Versus 3: Eclipse

--All That You See--

Bra let up her bedroom window. This was undoubtedly going to be a memorable moment in her life. She was sneaking out of the house to see a man. There was something very thrilling about the whole situation. Her mother would definitely be quite angry if she found out. And of course, her mother would tell her father, who wasn't even at home at the time, that she was grounded and he could possibly come looking for her. But the rush Bra felt right now was all worth it. She'd never felt so alive.

She made sure that she had locked her bedroom door, then climbed out of the window. Hovering outside the window, she stuck a piece of tape on each latch and lowered it so that she wouldn't lock herself out of her own room. She floated there and looked at her work of art. She was a little half Saiyan genius.

She took off into the sunset. It was only 7:00. If her mother decided to come back into her room and have another little chat, she was done for. Oh, well. It was a price she'd gladly pay if it was the only way to see the man she loved.

Of course, some day she'll wish that she'd spent this time training. Her father had really shown her how weak she was when they fought. And she knew that eventually she'd challenge him again. Not as a display of love for someone her father hated, but to show her father that she was as strong a fighter as she claimed to be. Of course, the time for such a challenge was not now. No. The time for that challenge lay much farther ahead. This little bit of freedom she had left now would have to be spent having fun. There was no telling when her next night of freedom would be.

--after a while--

Bra knocked on Trunks and Goten's apartment door.

Goten opened the door. "Bra?"

Bra smiled up at Goten. "Hey."

Goten looked at her strangely.

"What?" Bra asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, your mom called about an hour ago and told me that I didn't have to worry about tutoring you anymore," Goten explained.

Already? Boy, her mother really knew how to run her mouth. She'd probably blabbed to everyone they knew. Bra frowned.

"She also told me that you were grounded because of your test grade," Goten told her.

Bra put her hands on her hips. "So?"

Goten raised his eyebrows. "Well, you're not supposed to be here."

"Oh, come on, Goten. Don't tell me YOU'VE never sneaked out before," Bra said.

Goten grinned and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, all the time." He moved out of the way so that she could enter the apartment.

Bra walked in and looked around. She could easily see that he had been playing a video game before she came. As a matter of fact it was still on. "Heeeeeeey, Halo 2. I love that game."

Goten looked at the TV. "Yeah. You wanna play?"

Bra was already sitting on the couch holding the second player controller. "You know I do. But only if I get to do the driving when we get a vehicle."

"Fine by me. I hate driving," Goten informed her. He sat beside her and reset the game.

"So, what's Trunks up to? In his room working on another one of his side projects?" Bra asked.

Goten shook his head. "Long day at the office."

Bra froze and stared at the intro to Halo 2 blankly. So, she and Goten were in the apartment alone? Just him and her? Wow.... They could do anything they wanted. ANYTHING.

"I'm gonna have to let you make a profile," Goten said, setting everything up. "My name's Dirty Harry."

She looked over at Goten. How simple and sweet he was. Surely any normal guy would take full advantage of this situation. But not Goten. It was strange. She wondered if it was out of respect or just plain stupidity.... She had a good idea which one it was. Bra smiled confidently. "Then I'll be Megadeth."

--some time later--

Goten dropped his controller on the floor. "That thing is freakin' huge! How are we supposed to stop it? We've tried everything!" He watched as his character plummeted to his death.

"Come on, Goten. You just regenerated in front of me," Bra told him. "If you wouldn't have jumped off the edge, maybe you wouldn't have died."

Goten picked his controller back up and sighed loudly. "This Scarab thing is impossible."

"Just grab one of those rocket launchers and follow me," Bra said.

As they regrouped on the game, Trunks came in. He dragged his feet as he walked over to a chair and flopped down without even looking at them. He lay back in the chair and put his hands on his face. "I swear I'm never working late again."

Neither Goten nor Bra were paying much attention to him. They were devising a scheme on how they would infiltrate the Scarab and blow some Covenants' heads off.

Trunks looked up. "Oh, hey, Bra. I didn't even know you were here." He stood up. "I guess I'll give you two some privacy."

Bra just looked at him.

"Privacy? We're just playing Halo 2. I finally went out and bought it today. We were just trying it out," Goten informed his roommate.

"Oh, cool. How is it?" Trunks asked.

"Better than you can even imagine," Goten responded.

Trunks nodded. "I wanna try it out sometime. But I'm really tired after all those BORED meetings. I'm gonna hit the hay." He sludged his way to his room.

After Trunks left, Goten spoke up. "You know, we've been playing this for a while. It's getting kinda late. Don't you think your mom's gonna find out that you're gone?"

Bra frowned. She could tell that Goten didn't want her to get into any more trouble. "I just wanted to spend some time with you before I'm put on total lockdown. After tonight, the only time I'll get to see you is at school."

Goten looked at the floor. "Really?"

"Yeah," Bra answered. "I've gotta put in some over-time on studying. Mom thinks that you're too easy on me."

"Easy on you?" Goten asked. He laughed and shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe she's right."

"Well, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna let my last chance to be with you end like this? Or are we gonna go out and have some fun?" Bra asked. She stood up and turned the Xbox off. She thought about what she'd just said. It was very unlike her to make these kinds of demands. She was beginning to sound like her mother.

Goten looked confused at first. Then he smiled that smile of his. "Alright, Bra. You name it."

Bra thought for a moment. She wasn't really the type to go out and do stuff. She was more of a stay-at-home type. As a matter of fact, any time she went somewhere, it was because Pan had dragged her along. She'd really rather have a nice quiet evening at home watching a movie or something like that.

"Well, I've always wanted to play pool," Bra suggested.

"Pool it is," Goten agreed. He grabbed his keys and then put his arm around Bra. "If you've never played pool, you're in for some real fun. I'm a pool master," he told her with wide eyes.

"Really? I didn't know you played pool." She looked up at him as they walked out of the apartment.

Goten pulled a capsule out of his pocket, pressed the button and threw it in front of them. "Well..., I play, but I'm not really a master...."

Bra raised an eyebrow.

Goten let her go and held his hands up in defense. "Okay, so I've played a few times and I'm not very good at it."

Bra sighed and looked up at the night sky. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think that you were trying to impress me." She looked at him and smiled.

Goten scratched the back of his head and grinned. "Well, yeah. I guess it didn't work, huh? You know me a little too well."

"Just because we've been apart for a few years doesn't mean I've forgotten everything I used to know about you. That includes your lack of lying skills," Bra said.

Goten opened the car door for her.

"Thanks." She smiled again. "Besides, you're impressive enough without additives." She got into the car.

--End All That You See--

--Alright. That's the end of the second episode of Eclipse. Thanks for reading and please review.

--Ranting and raving again: Bra's a little weird in this episode. Has she lost her mind? Or is she just going with the adrenaline flow? What do you think?

--Still raving: Also, what about Goten. He rarely lays a hand on Bra. What's the deal with that?

--Thanks for your reviews! Like I always say, they are appreciated greatly. I'm always looking for ways to improve. If we can't improve upon what we've done, then there's no approving upon what's to come.