Hiya, everybody! Sorry this has taken a looong time to get out, and sorry if the "tone" of this chapter seems a bit off... I haven't been into DBZ/SM in a while, I'm slowly getting back into it and I think this is a good way to start!

White Night

Tears almost sprang to her own eyes as the child's sobs wracked his body and shook her own. All this over something so trivial...? she thought, growing more worried about the child's mental well-being. Little did she know that the spikey-haired boy's mind was a million miles from where she assumed it was.

Images played in Goten's mind's eye. Not the happy, simple images full of bright colors that often played. No, these were dark, sinister images, nothing a child should ever have to witness. Even Goten, not an ordinary child in the slightest, hadn't the faintest idea why he was seeing these horrible movies played across his mind... Each image snapped to another within seconds, but some sounds filtered through...

A golden-haired young woman, wounded almost beyond recognition, lying on the rocky desert ground. Her breathing was quiet and ragged, even his Saiyan hearing could barely hear it. A figure stood above her, the sun shining directly behind it so Goten could not see who it was. All he could see was a menacing smile playing about its mouth...

Night... Moonlight... Black mountains on the horizon... He realized he was flying backwards... somehow. In the distance he could see orange, black and blue blurs flying faster than he ever could, close to the ground, as if searching for something... or someone. He heard the same word screamed over and over again, but he couldn't quite decipher what it was. It was as if it was blocked out, or he had cotton in his ears...

Rain... Lightning. A summer storm. A murky cave, lit by unknown light. The same girl leaned against a wall, slowly moving towards the opening, her wounds pouring blood with each step. A determined look of defiance was set on her face, her teeth gritted in response to her injuries as her azure eyes fiercely set on something in the shadows deep in the cave.

"Where do you think you're going?..." came a frighteningly calm voice from the shadows. The girl's mouth formed words, but Goten could not hear nor could he read her lips. He saw her almost collapse to the ground from the strain on her body, but she stood back up, still leaning on the cave wall, her eyes almost fearful and desperate. Desperate for what? He began to see a shape darker than the shadowed cave emerge, and a surge of ki rushed through his veins. He wanted, needed to get that girl out of there, she was in danger, death would be a mercy on her. Whatever that creature in the darkness was, it would not be merciful. I have to help her!!!

'Lady!! Lady!! You have to leave!! You can't let that thing get you!! Lady!!' The girl's gaze seemed to flicker away from the shadows for an instant, almost in surprise. Then everything went dark. And the worst sound Goten had ever heard filled the air. A scream of horror, pain, and helplessness... No! he yelled. No, no, NO!!! NO NO NO NO NO!!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!

She leaned against the dresser closest to her as the boy became still and his breathing became regular again. He must have a fallen asleep... Her gaze drifted to various objects in the room as she stroked his back instinctively. As she was trying to figure out the pattern on the blanket on the bed she felt a surge of... what? Wait. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, or if she was still dreaming from the last time she passed out, but the boy in her arms seemed to become... warmer. She knew when children cried their body temperature rose, but wherever his skin touched hers, it seemed to almost burn. Alright, I'm not dreaming... Maybe he has a fever...? she wondered as she looked down at his head tucked in the crook of her neck. What the... His hair was as golden as hers was, and seemed to defy gravity as that bad-tempered man's had. His hands, which were resting on her chest, now were tightly grasping fistfuls of the shirt she was wearing, she feared he would rip it. And... was that a golden haze she saw surrounding his body?! Her eyes widened, her body froze.

"Oh, my god..." she whispered. This... wasn't normal. Normal children didn't suddenly feel like they had a 120 degree fever, their hair didn't suddenly go from ebony to blond, and auras of light didn't just randomly decide to encircle their little bodies and-- Did it just spark at me?!

Yet, she didn't fear the boy. Her senses were screaming at her to run and get away from this wacky kid, but her instincts soothingly told her there was no danger. She was going to be alright. She realized her breathing had sped up immensely, as had her heart rate. Willing them to calm down, she continued to shakily rub the boy's back, saying, "It's alright... I'm here... Goten... It's okay... Darling, I'm right here..."

Goten's head snapped back, his eyes burning into hers. Blue eyes...? An unreadable expression filled his face, wet rivers from his tears streaking his cheeks. He didn't appear to be completely there, however. Blazing as his eyes now were, they seemed to be somewhere else still, in a different world. The two stayed that way for a moment, her gaze never wavering from his. Even if he wasn't looking at her, she was afraid he would... break if she looked away. As if in a trance of her own, she slowly took her left hand from its place on his back and brought it to his tanned cheek, gently caressing his wet skin.

Come back...

Vegeta blinked. What the hell...? A spark of ki had rippled through his consciousness, then a full blown hunk of it made itself known violently, almost making him, the mighty Saiya-jin-no-Ouji, wince. Not moving from his position against the wall, he looked at his eternal rival.

"Your son is pissed."

Thank you, JerzeeGurl for snapping me back into this fic!! I hope I haven't lost the knack for it! It will no longer be dormant!! Happy New Year!! ROCKIN' 2005!!!

Spritz