Dragon Ball Z: The Space Train
By Feraligreater328 and usuallycat
Chapter 3: The Mother
-The Demon vs The Martial Artist-
Piccolo Jr rushed at Goku, an ornate knife drawn. He brought the curvy, gleaming blade down and it shredded through orange fabric, enjoying the briefest taste of flesh. Goku stumbled back, shoving Krillin back with him, and looked down at the bleeding wound on his upper chest. "Y-You stabbed me?!"
Piccolo Jr. snarled, charging at Goku with the knife pointed forward. "I'll do more than that!"
Goku shoved Krillin into a nearby booth and began a frantic game of tag with his mysterious attacker, shifting from side-to-side to avoid the deadly bite of this clearly enchanted blade. Piccolo Jr. came in close for another stab and Goku shot his hands forward, catching the green man's left wrist in his right hand and gripping hard on the knife's guard with his right. He leaned forward. "Ya know…I was always taught that martial arts matches are about strength, but knife attacks are personal. D-Do I know you?!"
Piccolo Jr. snarled. "Can you really look me in the face and say I don't look familiar?!"
Goku cocked his head. "Uh…"
Green face. Green. Face. Black eyes. Black as night. Green face. Sharp teeth. Green face. Weird pink patches on his arms. Green face. Someone important? A King? A God? A green face?
King Piccolo and Kami both flashed through Goku's mind in rapid succession. Goku gasped. "Oh crap!"
Piccolo Jr. sneered. "Oh crap, indeed!"
He let go of the knife, plunging his fist into Goku's gut. Goku doubled over and dropped the knife, allowing Piccolo Jr. to seize it out of the air and thrust it toward Goku's throat. But then Krillin rushed in from the sidelines with a sharp kick to the face!
Piccolo Jr. went flying over the bar and crashed into the decorative liquor bottles along the back shelf. He and several of the expensive vintages fell behind the bar in a heap. Krillin moved to his friend's side. "You okay?"
Goku coughed. "Y-Yeah. He's waaaaaay too strong to actually need a knife. That punch hurt."
Krillin was confused. "Wh-Who is he?! He kinda looks like Kami!"
Goku cracked his neck. "King Piccolo, more like."
Krillin's eyes went wide. "Are you for real?!"
Goku nodded. "I sure-LOOK OUT!"
Goku shoved Krillin one way and he feinted the other, both of them just barely avoiding the flying bottles of booze that crashed onto the wall behind and exploded like fragrant grenades. Piccolo Jr. stood atop the bar, fangs bared. "You will pay for that, bald whelp! But only after Son Goku dies!"
Goku put up his hands in supplication. "Dude! I don't even know you!"
Piccolo Jr. roared. "I AM PICCOLO JUNIOR! SON OF THE GREAT DEMON KING PICCOLO! AND YOU KILLED MY FATHER! PREPARE TO DIE!"
-The Resistance-
Raditz looked at the spot where his mother had been laying next to him for the past two days, feeling a curious sadness that it was now empty. He had watched her scurry off fives minutes ago now, a sullen and pinched tone in her voice. Raditz groaned. "Of all the people who could have boarded this train, why did it have to be him…?"
But, Raditz didn't have time for the frivolity of long-lost acquaintances. His mother had gone off on her own tangent, leaving him to handle all of the real work. He couldn't blame her, but he wasn't just going to sit back and shirk. That would get them in trouble with the Boss.
Raditz reached into his bag and began to dig. "We don't have time to be passive anymore. Things are about to start falling apart, I can feel it in my bones…"
He pulled from his bag a canister of white powder and then stared down at his three points of interest. The target, still locked in his baggy prison, and the two guards. Raditz gritted his teeth. "Vegeta would notice something is up. So…"
He glanced at the larger of the two. "Sorry, Nappa."
Raditz unscrewed the lid on his little canister and looked down again. Vegeta was staring off into space, Nappa was staring into his book. Raditz took a deep breath, and then poured the entire dose of powder into a drink waiting below, the one closest to Nappa. Raditz crushed the canister in his fist, disintegrating it with his ki. And then he laid in wait once more.
-The Mercenaries-
Nappa yawned and stretched, accidentally knocking his fist into their prisoner and flinching at the grunt. He quickly apologized. "Sorry about that, man."
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Why are you apologizing? He can't hear you in there."
Nappa shrugged. "Just trying to be polite."
The hulking mercenary carefully marked his page in his book and sat it down, reaching for his rum and soda and drinking half of it. He didn't even register that minute traces of the white powder that had migrated and stuck to the sphere of ice floating in the center. "So, I was thinking that we should take a vacation after this job. Go to a nice lush planet like Demeter or Brocco and rent a cabin at a lake."
Vegeta looked at his partner, half interested. "And do what?"
Nappa shrugged again. "I dunno. Fish? Hunt? Mountain climb?"
Vegeta sneered. "Sounds dull."
Nappa frowned and downed the other half of his drink. "It probably is all on your lonesome. But, we'd have each other and we could…hang out and…stuff…I mean…"
Vegeta sneaked a glance at Nappa's haggard, older face. He had been a fixture for as long as Vegeta could remember, a familiar face that could always be relied on. Perhaps even a friend, if looked at from the correct angle. Vegeta nodded. "I suppose I see what you mean. Maybe we could-"
Nappa suddenly lurched forward, slamming a palm on his tray table and groaning. "Shit. Oh shit. Oooooh shit."
Vegeta was immediately on the defensive. "What?! What's going on?!"
He quickly glanced around. A few faces in the crowd were staring back with mild interest, but a quick glare from Vegeta dispelled that almost immediately. He turned to Nappa. "Are we under attack?"
Nappa scrambled to his feet, shaking his head. "Nope. Nope nope nope. Worse. Much worse…"
Vegeta's face tightened. "What?!"
Nappa groaned. "Ball-point-penning. Ball-point-penning real bad. My guts are on fire…"
Nappa stumbled out of his row, pushing past Vegeta and running toward the restroom at the end of the train car. Another passenger was just a bit closer than Nappa and tried to out race him, but the massive Saiyan shoulder checked him away almost immediately. He plunged into the lavatory and the lock clicked to occupied. Vegeta let loose a ragged sigh and crashed into his seat. "Oh my god…"
And then a hideous wet noise erupted from the bathroom and Nappa began to loudly roar, as if the seven great tragedies of life were all being thrust upon him at once. Vegeta pressed both hands to his face. "Oh my goooooood…"
Down at the end of the hall, next to the lavatory, the Kuriza mascot gingerly knocked on the door to check if Nappa required any assistance. Its body language suggested that it was very concerned.
And then, on top of everything else, the loudspeaker attached to the ceiling crackled to life and a tinny, muffled voice spoke in a dull drone. "Passenger Vegeta to the Conductor's Car, please. Passenger Vegeta to the Conductor's Car. You have a high-priority call on the public Scouter."
Vegeta dragged his hands off of his face and groaned again, though it sounded more like a growl. "Not a moment's peace from these clowns."
He sharply kicked his and Nappa's prisoner in the midsection and smirked at the muffled grunt. "Sorry. Venting frustrations. And you do look like a heavy bag."
Vegeta stood. "Don't cause trouble until Nappa gets back. I'll put you back in that bag myself. In pieces, if the need be."
Then, without another word, Vegeta went marching the opposite direction from Nappa, toward the front of the train.
-The Resistance-
Raditz carefully pulled the wires from his transponder from the network of the train's PA system. He rolled over and watched as Vegeta marched away, listening as Nappa suffered on the throne of eternal torment. He nodded. "Okay. Step One is done. Step Two is done. Next onto Step Three…I need a scapegoat of near equal height."
-The Demon and The Martial Artist-
Piccolo Jr. leaped off of the bar and thrust his blade down with both hands. Goku caught it, with a thunderous clap, between his palms and jerked his opponent out of the air, deftly kicking Piccolo Jr. in the face on his way down.
The young demon went tumbling, crashing into a barstool and smashing it to pieces. Picking up a long beam of wood that was once a stool leg, Piccolo Jr. tossed it like a spear right at Goku's head. The martial artist caught it and twirled it in his hand. "Welp, the Power Pole is in my luggage. So this'll have to do!"
Piccolo Jr. charged again with a snarling scream. Goku's gaze sharpened as he entered battle mode. He ran his energy through the piece of wood in his hand and then used it to deflect the knife. Piccolo Jr. gasped and Goku thrust his palm into the demon's gut. His opponent doubled over and Goku followed that palm strike with an almost liquid combination of staff lashes, cracking Piccolo Jr over the back, sweeping his feet, cracking him in the side of the head on the swing, and then batting the knife across the room for good measure.
Piccolo Jr snarled, stretching his massive, green arm after the knife, grabbing it tightly around the handle, and then slingshotting it right back towards Goku's heart. Goku raised his makeshift staff in defense and met the blade, catching it for the full thrust, and only needing to adjust for the force of Piccolo Jr.'s swing.
The martial artist skidded back so hard and so far that his back crashed against the train car door, making the glass spider-web. Piccolo Jr. snarled in Goku's face, his breath hot and heavy and quite sour. "I'll eat your heart!"
Goku clenched his teeth, struggling against his opponent's massive strength. "C'mon, man. Can't we just talk this out? I don't wanna hurt someone I've never met…"
Seeing an opening, Krillin leapt out with a ki-blast charged in his palm. "Hang on, Goku!"
Piccolo Jr.'s head snapped around and beams shot from his eyes, exploding against Krillin's chest and sending the little monk flying across the car. Goku cried out. "Krillin!"
He trained his furious gaze onto Piccolo Jr. "Now you've crossed a line!"
Piccolo Jr. sneered with delight. "Oh, have I~?"
Goku answered that with a furious elbow strike to the jaw.
As the fighting continued, Krillin was still flying back. His chest was on fire. At this rate, he knew that he was going to crash through the door on the opposite end of the train car. "Dammit. This isn't good…"
And then Krillin did crash into something, something simultaneously harder and firmer than any sort of glass. And, what's more, this soft and firm thing seemed to catch him rather than just letting him splat against the ground.
Opening his wincing eyes, Krillin looked up. And what met his gaze was a radiant angel: blonde hair, blue eyes, a look of genuine concern on her face. She quickly spoke up. "You okay? What's happening here?"
Krillin blushed and spoke the only word rushing through his frazzled head. "Beautiful…"
He blushed. Lazuli blushed too. "Uh…thanks?"
The two of them stood there, Krillin in Lazuli's arms, absorbing the moment. And then two furious cries snapped them out of their trance. Lazuli looked to the other end of the car and saw a man with wild, black hair fighting tooth-and-nail against a green man in a cape and turban. She asked again. "What's happening here?"
Krillin quickly regained his senses, leaping to his feet. "Goku! Don't worry, I'm coming!"
And then, the monk ran back into the fray. Lazuli's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Hang on…THAT'S SON GOKU?!"
-The Martial Artists-
Launch and Lapis both came walking down the aisle, engaged in utterly meaningless, but personally meaningful conversation. In their brief time knowing each other, since Lapis had forsaken the snack cart and chosen to follow her instead, the two of them had grown quite fond of each other's company.
Totally unaware, neither of them noticed Vegeta until he was right in front of them, brusquely pushing the two aside with a mumbled grunt of 'move it'. Launch frowned, her blue hair bobbing. "What a meany-butt!"
Lapis sneered. "I oughta go slug him one."
She placed her hand on his shoulder. "No need for violence. We're still getting to know each other. I want to introduce you to my friends, I think you'd like them~"
Lapis shrugged, adjusting the orange scarf around his neck. "Sure."
They continued making their way down, eventually stopping at the collection of seats that Launch and her party had been assigned. She smiled at everyone. "I'm back with snacks! Did monkey boy and shiny boy come back with the drinks?"
Tien shook his head. "Not yet. They've been gone for a while now."
Yamcha's eyes trained onto the guy standing next to Launch. "Who's the new guy, Launch?"
Launch giggled and serenely grinned. "My new boyfriend~"
Yamcha flinched. "What?"
Tien flinched. "What?"
Chiaotzu flinched. "What?"
Chi-Chi flinched. "What?"
Master Roshi flinched. "What?"
Oolong flinched. "What?"
Puar flinched. "What?"
Bulma flinched. "What?"
Lapis recoiled. "What?!"
Launch smiled over at him. "What? You started following me. I just assumed you thought I was as cute as I thought you were. And then we started talking and you agreed to come meet my friends. So, ya know, I thought that meant you wanted to be my boyfriend!"
Lapis' jaw dropped. "Uh…"
And then, breaking the awkward pause, Bulma stood up. "Well, here Launch. Your new boyfriend can have my seat."
Yamcha turned to her. "Where are you going?"
Bulma scowled. "None of your business."
Tien followed up. "Where are you going?"
Bulma answered him immediately. "To check on our dynamic duo and see where the hell our drinks are."
Tien nodded. "Okay. Just be careful. There are some seedy characters on this train, if that short guy from a minute ago is any indication."
Launch puffed out her cheeks. "You mean the meany-butt that shoved me and my new boyfriend?"
Lapis still looked confused as he took his seat next to Launch. Perhaps sensing that the boy was out of his depth, Tien reached out and gave him an understanding, almost commiserating, pat on the shoulder. "Sorry."
Lapis stared back at Tien in silence. His eyes shifted from Tien, to Yamcha, to Chiaotzu and so on. He was sure he recognized these people from somewhere. He just wasn't sure where.
Launch sniffed. "You shouldn't be the one apologizing, Tien. It was the meany-butt that shoved him!"
Hearing Launch yammer on in the background, Bulma just kept walking. She had a headache. A bad headache. The same headache that had been pounding in her head ever since the wedding day, from the moment she stood there and realized that she was making a mistake.
Bulma didn't hate Yamcha. If anything, she hated herself for hurting him. And she hated herself for being cold to him when she was the one in the wrong. Bulma went from one car to another and leaned against the wall, under the cool breeze of an air conditioner vent on the ceiling above. "Damn it…"
She thumped her head against the cabinet door behind her and groaned. "I wish there was a place I could step out. I need a cigarette…"
She harshly wiped her hand over her face. "The next stop should be up soon. Maybe I'll be able to stretch my legs there…"
The sharp sound of duct tape stretching off the roll broke Bulma's daze. "Hunh?"
A voice spoke in a genuinely apologetic tone. "I'm afraid you might be a tad indisposed."
Bulma looked around for the source of the voice. "Hunh?!"
And then two arms reached down from the ceiling, plastering a strip of tape over Bulma's lips, and quickly yanked her up into the air duct.
-The Conductors-
Cui was panicking. "Shit! Shit! What are we going to do?! He's almost here! WHO SENT THAT MESSAGE?!"
Pui Pui pulled out a small energy pistol, shakily gripping it in both hands. "I guess we'll just have to end things a bit early."
Cui smacked him across the face. "Idiot!"
Pui Pui stumbled back, briefly looking shocked and then looking furious. His grip on the energy pistol tightened even more. Cui looked around frantically, not noticing the resentment on his partner's face. He looked over to the camera monitors and miserably groaned. "He's almost here. And one little pistol isn't going to turn the tides. Vegeta will kill us…"
Pui Pui scowled. "Then what would you suggest we do, Cui?!"
Cui's eyes shifted around the car. "Th-The luggage storage! Upstairs!"
He rapidly pointed to the ladder that led to the upstairs luggage storage. Cui grabbed Pui Pui by one of his back spikes and gave him a harsh shove into the ladder. "Move! Hurry!"
Pui Pui began to ascend the ladder as he was ordered, but with the shining glimmer of malice and murder in his eyes.
Moments later, Vegeta opened the door to the conductor's car and found the thing totally empty and abandoned. He looked around, finding nothing that would allow an unnoticed exit. He, with his limited knowledge of trains, certainly wouldn't have noticed that a ladder on a nearby wall was conspicuously missing.
Vegeta walked up to the conductor's console and found a standard array: cameras to monitor the cars, emergency brake, navigation controls, etc, etc.
He also found two cups of lukewarm coffee and the communication Scouter he had supposedly been called to answer. Vegeta picked up one of the coffee cups, finding a little puddle of the bitter substance gathered around the cup's paper rim. Recently sipped from.
Vegeta set the coffee cup down and put his hands on his hips. He cracked his neck. "Something stinks on this train. I don't like it."
-The Scientist-
Dr. Vomi stared down at a magazine she had brought with her. One of those food magazines you would buy in a supermarket check out, this one focused on types of desserts one could make in the fall to go along with the slightly chillier weather. She looked up to her two travel companions with a smile. "Hey, would you guys enjoy a nice loaf of pumpkin bread? When we get back home, I could bake a loaf of pumpkin bread and home make some delicious sweet cream to top it with!"
Marceau looked up from his and Gebo II's chess game. He spoke in a robotic monotone, his pallid moonface not showing the slightest emotion. "Fully mechanical constructs do not require the ingestion of foodstuffs."
Dr. Vomi frowned. "I-I know that. But I went through the trouble of making sure you and Gebo II had taste buds when I reformatted you…"
Marceau flinched back, realizing his faux pas. "Forgive me, Dr. Vomi. I would very much enjoy your pumpkin bread!"
She smiled, even if she knew she was just being paid lip service. Gebo II moved one of his knights and smiled warmly. "Please forgive #19, he is still learning the finer points of human interaction."
Dr. Vomi shied away. "I know…"
She sighed. "Do you enjoy the name I gave you, Android 19? I notice that you never ask anyone to use it. Did I pick a name you dislike?"
Marceau looked to Gebo II. Gebo II curtly nodded. Marceau spoke. "I do not dislike my more familiar designation, Dr. Vomi. It is simply still just new to me. I value your care and concern for my personal happiness."
The loud crash of glass echoed out from a few cars down and Dr. Vomi, Gebo II, and Marceau all turned their heads. Dr. Vomi closed her magazine. "It sounds like trouble. Perhaps we should-"
Marceau moved his bishop, taking another of Gebo II's pawns. "I shall go investigate, Dr. Vomi. I request that you maintain a safe distance from potential dangers."
And then, without another word on the subject, Marceau got up and robotically walked down the hall toward the Lounge Car. As he marched, unbeknownst to him in his current mission, Dabura hatefully stared with his yellow, cat-slit eyes. And a sinister grin spread on his face as another of that woman's guardians made off.
-The Demon and the Martial Artist-
Goku caught Piccolo Jr.'s wrist as the knife came sailing down again. It was taking all of his current strength just to hold the blade at bay. This guy was strong, that was for sure. But, was he strong enough to force Goku into using his secret power?
Honestly, he was starting to think so.
Goku glanced out of the corner of his eye, seeing the lightly roughed-up Krillin and some lady he had never met both approaching. He held up a staying hand. "Stay back! I've got this! I don't want you guys getting hurt!"
Krillin stopped in his tracks. "Are you sure, Goku?"
Goku nodded. "Yeah. I might be preparing to bust out my God-of-Earth Form and I don't want you to get caught up in it!"
Krillin's face went white. "Oh…"
Lazuli was confused. "God-of-Earth Form?!"
Krillin nodded. "Yeah. We'd better back up…"
Piccolo Jr. sneered down at Goku. "Such a presumptuous title! Are you trying to intimidate me?!"
Goku shook his head. "No. I'm trying to protect my friend and that bystander from you is all…"
Piccolo Jr. cackled. "So the successor to the aged fossil once known as Kami thinks he has this battle squared away with some preposterous fighting form? I repeat my earlier threat: I will eat your heart!"
Goku snapped back. "Well maybe eating it would quell the evil infecting your wretched soul!"
Piccolo Jr hissed. "I see, so you do hold a grudge against me as I do you~ Is that what Kami asked of you before he met his end? That you hold a grudge? I thought Gods were supposed to be above such triviality…"
A long time ago…
Tears spilled down Goku's face as he held the dying Kami in his arms, just a boy and yet already having dealt with so much tragic bloodshed. And in such a short time too. Behind him, the miserable faces of Yamcha and Tenshinhan hovered in the ever-darkening dusk. Kami smiled at them warmly. "The Dragon Balls are good for one more wish before they turn to stone forever."
Goku was choking back a sob. "I think I know what wish to make."
Unknown to Goku, much very much known to Kami, the last of King Piccolo's eggs sat buried in the nearby rubble. That was good as well, Kami had decided. He smiled as the life slowly faded from his eyes. His voice was a haunting whisper. "Do not waste it to return me to life. I have gone on too long, dear Goku."
Goku squeezed his eyes shut, tears running down his cheeks and snot running out of his nose. His body was a roadmap of injuries and pain, but he didn't feel anything stronger than the ache in his heart. He loved this mysterious, old man. Just as he had loved Master Roshi and Master Korin. Goku squeezed him close.
Kami spoke his last words. "Son Goku, I name you Kami of the Earth. Carry the title with good faith and modesty. And…never lose…the kindness…in…your…heart…"
Now.
Son Goku looked at Piccolo Jr., his eyes bearing a grudge that his brain and his heart told him to snuff over and over. He squeezed Piccolo Jr.'s wrist tighter and prepared to make that holy shift he had made only several times before.
And then the door on the opposite end of the car slid open and Marceau stepped in, his eyes going as round as his artificially chubby face. The Android cried out in a metallic twang. "SON GOKU!"
Goku flinched. "Huh?!"
Piccolo Jr. was taken aback. "What the hell is that?!"
Krillin and Lazuli turned as well. And then, in that moment, a twinkle of energy shined out from the nearby ceiling vent and a beam of energy shot into Piccolo Jr.'s hand, exploding off two of his fingers and sending the knife clattering to the ground.
Goku's mind immediately snapped back to the fight at hand and, taking advantage of Piccolo Jr.'s wound, Goku tossed him to the ground with a shoulder throw and swung his makeshift staff with all his might. The wooden beam cracked across Piccolo Jr.'s face and snapped in half, sending him crashing onto the top of the bar and sliding across the smooth surface all the way to the other end.
Everything was still. Uncaring of Piccolo Jr., Marceau immediately turned and ran the other way to inform his peers of this stunning, new development. Everyone else kept their eyes locked onto the demon, sprawled out atop the waxy, polished bar top.
Piccolo Jr. sat up with the swiftness of a bolt of lightning, a hideous purple welt springing up along the line of his cheekbone. He looked ready to leap in again and continue his war against his most hated enemy. But then, the new attacker that had so ungraciously stolen his fingers fell from the vent.
They landed with the silence of a feather and levied their hand toward the demon, charging another ki blast burning with killing intent. And suddenly, Piccolo Jr. felt quite outnumbered indeed.
He snarled. "This isn't over."
And then he bolted back up the ladder to the kitchen car. One of the cooks above shrieked in fear, but then breathed an audible sigh of relief that his life was spared. Piccolo Jr. was gone for the time being.
Goku groaned, pressing his hand to the gash on his chest. "Jeez. I wish he would've just sat down and talked things out. Ow…"
"You should request two fingers of vodka or gin to pour over that. It makes for a good antiseptic in a pinch."
Goku, Krillin, and Lazuli all turned, none of them expecting a voice to suddenly appear behind them. Their eyes landed on a mysterious cloaked figure. A person shorter than all three of them, but one who felt significantly more experienced. Goku chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so. Thanks for the advice…"
The figure smiled, their lips visible from beneath the shadow of their cloak. It was not just a normal, receptive smile. It was a familiar one. One that projected a great deal of love…or sadness…or maybe both. The voice spoke, the monotone having flushed away to reveal a distinctly feminine tone. "Kakarot…"
Krillin and Lazuli both reacted to that word with confusion. As first, Goku did as well. But, as it echoed through his ears and resonated into his brain, Goku was suddenly less confused. Somewhere, in the muddled fog that exists with the living brain of every sentient person, Goku heard that word. And, more shocking, Goku heard this voice. Who was this voice?
Goku spoke. "Who are you? And why did you just step in when I was fighting Piccolo?"
Krillin gasped. "Y-You mean she's the one who blew off Piccolo's fingers?!"
There was another silence. But it was a noisy silence for both Goku and this person. It was like Goku could hear her heartbeat. He was almost certain she could hear his. Slowly, she reached up her hand to her cloak and it was a familiar hand. He had seen it before, each dainty finger separated from him by a barrier of red glass. And then the massive scar going across Goku's scalp began to burn. And he heard a whispered phrase begin to grow and gain power, slowly returning to its original form as a scream.
"Doh…us…K…"
"Don…for…us…Ka…"
"Don't…forget..us..Ka…"
"Don't forget us, Ka…"
"DON'T FORGET US, KAK-"
"..arot?"
Goku flinched back into reality. "Hunh?"
He looked down and saw her face. It was a surprisingly young face, but still touched by time. Worry lines. Scars from former battles. Gray kissing every twentieth strand of hair. She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering and wet as she let go of the hood that had been concealing her. She smiled with more warmth and nourishing love than the Sun.
Gine spoke. "Did you forget me, Kakarot?"
Goku spoke in the voice of a 1-year-old. "Mama…"
And then he fell back, feeling like his entire brain was on fire.
