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'-thinking

"-speaking

Last chapter: Bra's still in hyperbolic time chamber, in a coma that she just talked to Kami in. The others are around her, shocked at what had just happened, and Vegeta is still fuming by what he assumed was Bulma's cheating and shocked by the fact that he confused Bra for Bulma to the point of nearly killing her out of blind rage. I know it's been a while, so I thought I'd recap for ya :)


"B-But she was fine.. She was changed!"

Goten turned his head to face her with a stern expression, his eyebrows burrowed in grave curiosity. Bulma's face was illuminated, as it always was in any moment of epiphany or marvel, her hands making their own animations with her thoughts, frantic and excited.

"Look, I saw it was my own eyes. My daughter... She was my daughter. She was the Bra I always knew was there, but-"

Vegeta snorted,"Enough of your drivel, woman, this is crazy enough as it is."

Instantly, her face went from a bright revelation to an infuriated volcanic display of rage,"Excuse me, but isn't you who got everyone into this? This was YOUR fault. She got all of this from you, and everything that happened tonight was YOUR doing-"

Bulma was pushed from her frontal assault on Vegeta to the ground, earning the booming command of "SHUT UP" from her equally enraged husband before he lowered himself and his tone,"I did what you asked of me. I took her and gave her all of my attention and time, and this is what YOU give me? It's never enough! It's never enough for her!"

And with that, Prince Vegeta left the room, a heavy weight lifted from the room.

She got herself up off the ground, her eyes already trembling as they made their cerulean way to Goten's, who returned her gaze solemnly.

"I'm sorry, Bulma.. I just don't think what you saw was really there at all."

Breaking down into a fit of sobs, Bulma's scratchy voice managed pierce the entire room with her protest,"Why?! I can't even t-t-trust my own daughter anymore?"

"Did you even trust her before?" Krillin asked, a little too casually. Bulma immediately sent him her infamous deathglare.

"Shut up Krillin! I don't need this, not from any of you", Bulma pouted, turning her back to everyone in the room.

Goten scoffed,"Yeah, it's all about you right...?"

"E-Excuse me?"

"Yeah. It is all about you guys," He began, looking at not only Bulma, but stabbing every pair of eyes with sharp accusation,"It's about how much she affected your life with the way she did things, how much turmoil she created for you guys, and whatever else she might have done in her infinite path of destruction-"

"Goten! People have died!" Retorted Goku, his eyes burning in their charcoal defense of compassion. Goten shook his head, mocking a laugh.

"Because that's what justifies everything, right? People we have known and loved have died, so making sure we rack it up with judgement and discrimination will do all the justice in the world. You know, maybe if half of you weren't so wrapped up in your own lives, she would have gotten the friend or ear she needed before anybody started dying."

"Uh, not to sound crass or anything, but do you know whose side you're on bro?" asked Krillin. Goten glared at him.

"There are no sides. We are not fighting another stupid multi-generational villain here, where eventually one of us stomps on their pathetic evil existence, and we call it day and not say anything to each other for years. This is different. This is one of our own. This is Bra."

"Oh, right, she isn't pathetic or evil at all. Just conniving and possibly murderous-"

"Mother! I don't even recognize any of you anymore. I feel sick just saying that I came out of this place, with any of you people... Just stay out of it", Goten demanded.

"What?!" Bulma shrieked.

"Son, you can't do this alone. She is just as powerful as you, possibly more-" Goku began.

"Shut up! Shut. Up."

A still silence imploded the room, leaving everyone speechless in anticipation.

"Let me do this. Fighting doesn't solve everything, or everyone. You guys stayed out of her life for most of it, so just do me a favour and continue. Keep out," With one last glance at the silent group, he turned to leave the opposite direction, past Bra's recuperation room.

A sardonic wave of chuckling entered the room, Vegeta appearing near the door that he left only moments ago, unsurprisingly,"If the little runt was to be killed, so be it."

Goten stopped,"I don't see where me getting killed has anything to do with it. Unlike you Vegeta, I know that there are times where power just isn't called for. This is one of them. What she needs, and probably has needed all this time... is love."

He felt his hand ball into a fist, his eyes lifting from the floor to his right, to Bra's tank where she was sleeping. Seeing the serenity that her dubiously injured body succumbed to only made his heart clench more, so much so that a fresh layer of moisture gathered in his own eyes.

"All she needs is love," His thin voice croaked out loud once more, then resumed his exit, not seeing the apparent disturbance on Vegeta's features.


Hours later..

"You were the one who brought us all together Bra..."

Her eyes were moving underneath closed eyelids erratically, sound bytes of familiar voices echoing through her unconscious head.

"Nevermind. I swear, figuring you out is like the world's greatest puzzle next to the DaVinci code."

Shoulder length tendrils of aquamarine hair swayed in the healing liquids of the tank, reviving her wounded flesh, giving her body the many sparks of energy it desperately needed. The amount of oxygen in her body still was insufficient, her nervous system traumatized and her muscles raped of the power they possessed prior to the showdown.

"Heh, you can't say a word Bra, not a word... Squirm all you want, that's just more enjoyment for me."

Suddenly, her chest swelled, her entire body jerking in the surrounding water, causing bubbles to form and a lurking shadow to turn its head towards her. A low growl emitted from pursed lips, a glare of burning daggers directed at the injured princess. It walked towards the tank, placing a scarred, calloused hand on the glass, feeling the irrepressible urge to use that very hand to push the right buttons, and poof, his problem would be gone.

But he couldn't just cower out like that. No, that'd be too easy.

'It'll show them... I'm not the coward anymore. Just like I took my dignity back in the beginning, I'll do it again. Vegeta will get what's been coming to him all this time. What a fool, nearly killing his daughter! Well, heh, I'll just do him a favour then', the vicious thoughts echoed sourly, determination surging through his veins at the very image of what he was to accomplish.

Making his way to Trunks' lab, a cackle was heard throughout the halls from his smirking lips, no one around to hear the monstrous plot unfolding before Bra's unconscious being.


"So.. How long until she wakes up, do you think?" Krillin inquired, his tone shaky under the tidal waves of awkward silence in the living room of Capsule Corp. Bulma sighed.

"I'm not sure anymore. I just don't know."

He nodded silently, his eyes dropping to his fumbling fingers in his typical Krillin fashion. Unease settled in the room again, with only Krillin and Goku to withstand it. ChiChi returned home after failing to conjure up anything polite to say, and Gohan was reportedly on his way. Vegeta was nowhere to be seen, as per usual.

"I'm sorry, Bulma."

She looked up somberly,"For what...?"

Goku returned her gaze with solid orbs that spilled shame into hers,"For everything concerning Bra. Decisions, things I've said and done... Goten was right. Something happened to her that we could have prevented."

"B-But we don't even know what it is! I feel guilty too, but.. There's alot we don't know."

"Yet."

Everyone looked up at the thick voice, seeing Piccolo standing there with an expression of stern concentration, alerting them that he was thinking ahead while they were pondering the past.

"How will we find out?" Bulma asked.

Piccolo growled,"Well, obviously that's something out of my knowledge. But the way things are unfolding, we're bound to find out sooner or later."

"I bet Goten knows. He sounds like he sees a lot more than we do", Krillin mused. Bulma's head snapped up, the cue that she had a light bulb flash on.

"That's it! We could go ask him!"

"Yeah, but where IS he?" Krillin countered. Bulma sank.

"You're right..." Sighing again, she rested her aching, fogged head on her hand.


Staring out at the many mountains around him, he felt nostalgia creep up with him. The District that his mother's house resided in was just as breathtaking as it was when he was merely a child, just learning how to hone his true powers. Even then, he was more excited by a fluttering butterfly than throwing ki blasts around with Gohan. Nature was his vice, protecting the world around him so as its beauty could live on for him to revel in everyday of his life was his duty.

Until...

His eyes shut themselves as horrid flashbacks intruded. Pan collapsing to the floor, his walking in on her and Trunks.

'I can't let it happen again, for the second time, with another woman I care about...'

He froze.

'Woman... Care? Since when did I care about her on a level that could rival my protection of my niece? And since when was she a woman?!'

He knew exactly when it happened. When she was a little girl, suffering through whatever it was that plagued her mind, it was an obvious transformation. His brother saw it right before Videl's death, her parents saw it, and now he did. The only thing that he saw that they didn't see was that she possessed the strength to overcome her past, but her heart was guided by so many other emotions to the point of self-destruction.

"It's not about this planet anymore. It's not even about me. It's about her," He declared in an even voice to the windy mountaintops that surrounded him, the sun fading into its nocturnal hiding place and emitting a periwinkle glow onto the sky. Once again, the face of Pan flashed before him, wearing the calm grin that stopped existing before he could save it.


Thirtieth chapter NEXT WEEK. Exciting? For me it is, because I'm finally at a place in life where I can put more fuel into this and get it finished! It's been like 2 years ffs!

Hope you guys enjoyed. Let me know!

~Jckash03