Vegeta ran a finger delicately around the rim of the glass in front of him. Across the table, Jade sat silently, awaiting his request.
He obviously wants something, but he won't ask, she muttered to herself. He cleared his throat, and she snapped to attention.
"I said we'd speak of it later, and now I think it's time we did." He ran his fingers along his jawline in a gesture of extreme discomfort. "You claim you gave my son back his tail, and sure enough, he has one. Did – did you really do that?"
"Yes, my Prince."
"Why?"
"Well sir, because I wanted to. He asked me to show him magic, and so I did." She folded her hands in her lap and studied them intently. "Does this displease you, my lord?"
Vegeta sighed resignedly.
"No, it doesn't displease me at all. The fools on this planet cut off Kakarot's and my own sons' tails at birth. That displeases me. But if you really did what you said you did, I have a boon to ask of you." His voice trailed off.
There it is, Jade thought to herself. She made an intricate flick of her fingers, and looked up shyly.
"It is done, my Prince."
Vegeta's eyes flew wide, and sure enough, his tail was back. He'd missed it like he would have missed his right arm, and he curled the furry length around his wrist to examine it. It was genuine. He looked up, flushed and suppressing his excitement, and went to make an awkward thankyou to the girl sitting across from him.
Her eyes caught his, and she shook her head.
"You're welcome," was all she said before she got up and left the room, her own tail trailing loose behind her.
"Jadali!" a bark from Vegeta called her back. She raised a questioning eyebrow.
"I have to ask: what's with the outfit? If your hair was blue and you were older, you'd look like the woman." He chuckled as Jade's cheeks reddened.
"At least it's not pink," she reflected honestly.
"What the – ?" Vegeta stopped laughing. "BULMA! TRUNKS! –"
He launched into a tirade that could strip paint and stormed off to harass the unlucky people who'd told Jade about the pink shirt.
Trunks had cooled off by the time he, Gohan and Videl made it to Capsule Corporation. He reached out with his senses for Jadali's energy, and found her in the living room with a minor power, probably his mother.
He beckoned for Gohan and Videl to follow him, and they walked into the vast room to find Jade and Bulma laughing together like sisters.
"Hey, what's so funny?" Trunks queried when they stopped to draw breath.
Bulma burst into another fit of giggles, and was promptly interrupted by Vegeta stalking through the room. He snarled viciously:
"What the hell is so damn amusing, woman?! And you –" he gestured towards Jade, "are just as bad as her."
He picked up his stalking where he'd left it and exited the room post haste. Bulma and Jade started to laugh in earnest again.
"Well? What is it?" Trunks repeated patiently, at the same time noticing that Jade had changed back into her usual outfit. Bulma made a visible effort to stop.
"Jade just cracked her first joke."
"Uh-huh. And why is Father so mad?" Trunks could see his mother intended to drag this out for as long as possible.
"'Cause he was on the receiving end. He finally got some back!" she giggled again and blew out.
It was obvious he'd get no sense from his mother, so Trunks turned to Jade.
"Okay, what'd you say to him?" Great, all I need is father in a bad mood. Trunks rubbed his temples, feeling a tension headache coming on.
Jade gave him the same smile she'd used before they'd sparred the day before.
"Oh, so you finally got here? I thought you must have been lost. I was going to look for you."
"Great, first she jokes, now she mocks. Just tell me what you said to him."
"He was insulting my outfit. I agreed with him and then I said 'at least it's not pink.' I hate pink. After I said that he went off screaming."
"Oh no…" Trunks slapped his forehead and Gohan doubled over laughing.
The days passed blissfully at Capsule Corporation. Jade's schedule involved helping Bulma in the lab (for someone unfamiliar with Earth technology, she had a knack for it), flying aimlessly or sparring with Trunks, trying to please Vegeta and spending time with Gohan and Videl.
Jade was beginning to accept her new world and the unusual people in it.
Late one night as Jade, both versions of Trunks and Bulma sat in front of the television, the phone rang. Bulma picked it up and was surprised to hear Videl's voice on the other end of the line. They spoke companionably for a few minutes, and Bulma ended the conversation with an ominous 'they'd love to' that worried the young people. She set the phone back on its stand and resumed her seat.
"Who was that?" Trunks asked as casually as he could.
"Videl. She invited you two to go on a picnic with her, Gohan and two of her friends tomorrow. I forget who she said they were. I told her you'd be delighted." Bulma smiled wickedly at the older version of her son.
Still maintaining his attempt to look casual, Trunks shrugged his shoulders in compliance. In perfect sync, Bulma and Trunks looked across at Jade. Her face was drawn and tight like she was in pain, and she had been unusually quiet all day. She held her shoulders stiffly, and as she shifted slightly, oblivious of their gaze, the movement woke up the little version of Trunks, who'd been dozing on and off with his head in her lap. He looked up at her sleepily.
"What's wrong, Ja?"
The pet name he'd made up for her snapped her back to her senses, but not before the visiting Trunks seized the opportunity to ruffle her feathers.
"I know. She's scared of the blonde guy."
Bulma looked confused.
"Who? Sharpener? What about him?" Trunks smiled evilly.
"The last time she saw him, she smacked him into a tree." Bulma smirked in satisfaction.
"Thatta girl, Jade. If he bugs you again, thwack him harder."
Jade hauled the sleepy little boy to lean against his older self, and stood up tensely.
"No, it's nothing like that, baka," she growled at Trunks, "I've felt strange for a few days, and it's getting worse. I think I'll sleep it off."
She turned to leave the room, and Bulma switched into Mother-Mode and hurried after her, stopping the girl in the doorway. She placed a hand over Jade's forehead and measured it against her own temperature. Jade batted the hand away gently.
"It's not that kind of feeling. I – I can't describe it, at least not in this language."
She switched to the Saiyan dialect and described the strange sensation. Trunks frowned in concentration and translated as best he could for his mother.
"From what I can tell, it's like that feeling you get when just before something terrible happens, except it's eating badly at her."
"I'm sure it's nothing," Bulma patted the taut shoulder reassuringly.
"I don't think so." Jade's reply was barely above a whisper. She hugged herself tight, wrapped her tail protectively around her waist and left the room wordlessly.
Curled up in her bed that night, Jade began to dream. She was somewhere dark and damply quiet, still consumed with a feeling of dreadful premonition.
Somewhere from within the shadows, a familiar voice called her name.
"Ikura? Ikura, where are you? I'm coming!" Jade broke into a run and headed in the direction of the sound.
In front of her stood the old shaman who'd raised her, bathed in a white glow. Jade reached for the old woman's hand in a traditional gesture of greeting, and her hand passed straight through her. The phantasm shifted, and in Ikura's place stood Trunks. He looked down at her sternly.
"Don't do that. It might frighten them."
"What? I don't understand." Jade queried the ghostlike figure that was becoming more solid by the moment.
"I forgot, this isn't really your world." He reached down and held her close, then moved to kiss her on the mouth. As their lips met, a terrible roar filled the void, and hands ripped Trunks out of her grasp. Broly screamed in a madness that Jade had never seen so bitingly severe.
"Papa?" she queried the bejewelled man with the smouldering aura. He turned his pupilless eyes to her.
"What are you doing, child?" he spoke softly, dangerously, and tightened his grip on Trunks' collar.
"What you told me to do! Please, put him down."
Broly snarled viciously and moved to set Trunks back on his feet. Then, without further warning he screamed again, and his scream mingled with the youth's as Broly punched a hole through his chest.
Blood spattered Jade's face and she cried out in horror. Broly calmed down and faced her, this time he was someone else, someone she never wanted to see again who smiled prettily and spoke with her father's voice.
"Face it, it's meant to be."
Blood dripped from the long fingers and Jade cried out again.
She awoke abruptly to the force of someone shaking her shoulders.
"Jade? Jade, wake up, you're having a nightmare."
Her eyes snapped open and she found herself looking into Trunks' concerned face. Bulma hovered, worried in the doorway. She'd tried to rouse the sleeping girl herself, but Jade's thrashings coupled with her strength were too much for the human woman, and Bulma had shouted for Trunks.
Now he gripped her firmly as she slumped in exhaustion, suddenly aware of her surroundings. She looked up into the troubled blue eyes, and sighed with relief before throwing her arms around his neck. Stunned, he hugged her back; stroking her hair as gently as he'd ever touched a hurt animal.
"He killed you. Then – then –" Jade's voice cracked as she broke down and began to cry, something she hadn't done since she was a small child.
Trunks didn't know who 'he' was, but he knew a traumatised person when he saw one, coming from the world he came from.
"Shh, it's okay. It was just a dream. I'm not dead. See for yourself." He forced her chin up to look at his face. She closed her eyes after a moment, and the hysterical tears cascading down her face began to dry up.
Standing in the doorway, Bulma watched this exchange with some satisfaction. Seeing the immediate danger had passed, she sighed and headed towards the lab where her father was no doubt waiting for her already.
"Do you want to tell me about it? Sometimes that helps you forget bad dreams. Gohan taught me that. My Gohan, that is."
"No, I…" she blushed, thinking of what had almost passed between them in her nightmare. "No."
She looked so small and frightened and alone in that instant that Trunks pulled her onto his lap and pressed her head against his chest. Normally Jade would have thumped anyone for doing that, but she missed comfort, and returned the hug. They sat there, simply rocking each other for a long time.
