As Lace approached the door, she stopped dead in her tracks. Whoever was behind the door had a power level worth noticing. They weren't trying to hide it, but it felt wounded and less than full. She took another step on the marble floor of their foyer. A fist pounded the door.

"Goten! I know you're in there!"

Brie grabbed Lace's arm and gasped.

"Brie, go back upstairs with Gin!" Lace demanded.

Gin peered down from the balcony and held onto the railing nervously, "Who is that?"

"Goten!" The voice screamed, pounding at the door again.

"Lace, they're gonna break down the door. I'm scared." Brie whispered.

"Go upstairs!" She growled, tossing Brie off of her arm.

Lace moved forward and reached for the doorknob. She shook her head and took a deep breath in. Why was she scared? She was the most powerful saiyan on Earth. She could blow up an entire city without blinking. Some guy pounding on her door was the least of her worries.

"I'm gonna answer it." Lace said firmly.

Brie turned and ran up the stairs. She grabbed their brother and pulled him down the hallway. They peeked around the corner and watched as Lace placed her hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly. She unlocked the deadbolt, but left the top lock to catch in case he tried to push the door open.

When she cracked open the door, a very bloody man was standing in front of her. He was holding onto the wall for support and panting heavily. His t-shirt was torn in several places and his jeans looked muddy and distressed. He wasn't wearing any shoes.

"Is Goten here? I need to talk to Goten! I know he lives here!" The mean pleaded through tear-filled, blue eyes.

"H-he's not…home…" Lace said shakily.

"I need help!" The man yelled.

"I can call 9-1-1 for you…" Lace suggested, scared out of her mind.

"No! No, they can't help me. I need…a…saiyan…I need Goten!"

Lace stepped back in shock. Brie gasped from the top of the stairs.

"I'm calling dad!" Gin called out, fumbling with his cellphone.

"Dad? Oh, God…you're Lace…you're…so grown up…"

The man fell forward and passed out. Lace closed the door and pulled out the chain lock. She opened the door again and dragged him inside, afraid the neighbors might see him. She reached into his pocket for a wallet to identify him, but couldn't find one. She had no idea who the man could be.

"Dad's coming, Lace! He said not to let the guy inside…what are you doing?" Gin pleaded.

"I couldn't just leave him there…" Lace admitted, plopped down on the floor beside him, "People will see him and think we're a house of murderers or something!"

She reached out and moved a strand of brown hair from his blackened eyes. Someone really did a number on this guy, but he seemed to put up a fight. His knuckles were bloody from fighting back. She let his hair drop onto his face and sighed. He looked so familiar, yet so foreign. Who was he?

Suddenly, their mother and father's ki appeared not too far away. The three siblings rushed to the front door and felt relief when they saw Goten speed ahead and land in the yard. He rushed to the door and squeezed Lace tightly as Brie and Gin ran straight for Bra.

"Are you alright?" Goten asked frantically.

"I'm fine, but that guy's not." Lace said, pointing at the body.

Goten stared at the limp body in shock. A bloody mess, the man was barely breathing. Goten leaned down and again moved the man's hair from his face. He gasped.

"M-Mikio?" Goten whispered.

Bra grabbed Lace and pulled her away from the man.

"Hey…Goten…" Mikio said weakly.

"What the hell…what happened to you, man?" Goten asked, propping Mikio's head up.

"I knew too much. I knew…too much about…about Lace…and…the boy…"

Mikio's eyes began to glaze over.

"Woah, hold on. Stay with me. Bra, call an ambulance!" Goten demanded.

"No…they took…my power…there's nothing…left…" Mikio whispered.

Bra fumbled with her phone and threw it up to her face.

"Who is they? Are we in danger, Mikio?" Goten pleaded.

He swallowed painfully. His blue eyes seemed to be disappearing just as quickly as his skin was paling. With a weak hand, he pointed up at Lace and held his hand there for a moment.

"She…is…"

His head fell and his eyes rolled back into his head. Bra gasped and Goten looked as though he might be sick. Lace cupped her hands over her mouth.

"He…he died!" Lace exclaimed.

"Lace, get your brother and sister in their rooms. Don't let them come back down here until we figure this out. Go!" Goten demanded.

Lace turned and ran up the stairs with Brie and Gin on each hand. When Lace approached her open door, she heard Gin begin to wheeze and struggle to breathe. His little fists were clenched together and his eyes closed tightly. He was beginning to have an asthma attack.

"Grab the inhaler." Lace said calmly.

"Give him to me." Brie answered, pulling one out of her pocket and sitting on the bed, "I always carry one on me."

Lace handed her brother to Brie and watched as the little clone of their mother held him tightly and helped him breathe into the inhaler. She rocked him back and forth and told him it would be okay. Lace was always in awe of how calm she could be in these situations.

"Hey, it's okay, Gin. We're here. Nothing bad will happen to you." Lace comforted.

"Did I hear that man say…you were in danger?" Brie asked seriously.

"Yeah. Not just me, either." Lace said sadly.

Brie heaved an exasperated sigh. The silence said enough between the sisters. Brie grew up in the shadow of Lace, who was always in some kind of danger, so this was nothing new. Being related to the most unusual person in the world wasn't easy.

"Girls! Run! Get Gin out of here! Go!"

Lace's mother's voice screamed in horror. Brie and Lace jumped to their feet. Gin gasped. They heard a loud bang and their fathers shouting. A high power level exploded. Chaos ensued.

Flames burst through Brie's doorway and shot them straight out of the window. Lace grabbed Gin midair and landed in the yard several feet away from Brie. She saw her sister try to run, but another blast exploded and sent them flying even further backwards. She couldn't feel her parent's power levels. She couldn't feel Brie. She realized she no longer was holding her brother in her arms. She was alone.

"Lace!"

Lace's eyes flew open. Her mother and father stood over her in her bedroom. Brie and Gin stood behind them wearily.

"It's happening again…" Brie whispered.

"No! It's not! Don't even say that." Bra insisted, shooing the younger two back to their rooms, "She's okay!"

Goten leaned over Lace and brushed her hair from her cheek. She was sweating profusely. A strand of hair caught in her mouth as she shivered in fear and began to cry. Goten took her hand in his and kissed it.

"It's okay…you're okay…it was just a dream…" He whispered.

"A nightmare…" Lace answered through pursed lips.

Goten lowered his head and sighed heavily. He squeezed her hand and breathed in as though he was about to speak, but the words were lost.

Lace had always been close to her father. Though they fought a lot of the time, she looked up to him in many different ways. He was powerful and strong, but gentle and silly at the same time. He wasn't as goofy as her grandfather Goku, nor as serious as her uncle Gohan or grandfather Vegeta. Even her uncle Trunks was more serious than her father. Goten was the ultimate dad and she couldn't imagine her life without him. His kind eyes and heart of gold were exactly what her mother, a glorified diva, needed to ground her to Earth. Their saiyan blood ran strong, but Goten reminded her that their human side was alive and well. He was the glue that kept them all together no matter how bad things got.

In the morning, Lace decided to go to school despite the strange incident. She couldn't remember if Mikio dying in their house was real or a dream, but she was too scared to ask. Why bother dredging up drama if it wasn't even real? Mikio was a hard enough memory to forget. She hoped she'd never have to see his face again after they moved. She concluded that it had to be a nightmare. He wouldn't show his face after what happened the previous year. Goten and Bra wouldn't dismiss his death in their foyer as a mere inconvenience, either. There was no possible way to rationalize that event in reality.

When Lace arrived at school, banners hung from the school announcing a big homecoming dance. Lace and Brie met their group of friends near the front of the school down a hill. The hill lead to a courtyard of sorts, filled with students hanging out before class and buzzing about the dance that was still a month away.

Despite the chatter, Lace liked getting there early to sit on the side of a large water fountain in the center to read, but Rez and Bibii were early this time, too. They chose a spot near the cement wall separating the courtyard from the lawn. Lace stood above a crouched down Rez who seemed to be rummaging through his school satchel and stared at him. Bibii was laughing uncontrollably. Lace couldn't figure out what he was doing. He motioned for them to have a seat beside him. Lace started to take out a book to read, but Keiko slammed it shut. She whispered something to Rez and he began laughing. They were plotting something together. Bibii braced herself when Rez pulled a freshly baked pie from his bag.

"Take that!" Rez screamed, slamming a pie into the back of a passing teacher's head.

He darted behind the wall and giggled uncontrollably with Keiko and Bibii. Lace couldn't believe what she'd just seen. He threw two more pies and hit some passing students, but it seemed that people knew what was happening and accepted it like a rite of passage. He looked almost devilish with glee when he slumped down onto the ground laughing triumphantly.

"Is this…normal?" Brie asked, watching Rez scout for his next victim, "This is hilarious!"

"Normal doesn't even cover it. He's always getting in trouble for stupid things. No one else on campus would get away with even half of what Rez does." Bibii answered nonchalantly, twirling her long ponytail in her finger.

Lace watched him sprint up to the top of the wall again like a cat. He began muttering to himself under his breath and narrowed his gaze to one unsuspecting student. They watched intently, preparing themselves when his arm hoisted the pie up above his head. He tensed, about to throw it. He took a sharp breath in.

"Hey, wanna go to homecoming with me?" Rez asked Bibii out of nowhere.

The girls all gasped. Rez's curious, innocent face peered down at them from his perch. He looked back out into the body of students and teachers before sliding back down the wall with his pie. Apparently he'd lost his target and slid back down to the ground.

"You're not really my type, Rez." Bibii laughed, blushing, "Besides…we're just friends…"

"But homecoming is a place to hang out with friends, right?" Rez asked excitedly.

"Yeah…" She answered.

"Perfect! You're a girl and you're a friend. It'll be fun!"

Rez bounced back up to the top of the wall and continued scouting for victims. Bibii blushed violently and leaned against the wall.

"I guess you're going to homecoming with Rez." Brie said flatly.

"I guess." Bibii smirked.

Disinterested, Lace turned her attention away from her friends. She reached into her purse and pulled out the new phone her grandmother left on the kitchen counter for her that morning. It was fancy and confusing. Lace hated breaking in new phones. She scrolled through her already-there contacts and hit his name. She wondered if he was even awake. She had to tell him about the man in their foyer.

"Rez, no!" Bibii shouted, startling her back to the present.

Lace looked up from her cell phone quickly and saw exactly who Rez's intended target was. She felt her mouth fall open, but before they could stop him, Rez hurled a pie full speed towards their biggest, mint-colored enemy.

The impact could be heard from one end of campus to the other. Pieces of crust and bright red cherries bolted into the air. Her wild hair flew backwards as she fell, sending her straight into a trashcan the sat behind her. The group of giddy girls around her began to scream and run around in circles as though unable to help her. All that could be seen was her pink heels sticking out of the top, thrashing back and forth. Several football players ran to her aid quickly.

"Holy shit, Rez!" Keiko yelled, grabbing Bibii, who looked mortified.

"Ha! I finally got her!" Rez celebrated before taking off in the other direction without hesitation.

"We gotta get out of here. That girl is not who you want to mess with." Bibii warned them, looking extremely nervous.

Bibii took off after Rez in a hurry and left the three girls standing alone. Brie and Keiko couldn't help but laugh.

"Did they just ditch us?" Lace asked, still holding her phone in front of her.

"Let's get outta here before she gets out!" Keiko laughed, grabbing Lace's hand.

"You! You stupid idiots! Do you know what you've done? How dare you!" Mina growled angrily, pointing at Lace.

Keiko yanked on Lace, but Lace stood her ground.

She took a step towards the angry harlot and growled, "Why would I waste a perfectly good pie on you?"

She pulled her wrist from Keiko's grip and crossed her arms, carefully keeping her phone hidden. She held her chin high, full of the saiyan pride that Vegeta had instilled deep within her.

"You bitch!" Mina screamed before lunging forward and tackling Lace.

Lace laughed and shoved the girl to the ground.

"Me? Well, yeah. I'm a bitch. But what would that make you? Let's see…"

Mina looked up and spit out a piece of pie crust. She rose up and held up her fists like she was ready to fight and Lace couldn't help but imitate her. Just then, the headmaster of the school came running out in a panic. She was waving her arms and shouting like crazy.

"Both of you, in my office! Now!"

Lace lowered her hands and scoffed at Mina. Mina looked a little nervous, like she got just a hint of what Lace was capable of. Lace guessed Mina wasn't used to not being feared. They followed the headmaster upstairs quietly while the huge group of students that witnessed everything stood silently watching.

Minutes later, Lace and Mina sat in the headmaster's office awaiting their punishments. Of course, Rez didn't come forward as the original aggressor, so all faults fell onto Lace's shoulders. She sat twiddling her thumbs and grumbling each time the headmaster lectured on behavior. What did she know about anything? Her wrinkled face and disturbing, old lady mustache gave her a stomach ache. She didn't want to listen to her. She didn't care.

Suddenly, a power level approached. She knew what was coming. She braced herself as the door to the headmaster's office flew open.

"Excuse me, sir! I'm in the middle of something!" The old, grumbling woman cried.

"And I was in the middle of my morning training! How you could think to call over something so stupid is completely beyond me!"

Lace beamed at her grandfather Vegeta's angry, saiyan eyes.

"Is this the girl who broke your phone?" Vegeta asked Lace.

"Yes." Lace answered smugly.

"I'd say the debt has been repaid, then. I'll be taking my granddaughter." Vegeta growled.

Mina grunted angrily in the direction of the headmaster, who flew out of her seat and pointed.

"Just wait one minute, sir! She must face disciplinary action!"

Vegeta turned around and approached the woman's desk slowly. She lowered back into her seat and swallowed hard as Vegeta stopped just in front of her. The silence pierced Lace's ears.

"If you don't want my family buying this establishment out from under you…I suggest that you let this go…"

The headmaster started to sweat and cleared her throat. She looked anxiously at Mina, who was completely in shock, and then back at Vegeta.

"Fine. Take her."

Mina started to protest, but a stern glare from Vegeta shut her mouth quickly.

When they exited into the hallway, Vegeta started walking away and heading for the exit. Lace ran after him in her heavy boots and grabbed his shirt, but he swatted her hand away. He turned and looked at her with disappointed eyes.

"Your father told me about your…incident…this morning." Vegeta said in a stern whisper.

"Yeah…it was just a dream…it wasn't…I didn't…" Lace stuttered.

"We've been over this. You can't lose control. First you slack on your training and not a day later, you're slipping back into old patterns. I won't allow it Lace. I expect you in the gravity chamber at six o'clock sharp tonight. You will not disappoint your race and throw away everything we've worked so hard to achieve!"

Lace blushed uncontrollably and stared at the ceiling. He was right. As he rushed away from her and out the door, she felt saddened and lonely. Vegeta was the last person she meant to make angry. Why was life so difficult?

"Hey!" Keiko squealed from across the hall, "Was that grandpa? You're in so much trouble later!"

"I know…" Lace admitted.

"Whatever. The bitch deserved what was coming to her." Keiko shrugged.

"Hey!"

A low, angry voice boomed from down the hall. Keiko and Lace both gasped. The hot football jock named Ryo ran towards them and stopped with a scowl on his face. His jade-green eyes looked demonic. He pulled Keiko away from Lace and covered his mouth with one hand. He shook his head back and forth, almost laughing as he tried several times to start a sentence. Finally he spoke up.

"What the hell were you thinking?" He stared intently at her.

"Wh-what do you mean? We were just messing around. Besides, I didn't throw anything at her." Keiko began defensively.

"Mina didn't deserve that!"

Ryo's words stung Lace. Mina didn't deserve a pie in the face? How juvenile. Of course she deserved that and more.

"What do you mean? She's a total bitch! Everyone knows that!" Keiko's words grew stronger.

"A bitch?...Oh…you know who I think the bitch is?" Ryo's stance changed to that of a dominant male competing for first place in the argument.

"Say it. Just say it! I'm not afraid of you!" Keiko growled, standing straight up and poking his chest.

"That cousin of yours! She's causing all sorts of problems all over the school without even trying! Maybe you should think twice the next time she tries some shit around here that she doesn't understand! Maybe you should find a new crowd! I can't believe I thought…just forget it! Oh, and our date is totally off!" Ryo said dramatically.

He stormed away towards the gaggle of girls that Mina was with that morning, leaving Keiko in furious tears. Lace's mouth hung open in disbelief. Keiko turned around to her with a straight face. She knew Keiko liked the guy, but this kind of reaction didn't seem necessary for the lack of a first date. Lace couldn't understand the mind of a normal teenager.

"Lace…just…I'll talk to you later…"

Keiko desperately tried to hide her embarrassment and anger, but Lace knew she was furious. She plowed away from her cousin, bumping shoulders with her as she went, leaving Lace alone.

Slowly, three weeks passed by after the pie incident. Though Keiko and Lace made up and Rez had since given up his pie throwing career, Lace was completely without privileges. She felt isolated from the world around her and lonely each night she returned to her empty bedroom. She'd been grounded forever since her parents found out about the fight, leaving her unable to communicate with her other half across the world in any way. She hoped that he'd assumed that she was grounded, but knowing him, he wouldn't put two and two together. She decided that it was probably just time to move on.

"Lace, breakfast." Bra's voice echoed from downstairs.

Lace grumbled and pushed herself up from her bed. She walked down the spiral stairs and into the kitchen, where Bra had prepared eggs and bacon for them. Gin was sitting quietly and studying over some sheet music while munching on a piece of toast. He smiled at his big sister when she sat on the stool beside him.

"Morning." Lace mumbled, still half asleep.

"I convinced mom to let you off the hook today." Gin announced proudly.

"What? How?" Lace asked, suddenly fully awake.

"Well, I really want to go to this concert tonight. I can't if you are home because then someone has to be here with you. Dad has something with uncle Trunks and uncle Tarble…so, I convinced them to let you and Keiko go to that game thing and cheer on Brie!"

Lace felt a huge amount of respect wash over her for her pint-sized brother. He had his priorities in order and definitely was looking out for his sisters. He was so innocent. Her grandmother Chichi was always praising him for being just like their uncle Gohan at that age. Apparently, the smart gene ran rampant in both sides of her family. She smiled and began eating her breakfast silently with a dopey smile. Sure enough, Bra approached her with her cellphone and set it down on the counter in front of her daughter.

"Lace, I'm giving you this phone back so that you can call me when you get to the game tonight. I expect you home by ten o'clock sharp, no exceptions. If you can do that, I'll let you go to that school dance tomorrow, but only if you agree to look out for your sister when you get there." Bra said sternly, handing Lace's phone to her, "Do not do anything stupid, or even your brother won't be able to redeem you."

Bra winked at Gin and hurried him to finish eating. Lace turned on her phone excitedly to reveal several messages and texts from just the number she'd hoped to see. He'd figured out that she was grounded, but continued to send her silly things and share his daily stories with her anyway. She wanted to float away into the sky as she read over his random thoughts and pictures. His eyes seemed to transcend the distance and jumped right out of the phone at her in a final picture he'd sent just the previous night. He was smiling and sitting in a library, reading a book she recognized as the one she'd left for him before the move. It was a long book about love and betrayal, but a good one none-the-less. He always read everything she suggested. She swooned and rested her phone against her forehead.

In the hallways at Ramison, Lace floated about in a dream-state with Keiko. Keiko didn't ask, but seemed to know already what was going on. She smiled at her happy cousin and stopped at the water fountain. She took a quick drink and then stared up at Lace with happy eyes.

"I have a huge surprise for you tonight!" Keiko chirped.

"I hate surprises." Lace crossed her arms and leaned against the brick wall of the gym lobby.

She hated being so negative. She could feel herself creating negative energy, but it couldn't be helped. She was still bitter that the love of her life was only with her on a phone screen.

"You'll love this one, bitch." Keiko poked Lace's arm and took off.

"What the…" Lace exclaimed, waving her arms as Keiko ran.

She was so grateful that the two had fixed their little feud over Ryo. They were best friends since Keiko learned to talk, even though Brie was the same age as Keiko. They weren't nearly as involved in the strict training regimen that Lace grew up with. While Brie and Keiko played with dolls, Lace beat up her grandfather. It was the perfect life until Lace began to notice everything she'd missed out on.

Finally, the evening the whole school had been waiting for arrived. The homecoming game was just an hour from starting. Lace began to dread the dance that would be taking place only 24 hours from the game time. She felt a tug on her heart. No one was even worth asking, but she had to find someone tonight or she would just look stupid with all the happy couples. She didn't even have an outfit picked out. Actually attending the dance had long been cast aside after the incident three weeks prior.

"Are you excited?" Bibii asked, hanging on Lace's arm.

"This better be as exciting as you say it is." Lace pouted, "I hate sports."

"Stop being so lame!" Keiko was growing annoyed with Lace's constant state of grumpiness.

Unbeknownst to Lace, Keiko knew exactly what the problem was…and who it was about.

They entered the large cement stadium and found seats near where the band would be sitting. Lace knew that Brie wouldn't turn around to look at her sister very often, but she still felt good about herself knowing that she was there to support Brie's flute playing, if nothing else. Gin would approve.

Soon enough the game began with a bang. The band was loud and the cheerleaders were all bouncing around happily. Mina was at the center with her giant hair flying all over the place and her skirt way too short. Keiko told Lace to stop making faces at her, but Lace couldn't help it. Any time the green demon caught her eye, she had to scowl. She wondered which poor boy got her stamp of approval for the homecoming dance. It had to be one of the football players.

"Crap…I'll be right back, guys!" Keiko said before tip-toeing down the bleachers.

"Parents checking in?" Bibii asked.

She'd been relatively quiet all night, distracted by her phone. Keiko was gone before she could hear Bibii's question.

"I don't know what's up with her. She said she had some surprise for me…maybe it's that." Lace answered.

Bibii shrugged and returned her gaze to the game. She stood with the crowd when a player scored a touchdown, but Lace sat awkwardly and rolled her eyes. This was so not her scene.

Finally, Keiko returned with a huge smile and plopped herself down between the girls.

"What's with the smile?" Bibii asked.

"A couple of reasons, but I totally just asked this random ass guy to homecoming and he said yes!" Keiko boasted proudly.

"What? Who?" Lace couldn't believe her cousin's luck.

"A senior guy. He looks like a total, real-life bishie!" Keiko laced her fingers and swooned.

Lace rolled her eyes, "A senior? Better hope he's not eighteen."

"Oh, hush! Besides, your surprise is here and about to blow your friggin mind." Keiko laughed.

"Oh?" Bibii asked, leaning forward excitedly.

"Close your eyes, Lace." Keiko said.

Lace closed her eyes and felt Keiko place one arm on her shoulders and wave with the other. She waited with muffled giggles for a few seconds before she spoke again.

"Now open them." Keiko laughed.

Lace slowly opened her eyes and laughed nervously.

"What the hell, Keiko…this better be good!" Lace smirked.

She looked up where Keiko was pointing. She stared for a moment, not believing what she was seeing. She smiled, frowned, smiled again and then felt tears flowing down her face. It wasn't real. It couldn't be real. He was not standing in front of her at a football game. He was not in America.

"C-Cody?" Lace whispered.

A tall, pale guy in all black with nearly white hair and orange eyes was standing on the landing separating the two main sets of seats in the stadium. He waved and smiled his best smile.

"Lacey!" Cody called happily with outstretched arms.

"Oh, my God!" Lace screeched.

Time suddenly stopped moving. She flew out of her seat, stepping on several people in the process. She practically crawled up the stairs to get to him. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't hear the screaming of people around her that were cheering on the game. She couldn't feel her feet hitting the concrete floor so hard that it might crack under her force. The only thing she could feel was a bursting excitement for the only person in the world that could bring her back to life.