Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah...
Wherever You Will Go by Shelly
CHAPTER TWELVE
Goku towered over Shira, looking down at her with contempt at what she had almost done. "Well, Shira? It appears you have some explaining to do. If what Torin said was true then you'd better tell us everything."
She stepped out from Trunks' arms and squarely faced Goku. "I know you all think that I'm responsible for this, that I deliberately mean to hand Goku over to Karik so he can kill him," she said, her eyes pinned on Piccolo. "But we should worry about him instead. He is a very powerful fighter, even more so than Frieza, although Frieza never knew this."
"What's your connection with him?" Goku asked.
"Because of my particular abilities, I was paired with Karik. We worked together to basically do what Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz did. We cleared planets that would bring a high price." She adopted a smirk of her own. "We often did a better job of it."
"Humph," Vegeta responded.
Goku's hands were clenched at his sides, his jaw muscles flexing as he gritted his teeth in anger. "You knowingly killed millions of innocents--"
"What in the hell was I supposed to do?" she shot back. "Thanks to Vegeta, I had no home, no family. For Kami's sake, I was Gohan's age when I was handed to Frieza. I had no other way to survive, and even though I loathed myself for doing it, it was the only way to stay alive. Finally, when I thought I was strong enough, I decided I'd had enough and I attempted an escape. He knew what I was doing of course. I don't believe he ever trusted me, and now I believe that he let me escape because he knew that I would find you eventually and enlist your help against him."
She laid her hand on his arm, expecting him to brush it off, but he didn't, and her tone softened. "Now you know why I couldn't tell you everything. I didn't want to see you look at me the same way you're looking at me now. You helped me find myself again, and I owe you my very life for that. But if I'm to have any chance of defeating Karik, I'm afraid I can't allow morality to sway my judgment.
"I know I have alot to answer for. And that's one reason why I came here," she said, looking at Trunks. "I thought that I could begin a new life here and help protect lives instead of destroying them."
"How long do you think we have before he arrives?" Piccolo asked.
She looked up at the stars. "With Torin coming here, he can't be far behind. Maybe another day. I don't expect any help in this as I plan to take care of him myself."
Vegeta laughed. "You couldn't even handle him before. What makes you think that you can handle him now? It's best to let a full-blooded saiyan male do the job."
"Vegeta, you couldn't even defeat Frieza," she pointed out.
Vegeta growled and acted as if he was going to reply, but instead blasted off towards Capsule Corporation.
"If this Karik is as strong as you say he is, then you will definitely need some help," Piccolo pointed out. "I may not trust you, but either way he is coming and I'm going to use what time is left to train." Blasting off, he soon disappeared into the night sky.
"Well, Goku?" she asked. "Where do you stand?"
"I'm not sure," he answered, sighing heavily. "I need time to think things over. You're still welcome to stay here if you wish. Come on Gohan, let's put you back to bed."
After they had left, she turned towards Trunks. "Well, I guess I owe you one hell of an explanation," she said, not stepping any closer to him but looking into his eyes. "So are you going to alienate me as well?" she whispered.
Trunks let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and crossed the space between them, taking her in his strong arms. "No, never could I do that to you." He ran his hands through her hair, noticing that it had a peculiar feel. "I imagine that we're both covered with soot and dust. How about we go wash it off?"
Shira led him to the pool not far from Goku's where she first spoke with Piccolo. They shed their clothing and waded in, rinsing the soot off each other. He helped rinse her hair, pulling the long strands through his fingers and watching them fan out around her.
"I was born on a planet called Verden," she began. "Frieza wanted the planet for the metal that is mined there. It has the ability to channel energy once it is forged into a weapon. Only problem was, the people of Verden were the only ones who could use the weapons. Frieza was angered, to put it mildly, and he ordered the destruction of my people.
"Unknown to me at the time, I shared the blood of another race inside me, and that's where my tail came from."
"You're half saiyan?" he asked.
"Yes, I am. Frieza sent Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz to do the job. They killed my parents and would've killed me if I hadn't have fought back as hard as I did. Vegeta took the opportunity to cast a ball of energy into the sky that emitted light similar to that of a full moon. I transformed and proceeded to destroy my own people.
"I don't remember much after that. I was taken aboard Frieza's ship and trained until I was old enough to be paired with another fighter."
"Karik?"
"Yes. I continued to train myself between missions, and it was a way to let out all the frustration I felt at myself. My only goal was to get strong enough to one day make Vegeta pay for what he did. Then when Frieza was defeated on Namek, Karik began making plans of his own, to be like Frieza.
"I had had all I could take at that point. And now to think that he had let me escape in order to destroy Goku. Needless to say, I wasn't in the best of shape when I left Karik as I had fought him. As soon as I felt I was safely away, I passed out and when I awoke I was on Yardrat."
"And that's where you met Goku. But there's something I don't quite understand. Goku apparently has forgiven Vegeta for his past crimes. Why is it so hard for him to forgive you?"
"While we were on Yardrat, we became very close. He helped train me and even removed my tail. It had been so long since he had seen his family, but he wasn't ready to return just yet. And I believe that he missed his wife most of all, and there was a certain frustration that he couldn't satisfy."
Trunks was stunned. "You and he...?"
"Out of convenience, for him anyway. At the time I had believed myself to be in love with him, and when he told me he had regretted what had happened I was so hurt and embarrassed that I left. And the rest you know." She turned so that she faced him. "Never would I have guessed that I would meet the love of my life here. Someone that made me realize that all I felt for Goku was a childish infatuation. And because I love you so much, I'm afraid for you because I know that Karik will want to destroy you too."
He cupped her head in his hands and brushed his fingers across her cheeks. "I don't plan on being destroyed. Have you forgotten that I handled both Frieza and King Kold? Now how about we go back to Goku's and get some rest? Tomorrow we'll train and you can show me what you're made of."
She took his hands in hers and wrapped them around her waist. "Was rest the only thing you had in mind?" she purred, sliding her body up against his.
*****************
Next chapter: Goku confronts Shira and brings some old emotions back to the surface.
Wherever You Will Go by Shelly
CHAPTER TWELVE
Goku towered over Shira, looking down at her with contempt at what she had almost done. "Well, Shira? It appears you have some explaining to do. If what Torin said was true then you'd better tell us everything."
She stepped out from Trunks' arms and squarely faced Goku. "I know you all think that I'm responsible for this, that I deliberately mean to hand Goku over to Karik so he can kill him," she said, her eyes pinned on Piccolo. "But we should worry about him instead. He is a very powerful fighter, even more so than Frieza, although Frieza never knew this."
"What's your connection with him?" Goku asked.
"Because of my particular abilities, I was paired with Karik. We worked together to basically do what Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz did. We cleared planets that would bring a high price." She adopted a smirk of her own. "We often did a better job of it."
"Humph," Vegeta responded.
Goku's hands were clenched at his sides, his jaw muscles flexing as he gritted his teeth in anger. "You knowingly killed millions of innocents--"
"What in the hell was I supposed to do?" she shot back. "Thanks to Vegeta, I had no home, no family. For Kami's sake, I was Gohan's age when I was handed to Frieza. I had no other way to survive, and even though I loathed myself for doing it, it was the only way to stay alive. Finally, when I thought I was strong enough, I decided I'd had enough and I attempted an escape. He knew what I was doing of course. I don't believe he ever trusted me, and now I believe that he let me escape because he knew that I would find you eventually and enlist your help against him."
She laid her hand on his arm, expecting him to brush it off, but he didn't, and her tone softened. "Now you know why I couldn't tell you everything. I didn't want to see you look at me the same way you're looking at me now. You helped me find myself again, and I owe you my very life for that. But if I'm to have any chance of defeating Karik, I'm afraid I can't allow morality to sway my judgment.
"I know I have alot to answer for. And that's one reason why I came here," she said, looking at Trunks. "I thought that I could begin a new life here and help protect lives instead of destroying them."
"How long do you think we have before he arrives?" Piccolo asked.
She looked up at the stars. "With Torin coming here, he can't be far behind. Maybe another day. I don't expect any help in this as I plan to take care of him myself."
Vegeta laughed. "You couldn't even handle him before. What makes you think that you can handle him now? It's best to let a full-blooded saiyan male do the job."
"Vegeta, you couldn't even defeat Frieza," she pointed out.
Vegeta growled and acted as if he was going to reply, but instead blasted off towards Capsule Corporation.
"If this Karik is as strong as you say he is, then you will definitely need some help," Piccolo pointed out. "I may not trust you, but either way he is coming and I'm going to use what time is left to train." Blasting off, he soon disappeared into the night sky.
"Well, Goku?" she asked. "Where do you stand?"
"I'm not sure," he answered, sighing heavily. "I need time to think things over. You're still welcome to stay here if you wish. Come on Gohan, let's put you back to bed."
After they had left, she turned towards Trunks. "Well, I guess I owe you one hell of an explanation," she said, not stepping any closer to him but looking into his eyes. "So are you going to alienate me as well?" she whispered.
Trunks let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding and crossed the space between them, taking her in his strong arms. "No, never could I do that to you." He ran his hands through her hair, noticing that it had a peculiar feel. "I imagine that we're both covered with soot and dust. How about we go wash it off?"
Shira led him to the pool not far from Goku's where she first spoke with Piccolo. They shed their clothing and waded in, rinsing the soot off each other. He helped rinse her hair, pulling the long strands through his fingers and watching them fan out around her.
"I was born on a planet called Verden," she began. "Frieza wanted the planet for the metal that is mined there. It has the ability to channel energy once it is forged into a weapon. Only problem was, the people of Verden were the only ones who could use the weapons. Frieza was angered, to put it mildly, and he ordered the destruction of my people.
"Unknown to me at the time, I shared the blood of another race inside me, and that's where my tail came from."
"You're half saiyan?" he asked.
"Yes, I am. Frieza sent Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz to do the job. They killed my parents and would've killed me if I hadn't have fought back as hard as I did. Vegeta took the opportunity to cast a ball of energy into the sky that emitted light similar to that of a full moon. I transformed and proceeded to destroy my own people.
"I don't remember much after that. I was taken aboard Frieza's ship and trained until I was old enough to be paired with another fighter."
"Karik?"
"Yes. I continued to train myself between missions, and it was a way to let out all the frustration I felt at myself. My only goal was to get strong enough to one day make Vegeta pay for what he did. Then when Frieza was defeated on Namek, Karik began making plans of his own, to be like Frieza.
"I had had all I could take at that point. And now to think that he had let me escape in order to destroy Goku. Needless to say, I wasn't in the best of shape when I left Karik as I had fought him. As soon as I felt I was safely away, I passed out and when I awoke I was on Yardrat."
"And that's where you met Goku. But there's something I don't quite understand. Goku apparently has forgiven Vegeta for his past crimes. Why is it so hard for him to forgive you?"
"While we were on Yardrat, we became very close. He helped train me and even removed my tail. It had been so long since he had seen his family, but he wasn't ready to return just yet. And I believe that he missed his wife most of all, and there was a certain frustration that he couldn't satisfy."
Trunks was stunned. "You and he...?"
"Out of convenience, for him anyway. At the time I had believed myself to be in love with him, and when he told me he had regretted what had happened I was so hurt and embarrassed that I left. And the rest you know." She turned so that she faced him. "Never would I have guessed that I would meet the love of my life here. Someone that made me realize that all I felt for Goku was a childish infatuation. And because I love you so much, I'm afraid for you because I know that Karik will want to destroy you too."
He cupped her head in his hands and brushed his fingers across her cheeks. "I don't plan on being destroyed. Have you forgotten that I handled both Frieza and King Kold? Now how about we go back to Goku's and get some rest? Tomorrow we'll train and you can show me what you're made of."
She took his hands in hers and wrapped them around her waist. "Was rest the only thing you had in mind?" she purred, sliding her body up against his.
*****************
Next chapter: Goku confronts Shira and brings some old emotions back to the surface.
