Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Harvest of the Soulless ❯ The Bottom of the Ocean ( Chapter 2 )

Harvest of the Soulless

By Poe

Chapter 2: The Bottom of the Ocean

"Time has been spent,

Here at the bottom of the ocean,

Where everyday is a winter day,

When night and day are just a blur,

And like the water, I'm just a passive green,

And like the people,

Far, far above,

I wish I had ears to listen,

And a body to swim away."

I arrived at Capsule Corporation wind-torn and breathless. Trunks was by my side, he had urged me to fly faster than I had ever before. I landed wind-torn and breathless, a spark of happiness flooding the air around me. He had challenged me to a race and I, the competitive girl I am, hadn't dared to refuse. At first I thought I was sure I had won, but he had made a fool of me by letting me win. His gestures of chivalry were not easily the accustomed to, my pride demanded. But nonetheless, he had proved himself to be an eccentric man. It was a shame I loved him no more.

We spent the day at Capsule Corporation as any other, as friends. Our laughter that day played a song in my head as it ended, a song of us together. If only we were meant to be. We could've conquered the world, him and I, with our joy and ambition alone. I loved it when he made me forget, when he made me feel new again.

And yet, the longing would never recede. Perhaps the real joy of me being in Capsule Corporation was being near Vegeta. Just the thought of knowing I was near him made my thoughts race and my heart pound, it produced a thrill in my soul that no other man could match. I was only meters away from him that whole day, all my days away from him made me want only that. To be near him. To be with him.

Later that night, when things were clear and the moon laid sheen over the ground like an alchemist who had turned the earth to silver, I left Vegeta. It was time to go, I could stay no longer, so I left the place of tattered dreams. I left Trunks and our moments together and walked outside. My life had recently been just that, leaving things behind. Perhaps just a part of growing up, of fooling yourself into thinking you were in love.

In any case, I walked outside and looked up at the stars. They formed a canopy of elegant beauty above me, so distant and far away. I tried to think how insignificant I was in the vast expanse of the universe, and how my problems were petty and trivial. I was lucky to be who I was, one of the last members of a breed whose blood weakens with each generation. But ultimately, my problems meant nothing. And yet, I continued to pine after him as though his love meant everything to me.

And as much as I hated it, it did.

I was walking there because Trunks had not offered to take me home, but I didn't care. Strolling along side the forests near CC, I couldn't find a care in me for anything but Vegeta. A man who, obviously, wouldn't even notice if I were alive or dead.

Still, an attraction pulled me to him. Were we meant to be together, or was this just some phase that would pass away? Would I love him always, or would I forget him in a few months? What would happen to us?

One thing I knew was that waiting there would not bring me answers. And anyway, I had to get home before my curfew. Enchanting walks under the stars were enjoyable, but no excuse strong enough to quell my mother's anger for me being late. I had to abandon thoughts and questions and go home, a place of order and civilization.

I checked my watched and gasped when I saw that I was terribly late. Powering up, the leaves and dirt around me shot out from all sides as my ki level skyrocketed from what it was before. I rose off the ground slowly and then, in a burst of energy, I took to the skies. The wind rushed around me and I was climbing above the treetops around me, but all I could think about was how my mother was going to kill me.

Higher and higher I climbed, gaining enough altitude to make the trees look far smaller than they were before. Then, once I was high enough, I barreled through the air forwards and homebound. I flew at a speed I could have never boasted about two years ago, and yet I didn't even take notice. Instead, I turned around and looked back at Capsule Corporation as I flew away.

Trunks was there, Bra was there, and most importantly, Vegeta was there. And I was leaving them all, just because I was late. An honest reason, but it wasn't enough for me. I always felt a bitter pain when I left Capsule Corporation, one that seemed near unbearable. At first it was because I was leaving Trunks, but now it was because I was leaving his father.

As ironic as I thought that who situation was, it was nothing compared to what would come.

If only I knew.

That night, safe in bed, I dreamt a beautiful dream.

I dreamt I was loved, that I was with Vegeta. Bulma was gone and far away- he had left her long ago, evidently- and now he had everything he wanted because he was with me. He wouldn't show any of this love, of course, not even in the slightest. No affection, no kindness, only insults and harassments.

And yet, I knew. I knew he loved me as much as he was capable to.

In this dream, I was finally happy. Happiness had taken on a literal form, as dreams often do, and it took the shape of a cloud inside a box wrapped in fancy paper. It was ridiculous fiction, something I didn't often dream about. Usually I dreamt about battles, about adventures, never clouds and relationships.

And yet, there I was, with a present in a box that was my happiness. As a little piece of vapor, I knew it would not stay for long. But I didn't care, I was happy. It was everything I wanted.

One scene in the dream that particularly impacted me, was one with Vegeta and I. What I loved about it was that it was everything I would've wished for. It was something that would never happen, one dream I was so lucky to have. And yet, it was strangely simple and beautiful at the same time.

The most apparent thing in the dream was that it was summertime. Vegeta and I were in a summer home in the south of Japan near the beaches; one our dream selves probably didn't live it. It was just a rental, probably; we still had our lives back home waiting for us. We each had our excuses for being there; no one knew where we were exactly. But we had summer together, even if it meant returning home. No one could take that away from us.

I sat inside, looking out, on the soft, carpeted floor. Next to me was Happiness, floating above its recently unwrapped box. The tissues had been ripped off and lay next to it like open flower petals, the ribbon underneath it and showing itself on both sides. I had just opened it, and I remembered clearly the joy that flooded my eyes and the way the light shone on my hands when I tore off the paper.

Outside, I saw Vegeta. He was there, so near and handsome. He was finally mine, and I could feel my soul radiate with elation because of it. I was fulfilled, I was with the man I loved, and everything fit together. I had spent my life with him at a distance, and in the dream, I was with him. Perfection had never been so within my grasp as it had in that imaginary moment.

He was looking out at the beach, and almost stood on it. The sands from the beach sloped upward to meet the foundation of our house, so it was right there. He was on the balcony, but he could rise up over the balcony and then down to the beach any time he wanted to. Instead he stood there, looking at the water.

The beach was deserted and we were completely alone. I couldn't have asked for more.

Then, suddenly, as everything was peaceful and right, tragedy reared its ugly head. Happiness started to hover forward. I stared at it for a moment, in shock at the fact that it was moving and trying to figure out what it was going to do. It was moving towards the window and I gasped. It was leaving.

I reached out and tried to grab it, to claw at it with my fingernails. It couldn't leave, the dream had just begun. I knew happiness was ephemeral, but it was too soon and too fast. As if trying to spite me, my fingers went right through it. It continued towards the window and Vegeta and I was powerless to stop it.

The glass wasn't much of a barrier either; the little cloud went right through it. I watched in helplessness and frustration as it went towards Vegeta. I reached up and open the window and ran out to the balcony, where at least I could watch it leave. I tried to claw at it some more, but it was futile.

Vegeta looked at me with an emotionless face. Behind it, I knew he was telling me something. Something he could've told me in a mocking, sardonic tone but instead he chose to be silent.

"Let it go," he said to me with no words, with no speech, without even expression. He said it to me through my own interpretation, my dreams limiting me to only being able to learn from him in this way.

The cloud called Happiness kept going, floating past the balcony and down to the beach. Out it went, farther and farther towards the ocean. It met the waters and continued, disappearing past the surface.

I looked at him, panic stricken.

"I can't let this happen! It was right there, Vegeta, and now it can't be gone! It was right there, just a few seconds ago!" His cold, unfeeling stare showed no acknowledgment at my frustration, but I didn't expect it to.

Instead I used my ki to hover upwards, my feet leaving the ground. I hovered over the balcony, Vegeta watching me with that same, unreadable gaze. I turned back to him, tears flooding my eyes.

"No, this can't be happening, I've waiting too long for Happiness!"

"It won't come back," he said, his tone sour.

"Why not?"

"It won't come back. If I left, would I come back?" he sneered this through his teeth as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Then I'm going to get it. I'll make it come back!"

"The coward is never happy. Happiness is gone until you acknowledge that, not that you ever will."

I covered my ears. "You're wrong! I'm going to get it, and I'll show you and everyone else and I'll get it!" I turned back, facing the beach and my original plan.

I was going to fly out and get Happiness even if it killed me. It was the perfect plan, if I caught it I would be happy, and if I didn't, I would die. Death would bring me no pain, and I would never be lonely or sad. Never again.

And then, as suddenly as Happiness had left me, I woke up.

Not by my own will, I woke up when I felt someone's presence somewhere in the room. The dream faded to black and a jerked up, flung forwards in alarm. My dream was over, but even more shockingly, I was awoken by someone in my room.

My heart was pounding from being flung from the dream world and tears had flooded down my cheeks. The blankets of my bed had been thrown to the floor all except for a thin sheet, which had been wrapped and tangled about me from tossing and turning. Sweat dampened my hair, and adrenaline coursed through my veins. These were strange causes of such a short and foolish dream.

Then, I remembered what had awakened me. Someone was in my room, and I had a feeling it wasn't my parents. My head jerked to the side and I saw the window open, the curtains fluttering in the breeze. Broken glass was all over the floor, someone obviously had opened the door the hard way.

My heart pounded faster and faster. Why did this have to be happening? Why now? I had just been awoken from a beautiful dream and now there was a stranger in my house. Sure, I could handle the stress, but waking up to feeling the presence of an outsider in my room was outlandishly stressful.

It knew wasn't a burglar, which would be the least of my concerns. The human aspect of Chikyuu was safe for a Saiyan, impeccably so. No, it wasn't a thief breaking in at the middle of the night, which would be too easily handled. It was someone else, someone I knew.

Whoever it was that had awakened me was obviously not still at the window, he or she had probably entered the house by then. I looked over to the other side of the room and, miraculously, I saw a figure. From the shadows I couldn't make out if it was friend or foe, but my hands tightened into a grip in fear.

There it was.

If it was a thief, I could handle it on my own. If it were a Saiyan, it wouldn't be much of a problem considering I knew them all very well and all my life. If it were some other alien or android, well, that was extremely unlikely. Even concluding said possibilities; I still was gripped by fear.

Who was it? Did it notice me? What was it doing in my room at that hour?

The figure noticed me, jerked, and then walked towards me in a swift and warrior-like walk. From the stature and walk I could immediately who it was. As he neared, it became clear and my conjecture had been correct.

Vegeta.

"Where is your father?" he snapped at me. My eyes widened at the absurdity of the question.

"What are you doing in my room?" I exclaimed, angry and very confused. Why was he in my room at that hour and what in the hell did he want with my father? Fuming, I sincerely hoped all of this had a very good explanation.

"Answer my question, brat! I have my reasons, and they are none of your concern!"

"Yes, they are! It's 2:00 in the morning, you've broken into my room, demanding to know where my father is and you expect me to answer calmly like it was the most normal thing in the world? Sorry, I can't! Now tell me what you're doing in my room!"

Even though it was dark, I could tell the vein in his forehead had begun to swell. "Are you capable of answering a simple question without intruding in my affairs? Or is that a feat of too much competence for you to even begin to consider?"

I gasped in anger. "Your affairs? Hey, it's my room, my father, and sleep you've taken from me, so I think I can safely say that I have enough business with all of this to ask my own question!"

"Why am I wasting time with such stubbornness!" he exclaimed, turning to leave, "It's obvious you know less about Kakkarot's urchin's location than I do, so I'll resume this fruitless discussion no longer."

"Wait!" I said, climbing out of bed so I could face him, "what are you saying? It obviously must be important if it brought you all the way here!"

"Where do you think your father is? Sleeping peacefully with his family like some fucking innocent, normal person?"

"Yes! Where else would he be? And why would he be there?"

"You know nothing about what he's been engaging in for the past few months?"

My eyes widened. What was he getting at? "Look, you still haven't answered why you're in my room!"

"Nor do I have any obligation to," he hissed, looking around before turning to the broken window.

"Of course you do, you just broke into my house! The least you can do is explain to me why!"

"Well that's just too bad, now isn't it?" He was powering up to fly out the window and I felt my blood begin to boil with anger. Who was he kidding, breaking into my room and then flying off with no explanation?

"You said something about my father, is that why you are here?"

He turned towards me in the middle of powering up with an angry expression. "I'm not falling for you games."

"Games?" What was he talking about now?

"You'd be insane to think a warrior like me would not be experienced at detecting lies from truth."

"What?" I exclaimed, confused and exhausted from being jolted out of bed. "You think I'm lying? About what?"

"You're to tell me that you, his daughter, does not know where Kakarot's spawn has been doing at this hour?"

My eyes widened. "My dad is doing something?"

He smirked. "He has kept you very ignorant, not that it would be a feat too difficult to accomplish."

I ignored his insult, but my pajama-clad self crossed its arms. "He's kept me ignorant about what?"

"Haven't you been listening?"

"Of course I've been listening. You're saying he's going off in the middle of the night, doing something you're not telling me what is, and leaving his whole family completely unsuspecting? Why should I believe you?"

He scoffed. "Check for yourself, his ki is not anywhere near this house."

I took a moment to see if he was right, and sure enough, only my mother was detectable. My face filled with panic. "He is gone! What is he doing? And why does it involve you? And why did you need to break into my house?"

He looked at me for a second, up and down. There was a brief pause.

"No, I don't have to explain any of this to you. There is no more information you have to offer me." Vegeta turned back around, presumably to leave, but I grabbed his arm. He had told me my father had been lying to me and now he was just going to leave. I wouldn't accept it; I had to lie so I could get more information out of him.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. You came here for a reason, I'm guessing to find him. I'm Gohan's daughter, and I know him better than you do. If you just tell me what's going on, I can help you."

"And how, pray tell, would you do that?"

"Well, you want to know where he is, right? And I do too, so I can take you to him!"

A pause. "You can't handle it. You won't believe me, you're just a child."

Anger flared in my eyes. "Just tell me! I need to know, and I can help you!"

"You don't know what you're asking."

"I can handle it, trust me."

He looked at me for what seemed like a long time after I had said those words. I couldn't tell what he was thinking from his face, but I had a feeling he was judging on whether to tell me or not.

"It's nothing surprising. Your family has a history of it."

"Of what?"

"Your father is doing something dishonorable to the Saiyan race."

My eyes narrowed in skepticism. "What's that?"

He stared at me coldly, deep into my eyes. "Something dishonorable, in the middle of the night, and not telling his family. Specifically, not telling his wife."

I looked at him in innocent confusion. "What are you getting at?"

His gaze deepened. "What do people do at night, little girl, what do men do that they don't tell their wives about?"

"Dad doesn't drink-"

"Think, brat, think long and hard. It's a concept even someone as disgustingly pure as you can understand."

I didn't understand it because I didn't want to. He was suggesting something that was impossible for me to associate with my father. Vegeta was obviously telling me that my father was having an affair, but it was something I could not accept. I had to be misunderstanding something, it couldn't have been true.

"He's always been faithful to my mother! You can't mean that he's having an affair, that's just not my father!"

"Don't be so goddamn naïve! Your father has been having an affair for months!"

"No!" I yelled at him, taking a step backwards, "You can't tell me that! It's a lie! You don't just break into my house, wake me up, and tell me all these lies! Why are you doing this to me? Why are you lying to me?"

"What would I gain in telling you lies about your father? Don't be ridiculous!"

"No! My father is not having an affair! I don't believe you!"

"Now isn't the time for childish denial! You're father is fucking someone besides your mother, face it!"

"Why do you care?" I asked, feeling my eyes well up at the situation. He was yelling at me things that were painful and disturbing in the middle of the night after breaking into my room and harassing me. How could I believe any of that? Things were so surreal, I questioned if I was still in the dream. "Why did you come here to tell me this? Just to upset me as some sort of sick joke? I thought you hated me and him and everyone else and wanted to stay away from us!"

"You're not going to understand what I'm going to tell you, what's the point?"

"Ok! I believe you! I believe that Dad's having an affair!" I lied, trying to get as much information out of him as I could. Still, it was completely untrue. Who, in my situation, would ever believe him? "Now just tell me what you are doing here!"

"Who do you think he's having an affair with?" he spat, "It's quite obvious!"

"Bulma?" I gasped, in horror. Could it be?

"Ha! You think I would do more than rid myself of her if I found out she wasn't faithful? No, brat, I certainly would not be as offended as I am now."

"Then who else is it? Who else could my father have an 'affair' with?" Hearing the words coming from me made it sound like I actually believed him. I was sure I didn't, but still curious as to the details of the presumed lie. Unfortunately, he didn't answer. Instead, he let me guess who it could possibly be.

"Someone you are having an affair with? Someone you like? I don't know, who is it?" I asked, impatiently.

He stared at me with those unearthly eyes, eyes that only an alien could posses. Black, lifeless, and something I could be swallowed in. He stared at me and all I saw was his eyes and everything behind them. The conversation fell behind me and I was absorbed in a trance, lost in his apathetic gaze.

I looked at those eyes and saw distance, I saw a man still stuck on that dead planet of Vegetasei. He still carried the culture, probably still spoke the language, and still hated people that were different than him, as he had been taught. I saw someone I thought I had fallen in love with, someone who was untamed and cruel as anyone could be. I saw someone whose soul had been torn from him and thrown to the wastes of the universe. I saw someone who lived alone, far away and at a place with no one else. At the bottom of an ocean, where the water was his broken dreams, crushing him down with sheer weight.

I saw a man who could never be free and in that, I saw the answer to my question.

His daughter.

My father was having an affair with Bra.