Disclaimer; I don't own Dragonball/Z/GT
A/N; Well, here it finally is. The 10th instalment of Mind Games! I could rant and rave and come up with a million and one reasons why it took so long to complete it, but I wont. I never forgot about this one or had a writers block or anything, so don't fear that this is going to end up being one of those fics that never gets finished, because I have never let you down yet! Also, if you read to the end of the chapter, there is a surprise for you all in the A/N's down there. Enjoy
Mind Games
Chapter Ten
"Hey, baby are you ok?" Arisa began to rub her hands up and down Yumcha's back before she began to massage his shoulders, "You haven't been yourself ever since your friend stopped by"
"Yeah," Yumcha sighed and rubbed his temples, "I'm ok. I think I might go for a run"
"Ok baby"
10 minutes later, Yumcha was running down the empty city streets. It was a little after 12 and the streets were relatively quiet. There were very few shops open and most people were at home with their families. As his feet pounded against the pavement, his mind was full of thought. He was worried about Krillen and 18 and poor innocent Marron. Krillen had been a wreck when he had left the night before. He wanted to help, but he didn't know what he could do.
He had promised that he would keep it to himself, had sworn it to Krillen as his friend, and Yumcha would not betray that trust, but then again, he really needed help. It was a sticky situation and Yumcha had no idea what to do.
Turning the corner, he jogged a little way up the street, sat down at a bus stop and looked up at the sky. The smog and pollution was blocking out the view of the stars, and all that was visible was a dark grey cloud covering. It was depressing to think that it was humans who had done this, who had gone so far in their quest to get every where quicker, do everything faster, make more money, that they had destroyed their home, and very few of them actually cared about fixing the problem.
Shaking his head, Yumcha's mind drifted back to a much more pressing situation. What to do about this problem with Krillen and 18. He considered them two of his closest friend and he didn't want them to go through any hardships, they had both been through so much in their lives and deserved nothing more than to be happy – and he wanted to help them be happy, but not at the expense of Krillens trust.
But then again, in the long run, he very well may thank Yumcha for it; if it was the reason his marriage was saved.
Standing up, he slowly walked back in the direction he had come, not in the mood to run any more, and certainly not in the location to fly. He came across an all night drug store and walked in. he didn't really know what possessed him to do so, as he had no money, nor no need for a drug store, yet still, something about the flashing neon sign drew him in.
Wandering through the store, he came to a stand of free information brochures. Scanning his eyes over the topics, he saw "Dealing with Acne" "Teen pregnancy" "A Parents Guide To Bulimia" "Marriage Problems". Stoping, Yumcha re-read the title of the last brochures and picked it up. Flipping to the index, he noticed that there were several pages dedicated to how friends and family could help suffering couples deal with marriage problems.
Looking to the sales clerk, Yumcha waved the brochure around "This is free, right?" he asked. The sales clerk yawned and nodded, "Uh huh"
"Ok, great. Thanks" Yumcha smiled and tucked the brochure into his back pocket. Maybe visiting the drug store was some kind of sign after all. First thing in the morning, he was going to help Krillen.
---------------
Sighing deeply, 18 sunk further down into her chair, her eyes were almost level with the tabletop she had sunk so low. She intently stared at the small box that sat before her, unable to let herself believe that she had forgotten her first wedding anniversary. Not only had she forgotten, but also she had been so intent on helping 17 then covering up her lies to Krillen that she had totally pushed him away. She was a horrible, horrible wife and whatever was inside that box, she didn't deserve.
But still, she pushed herself back up to a sitting position and picked up the box, she had always been a very curious person. She ran her fingers over the smooth cool paper and shook her head. Should she really open it? Turning the package over, she picked one half of the sticky tape away from the wrapping, and then the other half.
She stopped for a moment; it wasn't to late for her to stick it back down and walk away. But she took the paper off anyway. Ever since Krillen had shoved it in her hands the day before, she had been debating with herself on whether to open it or not, it was 3.31am the next day now, and she was the only one awake for miles around, even 17, was asleep on the sofa in the next room.
Discarding the silver paper, 18 looked down at the now revealed box, it was only cardboard, and about the size of a deck of card. Lifting the lid off, 18 felt tears well up in her eyes. Sitting inside the box was a gold chain with a locket attached to it, and a folded piece of notebook paper. Picking the chain up, 18 dangled it between her fingers and let the tears drip down her face, making no effort to wipe them away. She opened the locket, and a sob escaped from deep in her throat. Inside were two tiny pictures, one of Krillen and one of 18, both on their wedding day, and both looking like they didn't have a care in the world – which back then, they didn't. Now though, things were so different.
Did she dare pick up the paper? Dare read what ever was inside? Well, she had come this far; why not go all the way. She gently pried the paper from inside the small box and unfolded it. It was Krillens handwriting all right, he never wrote in cursive, and even his print wasn't exactly neat. But still, it was his and it was perfect too her.
Her hands shook, making reading the page a somewhat difficult task, she was infact, forced to place it down on the table, walk across the room and get herself a glass of water. After taking a few deep breaths and regaining her composure, she sat back down and picked up the paper.
My dearest 18,
Well look at that, we made it, one whole year of wedded bliss. Can you believe it? I know that I couldn't get you much, and believe me, I wanted to give you so much more, I wanted to give you everything you could ever imagine, I wanted to give you the world. But I can't do it, so I did the next best thing I could think of.
First wedding anniversaries are traditionally celebrated with paper gifts, and I couldn't think of any better way to let you know how much I love you, then with a poem. Happy anniversary, darling. I love you more than words could ever possibly describe, but I hope that this will help a little.
The ocean may run dry with drought,
the sky may lose its blue;
But one thing that will never end,
is my undying love for you.
Stone walls may soon crumble,
and clothes will rip and tear;
but one thing that will never happen
is that I will cease to care.
In shallow waters it seemed I lived;
my companions were pain and strife,
my mother may have birthed me but you have gave me life.
My body lies in waiting;
my soul is filled with bliss,
with memories of you and me I hunger for your kiss.
Pain and suffering means nothing,
when I am with you, they are but lies.
Your gentle touch, your softest breath...
As I look into your eyes.
Being in your presence,
strips everything from my control.
Your smile warms my very heart,
your touch my very soul.
And when I die and go to heaven,
when death replaces birth,
I'll recognize the angels face,
for I lived with one on earth.
I know that it's not much, and that no amount of words will ever be able to convey how much I love you, but I do love you from the very bottom of my soul, I was nothing until you came into my life, but now, I feel like I can do anything, as long as you are by my side. Thank you so much for loving me, you make me whole
All my love forever and always,
Krillen.
Tears fell from 18's chin and ran with the ink on the paper, if she hadn't felt horrible before, she did now. Here, Krillen was confessing nothing but the deepest passion for her, and she was lying to him, abusing him, and tearing him up inside. She loved him so much, more than he would ever know, but she couldn't tell him the truth about 17, she had to keep him safe from harm, even if that meant loosing him.
Oh, what a horrible mess she had made of her once perfect life. If only she had of listened to Krillen that first night and not gone to that fucking cabin, then 17 would have died and this whole thing would have been over before it even began.
---------------
"Yumcha, what are you doing? You've been looking at that damn phone all morning."
Yumcha sighed deeply and looked up at Arisa, she was still dressed in her pyjamas and her curly brown hair was loosely tied back, letting Yumcha see the perfect brown skin that he just loved. Turning away, he looked back at the phone, it was so close, he could just reach out a grab it, yet at the same time, it seemed so very far away.
"Yumcha!" Arisa called his name, making him jump
"What?" he turned to look at her again
"Do you want me to leave so you can make your call in peace?" she asked, knowing that was exactly what he wanted
Smiling at her, he replied, "You wouldn't mind?"
Shaking her head, she bent over and gently kissed his forehead, "Just give me 10 minutes to get dressed and I'll be gone"
Standing up, Yumcha walked into the kitchen and got himself a glass of juice, he knew what he was about to do was risky, but he really felt that in the long run, it would benefit Krillen and 18, no matter how much they hated him for it now, they would thank him later.
At that point in time, Arisa came bounding into the kitchen, dressed casually in jeans and a tee shirt; she was holding her keys, her mobile phone and her wallet. Standing on her tiptoes she pecked him on the cheek "I'll be back in about an hour okay?"
"Ok, see you then. Bye"
"Bye"
And then Yumcha was alone. Quickly gulping down the remainder of his juice, he rinsed out his glass and walked back into the living room. He couldn't put this phone call off any longer; he knew this had to be done before it was to late. Picking up the receiver, he put it to his ear and punched in the all to familiar number. He listened to the ringing tone, and waited, waited, waited.
"Good morning, Capsule Corporation. How may I help you?"
Yumcha cleared his throat before he spoke. "Hi, this is Yumcha speaking, is it possible to speak with Bulma?"
"Oh, Yumcha" the receptionist cheerily greeted the well known man, "I'll put you through to Bulma's office"
"Thanks"
"Sure thing"
The line went dead, and then the ringing tone resumed, the phone only rang three times before Bulma picked up.
"Bulma Briefs speaking"
"Bulma, hi. It's Yumcha"
On the other end of the line, Bulma's face turned grim, she could tell just by the tone of Yumcha's voice that this wasn't a social call. "Yumcha, what's up? Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. I need your help with something. You've got to promise to keep it a better secret than I did"
"Yumcha, this sounds serious"
"It is"
"Well, come on then, let me hear it"
Yumcha paused before he spoke, it wasn't to late to hang up, but he continued, knowing it was better to ask for help then let things escalate out of control. "It's Krillen and 18"
---------------
"Dada" Marron stretched her small arms up above her head and looked at her father with big pleading eyes. All to willing to comply with his daughter's wishes, Krillen bent over and picked the small girl up.
"Airpway?"
Krillen smiled, "Air plane?" he asked with a smile, then lifted Marron up in the air and began to walk around the top level of the house making engine noises. Marron, loving the experience, squealed with glee.
Krillen laughed as he brought Marron down from the sky and placed a kiss on her cheek. "You ready for breakfast, firefly?" he asked. Marron nodded her head and placed her thumb in her mouth.
"No, Marron," Krillen pulled Marrons finger from her mouth, "no, you don't suck your thumb. That's naughty" He held on to Marron a little tighter as the headed down the stairs, making sure not to step on the one that creaked, he would get around to fixing that one day.
Without even noticing, Krillen held his breath as he walked through the living room, 17 was sleeping on the couch, as he had done for the past three and a half weeks, yet it never got any easier for Krillen to see him there.
Once he had safely passed the living room with out disturbing 17, he walked into the kitchen, only to be stopped dead in his tracks by the sight in front of him
18 sat at the kitchen table, her head resting in her folded arms. She was holding his poem and the necklace firmly in her grasp. Krillen shuddered, even in sleep, she didn't look peaceful. She looked tormented and distressed, and obviously Marron could sense it to, because she started to whimper.
"Shhh firefly," Krillen bounced Marron on his hip. Walking across the small room, Krillen peered down at his wife, "18" he whispered, which elicited no response. He hadn't spoken to her at all the day before; he hadn't even looked at her since their argument here in this very room 2 days before hand. Looking over, Krillen glanced at the kitchen window; the big hole had been covered over with a garbage bag until they could get around to going to the effort of getting someone to the island to fix it.
"18, honey" he gently reached out with his free hand and nudged her shoulder. She must have only been in a very light sleep, as she jerked into an upright position, her eyes open wide and her whole body shaking.
"18, are you alright?" Krillen raised an eyebrow at his wife.
"Yeah," she raked her hands back through her hair and briefly looked into Krillens eyes, the love that resided in there was undeniable, and it brought all the horrible things she had gone through last night right back to the surface, "yeah, I guess I just fell asleep"
"You look like crap"
18 glared at her husband "Thanks, Krillen"
"No." he sighed, that had come out totally wrong "No, what I meant was, you should go upstairs and get some proper rest. Me and Marron can hold up the fort while you sleep"
"Are you sure?" 18 asked through a yawn. This was the first conversation they had had in almost 35 hours, and it felt great.
"Of course I'm sure. Go rest"
She looked up at him and flashed him half a smile, she was still unsure if they were actually speaking to each other or not, "Thanks" she quietly replied.
"Hey," Krillen placed Marron on the floor and opened up the fridge, "Take it easy ok, please?" he tried not to seem like he was pleading with her, but his eyes faulted where his voice had not.
Smiling softly again, and nodded, bent down and kissed Marrons cheek then left the room.
---------------
"Yumcha...I...I..." Bulma trailed off, at a loss for words. "I can't believe I didn't know about this. How long did you say this had been going on? Three Weeks?
"Three and a half actually" Yumcha solemnly replied, "They need our help"
"You not wrong" Bulma agreed.
"But I don't know what to do"
"Well," Bulma mused out loud, "I could send Vegeta over, just to check to see if everything is alright, and if not, we'll do something"
"Are you crazy, 18 and Vegeta aren't exactly the best of pals"
"Hmmm" Bulma sighed, it was true, 18 couldn't stand Vegeta and vice versa, they just did not get along at all. Vegeta held a permanent vendetta against over what had occurred on the highway over 3 years ago, and 18, she just didn't tolerate Vegeta's high and mighty attitude. "It might be for the best though. I won't tell Vegeta what's going on over there, I'll think of some way to get him to go"
"Are you sure Bulma?"
"No, but do you have a better idea?"
Yumcha didn't reply.
"That's what I thought" said Bulma. "Listen. I'll send Vegeta and call you back tonight ok"
"Alright"
"Oh, and Yumcha. I think you did the right thing by telling me about this"
Yumcha smiled, he had needed to hear that. "Speak to you later, Bulma"
"Bye"
Bulma placed her phone down on the receiver and took a deep breath. Entwining her fingers, she stretched them and sighed. She looked at her watch, it was almost 10.30. Usually Bulma could find her husband in the kitchen ready for his mid morning snack at this time of the day.
Pushing herself up out of her chair, she smoothed out her black business skirt and began the rather long walk from the offices to the house. As it turned out though, she didn't need to walk as far as she thought she would, because she found Vegeta standing outside his gravity room, his arms crossed over his chest, just as they always were.
"Vegeta, what are you doing?" Bulma called across the big open patch of yard as she walked toward him.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked, briefly looking toward her, then turning away again
"Would I be asking if I knew?" Bulma rolled her eyes
"What do you want anyway?" Vegeta asked
Linking her arm through Vegeta's she dragged him away from the gravity room, once they were out of hearing distance of Mr. Briefs – who was working under the gravity room, she stopped.
"Vegeta, I need you to do something for me"
"Woman, I have a training schedule you know"
"Vegeta," Bulma didn't sound impressed, "this is important"
Vegeta rolled his eyes, "fine. What do I have to do?"
"I need you to go to the Kame House for me"
"What?" Vegeta looked at Bulma like she was some kind of a freak "No way in hell am I going there"
"Vegeta, please" Bulma looked deep into his charcoal eyes, it did little to change his mind though.
"No, you can look at me all you want, I'm not going within a 50 mile radius of that god forsaken lump of sand"
"Vegeta!" Bulma smacked his arm, "that's a terrible thing to say"
"I'm not going"
"Fine" Bulma sighed, she didn't want to resort to this, but it came down to it every time, "I'll just go tell dad to turn off the GR then shall I?"
Vegeta tried to resist, but with every step she took closer to the GR, Vegeta felt himself get weaker and weaker, "fine!" he called out to her, and she turned and walked back towards him, a victorious smirk sitting on her pretty face.
"Thank you, I need you to go to the island," she paused as she realised she hadn't come up with a reason to send him there yet
"Why?" Vegeta asked, shaking his head.
"Because...Trunks left his truck there and he wants it back". Inwardly Bulma slapped herself, that was the stupidest thing she possibly could of though of. It was partly true though, Trunks had left his truck behind last time they had stopped by, he had never said any more about it though, he had so many toys that one didn't make a difference to him.
Vegeta raised an eyebrow at Bulma, "woman, I hardly think my son would be concerned about one stupid play thing"
"Vegeta, I'm a busy woman and I don't have time to be driving all the way to the island, so can you please just stop arguing and go. I promise you're gravity room will be finished by the time you get back ok"
"Fine" Vegeta let out an aggravated sigh, "I'll be back in a little while" with that, he blasted off into the clear blue sky
---------------
"18" 18 heard Krillens familiar voice calling her name. She half smiled to her self. He still wasn't happy with her, she could tell by his tone of voice, but at least he was talking to her again.
"I'm in here" she called back from the laundry, where she stood over the washing machine.
"Do you need anything from the main land? I'm taking Marron with me to run a few errands"
18 thought for a moment. Did the sell the answers to life's most difficult questions on the mainland. "I don't think I do" she replied, "Maybe just some coffee"
"Coffee" Krillen made a mental note in his head, "got it. Ok, I guess I'll see you later"
18 waited for Krillen to give her the traditional goodbye kiss, he never left the island without a kiss and an 'I love you' today though, he just flashed her a fleeting glance and left – and that was one of the most emotionally painful things 18 had ever felt.
She listened, as Krillen started up the air car, and the sound of the engine getting dimmer and dimmer as he got further away from the island. Picking up the basket of wet laundry, and walked outside to the line and began to hang things out to dry. A cold shiver ran up her spine as she realised that she was alone with 17 again, and that usually resulted in her getting hurt.
Maybe if she stayed outside for as long as she possibly could. Krillen was only going to run some errands, how long could he possibly be. 18 knew that 17 wouldn't lay a finger on her as long as he was around, that would blow his cover.
A cool breeze blew in off the ocean then, it tickled 18's face and made the dark, brownish bruise under her eye tingle. She sighed as she reached up and touched it. It didn't hurt. It had been two days since 17 had beaten her, and she was still telling Krillen they had only been sparring. Of course, he didn't believe her, but he had given up arguing. The bruise – the only real tell tale sign of her abuse, was beginning to fade now. It would be gone by the weekend. Not that it mattered anyway.
She made sure to wear long sleeved shirts or jackets, to hide from Krillen the deep lacerations and still dark and tender bruises on her arms, the same applied to her legs. It was hard to stay so covered up, especially when she lived on a tropical island, but she just couldn't let Krillen see, he was already mad enough at her. It was her stomach though, that she really had to keep covered. When 17 had blasted her into the ocean her had badly burnt her, to the point where the first few layers of her skin were just peeling off. It stung like she had never felt before, and put her in a state of almost constant pain. But she had to suffer in silence, because if she told Krillen, then she would not only be risking his life, but her baby's as well – and that was something she was not prepared to do.
Shaking her head, she continued to hang the clean laundry on the line, until something attracted her attention skywards. A power level – and not just any ordinary power lever, was heading straight towards her.
"Vegeta?" she muttered in confusion. It was his Ki all right, but why on earth was he heading in this direction? Sure enough, only minutes later, she could make out his faint image on the horizon, and seconds later he was standing on the beach in front of her, looking less than impressed. 18 too, mirrored his expression. Out of all the people she had ever come across, he pissed her off the most.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she asked sceptically.
Vegeta however, didn't reply, or at least, he didn't answer her question. "What the fuck happened to your face, android?" he bluntly asked.
"That is none of your business, Vegeta. Now, why are you here, and when are you going to leave?"
A strong gust of wind blew, leaves fell from the palm trees and sand blew up into the sky. 18 quickly reached to hold her shirt down, but she was to slow, and Vegeta cause a good glimpse of the burnt, blistering skin underneath. He said nothing though; even he knew not to open his mouth to pry into what was going on there.
"The woman sent me. The brat left a truck here and wants it back" he said, crossing his arms across his chest and waiting for a response.
18 shuddered; she knew where the truck was, in the living room, where 17 was. She did not want to go in there alone, but she wasn't going to reduce herself to asking Vegeta to come with her because she was too chicken.
"Fine," she sighed and turned her back to him. She headed around to the front of the house before stoping and turning to Vegeta, "coming?" she asked, trying to sound like she wasn't fussed either way.
"Whatever" Vegeta muttered as he followed behind her.
---
17 sat on the couch, all the curtains in the room pulled shut. Sun shone through a small opening, creating a path of light where dust sparkled in the air. He flicked pointlessly through the channels on the television, but the reception all the way out here wasn't exactly good, and weekday afternoon T.V was shit anyway.
He could hear muffled voices outside, one he recognised as 18's, the other though, sounded foreign to him. Right now would it would have been handy for him to be able to sense Ki. Well, it wasn't that he couldn't sense it; he could, just not well. He wasn't able to distinguish one from the next, a skill 18 had obviously been taught.
Who then, was standing outside, well who ever it was, 18 didn't seem to be getting along with him. Yes, it was a man for sure. Could 18 be doing the dirty behind Krillen back? 17 sniggered at the idea before brushing it off as ridiculous. As much as he would of loved 18 to be having an affair, it just wasn't going to happen.
He was snapped out of his amusing thoughts by the sound of the front door creaking open ever so slightly. He turned his head to look and watched as 18 opened it only just enough to slip inside then shut and locked it again.
He opened his mouth to say something, but 18 flashed him a glare that stated otherwise.
"17," she hissed in a whisper, "don't you dare open your freakin mouth ok. Or I'll-"she was cut off mid speech
"Or you'll what?" 17 asked. "Tell Krillen?" he mocked.
"Don't fuck with me 17, I'm not in the mood" she kicked a cushion out of her way, only firing up her anger even more. "Look what you have done to this place 17! It's a fucking pigsty. How the hell do you expect me to raise a child when she can't even see the bloody floor?"
"You'd be better off without it anyway, sister" 17 said, knowing it would push her even closer to the brink.
Shutting her eyes, 18 took a deep breath – she knew she shouldn't let 17 get her mad, but his words cut her so deeply. It hurt so much to be treated like this by the only real relative she had left, and she had only wanted to help him. Now though, she was no more than a rag doll in his sick and twisted mind game.
"What the hell is taking so long!" Vegeta cried from the front porch of the island. This time, 17 recognised the voice, and he panicked. Standing up, he pinned 18 against the wall, smothering her mouth with his hand.
"What the hell have you done, you stupid bitch!" he whispered, his voice full of fury and rage.
18 didn't reply, her heart thumped in her chest and she pleaded with her eyes for 17 to let her go. Smirking though, 17 denied her that right. Instead, he lifted his knee and pressed it hard against her burnt stomach. Pain ripped through her entire body and she screamed, it was muffled by 17's hand though. As he continued to apply more and more pressure to her stomach he grinned sadistically. Vegeta began to bang on the front door, cursing loudly and frequently – 17 ignored him though, the look of absolute terror in his sister's eyes was captivating him.
18's mind raced faster than she could possibly comprehend. All she could think of was the pain. Her thoughts began to slow, and she screamed for Krillen over and over in her head. Oh God, what she wouldn't give to have him by her side – she needed him, she realised. She had to tell him, or else she was going to be killed by 17, and then who knew what he would do to the two people she loved more than anything else. It was too horrible for her to even consider for a second longer than she had to.
Mustering up all of the remaining strength, she tried to fight against the unconsciousness that was threatening to take over her body – bringing with it the sweet painless oblivion. But no, instead she raised her knee and rammed it into 17's groin. Instantly he dropped away, stumbling backward and tripping over the sofa. She gasped for the sweet oxygen that 17's hand had deprived her of and slid down the wall, her legs refusing to support her body for even a second longer.
It was at that moment that Vegeta got sick of waiting outside and decided to let himself in, smashing the door handle and walking in, he stopped dead in his tracks, the sight that greeted him shocking even him beyond all belief.
17 was in the process of hauling himself up off the ground, standing in such a way that Vegeta could instantly tell he had become the unwilling recipient of a low blow. 18 was on the other side of the room, barely alive and bleeding profusely from the oozing and no doubt infected burn that consumed almost her entire midsection.
"What the fuck..." he muttered to himself as his eyes took a second glance of the scene in front of him, he didn't know quite what to make of the situation.
"Vegeta" 17 forced himself to stand up straight and try to stare Vegeta down, "I think it's due time you left"
"What the hell are you doing here android? This is not you're place, and clearly you're not welcome." It wasn't that Vegeta cared what was going on here, the fact of the matter was, he couldn't care less. For years though, he had been waiting for the opportunity to take down one of those two, he didn't care which, he just wanted to get his superior hands on one of them.
"Vegeta, fuck off, or I'll be forced to do to you what I did to her" 17 tossed a quick emotionless glance in the direction of his sister
"You couldn't scratch me if you tried" Vegeta scoffed
"Is that a challenge?" 17 asked, taking a step towards Vegeta.
"Give it you're best shot, android"
"Fine then, if you're not going to leave of your own free will, I guess I'll just have to help you" 17 powered up a Ki ball and was just about to hurl it at Vegeta – who would easily move and the entire front of the house would end up getting blown into a million pieces – when 18 interrupted.
"Hey!" she forced herself to stand up despite every single inch of her body trying to get her to do otherwise. "You two knock if off. 17, you're beef is with me, not him. And Vegeta, it's none of you're fucking business, so fuck off – Krillen isn't here and I'm not going to pretend I like you for his sake, so just get the hell out of here"
"I'll be back, android" Vegeta threatened, though 18 was unsure of whether the statement was directed at her or her brother, "I wouldn't want to fight you when you're not in your peak, I would at least like to break a sweat when I kick your ass" with that, the walked out the house and blasted off the island.
A few seconds of blissful silence passed, 18 desperately prayed that Krillen would walk through the door and run to save her, she needed to be saved, not only from 17, but from herself as well. She had been stupid, thinking she could handle this situation on her own – she couldn't. She needed her husband and she needed him now. Now though, he wasn't here, and there was nothing she could do.
She watched on in terror as 17 turned to her, smiled a sick sadistic smile and cracked his knuckles. "You're in for it now 18," he walked towards her and forcefully shoved her down onto the sofa. "I'm going to make you pay for that like you have never paid before. You better sleep with one eye open from now one. Because I'm going to hit you where it will hurt like nothing you've ever felt before"
---------------
A/N; So there you have it. Is 18 going to be able to tell Krillen her little secret now? Find out in the next chapter of Mind Games (which will be up considerably sooner than this one). Now, I promised you all a surprise, so here it is. I am running a competition though the 'Krillin and 18 Campaign Website' (Yes, it still exists) to draw some cover art for Mind Games. If you like to draw – and even if you don't, then enter the competition. You can get all the details at or just click on the link in the "A Note From D.B" section of my bio!
-D.B