Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Lost ❯ Reflection and Discovery ( Chapter 27 )

Chapter 27…………

"XENIA!"

The anguish-torn cry split through to her soul and she turned towards them. Her body was littered with blood and the pain emanating from her eyes was almost too much to bear. Her head quickly whipped to the side as she staggered up and hobbled out of view. They all stared at the desolate image in shock. Their faces..….some were stark white, while others were dark with unbridled fury. A booming voice filled there ears suddenly, "DAMN HER!! HIT THE ALARM!!"

Soon a towering torso could be seen emerging from the side of the holographic image, earning an angry snarl from each saiyan male in the room. A large fist came barreling down against the console as the figure spun on his heel. His face was tight with rage, "I would pray for her if I were you……though I don't believe it will help!" Splaying his fingers before them a bright light engulfed the room and the image disappeared. Silence reigned over them, no one dared to make even the slightest move or noise. Perhaps it was because of the swelling angry in their hearts or was it fear…fear of actually having to break through the nightmare and realize that it was real. Muffled sobs broke the invisible barrier and eyes darted around the room. There on the couch they spotted a shivering form of a woman in a strong man's arms.

"Oh, Den..…de……how cou…..could this hap…..pen?"

Her voice quivered uncontrollably making her speech broken and incoherent. Each pair turned away, shame lighting within them for their intrusive stares.

"NO!!" Plaster imploded and wood snapped, creating a resounding explosion through the room.

"Goten….." Gohan inquired tentatively as he approached his younger sibling. Goten's body shook intensely, his hand rooted deeply into the wall. Tears soaked the demi-saiyan's cheeks and he fell to the parterre beneath him. His fist slowly withdrew from its confining bulwark, the tiny lacerations liberated the dark crimson liquid. Hunching over he braced himself from collapsing against the vinyl flooring, his body trembling.

He turned his face to meet Gohan's stare, "I could sense her before..…I could sense her pain, but I couldn't feel it…..now……"

He abruptly turned away and dug his palms into the polished wood, "..…I can't…...I can't feel anything..…she's…...I can't……the link..…" Goten trailed off his words irrational and broken. Gohan outstretched his hand to his brother, but shrunk back as two petite arms encircled his leg. Glancing down, his eyes locked onto the sorrowful obsidian orbs of his daughter. Kneeling down he hugged her tightly, her tears now soaking into his gi.

Absorbed within their own self-pity and sorrow, no one noticed the lone figure quietly exit out the door. Bracing himself back, he shot off into the sky. The cold wind whipped through his short lavender hair as tiny rain droplets stung his bare skin. Lightening reverberated around him, but he paid no heed to it. His cornflower eyes flashed dangerously against the stark light. Two incessant streams flowed from his eyes, mixing with the cold water that battered his body. Was he crying? No, he couldn't be……it was just the rain…..His body supplied the energy to continue his flight, while he began to loose himself within his mind.

Her screams……the blood……the pain…..her face scrunched into a tormenting expressing…...this engulfed his mind. An ever flowing pain wracked his heart and he didn't know why. It was deeper than anything he had felt, it wrenched at his very soul. The forever burning image of her cheerful face smiling at him cracked and shattered, to be replaced with the haunting images from before. Growling in frustration, he abruptly landed on a high cliff. He watched with empty interest as the water near him, flowed off the edge to smash into the rippling liquid below. Kneeling down, he sprung up off the cliff and set down on the soft drenched earth near the bank. Carelessly he tore the mud from the ground shifting it in his hand.

FLASHBACK

They chased each other endlessly through the trees, giggling incessantly. He stopped before the lake and gazed around the seemingly desolate area. //She's got to be here!// He walked up to the water's edge and glared at the water suspiciously. A small snicker could be heard behind him and he grinned. A rustling of leaves, was all that was heard as a small figure leaped out from the tall tree. A broad smile graced her features as she hurtled towards him. Turning quickly he caught her in his arms, but unfortunately lost his balance, and with a small shriek they toppled into the water. They quickly surfaced and he watched with dry amusement as she laughed. He lunged for her and gripped her shoulders in his small hands. Pushing down with all his might he dunked her into the cool water and laughed. Without warning he suddenly was submerged as well and he spied a small hand wrapped around his ankle. He dove for her, but she swam back. With a quick grin she swam to the surface and began to pull herself over the tall bank. She flopped herself onto her back, her legs still dangling in the water. For one moment she let her guard down, but that was enough time for the devious boy to launch his attack. He pounced onto her playfully and they rolled off into a nearby puddle of fresh mud. Sloshing and flaying about wildly, each became caked in the dark cohesive substance.

"What are you doing?" They stopped momentarily to gaze at the boy infront of them, his head cocked to the side in confusion. She detangled herself from him and stood up, "Just playing in the mud, Goten."

Her hand quickly thrusted out and pushed him onto his back, the mud flowing over him again. He glared up at her annoyingly, but she just laughed, "Oops, did I do that Trunksie?"

END OF FLASHBACK

The pounding pellets filtered through the mud creating small brown rivers that crested between the crevasses of his palms. Slowly three gray objects began to take shape and he shook his hand to rid himself of the muck that was still clinging to his skin. He re-opened his palm and prodded the three small stones with his thumb. They were completely smooth possessing not one jagged curve or groove. He gazed around the lake, each ripple echoing in his ears. The rain was deafening and the constant lightening boomed in his ears. Stupid saiyan hearing……Carelessly he flung his arm forward, unleashing one pebble against the dark rippling surface. It flew across the water with great speed creating a thin crevasse over the sloshing liquid. With a loud earthly crack, it smashed into the cliff creating a deep minuscule hole. He shifted his weight for a moment from one foot to the other and lightly turned. Using more strength than before, he sent the next speeding pebble to the opposite bank. With a sickening slurp it was devoured by the fresh mud, and he sighed in frustration. Stupid rain…….stupid lightening…….stupid thunder……stupid water! Trunks kicked the caliginous liquid and clenched onto the remaining pebble tighter and tighter……

FLASHBACK

"Gohan let you two throw rocks at him?" He asked in disbelief and watched his two friend nod their heads vigorously. He placed his hands on his hips for a moment and narrowed his eyes, "He really let you two?"

"Yeah! And he was really fast!" Goten bubbled excitingly.

"We didn't even come close to hitting him!" Xenia added, flaying her arms about for emphasis. He

smiled at their gushing voices, "But it's not like you two have never trained with Gohan before, so why are you all so excited?"

"Ya, we know we get to train with him," Xenia rolled her eyes, "But it's only once or twice. Mom is always making us study and when we do have time, Gohan's studying. She gets mad if we go off and train."

"HEY!"

The two turned to the miniature Goku and lifted a brow in confusion, "Hey what?"

"Why don't we do what we did with Gohan, but this time it'll be us dodging!"

Usually he was the one to think up the brilliant ideas, but he couldn't argue with him, "All right, who goes first."

"Ummm, I don't know….…." Xenia mumbled as she pushed the tip of her boot into the dry ground.

"Ahhh, come on! Are ya scared?"

He nudged her suggestively and she frowned, "SCARED?! I'll show you Trunks Briefs!"

She marched over to the far cliff and turned around. Her eyes blazed with determination as she bent down a little, "Give me all ya got!"

Smiling he drew a thin brown line into the dirt and took a few steps to the bank beside the lake.

Bending down he examined his small mélange. Selecting a few he stood back up and grinned. This would be interesting. Slowly he stalked towards the line he had just drawn, and chuckled at his best friend's face. Her features were scrunched up tightly in concentration, her legs swaying slightly.

That's when he spotted Goten standing uneasily beside him, "What's the matter?"

"Just don't use all your strength Trunks…you know you are a lot stronger than us….…"

"Hey! What are you two whispering about?!" An angry demi-saiyan yelled and both boys cringed. She possessed the same voice that, like her mother, could make any saiyan male's ear drums ring.

"Ya, ya…..…" He retorted and turned back to Goten, "Don't worry, I won't Goten."

Goten smiled in relief and plopped down onto the ground to watch.

"You ready!" He called out and received a smug smile from her. Pulling his arms back he grinned, then within a millisecond the small rock flew from his hand and hit the cliff. She had dodged that one easily enough….….

END OF FLASHBACK

He gazed down at his open palm to see only tiny grains remained of the once small stone. Growling, he thrusting his palm outward to the lake. The tiny grains flew into the air and plopped into the water near the opposite bank. He stared into the consuming darkness of the forest, his eyes boring through every tree trunk to the small warm house he knew rested only a mile or two away. Lightening struck down on the hard ground, but he didn't even flinch. A sickening crack followed and sparks flew as an enormous tree tackled the cliff and bounced off into the lake. The water rose around the thick trunk and engulfed it in its inexorable darkness. The water sloshed wildly about, cresting over the bank and over his shoes. The roots protruded from the dark flowing fluid and slowly descended, soon disappearing below the murky surface. Yet, his eyes didn't flinch, but stayed staring straight ahead. Lightening struck again near the other side of the cliff and his eyes widened as a dark figure on the bank was illuminated by the quick bolt of light. Then it disappeared within the darkness and he stood still, his eyes locked onto its spot. He tediously stepped around the watery edge, his hands subconsciously closing and opening. His every sense was laid open and he stayed alert. He could make out its shape once again as came within a few feet of it. He bent down and picked up a small rock from beside his foot. Swiveling the tiny stone he frowned. It wasn't the best thing to do, but he wanted to know if it was an animal or a human. Lightly he casted it out into the darkness and was rewarded by a low groan as it made contact. A person! He briskly walked towards the person and knelt beside them. They laid on their back, a long mane of black hair stuck to their back and encased their face in a dark mask. Carefully, he rolled them onto their back and pushed back their hair. Moving the fringe from their eyes, he gasped at the cold touch that their face elicited. His eyes widened as he studied their, or rather HER features. Her face held a small, slightly narrowed nose, high cheek bones, and a lone thin mark that shimmered against her pale lips. He noticed that her body was shivering uncontrollably and he pulled off his shirt. Carefully he sat her up and was about to wrap her in the wet garment, when he noticed her arm. The deep jagged gash laid open, the blood no longer pulsing from it. His hand grazed over a small mark near her shoulder blade, the torn sleeve obscuring his view of it.

FLASHBACK

"You managed to dodge that one Xenia, but can you get passed these?"

Soon a barrage of stones were flying passed her at an incredible rate. She jumped from left to right, ducked and jumped. He was faster than she had originally thought. A sharp pain suddenly raced up her arm as a low hiss of her skin being torn open reached her ears. She fell quickly to her knees and gritted her teeth together tightly.

"Xenia!" Cried out Goten and they raced towards her hunched form.

"I didn't mean to! Honest!!" He professed as Goten looked at the bleeding wound on Xenia's arm.

Goten ignored the fiery pain that had ignited in his arm and examined the gash.

"We need to go get mom." Xenia nodded and stood up, holding her injury protectively in her other arm. She stopped for a moment and stared back at him and her face softened, "Don't worry Trunks. It wasn't your fault, just an accident. We won't tell." She forced a quick smile to her face and let Goten pull her away from the area. He watched them disappear into the woods and cried out in anger; his guilt weighing heavily down on his heart.

END OF FLASHBACK

Shaking the memory away he slipped the cold garment around her torso. It may have been wet, but it would provide some protection from the rain. He slipped his arms underneath her body and gently lifted her up. The dry blood moistened and slowly trailed down her legs and he tried his hardest to not look at them. Her head rolled back against his chest and he frowned. She was in real bad shape. In all this, his mind still hadn't confirmed who the person was, he knew, but in a way he didn't. He slowly levitated off the ground, making sure not to jar her. He shielded her with his body, making sure to keep her as dry as he possibly could. Gazing down at her face, he couldn't help, but feel a bit of relief. She was alive…….at least she was alive……a droplet fell onto her cheek and his brows creased together in confusion. Was he crying? He had thought this to be the rain before, but her face was completely shielded by his broad chest. He hugged her closer to his body and picked up his ki. The warmth of his aura surrounded them both and he smiled as he felt her clothing begin to dry as well as his shirt. He fixed his eyes onto the horizon and pressed his mouth into a tight line. Gradually, the skyline of West City could be seen in the distance and he began to speed up. He could hear her violently coughing against his chest and his heart wrenched again. He glanced worriedly down at her and heard her groan in pain. He glanced up and smiled, there was Capsule Corp! He cautiously landed and walked briskly to the door. Kicking it open, he quickly made his way through the doorway and stopped before the walkway of the living room. He could imagine how this looked. Him soaked, and shirtless, holding a battered and beaten girl in his arms. A cup shattered against the parterre and everyone turned to behold a drenched Trunks holding onto, what appeared to be, a young woman. Bulma rushed over to his side and gazed at the face of the girl, she hadn't recognized her yet…….

"XENIA!!" Bulma shrieked in shock, taken back a moment by the girls appearance. She hesitated for a moment before going into her motherly mode, "Oh, dear Dende! Trunks take her to the lab!"

Trunks nodded and quickly headed down the hall to the basement stairs, everyone quick on his heels. The door bursted open and he steadied himself before continuing. Carefully, he levitated down the steps so as not to jar her wounds and took a quick turn into the infirmary section of the lab. It was only used when someone had dire injuries. He stopped before one of the many small beds and gently set her down, being sure to remove his shirt from her body beforehand. He took a step back just as his mother and Chichi swarmed around her.

"We need to get these pants off." Commanded Bulma and Chichi fumbled with the girls sash. Tears still streamed down her cheeks and she was trembling. Goku came up behind her and calmed her hands and she stepped back. He proceeded in undoing the sash and sliding the torn pants off her legs and then dropping them carelessly onto the floor. Chichi gasped as she observed how many lacerations had been inflicted into her flesh. She turned away from the sight and buried her face into her husbands chest. Goku gazed critically at his daughter for a moment. The shock of her appearance still weighing heavily in his mind. He suddenly pulled back from his wife and smiled,

"Chichi I can go and get a senzu bean from Korin!"

Pulling back suddenly, she placed her hands on her hips and frowned, "Then what are you waiting for?!"

Backing away, he placed two fingers to his forehead and disappeared. Chichi whipped back around as the sound of Xenia's painful moans reached her ears. She observed with great concern as Bulma cleaned each jagged gash; her daughter's legs twitching in a reflexive action to the pain. Right as Bulma was reaching for some bandages in a side cabinet, Goku appeared with an all too familiar small brown pouch. He walked briskly towards his daughter and withdrew one bean. Gently, he opened her mouth a little and popped the bean inside. She didn't react. He pushed her jaw up and then down, "Come on Xenia…...You have to chew it……."

She began to respond and subconsciously chewed the bean a little before gulping it down. Goku smiled as her wounds, thanks to the miraculous bean, began to disappear. In a few moments she would be all better…….

Suddenly, Xenia's body began to convulse and the wounds that had healed reopened themselves; spewing more blood than before.

"Goku, what's happening?!?" Chichi asked desperately as she tried to hold her down against the bed.

"I don't know, she shouldn't be reacting this way to it!"

A huge stain grew underneath Xenia's body, the dark crimson liquid soaking into every pore of the fabric on the small mattress. She turned her head to the side and coughed up a considerably large amount of blood before laying back against the bloodstained pillow underneath her head. Her breathing coming out in small quick gasps.

"BULMA! DO SOMETHING!" Chichi shrieked as everyone herded around the convulsing teenager. Bulma gazed frantically from one wound to another and then to the trail of blood that streamed from her mouth, "I don't…….I don't know……."

Then the memories came back into her mind. Xenia lying on her bed as her body spasmed uncontrollably against it. Blood pouring from her mouth; smearing her face and soaking onto the sheets..…and the pain filled scream that tore from her lips every time pain streaked through her body.

"No…...no….…NO YOU CAN'T DIE!" Bulma cried out desperately as she tried to stop the bleeding of her wounds.

"YOU CAN'T DIE! NOT LIKE LAST TIME!" Bulma cried out, her sorrow from all those years ago rising in her voice. Chichi stared at her in shock and disbelief, no this couldn't happen again…

"NO…….DON'T LEAVE US AGAIN!" Cried out Chichi as she latched onto her daughters chest. Her tears streaming down her face and into the bloody gi Xenia wore. She didn't care that she was soaked in her daughter's blood, all she wanted was her daughter to live…TO LIVE!

"PLEASE HOLD ON!" Chichi pleaded again as she held onto Xenia's convulsing body.

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What do you think is making Xenia convulse? R+R