Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dreaming of the Past ❯ What Started Out as a Boring Day... ( Chapter 1 )

Dreaming of the Past

This is the re-release of this story. I have yet to decide whether I will alter it, so beware - this story contains language, violence and sex. Chapters four and eight are the one's to look out for. And these scenes involve a teenage girl with a late twenties guy (more so in the other dimension since it's three years ahead of the original one). I also wrote this pretending that DBGT never happened, therefore, no Paresu, and Goku is still with them. I don't own DBZ or the characters, nor do I own Star Wars or Buffy <but, boy, would I love to get my hands on Angel>. I've used some Japanese dialogue along with the English stuff. Just a few basic curses and words. I hope you enjoy the story!

1: What Started Out as a Boring Day…

Bra glared out her window as Trunks, Goten and Marron drove off. She scowled. It wasn't fair! Those three never invited her anywhere. Just because she was only 17, and they were all in their twenties. If they'd only give her a chance she could show them that she could be just as mature as they were.

But, noooooo. Bra was "The Little Sister": biologically to Trunks, and sort of adopted by Goten and Marron. It wasn't fair!

Bra sat on her bed. She missed Pan. Pan and Videl had gone on a Mother-daughter bonding camp. They had invited Bulma and Bra along, but Bulma had been "too busy". Bra laughed grimly at that. It seemed no one had any time for her.

She stood up, and wandered downstairs, remembering that there was someone who always had time for her. She found Vegeta walking around, as if looking for something, a look on his face somewhere between annoyance and concern.

"Hey, Daddy!" Bra greeted. "Wanna go shopping?"

"Huh? What?" Vegeta looked at her. "Oh, it's you. Have you seen Frieza anywhere?"

A few weeks earlier, Bulma had bought a rottweiler puppy. It had instantly fallen in love with Vegeta, and followed him around like, well, a lost puppy. Vegeta had dubbed the pup Frieza, because he found it amusing to think of the former "Strongest-being-in-the-Universe" being so pathetic.

"No, why?" asked Bra.

"I can't find him anywhere! And your mother will kill me if I don't find him." That was Vegeta's excuse. He refused to admit that he had developed a soft spot for the "mangy mutt". Mumbling something else, Vegeta continued on his search for Frieza.

"Rrrr!" Bra let out an annoyed sigh. She stormed over to Bulma's lab.

"Kaasan, I'm bored!" she stated, flopping down on a stool next to her mother.

"Well, do something," Bulma muttered, slightly irritated. Bra could see that Bulma was busy, but she had been ditched too many times to care.

"I can't. Niichan went out with Goten and Marron, Pan's not here and Tousan's looking for….I mean, he's training!"

"Well, I'm sorry, Bra-chan. There's nothing I can do about it."

"What're you making?"

"Nothing."

"It doesn't look like nothing." Bra tried to look at what Bulma was working on, but Bulma quickly covered it up.

"Bra, please! I'm very busy, and…" She was cut off by yelling.

"ARGH! You little shit! Get out! Get out!" Bra smiled. It seemed Vegeta had found Frieza. "Bakayarou!"

"That came from the Gravity Room. I'd better go see what's wrong." Bulma sighed, and left the room.

Bra frowned. "Kaasan's not too busy to go and fight with Tousan. Not fair!"

She glanced down at the table to see the machine that her mother had been building. It was about the size of a computer keyboard, with ten numbered buttons, two large coloured buttons (one red, one blue) and several lights. Next to the device were some papers, which looked like plans. Written across the top was "I.D.T.D Blueprints", but there was no explanation to what this stood for.

Curiosity got the better of Bra. She typed in her favourite number - Goten's phone number - and watched as it appeared on a small display on the top of the machine. Then, she pressed the red button.

* * * * * *

Pain stabbed through Bra's side as she hit the ground. Something was digging into her. Biting her lip, and holding back the tears, Bra rolled off whatever she was lying on. She stood up.

"W-What happened? Where am I?" Bra looked around her. She was surrounded by a ruined city. Rubble, decaying car bodies and other rubbish lay everywhere. Vermin scampered between hiding places. The air was filled with a dusty smog.

Bra glanced at her side, and saw a bruise already forming at her waist. She looked further down to see what had caused it.

A large, oddly shaped piece of concrete was lying next to her. It was slightly yellow and had something painted on it.

"No," Bra whispered. Painted on the concrete in black was a fraction of a logo she knew very well: a large C with a smaller one inside it. A single tear slid down Bra's cheek. It couldn't be….

Bra looked around the general area she was in, until she found what she was looking for, but didn't want to find - the rest of the logo. After a few minutes more, Bra found several other pieces of concrete, spelling out half of "Capsule" and the end of "Corporation".

Capsule Corporation. Her home. Destroyed. But how? A thought occurred to Bra. Maybe the device Okaasan was working on…But she knew there was a flaw in that theory. The ruins of Capsule Corp. seemed years old. This was confirmed when Bra found a cross of flowers, brown and wilted. It crumbled when she touched it.

"What's happening?"

Bra suddenly spotted a lone figure walking towards what was left of Capsule Corp. She his behind part of a wall, watching the figure until she was more sure of them.

But as the figure rounded a corner, a group of thugs jumped out and surrounded it. Bra couldn't believe what she was seeing. The eldest of the thugs seemed barely 15. They advanced on the figure, who was hunched over like an old man.

"Alright, old man! Give us all your goods!" sneered the eldest thug.

"I have nothing of value," the figure murmured. Bra thought the voice sounded familiar, but she could not see his face.

"Liar!" The thugs attacked. That was enough for Bra. She ran to the stranger's rescue.

"Hey! Back off! Leave him alone!" Bra hadn't been trained much, but she could still hit pretty hard. However, she didn't need to. The thugs ran off and disappeared into the shadows. It seemed they were cowards, and did not expect confrontation.

Bra ran over tot he stranger. He had collapsed onto the ground. She finally saw his face.

"G-Gohan?" He looked older than the Gohan she knew, and more battle-scarred. He wasn't wearing his glasses. In all her life, Bra had never seen Gohan without his glasses.

"Bra-chan? It can't be." Then he lost consciousness.

"Gohan? Gohan! Please wake up, Gohan!" The tears Bra has been trying to hold back now streamed down her face.

Slowly, Gohan woke up again. "Bra-chan, it is you! Am I…..am I dead?"

"What?" Bra cried. "No!"

"But, you…." Gohan looked at Bra for a moment. He seemed to work something out. "Never mind. C'mon. We have to get out of here. Help me up."

Bra helped Gohan stand, and allowed him to lean against her. "Gohan, why did you let those kids attack you? How did they hurt you?"

"I haven't healed from my last battle yet. They're gonna give me hell when I get back. This way."

Gohan directed Bra to an alleyway, not far from Capsule Corp. A derelict building was still standing. They walked up to the door.

"Halt," a metallic voice commanded. Bra looked around until she spotted a speaker underneath a security camera. "Identification required."

"It's Son Gohan," Gohan replied.

The camera scanned Gohan. "Confirmed. Welcome back. Wait. Who is your companion?"

The camera now focussed on Bra, scanning her as it had Gohan. After a moment, the voice spoke again. "Subject identified. Bra Briefs Vegeta. Status: deceased."

"What!?!" Bra cried.

"Shh." Gohan tried to calm her. "16, please let us in. I'll try to explain later."

"As you wish, Gohan," the voice replied. The door opened, and Bra and Gohan stepped into a small dark room. The door closed again.

"Hold on," Gohan said, simply. Then, the room sped down. Bra screamed. It stopped as quickly as it had started. The doors opened again. Bra and Gohan walked down a lighted corridor.

"Gohan, you called that voice 16," said Bra.

"Yes, that's right. He's Android #16," Gohan answered.

"But, didn't Cell…?"

"Yeah, but Bulma had all of his files stored. We were able to rebuild his brain, but not his body. He lives in our computer system."

"He…he said I was…."

"Never mind what he said." Gohan opened another door at the end of the corridor. "Hello?"

"Baka! Where the fuck have you been!?!" an angry voice demanded. Juunanagou stormed into view. "Do you have any idea how worried we've been!?! I….." At that moment, Juunanagou saw Bra.

"Hey, Juu-kun. Look who I found." Gohan gave a weary laugh.

"W-W-What….?" Juunanagou's shocked face was replaced by an angry snarl. "It's a trick! They're trying to trick us! Gohan, I can't believe how stupid you are!"

Juunanagou grabbed Bra's shoulders and slammed her against the wall.

"Why are you here?" he hissed. "What did they send you for? Tell me!"

"Juunana, please stop!" Bra sobbed. "I don't know what you're talking about. Please! You're hurting me!"

Juunanagou's grip tightened. "Shut up!"

"Juunana! Let her go!" a gruff voice commanded. "Dame da!"

Juunanagou released Bra. He snarled at her. "This is not over yet."

Bra slid down the wall, and crouched at the bottom, sobbing. A hand was placed lightly on her shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Bra looked up - into the face of Goten. Like Gohan, he looked older, and there was a scar across his right eye. When he looked at Bra, she could see sadness in his eyes.

"I'll be fine. Arigatou, Goten-san," Bra murmured.

"Goten-san," he repeated. "I haven't heard that one for a while."

"I swear, you Sons are insane!" Juunanagou growled. "Bra's been dead for two years! And she just suddenly reappears?" He spat. "Baka mitai."

"Shizuka na, Juunana! Be quiet." Goten helped Bra to her feet. "Don't mind Juu-kun. He's just a little cranky."

"That's okay. I….uh….could you tell me what's going on?" Bra managed to keep her voice level. "What happened here?"

"I'll tell you soon. But first, can you tell me the last thing you remember before you came here?"

"Um, yeah. I was really bored, because Pan is on holidays, and Oniichan, Marron and Got…I mean, you went out for the day. Tousan was looking for our puppy, Frieza, and Kaasan was working on some machine. She left because Tousan started yelling. I…I did something to the machine, and the next thing I know, I was lying in the ruins of Capsule Corp."

"Alternate dimension," said Goten

"I was right," Gohan muttered.

Goten turned to Juunanagou. "See. She's not with the Tusken Raiders. She's from an alternate dimension."

"The what?" asked Bra.

"Tusken Raiders. They're who ruined this world." The expression on Juunanagou's face seemed to have softened slightly, especially since Bra's description of her world. "They're monsters, and they killed nearly everyone I hold dear."

"Tusken Raiders? Isn't that from…?"

"Star Wars. Yep." Gohan smiled slightly. "Goten's idea."

"Hey, I like Star Wars," retorted a defensive Goten. "Besides, we didn't have anything else to call them. It's not like they said 'Hi, we're the whatevers'. So I just called 'em Tusken Raiders one day, and the name stuck."

"Hey, we're back!" called someone, from the corridor which Bra and Gohan had entered the room from. "We didn't find him."

Krillin and Ten-shin-han walked in. Bra gasped. They were in the worst condition of the people she'd already seen. Tien's left arm was gone, severed at the shoulder. His sleeve hung loose. He, like Goten, had a large scar on his face, starting at his chin and moving up his jawline. One of Krillin's eyes was shut, eternally. It had obviously been damaged somehow and had not healed. Someone had roughly sown it shut.

"Oh, there you are Gohan. Hey Goten, Juu-kun, Bra-chan…." Krillin's good eye widened as he saw Bra. "NANI…?"

"Bra-chan!" Tien breathed.

"Just in time guys. Now I won't have to explain everything twice." Goten smiled at the newcomers. "Why don't we eat while we talk?"

Bra managed a grin. Goten didn't seem all that different. Food still seemed to be his top priority.

They sat at a roughly made table. Gohan handed out bowls of some form of stew. Juunanagou screwed up his nose. Tien silently said something that Bra assumed was a prayer. Goten immediately started to eat his.

Bra glanced at the five men she was sitting with. Something Goten had said earlier suggested that this was all that was left. The mighty force of the Z-warriors had been reduced to just five men, three of which did not seem currently fit for battle.

Tien and Krillin kept looking at Bra, then back at Goten. They were waiting for the explanation that Goten had promised them.

Juunanagou noticed. He snorted. "Don't get your hopes up, guys. Alternate dimension."

"Hmm." Tien nodded. Krillin let out a disappointed sigh.

"Um….I….Is everyone else….Are they all….dead?" Bra stammered.

"Yes." Goten stopped eating long enough to answer Bra's question. Bra realised that he was the leader of the group.

"The Tusken Raiders killed all of them." Gohan explained. "Including Dende, so no Dragon balls."

"W-Why? Why did they kill everyone?"

"Because they find it fun." Juunanagou snarled. He leant back and crossed his arms. "The Tusken Raiders are blood thirsty beasts, and they get their kicks out of destroying lives."

Bra made a mental note that Juunanagou was the most blunt of the men. She decided to ask him any questions that may be too painful for the others.

"They singled out Vegeta and Piccolo as our strongest fighters," Goten continued. "They got Piccolo when they killed Dende. Mr. Popo was killed too. Then, they used Bulma for bait, to draw Vegeta out."

Bra choked on a hiccup. "How long ago did that happen?"

Gohan sighed. "Well, Trunks raised Bra-chan since she was eight. Hmm…" He calculated something in his head. "Twelve years ago."

"Twelve?" Bra looked at him strangely. She was seventeen. Twelve years ago, she would've been five, not eight. "How old was I when I died?"

"Eighteen," Juunanagou answered. The other men seemed too upset to answer. "Why?"

"Because I'm only seventeen. That means you guys are ahead of my dimension."

"I see."

Silence filled the room. Bra realised that she would probably hear no more of the story for a little while. Mentioning herself had obviously stirred up painful memories in all the men.

Juunanagou glanced at his watch. "Hmm. Time to check on Pan."

"Nani?" Bra's eyes opened wide. Pan was alive too?

"Follow me." Juunanagou left the kitchen, with Bra close behind. He led her down another corridor, and opened a door. They stepped into a room which looked more like a hospital ward.

Pan was lying on the bed, her eyes closed, her long black hair spilling over her shoulders. Countless machines were attached to her, monitoring everything. An oxygen mask was over Pan's mouth, supplying her with the vital gas every time she took a shallow breath. Those breaths occurred too far apart for Bra's liking.

This was the worst thing Bra had seen. Worse than the ruins of Capsule Corp., worse than the scars the others had. She had never seen Pan so still or quiet. Whenever the girls had sleepovers, Bra never got any sleep, even once Pan was sleeping. Pan snored, tossed, turned and mumbled in her sleep. In Bra's opinion, the Pan of this world was, close enough to, dead.

Bra felt the tears coming on again. While Juunanagou checked all the monitors, Bra brushed Pan's fringe away from her forehead. She placed a light kiss there, and rested her head on the pillow next to Pan's. The tears had made her cheek wet.

Bra was not sure how long she stayed there, but after some time, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"We'd better go now," Juunanagou softly said. Bra found it hard to believe that this was the same man that had slammed her into the wall earlier. His touch was so gentle.

Bra nodded, stood up and wiped her eyes. She squeezed Pan's hand and left. Before following her, Juunanagou gently brushed Pan's cheek with his finger. Bra noted this, but thought nothing of it until much later.

"You must be tired," said Juunanagou, as he shut the door behind them.

"Hai," Bra yawned.

"C'mon. You can use Bra-chan's room."

He took her to another room. There was very little inside: a bed, a closet and a lot of boxes. Bra hesitantly stepped it.

"We've only used this room for storage since Bra-chan died," Juunanagou stated. "Gomen, it may be a little weird for you but the only alternative would be sleeping in a room with Gohan and Goten, or Tien, Krillin and I, and I don't think that would be appropriate."

Bra smiled. "This will be fine. Thanks. I hope you don't mind me asking, but what's in the boxes?"

"Computer parts and equipment, for the stuff Gohan makes, like Pan's support machines. He's the man to see about getting you back home again."

Bra froze. With all that she had experienced in this dimension, she had completely forgotten about her own. No one would know where she was, or, more importantly, how to bring her back.

"They must be so worried." A laugh escaped from Bra's lips, but there was no humour behind it. "I bet they have time for me now."

"What?" Juunanagou gave her a confused look.

"Never mind. Arigatou, Juunanagou."

"Sweet dreams, Princess." A small, sad smile formed on Juunanagou's lips. He bowed, and left.

Once he was gone, Bra sighed and surveyed her surroundings. She found a baggy T-shirt and a pair of shorts, which she changed into. Then she climbed into the bed. Her sleep was restless; plagued by dreams about the horrors the people of this dimension must have suffered.

Bra/Goten Nextà