Losing Fights

Chi-chi had just finished wiping off the last dish from breakfast when Piccolo touched down in the front yard. Drying her hands with a towel, the mother half jogged to the door to greet the Namekian, biting her lip when her eyes met with the impassive green alien's.

"Anything?" She asked.

"No. There's no information on a missing kid matching the girl's description in the entire East area." Piccolo answered shortly. "None of the nearby villages have any kids that have disappeared. I tried looking into the cities too, but all anyone's talking about there is that Satan man. Still, I didn't hear anything about missing kids there, either." Chi-chi's shoulders dropped at this news.

"I just don't understand how no one could be looking for her." She said, clearly troubled.

"Neither do I." Piccolo said. "And I don't like it, either. This whole mess reeks of trouble."

"You guys say that about everything." Chi-chi scoffed. "Sialia is a perfectly sweet little girl. What on earth could she be involved in that's so dangerous?"

"I don't know yet, but it was enough to nearly get her killed." Piccolo answered. Chi-chi squirmed uncomfortably at the reminder. "We can't let our guard down just because she's a child. We still don't know anything about where she's from or how she got here."

"She's not a threat, Piccolo." Chi-chi insisted stubbornly. "Just look at how well she gets along with Gohan!"

"I'll decide that for myself after I find out more about who she really is." Piccolo responded, turning away with a sweep of his cloak. "I'll be back with another update tomorrow. Try and see if you can get the girl to remember anything new before then." And with that, the Namekian took to the air again, heading back to the Lookout more likely then not. Chi-chi sighed as she watched him go.

For the past two weeks that Sialia had been staying with them, that had been the norm. While Gohan had worked to build Sialia a new room, leaving the girl in awe of his strength and abilities, Piccolo worked to find any news of missing children. When the children decorated Sialia's room, erupting into a paint fight half way through that claimed Chi-chi's favorite dress among it's victims, the Namekian searched to see if there was news in the surrounding villages or cities of anything sinister going on. So far, there had been nothing to lead to any clues as to the whereabouts of Sialia's parents, or where she came from or who she really was.

A part of Chi-chi was starting to wonder if she really wanted to know, at this point.

Though she had only been with them for a short while so far, Sialia's presence was like a breath of fresh air that expelled all the ghosts of their past. She'd become a friend to Gohan, and the daughter Chi-chi had never had. It made her feel guilty, but a part of Chi-chi didn't want to give Sialia up. She hated herself for it- she knew how much of a wreck she was when Gohan was taken by Piccolo, and wouldn't wish that on any other parent no matter what the circumstances were- but she couldn't help but feel like Sialia belonged to them now.

It was probably a good thing she had Piccolo doing the searching, honestly. She wasn't sure if she could trust herself to look as hard as she should for Sialia's real parents while at the same time opening her home and her heart to the young girl.

Chi-chi was pulled out of her thoughts by a loud giggle, which brought a smile to her face as she turned her attention to the forest surrounding her home. A few seconds later, her son's form broke through the trees, an enormous tree destined to become firewood balanced above his head on one hand and some flowers in the other as Sialia clung to his back like a koala, shrieking with laugher as Gohan easily held up under the seemingly impossible burden.

"I win." Gohan said happily as they approached the house, tossing the tree aside as though it weighted nothing.

"No fair! You were cheating, Gohan!" Sialia tried to pout as she climbed off of Gohan's back, but her grin made that impossible.

"Was not." Gohan returned, smiling. "And what about you, Miss I-Hurt-My-Foot?"

"I did hurt my foot." Sialia insisted innocently. "That's why I jumped on your back. So that you'd carry me home and it wouldn't get any worse."

"Sure." Gohan laughed, shaking his head with a smile, which transformed into a grin when he noticed Chi-chi watching them. "Hey, mom! We got the firewood you asked for! Just give me a few minutes and I'll start chopping it."

"That's fine dear. I'll take care of that myself." Chi-chi told him warmly. "You've got other things to worry about, young man. Your new lessons arrived while you were out, and I got the test I requested for you too, Sialia. I want you two to see to those while I work. Then after you're done, you can have some time to play."

"Yes, Mrs. Chi-chi." Sialia said, nudging Gohan's side. Apparently, this was some kind of cue, because her son stepped forward and presented her with the flowers he'd been holding.

"We got these for you." Gohan told her, a little shyly. "It was Sialia's idea. I told her about how me and dad used to get you mountain flowers from the summit all the time, and she wanted to go get some, too." Chi-chi felt her throat close up a little as she accepted the fragrant flowers from her boy, emotions hitting her like a tidal wave.

Goku had figured out early on in their marriage that Chi-chi was fond of flowers, and started to bring them to her whenever he found some that he thought she might like. It had been a terribly sweet and loving gesture, especially from a man who didn't have the first clue about romance. When she asked him about it, Goku admitted that he had no clue that men gave women flowers to woo them, but he picked them because he knew she liked them and he liked to see her smile.

That had just made the gift even more romantic to Chi-chi.

After Gohan was born, Goku began to bring their son up mountain with him and the two of then would bring her back a bouquet of random flowers with broken stems and petals bruised from their speedy trip to get to the Son's home before curfew. And every time, Chi-chi felt as though she was being given a dozen of the rarest roses on earth.

As she brought the flowers up to her nose to smell, Chi-chi prepared herself for the heartbreak that hit her every time she remembered her deceased husband, but was pleasantly surprised when instead she felt just as cherished and happy as she did when Goku brought her flowers.

"Thank you." Chi-chi told the children who stood waiting for her verdict. "They're beautiful." Gohan and Sialia glowed at her praise. Smiling, Chi-chi pulled a blue flower loose from the hand-picked blooms and tucked it into Sialia's hair, giggling at the girl's visible surprise. "It was very sweet of you two to do this for me. But you still need to hurry up and finish your schoolwork if you want to have time to play tonight." Exchanging looks, Gohan and Sialia darted into the house to start their studies, Chi-chi smiling softly at their departure.

It was nice, to be able to think about her husband and feel happy instead of getting depressed and lonely. She still missed her husband like crazy, and longed to see him one more time, but it didn't hurt as much to think of the happier times anymore. It probably helped to see Gohan smiling and laughing again now, too.

She really is our Bluebird of Happiness. Chi-chi mused, smiling as Sialia stationed herself at the desk in front of the window with her placement test. Piccolo was just being paranoid, she was sure of it. Whatever had happened in Sialia's past, it obviously wasn't in a hurry to track the girl down and finish what it had started. And if her family wasn't looking for her either, then Chi-chi was more then happy to keep her.

She's a wonderful girl. And she fits right in with our family. Chi-chi thought, daydreaming about having a daughter long term. A pretty little thing who'd wear dresses and have lovely hair Chi-chi could play with and who Chi-chi could teach all her recipes and cooking secrets to, the way Goku and his friends showed Gohan how to fight.

It probably made her selfish, but a part of her truly hoped that she could keep being Sialia's mother.

Burying these unfavorable thoughts in her subconscious, Chi-chi gave a sigh as she set the flowers aside before turning to the tree her son had brought her, rolling up her sleeves. She couldn't spend all her time fantasizing, she had work to do and then she needed to prepare a snack and some drinks for Gohan and Sialia while they studied and get lunch started. She didn't have time to be lazing about.

Taking a deep, cleansing breath, Chi-chi focused her strength and sprang forward with a loud cry to attack the felled tree with an open palm strike, feeling a sense of satisfaction when the wood split cleanly beneath her hand.

She might now have been as strong as her husband or son, but she could still get things done.

"You guys are amazing."

Gohan glanced up from his worksheet with a questioning look at that comment, tilting his head when he noticed Sialia staring out the window where his mom was chopping wood.

"You think?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He had always felt a little uncomfortable about his superhuman powers when he was around other kids his age. Not that he got much of a chance to spend time with other kids his age, but still.

"Duh." Sialia scoffed. "I wish I could fly and have super strength and all the other stuff you guys can do."

"It's not that hard." Gohan told her with a chuckle as he turned back to his book. "I can show you, if you want. Just don't tell mom, okay? She gets worried about stuff like this, and it's kinda embarrassing."

"She cares about you." Sialia corrected with a wistful smile. "I think that's nice."

"I'm sure your parents care about you, too." Gohan told the blue eyed girl quickly in response. "They're looking for you, Sialia, I just know it." Sialia shrugged in reply, turning back to her test rather then continuing the conversation.

At this point, she was pretty skeptical that anyone from her old life really cared that she was gone. It had been almost a month now since Gohan found her close to death. If she really mattered to someone then they would have shown up looking for her already, wouldn't they? Especially since Piccolo was scouring every inch of the earth looking for a way to get her far away from the Sons.

He'd jump at the first chance he got to get me out of his antennas. Sialia thought moodily. Gohan might have been close the tall green man, but Sialia definitely didn't feel any buddy-buddy vibes from him.

Thankfully though, Piccolo was the worst thing she'd had to deal with since she woke up with the Sons. Living with Chi-chi and Gohan on Mt. Paozu, every day was a new adventure. She played tag with saber-tooth tigers, rode on the backs of wild dinosaurs, gave belly rubs to dragons, and swam in a lake of the purest, cleanest mountain water man had ever known. Sure Gohan could be a little strange sometimes, and Chi-chi was downright scary when she got mad, but overall Sialia felt happy.

Even now, as both 11-year olds worked in silence (for the most part) while Chi-chi did the daily chores around the house, Sialia was content. Like all of this was something she didn't have this before, in her old life.

I wonder if I was lonely before? Sialia pondered as she filled in a question. It felt like that was the case, but obviously she couldn't know for sure. Still, if she was, then she certainly wasn't anymore. It wasn't possible to feel lonely, living with such a loving and lively family as the Sons.

A part of Sialia hoped that it could last forever.

But time didn't stop for anybody, least of all amnesic 11 year old girls. Though to be fair, it did seem to slow down to an painfully slow pace as she sat there filling out answers on a test packet that was thirty pages thick and covered material from grade school to a high school level.

"Look at you two, hard at work!" Chi-chi said approvingly as she brought the pair some snacks and a glass of lemonade each. "Have you been making progress? Any problems?"

"I'm doing fine, mom." Gohan answered with a smile as he accepted a plate and a glass from his mother. "I've already finished my mathematics workbook, and my science too. I've just got another chapter of my history work and then my languages and I'm all done."

"That's wonderful, sweetie!" Chi-chi beamed in delight. "I'll check what you've done so far before I start preparing lunch, and if everything looks right I'll make you your favorites as a treat, okay?" Gohan practically glowed with excitement at the prospect of such a reward, which made Chi-chi grin in response. She was a seasoned expert at getting saiyans properly motivated, and in her experience nothing got them working harder then the promise of food.

With her son attended to, Chi-chi turned to her newest acquisition, raising an eyebrow when she found the girl slumped over her desk looking like she had just gone a couple rounds with Vegeta, minus the bruises and the broken bones.

"Sialia? Everything alright, dear?"

"I think I'm stupid." The girl answered glumly, making Chi-chi's eyebrows furrow together.

"I'm sure that's not true, Sialia." Chi-chi frowned. "It's fine if you can't answer every question, dear. This test is to see what level of education you have. That way, we know what point we have to start at to move forward."

"But I don't even know if I'm doing any of this right!" Sialia complained, visibly frustrated. "I'm probably gonna end up getting everything wrong, and end up knowing less then a kindergartener."

"Then we'll know to start from there." Chi-chi responded bluntly. "And the only thing you can do is improve." Sialia didn't look all that encouraged by the mother's words, but Chi-chi didn't notice. Instead, she looked rather thoughtful. "Of course, if that's the case then we will have to devote much more time to your studies. Fifteen or sixteen hours a day should do it, I think."

"Sixteen hours?!" Sialia repeated faintly, eyes going as wide as saucers.

"It's a little excessive, but education is important and we can't have you falling too far behind." Chi-chi lectured as she handed Sialia her snack and drink. "But that's only in the worst case scenario, sweetie. I'm sure you'll do just fine." And, with a supportive pat on the back, Chi-chi then swept back out the room, taking a stack of papers from Gohan's desk as she passed that was most likely his finished work. "I'm going to start getting lunch ready soon. Study hard, you two!" Sialia stared at the door with a look of terror on her face after Chi-chi had closed it behind her.

"She wouldn't really make me study for sixteen hours a day, would she?" The blue-eyed girl asked her companion with a slight whimper. Gohan gave a sheepish grin in response that made Sialia's stomach drop like a stone.

Crap. That was a yes.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you won't do that bad." Gohan reassured her. "And if you want, I can help you study. I've gotten pretty good at it by now."

"I see that." Sialia said flatly, raising an eyebrow at Gohan's impressive pile of textbooks.

"Mom thinks a good education is important. She keeps saying she doesn't want me to be stuck here on this mountain my whole life like her and dad, since they never got much of a conventional education and never got the opportunities other people had."

"I thought you liked it here?" Sialia questioned.

"I do." Gohan smiled warmly. "I love Mt Paozu but I would like to travel and see a little more of the world one day, like my dad did when he was my age. Meeting new people, seeing things I've never seen before… I think that would be a lot of fun." Sialia smiled a little at the warmth and wistful tone of Gohan's voice, her worries about her studies forgotten.

"What was he like? Your dad, I mean." She asked, encouraged by the fact that both Gohan and Chi-chi had been opening up a little more about the deceased Son Goku with her lately.

"He was amazing." Gohan answered without a moment of hesitation. "He was so strong, and confident even in the face of enemies that were much stronger then him. I could never be like that, honestly. I just can't be that sure of myself. And he was so kind, too. He'd go to any lengths to help a person. Once, when he was just a little bit older then I am now, he carried a tortoise for over a hundred miles on his back to get him back home to the ocean. And he was smart, in his own way. He might not have known much about reading or science, but he understood nature and animals better then anyone else. He knew how to work with his hands, and even made herbal medicines all by himself. He could be a little goofy sometimes, but he was lots of fun, and even when things were really bad it just never felt as scary or hopeless whenever he was there."

"He sounds like a really great person." Sialia observed, smiling a little at the far-away look on Gohan's face. "With a dad like that, and a mom like Mrs. Chi-chi, it's pretty clear to see how you turned out as amazing as you have." Gohan looked surprised at this comment for a moment before his face began to burn red with embarrassment.

"I'm not that special." The boy insisted, fidgeting with a pencil.

"Of course you are." Sialia rolled her eyes at Gohan's sudden shyness. "And it's not just the strength and the flying and everything, either. You're super nice, Gohan. I mean, I don't remember anything about my past, but I haven't been scared or upset or anything because you've been here the whole time, and you've been such a great friend. You're my hero." That just made Gohan blushed even harder and accidentally snap his pencil into two, which made Sialia giggle a little.

"You're giving me way too much credit." Gohan told her, visibly uncomfortable with the praise. "I just found you. Dende is the one who healed you, and Mom took care of pretty much everything else."

"You saved my life, Gohan." Sialia told him firmly. "I'm not going to forget that, no matter what you say."

"Even if I say mom will kill us if we don't get all our schoolwork done because we were arguing about this?" Gohan asked jokingly, sheepishly motioning to the work he still had to finish before Chi-chi would be satisfied. Sialia gave a snort of laugher at that.

"At least we'll die with honor." Sialia said, fighting to keep a serious face. She broke down with giggles when Gohan began laughing so hard that his chair toppled backwards and went crashing to the ground.

"What's going on in there?" Chi-chi demanded loudly from the next room.

"Nothing!" Sialia and Gohan shouted in unison, grinning at each other over the shared secret as Gohan quickly straightened up his chair again and they both got back to work, with no idea of what was to come later that night.

Because as much as Sialia wanted her peaceful life with the Sons to last forever, time and destiny don't bend to the whims of little girls.

He honestly didn't understand what his lord was thinking.

Yes the situation was very dire, but did the Supreme Kai honestly believe that an eleven year old mortal could do what all the greatest warriors of the Otherworld could not? And using a brainless little girl who was the daughter of some fraud as a way to try and influence his training?

Kibito frowned in disapproval as he stood in front of the crystal ball alongside his master, who's eyes were fixed on the sleeping form of Videl Satan, although the girl was currently going by the name Sialia.

"I still do not feel this is wise, sir." Kibito insisted as respectfully as he could. "Putting the fate of both the living world and the Otherworld in the hands of a pair of children-!"

"I understand what I am doing, Kibito." Supreme Kai said with a sorrowful look. "If there was any other option, I would be more then happy to take it. But this is our best choice. The choice that could potentially save everyone. Our hands have been tied by politics and bureaucracy. The other side has a powerful weapon on their side, and we cannot attack them directly just now without a war erupting which will result in billions of innocent souls being lost forever. However, if we wait for our enemies to strike when they plan to while secretly preparing Gohan for the fight, we stand a much better chance of taking them by surprise and winning."

"The boy is not strong enough." Kibito grumbled. "Rather then putting all our hope in him, I feel our time will be better spent training to face this threat ourselves."

"He's not strong enough yet." Supreme Kai agreed. "But he could be. With proper training and focus, he could be the warrior we've been waiting for. You didn't see the power he displayed fighting Cell, but I did. That much strength, at such a young age… he could be incredible someday. Undefeatable, even."

"Sir, you can't honestly believe that this boy is the one destined to become the Mystic."

"I have to." Supreme Kai said firmly. "Because I don't think we have a chance of winning this without the power of the Mystic." Bringing his hand up to the crystal ball, the Kai began to glow as his power flared to life. "First things first, though. We must warn Gohan of the coming threat, so that he can prepare himself accordingly. And for that, we need to give Videl a taste of what's to come." As Supreme Kai finished speaking, the girl shown in the crystal ball began to thrash about, distress clear on her sleeping face. "With any luck, that should be enough to help." Kibito doubted that very much, but held his tongue.

They had their back against the wall, after all. And while he didn't imagine Gohan's aid would make any true difference, he supposed it couldn't hurt either. Still, he wasn't going to believe for one second that the half saiyan child would impact the outcome of the battle, and he certainly didn't believe he was destined to become the mighty Mystic Warrior.

There was just no way something like that could happen.

There were dead bodies everywhere.

The arena was in ruins, like someone had dropped a bomb on it. So many bodies were just lying there. Broken and unmoving, with souvenir hats and shirts that read 25th WMAT. They weren't the only bodies, either. Piccolo laid not far from where she was standing, eyes open and unseeing. The sight of him made her recoil in horror. She might not have gotten along with the guy, but she certainly didn't want him dead. He was important to Gohan, after all.

Gohan. That thought made a tremor of fear run through her body. Frantic, she began scanning the ground, but to her undying relief her friend was not among the bodies. Her eyes lingered on one man in particular among the dead bodies, a tall muscular man with an afro, and an odd feeling of despair struck her for some reason. That's when a sound drew her attention to the sky. What she saw made her freeze, stunned.

Gohan was there. He was different though, surrounded by a gold aura with bright blond hair instead of his usual black, but somehow she knew it was him. And to her absolute horror, he was fighting off some… thing. A shadowy figure she couldn't make out. And despite Gohan's superhuman strength and speed, it was evident he was losing the fight. As she tried desperately to think of a way to get to him, to help, suddenly the shadow moved to strike, blasting a hole through Gohan's stomach.

Blood rained down on her from the sky. Gohan's blood, still warm and uncomfortably wet. The gold faded from Gohan's aura and hair as his body fell from the sky, eyes still open with a petrified look of horror.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Sialia began to scream.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Sialia?!" Shooting out of bed, the girl breathed heavily, tears still caught in the corners of her eyes as she reoriented herself. Warm hands wrapped around her shoulders, forcing her to look up into the concerned eyes of Son Gohan.

"Sialia, what happened? Are you alright?!" a visibly frightened Chi-chi demanded from the door, which had been broken down and was currently hanging by a hinge.

A dream. It had just been a dream.

Despite that, though, Sialia still felt badly shaken. It had all seemed so real. She could even feel the warmth of Gohan's blood when it hit her face, smell it even. Drawing in a trembling breath, Sialia dived forward, wrapping her arms around Gohan in the tightest hug she could manage. She didn't see the way the boy's face burned red at the contact, she just wanted to reassure herself that he was still alive and okay.

It was just a dream. She had nothing to be scared of.

…Right?

The8thDragonball- This chapter did NOT want to be written for some reason. I had to write the scene with Supreme Kai twice before I was happy. But here it is, the next chapter just like I promised. I'm not sure how many people here caught my new story Teacher's Pet, but there was a little bit of a misunderstanding over there that ended with a lot of people thinking that I was ditching this story. Obviously this was never the case, but I still want to clear things up by saying that I was just a little frustrated about not getting much feedback here, so I figured a break to work on my other stories was in order.

And as flattering as it was to have someone go through and review the story, like a dozen times in anon, I wasn't trying to goad people into leaving a bunch of nonsensical reviews to beef up the review count. I would much, MUCH rather have one substantial review then ten that don't mean anything. Again, I still intend to finish this story, and I am grateful for every bit of support that I get. And with that said, it's time for me to start working on the next chapter of Teacher's Pet. Catch you guys again later!