Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Fall of the Mighty ❯ Grief ( Chapter 24 )

~Ah. To Have The World At My Feet Just Like This Fic~

Thanks for the warm welcome everybody. Sorry it took so long. I'm working on it. I am not planning on doing the Saiyan "bond" thing in this story. What Gohan is going through is just grief for his lost love. It would be too complicated to work bonding into my already overly complex story. These are just plain old-fashioned relationships with normal problems. Well…normal is a relative term. Poor Kaky. He always has to be the strong one. What else can he do when his boy needs him? What any good and loving father would do, put his son first. (how many of us can actually imagine that?) Spice's little harsh and slightly unstable personality quirks are starting to surface. Ya think? Isn't she just…maybe kind of scary? I will try not to overdo her but she does have parts in the story as does Tong. Be patient. Are you starting to see the parallels in the story? It's filled with them.

I've been getting lazy lately. Sorry. I promise to put more of an effort into grammar and fixing those damn mistakes. I just looked over the last chapter again and I was dismayed. Yuck!! I'll do better!! When I get the chance I am going to redo chapter 24 too.

~O.o Hey! Why Are You All Running Away Screaming?~

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He glanced down at the girl in his arms. She looked so small and fragile huddled against him in her sleep. Blood from her hand pooled at her stomach like a fatal wound. He wouldn't let anything happen to her. He would not allow her life to be spoiled if he could help it.

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*Grief*

Gohan sat with some forms in his lap trying to concentrate but he just couldn't keep his attention on anything, he couldn't think anymore. He felt numb. Tong kept looking over at him with an exasperated expression. Finally the boy couldn't take it anymore and reached over to take the papers away from him. In a matter of minutes the Tong finished them and handed the forms over to the front desk. "Let's get out of here." He suggested quietly.

Goku woke Pan up. She had been tucked up under his arm and sleeping with her head pillowed on his chest. "I'm going to take you home, Pan. Okay?"

She shook her head. "I want to go with dad."

Goku nodded. "Okay. Are the twins at home? You want me to go get them?"

Pan stood up. "No. They're spending the night at Goten's with Flick. I don't want to ruin it. I'll wait till tomorrow. It's too late now anyway."

Tong looked around unhappily. "I thought Spice would be back by now. I shouldn't have let her take off like that." Gohan looked down at the ground and didn't say anything.

The reply came from the back of the room where Piccolo leaned against the wall watching them. "You would have had to force her to keep her here. You were better off letting her go. Who knows what she would have done."

The young man was surprised. "You saw her?" He looked at his dad with disbelief. "You saw her and you let her go?"

Gohan sighed without looking up. "I tried. She just left."

Piccolo stepped away from the wall and turned away from them. "She's not going to come back, you should go home."

Gohan looked up hesitantly at his mentor's back. "Are you going, Piccolo?"

The Namik turned and eyed him coolly. "This is none of my concern. Deal with your family." He walked away.

Gohan started to raise a hand. "But…"

Tong huffed in frustration. "Oh. You try to stop *him* but you don't stop your own daughter? What did he mean when he said "who knows what she would have done"? And why was she covered in blood when she showed up?! What happened to her?! Don't you care?!"

Gohan dropped his hand helplessly and looked to the floor again. "It wasn't her blood. She was fine."

Tong and Pan both blinked. The oldest daughter asked this time. "Who's blood was it?"

Goku stepped in hesitantly. "Um. It was Vegeta's. There was a little fight and she was there to help."

Pan frowned at him. "A fight? But I thought you weren't allowed to spar with Vegeta."

Goku hedged. "Yeah, well, I wasn't."

Tong jumped in, staring with disbelief at his father. "Is that why you look all beat up? You took on Vegeta? The whole reason you weren't home with your family where you *should have been* was because you were out exercising some grudge?! What is wrong with you?!" He stopped again. "Wait a minute, that was *all* Vegeta's blood?! How did that happen?! What did you do?! My Kami!! I don't want to know! Is he okay?"

Goku nodded quickly. "Yes. He's fine. He's resting now."

"He's gonna kill you, isn't he? He's gonna hunt you down and wipe the floor with you. That much blood doesn't happen in just a spar." Tong turned away disgustedly then went to his grandfather and hugged him tightly, speaking quietly into Goku's ear. "Will you take them both home? Make sure they make it in one piece?" Goku nodded and Tong sighed and stepped away to rub his eyes tiredly. "You know…he should be comfortable until he gets ripped limb from limb. I… I'll be around" He walked quickly out the emergency room doors.

Outside he caught sight of Piccolo's tall form just taking to the air in the distance and jumped into the air to fly after him. "Piccolo! Sir?" The Namik stopped and waited silently for him to catch up.

Tong reached him and paused, hesitantly looking up at him. He wasn't used to looking up at anyone, having inherited his height from his grandpa. "Um, what did you mean about my sister? What did she say? I mean… She just walked out. She wouldn't talk to me. She… She saw mom. She forced her way in with the doctors and saw her." Tong stopped himself when he realized Piccolo was just watching him.

The green giant was silent for another few seconds more. "She was fluctuating almost out of control. She won't be back for a while."

Tong closed his eyes and shook his head emotionally. "Aw jeez! I have to find her. What if something happens to her? She… She always does such weird things." The older brother's eyes widened when he thought about what his little sis was capable of. "You're right. There's no telling what's going through her mind. I can't believe this. I can't believe all that's happened…. Why did this have to happen?" His voice cracked at the end and he brushed at the few tears that leaked down his cheeks.

Piccolo grew uncomfortable in the face of the boy's obvious misery. He spoke matter-of-factly. "Some things don't have a reason. They just are. You have to accept it and move on. Go home."

Tong watched Piccolo fly off. He couldn't go home. He had just lost his mother. He loved his mother and she was gone. His heart felt as if it were being squeezed in a vise. How could there be no reason for him to feel this pain? He flew after the Namik. Not following him. Just flying aimlessly in the direction he happened to be facing.

She opened her eyes when Vegeta set her down. She hadn't expected him to put up with her but she was grateful he had. She was so tired and her arm throbbed. She couldn't move it anymore. Her whole body felt numb.

He noticed her looking up at him with glazed eyes. "Mask your ki. Sleep, girl." He attached something to her face and she obediently closed her eyes. The world melted away while she drifted.

Tong slowed and halted after a short while. All he could think about was the way his mom had felt in his arms. She was so small and light and frail. He hadn't realized how old she really was. But she wasn't that old. She wasn't that frail. She was one of the strongest people he knew. How could she die so easily? How could she be gone so fast? How could this be? 'Why? Why?! Why!!' He cried freely as he floated in the sky, his sobs being taken away by the wind.

Higher up and far away a shadow floated. The Namik watched the demi-Saiyan grieve. 'He's so much like his father. He just needs to realize he is on his own and that he will *have* to find a way to cope. He will be fine.' Piccolo shook his head. Why was he concerned? He was not their guardian. They didn't need him to watch over them. They should be able to get along on their own. It was none of his business anyway. Still... He remembered how helpless and naïve Gohan had once been. Tong had inherited that innocent delusional nature and yet it was veiled by a sarcastic cynical realism that Gohan had never possessed. The green alien watched the boy and then growled rolling his eyes. 'Stupid Ningens.'

'What am I doing? What am I doing out here in the middle of the night? Piccolo's right, I should go home.' But he didn't want to go home. He studied the land below. There was a lake surrounded by a lush swampy forest. Slowly he slipped down to the surface of the water and viewed how his shadow stretched over the blackness, touching his feet down as if he could walk on the water. The surface rippled with his presence and he watched the disturbance spread away from his feet. Sighing again he soaked back into melancholy thoughts.

Suddenly the water exploded in his face and through it all he could see was a huge set of jaws coming up at him. Tong shrieked and cringed closing his eyes tightly as he was jolted roughly. A moment later the young man opened his eyes and looked around curiously. Someone had hold of his waist and, in the water below, a large dark form floated motionlessly in the lake. He looked up inquisitively into Piccolo's disapproving face.

"Hi… Thanks."

Spice walked into the house, her long spikes drooping a little. She was so tired. She wondered when the last time she slept was but couldn't remember. Her mind felt cloudy. "Hi, sweety. Could you set the table for me?"

"Sure, mom."

She grabbed a handful of silverware from the kitchen and some napkins and set the places. On her way back to put away the extra utensils she'd picked up she passed by her mom who gave her a hug and a smile. "Thanks, sweety. I'm just going to step out for a minute, okay?"

Spice smiled back. "Okay, mom. I'll be in my room." She headed up the stairs and entered her room. Shutting the door she turned around and frowned, squinting at the brightness reflecting off spotless walls. The room was bare and white. Where had all her things gone? She opened up the closet but the few odd things hanging in it weren't hers. Even her comforter on the bed was gone, there was only a plain white sheet. Everything she owned, all her belongings, her collections, even the stickers on the windows were gone. 'Shit! Am I in the right room?' She opened the door and looked out again. This was her room but everything was missing. 'Did dad finally have enough of me? Did he finally throw me out? No. Mom would have said something.' She glanced around one last time. 'I'll go ask her.'

She stepped out onto the stairs. The air was different. It was musty and stale. The light seemed clouded and hazy and she squinted at the dust motes that floated lazily through the air. Downstairs the table had changed. All the place settings were gone and the room was gray and dark. 'What happened?'

"Mom?"

Spice went into the kitchen and looked at the dirty pans on the cold stove uncomprehendingly. 'Where is she? She said she was only stepping out for a minute.' Spice walked back out to the dinning room and saw Tong coming toward her. "Where'd mom go?" She asked him.

He stopped and regarded her mournfully. "Mom's gone."

"What? But I just saw her. She's here."

Tong nodded sympathetically and spoke reassuringly, as if she were a little child. "She'll always be with us, in our hearts." He continued to walk by and Spice stared after him, stunned.

'What?' She couldn't believe her brother had just said something so corny. 'What's going on? This can't be right.' She turned and looked into the next room. It was filled with people. There was her sister and her father and Goten and Trunks and his wife and a whole bunch of other people who she didn't know. They were all talking quietly in hushed tones. There was her grampa too but he was just standing there silently. He didn't look happy at all.

She turned around and behind her, far away from everyone else, Vegeta leaned with crossed arms against the wall. Watching her. "Well?" He asked with dry expectance. "Are you going to do something or are you just going to stand there?" She frowned. She didn't understand what he meant. What was going on? It didn't make sense. She looked back and saw a group of people wearing green scrubs and white masks.

One of them turned to her with concern. "Are you alright?"

'What?' Spice looked down at herself in confusion. Her jeans were soaked in blood and there were bloody handprints down her shirt. 'Where did this come from? It's not my blood. It's… It's… It's Vegeta's blood.' She looked back at the doctors and an image flashed before her eyes. Again she saw her mom's lifeless chalky face and blue lips. 'She's dead.' She looked back to Vegeta who raised an eyebrow impatiently.

"About time."

'But…she's here. No. I saw her. I saw her corpse with my own eyes. She's dead.' Spice stood there dazedly until finally turning and walking out the front door. It was cold and cloudy and gray outside, like winter at dusk beneath a rainstorm. She stepped out into the cold and saw her mother.

Videl was standing at the bottom of the steps chatting happily with two women Spice didn't know. They all stopped to smile at her but she didn't smile back. Rage filled her. This wasn't her mother. How dare this person come into her house and make a mockery of them. "You aren't my mother."

Videl was shocked.

"You aren't her. My mother is dead." Spice glared unblinkingly at the woman as she spoke. "I saw her. You aren't her. Get out. Get out of my house. Get off my property!" Spice turned her back on the confused hurt that spread across Videl's face and walked back into the house, shutting the door firmly. She didn't know who or what that woman out there was but she wanted to be as far from the doppelganger as possible. The sight of her made Spice's insides feel twisted. Had she just made a mistake? Was that really her mother? Was she really alive? No. It wasn't true. She knew it wasn't true.

She stopped short when she saw the roon was now splattered with blood. Her father stood over Vegeta's gory body looking very pleased with himself. Spice almost screamed. "What are you doing?!"

He frowned self-righteously. "You spend too much time with that man. He won't corrupt my little girl anymore."

She did scream but it was a low guttural roar of incensed fury. "No!!!"

His disapproving features turned on her next and he stepped forward. "I guess I didn't deal with him in time. You're a lost cause." He wrapped his hands around her throat before she could react to his words and started to choke her mercilessly.

Spice craned her eyes around the room as she gagged and tried to pry his hands away but no one seemed to notice what was happening. They didn't care. Desperately she reached for something, anything. Her hand landed on one of the dinning chairs. She hefted the heavy, solid oak and lifted it over her head. There was a sickening crack as it smashed into her father's skull and he slumped to the ground, eyes staring with his neck at an odd angle. Gasping for air she turned and ran out the door again before anyone could see what she'd done.

Suddenly she found herself at the top of a cliff. The sky was still stormy above and grew even darker until she had to squint to see. She stepped up to the edge and looked down. The bottom was a long way away. Suddenly unnerved, she moved to step back but the edge gave way. She realized her hands were bloody as she hung by her fingertips from sharp rocks. The life substance dripping down onto her face and into her eyes, turning the world red as she struggled for a firmer grip. She couldn't hold on. She slipped. Her chest constricted and she gasped as she careened toward the distant ground.

Then she hit and everything went black.

She lay there in pitch, numbly aware of the rocky earth beneath her. Cold and hard and sharp, jutting into her back but there was no pain. Only numbness. Her thoughts echoed back to her in the hollow emptiness.

'Am I dead? Am I dying? I must be.'

'I can't see. I don't hurt. I don't feel anything.'

'I can't move.'

'I want to be dead. If you're dead there's no fear.'

'I'm not afraid.'

'I want to rest. No more pain. No more hurt. No more anything. No more.'

'If I'm dead why am I breathing? I don't need to breathe.'

She stopped.

Vaguely in the distance she could hear a sound but her attention wouldn't focus on anything but the peaceful dark. She just wanted to rest.

Vegeta frowned when he heard the alarm on the regeneration tank and made his way to the room. On the side of the tank the readings for occupant vital signs were dropping. One indicator flashed for respiratory failure. "Shit!" Out of all the complications the tank was equipped to handle it had to be something it couldn't deal with itself.

Vegeta hit the emergency release button and caught Spice as the machine spilled it's contents into the room. She still had a faint pulse, she just wasn't breathing. Ironically he thought that perhaps it was a good thing that he'd had so much experience with regen tanks. At least he had a relatively good idea of what to do in a situation like this. He himself had nearly died this way a few times. He ripped the mask off of her face, tilted her chin up and growled impatiently.

"Baka, girl! Wake up! If I put out this kind of effort for a worthless wench like you, you will fucking show some appreciation!" with that he unceremoniously began to slap her hard across her cheeks, snapping her head back and forth roughly.

It seemed to take forever before she suddenly stiffened and her eyes snapped open. Her chest rasped noisily as she struggled for control of her lungs again.

"About time."

She just stared up at him as his familiar words brought the dream racing back to her. Only vaguely did she feel the pain in her face while everything from the last evening came back to her.

He leaned back and grimaced at the mess the flooding had caused even though most of the green liquid had seeped down a drain in the center of the room. He would have to recalibrate the machine to create more of the healing enzyme. His attention was drawn back to the girl who was now rolling weakly onto her hands and knees. "You are more trouble than you are worth, girl."

She eyed him dryly and rasped. "So are you, Vegy." She looked down at herself and froze. Her face turned bright red but the look she shot him was closed, un-amused, and deadly and her voice matched it. "Get me a towel. Now!"

He smirked royally at her, crossing his arms. "Get one yourself."

She forced down a snarl and scanned the room for what she sought. Spotting a shelf across the room she turned her back to him, stood, and stiffly made her way to it. Her tail winded self-consciously around her naked thigh. Vegeta just watched with amusement as she quickly covered herself with the fluffy white material.

"There's nothing there that I haven't seen before. You look like timid prey."

She glared indignantly at him. "You hadn't seen *mine* before, you fucking jackass!"

Vegeta laughed. "And now that I have I can see that you haven't been training as hard as you could have been."

The slimy wet fur of her tail spiked out. If she had hackles they would have been raised. It was an unmistakably aggressive posture. "Just because I don't look like Vin Diesel doesn't mean I can't kick your ass!"

Vegeta stood up, unconcerned, his boots squishing wetly. "As much as I would enjoy your attempt, I don't think you will try it in that towel. If you want clothing you will behave yourself and show some respect."

"I can get my own clothes and I can take care of myself. *I* know instant transmission. I am not helpless!"

Vegeta snorted. "Hn. Like you took care of yourself last night? You would have bled to death from the injuries you were about to inflict on yourself if I were not there to restrain you. You are just lucky that there is no moon out there. I could have left you there and my business with your father would have been that much closer to being finished.

She wasn't surprised at all by his words. She knew it was all true. It would have been fitting. "Why didn't you?"

Vegeta raised one eyebrow condescendingly. "You want to learn about your Saiyan nature and new abilities. I'm the only one who can teach you. In return, I want to learn that technique."

"Why don't you just have Kaky teach you?" She asked even though she already knew the answer.

Vegeta shook his head disgustedly. "I asked him once to explain it to me. I didn't understand a word he said. The baka barely understands it himself, he couldn't demonstrate it or explain it to me." Spice nodded with understanding. "If you agree then you will train with me from now on and you will keep up with me. If you prove yourself too weak then that will be the end of it."

She studied him sternly. She could see what he was doing. She certainly hadn't expected it but her uncle always had a tendency of doing the unexpected. She was pretty sure he did it on purpose most of the time. He knew she had nowhere to go. She was not about to go home again and when the semester ended she would have no boarding house and no money. He was offering her a place to go and an excuse to stay. She shook her head and laughed to herself. 'Everything happens for a reason.' She thought wryly.

"I will finish my classes. Finals are this coming week anyway. It's summer. I've got nothing better to do over the next months. Why not?" She answered quietly.

Vegeta nodded and walked away. She followed him and he led her down a hall to a room at the end of the building next to a door that looked like it led outside. "We are on an island. It is my private place. Only you, I, and Kakarotto know of it. It will stay that way." She nodded and looked into the room at the neatly folded spandex training clothes on the bed. "You may move freely between here and Capsule Corp. Do what you want."

She turned and gave a ghost of a smile but her eyes lacked the playful fire that they normally held. Her usual teasing tone was flat. "What if I want to kick your ass like I promised?"

"Then get dressed."

Of course I like you Bobbin! Why in the world wouldn't I? You're not…like…deformed or something right? No! I love all of you readers. I may not keep up with you guys and my email is acting screwy lately but that doesn't mean I don't go all squishy when I think of you guys……… Well……Actually I don't…… But that doesn't mean anything!!

Here and there I have been getting a few impatient Vegy/Kaky purists. That's great. I plan to get back into them soon…… But I have storyline and concepts to put to paper first and *then* I will think about making you happy again. You'll just have to make do with an actual plot until then. ^_^

Is there a person out there who worships Piccolo? And would be willing to give me a little fan/author to fan/author perspective? If you know Piccolo like the back of your hand and would like to share, let me know. I got a question for ya.

Hehehe Hyperbole. You're right. Kinda complicated now isn't it? Oh where oh where will it go from here? Only I know……teehee.

Oh my……everyone seems to be praying for Gohan's demise. Don't you people have any compassion? O.o hmmm Nevermind.