A/N: Wrote this pretty quick - I'm on a roll.

Gaiden 1: Glacial Soul, Merciful Soul

Chapter 2: Moonlight, Regrets, and Late Nights

Patrick sat on top of his house, the small, cozy thing giving him a rather poor view all things considered. It was a clear, ink-black night, and the stars shone clear, almost brighter than normal due to the deep darkness of the sky they rested in. It was at these that Patrick gazed - and that was how he spotted an unexpected visitor, her green hair lit by the moon.

"Cammy?" This was the second time today he'd asked that in this same surprised tone, as the girl spotted him below and drifted to the roof where he sat. "I thought you were sleeping. You've got school in the morning, right?"

"I, uh, couldn't sleep," Cammy admitted. "So I thought maybe I could get some fresh air... And then I thought it'd be cool to fly around and check out Nihimo from the air, ya know?"

He nodded in understanding. "Sounds reasonable to me, I guess... Flying can be kind of relaxing."

"So, what are you doing awake, Patrick? I thought you'd be tired after all that hard work finishing up the house."

"Nah," he responded. "It wasn't that hard... I'm pretty strong, and all... As for what I'm doing, well... I guess I was just thinking."

"About what?" Cammy smiled, though she had a feeling she knew what it was.

"I've done... a lot of things wrong."

I knew it, Cammy thought. "Patrick, didn't I tell you already? That's over. You're a new person now... You've really been helping the people here."

"I know," he responded. "It's not just that, though... I've been a part of the Galactic Research Armada for a little while, though... I hurt a lot of people... none of them as bad as I hurt you, of course..." His voice wavered a bit, remembering again the things he'd done to Cammy... How he'd hurt her, and almost done something much worse. "And those people... I don't think they'd forgive me for the thngs I've done, even if they could. And then there's Flarinsa..."

"That crazy fire lady? What about her? Were you guys, like... you know," Cammy said, "together?"

"What?" Patrick actually chuckled a bit at the thought. "No, no... We were just friends, if that. It's just... That day, on spire five..." He choked up a little again. "Flarinsa was fighting the Senshi, and she was expecting me to back her up, and I ran off... That was the time that..."

"That you came back for me and told me my sisters were dead, right?" No wonder he feels so bad...

"I abadoned my teammate, just to... Just to fulfill my own desires... And then, when we fought Pandemonium..."

"You saved me," she reminded him.

"Yeah, but what he said then... That the only reason I had survived was because I was impulsive, and short-sighted, and a traitor... It stuck with me. Sometimes I wonder if Flarinsa would have died if I hadn't abandoned her... and it's not like I can say I did it for some greater good."

"The Senshi would have kicked both your butts, and then you'd be dead too," Cammy replied matter-of-factly. "I mean... I understand why you feel bad about it..." It is kind of messed up... "But she was one of the bad guys."

"So was I," Patrick reminded her. "Maybe if she'd lived, she could have ended up on our side, too."

"I don't think so," Cammy answered. "There's something... different about you, Patrick. I don't think any of those other guys would have done the same thing... You're a good person, whether you want to admit it or not."

"I wish I was as sure of that as you are," Patrick admitted.

Cammy just scooted in a little closer, yawning. "I'm kinda tired... I don't think I could fly back, I'd probably fall asleep on the way there!" She giggled a little bit at the image.

"I could... fly you back," Patrick offered, a little nervous at how close Cammy had gotten... She'd kissed him that one time, but it was a quick little thing, and he still felt a little weird about... well, a lot of things. "It's not that far, and I'm not that tired, really." And then he yawned, blowing a hole in that claim.

"You are so," Cammy responded.

"Nope. It's just contagious, that's all. You yawned, so I had to yawn."

"Nuh-uh! You're tired. I don't think I trust you to get all the way back to Trunks' house. You'd probably fall asleep, and then we'd both crash into the ground."

"So, what do you suggest?" Patrick asked. "I mean... I've only got one room... I wasn't really expecting anyone to be spending the night."

"Does that mean you don't want me to stay?" Cammy looked up at Patrick and grinned - and the very idea of it caused him to blush.

"It's not that, it's, uh... um..."

"Perv!" Cammy giggled a little. "I know what you're thinking," she said in sing-song.

"That's so not fair," Patrick responded.

"It's your fault, for thinking like that."

"Fine, you can stay. I'll just sleep on the couch, it won't bother me any." Patrick pouted a little. "That was still a really low blow, Cammy."

"Yeah, you're probably right... but it was funny." Cammy yawned again, and Patrick set a hand on her hair, waiting for a moment. When she didn't move away, he moved his hand away. "You should probably go to sleep, Cammy. You've yawned twice... and you didn't even react just now."

"Who said I didn't like it?" Cammy grinned, then suddenly slipped off the roof, giggling. "G'night!" Then she slipped into the house, leaving Patrick sitting there stunned.

Is she just messing with me, or... what?


A few minutes later, Patrick headed in after her, and by the time he got in, she was already fast asleep, collapsed on his bed. He looked over towards the couch, then towards Cammy. She must've fallen asleep AS she hit the bed - she didn't even bother to cover up. He thought about it. I could fly her over to Bulma's place... I'm still awake enough to make the trip. Or... There's still room, it's a pretty big bed, I mean... He looked down at Cammy. Then he looked back over to the couch, and laid down.


Cammy felt a hand brush against her shoulder and stir her awake. Her eyes opened slightly, catching a little bit of long hair. "Mmm... Trunks... lemme sleep."

"Trunks? You're off a little bit... you must be pretty tired, huh?" Patrick smiled at her as her eyes opened. "Remember? You came over here last night. And then you fell asleep on my bed."

"Hey," Cammy insisted, remembering the events of the previous night. "You said it was okay."

"Yeah, I know. I was just messing with you... I ended up relaxing on the couch." He smiled a bit. "But you'd better get over to Bulma's house... School today, remember?"

"You sound like my mom," Cammy moaned. "Fine, fine..." Then she took a closer look at Patrick. "You look really tired..."

"Yeah, well, uh..." Patrick rubbed the back of his head nervously. "It was like... three in the morning when you fell asleep, and I thought I should probably make sure you weren't late for school... And I couldn't sleep anyway, so... I decided to make sure you woke up in time."

"Thanks... I guess I'd better get going... see you later, Patrick! Today's Friday, so I'll be able to stay later tommorow!" Cammy bound out of bed, and the next thing he knew, she was off in the air and headed for Bulma's.

Patrick finally let himself sleep.


"He really is just a pathetic traitor, isn't he, Sunzeki?" A dark voice rumbled out from a barely-seen form. "Of course, in the end, even his superior was weak. I suppose it's to be expected."

"Exactly right, sir... Weakness like Pandemonium's will only encourage further weakness... This one's just lucky enough to survive." Sunzeki grinned. "All for the mercy of the earth girl... The "flower bitch." How amusing."

"It's a shame... we haven't the time to waste on them. I would enjoy seeing a traitor like that destroyed."

"I see no reason why we couldn't, sir... A small incursion, when the others aren't around... we could crush the traitor and the Earth girl. The fewer there are to protect Trunks, the easier it will be to break him... And complete our research."

"Very well. I'll leave the detals to you, Sunzeki... But remember, it must be a small attack. We can't risk many of our men before we're ready to make our final move against the half-Saiyan."

"Naturally... You can leave this one to me, sir... It won't take much to crush them, in any case... Patrick is particularly weak. I won't even have to dirty my hands."