Okay, I finally got some free time to write. Sorry again for the long dry spells in between chapters. I am happy to report that I've finished writing the ending to this fanfic! Miracles do happen!
MAJOR SPOILERS in this chapter and the next, regarding the Bebi/Juunangou saga. I didn't go into too much detail, but I did reference several important facts. Read at your own risk. I haven't seen the Juunanagou saga yet, so I took a few liberties with the dialogue from what I could piece together from the summaries. This chapter and the next, have more drama/angst than humor this time, but I promise the ending will be worth it.
For those of you who are still reading, I congratulate you for perserverance. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Dragonball, Z, GT all belong to Akira Toriyama. I just wrote the 'fic
THE WAY WE WERE
Chapter 6: The Long Wait
Marron stared at the blank piece of paper in front of her, and in a fit of frustration, crumpled it into scrunched ball and threw it over her shoulder along with the rest of the other "first drafts" of her resume. She had been trying for the last hour, and still had no idea how to start it. It was no use trying to concentrate, when something else was on her mind. The troubled young woman finally gave up and went over to the open window and looked upwards into the night sky.
Somewhere out there, her fiancé was wandering among the stars, doing God knows what. A month had already past by since Trunks left with Gokou, and Pan, who had taken Goten's place by sneaking aboard the space ship. She was hardly surprised. Pan, being Pan, always did whatever she wanted.
Marron gently fingered her engagement ring in deep thought, trying not to let the situation get to her. Trunks could take care of himself, especially with Gokou there with him. She missed him so much. It felt like a part of her was missing.
"Come home soon, Trunks," she whispered softly into the night.
"More tea, Marron?" Bulma offered.
"What?" Marron replied dazedly, snapping out of her train of thought. She had been thinking about Trunks again.
All of the 'dbz' wives were sitting around the table at Bulma's home keeping each other company, trying to keep their minds off of their current situation. She and her mother had come over for moral support.
"I asked if you wanted more tea."
"No. No, thank you."
"Are you all right Marron? You seemed like you were in different world, just a moment ago."
She smiled apologetically. "Gomen nasai. I was thinking, that's all. It just seems so quiet without them here."
"That husband of mine is always getting into trouble. The minute Gokou gets back, he's going to get an earful," ChiChi said angrily.
Marron felt sorry for him already.
"That goes double for that daughter of mine," Videl agreed. "She is going to be grounded until the next century."
Marron sympathized with their situation. She knew that beneath their demeanor, they were worried to death. She knew exactly what they were going through.
"They'll be all right, obasan," she replied reassuringly to ChiChi.
"Thank you Marron. It was so nice of you and your mother to keep us company."
Well, it was either that, or worry at home. And she had done enough of that already.
"It's no problem," she replied evenly.
"So Marron, how's the job hunting going?" Bulma asked, changing the subject.
"I'm just waiting for responses right now. I'm hoping to work on the mainland. With any luck, maybe I'll even find a job right here in the city."
"Juuhachigou, is this true? Is Krillen actually allowing Marron to leave the island?" Bulma asked incredulously. She knew how fiercely protective both Krillen and Juuhachigou were of their only child, especially since she was not a fighter like the other kids. But Marron had her own inner strength that was not always evident to others, especially since it was hidden behind her quiet and reserved exterior.
Juuhachigou nodded her head affirmatively. "I know. I'm still in shock, myself. It took a while to convince Krillen, but he finally gave in. You know what he's like."
"I sure do. Hey Marron, maybe now, you'll have a chance to see other people. I happen to know several eligible bachelors who would love to meet you," Bulma said suggestively.
Marron recognized that familiar tone in Bulma's voice, which meant only one thing. She was playing matchmaker again.
"I…don't think I'll be doing much dating," Marron replied uncomfortably. She didn't really want to discuss her love life out in the open, like this.
"Why not? It's been three years since you and Trunks called off the wedding. Don't you think it's time you started playing the field again? That is, unless you're already seeing someone else."
Marron's face immediately went bright red. She never could control her embarrassment very well.
"Bulma, I'm surprised at you. You should know better than that. Whoever Marron sees is none of our business," ChiChi replied in a chiding tone.
Marron silently breathed a sigh of relief, but it would be a short respite.
"After all, she doesn't have to tell us. We've only known her ever since she was a baby," the older woman continued. "It's not like THAT counts for anything."
Why was it so easy for parents to use emotional blackmail? If Trunks had been here, he would have enjoyed watching her squirm in her seat like this.
ChiChi, Bulma, Videl, and a very concerned Juuhachigou all leaned closer in rapt attention, putting pressure on Marron to confess. She gulped nervously, as she looked at each of them as they surrounded her. She felt like a trapped rat, and there was no escape in sight. She discretely covered her left hand with her right hand to cover the ring.
"You're not going to let me go unless I give some juicy information, aren't you?"
They all shook their heads affirmatively. Maybe if she could appease their curiosity a little bit without giving anything away, she could get away relatively unscathed.
"Well, let me put it this way…" she began slowly.
"Yeeeeeeeeeees?" the other women prompted, inching in even closer.
"All I can say is that I'm already spoken for."
"I knew it!" Bulma yelled in smug satisfaction.
"Is it someone we know?" ChiChi demanded.
"Is he a friend of yours?" Videl asked curiously.
"Is he rich?" Juuhachigou asked, point-blank, without hesitation.
"Yes, yes, and yes. Now, can I come off the witness stand?"
"Just tell us one more tiny little detail."
"Yes?"
"WHO IS IT?!!!" they all demanded at once.
Marron swallowed nervously again. She didn't want to break the news to them the without Trunks there.
"I already gave you some information. You'd think you'd be satisfied," the younger girl replied reasonably.
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Bulma said as a matter of fact.
"Come on Marron. Don't hold out on us now," Videl agreed.
"Oh, would you look at the time. Shouldn't we be leaving, Mama?" Marron blurted out quickly.
Juuhachigou noticed her daughter's agitated state and decided to let her off the hook…for now.
"Yes, we should have been home half an hour ago. Your father will be worried. See you later."
"Wait a minute, don't just leave us in suspense," ChiChi protested.
"Ja ne (see you later)," Marron said, making a hasty retreat out of the house, waving as she bolted out the door, leaving a trail of smoke behind her. As she leaned against the car door, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Whew! That was a close one. She wondered if Trunks was a having a day like the one she was having.
Meanwhile, in deep space…
Trunks stared out of the window looking at the dark void of space in deep contemplation. A month had already passed by since he started on this crazy adventure to find the Black Star Dragonballs that were apparently scattered across the galaxy. One month since he had left the earth…and Marron. God, he missed her. He missed her laughter and the way she could soothe his frazzled nerves with a few simple words.
It seemed like only yesterday, that he had proposed. He still couldn't believe he had gotten the nerve to ask her, or the fact that she had accepted. All he knew was that he loved Marron. That was enough for him.
"TRUNKS!" Pan yelled from the cockpit, breaking his concentration.
He cringed inwardly. If she wasn't Gokou's granddaughter, and if he hadn't known her for so long, he wouldn't have let her get away with so many things. He knew she had a crush on him, and although it was flattering, he did not return those feelings. They might have had a lot in common, but it didn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps they were alike, in a sense that they shared the same common Saiya-jin passion for fighting, but it was more of a camaraderie than anything else. He had always treated her like a kid sister. He certainly didn't do anything to encourage her, that's for sure.
"What?" he yelled back.
"We're almost at the next destination. Gil confirmed the presence of another dragonball."
"I'm on my way."
Well, back to work. One good thing about this little trek was that it kept his mind off of Marron and his family for the time being. But the sooner he completed this mission, the sooner he could return to the earth.
"We'll be together soon Marron," he vowed silently.
"All right, we're alone now. Who is this person you've been seeing behind our backs?" Juuhachigou demanded the moment she and Marron returned to Kame House.
"Isn't that rather personal, Mama?" she protested.
"You can't tell your own mother?"
"It's not that simple."
"What is so difficult? You admitted that you were seeing someone."
"It isn't that I don't want to tell you about him. I can't. Not right now."
"You mean you won't."
"Why are you giving me the third degree?" Marron asked in confusion. She knew her parents were protective, but this was going a little too far. They had always trusted her before.
Juuhachigou looked at her daughter thoughtfully. She owed Marron an explanation at the very least.
"Marron, sit down. Do you know why your father and I are so protective of you?"
"You don't want me to get hurt."
"It's more than that. At least on my part it is. You see, I wanted you to have the kind of life I never had. I wanted you to have a happy childhood without the darkness or violence that was my only way of living before I met your father. I used to enjoy hurting people because I thought it was fun. I never gave it a second thought, because it was all I ever knew. It wasn't until I had a child of my own, that I realized how precious life was. From the moment you were born, I knew that I had been given a second chance to make things right. I wasn't going to let anything or anyone hurt you."
"I never knew that, Mama," Marron replied quietly. Her mother had never really spoken much about her past. All she knew was that it had not always been without any blemishes. But Juuhachigou had been a loving mother to her. As far as Marron was concerned, the past was exactly where it was supposed to be. In the past.
She smiled ruefully at her daughter. "I didn't expect you to know. Look Marron, I just don't want this new boyfriend of yours to hurt you. What about that ordeal you went through with your whirlwind engagement to Trunks a few years ago?"
"You can't protect me the rest of my life. Mama, you once said that I was old enough to run my own life. I thought you meant that."
"I always mean what I say, but that doesn't stop me from worrying about you."
"Do you trust me Mama?"
"Don't be ridiculous. Of course I trust you."
"Then have a little faith in me."
Juuhachigou stared thoughtfully at her daughter. For the first time, she saw herself reflected in Marron. The determination in her daughter's eyes was undeniable.
"Okay, Marron. You've made your point. From now on, I promise not to interfere."
The younger woman reached over to hug her mother warmly.
"Thank you," she replied gratefully.
"But I can't say the same for the others," Juuhachigou added, referring to Bulma, ChiChi, and Videl.
Marron nodded in agreement. "I'll keep that in mind."
One month later…
"Did you hear the news, Marron?" Bra asked her friend excitedly over the phone.
"What news?"
"Gokou, Pan, and Trunks are back!"
Marron tried to contain her excitement, but it was difficult to sound indifferent. Trunks was finally home!
"Really? Did they find all the dragonballs?"
"Mom said that they did, but Gokou is still in the form of a child."
"They're not leaving again, are they?"
"I don't think so, but then again, you never know."
"Bra, what's wrong?" Marron asked, sensing the younger girl was holding something back.
"How did you know something was wrong?'
"You haven't made fun of Trunks yet."
"I don't know. Both Mom and Dad have been acting a little weird lately ever since Trunks came back. And now, even Trunks is beginning to act weird. I mean, more than usual."
"Is there anything I can do?" Marron offered.
"Would you mind talking to him? He'll listen to you. Maybe if you can find out what's wrong with him, I'll find out what's up with my folks."
Would she mind? Wild horses couldn't stop her.
"Of course, I wouldn't mind. Is he home right now?"
"I think he's in the training room. Why don't you come by?"
"No time like the present, I always say. Wish me luck."
"You've got it. And thanks Marron."
Trunks quickly and easily deflected an energy blast from the practice droids and proceeded to make scrap metal out of them. He looked down at the charred remains and kicked it in disgust.
"Pitiful," he remarked angrily.
He had already become a zombie slave of the Tsufuru-jin, Bebi, who had a personal vendetta against all Saiya-jins, and was intent on making the Earth his personal slave colony.
"Okaeri nasai (welcome home)," Marron greeted him warmly from the open door, and then ran over to give him a big hug. Bebi-Trunks frowned in annoyance. He had no time for this.
"What do you want?" he demanded, roughly pushing her away from him.
Marron was immediately taken aback.
"I…I wanted to see you."
"You've seen me. Now, leave me alone," he answered rudely.
"What's the matter with you Trunks?" she demanded. There was definitely something wrong here. She could feel it in her bones.
"NOTHING is the matter with me. I don't want to be bothered. Is that clearly understood?"
She reached over and put a hand on his arm.
"No, I don't understand at all. Why are you acting this way?"
Bebi-Trunks looked down at her hand and jerked his arm away, causing her to flinch involuntary.
"I said leave me alone," he warned in a menacing voice.
Marron backed away nervously. For the first time in her life, she was afraid of Trunks. She turned on heel and began running, not even stopping to look back.
Marron didn't know how long she ran. By the time she stopped for breath, she was panting heavily and leaning against a phone booth in exhaustion.
Trunks had treated her like a complete stranger. There had been such hatred in his eyes.
"Marron? Is that you?" a familiar voice came from behind.
She turned around and found Yamucha looking at her in concern.
"Yamucha ojisan (uncle Yamucha)," she cried out, hugging him closely.
"There, there," he said in a soothing voice to his favorite "niece." When she had been a little girl, he took it upon himself to look out after her when Krillen and Juuhachigou weren't around. He had fulfilled the role of uncle since Juunanagou (17) was nowhere to be found after Cell had been defeated. He highly doubted that the former android wanted anything to do with his niece.
"It can't be as bad as all that. Come on, let's go somewhere where we can talk in private."
Marron nodded in agreement.
"Are you feeling any better now?" Yamucha asked as they sat on a park bench overlooking a duck pond.
"A little."
"You know, I can't help you if you don't tell me anything."
Marron looked down at her hands folded in her lap.
"Have you ever felt like things were out of your control?" she asked quietly.
"More than I care to remember," he answered in a rueful voice. "Are we talking professionally or personally?"
"Personally."
Ah, so there was a problem with her new beau. Krillen had mentioned it to him the last time he stopped by Kame House.
"Well, there was this girl that I used to go with a long time ago. We had some great times together, but it was on again off again relationship. Eventually, she got tired of waiting for me and fell in love with someone else. I guess I never was the type of guy to settle down."
"Were you still in love with her?"
He was silent for a few seconds before answering Marron.
"Yeah, I guess I was. At that time, I felt like there was nothing I could do to stop it, so I took the easy way out and gave up. I ended up losing the only girl I ever really cared about."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring up any painful memories."
"That was a long time ago. It's all water under the bridge now. It was a lesson I wish I learned sooner. One I hope you'll take to heart Marron. No matter what happens, don't give up on the one you love."
Marron knew that giving up on Trunks would have been the easy way out. She couldn't let one incident break them up. They had been friends far too long for her to give up without a fight.
"Thanks, ojisan," she replied, with a renewed sense of resolve.
He ruffled her hair affectionately, making her frown in mock anger. He knew that she hated it when he did that.
"Anytime, Marron."
Marron looked out of the car window in boredom as she and her parents waited for the traffic jam to clear up. Even after Bebi's reign of terror had ended, there was yet another crisis that followed causing everyone to evacuate from the entire western sector. Talk about lousy timing. If it wasn't one thing, it was another.
Looking back, she was relieved to find out that it had been Bebi who had been controlling everyone's actions. It certainly explained why Trunks had acted the way he did towards her. She herself, had unknowingly been controlled by the evil alien as well as almost the entire population of Earth. She only regretted that she didn't have a chance to see Trunks again before her family had been forced to leave the area immediately.
Marron sighed resignedly. Would she and Trunks ever be together again?
Suddenly, a flash of bright light blazed over the horizon, catching her attention.
"Papa, what's that?"
Krillen stepped out of the car and watched in horror as the ripple effects of a massive explosion was rapidly heading towards them. Before Marron knew it, Krillen dragged her out of the car and moved them out of harm's way. A split second later, their car was incinerated into a pile of burning scrap metal.
Juuhachigou sensed a familiar presence nearby. No, it couldn't be. It had been over twenty years since she last saw him.
"Long time, no see 'sis,'" Juunanagou, her twin sibling, said silkily, standing several feet away from them.
Krillen instantly put a protective arm out in front of his daughter. He didn't like the feeling he was getting from the former android. He seemed a lot stronger than before.
"What do you want?" he demanded.
"Nothing that concerns you," Juunanagou replied. "This is between me and Juuhachigou."
"Anything you say to me, you can say to him. Why are you here?"
"Is that any way to greet your brother? And I came all this way just to see you."
"Spit it out!" Juuhachigou yelled angrily. She was in no mood to play games.
"I came to take you back. I have plans for us 'sis."
"I'm not going anywhere with you. I have a life now."
"Humph. You call THIS a life?" he scoffed derisively. "You've become soft and sentimental like these humans. Have you forgotten who you are?"
"I KNOW who I am. You're the one who has forgotten."
"I'm not going to ask you again. Either you're with me or you're against me. The choice is yours."
"Didn't you hear her the first time? She's not going anywhere with you," Krillen reiterated.
With lightening speed, the dark-haired android raised his hand and sent an enormous super-charged ki blast heading straight for Krillen, hitting him directly in the chest and sent him flying backwards. He lay motionless on the ground.
"Papa!!!!"
"Krillen!!!!"
Marron and Juuhachigou ran over to Krillen's lifeless body.
"Mama, is he…is he…?"
Juuhachigou clenched her fists tightly to her side before getting up to face her twin brother.
"You'll pay for this," she said in a dangerous voice.
"Mama, wait! You'll be killed if you fight him," Marron protested holding onto her mother's arm desperately. She didn't want to lose her mother too.
"Get out of here Marron," Juuhachigou replied pushing her daughter back.
"Don't do this!" she pleaded in vain, and then watched in horror as the stranger who was her estranged uncle, proceed to fight her mother in a vicious battle. In the end, even her mother couldn't defeat him. She had been hurt very badly during the fight and was lying unconscious next to Krillen.
"What a pity," Juunanagou said before taking off.
For the first time in her life, Marron was alone.
End of Chapter 6
To Be Continued
Written by,
Babboo
11/26/01
Aaaack! Poor Marron. First Trunks, and now her father. Will she have the strength to weather through this storm? Stay tuned!
