Juuhachi-gou was watching him through eyes that weren’t hers, smiling at him with an evil that she no longer felt. It was as if she were trapped inside of her own body, watching and waiting as she felt it prepare to attack. She couldn’t feel her arms or her legs; they had long since grown numb and distant, much like her senses --- she could barely hear what Kuririn was saying to her, couldn’t smell the fresh, clean scent of their sheets, could hardly see her husband’s concerned face before her. She was slowly shriveling up and dying inside of this body that was no longer hers. The other part of her --- the part that wasn’t her, wanted to kill him. She couldn’t follow the reasoning, couldn’t understand what had happened to make the change, but knew that it wanted to kill him. And trapped as she was, there was nothing that she could do to stop it. She tried to kick and punch, and break free, but her legs and arms were no longer there. She no longer had control of anything. Perhaps this was her punishment for the evils that she had committed so long ago: she had been destined to watch as her husband die by her own hand.

She couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t let herself --- or the body that was no longer hers, kill him. It was true that she didn’t have much of a choice right now, but if she could warn him, if she could convince him that he was in danger, perhaps he would be safe. Facing off with an invisible enemy, she moved all of the emotion and feeling that she could muster into her heart. She had to push the other Juuhachi-gou, the one that wasn’t her, away. Only if it were just for a moment, she had to free herself so that she could warn her husband. She concentrated hard, determined to push through the restraints that had been placed on her body and her and mind, but it was difficult. Her enemy was not someone that could easily be cast aside and conquered --- it was her. It was a sheer battle of inner power and she fought against the other Juuhachi-gou as hard as she could, pouring every single emotion and all of her heart into it. Finally, there was a feeling of slight victory and she could feel the power shift into her direction, just barely tilting enough so that she could gain her balance. The evil was still there, but defeated, it sank into the corners of her mind, fighting to regain its position once more.

“Get out of the house.” Juuhachi-gou finally struggled out, her eyes meeting her husband’s quickly. The effort of her fight had made her dizzy, and her mind swam back and forth. “Go.”

It took him a moment to grasp her request, then he stared at her with wide and disbelieving eyes. She didn’t blame him. It wasn’t often that she said things like that. Especially when he had done nothing to provoke her anger. To him, he was being instantly ordered out of the house for no reason and it hurt him. He frowned, and his expression was gentle and pained. “What? Juuhachi….”

“Get out!” She snapped. She couldn’t keep her own voice much longer. The other Juuhachi-gou --- the one that wasn’t her, was kicking and screaming inside of her head, fighting to gain back control. She needed her husband to get out of the way before it was too late. She only had so much strength and she wouldn’t be able to fend off the evil for much longer.

“I can’t.” He said softly and he reached out a hand to touch her hair. He looked as though he might cry. “Not when you’re like this. I need to know that you’re going to be okay.”

Her body bristled under his touch and the other part of her, the bad part, gained even more control. Horrified, she shook him off of her, twisting around and sliding off the bed as quickly as she could. She stood before him in her nightgown, still clutching a handful of the sheets in impatience; he needed to leave now. “Get out! Just go! Please! I am not myself right now. I don’t want to….I don’t want to hurt you.”

He tilted his head to the side and held up his hands, his expression soft. “You’re not going to hurt me, Juuhachi. And I’m not leaving. I’m not going to leave you like this. I love you and I refuse to leave you when you’re acting like this. If you’re hurt, I will take you to the doctor---”

The doctor. There was a sudden flash of memory: the feeling of cold metal beneath her bare back. The harsh lighting of the lamp above her head. Weightlessness, fear, sickness, pain. His face, staring down at her. Cold, hard eyes. That laughing, sadistic smile.

“NO!” She screamed, startling herself. She wouldn’t let him take her there. She didn’t want that to happen again. Wouldn’t ever let it happen again. As the other part of her, the evil part of her, began clawing and making her way back to the surface, she backed up against the wall. She laid her head back against the surface of it, then twisted around, her expression drawn into pain. She needed to get away from Kuririn. If the other part of her came back and took over again, she would not be strong enough to fight it, and he would die. Her ice blue eyes found his again and locked for a moment in a battle of wills. He wasn’t going to leave her; she could see that there in his dark eyes. He was determined to stay by her side until she was better, even if it was at the cost of his own life. Knowing this was a comfort to her, and love swelled in her heart. If she had ever doubted his love for her, here it was, perfectly laid out before her. He was willing to die if it meant that he could try and protect her.

But she wouldn’t let that happen either. Kuririn was not going to die tonight, and certainly not by her hand. If he wasn’t going to leave her and get himself to safety, then she was going to leave him --- before it was too late. With the last bit of strength that she had left, she picked up the pair of house shoes that were lying neatly side by side against the wall and slipped them on her feet. She straightened up, grabbed the robe that she usually wrapped around herself in the mornings and slung it over her arm. With shaking hands, she shoved open the bedroom window. The white curtains blew back and forth with the sudden gust of air and she turned for a moment to stare back at her husband. He was standing now, his face still hurt and gentle.

“Where are you going?” He asked her, and looked as if he were about to cry. She didn’t want to leave him upset like this. She wished that she could have time to explain it all, time to show him that she really cared. But the other, evil part of her was beginning to win the battle and gain control again, and she didn’t want that at all. She knew that if she lost control and Kuririn was in the room, he would be killed. She was doing this to keep him safe, but she could see in his tearful eyes that he didn’t understand. She fought the urge to turn and fall into his arms, wanting to wake up from this nightmare and be normal again.

“I have to get away.” She told him softly. “I have to go.”

“Juuhachi….” He whispered, and his eyes were dark and pleading.

He moved quickly, walking around the edge of the bed until he was at her side. As gentle as the summer breeze that was blowing in through the windows, he took her hand, looking into her eyes. He didn’t even have to say the words. She knew what he meant just by the way that he took her hand in his own. He loved her, and he wanted her to know that he would always love her, no matter what might happen. His hand was warm and comforting, and she could feel his strong, steady heartbeat pulsing there as he held onto her tight. As much as she wanted to stay there and be comforted in such a way, as wonderful and soft as it felt, she had to leave. The love that he was showing her now only confirmed that fact. If she hurt him, she would never be able to forgive herself.

Juuhachi-gou turned away from him, gently freed herself from his grasp, and then flew out into the darkness of the night.

She flew to the Son House quickly, the small girl in her strong arms. It was a warm night, the warmest that summer had offered them so far, but the girl was still shaking there, as if it were the dead of winter. She could tell that she was unconscious, her body was unresponsive and she had not heard any of the things that had been said to her since. She wasn’t sure if the girl was in danger or not, but she wouldn’t be able to take it if anything happened to her. She was so small, so delicate. Her pale blond hair had nearly fallen out of the two ponytails that had been tied up above her ears, and it shimmered in the moonlight as the two of them flew through the air. Koronu didn’t know much about the girl; she was rather quiet and reserved, but from what she understood, the girl was very sweet and caring. Innocent as well, seeing as though she wasn’t even eighteen years of age and still had an entire life ahead of her. Koronu didn’t care much for death, but especially when it involved the younger ones. It scared her to see the girl’s chest moving up and down so slightly and so slowly. Her breathing was not regular and it was beginning to falter as she appeared in front of the Son House.

Careful not to disturb her precious cargo, she kicked the door open with her foot. It banged against the wall with a loud smack and swung back and forth as the Saiya-jin woman entered the house, watching to make sure that she didn’t hit the girl’s head on the doorframe. She paused for a moment, readjusting the girl in her arms, then looked in the direction of her son’s bedroom. He and his mate were probably sleeping, but this was an emergency and she wasn’t about to wait around until morning. She knew that ChiChi could probably fix the girl; she did an excellent job of healing Koronu’s own injuries after sparring matches. There wasn’t much she could do about the emotional damage the event had probably caused the girl, but she knew that ChiChi would make a righteous attempt.

“ChiChi!” She yelled loudly, stepping into the living room and gently laying the girl down on the couch. “ChiChi get out here!”

There was a noise from the bedroom, a voice, a yell, a bit of commotion. Then ChiChi appeared in the hallway with a robe wrapped around her, her dark hair falling down over her shoulders. Gokuu was right behind her, clad only in a pair of boxers and a sleepy expression. They both ran quickly into the living room, their eyes adjusting to the dark. Finally ChiChi found her in the darkness of the room and placed her hands on her hips in annoyance, her expression angry and threatening. The Saiya-jin woman realized at once why her son was so afraid of his mate’s wrath. She could look positively dangerous at times.

“Koronu, what is it? It’s in the middle of the….” She trailed off for a moment, for the first time noticing the form of the girl on the couch. She brought a hand up to her chest, placing it there as her eyes grew heavy with concern. “Is that Marron?”

Koronu nodded. “Hai.”

“What happened?” Gokuu asked. He walked around to the front of the couch and bent down so that he was eye level with the girl. He looked every bit as concerned as his mate did as he placed a hand on her forehead. “Is she okay?”

“Unconscious.” She answered. “In shock. I don’t know if she’s okay or not. She was attacked. Piccolo is fighting Juunana-gou now, but I thought it would be best to take the girl to safety before I helped him. She fainted right into my arms. Her pulse is irregular and her breathing is shallow.”

“Juunana-gou?” ChiChi gasped. “Why would he attack his own niece?”

Koronu shook her head, dark locks moving back and forth slowly. “We don’t know. We think there might be something wrong with them.”

“Them?” ChiChi repeated. “Juuhachi-gou too?”

“I don’t know. It certainly feels as if it could happen. Both Piccolo and I have been feeling something strange lately in meditation and we feel that it has something to do with the jinzouningen. Some sort of impending danger. I doubt the incident with the brat is going to be the last of it. We should finish them off now.” She informed them, nodding her head decisively.

“We can’t just kill them, Okaasan.” Gokuu scolded her. “They belong to a family. Kuririn is my best friend. I’m not just going to kill his wife.”

“You told me yourself about the destruction that the jinzouningen caused in the future timeline. Do you want that to happen to this timeline as well?” She challenged, balling his fists and staring at him with threatening dark eyes. If they didn’t understand the seriousness of the situation, then she was going to make them understand. If the brat had been that android’s own niece and he had still attacked her, imagine what they could do to the world. They had no decency or principles. And if Gokuu wouldn’t let her kill them, then they would just fly about the Earth on a rampage, killing anyone that stood in their path. She might be new to this planet, but she wasn’t going to let that happen. She didn’t want anyone to have to die.

“Of course not.” ChiChi snapped, quick to defend her mate. “He's just saying that the situation isn’t quite as simple as you might perceive. Juuhachi-gou is someone’s wife, someone’s mother. You simply can’t kill her without directly affecting those people. You have to think about all of the consequences before rushing into something like that.”

“Fine. But I am still going to help Piccolo.” Koronu informed them both. They nodded in reply, both looking concerned over the girl. Then ChiChi suddenly straightened up and began to head away from them all, a determined look on her pretty face. Koronu knew that look well by now. It was the look that said she had made up her mind about something and there was nothing that anyone could do that would stop her. For some reason, she had a sneaking suspicion that she intended to run out there and admonish Juunana-gou herself. She was well aware that she was capable of doing it. After all, ChiChi had a temper that made the strongest being in the universe literally cower in corner. But she simply wasn’t strong enough to be able to fight such a formidable enemy, and she would end up getting hurt. No matter how many Saiya-jin qualities had been injected into her veins, she still would not be able to fight the same way that the rest of them were able to.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Koronu asked her, and she placed on hand on her hip, glaring at the woman.

ChiChi looked back at the two of them, who were staring at her with obvious disapproval. She raised her eyebrows up and crossed her arms, looking quite determined and stubborn as she stood there in her robe. “I’m going to wake up Goten so that he can watch over Marron. I’m coming with you.”

Koronu glared at her in return. “You’re not going anywhere. I don’t care how strong you think you might be now. There is no way that I am going to let you run out there and attempt to fight an enemy that I know you aren’t capable of fighting. Especially in a condition such as yours.”

“Okaasan’s right.” Gokuu agreed, nodding his head. He walked forward and placed a gentle hand on her stomach, looking into her eyes. “You have other things to take care of. I’ll go with her and find Piccolo.”