Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Nightmares and Redemptions ❯ Part 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Dedications:

For Dasia, my nuzzleful koishii tsuin who loves Sage as much as I, and is the universe's biggest Gohan/Sage fan.

And for Joules, who doesn't like Gohan much, but told me, "I could like this Gohan."

With special dangling thanks to bakayaro onna for her tremendous beta'ing skills, and time spent correcting my mistakes, asking questions and giving feedback!!! *glomps onna and feeds her upside down lemon tarts*

Warnings and Disclaimers: NC17 for violence, explicit references to the molestation of a child and language.

I own Sage. Or he owns me. Either way, he's not YOURS. *smirks* Except for Black Dragon Sage, I wash my hands of HIM. (Not really, but he is owned by Herself...well, and his Mama-san but you didn't hear that from ME.) The others, you know I don't own, otherwise why would I be writing fan fiction? *quizzical look*

If you don't know Sage, find him here

http://cookies.forchan.net/guest/talon/index.html

Hosted graciously by the most illustrious For-chan

And all the Sage's like to make trouble at my blog:

http://sagebriefs.blogspot.com/

sponsored in part by bakayaro onna herself!

Nightmares and Redemptions

A BOAP Chibi Tail

By Talon

Part 1

A choked scream dies at my lips as I sit straight up in the bed. For a moment, a terrifying, disorienting moment I'm sure where I am, I'm not sure who I am. Then, a breath or two later, I come back to myself, grounded. I am at Capsule Corp, in one of the spare bedrooms, my wife and daughter beside me. We had come over for dinner, and as often happened, stayed for the night. I glance to the left and my gaze falls on my daughter, Pan. Her large, crystal blue eyes are closed in sleep, her midnight hair tousled on the pillow. Beside her, my wife Videl lies snoring gently, one arm flung out so it touches the wall. I blink, wondering what had brought about my sudden wakefulness, then stop breathing as I feel that wordless terror overtake me again. I can feel phantom hands on my skin, and my tail, oh the PAIN!! And through it all, the feelings of shame, guilt and desperate longing, someone please HELP ME!!!!

I shake my head HARD to rid it of the images as my feet hit the floor. I know what this is about…it isn't my nightmare, it's Sage's.

As I pad down the hall nearly silently, I can feel the bond I share with Sage fairly humming with the stress of the nightmare. The claim mark on my neck burns, and I have to stop, and forcibly erect a sort of filter on my end of the mate-bond. It will do neither of us any good if I succumb to my mate's nightmare; I need to get to Sage…now.

If I let myself think about it, I relish times like this when our relationship is unclouded by the mess I have made of it. I claimed him two years ago during his first heat. That in and of itself wouldn't have been a problem despite his youth, except for the fact I was already married with a child. And now, well…it is complicated. I want to be with Sage, I love him with all I have, all that is Saiyjin in me…I want to protect him and be with him always like I promised the night I claimed him beneath the full moon. But I am married and have a prior commitment to Videl I must honor. However when things like this happen, I forget about that, our bond that used to be a sibling-blood bond was made into something much more when I claimed him and he returned it. Times like this I am Sage's mate, his protector, his lover, and nothing more.

I open the door to the boys' shared sleep room quietly. Sure enough, Sage is by the wall, thrashing and whimpering. I can see silvery tears running down his cheeks in the moonlight. Goten and Trunks are piled together, unconsciously giving Sage a wide berth. I move to slide into the bed, but stop before I complete a single step. Instead of slipping into the bed as I have done so often at times like this, I move to the side of the bed and gently waken Trunks and Goten. We hold a murmured conversation, and they, after seeing Sage, and feeling his nightmare along the sibling bond we all share, agree to move into one of the spare bedrooms for the remainder of the night. They both hug me briefly, then walk sleepily from the room, and I am left to deal with my young mate by myself.

He cries out, wordlessly pleading and my heart shatters to pieces in my chest. Before I can have another thought, I am beside him, pulling him gently into my arms and whispering into his ear, trying to rouse him, to rescue him from the hold the nightmare has over him. His slight figure is drenched in sweat and tears and I wrap my tail with his, stroking, trying to soothe him as his dream floods my mind through our bond.

Kami, I wonder how he lives with this in his brain…he was only six, for crying out loud, when it happened…my thoughts trail off as he opens dark eyes, dusky with sleep and with terror.

"Gohan?" he whispers. I can feel his hope, don't let this be part of the dream, let me be awake, please….don't let Gohan turn into….him.

"Hai, love, it's me," I murmur back to him. "I'm here, you're safe. I'll never let him touch you, I promise."

He snuggles into my embrace, his body melding effortlessly to my own, and I am struck again by how perfectly our bodies fit together. I stroke him gently, kissing his upswept mane as his tears wind down and quite suddenly, I remember another nightmare…another night spent comforting the boy in my arms. And as I soothe my own Ouji, my thoughts drift back….

//flashback to five years ago//

I dropped my pencil with a sigh and rubbed my eyes tiredly. Whose bright idea was it for me to become a doctor, I wondered grumpily. Oh that's right, mine. Stupid Gohan. I sighed again and considered the pile of work before me. I had an important test scheduled the next day, and had found it too difficult to concentrate at home where my wife and daughter demanded my attentions at every turn. So, with Videl's reluctant approval, I had taken myself home, as I still thought of it…to the main house of Capsule Corp. True, there was even more chaos here than at my house, but to me it was familiar chaos…and having my family all around me was soothing. Besides…if it got too much for me, if my brothers wouldn't stop bothering me, I could employ the age old solution: "I'm TELLING VEGETA-SAMA!!!." Now who are you going to "tell" when your wife and daughter are making too much noise? I ask you! And as I had used as the clincher in my argument with Videl, there were two study aides right close at hand to help me over the rough spots…Bulma and Dr. Briefs.

That argument won her over in the end. When we married just over two and a half years ago, I hadn't even wanted to move out of the house. It would have been simple enough to restructure some of the many rooms into a suite of our own, giving us space and privacy, but still being in the home I had known for the past ten years. Videl refused. She wanted her own house, and so to my father's disappointment and Sage's outright rage, we had moved into a small house still on Capsule Corp grounds, just a couple of miles away from the main house.

I sighed and picked my pencil back up, starting to go over my notes again when I heard a small noise at the door. It opened nearly soundlessly on my youngest bond-brother, Sage. Dinner was over and it was getting late…I was surprised to see him still dressed in day clothes; usually by this time of night he'd had a bath and was ready for bed. Looking at him, I could see he was indeed ready for bed, at least insofar as he was tired. If there is anything more adorable than a sleepy Sage, I don't know what it is. Wait…yes, I do…a sleepy Sage in pajama bottoms and one of his "stolen" shirts. I smiled gently just thinking about it.

"Whacha doin', Go-chan," he asked suppressing a slight yawn.

I pushed my chair back from the desk and wordlessly invited him in. He grinned and stumbling slightly, came over to stand beside my desk. "I'm studying for a big test tomorrow, chukra," I replied. His tail draped itself lazily over my arm, and I smiled at the sensation of that beautiful blue-black velvet fur against my skin.

He frowned slightly, "But I thought you were smart, Gohan," he said, clearly puzzled.

I picked him up and pulled him into my lap, my own tail winding around his waist in a gesture of brotherly affection. Normally Sage wouldn't allow this kind of demonstrative deed without a struggle first, not being one who was naturally given to showing his emotions. But when he was this sleepy, he either got exceedingly grumpy, or else became endearingly cuddly. And tonight, I lucked out because he snuggled into my embrace, his arms winding around my neck as he leaned into me. THIS was what I missed living apart from my family…moments such as this. Rare and precious, I treasured this brief time, and answered his question before he got impatient and remembered he didn't like to be cuddled or fussed over.

"I am smart, chibi, but sometimes being smart isn't enough. You need to be prepared. And that's what I'm doing…preparing."

"Oh."

He seemed about to say something else but abruptly unwound his arms and turned in my lap to face me. "Gohan-niichan…I wish you'd live here again." Sage's voice was wistful. "I miss you so much. And Trunks and Goten hog the covers." This last statement was punctuated with a yawn so huge I wasn't certain I couldn't see Sage's tail just by looking down the boy's throat. I put my arms around my smallest brother though, pulling him close and reminded him quietly, "I'm married now, Sage, and that means I don't always get to do what I want to do. I have two other people to consider now."

I could feel Sage's frown through the thin material of my shirt. "But there's more of us…don't we count anymore? Baka cried for a whole week after you moved out…" Sage's argument died away as we both became aware of a presence in the doorway.

Like an expanded, larger-than-life version of the chibi in my lap, my bond-father Vegeta stood, arms folded, his expression unreadable in the shadow cast from the light in the hallway. His voice, when he spoke was low, musical and somewhat gravely. "Sage, it's time for you to go have your bath. Leave Gohan alone. He came over so he could study. And no," he said, as Sage's mouth opened, presumably to ask a question. "Gohan will not help you with your bath, your Baka is waiting…there's a bath already drawn for you in my bathroom. No stalling now, move it."

Sage slid off of my lap, but his tail didn't release it's loose hold on my arm. I leaned over and said quietly, turning his face to my own, "I'll tell you what, Sage, before I go to bed, I'll come and look in on you, ne?"

His dark eyes bright, he spoke a single word. "Promise?" One didn't make promises to Sage lightly, and I answered him with no hesitation.

"I promise."

He nodded once, then walked out to his father who ruffled his hair gently, russet tail smoothing a soothing trail from Sage's face, around his neck and down his back to twine briefly with his son's. Then with a small shove, he pushed the reluctant Sage off towards his evening bath and turned to face me.

"You should have called someone. If he was bothering you…"

I interrupted. "He wasn't bothering me, Otousama…I was taking a breather anyway when he came in." I shrugged. "I didn't mind…I miss him." Oh…I hadn't meant to say that, I thought as I mentally smacked myself. Gohan no baka!!

If my bond-father noticed my discomfort, it didn't show. He merely cocked an eyebrow and replied, "He misses you dreadfully, Gohan. So does everybody else." And with that startling statement, he turned on his heel and stalked from the doorway. After a few minutes, I managed to recover enough to study again, but the shock of discovering my bond-father actually missed me was a long time in dissipating.

I don't know how many hours later my head jerked up off the desk. I was sweating, cold terror seeping into my stomach. Self-loathing filled me and before I was truly awake I realized this was not my nightmare. I rose unsteadily and lurched towards the door, my only thought was to get to Sage. My little otouto…rage built in me at the monster who had upturned Sage's life…who had forever changed my baby brother. I shoved it down with some difficulty. I needed a clear head to calm Sage…having him pick up on my fury would most likely make him think it was directed at him, the very LAST thing I wanted.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, Vegeta-sama had been ready to walk out his door to get to Sage when he had heard me storming down to the boys' room. I was honored and deeply flattered he trusted me enough to leave his youngest son's care in my hands.

I opened the door to the shared sleep room quietly, knowing Goten and Trunks hadn't been wakened by Sage's thrashing and crying yet. Although as I looked down on them, I couldn't see HOW Goten was sleeping through it. Sage was flailing around, every so often thwacking Goten square in the face with an arm or tail. When I thought it over later, I realized Goten and Trunks' bond with each other easily outstripped the bonds they shared with the rest of us, thus it was possible for their shared bond to in effect, "drown out" Sage's distress. It was a better thought than, "Damn, that boy sleeps like a fucking rock."

A heartrending "PLEASE" tore the air, and before I knew I had moved, I had situated myself between Goten and Sage and had carefully moved the chibi over closer to the wall.

"Sage, Sage, honey, it's Gohan. Sage, please wake up…." There was no response, and I sighed, knowing he was dreaming too deeply to be roused by an outside source. Carefully, oh so carefully I felt along the blood-bond we shared and entered the outside of his dream.

It wasn't as though I hadn't seen this before…Sage's nightmares usually ran along the same lines. This was no different…alone in a deserted class room, his tail held hostage in Burns' fist, Sage sat helplessly on the former teacher's aide's lap, tears streaming down his face as Burns handled him brutally.

"Please DON'T," cried out the dream Sage as the hand not clenched around Sage's broken tail slid over his groin and disappeared underneath Sage's slight body. I shook with rage and began to step carefully forward. As I drew nearer, having to take great care not to lose myself in Sage's dream I could hear Burns' voice…

"Vegeta, how many times have I told you…you MAKE me do this?" His statement was punctuated with a vicious thrust of his hand and Sage screamed. "You may as well resign yourself to this…after all, if your father ever found out how you enjoy this…how you force me to do this…how you squirm and writhe so prettily on my lap…he would disown you completely, wouldn't he? He wouldn't want you for his son…nobody would want you. And this," he squeezed the tail in his hand and made a sharp movement with his other hand, causing Sage to choke down a whimper, "This will be all you are good for."

I am nearly there, just barely holding onto myself. I hear him hiss in Sage's ear, "Vegeta…you want this, don't you? You LIKE this…you like it when I touch you…so…" and his hand traced a line around Sage's genitals. Sage whimpered and shook his head, his eyes tightly closed. Burns frowned and squeezed his tail harder. "Say you like it, Vegeta…SAY IT!!!"

I could hear the *crack* as a bone broke in Sage's tail as he screamed, "NOOOOO!!!" And I was there. I glared down at Burns, and Sage cringed, trying to make himself as small as possible. I knew from what Vegeta had told me before what I needed to do. Without losing my temper, and keeping firmly in mind I was inside Sage's mind, and therefore needed to be careful, I spoke.

"Let my brother go…NOW."

Burns tightened his grip, cursed and evaporated. Sage sat on the bench, half-naked, his pants and briefs hanging from one ankle, his groin bruised and bleeding, his tail bent at a right angle.

"Go away, Go-chan," he whispered. "I don't want you to see me like this. I want Tou'tan…even if he hates me because of this."

I knelt beside his trembling form, and laid my hand gently on his cheek. "Your Tou'tan doesn't hate you, chibi…he loves you always and completely. Just as I do. This isn't your fault, it never was. He never told you anything but lies. Come back with me, chibi…this is only a dream. I'm here with you, holding you…it's safe to wake up, Sage…"

The small body in my arms stirred as I came back to myself.

"Gohan?" his voice whispered.

"Hai, Sage chukra, it's me, you can wake up now."

His slight form shudders in my hold. "Am I awake?"

"Hai, chibi, you're awake, and I'm here. I won't ever let him hurt you."

He is still crying…I can feel his tears leaking down his face on to my hands wrapped around his chest and stomach. I purr soothingly at him and reach to stroke his mane. He shakes uncontrollably as I hold him, soothing away his nightmare.

His tears last a long, long time, as do his apologies. I try to get him to stop apologizing, but he doesn't seem to be able to. I shift my position, and wince as his tail whips around my arm so tightly I know it is going to leave a bruise.

"Don't leave me, Gohan," he whimpers.

"I'm not going anywhere, chibi," I promised. "Do you want me to take you to Tou'tan and Baka?"

He shook his head. "Just stay with me…I don't want to be alone again."

I murmured softly into his fragrant hair, "You're never alone, Sage…I just wish you could realize that."

He didn't answer, curling tightly into me, and I noticed, not for the first time, how small he was. Fully ten years old, in his faded flannel pajama bottoms (that had probably had at least three previous owners) and too-big tee shirt (holding my scent I suddenly realized) he could easily pass for seven. And the thought floored me, completely floored me, if he looked so young now…when it happened…when he was six…oh, Kami…I remembered suddenly how tiny he was when he went off to school with Trunks and Goten. It was easy to forget sometimes, like his father, Sage had a way of projecting himself as larger than he actually was. A wave of nausea passed over me as I realized when he was six, he was no bigger than a child of four…no bigger and probably somewhat smaller. I shook slightly as I wondered just what kind of monster could DO something like that to a child so little, never mind the fact he was MY baby brother. A growl started deep in my chest, and I choked it off so as not to frighten Sage…then realized his sweet breath was easing in and out of his chest in a light and regular rhythm, his arms going slack around my middle. I slid him carefully onto a pillow, then moved Goten over closer to him. Instinctively in his sleep, Goten's dark brown tail snaked around Sage's middle, pulling him close, protecting him. Sage sighed and snuggled into Goten, and I watched them for a moment, waiting…making sure Sage wouldn't wake the moment I left.

A soft snoring sound escaped Sage's miniature, slightly upturned nose, and I smiled and kissed each brother on the forehead as I covered them more closely, watching as Trunks frowned his sleep and rolled over to cuddle up behind Goten, then walked to their balcony and took off into the night.

My rage overtook me a few miles from Capsule Corp and I exploded into Super Saiyjin. I wondered as I paused in midair and began to look for Burns, not so much tracing ki as searching out a mind-scent, what had triggered so bad a nightmare in Sage. Yes, he still had nightmares, but they had gradually gotten less severe as the years went by, after the initial breakthrough out at the cabin just a few weeks after it happened. I froze as I found the bastard I was looking for. That was why then. That was why Sage had had such a horrific nightmare, why I had to actually go in after him to wake him up. Burns was living not ten miles from Capsule Corp.

That was close…TOO close. I growled and streaked off towards the pervert, Sage's cries still echoing in my brain, his tears glistening on childish cheeks, the sensation of his arms wrapped around me, trusting, and yet trembling….he would PAY for making Sage suffer!!!

I was unaware of the presence who watched me, cloaked in the darkness, his cape surely whipping in the night air. He never interfered that night…but I found out later he was watching me, ready to step in if need be. He knew as well as I did, as well as everyone did, Burns wasn't to die. I had neither the control nor the finesse in the art of torture my bond-father did, and my hind sight makes me VERY glad my sensei was keeping an eye on me. That night…I could have easily killed him…and I came very close to doing so.

Burns' apartment building was non-descript, ordinary… one out of hundreds of flats crammed into a small space. I smirked as I realized the fool had a balcony. The baka really must have no clue where his "tormenters" lived…or else he would not have chosen a home so close to Capsule Corporation. Although, really I was not at all certain of his intelligence. Stupid, really…there had been several different occasions over the years of Burns applying and being accepted as a teacher or teacher's aide. Dad and Otousama always nipped those in the bud…

I land softly on his balcony, and test the sliding glass door. Unlocked. Stupid Stanley, very very stupid. Not that a lock would have stopped me…

I slide the door open silently, but make no attempt to hide my presence in his apartment. Homing in on his scent is simple, and I open his bedroom door. The bitter, dank scent of Sage's molester assaults my nose and I fight the urge to sneeze violently and repeatedly. My blind rage is nearly in check; I remember all too well the conversation Otousama and I had just days after Sage's abuse was revealed…Stanley Burns' life is not mine to take. I gave my word, and I wouldn't break it. I had no right to take the claim of vengeance from my brother. But I was sorely tested that night. Already on edge from Sage's nightmare, my gaze fell on a photo album beside the man's bed.

I didn't touch it…I couldn't touch it, but my mind will never forget what I saw on those two pages. We all knew Sage hadn't been the first child Burns had assaulted…however it had never occurred to me he had kept…mementos of any of the others. Two pages were all I saw…was all I needed to see. I wish…I wish I could un-see what I saw that night…

A growl started deep in my chest, and had not reached it's apex when I grabbed Stanley Burns from his bed. He uttered one choked screech, which I stifled with my hand. I didn't say anything, and his eyes widened with recognition and terror. This wasn't the first time we had met…and I knew it wouldn't be the last.

Clutching him by his throat, I took off back into the night, his hands tight around my wrist, trying futilely to loosen my grasp, his legs flailing, his voice stopped effectively in its tracks. I didn't know where I was going, or what precisely I was going to do, so it shocked me when I landed.

I didn't look around, simply threw the piece of trash I held in my grasp to the ground. I must have blanked out for a short time, because the next thing I knew I had Burns pinned up against a pole and was deliberately slapping his head from one side to the other. His face was swollen and split in a couple of places, but from what I could tell the rest of him wasn't hurt too badly…yet. Good…that meant I hadn't been "gone" very long. I would much prefer to remember what I did to the fucking rat-bastard.

I paused in my beating and looked around, still not recognizing where we were. It wasn't dark…there were lights around, but I had no fear of being seen, of being caught. I caught sight of the pole I had Burns thrust up against, and realized it was part of a swing set. I gasped and dropped Burns. Somehow, I still to this day don't know how, somehow I had managed to bring him back…back to Sage's school…to where it had happened. Back to where he had taken my brother's life…where he had in essence murdered the Vegeta Briefs who had once been.

His disgusting voice reached my ears, "Please…please no…no more…please…" But it had the opposite effect I think of what Mr. Burns had wanted. I could hear Sage's dream voice echoing in my head…"PLEASE DON"T!!!" and the sickening *crack* of bones in his beautiful tail snapping…I growled.

"Don't you DARE beg me for mercy. I have none to give you. You TORTURED my brother. You MOLESTED him, and made him believe his father would reject him because of what YOU did to him!!! You haunt his dreams…well guess what, Stanley…I won't haunt your dreams…but I will create your nightmares."

With that I picked him up and flung him across the playground. He landed face first in the woodchips the playground was covered in…making a thumping noise and getting a face-full of wood in the process. He rolled over, spitting and struggled to his feet, running…why does he always run? Hadn't he learned by now it does no good?

Just for sport…I allowed him a head start, feeling the feral smirk on my face as I anticipated the chase. He staggered, the uneven footing of the wood chips giving way as he tried in vain to escape me. I waited just a few minutes more, then loped after him, easily jumping in front of him, not allowing him time to stop. As he rammed into my chest, I grabbed him by the hair and kicked him, hard in the ribs. He screamed breathlessly, and I muffled the sound by again throwing him into the ground.

There was an audible splash, and I realized, happily, I had thrown him face first into a puddle. He sputtered and choked raising his head from the muddy water as I delicately shoved his head back down into it with my foot. I held it there for long seconds, enjoying the way he struggled and tried to scream, letting him up, once, twice, covered in mud, choking from the dank water he had inhaled. The medical student side of my brain remarked coolly he would almost certainly have a respiratory infection from it.

I removed my foot from his head, and dragged him up by the hair. "Are you enjoying yourself, Stanley?" I inquired. Mud dripped from his hair, obscuring his eyes. He coughed, water spattering my face and I wiped it away with a disgusted hand. "Just for that," I muttered, I carefully reined in my strength and I hit him hard in the stomach. As he doubled over, I brought my knee up to his face, messily breaking his nose as he struggled for breath. The scent of blood, of crimson and copper tingled through the night air and I breathed it in deeply.

I regarded the weeping man on the ground in front of me and said in a conversational sort of tone, "You're going to have to move, Stanley. You are living far too close to us for comfort. Not yours, which I care nothing about, but Sage's." And with that I picked him up again by his hair and flung him carelessly across another few pieces of playground equipment, smiling as one of his arms got caught in a jungle gym and the wet *snap* of a breaking bone sounded through his hoarse scream. He struggled to right himself and staggered a few yards before collapsing in a sobbing heap.

I walked over and squatted beside the broken, sniveling piece of filth that had molested my brother. "Hurts, Stanley? I'm glad, you know. To be honest, I'm enjoying this a bit more than usual. You want to know why?" His light brown eyes met mine, and I savored the terror I inspired in their depths. "I'm enjoying this more, Stanley, because not only did my baby brother have a nightmare, starring YOU tonight, but because I happened to see what was on your nightstand. A photo album, ne? I wonder, Stanley, what my fathers are going to say when I tell them about it? Pictures of all your conquests?" My voice hardened as I thought for the first time... "Are pictures of my brother in there, Stanley?"

He didn't answer, his eyes sliding away from mine. My fury doubled and I kicked him. "ANSWER ME!!! Are.There.Pictures.Of.Vegeta.in.That.Photo.ALBUM???"

In a whisper so faint it nearly got lost in the breeze sweeping the deserted playground, he affirmed my suspicions.

The nausea nearly overtook me as I stood, trying to regain some control. Trying, trying, remembering my promise to Vegeta-san, but he didn't know about this!!! If he had known...NO. It is NOT my right. I threw my gaze around and for the first time realized we had ended up at the playground's baseball field. I smirked as my eyes fell on an old wooden bat, nearly hidden in the tall grass by first base. Trotting the line, I retrieved it and returned to my quarry. His eyes widened in shock as I rolled the bat around with my wrist, a bit like warming up with a practice sword, getting the heft of it, gauging the amount of power I could use and still not injure him permanently.

He scrambled to his feet and ran blindly towards the outfield, tripping and getting a mouth full of gravely dirt somewhere near the pitcher's mound. I walked after him, watching him struggle one-handed to his knees and labor to stand, but it was too late. Swinging low, I caught him behind the knees with the bat, sending him back into the dirt. Flipping him over on his back I stood for a moment, watching his mouth work, pleading with me, tears running down his disgusting face making muddy tracks in their wake. I enjoyed the sight for a moment, then made him scream as I carefully broke his thighbone in half.

"Batter up, Stanley," I said, a distinct smirk in my voice as I aimed a bit higher and to the left, catching him straight in the balls. "Home run," I whispered as his eyes got huge, a tearing scream left his throat, and it was over. He passed out. Disgusted, I tapped him a few times with the bat, leaving bruises, but it was done. He was gone for the night, damnit all. And I had just been getting warmed up. I really had to get Vegeta-san to teach me some of the finer points of torture, I thought ruefully.

I picked him up and deposited him at the emergency entrance of the nearest hospital and sped back off, feeling somewhat calmer. Sage was avenged, at least for the night. I started to head back to Capsule Corp, but something stopped me. That photo album. That cursed photo album. I couldn't leave it there, for a couple of reasons. If he had somebody look in on his apartment while he was in the hospital, they would be sure to find it, and it would be enough to land Stanley in jail. That was a no-no. Also, he had confirmed there were pictures of Sage in that album, and that couldn't be allowed to remain where he might get his hands back on it. That would be allowing Sage and the other boys in the album to be victimized over and over again. But....my stomach twisted at just the thought of touching the vile item. Setting my jaw, I changed course and headed back to Burns' apartment.

It was easy enough to find again. Right where he had left it, right where I had seen it the first time. I stared at it, without really seeing it at all, wondering how I could pick it up without actually touching it. I glanced around the room, looking for something, ANYTHING...not any of the bedclothes, yuck. They stank. I wandered back into the hallway, and opened the first door I came to. A closet. Hn. I grabbed a clean pillowcase and returned to the room. Carefully averting my eyes, I used a VCR remote held in my tail to close the album and push it cautiously into the pillowcase I held open with both hands. As soon as I felt the weight settle into the cloth confines of the makeshift bag I knotted the top and left the dank, bitter smelling apartment for the sanctity of home.

I made one quick stop, then headed back to Capsule Corp, landing on the balcony of my fathers' bedroom. They were both awake, and waiting for me.

Dad stood up as though to hug me, but I held my hand out, and asked him to please not touch me. I swallowed, and held out the pillowcase.

"I found this in his apartment. It's...pictures, probably of all the kids he's molested and raped. He said...he said there were pictures of Sage in there. I couldn't just leave it there, it would have been like leaving all the kids there, like leaving Sage there..." my voice trailed off and I realized for the first time I was crying. Dad did move to hug me then, and Otousan took the pillowcase from my shaking hand.

"You did the right thing, Gohan," Dad murmured into my hair as he held me. "We'll decide what to do with it later, but you're not to worry about it, ne?"

I stood back and looked at first my Dad, then my Tousan. "You'll tell me though?" As one, they nodded.

"Go on to bed, Gohan," said Vegeta-san quietly. "Or," he said, looking at the other bag I held in my hand, "do whatever it is you were planning."

I smiled somewhat damply at the both of them and bade them goodnight.

I made my way downstairs to the kitchen and flipped on the light. I knew in a few minutes I'd have company and I wanted to be ready. Opening up the bag, I grabbed the contents and popped it open. Sure enough, a few minutes later, when I had two bowls full of his favorite ice cream, Sage appeared at the kitchen door. His eyes were accusing, but softened when he caught sight of the chocolate and mini peanut butter cup ice cream I was offering him.

"Where did you go, Go-chan?" he said accusingly all the same.

"I'm sorry, chukra, but I had a serious case of study munchies so I ran out and got some snacks." I motioned for him to sit down as I placed the heaping bowl in front of him and handed him a spoon.

"Hn," he said, his coal-dusted eyes catching mine. "If that's the case, why did you get MY favorite ice cream instead of yours?"

He had me. I smiled. "Well, chibi, I figured you'd be upset with me leaving, so I'd might as well make it worth your while, ne?"

He held my gaze for what seemed like an endless minute, his spoon poised over his pile of frozen chocolate and peanut butter. Then, in a voice much much older than his decade on this planet, a soft, "Thank you, Gohan," reached my ears. The underlying pulsing satisfaction and gratitude swarmed along our sibling-bond, strengthening his words and deepening their meaning. He knew. And he loved me for it. Smiling, I sat down beside him with my own bowl, and we demolished the ice cream in companionable silence.

//end flashback//

To be continued…