At first, Goku's only reaction was to blink at Chichi in utter disbelief. She simply couldn't believe the message her ears were carrying to her brain. She would never tout herself as being the world's number one dad, but she certainly didn't think she was a selfish one! Goku's eyebrows drew together and she pursed her lips disapprovingly. I get that she's upset, but doesn't she realize that she's filling our son's head up with lies?!
That odd feeling began to swell up in her chest again. "That isn't true and you know it, Chichi," Goku corrected. She suddenly was astutely aware of just how soft and utterly unimposing the nature of her newly acquired female voice was. She paused in the shock of it before continuing her defense: "I'm not selfish. I don't just think of my own wants. I'm always thinking about you and Gohan!"
"How dare you spout that nonsense to me, Mister!" Chichi snapped. "You're nothing but a derelict father who's only concerns in life revolve around fighting and when his next meal is!"
"Chichi! Please, I'm begging you! Be reasonable!" Goku pleaded. "I love training to become stronger! I won't ever deny that, but don't pretend that that's the only reason I do it! I'm always thinking about keeping you and Gohan safe, of keeping everybody safe!"
A glint of anger flashed in Chichi's eyes and she marched up to Goku and prodded her in the chest. "I can't believe this: always the same excuses! And to think, you are accusing me of lying! How dare you!" She drew her arm backward and with a quick swing, she slammed the palm of her hand into Goku's cheek as hard as she could muster.
Goku had been so wrapped up in her words that she hadn't seen it coming. She stumbled back, nearly losing her balance and falling. She did, however, manage to recover herself. She stared at Chichi wide-eyed with shock whilst rubbing at her newly acquired red cheek. She started to get that feeling again—worse this time. She thought she recognized it as some form of anger or rage. Her blood was boiling. She felt like if she didn't keep her ki in check that she might go Super Saiyan by accident.
"Enough!" Goku suddenly screamed. This time the tables were turned. It was Chichi's turn to be floored.
Goku's finally cracked, it's about time, Piccolo thought, thoroughly amused. I guess these reunions aren't so dreadfully boring after all!
Goku clenched her fists and they shook with anger. "If nothing I say can convince you that you and Gohan are the world to me then I have nothing left to say at all! It's obvious that the feeling isn't mutual!" Goku turned her attention to her son. "Gohan, I promise you that this was an honest accident."
Chichi scowled at Goku and pulled on Gohan's arm. "We're leaving," she said, stomping toward the door and dragging her son behind her. She quite frankly couldn't find it in herself to argue with Goku anymore. It usually wasn't like this. Goku never fought back. This was just too strange and upsetting.
The room went quiet for a good minute before Bulma finally spoke up with a hesitant suggestion, "So… anyone up for the park?"
Yamcha decided to throw the poor woman a bone. "That sounds… good," he said.
𖦹𖦹𖦹
Goku chose to stay behind, and for once, nobody objected to her decision. She leaned against a wall, and gently slid her back down it until her bottom reached the flooring tiles. She ran a slender hand through her spiky hair. She couldn't believe the way she had acted. She was embarrassed and her thoughts kept dwelling on scenarios of her returning home and apologizing to Chichi, flat-out begging for her forgiveness. How could I be so callous! She has a right to be mad at me for this. I'm even mad at myself for this! I have to find a way to clear my mind. I need to wash away some of this stress, Goku mused. Training always takes my mind off my problems. It sounds good right now!
Goku got up off of the floor and strode over to Vegeta's gravity room. She switched on the gravity machine to 50 times Earth's natural gravity. She then began to do vertical push-ups on one hand. In less than an hour, she had already counted up to 5,000. She smiled to herself as she felt the other's ki signatures, they were happy, and enjoying themselves. She could tell by the pleasant feeling their ki were giving off. Even Vegeta's life energy was reflecting a relaxed feeling.
Goku quit practicing her warm-up, and messed with the gravity machine's controls once more. She turned it up to 150 times Earth's gravity. She quickly felt her weight increase, and dropped to a kneeling position.
That's weird, I can usually do better than that, Goku thought.
She quickly decided that she would need to power up to Super Saiyan in order to handle it, but realized that the machine might not be able to take a Super Saiyan's power. Though, she did really want to go Super Saiyan right about now…
Maybe I should go outside to power up, I don't want to break Bulma's machine like Vegeta did, she contemplated.
Goku is transported to a serene location in the mountains, just outside West City. She braced herself, and then began to power up. As she reached the peak of her power in her normal state, she could start to feel a strain.
Wow, this is going to be tougher than I had thought, but I know I can do it! I've done it so many times before. Why wouldn't I be able to now? she thought, slightly worried.
She ignored her aching muscles, and screamed at the top of her lungs as she let tons of energy flow freely throughout her body. Her eyes flashed back and forth from onyx to teal. She struggled to harness some more power. Her hair began to flash into a torrent of golden flame-like spikes. Soon, her whole body was encased in a shell of golden aura. Moments later, the aura died down a bit, revealing a panting Super Saiyan Goku.
"Phew…" She sighed in exhaustion. "That was difficult!"
Goku wiped some sweat off of her brow, and began to punch and kick at the air. She grunted in confusion as her arms began to feel more weighted. Soon, she was struggling to keep up at the same pace she had started at.
Why is it so hard? What's wrong with me? she thought in disappointment, rather than in worry. I'm better than this! she told herself with the utmost of confidence.
She screamed, and strained to have more power flow through her veins, determined to achieve what she could before the accident. Suddenly, she stopped powering up, and her arms fell slack to her sides. A sharp bolt of excruciating pain shot up her spine and gave her a raging headache. Her body locked up on her of its own accord. She couldn't move a muscle. She lost all control.
What's happening to me?! she thought in a panic.
Her knees buckled, and she dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Dizziness overwhelmed her, and every inch of her skin felt cold and clammy. She faded from her golden Super Saiyan status to her normal state. She immediately regurgitated up her last meal, and felt her eyes begin to water from the pain.
In mere moments, the world began to spin around her, and her body swayed with the motion, desperate to keep up. In less than a second, she lost grip on reality, and fainted from exhaustion.