I wish I owned DBZ, but I don't. I own DVD's and tapes, but it just isn't the same. I also don't own the right to Starcraft or any of the music pieces you see selected, just copies of merchandise, such a shame. The artists that created them are geniuses and we all must bow to them.
Chapter 59: Return – "My Goodbyes" part 1
I gave enough energy to the Son family to keep them alive and eventually get them up and walking around so the Protoss medics could get there, but not enough for a full healing job. I wasn't Dende after all, but I felt it was good enough until the Protoss got there. I figured at the very least they could go into recovery again since I was giving the Overmind a few more days to live. I didn't expect that the cursed creature would just up and leave, but I had to have made it panic by now. Everyone made it back to the Protoss capitol safely and those in need of medical attention got it right away. Vegeta declined this treatment however when the Son family went into recovery, he demanded only food and a bed. He didn't come out of his room for about twelve hours though, obviously feeling the effects of his battle. Normally this probably wouldn't have fazed him that much, but this long war had been dragging on everyone, especially him for some reason. His invisible worry and sorrow for his comrades was apparent even through his steel eyes. His gazes towards me lacked the tough intensity of the early days, and his wall staring had decreased as well. I could see through his eyes though, he was tired of this war. Tired of fighting the same enemy, tired of losing comrades, and tired of thinking about all of it. The battle hardened Saiyan who loved the thrill of a challenge was losing his mental edge, his always-ready attitude was slowly unraveling. I had seen it in Goku and Gohan's eyes several times, even more so in Bardock's. To see it in Vegeta's stone gaze though, it just tore me up to see that. The Overmind was wearing us down mentally even if we currently had the advantage, and they had been ever since they first appeared on Earth. I was sick of this war pretty much right after it started, but my determination to end it kept me going. I wasn't sure how long the others could keep going.
Gohan probably had less reason now then anyone else to go on fighting this battle, his war with the Zerg had just ground to a halt. With Aldaris now gone, he had no real reason to stay around other than taking care of the Zerg. What he really wanted was to go home to our family and friends, and wish Videl back to life. I understood that just fine, knowing that eventually it would come to pass one way or another. Goku wanted the same, mainly just a return to peace and normal life at home, all of this fighting had gotten to him once the killing really got going strong. He would also make sure that other victims were wished back to life by the Dragonballs. Bardock had probably lost the most out of all of us. Not just a crew of teammates, he had lost all of his known comrades and friends to the Zerg. He was battle hardened for revenge against the Overmind, but a survivor captain that has lost his crew certainly isn't the same afterwards. Likely that he would want his friends wished back and then would want to return to his previous known reality. A much simpler one now that Frieza was out of the way and the threat to planet Vegita was ended thanks to a wish to the Namekian Dragonballs. Knowing that his youngest son would grow into a great warrior, and that the rest of his kind were alive and well would do well to ease the troubles he would face there. He would deal with that in his own way when that time came. For a Saiyan captain, you can't plan ahead too far, your next mission might be your last if you're caught with your pants down.
Hey precious Fasha, can you hear me now? From the lost and found although your six feet underground.
In the mirror, I can see your face, just another trace of all the tragedy you passed down.
There are times when I can hear your voice, it's just like my voice and it still haunts me when you come around.
I feel like I wasted time when I didn't have you on my mind.
I feel like I'm all alone, how could I have known you would leave me here alive.
Oh my God, how did I make this far?
Why I can't I be where you are?
My God I think I'm dying.
That brought me to my own unique perspective. I had cheated death so many times up till now. I had probably also played the odds against my deadliest enemies as of late, my new abilities had proven more than they could handle since they were drastically different from what one might expect out of a Saiyan. My body and spirit were willing to do what had to be done, and my mind was sharp enough to carry it out. My heart however, was in pieces, and it had been for a long time now. Ever since I had rid myself of my own evil dark side, I had been a little depressed. Even though he had taken form and drained a lot of that hateful batch of feelings from me, I knew it could build up and easily happen again if I allowed it. And I had let him out the first time, I'm the one who pulled the trigger. Death is hard to accept when it happens suddenly. I knew this, and so did everyone else. That doesn't make the pain of loss any better, sometimes it only worsens when you can't deal with it. I did my best to block it out of my mind, but it can and will always return until you can come to terms with it. In the past, when I was human, I lost several family members when I was at a young and vulnerable age. Sometimes it took a few days for it to work out of my system, sometimes several months went by before I was even able to get it out of my mind for more than an hour. When I came to my newer home, the pain of losing my old world was softened a bit by the love given to me, and the harsh training that was drilled into me. It helped me to ease those painful memories quite a bit. Losing a loved one didn't last as long anymore thanks to the magical Dragonballs. They could be back in a day or less, and whatever anger and sorrow that spilled out was gone quickly. Now there was a timeframe blocking that road to their return, and the slowly stretching rope that represented that length of time only got longer and longer. Deep emotional pain lasted longer and stronger with the bonds of love attached to them. The attachment was broken, but the connection was still present. Without the strings of that bond, neither end could survive a lifetime without contact with the other. One end of it was the lucky one, its life had ended without this pain. The other end was likely suffering much like I was now. I drifted off to sleep in tears once again, my heart had cracked apart long ago, now the chunks were breaking into pebbles. I knew what I wanted all along, I wanted the only thing that could glue those chunks of emotion back together. The only thing that could keep a smile on my face for more than a minute. The only thing and person that could bring back the bliss of happiness and erase this painful era of sorrow. I wanted to see Fasha and would do anything for that to happen.
Oh my God, how did I make it this far?
Why can't I be where you are?
My God I think I'm dying.
Oh my God, why can't you take it away and give me one more day of just apologizing.
Red lit alarms brought out of my slumber as I heard Protoss troops in the halls. Instead of getting up to check it out myself, I reached for my scouter by my bedside and turned it on.
"Fenix, what's going on?" I asked with drowsy eyes and ears.
"The Zerg have sent out a sizeable force. No detectable energy levels, so it should only be Zerg attacking us. Nevertheless they sent a generous amount of them and caught us in recovery stage. They may spread through the city and cause some damage, but we should get things back under control within the hour!" Fenix said with a voice that clearly said he didn't need any sleep.
"Uh, okay," I managed to say, taking it off and falling back into my bed. I wasn't sure if I dosed off or not, but I woke up with the sounds of battle continuing outside. I left the scouter on so I could receive any more emergency broadcasts, but none came. My room was now dark again once the alarms were off, but I wasn't going to get to sleep with a fight going on, even if it was simply Protoss vs. Zerg in an all out melee. I yawned and stepped towards the dark door. It didn't open like I expected.
"Open!" I said with impatience. No response came, so I forced it open with my hands. A few door parts broke off with my lazy regard for its existence as I stepped out from my room. The halls were almost as dark as my room was, and that was surprising. They had been lit up with blue lights and golden trim the entire time I was here. I listened in on Protoss running around the temple, hearing talk of restoring the power and getting other troops awakened. The Son family was still asleep in their own recovery stages, the Protoss doctors said that they would probably be ready for action the following morning. Vegeta hadn't come out of his room from what I could tell, as it was right next to mine. I sensed him snoring loudly within it, not even acknowledging the sound of battle outside. So even the always aware prince has to sleep sometimes, I thought with a slight grin, I could put that to use later if I get hungry late at night or something. Speaking of which I was hungry now, but if the hall lights weren't even on, so I doubted that any sort of food was going to be available right now either. I walked down the blackened halls as more distant alarms kept blaring on and off. I stopped hearing Zealots and Dragoon legs clanging off the floors as I kept slowly walking, soon only a creepy silence was left with an occasional small red light on the top of the ceiling. It didn't provide much illumination for me, but my eyes were not much use if it was pitch black dark anyway. I sensed something approach and stopped to feel the air out. It had little to no energy to speak of, and as it neared, multiple hostile signals pinged off of my senses along with a scattered form of energy. I quickly deduced what it was just as I heard a series of low growls around me.
"You picked the wrong time of day to mess with this," I whispered, igniting my bright blue sword. A cluster of Zerglings had gotten in and surrounded me, a mistake they weren't going to forget easily. I spun and swung a few times, cutting them all down as they jumped at me, and leaving a nice pile for whoever decided to come across it later. I sensed something else behind me, towards the entrance to the temple. I spun to see a dark shadow in front of a distant light. My sword wasn't close enough to see what it was, and it didn't feel overly hostile either.
"Who's there?" I asked. No answer came except for a shallow breathing pattern that didn't match with any Zerg that I could think of. I stepped just a bit closer to try and seek it out. I considered trying my spiritual vision, but I felt that I would be too vulnerable to an attack if I did that without knowing what was in front of me.
"Look, I'm not in the best of moods right now, so don't mess around with me. Reveal yourself!" I ordered the shadow. It moved a bit closer, but not much, making me lose whatever patience had built up. I also moved a bit closer and added energy to my sword in warning. It brightened up the area of the shadow, revealing the face of my would-be opponent. A humanoid face sat there with a dim smile and bright but black eyes. Its hair was short and wild on top, and a golden pair of earrings dangled from its ears. Its body was definitely female, but was covered in a blue bodysuit that fit to her curves very well. Her eyes seemed to sparkle at me as a grin filled her lips. It was a beautiful woman to be sure, and one that sported a brown fuzzy tail. I gasped in shock as I recognized the figure, she was the single most thought of person in my mind, and the most important person to me currently. It was Fasha.
Any thought process I currently had now ground to a stop. Her face followed by very distinct memories of her destruction flowed through my mind as I stared at her in complete shock.
"Fa-Fa-Fasha?" I stuttered out, my whole body trembling. She nodded with a slightly brighter smile, stepping closer.
"But, you died?" I asked, losing the grip on my sword and allowing it to vanish. The darkness returned, but I could feel her presence directly ahead of me and coming closer. Soon she stood right in front of me by just a few inches while I slumped to the ground. I was not holding back any sort of tears by any means, and I barely saw her kneel down in front of me and put a warm hand to my shoulder.
"I was dead, but now I'm back! I see you're just as wound up as usual!" she chuckled slightly. I held back no longer and threw my arms around her neck.
"I missed you so much, I can't tell you how bad I've felt lately," I cried into her ears.
She returned the embrace, patting my back slightly, "I know, shorty, Saiyan bonds are toughest on the younger ones." My eyes opened and I glanced at the back of her head without moving backwards, it was the way she called me shorty, it didn't sound right. She let go of me and I sat down next to her in the darkness, both of us leaning against the wall. She seemed very quiet about everything right now, understandably.
"You do know that it wasn't me that killed you right?" I asked, choking back salt water.
"Yeah I know, it was your split personality, I know you would never do anything to hurt me!" she said with an eerie calmness.
"How did you come back to life anyway?" I asked with all seriousness. I felt a slight shift in her energy suddenly before she answered, but it didn't seem to mean much other than stress, as if I hadn't had enough of that lately.
"Oh that, our friends back on Earth used the Dragonballs from that Namek place, and I requested to come here to help you out. I saw how you were struggling from the afterlife and we decided it would be best if I came to help ease your pain. After all we can't have you fighting out there with any sort of distractions right?" she said, throwing an arm around my shoulder. In truth I was beyond happy to see her, but I made sure to ask questions that only she would know. The Overmind had toyed with my emotions before, and with all those clones running around I wanted to make sure I was next to the genuine Fasha. Her energy signal felt normal enough, save for a bit of fluctuation by emotion, nothing different there. It was pitch black dark, so I couldn't see all of her, but when I had my sword out she looked normal enough.
"I thought we weren't going to use the Dragonballs until all of this was over?" I said, looking down and wondering why.
"I am not sure myself, I wasn't aware of it until just a little while ago. Why are you asking me all these things, don't you trust me?" she asked in a lower tone.
"Of course Fasha, its just that I've been through hell lately, and the Overmind has done so much to hurt me inside and out. It's not you, I just don't want to be hurt like that again, I've had enough of it," I said sternly. My serious tone washed away when a pair of lips found my left cheek.
"Does that help?" she asked in a seductive tone.
"A little," I grinned slightly. The lights slowly flickered to life and I saw Fasha in her full view sitting next to me, holding my small hand within her own. I scanned all over her beautiful form, seeing no signs of anything that would lead me to believe that it wasn't her. Her tail swished around mine and intertwined with it, filling me with a warm shiver long forgotten. I felt my broken heart begin to mend itself, and the smile on my face stuck like glue.
Hey precious Fasha, can you hold my hand like you did back then?
Can you forgive me of all my sins?
Come to me and take this pain away cause it's all I see.
It is so heavenly to see you again.
I feel like I've wasted time when I didn't have you on my mind.
I've felt like I'm all alone, how could I have known you would leave my side?
Please tell me you're here to stay and will never leave me again!
Vegeta's look of shock never failed to amuse me whenever I saw it. But his tirades of questions were more numerous and repeating than mine had been. I never left Fasha's side though, and she never left mine. We had just polished off a meal in-between questions, but it never really halted them for more than ten seconds.
"Why did the Kais suddenly decide that it was time to wish the others back?" Vegeta snapped at her again.
She looked down and away, trying not to look at his angry eyes, "I told you I don't know! They wouldn't tell me anything!" This went on the entire time since Vegeta had woken up, only an hour after Fasha first showed up.
"I find it very interesting that you should suddenly appear during a Zerg attack while were all sleeping, does the Overmind believe we are that foolish?" he barked at her. I frowned; he was taking it a bit too far now. I had done all kinds of scanning and sensing throughout her body, finding absolutely no trace of Zerg influence. The distress in her answers to Vegeta's constant questioning eventually turned my glares to him.
"Hey, take it easy, if she doesn't know, then she doesn't know!" I stepped up.
"Stand down boy, I am not as easily convinced that this is your mate!" he snarled at me now.
I sighed slightly, "Look I've been with her ever since she showed up, and I'm telling you there is no trace of Zerg influence. She is Fasha, plain and simple!"
"Perhaps, but considering the situation, I find it highly unlikely that even the Kais would suddenly wish everyone back when the battles are not over. It makes more sense to wait as they instructed us to do so. Was Gohan's mate wished back as well? And what about the other Saiyans?" Vegeta asked with a direct eye at her face.
"Yeah, everyone who has died so far both in this dimension and ours has returned to life from what I know," she said in slight fear of his royal highness.
"Everyone you say? Then why didn't they come along with you, it would only be prudent to send reinforcements!" Vegeta declared, getting a jolt out of Fasha. Then again, he does have a point, unless they are that confident in my abilities.
"Look I was the only one sent along, they said that it wouldn't matter anyway. My Verto is too strong for the Zerg now. They said he would easily take care of the Overmind with his abilities now!" she said, squeezing my hand a bit in anger. I saw what Vegeta was doing pretty quickly, and I hated him for it. He was trying to prove to me that this Fasha wasn't the real one, and I believed that she was. Nothing she said or did really disproved her identity, I was sure of that. There were some gaps in her information, but we knew nothing of the events in the other dimension right now, never mind Other World.
"Hey, that's enough," I said, standing up. Vegeta turned his wrath towards me but said nothing. "We have no idea what the Kais are up to right now, for all we know they saw what was happening and acted accordingly. I for one am glad that she came, I don't know what I'd do if I had to keep going on suffering like I have every night since I lost her. Her being here now gives me something to live for, you should at least be thankful for that!" I snarled at him. He eased up a bit with his death glaring, but never took his eyes off Fasha. He relaxed a little once he saw I was completely serious.
"You're still too trusting boy. Oh well, while she's here we might as well go through with it. As you both know, we planned to dissolve the bond, as it is a burden on both of you. Since this is the first time you two have been willingly together, we should do it immediately," he suggested. My heart sank slightly, but I understood, it was probably for my own good. Fasha's hand tightened just a bit, squeezing mine a little more than hard.
"Can we wait a little bit before we do something that drastic? After all we've been separated by death, we have some catching up to do," Fasha giggled slightly, tugging me towards the door. I stared back up at her, I never knew her to object to an order from Vegeta, even if it was indirectly.
He cast an interesting but amused looking glance at my confused face, "Very well, but we will be performing the ritual of Separation before the day is over," he ordered.
"All right," she said with a grin on her face as she ran down the halls, dragging me by the arm. I noted the serious glare he gave us on the way out, another way of him saying to be careful.
A/N: I could easily guess what most of you are thinking right now. And for those who are incapable of figuring it out...never mind. I'll give you all a few days to think this one over. No sneak peek either.