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Goku knew something was wrong the second he felt her ki. He tried to deny it for a moment or two. What would Chi-Chi be doing here, after all? Instead of being safe at home, she was somehow nearby. At the Cell Games arena – or above it.
Thankfully, Gohan hadn’t noticed, but Goku’s gaze trained to the sky and didn’t move. When he caught the sight of an aircraft hovering among the clouds – how had she managed to fly one of those all the way out here? - he knew it wasn’t just a crazy ki miscalculation on his part. Chi-Chi was up there. With Bulma and Ox-King.
“Oh man,” he muttered. “What is she -”
He didn’t have a chance to say more. Suddenly, he wasn’t the only one to notice the new arrivals. Cell glanced up in the sky and Goku felt his blood run cold when he sensed the gathering of energy. His mind whirled, a mess of thoughts as he tried to figure out what was best to do, and two fingers went to his forehead in the midst of all the confusion. An energy beam crashed through the sky. The aircraft exploded into bits. Below, Gohan screamed and another flash of energy ruptured across his senses – a strong burst, no doubt of Gohan losing control because he realized who had been in that aircraft.
And Goku?
Well, he floated down behind all the smoke to an area on the outskirts of the fighting ground, holding Chi-Chi, Bulma, and Ox-King in his arms and on his back as necessary. Bulma even had baby Trunks with her. She was nuts, but that was considered normal for his blue-haired friend at this point. When he set the others down safely, Goku immediately put his hands on Chi-Chi’s shoulders and squeezed as he tried to keep his heart from beating out of his chest.
Words, curses surprisingly, filled his mind, and something eventually made it past his lips. Though it was echoed almost exactly in time with the same words from Chi-Chi.
“What the hell were you thinking?!”
For a moment, he stared back at her. Her large, dark eyes narrowed into slits. Her eyebrows down, creases on her forehead. Her hair a disheveled mess with the bangs blowing in the strong breeze of energy still coming from Gohan. He would think of his son in a moment. Right now, his focus was on his wife.
“Uh, what?”
Chi-Chi snarled in his face. “You made Gohan fight! You quit and made him fight! What is wrong with you? The one thing – one thing – I asked you to do and -”
Dropping his grip on her shoulders, he held his hands up and assumed a defensive posture. “Oh. That. Chi-Chi, look, I can explain.”
“No. You went too far this time, Goku. Too far! You hear me? I want Gohan to quit fighting that monster and I want you to – I want you to -” She paused, her eyes filling with sudden tears. “Goku, why do you do this to me?”
Before he could answer, Chi-Chi fell against him and he found his arms wrapping around her, holding her gently, even as he smiled and dropped his Super Saiyan transformation. Whatever the reason, Gohan had gone after Cell with a real purpose once he realized his mother had come so close to dying. Or maybe he thought Cell had killed her. Regardless, the bug monstrosity was no longer here. Goku was only sad he had missed Gohan’s epic finish.
But he was glad he had Chi-Chi and, well, everyone. They were all still here and alive. No sacrifices necessary. He’d have to go calm down Gohan in a moment and let him know his mother was perfectly fine, of course, but for now…
“I’ll explain everything,” Goku whispered as he landed a kiss to his wife’s forehead. “It’s over now, Chi-Chi. I promise.”