Adult-FanFiction.org : Gundam, Beyblade, DBZ, FMA

Hope Leaves	By : pegarsus9 Category: Dragon Ball Z > General Views: 2544 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or its characters and make no money from this story. Blah.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Sorry it's been like... over two months since updating. It made me sad. Had a pretty shit semester at uni and just didn't have time for anything else, but I'm on short holiday at the moment so things are much less insane :P Word of caution, this chapter is a pretty weird one, as opposed to all the other weird ones lol. Hopefully you'll still like it :D

THIS CHAPTER: Trunks finally realises what's going on, but something might stop him from coming to his family's aid. Goten has entered the rift, only to find that Vegeta and himself are about to be either destroyed or trapped. Unexpected events unfold as changes in the atmosphere severely distort their thought patterns.

WARNINGS: Lemon- M/F, M/M

“COMFORTABLY NUMB”

...There is no pain you are receding

A distant ship, smoke on the horizon

You are only coming through in waves

Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying

When I was a child, I caught a fleeting glimpse

Out of the corner of my eye, I turned to look but it was gone

I cannot put my finger on it now

The child is grown, the dream is gone....

-Pink Floyd

***

(about 12 hours earlier, shortly after Bulma and Bra left with the Prince)

A distinct feeling of unease had been bothering Trunks since his family left for their little holiday, but the moment he heard a knock on the door, all worries fled his mind. He cheerfully got up to go answer it, opening the door with a playful smile and knowing that Brie would be standing there. Sure enough she was, grinning back at him cheekily with her fluffy white hair pulled up high into long, unruly pig tales, and a bottle of gin poking out the top of her bag. As usual, she greeted him with one of her many vulgar endearments.

'Hey fuck-nut!' she chirped, brushing her fingers over his cheek as she pushed past him, not waiting for him to stand aside for her. 'So, got the house to ourselves do we?'

'Sure do. For like, three days.'

'You got school kid?'

He shrugged. 'Meh. No point going, it's really only a formality for me. I know all the stuff they teach already.'

'Sounds like we're getting drunk then.'

'Uhhm, well I guess we could at some point...'

'And why don't you sound excited?' she questioned sweetly, spinning around to face him and clicking her tongue disapprovingly.

'I am, I'm happy you're here. We've just been drinking a fair bit lately an I don't know, I'm kind of all partied out. I thought I'd give it a rest for a while. After that horrible thing that happened next door me an mum had a long talk and- are you listening?'

'Sure, sure,' she waved him off and walked into the lounge, sprawling out on one of the couches without bothering to remove her shoes before putting her feet up.

'Yeah, you're really listening carefully,' he muttered, watching her take the gin out of her bag, open it up and take a swig. She turned around and pouted at him. 'Look, I know your upset about that lady next door, but its not like its your fault. Anyway, what could be better for a bad mood than a few drinks?'

'It's not a bad mood,' he sighed, approaching her. She lay on her belly, with one shoe nestled on the couches arm rest and the other up in the air, swinging back and forth lazily. Her denim shorts were so short that he could see a bit of cheek poking out the bottom.

'You look nice today,' he mused, running his hand up her thigh. 'Aren't you cold though? It's like, winter.'

'No. I don't feel the cold. Where I come from, this weather would be considered warm.'

'Guess so if you're wearing short shorts at this time of year. You have possibly got...' he paused, smoothing his palm over her thigh again, 'the hottest legs in the world. If someone told me that a sculptor modeled your legs off one of those Greek goddesses I might just believe them.'

A smug smile stretched across her sharp features. 'It was probably something along them lines.'

He laughed, lifting her legs so he could sit down, then allowing them to rest across his knees. 'Aren't you modest?'

'Never...' she murmured, staring into her bottle.

'Mind if I take your shoes off for you Brie? Mum would be kinda annoyed, that's all.'

'Whatever mummy's boy,' she scoffed lightly, letting Trunks slip the shoes off and continue to stroke her legs.

'They're so perfect. I could lick these things.'

'Then why don't you?' Brie replied sincerely, turning herself over to face him and opening her legs wide in the process. 'Go on, do it. Lick them.'

His eyes trailed down, grazing across the smooth, creamy skin and the shapely curve of her calves. Turning around so her feet rested on his bent knees, he began to lift one of her ankles to his lips.

'Oh no,' she commanded. 'Not like that. You start with the feet.'

Trunks gave her a curious stare, which she returned with a smirk, her vivid green eyes glinting at him hypnotically. Somehow he couldn't say no to her despite the fact he'd always preferred to be the one giving orders, and he brought one small, pale foot to his mouth, first kissing it, then licking upwards, higher and higher, breathing in her scent until he reached her inner thighs. Continuing to lick and kiss her ivory skin, he began to tug off the little shorts and transparent black underwear beneath them, burying his face in her hairless crotch as soon as they were out of the way. Brie drew breath sharply above him, took hold of his hair, and pushed his head further down, smothering him in her softness. She never did fail to surprise him with her strength. A few of his fingers were slipped inside her folds, rubbing enthusiastically against the sweet place within while his tongue twisted around and teased at the swollen nub of flesh above her entrance. Strangled little whimpers emerged from her lips. For a long time he concentrated on pleasuring her, making sure not to pause and getting harder and wetter from listening to the sound of her moaning softly, but he'd be patient. The grip on his hair grew so tight it was painful, but in a good way, spurring him on. Her panting got louder and she began to thrust her hips into his face, urging him not to stop, to keep going until finally she groaned loudly and came against his puffy lips, coating his face with her slippery nectar. Her head fell back against the couch lazily as Trunks lifted himself up to rest on top of her, wrapping a strong hand round her bony neck and fingering her prominent collarbones. He wasn't done with her yet.

An hour or two later they lay together half asleep on the couch, with Brie resting against his chest.

'How come you're so quiet,' she questioned, poking his side.

'Just thinking.'

'Thinking about what?'

He hesitated. 'Karen.'

She sighed. 'Why?'

'Why? Because it's bullshit, that's why. I don't know how it could have happened right under our noses like that. It's really upset mum. Karen came over here that night... We were all making noise, maybe if we hadn't been-'

'Stop it,' she said, a little too harshly. 'It ain't got nothing to do with us. Just stop thinking about it. People die every day, we can worry about it when its our turn.'

'You're so cold sometimes,' he whispered, twining his fingers through her translucent waves of hair. She turned to face him, pulling something out of her bag on the ground. It was a foil square with a few plastic blisters containing little white pills.

'I really don't feel like that shit right now Brie!'

'If you'd let me explain, you'd see it's not what you think. It's just something that helps you to feel calm, like chamomile tea or some shit like that, only a little stronger. It's just to help you relax and clear your mind. It's no good thinking about people getting chopped up all the time. It's not healthy. And this isn't an artificial drug anyway.'

He pulled himself up quite quickly. 'Chopped up? Who said she got 'chopped up'? Who told you that?'

Brie looked at him, her eyes empty and unfathomable, the hint of panic too brief for even a saiyan to pick up on. 'You did.'

'No I didn't. I never said that.'

'Yes you did. You told me you snuck over there and saw it. You told me that!'

'I- I did? Really?'

'Yes, you did!' she yelled, exasperated. 'See, now you're getting paranoid. Fuck! You need something to help you calm down.'

'I'm fine-'

'No, you're not,' she stated firmly, refusing to back down. Trunks was quiet for while, thinking silently and carefully.

'You know,' he began after some time. 'You can't just take a pill and have a drink every time you feel bad. That stuff's just for fun on the weekends or whatever, it's not there to fix all your problems. You do it way too much. That's just like using it as...' he thought again, remembering guiltily the fight he'd had with his father. 'As a crutch.'

Her naked breasts (what very little she had anyway) swelled with a deep intake of breath, her brow hardened and her eyes narrowed into angry slits. 'You promised from the start that you wouldn't tell me what to do. I warned you that you wouldn't always approve of my lifestyle and told you that I wouldn't tolerate any interference.'

'I'm not trying to tell you what to do, I'm just saying don't pressure me into doing it with you all the time. Not ordering people around goes both ways you know.'

'Whatever,' she huffed, getting up. 'You're right I guess. But for the record, it's natural stuff, it isn't even really a drug. Anyway, I'm gunna go get something to drink. Do you want lemonade or something? You guys always have that, don't you?'

'Yeah we do. Get me some,' he called out to her, then once she'd walked into the kitchen he muttered under his breath, 'Most drugs come from natural ingredients. It's just basic science. Just because it's natural doesn't mean it's not a drug.' He was annoyed now, not liking to feel like the loser who didn't want to try things, but also making the firm decision that he wasn't going to give in this time. Brie returned a while later with two glasses, sat them down on the coffee table and slid one over to him.

'What took you so long?'

'Nothing. I was just looking for the lemonade, couldn't find it.'

'For all that time?'

'Yeah. There's a lot of shit in your fridge and it was right at the back. There you go, have your drink.'

'Thanks.' He picked it up and took a few sips. 'It kinda tastes weird.'

'Yeah, I think it's diet or something,' she said casually.

'You sure? It doesn't really taste like diet, it just tastes weird.'

She rolled her eyes. 'God you're fussy! I think it's just a weird brand or something.'

'You sure you didn't get one of my grandma's tonics or something?'

'Dunno. Maybe.'

'Hm. Well I guess it's not that bad anyway. Never mind,' he shrugged, downing the drink and picking up the remote to switch the TV on.

'Hey look,' he smiled. 'Foster's is on!'

Again she rolled her eyes. 'You're such a child.'

'Shut the fuck up, this show's awesome! How can you not like it?'

She sighed and waited patiently while Trunks watched the cartoon, laughing intermittently at the characters on the screen, comprised of a young boy and a house full of 'imaginary friends'. Towards the end of the episode, Trunks began to feel very sleepy. Leaning over to rest his head on Brie's shoulder, he decided to ask the question again, the one she never answered.

'Where do you come from?' he yawned.

'From the moon,' she whispered, calmly wrapping her hand around his head, cradling it.

'Really Brie. Please tell me. You never tell me.'

'I come from a strange place, far, far away. Further than you could ever imagine. Are you getting tired, Trunks?'

'Uh huh... Do you come from out of space?' he said sleepily.

'Why would you say that?'

'Cause you're so strong... an you can handle anything in bed... *yawn*'

'So cause I'm really strong, and wild in bed, that must mean I'm an alien right?'

'Uh huh-' he yawned again, feeling his head and eyelids get heavier and heavier. Never in his life had he felt so profoundly tired, so incredibly slow. Just as he was falling into a deep, dreamless sleep, he heard her whisper something in his ear.

'You're a very smart boy Trunks. A very smart boy.'

When he awoke, it was to complete darkness and freezing cold, save for the light from his phone which was ringing relentlessly, but his body felt so goddamned heavy he wasn't even sure he could move to answer it. Finally he managed, only to see from the time displayed on the screen that it was now late at night, and that he'd slept for about 10 hours.

'Holy shit,' he mumbled, fumbling with the button to answer the phone. 'Hey, who's this?'

On the other end of the phone, all he could hear was sobbing, but he could tell it was Bra.

'Bra... what's wrong? How come you're crying?'

'You gotta come here Trunks,' she sobbed quietly. 'He's hurt- hurtin' mummy...'

'What, who is? Who's hurting mum?'

'You gotta-' her voice was cut off, and there was a loud noise as if she'd dropped the phone, then he heard her screaming.

'Bra? Bra?! What's wrong, where did you go?!'

It was no use, she was gone. It seemed like she'd hung up the phone shortly after dropping it, but why would she?! He went to get up from the couch, only to find that his head spun wildly from the movement and he fell over, landing heavily on the carpet beneath the couch.

'What the-' he lifted his hands to his head, struggling to even do that. Then the light suddenly came on, hurting his eyes and worsening the terrible headache that he suddenly realised he had. Footsteps sounded through the room, seemingly belonging to more than one person. Swearing quietly, Trunks forced his body up, shakily supporting the weight on his knuckles and noticing that Brie was standing near him.

'And just what are you doing lying on the floor?' she chided, shaking her finger at him as though he were a naughty little child.

'Brie...' he said fearfully, his voice coming out a little slow and waivery. 'Something's really wrong. I'm sick, I can't...' he stared down at his knuckles, barely able to hold himself up anymore. 'I can't get up... and my sister just called me. I think something really bad is happening. I think it's, it's-'

'Let me guess, it's your father?' She whispered knowingly, staring down at him with vacant eyes. His stomach turned in horror, and he couldn't reply. Ever since Karen had died and Goten had spoken about that creepy dream, then called him to accuse Vegeta of being something else, he'd had this sneaking suspicion in his mind that perhaps Goten was right. How desperately he'd tried to ignore that suspicion, and now it seemed like the worst might be true after all.

'Listen, I don't know how you knew about it, about my dad, but you've gotta help, you've gotta take me there. I have to go help my mum and my sister, I think they're-' he stopped short when Brie shifted on her feet, revealing the silhouette of a man standing in the kitchen some distance behind her. He was overweight, that much was clear. He also had an unusually shaped head.

'What are you doing in my house?' he called out angrily, or at least he tried to sound angry, but his vocal cords weren't quite their usual selves.

'Relax,' Brie soothed. 'He's a friend of mine. He's cool.'

'What?!' Trunks said in confusion, his growing temper strengthening his voice. 'I don't know him, and I never said you could just bring randoms round here whenever you felt like it. Listen, I need your help to get to Goten's house, I've clearly got an emergency and I don't need to wake up and find some fat fuck in my kitchen right now. Did you hear that Mr? You better be out in about ten seconds! Why the hell would you bring some old guy here while I'm asleep Brie?!'

She didn't answer, and the stranger ignored his order to leave, choosing instead to walk into the lounge room and stare down at him in a patronising matter.

'You know young man, you don't look like your in any position to put me out at the moment.'

Even though Trunks knew this was true, he couldn't help but laugh.

'That's real funny whoever you are,' he chuckled. 'I might look a bit out of it at the moment, but if you're not gone in a few minutes I can make you regret it. Don't even think I'm joking. I apologise for the fact that you were invited round here in the first place and had to waste your precious time, but in all honesty I don't care and you're not welcome here, so if you could kindly get the fuck out, that'd be nice.'

'Gees Trunks. Why don't you relax?' Brie cut in. He stared at her dumbly, not believing what he was hearing.

'OK,' he said as calmly as he could manage. 'Both of you leave, now. I need you gone, I have a serious situation and I have to call a taxi. I don't need this shit right now. I don't even know what's going on. So just go.'

'That's just the thing,' the stranger sighed. 'We can't let you call no taxi. I'm afraid you're gunna have to stay here with Brie an me, ain't that right hun?'

'Don't call me hun Myrrh,' she gave the fat man a disgusted glare, then looked back at Trunks. 'But yeah... I'm sorry baby. You just can't leave right now.'

Again he stared back at her in bewilderment, wondering how this could be happening, when he noticed something glinting on the coffee table in front of him. It was a small blister pack of white pills, the same packet Brie had taken out of her pocket earlier, except that now two of the pills were gone. She'd been insisting that he take that pill, and now he mysteriously felt drugged while Brie was standing there with some stranger telling him he wasn't allowed to go help his mother and sister. Clumsily he reached out and grabbed the packet.

'You... you put this in my drink earlier on didn't you? Didn't you?'

She smiled innocently at him.

'I don't get it. Why? Why are you doing this?' He pleaded with her to answer, to tell him this was all some kind of sick joke. Her silence felt like a knife twisting in his chest, or a hand wrapped around his heart, poised to rip it out. With great strain he made himself get up, trying to stand tall but finding it challenging.

'Oi kid, you don't get to ask questions right now,' Myrrh grunted at him. 'All I'm gunna say is you don't need to go gettin all worried about your family. Your father's alive, unfortunately for him, an your ma and sister, well, they've at least got a little while longer. Now don't get any funny ideas. I know what she put in your drink, and believe me, you won't be functional for some time. I gotta tell you, you're a lucky man for getting a piece of that, even if she is almost old enough to be your mother,' he nodded at Brie. 'But I hope you two were safe, cause this one, she'll give you diseases. Gets around if you know what I mean-' he was cut off as Brie slapped the side of his head.

'Shut your hole fat shit,' she spat at him, slapping him once more for good measure. 'And I'm not old enough to be his mother!'

'You bloody well are,' he argued, 'He's gotta be at least 20 years younger than you, surely.'

'Not quite twenty years,' she sniffed.

'Goten... why didn't I listen to you?' he whispered to himself, too busy thinking of his friend to be shocked by the things about Brie that were being revealed. Goten had tried to tell him, more than once, but as usual, Trunks didn't take him seriously.

'What's that he just said Brie? Did you catch that?'

'I think he said Goten. You know, that other saiyan kid, the one Vegeta chopped into little pieces today? Don't tell me you've forgotten already.'

'Oh that one. No, won't be forgetting his face for a while. Talk about dying a gruesome death-'

Trunks eyes widened. 'You're lying. I know you're lying! My father would never hurt Goten!' He shouted desperately.

Myrrh looked at him mockingly. 'He's not your father you fucking twat. Any idiot with half a brain could have figured that out by now.'

'Except for you and your dumb-bitch mother apparently,' Brie giggled, clearly directing the comment at Trunks. 'Typical saiyan.'

Not having any time to properly absorb any of the information he'd just received, he realised with shock that she was forming a ki ball in her left hand, and one of sizable power too. In the state he was in it might not be possible to block it, but of course he had to try and so began building what little energy he had left into a barrier. It wouldn't kill him, of that he was sure, but there was no way he'd be left conscious if he couldn't deflect it. The lounge room was being flooded with fluorescent light from the glowing orb of energy hurtling towards him, but all he could think of was that this had to be some sought of senseless nightmare. The slowness he was feeling and the incomprehensible nature of everything that had happened since he'd woken up had to be proof of that. Even as the searing ki began to break through his feeble shield and agonisingly burn his skin, he knew for sure that he was about to wake up, for real this time. Any second now.

***

(Vegeta's POV)

I continue to stare at Bra, her sad eyes, her tears floating into the void. Goten's voice behind me sounds far away, but I can still hear him calling to me, pleading with me not to give up by destroying myself. Years ago I would have given up on this situation already, because in my life there was only me to think about, I had no one else. But things are different now. As strange as it seems, there are actually other people depending on me now, people that care about what happens to me. The fact that I even care about these things is an ironic twist of fate to say the least, but its because of this that I know I'll have to make one last attempt to escape. As much as I hate dredging up these memories, the emotions that they cause and this helplessness, I can't give up on my family. On myself, yes, but not on them. They're the one and only thing I ever did right with my life. I let my energy disperse as I sink to the ground, watching the room return to it former calm blackness. Curiously, Goten does not disappear like the image of Bra does.

'You could have killed yourself Vegeta,' Goten says in a stunned voice, walking towards me. 'And me too. Thanks for stopping. I've kind of already nearly died once today, don't feel like doing it again.' He scratches the back of his head and smiles at me. It looks as though he's tearing up. 'You don't know how glad I am to see you right now Vegeta...'

I stare at him, puzzled, not knowing what to say. His words aren't the kind of things I would have thought up, not like the words of the other phantoms borne of my imagination. Why is he different? He can't really be here with me, not unless those freaks have caught and trapped him in this crazed place the way they've trapped me. But why?

'Why...' I begin. 'Why are you here? How?'

'I know it's nuts, but I'm real Vegeta, I'm here with you. I don't even know where to start explaining...'

'Impossible, you can't be real. You can't be here, not unless you've been imprisoned here like I have. Mortals can't just enter this realm at will Goten.' I shake my head, slowly lowering myself to sit on the ground. The boy sits down in front of me, looking straight into my eyes in that unnerving manner that has been a habit of his for as long as I've known him. I lower mine, not feeling much like looking at anyone at the moment.

'No, I'm not trapped. Someone showed me an entrance to this place and let me in. He said you know him, he's a doctor or something-'

I look up rapidly and grab his shoulders, gripping tightly. 'Did you just say the doctor bought you here? Is that what you just said?!'

He nods, looking bewildered at my sudden responsiveness. 'Yeah... the doctor. He asked me to help him get you out of here. I just had to come in here and find you, and then we have to wait for him to come and lead us to the rift if we can't find one ourselves-'

'What?!' I cry, startling him. 'You trusted a complete stranger?! You shouldn't have listened to him Goten, I don't know if he's on our side or not. God damn it, now he's dragged you into this mess. He said the exact same thing to me about waiting for him to come and lead me out of here. Fuck-' I let out a string of profanities, not believing that that god damned lunatic actually went & got Goten stuck in this hellhole with me.

'But... he saved my life. Well, he will have done, if I get back to my body in time.'

'What the are you talking about, you're not making any sense boy!'

'Did he bring you here too?' he questions in an unfased tone, changing the subject.

'No, but he might have been aiding the ones who did. I haven't been able to figure out what's going on, now explain to me exactly how and why you are here. Start at the beginning, and finish at the end, please.'

He stares at me, looking very lost. 'I don't understand anything Vegeta. It's crazy, I don't know what's going on. It's like a dream, I keep expecting to wake up...'

I clench my fists in frustration at his inability to explain himself quickly and sensibly, but then realise that I can't really blame him under the circumstances, so I try to be patient.

'I... understand how your feeling Goten. It's all very strange, and I know we've all been in a lot of strange situations before that still don't even come close to this, but you need to tell me what happened, otherwise I won't be able to think of what to do next. Now tell me.'

He looks back at me, and the light gradually leaves his eyes as he speaks. 'All this time you've been gone. You were gone for a whole month, and then it's been another month since... since he came and took your place.'

The blood drains from my face at the ominousness of those last few cryptic words. I continue to question him, though I'm not sure I want to hear the answers anymore.

'Who took my place? What do you mean by that?'

'There's a guy that looks and sounds just like you but he isn't you at all. He's insane Vegeta, I've never known anyone so evil. He told me that he was... I don't know how to explain it, but he said he came from your mind, that he used to exist there and then these two men came along and gave him a physical body-'

'What?!! That's preposterous, why would they do such a thing? What purpose could it possibly serve?!'

'I don't know! Why did they do any of this? Why did they trap you in this stupid place, and why did they send him after your family and me? I don't know why any of this is happening. Even the fake didn't know why they did it. All I do know is that if I don't get back to my body in time, I'm dead.'

Goten goes quiet for a long time, and I have a strong suspicion that there's something he doesn't want to tell me about. To break the irritating silence I ask him what he means by getting back to his body, wishing thy he'd just hurry up and come out with it, but I can see the fear hiding behind his eyes. He's still not answering, choosing instead to stare at the walls in a bewildered fashion.

'We don't have time for this boy, you've got to-'

'What's happening?' he cuts me off. 'What's wrong with the walls?'

I sigh in frustration, wondering what the hell he's on about now, and then I see it. The walls are crawling, and the light is jumping from place to place around the room like an acrobat. I stare down at my hands only to see them with double vision. Frantically I scratch at my neck to see if the chip is still there, but find nothing. They must have begun administering the drug again some other way, and the effects must have come on subtly, just like all the other times. One minute things would be relatively normal, and the next they'd get strange, and from there they'd just get stranger and stranger.

'Damn it all to hell, why now!' I growl, slamming my fist into the ground.

'What, what is it?'

'Now don't get worried. We're going to get moving, and you can tell me everything else on the way. We need to find a way out fast, before my body awakens and I lose control of all of this.'

'The doctor said something about that, like, you had to be asleep or something. But you aren't asleep now, so how-'

'There's no time to explain, just follow me. And try not to look around you too much, because things are going to get a bit weird. The people holding me captive have been drugging me, which influences the way things look around here. If you see anything out of the ordinary, just try to ignore it. Now come on!'

'But where are we going? How are we supposed to find a rift?'

'I don't know, but we're not going to find one if we sit here and do nothing are we? That's what I thought. Now I've decided we're going south. If you have any objections, I don't want to hear them. You know what the rifts look like don't you?' I question as I begin the voyage south to God knows where. I can hear his footsteps following behind me.

'Uhh, like a big whirli-wind with a light at the center?'

I roll my eyes at his childish description. 'Close enough. Keep an eye out for one. They'd have to be all over the place, it can't be that hard to locate. We're going to start flying in a minute to get a better view.'

'But I thought you told me not to look around too much.'

'Just shut up and fly!' I snap as I take to the sky, relieved to hear him following me rather than asking any more stupid questions. After a long period of silence I feel a pang of guilt, again recalling that Goten came here with the intention of saving my life. He's flying along side me now, looking down, up and around, the bewildered expression on his face intensifying by the minute.

'Why did the doctor have to save you from dying, Goten?'

'I fought the other you, and I lost. I tried to tell Bulma and Trunks, but they wouldn't believe me. They just wouldn't believe me when I said it wasn't you. Only Bra could see it. Nobody else knew. God, I'm glad we're flying. Can you see that down there? The ground's breathing.'

Of course I can see what he's seeing, but I lie. 'No it isn't Goten. Nothing's wrong with the ground. Just keep searching for a rift. So no one believed you huh? And why were you defeated? Don't tell me you challenged him alone when you know you're no match for me.'

'I didn't mean to fight him. I tried to convince him to show me where you were. I told him that I'd tell everyone what he really was, and that he could never defeat us all, so he had to give up. I should have told my brother and my dad but I thought I could handle it alone. I didn't think anyone would believe me when your own family wouldn't. I'm sorry Vegeta. He tricked me. And now I don't know where he went, but he said... he said he was going to take Bulma and Bra away somewhere, without Trunks. Vegeta? I'm so sorry I couldn't stop him...'

The words I'm hearing seem hard to believe. Would anyone go so far as to create this whole ridiculous scenario just for the sake of revenge? And what of Bulma and Trunks? How could they not recognise the deception? Do they really not know me at all? One of the apparitions from earlier suddenly pops into my head, of my daughter screaming.

'...Don't go, I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die!'

I feel almost numb. She may already be dead. All of them might, at the hands of a being that is essentially me. The movements of my eyes become much more frantic as I scan the terrain below for any signs of a rift. I have to get out, now.

'Vegeta, say something.'

'Just keep searching boy.'

'But-'

'Isaid, keep searching.'

For a long time we fly in silence. Everything below is becoming so distorted that I'm not even sure if we'll see a rift should we come across one. It's as though we're flying over an underwater city filled with rippling neon lights, and probably flying in circles. It's especially difficult to see the point of all this now that the idea of freedom is becoming so abstract. Why am I resisting the inevitable again? I've spent a lifetime resisting, and now that I'm finally trying to face what I was running from, I find that it's just another form of resistance. My vision begins to change, plunging me back into the memory from earlier, except now I've left the bedroom to wander down the halls and Jeice is nowhere to be seen. From my recollection, this memory is roughly two days after the incident, during which time I refused to get out of bed. Jeice told everyone I was sick, ignoring me the entire time except for when he pressed a knife up against my throat and warned me that if I told anyone, I'd meet with a very unfortunate accident and no one would ever find my body. I try to ignore the ache inside me, focusing instead on where I'm going. Where am I going? Goten's voice echoes quietly down the metal halls, questioning where we are and going unanswered as I walk on. Eventually I reach a small rec room containing only a couch and a TV, which is on. I sit down and stare blankly at the screen, not really seeing anything. I remember staying that way for hours, hoping that either a plan to escape Frieza's ship would present itself, or the couch would swallow me.

'Can we just stay here?' Goten blurts out all of a sudden, startling me. I didn't even hear him sit down. He starts to run his hands over the couch in fascination as though it were made of silk. The drug seems to be effecting not only me but also him, probably because my thoughts shape the very nature of reality in this place. But if Goten's thoughts can't influence anything, does that mean he's dead?

'We can't,' I whisper, feeling too heavy to speak.

'We have to,' he insists. 'The ground's going to swallow us. Can't you see?'

I want to say that we have to keep going, that we don't have time to stop, that none of this is real and we mustn't get lost in it, but it is. Should I lie to him, or would I really be lying to myself. Do we in fact have all the time we need? Even if we had no time, haven't I stopped time with just a thought? Isn't it repeating itself, folding in on itself, going backwards and forwards even as we speak?'

'I'm sorry Vegeta. I'm sorry I didn't stop the other you. I'm sorry I didn't keep him away from Bra and-'

I turn to him slowly. 'You have nothing to be sorry about. I'm the one who is sorry, for getting everyone mixed up in all this. But tell me, why didn't you ask for Kakarott's help? Are you still not speaking to him?'

He looks away, giving me his answer without words. I sigh. 'Sometimes it seems like all your father and I have done since we came to this planet is cause trouble.'

'No, that's not true,' he replies, leaning his head into my chest and gripping my waist. I stiffen, but I don't push him away, instead resting my hand awkwardly on his shoulder in hopes that the contact will calm him somewhat. I can sense his terror and hear his thoughts rattling loudly in his mind, though I don't know how I'm doing it. He's thinking of his father.

...His father. Goku had always been like a dream to him, an image, a mythical hero who'd come back from the dead, but not forever. The 'savior of earth' had continued to feel like an impermanent spirit to Goten, one that would some day flicker from life as quickly and mysteriously as he'd returned to it, and that was exactly what happened. What he couldn't understand was how everyone else could accept that. There was always somewhere Goku had to be, for training, for adventuring, for anything, anything more interesting than home, than his mother who was always left lonely, than Goten himself. Sure, when he was too young to understand it hadn't mattered, but now it did. Now he was angry with his father, for being a drifter and a dreamer, a God like figure who everyone prayed to when they needed to be saved, and never just a man. That's what he liked about Vegeta, the fact that despite his violent past, his alien origins and everything else, he was still just a man, now staying at home to live an almost normal life...

These thoughts of his surprise me. I don't know what to make of them, or the way the objects in the room are changing shape. They look as though they're melting into the floor and one another, the same way the boys thoughts are melting into mine.

'Goten, you have to understand, your father...'

He looks at me questioningly, wondering how I read his mind. 'My father what? Are you going to defend him too?' The words are almost a threat.

'No, but saiyans can't live the way you humans do. I know it seems like I'm living a human life but it's not what it seems. Nothing is ever as it seems.'

'Sure it's not what it seems. That's why he didn't show up until it was too late. He never does.'

I roll my eyes, not knowing why I bothered. What would I know about quieting strange human concerns anyway, and to an adolescent no less. Children are so irrational, but I try once more, figuring there's nothing to lose.

'Kakarott's actions may contradict it at times, but he does care. A lot more than you know.'

'When I first entered the rift, I couldn't see anything for ages.' He states, completely ignoring me. 'It was so dark I didn't even know what direction I was going in or where I came from, but I could feel your power level in the distance, and all these emotions with it. I can feel them now too. It's dark and sad. What happened to you?'

'Nothing happened. Don't worry, everything's fine.' I try to keep my alarm at the idea if him seeing what's been going on in my head out of my voice. The physical and mental barriers between our bodies are obviously breaking down now. This should be horrifying, but in the state we're in neither of us can be bothered getting up off the couch, let alone trying to resist the hallucinations, or go searching for a rift again.

'Vegeta?'

'Now what?'

'I feel so weird,' he murmurs, voice quivering as he presses his head harder against my chest. That's when I notice the ugly bite mark on his neck. When I touch it lightly, all the memories of what happened to him flow into me. I hear everything, and see my own delighted expression as I carve up his skin without the faintest trace of a reason for doing so. Warm tears are spilling out of him and onto my chest, intensifying my guilt. I can barely believe what I've caused. Even if all horrendous things I've done in the past are considered, there's something especially obscene about what's been done to Goten by comparison, something unusually depraved. Does this perverse creature really exist inside me, after all these years? The most disturbing thing about the memory by far is the making of the bite mark. I shudder to think what would have happened had the doctor not shown up when he did. My head starts to spin and I lay down.

'I don't understand,' Goten says hoarsely after a while. 'Why did it feel like that? When he bit me, it was like-'

'It's nothing. Nothing important. Don't think about it,' I urge him. Such an action is intended to have an erotic effect, but he needn't know that. The sooner we get off the subject the better.

'Can you do it?' he asks. 'I know it's weird, but it just seems to make the pain stop.' His face and body are swimming, shimmering in and out of focus as he lays down beside me. The atmosphere is rapidly declining into chaos while my sense of self is starting to erode. Soon I won't be able to tell where he ends and I begin. My mouth tries to form words and I can only hope that I'm actually speaking, rather than just imagining speaking.

'Listen to yourself boy, you don't know what your saying. Everything's fucked up right now. I've done enough damage to your body as it is.'

'This isn't my body. My body's dying in a hole,' his voice breaks and his hand grips my side as more tears run down his cheeks and onto the couch. All this emotion, crying, and bodily contact disgusts me, but I'm drawn to it at the same time. Although I know the drug is probably responsible, the smell of his hair and the fine trickle of blood coming from his wound is suddenly overpowering, making the idea of biting his neck sound almost inviting. Ignoring the voices of caution in my mind that will probably come back to haunt me later, I sink my teeth into the bite and my senses are flooded with an array of fragrances, fragrances that I can see and taste. Goten sighs with relief and grips my hand weakly, brushing the smooth, uncalloused tips of his fingers lightly against my palm. A rush of heat shoots through my veins as his blood fills my mouth. I've never tasted anything quite like it. Human blood has a pleasant taste, pleasant enough to breath in its smell, to lick a little of it off your lips, but this is something else entirely. I suck on the wound, drinking deeply. The rich, thick fluid ignites my already heightened senses, making my body ache with a need that would be unimaginable at any other time. I get the feeling in the back of my mind that this is a terrible thing to do, but I can't remember why that is, or where we are, or where we're going. All that exists is him.

Light gradually floods the room, spilling across the floor in slow motion until it surrounds us, then filtering through us as though we're hollow. I continue to suck gently on the wound, allowing the blood to spill over my lips and onto his chest. His body writhes slowly against mine in response, making me want to feel the skin burning under his bloodied white shirt. The harsh sound of his breathing resonates through me as I pull the shirt open and drag my fingers over the skin, amazed at how pure and unmarred it feels. No ugly scars or imperfections, no toughening from years of abuse and overwork, just creamy whiteness decorated with sticky blood. I stare at his body, mesmerised by how it yields so easily against my own skin, by how clean it makes me feel, and I continue to undress him.

Goten's thoughts are still channeling into me, revealing the division inside. He's nervous, but this feeling is being quickly overcome by arousal. Our clothes fall away without much effort, the light in the room becoming so bright that we can't see anything but what is directly before us. I press my lips against the other side of his neck, molding it with my tongue. He rocks against me, making some sound that's either whispered words or moaning. All his other thoughts dissipate and I can feel every sensation he feels, revealing how simple and uncomplicated this is to him. It's hard to understand the absence of any bitterness in his heart, or how he can be so free of mistrust and fear, but I try not to question it and just be thankful he's sharing such an unknown and beautiful feeling. There's something very satisfying about drawing the pleasure from his sensitive young body. I run my hand over every pliable inch of skin, listening to him gasp as I fondle him and suck his neck, amused at how easy it is for me to make him come. There isn't the faintest trace of resistance. Flashes keep coming to me, dropping hints that allude to the wrongness of what I'm doing, but I can't focus or hang onto a single thought. Since when does wrong and right really matter to me anyway, especially when time has slowed to a halt? The time will come for time to begin again, but until then I don't have to confront my sin. For a short while I can drown in the scent of innocence and youthfulness, can relish the lightness that coincides with these things. Perhaps for a moment I'll forget about the images of the past that keep trying to creep up behind my eyes, or the tiring feeling of being old and used up.

At first he does little more than offer himself to me, but eventually he starts to participate more, trying to imitate my actions. His initial movements are clumsy but I don't really mind, being more focused on the reactions I can get out of him rather than trying to get the most amount of pleasure out of this myself. As he gets more confident and starts to catch on, he tries to gain some degree of dominance, getting more and more forceful with me. We end up on the floor, pushing and shoving and grabbing each other as if we're fighting. After so many years of fucking someone much weaker, I'd forgotten how much better it can be when there's a lot of pain involved. Goten manages to get the upper hand for a moment and pins me under him. Almost surprised, I laugh and pretend to give up, but he's unfazed by the teasing and lowers his mouth to my neck, biting down hard in just the right place. I can almost hear my pupils dilating and my breathing stop. Everything else stands still.

My fingers grasp roughly at his hips, cutting into his flesh as I grind against his now slippery and wet body, rapidly growing unsatisfied with this kind of stimulation despite how nice it feels. I slide my hands down to rest on his upper thighs and spreading them apart so I can enter him. Still there is no resistance or protest, only the hunger of his mouth on my neck as he drinks, and the powerful grip of his legs wrapping themselves tightly around my hips. He gasps in pain when I push into him, but doesn't ask me to stop or betray any thoughts that would suggest he can't handle it. If anything he seems almost to want me to hurt him. There have been few well formed thoughts in his mind for some time now other than questioning why he could never experience pleasure like this before, and whether he'll ever feel it again. The high of the drug combined with the smell and taste of blood is clouding our ability to think.

Wanting to get better control I flip him over so that he is beneath me, holding him down firmly with the pressure of my hips and a hand on his collar bone. His face is pale as a sheet, what of it that isn't covered in gore anyway. As he stares up at me with impossibly dilated pupils, I can't help but think how beautiful he looks right now with the blood all over his face like that. My other hand moves of its own accord to stroke his face gently, finding that it's still perfectly soft. I close my eyes and deeply inhale his scent, tracing my fingers over his stained lips and wildly pulsating throat, then scratching over his hardened nipples briefly before I take hold of his cock. I squeeze and pump my hand frantically, thrusting into him as hard as is possible without actually damaging him and drawing all kinds of pleasant sounds from his lips in the process. His strangled cries and whimpers, unrestrained and unashamed, are the sweetest sounds I've heard in a long time.

This is the last thought I have before we both get lost, still breathing somehow as we sink together into the now liquifying floor, sinking into each other. Cloudy skies race by above us, reflected in the pure waters of the river that flows where before there was a room, its current drawing us down into the calm, silent depths and making us one with it. All I can feel is the absolute peace and ecstasy inside him, flowing generously into me. Normally I try not to make much noise during sex because it introduces an uncomfortable amount of vulnerability, but right now I don't care at all about that. Fierce surges of pleasure, abnormally drawn out and intense, rock my body with the rhythm and swell of the waters. My insides tense up and my muscles spasm wildly, approaching release.

'Oh God...' he breathes beneath me, and I open my eyes, seeing the tears in his. Lights spark behind my vision as the water around us explodes into a thousand brilliant colours.

For a long time afterwards we float together, exhausted and barely conscious, heading to the east end of nowhere. It feels like years pass by as shadows and sunlight swirl around the corners of our vision, breaking through from time to time as we drift aimlessly through fog. Eventually I hear Goten's voice, weakly calling to me.

'Vegeta? Are you OK?'

Gradually I work up the strength to turn my head and look at him. The surrounds seem to have gone back to normal now. It all starts to come back to me, what has happened.

'Vegeta?'

'I'm fine Goten. Are you?'

'It's cold,' he says, his voice sounding small and afraid. He's staring down at all the blood on his body, glistening tears leaking from his eyes. Realising what it must remind him of, I quickly tear a piece off my shirt and pull him close to me so I can clean the blood off. The action feels strangely intimate, like he's a child and I'm caring for him or something. Truth be told, he is a child. Nausea begins to grow in the pit of my stomach at the thought of what we did, of what I did to him. At the time it was the best sensation I'd ever experienced. It's hard to believe I could be so ridiculously high out of my mind that I thought I could stop time, then the room melted into a river... and I fucked my son's best friend. Holy fucking shit, it was real.

'Goten... I'm sorry. I really am.'

He looks straight into my eyes and shakes his head vehemently in denial. 'No, it's not that. I'm not upset about that. I don't regret it... it was nice. Don't be sorry, please. I'm just scared. I think I'm dying.'

I stare back at him with confusion, and notice his face and body look a little dim, as though they're becoming opaque. Hopefully that doesn't mean what it looks like it means.

'No. No, I won't let it happen, I won't let you die because of me. We'll find a rift, we'll get out of here-'

He smiles, laughing quietly without humour. 'I can't... don't think I can get up. I feel so weak.'

'Then I'll just have to carry you. You couldn't weigh much more than a bag of rice anyway-'

'We don't have to go any further Vegeta. We're on the edge of a rift right now. Just look,' he turns his head, staring out at the river, which I realise is still there and that we are on it's shore. A large whirlpool swirls at its center, emitting glowing crimson light which illuminates the waters all around it.

'Idiot, why didn't you tell me?! What are we sitting here for, lets go.'

'No. We can't. Didn't he tell you? We have to wait for the doctor. We can't leave this world until the other you is sent back in.'

'Why the hell not?'

'Because then there would be two yous in the world, and it would break the law of something or other, and really bad stuff could happen. Maybe. The guys who put you here knew it too, that's why you're down here and he's in our world, cause you can't both be in the normal universe at once. Think about it, why else would they put you down here?'

'For revenge, that's why. A bunch of Frieza's men and myself killed off the majority of their race, that's why they're doing this Goten. And what do you mean the law of something or other?'

'I don't know, I can't remember.'

'Well that doesn't help us much does it? God damn it, how the fuck are we supposed to get out of here? The doctor could be lying, and even if he isn't, what good is he for if he hasn't managed to achieve anything? Perhaps we should just take our chances.'

'We can't. We don't know what will happen. We just gotta wait here, there's no other choice. The doctor knows where we are, it's just a matter of when he manages to send the other you back down here, with help from our friends and family.'

'Bulma and Bra are out there somewhere with that lunatic lookalike and you're telling me to wait? Anything could be happening right now. The doctor and those two idiots that started this mess can all go to hell, I won't just sit here and do nothing!'

'I don't know Vegeta! I don't know what to do!' He shouts back at me in frustration. I sigh and rub my temples, swearing under my breath. What Goten is saying makes sense. I believe he's talking about the law of conservation, stating that matter can neither be created nor destroyed. If I step back into my universe now, I'd technically be creating matter. Who knows what the consequences could be? They could be nothing at all, or they could be horrendous.

'This is absolutely ridiculous. Soon enough I'm going to wake up, and the entire fabric of this universe will change into something from my memories. If I don't leave now, I won't get another chance. God, this is hopeless. Goten, listen to me. You've got to go back to the real world. Someone would have found your body by now for sure. You mustn't stay here with me. Go back, get healed, and get help. It's what you should have done from the beginning. I don't want you to be endangered here, and I don't want you to see the things that will happen when I wake up. Please, just go. Save yourself.'

'No,' he insists stubbornly. 'I'm not leaving you here all alone. I won't do it.'

'Listen to what you're saying. You and your god damned sentimentality. You're just like your father!' I growl. He gives me a look so dark that even I'm impressed.

'Fuck you. I'm not going anywhere, and you can't make me.'

'Alright, I was wrong. You don't sound like your father. You sound more like your mother.'

'Whatever. I'm still not going.'

I throw my hands up in frustration. This could not possibly get any worse, at least until I wake up. Then it will find a way to, knowing my luck.

'And how exactly do you think you can help me by staying?' I question him.

'Well... when you're awake, and everything changes, I can make sure that you're OK or something. I don't know. Those guys won't know I'm here, just like they didn't notice when the doctor was here. You could die on your own. I can't desert a friend like that.'

The fact that he shows so much concern, calling me friend and risking his life for me like this, makes my guilt over all the suffering he's endured so much worse. How like his father he is in that way. The difference is that I never felt guilty about anything Kakarott might have done for me since I hated him for a long time, but by some strange twist of fate, Goten and I have come to be friends over the years.

I sit back down on the ground and stare out at the rift, trying to come up with some form of plan, but am unable to concentrate because the flashbacks are trying to sneak up on me again. It takes all my concentration to smother them. The boy sits beside me chattering light-heartedly, either sensing my stress or seeing the way the surrounds keep flickering between here and the somewhere unfamiliar to him.

'Do you remember New Years Eve a year ago, when the fireworks were really boring and shitty so we and we were drunk so we decided to go make them more interesting? Boy did Bulma and mum go off at us.'

I smile, remembering. 'Who's idea was that anyway, it wasn't mine was it? Please tell me it wasn't.'

'It was definitely yours. You just got up and said that the fireworks were pathetic and you had to go do something about it otherwise you were going home.'

'Hmm, you're right. In hindsight I probably should have just gone home.'

'Nah, it was fun! We scared the fuck out of everyone there.'

'Indeed we did. Never would have thought that blowing up fireworks with ki blasts would create such a spectacular explosion, but there you have it. It's actually a miracle we didn't... kill everyone there, come to think of it.'

'C'mon, we wouldn'a killed anyone Vegeta, if the whole place went up in flames we would have just got dad to IT everyone out of there.'

'True, true. You see kid? Your dad's good for something, much as it doesn't seem like it,' I laugh.

He giggles. 'I still don't know how Trunks managed to distract our mums for so long.' He starts prattling on about one one crazy thing we did or another. Looking back I got involved in a lot more silliness with Goten and my son than was appropriate for a parent, at least according to Bulma. I couldn't see it at the time, but I was kind of trying to re-experience the adolescence that I never had. My youth was spent fighting countless wars and trying to survive life on Frieza's ship, things which left scarce little time to just be a child. Bulma said exactly that on a few occasions when I supposedly set a bad example for the boys, which made me very angry with her. Probably because I knew it was the truth.

'Goten, I can't figure out how to get us off this funny farm and back to earth with you yabbering in my ear.'

'K. Vegeta?'

'Now what?'

'You don't... you don't regret it do you?' he mumbles. I glance at him sideways, knowing instantly what he's referring to. Seems like the questions are starting much sooner than I'd hoped. I draw a deep breath and exhale, wondering how the fuck I'm supposed to answer that when all the light around us goes out.

***

(Trunks POV)

When Trunks came to for the second time, he was momentarily confused. What the hell had happened here? Why did the lounge room look like it had caught fire at some point? And why was he in so much fucking pain? He gripped his stomach and chest, feeling that there definitely a few ribs were broken. Then it all started to come back, and his vision became tinged with red as he walked towards the front door, leaning against the door frame in an attempt to come himself before leaving the house to find his mother and sister. Of course, it didn't work.

'THAT ALCOHOLIC, NO TITS, TWO FACED SKINNY BITCH!' He roared loud enough for the whole neighbourhood to hear, and slammed the back of his fist into the wall beside him, sending cracks right up to the ceiling. His ribs protested at the movement, but it didn't bother him as he was now too busy laughing at the fact that this was the only injury he'd sustained. Was that the best she could do, a few broken ribs and a slight concussion? Boy was she gunna regret not finishing him off.

'Just you wait,' he whispered to the night air as he walked out the door and took to the sky, trying to feel for several ki signals including his mother's, sister's, and Gohan's. 'Just wait until all this mess is sorted out. I hope you're real good at hiding Brie, cause if I find you you're fucking gone.'

Many miles away in the dense undergrowth of a forest filled with ancient oak trees, Gohan, Goku and Piccolo were still searching for Goten. His ki signal had gone dim hours ago, not helping their efforts much.

'Can you feel that guys?' Goku communicated to the others via telepathy. 'Trunks is coming this way.'

'Finally,' Gohan thought with irritation. 'Can't believe it took him all this time to respond to my messages...'

Trunks arrived not long afterwards, finding Gohan first.

'Trunks, I've been trying to call you, what the heck was going on? Why didn't you answer?'

'There's no time. We have to find Goten, and then we have to go find mum and my sister-'

'We've been looking for hours, there's no sign of him. It's hopeless Trunks. I was at home and I felt his ki going wild, then we all came straight here and nothing. We thought for sure we were just about to find him and his ki signal went dead, just like that.'

'No, no, we have to keep looking. Forget about all that, we just gotta keep looking. I don't have time to explain everything right now, but I know what's going on and I know that he's hurt. We have to find him. He can't be dead, he can't be,' Trunks repeated urgently, feeling more and more distraught. The thought that they hadn't found Goten yet despite hours of searching, that he could have prevented all this... it made him feel cold inside. And outside. God it was fucking freezing out here.

Something sparked in his mind at the thought of the cold, which reminded him of something Goten said when they spoke that day, several hours before Karen was killed. It felt like so long ago now, even though it wasn't. An icy breeze circled around him, playing with his hair and biting at his eyes. Beginning to move slowly in the direction of the wind, Trunks felt tears sting his eyes. Off in the distance a circular gust of air was blowing up a little dust devil, a sight that inexplicably beckoned him and made him ignore Gohan's questions as to whether or not he was OK. On finally reaching the spot he sank to his knees, violently thrusting his hands into the earth and breaking it up.

'Trunks, what on earth are you doing? Answer me!'

'Just help me dig!' he shouted back. It turned out that help was unnecessary however, because the ground suddenly gave way, plunging Trunks into a dank underground cave where he landed not on hard rock as expected, but on something soft. His heart began to hammer wildly in his throat.

'Trunks! Are you OK?' Gohan called him from above.

'I don't know. I think I found something...' came the worried reply. 'Can you shine a light down here please?'

Gohan complied, but not too happily. 'This is no time to be screwing around! What the hell are you-' he began, but stopped short when he saw the horrific site of his little brother lying on the ground just below him, naked and covered in blood. In an instant he was beside Goten, pushing Trunks aside lightly and grabbing the boy by the shoulders, shaking desperately, begging him to wake up. Meanwhile, Trunks was staring at his best friend's face and blood caked neck, marred by a deep, disgusting bite mark. The tears blurred everything else.

'Why didn't I listen?' he murmured, standing up on shaky legs. 'How come I never knew it... you've always been the smart one. Maybe not in the way most people think, but you've always understood others... more than I ever could.' He tried to raise his voice so Gohan could hear, if he was listening at all. 'Gohan? I gotta go find my family, they could be in worse trouble than Goten. Take him to the lookout, he might still have a chance. I'm sorry Gohan, I am...' he trailed off regretfully as he flew away, heading for Goku's ki signal. He knew he'd need Goten's dad to help him with this, if he wasn't already too late. It still felt like the whole thing was a dream. Only in dreams could circumstances descend to the depths of pure chaos in such a short space of time, and only in the worst dream of all could he let someone torture his best friend like that. God, the wounds on him, especially that awful thing on his neck... Trunks pressed a hand over his lips, trying to will himself not to be sick. Most of all he wanted to will all of this away like it had never even begun, to fast forward it like a bad movie scene.

God, how he longed to wake up.



***

...When I was a child I had a fever

My hands felt just like two balloons

Now I've got that feeling once again

I can't explain, you would not understand

This is not how I am

I have become

comfortably numb...

NEXT CHAPTER: Trunks and Goku go searching for Bulma and Bra with no way of knowing whether they're even alive or not, while Bra desperately tries not only to escape but to lure the Prince away from her seriously injured mother. Vegeta falls back under Lennon's control, leaving Goten powerless to help or alter anything, unless he can find a way to do so.
- 12
- 13
- 14
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Hope Leaves