Tecklias: Here is another chapter! Hope you enjoy!
Serena's Apartment
Gohan didn't want to believe that there wasn't one clue here. They searched last night through out the whole apartment, but didn't find anything. Nobody sensed an evil presence either. It didn't make sense, but Gohan knew deep down inside that his window of helping her was slowly shrinking. He had the boys with him, and hoped maybe they would see something that was over looked. They were supposed to be meeting everyone at the hospital, but he had to double check to make sure.
"Gohan I think it's useless to keep looking. Come on let's get to the hospital." Trunks said with a slight crack in his voice.
"I know. I just wanted to search one last time. There has to be something here." Gohan said in annoyance.
"Listen Gohan, I know we all may have found out about a lot more than we expected, but avoiding her is not going to help anything."
"I am not avoiding her Trunks. I am trying to protect her since it seems I have been failing at doing this lately." Gohan said with new disappointment in himself.
"Gohan I don't think anyone could have kept, whatever is going on from happening. Something feels different about this. There's a huge piece to this puzzle that we're missing. I think Serena is missing it too, that's why she hasn't tried to reach out. She's just as confused as we are." "Don't you want to be there when she wakes up?"
"Of course I do, but I don't know if Serena wants me to be there. This whole situation. It's so strange. I feel like someone has been distracting me from something bigger, but I don't know what. "
"Gohan, I know you love my big sister, and your fight got a little intense. You just can't avoid her forever. She needs you right now. It doesn't matter that she doesn't know why. "
Goten could hear Trunks and his big brother talking. He walked down the hallway to join them, and passed Serena's bedroom. The door was slightly open and Goten thought he saw some movement in the corner of his eye. He looked over in the room and saw someone for just a split second and then he was gone.
"Goten? What's that look for?" Trunks said walking over to him.
"Gohan was right. There was a clue here, but now it's gone."
"What do you mean Goten?" Gohan asked joining the young teens. "What do you mean it's gone?"
"I just saw Darien"
Hospital Room
It was the next day, and after a restless night Vegeta and Bulma returned to their daughters side. Bulma softly brushed the knots out of her hair, while Vegeta held her hand. They knew everyone was heading here to the hospital. They hoped she would wake up before everyone got there, so that they could talk to her by themselves. She still looked a little beaten up from the fight, but the rest had brought more of her color back, than they had seen in her skin in weeks. As if she heard their silent prayers, Serena finally opened her eyes.
Her eyes slowly adjusted to the sunlit room, and she could feel her parents presence on both sides of her. She was confused and still kind of discombobulated. She looked up at the ceiling and could tell she was in an unfamiliar place.
Vegeta gently lifted her hand and rubbed it between both of his. "Take it easy. Last night was a rough one for you."
"I don't understand." She said softly.
"Do you remember anything about last night honey?" Bulma asked.
Serena took a moment to think. Everything was so jumbled in her head, but she was starting to piece things together.
"Gohan...We got into a fight?" Things were coming back to her slowly in pieces. "I don't know what happened after that. Is he ok?"
"He's fine. It's you we're all worried about. There must have been a drunk driver, because you were hit full speed by a Hummer." Bulma told her. "The police are still looking for it. I shouldn't be that hard since it was bright yellow, but we'll make sure they find whoever did this.
Serena, slowly sat up. It was uncomfortable, but not unbearable. Her head still felt fuzzy, but took in the sight of her body. She noticed the cast on her leg and felt the bruises on her ribs. Vegeta and Bulma were surprised she could sit up after last night.
"How do you feel?" He asked still worried about her.
"I think I'll live. She slightly joked. My head still hurts, and my ribs are still fairly uncomfortable, but I'll manage." She said still a little confused.
"The doctors can't believe that you have healed this quickly. It's practically a miracle!" Bulma said with gratitude in her voice. "It's almost to good to be true!"
'This is a little to good to be true.' Vegeta thought to himself. He was happy that she was ok, but so many things weren't making sense to him anymore.
The color was still coming back to her and she looked at her father. He kept looking down at her hand. He was holding it as if something terrible would happen if he let her go.
"Daddy, I'm ok." She said squeezing his hand.
"That's just what you want us to think." He said softly.
"What do you mean?" Serena asked. The blonde was confused all over again.
"I just wanted to believe that you were ok and that you really were happy. I shouldn't have let these things get this far."
"Dad I don't know what you mean?" Serena said.
"Honey, what your father is trying to say is that we are concerned about you." She sat next to Serena on the hospital bed and stroked her blonde hair."We know something is wrong. Please just tell us what's going on sweetie. You don't have to put up a brave front if something isn't right."
"There aren't any "if's" anymore. There is something wrong. What the doctors found only let me know how serious this goes. I won't turn a blind eye and let this continue any longer. We are your family and we will get through this together." Vegeta said, then softly kissed Serena's hand.
"What did he find? Nothing's hurting me. It's just haunting me." She chose her words carefully, hoping they wouldn't have the same reaction as Gohan.
"The doctor found some unusual evidence of trauma." Bulma said.
"Trauma?" She asked in surprise.
"They did a very thorough exam to make sure you weren't bleeding internally anywhere else. During the exam they found vaginal scaring. At first we explained you had escaped an abusive relationship in the past, but he confirmed that these are fairly recent. Only a few months old. There is still an everyday world out there Serena. One out of four women are assaulted everyday."
"I wasn't assaulted by some stranger on the street though. I wouldn't have kept something like that to myself." Serena started to think about her strange dreams and the flashback she had when she was with Gohan yesterday. They did feel more like traumatic memories than random pieces of her subconsciousness. 'Could they have really happened? If it wasn't from when I was with Darien, than who?' She thought to herself.
"We know honey, but you may be afraid of worrying about Darien returning. It has to have something to do with the bond. The next stage is to take over the body. Maybe the Bond can't be dormant? Gohan told us about how restless you have been sleeping. Maybe he's doing something to you that is showing physical effects, and you're not even aware of it. He's already completed the mind stage. If he were to reactivate it and continue the next would be your body. Whatever happened is effecting you more than you may realize. We talked about your previous behavior with the doctor and it all points to post traumatic stress."
"I don't know how this could happen. No one has hurt me like that before. At least I don't think so..." Serena started thinking about what she could remember of her strange dreams. Her head was killing her to think about it. They were so real in the moment, but now they were fuzzy and clouded by her concussion. She thought about the past few months, and even though she wasn't thinking very clearly she felt she could express some of what she was felling. "I feel like something wants to hurt me, but the last person to ever attack me was Darien. I honestly don't know where those marks could have come from."
"Serenity, denial is a big part of this. But we're here for you, you don't have to turn to other methods to figure things out. The doctors also found these." Vegeta raised the inside of her wrist, so that she could see. Serena looked at her cut up arm. Besides the huge bruise circulating her wrist, from Where Gohan grabbed her last night, there were also cuts. Some cuts were longer and deeper. A few were older and others were still fresh.
"What do you mean? These must be from the car accident." Serena said in shock and fear.
"The doctors can tell that these were self inflicted, Serenity." Vegeta said with sadness in his eyes. "You've been through a lot over the past few years. What is hurting you so badly that you are hurting yourself? "
"Dad, I didn't do this. I swear... this is all so confusing." Serena started breathing really hard and put her hand to her chest. 'What is going on? I finally tell the truth and now I look like a liar. Am I doing this in my sleep? How come I haven't noticed this before?'
"Serenity we are not angry or upset with you. Please calm down." He hated seeing her get upset. "We just want you to know that we understand it's not easy to deal with everything that happened to you over the past few years. We all want to move on from this, but it's going to take more time. We just want to support you through this."
Serena looked down at her marked up wrist and felt a piece of a memory hit her.
Serena's Flashback
Serena was in Darien's bedroom. He was the sweet guy that she originally fell in love with and holding her in his strong arms. He was stroking her hair and resting his head on hers, while she cried into his chest.
"I know it hurts sweetie but I'm here." He said softly and gently. "You don't have to do this to yourself. It's not your fault what happened.
"I'm just tired of hurting like this Darien. Whenever I close my eyes I think about it all..."
End Flashback
"Darien..." Serena said softly to herself.
Vegeta noticed her expression and sudden stillness. He could tell something came back to her. He couldn't make out what she said. "What did you say, Serenity?" Vegeta asked.
Serena never answered because they were interrupted by a doctor that walked in. He wore a surgeons mask and cap with his scrubs. He carried a small electric saw and a copy of an x-ray.
"Dr. Jack," He said shaking Vegeta's hand. "I am on the team that has been helping your daughter. The head doctor ordered me to take off her cast."
"I thought her leg was broken?" Bulma asked.
The doctor handed Bulma the x-ray. "That's what we thought last night, but it looks more like a sprain or twist. Sometimes, we get the x rays mixed up. I do need you both to leave the room while I take the cast off. It's procedure. You can come right back inside when I am done."
"We'll be right back Serena." Bulma said kissing her daughters forehead.
Vegeta bent over and looked Serena in the eyes. "I love you, Serenity," he whispered to her and gently kissed her forehead. It scared him how confused she looked about everything. He could tell that she was scared too. The scariest part of this was, that maybe she wasn't in denial. What if she really had no idea where any of these marks were coming from? What would they do then? "We'll figure this out," He assured her and gently stroked her cheek. "This is what families are for. I won't let anyone hurt you Serenity."
Serena kissed him back on the cheek and watched as the two of them left the room and closed the door behind them. She kept staring at the door lost in thought. She noticed the hum of the saw that the doctor turned on. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice that he placed it down on the table next to her, and pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket.
Serena was startled and released a muffled scream as he grabbed her from behind. She tried to twist around and push him away so she could scream for help. A sharp pain gashed through her ribs while she tried to twist around. She could smell the chloroform and it was starting to make her light headed. She managed to knock his cap and his mask off and recognized him as the darkness clouded her vision. He smiled at her with an evil twisted grin as she finally closed her eyes.
"That was to easy, " he said out loud and started sawing her cast off.
Out in the Hall Way
Vegeta and Bulma were surprised that Goku and Chi Chi were sitting outside the room in the hallway.
"We didn't want to overwhelm Serena when she woke up. Krillan and Piccolo are coming by this afternoon." Chi Chi told her friend as Bulma took a seat next to her. "We know it would be hard."
"Gohan and the boys still aren't here?" Bulma asked.
As if on cue the three of them ran through the hospital doors and joined the group.
"Guys, what's wrong?" Goku asked.
"I wanted to check Serena's place again. She was terrified when she left there. The answer to what's going on just had to be there, so we checked again." Gohan said with worry. " Goten saw Darien. He's back. I was right he does have something to do with this."
"Where's Serena? Has she woken up yet?" Trunks asked.
"She has waken up, they're just taking the cast off." Bulma answered. She looked over to her husband. She knew a Darien sighting would worry him even more. He looked worried, but also deep in thought. "Vegeta, what are you thinking about?"
"Her injuries were so severe last night, and even then the doctors were calling it a miracle. Someone had to of been healing her and the Golden crystal could have done that. There's no way you can mistake a broken bone for a perfectly good one...Her leg." A thought hit Vegeta and he rushed back into Serena's hospital room with everyone else in tow.
The hum of the saw filled the room as he entered, but it was left with an empty cast, empty bed, and empty room. Vegeta put a hand on the bed as if he couldn't believe she was gone until he touched it.
"Damn it!" He yelled in frustration. "How is he always one step ahead of us?"
"I didn't know he could alter his appearance." Goku said. "Did he pick up a new power, while he was away?"
"This can't be right. This isn't right. Something isn't matching up here." Gohan said slightly pacing. "She told me that it wasn't him. She can sense him, and tell when he's near. She was wide awake. She would have known."
"That would be true if the bond were active." Darien said entering the room.
"You good for noth-" Vegeta started yelling and charging towards Darien. He stopped when Darien waved Serena's broach in front of him.
"Now, I wouldn't do that Veggie head. You wouldn't want me to disappear with this, would you?" He shut the door behind him. " I would suggest you keep your voice down if don't want the entire hospital to know what's going on." Darien walked in the room wearing his white doctors coat. He eyed the group making sure they wouldn't pull anything stupid.
"Now that I have everyone's attention." He slowly started stalking the room. "I didn't take her, but I know who did and it's important that he doesn't get away."
"We aren't doing anything until we get some answers." Gohan demanded. "This could all be some elaborate scheme. There's no coincidence that we see you earlier at her place and then she's gone."
"I was only there to get the crystal, because Serena is going to need it." Darien said walking slower towards Gohan. The anger in his voice rose as he approached, but Gohan stood his ground with his own cold stare. "We're not linked anymore by the bond so I can't activate it. This is the only thing that can stop who is after her. I know you have a ton of questions, but your ignorance is only costing precious time that we need to find her." Darien said inches from Gohan's face.
The stand off was filling the room with tension. No one said a word until Goku finally spoke up.
"What are you doing here then, Darien? If you have what you need, why bother even showing yourself?" Goku asked standing close behind his oldest son.
"I've been trying to get here before something like this happened. I tracked Serena down here last night." Darien said looking Goku in the eye. "Hospital security really isn't what it should be. I am still a licensed surgeon after all, and joined the surgical team thanks to the golden crystal. Her wounds were critical and you're lucky I was there and used the crystal to heal her. They couldn't get the bleeding to stop." Darien turned his attention back to Gohan "Thanks to this half breed loser who practically killed the love of my life."
"You son of a -" Gohan yelled powering up. Goku stepped between Gohan and Darien before they started fighting.
"Get to the point Darien. Especially if time is a precious as you say." Goku said in all seriousness.
"Even after we stabilized her condition. She was still to weak for me to move. It would have drained me completely if I healed her all at once. I didn't have a secure place for her to move to anyway. I knew that I was going to need help." He looked everyone in the eye as he spoke. "I knew as soon as you saw me you would attack, and so I went back to her place to get the crystal for some leverage. I am not as powerful as I used to be, but I am still able to disappear out of here. I knew I would need you to listen before you attacked. I don't like it as much as any of you, but we need to work together. There is more to this than even Serena understands right now. I am your only resource for being able to find her."
"If you can find her, why do you need us?" Goku asked.
"Who we are up against is stronger than all of us. He's an old enemy of Serena's, and an even older one of mine. If he gets his hands on Serena he'll get stronger and everything along with everyone is doomed. We still have a chance though. The man who took her is a bounty hunter. He's low level and can easily be stopped. It won't stop the monster who is after her, but it will buy some time."
"Fine we'll go rescue her ourselves. We don't need scum like you around Serenity either." Vegeta spat and started heading for the door.
"It's too late for that." Darien said, stopping Vegeta in his steps. "You still need me. I know how he thinks, and he could have already left Earth. If that's happened you'll need me more than ever. Goodie-two-shoes like you won't last a minute in the negaverse, and it will take you to long to find her. I've fought this enemy and I understand the games he plays. Besides, I don't need all of you, just one of you. This isn't the kind of place you go charging in with an army of people. The fewer the better, and only one of you has a chance of being useful simply because he is connected with her. "
Gohan could feel time was running out. He had so many questions, but they would have to wait until Serena was safe. "How can we trust you won't try and take her for yourself?" Gohan asked.
"You are not serious?" Vegeta said in disgust. "He cannot be trusted."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Vegeta. Serena's past battles against evil is so different from our own. We don't understand it, and unfortunately he has a point. He may be the only chance we have at making sense of everything. We've been thinking she is in denial all this time. Maybe she really doesn't know? " He walked closer to Darien. They were inches from each others faces. Darien had a clenched jaw and Gohan spoke in a harsh tone and spoke barely above a whisper. "I swear if this is some kind of trick to take Serena away from me...You won't be coming back when I'm done with you. I'll promise you that."
Darien reached out his hand to Gohan. "Fine, I swear I won't try and steal Serena away to the negaverse, as long as you don't try and kill me or leave me to die while we're looking for her."
Gohan looked down and stared at Darien's hand. 'I have a bad idea that this might be a trap, but I'll do anything, Serena, to get you back." Gohan took Darien's hand and a Golden light sprayed from their hand shake.
"We've made a pact through our crystals." Darien explained. "So we can't go against our word. There is a lesson in magic for you."
Tecklias: Hi guys sorry it took so long. This was a pretty critical chapter, and I had to get it right. I kept trying to think of how I was going to get Darien back into the story and working with Gohan. It's hard because I know how I want certain key parts to the story to go, but there is a lot of story to fill in between that I have been getting blocked on lately. Thanks so much for your patience! I hope you are enjoying it! I know this one is a little different than the first story. I wanted this one to show some realness to the characters relationships and not just make it so linear. I hope you can relate to some of the emotions and feelings that they are experiencing. I love all of my readers! You are amazing!