___Chapter 64___
~~~NOTE- AAH! when Lute was talking to Chan last chapter, I accidentally put that it was their second dragonball- it's their THIRD. Sorry 'bout that //.- Musical inspiration, "Tonight, tonight", Smashing Pumpkins. ~~~
Darkness.
A scream ripped across the silent night, like a dying soul's last cry given wings that had collapsed too soon, dropping it back into it's hell......
---
Laughter bubbled out of the child's throat as a familiar pair of arms scooped him up and held him close, causing Lute's little eyes to squeeze shut for a moment before snapping open again, to see the silent smile that should have belonged to his father, not a mask- but that thought brought him no sadness as it would have before, but only a greater joy- he'd helped, he'd helped!!! He was helping to bring his anoco back- not just the others- him too!! Heh, to hell with anyone who'd thought he was useless, they were wrong!!
His whole world spinning around giddily in his mind, everything came and went in a swirl, too much to be digested at the moment- only later would he be able to calm down and remember it all...
---
Barely had he known what was going on before a downpour of cheers swarmed his mind, blowing Gohan away as much as it did everyone else. The halfling had to pull back and plop himself down on the top of one of the house-structures before he could tell what was happening- he'd only gotten a glimpse of Lute before it all started.
Now he just sat there, smiling outward, amazed at what was happening. They were almost halfway there, only a bit longer then his sensei could come back.....
---
Standing back as well, Vegeta cocked an eyebrow. Damn, these nameks were weird. They'd been so quiet for so long now, but the kid appears and boom- it's like there'd been a mass hot-foot assault and they'd all jumped up and become alive again. But his eyes weren't on them- it was on the two standing in the center of it all.
Veg sighed and rolled his eyes- all this time, she'd been playing perfectly, until now- good that noone had really seen Piccolo before, or they'd know this current behavior was unnatural- Oboe had run up, hugged her son, and swung him around in the air, laughing...
The sound sent shivers down the sayian's spine, and the wide-eyed dead face of his friend flashed behind his eyes again. To hear a dead man's laughter...
---
Darkness.
The soul stared out around itself disjointedly, a tinge of fear stinging it's eyes as it searched for an escape.
Nothing.
Trapped.
"NO!!" it cried out to the silence, hoping someone would hear it's voice and respond, would pull it from this pit- but there was solitude.
DAMNITDAMNITDAMNIT! Oh WHY, WHY had this happened, WHY had it been allowed, if only he'd known when he'd started, if only he'd listen, if only he'd-
---
Lying back, eyes closed in bliss, ever-present yet invisible sun warming his skin, the knowledge of justices done seeping through him...
How could it get more perfect?
An eye snapped open slightly at the word 'justices' in his thoughts... was that the one that fit this? Or was it just 'revenge'?
The smaller word hit his ears better, and it came out from his throat in a soft whisper which turned his slightly curved lips into a slick grin. Revenge...
And something began to slip again.
---
Words flew like wildfire, but his ears only picked out the sounds he could understand, split in bits and pieces by the other conversations-
"- Proud of you, I'm s- of you- all by yourself-"
"*laughter* Hey, I'm a big kid, I can- handle this! -as easy!"
"I dunno... -got lost.."
"HUH? -'re crazy, baka!"
"No- not."
"Yes you - !"
"No, you're- crazy one."
Having had just about enough of this, Vegeta rolled his eyes and had moved forward to get then, something... happened. It was gone in merely a second, but it hadn't been imagined, he'd... 'heard' something, if that..... thing, could ever be called a voice. So hollow...
Shaking it free of his mind, telling himself this was all for Piccolo, and that weird sounds were nothing, he promptly forgot it and dragged Gohan down by his foot (earning himself a 'What the HELL were you trying to do, scare me to death??' shout) to the ground before walking over to Oboe + Lute.
---
He couldn't help it- however many times he tried to distract himself, his eyes kept sliding back down to those claws, making him shiver in horror of what he'd almost done.
Suicide... how could he even have THOUGHT of such a thing? There were few more horrible eternities to live, if any, than as a soul that had split it's own ties with life. He knew- he'd seen one once...
Kami physically shuddered once more, but stopped himself as soon as it began to come on- the little one was here, no need to scare him.
They'd both had enough scares for the day.
---
"Hey, another drink, please?"
"Ok, ok, I'm coming!"
Videl waited patiently, tapping her fingers on the table as Puar tried to hurry. The little cat-girl really was trying her best to be helpful, but besides this, there wasn't much she could do. {{A pity, though... she's such a sweetie}} The ebony-haired woman chuckled under her breath, a smile lighting her lips as she watched the blue tail bob back and forth behind the counter, looking for the margarita mix.
"Found it yet?"
"Uh... no, but trust me, I'll find it, Videl-san! Now WHERE did I put it, oh, I know it's here somewhere...."
Her tail started twitching in agitation, and Videl had to bite her lip to stop from giggling out loud. Puar had to be just abut the cutest little person she'd ever met, always trying so hard to help but always just ending up flustered for it.
Glancing to her left, the silent patter of rain caught her ears, and she stared out at it for a moment. The drizzle fell gently, causing the ground to sparkle, covering up the dust cloud that'd been hovering there for the last week or so, or maybe longer- it seemed like they'd been working at this forever. With a sigh, Videl leant back in her chair, absentmindedly running her finger along the rim of the glass, but she stopped once she noticed she was doing the same thing Gohan always did...
Her eyes closed, and she let the sound of the rain try to wash her mind of that thought, to no avail. Her mind was now firmly focused on her Gohan-chan. She really did miss him.. Oh, WHY did he have to go off? Damn, it's not like the other two couldn't have done it on their own, they were perfectly capable of that. Another sigh, and she narrowed her eyes, murmuring "I don't even like that man, and now he's taking my husband away again.... {{Bakayaro.}} "
"Hmn?"
Videl pulled her head up at the sound, and found herself staring straight at Bulma's big blue eyes.
"Were you just talking to yourself, Videl? *laughs* I know this job is driving us all crazy, but I didn't think any of us were that far gone already."
"Nah, it's nothing, just thinking out loud."
"That's what 'talking to yourself' is called."
"No, it's not. Just- Euh, leave me alone."
Bulma, a bit hurt by the tone of that last remark, cocker her head to the side to remark on it, but stopped and coughed instead as her hair fell in her face, and she sat up straight instead on leaning her head backward on her chair-back. Once she could breathe again, the flipped the blue locks (she'd been letting it go long again- it flowed a bit past her shoulders) behinds her and asked "You ok? You look like something's bugging you."
Silence.
"Hey, Videl! I asked you a question, please answer me. Something's wrong, isn't it?"
"It's nothing."
"VIDEL."
"Who asked you anyway?" The reply came as a snap, causing the older woman's eyes to pull open a bit wider in surprise. Now she was SURE something was wrong, Videl didn't usually get into a mood like this unless there was.
Gently, as not to irritate her further, she stated "Your drink's here."
Videl jerked her head around, stared at Puar's happy little face for a few seconds, grabbed the glass, and downed it. Puar, not used to such rude treatment, ran off crying.
---
Darkness.
He didn't know how long he'd been there- Hours? Days? Years?- It didn't matter anyway. Curled up on the ground, head bowed in defeat, he could only lean it in his hands and lament what he'd done. If only he'd listened...
Staring out around him, he felt as if the walls were closing in on him, and shook his head violently, trying to clear his vision. Soon enough, they stopped. Or had they moved at all? Where there even WALLS to move?
Another cry pierced his lips, shattering out piteously into the darkness that seemed to envelop and swallow everything within it-
"Oh god, someone help me...."
---
Vegeta jerked up in a sweat, breathing heavily. Pulling out of sleep the rest of the way, he stood up, wiping his brow with a blanket as he looked around the capsule room. Nothing- everyone else was still asleep.
With a low hiss, he plopped down in a chair, eyes swirled with confusion. He'd been sleeping peacefully when he'd heard it again- that.... sound. The one that he'd heard earlier, the one that came from everywhere and nowhere at once, that he knew he recognized but couldn't quite place....
He didn't get any sleep after that, and just sat up until the others rose.
~~~NOTE- sorry for disappearing again, been busy with studying for my exams //.
~~~NOTE- AAH! when Lute was talking to Chan last chapter, I accidentally put that it was their second dragonball- it's their THIRD. Sorry 'bout that //.- Musical inspiration, "Tonight, tonight", Smashing Pumpkins. ~~~
Darkness.
A scream ripped across the silent night, like a dying soul's last cry given wings that had collapsed too soon, dropping it back into it's hell......
---
Laughter bubbled out of the child's throat as a familiar pair of arms scooped him up and held him close, causing Lute's little eyes to squeeze shut for a moment before snapping open again, to see the silent smile that should have belonged to his father, not a mask- but that thought brought him no sadness as it would have before, but only a greater joy- he'd helped, he'd helped!!! He was helping to bring his anoco back- not just the others- him too!! Heh, to hell with anyone who'd thought he was useless, they were wrong!!
His whole world spinning around giddily in his mind, everything came and went in a swirl, too much to be digested at the moment- only later would he be able to calm down and remember it all...
---
Barely had he known what was going on before a downpour of cheers swarmed his mind, blowing Gohan away as much as it did everyone else. The halfling had to pull back and plop himself down on the top of one of the house-structures before he could tell what was happening- he'd only gotten a glimpse of Lute before it all started.
Now he just sat there, smiling outward, amazed at what was happening. They were almost halfway there, only a bit longer then his sensei could come back.....
---
Standing back as well, Vegeta cocked an eyebrow. Damn, these nameks were weird. They'd been so quiet for so long now, but the kid appears and boom- it's like there'd been a mass hot-foot assault and they'd all jumped up and become alive again. But his eyes weren't on them- it was on the two standing in the center of it all.
Veg sighed and rolled his eyes- all this time, she'd been playing perfectly, until now- good that noone had really seen Piccolo before, or they'd know this current behavior was unnatural- Oboe had run up, hugged her son, and swung him around in the air, laughing...
The sound sent shivers down the sayian's spine, and the wide-eyed dead face of his friend flashed behind his eyes again. To hear a dead man's laughter...
---
Darkness.
The soul stared out around itself disjointedly, a tinge of fear stinging it's eyes as it searched for an escape.
Nothing.
Trapped.
"NO!!" it cried out to the silence, hoping someone would hear it's voice and respond, would pull it from this pit- but there was solitude.
DAMNITDAMNITDAMNIT! Oh WHY, WHY had this happened, WHY had it been allowed, if only he'd known when he'd started, if only he'd listen, if only he'd-
---
Lying back, eyes closed in bliss, ever-present yet invisible sun warming his skin, the knowledge of justices done seeping through him...
How could it get more perfect?
An eye snapped open slightly at the word 'justices' in his thoughts... was that the one that fit this? Or was it just 'revenge'?
The smaller word hit his ears better, and it came out from his throat in a soft whisper which turned his slightly curved lips into a slick grin. Revenge...
And something began to slip again.
---
Words flew like wildfire, but his ears only picked out the sounds he could understand, split in bits and pieces by the other conversations-
"- Proud of you, I'm s- of you- all by yourself-"
"*laughter* Hey, I'm a big kid, I can- handle this! -as easy!"
"I dunno... -got lost.."
"HUH? -'re crazy, baka!"
"No- not."
"Yes you - !"
"No, you're- crazy one."
Having had just about enough of this, Vegeta rolled his eyes and had moved forward to get then, something... happened. It was gone in merely a second, but it hadn't been imagined, he'd... 'heard' something, if that..... thing, could ever be called a voice. So hollow...
Shaking it free of his mind, telling himself this was all for Piccolo, and that weird sounds were nothing, he promptly forgot it and dragged Gohan down by his foot (earning himself a 'What the HELL were you trying to do, scare me to death??' shout) to the ground before walking over to Oboe + Lute.
---
He couldn't help it- however many times he tried to distract himself, his eyes kept sliding back down to those claws, making him shiver in horror of what he'd almost done.
Suicide... how could he even have THOUGHT of such a thing? There were few more horrible eternities to live, if any, than as a soul that had split it's own ties with life. He knew- he'd seen one once...
Kami physically shuddered once more, but stopped himself as soon as it began to come on- the little one was here, no need to scare him.
They'd both had enough scares for the day.
---
"Hey, another drink, please?"
"Ok, ok, I'm coming!"
Videl waited patiently, tapping her fingers on the table as Puar tried to hurry. The little cat-girl really was trying her best to be helpful, but besides this, there wasn't much she could do. {{A pity, though... she's such a sweetie}} The ebony-haired woman chuckled under her breath, a smile lighting her lips as she watched the blue tail bob back and forth behind the counter, looking for the margarita mix.
"Found it yet?"
"Uh... no, but trust me, I'll find it, Videl-san! Now WHERE did I put it, oh, I know it's here somewhere...."
Her tail started twitching in agitation, and Videl had to bite her lip to stop from giggling out loud. Puar had to be just abut the cutest little person she'd ever met, always trying so hard to help but always just ending up flustered for it.
Glancing to her left, the silent patter of rain caught her ears, and she stared out at it for a moment. The drizzle fell gently, causing the ground to sparkle, covering up the dust cloud that'd been hovering there for the last week or so, or maybe longer- it seemed like they'd been working at this forever. With a sigh, Videl leant back in her chair, absentmindedly running her finger along the rim of the glass, but she stopped once she noticed she was doing the same thing Gohan always did...
Her eyes closed, and she let the sound of the rain try to wash her mind of that thought, to no avail. Her mind was now firmly focused on her Gohan-chan. She really did miss him.. Oh, WHY did he have to go off? Damn, it's not like the other two couldn't have done it on their own, they were perfectly capable of that. Another sigh, and she narrowed her eyes, murmuring "I don't even like that man, and now he's taking my husband away again.... {{Bakayaro.}} "
"Hmn?"
Videl pulled her head up at the sound, and found herself staring straight at Bulma's big blue eyes.
"Were you just talking to yourself, Videl? *laughs* I know this job is driving us all crazy, but I didn't think any of us were that far gone already."
"Nah, it's nothing, just thinking out loud."
"That's what 'talking to yourself' is called."
"No, it's not. Just- Euh, leave me alone."
Bulma, a bit hurt by the tone of that last remark, cocker her head to the side to remark on it, but stopped and coughed instead as her hair fell in her face, and she sat up straight instead on leaning her head backward on her chair-back. Once she could breathe again, the flipped the blue locks (she'd been letting it go long again- it flowed a bit past her shoulders) behinds her and asked "You ok? You look like something's bugging you."
Silence.
"Hey, Videl! I asked you a question, please answer me. Something's wrong, isn't it?"
"It's nothing."
"VIDEL."
"Who asked you anyway?" The reply came as a snap, causing the older woman's eyes to pull open a bit wider in surprise. Now she was SURE something was wrong, Videl didn't usually get into a mood like this unless there was.
Gently, as not to irritate her further, she stated "Your drink's here."
Videl jerked her head around, stared at Puar's happy little face for a few seconds, grabbed the glass, and downed it. Puar, not used to such rude treatment, ran off crying.
---
Darkness.
He didn't know how long he'd been there- Hours? Days? Years?- It didn't matter anyway. Curled up on the ground, head bowed in defeat, he could only lean it in his hands and lament what he'd done. If only he'd listened...
Staring out around him, he felt as if the walls were closing in on him, and shook his head violently, trying to clear his vision. Soon enough, they stopped. Or had they moved at all? Where there even WALLS to move?
Another cry pierced his lips, shattering out piteously into the darkness that seemed to envelop and swallow everything within it-
"Oh god, someone help me...."
---
Vegeta jerked up in a sweat, breathing heavily. Pulling out of sleep the rest of the way, he stood up, wiping his brow with a blanket as he looked around the capsule room. Nothing- everyone else was still asleep.
With a low hiss, he plopped down in a chair, eyes swirled with confusion. He'd been sleeping peacefully when he'd heard it again- that.... sound. The one that he'd heard earlier, the one that came from everywhere and nowhere at once, that he knew he recognized but couldn't quite place....
He didn't get any sleep after that, and just sat up until the others rose.
~~~NOTE- sorry for disappearing again, been busy with studying for my exams //.