. I'll go train on my own while you and Gohan talk, I'm sure the kid has a lot of things to tell you," the soldier said as he walked past her. "I'll see you both later."

And with that, he left; Chi Chi frowned, surprised at his behavior… and had he ignored her? She made a pause. Did it matter if she had? Was she… hoping for a warmer welcome from him, a hug? What? She couldn't tell. She wasn't even sure if she was happy to see him again. She was glad—and thankful— that he had taken care of Gohan so well; that much she knew and in the end, she decided, that was probably enough.

"I'm learning the parts of my scouter too," Gohan said. "Raditz told me I need to know them before he teaches me how to fix it."

"He's… he's teaching you things other than fighting?" the princess found that difficult to believe.

"Yes, he's been fixing the scouters of other soldiers so he said it helped him remember the names of the parts," the boy explained.

"Why is he repairing things for other people?"

"Raditz says earning a few extra credits never hurt a man," Gohan shrugged. "I think he used those credit things to buy the stuff in the workshop he made in the empty room… and food, too."

"He… _he_ got a job?" now that was something Chi Chi had to see. "Raditz?"

"He just fixes scouters and gadgets for other soldiers, mom," Gohan corrected, unaware that what his uncle did was actually a job. The kid then pouted. "But he won't let me enter his workshop alone. That's a little unfair!"

"No, it's not, sweetie. I'm sure he has things there he doesn't want you to touch because you could get hurt or it could cause him trouble, try to be more understanding." Chi Chi didn't notice she was smiling. He had a _job_. Would surprises ever stop that day?

"Ok, I will," Gohan sighed disappointed, but this didn't last much. He looked up and hugged his mother. He was just too glad to have her close again. "Mom?"

"Yes, Gohan?"

"Thank you for coming back."

"Thank you for waiting for me, my dear Gohan."

0-0-0

Gohan finished eating dinner and Chi Chi sent him to his room to study the book about alien species he was still reading. Once the kid was out of her kitchen, the woman finished cleaning and recalled that the chef had been more amiable than normal when he gave her the week's rations a couple of hours before. She also noticed Gohan had no trouble saying hi to almost every soldier they had crossed paths with, and that they all seemed… fond, of her son. They had arrived to find Raditz was already home, but he was locked in his workshop and demanded that he not be disturbed while he worked. He had not come to eat dinner yet. Not that she worried, but…

"Stubborn man," she whispered. She contemplated calling him with her scouter but didn't feel like putting it on so she instead opened the frost box and took out the leftovers she had just put there. She grabbed the equivalent of bread they used here and quickly fixed a few sandwiches, which she put on a big plate. She poured juice into a large jar and after putting everything back in place, exited the kitchen while carrying a tray with the food. She reached the formerly empty room and just before knocking, stopped. _What the hell am I doing? Why do I even care if he eats? Is it because…?_

Because he'd been good to Gohan while she was gone and this was nothing more than her paying him back, simple as that.

She knocked.

"What?"

"I brought you something to eat," she announced.

Silence. Then, after a moment which to her felt eternal, the door opened. He stood there, an annoyed expression on his face being almost enough to make her not notice he was shirtless and that he wasn't wearing his scouter.

"Why?" He asked, looking at her with a frown.

"No particular reason."

"That's what I thought," he said as he reached for the tray and walked out of his room, intending on going to the kitchen.

"You're not eating in there?" she asked and peeked on at the workshop, seeing several tools she couldn't identify on top of a large table, a blackboard, a few books and a couple of chairs.

"And risk getting crumbs on my work?" he sneered. "Woman, I know you're smarter than that."

She followed him back to the kitchen and sat in front of him, watching him eat.

"It seems I have to thank you," she admitted in a low, low voice. "You… took good care of Gohan."

"I guess I did, didn't I?" Raditz drank some juice, wished they had something stronger and then looked at Chi Chi. "You're being surprisingly nice, by the way. Is this a part of the husband and wife thing you mentioned before?"

"Yes… no, I mean… no, it isn't. I'm just doing it because you were good to my son, you've earned this," she told him. "You taught him how to fly and you're even teaching him things other than fighting, so…"

"Oh, that? He has to learn how to fix a scouter, that's standard procedure," Raditz corrected with a shrug. "You'll have to learn at some point, too."

"Perhaps, but _you_ are teaching _him_," she insisted. "And you started working!"

"I needed the money, I'm not getting any missions and the greedy chef always charges extra for the food I want," the Saiyan growled as he recalled the many times the cook had made him pay a bit more for bigger rations. "And I won't give that fatso anymore of my savings!"

"The point is you have a job. You're doing something productive and that's good," Chi Chi actually smiled at him as she said this. "Gohan needs a good example, Raditz, and even if I find it difficult to admit, that is one."

The Saiyan finished his last sandwich in silence, unsure of what to say or how to respond to this praise. It was strange, almost as strange as that moment when the other soldiers—who had been friendlier with him ever since—helped him with the Rapticians; and he was at a loss, because this didn't happen to him. It made him feel good… pleased, even. For a moment he thought this meant she would be open to intimacy, but he remembered her words and rejections, which irritated him a little. He didn't feel like being rejected, not when he had to finish fixing seven scouters more before the following day.

"If you're having trouble with money…" Chi Chi started. "We can use what I got from the mission; I understand it's a considerable amount."

"Those credits are yours. I made you an account so you could use your own money," the soldier said, looking at Chi Chi as if she had something weird scribbled on her face. "Squad members respect the profits of their teammates. You earned it, do what you want with it."

"…But I…"

"It's your money, princess," Raditz insisted. "If you want to use it to buy the kid something at the garrison's store or to get more food, it's your choice, but don't offer it to me. That's not how it works here."

"Fine, I won't," she sighed, realizing she still had a lot to learn about the PTO. "But don't bother me if you don't like what I buy with it."

"Why would I care about that?" the tall Saiyan said as he left the table. "Well, the food was great, but I have to finish my job."

"I'm invited to a party tonight," she said before he left the kitchen and while taking his dishes to the sink. "Gale wants to celebrate our success."

"Party?" Raditz turned and raised an eyebrow. "Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight; I have to be there."

"Alright, we'll resume training tomorrow, then," Raditz said. "Have fun if you can."

"It doesn't bother you if I go?" she asked, surprised about this as she had expected him to be against her attending the reunion.

"Why should it? Go do what you want," and saying nothing else, Raditz left the kitchen.

_That night…_

Chi Chi stood in the shower, allowing the warm water clean her fair skin. Gohan was already asleep and she would be going to the party once she got a clean uniform. She would normally enjoy the shower more than what she was enjoying it at the moment, and the reason for her relative discomfort was her conversation with Raditz. She couldn't really understand him. The princess imagined that he probably was too proud to take money from a woman, something she found ridiculous, but there was another thing, something she didn't want to admit but that she knew was bothering her: He was avoiding her; she knew he was. He hadn't even made the attempt to talk to her as much as he had before she left!

It wasn't as if she cared—she had made the rules of their relationship clear—but deep down she had gotten used to him talking to her, it had become a part of her day to have short, and somehow polite, conversations with him. That talk they had in the kitchen… it didn't feel like before. To her, it felt forced. _Strained_. The princess decided that maybe this was better and brought her hands up to straighten her long hair.

The door opened.

She turned and saw him standing there, still shirtless and holding a clean set of clothes. It was obvious he wanted to use the shower. The young woman's hands flew for her towel, and she moved so fast she had covered her nudity and pressed against the wall away from the shower in just a fraction of a second. She knew she was blushing fiercely, and while fury at this invasion to her privacy was starting to rise, another part of her felt thrilled and a nice warmth started spreading all over her from her belly.

"You don't need to cover your body," he said casually as he placed his clothes on a shelf. "That's why we have those fans on the wall, towels are not necessary here."

"Get… get out of here, you pervert!" she yelled, her face reddening even more. "Don't you know how to knock?"

"Yes, but I wanted to look at you," Raditz said his voice calm. "Drop that towel."

"No! Go away!"

"I promise I'll leave," the Saiyan assured. "I'll keep my word. Now let me see, that's all I want."

"I don't trust you!"

"I've seen you naked before," he reminded her. "And you know I can make you do what I want if I try, so…"

She gasped as he took a step forward; she knew quite well that if he tried touching her in this situation, if he kissed her the way he had done before she would have a hard time resisting. The fact her body was already reacting to his proximity was proof enough that he was right: he could make her do what he desired. _And… does he want me? I… I can't read his eyes…what if he…?_ This uncertainty made her understand that this could end one of two ways. She let him see her and then he hopefully left, or he would try to convince her to do… _that,_ in the shower.

She did not like how much a part of her desired for the second option to actually happen.

"Fine, just… stay where you are," she told him her voice weak despite her efforts to sound strong. "G-give me some s-space first…"

He obeyed and waited, watching her all the time with great interest. The woman steeled herself and took a slow step towards him. She was close now, so close that he could have touched her if he had just reached for her. The young princess lowered her arms and the towel fell. She stood straight and despite her shame managed to look at him with a certain amount of defiance, letting him know that she was allowing him to see her body again not because he asked, but because it was her choice.

"Good… no scars," he muttered, "at least not in the front…"

"S-scars?" Chi Chi frowned, surprised at what he had just said. "That's… that's all you wanted to see?"

"Yes," Raditz shrugged, smirking at her confusion. "What were you thinking, princess?"

Chi Chi blinked and tried to understand this development. She had fully expected him to throw her one of his lecherous comments and instead he was simply trying to see if she had gotten hurt? _I don't get it. Why is he interested in that? I thought… _She thought he wanted to see her naked because he liked her body.

"It would have been a shame if you had gotten a mark," he continued as he adopted a disinterested tone. "Can I see if you have any on the back?"

Chi Chi, despite all her previous worries felt somewhat insulted as a woman. He had told her all those things last time about wanting her, and now all he cared about was checking for scars as if she were nothing but an object? She realized she didn't really like that. For some twisted reason that escaped her, she wanted him to feel desire for her.

"Why?" She asked and leaned forward a bit, allowing her hair to flow down her shoulders, when she straightened she threw her hair back with her right hand and then stood still in a pose that she imagined would make her look more enticing. "I think this is more than enough, is it not?"

The saiyan's breathing quickened as he looked at her little display of coquetry. What was she doing posing like that? He blinked and cursed his luck. It was true that he had seen her before but somehow this little thing she had just done… it changed it all. She somehow made herself look… _perfect_. The fierce Amazon had only shifted the way she stood but now she was simply gorgeous: the drops of warm water still hanging on her glistened under the lights, making her skin shine in the most interesting ways. The line of her neck descended to her shoulders and continued to slim, yet powerful arms that ended on pretty hands that rested on her sides. Her generous breasts sparkled and below them, her firm torso gave way to her magnificent hips, tilted just slightly to the side of course and her inviting thighs, firm and full, were the perfect introduction to her strong, shapely legs.

"You are…" Raditz searched for an appropriate word but found nothing could make justice to the beautiful goddess standing in front of him.

"Tell me," she dared him, feeling completely vindicated by his expression of hopeless desire, "I am what?"

"There… there is no way I can express what I'm thinking right now."

"That means… you like…?" she whispered, his words had been unexpected, and it was now her who was at a disadvantage. She felt her body flustering from head to toe as a strange satisfaction born of his approval spread all over her.

"More than what you can imagine," The Saiyan's hands clenched into fists and he started backing away, as if her beauty was hurting him. "I better go… I won't be able to control myself if I stay here another second."

"But…" She bit her tongue, what was she doing?

"I promise I'd leave," and with this he left her alone.

0-0-0

_A few hours later…_

Chi Chi, walking back to her apartment, had to admit Gale's party had been nice and that she had enjoyed it. She had talked and joked and even sung with the rest of the ALF-Squad in a way she hadn't since before she was ten, and the best of all, it had helped her forget that moment in the shower, for which she was glad as she still couldn't understand the way he had made her feel without even touching her, and trying to understand it was something she didn't want to do.

So the princess instead recalled the events of the party: Prim had attended the reunion and to everyone's surprise, her singing voice was amazing! The princess was still humming the notes of one of the songs the nurse had delighted them with. The only negative was that the cyborg girl the captain had mentioned refused to go to the party. Chi Chi had wanted to meet her since she heard she was also a Ningen type, a human, but it didn't matter; she could always go look for that evasive girl another day. All she wanted then was to get home and sleep.

She arrived to her apartment minutes later, and entered as silently as she could, not wanting to wake Gohan up. The first thing she noticed was that Raditz wasn't sleeping on the couch as he usually did; fearing he had decided to start sleeping in her bed in her absence, she rushed to her bedroom but the Saiyan wasn't there. Puzzled, the princess walked to the room he had fashioned into a workshop and entered without bothering to knock. As she expected, he was there. Raditz was sleeping on his seat. He had slumped over the table, and his head rested on his arms. She got closer to look at what he had been doing before falling asleep. There were seven scouters on the table, each labeled with a name. He'd obviously worked until he fixed them all and sleep had claimed him shortly after he finished. Her attention returned to him, and she took the opportunity to observe him. _He's not so bad looking, at least when he's asleep._ She reasoned and chased the thought away. It didn't matter that he wasn't bad looking. He wasn't Goku.

Not really thinking about her actions, the princess touched his muscular arm, marveling at how warm he was and how firm his muscles felt under her palm, so similar and yet so different to the way Goku's arm had felt.

"He really isn't Goku…" She whispered. "But that… that isn't a bad thing, he…"

"What… who?" her hand on his forearm had tickled the sleeping soldier, causing him to stir and open his eyes. He stood up with a speed that defied logic, prepared to do battle. A second passed and he finally recognized the woman in front of him. "Chi Chi…? Why are you here?"

"Sorry, I… I just arrived and I didn't see you in the couch so…"

He relaxed now that he knew who had wakened him and yawned loudly. "Don't feel like sleeping there tonight."

"Well, you can't sleep with me, remember?"

"Know that, don't wanna do that either," he yawned again and stretched. He ignored her questioning stare and reached for a bundle next to the door: a futon. "Got this a few days ago, it beats that stupid couch by a mile. You thought I was in your room?"

"Yes…" she suddenly felt ashamed for thinking he would be there. "Sorry, but knowing you…"

"You don't know me very well," he interrupted her once he finished preparing his futon. The Saiyan was still sleepy and not paying too much attention to the princess; truth to be told, all Raditz wanted was to sleep. "And I don't think you want to."

"I…" Chi Chi stopped. He was right about that; she didn't know him and wasn't sure if she wanted to know him but… she couldn't help feeling suddenly curious about him. Would it be wrong trying to learn more about him? She remained silent and watched as he made himself comfortable. It seemed he was about to fall asleep again, so she decided to let him be. But just as she was closing the door, he spoke again.

"Gohan's a good kid," he admitted with a tired voice. "I… like that brat… I really do."

The princess froze at that declaration. He liked her son? Well of course he did. It was the only possible reason why a rude Space Pirate like Raditz would have agreed to take care of a child that wasn't his. _But everyone here thinks Gohan is his son._ She looked behind her shoulder, hoping he was still awake to ask him about this but he was already snoring in an almost inaudible way. She was not going to make him talk again unless she woke him up.

She stood there for a while, watching him, thinking that perhaps it was best if she didn't pry further and just accepted the fact this man had come to somewhat care for her son. She closed his door and headed for her own bedroom, feeling strangely happy at that revelation. _This is good; if he likes Gohan then perhaps he won't force my son to do anything bad… but if he likes Gohan then I wonder if… I wonder if he likes me._ The princess blinked and felt confusion settle in her heart. What if he really liked her? She knew he was interested in her body, but if he ever came to like her beyond that, to maybe even love her if he was able to love… could she even consider the idea of… loving him back?

"I couldn't possibly…!" she whispered. "There's no chance I would ever… no… impossible!"

Chi Chi closed her door and collapsed on her bed. She hugged her pillow and bit into it, terrified and anxious because, deep down, she was starting to believe that maybe, just maybe, she was starting to like him.

And that was the scariest thing that could ever happen to her.

0-0-0

_Far away, at the other end of the Galaxy…_

Seblas was a small planetoid that had a rich variety of flora and fauna, but no traces of sentient indigenous life. It wasn't big enough to be of any importance to the Planet Trade Organization, which meant it had never been visited by PTO soldiers.

But that had changed that day.

A large, bald Saiyan stood in the middle of a devastated landscape. Surrounding him were the mauled corpses of the five warriors who had ambushed him. The victory had been hard won by the Saiyan, as his wounds and ruined armor demonstrated. Still, the fierce elite soldier Nappa stood proud and tall, ready to face the leader of his enemies.

"Your Crusher Corps were _crushed_," a short man who sat on a rock behind the bald soldier said with a mocking tone. "I don't understand what you were thinking. Even if those morons increased their power to a little over a thousand units each, they were too weak for Nappa."

Another Saiyan, with tanned skin and unruly spiked hair, smirked and crossed his arms. "A miscalculation on my part, prince, I admit it. But if they couldn't even defeat your bald slave, it's best that they are dead."

"I'm not a slave, you third class piece of trash!" Nappa growled his hand still over his wounded torso. "Come down here so I can make you swallow those words!"

"Calm down, Nappa," Vegeta ordered. "Don't attack him until he explains how his pathetic group managed to increase their power levels from the low hundreds to over a thousand units each. Care to share that information, Turles?"

"Oh, it's all about this," the renegade Saiyan started, holding up two spiky, orange fruits, one in each hand. "This is the fruit of that large tree you can see on the distance. It's the most peculiar life form on this planetoid and we found it by accident last year. You know what makes that tree so special, prince Vegeta?"

"The suspense is _not_ killing me," Vegeta said with a bored tone. "But go ahead, Turles, enlighten us. It's why you asked we turned off our scouters when we arrived, is it not?"

"Sharp as usual, prince," Turles laughed. "That tree has a very interesting life cycle. It grows that big in a matter of hours and then proceeds to absorb the energy of every living thing on the planet until the sick or weaker life forms die. After that, it withers and the fruits fall to the ground. The fruit rots and the seeds expel the stored energy, which is in turn absorbed by the soil, allowing the tree to revive and for the cycle to start again. I was hungry so I ate one of the fruits, and do you know what happened?"

"It made you stronger?" the Saiyan prince guessed. "That's the only way you could have gone from 300 units to 6,000 since we last met."

"Indeed, you're as intelligent as they say!" Turles praised. "Eating this fruit will make you stronger! Not much I admit, but I believe if we grow the tree in a bigger planet full of life, the power up will also increase. That is why, Vegeta, I am offering you the chance to work for me! We can take some of these fruits to a large planet, grow another tree and then consume the fruit! If we do that, we can destroy Frieza and take over the PTO!"

"Work for you?" Vegeta sneered. "You aren't fit to lick the dirt off my boots, Turles. I'm the Prince of all Saiyans, you should be the one begging to obeying me."

"I am holding the key to conquer the universe, you arrogant midget! You should be glad I even considered offering you the chance to join me!" Turles growled. "I imagine you want to continue living as Frieza's little errand boy? I know he destroyed our planet, don't you want revenge?"

The prince laughed. "The Saiyans died because they were too weak and pathetic to defend themselves and I would have probably killed them all because their weakness was an embarrassment! So do explain why should _I_ waste my time avenging such trash? As for Frieza, I _will_ kill him on my own terms when the time comes."

"If you don't join me…" the renegade Saiyan left the sentence hanging and prepared to take a bite of one of the fruits he held.

"I have no time to play games with idiots like you," Vegeta said. The prince, already aware of Turles' intentions reacted quickly and shot two energy blasts aimed at the other Saiyan's hands.

The result was as effective as it was brutal: Turles screamed in pain as his two hands disappeared in twin burning flashes of light.

"Imbecile, did you think I would let you eat that?" the prince mocked, floating slowly towards the mutilated Saiyan. "I despise idiots who sacrifice their Saiyan pride and use tricks to get stronger. They don't deserve to live!"

"Wait…!" Turles pleaded. "We can still follow my plan… I'll work for you instead…! You can use the fruit and…"

Unfortunately for the Saiyan pirate, the prince was not interested in listening. Vegeta simply punched Turles as hard as he could, his fist impacting with demolishing force on the left side of his target's chest. The hurt Saiyan dropped to his knees. His left lung had collapsed and he couldn't breathe, his ribs were dancing inside his chest and he was sure some were stabbing him from the inside.

"And now, Turles, you die," the prince sentenced. He grabbed Turles by the neck and hurled him high into the sky; Vegeta followed this with an energy blast, engulfing Turles in an all-consuming, glowing heat. The charred, smoking body of the Saiyan pirate fell into the middle of a nearby forest.

"Want to check if he's alive?" Nappa asked as he approached the Siayan prince.

"There's no way that piece of trash survived," Vegeta assured. "Now, Nappa, let's destroy that stupid tree."

"Why? I thought you killed Turles so we could use it instead!"

"Don't be an idiot, I'm above using those pathetic methods to increase my strength," the Saiyan prince said. "I'm the strongest of the elite members produced by Saiya-Jin royalty, Nappa; my power will continue to increase without limits on its own."

"But…"

Vegeta didn't listen. He simply gathered his power on his hands and then shot it forward, unleashing a powerful wave of energy aimed at the Tree of Might while shouting: "Galick Gun!"

The earth-shattering power of Vegeta's special technique hit the base of the massive tree with a deafening boom, causing it to ignite in flames as it fell. The prince stood there for a while, smiling as he witnessed the destruction his abilities had caused. He simply loved the feeling of empowerment it brought him.

"Let's leave this hole," Vegeta announced after a few minutes. "Nothing else for us to do here."

"Alright," Nappa agreed, hoping they would go to a nearby garrison so he could use an R. Tank as soon as possible.

What Vegeta and Nappa did not know, however, was that they were not the only ones who escaped Seblas. Another Saiyan, badly burnt and bleeding profusely, had managed to crawl back to where his ship waited. Leaving a trail of blood behind him, Turles managed to get inside the R. Tank of his ship and to instruct the ship's AI to take him off the planetoid. The Tree of Might and its miraculous fruits were lost to him now, but he would find a way to get revenge. As he fell unconscious inside the healing machine, the Saiyan renegade swore that someday, somehow, he would be the cause of Vegeta's demise.

-END-

Notes:

As usual, extra thanks to Adam for beta reading this chapter.

Gelboian ale is a reference to planet Gelbo, from Dragon Ball GT.

With the release of Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, Toriyama included a few new canon elements to Dragon Ball lore that are mentioned in this chapter such as the Galactic King and his (extremely) limited interference with the Planet Trade Organization. I think it stands to reason that sooner or later the PTO would have clashed with the Galactic Police.

As for the rest of the way the PTO is organized as mentioned here, I tried to go the most logical way. I believe since both Cooler and King Cold are stronger than Frieza then they should have stronger warriors at their disposal as well.

I included Turles and the Tree of Might because I wanted to do a small background on the tree as I always found it an interesting concept. I wanted to write a scene that explains why he didn't go to Earth in this story, and Vegeta seemed the best option to take him down. I understand Turles is far stronger than what I wrote here, but keep in mind he has just found the tree at this point so his power has not increased that much yet.


End file.
