ChiChi stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, and wiped the steam from the shower off of the surface of the glass. When she was finally able to see herself, she tightened the towel around her and picked up her comb, running it through her long, wet locks of hair. With two extra people in the house, she hadn’t been able to enjoy the hot water for very long, but it was long enough to relax her a little bit. She was a strong woman; not many things managed to crack her and drive her over the edge. Months ago that strength had been put to the test when she was captured by Sukuashi, but she had survived it --- came out of it a better person, even. And now she was being tested again. It was true that the jinzouningen’s behavior did not directly affect her, but she knew that she had to remain strong and level-headed for her friends. That meant that every moment she spent with them, she had to keep up a positive attitude and be strong for them.

Marron was doing well. She had endured the entire situation with more courage and optimism than was expected for a girl her age. It was strange --- she had always seen Marron as somewhat quiet and weak, but strength tended to appear at the most unusual times. She knew that Goten was helping the young girl out as well, merely just by being a friend. Her son was an absolute ray of sunshine, and a tremendously positive and cheerful person to be around. He was helpful and kind; just like his father. During the times of depression that she had gone through before, Goten had been the only person that was ever able to pull her out of it. If it hadn’t been for him, ChiChi wasn’t sure if she would have made it or not.

“When Goten and I were outside this morning, he said that he and Marron had some things to talk to us about over breakfast.” Gokuu called to her from the shower. He poked his head out through the curtain momentarily and gave her a smile. “Something about the dragonballs.”

“I suppose that means you’re going to be heading off on an adventure. And I suppose that means that I will be sitting here by myself for a week or so.” She replied with a sigh, as she replaced the towel she had been wearing with a bathrobe. It didn’t surprise her, really. Gokuu was always running off on some new mission without her. Before, she would have been able to understand and accept it, but now that she was physically stronger and mentally more capable, she just viewed it as unfair. For once, she actually wanted to participate in these things. She thought that she would have a chance now that everyone knew she could probably take care of herself --- after all, Gokuu had been training her during their spare time. But now that she was pregnant, it presented a whole new realm of difficulty. She was fine with endangering herself for the sake of adventure, but there was no way that she was going to place her unborn child in danger as well.

“Well, actually….” He said with another big smile. “This is one adventure that I’m not going to be a part of. If Goten and Marron decide that they want to look for the dragonballs, I am going to stay behind. Koronu has already volunteered to go with them, and either Gohan or Piccolo will probably accompany them as well. There is really no reason for me to leave. Besides, I don’t really want to leave you alone here.”

“Really?” She asked incredulously. She kept her eyes on the mirror and her hands were busy tying up her hair, but inside her heart was soaring. This was the first time that Gokuu had ever turned down something in order to spend time with her --- to take care of her. It touched her deeply that he would give up something as fun as hunting for dragonballs to stay at home with her.

Yamucha had told her once that there were just some things about Gokuu that would never change. He told her that although Gokuu was a kind and caring person, there were just certain boundaries in his heart and certain things that he would never feel. He thought that Gokuu would never have been able to give up fighting or adventure for her, and that meant that he didn’t love her as much as she deserved to be loved. She didn’t want Gokuu to ever give up the things in life that meant so much to him --- fighting was just as much a part of him as that impulsive grin and that wild black hair. She would never ask him to do that; it would be like taking a part of him away. But she had to admit that it was nice to feel loved and protected and cared about. And it looked as though Gokuu was finally coming to realize just how much she meant to him.

Marron stared at the kitchen window as she waited for breakfast to be served. The storm had gone away quickly, leaving only a few puddles on the ground and a yard full of glistening grass. There was no sign of the deep black clouds that had appeared the night before, and although he air had smelled like rain when she went out earlier that morning --- there wasn’t so much as a hint of it falling. The morning sky was bright and cloudless, and it looked as though the temperature would reach an all time high that day. A huge, brightly colored rainbow stretched from one end of the mountains to the other, only growing more intense as the day went on. It was beautiful. As far as she was concerned, it was a sure sign that things were going to turn out okay. Much like the earth, they had all been through their fare share of storms, but just as the rains came and went, so did trouble and sadness. Somehow as she stared out the kitchen window, she felt as though her life wasn’t quite so bad anymore.

“Tell us about your plan, Goten.” ChiChi encouraged her son, smiling as she set a pitcher of milk down on the table. “Your father said something about the dragonballs?”

“Hai.” He nodded enthusiastically. His hair was still wet from his shower earlier, and smelled so strongly of lemon soap that Marron found it difficult to concentrate on anything else. He smiled at Marron conspiratorially. “Marron and I were thinking about the people that were killed in Satan City, and I mentioned the time when Vejiita turned kind of evil and killed all of those people in the stadium. Bulma went searching for the dragonballs and wished all of those people back to correct the damage that Vejiita had unknowingly done. So I suggested that Marron do the same thing. We could go find the dragonballs and wish everyone who was killed in Satan City back to life.”

Koronu, who was sitting next to Goten raised her eyebrows and took a bite from the massive heap of food on her plate. “That’s a very noble thing of you to do. It’s going to take a lot of work to gather all of the dragonballs, though.”

Gokuu shrugged. “With the dragon radar, it’s really not that difficult. Bulma’s invention allows us to see where all of the dragonballs are located….all you have to do is fly around the world and retrieve them. If you work quickly, you could probably have them all within two days. Maybe even just one.” He paused and smiled to himself. “I actually have the four star ball in a drawer upstairs. At least that’s a start for you. Now instead of searching for seven, you’ll only have to search for six.”

The Saiya-jin woman nodded and turned her dark eyes towards Marron. “You don’t mind if I come along, do you? I would like to see this dragon. Part of me still finds it all a bit difficult to believe.”

Goten laughed. “Trust me, they’re real.”

“I would love it if you came, Koronu-san.” Marron answered the woman quietly. “We could use all the help that we can get, especially if Gokuu-san isn’t going to be joining us. Since I can’t fly, I’m afraid that I might hinder the search a bit. Having someone else with us who knows how to fly and defend herself might make things easier.”

“The first thing that you need to is get the dragon radar. That is by far the most important part. Everything from there is simple.” Gokuu explained. “I know it’s at Capsule Corporation, but I wouldn’t know where to find it. Maybe you could ask Trunks or Tayhei to find it for you. Without that, you’re definitely not going to find the dragonballs within just a matter of days. It could take months if you did it the difficult way.”

Marron frowned deeply at the mention of Tayhei’s name. It was no secret that the two of them did not get along. Marron openly detested the older girl --- she was perhaps the meanest person on the planet. And Tayhei obviously did not like her; from the moment they met, she had gone out of her way to make Marron look and feel like an idiot. And the fact that Tayhei was so close to Goten made Marron almost sick with jealousy. It was true that what she felt for Goten was nothing more than a girlish crush, but it still made her angry to see Tayhei snuggling up next to him. The two girls had avoided each other as often as possible since they came back from Sukuashi, and Marron didn’t even want to think about talking to her now. Knowing Tayhei, she’d probably rather smash the dragon radar and eat it than give it to her.

She just hoped that she would be able to talk to Trunks at Capsule Corporation and get the dragon radar from him. He could be a little arrogant at times, but at least he was nice to her. She pushed a mouthful of breakfast into her mouth and chewed bitterly, glaring out the window at the sunny sky. They hadn’t even started their adventure yet and it seemed like they had already hit their first snag.

Kuririn sat in silence as he listened to their conversation, watching his daughter’s eyes light up with every word that was said. They were going over the details of the trip: what to take with them, what time they should leave. It was good to see Marron excited and happy about something again --- something that wasn’t Goten, anyway. As far as he was concerned, she was much too young to be worrying about things like that. Going off to find all of the dragonballs would keep her away from all of the stress of the situation. As long as her mind was on searching for the dragonballs and making that wish, she wouldn’t have to think about the more serious, stressful things. She wouldn’t have time to wonder if Mirai Bulma’s idea was going to work, or if things were ever going to go back to normal. He knew firsthand that finding the dragonballs was completely consuming. If she went off on this adventure, he wouldn’t have to worry about her safety or her sanity.

He knew in his heart that making the wish to bring back all of those people was the right thing to do. He also knew that if Marron hadn’t chosen to go himself, he and Juuhachi-gou would have done it eventually. It was exactly what Juuhachi-gou would want. It was true that they couldn’t ask her now or really even tell what she was feeling inside, but Kuririn felt certain in his heart that she was sorry for what happened. Somewhere inside of that horrible demon that they had seen lying on that examining table was his wife. And she would have wanted those innocent people to be brought back to life and be able to live with their families again.

“Are you going to come, Papa?” Marron asked him softly as she passed him a plate of pancakes. She looked very adult to him then, her eyes serious and her mouth firm. Her pale hair was still in pigtails and she was still wearing a girlish sweater with jeans, but she was still an adult. Already an adult and yet barely even old enough to reach the pedals when she drove their Capsule Car. He was glad that she was maturing and growing stronger, but the larger part of him wanted to accompany her on this adventure every step of the way. The larger part of him wanted to make sure that she was always safe and taken care of.

But unfortunately, this was just one adventure that he couldn’t go on. Although he wanted to go with his daughter and help her fulfill that wish of bringing the murdered citizens of Satan City back to life, his place was here with Juuhachi-gou. After seeing her yesterday, he had realized just how much she needed him. Although he wasn’t able to get through to her yet, he still felt that he had somehow made a connection with her during that short meeting. All he knew was that when he left, he didn’t feel hopelessness, as he expected to. He had felt as though there was a chance --- a possibility. And he largely suspected that that chance had only come about because he had been strong enough to visit her and tell her that he would be there for her.

He would have to be there for her every moment now and never leave her side. She needed him now more than she ever had before. And although it was hard for him to look into those cold, ice blue eyes and see no love or understanding, it was still something that he had to do. If he wasn’t strong enough to stay by her side, then she would never be strong enough to make it.

“Iie, Marron….I don’t think I’ll be able to come.” He answered her. “I want you to go and take care of this wish, but my place is here with your mother. I need to take care of her and stay by her side.”

In the dark of the storage room, there was no difference between the dark of night and the light of day. It all seemed the same to them; they were shrouded in complete and constant blackness. It was damp and hot in this room, and although it was rather large, it still felt crowded and claustrophobic. The dripping from the leaky faucet and the sharp smell of the boxed chemicals on the shelf was enough to drive someone insane. No sounds were heard from the laboratory outside except the occasional whirring of the air conditioner. Although it couldn’t be seen clearly in the darkness, the storage room floor was covered with a puddle of thick, red, sticky liquid. The blood had been splayed across the walls as well, and the putrid smell of charred flesh danced around in the air with the scent of the chemicals.

Trapped inside of this body that no longer belonged to him, Juunana-gou was scared out of his mind. Although he wasn’t able to see anything through the impenetrable darkness, he knew that he was a mess. The damage that had been done to his body was considerable. He was still bleeding, and there were large pieces of skin and muscles missing from various parts of his body. The electrical shocks had also burned him badly, and caused him to shake and twitch every few seconds. A large part of his hair was missing as well, because Mirai Bulma had thought to embed a rather small and sensitive sensor under his scalp.

He was scared because this monster was free now, and terrified of what he might do.

At the moment, he was sitting casually on the edge of the examining table, calmly tapping his foot in time with the dripping from the sink. He had freed the other one, the evil Juuhachi-gou, by undoing the leather straps that were firmly latched over her body, but her electrical sensors had not been taken out. There were two reasons for this: either the evil Juunana-gou did not want to risk taking them out, or she simply didn’t want her skin to be as badly scarred and injured as his was. It was most likely the latter of options, considering that Juuhachi-gou had always been very aware of her appearance and hated to look out of order or disheveled in any way.

The odd thing was that neither one of the jinzouningen had left the storage room. This was puzzling Juunana-gou, because he had been certain that the monster --- the evil being that wasn’t him, would have escaped the second that it freed himself from the restraints. But instead, he stayed in the damp, hot storage room, even though he could have easily blasted his way out and into the open. The only logical conclusion that Juunana-gou could come up with was that this demon was waiting for something. Most likely, he was waiting to extract revenge on Mirai Bulma for taking him under the knife and placing the electrical sensors in his body.