BOOK IV
"Love And Hate Come Through The Same Door"

Tale Twenty Six---Time for Change---
Rating: T

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"Tell me," Yamuna Tacra said, as she switched on the auto-pilot on the control panel of the ship and turned to look at the girl sitting beside her. "Why are you and your stuffed doll coming with me?" She folded her arms, turning her seat slightly.

"I told you already. You need me."

Yamuna Tacra wetted her lower lip, and watched the girl beside her braid her long, pale hair. She wondered what she was thinking but she needed to ask other questions first. She sighed, frustrated.

"Explain to me this, Healer…" She tilted her head, and continued to watch the girl carefully. As if nothing was the matter, the Healer was braiding blue ribbons in her hair. "Why would I possibly need your help?"

"Only light can defeat darkness," Aera said, much to Yamuna Tacra's annoy.

"I'm not waiting for your foolish religious explanations. Why do I need your help!" Irritated, she slammed a balled fist against the control panel, and the spaceship groaned in protest. Yamuna Tacra knew losing her cool in outer space wouldn't be a very good idea so she decided to retain her anger and wait for a reasonable answer.

Aera flipped her braid back, focusing on the warrior beside her fully. "The Hakaisha thrives on darkness. And for long, you thought you thrived on just the same. I've come with you to show you life isn't all about death and destruction."

Yamuna Tacra snorted. "Right, of course, how could I have been so stupid," she sneered sarcastically. "I should've known life is all about love and understanding, and baby blue ribbons."

Insulted, Aera stood from her chair, and walked away.

"I'll talk to you once you've come to your senses again. There's no reasoning with you, right now," she said.

Miffed, Yamuna Tacra stood also, grabbing the girl by her wrist before she could walk away any further. "Hold it right there, Healer," the Touch of Death said scornfully. "I'm not done with you."

Aera turned, narrowing her pale eyes. "Well, I am. Let go of me."

"Heh. You must be joking. I don't take any order, from no one," the Saiyajin spoke.

"You will now." Aera tried to pull herself loose, but Yamuna Tacra just pulled the girl closer, and pushed her in the chair she had been sitting in.

"You listen to me—" Yamuna started to say.

"No, you listen to me!" Aera screamed, standing from her chair.

Immediately, Yamuna Tacra pushed the girl back, not bothering to withhold her anger.

"I'm done listening to you!" she cut her off. "You have no idea what it's like to stand in the dark for so long. You have no idea what it's like to stand in the shadow of a monster all your life, only to find out you're no better than him." The Saiyajin's voice revealed a hint of distress that wasn't visible in her angered face. "You have no idea what it's like to know nothing but death and destruction. Your mother and your godmother alike, did a good job at keeping such atrocities from you." Slowly, the Saiyajin was calming down, although she didn't move from where she stood, making sure the Healer wouldn't be able to walk away a second time.

"I don't share your innocence. I don't have your hope. I was never given such luxury."

The sudden compassion in Aera's eyes angered her further though she didn't bother to show it to her. She simply leaned back against the control panel, giving the girl free way to leave.

"If you really don't wish to explain to me why you've come along, so be it."

"I'll tell you why, Yamuna Tacra. Just not yet."

She turned towards the control panel, switching on some buttons. "Please try to understand."

Yamuna shrugged her shoulders, and walked away. She knew Aera must have her reasons. She simply wasn't used to not being filled in. She was usually the first to know of any situation, often even before Darken knew but the slightest of what was going on. She didn't like the thought of not knowing, and she particularly didn't like the thought of Aera knowing something of Darken she herself hadn't figured out yet.

The automatic doors closed behind her and she decided to retreat to her dormitory to get some shuteye.

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The green light of the computer screen reflected in her dark eyes. She looked as if the world around her didn't exist. She barely looked up when Juunana-gou entered the small cabin, and simply continued to work on her project, sipping from her martini occasionally.

Juunana-gou leaned back in his lazy chair by the fire place, putting up his feet. He watched her quietly.

Ziyuu continued to type down calculations at an astounding speed. Juunana-gou had never really understood any of her hobbies, let alone this one. Actually, this particular part of her research somehow angered him, as if they reminded him of Gero. He watched how she poured in another martini, and gulped it down almost immediately, only to pour in another drink. She brushed her hair out of her face, beads of sweat making her blue hair cling to her skull as if attached with super glue. When the bottle of martini was empty, Ziyuu finally bothered to look at the android. She smiled at him sweetly.

"Juu-kun," she said. "Would you do me a favour?"

"What's that?" he replied semi-casually, pretending to look at her just now.

"There's a bottle of sake on the kitchen counter. Mom brought it when she came by earlier. It's home grown. Mom makes the best sake in the entire district. Too bad I need to finish this project first, or she could've shared it with us."

"I don't drink sake," Juunana-gou said wryly. "Get to the point, Ziyuu."

Ziyuu frowned at him. He hadn't called her by her name in forever. In fact, Juunana only called her by her name when he was irritated.

"So you won't fetch that bottle for me, then, is that it?" she said.

"That's it," Seventeen replied briskly.

"Fine." Ziyuu closed her laptop and stood. "I'll get it myself."

Juunana-gou followed her moves. He could tell she'd already been drinking too much. Whatever project she was working on, and however important it was, her drinking wasn't improving her performances at all. He breathed in through his nostrils sharply when she got back, holding a bottle wrapped in paper in her hand. He closed his eyes. He should kick her out of his house for her disobedient behaviour, that much was certain.

He still watched her as she poured in some sake into a porcelain cup. She gobbled down the scented drink and coughed, almost choking. He smirked.

"This is what you get," he commented. "You shouldn't drink so much."

Flushed she looked at him, however, instead of shame her face revealed only anger. It was the booze doing this to her usually so civilized, sweet self.

"You're a fucking asshole, Seventeen!" she screamed at him. "How dare you tell me how to lead my life!"

Juunana-gou sat up calmly, putting his feet down. "You're in my house, woman."

Ziyuu's face almost exploded with rage, and she sneezed unexpectedly, which made her personality and looks switch to that of an even more explosive person. She had her now green eyes narrowed, and held the man opposite her at gunpoint.

"Talk to the gun, asshole," she bit at him.

Juunana-gou in turn laughed at her mockingly.

"Go play outside, little girl," he said.

The room lit up with the blaze of gunfire, overpowering even the girl's fervent battle cries.

Suddenly the lights died, except for the continued gunfire, which now seemed to originate from more than one gun. It seemed all hell had broken loose in that secluded forest cabin, when sounds of broken glass and flying objects filled the cool forest air.

Just as unexpectedly as the shooting had begun, it ended however. It ended in a complete and utter silence, until a sneeze was heard.

Ziyuu sat on her knees behind the now ruined couch, crying softly.

Juunana-gou had his back leaning against what was left of his chair, his gun still smoking.

"It's over, Ziyuu," he said quietly. "This is the last time I've shot my own house to pieces because you refuse to admit you've got a problem." Slowly, he raised himself up and walked to where the girl sat, standing beside her. "This still is my house, even if the land it's been built upon belongs to you."

She looked up at him, her face tear stricken. "Juu-kun," she started to say. "I'm so sorry. I understand if this means you never—"

He cut her off. "You don't mean that. I don't want a roomie who's either working or drinking, or doing both all the time. You're a lousy drunk, babe. And a lousy roomie—"

"If you want me to leave, I will. You know that, Juu-kun."

"Shut up," he said smartly. "I never mentioned anything about leaving. The only thing leaving is the booze. And I'll shoot you for real if you dare 'but' me." He touched her cheek, then walked away from her casually, putting his lazy chair back to where it had been before the shooting. He sat down as if nothing had happened.

"Better go clean up, babe. I hate having to come home to a big mess. And that includes you, blue. You look like shit."

Ziyuu laughed, knowing Juunana-gou longer than today. She hadn't expected ever finding anyone able to handle her explosive nature, let alone her drinking problem, or her tricky other self. She wiped her face, and started to tidy what was left of the house.

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"Don't you ever run away like that again! You heard me, Son Pan!"

Pan sunk away in the living room couch as far as she could. Her father really sounded angry. She had never actually seen him like this.

"Well!" he yelled at her as he put his hands akimbo, staring at her crossly.

"Yes, papa."

"Good," Gohan said. His face turned softer again. "Don't scare us like that ever again, will you Panny?"

Although Pan wanted to tell her father not to call her Panny, she decided to leave it and nodded absentmindedly.

"Your mother will take care of how to punish you. I have a speech to work on and at least a dozen more research papers to assess." He winked at his wife, whispering. "Don't be too harsh on her. She misses her grandfather Goku as much as I do."

Videl nodded, though she wasn't too pleased to be left with punishing her daughter when Gohan was as much a parent as she was. She decided to sit down beside Pan, hoping her daughter would confide in her.

"Pan-chan," she said softly, "I know you have difficulty accepting the fact your grandfather Goku isn't home a lot—"

"You mean, he's never home," her young daughter filled her in. Honestly, Videl couldn't really argue with her.

"Yes, Pan-chan. But that doesn't deny the fact he loves you. Goku-san, he…" Videl had difficulty finding the right words. Gohan was so much better at this, and Goku was his father after all. She sighed, brushing a lock of hair out of Pan's childlike face. Pan looked so very young, she looked as young as any Saiyajin would. Unable to find the right words, Videl bit her lip until her daughter woke her up again.

"What about grandpa?" the girl wondered, folding her arms crossly.

"Goku loves you, he loves your grandmother, he loves your father and your uncle Goten. He loves us all, Pan-chan. Goku only has difficulty showing it. He loves you just as much as your grandpa Satan does. He's just not really good at spoiling you like grandpa Satan." Videl no longer wanted to be angry. She snuggled up with her daughter, smiling ruefully, hoping her child would accept the fact Goku wasn't coming home, for no one.

"You think," Pan-chan mused, "Grandpa Satan would let me train at his budo?"

"I think he would love that," Videl replied, putting her chin on Pan's head. "I really think he would."

"Cool," said Pan. "I'll go see him right away!" The girl jumped up and dashed out of the living room. Videl looked at her, smiling.

Pan-chan was just like Goku sometimes. She loved to fight even more so than Gohan or she herself did at that age, she loved to fight as much as Goku did. Although knowing this worried Videl, it didn't worry her as much as she thought it would.

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Yamuna Tacra woke to the sound of a heavy voice. Her eyes flung open and she covered her ears, sitting up.

"Healer!" she screamed at Aera, unable to make out what the deep voice was saying.

Aera entered the dormitory calmly, wearing an apron. Apparently, the girl had been cooking breakfast, or at least tried to do just that. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"What the Hell's going on?" Yamuna Tacra sneered.

"I'm making breakfast," the girl replied.

Irritated, the other girl slipped out of her bed, glaring at the Healer. "Not what you're doing, what's with the voice." The voice crackled to a shattering laughter, making Yamuna Tacra flinch.

"Oh that," Aera said casually. "Murass-san is helping me out. You wouldn't believe what he can do with something as basic as some pods, seeds and a little mutton."

Yamuna Tacra tried not to get angry. "You're making breakfast, the Highest and you." She huffed, trying not to fall back to a pitiful laughter.

"We were waiting for you to get up. We got bored. That's all," Aera said innocently.

The Saiyajin girl decided not to pry the girl. She didn't even want an explanation.

"Well, I'm definitely up now."

"So I noticed," Aera spoke, taking off her apron and walking to the front of the spaceship, leaving the pancakes for what they were. "We'll eat later. Murass-san, go ahead."

"Thanks a bunch, love," Murass said in its thick voice. Yamuna Tacra almost lost her balance. She didn't get any of this.

"It is a little sooner than I would have expected you to leave your birth planet," the spirit started to say, and Yamuna Tacra looked about her to find out where the voice was coming from, only to come to the conclusion the voice was all around.

"But sometimes even I cannot control everything," it continued.

"Because your other halves are not ready to face such a challenge, to face uncanny destruction, destruction unlike anything they have ever seen, destruction beyond destruction, destruction for the sheer necessity of destroying, destruction—"

"We get the idea," Yamuna Tacra said, snorting.

"Right." Murass coughed, again making Yamuna clutch her head.

"The other half will need some time. And since the both of you need to work on that relationship of yours, I've devised an emergency plan. Let's just call it, a side trip."

"I see," said Aera.

"I don't." Yamuna folded her arms.

"But you will see," Murass spoke. "Eventually. Everything has a purpose. Everything's part of the bigger whole, everything's connected. Everything happens for a reason, even things beyond reason."

Yamuna Tacra narrowed her eyes. "Then answer me this, My Ass…" Murass couldn't help but laugh over the girl's disrespect, which made the Saiyajin twitch. "Why is that Healer coming with me!" she said persistently. "It's not like you need her to get to me."

"You will have your answer," it replied. "Eventually, you will find it yourself."

Yamuna Tacra gritted her teeth angrily, then sat down by the control panel, pretending she was done talking when in all reality she knew she had so much left to wonder.

"You will have to find the other half. Alas, I cannot allow you to know just yet where the other half resides…" Murass spoke, now addressing only Aera, however still speaking aloud, annoying Yamuna Tacra tremendously.

"But Murass-san, You have any idea how vast the universe is? It'll take forever to find them without Your Guidance!" Aera said.

"Of course. I am Murass. I know All, I see All."

Aera made a face.

And so, Murass left again, leaving the two girls to themselves.

The Healer sat down beside the Saiyajin, taking the steering wheel in her hands, then pressing some buttons, adjusting the navigation data.

"So," Yamuna Tacra started, her arms folded behind her head. "Now what?"

"Now we look around. Murass will lead us where He wants us to be. We might as well make the best of things."

"What a spray of shit," Yamuna Tacra complained, looking outside. "Any chance you'll finish that breakfast soon?"

Aera laughed.

"Seriously. I'm quite starved," the Saiyajin commented, glaring at her with one eye, pretending to doze off.

Aera couldn't even be bothered to be angered over the fact this killer didn't even realize the scarcity of food and nutrition plaguing their homeplanet for so many years. This killer simply hadn't grown up under the same dire circumstances, which sometimes made the Healer think this Yamuna Tacra was from another planet completely.

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Maxine pulled over the car, turning the key in the ignition. Then she pulled on the brakes, looking at Goten. He looked positively good in his uniform, she couldn't help but think.

"You wanna grab some coffee before you go?" she asked.

"Can't say the office cafeteria really calls out to me," Goten said, trying not to sound too glibly.

"Oh I'm not talking about the office cafeteria," Maxine reacted. "I was hoping you'd join me at the bistro around the corner."

"Okay." Goten smirked. Bistro sounded like food. Food sounded good. And he couldn't deny the fact he'd like Maxine's company.

The woman looked at her watch. 5:20 AM it said. She bit her lip. It was likely too early to head for the bistro. Sometimes, she really hated having nightshifts.

"Goten, I'll tell you what," she started. "Meet me at the bistro in fifteen minutes. It'll open at 5:30 so you won't have to wait too long. I just really need to take a shower at the office."

"Okay," Goten said meekly, and exited the car, walking further down the street.

Maxine in turn jumped out of the car and rushed for her locker and the showers, hoping Goten would at least appreciate her attempt to look her best after a long night's work. Hopefully the bistro would open this early, hopefully Goten would appreciate the bistro's food and the coffee enough to not be bothered by the waiting too much. She had to admit she had really grown fond of Goten. And in all honesty, it had been so long since she'd felt this way about any man. Whether it was professional to have feelings for a colleague or not, Maxine didn't care. She rather liked Goten. And she had the feeling Goten had liked her for quite a while.

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Goten didn't mind waiting, even though he was very hungry. The bistro looked rather closed, and it didn't look like it would open anytime soon. He folded his hands around his face, pressing his nose against the glass, hoping to catch a glimpse of activity inside. He walked to the door, trying to open it. A big sign with red letters on it indicated the bistro was very much closed as it were. The Son read the opening times, and looked at his watch. It figured, he thought absentmindedly that the one night he needed for this stupid bistro to be open, it was closed.

"It's closed, isn't it?"

He heard Maxine's voice coming from behind him, and he turned. Maxine looked absolutely stunning. She wore a silk skirt that was as bright red as her lips, and her Chinese top only complemented her delicate figure more. Her sneakers looked out of place but Goten decided not to say a word. Maxine followed his stare and blushed.

"I didn't have anything else with me," she apologized. "I'm usually not this impulsive."

Goten in turn smiled. "Max, you look great."

She allowed him to take her arm. "Let's grab our coffee someplace else," he said to her.

She smiled gratefully.

As they looked for a place that was open at this time of night, Goten started to confide in her almost naturally. He didn't know why, but he felt like he could really confide in Maxine.

"You never wondered why I became a cop, Max?" he asked. Silently, they walked further down the street, crossing one street after another.

"Not really," Max eventually replied. "You were cut out for this job, Goten. It's almost as if fighting crime is in your blood."

The Son looked at her. "You have no idea," he said to her.

"Oh?"

Goten turned away his face suddenly, not sure whether he should tell her or not. "You ever heard of the Great Saiyaman?"

"Who hasn't? He's the best crime fighter who ever lived. He and Videl Satan made a great team quite some time ago. I'm still not sure why the Great Saiyaman disappeared and Videl Satan married such a dorky man." She laughed. "Maybe his geeky behaviour reminded her of Great Saiyaman's quirkiness."

Son Goten frowned. "I'm not sure I get what you mean. But what I'm going to tell you needs to stay between us."

"You have my word, Goten," she said.

"That dorky man is the Great Saiyaman, and my brother."

Maxine stopped in her tracks, staring at her colleague. "The Great Saiyaman is your brother?"

"Yes. That's why I'm so cut out for police work. I learned from the best."

Max rubbed her head, almost as if she was thinking. "Oh wow… I really had no idea, did I?"

Goten smiled. "Does it matter?"

Maxine frowned, still thinking. "And what about your mother, what about your father? I mean, the Great Saiyaman is unbelievably strong. And he can fly, too."

Although Goten knew it likely wasn't very good to shock Max any further, he had to make sure she believed him. He wanted her to believe him. He wanted her to understand. He wanted to tell her everything, wanted to pull her into the circle of people that knew of his heritage.

"Do you trust me, Max?" he asked.

"I trust you."

At that, he took her by the hands and lifted the both of them off the ground by elevating slightly.

"The Great Saiyaman's not the only one who can fly, Maxine."

Maxine's eyes grew, and she stared at Goten. "You are the Great Saiyaman!"

"No, my brother was the Great Saiyaman. I'm just his pesky little brother."

Max smiled, not feeling afraid. "Can you just elevate or can you really fly?"

The Son smirked, and pulled Max with him, into the sky, where they stayed for well over two and a half hours.

As they landed on the bistro's roof, Max lost her balance. Goten was fast enough to catch her. He looked at her intensively. Maxine couldn't remember ever having experienced something as exciting and fulfilling as a flight quite like this one. Her cheeks were flushed, the Son noticed, her eyes sparkled in the sunrise, and he couldn't help but want to hold her like that forever. When his lips neared hers, something in her features changed, and the both of them snapped out of their spell.

"Let's grab that breakfast you wanted so badly," Max said evasively. "I could use a strong coffee myself, Great Saiyaman."

Goten nodded, then pulled Max with him off the roof, and they both landed in front of the bistro's doorstep. So much for the romance.

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Author's Note: so much for the romance?

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