Disclaimer: see part one and five.

Author's note: pretty short part this time.  My apologies, for the lack of time prevented me on expanding this part of the chapter.  I will work on it in the middle of June, along with the rest of the chapter.  For now, enjoy.  Only one part remains in chapter zero.

Oh, and don't forget to stop by my profile page if you wish to be on my mailing list.

No pre-reads done this part.  I'm still trying to decide whether or not I decided to keep this little part a secret from Mike and Ann, even though they already knew what happened.

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Parallel and Perpendicular

A romance/fiction story by ShaggyDiz

Chapter Zero: Parallels

Part Seven: What Haunts in My Sleep?

* * *

                "What is it that you see?" it asked.

                "Nothing… no, wait!  Brown and green… I might be in a forest.  I see trees."

                "What is it that you hear?"

                "Birds… the wind, I can hear the wind.  There is something else… some sort of… humming sound.  It's unnatural though."

                "What is it that you feel?"

                "Nothing… like I'm lonely.  I try and touch this tree… my hand… I can't touch it.  I can't feel the ground beneath me… who are you?"

                "Wrong," it mocked.  "Try again."

                "…What are you?"

                "Nothing.  I am nothing.  A figment, if you will.  I'm here… because you need to know."

                "What do I need to know?"

                "Her pain."  And then it was gone, replaced by a blinding flash of white light.

                Impenetrable.

                Thick.

                Heavy.

                It soon lifted, revealing trees.  It was dark.  Looking up, the trees covered everything.  No sunlight penetrated it.

                "What to do?" he asked, though not in his voice.  It was… a young woman's voice.  "Strange," 'he' simply said.  He held up his hands… rather, her hands.

                "What is this?"

                "Who am I?"

                The humming returned.  He… rather, 'she' went through the woods, following the sound.  It got louder as 'she' moved forward.  Looking around, 'she' saw no one.  The only sound was the humming 'she' followed.

                Unnatural.

                Man-made.

                'She' came out of the trees, looking out, seeing a street some distance ahead of her.  The humming grew louder.

                "An idle engine," 'she' whispered.  'She' moved closer, seeing a pack of people surrounding the humming sound.  There was a new sound being emitted.  It was soft, and hard to figure out at first.

                "Sobbing… someone's crying."  'She' reached the back of the pack, trying to poke 'her' head around.  'She' managed to squeeze through.  'She' heard someone yell out 'Let her through.  I know her.'  Soon enough, 'she' was pulled through, looking down at a child holding a woman in her arms.  Next to her, a toddler – a girl with the small clothing attire being shown – was crying, thrashing about in her chair, as if knowing what had happened, and yet, not knowing, just wanting…

                "It's Mom," the young girl said.  Tears flowed down her face, but she did nothing to stop them.  She couldn't because of the lady in her arms.  Then it clicked to 'her'.

                "Faye-Faye?" the child asked.  'She' looked down again, trying to figure out something to do.

                "She's dead."

                And then the white light returned.

                Impenetrable.

                Thick.

                Heavy.

                It stopped briefly, showing a speeding car.  To the left, there was a child in hand, helping in pushing the baby carriage.  They got pushed out of the way.  One last look… at the speeding car…

                And then he woke up.

                "Ah!" he yelled out hoarsely, breathing in deeply.  He looked at the clock.  "Three… in the morning… damn."  He continued breathing deep, wondering what had happened just now.

                "Shit."  He couldn't help but curse out loud again.  Slowly, he pushed the remaining covers off of him and stood up.  He left for the bathroom, grabbing a pair of pants to put on along the way to cover what little he had on.

                Turning on the light, he made his way to the sink, twisting the handle on for the cold water and splashing some on his face.  "What the hell was that?" he asked himself, looking into the mirror.  He splashed more cold water onto his face.

                "I'm going back to bed… if I can."  He couldn't help but laugh, knowing now that sleep was a lost cause.  "This dream… how odd… why did I see someone die?  Someone that… I don't even know?  Does this mean something?"

                He got back to his room, moving as quietly as he could, trying not to disturb Goten.  "Gohan?"

                "What is it?" he asked, looking towards his bed to see Goten sitting on it, rubbing his eyes and yawning ever so softly.

                "What's wrong?  Did you have a bad dream?"

                He sighed.  "You could say that."  He moved to sit next to his younger brother.  "Was I too loud?"

                "I heard you say a dirty word.  Mom won't like it."

                "Mom won't know about it," he said, chuckling slightly.  "I'm sorry… just these dreams the last week… it's telling me something.  This is the first night that I've had this one though."

                "What happened?" Goten asked him, curious.

                "You don't need to know… not now at least."  He picked up Goten, carrying him over back to his bed.  "Get some sleep now.  Tomorrow, I'll teach you how to fly," he said, tucking him in.

                "Okay… Gohan… see you tomorrow."  He was out in a flash, his breathing becoming even.  A light snore started several moments later.

                "Night Goten," Gohan said smiling.  He returned to his bed, going to sleep.  He would never dream this dream again.

* * *

                "What is it that you see?" it asked.

                "Nothing… no, wait!  Brown and yellow… I might be in a desert.  I see sand dunes and rock faces."

                "What is it that you hear?"

                "Snakes… the wind, I can hear the wind.  There is something else… some sort of… humming sound.  It's unnatural though."

                "What is it that you feel?"

                "Nothing… like I'm lonely.  I try and touch this rock… my hand… I can't touch it.  I can't feel the ground beneath me… who are you?"

                "Wrong," it mocked.  "Try again."

                "…What are you?"

                "Nothing.  I am nothing.  A figment, if you will.  I'm here… because you need to know."

                "What do I need to know?"

                "His pain."  And then it was gone, replaced by a blinding flash of white light.

                Impenetrable.

                Thick.

                Heavy.

                It soon lifted, revealing sand.  It was bright.  Looking up, the sky was clear.  There were no clouds blocking the sun.

                "What to do?" she asked, though not in her voice.  It was… a large man's voice.  "Strange," 'she' simply said.  She held up her hands… rather, his hands.  The hands were green lined with a pinkish color.

                "What is this?"

                "Who am I?"

                The humming returned.  She… rather, 'he', went out through the desert, following the sound.  It got louder as 'she' moved forward.  Looking around, 'she' saw no one.  The only sound was the humming 'she' followed.

                Unnatural.

                Man-made.

                'He' came to a clearing, looking out, seeing a golden valley ahead of 'him'.  The humming grew louder.

                "It sounds like the end of the word," 'he' whispered.  'He' moved closer, seeing a small group of people surrounding the humming sound.  Suddenly though, the sound ended.  As quickly as that ended though, a new sound filled the air.  It was soft, and hard to figure out at first.

                "Sobbing… someone's crying."  'He' reached the back of the group, trying to poke 'his' head around.  'He' got through, coming up behind a boy.  Next to the kid was a short balding man.  He was whispering to the child, trying to calm him down.  'It'll be all right' was a phrase 'he' picked up.  The boy himself was on his knees, his arms wrapped around himself.  He looked up at 'him', noticing just now that he arrived.  'He' looked into his eyes, seeing as if he lost something, like he was missing…

                "It's Dad," the young boy said.  Tears flowed down his face, but he did nothing to stop them.  He couldn't because of the position he found himself in right now.  Then it clicked to 'him'.

                "Piccolo?" the child asked.  'He' looked down again, trying to figure out something to do.

                "He's dead."

                And then the white light returned.

                Impenetrable.

                Thick.

                Heavy.

                It stopped briefly, showing a boy on his knees.  In front of him stood a man.  He was mumbling words, inaudible over the rumble.  Behind him sat something huge, something inflated.  One last look before they vanished… it looked eerily reminiscent of Cell…

                And then she woke up.

                "Ah!" she yelled out hoarsely, breathing in deeply.  She looked at the clock.  "Three… in the morning… damn."  She continued breathing deep, wondering what had happened just now.

                "Shit."  She couldn't help but curse out loud again.  Slowly, she pushed the remaining covers off of her and stood up.  She left for the bathroom, grabbing a robe to put on along the way to cover what little she had on.

                Turning on the light, she made her way to the sink, twisting the handle on for the cold water and splashing some on her face.  "What the hell was that?" she asked herself, looking into the mirror.  She splashed more cold water onto her face.

                "I'm going back to bed… if I can."  She couldn't help but laugh, knowing now that sleep was a lost cause.  "This dream… how odd… why did I see someone die?  Someone that… I don't even know?  Does this mean something?  It has to mean something… cause I saw Cell."

                She got back to her room, moving as quietly as she could, trying not to disturb Kagero.  "Videl?"

                "What is it?" she asked, looking towards her bed to see Kagero sitting on it, rubbing her eyes and yawning ever so softly.

                "What's wrong?  Did you have a bad dream?"

                She sighed.  "You could say that."  She moved to sit next to her younger sister.  "Was I too loud?"

                "I heard you say a dirty word.  Faye-Faye won't like it."

                "Faye-Faye won't know about it… not that you care what comes out of my mouth anyway," she said, chuckling slightly.  "I'm sorry… just these dreams the last week… it's telling me something.  This is the first night that I've had this one though."

                "What happened?" Kagero asked her, curious.

                "You don't need to know… not now at least."  She picked up Kagero, carrying her over back to her bed.  "Get some sleep now.  Tomorrow, we'll go out and have a little fun somewhere, okay?" she said, tucking her in.

                "Okay… Videl… see you tomorrow."  She was out in a flash, her breathing becoming even.  A light snore started several moments later.

                "Night Kagero," Videl said smiling.  She returned to her bed, going to sleep.  She would never dream this dream again.

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