Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Beast and the Beauty ❯ Dream of Temptation ( Chapter 5 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

The Beast and the Beauty
Chapter Five
By Maria Cline

Hours passed like minutes as the fighters danced and ate merrily. Finally, it was midnight and everyone was tired.

Goku yawned, which sounded like a low roar, and said, "We better get to bed... I'm beat."

"Yeah... busy day tomarrow... or is it today?" Krillian asked as Bulma rubbed her eyes.

"Who cares? *yawn* Let's just sleep." Bulma insisted, "We could sleep in pairs. Me and Vegita... Krillian and Eighteen... Goku and Chi Chi..."

Chi Chi blushed and said, "I'm a powerful warrior. I don't need protection."

"Chi Chi... Lord Seru..." Eighteen hesitated and finally admitted, "Lord Seru scares me. He makes me nervous. I don't know why..." She said as she crossed her arms fearfully. "It's like... he wanted to... eat me...."

Krillian gently patted his wife on the arm. He knew how fearless his wife was, and if she was nervous about some lord she must have a good reason. "It's okay... everyone gets scared, it's normal."

"I know..." Eighteen smiled faintly at her husband, "But, I am concerned about all of our safety."

"Why don't we just sleep in pairs like Bulma said?" Goku asked, "We will need to protect each other."

Chi Chi blushed at the thought of actually sleeping in the same room as her beast. They often slept in separate rooms in the castle, far apart from each other. Of course, she would occasionally catch him asleep in the garden. "Okay..." She muttered.

"Let's go!" Bulma said as she led Vegita by the hand out of the room.

*****

They all took rooms next to each other just in case someone tried to attack them in their sleep. Goku and Chi Chi stared at the plush room they got. It was obvious that there was only one giant bed for them since they were engaged. "Looks like I'm sleeping on the ground." Goku offered as he took off his boots and curled up on the rug.

Chi Chi glanced at the bed and then at her beast. "Are you sure?" Chi Chi asked concerned about him.

"Sure... I've slept on the ground lots of times..." Goku muttered as he closed his eyes. "No biggie."

"We can..." Chi Chi blushed brightly, as she thought, **Sleep in the same bed...** "Well... you can take the bed."

"It's not right for a guy to sleep on the bed while his fiance sleeps on the floor." Goku said as he put his arm under his head.

Chi Chi went to the walk-in closet and removed the hard part of her armor to leave the skin-tight black and purple shirt and short skirt on. She got out and saw that the beast had already fallen asleep. Chi Chi crept up to the sleeping beast. She sat on her bed and watched his chest rose up and down gently. He twitched as he rolled around like a kitten. She almost wondered how the beast could look so cute when he was asleep.

Of course, it wasn't his appearance that made him cute but the way he look so innocent at times. She sighed as she stared at the soft bed and then at the ground. For some reason, the bed didn't look all that tempting.

*****

Goku woke up in a strange room surrounded by mirrors, of all things. "Where am I?!" Goku roared as he looked around frantically for his fiance, Chi Chi. "Chi Chi!!!"

"Relax... she is safe..." A smooth voice said as all of the mirrors vanished except for a small silver one. Lord Seru appeared in front of Goku and said, "I am not here to hurt you."

"Lord Seru..." Goku growled, "what's the deal here?!"

"Relax... I am a friend." Lord Seru said as he held up his hand. "In fact, I am also your salvation... Kakarot."

Goku tensed at the name. It was the name he haven't heard for what it seems like a lifetime. Right now, it felt strange and yet wonderful to hear his own true name.

"That is your true name, is it not?" Lord Seru asked as he glided to him.

"How did you know my name?" Goku demanded astounded by this mysterious man's knowledge.

"I know many things..." Lord Seru said as he turned around. "I also know about that curse of yours. I can turn you back to normal. I can make you human again."

Goku stared at the man in front of him. A part of him jumped in joy at the thought of finally being human again, to become the man he was before this nightmare happened. But, another part of him glared at Lord Seru. Lord Seru didn't seem all that trustworthy. Even Bodyguard Eighteen was frightened of him and she was rarely afraid. "How so?"

"I... am a master of the mystical arts." Lord Seru said as he gestured at his armor. "I can break that curse of yours if you do something for me."

"If it involves Bodyguard Eighteen or any of my friends, forget it!" Goku snarled as he turned his back.

"Oh no... I wouldn't dream of hurting anyone... especially Eighteen. Actually, it involves the one who cursed you in the first place." Lord Seru explained.

"Piccolo." Goku said as his body tensed.

"Yes... all you have to do is kill him. It's not that hard... I've slipped a sleeping potion in his drink and he's out like a light." Lord Seru said as he showed Goku an image of Piccolo sleeping while sitting up. "Just chop off his head and give it to me and I will make you human again."

Goku's stomach turned at the thought of murdering someone in his sleep. It wasn't right for a warrior to take out someone, even a powerful sorcerer, in his sleep. "How do I know that you can keep your promise if I do as you say?" Goku asked suspiciously.

Lord Seru grabbed Goku's paw and a bright blast shot out of his hand and into Goku's. The beast screamed in pain as he held his hand. The familiar pain of bones shifting appeared and Goku opened his eyes. The hand he was holding was human. "My hand..." He whispered as he wiggled his fingers. Then he glared at Lord Seru. "But this is just a dream!"

"Maybe... but look at this." Lord Seru said as he held up the silver mirror. Goku looked on to see himself lying on the bedroom floor with his human hand resting on his chest.

"Oh man..." Goku muttered as he felt his human hand again. It was strange and somewhat smaller than his bestial paw.

"And that is only a taste of what you can truly be. Just kill Piccolo and you will be fully human once more!" Lord Seru said as he smiled at the man. "Well?"

Goku stared at the hand, and then at the mirror. His heart ached as he thought about being human once more for Chi Chi and everyone else. He would no longer be a beast, but a knight like he was supposed to be.

**You are a defender, not a murderer.** A voice whispered in his mind and heart. **Don't turn into the monster to be human.**

Goku's human hand trembled as he remembered the kind old voice. "Gr-grandpa?"

**Kaka... my grandson, you were never a monster. You had always been a defender, even in your darkest hour.** Grandpa Gohan's voice echoed. **Don't throw it away for mere appearances...**

At that moment, Goku almost felt ashamed. It was tempting to kill a man who ruined his life to restore his former body. But to do that would cost him his soul and he would become a true monster even if his body was human.

"I'm a knight of the Kame Kingdom... defender of justice... fiance to Chi Chi..." Goku said as his human hand changed to a fist. He marched up to Lord Seru and growled, "I won't give up my soul just to look human!!! I'LL NEVER SERVE YOU!!!" He lashed out at Lord Seru and the mirror shattered.

*****

Goku snapped up from the ground. "GAH!!!" He screamed as he looked at his paws. The one that had been changed was bloody and reverted to look like the other. "Chi Chi?" Goku asked as looked up to see the bed empty. "Chi Chi!!!"

"Goku?" Chi Chi yawned as she sat up from the floor on the other side of the bed. "Are you okay?"

Goku gave the bed a double-take and then at the woman and asked, "Why are you sleeping on the floor?"

Chi Chi glanced at the beast and then the bed. "It's too soft." The princess replied, "Not my type." She turned red as she thought of the true reason. The bed was nice, but the thought of her fiance sleeping on the floor was too much.

"Oh..." Goku said as he looked at his paw.

Chi Chi went around the bed and sat next to her fiance then noticed the bloody paw. "What happened to your hand?" She asked as she grabbed the lower part of her skirt, ripped it off and wrapped it around Goku's bloody paw.

"Ummm... it's hard to explain." Goku said as he glanced at Chi Chi. "Lord Seru came to me in a dream and offered me to make me human if I kill that sorcerer who put Vegita to sleep."

"Why would you want to be human?" Chi Chi asked, stunned at Goku's answer.

Goku opened his mouth to tell her about the curse when all that came out was some garbled growls. "I... I can't say." He finally said defeated. The curse somehow stopped him from talking about it. "I guess... I just didn't want to scare any more people."

Chi Chi couldn't help but feel sympathetic to the beast. "Goku... you don't scare me... or my father or Krillian or even Bulma, and she's a nervous woman! You are the sweetest and most gentlest person I know, man or beast. If you did kill that sorcerer, then... that would ruin what made you special, your heart." Chi Chi held his injured paw and said, "And then you would've been a monster and I don't know if I could handle that."

"I know... I didn't accept." Goku said as he smiled at the nice words. "But... it still hurts a little."

"I know..." Chi Chi gently pet the side of Goku's head. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't be... I'm glad I didn't take Lord Seru's offer but still... if he can do what he did..." He frowned seriously. "then, he must be a threat." He got up and said, "I have to check on the sorcerer... maybe Lord Seru asked another warrior and he or she accepted. Piccolo's helpless right now and he might need my help."

"I'm coming too." Chi Chi said as she got up and started putting on her armor. "I'm not letting my fiance going around in the middle of the night alone with some mad sorcerer out there!"

Goku sighed as he put on his boots. If there's one thing he had learned about Chi Chi, it's that there's nothing that could sway her once she made up her mind. "Okay... just stay close to me."

*****

Goku and Chi Chi slowly made their way down the hall. Chi Chi held a lightstone in her hand. "Maybe, we should get the others." Chi Chi whispered.

"I don't think so... they may be... occupied." Goku said as he blushed. "I think Piccolo is near..." He said as he sniffed around for the sorcerer. At night, the hallways looked like a giant maze and were so easy to get lost in.

*****

"I think we should call the others." Krillian whispered as he and his wife Eighteen tiptoed down the hall.

"No way! Lord Seru promised me that he would leave me alone if we bring him Piccolo's head, and I want to do it alone." Eighteen said as she held her sword. "Besides, I don't want to ruin any chance of Ms. Chi Chi and Goku bonding."

"Oh yeah." Krillian muttered as he turned red, "And Bulma and Vegita sounded like they would be busy tonight."

They turned a different corner than Goku and Chi Chi and continued.

*****

"Woman! I still think that you should stay at the room." Vegita argued as he and Bulma went down the hall with lightstone in hand. "Piccolo's deadly... he was the one who put me in that stupid sleep!"

"And leave me alone in this creepy castle? Forget it! Besides, I want to see Piccolo up close." Bulma said as she slapped her prince, "And quiet down! You don't want to wake anyone up!"

"Hmph!" Vegita grumbled as they went down the hall and turned a different corner than the others.

*****

So, the three groups wandered the halls, and by pure accident they kept on missing each other. Finally, Goku and Chi Chi came across a lone green man sitting on the floor in a meditating position with a turban over his eyes. "Piccolo?" Goku asked cautiously as he poked at the sleeping man. He slumped over and the beast quickly picked him up. "I guess he's still asleep." Suddenly, his ears perked up as he looked around. "Shhh..." Chi Chi stood still as Goku turned his head. "I think someone's coming." He whispered. "Can't tell who..." Goku quickly picked up Piccolo and slung it over his shoulder. "Let's go!"

The two ran off and managed to avoid being seen by the others.

*****

"What do we do with him?" Goku wondered as he and Chi Chi went back to their room with Piccolo still sleeping over his shoulder.

"Just put him on the bed." Chi Chi advised as she pulled away at the covers, "Neither of us wanted to sleep there anyway."

"Right." Goku gently lay the sorcerer down onto the bed and pulled the covers over his body. **I can't believe I am tucking in one of the people I hate the most.** Goku thought in bewilderment as he stepped back.

"I wonder how long he will sleep like that?" Chi Chi wondered as she stared at him.

"Don't know..." Goku grumbled as he yawned. "We better get to sleep..." he glanced at Piccolo and asked, "Want to sleep somewhere else? I mean... I don't know if I can trust Piccolo with you..."

"I'll be fine... I'll just sleep close to you." Chi Chi said as she lay down on the carpet.

Goku blushed slightly as he lay down as well. "Okay... we can do that..."

"Just in case Piccolo attacks..." Chi Chi said as she crossed her arms.

"Yeah..." Goku put his arm around Chi Chi's shoulders. Chi Chi felt the warm fur on her skin and sighed.

The two lie on the floor staring up at the ceiling and finally Chi Chi asked, "Goku? What happened with Lord Seru? Why did you reject his offer?"

Goku leaned his head back and answered, "Well... Lord Seru showed me that he could turn me into a human. He even changed my hand... it was so tempting..." He breathed deeply and continued, "but, I would have to kill a man to do so... I... don't like killing. It's not right, even enemies. I was so tempted though... then, my dead grandfather talked to me." Tears came to Goku's eyes and he wiped them away. "He reminded me about who I am and what I would lose if I become human thanks to Lord Seru. I can't lose who I am..."

"Your grandfather sounds wise."

"He was the best." Goku sighed as he looked up.

"How did he die?"

"He... he was fighting a monster and the monster won. It was a giant ape... I managed to kill it but it was too late..." Goku whispered as he remembered that fateful day.

"I'm sorry... I didn't know." Chi Chi said, stunned by that revelation.

"That's okay... he lived a long full life..." Goku said, then he grinned, "We better sleep..."

"Yeah." Chi Chi leaned closer to Goku and closed her eyes.

Goku stared down at the woman. He noticed how peaceful she seemed asleep. Years poured off her and she looked more like a little girl. Goku purred as he smelled Chi Chi's soft scent. "Sweet dreams." Goku whispered as leaned for a kiss and then went back to sleep.

Unknown to either of them, Piccolo smirked in his bed.

To Be Continued...