Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Truth Hurts More ❯ Meet the In-Laws ( Chapter 11 )

LES: Perhaps the scariest part about a new relationship… Except Goku and Chi-Chi's relationship isn't new. Oh well, pay-back time. Goku probably had to jump through hoops to please the Ox-King. Now it's Chi-Chi's turn.

Muse: What do you know about In-Laws? You don't have any!

LES: I learned about In-Laws from the same place I learn about all the things I don't know about: movies, books, and other people's fanfiction.

Muse: (face-palm) You're hopeless.

LES: (inmates Son Grin) I know!

 

Chapter XI: Meet the In-Laws

 

Bardock stepped into the room and saw his grandson for the first time.

The young demi-Saiyan pushed himself up off the bed, wincing in pain. Kakarot was right. He is obviously injured. A tail injury. That is the only non-fatal injury that could put a Saiyan down for the count like this.

Bardock could look into Gohan's mind and see his past experiences, and the inner turmoil of a boy who was expected to walk down two different paths by his parents. Gohan's human mother had urged him all of his life to follow the path on the academic and exercise his brain rather than his muscles. But his father, like any Saiyan father, wanted his son to be a Warrior, and so had trained him and put him into as many battles as he could.

Both parents had gotten what they wanted to a degree. Bardock could sense amazing strength and intelligence within his grandson. And he could also sense the urge to get both stronger and smarter. But now he was torn between two different destinies, and he felt that in order to pursue one, he'd have to give up the other.

This shocked Bardock a little. For Saiyans, there was no option. Every Saiyan, whether weak or powerful, male or female, poor or wealthy, was a Warrior. Only in the unlikely chance that a Saiyan lived long enough to grow old were they allowed to follow other career paths. But most stayed in the Saiyan military as teachers to the young cadets.

He also saw that the young demi-Saiyan was falling in love, and would soon be ready for the bonding ceremony. But he was unsure how or even if he should proceed with what his Saiyan instincts were telling him to do.

Gohan got up as much as he could. “Grandfather!”

“Don't worry. You're path will soon be clear to you.” Bardock said suddenly.

Goku and Gohan stared at the older Saiyan in shock. “What?” Gohan asked.

“Consider it a grandfatherly piece of advice to make up for my absence.” Bardock said. “I can sense the inner turmoil boiling within you. You've reached this point in your life, but you don't know what to do next. But your path will soon be clear to you.”

“Piccolo said you had physic powers.” Gohan said.

Bardock nodded. “I do.” He said. “I looked into your memories and saw your mind, and caught a glimpse of your future.”

“Well, can you look again and tell me what my path is?” Gohan asked excitedly.

Bardock shock his head. “I'm sorry, but it doesn't work like that. I can read someone's mind whenever I want, but I can't look into the future whenever it pleases me. That happens beyond my control.”

“Oh… okay…” Gohan said, looking disappointed. “I'm still really glad to have met you, Grandfather. I never thought this would happen.”

“Me too, boy.” Bardock said. “Forty years is a long time, even by Saiyan standards.” The older Saiyan turned towards his son. “So, what about this mate of yours, Kakarot? I'm curious to meet the Earthling woman that could capture a Saiyan heart.”

Goku laughed again. “She certainly did.” He glanced at his son. “Are you going to be all right here, son?”

“Sure. Tell mom that I'll do my homework.”

“Okay.” Goku said, nodding.

Bardock began to walk out of the room. “Well, are we going?”

“But I've got a much faster way of travelling.” Goku said.

“Faster than flight?”

“The speed of light.”

“How? How could someone be that fast?” Bardock asked.

“A technique that I learned on a planet called Yardrat after my fight with Freeza. The people were pretty weak, but they knew some amazing techniques. One of them was the Instant Transmission. It allows me to travel towards anyone I can sense at the speed of light.”

“Amazing! You know, we Saiyans never took the time to learn from other races.”

“I was always fine with it. I know a lot of human techniques, some Saiyan ones, Yardrat's Instant Transmission, and the Fusion Technique.”

“You know the Fusion technique?” Bardock asked. “I've heard rumors about a technique that allowed two warriors to become one. You have used it?”

“Just once.” Goku answered. (A/N: Remember, the movies are canon, and I'm not counting the Porta Earrings fusion.) “I fused with Vegeta. It's an unusual feeling. It's like I was me, but I wasn't at the same time.”

“Interesting.” Bardock said. “Well, then, let's go.”

“Okay, just grab a hold of me, and we'll be on our way.” Goku said.

Once Bardock grabbed his son's shoulder, Goku placed two fingers to his forehead and began to seek out the energy of his wife and son. He pin-pointed Chi-Chi's location and they disappeared with a flash.

~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the Son household, Chi-Chi was busy washing the multitude of dishes that her family went through in a single meal.

She sighed. If only she could use paper plates, clean up would be so much easier. But she couldn't, based on the one time she had used paper plates.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was soon before the Cell Games, and Chi-Chi had just set out her family's lunch with a smile. “Enjoy.” She said, knowing her Saiyan boys wouldn't notice that the lunch wasn't being served on her usual china. Those boys were going through her dishes so quickly now that they were home all the time instead of training that she had no china left for lunch.

It was no problem. She would do the dishes this afternoon, and she'd make do with paper plates for now.

She smiled happily as Goku and Gohan, both in their Super Saiyan forms, began to eat. But something was missing… she had forgotten the vat of rice in the kitchen.

She excused herself and got up to get the rice. When she returned, she noticed something odd. Goku and Gohan had finished off their first course and were now eating directly out of her serving bowls. Chi-Chi opened her mouth to yell at them that they were not allowed to eat out of her serving bowls when she noticed that both of their plates were gone.

“Goku?” She asked loudly to get his attention, and he glanced up at her, swallowing a mouthful of food. “Where are your plates?”

Goku glanced at Gohan, who shrugged. “Uh… Chi-Chi, what plates?”

Chi-Chi stared at her husband and son in shock. Did they… actually eat the plates… without knowing it?!? She fainted.

~~~~~~~~~~

So, that was why Chi-Chi never used paper plates. Saiyans ate so quickly that if they could chew it, it was food, including paper plates.

Chi-Chi wanted to be upset at her alien family for being aliens and making her life harder, but she could never be mad at her husband and sons for too long.

Goku could certainly piss her off on numerous occasions, but she could never stay mad at him. What could she do? She loved that sweet and sometimes infuriating man.

And Gohan… he had become the intelligent young man that she dreamed he'd be: strong and intelligent, with his father's handsome features and inner strength. But Gohan was not perfect. When he was younger, he was quite rebellious, especially after the time he spent training with Piccolo. He did study as she wanted, but he didn't give in without a fight. Gohan had also inherited the `Hero' gene from his father. If lives were at stack, and either of them had a single breath left in their bodies, they would fight to preserve the greater good, and nothing else mattered. It drove Chi-Chi crazy with worry at the thought that Gohan, like Goku often did, would bite off more than he could chew and get seriously injured or killed.

And Goten… so like his father… Goten had his father's looks down to a tee, but he also had Goku's naivety and lacked his older brother's brain power. She sometimes wished that Goten would apply himself more, but she couldn't blame that entirely on the boy. He only acted just as his father did when he was a boy.

Suddenly, a voice pulled her out of her thoughts, nearly causing her to jump out of her skin. “Hi, Chi-Chi!”

Add that to the list of things Goku does that makes me wanna kill him again. “Goku! How many times have I told you not to Instant Transmission behind…” She froze. The first man she saw was not her husband! Sure, the intruder looked like her husband with a few differences. And her husband was standing beside the man, only serving to emphasize how much they looked alike. She wondered for a crazy moment that if, like Trunks, Goten had a Mirai form, and this man was it.

But that can't be right. Chi-Chi thought, looking this stranger up and down. This guy has a tail, and Goten was born without a tail. He can't be an alternate time line Goten. “Goku, who is this?” She asked.

Goku noticed that Chi-Chi's hand was resting on the handle of her infamous frying pan. He flinched. He knew that if his answer did not satisfy her, they'd both get the stuffing beaten out of them by Chi-Chi.

“Chi-Chi, I know this is gonna be hard to believe, but this is Bardock, my biological father.”

Chi-Chi did not reply right away, only stared at the older Saiyan male. And just when the silence began to grow uncomfortable, Chi-Chi spoke. “How old are you?”

Bardock stared at her. “Almost eighty.”

Chi-Chi burst into tears. “It's not fair! My husband will still look young in forty years, and I'll look like a withered…”

Goku laughed nervously. He knew that his wife was insecure about the fact that he was aging much more slowly than she was. He pulled his wife against him, and whispered in her ear. “You'll always be beautiful to me.”

That seemed to cheer Chi-Chi up considerably, and she smiled at her husband. Then she turned towards Bardock, and then back to her husband. “Wow. Now I know how you must've felt around my father.” She laughed.

Goku just stared at her in confusion. He never had a bad relationship with the Ox-King. In fact, they always got along really well, and one of the Ox-King's favorite hobbies was doting on his grandsons, Gohan and Goten.

While the two talked, Bardock took a moment to look into her mind. Her mind was first and foremost on her family. She was completely devoted to her husband and sons. But he also sensed conflict. Kakarot and his mate disagreed about a lot of things, and it often put friction in their relationship. He could see where young Gohan got his indecisiveness. Kakarot and his mate were more at odds over that boy's future than any other issue in their relationship. Kakarot's mate had pushed him to give up fighting since she was a small boy.

Bardock almost snorted at her foolishness. It was impossible to separate a Saiyan from battle. Battle was in their blood, and evolution had turned them into the perfect Warrior race.

But it would be for the boy to decide his own fate.

Chi-Chi extended her hand. “Hello. I'm Chi-Chi, Goku's mate and wife.”

Bardock stared at her extended hand for a moment before he understood, and grasped her hand. Saiyans don't shake hands.

“Well, at least I finally know who to thank for my husband's good looks.” Chi-Chi commented. “Goku could be your twin rather than your son. You Saiyans certainly know how to throw your genes together well. Goten looks just like Goku too.”

“Father… can you tell me what's going on now?” Goku asked. “You said before that you've been on the run for forty years. From who or what are you running?”

Bardock sighed. “I suppose I can't keep it from you. Once they arrive on Earth, every Saiyan and half-Saiyan will be in danger. When Freeza destroyed Planet Vegeta, there were plenty of Saiyans off-planet. There were only three Saiyans of use to Freeza: Prince Vegeta, General Nappa, and Radditz; so they were allowed to live. But the other Saiyans were a liability. So Freeza formed an elite group whose sole purpose was to hunt down the remaining Saiyans and destroy them. This group was rumored to be lead by Freeza's son, but I've never personally confirmed it.”

Goku's jaw dropped. “Freeza had a son?!?”

“I've never been able to confirm it, but I'm pretty sure that it's true.” Bardock said. “He doesn't operate like Freeza. Freeza relished in showing off his power. Freeza was a tyrant, but his son is a hunter. He lurks in the shadows, and does not duel, but aims to kill. His favorite way to kill is poison. Normally, by the time you know you've ingested poison, it is too late. But, if he's impatient, he'll blow up the planet his enemy is on.”

Chi-Chi glanced at Goku and saw the look on his face. It was a look she had seen many times before. “Oh no!” She began heatedly. “I've seen that look on your face, Son Goku! That's the look you get on your face when you are about to dive head-first into a dangerous battle! I forbid it!”

“But, Chi-Chi, you heard him! If we don't do something, the entire planet is doomed!” Goku began.

“But… Goku…” Chi-Chi began sorrowfully. “I just got you back after losing you for seven years. And this time was pure luck. Do you think there will be another Kai willing to give his life for yours? I just… don't want to lose you again…” Chi-Chi cried as she embraced her husband.

Goku embraced his wife and kissed her. “Cheech, I can't tell you the future, and I doubt even my father can answer that, but I promise I'll try my hardest to come back home to you and our sons.”

“Fighting back is the only option we have.” Bardock began. “There are more of us now, and he's destroyed whole planets that only have one Saiyan on it. He'll waste no time in destroying this planet with three Saiyans and three half-breeds here. And they will destroy this planet, I believe, because of the humans too.”

“Why? What have we done to them?” Chi-Chi asked.

“Because of your half-breed children.” Bardock said. “Why do you think there are no Saiyan women left?” This left a tense silence in the room. “Extinction. That was Freeza's goal, and what better way to insure a species goes extinct than to prevent them from breeding? But you humans have proven yourself physically similar enough to us Saiyans for us to successfully breed together. With enough Saiyan males and a diverse enough gene pool, we could save the Saiyan race here on Earth. They will try to stop this at all costs.”

“Oh Kami…” Chi-Chi gasped. Goku knew his wife well enough to know what she was thinking. The only time Chi-Chi ever had approved of a fight before was if her sons were in danger. “So you're saying they will come after my babies?”

Bardock nodded. “Yes. To stop them from breeding.”

“Chi-Chi, remember that this guy is the son of Freeza. Unless he is a thousand times stronger than Freeza was, I'll be able to handle him no sweat.” Goku said.

“I really hope so, Goku.” Chi-Chi said. “I really do.”

 

LES: There, now you all know who the bad guy is. The fact that Goku is no longer impressed with Freeza's power level is from the Dragon Ball Z special released in Japan last year. If you are unfamiliar with it, go to YouTube and search “Dragon Ball Z Special: Heya Son Goku and his Friends Return.” Anyhoo, the villains in that special are said to be as strong as Freeza. Goku and the group send Goten and Trunks to fight since Goku said that the kids would be enough and, looking back, his fight with Freeza wasn't that great. Poor Freeza. Ya just gotta feel sorry for the guy.