The next morning, Lace awoke completely naked in Sidka's bed. She felt slightly embarrassed, but noticed rather quickly that Sidka was equally naked. She smiled and blushed, pulling the covers over herself and hiding in them. Sidka stirred slightly, but stayed asleep. His hardened face looked so peaceful and relaxed. She watched him and snuggled up to his chest. She felt the warmth from his skin on her cheek and shivered blissfully.
"Mmm…Morning, beautiful…" Sidka whispered, half asleep.
"Morning." Lace answered shyly.
Sidka smiled and rolled over to face her. He gathered her up into his arms and buried his face in her messy, blue hair. Lace felt her heart bursting with love. She could never get enough of him. He was intoxicating.
"I'm gonna get a shower." Lace said softly.
"Mmkay."
Lace stretched out her arms and legs. She was definitely sore from her workout the night before. She felt a twinge in her neck and reached up instinctually.
"Holy crap, Sidka! You bit me!" Lace exclaimed, feeling the teeth marks in her skin with her finger tips.
He barely moved, giggling slightly.
"Yeah…we mated…"
"Mated? Ew, that sounds gross! I've never heard anyone call sex mating…ew."
Sidka opened one eye and peered at her curiously with a furrowed brow.
"No, like…mated…"
Lace covered her face, flustered and embarrassed.
"What the hell do you mean? Can't you just call it something else? Anything else?"
"It's a saiyan thing, Lace." Sidka said flatly, closing his eye again.
"It is?" Lace gasped.
Sidka groaned and opened his eyes. He propped himself up on his elbow and used the other hand to gesture while he spoke. Lace loved how he used his hands to talk. It was such a funny little qwerk.
"Saiyans mate, Lace. It's just what we do."
"You've…you've done this before?" Lace squeaked.
Sidka's eyes flew open. He looked offended.
"Of course I haven't!"
Lace felt silly. She really had no idea what he was talking about.
"Sorry, it's just that I've never heard of…m-mating…before!"
Sidka sighed and sat up, leaning against his now broken headboard.
"When a saiyan meets their soulmate…and they…ya know…do it…they mark each other. It's kinda special. Like…you only do it once in your lifetime, Lace. You can't do it more than once."
Lace's eyes grew wide. Her mouth hung open for a few seconds before she spoke.
"They…do?"
Sidka laughed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Damn…don't you know anything about our species?"
"Species…" Lace whispered, wondering if he even realized how different she was from him.
"My parents always made a big deal about saiyan culture and shit. Like, I always knew what mating was…just never how it would happen. I was a kid, ya know…they didn't go into a lot of detail, but I knew about it because my parents were mated."
Lace was completely shocked. Had her mother and father done this? A bite to symbolize a mating ritual between saiyans? She'd never heard of such a thing and it freaked her out quite a bit.
"So…what's this mean then? We're like…soulmates or something?" Lace laughed nervously.
Sidka cleared his throat and looked straight at her, narrowing his eyes and lowering his gaze.
"Yes."
Lace grabbed her head.
"Holy fuck." Lace exclaimed.
Sidka laughed at her and rolled out of bed, revealing everything. Lace hid her face in the covers. He turned around to face her and crossed his arms.
"Well, damn, Lace…you kinda already saw everything. No need to hide from me."
Lace peeked her eyes out from the covers and turned beet red. She examined his perfect body and felt her own body quiver, as though he'd touched her without being anywhere near her.
"I know, it's just…oh…it's…ah…"
Sidka laughed. He turned around, still baring it all, and headed for the little kitchen area. He pressed a button and turned on the black coffee maker. She watched him sift through different flavors until he decided on one and popped the little cup into the machine.
"You drink a lot of coffee, don't you?" She asked.
"Well, it is the morning now…but yeah, I do. Probably…four or five a day at least." He answered, pouring some water into the back of the machine.
Lace laid her head back down onto the warm pillow. She snuggled into it and continued hiding in the covers. She could stay there all day. She had no worries nor a care in the world about getting in trouble with her parents.
"Hey, Lace…" Sidka began, watching the coffee brew, "Do you remember that terrorist attack in Japan last year? Were you there for that?"
Lace felt her blissful, post-coitus happiness shatter into a million pieces. She felt her heart stop. Her skin paled. She inhaled sharply and held her breath.
"Lace?" Sidka asked again.
She hid under the covers. How could he know? Why would he ask her about it?
"Lace…what's wrong?"
Lace slowly peeked out and saw him rush over to the bed. He looked genuinely concerned.
"W-well…yeah…I was there…" She stuttered.
"I'm sorry if you don't wanna talk about it. I guess…you saw some shit, huh?" He said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
There was a long pause. Lace debated on how honest she could be with him. Even with his admittance to their weird saiyan bond, she could still send him running for the hills.
"It…It wasn't a terrorist attack."
Sidka frowned, looking confused.
"What do you mean? It was all over the news here…I mean, I lived in another state, but I saw all the reports. A bomb hit TokyoU, right?"
"No…not a bomb…" Lace whispered, muffled by the blanket near her mouth.
Sidka pulled the covers away from her mouth and gave her an exasperated sigh.
"Just tell me, Lace." He said firmly.
"It was…it was me…and Cody…but mostly me…"
Sidka's eyes practically popped out of his head.
"What do you mean it was you? You set off a bomb?"
"No!" Lace exclaimed, almost laughing at his response.
"What then?" He demanded, looking desperate.
"Sidka…I'm…not like a normal saiyan. My parents are both half-breeds, yeah, but…I was born different." Lace began, feeling anxious.
"Different?" He asked curiously, "Oh…yeah I guess pink isn't a normal color for a super saiyan…I thought it might be like…something to do with the mating. So you always turn pink?"
Lace nodded, "Yes. It's a mutation. It's a long story, but…I have trouble controlling my powers sometimes. My grandma made this device that attached to my arm. We were trying to test it and see if it could help me control myself. It worked at first…but then…"
Lace trailed off. Sidka leaned forward eagerly. Lace swallowed. It was the first time she would say it out loud. The lies and the protection of her family was all about to end. She was going to deal with the worst part of her life once and for all. She opened her mouth slowly, but Sidka spoke instead.
"So…It was you…you killed all those people…You were the terrorist…" Sidka whispered.
Lace choked. She thought she would cry when she finally heard it, but she didn't. Relief flooded over her.
"Yes. I did. It was an accident…I mean, I thought we had it…the power…it was just too much…"
"We?" Sidka asked.
"Yeah…Cody was born like me. Or rather, I was born like him. We're the only two saiyans on Earth with the same power. He like to call it Rage. We get so…angry. It's the most intense feeling I've ever felt. I tried to fight back the night you saved me, but something drained all of my power. It was already weakened…since Cody and I were in that hotel accident downtown. We could unleash our powers by combining them, but now since he doesn't remember me, I guess that bond was broken."
Sidka frowned. He shook his head slightly and stared into space. She realized he was jealous. She'd forgotten about his possessiveness.
"I haven't seen him in weeks, Sidka. It's only you. I…love you."
She realized it was the first time she said it without being in the middle of passionate lovemaking. Sidka smiled, facing her again and taking her hand in his.
"Well…I'm sure your great-grandfather would be proud of your powers."
Lace was shocked. How did he know about her great-grandfather?
"What?" She asked nervously.
"I mean that you did what saiyans have been doing for generations. I know who you are, Lace. I know where you come from. I know about planet Vegeta…planet Sadala…I know how our whole race was wiped out by Frieza. Back then, you would have been hailed a hero to our people for exploding in the middle of a city. It's scary, right?"
Lace covered her mouth. He was right, but she'd never thought of it that way.
"What…family are you from? Were your grandparents on planet Vegeta at some point?"
Sidka smiled.
"Yeah. They were a part of the royal counsel to King Vegeta. They were warriors…like everyone, really, but they were very powerful and even more ruthless. They were the equivalent to this small task force…the Ginyu force? Yeah, I think that's what my dad called them. Anyway, they acted in the same way but stayed with the king most of the time. My father commanded a black ops type force that would go in and assist a saiyan who couldn't complete their mission. He came here with my mother and several other soldiers when this guy…uh…Kakarott couldn't complete his mission to destroy the Earth. By the time they got here, planet Vegeta had been wiped out and they had no home to go back to. They decided to live here and forget their mission, especially since they couldn't even find the dude they were looking for…they started families…some with humans, others with the other soldiers that were here with them."
Lace couldn't believe his story. They were linked in ways she could never have imagined. She could only form one question before anything else.
"Sidka…Why aren't you bothered by what I did, though? I killed thousands of innocent people…college students…professors…the whole university was destroyed. Why doesn't that bother you?"
Sidka sighed. He looked up at her inquisitively. The sun was shining through his window and onto his strong face, making him look almost angelic. Lace felt her stomach do its usual back flip. He was so handsome.
"People do things that they don't mean to do. People kill people…it can be an accident, but it happens. I killed someone for you. I've killed other people in battle before, too. Our power is hard to control…when no one understands how you work."
"But you know so much about being a saiyan! You had your parents…"
Sidka stopped her and interrupted.
"I had them. They died when I was eleven."
"How?" Lace asked, too soon for comfort after his statement.
"It was…an accident. Like I said, it happens. People die. You just have to move forward."
As Sidka's cryptic message sank in, he got up and pulled on some boxers from his dresser drawer. He started to return to the kitchen, but a knock on the door startled them both. Keiko's voice rang out through the thin walls.
"Lace! I know you're in there! Open the goddamn door before I break it down!"
Sidka laughed and looked back at Lace. She was pale and panicked. Keeping the blanket around her, she rolled off of the bed and frantically ran around looking for clothes. She realized quickly that he ripped her only shirt.
"Take one of mine, babe." Sidka offered, pointing at his dresser.
She nodded and grabbed the first one she could find. She pulled on a pair of his shorts, too, making her look hilarious.
"Geez, why'd you have to go and rip my shirt?" Lace whined.
"Hey, she's a saiyan, too, right? You're cousins…I'm sure she's not exaggerating about breaking down my door. Let her in."
Lace grimaced. She ran to the door and opened it slowly. Keiko and Brie both stood angrily on the other side. Brie looked like she might faint at the sight of her sister under a boy's t-shirt, but Keiko was unaffected.
"Listen, you…" Keiko pointed at Sidka, barging into the room, "I'm covering for her ass right now but her parents will be awake any minute! If I don't get her back…in my car…that Rez is driving because I don't have a license…then we're all dead!"
Sidka laughed, continuing to stir creamer into his coffee.
"Keiko…I think I should tell you something important." Lace said, sitting down on the bed.
"Oh, shit…are you pregnant? Dammit, Lace!" Keiko assumed, causing Brie to look like she was going to die.
"What? No! Oh, my God!" Lace growled.
"Ah, fuck it. I'm a saiyan, you guys are saiyans…we're all saiyans. Boom." Sidka said, turning around to face them, still in only his boxers.
"What?" Brie and Keiko said in unison.
"Damn. I guess I really was good at hiding it, huh?" Sidka said, starting up the stove and setting down a pan.
"How? What? Why? How did this happen? A saiyan? There's no freaking way!" Brie squealed.
"Would you guys keep your voices down? I have neighbors." Sidka growled.
"What about parents? You're just allowed to have a girl in your bed?" Keiko snapped.
Lace wanted to shove a sock in Keiko's mouth, but Sidka didn't seem bothered.
"I live here by myself…this is a studio apartment? No parents. They died when I was eleven."
Brie and Keiko looked humiliated for even bringing it up. Sidka took some eggs out of the refrigerator and began to crack them into the pan.
"Want some?" He asked casually.
"Okay…regardless of all the crazy shit that you just said, we gotta get Lace home! I suppose you know that flying would be faster…but if your powers are gone…I mean, damn…I'm not carrying you if you're not wearing any underwear." Keiko frowned at Lace, "Plus Rez is sitting out there waiting in the car."
"Oh…uh, my powers…they came back." Lace admitted.
"What? How?" Brie asked excitedly, "That's so awesome!"
"From me. We mated last night, I guess that just brought them all back. I was the missing puzzle piece, dammit." Sidka joked, flipping two eggs in the pan.
"Mated?" Brie and Keiko said together, horrified.
Lace wanted to die. She'd never been so embarrassed in her life.
"Okay, this is way too much for me. Let's go, Lace." Keiko demanded, throwing her hands up and stepping over Lace's discarded bra carefully.
Lace got up from the bed and followed her pushy cousin and sister. Sidka poured the eggs onto a plate quickly and rushed over to her.
"Hey, hold on just one second…"
He grabbed her arm and spun her around against his bare chest. Keiko scoffed.
"I'll see you later, right?" He asked.
Lace blushed, "Yeah…we can meet up later…"
"I love you." He said happily, still holding her tightly.
"I…love you, too…" Lace responded, redder than she'd ever been in her life.
"Ew! Let's go you freaks! Oh, my God!" Keiko grumbled.
Lace backed away from Sidka and followed them reluctantly. Sidka stood in the doorway smiling in his boxers and waving. Too much had happened the previous night. Lace needed to process everything, but knowing Keiko, she probably wouldn't get much time.
After Lace had gone, Sidka decided to head out for a morning run. He stepped out into the front yard area of his apartment building and took a deep, clarifying breath. It was still early morning and birds were chirping happily. The sunrise was a deep, beautiful orange. He smiled. Something felt different inside of him. He felt genuinely happy for the first time in a long time.
As he began to walk forward into the chilly air, he hid his hands in his pockets and kicked a rock in front of him. He watched it skip ahead on the sidewalk and realized he couldn't stop smiling. It wasn't because he'd just had sex. He'd done that before with a couple of different girls. This was something more powerful. It felt like a fire was burning brightly inside him, but only he could feel it. Only he could benefit from its satisfying warmth and guiding light.
He began to jog. He passed by an elderly couple walking their dog. They smiled, bundled up in too-heavy coats and scarves. Sidka chuckled and waved at them with a small nod. He briefly wondered if that's what he and Lace would look like one day. That day would be far off, as saiyans didn't age nearly as quickly as humans did, but it would come eventually now that they were together forever.
He shook his head. Forever, he thought with a little nervous shiver.
He continued along, looking around at the fall colors and feeling the chill of winter peeking in. The sun was burning brightly in the sky now. The clouds looked a little dark, like it might rain later on. He enjoyed the rain. He only hoped he'd be home before it started.
Though he preferred to fly, jogging provided a different kind of clarity. Running through nature and watching the regular, human people wandering about brought him a sense of humility. He wanted to be like them. He wanted to be normal, but Sidka's life was anything but normal.
He walked up to a small building similar to the one he lived in. He pulled open the door that led to a staircase and heard a baby crying through the paper-thin walls. He stopped and listened as a mother comforted the baby and a father started complaining. His voice rose and the woman began to shout back. Sidka shuddered and closed his eyes. He continued up the stairs trying his best to drown out the sound of shouting. He couldn't get involved. Not again.
When he reached a tattered door with the chip in the middle, he tapped lightly on its surface. He watched the peep-hole. Beside him, a little girl opened the next door down and peeked out. She had a small, white blanket in one hand and was sucking her thumb. Sidka smiled and waved, but the little girl continued to stare quietly.
"Hi…what's your name?" Sidka asked sweetly, kneeling down to the girl's level.
She stared back at him with giant, black eyes. She turned to look inside the apartment and another pair of onyx eyes peered from behind the door. A little boy, identical to her.
Sidka felt his heart plunge to the pit of his stomach. His heart wrenched. The little twins stared up at him innocently. He felt his breathing quicken. He stood and backed up until he felt the railing stop him. The two children hurried back inside and shut their door quickly.
"Sidka?"
A voice startled him from his brief panic attack. He looked up with tears in his eyes and skin as pale as a ghost. Hakosu motioned for him to enter quickly.
"Hey…hey, it's okay…I'd hoped you wouldn't see those little ones. I knew they'd bring back memories. How are the attacks lately? Getting better?"
Sidka shook his head and covered his mouth as Hakosu placed a comforting hand on his back. He struggled to keep composure and threw himself down on Hakosu's couch. He covered his eyes in shame and tried his hardest to stop his bottom lip from quivering. Why couldn't he control himself in these types of situations? He was a saiyan, after all. He shouldn't be so weak.
"Sidka…you know talking helps you through these things. Please talk to me." Hakosu said softly, taking a seat in an old, beaten up recliner across from the couch. He leaned forward and picked up a mug of coffee and held it in his hand.
"I was going to tell you good news for once. I was happy when I got here. I don't know what's wrong with me, man." Sidka said from under his forearm, hiding his tears.
"I'm here for you, bro. You don't have to hide from me. I know you better than you know yourself sometimes, dude." Hakosu said with a small chuckle, "It's kinda scary, right?"
"Tch. Scary. Yeah." Sidka scoffed.
"C'mon, man. Tell me your good news, then."
Sidka hesitated. He rubbed his eyes and threw his legs off the edge of the couch. He sat up and leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on one hand and tracing an imaginary circle with the other on the cracked coffee table in front of him.
"Lace…she came home with me last night." Sidka began, still staring at the floor.
"More like you dragged her home with you. I saw you leave together." Hakosu laughed, taking a sip of coffee.
"Something happened, Hakosu. Something…I really didn't expect."
Hakosu raised his eyebrows. Sidka's lips formed a straight line. He breathed in nervously.
"I mean, it's not even about the sex. It was something else."
Hakosu turned red and choked on some coffee, "Y-you slept with her?"
"Hell yeah I did…you did say you knew me well, right? You didn't think that I would?" Sidka said with a cocky attitude.
"I guess I thought she wouldn't. She doesn't come off as the type to…I don't know…"
"Jump into bed with an asshole like me?" Sidka asked, smirking.
"Well…yeah…if you want to put it that way."
Sidka stood up and rubbed his eyes. He yawned and started walking over to Hakosu's kitchen.
"Coffee's in the first cabinet…" Hakosu said, checking his phone.
Sidka dug around and found some ground up coffee beans. He frowned.
"Why don't you just get a Keurig already? Who still uses a fuckin' regular ass coffee maker?"
"In case you haven't noticed, I don't have a whole lot of money just laying around." Hakosu joked.
Sidka started the coffee maker up and rested both hands on the counter. He leaned back and forth for a while, unsure of what to say next. He wanted to tell his best friend what happened, but would he understand? He knew what Sidka was. He knew Sidka's family. He knew Kiara. But would he understand such a complex saiyan mating ritual? He wasn't sure.
"We did something before…you know. I mean like right before. It was intense." Sidka said, unsure he was using the coffee maker correctly.
"Look, I don't really need the dirty details. If you're happy, I'm happy." Hakosu laughed, waving his hand around awkwardly.
"Nah, it's not like that. It's…a saiyan thing."
Hakosu stopped sipping his coffee and turned around slowly.
"Did you tell her?"
Sidka smiled.
"Yeah…we fuckin' mated, dude…"
Hakosu dropped his mug, spilling some coffee. He quickly picked it up and tried to regain composure.
"Like…the biting thing? That's…that's real?" He asked.
"Real. Really, really real." Sidka sighed.
Hakosu stood up and began pacing around. He rubbed his chin inquisitively.
"So it's true? It's a real thing, huh…I wonder if Bibii…" Hakosu trailed off.
"Don't bet on that. You guys are never gonna seal the deal." Sidka teased, pouring a cup of coffee for himself.
"I don't care about that. I care about her, that's all that matters to us. I'm just curious is all…Do you feel different? Like…what happened?" Hakosu's voice rose in excitement.
Sidka set down the mug on the counter and thought for a few quiet moments. What felt different? Everything was the easy answer. The air smelled fresher, the grass looked greener, the sky was bluer, everything was better than it was the day before. His heart was complete. His life was full. Everything he'd ever wanted was finally found. Everything but one thing.
"It doesn't matter what I feel right now. What still matters is Kiara. She's out there somewhere and I've got to find her before they find me first."
Hakosu sighed. He looked disappointed to be back on a morose topic, but shrugged it off and continued with it.
"Kiara is alive. You know she is. Nothing can kill that girl..." Hakosu said matter-of-factly.
"I hope..." Sidka sighed.
His mind began to wander back to the night everything changed. The day everything was about to fall apart while young, eleven-year-old Sidka expected absolutely nothing.
Christmas day was a very happy time for a family of eleven people. His parents, Sarabi and Kousaka, sat happily near the Christmas tree in ugly sweaters and hot chocolate. His mother was playing with his youngest sister Mizu's hair and braiding it. Ishi and Daikon were fighting over who could open a present first while Kiri and Shio watched on with rolling eyes. Anisu and Kasai were chatting with Kira about things they thought might be waiting for them under the tree, but Kiara, Sidka's twin, wasn't interested. For the first time in their lives, Kiara was upset on Christmas morning. She was crying.
Sidka approached her carefully while she sat alone near the window. He plopped down beside her and sat silently. After a little while, Kiara looked up at him. He smiled and patted her shoulder, but Kiara shoved him away.
"What's wrong?" Sidka asked.
"Everything." Kiara cried.
"What's everything? Can't you see how happy everyone is? Tell me…I'm your twin…I'll understand." Sidka said lovingly.
"I don't…wanna be here anymore…" Kiara said honestly, staring out the window blankly.
"I know school sucks…but we've still got a lot of time before graduation and college and stuff." Sidka said innocently.
"No. I don't wanna be…alive…" Kiara corrected.
Sidka gasped. He looked over his shoulder and checked to see if his parents were listening.
"Kiara! You can't talk like that! What's going on?"
Kiara stared at him and frowned. She looked over her shoulder and slowly returned back to Sidka. With fear in her eyes, she opened her mouth to speak. Sidka watched her bottom lip shake as she spoke.
"She wants to kill me."
Sidka frowned and leaned forward, "Who?"
"Kira. I know it. I…I read her diary…she wants me to die."
Sidka turned around and looked at his sister Kira. She was sitting alone now, tinkering with something on the floor and twirling the end of her long hair in one finger. She noticed Sidka looking at her and frowned. She was always jealous of Kiara and Sidka's relationship, but he noticed a certain darkness in her that wasn't just sibling rivalry. She was truly angry at the sight of him comforting Kiara.
Shaking it off, Sidka returned to his twin with sympathetic eyes.
"Kira is our sister, Kiara. You can't think like that about her. She would never hurt you. She loves you."
Kiara looked up at him with empty eyes and stayed silent for a long while. She finally sighed and stared down at the floor. She reached for Sidka's hand and squeezed it tightly.
"I hope you're right."
That night, Sidka woke to the sound of his parents screaming. He heard his sisters screaming, but the screams were cut short. He flung himself out of bed and fell to the floor. His youngest sister Mizu screamed out for him. He tried to get up but felt woozy. He fell back onto the floor and tried to crawl for his doorknob.
"Sidka!" He heard Kasai call out.
"I'm…coming…" Sidka tried to shout back, but he couldn't get his legs to move.
"Sidka help!" Anisu's voice reverberated in his ears.
"Guys!" Sidka screamed, pulling one of his legs up and trying to stand.
Failing, he fell the floor for a third time and noticed a small syringe lying beside his bed. It had leaked onto the wood floor, but he couldn't tell what it was. He feared the worst. Had someone drugged him?
"Don't! No! Don't" Kira's voice called out, "Sidka! Stop her!"
Finally, Sidka was able to pull himself up on his footboard. He struggled to the door and wobbled into the hallway. The sight was terrifying. What he was about to see would be burned into his mind for the rest of his life.
Blood.
Blood was everywhere. It was on the walls, on the floors, even on the ceiling. He felt his stomach turn. The first hand he saw laying on the floor outside of their bedroom was Shio's. He rushed to her and screamed when he saw her body on her bedroom floor. She was dead.
He backed up and fell against the bloodied wall in the hallway. He heard Kira scream again and startled to his feet. He rushed forward, but found more of his sisters lying dead on the floor. He held his head in a panic, too terrified to scream again. His heart was racing. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He ran forward, disoriented and terrified.
When he finally reached his parent's bedroom, he burst through the door hoping to find them. He felt his entire world burn in flames of anguish. He found them, but they were in pieces. His mother's eyes were wide open, staring back at him. Rage filled him. He grabbed the doorframe and broke his hand through the wood.
"Kiara!" Sidka yelled.
If she was dead, he would die. He couldn't live without Kiara.
"I'm…here…" He heard her weak voice quiver.
He ran to the staircase and leaned over the railing. Kiara was on the floor against the front door, slumped over. He practically fell down the stairs and rushed to her side.
"Kiara! What happened? I was…drugged or something…I didn't hear anything until just now! Who did this?"
Kiara was silent. Her shoulders began to shake. He thought that she was crying and moved to hold her, but instead a low, maniacal chuckle began to escape her lips. She looked up slowly, with each second increasing the volume and tenacity of her laugh. When her eyes met his, they were wild and unfocused. She was unhinged. Sidka gasped and fell backwards.
"I told you…I told you…she wanted me dead…they all did…everyone but you. Now it's just us…forever…"
Sidka scooted away in a panic. He bumped into something and jumped up. He turned around and screeched in horror. It was Kira's body, bloody and lifeless.
"Kiara w-what did you do?" Sidka gasped desperately.
"You said you would understand. You said you would still love me if I told you. I tried to tell you. I tried, but you didn't listen to me." Kiara whispered.
"Kiara…" Sidka cried, tears running down his face.
She smiled like the devil in the flesh. He was terrified. She held out her hand to him.
"It has begun."
Kiara burst into an inferno of black flames. She laughed as she powered up, engulfing everything in her fire. Sidka felt her ki explode. She was beyond powerful. She was evil.
"Take my hand! Now!" Kiara demanded in a low, grizzly voice.
"I…I can't…you're a monster…" Sidka stuttered.
"You're my other half! I need you to complete this transformation…together, we'll be the most powerful saiyans in the galaxy. No one can ever hurt us…you just need to take my hand!"
Sidka backed away desperately, but hit a wall. He was trapped. Nothing could save him now.
"Take my hand!" Kiara roared.
"No!" Sidka screamed.
Kiara stomped forward and took his hand by force. He felt a terrible power enter his body. Instantly, he burst into the same black flames as Kiara. He gasped and felt his throat closing up. He couldn't breathe. His heart was pounding. His muscles grew. His eyes burned.
"Do you feel it? Do you feel the power…the power of a dark saiyan?" Kiara asked.
"I can't breathe!" Sidka choked.
"Embrace it! Don't fight it!" Kiara laughed, still powering up and engulfing their childhood home in flames.
Sidka felt his soul being sucked from his body. The lights from the Christmas tree began to fade. His home fell into ruins. After only a few moments, everything was gone. His parents, his sisters, and his life were gone.
In a flash of light, he woke far from his home. He was in the middle of the woods. He sat up and saw Kiara beside him, passed out and beaten up. He crawled over to her and shook her, waking her from her immobilized state.
"W-where are we?" She asked.
"I don't know…I just woke up here, same as you." Sidka answered, still scared of her.
Kiara sat up and looked around at the trees. She smiled. Sidka swallowed and waited for her to speak.
"It's really just us now…it worked! It'll always be just us. From now on."
Sidka shook his head and tried to forget the images he'd just relived so vividly. Hakosu stood in front of him nervously, looking concerned. He waved his hand in front of Sidka's face and frowned.
"Hello? Earth to Sidka." Hakosu said.
"S-sorry…" Sidka whispered.
"Flashbacks again?" Hakosu asked.
Sidka slammed his fists down on the counter and groaned. He turned around and rubbed his head. Why was he remembering the most painful memory he had in his head? Why couldn't he just picture the night he'd shared with Lace instead?
"Listen, Sidka…if it's going to be one of those days for you…maybe it's best to share it with Lace? I'm sure she'd understand if you just told her about Kiara…about your family…"
"No!" Sidka interrupted, "No, I can't do that…"
"Why not?" Hakosu asked, frowning and standing his ground.
"She wouldn't understand. She…she's too good. She's pure. I won't lose her, too. I won't bring this…this…curse…on her. It's been dormant for a long time. If I can just keep it at bay, maybe it'll never come back. Maybe I can just move on with my life and stop living in the past."
"It's not that simple, Sidka." Hakosu lectured.
"You know what? If Kiara is dead…maybe that's for the best! Maybe I don't ever want to see her again…she did this to me, you know. She is the reason that everything was destroyed!"
Sidka's dangerous temper flared. Hakosu stood back and held up his hands. He'd seen Sidka's fits of rage before and didn't want to deal with it this early in the morning.
"Hey. Calm down. Now." Hakosu warned, "This is my apartment. If you bust it up, you buy it."
Sidka gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. His eyes began to flicker between black and green. Hakosu took a protective stance.
"I can't…" Sidka growled.
Just then, his phone rang. It was enough of a distraction for Sidka's power level to drop. He peered over at the phone he'd left beside the coffee maker and saw Lace's name lighting up the screen. Instantly, he dropped his ki and rushed over to answer it.
"Hello?" He asked in a surly voice.
"Sidka! Are you okay?" Lace's panicked voice asked in a whisper.
Sidka looked dumbfounded.
"Why?" He asked coldly.
"I got this terrible feeling…like something was wrong…I had to make sure that you were okay. What's going on?" Lace said quickly.
Sidka gasped. She could feel him getting upset? He was far from her right now, too far for her to sense his ki without really feeling for it.
"Were you just sleeping?" Sidka asked, "You sound groggy…"
"Yeah…I was having this dream about you…it was…a nightmare…but then I woke up and I just had to call you."
Sidka's eyes widened.
"What was in the dream, Lace?" He demanded.
"It was…it was really morbid. I don't know. A lot of blood…"
Sidka dropped his phone. He turned white in fear and slowly looked over at Hakosu, who was still ready for a fight. Sidka quickly picked the phone back up and spoke as calmly as he could.
"Stay where you are. I need to see you. I'll be there soon."
He hung up the phone and rushed towards Hakosu's door. Hakosu beat him to it and stood in the way.
"Hakosu, move." Sidka said angrily.
"Not until you assure me that you aren't going to do something stupid!"
"I need to see her. I need to make sure that she's okay. What if her seeing that in a dream was a warning? What if…Kiara saw it, too? She'd kill her!" Sidka growled.
Hakosu sighed and stepped to the side reluctantly. Sidka grabbed the doorknob and rushed out, but the twins were standing just in front of Hakosu's door. The stared up at Sidka. The girl was still holding her blanket.
"H-hey…you guys should go home now…" Sidka said nervously.
He began to sneak past them, but the twins followed his eyes with theirs. They pointed up at him. Panicked, he ran down the stairs and burst out the door into the cold air. He looked up at the sky. It was black and stormy, ready to pour down on him. Again he felt his heart begin to race and his breathing quicken.
He grabbed his head and fell to his knees. Something was happening. He felt dread fill his body and a cold chill run down his spine. He wanted to scream.
"Sidka!"
He looked up and saw someone flying straight for him. He closed his eyes and re-opened them, afraid he was dreaming.
"Sidka!"
He stood up and felt the tears begin to form. Was he dreaming again?
"I'm here!"
Lace burst through the clouds like an angel and zoomed down for him. She flew into his arms and wrapped herself around him. He stood limp for a moment, amazed that she'd gotten to him so quickly, but finally melted onto her and wrapped his arms around her in return.
He began to cry into her shoulder, sobbing and gasping. Lace held him tightly. The rain began to pour down on top of them. Thunder rang out. Sidka slinked down to his knees.
"I'm sorry…Fuck, I'm so sorry!" He sobbed.
"Sorry for what, Sidka? What is it?" Lace asked anxiously, holding onto him.
"I'm broken. I'm not a good person. I'm not a good brother. I'm nothing!"
Sidka's tears washed away in the downpour, but the pain in his eyes remained. Lace took his face in her hands and looked straight into his eyes. She shook him slightly and began to speak slowly and clearly.
"You are not broken. You are the best person I've ever known. You saved my life. You…you are my life now!"
Sidka sniffled. His eyes widened.
"You are my soulmate. You aren't allowed to think that you're not worth anything…because to me, you're worth everything!"
Sidka's heart tore like paper. He grabbed Lace tightly and pulled her against him. He continued to sob into her long, blue hair, but tears of sadness turned into tears of hope. If she could love him without even knowing the demons that haunted him, she would love him if he told her. She could handle the truth, but he would save it for a time when he was stronger. He had to move on with his life and leave the terrible past behind. It was over. A new chapter was beginning for him. That was all that mattered.
"I love you…I love you so much…" Sidka whispered, grasping her hair in one hand.
"I love you, too…" Lace answered, nuzzling into the side of his head, "I'm here…I'm always going to be right here…"