"Uh… well, I… suh—" Goku stuttered, her eyes darting across the room in search for some much desired assistance. A room full of wide eyes were staring back at her, silently demanding an answer. She felt the sudden urge to turn on heel and run out of there as fast as she could. She wanted to fly to a desolate island and hide herself away from the rest of the world. She was simply too confused to deal with this scenario. She finally quit searching when it became obvious that she wasn't going to receive any help on the matter. "Suh—sorta," she finished, laughing uneasily.
"Sorta?! Goku, take a look in the mirror for Kami's sake!" Yamcha burst out.
"Well, I…" Goku murmured, glancing around at the judgmental faces. They didn't understand. They all thought this was some sort of joke on her part. Something began to well up in Goku's chest—a feeling she couldn't pinpoint if she had even cared. She wasn't accustomed to it. "I didn't mean to do it! Do you think I actually wanted to be a girl? Now I have to be like this for an entire year before I can be wished back to normal!" she retorted in a very uncharacteristic snappish tone.
Needless to say, the outburst surprised everyone.
"Sheesh… someone's moody," Oolong teased whilst rolling his eyes.
Goku's cheeks flushed crimson as she realized what she had just done. She hadn't meant to shout at Yamcha. The words just came flying out of her mouth by their own accord. What's wrong with me? The issue at hand was seriously bewildering to her. She realized that she hadn't been acting like herself at all, and this thought terrified her. If I can't control my attitude and the words I say then I just won't speak at all!
"Maybe we should call off the reunion until a later date—" Bulma suggested, glancing at her downcast friend and yearning to hug her.
Darn it! I can't! "No!" Goku exclaimed. "I—I mean don't do that because of me! I didn't mean to yell… I'm just so confused right now…" She vaguely realized that the others couldn't possible understand what she meant by that. Son Goku never lost his cool—who was this intruder claiming to be him? "Why don't you guys celebrate somewhere else? I'll just stay home and think things through… or I can leave, and you all can just forget this happened."
Bulma placed an understanding hand on Goku's shoulder. "Goku, we're not leaving you," she said with a determined look.
Goku struggled to display a genuine smile. "I appreciate your concern, Bulma, but I think it's best for everyone. I need some time alone to collect my thoughts. Maybe I'll even get some training in!" The thought of training actually perked her up a bit. Her smile was at least believable.
"Well okay, if you say so," Bulma conceded. A loud clicking noise broke the silence that followed, and Bulma instinctively looked to the front door. "Someone's at the door," she muttered.
Bulma had left it unlocked for the party guests to come in. A moment later, Chichi waltzed into the room with a handful of food dishes piled up in her arms. Gohan was behind her, carrying an even heavier load.
"Sorry I'm so late!" Chichi quickly apologized. "I made Gohan promise to finish his studies before we came because I knew he'd be beat when we get back."
As Chichi spoke, she was oblivious to her gender-swapped husband. The pile of food towering in her arms like the Leaning Tower of Pisa conveniently blocked her from view. Goku's first thought was to instinctively free her wife from her heavy load, but she caught herself. Reality dawned upon her once again. Chichi had said she wanted nothing to do with her any longer, and she had sounded quite serious about it—more so than she'd ever before experienced.
Goku slinked away to the back of the group—hoping to Kami that nobody would realize her absence. If she could just slip out of the room as quiet as a mouse, nobody would be the wiser, and all would be well. Chichi handed off the food to Krillin. He and Gohan promptly took it to the kitchen and returned in time to witness the spectacle that ensued the moment Chichi noticed Goku's presence.
She smiled—it was forced. "Goku," she greeted with a strained tone of voice. She was obviously trying to control her surmounting anger. "I wasn't expecting you to be here."
At this point she was like a ticking time bomb that could explode at any given moment's notice. Goku gulped down the lump that had steadily been building in her throat. She slowly backed away as one does when confronted with a vicious wild animal. Any sudden movement and the tigress might make chase. Due partially to her muddled brain, Goku stumbled clumsily into Vegeta, stepping on his toes in the process.
She didn't realize it quickly enough, and Vegeta hissed at her like a serpent. "Shit!" he cursed. "Get off of me, you buffoon!"
Bulma shot Vegeta an icy glare. When her attention returned to Goku she was surprised to see a blank look on her face. It was as if Vegeta's cruel reaction to the honest mistake hadn't even registered.
"Dad?" Gohan muttered in a questioning tone. His eyes were wide with astonishment. He'd of course known of the wish for a little while now, but his dad had been kicked out ever since, and staring at her like this right now just hammered in the reality of the situation. It was difficult to picture his dad as a woman. It just didn't seem right to him. It didn't quite make sense. "H—How?" he finally asked, his face turning red with embarrassment. He just had to know. Nobody ever explained the details to him, and he couldn't rest easy not knowing.
Vegeta felt something taking over him that he didn't quite understand. Could it be possible? Was he actually feeling pity for his most-despised rival? No. It simply wasn't technically Goku's fault, and she was certainly taking all of the flack for it. He couldn't allow that. He had his honor to consider.
Vegeta couldn't believe he was doing this. He regretted it the moment the words escaped his lips: "It's not your father's fault." Blasted soft earthlings must be rubbing off on me!
"Don't believe a word that miscreant says! It's your father's fault that this happened," Chichi interjected hotly. "The truth is your father isn't a responsible man. He has a simple, one track-mind. He's a man-child, and he isn't capable of considering the long-term affects that his self-centered decisions have on others—namely his family. I'm sorry, Gohan, but he isn't fit to be a father to you."
At first, Goku's only reaction was to blink at Chichi in utter disbelief. She simply couldn't believe the message her ears were carrying to her brain. She would never tout herself as being the world's number one dad, but she certainly didn't think she was a selfish one! Goku's eyebrows drew together and she pursed her lips disapprovingly. I get that she's upset, but doesn't she realize that she's filling our son's head up with lies?!
That odd feeling began to swell up in her chest again. "That isn't true and you know it, Chichi," Goku corrected. She suddenly was astutely aware of just how soft and utterly unimposing the nature of her newly acquired female voice was. She paused in the shock of it before continuing her defense: "I'm not selfish. I don't just think of my own wants. I'm always thinking about you and Gohan!"
"How dare you spout that nonsense to me, Mister!" Chichi snapped. "You're nothing but a derelict father who's only concerns in life revolve around fighting and when his next meal is!"
"Chichi! Please, I'm begging you! Be reasonable!" Goku pleaded. "I love training to become stronger! I won't ever deny that, but don't pretend that that's the only reason I do it! I'm always thinking about keeping you and Gohan safe, of keeping everybody safe!"
A glint of anger flashed in Chichi's eyes and she marched up to Goku and prodded her in the chest. "I can't believe this: always the same excuses! And to think, you are accusing me of lying! How dare you!" She drew her arm backward and with a quick swing, she slammed the palm of her hand into Goku's cheek as hard as she could muster.
Goku had been so wrapped up in her words that she hadn't seen it coming. She stumbled back, nearly losing her balance and falling. She did, however, manage to recover herself. She stared at Chichi wide-eyed with shock whilst rubbing at her newly acquired red cheek. She started to get that feeling again—worse this time. She thought she recognized it as some form of anger or rage. Her blood was boiling. She felt like if she didn't keep her ki in check that she might go Super Saiyan by accident.
"Enough!" Goku suddenly screamed. This time the tables were turned. It was Chichi's turn to be floored.
Goku's finally cracked, it's about time, Piccolo thought, thoroughly amused. I guess these reunions aren't so dreadfully boring after all!
Goku clenched her fists and they shook with anger. "If nothing I say can convince you that you and Gohan are the world to me then I have nothing left to say at all! It's obvious that the feeling isn't mutual!" Goku turned her attention to her son. "Gohan, I promise you that this was an honest accident."
Chichi scowled at Goku and pulled on Gohan's arm. "We're leaving," she said, stomping toward the door and dragging her son behind her. She quite frankly couldn't find it in herself to argue with Goku anymore. It usually wasn't like this. Goku never fought back. This was just too strange and upsetting.
The room went quiet for a good minute before Bulma finally spoke up with a hesitant suggestion, "So… anyone up for the park?"
Yamcha decided to throw the poor woman a bone. "That sounds… good," he said.
Goku chose to stay behind, and for once, nobody objected to her decision. She leaned against a wall, and gently slid her back down it until her bottom reached the flooring tiles. She ran a slender hand through her spiky hair. She couldn't believe the way she had acted. She was embarrassed and her thoughts kept dwelling on scenarios of her returning home and apologizing to Chichi, flat-out begging for her forgiveness. How could I be so callous! She has a right to be mad at me for this. I'm even mad at myself for this! I have to find a way to clear my mind. I need to wash away some of this stress, Goku mused. Training always takes my mind off my problems. It sounds good right now!
Goku got up off of the floor and strode over to Vegeta's gravity room. She switched on the gravity machine to 50 times Earth's natural gravity. She then began to do vertical push-ups on one hand. In less than an hour, she had already counted up to 5,000. She smiled to herself as she felt the other's ki signatures, they were happy, and enjoying themselves. She could tell by the pleasant feeling their ki were giving off. Even Vegeta's life energy was reflecting a relaxed feeling.
Goku quit practicing her warm-up, and messed with the gravity machine's controls once more. She turned it up to 150 times Earth's gravity. She quickly felt her weight increase, and dropped to a kneeling position.
That's weird, I can usually do better than that, Goku thought.
She quickly decided that she would need to power up to Super Saiyan in order to handle it, but realized that the machine might not be able to take a Super Saiyan's power. Though, she did really want to go Super Saiyan right about now…
Maybe I should go outside to power up, I don't want to break Bulma's machine like Vegeta did, she contemplated.
Goku is transported to a serene location in the mountains, just outside West City. She braced herself, and then began to power up. As she reached the peak of her power in her normal state, she could start to feel a strain.
Wow, this is going to be tougher than I had thought, but I know I can do it! I've done it so many times before. Why wouldn't I be able to now? she thought, slightly worried.
She ignored her aching muscles, and screamed at the top of her lungs as she let tons of energy flow freely throughout her body. Her eyes flashed back and forth from onyx to teal. She struggled to harness some more power. Her hair began to flash into a torrent of golden flame-like spikes. Soon, her whole body was encased in a shell of golden aura. Moments later, the aura died down a bit, revealing a panting Super Saiyan Goku.
"Phew…" She sighed in exhaustion. "That was difficult!"
Goku wiped some sweat off of her brow, and began to punch and kick at the air. She grunted in confusion as her arms began to feel more weighted. Soon, she was struggling to keep up at the same pace she had started at.
Why is it so hard? What's wrong with me? she thought in disappointment, rather than in worry. I'm better than this! she told herself with the utmost of confidence.
She screamed, and strained to have more power flow through her veins, determined to achieve what she could before the accident. Suddenly, she stopped powering up, and her arms fell slack to her sides. A sharp bolt of excruciating pain shot up her spine and gave her a raging headache. Her body locked up on her of its own accord. She couldn't move a muscle. She lost all control.
What's happening to me?! she thought in a panic.
Her knees buckled, and she dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Dizziness overwhelmed her, and every inch of her skin felt cold and clammy. She faded from her golden Super Saiyan status to her normal state. She immediately regurgitated up her last meal, and felt her eyes begin to water from the pain.
In mere moments, the world began to spin around her, and her body swayed with the motion, desperate to keep up. In less than a second, she lost grip on reality, and fainted from exhaustion.
Vegeta had dozed off under a tree in the park everyone was at:
Vegeta groaned, and opened his heavy eyelids. He was leaning against what looked like a white wall. It was hard to tell, everything around him was pitch black as night. He squinted his eyes, and could barely see two shadows before him.
One was a small, slender figure. Due to its curvature, he guessed that shadow in particular was owned by a woman. The other, he couldn't tell what it was, it didn't have the shape of anything human. Suddenly, a spotlight shined down on Vegeta, and out of the darkness strode the woman-like shadow. He gasped slightly as he realized who it was. It was Kakarrot!
Unaware that he was dreaming, Vegeta shouted, "What's the meaning of this, Kakarrot? Where are we?"
She ignored his questions, and smiled softly. She reached out a hand to him, and he slapped it away immediately. He chose to stand to his feet of his own accord.
Once he was standing, he was shocked by Goku. She gently caressed her formerly-slapped hand against his cheek, sending chills down his spine.
"What do you think you are doing?" he demanded, though, he found his demand wasn't at all the threatening enunciation he'd desired it to be.
She sighed and leaned in closer to him, still, no answer to his question. He shuddered as he felt their lips brush together like a pair of feathers. He suddenly felt hot. He felt a tingling, throbbing sensation begin to swell up in his groin. The thought of disgust in revelation to who elicited this response hadn't even occurred to him. His thoughts were currently enraptured in the desire to suck on her tender flesh…
Vegeta woke up breathless, a cold sweat encompassing his body. It felt so real! He shook his head in annoyance. It was just a dream, and a disgusting one at that! For reasons yet unknown to him, he had thought to sense out Goku's ki. He nearly choked on his own spit when he suddenly realized that her energy was rapidly taking a plummet.
On instinct, he immediately sprinted into the air, and flew as fast as he could toward Goku. When he arrived at the scene, he saw her lying still on the ground, her ki dangerously low.
"Kakarrot, you idiot!" he grumbled with tense lips and furrowed eyebrows. What happened to you? Could this be from training? Why would she push herself past her limit?'
That night, after everyone had left, Goku still hadn't woken up. Vegeta placed Goku on her bed in her room. Everyone was relieved to find out that she was just fine, and that she had just over-exerted herself.
Later that night, once Vegeta had fallen asleep, the same dream from earlier came to haunt him once more. It came back where it had left off, and one again, Vegeta was completely oblivious to the fact that he was merely dreaming:
Vegeta could feel her lips brushing up against his once again. The same fervent hunger took a hold of him. His instincts were telling him not to fall for the ruse, but he couldn't help himself. He had to satiate his thirst, and there was only one way to do that.
She wrapped her arms around him and curled her fingers in his unruly mane. She pressed her supple lips against his own hard with an unspoken desire, and he answered by slipping his tongue into her mouth, prolonging the kiss. He locked his own arms around her neck and slipped his fingers down her backside. She moaned and called out his name in a breathy whisper; he could feel the tickle of her words on his lips.
The moment was interrupted by a sudden gasp. She was torn away from him and was dragged back into the darkness from whence she came. Vegeta caught sight of the second shadow that he had so naively chosen to ignore for the time being.
He jumped up, ready to pounce on the other shadow, but only found that he had not moved an inch. He struggled to move, but was glued in place. A cold shiver ran up his spine as he heard Kakarrot scream in terror, begging for his assistance, crying out for him. The thought that this reaction was entirely out of character for her never crossed his mind. He had been claiming that woman, and he was not about to allow some fowl beast to steal her away from him!
Vegeta's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as his vision fell upon a sharp appendage that had come out of the shadow's back. It looked like a dagger, and it was pointed directly at Kakarrot. Vegeta tried to yell a warning out to her, but no sound was issuing forth from his mouth. He tried harder and harder, but to no avail.
His throat burned intensely, and his unblinking eyes stung as they watched the horrific scene playing out before him. The dagger-tail swung out from behind the shadow monster, and stabbed Goku directly through the abdomen. Gory blood spurted out of her body, enshrouding them both in a blanket of the velvety red liquid of death.
Her screams reached out to the high heavens, and echoed into the bowels of hell. They rung in Vegeta's ears, haunting him. He screamed harder and louder, still, no sound echoing throughout the black abyss. It was driving him utterly insane! He was helpless. He couldn't save her. He couldn't even console her. Kakarrot, please… please don't die!
Vegeta awoke from his nightmare and jumped upright in his bed. His whole room seemed to have materialized out of no-where. Then, he realized that he had been dreaming again. As if in a trance, he slipped out of his bed, and walked down the hall that connected to Goku's room. Sure enough, she was wrapped tightly in her covers, sleeping soundly.
He sighed, and began walking back to his room. When he passed by a mirror, he saw a glimpse of himself through his peripheral vision. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks, and faced the mirror in a hurry. He gasped, and stood stalk-still for a very long time.
He touched his hair and face in disbelief. His spikes were golden, and his eyes were teal. He was a Super Saiyan!