Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Bitter Harvest ❯ The Answers You Seek ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: Don't own DragonBall Z nor any of the characters. I do , however, own Charen.

The Answers You Seek

By WeaverOfDreams

Charen stood there, her hands up, braced for attack. She tapped the pendent that hung around her neck, and in a flash, the form Trunks saw with his eyes shifted into one he had seen before. The clothes changed as well, from a nurse's uniform to a mesh suit, full bodied like the first one, yet it looked micro fiber. All of her body was covered save for her hands , throat and face. Patterns swirled through the suit, sold ones and transparent ones. Her eyes blazed bright green as always, her flesh a sky blue, scales a darker blue, glowing slightly. Her fingers spreads, the webbing there expanding. Trunks could see the electrical charge dancing along the line of her fingers. Scales glowed on her palms too, centering in the middle of the palm and on the fingertips. Her features had changed. Her hair was long now, flowing much like her 'Redd' persona, save for the dark blue color. A soft gasp issued from the doctor beside Bra's bed. Trunks saw Charen's body tense and knew that this was it. Seething rage rolled through him. She was the reason his sister was fighting for her life, what a coward , to attack a child with some sort of toxin. His body instantly moved into a fighting position. He then realized they were facing off in his sister's hospital room, with a doctor watching them..

"Let's take this outside." Trunks ground out between his teeth, a haze of red flashing before his eyes as he watched her. He thought he saw a flicker of something..sorrow? regret?..pass across her bright green eyes and then a cool hard mask fitted over them again. He silently felt out, trying to feel her ki level. An eyebrow raised. She'd gotten more powerful over the year, she was up to par with him in normal status. She wouldn't, however, be able to defeat him if he went super sayjin. She nodded slowly and relaxed from her stance.

"If that is what you so wish , Son of Vegeta." Charen said, her voice hard and sharp, cutting through his skin, the refusal to speak his name, bitting. He flinched slightly and then hardened himself to her voice like his father taught him. She was no longer the person he knew, she was the enemy. It was him or her. Now that he knew she was the person who caused his sister's illness, it was easier for him to look at her as the enemy.

She walked past him. He could feel the electricity in the air, coming off of her in waves, making his hair stand on end, his clothes cling to his body. Walking out into the hallway, she earned gasps from the people around her, doctors, nurses and patients alike. They all looked at her, taking in her skin, her hair, the webbing between her fingers, the scales, the small gills that lay on her throat, closed now, only little lines across her flesh. She sent them all a glare, snapping electricity around her, making them jump and hurry back into their rooms and offices. Trunks followed her and for a half second he was mad at all of them for gawking at her like she was some kind of freak. The sympathy was short lived as the rage and calmness of his anger banked and smothered the emotion.

They made their way out and to the huge garden a bit away from the hospital. She stopped there and Trunks looked around. Was she mad? There were dozens of people around here, they could be hurt. Dis she want to kill innocent lives too, in her quest for revenge? He silently mourned the soft, gentle warrior he knew as Redd. Was she ever real? Was any part of Charen in Redd? Now, looking at her, then at the people around them, he doubted that there was. It was all an act. That fueled his anger.

Charen turned their head and then looked at the hospital again and then sighed. She closed her eyes and then rose her hands, the electricity sparking. Long tendrils of it snaked out from her fingertips and struck the ground around them, kicking up dirt and asphalt, creating a line in the sand as it were. The people around them jumped back and moved away from them.

"If you value your lives, do not come near us. Go home where it is safe."Charen said, her voice booming. The people around didn't take anther glance at her. They scattered, running to their cars. They all drove away. Lowering her hands, Charen faced Trunks, her eyes glowing, the patches of scales on her flesh glowing as well. " Now, we can fight, but it will be on my terms, Son of Vegeta. An equal playing field. I will not use my electrical abilities and you will not use your ki abilities. Does this seem fair?"

Trunks frowned. He could fight without using his ki, it was easy. Also, none of the buildings would be in jeopardy. He nodded and then took his stance. She did the same as they faced each other. Trunks knew that she a master of those touches but what else did she have? Could she infect him like she did his sister? He would have to be careful. They both tensed and then exhaled, moving towards each other, arms raised ,fists clenched. He threw a punch which she blocked and countered , throwing her own to his mid section. It barely grazed him as he turned, rolling till he faced her back. Quickly, he sent a straight kick to her back. It connected, the force sending her flying. She fell to the ground on her stomach but quickly flipped up and faced him.

They glared at each other, her green eyes glowing, his blue ones blazing. He could feel the thrum of battle surging through his veins. A slight smirk curled on his lips, mimicking his father. Charen glares and then, she moved. His eyes had a time of keeping up with her and before he knew it, she was on him, grasping his shoulder and his waist , a knee to his stomach, pulling him down. She hit so hard, his breath whooshed out of his lungs. This attack caught him off balance. When they had practiced on the ridge, she had never frontally attacked him, always waiting for him to attack. This was a change in fighting technique. He quickly recovered, but not before he felt two stabbing motions on his neck and then to his right arm. His arm felt dead to his side, numbed, unwilling to move. A great pain shot up his neck to his head, making him feel dizzy and disorientated.

He tried to shake the feelings off, but then realized it was her touches, she had landed two and now his right arm was useless and he felt like he was going to throw up. As he was dealing with the affects, Charen stood before him. If he was to look up, he would have saw a look of remorse in her eyes and set in her face. It slowly died and she placed a well aimed kick to the side of his head. Trunks jerked to the side, but then his head snapped back. He reached out and grabbed her ankle as her leg swung down from the kick. Charen gasped and tried to break away from him. Trunks tightened his grasp on her ankle and then turned it. Charen stiffed a scream as she felt her ankle twist to the side painfully in an unnatural angle. She jumped and then thrust her other leg out, hitting him in the side with all she had. She felt the satisfying crunch of his ribs as two broke under the force of her foot. True, Sayjins might be very strong, but so were her people. She had the distinct feeling he had under estimated her strength. She heard in drawn breath and then the grunt of pain that followed. He let go of her ankle and grabbed the leg that connected with his ribs. Quickly, before she knew what happened, his right palm hand opened and then thrust out, hitting her in the sternum. She felt it crack. She gasped, how could he have used his right arm? She had deadened it.

Trunks let go of her leg and watched her stagger back, limping on her twisted ankle. Her hands went to her chest as she coughed, bright blue blood spitting from her mouth. He must have broken a rib too which punctured one of her lungs. His right arm tingled painfully after his use of it. It took all his control to get it to work. She slowly stood, blue blood staining her lips, a pained look in her eyes. They were both hurting. His side throbbed as did his head. She shifted slowly. Hissing in pain as she balanced on her wounded ankle, a look of stony resolve covered her face. She spit out blue blood and then licked her lips clean. Turning into a fighting stance once more, she launched herself at him.

They went on for a half an hour, hitting and kicking, blocking each other's blows, getting a few good hits in at each other. Trunks felt a touch impressed by her skill as a warrior and fighter. She was imaginative with her moves, creative, never doing the same combo twice. She had managed to deaden his left leg as well as cramp up his stomach with two more well aimed presses of her fingers. He had managed to wound her ankle further, breaking it as well as her collarbone and few more ribs. They were both a mess as they stood, blood running from mouths and noses, blue and red alike. Charen stood, retaining her fighting pose, her ankle snapped at a very unnatural ankle, her mesh suit tattered. Trunks was no better, his clothes were ripped to shreds, flesh bruised and beaten. He limped on his left leg, not feeling a thing from it, it barely cooperating to move.

They were about to start another round, when Trunks stopped mid attack. Charen looked at him and then frowned. Why had he stopped? His eyes went wide as he turned to the hospital. He could hear an alarm going off, doctors yelling. His stomach sank and he lifted into the air, leaving Charen there on the ground. She noticed he was headed back to the hospital and that when it hit her. Bra! She willed her electricity, making a charged pocket around her, ions in the air excited, allowing her to levitate. She lifted into the air and then followed him back. To the hospital.

She found him, where she knew he would be, in his sister's room. The alarms were going off, there were doctors all around her. Her heart wasn't beating, she was dying. Charen frowned and then pushed her way past all the doctors, ignoring her own pain. Trunks saw her and made a rush for her, but she made it to Bra's bed. She glared at all the doctors. She saw them holding up the paddles. They had been using them to try and start her heart again. She shook her head. Whille they were good, the paddles were too inaccurate. The electricity wasn't getting to the proper parts of her heart.

"Move back, I'm warning you all move back." She said as she rubbed her hands together, looking at the doctors and nurses all around them. Electricity snapped and flared in her hands and she focused. They saw this and moved back, not wanting to be shocked by it. Charen glanced at the monitor and then placed her hands on Bra's chest. She focused and sent a line of electrical current to her little heart, finding the right muscles. The electrical current started her heart again. She could hear the faint beating on the monitor as well as feel in under her hands. She sighed and then slumped into the chair next to the bed. That action had taken a lot out of her, both mentally and physically.

Charen opened her eyes to see the doctors , nurses and Trunks looking at her with a sense of disbelief in their eyes. Charen shook her head and knew this was going to lead to very long explanations. She looked over at the child and looked at the blue spots that marred her skin. Frowning, she knew it was a stroke of bad luck that this had happened to her. She knew the little girl was a strong one, she could feel it. The doctors recovered from the shock and then looked to the both of them. One of the doctors asked a nurse to go fetch come bandages and what have you. Trunks just stood there, stock still, frowning, his eyes darting from her to his sister. He slowly walked over to her and then stood there.

"Why did you do it? Why did you save her? You were the cause of her illness, why save her now when it was doing it's job?" Trunks ground out angrily. Charen sighed. There was much to be talked about. Before she could open her mouth, Bulma and Vegeta rushed into the room, having been called by the doctor no doubt then Trunks had left with Charen to fight. She looked up at then and saw the instant rage flicker through the black eyes of Vegeta. Bulma rushed over to her little girl and placed a hand over her chest. She then looked over at Charen , then Trunks and then the doctor.

"What happened here?" Bulma demanded. The doctor that was there when this all started walked over to her.

"That woman came in with me. I thought she was a nurse. She didn't look like she does now. She went over to your daughter and that's when your son grabbed her as said 'I know it's you.' to which she confirmed it. He then asked why she was here and if she had anything to do with that had happened to your daughter. She said she did." The doctor said.

Bulma gasped and a growl curled from Vegeta's throat. His eyes blazed as his hands clenched." You bitch! You've done this to her! I'll make you pay for this. Forget about fighting Trunks, I'm the one who destroyed your miserable race, fight me if you think you can."

Trunks went over to his father and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dad, 'Charen' and I have already fought, look at us. Look at her. We left the room and went outside to fight. In the middle of it, I heard the alarm go off in Bra's room and I rushed back. Charen followed. Bra's heart had stopped and Charen used her electrically abilities to start her heart again. The doctors were having no success with the paddles. She saved her life, yet I have no idea why."

Vegeta relaxed slightly and then glared at Charen. Bulma looked over to her as well as Trunks . The doctor looked at them and backed out of the room, giving them space, this being enough excitement for him for one day.

"Well, 'Charen' , why did you do it? Why and how did you infect my daughter only to save her life like this?" Bulma asked standing up, her arms folded.

Charen took a deep breath, winced as she felt her broken ribs shift with the breath. Closing her eyes, she focused on her voice. Opening her eyes, she looked over at Bra."It is true that I am the cause of Bra's illness, but not in the way you think. My people, long ago, had to fend off huge predators. We had our electrical capacity much like your earth electric eels but some predators were immune, so we had to develop another line of defense. Thus, we developed venom scales. The toxin produced by those scales was very lethal, causing fever , paralysis, organ failure. Over time, we grew out of our dependance for the toxin and it was produced less and diluted down. It came to the point were it would only be lethal to a person or creature of a certain genetic structure. It's a toxin that's past on through touch. The scales of my palms produce it. Bra must have become infected the night I stayed at your home. It is a one out of a billion chance she would have the right genetic code that matched my toxin."

"I don't understand, why did it take so long for the symptoms to start?" Bulma asked, brushing away some of the pale blue hair out of her child's face, the bright blue spots glaring out at her form Bra's pale skin.

"Perhaps it is because she is half Sayjin. My toxin would not have affected you Trunks. Though you are her brother, you both have a slightly different genetic code." Charen said as she looked over to Trunks. Sighing, she then again looked over at Bra." When I left you almost a year ago, I didn't leave this planet. I wandered around the islands, living underwater, thinking. When I left the water, I came back to this city. I saw a newspaper with your story on it this past week. Your family is a public one. They had a picture of Bra there and when I saw the blue spots, I knew she had a allergic reaction to the toxin. I came here to help. I had hoped that you, Trunks, would not recognize me. I had forgotten about the Sayjin sense of smell. You wished for battle and I gave it to you. I did not , however, come back to fight you, Trunks."

Trunks frowned at this. Was she playing games with him? Why wouldn't she come back to fight him? She had said she would. Charen leaned back on the chair and stifled a moan of pain, the fingers of agony lacing up her leg from her abused ankle. Charen bit her lip in pain, taking long deep breaths. Trunks looked over at her and then felt a surge of protectiveness and of regret. He had done that to her. He was confused about his emotions, about the situation. Charen looked them over again, Bulma having joined her mate and her son to standing before her. They were all very confused. Taking another sigh, she knew there would have to be more explanation and this one would be the hardest.

"It is true, Trunks. I did not come back here to fight you as I said I would. While I was wandering the past year, I had time to think. Your presence, the feelings you brought out in me made me think about what I was doing.I went back to my pod where it had landed on one of the islands. I contacted the Monks from that, seeing if they had any other information on you, Vegeta. You are a product of your environment, Vegeta and for that I cannot fault you. You are not the true murderer, Freeza was. You were following orders. Wether you took pleasure in the destruction of my race or not is of no consequence. D'Shanti law does not apply here, thus I have been on this mission for nothing." Charen said softly. Leaning back on the chair, she let her eyes close, feeling the true weight of her injuries. " I can not forgive you for what you did, Vegeta, but I can at least understand it."

Trunks looked over at his father. His face remained the same, stony, emotionless. Yet his eyes glimmered with silent thanks and acceptance of her words. Trunks went over to her and then kneeled. He grabbed a pressure bandage from a cabinet beside Bra's bed and then looked at Charne's foot. Silently, he pulled her shoe off, a hiss coming from between her lips. He winced at the sight of the mottled blue swelling around her ankle. He looked up at her and gently palmed her ankle. Charen nodded and then with a steady jerk, Trunks set her ankle. She stiffened in pain and then relaxed, not a sound from her. Trunks wrapped her ankle in the pressure bandage and then placed it gently to the floor. A thought then occurred to him." You said you came back to help Bra. How?" He spoke and he inspected her other wounds, not minding his own.

'The antidote for the toxin lies within my bloodstream. A small transference of my blood will heal her." Charen said. It got a gasp from Bulma as she made her way out of the room, calling for the doctor. The doctor rushed in and glanced at Charen. Bulma explained to him about the cure. The doctor frowned and then looked at Charen.

"How do we know that your blood is compatible with the child's. It's obvious you're of too different species. "The doctor said, frowning slightly at he looked at the blue blood that still graced her lips. He went over and started to check her over, feeling her ribs and then like.

"All of my race's blood have a compatible compound , it's a factor that can mimic any type of blood. In essence, my blood would become her blood save the fact that the new blood will have the agents to which will kill off the toxin in her blood." Charen spoke, wincing as the doctor felt her ribs. After a moment, he nodded and then called a nurse in to bring Charen to another room to be treated. He then looked at Trunks and said much the same for him.

Bulma and Vegeta stayed with their daughter as the nurse helped Charen and Trunks to another room down the hall. They sat by their daughter's bed. Charen and Trunks, however were both looked at , bandaged poked and prodded. The doctor then drew a small bag of Charen's blood from her. He handed the bag to the nurse and told her to test a sample and then if it was fit, to transfer it to Bra. He had to make sure it was safe.

Rolling her eyes, Charen knew that step was unnecessary but let him do it anyway. She was beginning to feel weak from the loss of blood and from her injuries. Looking over at Trunks , in the bed besides hers, she smiled at him, a soft smile. He looked at her and gave her one of his own.

"You have a nasty left hook by the way." She said, coughing a little, her broken ribs rattling. She groaned then, the pain ebbing through her body.

"Well, thanks, you've got one hell of a left leg." Trunks remarked, wincing at his own set of cracked ribs. He just lid back and waiting for his Sayjin healing drive to kick in.

"You know, I've come to think I have two very good legs, don't you agree?" Charen smirked as she felt his eyes wander down the length of her legs. She looked up and caught his eyes in their gawking. Giggling, she leaned back and watched as a flush graced his cheeks. Moaning in pain, the giggles disrupting her bound ribs, she settled back. This would be a long night for the both of them.

To be Continued......

Like, it? Don't? Not all that great at writing fight scenes but, it tried.