CHAPTER II - Don't You Feel Small?
Author's Note: Sorry about taking so long to get this chapter up, I've been struggling with school and trying to get my grades up.
--------------
Ask the mirror on the wall,
Who's the biggest fool of all.
Bet you feel small,
It happens to us all.
See the world as what's it for,
Understanding, nothing more.
Don't you feel small,
It happens to us all.
Time is now to spread your voice,
Time's to come, there'll be no choice.
Why do you feel small?
It happens to us all.
Look at progress,
Then count the cost.
We'll spoil the seas,
With the rivers we've lost.
See the writing on the wall,
Hear the mirror's warning call.
That's why you feel small,
It happens to us all.
Ask the mirror on the wall,
Who's the biggest fool of all.
Bet you feel small,
It happens to us all.
---------------
Vegeta tossed and turned in his bed, writhing and tangling the sheets. Usually the prince didn't dream at all, skipping past R.E.M sleep and reaching a point beyond. When he did dream, they were horrible nightmares that had him waking in a cold sweat. But this, for some odd reason, was worse than his normal nightmares.
A horrible creature was rampaging through the inky darkness, pursuing him. He tried to turn around to see what the creature was, but as soon as he caught a glimpse of the dragon-like creature, it disappeared into the darkness. Suddenly, he found that he couldn't run at all. The shimmering mass of night erupted from the darkness, turning it into a calm, serene field filled with multicolored, sweet-smelling flowers. There, Vegeta could see the dragon and all its horrific beauty. It was a sparkling black, with blue, purple, and green scales here and there. Its eyes swirled in ever-changing colors. In the monster's shadow was a woman holding her children close, all three of them crying. At first, Vegeta saw them as just an everyday family, but then he saw who it really was. It was Bulma, Trunks, and Bra. The dragon was staring them down, acidic saliva dripping from its fang-filled mouth. Vegeta was powerless to stop the monster as it mercilessly ripped his family to shreds. Blood splattered on the tree trunk, staining the grass red.
"Beauty is an illusion." The dragon spat upon the ground. Instantly, the beautiful scenery changed.
The blue sky with fluffy white clouds turned into a brown sky with sickly greenish clouds. The wind carried the foul odor of death. He was no longer in a field, but rather in a city, or what was left of one. The buildings were broken and grown over with mildew and dead moss. Dead, bloated bodies were piled high in the cracked and wasted streets. As Vegeta dashed down the street, he recognized several of the bodies on the piles. Friends, family, people he had seen walking down the street. At the end of the road stood a girl with shoulder-length, dark green hair, with huge wings and a tail. She threw her head back and laughed maniacally.
"Like my handiwork?" She smirked.
Vegeta noticed with a shock that most of the bloated, bloody, broken forms were alive! Barely hanging on to life, they whimpered and groaned.
"Bakamono..." Vegeta shuddered. He had killed before, but had never left them, piled in the streets, tortured and slowly dying.
The girl smirked and threw Bra's body up on the pile. Vegeta turned and ran the opposite direction, but the girl's derisive laughter followed him.
"Go back to the beginning, Vegeta." The girl laughed maniacally, "Back to where it all began. The beginning."
Vegeta awoke.
--------
Bulma woke to the sound of Vegeta puking in the bathroom. She waited until he came out, and got up and walked over to him, looking concerned. Vegeta was pale and shaking violently, his eyes not focused on anything.
Bulma touched his face gently, and Vegeta's eyes focused on hers. With a choked cry, Vegeta hugged Bulma.
*Wow* Bulma thought, *That must have been one whopper of a nightmare.*
Bulma smiled softly, "Come on, Veggie, I'll make you a big breakfast."
Vegeta smiled evilly, back to his normal self, "No, you'll go to bed."
Bulma shrieked playfully as Vegeta pushed her down on the bed, still smirking. Vegeta joined her, and the rest was history (not quite).
--------
Kakarika woke slowly, taking in her surroundings. She jumped out of bed, looking around wildly. With a cry of indignation, she flailed backward, falling on her rear on the floor. She turned around, glaring at her wings and tail, the painful reminders of her dimensional voyage. She pulled herself up, balancing precariously and wondering why her new limbs weren't so detrimental to her when she first arrived. Hell, she had run without tripping or stumbling once. She sighed and got dressed in her black karate uniform, tying the black bandana around her head. She brushed her hair until it shone, and then headed off to find the kitchen.
--------
When Vegeta and Bulma reached the kitchen, Kakarika was waiting for them, absently making appliances float around the room.
Bulma cleared her throat, and Kakarika started, accompanied by several large clangs and bangs as the appliances dropped to the ground. Kakarika looked embarressed, and telepathically put them back.
Bulma headed onward, getting out some pots and pans to cook breakfast, when she noticed that Vegeta hadn't sat down at the table. In fact, he was staring intently at Kakarika, his tail twitching. Kakarika raised an eyebrow at Vegeta.
"What is this... this DEMON doing in MY house?!" Vegeta finally found his voice. He powered up to SSj1, and in the blink of an eye had reached Kakarika and lifted her into the air by her throat.
"Vegeta!" Bulma protested, "She's a guest! I'm letting her stay here!"
"Fool!" Vegeta snarled, "She's decieving you! I had a dream with this little wretch in it, and she caused horrible things! I won't let this little prophecy come true. I'll end this monster's life here and now."
Kakarika choked out, "Don't I get a say in this? This is MY life we're talking about here!"
Vegeta's grip on the girl's throat tightened, and her eyes flashed with ice. Then, in one swift motion, too fast for even a saiya-jin's eyes to see, Kakarika arched her tail over her head like a scorpion. The needle-like apparatus at the end of her tail easily pierced Vegeta's flesh, injecting a tranquilizer. The Alcoan dropped from Vegeta's limp grip, rubbing her throat.
"What did you do?" Bulma shrieked.
"He's just out cold. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do anything!" Kakarika whined, "It just... slipped."
But something had gone terribly wrong. Something Kakarika chose not to mention. When she attacked Vegeta, she had wanted to inject the killing acid, not the tranquilizer. She had gotten a sick pleasure out of stabbing her tail needle through Vegeta's neck. Her tail twitched in remembrance of the euphoria she felt when her tail impacted with the prince.
Kakarika held her tail in her clawlike hands, staring at the sparkling scales, "What am I?"
Author's Note: Sorry about taking so long to get this chapter up, I've been struggling with school and trying to get my grades up.
--------------
Ask the mirror on the wall,
Who's the biggest fool of all.
Bet you feel small,
It happens to us all.
See the world as what's it for,
Understanding, nothing more.
Don't you feel small,
It happens to us all.
Time is now to spread your voice,
Time's to come, there'll be no choice.
Why do you feel small?
It happens to us all.
Look at progress,
Then count the cost.
We'll spoil the seas,
With the rivers we've lost.
See the writing on the wall,
Hear the mirror's warning call.
That's why you feel small,
It happens to us all.
Ask the mirror on the wall,
Who's the biggest fool of all.
Bet you feel small,
It happens to us all.
---------------
Vegeta tossed and turned in his bed, writhing and tangling the sheets. Usually the prince didn't dream at all, skipping past R.E.M sleep and reaching a point beyond. When he did dream, they were horrible nightmares that had him waking in a cold sweat. But this, for some odd reason, was worse than his normal nightmares.
A horrible creature was rampaging through the inky darkness, pursuing him. He tried to turn around to see what the creature was, but as soon as he caught a glimpse of the dragon-like creature, it disappeared into the darkness. Suddenly, he found that he couldn't run at all. The shimmering mass of night erupted from the darkness, turning it into a calm, serene field filled with multicolored, sweet-smelling flowers. There, Vegeta could see the dragon and all its horrific beauty. It was a sparkling black, with blue, purple, and green scales here and there. Its eyes swirled in ever-changing colors. In the monster's shadow was a woman holding her children close, all three of them crying. At first, Vegeta saw them as just an everyday family, but then he saw who it really was. It was Bulma, Trunks, and Bra. The dragon was staring them down, acidic saliva dripping from its fang-filled mouth. Vegeta was powerless to stop the monster as it mercilessly ripped his family to shreds. Blood splattered on the tree trunk, staining the grass red.
"Beauty is an illusion." The dragon spat upon the ground. Instantly, the beautiful scenery changed.
The blue sky with fluffy white clouds turned into a brown sky with sickly greenish clouds. The wind carried the foul odor of death. He was no longer in a field, but rather in a city, or what was left of one. The buildings were broken and grown over with mildew and dead moss. Dead, bloated bodies were piled high in the cracked and wasted streets. As Vegeta dashed down the street, he recognized several of the bodies on the piles. Friends, family, people he had seen walking down the street. At the end of the road stood a girl with shoulder-length, dark green hair, with huge wings and a tail. She threw her head back and laughed maniacally.
"Like my handiwork?" She smirked.
Vegeta noticed with a shock that most of the bloated, bloody, broken forms were alive! Barely hanging on to life, they whimpered and groaned.
"Bakamono..." Vegeta shuddered. He had killed before, but had never left them, piled in the streets, tortured and slowly dying.
The girl smirked and threw Bra's body up on the pile. Vegeta turned and ran the opposite direction, but the girl's derisive laughter followed him.
"Go back to the beginning, Vegeta." The girl laughed maniacally, "Back to where it all began. The beginning."
Vegeta awoke.
--------
Bulma woke to the sound of Vegeta puking in the bathroom. She waited until he came out, and got up and walked over to him, looking concerned. Vegeta was pale and shaking violently, his eyes not focused on anything.
Bulma touched his face gently, and Vegeta's eyes focused on hers. With a choked cry, Vegeta hugged Bulma.
*Wow* Bulma thought, *That must have been one whopper of a nightmare.*
Bulma smiled softly, "Come on, Veggie, I'll make you a big breakfast."
Vegeta smiled evilly, back to his normal self, "No, you'll go to bed."
Bulma shrieked playfully as Vegeta pushed her down on the bed, still smirking. Vegeta joined her, and the rest was history (not quite).
--------
Kakarika woke slowly, taking in her surroundings. She jumped out of bed, looking around wildly. With a cry of indignation, she flailed backward, falling on her rear on the floor. She turned around, glaring at her wings and tail, the painful reminders of her dimensional voyage. She pulled herself up, balancing precariously and wondering why her new limbs weren't so detrimental to her when she first arrived. Hell, she had run without tripping or stumbling once. She sighed and got dressed in her black karate uniform, tying the black bandana around her head. She brushed her hair until it shone, and then headed off to find the kitchen.
--------
When Vegeta and Bulma reached the kitchen, Kakarika was waiting for them, absently making appliances float around the room.
Bulma cleared her throat, and Kakarika started, accompanied by several large clangs and bangs as the appliances dropped to the ground. Kakarika looked embarressed, and telepathically put them back.
Bulma headed onward, getting out some pots and pans to cook breakfast, when she noticed that Vegeta hadn't sat down at the table. In fact, he was staring intently at Kakarika, his tail twitching. Kakarika raised an eyebrow at Vegeta.
"What is this... this DEMON doing in MY house?!" Vegeta finally found his voice. He powered up to SSj1, and in the blink of an eye had reached Kakarika and lifted her into the air by her throat.
"Vegeta!" Bulma protested, "She's a guest! I'm letting her stay here!"
"Fool!" Vegeta snarled, "She's decieving you! I had a dream with this little wretch in it, and she caused horrible things! I won't let this little prophecy come true. I'll end this monster's life here and now."
Kakarika choked out, "Don't I get a say in this? This is MY life we're talking about here!"
Vegeta's grip on the girl's throat tightened, and her eyes flashed with ice. Then, in one swift motion, too fast for even a saiya-jin's eyes to see, Kakarika arched her tail over her head like a scorpion. The needle-like apparatus at the end of her tail easily pierced Vegeta's flesh, injecting a tranquilizer. The Alcoan dropped from Vegeta's limp grip, rubbing her throat.
"What did you do?" Bulma shrieked.
"He's just out cold. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do anything!" Kakarika whined, "It just... slipped."
But something had gone terribly wrong. Something Kakarika chose not to mention. When she attacked Vegeta, she had wanted to inject the killing acid, not the tranquilizer. She had gotten a sick pleasure out of stabbing her tail needle through Vegeta's neck. Her tail twitched in remembrance of the euphoria she felt when her tail impacted with the prince.
Kakarika held her tail in her clawlike hands, staring at the sparkling scales, "What am I?"
