Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Second Chance ❯ Unseen Demons ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Two

I wasn’t sure I felt comfortable leaving Ellery at Capsule Corps. while I went back to Mount Paozu. It was too much distance to cover if she’d get out of control. Bulma had agreed that it would be a good idea to stay on campus for the night.

As Ellery settled into her room, I went outside to try and squeeze in a quick meditation session. One thing I learned from Piccolo was that meditation was key to keeping everything in order. It kept your thoughts clear.

I had gone undisturbed for some time before I sensed a familiar ki coming my direction. I broke my concentration long enough to see Krillin and 18 coming toward Capsule Corps. I had no doubt that it was because they felt the high power level. I decided to nip this in the butt and stand up to meet them as they touched down.

“Goku!” Krillin said, patting my shoulder as his wife followed closely behind him.

“I bet you’re here because of Ellery.” I said, smiling as I scratched the back of my head innocently.

Krillin looked at me, obviously confused. “Ellery?”

“I guess I should explain.” I said, sitting down in the lawn again. After they watched me sit, they followed. “There’s a new Saiyan around here. She’s Vegeta’s daughter, kinda.” I was pretty confused about that. She had said she was both his daughter, but basically a clone, so I didn’t know. Maybe both?

Krillin looked confused too. “Kinda?”

“Yeah, Frieza made her, somehow. I didn’t catch all of it. She’s pretty strong though.”

“I gathered that she was strong. She’s a Saiyan? Where did she come from?”

I chuckled. “It’s not where she came from, it’s when.” I figured I should elaborate. “She came from a different timeline, one where Frieza made a Saiyan to destroy me before I could destroy him.”

“Oh.” Krillin seemed confused still, but I didn’t really want to explain anymore.

“She wants to rebuild the Saiyan race, so we’d have to have kids together. I’m not ready though. I’m not over Chi Chi.” I looked away from Krillin and down at my hands.

“Who expects you to have kids with her?” 18 asked, a bit appalled. She was always the logical one out of our group.

“She does. I’m the only purebred Saiyan that isn’t her father.”

“Okay, so why doesn’t she do it artificially? You don’t have to sleep with her.” 18 snapped.

“I know, I know.” I said, trying to organize my thoughts. I scratched my head again, as I often did when I needed to stall. “I refuse to create any children that I won’t take care of. Even if I don’t sleep with her, it’ll still be my baby, and I’ll have to take care of it. I’m just not ready for that yet.”

Krillin nodded. “That makes sense, man. Have you told her that?”

I shook my head. “Once you meet her, you’ll understand how I absolutely can’t talk to her about anything.”

Suddenly, there was a crash and a tone that sounded awfully like Vegeta, but more shrill. “What do you think I am? I am a warrior! I refuse to wear this!”

“There she is.” I said, rubbing my hands down my face. I watched as Ellery, face red with rage, walked out to the yard wearing a black t-shirt with little white paw prints over each breast, and a big “meow” written between them. I covered my mouth to keep from laughing, but Krillin didn’t manage to hide his amusement. His laugh burst into the air and Ellery looked to him, moving quickly and fluidly. Before I could catch her, she had a hold of Krillin by his throat, dangling the little man above the ground.

“Who are you to laugh at me?” Her voice was booming with an intensity I hadn’t heard from her yet.

I growled, standing up. “Put him down. He’s not a threat to you.”

Ellery turned to look at me, continuing to hold a gasping Krillin by his neck. “Mind your own business, Kakarot, before you get hurt.”

I wasn’t wearing any of my weighted clothing, so I was shoeless, but I was still ready to go. I powered up to Super Saiyan quickly, tackling the smaller Saiyan to the ground. She released Krillin in surprise, grunting as she hit the ground. She recovered quickly, powering up to match me and coming after me, swinging expertly. I was struggling to keep up, so I pushed myself even further, into the second form of Super Saiyan.

She fought just like all of Frieza’s men, but she was far more poised and practiced with her movements. Any hit that didn’t make contact with my body was used as a diversion to attack from a new angle.

Her hands collided with mine and I held her there, her fingers laced with mine, ki crackling around us. Her, now blonde, hair was swaying in the current of ki that was circling her viciously, her bangs sticking up straighter than they had before.

“You won’t beat me, Kakarot.” Those were the words that she said before she moved quickly, wrapping her arm around my neck from behind and pulling so both my artery and airway were constricted. She wasn’t even using half of her strength. I hated being toyed with.

My head began to float, so I pushed as much energy as I could away from my body, blowing her arm away from my throat long enough for me to toss her lighter body to the ground. I came down beside her, my foot resting on her chest. I was panting, having used a good deal of energy to get her off of me in the first place.

She looked up at me from her place on the ground. Flat on her back, my foot holding her down long enough so I could catch my breath. I knew she was waiting for me to drop my guard. I just had to stall her for a few seconds so I could catch my breath.

“Stop fighting, you two! My dad will kill me if his flowers get turned up because of you idiots!” Bulma was screaming fearlessly from the deck. In our years of friendship, I’d come to envy her courage, and her ignorance at times.

I was brought back to the battle as Ellery grabbed my knee, making like she was going to pull me down. I buckled, keeping myself from falling, but then being taken out by a blow from the side. She was sneaky, I’d give her that.

Pain burst through my ribs as her blow through me into the lawn, my body pulling up the grass like a scalp being pulled from a skull. When I came to a stop, Ellery was in front of me, looking down at me. Her fists were on her slender hips, like she was satisfied with her work.

“Train more, then come and fight me again. Until then, don’t pick fights that you can’t win, Kakarot.” She walked up toward the house, powering down and demanding a new outfit.

I shifted, holding my side momentarily, trying to establish how many ribs she’d managed to break. I winced while I tried to stand, and I looked over to see that Krillin and 18 were still sitting in the lawn, staring at me in disbelief.

To be honest, I was a little ashamed. It wasn't only her amazing strength, but I’d been too light on my training since Chi Chi’s passing. I hadn’t made any time to do any gravity training or anything like that.

“It hurts, doesn’t it, Kakarot?” Vegeta was standing on the deck, looking down at me in the lawn.

“No, it’s just a couple ribs. I’ll be fine.” I said halfheartedly as I walked over to where Krillin and 18 were.

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Vegeta snapped. I looked up at him, noticing the shame on his face as well. “It hurts to have someone come in out of nowhere and rip you of every ounce of your pride and make you look like a flailing infant in battle, doesn’t it?”

I grit my teeth, trying to act as if he wasn’t right. I’d always found fun in battle, but it just seemed like I was fighting a losing battle when it came to Ellery. One fight with her was nearly enough, and I hadn’t even been beaten too much. That whole fight lasted a whole thirty seconds.

————

Later that evening, Bulma had given me an ice pack for my ribs, which helped very little, but it was a kind gesture. She’d wrapped it in cloth and then strapped it to the ribs that were injured.

I ate with the Briefs. Vegeta sat beside me, picking at his food as he watched Ellery, on his other side, poke at each food option in disgust. I knew she wouldn’t be used to earth food. Vegeta hadn’t been when he first arrived either. Mrs. Briefs was sitting beside her daughter, who was across from Vegeta. Bulma would look at Vegeta every now and then to make sure no one was starting any fights. Of course, Dr. Briefs sat at the head of the table, across from no one, but kind of beside his wife. Trunks was across the table from me, but Bra was nowhere to be found. I assumed she had some kind of work or something to do.

“So,” Mrs. Briefs began. “You’re Vegeta’s daughter?”

Ellery looked down the table at her step-grandmother. “I am, yes.”

“Veggie never told us he had another daughter!” Mrs. Briefs seemed far too excited about all of this. Maybe I would have been as well if I wasn’t so worried that this girl would destroy the earth if I turned away too soon.

Ellery made a face, obviously already annoyed with the woman. “Vegeta didn’t know I existed.”

Dr. Briefs nodded. “Bulma told us you’re from another timeline, that you came here to meet Vegeta and Goku.”

Ellery nodded. I was a little worried that she was actually seeming to be acting civil. “That’s true, yes. I’d like to continue the Saiyan race.”

I shook my head. Not this again.

“I see. Bulma has already taken the notes you have given her and uploaded them to the master computer for testing.”

Ellery looked at Bulma, surprised. “Already?”

Bulma nodded, swallowing the food she’d been shoveling in to avoid conversation. “Yes, I wasn’t lying when I said I was excited.”

It seemed that the princess’ face softened immediately at Bulma’s confession. It was like she hadn’t expect Bulma to take her seriously.

“Of course,” Bulma paused. “It’ll be a lot of trial and error before we find the right components and it will take a while to get the testing done, but I think you’re really onto something.”

I watched the exchange between the two in amazement. Maybe this was what we needed.

“Thank you for the urgency, Bulma.” Ellery said, sipping at the glass of water in front of her. Something about her was already changing. I already noticed that she refused to broadcast her power level. She had yet to show what true power she was hiding.

Other than that, dinner was uneventful. Bulma was letting me use the room beside Ellery for tonight, until we could truly test her intentions. I wandered into the bedroom a bit later than everyone else, putting new ice against the broken ribs. Too bad we didn’t have any senzu beans.

I got into the oversized bed and got myself comfortable. It wasn’t long before I drifted off.

Rather often, I’d dream of Chi Chi, and all the mistakes I’d made in our marriage. I’d dream that she was slowly slipping away from me, that I couldn’t keep a hold of her. She was asking why I didn’t save her.

I was awoken by the sounds of screaming and immediately jumped up, ignoring the pain in my side. I ran to the room next to me, seeing Ellery writhing in her own bed, grabbing and tearing at the blankets, begging for some unseen force to show mercy and begging for it to stop.

I got to her bedside and shook her violently, shouting her name. I knew it was a nightmare. What nightmares could a warrior of her caliber actually have?

“Ellery!” I screamed at her, tapping her cheek with my hand.

“What’s going on in here, Kakarot?” Vegeta’s voice shouted from the doorway.

“I woke up and she was screaming. I can’t get her to wake up.” I said quickly, still shaking her. Quickly, her hair flashed gold and her ki skyrocketed.

“Shit!” Vegeta shouted as he grabbed a hold of her, holding her down. I hadn’t realized that she was charging an attack.

We had an audience. The entire Briefs family had gathered by the door, trying to assess the threat.

Ellery had a hold of Vegeta’s exposed forearms, scraping at them with her nails in a futile effort to break the prince’s grasp. She was bucking against him and tensing every muscle in her body. Sweat beaded on her skin and was almost flowing freely from her forehead. Her tail was twisting and turning in the air sinisterly, like trying to escape Ellery’s body. Something was seriously wrong.

“Kakarot.” Vegeta said breathily.

“What is it?” I asked, tapping her cheeks still, trying to wake the tortured princess.

“I had these dreams after I finally got out of Frieza’s army. Ice will wake her up.” Vegeta explanation took place in all of one breath.

“Ice?”

“Don’t question me! Just do it you imbecile!” The prince’s order echoed in my head as I quickly grabbed the bag of ice from my side. “Put it on her neck!”

I did as told, not daring to question him again. I looked up at him as she immediately stopped squirming beneath him and calmed herself before her eyes fluttered open. I sighed in relief.

“How did you know?” I asked, looking up at the other male.

He was breathing heavily, stepping off of the bed. “Saiyan skin is incredibly sensitive to the cold, especially when the body has broken into a sweat. It was a night terror. Saiyans are notorious for the bastards, and they will only get more violent. Bulma found out that ice worked because in the middle of one of my dreams, she threw water at me. It was freezing and I was pissed that I had to change the sheets, but I was awake.”

Ellery didn’t seem completely coherent, so I kept the cold cloth against her skin still, waiting for a response of some kind from the female Saiyan.

“She’s going to be upset when she wakes up. She probably never had to be woken up before, especially if she was with the Namekians, since they don’t sleep.” Vegeta explained, rubbing the sweat from his forehead with his forearm. Blood was freely flowing from the wounds she’d given him from her nails, but I knew he wasn’t worried about that right now.

Very seldom it is that you see concern in Vegeta’s eyes, but I definitely saw it that night. I’ve only seen it a few times, but it was never a welcome look. Vegeta was so emotionless, that a human emotion in his face was something to be cautious of.

“Let me bandage those, Vegeta.” His wife was cooing to him softly, but his gaze didn’t break from his daughters limp form on the bed.

Trunks walked closer. “Is she okay, Goku?”

I could feel her pulse thumping strongly against the cloth. “She’s fine. Her body is probably just recovering.”

Finally, her eyes fluttered and she swallowed hard. A heavy, loud breath gathered in her lungs. She looked up at me, obviously very startled. She immediately pulled away, gasping and pulling the covers over her body.

“What the hell are you doing in my bedroom, Kakarot?” Ellery was shouting at me, but I found myself relieved that she was shouting at me, instead of to herself.

“You had a terror, Ellery.” Vegeta said, standing exactly where he’d been. Bulma was trying to stop the bleeding from his forearm, and when Ellery noticed, her eyes grew wide.

“I did that?” she asked. Being a warrior, you would think her strength would no longer surprise her, but I knew what she meant. She never knew that she’d been violent during the terrors.

“Yes. Kakarot was in here first, we had to wake you. You would have hurt yourself.” Her father’s voice was flat, but the fact that it was coming from Vegeta and it wasn’t an insult or a command, it was soothing.

Ellery looked down at her hands, noticing the blood on her fingertips and beneath her nails. “I thought they stopped.”

Vegeta chuckled. “You just stopped noticing.”

That’s when I realized that there was much more to the Saiyan heiress than I’d anticipated. She was hiding a lot more than I’d given her credit for. I hadn’t realized that she had so much emotion in that little body of her’s.

“We’ll speak of this in the morning, Ellery.” Vegeta said, walking to the bathroom so Bulma could bandage his wounds correctly.

Ellery looked over at me and nodded. I could see a look of appreciativeness cross her stone features. “I apologize for waking you, Kakarot.”

I shrugged. “It’s not a big deal. You woke me from my nightmare, I woke you from yours. We did each other a favor.” I took the ice from her neck and cringed as I stood again. “You should get some rest. Your body is exhausted.”

I walked from the room, knowing that Vegeta would be sure she was safe before he went to bed.