Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Lost ❯ Eternity vs. Evanescent Time ( Chapter 39 )

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Domo arigatou Ubuu's Mrs!! Your review really meant a lot to me!! I have the rest of the story all planned out so these chapter shouldn't take that long to write anymore…They shouldn't at least…

Disclaimer: Hontouni?!? You believe that I would own DragonBallZ?!?

Lost

Chapter 39…………

Time stretches into eternity when expectation filters into the equation. Seconds seem like minutes, minutes like hours, hours like days and days like years. The concept that is true becomes lost within the chaos that ensues and dominates one's life. Thus three years of constant worry and apprehension has passed. Every muscle tense as breathing becomes more difficult. The sweat pores nervously from every pore and soon one is soaked within their own overwhelming emotions. How could one person possibly survive such an ordeal….

"She's been down there for three days…."

Cerulean orbs glance up and fixate upon a young girl. Her sleek aquamarine hair pooling over her arms as she rests her head over them. Yet, her attention wasn't directed at him, instead she stared motionlessly at the basement door.

"I know," Trunks whispered softly to his sister as he followed her gaze, "She doesn't want to leave until she can find a way to cure Xenia."

The table suddenly shook and spun as two petite fists came flying into its cherry wood surface, "She hasn't eaten anything! She hasn't slept or stopped in her wild research!"

Crystalline droplets slowly emerged from her eyes, following a mysterious path as they trail down her face. Yet her expression wasn't one of sorrow or misery, but that of anguish and rage.

"I've seen her Trunks." Her eyes abruptly snap up as that one testament falls from her lips. The flashing orbs dancing as the anger rises within her petite body, "She is working herself to the point of utter exhaustion. Her face is so pale and…."

Her head turns abruptly away from her older sibling as she tries to stop her tears, "Everything is falling apart, now. And its all because of HER!"

Her loud outburst fell from her lips in a heated slur that contested to her enormous anger. In this rage, she watched the monitor that had been placed in the kitchen the day before and cringed, "It's all her fault."

A young girl in her late teens could be seen laying upon a small bed on the miniature screen. Her raven mane pooled around her body as her breaths came out in short gasps. Her face contorts itself into an expression of sever pain as her right arm shakes violently by her side. Another attack has taken over her body.

Everyday they would have to witness these horrible bouts that she underwent. Yet, they never grew less horrifying instead they heightened the sensation to a degree that rested on level of complete hysteria. Every tremor that ran through her would lead to yet another injury on her body.

However neither demi-saiyan could pull their eyes away as they watched a thin laceration suddenly tear open her shoulder, drawing itself a thin line to her elbow. Then everything stopped; the pain and the convulsions. Yet this would could be identified only as the eye of the storm. Abruptly, it opens with every muscle within its path being torn and ripped to shreds.

Two tall figures run into the room, their large obsidian locks hiding the grief and panic that would be on their faces. Desperate to find a way to control the situation, they hold her down carefully to the small mattress. All the while her screams resonate within the room, her voice becoming hoarse and depleted as the air runs out from her lungs.

Yet, they heard nothing of this. They simply watched as the silent exhibition took place before their eyes. Neither could fathom the pain she went through nor could they pull themselves from their spots to help. They simply sat there motionless, mesmerized by the images that greeted them.

"It's all her fault."

Instead of a small nod or a silent agreement, resentment came to argue her accusation.

"How can you say that?"

She turns to him shocked and confused, how could her own brother not understand this, "You're defending HER?"

"You have no idea what she's been though," He states softly his eyes boring small holes into the table. It wasn't his place to speak at the moment. He knew this and yet something was pushing his anger to new levels.

"I don't know what she's been through?! What about what she put us through! How can you stand up for a monster like her!!"

He knew she was just trying to find a way to vent her anger and yet a part of him didn't care. Sure she was his little sister. He should be understanding and console her, but he wanted to be selfish this one day. He has been trying too hard to make everyone else feel better.

"How could you know anything?" The statement was said without emotion and yet every word struck her violently. He didn't care anymore; about being strong or about anyone's emotions.

"She has gone through more pain than you can ever imagine!" His voice roared over the room, its sheer volumes terrifying his younger sister. "She's had her whole life torn away from her and this is the way you act?! You ridicule her pain and act as if your petty problems are bigger than hers!"

His hands crashed against the sleek surface beside him, the action causing the table to tip and crash onto it's side.

"Trunks…." Her azure eyes shift and widen as fear begins to seep deeper into her body, "Trunks, please I…." Tears begin to trail down her cheeks, the torrent staining her beautiful face, "Trunks….."

Something snaps within his heart, and suddenly he looks around himself in wonder. He drags his

eyes over the room and notices for the first time what had just happened. The small round table turn over carelessly onto his side. Little pieces of wood jutting out from the spots where his fist had violently slammed into it. And then…..

His eyes fix themselves onto her small trembling form and he finds himself suddenly disgusted with the image. Her tears, her fear…things he had caused.

"Bra, I'm….." He steps towards her and winces as she flinches from him.

//I always ruin everything….//

Pulling back he bends over slightly and pulls the table back onto its stiff legs. His eye watch silently as he trails his fingers over the new impressions he had made and sighs, "I'm sorry Bra."

//How could I have done this? What am I?//

Both sibling slowly sink back into their chairs as the silence wears on. No unusual movement or sound appears and they simply lay their heads over their forearms and shift to become comfortable. They had learned too many times that such actions were better left forgotten or ignored and this situation seemed to fit into the category perfectly. Instead of arguing or even speaking another word, they simply watched silently as Xenia slept on her small bed. Her breathing normal now and her arm bandaged. Her saviors had disappeared, but she didn't seem to mind. Yet, neither could fail to notice the expression of utter pain that remained upon her face.

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//A small spherule of cobalt aqueous concentration and…..//

The liquids swirled and mixed within each other, but just as before the results she wished for were not achieved.

"Dammit!" Bulma screamed as she pounded her hand against the table, "Why can't I get this right?!"

Burying her head into her arms she sighed and relaxed her eyes. This wasn't going the way she had planned it…..that serum Xenia had brought did effectively neutralize the virus, but only for a short amount of time and with each day the virus was evolving. The amount of time that was allowed had now greatly reduced to only a few hours! How could they create something in time? Already they were feeding that stuff into her almost constantly and now they were down to the last bottle!

A small cry fell from her lips and she sifted her hands through her short locks, only to pull at them a second later. What the hell was she doing wrong!

"You can't stay down here forever onna."

Bulma's eyes snapped open as she heard those words. She shook her head ruefully and laughed at her sudden shock. It had been such a long time since she had any contact with anyone besides Gohan. Pulling herself up, she weakly smiled at her new guest, "Vegeta…."

The Saiyan Prince looked over his mate, his face displaying his disapproval for what he saw. He looked into her eyes for a moment, his face still a apathetic mask.

"You need to rest for a while," He smiled a bit as he heard a faint rumble, "And you need to eat."

Yet Bulma simply shook her head, "I can't Vegeta, I'm loosing more and more time with her and if I stop now…"

"Yet do you believe starving and depriving yourself of sleep will help in any way?" He quirked up a brow and frowned at his stubborn mate. Sometimes he didn't understand humans.

"Vegeta is right Bulma, you should rest for a bit. I can take care of this stuff for a while."

Bulma's head whipped back and she glanced over to at the eldest son of her best friend. He smiled at her warmly, his hand coming up to tweak his glasses a bit.

"Are you sure Gohan, because I could-"

"Bulma," He raised his hand for silence, "I can handle this. Go and eat something, you've been down here for three days straight now."

"But you have too," She protested childishly.

"That I have, but you forget that I have saiyan-jin blood in me!" He rapped his chest a few times as if to prove the fact, "These sort of conditions don't effect me as much as they would a normal human."

She glanced at him for a moment and then back at her mate. There had to be some way to get out of this mess, but it was hard when considering Gohan's logic.

"Besides Bulma, I think there is something you should tell them." Finished Gohan as he bent over the microscope infront of him once again.

"Tell us what?"

Bulma glanced over to the side corridor and spotted a familiar couple coming her way.

"What is Gohan talking about?" Asked Chichi as she leaned against her husband.

Bulma bit her lip for a moment and sighed in defeat, "I'll tell you when we get upstairs."

The two nodded and Bulma reluctantly got up from her small rolling chair. She didn't want to tell them just yet, but it would be better if they knew. Yet, how would they react to such information?

Bulma didn't have time to think for much longer before two strong arms swooped in and plucked her from the floor. She glanced up and sneered at her captor, "Vegeta! What do think you are doing?!"

Wincing at his mates screeching, he stayed silent and began down the long corridor that led to the stairs.

"Vegeta did you hear a word I said?! Let me down this instant! If you don't I'll….'

The couple's or rather Bulma's voice faded as the two disappeared around a bend.

"Those two will never quit…" Trailed off Goku as he pulled his wife to him. "Have fun Gohan."

The demi-saiyan simply laughed at the small joke that they all knew so well and waved at his parents as they turned to follow. Rubbing his tired eyes he turned back to his work, the light-heartiness from before quickly draining from his system.

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The site that greeted Bulma upstairs made her desire to be in lab more fierce. Her two children were sitting at the table quietly, neither granting any sort of movement that might prove that they knew someone else was in the room. Yet, this wasn't what upset Bulma. It was their desolate and lost faces. She frowned sadly and motioned for her mate to let her down. They should have never had to go through something like this.

"Bra…Trunks…"

Bra's head suddenly lifted up and she stood stalk-still for a moment as the words floated in her ears. Ever so slowly she turned her head, her mind wondering if this was some sort of illusion. Her eyes widened and a smile graced her lips, "Mom?"

"Do I seem like that much of a hermit?"

Laughing at the small joke, Bra ran towards her mother and hugged the older woman with all her might. She's had only been down there for three days, but it felt like an eternity! Jumping back suddenly she quickly apologized at her extravagant behavior, "I'm so sorry mom…uhh sit down."

Taking a seat she smiled at her daughters smiling face, maybe she should come up once in a while.

Then again, her mind turned on her for a moment as her eyes fixated themselves on her son. He was still sitting there, with his arms resting on his arms. His expression now seemed to be akin to his father's in every way possible.

"Trunks?"

"You two get anywhere yet?"

The question was short, simple and to the point. Frankly, it threw Bulma off guard fore she didn't think anyone would ask that just yet. However, what would be achieved by dragging it out? She casted her eyes to the small wooden table, "No…..not yet, but we have a few theories we are testing."

//What the….//

Bulma reached over slightly and fingered a wide impression that had been made into the table. The wood had been broken in many places under the mark and stuck up like sharp teeth from the surface. She glanced up at her son and then to her mate. Yet, Vegeta simply shook his head and returned his gaze towards his son.

"Mom, do you want me to make ya something?" Bra asked jubilantly as she tugged on her mother's sleeve.

"Some coff-"

"Tea."

Bulma narrowed her eyes angrily as she glanced up at her husband.

"Tea, mom?"

The two stared at each other for a moment and exchanged a quick verbal battle that only they could hear. With a small sigh, Bulma threw up her hands in defeat, "Alright. Tea it is…"

Running over to the stove Bra grabbed a small tea pot and went to filled it up with water, "What kind mom?"

Shrugging indifferently, Bulma smiled at her daughter, "I don't really care. You pick one."

"Ok." Bra gave a large grin and turned on one burner before placing the pot back down, "Now…"

She quickly made her way to the rather large pantry, "Which one…Which one…"

They listened quietly as she repeated the phrase over and over again, her body quickly disappearing into the large closet.

"Bulma?"

Snapping from her stupor, she glanced up, "Yes, Goku?"

"What was Gohan talking about before, when he said you had something to tell us?"

The blue-haired genus mentally panicked for a moment and quickly looked away. How could she tell them? What would she say? How to start…….

"FOUND ONE!"

Bra emerged from the pantry, a small box enclosed within her palms. Grateful for the distraction, Bulma smiled again, "Which one did you pick?"

Lifting up the box, Bra read it to herself silently.

"She picked one randomly without reading the box first?" Asked Chichi quietly.

Yet Bra simply grinned silently to herself. That was what she had wanted them to think. Pulling the box back to her chest she turned her head and glanced at them from the corner of her eyes, "It's a secret."

"Dear Dende…she is acting like she's five years old again." Moaned Trunks, the abrupt speech surprising the others.

"Boy….."

Trunks waved off his hand and nodded, "Ya, ya….I know."

"She's just happy cause I finally came out of there." Bulma proclaimed to her son, her tone taking on a scolding turn.

"You should have seen her before," The demi-saiyan muttered to himself as he shot his sister a seething look.

"What do you mean?"

He glanced up for a second and shook his head, "Never mind."

"Bulma?'

"Huh?"

"You were going to tell us before that…."

"Oh!" Bulma cried out in realization as she almost instantly averted her eyes back to the table, "Well you see….Gohan and I have been down there in the Lab for the last few days. We've taken blood samples everyday and tested them and compared them to see how her condition is progressing. Yet, we have discovered something else during this…."

Pulling himself up, Trunks leaned back against the stiff chair. His renewed interest granting his attention now completely upon his mother.

"Gohan was actually the first one to point it out. Every day the virus spreads more and more throughout her body, but this is to be expected," She glanced up at them and watched them nod along with her words. "Yet, we noticed that its beginning to evolve."

"Evolve?"

"Yes, Chichi…evolve. As you are all well aware off, we have been feeding her the serum she had brought in almost constantly now, where as on the first day we only had to give her one injection of it. It seems that this virus is starting to compensate for it. Her body in return is growing weaker which makes the effect of the serum less sufficient."

"Bulma what does that all mean?" Asked Goku his voice holding a pinch of trepidation in it.

"What it means is-"

A loud whistle interrupted the conversation and Bra quickly blushed as she ran over to the tea kettle that she had almost forgotten about. Pouring the water carefully into a small coffee cup she dunked the tea bag a few times before chucking it into the garbage. With a false grin she placed it infront of her mother, "I hope you like it."

Bulma simply smiled at her daughter and whispered a quick thanks before taking a sip of the mysterious tea. Instant contact with her taste buds proved fatal as her stomach began to lurch. Yet, one glance at her expectant daughter quickly resolved the situation. Keeping her composure she swallowed the yellow liquid and offered a shaky smile, "Chamomile…I love it."

A small chuckle came from her son and she quickly threw him a dangerous look. Yet, he simply shook his head and continued to laugh.

"Bulma?"

"Yes, ummm….as I was saying…." She gave one last glance over at her son and sighed. "To be blunt, the virus has become stronger and now it is spreading through her much more rapidly than we expected. This would explain her more frequent attacks." Swallowing nervously Bulma closed her eyes, "We have deduced that she has only a few more days."

"Only a few more days…" Trailed off Chichi, the shock present in her voice.

"Bulma, how-"

"But your file had said two weeks!!" Trunks yelled in disbelief as he leapt up from his chair, knocking it over in the process. "How could it change that drastically!!"

"You went through my encoded files?" Asked Bulma her voice laced with shock and betrayal.

"What did you expect me to do?!" He asked turning around suddenly on her, his arms thrown up in the air, "Just sit here like every one else?!"

"I have told you over and over again that you are not allowed with my computer's files. I can't believe you would hack into it!" She cried out.

"Ha!" He turned on his heel and slammed his hands down on the table, "You are one to talk! You who never told us this in the first place! You knew her time was short and you still didn't warn us, you just kept it to yourself and that stupid computer!!"

Her mouth fell agape as she glanced down at the table. She had kept it from them all this time. Yet, that didn't excuse his behavior. How dare he talk to his mother like this! That was when she noticed his hands…they were now enclosed within tight fists. Yet, they perfectly matched the imprints that had been previously been on the table. What had happened before?

Suddenly his fists disappeared and his hands flew back. A loud roar resounded over the room as plaster rained down over them. Glancing up quickly she observed Vegeta's stance on the other side of the kitchen table, her mind running through every possible situation. Yet she wasn't prepared to see her son reaching up out from the debris that had once been the separating wall of the Kitchen and one of the corridors.

"Vegeta!" She cried out angrily at her mate, his actions shocking her utterly. Yet he simply ignored her angry rant and stared down at his son.

"Do not disrespect your mother in any way. You are a saiyan, have some honor and dignity!" He barked angrily as his body shook with rage. He never had and never would tolerate such behavior!

Yet, Trunks simply chuckled and wiped the small trail of blood that had slipped from the corner of his mouth.

"Respect her? After she deceived us?" He pulled himself up and glared at his father through his now unruly lavender bangs, "You must be joking….."

Vegeta balled his fists tightly by his side as his body tensed up for yet another attack, but just then two strong arms pinned him within a restraining hold. He tried to fend off the interruption, but it was to no avail, "Get off me Kakarrotto! I don't have time for this! I have to teach that boy a lesson he won't soon forget!"

Yet, the younger saiyan didn't let go instead he tightened his hold upon the Saiyan Prince, "Calm down Vegeta! Nothing good will come out of this!" Goku hissed sharply as a strong jab was made to his chest. "We can't start fighting amongst each other!"

Trunks simply smiled at the scene and leaned back against one of the support beam that had not been broken.

"Stop it both of you!" Cried out Bulma as she came in-between, "Now calm down."

Giving a low growl, Vegeta acquiesced and quickly pushed his fellow saiyan away as he released his hold. The whole while mumbling about the nuisance of them all and how they should have let him beat the boy for a while for his impertinent behavior.

"How long?"

The question was abrupt and completely unexpected. Bulma glanced over at her son angrily, her own conscience telling her that she should have let Vegeta have his way.

"How long?" The lavender-haired demi-saiyan asked once again, his newly found patience already wearing thin.

Once again Bulma held the attention of everyone in the room. She hated to tell them this, mostly because it made Xenia's survival less hopeful. Then again she couldn't stay silent forever. She began to wonder for a moment if Gohan had set this up on purpose. The poor man already knew, maybe doing this was too much for him….

"At the most 5 days….."

Chichi swooned slightly, her swaying body falling against her husband, "At the most?"

Her voice came out very faint and Bulma cringed at the pain and sorrow she heard within it. Shutting here eyes tightly she collected her composure and took in a deep breath.

"Yes, at the most she has five days to live and at the least," She glanced about the decimated part of the room, "Three."

With that final word, Chichi fainted into the arms of her shocked husband. His body trembling as he tried not to lose his own composure.

Vegeta simply stared at the ground for a moment, his face a mask that gave no hint at what he felt at the moment. Yet, through their bond, Bulma knew all to well.

Bra, simply stood there in shock, her emotions mixed and confused. In fear of betraying her belief, she didn't know what to feel.

Then there was Trunks. He simply slid down to the floor his right hand grounding up the debris that he managed to grasp. Closing his eyes he stopped the tears that threatened to flow, determined to copy his father's expression in every detail. Yet, he couldn't help but open his eyes and glance over at the monitor that sat untouched by the sink. His desolate cerulean orbs fixated upon the girl again and he watched silently as she slept peacefully within her blessed ignorance.

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If there are some grammatical errors and spelling errors (more than the usual few I mean), I'm sorry. I'm really sick right now, the chills, headache, coughing, fever, runny nose…ya the whole shebang.

I'm the only person who is able to get a chapter out faster when she is sick……. :P

So….ya. Anywho…. I believe there will be 6-7 more chapter to go, including the epilogue. I bet you all are saying, "Finally, I thought it would never end!" ^_^ Don't worry though, I will finish this before I go back to school! I will!!