There was a chill in the air that was almost unimaginable, and Videl could feel it clear in the deepest part of her bones, a dull ache. The snow wasn’t falling hard, but thick enough to create a white wall in front of them, impenetrable by even the strongest eyes. Blinking against the cold wind, Videl turned to look back at her companions, gliding along through the air beside them. Everyone else on the team had looked excited as they set off, waving to the kids and Piccolo, ready for the challenge of a battle. She had been frightened though, something rather unusual for her. As a young girl she had been so brave, so full of fire and energy. Now though, she had so much to guard, and more than just her own life was in the balance. She had Pan to think of, a family. There was no room for failure.

The ship had disappeared behind them almost instantly, and all of them were aware the fact that their adventure had just now truly began. There was no turning back now, now that they were on their way to the Saiya-jin city, on their way to ChiChi. They drove for many miles, and except for the howling of the wind and the quiet whir of the engine, it was completely silent.

Her arms wrapped around Gohan’s waist tighter, and she felt the warmth of him trail into her own body, warmth of love and protection. She wanted to say that she was sorry, that she understood what Gohan was fighting for, but she wasn’t sure she knew the right words. She had always been bad at apologies. She knew that Gohan felt she didn’t care about ChiChi, but that truly wasn’t the case. ChiChi had been like a mother to her, and shown her a considerable amount of kindness over the years. She had always been there to watch Pan when she needed her to, and to help her through any problem that might have arose, even though Videl knew ChiChi had heavy problems of her own. She wanted to help ChiChi, and to have her back home and safe, of course she did. But if she had to choose between her own husband’s life, and her husband’s mother’s life, she chose Gohan. She wanted him safe, always. Right there beside her, a father, a husband, her lover. The fact that Gohan was so willing to risk everything for his mother was almost an insult to Videl.

She lifted her sky blue eyes to the horizon suddenly, as if her heart had told her to gaze up just then. In the distance, a dark shape appeared, barely visible through the wall of snow. It spun up into the air, black as night, in a strange and twisting shape, a tower of some sorts.

“What is that?” Videl asked Gohan loudly in his ear, talking over the roar of sound around them as she squinted through the snowfall. “It looks like some sort of structure.”

“It’s the city!” Bulma cried suddenly above the wind, answering for her. The snowbike her and Vejiita were riding on spun to a stop, throwing up a small wave of snow in the process. “Wait, everyone!”

Everyone cut their engines, Juuhachi-gou and Juunana-gou coming up first, looking almost too similar with their matching snowsuits and hoods on. Identical almond shaped, ice blue eyes stared out into the snow, narrowing as they squinted at the far away city. Gokuu and Kuririn jumped off of their bike at once, shaking the snow from their shoulders, both looking tense. Gokuu’s strong hands were curled in tight fists at his sides, and Videl was surprised to see a very serious, very grim look on his handsome face. Yamucha came up last, and neglected to cut his engine, idling alongside the crew with his hands still tight on the handlebars.

“At this speed we should be able to get there in a matter of minutes.” He said, and he turned his scarred face back to gaze at the others. “I just hope ChiChi is still okay by then.”

Bulma pursed her lips, staring at the curling tower before them. “Now, wait just a minute, Yamucha. I’m not so sure it would be the best idea to just go riding right into the city, there. We can see it, yes, but we don’t know what’s waiting for us in there. They could have an entire army ready to conquer us, and if we’re unprepared and rush into it like this, we could be in serious trouble.”

Yamucha stared blankly at her, and Videl could already sense a fight coming on. Yamucha’s hands were tight on the handlebars, and the gloves were stretched over muscle in bone tightly. “Look, I think ChiChi has already waited enough. I think we should just go in. We’ve faced heavy opposition before --- I think we’d be capable of taking on anything that those Saiya-jin monsters throw at us.”

There was a slight pause, and Gohan broke the silence. “I’m looking up at that tower there, and thinking that if we can see them, they can certainly see us. I think we should maybe backtrack a little and change our course, head clockwise around the edges of the city. If we’re being watched right now, it might be a good idea to confuse them so they don’t know which direction we’re coming from. And as long as the snow isn’t too deep, it would be smart to sneak up on the city without the hindrance of vehicles.” He argued.

“That’s all good and fine, but aren’t we kind of pressed for time, here?” Yamucha questioned. “Edging around the city is going to take forever, and giving up the snowbikes would be insane. We might need the speed that they provide us.” His eyes flashed in anger, and he looked at everyone as if daring them to challenge his words.

“Baka.” Vejiita sneered. “I can fly or run faster than any stupid aircar.”

“I agree with Gohan.” Gokuu said, jumping out of his vehicle. “It will be much easier to do this on stable ground with full use of hands and feet. A vehicle would only be a hindrance to us at this point. And as for confusing the soldiers and backtracking a little bit, I think that’s very smart as well. These are very different enemies that we’re up against this time. Our usual tactics are not going to work.”

Yamucha looked at them as if they had gone mad. “Nani?”

Gokuu shrugged, his eyes locked on the tower ahead of them. “I think the wiser decision is to go in on foot and backtrack a bit. That way it’s also more of a surprise. I keep remembering what Piccolo explained about the paralyzing gun that they used on him. No matter how strong we might be, we can’t fight if we can’t move. I think it would be best to surprise the enemy, even if it does take a little longer to get there.”

“And leave ChiChi waiting?” Yamucha demanded, tilting his head in disbelief at Gokuu. There was an angry edge to his voice, and Videl sensed that there was more to his question than what lie on the surface.

“Yamucha….” Bulma began gently, she stepped towards him, her arms out in explanation.

“Iie.” Yamucha interrupted her, and revved the engine a bit on his snowbike. He pointed at Gokuu with an accusing finger. “I have stood by for years, while you made her wait for you, and because I was your friend, because I was loyal, I didn’t say a word. And now this?” He shook his head. “You know what, Gokuu? I’m sick and tired of you treating her like this. It’s like you think you can do no wrong. Well I have some news for you, Mr. Husband of the year. You aren’t half the man everyone thinks you are. I don’t think you’ve ever even cared for her.”

Gokuu stared at Yamucha in disbelief. He had his moments of doubt before on what kind of a father and what kind of a husband he had been, but he had never thought he had been that bad. He had always cared about ChiChi, always. Just even thinking about her in pain, or never seeing her lovely face again, triggered an alarm deep inside of him, a moment of sheer panic. Maybe he didn’t bring her flowers all the time, or say poetic things to her, but he definitely knew that he always wanted to have her in his life, and always wanted to be able to touch her hair and see her smile. He wasn’t the best husband in the world, no, but he tried. And for someone to think that he didn’t try at all….It was really disturbing.

“Nani?” He asked, bewildered. “You can’t be serious.”

Yamucha nodded. “Oh, I’m dead serious, Gokuu. If you truly knew what it was to love someone, then you would understand why I think ChiChi deserves better than you.” His mouth twitched slightly. “And I promise you, if you don’t start treating her better, then someone else will.”

He turned to the rest of them. “Look, you can take all the time you want getting to that city, but I’m going on my own.” His eyes turned back to Gokuu’s sharply. “I don’t want ChiChi to have to wait any longer than she already has.”

He revved the engine again, turning the handlebars quickly and angrily, his eyes still locked on Gokuu, then blasted off towards the city. A wave of snow from the force of his acceleration left all of them covered in snow, and utterly amazed at his behavior. They were quiet for a moment, studying the unrecognizable look of hurt and defeat in Gokuu’s eyes, brushing the cold snow off of their bodies. When Gokuu didn’t move, just stood staring at the trail that Yamucha had left with his snowbike, Gohan stepped forward, placed a hand on his father’s strong shoulder.

“Otousan….” He began.

Gokuu shook him off gently, and looked down at the snow, his eyes still full of hurt. He refused to say anything, but listened intently while Bulma explained the backtracking plan, and how they needed to be out of sight of the city. They would make way along its edges and then attack from the other side, hopefully surprising whatever forces thought them to be coming from the other direction. There were many thoughts in Gokuu’s heart, and through it all, he was mainly sad. Although Yamucha said what he said in anger, there was a partial truth in it, and that was enough to make Gokuu unsteady.

They backtracked until the city was out of sight and then worked their way clockwise around it, stepping quickly and lightly to save time. He thought about ChiChi, wondered what she thought of him. Wondered if she thought what Yamucha had said, that he had really never cared about her. All he knew was that when he found her again, he would have to make sure she knew how he felt. The city loomed ahead of them, in the far distance, with one tall black tower curling up into the snowy sky.

The guilt Yamucha felt was instant, and he ducked his head and shook as he rode, trying to shake the feeling that was eating away at his heart. No matter what he wanted to think, he knew what he had just said to Gokuu was wrong. Saying that Gokuu didn’t care about someone was like saying that Gokuu was weak --- it just wasn’t right. Anger had gotten the best of him though. He didn’t understand why everyone was forcing ChiChi to wait so long. She was already in pain, she was already suffering. Why make her wait any longer? The first instance had been unavoidable, of course. If he had been in Gokuu’s position, he would have chosen to keep Marron safe as well. But now once he had his chance to save his wife again, he refused to take it! He was going about the whole thing so slowly that it made Yamucha want to scream. ChiChi was in danger now. ChiChi needed help now. ChiChi needed them to come now.

“Why can’t they just understand that!?” He cried bitterly, angrily accelerating the snowbike through the drifts, tearing up snow and ice behind him.

He was going in now, and he was going to save her. There was no doubt in his mind. The others were trying foolishly to have some sort of element of surprise, but Yamucha was smarter than that. Nothing was going to surprise some Saiya-jin soldier more than having a turbo engined, high powered snowbike rip past him openly through his own city streets. They excepted a full on, organized with rules and regulations war. And Yamucha had never been one to follow the rules. There was no fear in his heart anymore, and nothing holding him back. He had come for one reason and for one reason only: her. And surely as Piccolo was green, he was going to save her.

As soon as the city was easily visible, Yamucha’s eyes eagerly searched for the enemy, adrenaline surging through his blood like wildfire. For the moment, he felt completely invincible. He drove straight, straight as an arrow, aiming for the open gate ahead of him, adorned with iron and snow. There were no soldiers to be seen, no one to be seen at all, but it didn’t disturb Yamucha one bit as he rode on through the snow, courage afire in his heart.

As Yamucha passed through the gates of the city, he only gave the snowbike more gas, and whooped up a storm as he barreled in through the city streets, full speed. “Come on out, you Saiya-jin bastards! I’m ready for a fight!”

Chapter 53
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