In a remote corner of the narrative dimension, far from epic battles, complex intrigues, and heroic speeches, lies an obscure place: Dimension X.
A sort of purgatory, but without the poetry. Here, individuals wait in a perpetual routine of boredom.
And today, a new inhabitant had joined their ranks.
Chichi, the wife of Son Goku, arrived in a burst of golden light, arms crossed and an indignant expression on her face.
"What kind of nonsense is this?!" she yelled, her gaze scanning the drab, gray horizon.
She still remembered her husband—or rather, someone possessing her husband's body—trying to kill her and her son.
Now, she was in the middle of nowhere, without Goku or Goten.
An elderly character in a bathrobe approached her, a coffee mug in hand. "Welcome, newcomer. You're in Dimension X, or as I prefer to call it, the Land of No Screen Time. Everyone ends up here at some point or another, and when they return to their respective worlds, they forget everything about this place. And believe me, it can last for centuries."
Chichi frowned. "What?! Impossible! Who's responsible for this absurdity?!"
"WHERE ARE GOTEN AND GOKU?!"
"GOKU! GOTEN! WHERE ARE YOU?!" she screamed into the void.
Suddenly, the crackling sound of a microphone interrupted her outburst. An exuberant voice echoed across the gray city.
"My dear fans and faithful readers, this is your humble servant, The Random Reader!"
A giant screen appeared in the dull sky, projecting the image of a man with a laid-back demeanor, sipping soda and typing on a keyboard. His face was that of a television screen, constantly shifting through images.
"So, yes, I know what you're thinking: Why Chichi?!" he said with a mischievous smile.
"Who is that?" Chichi asked the man in the bathrobe standing before her.
"Oh, nobody knows for sure. He shows up here now and then to put on a show before disappearing again."
Chichi, however, was not amused.
Suddenly, the man in the bathrobe vanished.
"What? Where did he go? Mr. Bathrobe! Mr. Bathrobe!"
"No need to look for him; he's returned to where he's supposed to be. That happens sometimes here—for his sake, let's hope we don't see him again."
"What is this place? And why am I here?"
"I'm the one who brought you here," The Random Reader addressed Chichi.
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU DISEMBODIED VOICE?!" she yelled, shaking her fist at the sky.
"Relax, relax, Chichi. You're not alone here! Look around; you've got plenty of company. Oh, look, over there, it's Launch. Remember her? No? Of course not; she disappeared after Dragon Ball. And over there, that's Arale. She pops in for cameos now and then, but... well, you get the idea."
Launch, sipping a glass of lemonade, lazily raised a hand to wave.
"It's not so bad here, you know. We have card tournaments and everything."
"I'm not staying a minute longer in this forsaken hole!" declared Chichi, her anger rising another notch.
But The Random Reader burst into laughter.
"Oh, my dear Chichi, you don't really have a choice. Unless... maybe the fans decide to rally to bring you back. You hear that, folks? If you want to see Chichi return to the plot, now's the time to flood the comment sections!"
The chat exploded again:
"Random Reader, give us back Chichi, or we'll cancel you!"
"Wait, this might be the best thing to ever happen to Dragon Ball XD."
"A Chichi Special in Dimension X? I'm in!"
The Random Reader shrugged.
"Well, we'll see if you make enough noise. In the meantime, have fun, Chichi. And remember, no Goku, no Saiyans here. Just you, Launch, and the other forgotten ones."
The screen disappeared, leaving Chichi alone with a crowd of characters she barely remembered encountering in her life.
"Ah, the only way to leave this place is either to gather the Dragon Balls or to win enough audience attention. I hope you'll entertain us properly."
"Alright then," she growled, clenching her fists.
"I'll show this wretched dimension that I'm far from useless. Get ready to see a Chichi like never before!"
And thus began the improbable arc of Chichi in the Dimension of Forgotten Characters. Oh, am I overshadowing the main series narrator? My bad.
Determined not to remain a mere spectator, Chichi surveyed her surroundings. Dimension X resembled a gray and monotonous city. The buildings seemed to be made of solidified mist, and the streets were filled with forgotten characters, each dragging their boredom like a burden.
She spotted a group gathered around a fountain where the water hadn't flowed in ages. Among them were familiar faces: Launch, Ten Shin Han's former partner; Nam, the warrior from the first martial arts tournament; and even Gregory, the little cricket who once served King Kai.
"Chichi, welcome to our humble purgatory," Launch said, stretching.
"I'm not planning to get used to this dump!" she retorted. "Why is everyone just accepting this? You're not people without stories; our friends are waiting for us! You have histories, talents! Why sit around doing nothing?"
Nam shrugged. "We don't have a choice. The Random Reader locked us in here, and no one cares about us. We're relics. And believe me, for our friends, it's as if we never disappeared—it's even worse if you died before ending up here."
"Relics, my foot! If no one listens to you, then make them listen! We're not going to rot here while Saiyans fight for the thousandth time."
Chichi climbed onto the fountain, clenching her fist. "Listen to me, everyone! We are more than forgotten characters. We have stories to tell, roles to play. If The Random Reader thinks he can lock us in here, he's wrong. We're going to prove he made a mistake by sending us here! Join me, and together, we'll find a way to escape this dimension!"
A silence followed her speech. Then, Launch clapped slowly, followed by Gregory. Little by little, other forgotten characters stood up, inspired by Chichi's energy.
"So, what do we do?" Nam asked.
Chichi flashed a determined smile. "First step: find the Dragon Balls. Then, we'll figure out how to break out of this place."