Oh, I started out not liking this chapter. I thought it was a bit too… sketchy? I guess that's the right word. But I promised that this chapter would have some kind of plot movement in it. And indeed, it does. :D Oh, does it ever. (I love being evil.)

And it ends in a cliffhanger too. Not quite sure how I'll resolve it… but rest assured, I'll finish up this little plot-arc before I work on anything else. Indeed. –chuckles evilly-

But I ended up loving this chapter too. Damnit, I just keep getting better and better! Ahahahaha!! –ego begins to swell again-

Anyway… I thought about delaying this chapter for another day… because I think I'm spoiling you all with my speedy updates. :P But that's okay. I enjoy spoiling people sometimes. Not to mention I've been spoiled to death by nice peoples. –poke poke poke-

Give me a couple days to write this next chapter though, 'kay? I need sufficient time to recuperate from these last two. And I need time to find some good inspiration again. –glances toward an exhausted Inspiration Fairy- ….. Yes. In the meantime, DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL ROX!!11!!!111111!!!!!1!! –head bangs-

Strength

Nothing was helping. Nothing anyone did could get through to her, not even Ranu anymore. She would just stare at all of them like they were strangers, with a blank soul-less stare that made Ranu break down and cry. It hadn't even fazed her. Which scared them more than Ranu's crying ever could.

Three days, and she had only gotten worse. She ate, and she obeyed orders, but she resembled an automated doll no matter what they asked her to do. No matter what they tried, even when Ranu had become slightly hysterical and desperate, threatening to destroy her mother's scouter if she didn't say something, she had not reacted in the least, save her staring at him without so much as a flicker of emotion in her eyes. He had dropped it helplessly and broke down again.

She still did nothing.

"Look at you! You're a mess!" Chichi exclaimed, gesturing wildly at Ranu's under-fed body and the darkness that seemed to hang around him. She fluttered about, trying to mess around with his hair and straightening his clothes, hoping to make him look at least a little better.

"There," she sighed, stepping back to look at him. It hadn't changed anything. "That'll have to do until we can get you home and get some food into you." She nodded to herself.

Ranu inhaled sharply and looked up from the floor, his tired eyes wide.

"W-what?"

"You heard me young man!" Chichi said sharply, sensing an argument. "You are coming back home today! Look at you! You're nothing but skin and bones and you look as if you're going to keel over any second now! I can't have you staying here with that girl any longer!"

Ranu's eyes dilated, then narrowed into a glare.

"Oh, don't give me that look!" she admonished. "You know I feel as bad as everyone else about Kris… but… having you waste away won't do her any good." She finished gently.

Ranu shook his head and took a step back.

"Nothing I do has any effect on her," he said, his voice cracking. "If I was to waste away, she wouldn't care at all… If I die, she wouldn't feel anything at all!" He yelled suddenly, tears starting to stream down his face again and shaking.

"I thought I could save her!" he yelled. "I thought, if I could be strong enough, she would be okay! I could pull her out of it by always being there, I was the one who could save her from herself!" He shook his head wildly and stumbled backwards.

"I-I didn't want her to be like t-this! I just wanted her to be happy! Why couldn't I do that Aunt Chi?!" he sobbed, and looked at her with pleading desperate eyes that continued to stream tears.

She rushed forward and threw her arms around him comfortingly and he almost collapsed into her, sobbing.

After a few minutes, he calmed down and she withdrew to speak.

"Come on," she said soothingly. "I'm sure she'll come out of it soon. She doesn't need you to worry yourself to death about her." And she led him slowly outside and into the car and drove off.

Ranu's breathe slowly fogged up the inside of the backseat window he was staring listlessly out of.

'She doesn't need you to worry yourself to death'

'She doesn't need you to worry'

'She doesn't need you'

He closed his eyes and sighed, half the window fogging over with his breath. Opening his eyes after a moment, he drew a small smiley face in the middle of the condensation and watched blankly as it slowly faded away until he couldn't find it anymore. He rested his forehead against the cold glass.

'If… If I become strong enough… will she need me? Will she need me to be strong for her when I get stronger than I am now?'

"I'm worried about him."

"Huh?"

"All he's been doing lately is training. His grades at school are slipping so fast you would think he had been disturbed for months instead of just a week. Do you think… he could be skipping school to go out and train?"

"…"

"Goku?"

"… No. He's been going to school."

"Oh."

"… wouldn't they have sent something if he wasn't showing up to school?"

"Yeah, you're right. They would."

"…"

"I still think we should watch him."

"…"

"You know, just to make sure he doesn't turn out to be some delinquent. The poor boy is so confused and scared because of Kris's…"

"…He'll be okay."

"Yeah."

"Hello? Dr. Morey?"

"No, I'm sorry, this is his caretaker. Dr. Morey is sleeping at the moment. Would you like me to take a message and he can call you back in about an hour?"

"Yes, thank you."

"What's your message?"

"Tell Dr. Morey that I have some information on an escaped lab animal from the compound he worked at 13 years ago he might be interested in. My number is..."

"Hey, Vegeta?"

"What is it Kakarotto? I'm busy."

"I was just wondering if Ranu had come by here recently. I would try to sense his ki myself, but he's suppressing it. I figured he might be here checking on Kris."

"Hm. No, he hasn't been here lately."

"Oh. Um… so, how's Kris?"

"The same."

"… I see."

"Hn. And I assume that the boy's been upset this entire time as well."

"Sort of. He's been training like crazy recently."

"Good. He should be."

"Yeah, 'cept Chichi's been really worried about him when he's at school. And he's gotten really distant since Kris has been like this… and he didn't come home last night."

"Hm."

Bra sat down on the sofa with some of her homework and flicked on the television to have some background noise, not really caring what channel it was on.

"New information on the outcome of the trial of Dr. Morey today folks," an announcer reported.

"It seems that the prosecution was never able to come up with enough hard evidence to pin the murder and torture charges on Dr. Morey. As to the charges of traumatizing a small group of small children, he has been fined with the expenses of every child's counseling fees and additional money for pain and suffering. The doctor happily complied, saying that it would be nothing that would much dent his ample pocketbook…"

The announcer droned on as Bra watched the screen with a sort of sadness before she turned back to her homework and scribbled down answers, her mind only half on the actual questions.

After awhile, the pencil dropped from her hand and she made no move to pick it back up.

"U-uh?" Ranu muttered, cracking his eyes open. It was bright. Why was it so bright? Was it morning? Noon? What time was it? Where was he?

He opened his eyes fully, though the bright light above him forced him to turn his head. He noticed something was wrong immediately when he found it difficult to do even that. And it was hard to breathe. He tried to move his arms only to find that they wouldn't respond like he wanted them to. They twitched uselessly when he tried to flex them. His breath became more labored.

It was white. It was a completely white little room. He couldn't remember how he got there. It reeked of disinfectant that burned his sensitive nose and made his breathing harder than it should have been.

There was something horribly wrong, he knew that. But he couldn't move more than a couple of inches and it felt as if some great weight had been placed on his chest and he couldn't move it, he couldn't breathe! He started panicking and it felt as if he would pass out if he couldn't get more oxygen.

"Now now, don't get so upset," a kind sounding voice said. A woman and man dragged a machine in on a wheeled cart and set it up next to him, fitting a plastic mask over his mouth and nose and switching the machine on.

He immediately noticed that he felt much calmer and his breathing was a lot easier. Which served to panic the un-affected part of his mind even more, but nothing could be done about it.

The last flickering sparks of fear faded from his eyes as they closed again.

"Don't worry. We're not going to hurt you. Dr. Morey is just a bit curious about you and your little friend. Don't worry. Everything's going to be alright..."