"In The Future"
Chapter 28: Cain Revisited
"Well, I'm glad you're okay," Pan said to Bra via her cellphone.
"I'm fine, Pan, really. Don't worry, I'll take care of the children for awhile until you're ready for them."
"You're such a lifesaver, Bra, thank you."
"It's no problem—you know, I used to have two boys."
"Duly noted. How is Grandpa doing, by the way?"
"Goku? Oh, he's sound asleep. You need him for something?"
"Yeah—no, never mind it's not really important. Let him rest."
"Alright then, Pan, call me if you need anything."
Bra took this as her cue to hang up. After her brief farewell, she did just that and fell back into a couch directly adjacent to Vegeta. She only sat there for a moment before she had moved over to Vegeta's couch. She knelt beside him and placed her head upon his chest which was cleverly positioned so that her ear was on top of his heart.
Before, she had noted that his heartbeats were five seconds apart. Later that night, it had become seven and now it was nearly ten seconds. She knew for certain that there had to be something awry. With another glance at his pallid face, she reached up to turn off the nearby lamp. She moved closer to Vegeta trying in vain to keep him warm.
"Come on, Vegeta, just hold on until next morning—a few hours. You insist on dying, but I'm not going to let you."
Entirely on their own, tears began to build in her eyes as her head rested on his chest. She fell into a half sleep. One part of her was acutely aware of every shallow breath Vegeta took and another part of her was bone-tired from the duel she had had with her father. Exhaustion would not take her completely—too much of her being was invested in Vegeta's well-being. In this way, time slipped by without Pan being much aware of it.
She jumped when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Immediately, she lifted her head and turned towards the new presence.
"Pan, you look terrible," came the concerned voice of Goku.
Her eyes were red and puffy and she did little to hide this. It was quite early in the morning and there was still, in fact, sleep in his eyes.
"Bra told you something, didn't she?"
"She didn't get a chance to. His ki signature was fading."
"Are you strong enough now for a wish?"
"I have to be," Goku said looking away from her, "I'm not ready for Vegeta to die either."
"Alright," Pan said slowly, "I wish that Vegeta's heartbeat would return to a normal heart rate."
Before Goku could even say that it was done, Pan felt Vegeta's heartbeat rapidly increase. Because of a thin strip of light that flowed in from a half covered window, Pan could see the color returning to his skin. A smile crept up to Pan's face when his breathing became stronger. Now all that was left to happen was for him to wake.
They waited and waited in utter silence. It was they who held their breaths and all that could be heard was Vegeta's slow and relaxed breaths; nothing more.
"Hey, Vegeta," Pan whispered in his ear, "It's okay now—you can open those golden eyes of yours."
"Pan, I don't think he's going to wake."
"Well, why not?" Pan asked frantically.
"Don't you sense his ki? It's nearly nonexistent."
"But he's breathing, Grandpa! What kind of logic is this!"
"I'm not quite sure, but I do know that we're attempting to change fate."
Pan looked up at him angrily, "What the hell do you known anyway? I didn't hear anyone talking about 'changing fate' when it was you who was being saved. Just make him better, Grandpa. I wish—
"Pan, wait, please just wait. Don't make such a broad wish. No one knows what 'make him better' entails—it could be anything."
"Alright, I'll just be more specific. I wish that Vegeta's ki signature was just strong enough to make him conscious."
Pan turned to Vegeta immediately as she sensed his ki signature grow stronger to a certain point. This had to work, according to Pan.
But it didn't. They sensed as his ki strengthened and then fizzle down to its previous low level. Goku was almost afraid to say anything to the shuttering Pan. She was either shaking with anger or immense despondency.
"Grandpa, was my wish granted or not," Pan asked in a dangerously low tone.
"I'm pretty sure it was," Goku confirmed.
Goku could always feel when he was granting a wish—it always cost him a hefty amount of ki to do so. Now he could see why Shenron allowed only for a set amount of wishes at a time. Shenron was always given at least a year to rest and recuperate, but poor Goku had only rested for a few hours. This was after he had fused, defused, was taken over by Cain's infection, fought both Vegeta and Gohan, and now was taking on wishes that pertained to life and death. He was almost certain that Pan had yet another wish and he felt obligated to grant it. Especially since he felt that it was all thanks to his inability to resist the infection initially that had gotten Vegeta into this predicament in the first place.
"Then I'll make the same wish again," Pan said in the same dangerous tone.
"Careful, Pan, you can't make the same wish more than twice."
"I've never heard of that before."
"Well, then, it's a good thing I told you."
"These 'limitations'. It's all because you're not as powerful as Shenron, right?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but that sounds about right."
Pan proceeded to wishing for the same thing and to her dismay the same phenomenon occurred with Vegeta.
"So, he's just gonna' die..." Pan said to herself.
"Maybe not," Goku said sitting down on a nearby couch, "It's not uncommon these days for Vegeta to give off a misleading ki signature."
"You're right," Pan said quickly latching on to Goku's encouraging news, "Maybe he's not nearly as weak as we're sensing right now."
"Either way, Pan, there's nothing more we can do at the moment."
"Are you sure?"
"Oh, I'm very sure. If there's another wish you want granted, you'll have to wait until tomorrow."
"I'll hold you to it, Guardian."
Goku couldn't see her face because it was turned towards Vegeta so again he wondered if she was being sarcastic.
"Vegeta should be fine until tomorrow—it wouldn't hurt if you got some rest."
"I can't sleep. Why bother?"
"Because, Pan, your well-being to me is just as important as his."
Pan was just about to protest when she thought better of it. "Yeah, I'm sure it is."
"You're not going to take my advise, are you?"
"No," Pan said plainly.
Goku gave her a brief smile when she said this. "Maybe we should go somewhere to take your mind off of things."
"No," Pan said immediately as she sat down to take her post beside Vegeta, "I can't leave."
"Pan, he'll be fine."
"How do you know?!"
"Because I know him. It'll take more than something like this to kill off a Saiyan Prince."
Now it was her turn to grin. "Hm. You really do have a way with words."
"There's a place I've wanted to show you."
"Where?"
"It's a secret for now—unless you plan to come with me, then I'll show you."
Pan crossed her arms and then sighed, "Fine, since you insist."
"Don't worry you'll like it."
Pan, despite herself, allowed her curiosity to make the decision and followed Goku into the early morning sky.
////
He knew there was something wrong when he sat up on the couch. There was that odd feeling at the pit of his stomach—the same one that made him think of vomiting, but never actually doing it. But then he sensed something that superseded everything. A deep, dark evil intruded his senses—the kind of cold evil that he had seen in Frieza time and time again. He had always feared such things. If he could, if he were a lesser man, he would have taken refuge in a shadowy corner.
"Vegeta…" a voice called.
He shivered involuntarily from the mere sound of it yet at the same time it sounded familiar.
"Vegeta…I'm here."
Then the presence of something quite evil began to concentrate in one area. It was close—too close. Vegeta turned his head to the source and found Cain standing directly in front of him. Dark crimson eyes glistened maliciously at him. Vegeta felt another shock of fear.
"What? Cain?" Vegeta managed to say.
"I'm here, Vegeta. Perhaps I should be giving you my thanks. It's been awhile hasn't it, since that day we first met."
Vegeta knew that he was referring to that time in Otherworld.
"Why yes I am," Cain said in response to his thoughts.
"It seems…my thoughts are not my own anymore," Vegeta said looking away, "Why are you here?"
"You thought you destroyed me. Perhaps you did, but then there was you. When you cleansed me from Goku's spirit, I knew there was only one way to cling to my existence. It didn't matter if you chose not to allow me dominance over you—there was still something in you; a kind of evil where I could…hide myself. I had no control over your actions, but I knew that your friends would help you live thereby helping me live."
"You parasite—you're just like Baby."
"I resent that. Baby was quite disgusting. I don't lay eggs like some animal—no, I am much more civil. I only concern myself with the spirit."
"Either way, you both are planning for similar ends."
"To control you? No, that isn't my ambition. I can create destruction all on my own. It is remarkably easy, I fear. If you grow stronger, I grow stronger. We are connected now."
A look of disbelief stole Vegeta's expression, "Impossible!"
"It's true. You see, I've come to a pretty accurate conclusion: if you aren't there, both Pan and Goku will simply fall apart. You are the real strength behind the constant hindrance of my plans. I saw how Pan clung to you when Goku could not control himself. She knew she could count on you and that gave her courage. I saw Goku's weakness when he was left with a pregnant Pan—if you had not arrived as soon as you did, he would have been destroyed. A Guardian is supposed to be able to stand on his own feet—this one cannot."
"Don't underestimate Goku or Pan. They can take care of themselves. The same way I'm going to take care of you."
"No, you won't unless you enjoy the fact that in the process of killing me, you'll kill yourself as well. We're connected."
"I won't allow you to do as you please."
"It's too late I already have."
Suddenly, Vegeta found Cain's smoldering eyes in an even closer proximity. Their noses were touching and Vegeta found this to be quite unnerving. He did what was expected when such a situation presented itself to him—he pushed Cain away with a substantial amount of force. The dark Namekian fell towards the table hitting his head on the very edge of it. And to Vegeta's surprise, he felt the corresponding pain traversing through his head as well. Cain looked up at Vegeta from the floor with a rather smug expression. He knew that as his head throbbed so did Vegeta's.
"Perhaps you should take this as a warning," Cain said.
"You don't scare me, Cain, and you'll not get your way."
"I will!" Cain shouted, "And you're going to help me—exactly how I intended since I first beheld you."
They both turned when they heard a key trying to open the lock to the door. Cain disappeared immediately and left Vegeta gasping for breath as Cain's spirit returned to him. Before Vegeta knew it, the door had opened and Goku and Pan had stepped in.
"Vegeta!" Pan cried.
She saw him immediately and suddenly Vegeta found himself in a crushing embrace. Vegeta's reaction wasn't nearly as fast, but he eventually returned her affection.
"I wasn't worried about you at all—I knew you were okay."
Vegeta noticed Goku's expression when Pan released him and knew that Pan had thought just the opposite. He gave the other a knowing look.
"What happened to you?" Pan asked.
"I guess...I got a little carried away. Don't worry—I'm fine, Pan,"
"You better be. You better not try to pull that stunt again. Promise me, you won't."
"Listen, Pan, I don't like making promises I can't keep."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm sorry—I can't make that promise."
"That's...okay. As long as I'm around, you won't have to worry about it."
"Pan, Kakarot," Vegeta began slowly, "Cain is still alive."
"He is?" Goku said with sudden interest, "Where is he? I was almost certain that we hadn't finished him off."
"I...don't know," Vegeta said hesitantly, "I saw him when I first woke," he said truthfully, but then he paused.
"What did he do?" Goku said trying to coax the information out of him.
"Nothing. He did nothing."
Goku was confused for a moment, but soon tried to make sense out of what was just said. "What do you mean by 'nothing'? He didn't attack you?"
"No, he didn't—nothing like that."
"Then like what?"
Vegeta took a deep breath, "Like nothing. He appeared...and then disappeared."
Goku looked at him questionably when he said this, "You sure you weren't just seeing things? Maybe it was just a dream."
"Yeah," Pan chimed in, "You know how you are with dreams."
"I...I know I saw him. You can just believe me or not. He's still out there and..."
Vegeta didn't finish his sentence as he realized that he had no more to say.
"It's okay, really. We believe you," Pan said, "Isn't that right, Grandpa?"
"Yeah—there's no doubt in my mind."
Goku, however, couldn't shake the feeling that Vegeta was leaving something out. There was a strange look in his eyes—a look that Goku was not familiar with. Vegeta felt Goku's prying eyes and made an effort to only concentrate on Pan.
"Grandpa and I had just went somewhere to eat—you want something to eat?"
For the first time, Vegeta noticed some doggy bags on the living room table.
"I'll...get some later," Vegeta said glancing at the food, "If you don't mind, I'd like to be alone for a moment."
Goku knew for certain now that Vegeta was avoiding his gaze.
"Wait, where are you going?" Pan asked.
"Just for a moment, Pan," Vegeta repeated as he began to back away from her.
Pan looked at Goku wondering if the was normal behavior. Goku shrugged in response.
"Oh, alright, Vegeta, but you better be back."
And just like that, Vegeta was gone. Pan ran outside just as Vegeta took off into the air.
"Well, I guess I have been a little possessive of you—maybe it's me, maybe you're still thinking about Bulma...or maybe you've realized that you're too good for me."
"Now we both know that that isn't true," Goku said cutting into her wondering words.
"Tell me the truth, Grandpa. What would you have done if Vegeta died?"
"Well, honestly, I don't really know."
"I do," Pan said, "I would have died right along with him—once he's gone I won't have anything to live for."
"Pan," Goku said urgently as he took up her hands, "I don't ever want to hear that again, do you hear me? What about your children? What about me?"
"The truth is, I don't much care about my children—even after all the struggle I went through to have them. They were the ones who killed me; they took me away from Vegeta."
"You can't really mean that, Pan."
Pan continued looking at him without any change in her expression. "Soon I'll have my hands full with Saiyan triplets and no time to really focus on what I really love. No, I don't live for them or you."
"But, Pan, I've spent so little time with you. I can't have you jumping off of buildings or slitting your wrist. If you think I'm going to stand around and watch what little friends I do have die off pointlessly, you must not know me very well."
"What's wrong? You afraid you might be alone, Grandpa? You afraid you might have to feel what I felt for so many years?"
"I won't lie to you—I don't like the idea of being alone. I'm afraid of it; I'm just not built that way. I'm not...built like Vegeta whose probably always been stronger than me in that way—who seems to be invulnerable to feelings of loneliness."
"He's not."
Goku was startled by her statement and waited for her to continue.
"He hates being alone, perhaps more so than you. Even if he acts like he could care less about people, he keeps coming back. He kept helping you even when he hated your guts. He never really left Bulma even though she always got on his nerves. He never left the Z-fighters even when you were gone and his wife dead. He didn't try hard enough to push me away when I first began seeing him in another light. Don't you see, Grandpa? He clings on to people just like you even if he doesn't want to admit it. Trust me, he doesn't make a habit of going into solitude. He wants to be seen—he always wants to be seen and there's no way he could do this if there's nobody around."
A look a realization crossed Goku's face, "Maybe you're right."
"Of course I'm right. That's why I know he'll be back or at least I know he'll try his hardest to do so."
"For your sake, I hope he does."
"No, for your sake."
Goku looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Never mind," Pan said quickly, "It was just a thought."
"You were serious, weren't you? About dying along with Vegeta."
Pan nodded.
"I hope you change your mind—or else you'll be making the same mistake I made with my family. Maybe I'll never know how it feels to be so connected with person as you seem to be to Vegeta—it's the price you pay for loving everyone to the same extent—but I do know that family is sacred. At least I felt that way about Gohan. Don't deprive yourself of that, Pan, it's really something special."
Pan looked down, "You're right, Grandpa, you'll never know how it feels."
////
Vegeta didn't know where he was flying; he just knew that it was well away from Pan's affectionate presence and Goku's prodding eyes.
"Damn it. Why didn't I just tell the entire truth? They were just...so relieved to see me. I could see it in Pan's eyes, barely holding it together, sleep deprived—there was a crazed look, a look of ownership as if she wouldn't dare let me die. And Goku keeping his respectable distance, I saw it in him too, sleep deprived, far too relieved to see me. Why? Why do they act as if I'm some kind of life line? As if I was the center of their universe?"
"You see, Vegeta? Don't you see...you are the one..." Cain whispered, "With you, I control their fates, such is your influence."
"No. They're both fine...they're both fine...I swear they are..."
"Are you certain, Vegeta?"
"Cain, do me a favor and shut-up. You think I don't see what you're doing?"
"And what is it I'm doing?"
"Influencing my thoughts!"
Then Cain began laughing with a hint of hysteria.
"Shut-up, Cain, Shut-up!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Was I disturbing your solitude?"
"The last thing I want is to hear your voice in my head. Mark my words, I'll be rid of you, Cain."
"Yeah? And how will you do that?"
"You let me worry about that."
Vegeta closed his eyes for a moment as the wind swept over his face. When he opened them once again, he climbed to a higher altitude.
"I know there's a way. There has to be." Vegeta thought in a calmer mood.
"Do you plan on sacrificing yourself? Do you think that's wise for you to do?"
"I don't need your approval on everything I do. As of now, you will be completely ignored."
"You can't do that."
"I still have the ability to cleanse Cain from my body."
"Oh, please, Vegeta, don't be so obvious."
"Even if I'm not sure what the effects of doing that will be—it's the only thing I can think to do."
"You'll die, that's what would happen."
"Though, I doubt something as puny as a parasite would kill me, if I do, Pan will wish me back."
"Goku's too weak!"
"In the end, Cain will go to Hell and rot there. I'll either live or die."
"You fool, what about the consequences?"
"Cain doesn't control me and he was stupid enough to take me on. Perhaps it is he who has been tricked."
"You insolent little—
"He'll die. His plans will never came to fruition. I'll make sure of it."
"You're really serious about this, aren't you!"
Vegeta grinned to himself when he felt Cain's fading confidence.
////
AN: Slightly confusing? Of course it was, I doubt anyone's thoughts are anything but clear and concise. Will Vegeta be able to take care of Cain once and for all? Is Goku truly fit to be Earth's Guardian? Will Pan ever find it in her heart to accept the children that so far has only caused her pain? (Sounds like a recipe for an exceptionally long chapter…) Stay tuned.
xzavx: That's okay, predict as much as you want, it gives me ideas because sometimes even I don't know what's going to happen next.I'm sure those teachers have our best interests in mind…hopefully, but I really don't feel like doing even half of my daily homework. Suddenly, I spend my time writing on this story and then I'm forced to do a rush job on it during lunch--I think I've perfected the art of procrastination, don't worry.
cheche: But finishing the story is a big undertaking for me…I'm not really known for finishing any. Would you rather be left wondering what could have happened or with a nice closure? Besides, I fear this story could be neverending if I don't put a stopping point somewhere…
Mirai Vegeta: I love it when you review; looking at how I haven't got flamed yet, this must be a worthwhile fic. You know when I started this fic, I thought it was just going to be like the rest of my fics: review-less or at least not much of them. Yeah, it is kind of rare these days to read a dbz fic that isn't suffering from some rather glaring problems, but I've read some really good ones too. I waited until I was old enough to put a sentence together before I thought it was safe to actually put a fic on this site.
