Trunks growled as he jumped to his feet and tried to rush the barrier. He had no idea what was going on but that wasn't going to stop him from separating Zara and Goku.
Before he even had a chance to try and break through the telekinetic barrier, a pinkish glimmer washed over it and solidified: signifying the making of Zara's dome shield. They weren't going to be breaking through anytime soon.
Goku stared at Zara in confusion.
"What do you mean 'pay attention'? I do…don't I?" he asked. The teenager before him shrugged, her eyes seeming to grow more hollow and empty.
"If you did then you wouldn't be in this mess." She said and then seemed to melt away into the background. Goku blinked and then realised that he wasn't in his house anymore. He was in a desert with his friends at his side and a screaming Gohan in a tight bear hug that was being given to him by Cell.
Gohan – as a mere 11-year-old boy – was struggling hard against Cells grip with no success.
"You're wrong Goku!" Piccolo's voice said strongly, pulling the saiyan's gaze away from his son and the monster. Piccolo was frowning deeply at him.
"Gohan doesn't like fighting like you! Does he know what you expect him to become? Did you tell him any of this? Do you know what he is thinking right now? I'll tell you! He's wondering why his father is just looking on while he's suffering. He must be hurt to realize that you're more concerned about the fight than his life. Remember this! Even if he is the strongest fighter he's still just a child!" Piccolo yelled. Goku looked shocked but again the image melted away and he was floating suspended in mid air with Vegeta and a chibi Zara at his side. Standing on a cliff in front of him stood the monstrous figure of kid Buu with an energy ball raised high above his head."That blast will kill us all!" Vegeta growled deeply as Zara continued to stare wide-eyed at it. Goku watched them and then noted that his kids, Trunks and Piccolo were only a short distance behind him.
Much further away sat a terrified Dende and Hercule Satan.
He could only save one group of people.
The choice seemed so obvious now. The four below were helpless and would be much easier to get to in time. And they were his and Vegeta's sons…
Against his will, Goku felt his body grab Vegeta and Zara and speed toward Dende and Hercule, saving them instead of his family.
Time seemed to fast forward and then Goku was standing on the planet of the kais, watching Hercule run off of a cliff in an attempt to fly as he cried out about being able to do it in his dreams. He fell off of the cliff like a rock and Vegeta growled as he faced Goku.
"Kakarot! Do you see what we have to put up with because of your stupid decision? The kids are dead and we're stuck with that nut case!" Vegeta yelled. Goku hung his head.
"Look I'm sorry Vegeta…" Goku heard himself saying before Zara cut him off.
"You're sorry? You're sorry for forgetting about your kids and Trunks and getting him instead? That's it? What, you think that's going to make it all better?" She asked, keeping her back to him and only slightly turning her head. Goku sighed.
"Look, I can't apologise enough. I-" but Zara cut him off again.
"You think apologising will make it better, don't you? Geese, you're dumber then I thought! I mean you just took off in the opposite direction! They were right behind us but you made us fly away and grab the champ of lameness, Hercule!" she said through gritted teeth and looked over her shoulder as tears threatened to spill from her eyes.
"And you know what? If I had actually listened to Vegeta then I would have died too! How does that make you feel? Not only did you kill Trunks but you almost killed someone who was actually awake and aware of what was going on!" she yelled at him and her aura flared up, tearing up the grass around her and burning it away. Goku looked down, not knowing what to say.
"You're thinking about it. Good. You know I thought you were supposed to be a hero. Guess I was wrong…" she said and stared back at the ground, her aura still blazing around her.
Goku stared at the back of the chibi and slowly the teenage version walked in front of him, her eyes getting hollower by the second.
"Wow, you sure did mess that up." She commented. Goku stared blankly a head of him.
"But it worked out…Hercule was a big help…we couldn't of defeated Buu without him…" he said slowly. The teenage Zara tilted her head to the side with a thoughtful look on her face as the chibi Zara turned to face him.
"And you think a little detail like that excuses you from killing your kids?" she asked heatedly. Goku stared at her and stuttered as he tried to come up with something.
"No but…it worked out…didn't it?" he asked. The teenage Zara shrugged before the whole scene melted away. This time he found himself in front of a crying Chichi with a Gohan trying in vain to comfort her.
"Don't cry mom…I'm sure he's ok…." the 11-year-old version of Gohan said but Chichi let out a loud sob.
"How? He's dead…" Chichi said and Gohan cringed. It wasn't right seeing his mother this distraught.
She continued.
"First he dies and goes off to train in kami knows where and then he disappears for months on end after being wished back just so that he can learn that little trick of his and now this!" she exclaimed and wiped furiously at her tears with her apron. Gohan handed her a tissue.
"Dad said it would be for the best…" he said quietly. Chichi gave a bitter laugh.
"Oh yea, I'm sure he did. Everything he does is supposed to be right so you end up feeling selfish when you want him to come and be with his family. Is it really just too much to ask for him to stay and make a happy family? Apparently it is, as history has shown us. I thought that things could be fine. Goku was so confidant that Cell would be destroyed…I thought that now would be our chance for a normal life with no more space trips or demons. But no, he had to go and die! I'm pregnant and now he'll never even meet his new child! I didn't even get to tell him!" Chichi sobbed and finally let all of what she had been holding in pour down her face. Gohan looked startled when he heard this but quickly looked down at the floor to hide his own tears. He needed to be strong for his mother.
"I'm still here…." he muttered and Chichi gave Gohan's hand a squeeze.
Goku continued to stare at his family. He didn't know how Chichi had really reacted when she heard that her husband had died again, and he definitely didn't think that it was that. He never really realised that he had hurt his family that much. He hadn't been paying attention.
Before his eyes, the whole scene seemed to speed up. 7 years worth of time quickly took place in the space of a minute and he was able to see everything he had missed that had gone on with his family. Gohan trying to help his mother by finding what the baby might need in catalogues, Chichi with baby Goten in her arms, Gohan playing the role of dad at such a young age, Gohan struggling to feed, cloth and change his baby brother, Gohan having a break down, as he couldn't cope. Finally time slowed down and Gohan was in front of his dad again.
"Now do you get it? You missed everything! And now you're going to do it again! You're going to just keep on doing it by putting training first and never paying attention to what your family needs. Well I've had it! That's why I left dad; I had enough of you assuming that everything was fine and perfect. You are a bad dad and husband and maybe you'd just help us all out if next time you stay gone."
Back in the real world, Zara's hands finally slid off of Goku's head. She turned round slowly and stared at the others with empty eyes. She looked at each of the horrified or panicked faces before her eyes returned to normal and she fainted, the dome shield dissipating as she did so. Trunks ran to Zara's aid and caught her just before she hit the floor. Goku then bolted up right in his bed, breathing hard. He didn't even notice the others in his room until Emily was at his side.
"Dad/ you ok?" she asked, touching his shoulder lightly. He flinched under her touch and then realised that everyone was in the room.
"What's going on here/?" he asked, trying to push his dream out of his mind with difficulty. Emily looked concerned for a moment but then turned to Trunks who was cradling Zara in his arms.
"We caught Zara in here doing something to you. And I'd really like to know what." She said, frowning at Zara. Trunks growled back.
"Hey! What makes you so sure it was something bad? She's been to sick to do anything lately!" Trunks snapped.
"It sure doesn't seem that way to me." Emily shot back and folded her arms across her chest. The two continued to have their little stare down until Goku's muttering finally interrupted them.
"My dream…it was just like how mirai described…" he muttered and then stared at Zara.
"She couldn't have…" he finished. The dream wasn't real, only a projection. But that didn't stop it from being true, did it?
"Couldn't have what?" Goten asked from the door. Goku shook himself out of his thoughts and looked at his son.
"Gave me the dream. Zara had said something about her headaches being similar to the ones she used to have after over using her mental abilities." Goku explained. Everyone stared down at Zara and Emily backed away as she caught on. The twins stood confused in the doorway and Goten's face filled with anger. Trunks on the other hand glared at everyone else's reactions.
"You can't possibly think that Zara would go and do that! She wouldn't! She's been struggling to keep her telepathy in check so that she wouldn't annoy any of us, what makes you think that she would go and violate people's dream and alter them?" he cried.
"We're not accusing her of anything, it just seems to make a lot of sense. What else could she have been doing in here/" Goku asked as he sat up. Chichi mumbled something beside him and he quickly glanced at her.
"Maybe we should continue this downstairs." He said thoughtfully and got up. Everyone started to filter out and Trunks quickly picked Zara up. Her eyes fluttered open and Trunks nearly hit himself; he'd forgotten how light a sleeper Zara was.
The teenage girl sleepily took in the surroundings and then lifted her head up, regretting the sudden movement as her headache sprung to life again. She ignored it and stared at Trunks's face.
"Where am I? Why…how…?" she asked, obviously confused. Trunks smiled at her.
"Goku's room. We found you in here. Maybe you can explain what you were doing, 'cause I sure can't." he answered. This only succeeded in confusing the poor girl even more.
"What? Why would I come here? I was asleep." She said and scrunched up her face as she tried to make sense through a worsening headache. Trunks frowned and carried her out of the door.
"I think we should get back to the others." He mumbled.
Not long after and everyone was assembled in Goku's living room. Trunks had put Zara onto the sofa and sat next to her as everyone else waited for an explanation, Goku standing away from the rest of the group. Goten had explained his father's theory to Zara rather bluntly and now she was frowning at everyone.
"Is this a joke? Last thing I remember I was a sleep and having a nightmare. Now I wake up in someone else's house with you guys all accusing me, do you have any idea how confusing this is? Its not funny." She said angrily and kept her arms tightly folded.
"We're just telling you how we found you. Everyone else here saw you doing something to me and this just seems to make the most sense. It would explain your headaches." Goku said. He was leaning against the wall further away and Zara noted his strange behaviour.
"Maybe it does but I've never done anything like this before, why would I suddenly start now? I've been training myself to have total control for as long as I can remember, why would I suddenly start doing stuff like this in my sleep?" she asked. Trunks hesitated before he put forward an answer.
"Well you did start getting headaches before the dreams started. It might have thrown you off." He said weakly. Zara stared at him and then looked down at the floor. Everyone seemed to be against her.
"Wait, what about that thing that was round her neck?" Jake suddenly asked and everyone turned to look at the twins.
"Yea, it was glowing while Zara was doing that thing to grandpa and then stopped when she fainted." Alex added. Zara blinked and then held the amulet in her hand.
"What, this? Trunks gave it to me…" she muttered and then noticed that it was actually very warm. She was surprised that she hadn't noticed before.
Trunks looked over her shoulder at it and ran his eyes over it.
"Its harmless, only a piece of jewellery I bought as a little treat." He said. Alex frowned and then ran forward and grabbed hold of the amulet, much to Zara's annoyance. Alex concentrated on it, careful not to break the chain, and soon her eyes lit up.
"Aha! The energy I've been sensing is in here! It's very faint right now but its definitely there!" she announced just as Zara pulled the amulet away from her.
"You've got to be kidding! Why would this have some energy in it? You can't possibly be saying that my little gift is behind it." Trunks snapped. Zara squeezed her boyfriend's hand before placing it onto the jewel.
"Wait, Trunks, she's right. There's something in there." She said slowly. Trunks frowned and then concentrated on the amulet. A moment later he pulled away with a surprised look on his face. Alex poked her tongue out at the younger version of her dad.
"Ha! Told you so!" she exclaimed. Trunks stayed silent as Zara started to talk.
"Oh kami…this does make sense…I didn't get the headaches until a little after you put that on me. I…I just wish I could remember what happened she said softly. Trunks got up and started to pace.
"No…why would anyone sell me something that dangerous? This…it can't be that1" he said. He didn't want to believe that he had been the one to give something that would cause so much pain to someone he cared so much about. It wasn't right."
"Maybe they didn't know, you certainly didn't." Zara said as she reached for the clasp. Every time she tried to undo it a fresh wave of pain ran through her head, worse then anything she'd felt so far and instantly making her pull away from the clasp.
"Ah! I can't undo this bloody thing." She said and ended up grabbing her head in pain. Trunks quickly sat back down next to her and found the clasp on the amulet.
"Well he should of. I should of. I can't believe I put you through that much pain." He replied. Zara smiled.
"Its not your fault." She replied and felt Trunks fumbling with the clasp. He stayed silent and pressed what was needed for the clasp to undo.
It didn't and a fresh wave of pain sheared through Zara's head. She screamed when it hit her and instantly her red inferno like aura flared to life and pushed Trunks away. Everyone gasped as she suddenly floated in the air, folding her head in pain. She continued to scream until her eyes turned completely empty and hollow, making everyone feel uneasy. Her ki was folding them all back and with it another was mixed in, a strange and alien ki that no body had felt before except for maybe Alex and Trunks.
Zara stared down at the group, panting, with blood red eyes with slits for pupils that still looked completely empty and hollow.
"Idiots…"she muttered and then she disappeared, leaving nothing behind but some shocked looks and broken ornaments.
Sirens were going off all over the bridge, much to Maleenia's displeasure. She hated the noise.
"Hey! What's going on here?" she ordered, making several of the minions that served her gulp or duck under their console. The one alien left standing gulped loudly and stuttered as he looked over his little computer pad.
"Um…according to the…erm…bug we planted on the amulet…um…your scheme has been discovered and…err…there is a huge ki coming towards us and will be here in-" Zara landed in a heap at his feet, startling the tall henchman. Maleenia blinked at Zara's sudden appearance.
"I see…." Maleenia said slowly. Piki peered over his station to get a good look at what was happening.
"Is…is this a problem ma'am?" he squeaked. Maleenia stared thoughtfully at the Kalroo girl.
"That depends." She replied. Zara slowly raised her head; her eyes now back to their normal lively gold.
"Her friends are going to come here now looking for her. They know about the amulet so they know that it's taken her here against her will, "Maleenia continued, "but then again we have a nice new weapon here. They won't want to hurt they're own friend. Plus I think I can have some fun with her…"
Maleenia walked towards Zara, breaking into laughter that got louder and more insane with every step…