Lace woke from a deep sleep feeling sick to her stomach. She could smell the candy-flavored candle by her bedside that Keiko gave her a few days ago. She was definitely in her bedroom.
Still keeping her sore eyes shut, she caught the smell of Old Spice and realized Goten was stroking her hair. She could hear Bra crying just a few feet away. Slowly, she tried to open her eyes, but Goten hushed her softly.
"Don't try to open them yet. They're very swollen." He said.
"Lacey, baby…I was so worried! Can you talk?" Bra asked desperately.
She felt her mother approach and sit lightly on the edge of her bed. Lace opened her mouth and let out a small whimper.
"Oh, baby…" Bra cried through her hands.
Lace heard Brie's clomping footsteps coming down the hall. She entered Lace's room and cleared her throat.
"Mom, Gin's better. His attack slowed down. He's still crying, but he's breathing normally again…"
Lace wanted to cry. Her appearance must've been so bad that she threw her own brother into an asthma attack.
"Go and check on him, Bra. I've got Lace." Goten said in a worried voice.
Lace heard Bra get up and walk down the hallway. Heels, Lace thought. Of course her mother was wearing heels, even at a time like this. She tried to smile, but the pain was excruciating. She parted her lips and inhaled.
"It…hurts…" Lace whispered painfully.
"I know, Lacey. Just hold on." Goten said in a soothing voice, running the back of his hand over Lace's cheek.
Another set of footsteps came into her bedroom calmly. She wondered if it was Keiko or another family member helping out. She felt their eyes staring at her and wanted to crawl into a hole. How embarrassing.
"Here you go, sir."
Lace felt her heart stop.
"Thanks, uh…"
"Sidka, sir."
"Right. Thanks, Sidka." Goten said in an authoritative voice.
Lace's eyes flew open through the pain. She saw Sidka standing over her looking very concerned. His brows were angled inwards and his eyes burned with rage. He looked away as Goten reached behind her head and propped her up with some pillows.
"Lace, I know you probably don't want to eat anything right now, but I crushed up some Senzu beans that your grandpa brought and put them into some tea…this should make everything better. Try to drink it, honey." Goten said, bringing the cup to Lace's dry lips.
Grandpa Goku was in America? What happened?
After a few weak sips, Lace felt the warmth in her stomach spread over her entire body. The swelling she felt on her face deflated and disappeared. She felt several of her bones click back into place and mend. After a small gasp, the pain was completely gone. Energy filled her up and she sighed in relief. She sat up and looked down at her blood-stained arms.
"Wow…" Lace whispered, "I look awful!"
"God, I'm so glad it worked." Goten exhaled loudly.
Lace looked up at Sidka, worried about what he'd just seen. He was standing at the end of her bed with his eyes wide open and stammering.
"T-that was incredible!" Sidka exclaimed.
"Sidka…what are you doing here?" Lace asked, looking at her dad through the corner of her eye.
Sidka looked a little hurt and stared upwards at the ceiling fan. Goten smirked at his disappointment and held Lace's hand tightly.
"Sidka brought you here, Lace. He found you downtown. You were almost dead." Goten answered for him gravely.
"Almost…dead…."
Lace's memories suddenly flashed by in an instant. She remembered feeling her powers drain from her body. She felt the large man beating her senseless and ripping her shirt open. She flinched, realizing he was going to rape her. She felt the pit of her stomach tighten.
"A…a super saiyan…saved me…" Lace whispered.
Goten turned white and squeezed her hand so hard she yelled out.
"Dad!" She exclaimed.
"Lacey! Ah-hah…I think you're making up words! Does your head hurt?" Goten laughed, nodding in Sidka's way slyly.
Lace looked embarrassed and instantly recoiled.
"Oh um…yeah, my head still kinda hurts…"
Sidka narrowed his eyes and took a seat in her black butterfly chair calmly. She wondered what he must be thinking and felt terribly guilty for putting him through hell. Instead of asking questions about her slip of the tongue, he quietly picked up a magazine laying on the floor and began to flip through it.
"May I stick around a little longer, sir? I'll look after her for a bit." Sidka said nonchalantly, looking down at the pages in the magazine.
"I guess that's okay...Let me go check on Gin. I'll be right back. His asthma is just awful tonight." Goten said, pointing at the two teenagers before leaving the room, "I'll be back though. Don't get any ideas."
Lace blushed and frowned at her father. When he left, she sat up and looked directly at Sidka.
"Hey, babe." Sidka said, still refusing to look up from the magazine.
"D-did you see him? The…the blonde guy?" Lace asked, frazzled and desperate for answers.
"What blonde guy? Was the guy who did this to you blonde?" He asked calmly.
"No! The guy who saved me was blonde!" Lace exclaimed.
"Lace…I'm not sure anyone saved you. You were barely breathing when I found you. It's a miracle that you were alive."
"Someone stopped him. He was going to…to rape me...Someone rescued me before that happened. I know it. I saw him!"
Sidka closed his eyes like her words brought him serious pain. He sucked his teeth angrily and pursed his lips together. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and opened his eyes again. Lace waited anxiously. His eyes returned to the magazine.
"I didn't see him, babe."
Lace shushed him and flung her arms around crazily.
"Sidka! Don't let my dad hear you say stuff like that! He doesn't know you're my boyfriend, does he? Please tell me you didn't tell him!"
Sidka laughed. He finally closed the magazine and tossed it onto the floor again. He stood up slowly and crossed his arms, shaking his head.
"You're sitting there with blood all over you, talking non-sense, and you're worried if I told your dad that we're dating? It's okay, Lace. I think he gets it. Did you not see how he just looked at me? I'm out to corrupt his innocent baby girl, I guess. Like that's possible."
Lace sat back and crossed her own arms firmly. Sidka seemed a little offended that she cared if her father knew, but she couldn't help herself. Goten wasn't the easiest dad to win over on things he didn't necessarily like. He was very protective of his daughters. Lace had also never had an official boyfriend before that he knew of. She realized Sidka didn't know all of that and how she may have seemed embarrassed of him. She sighed and lowered her head.
"I'm sorry." Lace said sadly, "I didn't mean that I'm ashamed of you or anything…"
"It's fine." Sidka responded shortly, "You get a pass tonight."
He walked over to the side of her bed and sat down beside her. She scooted slightly, allowing him more room. He smiled warmly and reached out to touch her cheek.
"I'm so glad that you're okay. I keep thinking…if I hadn't been right there…" Sidka whispered.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well, you were in the alley behind the movie theater." He answered.
"No I wasn't." Lace frowned.
"Um…yeah you were. I found you there because we had a date, remember?" Sidka frowned back.
"Okay…" Lace answered, unconvinced, "So…are you okay?"
Sidka's eyes glazed over a bit. He had a sad look to him, different from worry over her wellbeing. She felt uneasy.
"I'm fine." He answered, exhaling slowly.
He sat back a little and stared at the floor in front of him. Lace wanted to know what was wrong, but he was too lost in thought to even begin to break through. She supposed he was probably in shock from seeing her in a pool of her own blood. Perhaps it was best to let him be and deal with it in his own way.
Later that night when Sidka had left and the family was asleep, Lace began to dream of the attack she'd experienced. She saw the face of the large man and felt his dirty, sweaty hands on her body. She screamed out, but no one was there. She felt the pain of her bones being shattered and her blood washing down her face. Still, no one came.
After a while, a face appeared in the darkness. It was glowing yellow and shrouded in shadows. She couldn't see its features, only that it was a super saiyan man.
"I'll kill you!" The voice called out.
A large flash of light blew the large man away from her. A super saiyan stood in front of her, ready for a fight. He took a defensive stance and lowered his monstrous, green eyes onto hers. She screamed and started kicking herself backwards.
The super saiyan started for her. She screamed. She couldn't escape. She braced herself for a hit, but the saiyan jumped over her and attacked the man. They disappeared into darkness, leaving Lace alone.
She woke and shot straight out of bed. She was alone, but in her room. It was another nightmare. The only difference this time was that she didn't wake her parents. She looked down at her hands and examined them closely. She wasn't glowing purple as she usually did after a nightmare. She ran to her mirror.
"Holy shit!" Lace exclaimed.
She clicked on her lamp and looked closer. She heard Brie stir and rush into her room.
"Are you okay?" Brie whispered nervously, entering and closing the door quietly behind her.
"Look! Look at my eyes!" Lace squeaked breathlessly.
Brie approached her cautiously. She stood on her tip-toes and gasped.
"Your eyes…the ring is gone!" Brie squealed.
"I know!" Lace started to panic, "What's wrong with me?"
Was her power really gone? Was she a pure human now? So many questions remained unanswered that she couldn't understand.
Brie wrapped her arms around her sister's waist and held onto her tightly. The girls began to cry together, likely from the horrible scare that Lace both experienced and delivered that night. Soon, they both crawled into Lace's bed and fell asleep. Lace was happy not to be alone. She couldn't bear to be alone.
At school the next day, Lace waited for Sidka at the water fountain in the morning. She was early again. She played with her phone until he approached and sat beside her silently.
"Morning." Lace whispered.
"You shouldn't be at school today. You're still recovering." Sidka said seriously.
Lace swallowed hard and looked around before speaking. "I'm okay. I'm totally fine…it's okay. And look! My leg is all healed!"
Sidka nodded and stared at the ground. Something was getting to him, but she couldn't figure out what exactly. As the rest of the group approached, Lace noticed that Keiko was very upset. She decided to focus on Keiko's problems instead of her own or on Sidka's. Besides, Keiko didn't even know what happened the night before.
"What's wrong?" Lace asked Keiko, grabbing her shoulders.
"I…broke up with Jake last night…"
Lace frowned and pulled Keiko into a hug. Chai and Bibii joined in on the group hug, but Brie was distracted by Christopher. Rez joined Sidka at the fountain and took a seat.
"So much drama, bro. I can't deal with all that." Rez groaned.
"Yeah…drama…" Sidka said, distracted.
"You alright, man? You seem kinda pissed…" Rez asked cautiously.
"I feel like shit. I think I'm gonna take off…I don't feel like being here today."
Rez gasped.
"Dude! We have a test in trig! You can't skip today!"
Sidka chuckled and looked at Rez slyly, "I do what I want. I don't give a fuck about that."
Sidka turned and started to leave the group. Lace noticed and left Keiko in the care of Bibii before running over to him and grabbing his arm.
"Where the hell are you going?" Lace demanded.
"Somewhere. I don't know." Sidka answered shortly.
"What? No! I really want you here today…" Lace whined.
"Oh, really? Why don't you just call Cody and ask him to come and hang out with you? Oh, wait. That's right. He doesn't care about you, but for some reason, he's all you can think about, right? Shit…I'm out, man."
Lace felt her heart crack in half. Cody? Why on Earth was he bringing up Cody?
"Sidka, wait!" Lace called in a last-ditch effort.
"What?" Sidka growled angrily, scaring her a little bit.
"I…I don't want you to go…" Lace whispered.
He turned back around and kept walking. Lace stood helplessly and dropped her arms to her side. She returned to Keiko and wrapped her arm around her cousin's waist sadly. Perhaps today was just supposed to be a shitty day. Surely Sidka would come around. He did have that weird possessive thing about him. Maybe he was just jealous.
Later, the junior class had an assembly about drugs and drinking. The classes filed into the gymnasium and piled into the bleachers. Lace searched for her friends and saw Rez's huge hair above the crowd. She climbed up the bleachers and found him sitting with Bibii, watching a funny video on her phone. She joined them and leaned on Rez's arm to watch.
"Wow, someone has changed. A month ago you never would have gotten that close to Rez." Bibii laughed.
"She's in love, Bibii. Things change, girl. You'll be there soon enough, too!" Rez answered, slightly mocking the girls' voices.
In love? If they only knew.
That weekend, Lace was determined to have some fun. She and her group of friends decided to throw a party, a small one, at Keiko's house. Lace loved her uncle Trunks' house, mainly because of the enormous basement that they converted into an entertainment space. She excitedly arrived riding in the bed of Rez's big, black truck.
"Hey, guys!" Keiko called, waving happily.
Rez hopped out of the truck and opened his passenger side door for Chai. Lace chuckled watching him lift her up high and then set her gently on the ground. She was so tiny, just like Brie.
"Yo, yo! What up!" Rez bellowed, offering a hand to Brie.
"Puh-leeze, I don't need help!" Brie grumbled, hopping gently to the ground.
"Is it even legal for us to be in the bed of a truck on the highway? I'm pretty sure Rez could've been pulled over…" Bibii asked, clutching her phone.
"Nah, whatever. We're good. We're here now anyway." Lace shrugged.
A second car pulled up behind Rez's. Keiko ran out and clapped her hands when Ryo exited the vehicle. The group stared as he swept Keiko up into his arms and squeezed her tightly. A rather personal kiss followed, prompting Bibii to groan uncomfortably and look at her phone screen.
"Hey so…I invited Hakosu. He should be here soon! I'm excited for you all to meet him officially." Bibii said awkwardly, ignoring Keiko and Ryo's makeout session.
"I think I'll get along with him. He seems like a cool dude. Yo, Brie. Where's Chris at?" Rez asked loudly, patting Brie on the back.
"He's coming. He had to get a ride. He's not sixteen yet, obviously.
"Aw, poor sap. I coulda picked his ass up. He afraid of me or something?"
Brie slapped Rez on the arm as the others laughed.
"Well, come on in guys!" Keiko said, finally breaking away from Ryo.
The group entered through their extravagant front door and marveled as they were greeted by a sweeping staircase. It twisted up to the upper balcony, revealing a gigantic chandelier that hung quite high up. It's dripping crystals shined brightly against the setting, orange sun.
"Woah, nice place!" Ryo said, staring upwards.
"I know, right?" Keiko smirked with pride.
She skipped forward and stopped short of a living room revealing the tallest windows in a home that the group had ever seen. Leather couches sat in perfect form with a glass coffee table facing an impressively large fireplace. Even further impressive was the television hanging on the wall. Rez stared at it and practically drooled.
"Do you guys ever even use that thing?" Brie asked Keiko.
"Nah, I mean, my dad watches it sometimes, but not really." Keiko answered.
Lace sighed. So much wealth, but did it really matter? They didn't even use the things that they owned. The company her great-grandfather Brief worked so hard to build had to start with more humble beginnings. Didn't it?
They began their descent to the basement. Ryo gasped at the sight of their salt water aquarium wall. Keiko ran up to it and held up her hands.
"Don't tap the glass…the puffer fish will blow up and that hurts it. Just look."
The group slowly walked past the tank and marveled at the blue and yellow tangs, shrimp and other assorted fish. Rez pressed his face against the glass and spotted a large fish with leopard print fins sticking out from every angle. He smiled widely.
"Look! That fish's hair looks like mine!"
The girls giggled.
"It's a lion fish, Rez. Those are fins, not hair, oh my God." Keiko corrected with a laugh.
"Aw, yeah! Lion fish…Bad. Ass."
Chai dragged Rez along by his shirt.
A large pool table decorated the right side near the staircase while a sitting room filled the other. A full kitchen with a large serving bar separated the two. Keiko went straight for it and pulled out a case of beer.
"Woah, I'm not okay with that…" Bibii warned.
"It's okay. I knew you wouldn't be. You don't have to have any." Keiko said kindly, shrugging, "But I'm hittin it hard tonight!"
Bibii nodded, but Lace could see her discomfort. Hopefully Hakosu would help her forget her worries when he arrived.
"Um, I'll have one, please. This week has been…challenging as shit." Ryo said with a finger pointed in the air.
"Same." Lace admitted, taking a beer even though she hated the taste.
"Won't uncle Trunks kill you?" Brie asked, taking one for herself.
"That's what I forgot to mention…they're out tonight." Keiko winked.
"…And your little brothers…Yuji? Mitsuo? Surely the twins wouldn't keep it a secret if they knew you were partying down here." Lace asked with dark eyes.
"You have brothers? Cool!" Rez interrupted.
Just then, thundering footsteps could be heard from above. It sounded as though they might come through the ceiling. Keiko sighed and grumbled. The door flew open and down the stairs they came.
"Keiko! You didn't say you were having company!" Yuji, the more docile of the two said happily.
"Aw, you stole that beer! I'm telling dad!" Mitsuo added.
Lace found them incredibly annoying, but they were good company for Gin when they were together. Only a year older than Gin, the twins would probably be the sole reason that Gin eventually could gain a social life. If it weren't for them, Gin would likely never talk to girls on his own. He was the definition of a home schooled kid.
"Don't you dare or I'll tell dad that it actually was you that dented his car and broke that window!" Keiko growled.
"Dang, okay! Okay! Chill, sis." Mitsuo frowned.
The doorbell rang. The twins looked up in glee.
"Fine…answer the damn door…" Keiko sighed.
The twins bounded back upstairs. They heard the door open and close, and soon footsteps could be heard on the steps again. They looked up and found Christopher and Hakosu waving as they entered the room, but to Lace's surprise, Sidka was trailing behind them with his hands in his pockets and looking down.
"Sidka!" Lace exclaimed excitedly, unable to hide her happiness regardless of their little spat that morning.
"Hey…" He said quietly.
"Bibii!" Hakosu hollered, holding out his arms and rushing forward. Bibii jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly.
Christopher looked a little peeved. He took Brie aside and said something, to which Brie responded with a gasp.
"Guys…" Brie started, "Who the hell invited Jake? He's upstairs…"
"What?" Keiko squealed.
"What's wrong with Jake? Isn't he your boyfriend?" Hakosu asked innocently.
"Oh, damn. The drama at Ramison is hard to keep up with!" Sidka laughed, patting Hakosu on the back, "Sorry about that, bro. Should have updated you when we saw him."
Keiko ran upstairs. She could be heard dealing with a very upset Jake as they shouted back and forth. Ryo sat at the bar and began downing beers like crazy, trying to ignore the commotion. Lace had to get some air. She opened the sliding glass doors and stood outside against a support beam for the upper deck. The air was quite chilly. Lace cuddled up into her large sweater and sighed loudly.
"You okay?" Sidka asked.
He closed the door behind him and joined her.
"I wish that I knew what was bothering you. If I knew, then I could just fix it and we'd be okay again. I almost died and this is the treatment I get?" Lace sad firmly.
"It's not that simple…" He sighed.
Lace turned around and stared at him. He took notice to her eyes and stepped closer. Lace drew back.
"Your eyes…they're different..." Sidka said.
"Yeah. They are. I guess that's simple enough for you to notice…" Lace's temper was rising.
"Look, I'm sorry. I just…I can't believe you don't remember…how I found you…"
Lace peered up at him.
"I'm sorry for that, I really am. How can you hold that against me?" Lace demanded.
"I'm not trying to. I just hate that…" He paused.
"What, Sidka?"
"I hate that I'm not your number one. I hate that you love someone else."
Lace looked shocked. She hadn't spoken of Cody for a long time and she'd never told Sidka about the accident in detail. She hadn't seen him since the night she snuck out with Sidka. There was no reason for him to be jealous.
Sidka stepped closer to her and snapped her out of her thoughts. He looked serious and desperate.
"Lace…try to remember. Look at my face. I haven't been…completely honest with you. Look at me!"
Sidka grabbed Lace by the shoulders and pulled her in front of him. He stared into her eyes. She felt a pang in her heart as his face frowned with pain. He had been hiding something, she knew that much, but what was he trying to tell her? What was so complicated that he couldn't just say it?
"I'm looking at you! I don't know what you want me to say! I'm sorry!" Lace shouted impatiently.
Sidka's eyes slanted. He turned away and hid his face in his hands.
"I just don't get it! How can you not…feel it?"
Lace gasped. Was he trying to tell her that he loved her?
She searched her heart for answers. Did she love him? She'd thought she knew love before, but she was wrong. Cody was never a true love, only a silly crush that got her gravely injured. The cast that still clung to her leg was proof enough of that fact. She crossed her arms and stared into space.
Suddenly, a power level began approaching them. Though Lace's powers seemed gone, she could still feel the ki, just as her uncle Gohan had trained her human aunt Videl to do. She paused and looked inside at Brie and Keiko, who returned her worried gaze.
"Sidka…I think…"
"Be quiet!" Sidka demanded, grabbing her and hiding below the cover of the deck, "Hide your ki!"
Lace looked stunned, "What?"
"Just do it, dammit!" Sidka said angrily.
Lace did as he asked with complete and utter confusion. The ki they'd sensed was just above. He held completely still, holding onto Lace as though she'd float away if he let go. His black eyes looked up and seemed unable to blink. He was as still as a board.
"Go…just go…" Sidka whispered desperately.
Lace peered into the door where Brie and Keiko waited, staring with confused looks. She returned her gaze to Sidka and felt a little scared.
"Who is that up there?" Lace asked.
"Someone…you don't want to meet…" Sidka replied quickly.
Finally, the ki disappeared. Lace stood up straight and pulled Sidka around to face her. He'd given too much away to avoid her questions any longer.
"What the hell did you mean 'hide your ki'?" Lace growled.
Sidka looked pale.
"Answer me!"
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair anxiously. He looked pained, but he was beginning to crack under the pressure of Lace's persistence.
"Isn't it obvious? My attraction to you, yours to me…how I saved you last night…How can you not feel it?"
Lace stared blankly.
"Isn't is obvious how we make each other feel? Normal people…humans…they don't feel a connection like this."
Lace's mouth opened, but closed again without speaking. What was he trying to say? She felt her heart pounding against her chest angrily and wanted to scream. What did he mean? What was he thinking?
"Sidka, I don't understand!" Lace cried, feeling helpless.
He took a step towards her. His expression was hardened, yet sad. He sighed and put both hands on her shoulders. He lowered his head to stare directly in her eyes. She felt her stomach tighten. His lips parted to speak. She held her breath.
"Isn't it obvious to you by now…that I'm a saiyan, too?"
