Okay, I know, bad Angel, bad! I finally got off the writer's block, if only for a short time, on this one, so here it is, Chapter 4! I am soooooo sorry about the long wait!
***
Last time on Help This World:
"Davis, why don't you show him the tapes?" I asked glumly, "I'll go start dinner." Davis nodded happily and put "Perfect Cell: Defeated." into the VCR.
"Stand by for Dragonball Z!" The announcer introduced the far too familiar line, "Coming next!"
The intro began to play.
I poked my head to get a look at Gohan and Goten's faces. A wide grin spread across my face when I saw Gohan's jaw drop.
"Th-That's me!" he stuttered, "When I beat Cell! And that's Cell! And there's the others!"
"Ka-Me-Ha-Me..." I heard Gohan power up his most trusted attack on the screen.
"Ka-Me-Ha-Me..." Cell's voice quickly copied. I shook my head sadly and walked into the kitchen.
"Now, Gohan!" I heard Goku's booming voice land quietly on my sensitive ears. Then I heard the most astonishing sound I'd ever heard.
Gohan's feet pounding the ground at lightning speed past me out the back door. I felt his ki begin to fade.
"Mom!" I shouted, "I'm going after him!"
"Okay, Suri, you come back with him, okay?" she shouted recognition.
"Yeah, yeah." I raced out the door and after Gohan's retreating ki. I felt it out and figured he was running. I took off flying and raced for his ki signature as fast as I could.
***
On with the new!
***
I felt his ki rest and smiled slightly. He had found my special place, the one where I often ran off to so I could speak with Grandpa up in heaven. Though he could not answer me back, I knew he heard.
I landed and masked my ki signature. I walked slowly, like a cat ready to pounce a mouse, through the open field to the base of the hill. At the very top laid a tree that overshadowed a sudden cliff.
I slowed even more when I saw Gohan's body shaking in sorrow and racked with sobs. It reminded me so much of myself. So much that I couldn't hold the tears back any longer. I collapsed onto the ground on my knees and cried into my hands, all pride forgotten.
Gohan stopped short when he heard her voice crying out. He looked behind him to see Suri on the ground, crying her eyes out.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked with a sniff.
"No," I cried softly, "Are you?"
"No."
A silence filled the air. I sat, gazing up into his tear-drenched eyes. He gazed down into mine.
"Come up here with me," he said finally. I nodded and crawled the rest of the way up to sit beside him.
The broad trunk of my favorite tree was big enough for both of us. He scooted over and I leaned into it's soft bark.
"I've never seen a tree like this before," he whispered, "What is it?"
"It's called a flesh tree," I smiled a little, "My grandpa told me all sorts of stories about it. Some people say it's alive and if you cut it down it will bleed for all eternity in pain."
"Is it just a legend?" Gohan asked softly as he leaned into the tree again.
"No one knows anymore," I answered him softly, mysteriously, "It's against the law to cut them down. They're just too rare because people would want to find out if the legend were true."
"Greedy," he huffed angrily, "If it weren't for evil and greed and hatred, everything would be perfect."
"Yes, but it's those things that make a person whole," I closed my eyes in remembrance, "Grandpa used to say that if there was no evil in the world, people would not exist. Everyone has an evil side to them. Most just are so kind and gentle by nature that they don't show it at all. Like you and your brother and your dad. Like my grandpa and my dad." I sobbed quietly again.
"My dad was always a good guy," Gohan whispered, "So innocent and yet so strong. Carefree and yet willing to-to..." he choked on his voice as he sank into silent tears again.
"To die to protect his family," I finished with a smile, "To protect the strangers that don't even know he's protecting them. Just like you."
"No," Gohan said darkly, spitefully, "Not like me. I'm not innocent. I have the blood of my own father as well as Mirai Trunks and 16 and 17 on my hands."
"No, you don't," I said sharply, "You did what you thought was right. What Goku had taught you was right. You believed there was some good in Cell even though there wasn't any apparent amount of decency to him."
"I let my heart be blinded," he continued in his dark, unforgiving voice.
"NO!" I shouted and turned to him. I slapped his face, hard, trying to knock some sort of sense into him.
He blinked, slowly, as if reality had just hit him. Imagine that.
"What did you do that for?" he asked, not sounding at all offended. He asked it calmly, without any darkness in his voice, something I would never be able to associate with those words.
"You keep telling yourself that you killed your father, don't you?" I accused.
He nodded, not at all minding the fact that I screamed in his face.
"Well, I'm trying to tell you that it wasn't your fault your father was killed!" I shouted, "If he wanted to come back, you could have wished him back with the Namek Dragonballs, but he didn't want that, now did he?"
"No. No, he didn't," Gohan said, some realization in his voice.
"Did Goku want you to cry over him? Is that why he said good bye so cheerfully?" I prodded.
"No, you're right," Gohan suddenly sat straight, "He wanted us to be happy, to continue our lives as if nothing had changed."
"Right!" I shouted with a fist in the air. I was getting through to him.
"You know," Gohan said as he placed a hand on the side of his cheek in thought, "Matyo said that you and Mirai Trunks had something in common that I hadn't previously comprehended."
"What's that?" I asked in confusion. It dawned on me just before he answered.
"You both are sad about your sensei dying before they're time," Gohan answered in hesitation. I looked at my hands and nodded.
"And you both have these sad blue eyes that could just make anyone cry by just looking into them," Gohan continued, "But you shouldn't be so sad anymore. Just the same that I shouldn't be sad over my father."
"You don't know what happened," I whispered flatly, "Something like this isn't something that was noble or brave. It was of foolish action that I didn't know my grandfather could do."
"What did he do?" Gohan asked, "Maybe I can help."
I nodded slowly and decided to confide in him. He seemed capable of keeping a secret.
"When Cell and Frieza first appeared, the world had just come out of the third World War," I began slowly, "We were weak, but we also had many places to hide. Like this place." I gestured around, "These were used to keep government officials safe by moving them under cover of night from building to building. It works well here, too." I took in another deep breath and prepared to continue. "I was 5 years old when they got here. Grandpa started teaching me the ways of the Arts. But you should know that it takes more than a few years to get past the basics. I learned to fly when I was 7. And, on my birthday, I learned the two attacks, Angel's Kiss and Dragon's Fire, taken from Clarinet's pet name for me, Angel of the Dragon." I expected some snide remark but after not getting one, I continued, "They attacked 2 hours before sunset. Grandpa Clarinet fought them again and again. He teleported to the moon with Cell, the strongest, in hopes of destroying him. He teleported back mere seconds before the moon exploded."
"That explains why there is no moon here," Gohan smiled.
"Yeah. When he got here, Frieza immediately attacked him. But what really got to me was what my Grandpa did. He teleported me away from there, leaving the fight far behind. We raced from the fight." Tears streamed down my face now, but I didn't care, "Cell reappeared in front of us, alive and well. Frieza managed to catch up in the interim. My grandfather told Cell, 'You may have me, but not the child.' Cell laughed and said, 'All right, old man, send the 'child' away.' Grandpa nodded and pushed me away. I watched, helplessly as Grandpa received torture after torture that wore out his body. Cell and Frieza left him, barely alive."
"That doesn't seem too bad," Gohan said, "Not compared to some of the things I've seen those two do."
"Not so," I scowled, "I raced to him and tried to heal him using my magic. I had almost healed him completely when a voice said, 'Ooh look, she's trying to save him.' It was Frieza. He shot a beam directly at me. I gritted my teeth down and waited for it to plunge into my heart. Instead, Grandpa used his new strength from the healing to push me out of the way and take the blast to his own heart. When Frieza saw this, he diverted the blast to his stomach, where Grandpa...he...oh!" I couldn't bring myself to say it. I collapsed into the tree and cried into the peach-colored bark.
Gohan couldn't believe what his ears had just heard. Were they that ruthless? To kill a man so slowly and painfully right in front of their grandchild? Gohan gritted his teeth in anger. If that's the case, they're going down. And they're going down hard. His gaze turned Suri's convulsing form.
He took her shoulders in his ever-so-gentle hands and gave her a hug. It was the only thing he could think of. He remembered once, just before his father's fight with Frieza, that his father had said, "Vegeta is a very separate person, a Prince without a kingdom. He is saddened by the loss of his father. Maybe all he ever needed was a hug."
Suri cried onto his shoulder, unable to stop herself any longer.
No one had ever shown me friendship or helpfulness here. Not even my Grandpa. This new experience was one I had never heard of before. Somehow, Gohan's warm embrace made me feel better.
Once my tears subsided, I said, "Thank you, Gohan."
"What for?" he asked in surprise.
"For...I don't know what it's called. It's been so long since I've had one, I'd forgotten what they're called," I said sheepishly.
"Friend?" he offered.
"Yes, thank you, Gohan," I said again, "For being my friend."
"That's what friends are for, Suri," he smiled at her, "Think we should head back?"
"No," I sighed, "I like this place. It's where I get to talk to Grandpa."
"It's also great for looking at the stars," he smiled and leaned against the soft bark of the flesh tree once again.
I leaned against him and felt his start of surprise. I smiled a little to myself as I drifted off to sleep...
Gohan looked at Suri, who had just fallen into a deep sleep. He made no noise, as he did not wish to wake her.
I wonder how she gets to sleep so fast, knowing all the danger that is around her? Gohan thought as he leaned thoughtfully into the bark of the tree. She has both her parents but her sensei is gone. But she seems worse than Mirai Trunks. I guess some things affect people differently. I wonder...is there something she's not telling me? Her eyes hide secrets that I cannot read. But her eyes also have that certain twinkle of the stars with a beauty divine...where the heck did that come from?!?!?! Oh, brother. I better try and get to sleep myself.
***
I awoke the next morning feeling a little cold on one side. My back was stiff, as though I'd slept sitting straight up...Wait a minute!
The memories of the night before rushed into my head. Still, I had not moved nor opened my eyes. Now I peaked a look to see if it had been a dream.
It hadn't. I sat up abruptly, making Gohan fall over in shock at the extremely rude awakening.
"I'm sorry!" we both shouted at the same time. I was standing up, trying to catch my bearings, and he was lying on the ground, probably doing the same. I noticed the sun just coming over the horizon and turned back toward him.
"Shouldn't we be getting back to the house?" He asked before I could open my mouth. I nodded and turned around. I stopped very, very suddenly.
"No..." I shook my head in disbelief, "This can't be. There is no way..." The destruction in front of me was awful. The safe house, where my brothers, mother, and Goten had been, was gone. Just...gone. The destruction was unbearable. But I had to go see. I had to find my mother and my brothers. And whoever had done it.
"NO!" I shouted. I raced toward the area, hoping to find someone alive. Gohan jetted past me and raced up ahead.
"NO!" I cried as I saw the destruction of the house. Tears rained from my eyes. My legs buckled and I fell to the ground as sobs racked my all ready torn body.
Gohan looked over the rubble. He was sure he felt Goten's ki in it, somewhere. He knew Goten was alive, at least.
"Goten!" he shouted on the wind, "Goten, where are you, bro?!"
"So we meet again," said an all too familiar voice. Gohan turned around and staggered back. It was Frieza. And in his hand was a half-dead Goten.
"I would have figured your little brother would be much stronger by now," Frieza smirked. I stood and wiped the tears from my eyes.
"Where are my little brothers, you monster?" I growled in a tone so low and dangerous that Gohan was a little shaky from it.
"Oh, you mean those two rats?" I heard a voice behind me. I turned around.
Cell. Figures.
"Where are they?" I asked, voice rising.
"I ate one, and the other is right here," he pointed to a small form behind him. Matyo.
"You ate Davis?" I asked, unbelieving. But I knew it was true.
"Suri!" Matyo called as loud as he could, "We have to!" I shook my head in tears. I did not want to do what I had to do. What he wanted me to do.
"Now, Suri!" Matyo yelled, insistently. I nodded with a slow, deep breath. Matyo leaped over Cell's surprised form and landed in front of me.
"Hey, what are you brats doing?!" Cell yelled. I didn't pay any attention to him, though. I concentrated on my little brother. He screamed one last time as I absorbed him into my form using our Namek abilities of fusion.
"Good bye, brother," I said as he disappeared into me, making me twice as strong as before. But it was no where near enough to fight these two boneheads.
It was enough to outrun them, though.
"Gohan!" I yelled, "Get Goten, we're leaving!" Gohan nodded and grabbed his little brother from Frieza's grasp. He was too surprised to react.
We left the duo, still gaping at the place Matyo and I had fused.
***
"What was that, Suri?" Gohan asked as soon as we landed and made camp, "What happened to Matyo? And why are you suddenly stronger?"
"I fused with him," I lowered my eyes, "Neither of my brothers truly lived today. My mother also died in the crash. My father is close by, I can feel him. We will need to go to him tomorrow."
"Your father is near here?" Gohan asked, "Where? And what about Goten, he's half dead!" Goten moaned in the background of his screeching voice.
"Don't worry about Goten," I smiled, "Just because I only know two attacks doesn't mean that's all I can do." Gohan cocked his head at me, as well as an eyebrow. I grinned at him mysteriously.
"Angel's charm come through the night to heal this solemn child," I whispered and stroked Goten's head, "Bright light, soothing wound, water cleansing, sweet serenity, calm the mind." As I spoke the words, it happened. Flashes of bright light soothed the many cuts and other wounds, water that appeared from no where washed all the dirt and other stuff out, and a feeling of peace settled into all of our minds.
It was all over in about 5 minutes.
"What did you do?" Goten asked as he sat up. He checked himself over. He was fine, nothing ached, nothing was bleeding. Not even a whisper of what had happened showed on his slightly tanned skin.
"I used my magic to heal you," I answered in a hoarse whisper. I smiled at him. But it was brief and quickly changed to a deep frown. "We must leave. Frieza and Cell have discovered us."
"Where's Davis and Matyo? And Kio?" Goten asked, not knowing what had happened not moments before.
"Dead." I answered in a flat, perfect soldier's voice that showed none of my emotion. He looked shocked for but a moment, then slowly nodded, swallowing hard. Probably a little sick to his stomach.
"Are there Dragonballs here?" Gohan asked all of the sudden. I looked at him.
"No. If there were, I wouldn't be so worried about my grandpa or the rest of my family," I answered.
"Angel?" called a voice, "Angel, is that you?" I turned to face the voice. It was familiar, but at the same time, not so.
My eyes were met by a man with black hair and blue eyes who toward us. He was unrecognizable. I crouched to a fighting position and asked, "Who are you?" In a cold, deadly tone that showed I meant business.
"Angel, it's me," he said, "Father." I blinked and narrowed my eyes at him. Then raced up to him in joy.
"Papa!" I cried out, "You're alive!"
"Of course I am, Angel," he said with a grin, "Now, I have a surprise for you."
"What?" I asked giddily. Then stopped. "Papa, guess what? Mother got the vortex to work finally and look who I got!" He looked and fell over in surprise.
"Son Gohan and Son Goten, I don't believe it!" he laughed, not out of joy, but in sheer shock. He dashed over and shook their hands, "It's a pleasure and a pride to meet you both. Especially you, Gohan."
"Thank you, sir," Gohan said while rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"What's the surprise, Father?" I asked excitedly.
"Well," he said and paused for drama.
"Papa!" I said in a whining voice.
"You remember when I said there were no Dragonballs here?" he asked. I nodded. "Guess what?"
"There are Dragonballs here?" I asked with a jump.
"Yes!" he yelled enthusiastically. I jumped and whooped for joy.
"Let's wish all those killed by Cell and Frieza back to life!"
But father shook his head sadly.
"I'm sorry, my little Angel. The Dragonballs of this dimension are different. My sweet child, the dragon will not bring people back from the dead. I am sorry about Clarinet, really I am, daughter," he smiled at me softly as my eyes rose again. I stopped myself from crying again and hardened my heart. I would not lose another family member. But...I only had one remaining. No, I thought. I have friends to protect as well. Gohan and Goten. I had to protect them as well. I had a purpose now.
"Angel, where is your mother? And Davis and Matyo?" Father asked all of the sudden, glancing around. "I noticed you were running. Are they at another shelter?" I looked down again and shook my head.
"I'm sorry, my father, but I failed them," I whispered, looking at the dirt miserably. "Mother was killed in an explosion and Davis was eaten by Cell. Matyo and I...we fused with our Namek blood so we could escape," I shook my head again. "I'm sorry, Father, so very sorry."
"Daughter, please stop blaming yourself," he said, his voice choking slightly but keeping their warm understanding intact all the same. "Your mother and brothers sacrificed themselves so that we and our new allies could live to fight another day."
"Yes, Father," I said, looking up with a small smile of appreciation. He nodded, satisfied, but if he had looked just an inch closer into my eyes, he would have seen that I was lying to him. I still blamed myself because I was sleeping while Frieza and Cell attacked our place of refuge, sleeping like a child, when I wasn't one. I was an adult, seventeen years old, gosh darn it! I shouldn't be treated like a little girl, I should be treated like a warrior!
But I kept my protests and alarms silent. After all, father knows best, right? I retied my black bandana and readjusted my jacket to a comfortable position. As the four of us walked toward another safe shelter, I unbraided my extremely long hair with my magic, letting it brush the loose hair with bristles made of pure energy.
"Wow, what is that?" Goten asked me.
"It's magic, Goten," I smiled at him. "I'm only brushing my hair, little one. We don't have any brushes on us, so I use my magic to form them and brush my hair that way." I unclipped my sword from my belt and placed it within my watch. It worked about the same way that Gohan's Saiyaman watch did, only I could put more clothes inside as it pleased me.
"Suri, I really wish you'd cut your hair," Father told me as we continued down the path. "It gets in the way of your training, especially if someone decides to pull it."
"Someone as in you?" I asked with a hearty laugh. "I doubt you'll pull my hair after what happened the last time we sparred, or have you forgotten that, Tousan?"
"I remember quite well, Tenshi-hime," he said, looking at the sky. It had been a curse that I had placed on him for pulling my hair. He had to call me something completely cool in Japanese every time I reminded him of it. I loved that curse. Especially when he said Tenshi-hime or Enjeru-sama. Being magic sure has it's upstarts.
"We'll begin training once we reach another safe house," Father intoned as we continued to walk. "If things get completely out of hand, I want a place safe enough for you three to be."
"Uh...Suri, I have a question," Gohan spoke quietly.
"Shoot," I said, shrugging. "No secrets here."
"How are Goten and I going to get back to our dimension?"
"The safe houses all have the vortex technology, thanks to Mother," I explained. "You'll be able to go back once things are settled around here."
"Okay."
"You aren't going home, Son," said a voice I should know all too well by now. My suspicion was confirmed as I turned and saw who else but Frieza? "Not ever. You're on our planet now."
"Go away, Serpent Breath!" I yelled loudly. "No man sorry guyo tomo dar him karra li omoto!" Frieza suddenly went rigid.
"Come on, he won't stay like that forever!" Father yelled, grabbing Goten's hand and flying off as fast as the three of us could.
***
I know, short. Bad Angel, bad! Anyways, here's Chap 4, all ready for those of you who wish to read it still. I'm stuck again...I hate writer's block, it's EVIL!!!