Chapter 5: Family Bonds

As Codie and Vegeta sat upstairs, I took one of Codie's bloody towels to the lab with me. I started running tests on the blood.

47 Dextryte count, low antibodies, low white blood cells, high red blood cells.

That was the read out. That meant that Codie was gaining more of an infection as he was going. Low antibodies meant he could catch a cold and get deathly ill. High red blood cells were also bad, trying to compensate of the low amount of white blood cells.

What does it all mean? Is this a bad fusion reaction? Is it fixable? Oh, please let it be fixable!

I went back upstairs to see Vegeta disconnecting Codie from the machine. They were done, and Vegeta was wobbly.

"Codie?" Vegeta shook his head.

"He fell asleep. Leave him be."

"Yeah, come on, Sayjin Prince, let's get you something to eat."

We went to leave the room, and I turned again to face Codie. No thumbs-up this time, only his rhythmical breathing and a slight snore like his cousin Goku. He really did remind me of Goku, he even had the same hair.

He's only 20, why did this have to happen to him? He doesn't care that he's getting sick because of the fusion, but what if it kills him? Could he forgive me? Could anyone forgive me, including myself? I did tell him to do it… he could have refused, but… but I said… and he agreed…

"Katrin?" I looked over. I didn't even notice that I was still walking with Vegeta toward the kitchen.

"It's my fault, Vegeta. I told him to absorb Cell-"

"You couldn't have known." Vegeta replied simply.

"I know, but still-"

"The guilt. I'm going to tell you something, something my father told me when I was a boy. One of the few things he ever said to me as a father and not a king. He said, every warrior has an instinct that in battle tells them what attack or technique to do next. But once the battle is over, once all the fighting is all over, and the adrenaline rush fades… you have to ask yourself, what do I do next? Do you know what it is? Life. And sometimes life is harder than fighting. I didn't understand that until I started a family here on earth. You grew up knowing what to do next because of your Sensory Gift and your knowledge of the future. But now the hard part comes, there are no answers that just land in your lap."

I took Vegeta's words to heart. He was perfectly right. For once I was helpless. Fighting wouldn't solve this problem, and I had no idea what the future held. All I did know was I couldn't let my son, my baby boy, my last link to my best friend die now at such a young age.

When I was 20, I was fighting the androids with Mirai. That's when I met Cell. Cell became my best friend, and I couldn't let his heir go so soon.

When I was 30 I defeated Roxx, and later Kanji was born, then Andy. When I was in my 40s I fought Drazark, then Codie was born. In my early 60s I fought Bebi, Super 17, and Omega Shenron. Now I'm in my 60s, and I won't let him die. He hasn't even hit his prime yet.

"Mom…"

It was Codie, calling to me telepathically.

"Go be with your son. He needs you." Vegeta heard it too.

I went upstairs fast, just in case something bad had happened. I got in there to see him nearly asleep, still pale, but his Ki was stable.

"I don't want to be alone. I must sound really dumb."

"It's okay." I went over and sat on the floor next to his bed. I was relieved he wasn't having a nosebleed or something else equally as serious.

"Mom, can you tell me a story about father?"

"Sure. What do you want to hear?"

"The beginning. How you two met." He replied.

"I was twenty years old, and I had just been defeated by android 17. I sensed Cell, and because I knew the future at the time I knew all about him. Or, at least I thought I did. We fought, and he used a Solar Flare to escape. That's when Goku found your dad and I and he had us train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber."

"That's when all the mushy stuff happened and you fell in love with dad, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll skip that. When we emerged, we had obtained Ultra Super Sayjin. But I didn't know I had been struck with the Heart Virus, so as I tried to fight Cell I got sicker and sicker. Cell absorbed 18 and gained his perfect form. He saw that I had the heart virus and he took me, saying I was his hostage, but he cured my virus. I stayed with him for the 10 days before the Cell Games, and he was nice to me. He showed compassion, something I never thought he possessed. But he was also obsessed with me. He wanted me, but I had your dad. After that, he wasn't so nice."

"Then Gohan defeated him, right?" Codie asked.

"Yes. But Cell kept helping me. He encouraged me when I fought Buu and Roxx, and he helped me in the illusion. That's when he sacrificed himself to save me, losing his soul."

"And that's how I was… created?"

"You were born from us, his soul and my body. You are flesh and blood, and you have a soul. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Don't let anyone tell you Cell was soulless."

"I won't, I can tell… you really liked Cell, didn't you? I mean before you even met him."

"Yeah, I knew him as well as I knew anything. He was like my second hero, only evil… if that makes any sense."

"You liked Darkling Cell too, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yeah, he was cool."

"Yeah, he was… who was your first hero?"

"Your grandfather of course. Vegeta just did whatever he felt was necessary. What he perceived as right, even when others said it wasn't right. I may not have always agreed with his choices, but I respected his attitude."

"Mom, I love you. I want you to know, in case-"

"Don't you dare talk like that, you're only sick, that's all." I said, lying to myself and to him, "What's my first rule for fighting?"

"Hit 'em hard?" Codie asked. I smiled, nearly laughing.

"No, that's my second rule. My first rule is never lose hope. I adopted that after fighting Roxx. If I lost hope back then, none of us would be here now." I said, looking at him hard, drilling my message into his brain.

"Yeah, okay."

"Promise me you'll never lose hope."

"Mom-"

"Promise me, Codie Allen!"

"Okay! I promise, mom. I won't lose hope."

I looked at him. So young, a bright future ahead of him. He could do anything, he's smart as a whip and ten times as deadly. But that ominous if hung in the air.

"Mom, will you sing me something?"

"Anything, what do you want?" I replied.

"Something I haven't heard yet."

I thought for a while, then came up with the perfect song to encourage him.

The sun will rise

And the clouds will part

I know it look bad

But take this to heart

Even when the rain falls

And you hanging by a thin rope

Look to the stars

They'll show you your hope

I looked over at Codie. He was fast asleep. He had his father's eyes, though you couldn't see them now since he was sleeping. He had Goku's hair, bless his soul, and his grandfather's olive skin. He also had Mirai's smile. I nearly cried, Vegeta was right.

What do I do now?