Why repost this chap, you ask? Simple: I forgot to mention before that my good friend Holly O. did a lovely pic of this fic for me! You can find it at deviant art under Hollyberry52! I tried to post the exact address, but it seems this site won't let me!
Sorry for forgetting, Holly! Now, back to our story.

Part 2: On the Land

Piccolo and Pu'ar shoved Goku through the surface, and he broke above the waves down to his hips thanks to the forced motion. He gasped and coughed painfully and quietly as they helped him swim to shore, keeping his head buoyed above the water. His body was exhausted from the magical transformation, and numbed from the pain that came with it. He wasn't sure how long it took to reach the shore, but he was grateful when they finally reached it. He strained to pull himself onto the sand as he drew in slow, deep breaths. Pu'ar and Piccolo also sat and rested for a bit. Air had always seemed too thin for comfort before, but now it felt perfect to his newly formed lungs. The pain was gone now, and Goku rolled over to lay on his back, propped up by his elbows. Then he sat up completely, staring at the changes in his body. He lifted one leg a little way, put it down, and then lifted the other. He stared in surprise at the sight of his seaweed string of seashells, which was now broken, wrapped around his new ankle. He frowned sadly as he took the torn string off his leg and looked at it. ((It must have broken when my tail was transformed.)) he reasoned. He still had the shells around his wrists and his necklace, but his tail string was history, and he put it aside with an unheard sigh. He glanced around quickly and realized, to his great delight, that this was the beach below Chi-Chi's palace! Smiling, he pulled himself up on one of the rocks that jutted out of the sand in that area of the beach, and stood up for the first time on his new feet. The beach below Chi-Chi's palace was rife with large rocks, some in the surf and some on the beach itself, for which he was grateful. His legs wobbled unsteadily, but he decided to attempt a few exploratory steps. He let go of the rock and took a step away, then fell over onto the sand. He frowned again; Chi-Chi and Bulma had made standing and walking look so easy. Not allowing himself to be deterred in the least, he propped himself back onto his feet to try again. This time, he tried to just stand still for a bit before walking.
"I can't believe you did this, Goku!!" Piccolo bellowed once he had breath enough to do so. "What will your father say?! He'll say he'll have lobster for dinner, that's what he'll say! What were you thinking?!" Goku shot him a frustrated look, and tried to tell him to calm down, but nothing came out.
"Goku, are you okay? Are you sure this was the right choice?" Pu'ar asked, clearly uncertain and nervous. Goku gave her a confident smile and nodded. He then started practicing walking again.
"There's still time," Piccolo went on, more to himself than Goku. "Pu'ar and I can go back to Babidi, and convince him to give you your voice and tail back, and you can just go home!" Goku shook his head vigorously to show his disagreement with that idea. "Don't shake your head at me!" Piccolo snarled, caught between anger and fear. "How could you have agreed to such a thing in the first place?!" Goku sighed and tried to show Piccolo with his face and eyes that he'd be unhappy back under the sea if he didn't at least try to win Chi-Chi.
"Well, hi there, Goku! Back again?" Turtle's voice suddenly reached them, and they turned to see him come up the beach. Goku smiled a mute greeting. Turtle tilted his head to one side. "What's the matter? No answer? Say, something's different. . ." Turtle took another look and his eyes bugged out. "Goku! You've got legs! How?!"
"Babidi. He traded his voice to him for legs," Piccolo said, still bristling with anger.
"Babidi?! Oh, my! I've heard all kinds of terrible things about him!" Turtle gasped.
"Yeah, so has everyone else in the ocean," Piccolo grumbled. Then he let out a defeated sigh. "Well, there's nothing left to do, I suppose, but to find that Princess. It would be better for him to remain human forever than belong to Babidi." Pu'ar and Turtle nodded, and then Turtle turned and pulled down a tattered sail that was caught on some of the rocks.
"If you're going to present yourself to a Princess, you'll need something to wear," Turtle said around the sail.

Chi-Chi and Bulma were walking down the beach with Korin trotting alongside them when Korin suddenly caught wind of a familiar scent. He mewed in interest, and ran ahead of his mistress and her friend.
"Korin! Come back here!" Chi-Chi called after him, and she and Bulma ran after him. Korin ran straight to where Goku was tying the sail around himself. "Korin, what's got into...oh," Chi-Chi blinked in surprise as Korin ran up to a handsome, half-naked man, wearing a tattered sail and two seashell bracelets, and a beautiful pearl and seashell necklace. It was a strange sight, especially when the man fell over after trying to take a step forward. At the same time, he felt very familiar to her. Chi-Chi ran forward to see if he was all right, placing her hands on his damp shoulders as she did so. "Are you okay? That was quite a fall," she said, and he looked up into her eyes and smiled tenderly, like he knew her very well. He sat up to be more level with her, his face full of delight, and Chi-Chi felt her cheeks redden, and the feeling of familiarity increase. "Do I... know you from somewhere?" she asked cautiously, and Goku nodded quickly. Her eyes lit up, and Bulma felt her jaw start to drop in surprise. "Are you the one? What's your name?" Chi-Chi asked quickly, squeezing his shoulders, and Goku went to answer - but no sound came out of his mouth. He gritted his teeth in annoyance; not having a voice was even more aggravating that he thought it would be. "What's wrong? Can't you speak?" Chi-Chi asked, her grip going slack, and Goku shook his head no with an air of misery. The light went out of Chi-Chi's eyes then and her shoulders sagged. "Oh. Then you can't be whom I thought," she said sadly. Goku shook his head no, pointed to himself, and made a few more gestures to try and make her understand, all of which went not understood. He tried to stand and nearly toppled over again by going too fast, only to be caught under one shoulder by Chi-Chi. "You've really been through something, haven't you?"
"I'd say so...whatever happened to his clothes, do you suppose?" Bulma asked lightly as she moved to support him under his other shoulder.
"I have no idea. Come on, we'll take him to the palace," Chi-Chi said firmly, and Bulma knew better than to argue. Goku smiled a little, pleased to at least be going to her palace, and sent that same smile briefly over his shoulder to his friends, who were watching from the surf. Except for Piccolo, who was clinging to the inside of the sail. The only thing he could do now was to go with Goku and try to help him.

Goku sat in the soapy water and marveled at such a thing. Having spent his entire life submerged in water, bathing was a new idea. The lightly sweet smell of the soap was pleasant, and he watched in wonder as the bubbles popped in the air. It had only taken a bit for him to figure out what to do in the bath, though the servant sent to help him helped in more ways than one. Rubbing the washcloth over his skin was a new feeling, but not a bad one. The servant scooped up the sail and took it away, claiming they'd have it washed. Unfortunately, Piccolo was still hidden inside it. The rag, along with Piccolo, was dumped into a washtub and scrubbed.
"So, where do you think this new guy came from?" one of the washerwomen asked as she tended to the blouse in her sudsy hands.
"No idea. A half-naked man washed up on the beach is just a little strange, if you ask me," a second woman answered, scrubbing the sail with Piccolo inside. "And from what I hear, he can't have been there long as he was still all wet."
"No boots, no coat, not even a shirt, I could understand - he might shed those to swim better. But completely naked?" a third woman shook her head as she washed a dress.
"Princess Chi-Chi has been going to the beach more often than she used to; searching for the 'mystery man' who saved her," a fourth woman observed.
"If she wants to find a husband," the second woman said as she ran the sail through a wringer, "I know plenty of available, nice young men around here." The sail was then hung on the line and sent upwards to dry. Piccolo, spitting out soap and feeling a little bruised, quickly jumped from the sail through the nearest open window. He landed on a wooden floor with a sigh of relief. Then a strange odor hit his nostrils, and he looked around himself. Counters filled with half-prepared food, a roaring fire with a large pot on it, and any number of cooking utensils filled the room. He had landed in the worse possible place for himself: the palace kitchen! He quickly searched to find a place to hide.

As Goku worked on drying himself off after his bath, more servants came in with clothes for him. They were very nice clothes, well made from fine fabrics; Goku hoped he could figure out how to put them on without either damaging them or making himself look like a fool. Thankfully, he could tell by looking at most of the garments how they went on, and the servants helped him with a few pieces of the clothing. Before long, he was ready.
"So, any other ideas on who our mysterious visitor might be?" Bulma asked as she and Chi-Chi sat down to dinner.
"None. I thought he might be a sailor, but that doesn't make much sense...did you see the seashell jewelry he was wearing?" Chi-Chi answered.
"Yes, I did. I've never seen anything like them," Bulma said. Chi- Chi then sighed and looked a little sad.
"I was really hoping he was the one," she said quietly. Bulma also sighed, but it was a sigh of annoyance.
"Chi-Chi, could you consider, just for a moment, that you dreamed up the man who saved you? I mean, why would he run when I came up? It doesn't make sense!" Bulma said, highly agitated. Chi-Chi's eyes filled with flame.
"My not drowning and getting washed ashore beneath my palace doesn't make any sense! Someone brought me here, Bulma! He was young, my age, with dark hair and a handsome face, and he could sing! I didn't dream him up!" Chi-Chi snarled. Before they could launch into their argument anew, Goku walked into the room. They turned and watched him as he walked forward, dressed in blue slacks, white boots, a white shirt and a white, gold-trimmed dress coat. He was still wearing his unusual seashell jewelry. His steps were steady and sure now, and he smiled at Chi-Chi brightly.
"My, quite the looker, isn't he?" Bulma said secretively to Chi-Chi.
"You look great...I mean, much better!" Chi-Chi blushed a little at her own slip as well as the way he looked at her. His face revealed his pleasure at her compliment. "Please, sit," she motioned to the chair beside her, and he carefully sat himself down. Sitting was a little different with legs, but not too different. "Are you hungry?" she asked, and Goku nodded, suddenly realizing he was starved. Chi-Chi turned to a servant who was standing nearby. "What's for dinner, Lunch?" she asked the purple-haired young woman.
"I believe Yajirobe is preparing lobster," Lunch smiled sweetly. Goku felt himself pale a tiny bit; he still wasn't quite sure where Piccolo was. Chi-Chi noticed his slightly upset look.
"Don't you like lobster?" she asked. Forgetting, again, that he couldn't speak, Goku tried to tell her that he liked lobster just fine, but he knew one, and...he stopped then, giving a tight-lipped look of annoyance to himself. Chi-Chi and Bulma glanced at each other thoughtfully, both coming to the same conclusion - he hadn't always been mute.

In the kitchen, Piccolo was moving stealthily from one hiding place to another to try and reach the door. The cook, a short, fat man with thin black hair, was working on the meal. He was humming as he spiced the water the lobsters were boiling in and then began preparing the salads while checking to make sure the biscuits were almost done. Piccolo felt a little queasy as he looked around; merpeople ate fish, but they ate it raw, and he always made a point not to be there when they did. The smell of his brethren cooking made his shell crawl. He was about to make a dash from his latest hiding place when Yajirobe spotted him.
"What the...? Now, how did you fall down there?" Yajirobe said as he picked Piccolo up. Piccolo went limp for the moment, working on an escape plan. "I can't believe I let a big, fat, juicy lobster like this fall on the floor! Well, I'd better get it ready," he said, and quickly rinsed Piccolo off. Then he poured the marinating sauce over him, and then added some flour. Then he released him into the cooking pot. Piccolo caught the edge of the pot with his pincers, his tail sinking into the boiling water. The other lobsters were already cooked, and thus didn't notice him. He let out a small noise of pain as he hoisted himself out of the pot and tried to make another break for the door.
"Huh?" Yajirobe turned at the sound of Piccolo hitting the floor, and grabbed the lobster before he could move. "You're an active one, aren't you?" Yajirobe said slowly, raising a small meat-tenderizer hammer with which to stun the lobster. Piccolo did the only thing he could think of - he landed several claw-punches on the human's face. Yajirobe let out a yelp of surprise and pain and dropped Piccolo back onto the floor. Piccolo started to run. Yajirobe turned fury-filled eyes to the green crustacean, and charged after him, throwing a pan. Piccolo jumped out of the way and then lunged at the human's ankles, planning on toppling him long enough to get away.

"Your father should be returning from the trade agreement talks in a week," Bulma said casually as they waited for their dinner. Chi-Chi was watching Goku, who was smiling at her sweetly while he snuck glances at the silverware and tried to remember what all Turtle had told him about such things.
"What?" Chi-Chi looked back to her friend. "Oh, yes, he should." Bulma smiled slyly.
"You know, Princess, you've been spending too much time moping around the palace. Why don't you take our new friend on a tour of the kingdom? I mean, presuming he's new here," Bulma suggested brightly.
"That's a fine idea! I mean, if he is...are you new to our kingdom?" she turned to Goku, who nodded ascent. "Would you like to go on a tour?" He nodded again, and reached out to touch her hand. She looked at him curiously, and he pulled his hand back. He had to go just a little slower, or she'd think badly of him. Then she gave him a friendly smile and reached out and patted his hand gently to show she wasn't offended. "Say, I know! What we need is some paper, ink, and a quill! You can write your answers!" she suddenly said. Goku wondered what paper, ink, and a quill were, but nodded anyway. Just then a loud clattering and crashing came from the kitchen, followed by a male voice cursing. Lunch turned red as she glanced at their visitor and hurried for the door.
"I'd better check on Yajirobe..." Lunch said quickly, and dashed into the kitchen. When she got there, half the place was in ruins. Shelves were broken, dishes were strewn about and in pieces, and flour and sauce were everywhere. Yajirobe was looking around furiously for Piccolo, his face bruising from the blows already dealt.
"YAJIROBE!! What have you been doing in here?!" Lunch demanded loudly.
"I...uh...I...." Yajirobe stammered. He quickly fetched the cooked lobsters, set them out on plates and arranged them on the tray, along with the salads and biscuits. "I'm sorry...but there was this lobster that..." Lunch cut him off with a cold glare and took the tray.
"So, what was that racket?" Chi-Chi asked as Lunch served them. The plates were covered with round lids.
"Oh, uh, nothing important...Yajirobe overfilled one of his shelves and it broke, that's all," Lunch answered with a nervous smile.
"Really? Should we send for a carpenter?" Bulma asked, still looking at Lunch as she uncovered her plate. Goku blinked in surprise to see Piccolo hiding on Bulma's plate by her cooked lobster. Before anyone else could notice him, Piccolo quickly jumped off the table. He went to sit between Goku's feet, and Goku acted as though nothing was amiss. He watched the women carefully to see how to use the utensils to eat the lobsters. Back home, they would just crack the shells open and use sharpened seashells to pull out the meat, but it was clearly different here. On the whole, however, he managed to eat without drawing much attention; and he had to admit, cooked lobster was rather tasty.
After dinner, Chi-Chi led him to a study, and offered him some paper, an inkwell, and a quill. For a moment, he was at a loss, until he remembered the parchments he and his brothers had found. All writing done under the sea was done as carvings in stone, but he felt certain he could figure this out. After a few false starts that left him feeling very foolish, he managed to write out practically his entire story, from saving her to trading his voice for legs. He handed the papers to her, and she looked at them eagerly - for a few seconds. Then she looked disappointed. The language of the merpeople and her people was the same when spoken, but the alphabets each used were completely different. The pages were covered in symbols she couldn't decipher. The disappointment was felt on both sides.
Goku was given a nice room with one window overlooking the beach and one window overlooking a small courtyard of the palace. He dressed for bed with little trouble, and went to the window overlooking the courtyard. Chi- Chi was down there, with Korin. She was walking on the small, grassy lawn, seemingly lost in thought, and humming. Goku could just make out the tune, and realized it was the song he'd sung over her after saving her. She suddenly looked up and noticed him, and waved shyly. He waved back, and then stepped back from the window so she wouldn't think he was spying on her. Piccolo was standing on the nightstand by Goku's bed.
"This is, unquestionably, the worst day of my life! I fail miserably in my duty to my King, I'm almost cooked, and I get served for dinner!" Piccolo groused as he tried to wipe off the feeling of sauce with a towel Goku gave him. Goku sat down on the bed and sank a few inches into the soft mattress. He grinned and laid down, feeling exhausted. "All right, we need to get down to work, because you don't have much time. During that tour tomorrow, lay on all of the charm you have! Make sure you look your best, and be polite, kind, and whatever else as it takes! The sooner you get her to kiss you, the better! Are you listening to me, Goku?" he paused a moment when he realized the young sea prince was sound asleep. Piccolo sighed, and blew out the candle he was standing next to. "You're hopeless, Goku. Totally hopeless," he shook his head and got onto the bed to sleep himself.

They set out on the tour early the next day in a small carriage driven by an old man named Roshi. Bulma stayed behind, claiming there were tasks in the palace to which she needed to tend. She and Lunch watched them leave from one of the palace windows, waving goodbye until the carriage was out of the gate. As they rode down the main street into town, Chi-Chi pointed out some sights. Goku tried not to show too much surprise or wonder at anything he saw, but it was difficult. Once they were in town, they went on foot to see things better. There was a spring fair being held on four streets, and Goku wanted to see it all. He marveled at the street performances, the objects for sale, and the various kinds of food. They came across an open area where people were dancing to the music of a band playing in the street. Goku watched their legs and feet with a faint air of wonder; the merpeople had something similar to dancing, but not quite the same.
"Would you like to dance?" Chi-Chi asked him. Goku looked a little uncomfortable at the thought. "You don't know this dance?" she asked gently, and he shook his head a little sheepishly. She smiled and took his hand. "It's not hard; I'll show you," she said, and he let her lead him into the midst of the other dancers. She led first, explaining the proper steps, and before long he got the hang of it and was leading, and all who saw them thought they both moved with great grace and skill. After they'd seen all there was to see at the fair, they rode in the carriage beyond the main city to see some of the countryside surrounding it. Goku took in everything with child-like excitement, and Chi-Chi watched him curiously; his reactions were like someone who had never seen many of these things before. He turned and smiled at her, and she felt her cheeks turn a little pink as she smiled back. He was unlike any man she'd ever met, and she liked him.

Things were less pleasant in the Kingdom of the Merpeople. King Vegeta was between incensed and worried with Goku's disappearance. He had several guards out searching for him, but none of them had found anything yet. His other six sons were growing increasingly concerned about their missing brother; they knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't swim off like this without good reason. They all came to a mutual decision to search for Goku themselves, and had just left the palace when a guard came swimming up with a grim look on his face.
"Your Highnesses," the guard bowed a bit. "I may have found something."
"What?" they all said at once.
"What have you found?" Raditz demanded.
"Show it to us at once!" Vegeta snapped. The guard held out his hand, in which sat Goku's broken seashell string. A wave had swept it off the beach and back into the sea. The six Sea Princes stared at it for a moment.
"Where did you find it?" Vegeta asked at last.
"Floating in the western quadrant, near the black mountains by the red coral reef," the guard answered. "But the current most likely took it there on its own, it's been so strong since last evening; I doubt Prince Goku was there when he lost it."
"You're probably right," Tien nodded, though it didn't make him feel any better.
"Good work. Keep searching for the Prince, we'll take this to the King," Vegeta said, and the guard bowed again.
"Highness," he said, and left.
"What could have happened?" Krillin asked first.
"Now, now, jumping to conclusions won't help Goku," Juuna said, though it was clear he was antsy too.
"Juuna is right, we still don't know anything. Goku could've gotten his tail string caught on something and that broke it off. From what we've heard, he was so upset yesterday he wouldn't have noticed if he lost it," Yamcha agreed, and hoped none of them noticed his shaking hands.
"Right," Raditz nodded. "It's not like the string is bloody and was found near sharks or killer whales." They all fell quiet for a moment.
"Come on, let's take it to Father," Vegeta said, and they swam back into the palace. The King reacted much as they had, with increased nervousness that he rapidly covered up.
"That-that foolhardy boy! He lost his tail string, too, on top of everything else? When I find him, he won't be allowed out of his room for three tides!" King Vegeta said, acting strong, but his sons could see that he was getting more worried. They left the palace again shortly thereafter to check some of the places the guards wouldn't think to look, since they were supposed to be off-limits, but that Goku could and would hide in. Unfortunately, no matter where they looked, they could find no trace of their missing brother.

The first week passed for Goku in near bliss. He spent every day with Chi-Chi when she wasn't busy with affairs of state, and he could sense her affections for him growing. Piccolo was always close by, and often groused to him about missed opportunities to kiss her. He had actually tried to kiss her once, but she had pulled away shyly. She taught him to play a game called chess, and he wasn't too bad at it after losing his first ten games. He'd found a chessboard and a few pieces under the sea once, and Turtle had told him a few things about the game, but not enough with which to really play. She also started teaching him to write in her language, though it was taking far too long. Since writing wasn't a real option at the moment, he tried drawing out what had happened to him on several sheets of paper. Chi-Chi found him bent over a desk, finishing the last picture.
"What are you doing?" she asked lightly. He looked up and smiled excitedly, and handed her the drawings. "What's this? Art?" she glanced at it, and blinked at the sight of the ship on which she'd had her birthday party. "What...?" she said quietly as she looked at the next picture, which showed lightning hitting the ship and the ship burning. Next was a picture of her (not perfect, but still clearly her) being struck by the pulley and thrown overboard. "How do you know about this?" she asked quickly as she looked at the next picture, which had a mermaid - no, a merman - in the water with her. Strangely, the drawn merman resembled her guest. The next picture showed the merman saving her and bringing her to the beach. The final few pictures were of the merman with a strange, octopus-like creature, who seemed to be taking a ball out of the merman's mouth, and then giving the merman legs in return. The very last picture was of the merman, now looking just like the stranger, standing on the land with her. She again studied each of them carefully, and then looked at him. She didn't know what to think. He was looking at her eagerly, waiting for her response. She wetted her lips thoughtfully. What in the world did it all mean? Was it some kind of story he'd made up? Now, she really didn't know what to think! Goku felt his rising hope slip away when he realized she didn't understand that this was what had happened. After several awkward moments of compliments about his artistic talent and half-muttered questions about what it all meant, Goku put the pictures away and tried to think of something else.
A few days after, Chi-Chi received word from her father that he'd be delayed for another week. She was only a little disappointed, for she was still working on a way to introduce their guest to him. She also gathered some information on sign language for them both to learn. She wanted to talk with him very much. Goku was willing to try anything to communicate with her. Piccolo, who usually spent much of the day either hidden in Goku's room or on the beach speaking with Pu'ar, was quickly losing patience with the whole situation.
"Goku, you need to get a move on! We only have 10 days left!" Piccolo growled to Goku one evening after his first signing lesson. Goku breezily waved to show he wasn't worried. He saw the way she looked at him; he was certain that she was falling for him, and he just needed the right moment to kiss her. If he kept trying to kiss her left and right, she'd think he was too forward at best, a lecherous slime at worst. "Don't wave at me! This is serious! We're talking about your life and freedom here!" Piccolo snapped. Goku frowned at him to show he understood, and then opened the window. The smell of the sea wafted in strongly, and Goku felt a small twinge of homesickness. ((I think I'll walk on the beach for a bit.)) he decided, and left the castle for the beach with Piccolo on his heels. "Where are you going?! Come back here! Don't walk away when I'm talking to you...!"

The entire Mer-Kingdom was in an uproar. Goku's disappearance was no longer considered to be merely 'swimming away'; most were convinced he had somehow been kidnapped. King Vegeta was worried to death, and the other Sea Princes could barely contain themselves. The entire kingdom and much of the ocean beyond had been thoroughly searched, with no sign of Goku. Piccolo and Pu'ar's disappearances had been noted as well, but few were sure if the absences were connected. The Sea Princes were fairly sure they were, however. They were all near the breaking point when Vegeta suddenly startled, his eyes wide.
"Of course!! How could we not think of it?!" he snapped, and suddenly swam off at top speed. His younger brothers quickly followed him.
"What? What didn't we think of?" Juuna asked anxiously.
"Vegeta, where are we going?" Raditz asked at the same time.
"I know where Goku is!" Vegeta answered sharply.
"WHERE?!" the others demanded in unison.
"Where else?! He's been hiding near the shoreline where that human Princess he's in love with lives! No one, not even us, searched anywhere close to the shorelines! Most didn't go near the surface at all! Of course we didn't find him!" Vegeta said firmly, and the others felt shock stab them like fishhooks. The answer was so clear, so plain, it was hard to believe none of them had realized it much sooner.
"Of course!!" Raditz bellowed, swimming faster.
"It's so obvious!!" Krillin agreed.
"He's going to be in so much trouble when we bring him home!" Yamcha shook his head, relief filling him. "Going to the surface again after Dad was so mad at him for breaking that rule!"
"Yeah! Father will most definitely string him up by his fin this time!" Tien said, a light chuckle escaping him. They were all happy, relieved, and eager to see their littlest brother again.
They broke the surface close to the beach and gazed upward at the dark, starry sky curiously. They had only gone to the surface the one time they'd followed Goku, and it had been daytime. They didn't understand why it was so dark now. Ignoring the darkness, they swam to the rocks and started looking for Goku.
"Goku!" they all called quietly. "Goku! Where are you? Come out right now!"
"You're in enough trouble as it is! Don't make it worse!" Vegeta whispered urgently.

"Goku!"

"Goku!"

"Goku!"
"Hsst! Someone's coming!!" Tien suddenly called, and they dove behind the rocks and watched the dark figure walking up the beach.
"What are you guys doing here?!" Pu'ar's voice suddenly asked in a high whisper, and they stared at the blue-purple catfish sitting in the water.
"Pu'ar! Where's Goku?!" Raditz demanded sharply, almost leaving his hiding place.
"He's....well, he's..." Pu'ar stuttered nervously.
"HE'S RIGHT THERE!!!" Krillin yelled, leaning out from the rock he'd hidden behind as the person on the beach came close enough to be identified as their lost brother. Goku jumped and stared at Krillin in horrified shock. ((Oh, no! What are my brothers doing here?!)) he thought. Piccolo, who was behind Goku, stiffened as well, but they hadn't noticed him yet.
"What?!" the others quickly left their hiding places, and Goku took a step backwards. His brothers swam right up to the shore to look at him, their faces as full of the same shock and fear as his own.
"Goku. . .what happened. . . .you have. . .!. . .how?!" Yamcha asked.
"Brother, what have you done?!" Vegeta barked, his eyes wide and locked onto Goku's human legs. Goku, in a near panic, started to try and explain, but even though his mouth was moving, not a sound came out. "Answer me, Brother!"
"Stop joking around, Goku, and talk to us!" Juuna agreed. Goku grimaced and tried again with his hands, which didn't work either.
"Goku, our patience is running out! Tell us this instant what's going on, or...!" Raditz growled.
"He can't," Pu'ar said sadly. They looked at her icily.
"What do you mean, 'can't'?" Vegeta asked lowly.
"He can't," Pu'ar repeated. "Goku can't speak anymore. He traded his voice to Babidi, the Sea Wizard, for a pair of legs."
"HE. . .DID. . .WHAT?!?!" all six of the other sea princes cried.
"Goku, how could you do something so stupid?!" Krillin said.
"We all know that Babidi is evil! Everyone knows that! Why would you go to him for anything?!" Yamcha agreed.
"What were you thinking?!" Tien snapped.
"What good will this do?! What will it accomplish?!" Raditz asked.
"How long will this last?" Juuna asked.
"This is unbelievable! You actually gave up your voice and tail for legs?! Why?!" Vegeta demanded harshly. Goku looked at them imploringly.
"He did it to be with that human princess he's in love with," Pu'ar explained for him. "The spell will only last three weeks, unless he can get her to fall in love with him and kiss him. If she kisses him, he'll stay human forever. If she doesn't, he'll turn back into a merman, but..."
"Right! Goku, I order you to stay away from her and wait for this spell to wear off!" Vegeta commanded.
"Agreed!" the others said. Goku shook his head frantically.
"No, no, no! Part of the deal was that, if he fails to win Chi-Chi's heart and stay human forever, afterwards, he'll turn back into a merman and he'll belong to Babidi!" Pu'ar squeaked fearfully, and they looked at her and then at him, and he nodded quickly, his eyes touched with fear.
"Oh, Kami. . .Brother, what have you gotten yourself into?" Raditz said somberly under his breath.
"You must really love her a lot..." Krillin said softly, and Goku nodded with a small smile. "Do you think you can get her to kiss you in time?" Goku smiled widely and confidently, giving an affirmative nod.
"Hey, Piccolo! There you are!" Yamcha suddenly said, spotting the lobster behind Goku.
"Good evening, Your Highness," Piccolo said with forced calmness.
"Where were you when he was making this mistake?" Raditz asked coolly.
"Yeah, weren't you supposed to watch him and keep him in line?" Tien added. Piccolo sighed unhappily.
"I was being held down and gagged by one of Babidi's eels. He didn't let go until after Goku was turned into a human," Piccolo answered, and the brothers backed off.
"Great. . .just great. Should we tell Father?" Juuna asked tensely. He could just imagine their father's reaction to Goku's choice, and it wasn't pretty. The others all felt the same way.
"Um, maybe not yet. . .he's. . .probably asleep by now, anyway," Krillin offered feebly, and the others nodded and agreed.
"We'll wait until we can think of a way to break it to him gently. . .in the meantime, we'll check up on you when we can," Vegeta said, and Goku watched his older brothers disappear back beneath the waves. He heaved a completely silent sigh; his father was going to be so angry and disappointed. And yet, when he thought of Chi-Chi smiling at him and talking to him about her day, he couldn't regret his decision, or wish to be back under the sea. ((Chi-Chi,)) he prayed, ((kiss me soon. . . .I want to stay with you forever.)) He then turned and walked back to the palace.

The following days passed much as the ones before them did. Chi-Chi spent the morning and early afternoon making decisions for the kingdom, then spent the late afternoon and evening with Goku and Bulma. They had both learned enough sign language now to speak a little, and Chi-Chi felt her feelings for him deepening all the time. She knew she was falling. . .had fallen, but she didn't know what she should do about it. She knew nothing about him, who he was or where he was from, or even his name. Even so, she was drawn to him. There was just something in his eyes and smile. There also something in the way he held himself and moved that suggested someone of high breeding and importance. She knew he was in love with her, she could tell by how he looked at her. There were times when she felt like she was falling into his eyes, and she often had to give her head a little shake to clear it when that happened. There was also a small problem, some of the nobles' sons who'd been courting her before disliked her visitor strongly. She'd heard more than one muttering that he must be some poor vagrant and thus be thrown back onto the street where he belonged. Such talk disgusted her, and made her all the gladder she hadn't chosen any of them. Goku had noticed some slight hostility from some of the other young men, but had chosen to ignore it. That almost proved to be a mistake.
Goku was walking down the hall of the palace towards the study where Chi-Chi was waiting for him with more lessons for writing and signing, when a young nobleman with shoulder length, slightly wavy dark blue hair and gray eyes like storm clouds crossed his path and barred his way. Goku recognized him as being the last young man with whom he'd seen Chi-Chi walking on the beach. ((What did she say his name was? Davin?)) He really didn't care, and tried to move around him. The nobleman moved to block him again.
"Going to see Princess Chi-Chi again? You two have been seeing a lot of each other lately," he said coolly. Goku gave him a 'what's-it-to- you?' look, and signed a "please move". The young man looked at his hands and frowned. "I don't know sign language. But I know you can hear just fine, so I'm telling you now; you don't belong here, and I will do everything in my power to get you out of this palace and away from the Princess. Why she's wasting so much time on a mute beggar is beyond me. . ." Goku was scowling in anger and held his fist at bay through sheer force of will.
"Which is why you, Davin, will never have my heart," Chi-Chi's voice suddenly cut him off, and both faced her as she walked up behind the nobleman. "Move aside and let him pass," she ordered, and the noble did so grudgingly. Goku moved past him with a brief, smug smirk. "I want it made perfectly clear: This young man is a guest here for as long as he likes and will be treated with respect and kindness. If I hear one more word against him, the one who speaks it will be cast from this palace!" The nobleman went pale and Goku beamed happily. She then turned on her heel and she and Goku walked off. Goku reached over gently and took her hand, and she smiled and didn't object. The incident with the young noble didn't leave either of them in much of a mood for studying, though. After a few brief lessons, Goku motioned to the beach out the window and signed a "walk".
"Oh, go for a walk on the beach?" she asked for clarification. He nodded. "All right, it's been a while since I did that," she smiled, and they headed for the beach.
They walked along the warm beach in peace, Chi-Chi talking idly about various things, and Goku nodding to show understanding and interest. He glanced once, briefly, to the ocean, a faint feeling of homesickness creeping across his heart, and suddenly spotted Krillin peeking out from behind a rock in the surf. A quick look around showed him all of his brothers watching them from behind the rocks. They were fast enough to avoid Chi-Chi's gaze, however. She continued walking and talking, completely unaware of their added company. They were passing by the rock Raditz was hidden behind when she suddenly stopped and turned to Goku.
"I really wish I knew your name," she said out of the blue. "I know that you've been trying to tell me, but I can't seem to get the pronunciation right. I don't like calling you 'you' all the time."
"His name is Goku!" Raditz whispered, and Chi-Chi looked around in surprise. Goku barely managed to keep himself from reacting to his brother's slip.
"Goku?" Chi-Chi repeated slowly, wondering if she'd really just heard something or if she'd imagined it. Goku nodded. "Then it is Goku?" she asked, and he nodded again. "Well, all right then! Goku!" They proceeded on their way, Chi-Chi delighted with finally knowing his name. Before long, they came to the spot on the beach where Goku used to leave her seashells. She sighed sadly, seeing the spot was empty.
"No shells again," she said, and then turned to Goku. "Someone used to leave beautiful seashells here for me to find, but there hasn't been any in the last couple of weeks." Goku nodded quickly, and motioned to himself, while mouthing "that was me"! Chi-Chi looked at him in mild confusion for a moment, then her eyes widened. "You were the one leaving the shells? Is that what you're trying to say?" Goku nodded again. "You?" He nodded a little more slowly. She looked. . .disappointed. "Oh. I thought maybe it was the person who saved me from drowning," Chi- Chi sighed lightly, as her head started to drop, but then smiled up at him. "Well, I liked them all very much. Thank you," she said. Goku smiled, too, but it wasn't as strong as usual. If only he could make her understand that he really was the one who saved her from drowning! She still thought there was someone else out there responsible for saving her life, and her heart was divided because of it.
"Maybe I should tell her about that, too," Raditz muttered to himself as he watched his youngest brother and the human princess. Chi-Chi, realizing she'd hurt Goku's feelings, decided to change the subject slightly.
"You know, I'd really love to know where you got this beautiful necklace. I've never seen anything like it," Chi-Chi said lightly, reaching out to touch the long spiral shell in the center of his necklace. He'd never gone a day without it, or the seashell bracelets he wore. They were just one more part of his overall mystery.
Goku looked at her in surprise. Beautiful? His tiny mantle? Compared to what his older brothers wore, it was so plain and small! But, he realized, she'd never seen what his brothers wore, only his things, and he supposed it was rather nice by those standards. He thought about it a moment, then reached up and removed his necklace. It was Chi-Chi's turn to look surprised, and before she could say anything, he carefully placed the necklace around her own neck. ((I can never go home again, and its true worth isn't known here. . .if she likes it so much, she can have it.)) he reasoned.
"Oh! Oh, no! I don't want yours! I can't take it!" Chi-Chi jumped in surprise and moved to give it back, but Goku stopped her and smiled at her gently. He shook his head and patted the necklace gently, to show he wanted her to have it. "But. . .you always wear it. . .I assumed it meant a great deal to you," she said quietly, her cheeks flushing lightly. Goku gave a small nod, but made no move to take it back. "If-if you ever want it back, just let me know, and I'll give it right back!" she said quickly, and he looked amused and nodded. "All right, then. . ." she said, her voice fading away as she looked at his face. She was lost in his eyes again; he was standing so close. Her heart was pounding as her eyes began to slide closed and she leaned toward him, and Goku felt his heart leap as he quickly leaned in to kiss her at last. Their lips almost touched, but a large splash of salty seawater hit them both in the head before they could complete their kiss. They broke apart with much surprised sputtering, and looked at the ocean. "How did that happen?" Chi-Chi asked, clearly annoyed. Goku shot a quick look at his brothers, who looked around their rocks and shook their heads vigorously as if to say 'not us!' None of them saw the two pink eels lurking beneath the surface of the water.

"Good job, boys! That was much too close. I thought making that foolish boy mute would be enough to keep her attentions and affections from him, but it seems I was wrong," Babidi observed as he watched Goku and Chi- Chi head back for her palace to get some dry clothes in his viewing bubble. The small sea wizard rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Clearly, I need to take a more direct approach if I'm to accomplish my goals," he observed, and swam over to the shelves where he stored his spell-casting ingredients. He pushed several bottles aside, chose one, and then pulled out a glass ball with a live butterfly fluttering inside it. "I will have King Vegeta's youngest son in my power, and then the King himself - he will bow to me, and I'll make him writhe like a small fish before a shark!" Babidi declared as he threw the bottle and butterfly into his cauldron, and began to change into something else.

Chi-Chi stood in a courtyard of her palace with a view of the beach. The sun had set a short while ago, and a cold wind was rising from the sea. Chi-Chi was staring at the dark waves, petting Korin, whom she held in her arms, and softly humming to herself the tune the man who'd saved her from drowning had sung over her. She didn't know it, but Goku was watching her from his bedroom window. As Bulma went out to join her, he turned away to finish preparing for bed. He was becoming very worried, because he had next to no time left to get her to kiss him. He had until sunset the next day; he had to get her alone and kiss her right away. He didn't bother to listen to what Bulma was saying to Chi-Chi.
"Chi-Chi?" Bulma approached her life-long friend gently, and Chi-Chi turned her head to quietly face her.

"Yes?"

"I know you don't want to hear me say anything against the man you think saved your life, but. . .better than chasing after a dream man, is a real man - warm, caring, and close at hand," Bulma said softly, motioning towards Goku's window, where he could be seen pulling on a night shirt. Chi-Chi gazed up at him, and her lips twitched into a smile.
"You know. . .you're right," Chi-Chi said, and Bulma smiled happily.
"Goodnight, Princess. Sleep well," Bulma said, and headed back inside.
"Goodnight," Chi-Chi called after her. She set Korin down and started to go to Goku's room to talk to him. But before she had taken three steps, a sound came drifting up from the beach; a masculine voice, raised in a strong, sweet vocalization. Chi-Chi felt her jaw start to drop as she realized it was the same voice that had sung over her after she'd nearly drowned. She whirled around and ran to the wall and leaned over to see who was singing on the beach. A fog was rolling in, partially obscuring the figure of a man with a cloak around his shoulders walking on the beach, something small on his chest glowing gold. The voice grew louder as he came closer, and soft gold tendrils seeped from the glowing ball on his chest. Chi-Chi didn't see the magic flying toward her, even as it flew into her eyes, and for a few moments made her pupils glow gold.

Morning came and Goku and Piccolo were woken up by the sound of someone half-running past the door. Goku got up and heard voices nearby speaking in hushed, excited tones. Curious, he went to the door and listened, Piccolo joining him. Three servants stood a short distance away talking.
"It's so sudden!"
"But who is he?"
"The Princess insists the wedding be this afternoon?"
"That's what I heard!"
Goku blinked. Wedding? This afternoon? Delight suddenly filled him to the bursting point. Who else could Chi-Chi be planning to marry? She hadn't seen any other man regularly, and it was clear she had feelings for him. In his excitement, he forgot about getting dressed, and ran to find her. The least she could have done was tell him before she started making plans! Piccolo scurried after him, rather relieved that his prince would be safe. He'd be human and mute for the rest of his life, but safe from Babidi. Goku turned a corner and started down the large steps to the second floor, but as he reached the midway point, Bulma's voice brought him to a halt.
"Well, it seems I was mistaken. Your mysterious savior does exist!" Bulma was saying. Goku froze on the step; he saw on the floor below him that Chi-Chi was standing in front of Bulma next to a young man with shoulder length black hair tied back in a small ponytail. The young man had his arm around the Princess. "Still, aren't you rushing things a bit? I mean, shouldn't you at least wait for your father to get home?"
"Not at all," Chi-Chi said woodenly. Her eyes were wide, glassy, and unblinking. "The wedding ship leaves at sunset." Goku felt his entire body go numb with shock. He shook his head slowly, mouthing 'no' several times. This couldn't be happening! He had saved her from drowning, so who was that man?! He started forward when Bulma saw him and shot him a quick look that told him to wait. It certainly hadn't escaped her notice that her old friend was acting very strangely. Something about this didn't feel right. Goku sucked in a breath, turned, and ran back to his room to get dressed and to clear his head. His green eyes flashing, the young man with Chi-Chi and Bulma glanced over his shoulder lightly to watch Goku's retreating form. He chuckled very quietly to himself as he lightly fingered the small shell he wore on a string around his neck. For a brief moment, it glowed gold.

Goku tried desperately to see Chi-Chi all day, with no success. He was sent away without being seen. Bulma had tried multiple times to help him, and to talk Chi-Chi into waiting before marrying Richard (the man claiming to have saved her), but it was all for naught. As the sun began to sink, the hurriedly prepared wedding ship sailed out of the harbor, leaving Goku on the pier by some tied-up barrels. Piccolo stood at his side, wishing he could offer some kind of comfort, and Pu'ar sat in the water, crying quietly. Goku sank down onto the pier, his shoulders sagging, tears fighting to break free from his eyes. He'd failed. Chi-Chi was marrying someone else, and soon, he'd be one of those awful plants in Babidi's garden. ((How could this have happened?)) he wondered in misery.
Turtle was swimming through the water to see how Goku was doing, having also heard rumors of the Princess Chi-Chi getting married, when he came across the wedding ship.
"How nice, the wedding!" he said, and started to move in. Then he heard what sounded like Goku's voice coming from one of the lower portholes, and after a moment's thought, caught hold of a loose rope in his beak and climbed up to the porthole for a look. Inside was a room, and the black-haired, green-eyed young man getting ready for his wedding. He was humming and chuckling to himself.
"All too easy," he said with Goku's voice. "Soon I'll have that merman in my power, and the oceans as well!" he laughed again as he moved in front of the mirror, and the Sea Wizard Babidi stared back at him. Turtle gasped, releasing the rope, and fell back into the water.
"The Sea Wizard. . .!" he yelped as he fell. Once back in the water, he swam for all he was worth the rest of the way to Chi-Chi's kingdom. He got to the pier in moments, having spotted Goku from the distance. "Goku! Goku!" he called up, and Goku looked down at him. "Listen! I was swimming by the ship, and I heard your voice, and...and, the Wizard was in the mirror, and. . ." Turtle stuttered out quickly. Goku shook his head in confusion.
"Slow down!" Piccolo barked. "What are you babbling about?"
"The Sea Wizard!! The Princess is marrying the Sea Wizard in disguise!" Turtle snapped, and Goku's face filled with terror.
"Are you sure?!" Pu'ar asked.
"Yes! Positive!" Turtle nodded. Goku looked out at the distant ship, and at the sun, which was falling slowly toward the horizon. In his mind, he heard Babidi's words again: "before the sun sets on the last day. . ." Goku pulled off his boots and dove into the water, forgetting he still didn't really know how to swim with legs. Thinking fast, Piccolo cut the rope on the barrels, causing one to fall in to the water. Goku grabbed it when it bobbed back to the surface.
"Pu'ar, get him to that ship as fast as you can!" Piccolo ordered, and Pu'ar grabbed the rope hanging from the barrel and started pulling.
"Right!" she squeaked. Piccolo turned to the Turtle next.
"Turtle, delay that wedding!"
"What are you going to do?" Turtle asked.
"I'm going to get the King!" Piccolo answered, diving into the water and swimming away. Turtle looked around for a moment, not sure how he could do his mission. Then he had an idea and swam off at top speed. As he went past several sea animals and birds, he called out to them. "Come on, everyone! There's an emergency! Prince Goku needs you! Come on!" The animals quickly followed.

On the ship, the wedding march had started playing. As Chi-Chi walked down the aisle to her waiting groom, Bulma fidgeted uncomfortably and Korin growled at the strange man. Bulma knew something was wrong about this, but she wasn't sure what. Chi-Chi came up to Richard's side, and the old priest began to speak.
"Dearly beloved. . ."

"Hold on, Goku! We're almost there!" Pu'ar panted as she continued to pull the barrel and Goku along. "Just a little further!" They were almost to the ship, but the sun was hanging ever lower.

"Do you, Princess Chi-Chi, take this man as your lawfully wedded husband, for as long as you both shall live?" The priest asked.
"I do," Chi-Chi said, still stiff as wood.
"And do you, Richard,. . ." the priest started, but "Richard" never heard the rest. At that moment, a group of seabirds dive-bombed him. He ducked, only to have water spat on him by three jumping dolphins. A sea lion found its way on deck and head-butted him into the wedding cake. He got up cursing, only to be attacked by a group of lobsters and star fish. Turtle, with the help of some of the others, got onto the deck and somehow managed to get up on his hind flippers and decked "Richard" hard. Richard grabbed Turtle in a fury. At that moment, Goku climbed onto the deck, and started to run to Turtle, when Korin broke free from Bulma's arms and jumped onto Richard's shoulders, biting and scratching. One of the cat's claws hooked the seashell and broke its strap, sending it through the air to smash into pieces at Goku's feet. From the broken bits rose a soft golden ball; in it was Goku's voice, still singing. The crowd, which had scattered when the attack on "Richard" began, leaned in close again, staring in shock. Chi-Chi gripped her head for a moment as the spell over her broke and her unclouded mind returned. The golden lights flew into Goku's throat, and he finished the tune at last with his own voice.
"Goku. . .?" Chi-Chi gasped.
"Chi-Chi!" Goku answered, and ran to her. She met him part way and he pulled her to him quickly.
"Stop! Chi-Chi, get away from him!" "Richard" said in Babidi's true voice. Chi-Chi ignored him.
"You can talk! You are the one..."
"I tried to tell you. . ." Goku answered, and leaned in to kiss her. Chi-Chi went to kiss him in return, but before their lips met, the sun vanished from view and Goku jerked back, letting out a gasp of pain. There was a ripping sound as his pants tore. No longer able to stand without feet, Goku fell onto the deck with a hard thud. The crowd gasped, and Chi- Chi gawked. Goku's legs were gone, and in their place was a long, glittering, orange fish tail. Chi-Chi's mind filled with the pictures he'd drawn before of the merman rescuing her. It had been the truth. . .and it had been him!
"Goku...!"
"Chi-Chi, please understand...!"
"You're too late! TOO LATE!" Babidi cackled loudly as his disguise melted away to reveal his true form. The crowd jumped back as the small octopus-man dashed across the deck, casting a quick spell to bind Goku's body. Babidi jumped onto the deck railing, pulling Goku along with what looked like a rope of light, and grinned at Chi-Chi as he dove overboard with the captured merman.
"So long, Sweetie!" he called to her before they vanished into the water.
"NO!" Chi-Chi cried as they disappeared underneath the dark waves.

"Damn you, Babidi! You cheated me!" Goku snarled as Babidi pulled him along. Dabura and Buu joined them quickly, sniggering in triumph. Behind them was Pu'ar, terrified and uncertain how to help her friend. "You interfered!"
"You think I ever gave a damn about your happiness? You're just a means to an end for me, boy!" taunted Babidi. "I have a bigger fish to. . ."
"BABIDI, STOP!" King Vegeta's voice cut off the evil Sea Wizard's words, and his glowing Trident stopped Babidi's movements. Piccolo swam at the King's side, and from all other sides came the other six Sea Princes, armed with spears and swords made from stone, sharpened seashells, and coral.
"Release our brother, Babidi!" the Sea Princes called.
"Father! Brothers! I-" Goku started.
"King Vegeta! What a pleasure. Lovely day, isn't it?" Babidi smirked at the Sea King.
"Let my son go," King Vegeta warned.
"No way! I own him now! We have a deal!" Babidi grinned sadistically as he held up the signed contract. King Vegeta scowled and blasted it with his Trident. The blow sent Babidi flying into a nearby rock, but the contract stayed intact. Babidi laughed. "See? It's legal, binding, and unbreakable! But then, I've always loved a good bargain," Babidi grinned deeply. "After all, a son of the great Sea King is quite valuable. . ." the contract suddenly flew from his hand and began to spin around Goku, shrinking him into one of Babidi's plants. "But, there are more valuable things to have in one's possession. I could always accept a trade."
"You're out of your mind," King Vegeta said lowly.
"Well," Babidi tilted his head a bit, "I suppose when you have seven sons, losing one is no big deal, is it?" and Goku began shrinking even faster. King Vegeta trembled in rage.

Chi-Chi had climbed into a life boat with a spear gun shortly after Babidi had dragged Goku off. She was lowering the boat into the waves, which had suddenly begun to rise higher and more violently as with a storm, when Bulma leaned over the railing.
"Princess! Chi-Chi, wait!" Bulma called after her.
"I can't! He gave up everything for me, and because of me, he's in that hideous creature's grasp! I can't lose him! I won't!" Chi-Chi answered.
"Don't go alone, at least!" Bulma cried, and leapt down into the boat with her before she could object. The impact of her added weight sent the boat the rest of the way into the sea and they began rowing as the other guests called after them. They could detect a soft glow on the surface of the water a short distance away.

Goku was only a few inches tall now, his skin becoming gray-brown and his limbs spindly. Babidi was grinning again as he conjured a new contract.
"Well? Is it a deal?" he asked impatiently. King Vegeta tightened his grip on his Trident and gritted his teeth. "I suggest you hurry. He doesn't have much time left." King Vegeta closed his eyes, let out a hissing breath, and raised his Trident again.
"Father, no!" his other sons cried as light leapt from the Trident and wrote his name on Babidi's contract. Babidi laughed again as Goku suddenly grew back to his full size and the lights swooped around King Vegeta, shrinking him into one of Babidi's plants instantly. His crown, mantle, and Trident fell to the sea floor. "Father. . ." all seven sea princes gasped softly. Then Babidi snatched up the crown and Trident.
"Finally mine!" he chuckled.
"Give those to me!" Prince Vegeta bellowed, outraged at everything that had happened.
"I think not," Babidi answered, and caused an abrupt current to send him into the distance.
"Monster!" the others started to move in, and the Trident began to glow.
"Contract or not, I'll ki-" Babidi started, but at that exact moment two spears came flying down from above, one cutting his shoulder, the other piercing one of his tentacles. He let out a yelp of pain and looked up, as did the others, to see Chi-Chi and Bulma floating overhead. Goku smiled at Chi-Chi, pride and love beaming from his face. Vegeta managed to re-join his brothers and gazed at Bulma in deep admiration. They had pulled off their dresses and were wearing only underclothes, and suddenly bolted for the surface to get some air. They burst out of the water gasping, but were pulled back down by Dabura and Buu. The two eels wrapped themselves around the two women and held them beneath the water, intent on drowning them. Piccolo swam up and started beating the daylights out of Dabura while Pu'ar laid into Buu. The eels released their grips on the women as each received a numbing blow. Babidi raised the Trident once more.
"Say goodbye to your precious princess, Goku!" Babidi shouted, but before he could cleanly fire a bolt from the Trident, the princes jumped him with Goku and Vegeta in the lead, and the Trident's aim was pulled off target. Instead of hitting either of the ladies, it struck Dabura and Buu, and blasted them into chum. Babidi swore, and sent a whirlpool to slam the princes into every rock in the area. He then realized that his pets were now in bits. He caught some of the pieces in his outspread hands. "My pets! My poor little Dabura and Buu!" he wailed, and watched in fury as Goku headed for the surface with Vegeta a short ways behind him. Babidi began to seethe. His blood was boiling. He began to release great clouds of octopus ink into the surrounding waters as he decided what to do.
Goku swam across the raging waves to Chi-Chi, who was barely able to keep her head up. The lifeboat she and Bulma had ridden had been swept away, and she had no where to go. In the distance, Goku could see Vegeta helping Bulma. His other brothers were fighting the stormy current and couldn't surface. He swam to his princess and embraced her quickly.
"You have to get away!" he said.
"I won't!" she answered, gasping. "I'll help you!" Then the madly churning water below them began to part. Within moments, Babidi, hundreds of times bigger than before, rose out of the water beneath them. They dove off of his head as he cackled. Chi-Chi was swept away, but Babidi's attention was focused solely on Goku.
"Pathetic little fools!" Babidi's voice boomed over them as storm clouds surrounded him and the waves rose into tidal waves. "Now, I'm the ruler of the ocean! The waves obey me! The entire ocean bows to my power!" He then created a massive and deep whirlpool that pulled the water apart until the very bottom of the ocean could be seen. A sunken ship was pried lose from the ocean bottom and was sent spinning back to the surface. As it rose past her, Chi-Chi grabbed a lose rope hanging from it and pulled herself aboard. A hard wave knocked Goku straight into the whirlpool, and he crashed into the muddy ocean floor. Babidi grinned again as he raised the glowing Trident. "Goodbye, Little Sea Prince!" Babidi boomed, and started firing. Goku managed to dodge the first two blasts, but they were far too close for comfort. "That's it for true love!" Babidi declared, and made ready to fire for the final time. Chi-Chi had never steered a ship before, much less in stormy seas, but she managed to point the broken bow of the ship toward Babidi's bloated form. All she could think of was Goku, trapped at the bottom of the whirlpool. Carried by the raging waves, the ship picked up a huge amount of momentum, and Babidi didn't notice it until it was too late. The bow pierced his chest and lanced into his heart, and he screamed as he felt himself beginning to die. Power crackled as it left his dying form, and he sank back into the water, dragging the ship with him. Chi-Chi leapt from it back into the sea, which was rapidly calming with Babidi's loss.
Babidi's shriveled form sank to the bottom of the sea, and in his lair, his garden began turning back into merpeople. They gasped and cried out in joy at their freedom as they swam away from Babidi's old home as quickly as they could. King Vegeta's crown and Trident drifted down to where he was, and as the two objects landed, he, too, returned to his proper shape, and reclaimed them. His sons swam up to him, greatly relieved.

Goku watched as Chi-Chi dragged herself onto the shore. He'd been detained by the force of the falling whirlpool, and hadn't located her until he spotted her at the beach. Bulma was nearby, having been earlier delivered there by Vegeta. The eldest prince had stayed close by, and looked at his youngest brother without saying anything. King Vegeta and Piccolo emerged a short distance from the both of them. He didn't notice his oldest son's presence, but just observed the expression of his youngest as he watched the human girl lie on the beach and gasp. King Vegeta sighed quietly.
"What should I do now?" he asked.
"Your Majesty?" Piccolo looked up at him in confusion.
"He's in love with her, very deeply, and clearly she returns the feeling. What should I do, then?" King Vegeta pondered aloud. Piccolo couldn't think of an answer. After a few moments, King Vegeta shook his head. "Let him be happy," he said, sounding a touch sad and tired. His Trident glowed brightly as he laid it flat on top of the water, sending glowing waves to Goku. Goku blinked, sensing a warm feeling around his tail. He looked down and his eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he saw the light infuse his tail and start to transform it back into legs. He turned to look over at his father, who nodded at him, and Goku smiled his gratitude to him.
Chi-Chi sat up as her strength began to return to her, and watched as Goku waded out of the sea, dressed in a sea blue shirt and pants, his arms open wide to her.

"Chi-Chi!"

"Goku!" She leapt to her feet and ran to him, flinging her arms around him. Filled with happiness, he held her tightly for a brief moment, and then kissed her at last.

The royal wedding was held a few weeks later, after all of the proper preparations had been made. Chi-Chi's father, King Ox, had finally come home, and quickly approved of his daughter's choice. Piccolo stood by the cake as he watched Goku and Chi-Chi exchange their vows and rings, and kiss. Yajirobe spotted the green lobster next to the cake, but didn't recognize him. The cook tried to catch him anyway, until Lunch stopped him and said firmly that the lobster was a guest and not part of the wedding feast. Down below, several merpeople, including Goku's entire family, floated in the water, listening to the festivities on the deck of the wedding ship and waving up to the happy couple. Turtle and Pu'ar were in the water with them. It was now Prince Vegeta's turn to be in turmoil, as he realized he had fallen in love with lovely Lady Bulma. In the past few weeks, they'd actually started talking. He was torn between his duty as next in line for the sea throne and his feelings for her. Then someone lightly tapped his shoulder, startling him out of his thoughts. He turned, and stared at Bulma in the water swimming beside him.

"Hello, Vegeta!"

"What are you doing...?" he started, then looked down and stared at her newly formed fish tail, which was the same sky blue color as her hair. He snapped his head to his father, who was pointedly looking away.
"She just wouldn't leave me alone," was all the king said. Vegeta smiled happily and wrapped an arm around Bulma, while waving to his brother on the wedding ship. As Goku and Chi-Chi waved out to his people, King Vegeta made the water around him swirl and lift him up to the level of the deck. His eyes full of pride, he squeezed his boy's shoulders and smiled at him.
"Don't make me regret this," he warned, still smiling.
"I won't, Father," Goku chuckled and then added, "Thank you." King Vegeta gave a nod and looked over at his new daughter-in-law, who curtsied gracefully. He gave her a smiling nod as well, just before he lowered himself into the water again. As the wedding ship moved on its way, Goku and Chi-Chi faced each other, and kissed again. And they lived happily ever after!

The End. I listen to my mail! !