Beginning with an End
Part 9
Bulma awoke
with a start. She peered around
her. Why was she on the couch? A cold cup of tea sat unfinished on the
coffee table in front of her. She
smiled; she must have fallen asleep in her exhaustion from caring for Nahmi. Nahmi. She thought she had better check up on her; she should be awakening
soon. Stretching, she got to her feet,
and glanced at the clock on the wall. She could have sworn she had been sleeping for hours, but it had only
been a short catnap. Nevertheless it
was the afternoon; surely Trunks should have arrived home by now. She picked up the cup and took it to the
kitchen, pouring its contents down the sink; she surely must have been tired to allow herself to waste such a nice,
refreshing cup of tea. It clinked as
she placed it carefully in the sink, and she ascended the stairs in much less
of a hurry than she had any time previously. Last time she had seen Nahmi, her temperature had dropped dramatically
and the lump on her head was no longer a lump. She had to praise her herbal remedies!
She opened the
door to her bedroom; a warm afternoon breeze danced across her face and the
fluttering of her curtains only added to the peacefulness. Breeze! She hadn't left the window open. A terrible feeling wrenched at her gut and she flung the door open. Her breath caught in her throat; the bed was
empty.
"It's okay
Bulma," she calmed herself, taking deep soothing breaths, "she's probably just
found her own way to the bathroom, that's all. There's no need to jump to conclusions. Nahmi sweetie, you can come out now!"
******
The wind
buffeted and bullied her hair, leaving her face chill. She patted her pocket lovingly, Thank goodness for this flask, an evil
grin etched itself on her face... if I
hadn't found it I would still be stuck in that bed, and would have been for a
long time. I've never felt so refreshed
and powerful; it's such a shame it's almost empty now. I wonder who's bed I was in, perhaps my own,
the smile faded and Nahmi clasped her head in her hands, argh…I wish I could remember something more recent than being hit on
the head years ago! The only other
thing I can remember happening to me since then is being knocked unconscious
just last night. She growled… last night. Memories, for now, are trivial…I first have to find my ship, and
then complete my Mission. Memories can wait until then…the evil grin
returned, more defined than ever…which
shouldn't be too far away. But
first…the ship.
******
"Nearly there,"
Trunks stated, and Gohan nodded his head, putting in an extra spurt of
speed. "Which room is she in?" he
asked, and they flew down towards Capsule Corps.
"Bulma's,"
Gohan answered simply. Sure enough,
Bulma was waving at them from her bedroom window. Gohan breathed a sigh of relief, but it was cut short.
"Something's
wrong," Trunks growled and flew down past a tree and pulled up beside Bulma's
window. Gohan was on his tail.
"Oh Trunks I'm
so glad you're here!" Bulma threw herself out the window and flung her arms
around her future son.
"You too Mom,"
Trunks replied, his voice brimming with relief, but urgently fired questions of
his own, "what's the matter, and how's Nahmi? Gohan told me all about it."
Bulma pulled
away and began chewing her thumbnail. "I don't know," she answered stiffly and walked inside, back turned,
gesturing towards the bed, "She's gone." She turned to face them. "Without a word or a note or anything. Does she do this often?" a touch of annoyance was hinted in her tone.
"Thank God Mom,
thank god," Trunks answered as he climbed through the window, landing nimbly on
his feet.
"What do you
mean 'thank god' Trunks?" she snapped, "There's a sick little girl out there!"
It wasn't like her son to say a thing like that. "Trunks?" her voice suddenly quivered faintly with a slight fear,
"Trunks, answer me! What do you
mean?" He glanced at Gohan, who had
just landed inside. Bulma, too, turned
to him. "Gohan! What does he mean?"
Gohan
grimaced. "Nahmi's evil," he answered
simply.
******
Nahmi sensed
two ki's heading towards her. She froze
from instinct, her breath caught in her throat. They passed high above her and headed towards where she had just
come from. She breathed again. One, she recognized. The other's energy signature was strangely
familiar. Another Saiyan? And the
one named Gohan. She scowled,
looking back. She couldn't see
anything; she had left the campus far behind, but she found that it was easier
to concentrate on the energy sources. Who do They think I am? With the word
'they', she glanced up at the sky with disgust, I don't need the help of other
Saiyans, especially weak ones, to depopulate this pathetic planet. I'll prove Them wrong…I can do this on my
own. In fact, I wish I knew why I
haven't done it yet. But that doesn't
matter, if that campus is where those other Saiyans are going, then it must be
our base…so that makes it a place to avoid. I'll have to make up for my long delay…but it can wait until after I've
found my ship.
With that, she
checked that her ki was sufficiently cloaked, and took off toward the city.
******
"And that's how
we think she turned evil," Gohan finished. Bulma looked as though she was going to faint.
"You left me to take care of the one who was
powerful enough to defeat Cell, when she was evil?" Bulma stammered,
disbelieving.
"I didn't know
she had turned evil when I left. I
didn't realize what the look in her eye meant until I talked to Trunks," Gohan
stated ruefully with slight defiance.
"I should have
known," Bulma bowed her head, "she was having terrible nightmares, and once she
sat up and threatened to kill someone, and that someone just happened to take
the place of the only person in the room: me. Then she started talking about conquering the Earth, but I just thought
that she was dreaming about beating Cell." She shook her head, "But I don't think she was fighting Cell, not by the
way she screamed at me." She looked at
Gohan, who had a sorrowful expression of self-blame on his face. Bulma bit her lip and changed her tone. "Oh, but it's okay Gohan," Bulma tried to
reassure him, "everything turned out for the best, right? I didn't get hurt and there's still
time. And there was no way that you
could have known that she had turned evil. I'm sure that everything will turn out fine. Trunks," she turned to her son resolutely, "you have to find
her." Suddenly the doorbell rang. "Uh-oh." Bulma froze.
"Uh-oh what?"
Trunks asked suspiciously.
"Nothing!"
Bulma lied, and began whispering, "just keep quiet! Unless you'd rather get in
trouble Gohan, okay? She might just
think no one's home."
Suddenly, a
head peeked around the doorway and smiled. "I thought you'd be in here Bulma, I mean, you weren't in the lab or the
kitchen. You know, you really shouldn't
leave a key above the front door…" she jangled the keys, but stopped short as
she opened her eyes, "G-Gohan…My baby!" Her eyes welled with joyous tears and she ran into the room and hugged
her son.
"Aww Mom…"
Despite all that had happened, Gohan was glad to see his mother.
"I missed you
so much Gohan!" Kneeling beside him, she grabbed him by the shoulders and shook
him slightly with a look of concern in her eyes; "I hope those women took good
car of you." She suddenly leaned from
left to right, peering behind Gohan. "Where'd Trunks go?"
" – Ah," Bulma
stumbled to answer quickly, "he's gone to look for – ah – Vegeta."
"Oh," Chichi
answered with a look of disgust. Her
expression softened, "I have some good news Gohan, where's your father, I want
to tell you all at the same time. Goku!" she called, "this is no time for games Goku!" Bulma shifted
uncomfortably, the words catching in her mouth.
"Ah, Mom,"
Gohan began.
"Not right now,
Gohan, I'm trying to find your father," she interrupted, not noticing his
serious tone.
He continued,
knowing that it was the only way to get her attention. "Dad won't be coming."
Chichi froze,
and turned to her son slowly. "W-won't be coming?" she questioned slowly,
loosening her grip on Gohan's shoulders and slumping. Everything was beginning to make sense; Goku didn't let that
little girl fight, he didn't have any say in the matter. She continued determinedly, though she knew
it was hopeless. "You mean he headed straight
home don't you Gohan, that's why he won't be coming, right? Please tell me that's what you mean?"
Gohan shook his
head. He didn't want to tell his mother
that there was still hope of his return incase there wasn't. Tears brimmed in her eyes and her lip began
to tremble, she felt numb all over. Her
mind was clouded; she couldn't think. Chichi suddenly fell back limply; she had fainted.
******
"Oh Dear," King
Kai mumbled, "oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. She took the news worse than I expected. I mean…" he bit his tongue; he hadn't realized that he had been
speaking his thoughts. He looked up,
gazing ahead, and a wide grin quickly overtook his face, "Look! Goku,
look!" He turned to Goku, pointing
ahead excitedly.
Goku had been
forcing himself forward, step by painful step. He was bent with the effort of resisting. King Kai's muffled voice echoed softly in his head. He had long ago lost touch with everything
but forcing himself ever the more reluctantly to keep up the monotonous rhythm
of step after step after step in the opposite direction to the one he wished to
take. He had even forgotten why he was
putting himself through so much, but he knew in his heart that he had to, and
that was all he needed. King Kai's
voice came again, and he realized that he was expected to respond. He opened his eyes, and the sight that greeted
them brought on a wave of hope that gushed like a fountain inside of him. He suddenly broke into a run, and could hear
himself laughing aloud. A palace, an
exact replica of the Taj-Mahal glinted in all the hues of gold found on Earth
and more. It was the centerpiece of a
glittering yellow tinted bubble that surrounded it, floating on a cloud that
was only separated from him by a silver rope bridge over an abyss of
nothingness.
"Goku wait,"
King Kai yelped, hurrying behind him, "stop! Okay don't stop, just don't fall into the abyss, or you won't come back
out!" King Kai's desperate calls
followed him, but he took no heed. Goku
was running across the silver board planks of the bridge. The bubble had to be the boundary of safety;
sweet release from the feeling that screamed at him to turn around. But hope that he would make it gave him
strength, and strength gave him speed, and speed gave him hope. It wasn't far now; it stretched to the very
bottom of the downward slope of the curvature of the bridge, which ascended
once inside the bubble. The bridge
wobbled dangerously beneath him, clattering under his boots. He was almost there. Suddenly, he slipped and fell forward onto
his face…and bumped forward with the motion of the shaking bridge. Before he even noticed that it was happening
or even had time to wonder how, he was falling. He tried to fly but it was no use; he was too weak. His hand shot out towards the silver rope,
but fell short. He shut his eyes. He had blown his chance; his only chance at
returning to Earth.
******
Trunks flew
towards the city, he didn't know why, he just had a feeling that that was where
he had to go. He peered for any sign of
Nahmi; any tell tail signs of destruction, any clue as to where exactly she
might be. He couldn't understand it, if
she was trying to conquer the Earth like Bulma had said, then why was she not
destroying things as she went? It had
been easier with the androids, which he had yet to defeat in his own time, they
left a clear path to follow in their arrogance and confidence in their
strength. He was glad that android 18
hadn't left any paths to follow after she had suddenly left the lodge. He wondered why, had something changed in
her? He dismissed the thought, she was
an android, it was a much too complicated thought, and one that he could not
let himself contemplate if he wished to defeat her back in the future. That and the fact that right now he had to
worry about stopping someone who he knew he did not nearly measure up to in
strength. He had to somehow save her
from the evil, but try as he might, he could not think of how. He took little comfort in the thought that
he would most likely have plenty of time to think about it as he scoured the
city for her, she could do anything in the city – set off a bomb – and he would
never know. However, he did take
comfort in the fact that if she let her cloak of her ki slip, or fired an
attack, he could locate her immediately, but he was now taken back to the
problem of what he would do when he got to her.
******
Something
suddenly caught his hand and Goku's body jerked to a suspended stop. He opened his eyes. A blue hand clasped his.
"Goku," King
Kai strained, hanging low from one of the bridge's flimsy support ropes, "You
are heavy you know!"
Goku felt a
wave of relief and climbed up King Kai as easily as a monkey climbing a coconut
tree. He had the most amazing,
unbelievable feeling of freedom and he had regained all his strength. He looked around; he was on the inside of
the golden bubble. He laughed, so hard
that you would never have suspected that he had almost fallen to his doom.
"Hey," King Kai
yelled irritably, "Little help! You
only get what you give so I had better start getting!"
Goku pulled him
up by the collar and set him down on the now-stable bridge. "Sorry King Kai, I don't really know what
came over me."
King Kai
straightened his clothes and dusted himself off, "No, no," he said simply, "It
was to be expected, but I couldn't just let you keep walking like that. Don't worry, it was uncontrollable."
"I'll say,"
Goku agreed cheerily, back to his normal light-hearted attitude - his normal
self. He looked down between the board
planks and gulped, "What is that? I
thought I couldn't fly because I didn't have enough strength, but – and I know
this sounds crazy – I felt like it was pulling me in."
"It was," King
Kai answered. "Have you ever heard the
saying, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?" Goku nodded in reply, but King Kai only gave
an indicative nod at the black nothingness.
"Oh, you mean
that's the gateway to…" he gulped, tugging at his collar, and began edging up
the bridge.
King Kai
nodded. "In a sense. But of course, that place doesn't really
exist. What happen to those who are
evil is much worse. Those whose sins
are unforgivable are lead down this road in shackles and tossed into this pit,
left to gape at the things that could have been. Many of them end up groveling for forgiveness. That is the fate of the almighty Frieza," he spat with disgusted sarcasm, "and is where
Cell will be sent when he arrives. He
does not have a choice as to whether he remains in limbo or not, he is being
drawn here right now." Bubbles and
Gregory had caught up; King Kai had not let them on the bridge with Goku until
he was under control.
"Is that,"
Gregory chirped, "the fifth level of the soul then?"
"No," King Kai
answered seriously, "if you land in there, you are…no more." Everyone gulped - especially Goku. "The fifth level, no one knows much about,"
he continued more cheerily. "They say
that ghosts are the fifth level, but no one knows for sure whether ghosts are
real or how they come about if they are."
"Gee King Kai,
thanks for saving me," said Goku earnestly.
******
Bulma fanned
Chichi with a folded piece of paper while Gohan shook her.
"Mom, wake up!"
he yelled. It's no use, he thought, I
can't believe she took it so badly, I would have expected her to yell at
least. I wonder what her good news was
and why it was so important that she wanted to tell everyone at once. Hmm, I've got to wake her somehow, I know
it's hard, but she has to face up to it or it will only make it worse. I need her and she needs me. Even if Dad can't get back, we'll make it.
He suddenly
jumped up and ran out of the room amidst an idea.
"Gohan," Bulma
called, "where are you going? Don't
leave yet…or do you want your mom in hysterics? Gohan?"
"Yeah Bulma,"
he was back in the room, brandishing a glass of water.
"Oh-no, nuh-uh,
give her time to rest. And not on my…"
her last word fell from her mouth flatly as she watched Gohan splash the water
on his mother's face regardless of what she had to say, "floor." This time, he was right no matter what she
said.
"She needs to
talk," he said amidst Chichi's spluttering and Bulma's attempts to calm her.
"Gohan," his
mother shrieked, "what was that for?" A distant expression suddenly overcame
her face and she sat down placidly. "Goku," she said mournfully, gazing at puddle she sat in.
"Don't worry
about Dad, Mom," Gohan said with faked cheer, "I talked to him, he's fine. He really is happy up there, he even decided
that it would be best if he stayed."
"He did what?"
Chichi's old fire was back, "and who does he think it would be best for." It was unlike Chichi to be selfish about
something as serious as what she had been told. "Oh, but if only he knew what I know, then he wouldn't have made that decision. If only he knew…" she sobbed.
******
King Kai
grabbed Goku's hand and put it on his shoulder. "It's time to talk to Chichi, Goku. She just heard the news and really needs to talk." They stood near the center of the bridge,
swaying with a slight breeze.
******
"Chichi?"
"Goku?" Chichi
looked around the room, sudden tears of happiness streaming down her cheeks.
"Hi Dad," said
Gohan, "I knew you'd come back."
"Hi Son, how's things?"
"Goku," Chichi
cried, "where are you? I can't see you!" She looked daggers at Gohan and Bulma, "how could you play such a cruel
trick like that? And you, Bulma, going along with it! You two should be
ashamed…huh?"
"Ah Chichi," Goku interrupted, "they weren't playing a joke. What they told you is true."
"Then how am I
talking to you? You can't be," she began sobbing once more, she knew her
husband wouldn't lie to her about something so serious, "you just can't be
Goku. Goku," she was crying steadily,
stricken with grief, her every syllable uttered through a sob, "you can't be!"
"It's okay Chichi," he began soothing her.
"No it's not," she snapped amidst her tears. "Goku, you have to come back," she suddenly burst out with a wail of despair, "I'm pregnant! You have to!"
by Lolli
