Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based story. DBZ is owned by Fuji TV, Toei Animation, Funimation, and Akira Toriyama. Please support the original manga and animation releases.
Chapter 8
A loud, obnoxious alarm ringing in my ears made me flip in the bed and grab the phone to hit the 'dismiss' button. It read 7 am. I rushed out of bed and started my latte quickly to get the day going.
It was Saturday. I had received a few texts the night before confirming the outing before setting the alarm so it wasn't a wasted venture. I hurried with the dogs and made sure they had a big breakfast and quickly slipped my shoes and hoodie on to head out to the backyard. As soon as I opened the door they bolted past me and I realized a bit too late that Cell had beat me out the door.
The dogs flew up to his feet as he was in the middle of his routine again and I started calling them before they got closer than they should, but thankfully it didn't matter. He stopped moving and the pair stopped as he gave them a look that kept them from approaching him. I whistled again and they trotted back up to me, tails wagging but clearly disappointed that he wasn't there to play with them. I shooed them off to go play together and walked up to the now-energized android.
"You're up early," he started first. The slightly chipper tone was a nice change for him. I smiled as I approached.
"I could say the same for you. I didn't think you were going to push yourself so soon." His arms came up across his chest. Apparently that was going to be his neutral pose whenever we spoke now.
"This is hardly pushing myself; I made a full recovery before nightfall." His proud self was back in full swing, but thankfully I felt no pressure talking with him this time. It was clear our conversations yesterday finally broke that last barrier for me.
"I see that now. Can we keep it that way? You're not the easiest to catch…" I remarked in a fairly sweet manner, trying to keep the incident as subtle as possible. He sighed at the reminder.
"I will monitor myself with more care, and I owe you yet another apology for my actions and thank you for your patience. It is hard to tell who is tolerating who now." His tone softened and I couldn't help the cute smile I gave him.
"Don't worry, I've been told I have the patience of a saint. And you're bound to have more than a few hiccups. You learn from them, we move on…" I hugged my arms at my elbows and shrugged to show my content with the situation. It really wasn't that big of a deal aside from his collapsing episode.
"At this rate I could end up owing you more than just an agreement to not destroy your planet. It's quite the odd experience for someone of my position." At first I was surprised by the joking tone of his voice, but despite the unexpectedness of it, I found myself giggling anyway.
"Like I said, no biggie." He shifted his stance and set his head to the side a bit.
"So what brought you out at this hour? This is at least an hour sooner than expected."
"I have plans with my brother today. We head out at noon so I'm getting started early." His curiosity perked at that.
"The brother that came out last time?" I nodded in response, but suddenly felt a little apprehensive about leaving him in the house to his own devices for the day.
"We have quite a bit planned, so I'll be out pretty late. You'll have to find a way to keep yourself from getting too bored. Think you can manage?" I was trying to be a bit coy with my wording. I really didn't worry about him getting bored, but I did wonder what he would investigate on his own while I was gone. Apparently he saw through my little plan with the small smirk that popped up.
"Guess you'll see when you get back." Feeling the challenge rise I held my head up a bit higher and walked by him towards the barn.
"Oh just figured if you needed any ideas I could offer some suggestions, but if you're content then be my guest." I heard the dogs cross the yard and stay at my heels as I went through the gate to meet the lumbering pair waiting patiently for their food. I really didn't think my little attempt at rustling his feathers worked until I came out of the barn a few minutes later to see him resting his arms over the wooden fence. I felt my breath stop for a moment as I noticed how much more human he looked in that pose. The photo it could make would have been worthy of fashion magazines, if he only had a shirt on…
"If you plan to taunt me with information then you better be ready when I decide to call you out on it." I was never the type of girl to swoon, but the look his eyes were giving me nearly put me to the ground. They followed my movement as I put my arms over and leaned on the fence as well but staying in the paddock.
"So are you calling me out on it?" my expression reflected the sing-song tone I used. I waited as his expression changed from devious to curious.
"I can see what you're doing, and I must admit it is quite clever. You're baiting me with the prospect of knowledge and are hoping I bite…" I giggled at his reserved demeanor. It was adorable. For him, anyway.
"I didn't think it was that obvious…my bad." He was suddenly taken aback and his shocked look nearly shocked me.
"'My bad?', that's a new one…" I started laughing and almost felt sorry for using the phrase.
"Oh, guess I really didn't think that one out. Did it really just go over your head?" His face fell into a flat irritated look.
"Do not talk so down to me Miss Erika, there are many things of the universe I do know, but your world's 'trendy phrases' were not something I was programmed with."
I quickly expressed my apologies, "Hey now, I wasn't trying to do that, I just don't know what phrases I can use now without confusing you…I had a foreign professor in college I did that to, but you're not the same type of 'foreign'." He calmed down fairly quickly after that.
"Alright, I suppose I could have just asked what the phrase meant instead. Care to elaborate?"
"It's nothing offensive; it's just a quick and goofier version of an apology. Course normally it's used sarcastically or whenever something really stupid happens, but don't dwell on it. There's no real meaning behind it." He took the explanation easily enough, but clearly had more questions he wanted to ask.
"Should I prepare for more of these phrases your world has created? It's almost like learning a different language here."
"Nah, majority of it is on the internet. And Urban Dictionary is amazing if you ever get tripped up. A lot of our parents were thankful for that site when they got involved with the internet culture… So just roll with them until you're used to them." He nodded and turned to look out across the fields.
"So what is this 'bait' you are taunting me with? I thought you showed me everything that had to do with my world's existence already?"
"Oh not even close! There are movies and games, and the fandom is insane. I just wanted to start with the earliest sources so you had the origins down. Anything after that either gets repetitive or isn't canon, which I argue is worse than repetition…" I was thankful for the first night I showed him all of the videos and clips from the anime since I was able to show him the differences between the two animes and then the differences from the books later on. He caught on to the word 'canon' quickly and understood our frustrations with filler and plot holes. Since he was from another timeline that we didn't follow altogether, he was unable to confirm any of my filler suspicions, much to my disappointment. I guess I would never know if Piccolo ever learned to drive a car.
"The movies and games are not of any interest to me if they do not contribute, but what of this 'fandom' you speak of? What exactly does that word mean?" he turned back toward me.
"Well, fandom is the following something gets. Like a group of people that like to discuss a topic or debate it and analyze it if they have way too much time on their hands. DBZ has had a huge following since it debuted because it was one of the first animes to reach networks outside of Japan."
"Topics such as the power level debate you asked about yesterday?"
I nodded, "That and probably much more about how other things work too, like how it seems like everyone has the potential to use energy if they train hard enough, but no one has managed it in this world. Several wonder if it is something we could ever achieve if it was possible." He sighed and leaned more into the fence.
"This world seems to be very limiting in every category. My power seems to either be completely gone or possibly 'switched off' by the limits of your world. Stacking on the need for rest and possibly water to keep from collapsing is making me fear what other rules this world has for me." I shook my head sadly.
"I don't know," I sighed, "but we will figure them out. You've done well so far all considered." He 'tsked' his frustrations.
"It feels as though this world has turned me into a human just to mock the fact I was supposed to be humanity's greatest fear…" I laughed aloud at his statement and he glared at me in return. "Why would that be funny?"
"It's not funny, it's that it's not true. It's pretty easy to see you're not human, at least to me anyway. So you've been given a few human restrictions, but that does not knock you down to our level." He was quiet, his eyes showing some suspicion, and he focused his gaze a bit.
"You don't believe I've been changed to a human despite the issues I've clearly had to endure?" I shook my head again.
"Nah, not one bit. Just because you look a bit like it doesn't make you one. And besides, there would have been many more clues. Needing rest once a week is not a human quality and neither does needing water only once a week. You would have collapsed a lot sooner had you been human." He went from frustrated to unsure very quickly after that.
"Really? I thought humans were a very hardy species for resources?" My eyes widened at the assumption, and while it was probably accurate to some extent, it was hardly realistic either.
"Oh we can be, but going that long without them would cripple any human even in peak condition. Gosh, even our military boys would drop from lack of hydration if they're put in terrible conditions, and they're trained to push beyond their normal limits. Normal humans wouldn't have stood a chance in your situation. And your armor would have been a huge issue if you were human too. You would have been dealing with broken bones with that kind of weight." He stared back for a moment, and then grinned.
"Glad to hear you humans are still as pathetic as the ones I left behind in my world."
My head hit the fence.
"Thanks, that's very sweet of you," my voice deadpanned. My heart fluttered as soon as I heard his addictive chuckle.
"You're quite welcome." His tone nearly had me laughing again, but instead I picked my head back up and looked back to the house. I shouldn't have been surprised that he would be into dark and insulting types of humor. Though I did have to admit, that was kind of funny. I unhooked the latch on the gate and stepped out of the paddock. He pulled away from the fence as I locked it up and crossed him arms again.
"So what of the fandom category is there to observe? I assume this will also be on the internet as that has been your main source for almost everything else." I turned back to him and wrapped my arms around my waist.
"Yeah, it's all on the internet. The fandom creates alternate universes with stories, doujinshis, artwork and other neat stuff." The looks he kept giving me were clearly a mix of curiosity but holding back as to not look excited. I must have been baiting him just right to get these reactions.
"Does anything tread along the lines of crossing world dimensions? At this point I may theorize that one of these 'fandoms' may have created this situation by accident." I scrunched my face in a bit of doubtful thought.
"Eh, unlikely, but I wouldn't write it off. I haven't read enough stories to really say if something like this has been done or not." He was quiet, looking as if he was contemplating the statement, but didn't continue the engagement. I took a step back to the house and gestured to him with my arm. "Sorry to interrupt your practice, we will get out of the way," and the dogs followed me back to the house. I only got a few steps in.
"Not interested in watching this time? You seemed so intrigued the past few days," I turned to see the grin he wore in his own attempt to bait me. I made a sarcastic huff as he called me out on my curiosity.
"I was only catching glimpses," I turned my nose up a bit. Saying I was 'watching' made it seem like I was being a creeper in the bushes…not that I would go to those lengths to watch him train, but I wouldn't mind an opportunity to observe. His head leaned a bit to the side.
"You have made it clear you enjoy watching our fights on the show, so why pass it up now? This must be quite the opportunity for you." My pulse rose quickly at the suggestion. First I was taunted with watching the other day, and now he offers me a chance to watch first-hand? The temptation was clawing at me eagerly. I pressed my lips to a firm line as I prepared for the taunts again.
"Only if it doesn't bother you. You're allowed to have privacy too," I hesitated a bit; I didn't want him to feel that being under my roof meant I needed to know exactly what he was doing at any point of the day. I was not that kind of roommate. He made a light 'humph' at my timid response and took several steps away from the fence.
"Please, if I were modest would the tournament have been announced as a public event? And would I have allowed any reporters to live to broadcast it?" His face definitely reflected the pride he held for his games becoming a televised event to bring the fear of the fight to everyone's homes. I turned and made my way for the door and opened it to let the dogs through only to shut it behind them and turn on my heel. After taking several steps I slipped my hands into my hoodie and bent a knee in a relaxed pose.
"You're right; I can't turn that down," I smiled. His arms came undone and he flexed them a bit. He really needed to stop doing that or I would end up being too distracted to converse again. He flashed a small grin before he spoke.
"Would you hold that stance for me?" I blinked a few times pondering that request.
"Um, sure? What for…?" I barely got the line out as his body shifted and his leg flew over my head, then the other in a fluid motion before he leapt in the air and swiped over my head again with the other leg. I had tensed up in that moment, but my reaction time was pathetic. He landed smoothly as I remembered from the first day, but I suddenly felt the shiver run down my spine and I finally gasped loudly and I took a small step back. "Holy…thanks for the warning!" my eyes blinked rapidly in surprise.
"You held still," he causally tossed out the line. I let my shock settle before I responded.
"As if I could have moved if I wanted to! That was way too fast for me to react…!" I felt another shudder run through me. As he shifted into another stance I tensed up again, "Oh no, you start throwing punches I'm just gonna close my eyes." His head lowered a bit in another laugh and straightened his stance.
"Oh no, I'm quite content with that reaction. I have come to enjoy testing the trust you have given me." I sighed and shook my head.
"Am I gonna start regretting it?"
"Only if you give me a reason to."
I took the statement as it was and tried to relax again. He took a few steps back and stiffened his body again. I didn't know if I needed to brace again, but I fell back another step in response anyway.
"Relax, I got what I wanted. Had you panicked and ran I would have known how strong-willed your curiosity was. Now that you've proven yourself, what would you like to see?" I clammed up; I really didn't know what to ask, but I knew I enjoyed watching the execution of moves. A few fights from MMA came to mind when I thought about what I've already seen but even that barely compared to what he could do.
"Nothing specific, but only cause I don't know what to ask. Do you have a routine you go through?" He nodded in response. He took a few more steps back to create some distance between us. I shifted my weight and relaxed my other leg as I realized he wasn't going to use me as a practice dummy again. He took a breath in before he slipped into a lower stance and focused his gaze forward, not on my position thankfully. I don't think I could handle being stared at as he trained.
The sudden sweeping motions caught my eye as his leg moved forward, back around again into a different stance that let him bring his other leg over and around again. My eyes widened as he took to the air again and pulled each leg around in a kick before landing. He turned his body so he could step forward and executed two full forward kicks in the air before landing the leap. The flexibility in his kicks alone was insane; his legs were nearly vertical for each movement. He spun around and shifted into a front flip that was intended to be a kick as he only landed on one foot and the other seemed to follow a split second later. His height made everything that much more intimidating as he was able to get that much air between him and the ground. I was mesmerized for a moment as each movement only took seconds to do. He shifted his stance again and took a breath before relaxing and turning back to me.
"Impressed?"
I couldn't hold back the excitement or my giddy response as I gasped quickly, "Beyond impressed! ...there are no words to describe that!" I caught the flash of a smile before his stance lowered to a crouch.
"This is nothing; I can go much faster."
Almost an hour passed by with the display I was invited to watch. And he certainly wasn't exaggerating his speed; it almost seemed a bit out of control, but he landed every jump, kick, and flip he demonstrated with what seemed like little effort in my eyes. I'm sure it was much tougher to leap without his power to help, but it was borderline flying to me. He worked in a series of punches and motions with his arms that almost looked routinely practiced. The variety of movements constantly kept me guessing too. His little demo ended with a form he took with his hands and he closed his eyes with a deep sigh. My adrenaline had kicked in and now I was wide awake for the day. I could get up early every morning if this was the show I would be promised. As he approached I couldn't help the giddy smile I flashed.
"Thank you, I think I could watch that all day!"
"I knew you wouldn't turn the offer down. It was just a matter of time before you gave in to your curiosity." I turned on my heel and headed for the door once he was alongside me. "Do you take an interest in fighting since our world was one you seem to have observed regularly?" I must have felt damn comfortable around him now as I actually put a skip in my walk for that question.
"Oh yeah, the fights are what we watched it for! It was agonizing waiting for a battle that we knew was coming!" As we got to the door he stopped and looked at me right as I reached for the handle.
"Hm, you misinterpreted that question…" My hand held the handle but I turned to look up to him with a quizzical look.
"What do you mean?" He looked down to me with a raised brow.
"I suppose I meant if you studied and enjoyed fighting yourself and not just watching." I gave him a blank stare.
"I wouldn't know. I've never fought." He seemed a bit stunned for a moment.
"The strength you have to lift me doesn't develop from yoga, so what training have you done?" I motioned towards the horses.
"You cannot be a wimp and have 1000 lb animals. Those brats can haul me across the pasture if I don't hold my ground. And hay isn't exactly light either. Load up a few hundred bales a season and you learn to handle the weight."
"But you've never needed to defend yourself?" I shook my head.
"Nah, but I think if I ever needed to I could. I've almost had to, but the guy was so drunk we were able to just walk away and he didn't bother us," I shrugged. "It's much easier and smarter to just be observant and avoid trouble." He took my answer with just a simple 'hm' and left it at that. I opened the door and headed back inside for breakfast and a shower. Two more hours passed when I finally came out of the bedroom dressed in my jeans and a cute top with a matching full-zip sweater. I even dared to don some jewelry as I had my favorite bracelet and necklace combo on. My long hair was nearly dry as I rounded the corner to see Cell in his usual spot in front of the fireplace. I sat down on the couch and pulled up my laptop to check through my favorite websites real quick before Zack showed up.
"I believe it would be of interest to go through some of this 'fandom' work you spoke of. I would like to make sure no option is left unchecked." I looked up from my seat and saw his meditative pose was broken as he looked up to me with his arms relaxing on his legs. Acknowledging the request I shifted and motioned him over to the couch. As he sat I pulled up the first two sources I frequented, making sure to log off my names on both to keep him from snooping too much. I pulled up the first tab and flipped it toward him.
"DevinatArt? An art site?" I was glad he made the connection quickly.
"Yup, this is where a ton of the fandom goes to post some pretty cool art. Most of it is fairly decent, but you'll see amateurs that don't really belong here too. You just have to sort through it carefully." I handed him the laptop and he gave me an odd look as he balanced it in his hands.
"This seems fairly easy to navigate…a search function will make this easier. But what key words to use…"
"Well DBZ is an easy tag to start with, but that will give you thousands of hits, so narrow it down. Try your name. You'll get a kick out of what you find there. Pull up the other tab too." As he did the page flipped and he read off that site too.
"FanFiction? Fiction implies writing…" I really enjoyed how much he figured out on his own. Thank goodness his brain cells did not come from Goku. That would have made this a miserable experience to explain.
"Yup, this is where those alternate universes get 'created', but there are so many poorly-written pieces out there I would be mortified if they were creating other worlds at the same time…hell even I might have to go delete a few old pieces if it were true…" That line seemed to get his attention.
"You're published on here as well?"
"Hardly. Just a few one-shot scenes, not entire stories. Nothing to bother with." I wasn't worried; he would never figure out the old penname I used to write under in high school and I had long since forgotten the password to access the account. I motioned him to pull up the last tab I had and the screen flashed again.
"Google? It's just a search bar. What kind of site is this?" I laughed at his apprehension at such a bland site.
"The best one. It's a search engine. Type in anything and if it exists, it will find it. Google is pretty much the best at everything." He clicked between the three tabs again and I noticed his fingers fly across the keyboard. I looked up to see it was on DA and the results nearly had me choking; he went straight into it and searched his own name. Immediately hundreds of drawings, cartoons and animations came up and I heard his breath inhale sharply.
"Well this is…unexpected…" His eyes were a bit wide, but after the initial shock passed he started scrolling through the pictures that kept coming up. I noticed the occasional lag in the load times, but he was patient and let it load. "This site is coded so poorly…" he shook his head as he continued to scroll down. I leaned back and took my phone out of my purse and looked down. I had missed a text.
'On my way. Hope it's not too early." Just as I noticed the time it was sent the dogs suddenly flew into the room and put their paws on the windowsill, barking and wagging their tails wildly. I grabbed my purse quickly and ran to the front door where my wedge sandals were set for me to slip into. I grabbed for the door handle and looked back over my shoulder. He had stopped scrolling and watched as I ran for the door.
"That's a bit early. Anything else I should know about these sites?" I thought real quick before a few real issues came to mind.
"Yeah, stay away from anything labeled 'Rule 34', 'Rule 63', 'hentai' or 'yaoi'. Anything else that doesn't make sense just bookmark and I can explain later." He looked down at the laptop again and I turned to the door to see Zack walking up to the door. Not wanting him to get too close to the door I quickly stepped out, "Just have some fun with it, and don't take the jokes too seriously!" With that I turned on my heel and pulled the door shut behind me. Zack stopped only a few feet from me as I shut the door.
"Ready? I thought for sure I would beat you," he laughed. I grinned and pulled the keys out and handed them to him.
"Hah, I was up way before you were and you know it!" He nodded and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, probably." And with that we hopped into my blue Dart and headed out.
Our first stop was at the first major city for lunch. It was our favorite Chinese restaurant and we craved it for many months but never set the time aside to make the trip. Most of the time we spent talking was about school, work, potential jobs and things he had done over the past month. He had an internship with a local car dealership for the past year and was applying for better jobs weeks before graduation with no bites yet. We kept our fingers crossed even in this tough economy. The eldest brother got his divorce finalized and dad was still enjoying his time at work even though he was more than capable of retiring now. I didn't blame him; being home does eventually get lonesome with no one to do anything with.
We hit up the first mall we had planned out and played in our favorite shops. When we stopped in a few men's shops I couldn't help my mind wondering what Cell would look like if we found clothes that fit him correctly. I giggled at some of the more gaudy pieces, but found myself looking over the more casual outfits with interest. 'As if I could get him in public long enough to even try them on…' I dismissed the idea.
Zack found a few new items that he couldn't resist and we walked out with our first bags in hand. I hadn't gone out and spoiled in over a year, so this was the first time I got to see the new clothes for the summer. I found a very sexy sports bra and crop set with a light tank to drape over it and got excited over hitting up the rail trail in it with our rollerblades again this summer. The next mall was an outdoor mall and we were thankful for the sunny weather we got to enjoy it in. We killed the next hours there easily and found nothing that we needed to have, so we packed up and headed for the last town on our list. It was a local tourist town with tons of custom shops to browse from. We stopped by the winery and found a few we recognized and picked up several for both us and the dog kennel household. After we picked up some other local treats we realized it was after 6 already. We didn't plan anything for dinner so we picked out the local pizzeria and ordered to our heart's content.
The sun was setting as we headed home. It felt great to get away and enjoy some familiar company for the day. I almost wished I didn't need to head back home just to go and visit with dad and the eldest brother for a bit, but I was starting to worry about leaving a weapon that could lose his temper over something simple at my home alone all night. I silently hoped the house was still in one piece when we got back.
Pulling into the driveway I got the biggest relief I didn't realize I needed as the dogs popped in the window to welcome us back. We pulled the bags out of the car and he handed me back my keys.
"Thanks for letting me drive; it's much more fun than my car!" I took the keys and wrapped my arms in a big hug around him. He squeezed back for a long moment and then turned to head to his own car. I stayed in the driveway a bit longer as he loaded up the couple bags he had.
He turned to me as he closed the door, "We needed to do this way sooner." I nodded and shuffled the few bags I had in my hand.
"Yeah, it's been a great day to just…let everything go. The past week alone has been worthy of being a novel. Hopefully it doesn't last long." He eyed the house behind me.
"This visitor isn't being a bum or anything is he? You know what it took to get Evan to break out of his slump and move on…" I smiled and nodded.
"Well, I'm sure the divorce made it tougher to stay motivated. I'd be pretty done with life too with a succubus of a woman like that…" The frown on his face deepened at the reminder of that mess. "I'm just glad it's over and we got him to try again. Took a lot of money and way too much alcohol, but hey, at least he didn't go back to her," we laughed together. I picked the bags up off of the ground and headed back up the driveway to the garage door, waiving as he backed out.
I stepped through the door and headed straight to the bedroom once the dogs scuttled around the corner in an overly excited greeting. I dropped the clothes on the bed and took the last bag of wine to the fridge and headed back to the main room to see how Cell held up for the day.
I barely rounded the corner again only to find him standing right there again, arms crossed and his face clearly furious. I was getting better at predicting this moment and caught myself from slamming into him or falling to the floor again.
"Uh oh, you don't look thrilled…" His one eye twitched in clear annoyance and he motioned to the laptop on the couch.
"What the HELL is wrong with your world?!" I felt both my heart sink and my mind race through the things he could possibly be pissed about.
"Oh great, what did you find?" I narrowed my gaze and folded my arms over my chest. If he didn't take my warning seriously then that was his fault, not mine. He stormed over to the couch and pulled the laptop up for me to see. I didn't need even a second before I lowered my head and covered my eyes with my hand.
"Did I NOT say stay away from Rule 34!? I thought I made that clear!" He set the laptop back down on the couch and stormed back up to me; thankfully I still kept my head buried in my hand.
"The fact that it EXISTS is downright insulting! I demand it be removed this instant!" I shot my head up to meet his glare and gave him an incredulous look.
"Oh HILARIOUS! You cannot make something 'disappear' once it's on the web! And it's going to exist whether you want it gone or not! That is literally the definition of Rule 34!" He huffed and turned away for a moment, but his eyes slowly moved back to meet mine again.
"You knew about this? You knew this existed?" My glare stayed firm with his.
"Why do you think I WARNED you?" His teeth clenched and he stormed off a few paces, but then turned and stormed back up to me. It almost looked like he was pacing between me and the laptop. He stopped again and pointed to the laptop furiously.
"That is a downright insult to my perfection and is absolutely outrageous!" The look on his face nearly bordered on utter terror and my composure fell apart as I let a giggle slip out from under my hand. His face quickly turned to shock.
"You think this is funny?" I shook my head as I waited for the giggles to stifle.
"More just your reaction. I honestly expected you to be a bit more professional and just ignore it…" Another grin made its way up on me and I turned away, slightly shamed that I was enjoying his utter lack of composure over the 'beauty' of the internet. He fumed once again and straightened his pose.
"I find it very difficult to be 'professional' when the subject matter is yourself in such obscene situations…" I stopped laughing and found my voice of reason come back from the grave.
"Well, consider it even then. You did absorb humans as your first source of energy." My brow rose a bit as he sighed. If we couldn't beat him in battle, then we most certainly could beat him with our perverted minds. I was almost certain that if he had his power right now my laptop would be at the bottom of a very large crater…along with a good portion of the planet. The image played through my mind and I busted out giggling again. He shot me another venomous glare and I set my hand to my hip.
"Oh please, you don't get even a percentage of the attention Goku and Vegeta get…if Vegeta saw any of this he would be demanding where this 'internet' thing was and how big of a blast it would take to destroy it. Goku would probably be laughing along with me…" His frustrations were still clearly there, but I could read something more turning in his head. There was definitely something else bothering him. I brushed past him to sit down on the couch and possibly close out the tabs that had him so distraught, but he turned to face me and an odd sound rose from his throat. I glanced up and his eyes darted to the side.
"Honestly…why am I paired with Frieza so much? There was an overwhelming majority…" I looked down to the page and sure enough, it was a page covered with a good portion of him and Frieza in compromising positions. I looked up and sighed.
"In all honesty, I don't know." I was never bothered by any of the art or stories of them as a slash pair, but it wasn't something I sought out either. I turned back and closed the first tab, but the other few that were still sitting there caught my eye.
"The art was more respectable on the DeviantArt site. While several were a bit inaccurate in scale and design, majority were still flattering." He took his seat and faced me with a leg crossed over the seat while the other stayed on the floor. I equally shifted so I could face him as well sitting cross-legged instead.
"Oh, so this kind of art is okay? That's awfully judgmental for someone that should be impervious to shame," I quipped. My tone was definitely challenging his stance on the topic. The flat expression he wore made it clear he did not take the teasing lightly.
"I have no shame in my design, but I am slightly…disappointed…in some human tastes." I held back giggling again and turned the laptop so I could set it down between us.
"So, anything that you wanted to know more about? Or have you had enough today?" I taunted with a small grin. He reached out and with a quick swipe across the touchpad he closed out the window. The surprise showed on my face for sure; I thought he kept the pages up to discuss them. Instead he closed the laptop down and brought his attention back to me.
"Actually there is a more pressing topic I wish to discuss that just made itself clear." I brought my hands under my chin and leaned a bit forward.
"Okay, shoot." He took a breath in, contemplating his wording.
"When I find that you have told a lie it should be expected that I would want an explanation as to why you felt the need to hide the truth." I felt my breath slow and I stared back; what lie did I openly tell him?
"You may need to clarify…I don't know what I've lied about."
"The young man you have claimed to be a 'brother'; it is clear he is not. His eyes are blue; yours are dark brown. His hair color doesn't match yours and as far as I can see neither of you have modified it. And the general features between you two are so far apart that it is genetically impossible for you two to share any genes. Now, who is he really and why did you feel the need to lie?" I was in utter shock. My jaw fell a bit slack and I felt my pulse go through the roof.
"Why would something like that bother you?" He kept his glare on me and I felt he was about to go on another intimidating rampage.
"You already hide certain truths from me, but I cannot ignore an outright lie. Especially since I have nothing to hide from you." I pulled my hands back and sat up and felt the tightening in my chest again.
"Well he is my brother; that is no lie." He flinched at my tone.
"Impossible. Now explain yourself."
"He's not my brother by blood; he is by law." I felt my defensive side coming out of the ashes. I haven't had to bring up this topic in so long I didn't feel ready for it yet.
"By law? You mean the legal binding contract humans make in the partnership you call marriage?" I nodded slowly, feeling my throat tighten more with each passing second. "That would imply you have a partner. As far as I've seen you live alone." I had to get this out quickly; my time holding my composure was running out.
"Had. My husband was killed about two years ago. That's his little brother and my brother-in-law." My tone sharpened but it was to keep the choked sounds from coming out.
He stopped. His glare went away and was replaced quickly with a shocked realization instead. Moments passed and I diverted my eyes away as the tears started to prick at the corners. My breaths were low and forced for the moment, but I knew that would pass in time. I waited for another moment before uncrossing my legs and shifted to stand so I could leave the room and have some peace.
"No, stay right there." I looked up at the sudden intrusion of his voice and tried to send a piercing glare but found my vision had already started to blur a bit. Blinking them back I looked up again to see his demeanor had completely changed. "I'm afraid I must apologize again; that wasn't an option I considered." I shook my head quickly and tried to stand again.
"It's fine; it was going to come up eventually." I jumped back as I felt his hand hold down my shoulder. I didn't think as I whipped my head back around to shoot him a glare to leave me be, but his temper had pretty much vanished and I didn't feel as threatened as I was earlier.
"Don't run. Let's discuss this." The mix of emotions racing through me made absolutely no sense at the moment. I wanted to be alone and yet I didn't want to turn down his invite. The problem I kept worrying over was if I was going to even be able to talk in a few moments.
"What would you even want to hear? That's all you needed to clear that up." He pulled his hand away as he saw I wasn't going far yet.
"From wherever you want to start. It's hardly fair that you know everything there is to know about me and here I've been made a fool of assuming about you." The tone he used was very different than the one he was using only moments ago. It was incredible how he could flip attitudes so quickly with one little misunderstanding. I pondered what he would find less boring; my childhood, my college years, the years I spent engaged and the marriage after that…
The tears welled up quickly and I choked on my breath. "Fuck…" I stood up quickly and rushed to the bathroom down the hall to blow my nose and splash cold water over my face. It wasn't always effective, but I need a quick fix badly. I wrapped a length of tissue and stuck it in my sweater pocket before heading back out to the main room again. Cell had been patient and stayed on the couch with a fairly content look on his face. I sat back down again.
"Sorry…I haven't talked to anyone about it for over a year now. Still a sore topic…"
"Then start elsewhere. The topics you read on the computer show you have an above average level of education. Would you prefer to start there?" I laughed at the irony of the topic switch.
"Actually, that's where I met my husband…" Despite my laughs the tears still slipped out and I quickly wiped them off. I caught his reaction out of the corner of my eye; he looked slightly defeated.
"I mean no offense…perhaps you should pick." I shook my head and swallowed hard.
"No, I need to be able to talk about it someday. I'll manage." With that I shifted around and sat cross-legged on the couch again to face him. "I did go to college, but that's not where majority of my knowledge comes from. That's been from life in general and keeping up in specific topics." I glanced up again, feeling a bit nervous telling someone that shouldn't give a damn about any life other than his own about my history. "That's about ten years ago now, it's a pretty long story." I used a tone that left him the opening if he wanted to change his mind.
He set his shoulders back, "How am I to be a respectable guest if I know nothing of my host?"
I huffed in surrender. "Alright. I'll try to give you the short version."
I steadied my breath and tried again. "A few years into my studies I found a transfer program that let me pursue my Bachelor's…and that's where I met Jake. He was in the same program, so we ended up in the same classes and spent quite a bit of time getting to know each other. Turns out we had a lot in common…"
I wrung my hands as I felt them start to sweat a bit. "When we started our last year, we took a lot of classes together to help each other out and started spending time together outside of class. Before we graduated he had proposed to me and moved in with me. He had a job offer right away after graduation south of here, so we moved down there and he started his career. We married the following year." I looked up to see if he was getting impatient with the story.
"Go on. I'll ask questions after you cover everything up until this point of your life." A weak smile came across my lips.
"You really want to hear that much?" I asked in a strained voice. His gaze lowered a bit more.
"I want no more misconceptions about you. Now, continue." I wet my lips before continuing.
"Our luck was a disaster the day after the wedding. We got into a car wreck heading home that totaled it, but we got lucky and walked away. We were pretty thankful for that, but two weeks later he was laid-off from the job we thought was going to be his career. So, newly-wed without his car and now without a job he pretty much started over with searching for jobs again and decided to get his first Master's degree in the meantime. A day before our one-month anniversary his mother died from a sudden stroke. They say bad luck comes in threes…"
I shuddered and gripped my elbows, but I took another deep breath and continued, "The next year was slow with only a few interviews that got nowhere and we moved back up here where our family was able to get us on our feet again. We picked up jobs that floated us and he pursued another Master's program just to make sure he had enough qualifications to get another job." I stopped and quelled the shakes in my gut again and bit hard on my lip when it started to quiver. I noticed a sharp inhale and I looked up to see his odd look.
"This Jake; he sounded fairly intelligent for a human." I nodded slowly.
"He was brilliant. He was amazing with a computer to the point he kept up with seasoned programmers, and his business mind was incredible. Accounting was natural to him even though he hated it. He found his calling when he got his first Master's in Economics. He would check up on the world markets everyday just for fun and make predictions based on world events just to see if he was correct the next day. And he usually was…" My lips turned up in a stifled giggle, "But don't ask him about medicine, biology or anything to do with fitness. He failed miserably in those and that's where I excelled. So we balanced each other out."
I straightened up a bit more, "Over two years ago he got the lucky break we needed. A government job looking for someone with an economics background finally came through and took him in." I felt my throat tighten again.
"A few months into the job there was a drug raid conducted in the building he worked in. Someone had dropped a tip that there was trafficking in that particular building and he was one of four people in the building that night. The squad surprised them and they shot without asking questions…" The tears were coming back again but I choked back the sobs and kept going, "That first week was hell. In a matter of days I was being questioned about his job and what I knew about the drugs they said he was helping traffic. I knew better than that; he would never partake in anything illegal no matter the pay. I had to quit my job between the constant back and forth with the lawyer's offices and court dates and submitted everything and anything they requested to prove he had nothing to do with it." My tears still came down, but my anger was showing at this point. "It took them over eight months to finally prove that the entire raid was a blunder and a planted tip to get at one of the higher ups that got a promotion. I had never wished so much hatred on one person that day."
I had to pause and focus away from the anger and pain that formed. "To keep the team that conducted the raid safe from a manslaughter charge they offered a settlement on a wrongful death instead. As angry and outraged as I was I still let my family talk some logic into me and take the offer instead. That was a bit over a year ago now."
My eyes cleared up and I was able to look back up to his again and I noticed how attentively he was listening. I realized how patient he had been and reminded myself to thank him at some point. I was starting to actually feel a bit better now.
"The settlement was enough that I made sure both sides of my family were stable and I bought this house last fall. I took care of the debt that was left and decided to start over with life." I sighed and hugged my arms closer to my body for some sense of security. For some odd reason I suddenly felt vulnerable and feared what Cell might actually think of this information. I waited for some sort of 'sentimental human' remark again and prepared myself mentally for the emotionless comments.
But nothing came. The moments ticked by slowly and the quiet was almost like the calm before the storm. I dared to glance up again and noticed his stoic look and a small twitch to his lips before he spoke.
"Your attitude and personality do not reflect your past at all. You've done well hiding it." A painful expression bloomed across my face as those memories started to flood back in.
"You didn't see those first months after the funeral. I had become a monster for a while there. I look back now and still hardly recognize myself…if I wasn't so determined to prove his innocence I would have completely given up on life a long time ago…" I kept my breaths steady, but the pain was still in my chest.
"I also overheard several of your conversations with your brother and not once was that brought up. I realize now there were suggestions relating to it, but overall you've basically hidden that information away. Typically humans have evidence of hard times in their homes, but not even a picture hangs from the walls." I glanced around; he was partially right. The only things I had were a few art pieces and horse-related artworks. A few canvases of landscapes were arranged on one wall however. I smiled and pointed to the trio.
"That's one of few things I left up. He was a hobby photographer and his eye for landscapes was one of a kind to me. So there's part of him still visible, you'd just never know if you didn't ask." I couldn't believe how much better I felt despite the tears that kept trickling down now and then. Normally by now I would have been in a corner in the basement with the dogs trying to keep me company, but this was different. It felt right.
"This explains a few things now. I much prefer knowing the situation I've gotten involved in before any surprises make themselves known."
"Well, I didn't figure any of this would have been necessary. Unless you end up staying for a few months you could have come and left without knowing any of this…it wasn't anything useful to you anyway." I still had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he wanted to hear part of my life story. It certainly didn't help with his attempts to go back to his world or find out more about his powers. Perhaps he really did have an honest curiosity about the one human he has made contact with.
"This was a mutual benefit. I had my misconceptions cleared up and you clearly need to talk about it in order to move on with your mental health. And now if I ask questions you won't have to make up anything to answer them." I shot him an odd look.
"I haven't had to 'make up' anything. I've told you nothing less than the truth." His face set into a look that clearly showed he didn't believe me.
"You could have said he was a brother-by-law and that you weren't actually related, but you didn't and left me to wonder why the stories didn't line up." I rolled my eyes.
"That's such a mouthful. And I think of him as a brother as much as I do my actual blood-brother, so it's no different in my eyes. I care for both equally." There was the look in his eye again; he had more questions now.
"Ah, a blood-brother too then. Parents too? Why don't you fill me in since they may appear and you'll end up explaining later anyway?" I sighed and nodded.
"Fine, I have a blood-brother too. And my mother. My dad passed away back when I was in college. So between my in-laws and the family I have left, I still have my mom, his dad and three brothers. The other brother is also an in-law, but you won't hear much about him. He's rarely around." The dogs were napping in the room by now, but I pointed over towards the smaller of the two girls. "Her breeders will be mentioned a lot too, but they are friends that consider us family. Jake used to work for them and now Zack does, so they are really close too. And if you don't drink wine, you will learn to," I laughed aloud. "That house is the epitome of good food, good alcohol and good stories. They're hilarious."
"If such an incident occurs, I will keep that information in mind." His wording left me shaking my head. An 'incident' made it sound like he was going to be dragged across the countryside against his will.
"Don't get too hung up over it; I won't force you to go anywhere. If you're willing, well, then that's a different story. Odds are they don't even know about you unless Zack mentioned it…"
"Do I have to be concerned with my existence being exposed? Or do you feel he is trustworthy?"
"You don't have to worry. He's not much for gossip and they are about the least judgmental people I know. Even if I told them exactly who you were, they'd either not believe it or just say 'okay' and carry on. Seriously, this is an easy family to have a secret with."
"So no fears about the military showing up at your door tomorrow then?" I laughed at his teasing tone.
"They hate our government as much as I do. If anything if I told them you had the power to bring entire militaries to the ground they'd probably ask you to destroy a few things so we could actually have some control over our country again." His brow arched upwards.
"Really? That's a request I may not turn down once I'm capable again." I glared back.
"Don't get your hopes up. A war in my front yard is not on any of my bucket lists…" His adorable grin came back up again. I figured he would get a kick out of that concept. The tears had long since stopped falling and I took the moment to clear my sinuses with the tissues I kept. Figuring the questions were done I got up and let the dogs outside to play for a bit and grabbed an iced tea. I made my way back in the room and settled on the couch again. The night was coming to a close for me; it was well after 10 by now.
"Will you be up much longer tonight?" I looked back to him after a few sips.
"No, I'm feeling a bit drowsy now. After this drink I'm definitely calling it a night."
"Would you care to join me at sunrise tomorrow? You seemed to enjoy the invitation this morning." I felt my heart skip a beat or two at the reminder of his generous display.
"I think you know I won't turn that down. Sunrise is early this time of year…when would that be?"
"About 6:10, if you would do me the honor." I grinned after another sip of my tea.
"Even at that hour, I'd still say the honor is all mine." Finishing my drink I stood up and took the empty glass in my hand. "I'll see ya at sunrise then." He dismissed me with a small nod and I headed to my bedroom, pulled out my contacts, set my alarm for 6 and slipped into bed completely giddy about the show I was promised the next day.
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