A/N: Hi! *waves to audience* So what's new with you guys? *silence* Right…okay… *clears throat* I'll let myself out…
So sorry for the long wait you guys! I've been busy and had no inspiration to write. I'm having some problems at school, and who knows how long it'll take to solve? Just one tip for all of you: Do not start rumours; do not spread rumours. You might place people like me in not-so-good positions.
Of course, I got writing again as soon as I saw reviews coming in…
Disclaimer: I forgot to do one of these last chapter…oops! Anyway, I do not own DB/Z/GT. Are we good now?
Family TiesShe was engulfed in ice, and slowly sinking, sinking…until her knees hit the ground hard, jolting her back to reality. She felt her stomach flip as the world spun around and around. She felt dizzy, and nauseous, but her skin was so numb. She laid in a heap on the icy plane and shivered endlessly. She shivered, and shivered…she couldn't stop shivering…
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"Do you know where you are?" a notorious voice sneered down at him.
Goku opened his eyes to the disturbing voice. He could see nothing but pitch black. He blinked a few times and allowed his eyes to adjust to the dimness of the room.
"No…" he replied drowsily. His mind was enveloped in a layer of fog that ceased to lift.
A round of mocking laughter drifted through the room, surrounding him every-which-way. A sudden wave of pounding pain in his head shocked him awake. He gasped, upon seeing the sea of smirking faces floating atop of him, faces of violent souls who will never release him from his prison.
"That's okay," the same voice that'd spoken to him previously spoke again. "You do not need to know anything until after the Lord is through with you."
Panic filled Goku's eyes. What is that supposed to mean? Is Lord Ice set on killing him? If he is, Goku can't think of anything he'd ever done to aggravate him. In fact, he'd never even heard of that name until the day before. He observed his surroundings, and noticed medical cabinets littered with tools. He himself is lying on top of an operating table.
A doctor emerged from the crowd of saiyans, one Goku remembered through his recovered memories. He's the benign one who had much faith that Kakarott would become almighty and powerful someday. Now an evil glint shone in his eyes, as he advanced towards Goku with a syringe in hand. The syringe contained a viscous, purple fluid.
Goku felt terror rising up his chest, as his heart pounded wildly. He tried to move away from the man, but he couldn't. He wasn't confined with any restraints, yet his own body felt so heavy that he could barely turn his head.
The doctor approached Goku and clamped a hand tightly around his neck, cutting off his air supply. With his other hand, he slowly pushed the needle into his neck and injected the substance into a vein. Goku's eyes began to water, as his lungs screamed painfully for air and the ice-cold fluid flowed thickly through him.
Red splashed over the ceiling, and gradually darkened into a somber black.
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Pan slowly straightened up into a sitting position, as the flames on the wall seemed to brighten suddenly. She sighed; the whole dungeon felt empty with the exception of herself. She stuck her cold hands into her pockets for warmth, and came across something small and hard. Surprised, she carefully lifted out the mysterious object, and stared speechlessly, lips quivering, at the familiar capsule containing her beloved viola.
Pan stood and straightened up professionally. She delicately tucked the instrument under her chin and ran the bow across the strings. To her surprise, it was perfectly in tune. She played, clueless as to what, but she played on relying on muscle memory. She played to her heart's desire, pouring her soul into her beautiful music, attempting to release the pain and confusion gathered up inside of her for so long. Gradually, slow as a snail's pace, an atmosphere of calmness began to envelope her. She would have played on for infinity, until the end of time, her mind secluded to staring blankly at her own two hands and bathing in the comfort of liberation. No distractions, no people, no things. She would have, if not for the disturbing feeling that she is no longer alone in her cage. She halted and allowed her bow to slide off the strings and onto the floor with a resounding clang. At the corner of the cell, Pan saw someone by the door. Their eyes collided.
"Hi," the figure spoke quietly and politely. "I am Cereida."
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…take me back…please take me back…
…I will do anything…
…no I won't…
…but I want to go back now…please…
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"Wh…who?" Pan stuttered, her heart flipped, taken by this woman's beauty and her gentle voice.
"Cereida," the woman repeated. "I work here."
Cereida was clad in old, dirty rags, yet her shiny hair hangs down her back in a long, black braid. Her face looked tired yet gorgeous; she reminded Pan of Cinderella. Her features held a genuine smile, and Pan could receive friendly vibes from her. And then there are her eyes…large coal-black eyes with long lashes which mirrored her own precisely…
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"The drug is taking effect."
"He should be out for another hour or so."
"Alright then. Let's report to Lord Ice right way."
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Pan gulped nervously; her heart skipped a beat. 'Her gaze is so intense…like she can see right through me.' She swallowed uneasily.
"Are you okay, honey?" Cereida asked with concern. "I haven't heard such a beautiful sound in a long time, but your music was soulfully depressing. I suppose if music truly reflects the musician's soul, you must be really upset about something."
It's been quite a while since someone had been nice to her, which in a way fueled her frustration even more. A bitter, humourless smile slowly formed on her lips.
"You got that right," Pan commented in a fashion which complimented her expression. "But hey," she continued, "You can't expect someone to be content with everything." She tilted her head upwards, their eyes meeting once again. "Perhaps some of us would prefer to stay on her home planet, instead of being kidnapped by aliens into the amidst of space." She laughed dryly; Pan was a little more than hysterical now. "This is just so funny! I mean, I don't know why I'm here. I certainly don't have a clue where here is. I don't even remember how I got here! This is all just so crazy, fit for my adventurous style! I'm having the time of my life!" Pan threw her head back and laughed riotously, totally out of control.
"I've got your point, girl," Cereida said simply and calmly. Then she moved from her spot at the doorway to Pan's side. She extended her arms and wrapped Pan in a warm hug. "Please allow me help you," she offered kindly. Pan didn't even look up; couldn't look up to see the sympathy in the woman's gentle eyes. Instead, she sobbed quietly, burying her face in the woman's shoulder. It was bad enough that she had displayed such an open case of weakness, but her only audience had to reach forward and help her out. She wanted to fight; expected a fight, a chance to feel the delightful rush of adrenaline rushing through her veins. But she gave in, and melted in the compassion. It made her feel more desperate and powerless than before, fully insecured, but in a way, it felt really nice.
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"The saiyan named Kakarott is ready for takeover, Sire."
"Very well then. We'll begin first thing tomorrow morning."
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"Cereida," began the tentative question, "are you a saiyan? You have a tail and all, but you don't dress like one. And you certainly don't act like one either."
A mild chuckle. "Yes, I am saiyijin. And you have to understand, child, that although we can be ruthless at times, we are generally kind people, just like you humans."
"I'm not sure I understand…"
"That's okay. I know it's confusing. Let's just say that Lord Ice destroyed the saiyan moral and reigned our race, just like Freiza had once done. It's kind of like…déjà vu of a saiyan past. Except Lord Ice is using his powers to actually control the minds of the saiyans, while Freiza earned loyalty from us. I'm not sure what happened. The last thing I remember before all this is a loud exploding noise and really bright lights. Then, the next thing I know, we were perfectly fine and everything was back to normal. But when I walked outside, I realized that the whole scenery had changed dramatically. All of our homes, streets, and facilities were gone. In fact, the only building which existed was a gigantic castle, the one I walked out of. Before, the King's castle was the only one around, and it looked nothing like this one. And outside, there used to be daylight and vegetation. Now the whole planet is smothered in darkness, and the ground is nothing but rocky, crumbly pebbles. But you know what's worse? All the men have turned against us, including our king. They've all became loyal subjects of Lord Ice. Meanwhile, none of the women believed in him and failed to convince the men of their true identity. Lord Ice gathered up all of the saiyan women, and smugly told us that the saiyan race had died and been resurrected. He had taken control over all the men, and said that women are good for nothing but cooking, cleaning, and all the work servants are good for…that's what he made us into…servants for him and the rest of the 'eligible' saiyans."
"My name is Pan," Pan spoke up in a small voice. "It's a pleasure meeting you."
Cereida was distracted from her moment of angsty recollections. "What? Oh, Pan, that's your name…sorry…" she shook her head, "I didn't mean to go on a rampage like that. It's just that, well, I'm just as angry as you are. If Lord Ice asked for you to be brought here, it can't be good news. I'm going to help you get out of here, whether he likes it or not."
Pan sat and considered the generous offer. "You know," she began, "I don't usually trust people that much. But I feel like you're telling me the truth. So yes, please help me, and I'll see what I can do for you, though it probably won't be much. We're sort of in the same boat here."
Cereida smiled. "Glad to. Us 'servants' don't have to work unless we're called on to. In my spare time, I'll see what I can do for you. Actually, I have some free time right now. But first, may I please see your instrument?"
Hesitantly, Pan handed over her precious viola. 'You have to trust her. You have to trust her.' a little voice chanted in her head.
The little voice was right. As Cereida looked at the instrument, a sad smile slowly crept across her beautiful face. "I feel as though I've seen this before, and heard it too, but I can't quite put my finger on it… You know what's really strange? I can feel this positive energy running through the viola…it's drawing me closer to him…"
"Him?" Pan probed, curious.
"Someone I've been searching for for a very long time. Someone I've only seen and held once before he was taken from me." Cereida shook her head and welcomed the relief as a painful memory glided past and vanished. "But that's not important. I need to know exactly what happened to you. Perhaps then we will learn what their intentions are regarding you."
"Well," Pan scrutinized over her recent memories. So much has happened in such a short time… "I remember having a really stupid argument with my grandpa, then bolting from my house. He found me later and insisted that we hide right away, no questions asked. We ended up arguing some more, until these two goons, Radditz and Bardock, showed up with an unconscious Vegeta. A struggle of some sort took place, and the next thing I know, I was sailing for a new planet in a space pod."
Cereida's eyes saturated with sorrow. "I'm sorry about what those two did to you. They really didn't mean to. It's all because of Lord Ice and his mind-invading potentials."
"I hope this Lord Ice dies soon," Pan said matter-of-factly. "I bet he knows where grandpa is," she continued with revived determination. "I'm going to make him tell no matter what it takes."
"They didn't kidnap just you?"
"No," Pan replied. "They also had the prince and my grandpa. He's a kid now, but that's a long story which Radditz insisted he knew all about."
Cereida looked at Pan strangely, acutely interested and attention sharply focused. "Tell me more about your grandpa."
"Ok…he's the other saiyan living on Earth besides Vegeta. I suppose that makes him one of the last remaining saiyans to be collected. His name is Son Goku, but Vegeta told us that his real name is actually Kakarott."
"Kakarott," Cereida gasped, her expression a blend of surprise, joy, and dread. "Lord Ice's captured my son Kakarott."
A/N: YEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!!!!!! I finished another chapter!!! Woo-hoo!!! Sorry people. This one took slightly shorter than the last one. Still, a good 3 months. As previously mentioned, I had my reasons. In my defense, I tried to write a few anything (words, sentences, etc.) every time I turned on the computer, which was like once a week at the most. Eventually the sentences did build up, and here we are! End of chapter 10. Unfortunately, I'm sad to say that the quality is gradually dwindling…
Does anyone, anyone at all know the name of Goku's mom? I don't think it was ever mentioned, but I saw this name going around in several stories by different authors. If anyone knows anything, if let me know so I can correct it. For now, I'll just keep on using Cereida.
I was trying to write longer chapters in hopes of completing the story in 20 chapters or less. Don't think that'll be happening. By the way, the next chappie should take even longer, because I'm not exactly sure where this is going, aka I have no clue. Thank you so much for putting up with me, and for your nice reviews! Keep'em com'in!!!
~Angelfish369 ^-^