Chapter Ten

Yamcha had it all planned.

He was going to go straight to Capsule Corp., show the shard to Bulma, and the two of them would present it to Trunks. Then Trunks and Bulma would do their analysis – or whatever scientist stuff she did. And even though it won't bring Goku back, it might help to learn something about spellstone. And after that, he would go tell Goten all about it. Perhaps the two boys can finally patch things up and be the friends they were meant to be.

He knew exactly what he wanted to say to Bulma. His speech was all set. All he had to do was knock on the front door, and everything would go as planned. Who opened the door…? Vegeta. And the look on Vegeta's face made him wonder if maybe…just maybe he should have shaved first.

"Yes…? Can we help you?"

Yamcha knew it was a while since he came by, but how could Vegeta not recognize him? Was his power level…that…low?

Then Bulma came to the door. "Vegeta, who's there…? Yamcha? Is that you?"

It took a moment or two, but Yamcha did manage to make his way through the door after Vegeta stepped back to let him in; that look of disgust still in his face. As Yamcha walked behind Bulma as she led him to the living room, he caught a glance at a mirror. Then he understood. He needed more than just a shave. His face, his clothes… He looked a total mess. (Well…I'm here. Can't stop now. Remember why you're here. Think of the boys…)

Bulma broke the silence. "Yamcha… Are you okay?"

"Uh…Yeah. Listen…Piccolo told me… Trunks and Goten… Have they been...okay?"

Bulma sighed as they sat on the sofa. "No, actually. Trunks has been punishing himself ever since it happened. He's been burying himself in his research, trying to find out anything on spellstone. My guess is if he can find out what it is and where to find another piece, he could use it to bring back Goku. Chi-Chi called me yesterday. She's beside herself trying to help Goten feel better. Gohan has to return to college soon. He won't be able to concentrate knowing his brother is still depressed."

Yamcha noticed the look on Bulma's face. She was clearly on the brink of tears. It was now or never. "Well, the thing is… Ever since that day, I've been trying to move on, but I always found myself back at that island where it all happened. I couldn't explain it… I guess I kept wishing that it didn't really happen. But after Piccolo told me about the boys, I spotted something…" Yamcha reached into his pocket and pulled out the shard. "I found this. I'm sure it's a piece of that spellstone. Maybe you and Trunks…" His well-prepared speech was cut short by Bulma's hugging and sobbing.

"Thank you, Yamcha! Thank you so much! Wait here! I'll go get Trunks!" She hurried out the living-room and up the stairs.

Yamcha stayed on the sofa. He stared at the spellstone shard. He wondered for a moment if he was really doing the right thing. He wanted to make things right between the boys. They were the best of friends. But what if this tiny piece of crystal turns out to be nothing more than just a tiny piece of crystal? What if he's getting everyone's hopes up for nothing?

He couldn't believe he was feeling this way. He's a Z fighter, one of Earth's Special Forces. He's fought in tournaments. He's been on so many adventures. And he's visited Capsule Corporation so many times that he's lost count. He should not be feeling afraid.

But he was afraid. He was very afraid. And as he looked up, he knew why.

Vegeta stood right in front of him.

ITALIA HOSPITAL…

"Has anyone heard anything new?"

"No. And frankly, I don't know whether to be afraid or jealous…"

"I, for one, am jealous. If not for Quacksalver, I'd be sponge-bathing that man right now!"

"Shhh…! Not so loud, girl! Do you want the doctors to hear?"

The nurses tried to keep it down, but it didn't matter, really. Pinocher was at a nearby table, and all attempts to enjoy his lunch were failing miserably. The whole hospital was abuzz about John Doe and the mask-faced woman who disappeared with him. He could not go anywhere without someone talking about John Doe overpowering the orderlies, jumping out the seventh-story window, landing in a tree on the other side of the quad, climbing down a tree in the blink of an eye, and finally…disappearing in front of a crowd with Mari Kanata right behind him. And all the while…he's bandaged from head to toe with one arm and both legs in casts. Everyone had a comment about it, but nobody had an explanation for it. It just didn't make sense.

He packed up his lunch and went back to his office. Hopefully, with the door closed, he might be able to have a quiet meal. Besides, this way he can check his messages to see if Mari tried to call him back. Then all he'd have to do is call Chief Doctor Jameson, and they'd both help convince John Doe to come back. It'll be safer now that Quacksalver has been suspended.

Still, he had a bad feeling about how everything had happened. In fact, the whole situation had been strange from the start. Mari Kanata was one woman who was able to drag a huge man all by herself to her car, yet it took three grown men to carry him from the car. It's no secret that some people are stronger than others, but just how much 'inner strength' does she have? And then – as much as he hated to think about it – he has to consider what Quacksalver said. He said Mari had evil magic. Did she use magic to save John Doe? That would make sense.

So far he's had no mew messages from Mari, but there was one from Quacksalver: "Pinocher, please listen… You cannot trust Ayamari. That's right! Her real name is Ayamari Kanata! I know her! I've had to deal with her behavior for years! She lies about her name; she lies about a lot of things. She's evil! For all we know, she's responsible for John Doe's injuries. Please, Pinocher! You must get Jameson to listen to me! Who knows what will happen if we don't stop her!"

At that moment, there was a knock on the door. It was Chief Doctor Jameson. "Has there been any word from Miss Kanata?"

"No, sir… But you should hear this." He played Quacksalver's message again. "I just came back from the cafeteria, and I hear this."

"I suppose I should not be surprised. So tell me… Do you think she's evil?"

"No, not at all. In fact everything she's done for John Doe tells me she's anything but evil. But… I don't like the way Quacksalver's trying to raise suspicion. Sure we weren't there when John Doe was injured, but the extent of his injuries does indicate that he could have been buried in a cave-in. The few remains of his clothing were covered in dirt. That doesn't mean Mari – or Ayamari – was responsible."

"True. And people have been using nicknames for centuries. But I'll feel better when I've spoken with her. In the meantime, could you save that message? And if he calls again, please let me know." With that, he showed himself out.

Whenever someone needs to contact Chief Doctor Jameson, the first place to look for him is in the hospital's library. He may not be able to perform delicate surgeries anymore, but he makes a point to keep himself up to date with the latest medical discoveries and techniques. This enables him to stay on as an advisor for the younger doctors with more able hands.

As he gathered a few medical books and sat at his favourite table, he wondered how he was going to deal with Quacksalver. For the longest time he had been tolerant of the way he carried on. Now he began to think that he should have dismissed him a lot sooner. Patients with mental disorders can be unpredictable at times, but Quacksalver does not have the highest success rate when it comes to treating patients. He cannot ignore the fact that Quacksalver tried to force a needle on a patient that was not in his care. Jameson began his research on trypanophobia. People with severe trypanophobia tend to also fear hospitals. It made sense; hospitals have doctors who use needles. From what Pinocher had told him, this John Doe is severely trypanophobic. Having a doctor come out of nowhere and suddenly jab a needle without warning could make anyone afraid.

Another thing that bothered him about this case was that the police still couldn't find a name for this man. His fingerprints were not in the system. To some degree that was a good thing; he was not a criminal with a prison record. But at the same time no one knew who he was. He had no family, no friends. He was a loner. Whatever secrets he kept to himself are lost to him, and there's no guarantee that he'll get them back. The law demands that once his wounds healed, he would have been placed in our psychiatric ward.

He would have been in Quacksalver's care.

Jameson did not want to think that Quacksalver would deliberately threaten a patient's mental health, but since John Doe was not in his care when he tried to administer the needle, and there was no telling what was really in that needle, then it was safe to say that Quacksalver was not acting in the patient's best interest. His actions put six orderlies in hospital beds. Jameson should have suspended Quacksalver much sooner. Maybe now Quacksalver's patients might actually have a chance at recovery.

But what bothered Jameson the most right now was Quacksalver's claim that Mari Kanata uses evil magic. Right now, it's the only way to explain how she and John Doe disappeared the way they did.

Chief Doctor Jameson has always considered himself to be a man of science. Everything in life happened with some kind of scientific explanation. Magic was nothing more than the art of illusion – a source of entertainment to boggle the minds of children. People transforming into animals was the stuff of made-up fairy tales. Mythical creatures were just creatures of myth. It was just not possible for anyone to just disappear like that.

But they did.

"Excuse me, sir…" Pinocher lightly tapped his shoulder. "… The Chief of Police is here. And I think we should try and call her ourselves while he's here. It'll be getting dark soon, and the police still can't find them."

LABYRINTH CANYON…

John Doe did not care that they were miles away from civilization. He did not care that a magic bean he ate gave him a monkey's tail in exchange for healing his wounds. He did not even care that he was naked – it was that or the hospital gown, and he did not want the hospital gown. He stuffed it in the picnic basket, and carried it while they trekked through the canyon. All that mattered to him was that his friend Mari was able to move huge boulders out of the way just by looking at them. "So… How come you have magical powers?"

The pathway ahead was clear enough, so Mari was able to give her power a rest. She needed a moment to take an aspirin. After that, she said, "The truth is… My grandfather once told me that when I was born, I had this strange mark on my face and it scared everyone who looked at it. My younger sister, Nomi, didn't have a mark on her. Our parents were so relieved to finally have the beautiful daughter they always wanted. It was like I no longer existed…except when there were chores to do. My sister never had to do anything she didn't want to do."

As Mari told her story, John noticed her clothing. The nurses at the hospital wore tighter clothing; as if they liked showing off the shapes of their bodies. Mari's sweater was looser, maybe a bit too big for her. Her pants legs were wide, too. She did not like showing off her body.

Mari continued. "During my school years, I was either avoided or made fun of. Everyone was afraid of this mark on my face, and there was nothing I could do about it. I spent my free time away from everyone, which turned out to be a good thing. That was when strange things happened. I would reach for a book, and it would fly into my hand. I could make things float in the air and land where I chose. I realized that concentration made it work, and I used this newfound power to my advantage. With all the homework I had to do, my powers made my backpack much lighter. It also helped at home, too. Having to do my chores and Nomi's chores became much easier. My parents barely noticed. Making sure Nomi stayed beautiful was their main concern. At first it bothered me that everyone liked her more than me, but figuring out my powers became my main concern. Let Nomi have all the beauty… I had something even better."

A little further onward, they reached the top of the cove. That's when John saw the fish.

"Okay, here we are. Once we're down on the beach, you can… What the…?" A huge splash caught her attention. Whatever it was, it was just outside her 'pool area'. She looked behind, and all she found was the picnic basket. John Doe had jumped what must have been fifty-something feet from where they were. (Whoever he is…he's ready for the Olympics.) She grabbed the basket and headed for the cove.

Mari knew about the fish that swam here. They were big enough to swallow her whole. So for anyone – even someone as strong and muscular as her monkey-tailed warrior – to just dive in like that, is an act of pure insanity. By the time she reached the beach, there was still no sign of her naked wild man. She threw off her sweater and pants and levitated over the water to go in after him. That's when the wild man emerged from the water and headed back to the beach…with a fish nearly twice his size in tow. Once he was only knee-deep in water, he took a firm grip of the fish's tail and threw it onto the beach. The fish stopped moving.

John took a good look at his catch. "Well, this will do for now. I'll get the bigger one later."

(Bigger one…?) Was she hearing right? Mari could only stay where she floated while John went straight to work. He hauled a nearby felled tree over like it was light as a feather. Then he gathered some huge rocks and formed a circle. He ripped off branches from the tree and made most of them into firewood, rubbing two of them to start the fire. Mari was very impressed with how he dug a small hole with his hands, shoved one end of the tree into the fish's mouth and shoved the other end into the hole. The fish was slanted over the fire and stayed in place.

Mari stayed in the air and out of his way. He did everything as though he knew what he was doing. Maybe he was having a flashback and just not aware of it yet. If she interfered now, he might go blank and the moment would be ruined. And as much as she hated to feel this way, it was refreshing to see someone else doing all the work for a change. She remembered how Nomi would just sit around, sip lemonade and relax while she had to do everything herself. Asking Nomi for any kind of help meant getting a smack on the face from Mother – right on the mark.

"How dare you treat your sister this way? Do you want her to get injured? She has what it takes to make it in this world. I will not allow you to ruin her chances the way you ruined your own…"

No matter what she did, it was always the same. Nomi was everything Mother wanted in a daughter…she was beautiful, and Mari was nothing more than a big, ugly birthmark.

John Doe went back to the water to wash off the dirt. Then he noticed Mari above the water. Without her clothing, he could see her arms and legs were more muscular than the nurses. Her muscles were not as big as his, but she didn't need to wear big clothes. "Hey, Mari! Come on down. We're having fish tonight."

(Tonight…!) The full moon was rising. It's getting dark! The hospital! Mrs. Folstam! The police! The thought of anyone finding them like this almost made her fall into the water. She levitated her way back to the dry sand and reached into her bag for her cell. "John, listen… I know you don't like the hospital, but…"

The next thing she knew, John was on his knees hugging Mari's hips. His head was practically resting on her stomach. Mari could feel his tail wrapped around the back of her legs. She could swear he was…crying? "Mari…I'm begging you. Don't take me back there. Please!"

"John, I…"

"I can't stand needles! He promised no needles! But he…he…!"

"JOHN! Listen to me!" She cupped his face in her hands. He was crying. "The doctor who had the needle was not your doctor! Your doctor was Doctor Pinocher! He kept his promise once he understood you didn't like needles. You can trust him. The other doctor… If I had known Quacksalver was there, I would have taken you elsewhere. What he did was wrong, and I'm sorry he put you through that. But please understand something: Everyone back at Italia City is worried about us. Even the police are looking for us. The longer we hide, the more people will worry. They're worrying because they think you're still badly hurt. If we let Doctor Pinocher – your doctor – see you now, everyone will stop worrying and call off the search. And if you tell them what Quacksalver did, Pinocher will make sure he never does it again. Not all doctors are like Quacksalver." (Thank God!)

Even though John had a firm bear hug on her hips, he was surprisingly gentle. It felt good, in fact. That's why she was able to give him a reassuring smile. "You can trust me, John. You can trust Pinocher. I trust Pinocher."

It took a moment, but John was eventually able to release her just enough for him to stand up. Once he was on his feet he brought her close to him again. She could still feel his tail hugging her. "I…I'm sorry. I…I can't stand needles, and I don't know why. Back there, the doctor…my doctor said you were coming. I stayed in bed and waited for you. It felt good waiting for you. I felt like I could sleep. Then he…that other doctor came…with those men. They grabbed me. I saw the needle… Everything happened so fast! I had to get out of there. I… Mari, your back… Is that another birthmark?"

My shoulder…! I had forgotten…!

I was sixteen years old…

I had just finished my bath and was drying myself off. Then Mother barged in with two maids at her heels.

"Don't even think about it, young lady. Nomi told me everything. That awful mark on your face is bad enough, but now you have marks growing all over your back? Well, I've had enough, understand? You're not going anywhere until those hideous marks are gone!"

There were no marks on my back, but Mother wouldn't listen. She never did. The maids held me in the tub while Mother dunked my head underwater, scrubbing my back with a floor brush…

The next thing I knew, I was facedown in my bed. My upper back and right shoulder were bandaged. I could hear Mother crying; wondering what she did to deserve such an ugly child. When Father finally came in my room, he kept saying that I should forgive Mother. It didn't matter that I was in constant pain; all that mattered was that I forgave Mother.

Forgiveness meant she couldn't tell anyone what her mother had done to her. Forgiveness meant having Quacksalver make house calls to rub some useless cream on her back instead of going to a hospital. Forgiveness meant having to wear baggy clothes to hide the bandages. Forgiveness meant…being even more of a freak than she was before…

After all those years struggling to prove that she was more than just a birthmark, her mother ruined everything. And her father let her get away with it.

She had forgotten. For a brief moment she had forgotten all about it. But then that painful memory – one of many – came flooding back into her mind. There was no stopping the tears as John cupped her face in his hand and made her look him in the face as he said, "Mari… I'm sorry."

He's sorry? Her mother never apologized for what she did that night. It was too much. She wrapped her arms around him and let the tears fall from her eyes. It felt good to cry. It didn't matter that he was naked. It didn't matter that they were in the middle of nowhere. It didn't matter that the cell phone was ringing. It didn't matter that the fish was burning...

The fish was burning!